C\
/
EUNUCHISM
D I S P L A Y ' D.
Defcribing all the different Sorts of
E U N V CH S;
THE
Efteem they have met with in the
"World, and how they came to be made fo. Wherein principally is examin'd, whether they are capable of Marriage, and if they ought to be fufrer'd to enter into that State.
The whole confirm'd by the Authority of Civil, Canon, and Common Law, and iliuftrated wfith many remarkable Cafes by way of Precedent.
Alfo a Comparifon between Signior Nicolini and the Three celebrated Eunuchs now at Rome, viz* Pafi- qualini, Fauluccic, and Jeronimo ( or Momo ) : "Withfeveral Obfervations on Modern Eunuchs.
Occafion'd by a young Lady's falling in Love with Nicolini, who fung in the Opera at the Ray-Market, and to whom fhe had like to have been Married.
Written by a Perfon of HONOUR.
*There are, who in foft Eunuchs place their Blifs, And pun the Scrubbing of a bearded Kifs.
Drydejri |uv.
L 0 N D ON:
Printed for E. Curll at the Dial and Bible over agaj^ir
St.Dttnfian's Church in Fleetfireet, 171S. pr. 3 s.
Sato* a!5y ^SSbieeKaS Sao!
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THE
PREFACE
W £ Motives that enga- ged me to write the enfu- ing Treatife were very fin- gaUr. It is not long, fince we fatp feveral Italian Eu- nuchs (Mafters of Mufick) who made a very great Figure, as they might very well do, getting fuch confide- rable Sums of Money from thofe who they could not have imagined, were indued
A 3
with
vi The PREFACE.
with fo little Reflection, till they had hap. ptly experienced it.
Ihefe unexpected Favours, puffed them ftp with a Vanity which is ever peculiar to Eunuchs, andfome of them had got it tnto their Heads, that truly the Ladies were in Love with them, and fondly flat- tered t he mj f elves with mighty Qonquefls. But alas ! our Ladies have not fo little natural Phtlofophy, but they know how to make ajufl Dtflinction, and have too fine a Gofit, to be fatisfled with meer Shadow and Out-fide.
1 cannot better difplay the Vanity of thefe Perfons, than in the Words of Mon« fieur de Montpinffon, who was a Gen- tleman of a, gay andpleafant Genius, and plainly /hewed how much he was their Ad- mirer in the following Verfes, which have fo much of the fine double Entendre, and Delicacy of Turn, that 1 am not afhamed to own my Incapacity of making them Apeak tolerable Englijb.
The P R E F A C E. vit
Je connois plus cP Un Fanfaron
A Crete & Mine fiere, Bien dignes de porter Ie Nom
De la Chaponardiere.
Crete aujourdhui ne fuffit pas
Et le plus fimples Filles De la Crete font peu de cas
Sans autres Beatilles.
But notwithfianding this fine Raillery of Monfieur de MontpinfTon, it is cer- tain, there has been an Exception to the General Rule , for one of thefe Singers, it feems, with his fine Songs and Addrefs, bad fo far engaged a young LADT of a vonfiderable Fortune, that fbe begun to field to Proportions of Marriage, which the Signor had the Modefly to make to* her, and who probably might have carried his Point, had it not been happily prevent- ed, by the Care and Vigilance of a Rela- tion, whofe quick Judgment and Penetra* tion foon difcovered that Affair. He communicated the Matter to me, and de* fired 1 would give him what Afflfiance I could in Writing, which he might make A 4 ufe
viii The PREFACE.
aft of, from time to time, as Occafion (f)ould offer, to hinder what both he and his Lady called fuch a Marriage which could not but be attended with difmal Confequences.
/ had too much Value and Refpeff for that Gentleman and his Lady, to de- ny what he defired, and jet about a Work with Pleafure, which infenfibly exceeded the Brevity I at frjl propofed -7 for when I came to perufe the looje Sheets I had fent him from time to time, as I had written them, I found they fvelled into a Book, which appeared in the Form it now wears. I am p leafed it had the defired Succefs, and would willingly foon after have publifh^d-* it, that it might likervife be ferviceable to ethers, to avoid fuch unwary Engagements' with thefe, who are abfolutely uncapable to /wjwer the End of Marriage, and whofe Intentions can only terminate in fordid Intereft, downright Money ± but 1 could never prevail till now ; I therefore prefent it to the Publick, and doubt not but the Curious will find fomething that may pie ale them ; for as the Subject is very ftnguUr,
The PREFACE. ix.
fo without Vanity, I may venture to fay I have treated it after no difagreeable man* ner, and ptrhaps, in the End, it may be found as Inftrutfive as Diverting.
I know of none that it can poffibly offend hut the Scrupulous, who perhaps may think ' it the Work of an Idle ¥ erf on who had little to do, rather than of One that was curious, and fiudied for Infl ruction, and may fay, as St. Jerom did to Vitalis, whet* he confulted him about the Extraordinary Pre-maturity of Kjng Ahaz, Hujufmodi baerere qu^rtionibus non tam Studiofi quam otiofi Hominis effe videtur, It was therefore neceffary to prevent or unde- ceive fuch People ; for the Examination of tins Matter was dtfired of me for thofe very good and fubjlamial Reafons I before ohferved.
Not that I think I [hould have done ill {had I not had thofe Obligations} to have diverted my felf after this manner, and inter [per fed my jerious Studies, with what might give fame Relaxation to my Spirits, ()\ ere there nothing more) in treat- A 5 ing
x The P R E F A C E.
ing of Subjects of this Nature. The learn- ed Mollerus has put out a Book which has for its Title, Difcurfus duo Philo- Iogico-Juridici, prior de Cornutis, pofte- rior de Hermaphoditis eorumq; Ju- re, uterq; ex Jure Divino, Canonico, Civili, variifq; Hiftoriarum Monu- mentis, horis otiofis congefti a M, Ja- cobo Mollero. And that Work has done no Difcredit to the Author, nor leffetfd the Efteent which the Publick had for him.
It isfomewhat Difficult, I muft confefsf to talk of Eunuchs, without faying fome- t.hing that may fhock the Mode fly of the fair Sex. But in refpeff of the Au- thor, it can no way he wrong in him, and he is fatisfy*d his Book has in it none of thofe broad Expreffions as are fo frequent in the Priapeia ; a Work, on which no lefs a Man than Jofeph Scaliger, one of the great eft and famous Writers of thefe latter Ages, has taken the Bains to make Annotations and Comments without lejfening his Reputation : And in Refpeff af the Ladies, fuch care is taken, that
iv hen
The PREFACE. xi
when any thing muft be expreffed freely , and, in its natural Terms , it is always in Latin, a Language they are generally unac- quainted with.
But were it fo that a Man was neceffi- tated to [peak in fuch plain Terms as might put them to the Blujh, would is thence follow that one muft refrain dif cuffing a Point of fo great Importance^ \ even to them, and leave Matters in Doubt and Confufwn ? If this way of Reafon- ing had taken place heretofore, fever d Perfons muft have pe rifted, and Mankind in general have fujfered ; and we had been deprived of many an excellent Treatife of Phyfick and Surgery, jo beneficial to the World, if the plain Truth muft not have been fpoken, and the Parts of Human Bodies called by their proper Names^ fa- caufe, truly, it is Immodeft.
Bur, to go no farther, Do not all Judges both Spiritual and Temporal ex- pect that the naked Truth be fpoken in all Cafes that they are to hear and determine ? The Serenity of a Bijhop is not fhocked at
hearing
xli The PREFAC E.
hearing Rem in Re, nor the Gravity of a Cbief-Jujlice at a Spade's being called a Spade. Woman you myft fpeak out in plain Englifh (fai4 the late Incompa* table Lord Chief Juftice Holt, to a Wench that had Jworn a Rape againfi a young Fellow) that the Court, and the Gen- tlemen of the Jury may underftand you ; You muft not mince the matter, but call Things by their proper Names, you muft call aSpADE, a Spade, and not a P— a Thing, nor a C— - a Colly-Flomr.
THE
X1U
a
THE
Design and Division
of THIS
WO R K
*3§f T SC* Marriages which
4| * ^ are contrafted by Proxy, Iff If gives the greateft Precau- tions imaginable, which, are founded upon this Reafon, becaufe f fays the Law) it is a very grave Affair, very difficult and important, and which may have very dangerous Con- fequences, Propter magnum quod ex frcfo tarn arduo fojfet ferkulum irnminere*
£Ca-
xiv The Defign and Divifwn
[Capitul. 9. Tit. 19. de Procuratoribus, *Lib. i, Sexti Decretal.]
And the Civil Law gives us a no lefs Idea of Marriage, . taking it to be the mod conGderable A&ion of hu- man Life, and what requires the great- eft Thought and Reflexion ; that it is either a happy and fecure Haven, or a miferable Shipwreck ; a Thing exceed- ingly dangerous, where all human Prudence generally is reduced toWifhes and Defires, though it be very excel- lent in it felf, and the Gift of God, as that Law likewife declares in thefe Words, Magnum fane Excellenfq; Donum & Deo Creatore ad Mart ales fromanavit Matrimoniunt. [Imperat. Leonis Con- ftitut. 26 in princip.]
Marriage being then the Gift of God, and his Work who has united thereby the two Sexes, and who con- fidering that it was not good that the Man jhoidd be alone, gave him a Help* meet, and commanded them both to Inereafe and Alultiplj\ and imprinted in them an e?ger defire to unice them- felvcs together for the Propagation of
their
of this Work. xv
their Species. This Union therefore ought by no means to be cafual or in common, like that of Beafts (which have no Underftanding) neither ought the End of it to be, that a Man might thereby more fecurely enjoy his impure Pleafures, and cover them over with a fpecious and honourable Title ; But it ought to be a Conjun&ion, Chaft, Re- ligious, and Holy, full of Piety and heavenly Benediction, having for its end only to execute the Command of God, who is its Author and Prote&or. The Church approves and authorizes only thefe laft forts of Marriages, which are ever attended with the pub- lick Favour and Applaufe; while the former are fure to meet with a general Hatred and Contempt, and are even the averfion and horror of all Goc 1 Men.
On the other hand, as Marriage is the Foundation of the Church, being as fome Divines call it, Venter Ecclefi^ which brings forth her Children. [No- vel 21. Tit. i.de Nuptiis, In prsefat.] as it is alfo of Civil Society, fince it is
the
xvi The Defign and Divipon
the Source or Fountain of Men, and which gives lawful Heirs to People of all States and Conditions. It mult not be wonder'd that both the Church and Civil Powers fo far intereft themfelves in a matter of fo great Concernment and Importance, as to prefcribe Rules for its happy Beginning, Progrefe, and its Confequences, and wifely provide againft thofe Inconveniencies which might arife through the Ignorance or Malice of Men.
The Church and Civil Government then do not leave every Body to do what they will in relation to Marriage, for they fay that in thefe Unions, Peo- ple mud always confider, not only what may be done purely by favour of the Letter of the Law, but likewife what may fuit with the Rules of ftridt Honour and Honefty. Semper in Cox* jjinSiombus non folum quid lice at confide - randum eft, fed £ff quid honejlum fit. [Lib. 197. de diverfis Regul. Jur.]
They do not fuffer any attempt in this kind which may any wife affett or glance at Common Juftice and Order,
and
of this Work. xvii
and the publick Good, Honour and Advantage. They have eftablifli'd Laws to declare them good or bad, >uft or unjuft, lawful or criminal \ to futfer or forbid therfi, to confirm, authorize and proteft them, or to diffolve and annul them, and punifh thofe who have contracted them.
Now what I propofe in this Treatife, is to feeamongft what kind or fort of Marriages we muft place thofe of Eu- nuchs. This then is the general Plan I defign to follow, to make a full Ecdair- ciffement (as the French call it in this. Matter) and regulate it by a Decifton certain and inconteftable. This Trea- tife then lhall be divided into Three Parts*
i. In the Firft, I fhall examine what an Eunuch is, and how many Sorts of Eunuchs there are, what Rank they have held, and do now hold in Eccle- fiaftical and Civil Society, and what Confideration Men have had, and a&ually now have for them,
2. la
xviii The Dejign of this Wo r k.
2. In the Second, I fhall examine what Right they have to marry, and whether they ought to be fufferd ta enter into that State ? And,
j* In the Third, I fhall endeavour to-folve all Difficulties andObje&ions which can be brought againft thofe Maxims and Decifions I have advanced and eftablifh'd in this Treatife,
A
xrx
T A
L E
O F T H E
CHAPTERS
Contained in this
TREATISE-
Part I.
CHAP. I.
3& HE TH E R in Reality there
W
s arefuch things in-the World, as
Eunuchs, and, how long there
have been fo. Pag. I
Chap. II. What an Eunuch is. 8
Chap. III. How many different forts of
Eunuchs there are. i }
Chap.
xx The T A B L E.
Chap, IV. Of Eunuchs that are born f°- Pag. 2}
Chap. V. What were the red Motives that ' indued, People to make Eunuchs. 26
Chap. VI. Why fome Men have made them/elves Eunuchs, or have been forced to be made fo by others. 5 1
Chap. VII. Of Eunuchs fo calPd on account of their Emp/ojment or Office^ and of thofe who are fo in a figurative* Senfe. 66
Chap. VIII. What Rank thofe thdt were real Eunuchs, held in Civil Society. 74
Chap. IX. What Notion the People had of Eunuchs. 94
Chap. X. After what manner the Civil Law has confidefd Eunuchs, and what Rights and Privileges it allowed them. 100
Chap. XI. What Rank voluntary Eu- nuchs have held in Civil Society^ and after what manner the Laws havz con- fide? d them, and what Rights and Pri- vileges they had thereby allowed them. 116
Chap. XII. What Rank both voluntary and forced Eunuchs have held in the Churchy and after what manner her Ca- nons have confide? d thern^ and what
Rights
The TABLE.
xxi
Rights and Privileges they had thereby alfow'd, Pag. 124.
Part II
CHAP. I.
f\ F the Nature and End of Marriage.
Sf That an Eunuch can no wife anfwer
J hat End. 138
Chap. II. Eunuchs being entirely unea- table of anfwering the End of Marri* age, ought by no means to contraft it.
148
Chap. III. The Marriage of Eunuchs h confider'd as null, and as if it had never been. 154
Chap. IV. The Inconveniences generally attending Eunuchs Marriages . 161
Chap. V. The Civil Law forbids the Marriage of Eunuchs* 1S1
Chap. VL The Roman Catholick Church does not fuffer the Marriage of Eu- nuchs. 185
Chap. VII. The Lutherans, and thofe of the Confefpon of Augsburg, do not fuffcr the Marriaje of Eunuchs. 1 89
xxii The TABLE.
Ghap. VIII. None of the Reformed Churches whatjoever, allow the Marri~ age of Eunuchs. Pag. 199
Part. III.
CHAP. I.
i.Objea. 'THAT the Prohibition of
•* Marriage ought not to be
under Hood to be jo general as to extend
J to all forts of Eunuchs, fince there are fame capable to fatisjy the Defires of a Woman. 205
C H A P. II.
2. Obje£t That Marriage is a civil Con- tract, and therefore lawful for every Body to engage in it, and confequently Eunuchs. 214
CHAP. III.
g. Objeft. An Eunuch who is capable tx> perform all the Duties of Marriage, ex*
^ cept
The T A B L E xxiit cept tbofi which concern Generation, may, notwithii ending, contract it, fwce it is a Maxim, that it is the Con lent of Parties, not Bedding, makes a Marriage. Confenfus nonConcubitus facit Matrimonium. Pag, 219
CHAP. IV.
4. Obje£L In cafe a Man cannot be with a Wife like a Husband, yet he may like a Brother, and live with her as with a Sifter. 224
CHAP. V.
5. Obje&. If Eunuchs ought to be for- bidden to marry, becaufe they are not capable of Generation, the fame Rea-
fon would hold as to old Perfons, whofe Age has put them into the like Incapa- city of performing the Functions of Marriage ; and fwce they are not for- bidden^ no more ought Eunuchs. 227
CHAP.
xxiv The T A B L E.
CHAP. VI.
6. ObjeQ:. If a Woman that is about to marry, knows that her intended Hus- band is an Eunuch, and is not ignc» rant of the Confequences, then in this Cafe, ]be may lawfully marry him, be- caufe it is a Maxim in Law, That there is no Injury to thofe that are willing. Volenti nonft Injuria. pag. 2 3 2.
Eunuchifm
■qfcjpqpqpqo2«qp
EUNUCHISM
DISPLAY'D.
Part the Firft.
CHAP. I.
Whether in Reality there arefiich Things as Eunuchs in the World, and how Jong there have been fo.
SB
E F O R E I undertake to give a particular Dtfcription or Definition of an Eunuch, and enter into any Difccurfe iC>j| upon the Subject Matter cf s¥\{^2^\:/is^2 this Work y according to the Rules of good Order and Method, - I ought to fhew that there really are fuch Things in Being as Eunuchs, for Philofo- B thy
2 Eunuchism Difpla/d.
phy tells us, that it is ridiculous to difcourfe of a Thing, before one is fatisfied of the Exigence of that Thing.
It is now above 4000 Years fince Men- tion was firft made of Eunuchs in the World $ both Sacred and Prophane Hiftory take no- tice of an Infinity of thefe Sort of Peo- ple, which were looked upon by the An- cients to be neither Men nor Women, but were called a third Sort of Men ; Tertia Homlnum Species : which, bating the Un- Philofophicalnefs of the Expreffion, gives us no ill Idea of the Value and Efteem Peo- ple had for Eunuchs in former Times- We have heard Mention made of great Numbers in all Ages, and in all Countries, and therefore we have no reafon to doubt that there have been fuch People in the World, and that there are to this very Day.
Moil: of the Learned believe, that Semi- ramis Queen of the Ajjyrians, Widow to Ninusy and Mother to Nynias, was the firft that introduced this kind of Mutilation \ and they ground their Opinion on the Au- thority of Ammianus Marcellinus, who in the 6th Chap, of his 14th Book, taking Occafion to difcourfe of this Queen, gives us to underftand, that there were Multitudes of Eunuchs in her time, that they looked pile, and wan, and deformed, all their Fea- tures and Lineaments diftorted, and. that
when
Eunuchifm T)ifplafd. j
when ever any one went abroad, and favv whole Herds of thefe mutilated and maim- ed Wretches, he could not but deteft the Memory of Semiramis, that old Queen, who firft of all made young Boys undergo Ca- ftration: His Words are thefe, Multitude Sfddonum a Senibus in pueros definem, oblucidi^ diftortdq\ lineament or um Compage de formes ut qua qua, imefterit quifquatn cernens mutilorum Hominum agmina deteft at ur Memoriam Semi-. ramidis Regina illim Veteris, qua teneros Ma- res caftravit Omnium Prima. And * Claudian feems to be of the fame Opinion.
However, Diodorus Siculus ,who wrote the Hiftory of Semir amis with greater Exa&nefs and Care than any one befides, (and which is in his Bibliothecd) takes no manner of no- tice of this Particular, which undoubtedly would have been worth his Obfervation, had it been certainly true. All that he fays, is on- ly this, that the Bachians with whom Ninus f afterwards her Husband) was at War ha- ving routed and put to flight the Adrians , fhe dreffed herfell in a long Veft like a Man,
* Sen prima Semiramis afiu
Ajfyriis mentita Virum, ne voces acuta Mollifies, le^efq; ger,& fe prodere foffent Hosfibi canjunxit fimUeS) feu ferjica ferro Luxuries vetuit nafci lamtgmis TJmbram.
Li Eutrop, Lib, c. r. v-'%lf*
B 2 r,;lly'd
4 * Eunuchism rDiJplayid.
rally'd the broken Troops, put herfelf at the Head of them, and obtain'd a complete Vi- ctory over the Battr'uins. Now whether this Yeft pleas'd the Median and Perfian Ladies, or whether they had a Mind to make their Court to Semiramisy it is certain they wore ic, and perhaps this Drefs gave Birth to thofe Reports, that Semiramis had made im- perfect. Men, half-Men, and fo on , till at iaft it was conjectured, that fhe effectu- ally made People undergo the cruel Cere- mony of Caflration.
* Others fay, that (he dreft herfelf in Man's Cloaths, and brought her Son up like a Girl, on purpofe, leaft the Affyrlam grown afhamed of being govern'd by a Woman, might fet her Son upon the Throne to her Prejudice. [| Others forne what differing in Opinion, will have it, that her Son being cf the fame Size, and having a Voice ex- actly like her own, fhe put herfelf in Man's Cloaths ; and to fecure herfelf the Govern- ment, gave it out, that fhe was Son to NU w//j,.and not his Widow. And f others a- gain fay, that being told as file was dref- fing her Head, that Babylon had revoked, fhe ran in all hafte with her Hair about her
* Chrlflopherl Hehici 'Tkeatry.m HifloYicum, p/rg. 5. i! St. Renmald Trefcr. Clronol. & Hiftor.fol. "torn. I. pag. 79-
I Valer. Max. Lib. 9, Cfa 3. Art. 15*
ShouU
Eunuchifm 'Difflafd. $"
Shoulders to force that powerful City to re- turn to their Duty, and that (he did not bind up her Hair, till fuch time as fhe effectu- ally reduced the Babylonians to their ObedU ence ; and that on Account of this Action, her Statue was erected at Babjhn^ with much Honour and Ceremony, and reprefsnted her in a hafty Pofture, with her Flair about her Shoulders, as when fhe undertook that Expedition \ which together with her Veft, made her look ft ill more like a Man.
Diodorus Siculus reports another Circum- fiance, which is no lefs confiderable : He fays, that this Queen, who from a very low Condition, came to the higheft Degree of Human Glory, abandoned her felf to all manner of Pleasures, and made choice of ,xhe handfomeft and beft proportion'd Men of her Army to ferve her, but that all thofe who were admitted to her Bed; v/ere af- terwards put to Death by her Order. But it is more probable, that (he had them made Eunuchs through an Effect of Jealoufie, leaft after having received from her the greateft Favours, they fhould go and have Engagements with other Women. Diodorus Sic.dus does not fay this, but as he writes after CtejJas, as he himfelf owns ,• and Ctefias is an Hiilorian, who not content to abufe thofe who lived in the fame Age with him- felf, hadalfo an Inclination to impofe his Fables on Pofterky. One cannot give much B 5 Credit
6 Eunuchifm rDifflayid.
Credit to what he fays, nor believe what he omits as faife. Semiramis then may very well pais for the firft that ever made Eu- nuchs.
* Vojfim is of Opinion that the Terjians were the Inventors of this wicked and deteflable Cuftom, and that the Latin Word Spado, which comprehends feveral Sorts of Eunuchs, was taken from a Village ofPerfia called Spada, where he fancies the firft Ex- ecution of this Nature was made, and corro- borates his Sentiments by the Opinions of fe- veral learned Perfonsofthe firft Rank,whom he quotes for that very Purpofe. I fhall not pretend to determine this Controverfy which has engaged fo many famous Writers on both Sides, whofe feveral Opinions have fo much^ Probability, that it would be a very dini^ cult Matter to decide it. Non nojlmm inter hes tantos componere lites & Vitulo hi digni & HU. I (hall only fay, that the firft Eunuch mentioned in the Holy Scriptures was Puti-' pbor or Potipbar, who bought Jofepb from riii Mldianites $ and yet if we make a little Reflection, we fhall find, that this Word Eunuch was then no new Thing, fince at that time it fignified an Office, or Charge of high Dignity and Honour. Now Potipbar
* Etymohgicon Lingua Latin**
bought
Eunuchifm Dlfflafd. q
bought Jofefb in the Year of the World 22765 which is 1778 Years before the hicar- nation of Jefus Chrift ; and Cyrus did not begin to reign over the Verfians till the Year of the World 3421 \ by which it evidently appears, that there was mention made of Eunuchs long before the Per (tans had any Being, and therefore they could not poffi- bly be the Fathers of that Sort of People, for then Films ante Patrem (which, pre- pofterous and. abfurd ) would be true. But this cannot be faid of Settsiramis, -vho reigned over the Ajjyriahs in the Year of the World 1 826, a long time before Pot if bar was born. Though it is certain, that the Terfans, ftfeJes, and Ajfyrhns, mzds ufe of Eunuchs in their Service more than any o- kgkher People in the World. And it is ob* *^terved, by no lefs a Mao than Jo ft f bus, * that Nehcbadnezz,ar caus'd all the jiu>s9am\ all-other Prifoners of War, to be gekbrcur, that he might have none to attend him in his private Service but Eunuchs. |) And per- haps this gave occafion to fome learned Per- fons to believe, that the Perfians were the In- ventors of Eunucbifm, as may be feen in St* Auguflin's Book de Civitatc Dei,
* Jofepb. Antiquit. judaic. Lib. 10. Chap. iS. t! St. Augufi. deCivit. Dei. Tom. j.pag. 609.
B4 CHAP.
8 Euwchifm "Difpla/J.
CHAP. II.
What an Eunuch is.
LUcian in his Dialogue of Eunuchs, gives a very fnort Definition of them. He fays chat an Eunuch is neither Male nor Fe- male, but a Prodigy in Nature. This De- finition of Lucian is too general, it ought co have been more exaS, that ic might have given us a particular Notion or Idea ©f what he defigned to define. Let us fee if we can give a better.
An Eunuch then is a Perfon which has not the Faculty or Power of Generation, either through Weaknefs or Coldnefs of Nature, or who is any wife deprived of the Part* * proper to Generation. In fhort, Eunuchs are fuch, J£ui gkntrere non fojfunty as the Ci- vil * Law expreffes it. Such who can by no means propagate and generate, who have a fqueaiinglanguifhing Voice, a Womanilh Completion, and a foft Down for a Beard, who have no Courage or Bravery of Soul, but ever tirnerous and fearful : In a few Words,whofe Ways, Manners, and Cuftoms, are entirely effeminate.
* Lib. i. Sect, i, ff.de Adjptloynbus.
But
Eanuchifm 'Difpla/d. ty
But if an Eunuch was thought to be fuch a > Wretched defpicable Thing, in regard of his Body, much more was he in refpeft of his. Mind. Let us fee what St. Bafil in the Pri- mitive Church thought of Eunuchs.
Simplicia was a Woman entirely infected with the Arlan Herefy, and took upon her to cenfure and reproach that Holy Perfoa with his Condud and Manners; which he juftifies, and calls to Witnefs all the World that knew him, except fome Eunuchs whofe. Teftimony he abfolutely refufed, and of whom he drew this frightful Pi&ure. I make ufe of the 117th Letter, in the French Tranflation of the Epiftles of St. Bafil, by Monfieur VAbbe de Bdkgarde, where I find St. Bafil fpeaking after this manner. " If you- " want Witneifes, (fays he) do not produce* c Slaves or miferable Eunuchs, an abomina-- * ble Tribe, who are pad the Senfe of Ho- u nour, who are neither Men nor Women, <c whom the Love of the Sex has rendered- <c mad and furious. They are jealous, def- u picable, fierce, effeminate, Gluttons, co-r <c vetous, cruel, inconftant, fufpicious, fu- " rious, infatiable. They cry (like Chil- " dreh) if they are left out of an Entertain- cc ment ,• and to fay all in one Word, they K are condemned to the. Knife as foon as " born, and from fuch crooked Wretches
muft we expert an upright Mind ? The.
Knife indeed has made them chafte, but B 5 . t[ this
(£
io Eamchifm Ttifylafd.
IC this Chaftity is of no Service to them J <c their Luft makes them furious, which yet cC is impotent, fterile, and unfruitful. Thus far St Bafil.
Perhaps this Defcription may be thought to be too fharp and Satyrical, as proceed- ing from a Perfon who was highly angred and provok'd, and confequently ought to be fufpe&ed \ but I fliall inftance one, whofe Teftimony can by no means be liable to fufpicion, being a Perfon entirely difinte- refted, who not only confirms this Defcrip- tion, butalfo adds new Circumftances which make Eunuchs a yet more frightful and hor- rid, and this is Ammiantts Mercellinus ,who in his 1 6th Book, Chap. 7. fays, " That when lc Nurna Fompilius,and Socrates faid any thing <c that was good of an Eunuch, no Body ci believed them, for they thought they told " nothing but a Company of Lies. Ed re <c quod fi Numa Pompilius <vel Socrates bona u quadam dicerent de fpadone diclifq; Religio- <c onum adderent fidem d veritate defciviffe ar~ u gmrtntur. It is true, towards the End of the fame Chapter, he excepts Menophilus, Eunuch to Mithridates, King of Pont us, whom he fpeaks well of. It is alfo certain, there have been fome others befides Mencfhllusy who have deferved the World's Efteem, as Favor'inus Mardonius Eutherius (who was firft Eunuch to the Emperor Co??ftans3 and afterwards to the Apoftate Juliaw ; ) and
Her-
Eunuchifm Diffla/J* i *
Hernias, whom for his excellent Qualities, Ariffotk looked upon as a God, and accord- ingly offered him Sacrifice and Divine Ho- nours, but above all the Prophet Daniel and his Companions (Tuppoiing them to be Eu- nuchs, as fome Interpreters of the Holy Scriptures have believed) But their Number has been always very fmall, and not fuffi- cient to counterbalance the general Opini- on of Mankind \ and one may fay of Eu- nuchs the fame that is ufually faid of Ba- ftards, that for the moft part they are very bad, but that fometimes we may chance to find one that may prove good for fomething^ And as Ammianus Marcellinus in the fame Chapter fays, Inter fcpres rofic nafcuntur, & inter f eras nonnuUa mitefcunt, Rofes grow a- mongft Thorns, and fome wild Beafts grew tame.
Theodorus, who was Preceptor to the Em- peror Conftantine^ Sirnamed Porphyrogenitus9 undertook an odd and whimfical Work, and wrote a Treatife which he called An Apolo- gy for Eunuchifm and Eunuchs \ but the World looked upon that Performance after the fame manner, as we do the Praife of Bufiris, writ- ten by Ifcrates, and that of Nero and the Gout by Cardan ; or the Praife of Poverty by, Sjnefius, Blindnefi by Pajferat, and of UgH- nefs and the Jguartan Agm by Favorinus. tre- "jidelli wrote in'Praije of the Plague ; Bahh, Schappius in Honour of War* Glauconcf /«-
jufiht,
12 Eunuchijm TXjfiafd.
juVuey and Erafmm an Encomium on Folljl L'Ac'ian prais'd Drunkennefi, Heinfius the A[s and Vermine. Schuppius, Pafferat and Duver- dier the Younger, wrote in the Praife of No- thing, and we have feen La Magnefique Dox- ologie da Fetu, by Sebafiian Rouillard.
Thefe Authors undertook to write in Praife of what all the World elfe blam'd, ridicul'd, and defpifed ; they did it to (hew their Wits, and fancied by that Angularity * they fliould excite the Curiofuy and Admi- ration of their Readers. But for all that, not one of thofe Treatifes made any Con- verts, or thofe Subjects they treated of ever the more lawful or commendable ; and the Book which has for its Title Page de Mul- tibibus, printed at Oenoz,ytbople, and fold at the Sign of DionyfiUs Bacchus, has given lit- tle Authority to the Rights and Privileges of Drunkards, which it has difplayed with the utmoft Pomp and Exaclnefs.
But as no one by reading thefe Treatifes <san imagine the Authors had any thing elfe in view than to mow the Caprice of their Wits, or intended that Men mould be fin- cerely convinced of the Truth of what they gublifhed in their Writings, fo will the World* In the fame manner, regard the Performance ef ThiodoYus, who furely very well employ- ed his Talentsjkto make Apologies for Emu- chifm^ that ridiculous, unjuft and barbarous ffra&ke, which every one that is fincerely.
a Chri*
Eunuchism "Difflafd. 1$
a Chriftian, detefts and abhors, and would if Occafion offered ufe the Words of Seneca. * Principes viri (fays he) contra naturam di- vitias fuas exercent, exciforum greges habent^ exo- letos fuosy ut ad longiorum pat tent iam Impudicitia idonei (inty & quia ipfos pudet Vivos ejje9id agunt9 ut quam paucivirifmt. His nemo fuccurril de- licatis & formofis debilibus.
CHAP. III.
How many different Sorts of Eunuchs there are.
WE have been told in the Holy Scrip- ture, from the Mouth of Jefus Chrift himfelf, how many different Sorts there are of Eunuchs, whofe Words, according to St. Matthews Gofpel, Chap. 19. v. 12. are as follows, viz,. There are fome Eunuchs which are fo born from their Mothers Womb ; and there are fome Eunuchs which were made Eunuchs of Aien ; and there be Eunuchs which have made themf elves Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heavens fake. But the SubciUy of Men's Wits, by reafon of later Events, have found out more
* .Contro-verf. 33. Lib. 5.
par-
1 4 Eunuchifm DifyJafd.
particular Diftin&ions than our Bleffed Sa- viour was pleas'd to make ufe of.
The Diverfity of Queftions arifing on ac- count of the Marriage of thofe that were accuied of being Eunuchs, and the Reftitu- tion of the Marriage Portion, have obli- ged People very narrowly to examine and difcufs the Cafe of Eunuchifm ; and as there have been found to be different Sorts or Species of Eunuchs, to reduce them accord- ingly under different Claffes. Which (fay the Gentlemen of the Robe) are Four,
i. The Firft is of thofe which are born Co, and thefe are absolutely and properly Eunuchs.
2. The Second is of thofe who either by Force,or by their ownConfent,or with their own Hands have been defpoiled of all that which makes Man and his Virility ; fo that they are incapable of doing 'any A&, and are obliged to let their Urine pafs through a Pipe of Metal, which they apply to the Place of that which Nature had given them, and is fince cutoff} and this Se&ion fome- times happened to People on account of fome Diftemper, which obliged the Surgeon to perform this Melancholy and difmal O- .peration ; and this was the Cafe, (as I was credibly informed in Rome) of the famous Vafqual'miy the greateft Matter of Vocal Mufick in the World, now refiding in thac City, but with this Difference, that Sig- nor Vafyualini was only obliged to part with
his
Eunuchifm 'Diftlafd. 1 5
his Tefticles, of whom I ftiall take occafion hereafter, to make further mention in the Body of this Work, amongft other modern Eunuchs, in the 9th Chapter of this ift Part. But this Sort of Mutilation, was not only pracYis'd in Cafes of Necedity, (as in Diftempers otherwife incurable) but alfo on Perfons of found Health, as we (hall fee by and by, and was heretofore one of the Functions of a Surgeon, as appears in §. 8. of the 7th Law. Ad Legem Aquiliam ,' and in the beginning of the 8th, under the fame Title, and efpecialiy in §. 2. of the 4th Law, fF. ad Legem Corneliam de Si car lis ^ where it is exprefly forbidden any Surgeons to make fuch like Operations.
%. The Third Clafs is of thofe whofe Tefticles, by a deteftable Art have been made fo frigid, as at laft quite to difappear and vanifh, this is done by cutting the Vein that conveyed theirpropsr Aliment.and Sup- port, which makes them grow lank and flab- by, till at laft they actually dry up and come to nothing. Another Method was, to take the Tefticles quite away at once, and this Operation was commonly effe&ed, by put- ting the Patient into a Bath of warm Wa- ter, to foften and fupple the Parts, and make them more tractable ; fome fmali time af- ter, they preffed the Jugular Veins, which made the Party fo ftupid; and infenfible, that he fell into a kind of Apoplexy, and
then
16 Eunuchifm Ttifpla/d.
then the A&ion could be performed with fcarce any Pain at all to the Patient ; and this was generally done by the Mother or Nurfe in the moft tender Infancy. Some- times they ufed to give a certain quantity of Opium to the Perfons defigned for Caftrati- on, whom they cut while they were m their dead Sleep, and took from them thofe Parts which Nature took fo great Care to form ; but as it was obferved, that moft of thofe that had been cut after this manner, died by this Narcotick ; It was thought more advifeable to praclife the Method I juft before mentioned : However, it was by this Means, that Miracle of a Voice Pau~ luccio, and the real Wonder of the pre- fent World, a Roman Eunuch, was againft his Will made fo, by his own Uncle, (al- fo an Eunuch) as I fhall fpeak of more at large in its proper Place.
The Perfiam, and feveral other Nations, had a different Method to cut, or make Eunuchs from that pra&is'd in Europe : I fay, to make them, for it was not always done by cutting •, Hemlock and other Herbs would do it, as we may fee in a Book put forth by Paul Egitieite, which treats particularly of that Subjed, efpeciaily the Sixth Book of that curious and learned Treatife. This Third Sort, or Species of Eunuchs, in the Terms of the Law, are called Tbliin*, thofe which. are called Tblafi* are much the fame ;
the
Eunuchifm Difplafd. 17
the only Difference is this, that thefe lat- ter are made by cutting the Veins that fer- ved to ftrengthen and fortify thofe Parts 5 fo that though in reality they (till remain'd, yet were fo foft and flabby as could be of no manner of Ufe or Service to the Pof- feffor.
4. The Fourth Clafs is thofe that are cal- led Spadones, who are born with fuch ill Difpofition of Parts, or of fo cold and fri* gid a Temperament, or who have been ren- dered fo, through fome Misfortune, that they are incapable of Generation,
But though thefe Four Sorts or Species are very different from each other, and the laft moft favourable and Lefs unhappy than the other Three ,• yet the Learned in the Laws, both Civil and Ecclefiaftical, have, thought it proper to comprehend them all under the general Term of 6/W0, which indeed is very fmgular, fince it i , a Max- im in the Civil Law, that Denominatio fit a potior* ; and properly fpc>king, thofe who are cailed Spadones are not in reality Eunuchs, fince by the Force and Fteip v'' Nature, or Art, they may poffibly be reitored to that perfect State Nature at fir(t inten- ded them. B. fides * Speelalia gemralibus
* L. 147. Hediv.* reg. Jut,
in
1 8 Eunuchifm "Difflafd.
in [unt. And how under the Name of Spa- do, which is not properly a Eunuch, as I juft nowobferved, they can comprehend thofe who 2re abfolutely fo, and in the moft rigo- rous Senfe, and who can never hope to be otherwife, is, what I own I do not very well underftand ; for I think, Nomina de- bent efle convenient i a Rebus, as they fay them- felves, and it is plain, this Name Spado does not agree with every Sort or Species of Eunuchs, and eonfequently one would think, ought not to have been applied as a general Term.
But be that as it will, it is moft certain they will have it fo, for fay they, * Spa- donam generalis afpellatio eft, quo nomine tarn hi qui natwa Spadones funt, item Tblibia Ihla- fia. Sed & fi quod aliud Genus Spadonum efii continent ur.
There are befides thefe, other forts of Eunuchs, fome who are called fo Catachre- (lically, inafmuch as they are in Poffeffion of thofe high Offices and Places of Honour which originally were given to Eunuchs ; and fuch was Totiphar in Egypt, and very probably the Eunuch of Candace Queen of zs£thiopia, whom Sc Philip baptized, as we read in the 8th Chapter of the Atls of the Apoftles, which puts me in mind of a cele-
* L. 121.ff.de Verhovum Jigmfcat.
brated
Eunuchifm 'Dilflafd. 1 9
brated verbal Controverfy, held fome Years ago at Portfmouth, between Mr. Chandler and Mr. Ruffe I, the one a Presbyterian, the other an Anabapdft Minifter : the Difpute was concerning the Obligatorinefs of Infant Bap- tifm : Mr. Ruffe I it feems, whom fome Peo- ple call'd Dr. Ruffel 9 after a great deal of Difcourfe of Major^ and Minor, and Con- fequence, (for it feems thefe Champions af- fected to difpute in Form, but who was the greater Logician I am not able, nor is it my Bufinefs to determine) asked his An- tagonift Mr. Chandler, if he could prove by exprefs Texts of Scripture any Infant that was baptized, which he knew he could not ; that for his Part, he could bring feveral Inftances out of Scripture of Per- fons of riper Years, and amongft the reft cites this of the Eunuch whom St. Philip firft inftru&ed, fays he, and then baptized. Upon which Mr. Chandler thought fit to re- ply, that in the Term of all Nations whom our Saviour gave Commifficn to the Apo- ftles to Baptize, Children were included, and that the Eunuch might receive from St. Philip Commiffion likewife to Baptize, and accordingly might Baptize his Children; at leaft, it did not follow he did not from what Mr. Ruffel had faid, which fet the Au- ditory a laughing, and was the Diverfion of the adverfe Party for fome Days, yet had the old Gentleman and his People reflected,
that
20 Eunuchism <Diffhfd.
that it was a Cuftom to call thofe Eunuchs, who came to poflefs thofe Charges and Offices of Honour which were formerly given to none but Eunuchs, they would not have had fo much Caufe to triumph over poor Mr. Chandler, who might have known that Truth was not always attended with Noife and Clamour.
There were befides chefe, others who were called Eunuchs in a figurative Senfe, inaf- much as they kept themfelves entirely chafl^ and made no more ufe of their Parts of Vi- rility, than as if they really had none, as we may believe has been fmcerely praclis'd by fome, both of the Latin and Greek Church, and which Hkewife may be chari- tably fuppofed of fome of the Eellows of both our Univerfities.
But thefe Sorts of Eunuchs, who were fo called, on Account of their Office, or Em* ployment, fwhether really fo or not) were called by this General Term Bagoas ; and thus was that Perfon called, who reprefent- ed that Eunuch whom Diodes would exclude from teaching Philofophy in L»sWs- Dia- logues. There was alfo a very famous Eu- nuch of this Name in the Court of Darius, who after that Prince's Death, was prefent- ed to Alexander the Great. He was extreme- ly beautiful , and was as much beloved by Ahxandtr, as he was by Darius.
Eunuchlfm 'Diftlay'd* 2 1
* Jgutntus Curtius has in feveral Places in the Life of his Hero, given us the Hiftory of this Eunuch, of whom I (hall hereafter have occafion to make mention in this Treatife.
The Eunuch of Hole-femes, General of Nebuchadnezzar's Forces at the Siege of Bethulia, who was employed by his Lord to difpofe Judith to pafs the Night with him, and who accordingly conduced her in- to his Pavilion, (though fhe afterwards car- ried away his Head) was called Bagoasx However, fome Verfions, and amongft others that of MeJJleurs de Fort Royal, call him Va» goo, but this Variation is inconfiderable. Now though this Name was really the pro- per Name of feveral particular Eunuchs, yet Gilbert Couftn (of whom Monfieur Baile has made an Article inhisfirftTome, P. 974. in his Dictionary) fays in the Obfervation, that he has made upon the Word "Bagoas, that he finds by Lucian, that in barbarous Lan- guage, it fignifies a Eunuch in general, in- sinuating, that Lucian never would have made ufe of the Word, had it not been a Term which comprehended under it all Sorts of Eunuchs, as fo many Species under their Gems ; and to confirm his Opinion,
* Lib. 6. Cap. 5. & Lib. 10. Cap, I.
quotes
•22 Eunuchifm Difpla/d.
quotes this Verfe of Ovid, out of his zd Bood de Triftibus.
Quern Penes eft Dominant fervandi cur a Bagoel
It is certain, that in the Babylonijh Lan- guage, Bagoas fignified an Eunuch. There was one alfo, an Eunuch of that Name, of whom Plutarch relates many Things which deferve more our Silence than Cu- riofity.
Some of the Learned are of Opinion, that this Bagoas mentioned by LucUn, was a Per* fon who had fuch an awkward, ungraceful Mien and Carriage, that he was taken for an Eunuch, and not fo in reality.
Jjj>uintilian alfo makes mention of a Ba- goas, but by all appearance, he only made ufe of -that Name, as a Name common to a certain Species of Men, * for he fpeaks at the fame time of Megabytes and Doripboron j now it is certain, that Megabytes is a Name common to all the Priefts of Diana, -f who were obliged to be Eunuchs on account of their Charge, which was to take Care of thofe Virgins who were confecrated to that Goddefs ; and Doriphoron fignifies a Launce- Bearer. It is true, it likewife fignified, that moft admirable Statue of a beautiful Youth
* PUp. Lib. 13.(^.4. t Vlutarchin AJexanA
which
Eunuchifm DiffJafd. 2j
which held a Launce in his Hand, and was the inimitable Performance of Policletes, and of which he was fo much in love with, that he.u(ed to call it his Miftrefs.
But it is fufficient for our Purpofe, that it is likewife a Term of that general Ex- tent, as to be applicable to every Man that bears a Launce.
CHAP. IV.
Of Eunuchs that are lorn fo.
I Am very well perfwaded, that it is not impoflible but certain human Creatures may come into the World deftitute of thofe Parts which are proper for Generation. We fee every Day Children born, fome with- out their Eyes, Ears, Hands, or fome other Part of their Body ; and therefore it may poflibly happen, that fome may be born without thofe Parts I juft now mention'd.' « Nature which every Day produces fo ma- ny Monfters, might very well form one of this Sort. I know the Naturalifts fay, that there never yet has been an Example of this Kind ; and in reality, Pliny, who recounts fo exadtly, and fo fully, fuch a vaft Number of Monftrous Human Figures which have
been
'24 Eunuchifm Diftlafd*
been produced all the World over, makes no mention of fuch as I have mentioned.
However, I can truly fay, I faw one,' and perhaps it has been feen by all Europe -7 for the Parents of this Creature having ob- served, that the Publick would be pleafed with fuch a Angular Piece of Curiofity, and that thereby they might get confiderable Sums of Money by fliowing it about from Place to Place, and from one Country to another, I do not doubt but accordingly they carried it to all the Principal Parts of Europe*
When I faw it, it was at 'Berlin, m the Year 1704. He was one of thofe Cripples whom the French call Un CA de jatte, and we in Engli[h have no Name for, and was carried in a Box upon a Man's Back 3 but with this Difference, that thofe whom the French call by that Name have neither Legs nor Thighs that they can make any ufe of, but draw themfelves along upon their Back- fide in a kind of Wooden Bowl-difh or Platter 5 this that I am now fpeaking of, had no Back-fide at all, that is, no Hips or Buttocks. His Head was well fafhioned, his Face fweet and pleafanr, of a brown Com- plexion, and his Hair Chefnut ,• and though he was then above 20 Years of Age, yet had no manner of Beard, or the leaft Sign he would have any. His Arms and Hands were very well proportioned, his Body
hand-
Eunuchifm Difplafd 25
handfomely enough fhap'd ; he was be- tween 2 and 3 Foot high, he fupported him- felf on a kind of a Block of Wood, or ra- ther the Trunk of a Tree, and walked (if I may be allowed the Expreffion) upon his Hands. He had two PafTages as other Men have, for Nature to difcharge her Excre- ments ; that before was very (mall and fhorr, and below it hung a kind of Cod, or Scrotum, very lank and flabby, in which I could find not fo much as the leaft Sign of a Tefticle. I informed my felf very par- ticularly of his Parents, if he was actually born fo, and they ferioufly affured me he was abfolutely and entirely fo, as Nature had formed him.
Now as I know that we ought not al- ways to judge ill of the Virility of a Man who has no vifible Tefticles, becaufe it fometimes happens, that they remain high- er up in the Body,and do not come down by fome Obftacle or Impediment which hinders their Defcent. Thofe Men neverthelefs that are in this Cafe, ought not therefore prefently to have their Virility called in queftion, for it has been often found, that fuch Perfons who have had thofe Parts thus hidden, have been as perfed as other Men, and have had all the other neceifary Tokens to prove their Manhood.
Ic
j%6 Eunuchifm Difpla/d.
It was for this Reafon that I more cu- rioufly and attentively examined this Per- fon, and finding befides ail the Marks of a real Eunuch $ I had all the Re ifon in the World to conclude he was fo in £ff,&, and that he was properly one of thofe Eunuchs that in the Language of the Holy Scripture have been Emuchs from their Mother's Womb.
This therefore is a plain Proof (abftra<3> £ng from Revelation,) that there have been Eunuchs fo born, whatever the Naturalifts /and particularly Pliny in the 2d Chapter of the 7th Book of theHiftory of the World) fay to the contrary.
C HAP. V.
What are the real Motives that indu- ced People to make Eunuchs.
IF it be really true that Semiramis was the firft that brought into the World the abo- minable Invention of making Eunuchs, we have feen in the beginning of this Treatife, what were the Motives that induced her to rput it in practice ; that it was an effect of Jea- loufy,which made her after having throughly experienced the fecret Services of the hand- fomeft young Fellows of her Army, caufe than to undergo this kind of Mucilation,
left
Eunuchlfm rDifpla/d. 27
left they fliould go and difpenfe the fame Satisfactions to other Ladies of her Court. But not to ftay long on Uncertainties and Conjectures, I fhall inftance the follow- ing Caufes, which are certain and undenia- ble.
Eunuchs were made to look after the Wives and Daughters of great Men, to ob- ferve their Conduct, and to hinder them from doing any thing contrary either to Virginal or Conjugal Chaftity ,• and it is paft contradiction, that Eunuchs were pro- perly defigned for that Employment ,• the very Word imports fo much, for it f\g- nifies a BeLguard^ or Chamber-guard, or in: modern Englijh3 a Chamberlain, and this is the Ufe they put them to in the Eafi at this very Day. But when Men who firft made a lawful ufe of them, abufed them, and made them ferve to Criminal Ends, they began to chufe the moft beautiful Youths they could find from the Age of 14 to the Age of 17 Years. St. Gregory Naz,iariz,en complains bitterly of this Practice in the Life of St. Bafil, and in his :51ft Sermon or Oration ,• but this infamous Cuftom, it feems was much more antient than thofe Days, for Juvenal.'m his 10th Satire, v. 306, 307. declaims alfo againftihis abufe^ in thefe Words.
C z —Nttlbs
28 Eunuchism Difflafd.
• — >— ; N«//#j Ephebum Dcformem Sctvd caftravit in arce Tyrannus,&c]
That is in the Tranflation of our Coun- tryman the Incomparable Dry den $
We never read of fuch a Tyrant King
Who gelt a Boy deform *d
Nor Nero in bis more luxurious Age, E'er made a Miflrefi of an ugly Page.
Sporus his Spoufe nor Crooked was nor Lame,
&c
It is true, Eunuchs have been likewife made, that they may be offered up in Sa- crifice to the Gods. Againft thL horrible Cuftom, St. Auguftin, who condemned and refuted the ridiculous Pra&ices, and infa- mous Cruelties of the Heathen Religion, exclaims in his moil excellent Book de Civttate Dei, (of the City of God J in the 6th Book and ioth Chapter.
Some of the Heathen Priefts were ob- liged to be Eunuchs, that they might (Tay they) live with greater Chaftity and Pu- rity. It is certain, this was pra&is'd amongft the Athenians, and the Priefts ot Diana of £- f befits were likewife oblig'd to be*caftrated.
* Crinittts de hottft* difciplipa, Lib, p. S. Femnald.
Chri-
Eunuchlfm DiffJafd. 29
Chriftianity has had alfo her Eunuchs, though much againft her Inclination, for the Chriftian Church abhors and detefts that abominable Practice. However, it is certain, that Vakfius, a Native of Arabia be* gan a Se&, and he was fo far from belie- ving that Mutilation was an Obftacle or Impediment to the Pricfthood, according: to the Canons of the Council of Nice, that on the contrary, he maintained it abfoluce- ly neceffary, and that a Man ought not to exercife that Charge without it. And his' Followers not only pradHfed on themfelves the cruel Example of Origen, but they re- duced into that miferable and unhappy Condition all thofe that fell into their Hands ; thh is the 58th Herefy refuted by St. Efipbamus.
A 2d Motive that induced People to make Eunuchs was, that they might have fine Voices, and which would be much longer preferved by Caftration. Macrobius gives very good Reafons why Eunuchs have fine Voices, in the p<l Chapter of his Saturna- lia. And this is the Chief End the Italians at this day propofe to themfelves in cutting young People.
But without entering into thofe Reafons of Macrcbii4ss which are very long and te- dious, I fhall only fay, that I know it to be fa&, that there can be no finer Voices in the World, and more delicate, than of C 5 fome
3o Eumcbifm rDiftlay'id.
fome Eunuchs, fuch as Tafqualini, Pauluccloy and Jerommo, (or Momo,) and were efteem- sd fo when I was in Rome, which was in the Years 1709 and 1706, and I believe are all living at chis very Day.
It is impoffible to give any tolerable Idea of the Excellencies of thefe Three Celebra- ted Eunuchs, or the Beauty of their feverai Voices : In fhort, they are above Defcripti- on, and no one can poflibly entertain any Notion of them but thofe who have had th Pleafure to hear them, for though they were all Excellent in their kind, yet neither of them had the leaft Semblance with each other. Pafqualini had a Voice much of the fame Tone as Niccolini, who was late- ly in England, but then he was infinitely a greater Mailer, for he was allowed in Rome, even by his Enemies ("for Excellency ft ill meets with thole,) to be the greateft Mafter of Vocd Mufick in the World, and tnis can be no Difparagement to Niccolini, whofo chief Excellency confifted in fine A&ion, and it may be, is the belt Eunuch A&or in the World, and 'twas for that he was made Cavallero di San Niorco, or Knight of St; Mark by the Venetians.
But if Vafcjualini was allowed to be the greater Mafter, Pauluccio was allowed to have the fineft Voice. This Eunuch who was then about 19 Years of Age (and now about 30) was indeed the Wonder of the
World.
Eunuchifm Ttifylafd. f%
Worl3. Forbefides, that his Voice was an 0#ave, at leaft (and I fpeak within Com- pafsj higher than any ones elfe, it had all the Warblings and Turns of a Nightinga!,but with only this difference, that it was much finer, and did not a Man know the con- trary, he would believe it impcffible fuch a Tone could proceed from the Throat of &ny Thing that was humnn.r Jeronimo>(pz Momo^) had a Voice fo foft, and ravilhing- ly mellow, that nothing can better repre- fent it than the Flute-ftbps of fome Organs. In fhorr, they are all three fo excellent in their kind, that a Man does not know which he likes beft ; for after the Mafterly Per- formances of VafquaUni^ which ftrike you with Admiration and Wonder, you are ra- viflied with the higft Warblings Qt¥auUcc\o% and when you think you are almoil fatia- ted with thofe Luxuriancies of Sound, you are rnoft agreeably charmed a new with the foft Strains of Jcronimo ( which I have fometimes almoft imagined have been no* unlike the gentle Fallings of Water I ha\re fomewhere in Italy often heard) lulling the Mind into a perfeft Calm and Peace. So that of thefe famous Singers, one may fay as L^ffeces very truly did, of 200 of the Princi- pal Churches of Rome, that the laft which ever it happened to be, was always the fined.
G-4 : I
5 2 Eunuchifm Difplafd.
I fliall now Chew you by one Inftance, what a prodigious Mafter of Vocal Mufick Pafqualini is, or at leaft then was.
It muft beobferved, that this Gentleman (for he is of a very good Family ) is not on- ly a great Mafter for Singing, but is alfo a perfe£ Mafter on the Harpfichord, and siot only a good Performer on both, but an excellent Compofer of both, though he feldom does Compofe; but he has fome- thing very lingular in his Temper in rela- tion to his Singing, which is this ,• that whereas other Eunuchs have always their Parts fent to them over Night, or in the Morning, at teaft fome time before the Per- formance, fufficient to perufe what they are to go about : Pafqualinl, on the contra- ry,* never has, and takes it as an Affront to have it offered him, and never looks on the Book, till the Mafter of the Choir, or Ma- nager of the Concert (hows him where he is to fing, and this muft not be dene too long before the time neither.
This peculiar Temper of his is not very pleafmg to the other M ifters of Rome, which they think a piece of infupportable Pride and Vanity ; they therefore were refolved, if poffible, to break him of it, and thought no Method fo proper as (naming him out of it in one of themoft publick AiTemblies in Rome, and 'twas not long after a very favou- rable Opportunity offered it felf, which was this. Ic
Eunuchifm €D\ftlayr& % 3
It is fit feems) a Cuftom in the Kowzft Seminary, (which is a mixt Sort of Society r for thofe who are not immediately defign- ed for the Church, may learn to dance, fence, ride, vault, fing, and play or* any Inftrument of Mufick ; in (hort, any Exercife fit for a Gentleman, I fay it is a Cuftom in this Houfe) once or oftner in the Year, for the Students to prefent their Relations and Friends with Poems, Orati* ons, and Dialogues, in Latin and Italian* and there is never wanting a Concert of moft excellent Mufick, Vocal andlnftrumen- tal, by the beft Matters $ and the Cardinals and Princes frequently come to this Enter- tainment to encourage the Students. Now was the time for Fafaualinfs Antagonifts to put their Defign in execution, the Prin- cipal of whom were the famous Arch* angelo Corelii, and Scarlatti ; the former the greateSr Matter in the World on the Violin, and the latter on the Harpfichord. They accord- ingly between them composed the moft crabbed, odd, and diiagreeable Piece of Mu- fick as was poffibie for the Art of Man* The Symphony had an Air fuitable to it, and both compofed after the ftrangeft man- ner in the World, nothing but Octaves, and hopping from one extream Note to ano- ther, full of Flats and Difcord as could be vv ifhed ; that when it came to be perform'd^ it was wonderfully (hocking, nocwithftand- C J ingi
34 Eumcbifm Diftla/d.
ing its wonderful Contrivance. I was then in Company with Mr. Gilbert Talbot, and we were both well feated, by the Care of Mr. Pickering, who plays fo finely on the Arch-lute, and from whom we then learnt this Defign. I perceived almoft every Body knew it, and ic was fcarce a Secret to any Body but Vafaualini) who was to fing firft,' Never was fo great a Silence in fo great an Audience as there was when the Sym- phony began. And never was any one in fo much Confufion as Pafqualini, who red- dened and grew pale % or 4 times fucceffive- ly, for then he began to find the Defign ; but when all the Audience thought he muft have failed, he performed that difagreea- ble Part with all the exa&nefs and promp- titude in the World, infomuch that the Compofers themfelves owned their Afto- nilhment and Wonder ,• and the Audience, if they were not delighted with the Mu- fick, were certainly very well pleafed that he acquitted himfelf with fo much Honour. I muft own I cannot but think this to be a Piece of Vanity in Pafqual'wi to truft fo much to his Knowledge, but if it dif- covers his Vanity, it (hows at the fame time the great Perfe&ion of his Science, and I believe no one in the World can do this but himfelf.
Pauluccio fleers another Courfe, and is always complaifant to the Matters, indeed
he
Eunuchism "DifpJafdi 3 $
he is but young in Companion of the other, and he is in the right to keep himfeif in then: good Graces. But now I am got in, I can- not omit relating fomething of this Eu- nuch, who was well loved by the Mifters, efpecially Corelli.
'm It was within the O&ave of the Affump- tion of the Virgin Mary, (for now I am at Rome I muft fpeak in the Roman Style) % Holy-day, kept by the Church of Rome with great Devotion,when Cardinal Oitoboni gave an Entertainment of Mufick to the Peo- ple of Rome for ; Nights together in his own Palace of the Cancellaria or Chancery, any Body might come in that was genteel- ly dreft. This Palace which is much larger than the Royal- Exchange , is not much unlike it when you are in the Court ; but with this difference, that (i? I remember welU the Galleries up two pair of Stairs, as well as thofe up one, are all open with Arches and Pillars as they are below on the Ground. Oppofite to the great Door coming in, was a magnificent Theatre, ere&ed and painted for the Performers \ between the Pillars that fupported the Arches, hung Pieces of Crimfon Silk in Waves ; and in the Mid- dle of each Arch a Branch Candleftickj, fome of Silver, and others of cut Cryfta!, with white Wax-Candles. The Ladies and Gentlemen of the Higheft Quality, were fome above in the Cardinals Apartment, and
others
3 6 Eunuchijm T)i]f>lafd.
others fitting in their open Chaifes or Ca- leflies in the Court, fome of which were lhaped like large Efcallop Shells, others like Dolphins, &c. but all richly gilt and painted \ in fliort, every one might come that appeared clean, and every one was ferved between the Performances (which were three) with cool Waters, made with rich Fruits and Wines, and variety of Sweet- meats ; and at the fame time flew from the Leads as thick as Hail, Printed in Quarters of Sheets of fine Paper, the Words of the next Performance, and each dedicated to the People of Rome in thefe Words, Al In- tlito Topolo Romano. To (how that this En- tertainment was defigned for no one in particular, but to the whole People of Rome. This (hows ( fays a Roman that flood by me) there is yet remaining in this great Man fomething of the publick Spirit of the old Romans, and could not forbear frequent- ly to regale me with Vedete Signor ni quefio Trend fe la Gallant aria di Roma, You fee Sir in this Prince the Gallantry (or Magnifi- cence,) of Rome, indeed that Cardinal in his Entertainments is mod Princely, and I was credibly informed, that this which held 3 Nights fucceffively, coft him above 3000 Roman Scudi, or Crowns, which is about 900 Pounds Sterling, a great Sum where Things are fo reafonable as in Rome*
It
Eunuchlfm TilffJafd. fj
It was at this Entertainment Vaulncclo fung a Solo, and Corelli plaid to him on his Violin, and furely nothing in the World ever was fo fine ; but what was very remarkable, in the middle of a long Divifion which Pauluccio was running with admirable Di- ftin&ion, yet with fo much Vivacity and Swiftnefs, that Corelli threw down his Bow, and cry'd out, it was impoflible to follow him. It may eafily be imagined, that this was followed with a vaft Applaufe, and though the Eunuch continued his Song, yet was he almoft drownM with theEccho of fo manyKjWs. Some will have this to have been a FineJJe of Corelli 's, but whether it was fo, in order to (how his Favourite Eunuch to the beft Advantage, or whether he really was fo much pleafed with the Excellency of the Performance, that in a kind of Ex- tafie he was forced to defift playing, is what no one could tell but himfeif: However, be that as it will, it gave the Eunuch no lit- tle Reputation.
I know fome willfcarce believe any thing can furpafs Niccol'mi who fung on our Stage, it is impoflible to convince fuch Pesfons, but thofe who have been at Rome know the contrary. It is certainly, but a bad Argu- ment to fay, becaufe I never heard any better, therefore there are no better ; nor muft it be imagined the Romans will part with their beft People, Thefe I have now
dif-
3 8 Eunuchifm T)ifpJafd.
difcourfed of, have all Obligations to flay in Rome. I can fay nothing indeed as to Fafqualini, who has a very plentiful Eftate of his own, but for the other two they have Penfions from Cardinal Ottoboni, and be- sides are every Day employed in Tinging at one Church or other (which muft not be wondered at, there being 400 Churches in Rome, befides private Chapels) and for eve- ry Service receive a Piftole, or % Roman Crowns, which in the Years end, together with the Pope's Salary for his Chapel, and Prefents, make no inconfiderable Sum in Rome, where one Crown will go as far as % in England. And Jironlmo had a Penfion from the Queen of Poland, Dowager to King Jcbv Sobie ski- As to Niccolini, his Cafe is quite other- wife ; for as I obferved before, his Excellen- cy confifts principally in A£Hon, and grace- fully treading the Stage, and his Intereft or his roving Humour, or both, make him that he can never flay long in a Place, which has made his Countrymen give him the Title of 7/ Cavallero Errante, the Knight Errant.
By what has been faid it is plain, that Caftration does not only meliorate, but pre- ferve the Voice, and it has been frequently known, that Eunuchs have had their Voices perfe&ly well at jo or 60 Years of Age. But if Caftration does better a good one,
yec
Eunuchifm Difflafd. 3 Q
yet it never can give a Voice where there was none before, or make a bad one good, though indeed it may make it to be lefs bad. I have been told, that when they ufed to cue Children in their moft tender Infancy, there were 200 Eunuchs made, which pro- ved to be good for nothing ,* for when they grew up,it fo happened,that not one of them had a tolerable Voice, and thus the Parents were fruftrated of their Expedation (for they are generally the Perfons who exe- cute this Cruelty on their Children, in hopes they may one Day be a Help to them, and raife the reft of theFamilyj and fo many poor Children made doubly miferable, firft mang- led and maimed in their Body, and Second- ly rendered incapable of getting a tolera- ble livelihood, their Voice being good for nothing 5 and it is certain, nothing in Italy is fo contemptible as a Eunuch that cannot fing.
But fince that Misfortune wherein fo ma- ny mifcarried, they now are grown (as they think much wifer, they therefore will cut none now till they know they have a Voice 1 and this was the Cafe of VauUccio, who was caftrared by his Uncle at 10 Years of Age. His Parents were very poor, and he lived with his Uncle, a very famous Eu- nuch in his time, who finding then his own Voice begin to decay, and his Nephews ve- ry promifingp and that he took extream de- light
40 Eunuchifm Difftafd.
light in Mufick, and believing that one Day he might be a Support to the Family if he was like himfelf, for then he might getconfiderable Sums of Money which muft flow into that Channel, fince he could have no Children of his own to divert the Cur- rent, performed that execrable Operation on the poor Youth -7 after he had thrown him into a dead deep by Opium, who when he came to himfelf, with Floods of Tears for many Months together, bewailed the Lofs of what was impoffible for him to recover. So fatal is it in Italy to be the Son of a poor Man, and have a fine Voice, and I have often heard him bemoan his Misfortunes in the moft moving manner. The Romans are very civil to him, indeed he deferves it, being the beft natured Crea- ture in the World. I told him one Day (for he loved to be taken notice of by the En* gli(h) that I thought him mighty happy, being fo much refpe&ed by the greateft Quality, and living in the greateft Afflu- ence and Plenty, the World ac his Com- mand, and had the Favour of Princes. He replied, with a deep figh, and the Tears flood in his Eyes, Sl9 Signor ma fi mane a qual-
che Cofa, Yes, Sir, fays he, but there
*— ~ is fomething wanting.
But Pafqualini, as 1 faid before, was obli- ged on the account of a Diftemper, other- wife incurable, to undergo that Operation,
but
Eunuchifm Diftla/d. 41
but as he is a Perfon of Quality, and a Ma- tter of a good Eftate, he has all the Refped fhown him fuitable to his Rank; and he has this Satisfaction, that it was only to fave his Life, and not by Compulfion.
But to return to our Subjed ; If to make and preferve a fine Voice has been one Mo- tive of making Eunuchs, Avarice has been another, for that Vice has pufhed fome People on to make Eunuchs on purpofe to Trade and make Money of them. Some Travellers have reported, that in the King- dom of Boulan only, there have been made every Year at leaft 20000 Eunuchs, which are fent away to be fold to feveral Places in other Countries. The Hiftory of Panwne, of the Ifland of Chio, which I (hall relate in its proper Place, will plainly (how, that this Sort of Commerce is no new thing.
Others have been forced into Eunttchifm, as a Punifhment for fome Crime ; for if we may believe * Luitf,r*nJus7 Meibcmius^ and others, we (hall find that it was a common Practice to punilh Malefadors, either for Defertion oi Mutiny in the Army, or any notorious Crime, with this fort of Punifh-
* Luttprand Tionienjit^ Lib. 4. de rehus per Europam geftis, Cap. 4. Meibom. Rer. Germ. Tom. I. c. 47. ^.247. Camerar.Medit.Ji4/t0r. Tom. 1. Lib. 5. cap. 19.
ment,
42 Eunuchifm Uifpla/d.
merit, which they looked upon as a Note or Mark of the higheft Shame and Infa- my.
But belides, there have been likewife o- ther Motives, as Raillery, Refentment, and Infult ,• to prove which, may be inftanced a Hiftory, wherein is recounted a very par- ticular Cafe, which becaufe it may not be unpleafant, I fhall now relate it.
That Hiftory tells us, that in the Reign cf Henry the ift of France, " In the Wars " between the Greeks and the Duke oi Bene- tf: vento, the Greeks treated the Duke very " ill. Theobald or Ttbbald, Marquifs of %- ■" leto, his Ailie, came to his Affiitance, and <c took feveral Greeks Prifoners, whom he <c commanded to be caftrated, and then $ fent back in that Condition to the si Greek General, and faid, they fhould tell " him that he did it to oblige the Emperor, <c who he knew had a very particular love iC for Eunuchs, and that he would try very " fpeedily if he could not make him a Pre- " fent of a greater Number* The Mar- " quifs refolved to keep his Word, and ha- " ving taken feveral other Prifoners, was one " day going to execute that fatal Refolution, " when there came a Woman, whofe Hus- cc band was one of them, running through " the Camp, and crying molt pitifully, " begg'd (he might fpeak to Theobald. The [c Marquifs having asked the Reafon of her
" Sor-
Eunuchtfm Hilplafd. 4*
" Sorrow, My Lord, fays fhe, 1 am aftonijh-
€ ed to think fuch a Hero as yon are, jhould
amufe your [elf in making War with poor
Women, now the Men are not in a Conditi-
" on to refift you. Theobald replied, that
" fince the Time of the Amazons, no one,
as he ever heard, made War with Wo-
w men ; My Lord, fays the Greek, can you
<c wage a more cruel War againft us, than to
1 deprive our Husbands of that which gives us
" Health, Tleafure, and Children ; when you
do thisy you make us, not them, Eunuchs ;
, you have for fever al Days p^ft, taken away from u us our Baggage and Catrel, and I never made <c any Complaint, but (and then (lie looked ve- " ry wiftly at the Marquifs, fays the Hifto- ? ryj the Lofs ofthofe Goods you have taken
c away from a great many Women of my Acquain- u tance being irreparable , 1 could not help coming li to implore the Com p 2 jfpn of a Conqueror. This " honeft Speech of rhe poor Woman fo well <c pleafed the whole Army, that they not " only gave her back her Husband, but ec every thing elfs rhat had been taken from " her. But as (he was going away, the " Marquifs asked her what fhe would con- " fent mould be done to her Husband in cafe <c he was found again in Arms. He has Eyes, cc (fays fhe very haftilyj a Nofe, Hands and cc Feet, thefe are his Goods, and you may take *c them away from him if he deferves it, but if cc you pleafe let that alone which belongs to me.
But
44 Eunuchifm Difplafd.
But the Woman in the Mercator of Tlau- f«/feems to have been of another Opinion, for (he looked upon thofe Goods that be- longed to her to be of fo little Significant cy and Value, that it feems her Husband was afraid (he would deprive him of them her felf.
* Jjguafi Ulyricum mctuo ne Uxor me cafiret mea<
Eunuchifm was likewife a Punifhment for Adultery, of which I could give a great many Inftances, but (hall content my felf with Three only, and which are very par- ticular.
i. The firft is taken from t Valerius Max- imus9 who tells us, that Vibienus, and Publius Cerniusy having one furprized Carbo Accienusy and the other Pontius in Adultery, foon put them in a Condition of never doing the like Injury for the future.
2. The Second b m Martial || of one Hylasi who had an Affafr with a Tribunes Wife, of whom that Poet has made the following Verfes.
* A&. i. Seme 2. t Lib* 6. Cap. I. Art. 13.
II Lib. 2. Epigram, 60.
Ux»
Eunuchifm Ttifflafd. 45
Uxorem armati futuis, puer, Hyle> Tribuni Supplicium tantum dum puerile times.
V# tibi dum ludts, cafirabtre. Jam mihi dices Non licet hoc. Quid, Tu quod facts H)le licet ?
3. The Third and Principal is the Exam- ple of Abelard *. This amorous Do&or, having abufed Heloife, whofe Mafter or Pre- ceptor he was, her Relations caufed thofe Parts which had diflionoured their Family to be cut off,- they went to the Root of the Evil, and in fuch a manner, that ren- dered him ever incapable of a Relapfe.
Servants that had ftoln from their Ma- tters were alfo made Eunuchs. This was a PuniOiment infli&ed on fuch Offenders by the Salick Law, provided the Thing ftolen was worth 40 Pence. Servi qui quippiam valens quadraginta denarios furati tjjent caftra- ri jubebantur in penam. But Servants now- adays would think it very hard to be difmembred for 10 Groats, an Attorney's Fee.
Sometimes Neceffity obliged People to undergo this Operation, as in Cafe of fome Diftemper, otherwife incurable, as I ob- ferved before, in the Cafe of Paftualini ;
* Monfieur BaylsS Qiftionary, AtU Jbelard Heloife Sonique s} &c»
and
46 Eunuchifm 'Difpla/j.
and they who are the unhappy Subjects of this Affliction ought not to be looked up- on with an evil Eye, but rather fhould merit our Companion and Confolation.
Others have been made Eunuchs by way of Reprizal, or Retaliation, of which He- odotus * gives us a very curious Example, Hermotimusy fays he, a Native of Pedafusy the moft confiderabfle amongft the Eu- nuchs of Xerxes, of all Men revenged himfelf the beft of that Injury, and which was after this manner. He had been ta- ken Prifoner, and foon after was fold to Fanioney of the Ifle of ChiOy who traded in Eunuchs, and caftrated all the beau- tiful Boys he could purchafe, to fell them afterwards at a good Price in Ephefus and Sardisy becaufe in thofe Parts Eunuchs were much efteemed on account of their Honefty and Fidelity, and the Confidence that might be repofed in them in all Ca- fes of Moment whatfoever .* Now as this Panione, who had bought Htrmotimusy as I faid before, made a livelihood of this execrable and infamous Practice, he made him undergo the fame Fate with a great many others. But Hermotimus was not unhappy in all Refpe&s, for being fent to the King of Sardis, with other Pre-
*ftero<titKS}Lib.2,
6 fents,
Eunuchlfm DiftUfd. 47
fents, he fo well behaved himfelf in that Court, that in time he grew much more in the good Graces of that Prince than any of the other Eunuchs. When the King with his Troops left Sard*, and was muching to Athens $ Hermotimus was fent about fome Affair of Confequence to Atarne, a Place in Mjfia, where he found Panlone, whom he presently knew, and addrelfed himfelf to him with all the Complaifance in the World, with the higbeft Expreffions of Civility and Te- ftimonies of Friendfhip. He told him fuft, that 'twas to him he owed all his Advancement and Profperity in the World ; and then promifed to (hew him all the Marks of his Efteem he had for him, and that he would in a very lin- gular manner (hew his Acknowledgment and Gratitude for all the Benefits he had received from him, if he would only bring his Family with him, and live in an A* partment of his Houfe. Panione permit* ted himfelf eafily to be perfwaded by this Difcourfe, and very readily brought his Wife and Children along with him to accept of the Favours of Hermotimus ; but (carce had they entered the Houfe when Hermotimus fpoke to him in thefe unexpe&ed Words. O thou mofi wicked of of all Mankind! Thou haft hitherto gained a Livelihood by a Commerce the mofi dete/ra-
' bh
'48 Eunuchifm Difplay'd.
ble In the World, What Injury haft thou tvef received from me, or my Parents, thou, or any of thy Family , that thou haft brought to this 'wretched, miferable Condition, in which from being a Man as I was, I am now become neither Man nor Woman ? Doft thou think the Gods could not fee thy Aclions ? As they are full of "juftice and Equity, thou infamous Artifan of Mifery and Wretchednefs, fo have they this Day put it into my Tower to pro- portion thy Punijhment to thy Crimes* After he had thus reproached the now moft un- happy Panione, he commanded his 4 Sons (he brought with him) to Hand before him3 and made him geld his own Chil- dren, and when that was done, forc'd the Children to do the fame ungrateful Of- fice to their Father. Such was the Ven- geance of Hermotimus, and fuch the Pu- nilhment of Panione.
Some People believe Hermotimus carried this Matter too far, according to the Rules of Juftice, and that it had been fufficient only to have let the Father fuffer.
The Revenge of Narfes was much more important, fuppofing it to be true ; for Baronius and other Authors very much doubt of ir. Narfes having conquered the Barbarians and Goths, prefented himfelf be- fore the Emperor Juftinian; the Emprefs Sophia, in raillery told this General, (he would have him go into the Women's Apart-
ment
KEmuchifm *Difflafd 4 j
ment to affift them in their Spinning (for he was an Eunuch) This unfeafonable Piece of Wit, raifed the Anger and Indignation of Narfes to that degree, that it extorted from him thefe Words, -fUfpin fuch a Thready fays he, that your Husband jhall never be able, to unt-wifi it. And accordingly fome time after, he was the Occafion that the Lombards effectually withdrew themfelves from the Jurifdi&ion of the Empire.
I muft confefs, bating the Circumftance of caftrating the Sons, who could not help their Father's ill Actions, there is nothing appears more Juft to me, than the Refent- ment of Hermotimus ; and the Punifhmenc of Panione (who not only caftrated him, but a Million of others to fatisfy his Ava* rice) could not certainty be too great. It was founded on die Law of Reprizals oc Retaliation 5 for the Lex Yalionis was then eftablifhed, a Law of the greateft Equity; and in the Law of the 12 Tables are thefe exprefs Words, * Pena autem injuriarum ex lege duodecim Tabular urn propter fnembrum qui* dem ruptum Talio erlt.
The Emperor Juftinlany fince that, has pofitively decreed3 that the Law of Reta- liation ihould be in force againft thofe thac ihould execute this kind of Martyrdom on
f Igftiti Lib, 4* tit, 4. de Injuriis, §,7.
D any
r 50 ! Emmchifm Difplafd.
any one whatfoever. -<* Saucimus igitur, fays lie, «f ^tfi iw quocunq, Reipublicae mftr* loco^ quamcunq\ perfonam caftrare prefwnunt aut etiam prefuwpferint, fi quidem viri fint qui hoc fa- cere prefumpferint, aut etiam pnfumunt idem hoc quod aliis fecerunt & ipfl patiantur. And this Law is. conformable to right Reafon, (abftra&ing from the Law of Mofes where it is exprefly mentioned ) and even the Hea- thens were of that Opinion, for as f Ovid 1 fays,
_ J§#* primus pueris genitalia membra recidit Vulnera que fecit debuit ipfe pat'u
However, as the Chriftian Religion does by no means approve of Eunuchifm, this Lex Talionis, or Law of Reprizal was abro- gated as to that refpecft by the Emperor Leo, for very grave and Chriftian Reafons, as may be feen in his Conftitution. ||
In fliort, there have been Eunuchs who have made themfelves fo, or have been for- ced to be made fo for feveral Reafons, as may be feen in the following Chapter.
* Novel 42. Cap, 1, f Amor Jib. 2, Eleg. 3. 0, 3. & .4. ^Novthfa
C ttA*.
yEunuchifm Diftlafd. ^
i
CHAP. VI.
Why fome Men have made themfelves Eunuchs^ or have been forced to be made [o by others.
THERE have been fome Men who have made themfelves Eunuchs through a Spirit of Devotion, believing that by fo doing, they might render themfelves more acceptable to God, and be more capable of working out their Salvation. But as Or£- gen was the Chief, the Father, (if I may fo fay,) and the Patriarch of thefe Sort of Eunuchs, it will not be improper, in a few Words, to examine what was the real Mo- tive that induced him to a& and think aftec fo lingular a manner.
I know very well * Jufiin Martyr makes mention of a young Man of Alexandria, that lived before Origen, who to convince thofe who accufed the Chriftians of committing the mod horrible Impurities in their Al- femblies, that fuch Accufations were only malicious Calumnies , prefented a Petition to Felix, Governour of that City, that he would affign him a Surgeon who might
iius.
Apl 2./4T. 7i, Dedicated to tfc Em£eror Antoni-
D * forth-
g? i -EmmchifmrDijpIafd.
forthwith pat him out of the Condition of committing what the Chriftians were accu- fed of *, bat as Felix refufed his Requeft, as being contrary to the Roman Laws, which forbid Caitration, as the Ecclsiiaftical Ca- nons have fince alio done, we may well reckon Origen to be thefirft ill Order; for if .he wasiiot the firft which had fuch a De-» fign, he was the Bffl at -c it that put it In Execution.
Origen was born in Ahxa^-kJu in che Year of our Lord 185, his Fathers Nacne was Leonidas, who e&ufejfhihi to ftudy Div-in;ry, in the Knowledge of which, ha m*ide Lim- felf -very Learned. Or this Truth we can- not bring a better Proof than the Teftimoqy of St. Jerom, for at the fame time that he wrotefeverely enough againfl: him, he ac- knowledged that he was a great Man from his. Infancy % Magnus Vlr ab Infant id. He was fo zealous in the Profeffion of the Chriftian Religion, that in the Perfecution which be- gan in Alexandres, under the Reign of the Emperor Severus, in the Year of Chrift 202, he had a great Defire to fuffer Martyrdom, though he was then only 16 or 17 Years of Age; and accordingly had thrown himfelf in- to the Hands of the Perfecutors, had not his Mother hindered him partly by good Words,
* Epifi. $j6*ad Yat?jma;hwm de JLmnhys QngmU.
2nd
and partly by Force. Being thus debarred* from differing himfelf, he exhorted his Fa- ther by Letters, to lay his Life down for Godf with a trus Chriftian Magnanimity and Courage, and who accordingly had his Head cut off, and his Goods confifca- ted ; fo that Origen his Son was reduced to5 the utmoft Poverty.
A rich Lady of Alexandria taking Pi^y upon him, received him into her Family 1 there lived with her a famous Heretick of Ar.tioch, whom (he had adopted for her Son, who ufed to hold many Conferences in the' Family, at which both Hereticks, and the* Orthodox affiled without any difference*- Origan frequently converfed with him, but never would have any Communication- with him in Prayer, obferving very religi- oufly the Rules of the Church, and had the utmoft Horror for all falfe Dc&rine and- H-
n'v defired to live without ha- dance on others, and ac- co himfelf to teach Gram-
mar; i rafter the School of Alex-
andria was gi sn him, being vacant on the Death of the ProfeiTor, bat that not afford- ing him fufficioni wherewithal to live* he fold all his Books treated of Pro*
phane Sciences, and contented hitttfejf to live on 4 Oboli or Hair p$j c Re
then began to lead a very uuilere, lahori.
54 Eumchifm 'Dlfj>?ajM-
ous, and rigorous Life; and as his Employ- ment obliged him to be often with Wo* men, whom he taught as well as Men, to take from the Heathens all pretence of Sufpicion of any ill Conduct in refped of his Youth,- He refolved literally to arrive at that State of Perfection he perfua'ded him- felf that Jefus Chrift had propofed in thefg Words of the Ciofpel :, There he Eunuchs which have wade themfehes Eunuchs for the. 'Klngfhm of Heaven,
He endeavoured to keep this Action pri- vate, even from his mod intimate Friends,, but it was not long before it was fpread abroad. Demetrius, Bifhop of Alexandria^, was informed of it, who praifed his great Zeal, and the Ardour of his Faith, but he. food changed his Tone ; for the Reputa- tion of Origin being fpread through all Pla- ces where ever he went, Demetrius wrote again ft him, and reproached him for that Accion he had before fo much praifed and extolled. His Paffion carried him on fo hr, that he f,o: him baniftied from Alex- andria^ depofed in a Council of Bifhops at Egypt, and even excommunicated, and wrote circular Letters to have him ex- cluded the Communion of all the Churches in the World. This Narrative which I have extracted from a very * Authentick Writer, .
* Vu Pin nou-uelh Bihliothe^ue des Auteurs- Ecdejiflfti- ques Tor-u I., p.. 121..
Eunuchifm UiffJafd, 5 5
approved of by the Publick, and agreeable to Eufeb'ws, fufficiendy deftroys and re- futes what St.Rcmnald fays upon this Sub- ject.
* The Account that he gives of it, in fliort, is this. In the Year 232 (fays hej there was a Popular Sedrion in Alexandria raifed againft Origen, which obliged him to retire elfewhere, leaving his Difciple He- racles to take care of the Schools of trie Guy in his Abfence. It is not cerrainwhat was the Caufe of this Sedition, fome attribute it to' his Publi firing his Teriarchon, or his Princi- ples, which indeed (fays he) is a true La- byrinth of Errors \ others again imagine, that it was on account of his often per- fuading his Scholars to imitate him, and make themfelves Eunuchs, either by Section or Hemlock, thereby entirely to enervate that Rebellious Part of the Body, fo as ne- ver more to be troubled with the brutal Movements of the Fle(h. And this Author declares himfelf to be of this latter Opini- on, becaufe, fays he, much about that cime that Error of his grew into a Herefie through the falfe Zeal of Valejius the Ann* biav, whom I have before fpoken of, and who was the Ring- leader and Propagator of
* S. Romnald. Tom. 2. p\lSy. da Trefor. El for. & ChrcnoU in FoL-
V 4 that
$6 Eunuchifm Difplafd.
that SecV But it is. certain, that in the firft Place, Orlgen never did Violence to any Man, he kept this Action of his fecret, and whzn it was divulged, it was againft his Intention. idly. He himfelf condemned it afterwards, and this is a Fad which the fame Author from whom I took the Abridgment of his Hiftory expredy obferves ; Euftbim bis great Protector fpeaks after fuch a man- ner as plainly difcovered he was aihamed of it. He alfo was afhamed to have (pent fo much time in prophane Sciences, and he f;xeufes himfelf in the Second Book of his Apology or Defence. The very Words which Orlgen made ufe of to condemn this Action, are in the i?th Sermon upon the 19th Chapter of St. Matthew, and in hit Treatife againft Ccifus, in the Seventh Book. To be more fully convinced of this, we have nothing elfe to do, but to read what he. fays in his Seventh ±reatife upon the 39th Chapter of St. Matthew, and we (hall foon perceive that he changed his Opinion. Thefe are his Words > Nos autem fi Spirituals fumus Verba Spirit us fpiritualitcr accipiamusr & de tribus ijHs Eunucbi&aticnibus adificati- cn.em intrcdtecentes rnorakm. Eunuchi nuncmo- raliter abllinentes a veneriis funt appellandi ; Eorum autem qui fe continent differentia tres font. ' Thofe, fays he, who are Eunuchs ' from their Mother's Womb, are thofe who *■ are fo by- a certain Temperament of Hu-
' mours,
Emuchifm ^ifplayrd: ff-
mours, that are frigid and impotent, Thofe who are made fo by Men, are they- who become fo by reafon, as were thofe Philofophers, who making Profeffion of Worldly Wifdom, abftain from the Com- merce of- Women through human Max- ims and Motives, or a falfe Shame, or hu- man Laws. La/My,, fays he, there are thofe who make themfelves Eunuchs for' the Kingdom of Heaven \ and there are: fuchas arechaftby Virtue and Piet}r, the better to be difpofed to the Service of God^ and with Intention to render themfelves- ' more pleafing to him.
* Socrates the Hiftorian, fays ofOrigen]. whom he calls Doctor valde Sapiens, was at* laft convinced, that the Precept? of the Mo~ faick Law ought not to be underftood alto- gether Literally, but ought to have a more, fublirae Explication, And he adds, that he interpreted the Precept of the Pafchal to a higher and more Divine Senfe, Precentiw? de Pafchale ad altlorem diviniorernq; fsnfam t?a*^ duxity which plainly demonftrates more than any thing that Origcn had awakened from: his former Error of believing, that what was contained in the Old and New Tefta* ment rauft be underftood according to the Letter.
Lib, 5. C^.ai,
D 5
$-8 Eu^ucbijmT)if^IayTd.
VaUfius, whom I have often mentioned' in this Work, came after him, and as the Scholars always go .farther than their Ma- tters, (fuppofing that Valefius, who only imitated Origen, but was never by. him taught or recommended to pra&ife that cru- el Doctrine may (or ought to) be called his Scholar,) fo VaUfm improved very much upon this Fa£t of Origen ; for hiOrigen cbn- fidered the Words of Jefus Chrift only as of Council, not of Precept, and that he pra&ifed it not as a Duty abfolutely in- cumbent, but only ad melius ejfe, in the Language of the Schools, through an ear- Belt Defire to arrive at Ferfe&ion, and to take from his Enemies all pretence of judg- ing ill of his Gonverfation with his Female Scholars ,• Valefius on the contrary, changed this voluntary Adion into a neceffary one, and forced all thofe who fell into his Hands to make themfelves Eunuchs 5 and if they re- fufed, he forcibly had them bound toaBench^ and with his own Hands performed that cruel Office, telling them at the fame time? that they muft fulfil to the Letter what our Saviour faid, That there have been Eunuchs who have made themfelves Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven, which with Submiflion to Valefius, was a little improper, and not agreeable to the Letter of the Scripture K either, for the Words are, who have made tbtmftfocs Eunuchs 1 but thofe who have been
forced
EunuchifmT>i}Ylafll ' 59
forced to be made fo by others, are not thofe who have made themfdves Eunuchs.
This Sec5t which was called the Se& of the Pahfiam or Eunuchs, was not very long, jived. Firft it was abfolutely condemned" by the firft. General Council of Nice, on occafion of Leontim, a Pried, who was an Eunuch; Secondly, Becaufe thofe who had undergone the Operation, fuffered fuch horrible Pains and Torture, that they were often in great Danger of dying, which flruck others with fo much Fear and Ter- ror, that they abandoned the Sed entirely, But the Third and moft effedual Caufe of all was, that it was abfolutely forbidden by the Roman Laws, unlefs Leave was fipft had of the Civil Magiftrate, and People were afhamed to ask fuch Leave, efpeciaU ly fince they were almoft allured they fhoutd be refufed, witnefs that young Man mentioned by Juftin Martyr 3 in his 2d Apo- logy to the Emperor Antoninus % who wens to ask leave of the Governour, as I ob- ferved in the Beginning of this Chapter, becaufe the Surgeon would not other wife undertake to do it timore Poena, for fear of ths Punifhment or Penalty he would incur by fo doing, but was abfolutely refufed ; and what that Punifhment was, may be feen in L- 4' §• 2. ff. ad Legem Cornelians de Steams & VenefUus ; and thus was the Beginning, Progrefs, and Eod of jhis Se<5b
6$ 'Emnzhijm THJpJafd:-.
We have now fean what were the Mq* tives that induced Origen and VaUfius to make themfelves Eunuchs ; but fince their Time there have been others who have made themfelv-es fo on a quite different Ac-» count.
All the World knows the Hiftory of €ombabm, it is in Lucian, but Monfieuc Bayle has publifhed it in his Hiftorical Di- <8:ionary. with all its Circumftances.
Gomhbus was a young Lord atthe.Court of thsKing of Syria,, well skilled in Ar- <shite£fcure. He was pitched upon by that Monarch to attend his Queen Stratonice in a long Voyage which (he was obliged to make, m order to build a Temple to Juno, accord- ing to the Directions fte had received in, 3fc Dream, Cbmbabtn was young and hand- feme, and had got it in his Head, that th& King would infallibly entertain fome Jea- loufy againflf him; he therefore earneftly Untreated him that he would difpenfe with Mm from undertaking that Employment, but when he faw he could by no means prevail, lie looked upon himfelf as a dead Man, if he did not take fuch Care in his Conduct as might not give occafion for the leaft Sha- dow of Sufpicion. He only then begged of ehe King that he would be pleafed to allow him feven Days to prepare for his Journey, m& 'this he did* after this manner.
As-
Eitmchifm "DiffJafd. Ci
As foon as he came to his Lodgings, he bewailed the Wretchednefs of his Conditi- on, which expofed him to this difmal Al- ternative, either to loofe his Sex or his Life,- and after having fetched a few bit- ter Sighs: he cut off his fecret Parts, and having embalmed them, fealed them up in a Box- When the time came that he was to undertake his Journey, h3 prefented the Box to the King, in the Prefence of a great Number of Courtiers, an&begg'd his Majefty tha.t he would keep it for him till his Return, and told hinv that there was in it what was more. valuable than Gold and Silver, and was as dear to him, as his Life, The King put his Seal upon the Box, and gave it the Mafter of the. Wardrobe to take care of it. This. Journey of the Queen's continued three Years, and what Combabus imagined he fore- Caw really came topafs, and the Event plain- ly juftified his Precaution,
This A&ion of Combabus gave Birth to other Motives for Eunuchifm. His inti- mate Friends gelt themfelves to be Com- panions of his Difgrace, and to comfort him according to the old Maxim, that it is a Comfort to the Unfortunate to have Companions or Partakers of their Mi-- ferg-
3$-
6 2 Eunuchifm TUlftlafd.
Solamenmiftris Socios habuijje Dolor is. '■*
For 'tis a Comfort which the Wretched know TJhave others, like themselves, deep phtng'd in
\lVoe.
Lucian adds, that this Condud of the Friends of Combabus, laid the Foundation of a certain Cuftom, which was Annually obferved, to caftrate feveral Perfons in the Temple which Stratonice and Combabus had built ; and he fays they did it five Combabum confolantes five Junoni> &c.
But the young Gentleman I am going now to fpeak of, had quite different Mo- tives from thofe of Combabus or his Compa- nions. This young Gentleman,, who was very handfome, having by his Add reft and Perfeverance, obtained an entire Victory over his Miftrefs, who put her felf into his Poffeffion, but finding by an unfortunate Accident he could not reap any Advantage by his Conqueft, as being then fo unhappy as nottobeMafter of the Inftmments of his Paffion, which would not now obey him, but were all Ice and Snow, while his Heart was on Fire,- mortified at this fad Adventure, he cut them off as foon as he came to his Lodging, and fent them to his Miftrefs as a Bloody Vi&im, on- ly capable to attone for their Offences,
Mm-
Eunuchifm 'Difylafd. 6^
* Montaigne, who tells this Story, makes this Exclamation, had he done this, fays he, for Religion, like the Triefts of Cybele, what might one not have faid of fo bold an Enter- frize.
The fame Author tells us of a certain Teafant in his Neighbourhood, that m3cte himfelf an Eunuch for quite different Rea- fons, which was for meer Paffion and An- ger againft his Wife; this good Man, as foon as he came home, was received by his Wife, who was jealous of him to an Extravagance, and was continually tor- menting him with the ufual Welcome, and faid any thing againft him that came up- permoft, and as her Jealoufie furniftied her with malicious Abufes, he made no more ado, but immediately, with his Scyth that he then had in his Hand, whipt off thofe Parts which gave her fo much Umbrage, and without any more Ceremony- threw them in the good Woman's Face.
There are yet others who make them- felves Eunuchs through fear of the Lepro- fy, or the Gout, and to fecure themfeives from the Pain and Inconveniencies that at- tend thefeDiftempers, who had rather loofe the Advantages thofe Parts bring with them, than run the rifque of furTering thofe Pains
* ftUnta'igm Ejfays. Lib. 2. Chap. zc,. *
«
i^j.and
6x Emuchifm Difpla/d.
and Inconveniencies. It is certain, thas- Eunuchs are never troubled with the Le- profie, according to Monfieur le Pretre, a Counfellor in the Parliament of Paris, who has thefe Words in his notable Queftions* * Antipathia vero Ekphantiafis Veneno re/iftit y Hinc Eunuchiy & quicuncf^ funt mollis , frigi- da & effeminate nature nunqttam aut raro le~ pra corripiuntur, & c^uidem cjuibus imminei Uvre perieulum de Confilio . Medkorum fibi Vi- rilia amputare permittitur. C. ex pacl. 11. ex- de Ccrpa. <vitiatis ordinandis <ml non ,• .Quod etiam aliquando permiferunt nonnulli leprcfa mimjirantesj manifefto 'Experiment o magno^ vi- ta. & Sanitatis comrnedo. AncT '{* Me&eraji, fays, he has read in the Life of Philip the Auguft, that fome Men had fuch Apprehen- fions of the Leprofie, that fhameful and na- tty Diftem per, that to prefeive themfelves from it, they made themfelves Eunuchs.
It is obferved that Eunuchs are never bald, becaufe their Brains are more entire than thoie of other Men, who loofe great Part by the ufe of Venusy the Seminal Juices deriving thence chiefly their Original. They are like wife exempt from the Gout, for which || Hippocrates and ** Pliny give
■^Centttr. i . (jap, C. de Separation? ex Caufa 1ms Ve- ?;pye<c. | Abreg. Ohrofioh 'Tom. 1. pag. 6$$.
H Kippocrat. JikAphcrifm, a$, & *?. $n?? W™- M- 31.. Cap. 27,.
?ery:
Emuchifm Difpla/d-. 6f
very fubftantial Reafons. C&lins Rhodlgi- ftus fays the fame thing in the ;oth Chap- ter of his 1 9th Book, Lettlonum Anticjuarum ; an& in another Place of the fame Treatife, that Eunuchs only are exempt from, being affecled with a certain Vapour whidh fteams forth of the Earth in fome Parts of Egjpt, which kills all other Perfons with its into- lerable Stench.
This Circumftance. probably is the fame which Ammianus MarcelHnns *, and Dion take notice of in the Life of Trajan, con- cerning the Grott of HUrapolis. There is, fay they, a Ciftern clofe of all Sides, with a Theatre built upon it, under which there ifTues a, Vapour fo pernicious to all Sorts of Animals., that they immediately die asfoon as they fmell it, except Eunuchs, who are not at all affe&ed with its Malignity.
To conclude, there are fome who havs made themfelves Eunuchs after they have been condemned to fuffer an ignominious or -painful Death, on purpole to avoid their Execution by this Operation, which they know muft infallibly kill them, without- timely Applications of proper Medicines, which they have no Intention in fuch Cafe to make ufe of. ?u; ' v : *&$\k <£&&&-
' _:' ' '.''■ ■ ^
CHAP*
66 Eunuchism *Dlff>laf'd.
G H A P. VII.
Of Eunuchs fo called^ on account of their Em payment or Office, arid of thofe who are jo in a figurative Senfe.
THOSE who were in poffeGion of the Employments or Offices which were ufually given to Eunuchs, were themfeives alfo called by that Name, as thofe who are admitted into Holy Orders, are at this Day called Priefts or Presbyters, which figni- ftes a Perfon in Years, becaufe originally, none but Presbyters, or Perfons in Years were admitted to exercife that Function $ and the modern Word Prieft, was formerly Priefter or Preffer, which is nothing but a Corruption from Presbyter.
And therefore as Eunuchs were employ- ed in feveral Sorts of Offices in the Courts of Princes, fo thofe who fucceeded them in fuch Offices were called alfo Eunuchs. In this Senfe the Holy Scripture is to be un- derftood, when it makes mention of the Eunuchs of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, thofe of the Kings of Ifrael and Jttdah, oi Ajjmmi- King of Perfia, the Kings of Babylon, of him who ferved Qandace Queen of Ethiopia, men- tioned in the A&s of the Apoftles, and of the Prefident or Governour of the Eunuchs.
It
Eunuchism Difplafd. 6j
Tt mayalfobe faid, that this Term Eunuch, was of fo general a Signification, that k was ufually applied to all kinds of Officers whatfoever, that were employed in the Courts of Kings and Princes , and thefe as I have before obferved, were only called To, becaufe in their Employment they re- prefented thofe who were properly Eu- nuchs and their Predeceffors ; thefe were Eunuchs, ratiom Impotent ia ejradempt* Virilita- tis, the others ration* officii. Potiphar, for Example, who was Eunuch to Pharaoh, was fo called, merely becaufe he executed an Office which was ever before given t@ Eunuchs. No one doubts but Potiphar had a Wife, and \ris highly probable a Daugh- ter too, called Afenatb, who was married to Jofeph, for it is (aid in the 4.1ft Chapter of Gemfis, v. 45". that Pharaoh gave him to Wife Afenath the Daughter of Potipherab, who in all probability was the fame Perfon that a lit- tle before is called Potiphar 5 this Difference or Variation is ineonfiderable, and is fre- quent in Scripture, where fometimes the fame Perfon is called both Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadonozor , Eli[ha is fometimes cal- led Elizeusy and Elijah, Elias, Jonah, Jonas, and fo of many others where the Variati*- on is much greater than between Potiphar and Potipherab. If it be objected, that in the fame Verfe Potipherab is faid to be the Prieft ©fO/, and consequently could not be the
fame
6& Eunuchism T)i[^lafL
fame Perfon as-Votipbar9 who was an Offi- cer under Tbaraob^nd Captain of his Guard, which a Prieft could not be 3- it^muft be re* membered, that the Original is Prince of On , and not Prieft of On, as may be feen in thofe Bibles that have Marginal Notes. By what has been faid, it is plains that married Perfons have been called Eu- nuchs according to their Charges or Em- ployments. We fhall fee as we proceed* farther in this Treatife, more particularly, what Pofts, or rather, what Rank Eunuchs- have held in the Courts of thefe Kings and* Princes, and in other Courts where they have been encouraged and eftablifhed. Lee us now fee what an Eunuch means, when ifc is taken in a figurative Senfe.
An Eunuch then in this Senfe, is a Perfon who lives in a State of Celibacy and Cha- ftity, and fuch were the Ejjeans or Ejjenians amongft the Jews, and fuch there have been- and now are amongft the Chriftians.
I am not willing to ftretch the figura- tive Signification of this Woxd .B^ach -oo far; every Body knows that tobe get, and to be an Eunuch, is much the fame thing,and is generally applied to Members which have* forne Part cut ofTfrom them. There have b,een therefore Women Eunuchs who were, gelc by Adramit, the firft King of Lydia9. who was the firft that caufed the poor Creatures to be fo roughly handled, and
em-
'Etmuchifm Diftlafd. 69
employed them inftead of Men Eunuchs. Had this Prince lived at the fame time with Semiramis, and been her Husband, what a fine Court had there been between them ?
We alfo fay a Book is gelt, when any thing is left out of it, and thus the Eunuch of Lucian, tranilated by Monfieur D'Ablancourt, and feveral Ciafficks, put out by the Jefuits, are geit, becaufe under Pretence of paring away fome Obfcenicies, they have left out whole Periods. Vines and other Trees may likewife in this Senfe be faid to be gelt.
Monfieur Mezerai, in his Hiftory of France, pag. 160 fays, that amongft the mad Whims of Dvmtian, before he was Emperor, one of the oddeft was, that he commanded all the Vines of feveral Provinces , particularly in Gaul , to be rooted up and deftroyed ; but that up- on his coming to the Empire, he affected the Reputation of a good Prince, and for- bad the gelding of young People for the future (fox at that time the Luxury and Effeminacy of the Great Men ran into all the wild Extravagancies of the Eaft, and after the Example of that part of the World, made no Scruple to commit that Outrage and Violence to Nature, that they might have Eunuchs according to the Eaftern Mode) Upon this the Philofopher Afollo- mus9 who was a profefled Enemy to Tyran- ny,
jo Euntichifm 'Diftlafet.
ny> faid thefe Words, which were not like- ly to be forgotten, that that Prince had truly fecured to Men their Virility, but that he had gelt the Earth. We now fee the Earth made an Eunuch, but this is only a Piece of that Phiiofopher's Raillery, and only ferves to fliew how many Ways and different Senfes that "Word may be taken in.
There have been, laftly, Eunuchs in the Marriage State, though capable of per- forming its Duties. Some Interpreters be- lieve, that fuch were the Eunuchs mention- ed in the ?6th Chapter of Ifaiah ; but that is not probable, iince an Eunuch is brought in there calling himfelf a dry Tree, which cannot agree but with one who is proper- ly fo, and in the moft rigorous Senfe of the Word.
There have been an Infinity of thofe mar- ried Eunuchs which have been undeniably fo,- of this Gregorius Turomienfis, in his Hiftory of Frame, gives us a famous Example, after this manner. * A certain Senator (fays c he ) of Clermont in Auvergne, who was an c only Child, was contracted to a young
* Lady, likewife an only Child of the fame
* Quality with himfelf, but very rich. They 1 were married fome few Days after, and
* put to Bed together according to Cuftom. c But when the Company retired, the young e Lady immediately turned her Face to « the Wall, and figh'd and wept bitterly.
' The!
Eunuchifm Difflafd. 1A
tf,hrefhBriDCgr00m was furPrized, asked f Au-£ . °n' and injured her by Te-
know the Caufo of her Sorrow and Dif- cpntenr. She told him fhe had made a
I™ <S ke£/r h-er Vir^inity « long as ftie hved and feemg herfelf now upon the
that" rL T^ r? V°W' fte believed £ ? i £ad J?lfiken her- That in, II 1 J£fus Chrift' which fte believed fte fhould have had for her Bridegroom, who proofed to give her the King! dom of Heaven for her Dowry, fhe
£fWW °nly a m,°rtal Man> who could beftow on her nothing but the tranfitory
£&<?" World^ and tnen ^^ th«
JJiftory) (he wept afrefh. The young Gwiitlem^ who had a great deal of Piety and Goodnefs, reprefented to her, That as they were the only Children of their Pa- rents, they had married them on purpofe
Fam.lies, and that their Eftates lhould not go away to Strangers. She replied, That the World, and its Riches, were nothing its Pomp and Magnificence a mere %
S 1 Lifu £ fdf a blaft 5 and ^at it would be much better to have an Eftate in Heaven, and Life Eternal. She fpoke all this after ft .lively, and ft moving a man- zZ'/^P* Ta^<hed her Husband, and drew from him theft Words, fo con-
l formable
72 Eunnchifm Difflaf3.
formable to her defires, viz. That if it was really her Will to abftain from all Gon- cupifcence, and carnal Converfation, he promifed he would a£t in Conformity to her Intention. She told him, That it was a difficult Thing to pra&ife, however, if he kept his Word, and they two lived to- gether in this World in Virginity/ (he would give him part of the Power promi- fed her by Jefus Chrift, when (he gave her felf to him, and vowed to be his Spoufe, j and Servant. He -renewed his Promife, affured her he would effe&ually perform it, and having taken each others Hands in fign of Agreement, they fell gfleep. They lay together in the fame Bed many Years after, without the lead Infringement of their Vow of Chaftity, which was not; known till after her Death, for (he diedj firft. Her Husband -gave her a decent Funeral, fuitable to her Quality, and while they were "placing her in her Tomb, he fpoke thefe Words with a loud Voice. J return thee Thanks, O Lord God Eternal, that I have refiored to thee this Treajure as entirt as 1 received it from thee.' The Hiftory adds, that (he replied with a fmiling'Coun- tenance ("for you muft know they had ncj Coffins in thofe Days) And why, fays (he, d you reveal a Secret without being asked. But a this is no Article of Faith, a Man may dif believe it without endangering his Salvation
m
Eunuchifm T>ifplafd 73
* Nkefhorus Calliftas, and the f Tripartite Hiftory cell much the fame Story, of a cer- tain Egyptian, whole Name was Amon, and who afterwards retired into a Monaftery. The Difference was this, that here the Huf- band accofted the Wife, and perfwaded her to keep her Chaftity, and which perhaps was the greater Miracle of the two.
But it is mod certain, this was actually the Cafe of the Emperor Henry, and his Emprefs Chunegunde, who lived together af- ter the fame manner as the youngGentleman of Awvergm did with his Wife, as I have juft now related. Chunegnnde, was a Princefs very young, and of admirable Beauty, how- ever, having told her Husband that (he had made a Vow of Chaftity, he lived with her no otherwife than as with a Sifter. When he was upon his Death-Bed, he fpoke thefe Words, publickly, before all the Lords and Princes of the Court. A Virgin (fays he) you gave me, and a Virgin I refiore her to you. And for this, fays Monfieur || Godeau, they were both Canonized by Eugenlm the 3d.
Much the fame may alio be faid of Macci- any who lived like an Eunuch with his Wife Vulcheria ; and of many others, but thefe Ex- amples are fufficient. If any one has a mind
* L'b. &Lcap, 41. f L;b- 1. cap. 12.
H Elog, 5. des Empereurs, Elog, 9, da Imperatriccs,
E to
74 Eunuchifm Difflafd.
to fee a greater Number, let him read the 7th Chapter of the 4th Book of Marulie, and the 9th Book of the Hlftory of 'Crotntrusy in which he will find the Hiftory of Bobiflaus the ?th, and his Wife Cunegondei who by mutual con- f ''ved all their Life long, together, in & Continence, which gave Occailon X Cicmon Latinius, a Pd!e> to make this DSftich.
Conjuge conftnuit cum Virglne Virgo Maritmy Addiffim ftudiis Cap a Diana tuls.
CHAP. VIII.
What Rank thofe that were real Eunuchs held in Civil Society.
AS the World ever made a vaft difference between Eunuchs that were born Eunuchs, or have been fo afloon as they were born, or have been forced by Violence as in more advanced Age3and thofe who have voluntarily made themfelves fo, it is very ne- celfary t9 diftinguilh them in this Work. I Trial! therefore accordingly range them into two diftind Claifes, and then examine what RankEunuchs, that have been forced to be fo, have held in Civil Society.
To
Eimuchifm cDifplafd. 7 5
To give a full and exa<5fc Hiftory of this Matter, in all its Circumftances, as mighc poffibly be , would far exceed the Limits I havepropofed to my felf in this Examina- tion. I (hall therefore only fay, that it ap- pears, both in (acred and prophane Hiftory, that Eunuchs have pofTeffed the higheft Em- ployments and Offices in Courts, and have had the Ear and Favour of their refpe&ive Princes. I (hall content my felf with a few Examples.
I (hall fay nothing of th'ofe odious Mo- tives which induced Princes heretofore to be in love with Eunuchs. Ail the World knows the Hiftory of Svorus, whom Nero caufed to be gelt, and whofe Folly was fo extrava- gant, that he endeavoured to change his Sex; he made him wear Woman's Cloachs, and afcerwards married him with the ufual For- malities, fettled a Dowry upon him, gave him the nuptial Veil, and kept him in his Palace in quality of a Woman, which gave birth to this pleafant Saying, That the World 'would have been happy had his Father Dbmitian bad fuck a tVife. In fhort, he caufed this Sfo- rus to be dreft like an Emprefs, had him car- ried in a Litter, and attended him to all the Affemblies and publick Fairs of Greece, and at Rome to the Sigillaria, and Squares of the City, where he kiffed him every Moment. I relate only this Example, becauie I have hinted enough of this in the ftti Chapter of this firft Part. E z In
j 6 ■ Emuchtfm Difpla/d.
In the Book of Eft her * we find that Eu- nuchs were the ordinary Officers of King jibafuemsy and in the 3d Verfe of the next Chapter, that Hege, z Eunuch, had the par- ticular Care of the King's Women. There were two others, whofe Names we find, were Bigthan and Tarejh, and their Office was to keep the tirft Entrance of the King's Palace. The Hiftory of Judith tells us, That he that attended on Hohfernes, and had the immediate Care of his Perfon, his Tent and Baggage, was an nunuch, named Ba- goas. The Eunuch of Queen Candace, who was baptized by St. Philip, was one of the principal Officers of that Princefs, her Chief, or High-Treafurer. The General that commanded the Forces of Zedekiah, King of Judahy was an Eunuch.
Cyrus, after he had conquered all his Ene- mies, taken Crafus and Sardes Prifoners, and reduced the City of Babylon to his Obedience, fet up his Residence in the Royal Palace of the greateftCity in theUniverfe : But confider- ing the People looked upon him but with an evil Eye, he thought fit to fecure his Perfon with a ftrong Guard, and yet he chofe only Eunuchs for that Employment, as well as for all the Offices of his Houfhold. His Reafons for fo doing, are fet forth at large
* Clap. 7. i'sr lo
towards
Eunuchljm ViffJafd. 77
towards the end of the fixth Chapter of the feventh Book of Cyropedia.
* Eunuchs had the Care of bringing up, and educating Children ; they inftru&ed them in all Sciences, and polite Learning ; and all thefe different Employments gained them the greateft Refpe& and Honour in the World! Kings and Princes, whether they had been their Pupils, or nor, had yet a particular Value and Refpecl: for them, and repofed in them a great deal of Truft and Confidence -, and thefe Eunuchs very often made fuch Advantage of thofe Favours, that they infenfibly became themfelves, in effect, Matters of the State and Govern- ment, and frequently abufed their great Trufts, by which Chriftianity has too often fmarted. Courts fwarmed with this Sort of People, who got themfelves into all the prin- cipal Potts and Employments.
A convincing Argument of this Truth, may be drawn from the Court of the Empe- ror Con/rantim, which was full of Eunuchs, and they were Matters of all Affairs in the Government. Of which Court, we cannot draw a more natural Pi&ure, than from what Monfieur Herman fays, in his excellent Life of St. Athanafius. The Authors, whofe Af- fittance he made u-fe of in that Work, he has
* Plato de leg. lib. 5.
E ? put
7 8 Ermuehlfm rDifpJay'>d.
put down (as I fhall do) in the Margin.
* Befae, that Avian Prieft (Tays he) would e prefume to attack the Emperor ; he had c the Addrefs to gain thofe that were about , him,- for the Familiarity he had with the c Empertfr, having made him known to the
* Emprefs, he insinuated himfelf into the
* Acquaintance of the Eunuchs, and parti-
* cularly oiEufebiw, who was at the Head " of that Effeminate Tribe., and one of the J ntoft wicked Perfons living, f Having ' prejudiced this Eunuch in his Favour, by 6 his means he loon gained the reft. In c fhort, in time he infus'd his Poifon into € the Emprefs, and the Ladies of the Court, c which made St. Athanaftm fay, The Arians c made themfelves a Terror to the World, c being fupported by the Intereft and Cre- c die of the Women.
c After this, it was no hard Matter for e him to gain the Emperor, who was him- ' felf a Slave to his "Eunuchs, of whom his 1 Court was full, and he followed in every c Thing the Advice and Counfel of thofe c lewd Wretches.
c But whacfoever Credit and Intereft the 1 inferiour Eunuchs might have, it is certain, c it was nothing, in Comparifon, to that of i Eufebius, who was High Chamberlain, or
°\ Ammian* Marcellin. UK 18.
c chief
Eunuchifm DifpJa/d. 79
chief Eunuch to the Emperor ; thefe, in refpect to him, were but as little Serpents, that could only crawl and hifs, while E«- febius, like a Dragon, held high his proud and lofty Creft ; and in reality, * made himfelf fo formidable by his Power, that according to Hiftorians, to conceive a true Idea of him, it will be fufficient to fay, That Conftantim repofed fo much Confi- dence in his Adminiftration, and he was arrived to fuch a prodigious height of Glo- ry and Power, that thofe of his Party were fo vain, as to Matter him with a Title due only to God, and called him the Eternal King -\\ They have given us like- wife a full Defcription of his excellent Qualities. He was, fay they, of an in- fupportable Vanity, equally unjuft and cruel ; he punifhed, without Examination, thofe that were con vided of no Crime at all, and made no difference between the Guilty and the Innocent. || Prophane Authors are full of Complaints againft the Malignity,and Tyrannical Government of this Eufebius, and other Eunuchs of Cvn- ft ant i us ; but they only confidered the E- viis that thereby arrived to the State. And we have Reafon to bewail and deplore
* Ammianus Marcellin. lib. 15. f Ibid. lib. 8. cap. 1 5. || Julian, Impevat. ad Athenienf. p. 501.
E 4 'thofe
.
So Eunuchifm T)ifplafd.
c thofe which the Church fuffered by their
* Violence and Injuftice.
'* c We have feen (fays St. Athanafws) 1 thefe voluptuous and effeminate Perfon?, t whom Men of the World will fcarce truft 1 with the leaft Affair in relation to their Fa- ' milies, and whom the Church has entirely ' excluded from her Councils, according to \. her holy and inviolable Canons, yet we 4 have feen thefe very Men Matters and So- c vereigns of all Church Affairs, and lord it £ over her in their judgments, for Conftan-
* tlus has had no Will at all but what they c Infpired him with ; and thofe who wore ' the Name of Bifhcps, thought -it honour- 1 able and meritorious, to be the Minifters, \ and faithful Executors of all their Paffions, 1 and ad thofe Theatrical Parts thefe defpi- 1 cable and corrupt Wretches (hall at any
* time ccnipofe. Let us now fee who were c the Caufe of all the Evils and Diforders c the Church then fuffered, and thefe were
* (Tays t St. Athanafius) undoubtedly moft c worthy to be the Protedors of the Arlan
* Herefy, and the Enemies of the Divine « Fecundity of the Eternal Father/ Lee us hear how that Holy Perfon proceeds.
* Ettjzbius, the Eunuch, fays he, being arri-
* Athanaf. ad Solitar.pag. 834, S3 5. f Pag. 8. 52. £r Hexman^e de St. Athanaf. Uv. 7. ch. 10.
<ved
Eunuchifm Difpla/J. t 8 1
ved in Rome, loft no Time, but immediate- ly went to Liberiwy and follicited him to fubfcribe the Condemnation of Athanafim, and joyn himfelf to the Communion of the Brians, telling him, that it was the Empe- ror's Pleafure, and he had exprefs Orders to tell him fo ; and after having (hewn him the Prefents which he had brought to allure him, lie took him by the Hand, and faid to him, Be ftrfwaied by the Emperor, and accept "what be fends you. But that Ho- ly Bifhop couragioufly defended himfelf, and juftified his Refiftance by this Dif- courfe ...... [which he inferts at length]
You fee, fays he, what Anfwer Liberius gave Eufibius ; but that Eunuch was left troubled at his refufal of fubfcribing that Condemnation, than in finding him an Enemy to the Anan Herefy \ and not confidering that he was in the Prefence of a Bifhop, after having given him feve- ral high Threats, he left him, taking with him the Prefents he brought to offer him. 1 This generous Adion of Liberies added new Fuel to the Tranfport and Rage of this Eunuch, that he provoked the Empe- ror, by telling him, That he need no: for the future be fo uneafy, becaufe Libe- rlus would not fubfcribe the Condemnati- on of At ham [fms, but rather, becaufe he was ever fo very averfe to Arikmfm, which was fo odious to him, that he pronounced E> f ' Am.
$2 Eunuchifm T)ifpFafdl
* Anathema's againft feveral of the Avians by c Name. By fuch like Difcourfes he iike-
* wife inflamed the other Eunuchs, of which ^ there was a vaft Number at the Emperor's
* Court, without whom he could do nothing, ? but with them every Thing he.defired.
c Upon this (c@ntinues St.' Atkanafius) ' Conftantius wrote to Rome, and fent thither e feveral Officers of his Palace, Secretaries
* and Lords, with Letters directed to the fe Governor of Rome, by which he gave him
* Orders to furprize Liberius by Stratagem, 8 and fend him to his Court, or if that fail-
* ed, to ufe open Force and Violence. This & put all Rome into the utmoft Confirmation,
* and there was fcarce a Corner but there
* were Ambufhes laid to take Liberius. How
* many Families were threaten'd ? How £ many Perfons received Orders to feize
that Holy Perfon ? How many Bifhops hid themfelves when they law Matters come to this Excefs ? How many Ladies of the higheft Rank and Quality retired into the Country, on Account of the ma- ny malicious Calumnies the Enemies of Jefus Chrift raifed againft them? How many religious Perfons were expofed to their Rage? How many Perfons were perfecuted, who had retired to pafs the remainder of their Days in privacy and folitude? Wkh what Care did they fre- quently guard the Gates and Ports, lead
Euuttchifm THfpIa/J. 8j
any of the Orthodox fhould come in to fee Liberlus l Rome then knew, by Experi- ence, what was the Conduct of thofe im- pious Wretches, that declared War even againft Jefus Chrift himfelf \ then fhe found, that to be true, which till then fhe could fcarce believe, and was fully con- vinced, what had been reported to her, how they had over-turned all other Churches that lay in their way in fo many different Parts of trie World. c It was the Eunuchs which caufed all thefe Diforders, and were the chief Au- thors of all the Excefles which others com- mitted ; and in reality, it ought to be won- dered at, that as the Arian Herefy made Profeflion of denying the Son of God,, that it fhould fupport it felf by the Credit of Eunuchs, who being naturally unpro- lifick, and no lefs barren in their SouJs, in relation to A&s of Piety and Virtue, than in the Body,could not bearto hear the Son of God mentioned. c Indeed it is true, the Eunuch of the Queen of Ethiopia, though he could not comprehend what he read, yet upon St. Philip's Inftru&ions, believed in the Di- vine Saviour. But the Eunuchs ofC*?;- fiantius could not bear that ConfefBon of his Divinity which had been theretofore made by St. Peter. Nay, they oppofe even the Eternal Father, who had declared thac
! Chrift
84 Bumtchijm TDifplay'd.
* Ghrift was his beloved Son, and vent their c utmeit Kage- againft thofe who fay he is
* truly the Son of God ; and 'twas for this
* very Region they were forbidden by the £ Law to be admitted giving Judgment in
* EcclefiafHcal Matters. But the Avians
* have made them Supreme in Spirituals •, a Confcaniiiis pronounces nothing but what
* is agreeable to them, and thofe who bear
* the Name and Characters of Bifhops, fpeak s not a Word, and behold thefe Disorders
* with Diffirnulation. Alas! who will there 12 be to write one Day this Hiftory, and € tranfmit to Pofterity a Relation of fo ma- € ny fad and dreadful Events? Who hereafter*
* will believe, that Eunuchs, which we
* hardly truft with pur domeftick Affairs,, a and whofe Service is liable in fuch Cafes
* to be fufpe&ed, being a Sort of People e that love nothing but their Pleafures, and 4 whofe End is to hinder others from enjoy- 4 ing what Nature has refufed them, are
* now thofe who govern Churches ?
This Saint, we fee, fliowed a juft Indig- nation againft Eunuchs, who were then ab- folate at Court, and had made themfelves execrable, not only in their Days, but to all Pofterity. Arianifm had by their Means fo fpread its Poifon, that at that time, anongft the Orthodox, as St. t Gregory Na~
t St. Greg. Na&, Or at, 3 u
Eunuchism Difflafd. S5
zianze* obferves, to call a Man impious,, or an Eunuch, was the fame Thing. And their Violences werefo odious, even to the very Pagans, that Ammianus Marcellinus writes thus of them, that being Perfons al- ways fierce and ill natured, and having no dcmeftickTyes and Obligations, and natu- ral Engagements, like other Men, they ca- relTed their Riches, which they Icoked up- on as their deareft Children.
* Monfieur Herman (from whom I have taken this Account,) fays, that this Contro- verfy was fo famous in After-times, that even Heathen Authors took notice of it -y but that he had rather borrow from the pure Fountain, than dip into thofe troubled Ri- vers ; and as he with Reafon preferred the Teftimony of St. Atbanafius to all oftier Authors of that Age, he believed he ought to begin that important Relation from his Words.
Eunuchs had been very powerful in the Days of Con[t amine the Great, Father to this Emperor Conjlantius ; he preferred them to the higheft Honours, and called them his Friends ; but when he came to be inform- ed, and was fatisfied they were pernicious to the State, he foon humbled them, and reduced them to the Management only of Domeftick Affairs
- — n
* Lh, 7. Chap, ic
There
86 Eunuchifm Difpla/d.
* There is a Law in the Theodofian Code, which fays, that the Empire groaned under the Oppreffion of this Sort of People, and dared not complain ; but when the Empe- ror knew it, he publifhed this Law, by which he permitted every Body to come and tell their Grievances, and promifed to hear himfelf what could be alledged againft the Eunuchs ; and that if they were con- victed, would punifh them accordingly. He obtained that they mould be excluded the Priefthood in the famous Council of Nice9 which was affembled in his Days. But though they were, as I may fay, degraded and deprived of ail manner of Employments, both Civil and Military ; yet as they attend- ed on the Emperor, and had his Ear, they were ftill very formidable, and People ftood in fear of them till fuch time as they were entirely removed.
Licinius, who was his Ally, andforfome time Partner in the Empire, mortally hated them, and called them the Moths and Vermine of the State $ but as $ Licinlus was a Tyrant, and a Prince who had made himfelf odious on feveral Accounts; that which he did out of particular Views and Motives, ought not to be drawn into Confequence.
* Lib. 9. Tit. 1. /. 4. t 2*M Bipr. Ecclef.
&B..10.. Cap. 80.
Eunuchifm T)iff1afd. 87
* Alexander Severus had no greater kind- nefs for them, he ufed to call them Tmi- ttm Homtnum genus, and though his Prede- ceffor Heliogabalus had been their Slave, and was himfelf an Eunuch} yet this Emperor humbled them, and reduced them to a very fmall Number. He gave feveral of them to his Friends, and to (hew how little he va- lued them, he told thofe to whom he gave them, that if they did not behave themfelves better than hitherto they had done, they might kill them without being called to an account by the Government. He is very much extolled in Hiftory^ for not imitating the Kings of Terfia, who permitted them- felves to be governed fo much by thefe Peo- ple, that they were fcarce ever fQQti by their Subje&s, who could not addrefs themfelves to their Prince, or receive any Anfwer from them, but by palling through the Hands of Eunuchs, who told them what they pleafed, and very frequently reprefented things quite contrary to what they were, and took great care that the King (hould know nothing but what they thought good to let him know, which was the Cauie very frequent- ly of great Inconveniencies, for they gave Prince and People what Impreffions they pleafed-
The
88 Eunuchifm Difflafd.
* The Hiftory of Orfines proves diffid- ently this Truth ; Orfines was defcended from Cyrus, and the greateft Lord of Perfia, and of the mod noble Blood in all the Eaft •, he made great Prefents to the Principal Offi- cers in the Court of Alexander the Great, and neglected Bagoas ; fome Perfons took the Liberty to tell him, he did ill in not doing it; he replied, he honoured the King's Friends but not his Eunuchs ; and that in Ferfia thofe fort of People were ufed after a different manner than they were in Greece. This Difcourfe having been told Bagoas, he fwore he would be the ruin of Orfines, who was a Perfon of an unfpotted Character, and he was as good as his Word ,-for, in fhort, he told Alexander fo many falfe Stories a- gainft him in private, that he fo efFe&ually provoked Alexander, that Orfines was chain- ed, and imprifoned, and condemned to die. Bagoas was not content to bring an Inno- cent Perfon to Punifhment, but had the Im- pudence to ftrike him as he was going to Execution. But Orfines looking upon him with a Countenance full of Indignation, told him he had often heard that Women formerly rul'd in Afia, but it was a new Thing to fee the Reign of an Infamous Eunuch.
* Quint. CurU Lib. io. Qap> I.
Jim
Eunuchifm Diftla/d. Sg
Alexander Sevcrus being throughly con- vinced of the Diforders that were caufed in the State by the Eunuchs, effe&ually brought them down, and reduced them al- moft to nothing. Thefe Eunuchs would know every thing that palled at Court, and would make People believe that no Body knew it butthemfelves j if any Favour was to be obtained of the Prince, Application mud be made to them. The Governments of Provinces were got by their Intereft, and they fold for ready Money what the Prince bellowed Gratis. This Emperor lo- ved Solitude, he would commonly after Dinner be alone, and at certain Hours in the Morning, and would fee no Body. Ve* tronius Turinm, (an EunuchJ knew fo well how to make his Advantage of thefe Re- tirements of ths Emperor, and make Peo- ple believe, that at thefe Hours he did what he would with Severus, and could perfwade him to do what he pleafed j that every Bo- dy made their Court to him, and he in Re- turn, made large Promifes to grant them every thing they defired, and by this means heaped up immenfe Riches. But as it was no ways true, that the Emperor was fuch as he reprefented him to be, and that he had no fuch Credit with him as he had made his Boafts, he kept his Word with no Body, which occafioned great Mur- muring and Difcontent. This Conduct of
go Emmchifm T^ifflayd.
Turinut being at laft made known to the Emperor, he commanded every one to come and make good their Accufation a- gainft him ; which difcovering what he had promifed, and not performed, and what vaft Sums he had got together on that Ac- count ; Severn.: made him be fixed to a Stake in the High-Way, which was fur- rounded at a diftance with a flow Fire, made of Green Wood, and fuffocated him with the Smoke; and while he fuffered thisPunifhment, there was a Man that cry'd out with a loud Voice, he who fold Smoke is now punifli- ed with Smoke, Fumo punltur qui vendidit fumum *. 1 Eunuchs were in much greater Efteem for fome time under the Reign of Conftan- tlne ; and yet much more under Confianti us, as I obferved before : But neither this Prince nor his Brothers were either loved by their Subjects, or dreaded by their Enemies, as their Father Confiantinc; and they could fcarce fupport part of that Burden, the whole of which he himfelf alone bore with fo much Glory, but in their Reign, the Eunuchs were in Place and Credit.
It feems too, they were in favour in the time of Theodofius the Younger, for we find in the Code, which was made by his Or-
* JEViui Latnpridius in Sever urn.
der
Eunuchlfm Difplafd. g1
der •, that whereas thofe who obtained from the Crown any forfeited Goods, or Eftates, were obliged to pay half the Value into the Fi feus or Treafury, he difpenfed with the Eunuchs from this Obligation, and let them keep all. And * Zoziwus obferves, that this Favour of the Emperor gave Occafion to the Eunuchs to commit a thoufand remark- able Frauds, for they told the Prince, that thofe People, whofe Goods they begg'd as confifcated and forfeited, died without leav- ing any Widow, Children, or Relations, which often caufed the utter Ruin of many Families, and Tears, and Lamentations to the Lawful Inheritors, which commonly were old Widows, fickly and infirm, and innocent Orphans. It 'is true indeed, that he put out an Edi<5t forbidding Eunuchs to* be of the Number of the Patricii, or Chief Nobility ; but in this he had his particular Views, being only to difgrace Antlochm, who thereupon was forced to (hut himfelf up in a Monaftery.
-\-Lucian tells us, that ThiUierus, who was the firft Prince of Vergamns, was an Eu- nuch,, and that he lived Fourfcore Years. There was anotherPrince an Eunuch, whofe Name was Hermias, who could never bear any Body mould talk of a Knife in his Pre-
Lih. 5. fag. Soo. t Lucian. Macrob.
fence,
92 Eunuchifm "Difplafd.
fence, nor of cutting, becaufe he imagined thac thofe Words were meant of him as be- ing an Eunuch.
* If an Extrafl: of a Letter written from Batavia in the Indies , dated the 27th of November % 1684 (as may be feen in a Let- ter of Monfieur de Fontenelle, which was received in Rotterdam by Monfieur Bafnage) gives a true Account of a certain Adventure in thofe Parts, as may very well be believed, fince Monfieur Bayle has thought fie to re- late it not as a Thing fabulous, but as if he believed it certain ; fo far ought we to be from fufpeding the Truth of it. There is fomewhat very particular, which is this* Mreo Queen of the Ifle of Borneo , would have ail her Miriifters be Eunuchs. The Princefs Eenegu, who difputed her Right to the Throne, on the contrary, would not fuffer an Eunuch at her Court. But as we do not yet know what Succefs the Wars and Contefts of thefe two.Princef- fes may have, nor by Confequence which of them at prefent enjoys the Kingdom ; fo we are not certain whether the Mini- ftry of the Ifle of Borneo be compofed of Eunuchs or not. We can only fay, that Mreo\ Conduct is exadly like that of Plau-
* Nouvelles de la Re^ublique des Lettres Janvier. 1686. Art. 10. 'Tom.'), f. 87!
c tianus%
Eunuchifm Difp/a/d. 0j
* nanus, who in the Reign of the Mtonini
caftrated all thofe who were to ferve in the
; Family "of his Daughter FlautiUa, whom
Caracalla had married, not fparing Men
''any more than Boys, as may be feen in
c the Colledions of Confiantine Pcrpbyrogeni-
c tus upon Dion.
A Man muft have very little Knowledge in the Turkifi Hiftory, that does not know that Eunuchs are thofe who generally arrive to the higheft Pofts of Honour in the State, which, properly fpeaking, are poffefled ve- ry rarely by any befides. The two moil famons Batfas that acquired the greater!: Re- putation in thofe Wars, fo much celebrated in Hiftory, were Eunuchs. One was cal- led Hali, and the other $i*ar. It is faid, that Hali was a Perfon of much Wit and Humour, and had nothing of the Sournefs and Morofenefs of Temper, fo common to :he generality of Eunuchs y and a certain Author * tells us, that he could not help i>eing very pleafant with a Courier, who nought him the bad News of the Lofs of Strigoma, which was taken by the Chrifti- ins in the Year^ijjtf. telling him, that oe bad anotber-guife Lofs when tbsy took from nm tbe mofi important Piece be bad. And ?aulus Jovius tells us, that Sinar was caftra-
* Thu anus > lib* 17.
ted
94 Eunuchism Diffla/d.
ted by a Hog,, which tore off his In ft ru- mens, and devoured it when he was a Boy, lying afleep in the Shade.
What has been faid in this Chapter, on- ly concerns what Rank Eunuchs have held in civil Society, in Relation to Sovereign Princes. Let us now fee what Idea the People had of them, which (hall be the Sub- jeft of my next Chapter.
CHAP. Iv
..A..
What Notion the People had of Eunuchs.
TH E Eunuchs having abufed the Fa- vour of their* refpe&ive Princes, as we have feen in the foregoing Chapter, and made themfelves fo many mercilefs Tyrants to their fellow Subje&s ; / it is not in the leaft to be doubted, but thefe oppreft Peo- ple had their OpprefTors in utmoft Horror, and who were confequently infinitely much more feared than loved.
But it is not the Defign of this Treatife to difcover what Sentiments thefe People might have of their Servitude or Oppreflion, or of the Credit of thofe Eunuchs that ex- ercifed fo much Tyranny over them. The Queftion here to be examined, is only what Notion or Idea the People entertained of an
Eunuch,
Ettnuchifm Diftlafd. 95
Eunuch, as an Eunuch, and not of an Eu- nuch as a Tyrant.
And Hiftory informs us, that they not only utterly defpifed and hated, but that they could not abide fo much as to fee them.
Eunuchs according to the Prophet Ifai- ah are only dry Trees *. They are fmtten, (as another f Prophet faid of Ephraim) their Root is dried upy they fliall bear no Fruit, Trees that ought to be cut down, and deftroyed, and their Remembrance be for ever blotted out j why do they |j cumber the Ground ? There is fcarce any one but would willingly give the iirft Stroke to cut them down, or pluck them up by the Roots, to abolifh for ever this ^abominable Pra&ice out of the World ,• thefe are imperfed Creatures, inaWord,Mon- fters, to whom Nature indeed has been fparing of nothing but the Avarice, Lux- ury, or Malice of Men, have disfigured and deformed.
If they have fometimes been raifed to the higheft Pinacles of human Glory, and bask'd in the Sun-fhine of this World ; the People look'd upon them as fo many Er- roneous Productions of the depraved and corrupted Minds of Princes, who elevated
*Ifaiab,Chap. 56.^. 3. f Hofea,Cbap, 9. v. 16. 11 S. Luke, Chap. 13. v. 17.
them
()6 Eunuchifm Difplafd.
them to thofe high Stages of Honour, and when they appeared in Publick, they only encreafed and augmented the Hatred and Averfion the People had for them, who laughed at them amongft themfelves, cal- ling them old Women, &c.
"* Omnia ctfferunt Eunuchi Confute monftra HeUy terra cosliq^ pudor ! Trabeata per urbes Ofientatur anus^ titulumqi ejfeminat anni.
JQuibus unquam Sacula terris
Eunuchi videre forum,
— — - Nunquam Spado Conful in Orhe Nee Judex Duciorve fuity quodcunq^ virorum Eft DecuSy Eunuchi fcelus eft.
A front e recedant
Imperii, tenero traclari peclore nefcit Tublica Majeftas , unquam vel in aquore puppim Vridimui Eunuchi clavo par ere magi ft ri Nos adeo fperni faciles ? Orbifq\ Carina Vilior ?
All the World knows, Caligula made his Horfe Conful, and obliged People to pay him the Honours due to that Dignity *, and afterwards the Emperor" Arcadius took
* Claudia?! in Eutrop. Lib* I.
fancy
Eutiuchifm 'Diftla/J. 97
fancy likewife to make Flaccus Eutroplus Ma- tter of his Wardrobe, and an Eunuch Con- ful, who was the firft, or more properly fpeaking, the only one of that Quality that ever held that Employment. We have feen in the above- cited Verfes out of Claudlant what Value they had for this Eutroplus, on whom, as foon as he was nominated to be Gonful of Rome, that Poet made a very (harp Satire, and reprefented him (as we have feen above in the Verfes quoted,) as an old Woman inverted with the Honours of the Confulfhip.
Thofe who are the leaft acquainted with Ecclefiaftical * Hiftory, know after what manner John Bifhop of Conftantlnopk declaim- ed againft this fame Eutroplus, and how much he contributed to his Ruin. He had an End worthy of himfelf and his Inhuman Actions. This Eunuch having an Intention to punifh fome Perfons who had taken San- ctuary or Refuge in the Churches, he pre- vailed upon the Emperor to publifh a Law, that no Body mould take Refuge in Churches, and permitted his Officers to take thence thofe who had done fo. This was looked upon in thofe Days as a Piece of the higheft Injufticc to violate thofe Privileges of the
* SocraU Hijin Ecdefiaft. Lib, 10, Cbaf* 5*
E People ;
98 Eunuchifm Tj'ifpta) > d.
People; Init Eutropius not long after, had a Reward fuicable to his Deferts, for fcarce had this Law been promulged, before he fell into Difgrace with the Emperor, and was forced to take the fame Sanctuary as o- thers, and hid himfelf under the Altar, where while he lay trembling for fear, the Bifhop got up into the Pulpit, and inveigh- ed bitrerly againft him. The Hiftory adds, that the Emperor caufed him to be behead- ed, and put his Name out of the Lift of the Confute, and razed and defaced out of the Regifters this Law which he had prevailed upon him to publifh. The Difcontent of the better Sore of People, on account of his being advanced to this high Poft of Ho- nour, was the Caufe of his Ruin. In fhort, Gap fas, the Emperor's General, revolted when he faw this Eunuch mining in all his Confular Glory, and would not return to his Obedience, till the Emperor had fent him Eutropius^s Head.
The People compared this Eutropius to Gorgon, becaufe he had fo much Addrefs in all his Defigns, as few People could guefs at his Meafures, he was looked upon as one^ of thofe Plagues that then raged in the Courts of Princes. He fold all the Offices in the Magiftracy, difpofed of Govern- ments of Provinces in favour of thofe he beft liked, and not content to fee himfelf m ida Conful, he endeavoured to make him- felf
Eunvxhifm cDifpla/d. 99
felf Matter of the Empire. He was info- lent even towards his Prince, and fell into Difgrace for having fpoken very difrefpe<9> fully of the Emprefs.
But the People did not only defpife Eu- nuchs, but they had a perfect Hatred and A- verfion to them, and if the Name at firft paft for a Title of Honour, it grew at laft to be very injurious ; and one could not more fenfibly affront a Man than by calling him Eunuch. Eunuchs were of fu'ch an evil Au- gury amongft the Heathens, that * LucUn in more than one Place allures us, that they made many People that met them, turnfud- denly back to their own Houfes, who would rather go home than profecute their Bufinef that Day, as having met what por- tended to them fome Di fa Iter, or fome- what very unlucky. This is agreeable to what -[ Vllny fays, in relation to Animals having an Averfion to any of their own Species that mould happen to be gelt. He obferves, that if one gelds a Rat, that he makes- all other Rats run away from him, and that they will fooner abandon their ufu- al Haunts, than let him come amongft them. But furdy this was not the Motive that indu- ced Diocley to exclude Bagoas from teaching Philofophy.
* In Ffsnd. & in Eur.ucK *f* Lib. 3. cap. uli.
. F 2 CHAP.
ioo Eunuchifm Difpla/d*
CHAP. X.
oAfter what manner the Civil Law has confidered Eunuchs , and what Rights and Privileges it allowed them.
THE Emperor Domitiatt, in the Be- ginning of his Reign, feverely for- bid all Perfons, as well within, as without the Limits of the Roman Empire, to dare to make Eunuchs, which before was too frequently pra&ifed. Thus Martial compli- ments this Emperor on that Edid or De* cree.
* Lufus erat Sacra connubia fallete uda Lufus & immeritos execuiffe Mares
Utrafy Tu prohibes, C*fary populifq\ futuris Succurris, nafci quos fine fraude jubes
Nee Spado jam >nec Machus erit tePrtfide quifquam A Priusy O Mores 1 & Spado Machus erat.
This Law or Decree of Domitian was fo well relilhed by the People, and looked upon as an A&ion worthy a wife and ge- nerous Prince, that Martial on that occafion inscribes to him this fine Epigram.
* Martial Lib. 6. Ep. 2.
Ttbl
Bunuchlfm Difpla/J. i o i
* TUt fumme Rheni Dcmitory & Parens Orbit
Vudice Princeps, gratias agunt Urbes Topulos habebunt, par ere jam fcelus non efi Non puer avari Sextus arte Mangonls Virilitatfs damn a maret erept*.
However, it is certain, his Motives were not fo commendable, for he only made that Prohibition to mortify his Brother Titus, who had no fmall Kindnefs for Eunuchs, as Xiphilinus and Dion CaJJius ©bferves in his Life. Suetonius, 'tis true, does not mention this particular, but it is no lefs certain for all that. However this Law or Prohibici- on is not put into the Code, under the Name either of Domitian or Nerva, who afterwards made the like Decree, but under the Names of t Confiantine and Leo,
The famous and learned Monfieur it Leibnitz,, to whom I propofed this Difficulty by way of Converfation, effe&ually cleared up this Matter, by telling me, that this Law was put under the Names of thefe two laft Emperors, becaufe they had revived it, tho* Hiftory affures us, they were firft of all publifhed by Domitian and Nerva, which has been the Cafe of feveral other Laws, as thofe made againft Duels, which have paf-
* Martial. Lib. 9. Ep. 7. f Tit. 8. Lib. 48. J.
F ; fed
102 Ennuchifm "Difflay^d.
fed for the A<5b of modern Princes, who re- newed and re-publifhed them, though we know by Hiftory, that other Princes, ma- ny Ages before, had given them their
People.
The Emperor Adrian improved upon this Decree or Conftitution, for he not only pro- hibited making thofe Eunuchs by force, who did not defire to be fo, but alfo making them Eunuchs who did defire it. There are three Laws fucceffively upon this very Subjed in Title 8tb3 * Ad legem Crneliam de Sicariis & Vemficiis. The fir ft is in thefe Terms, viz* CviJrituinm qui dent eft ne fpidones fierent, eos aufttH qui hoc crimine arguerentur Cornelia legit ftna teneriy eorum(\\ bona merit o fifco meo vin- dicari debere ; fed & in fervos qui Spadones fe* ccrint ultimo fupplicio amm'advertendum ejje, Et qui hoc crimine tenentur fi non ad fuerint> d'. bfcnt'ibus qucq; tanquam lege Cornelia tene- aniur, pronunciandum ejfe. Plane fi ipfiqui banc Ivjurfatto p-JJi funty proclamaverint audire eos Vrisjes proline) a debet ^ quivirilitatem am'iferunt *y nemo cnim liberum frvumve invitum fcien- temve ciftrare debet ; ncque qui fe fponte ca- ftrtndum p'&here debet. Ac fi qux adverfus E''.:clum meum fecerit Medico quidem qui excide- rit capitale exit item ipfe qui fe fponte cijfran- dum prabuit.
The
Eunuchifin Uilflaf-d* i c j
The Words of the Second are, Hi quc% qui Thlibias faciunt ex Ccnftitutione D. Hadri- ani ad ninium ha ft am in eadem Caufa funt qua hi qui caftrant.
And the Third has thefe Words, Is qui fervum caftrandum tradiderit pro, parte dimidia bonorum mulciatur ex Senatus Confulto quod Ne- ratio Frifco & Annio Fero Ccnfulibus faftum eft.
By which fevere Penalties infli&ed by thefe Laws, fome of which were Capital, at le.aft Confiscation of one Moiety of the- Goods of chofe that fhouid at any time be convifted \ it plainly appears, that Caft ra- tion was looked upon as a thing (hameful, odious and highly prejudicial to Society, as weii to the Agent as the Patient in this cruel and unnatural Operation.
* Qui hominem, libidinis >vel cofnrncrcii eaufd cafiratyerit Senatus Confulta pand legis Cornell a punitur. \ TLt ft puerum quts caflravcrit & pre- tiqfiorem fecerit V'wianus fcribit cejfare *s£'qui- I'lam, fed Injuriarum erit agendum > aut ex E- diclo *s£dilium.y aut in q^adruplum*
This Word Pretiofior is fome what obfeure, for I cannot, well comprehend how any one who is mutilated, and degraded (if I may fo fay) from the Quality of a Man,
• * L. 3. §. 4. Tit. ecd. t £&&*< &$• 28. fit
2. U 9, AdJegem Aquiliam.'
F/ 4 "fhouid
io4 EunuchifmDiJplay*d.
fhoiild on that Account be more prccioui than he was before. But I fuppofe the meaning of it was this, that as Eunuchs were beloved and careffed by Princes, who often advan- ced them to the higheft Honour in the S^ate ; rheir Condition in that refpeft was rendered more considerable^ as appears in the Code ad Legem 4. de Tnpcfitis Sacrl Cubi- tufh
But the Emperor Jujllnian who reigned a' i.ervards, and who confidered throughly the Evils which might continually grow to the State by that Cuftom, as well as to par- ticular Perfons, repeated the fame Prohibi- tkrs in his Code*, wherein he decrees, that he who gelded any one (hould be pu- nifhed as one guilty of Murder y tanquam Ho- wicida punitur ilk qui crajlrat aliquem^ that i j fl.ould loofe his Life, it may be faid, that .Hcmhida only means one guilty of Man* paughter] nor Murder \ but k muft be obfer- vuj, that the Roman or Civil Law never made thofe Diftin&ions as we do, all .Man- slaughter with them was Murdtr7 and Homi- ddium with them, amounted to as much as what is Murdrum or Murderium with us.
And the fame Emperor in two Chapters of his Novels, (before which is a curious
*LiL$. f/7,42,/.*. t Authent. Coll. 9. tit. 24.
Eunuchlfm 'Difpla/d. J 05
Preface, which contains his Motives) he treats this Adfcion as impious, lewd, fhame- ful, difhoneft and criminal 5 and fays, that this Crime has been committed on a Mul- titude of People, few of whom have reco- vered, fcarce Three as he knew out of Four- fcore and Ten j he looked upon thefe A#s of Caft ration, as fo many Murders, as Anions quite oppofite to the Intention of God and Nature, as well as the Intention of his own Laws. He prohibited under fevere Penalties in his Code, which I juft now mentioned, the felling or buying Romans that had been made Eunuchs, either in the Roman Empire, or in foreign Parts \ he like- wife forbad, under pain of Death, to make Eunuchs in the Roman Empire *, and who- ever (hould permit his Slave to be made an Eunuch fhould forTeit to the Imperial Treafury or Exchequer, the half Part or Moiety of his Goods and Eftate.
* The Emperor Leo has declared him- felf againft it in much ftronger Terms, Virttttisy fays he, a Deo Nature indit a executlo non minore cum audacid identidem committitur eyiam (i apud Deum nutll pn& obnoxia ejjtt cum tamen vel maxime fit, Et cjuanquam veteribm legiflatoribm curafuerit ut id malum ultricelege excideretUr quo refpubllea ah ifiiujmodi invento
* Lccb. ConflH. 60. hm
V c mtmd* j
106 Eunuch'iftn T>i]frayTd.
munda effet, baud fcio tameny cum ft qui aliiy hulc arte prtfcripto obtemperariy atq$ a nature mutilatione abfiineri aquum fit, quamobrem non ita faciant homines, fid tanquam utilitatem quandam ifiiufmodl adverfus generandi vim, in- fidias reputantes membra qua hominis nafandi caufam Juppe d it ant y laucinent, & creaturam all- am: quam quails Conditcris fapkntia placuerit m, Mundum mtroducere contendant. Hoc igitur aim in ultum relinquendum non putemus, lege mid panam confjtituenteSj quibus adeo Dlvinam creatuTiim defirmare Religio non eft, eorum au- dkciam^ auxilianie Duo reprlmere conemur-
He calls thofe whom.ike Eunuchs, Nature j-uridiatores drfcftanda hujus Arils Artifices , the iM&flinesof Nature, and the Artificers of this deteftable and abominable Art. He accordingly condemns them, and concludes, that molt excellent Conftkution in thefe Beau'ifui Exprtffions, that if they bore any Office in the Imperial Family, they mould be immediately ftruck out of the Lift, Si in Albo^ fays he, Imperatorii famulalus fitys Artiftx detejlanda bujus Anis prlmum albo exi- matisr.- . *
A Man who made an Eunuch, was look- ed upon to be a Notorim or TaheUio9 as one tint made a faife or counterfeit Deed; and the Pkce where fuch A&ion was commit- ted, was considered as a Place where High? Ireafon had been committed,
t Mornajr
Eumichifm 'Difolafd. i o 7
Mornay, who has made an excellent Com- mentary upon the Title of the Code, which treats de Eunuchis, fays he read in a French Hiftorian, that a Soldier was punifhed for having caken from a Friar that which he believed could be of no ufe to him ; an un- heard of Aaion, fays the Hiftorian, quod in audita afud nos fueraP.
Mejjire Claude de Ferricre, who alfo made a Sort of a Commentary upon the fame Place, tells the very fame Hiftory, buc he adds his Refle&ions ; and tho' a good Catholick, he fays, that there arefome People, who fay it is much to be wished, that the Church had no other Minifters but Eunuchs. Quod folos Eunuchos ha'oerec Ecclefu Mioiftros, to prevent thofe Diforders •which we fee often committed, as well as thofe we never hear of It is true, continues he, that there may be a great many who may find their Account in it, if it were fo } however J believe it would be much betterAo let things re- main as they now are, and not to do Evil to thofe who defire nothing but the good of their
1CUYS.
Neighb>,„
Buc leaving thefe Speculations, it is moil certain, the Civil Law looked uoon this A- <ftion of making Eunuchs as abominable, and theEunuchhimlelfasa Monftsr, and there- fore never granted and allowed Eunuchs the Rights and Privileges as other Men had. For Example, they were not permitted to make a Will,
Sown
108 Eunuchijm €DiJfla/d.
I own the Emperor Con ft ant me, who gave them chat Privilege, (for he did juft as they would have him) put out an Edi& in their Favour, whereby it was decreed, that it fhouid be lawful for Eunuchs to make a Will, or Laft-Teftament as well as other People; and on occafion, add Codicils. Eu- nucbh (fays that Edid:) liceat facers Tc ft amen- tum e&mpdnere y oft rem as exemflo omnium 5 vg- iuntateS} c&nferibere Codicillos, falvd Teftamen^ tarum obfervantid. But all the Learned in thofe Laws, are of Opinion, that this Li' berty was reftri&ive, and only concerned thofe Eunuchs that were about his Perfon or the Emprefs ; and it is certain, in whatfo- ever degree of Favour the Eunuchs were at Court, yet they were ftill looked upon in reality, to be no better than Slaves, j they were ever the Sport of Princes, who very often abufed their Services. And the fame thing may be faid of them as of Mon- keys which Ladies are fo fond of, and drefs them up in Velvet and Brocade.
But it is certain that Eunuchs were de- barred the Privilege to make chek Wills- The Emperor Leo gives a very good Rea- fon for it in his q&h Novel, but more par- ticularly in the Law Jubemtts, which is the Fourth of the Code de Vr*fofitis facrl Cubi- culiy. & de omnibus CubicuUriis & pivilegiis ecrum. The Title fufficiently fhows, that It relates to Eunuchs, but the Terms put it
quite
Eunuchifm Difflafd. iof
quite out of Queftion. Nam cum hoc pri- vilegium, fays he, videatur principalis ejfe pro- fritim Majeftatis ut non famulorum ficut pri- vate conditionis homines fed liberorum honeftis utatur obfequiis7 psriniquum eft cos duntaxat pati for tun a deterioris incommoda, fed t eft amenta quidem ad fimilitudinem aliorum qui ingenuita~ xis infulis decorantur pro fud liceat els condere voluntate. He neverthelefs adds this Refle- ction, which diftinguifnes them free Sub- jects. * Int eft at ovum vero nemo dubitet facul- tatesy Mtpote fine legit i mis fuccejforibus defuncjo- rum fifci juribus vindicari * and that which evidently demonftrates, that the Eunuchs were by this Law or Ordinance ranged a- mongft thofe which are there called Intefta- ti, is the following Sentence in the fame LaWj viz,. Hcec omnia diligenti obfervatiom volumut cuftodii cum fponte fuaq; uoluntate- gjuts dederit Eunuchum facri Cubiculi Minifte- riis adhafurum. We fee now, that Eunuchs were upon no better footing than of Slaves, fmce they were reckoned amongft thofe who could have no lawful Heirs or Succef- fors ; and confequently after they were dead, were by that Law efteemed as In- teftate, or as having made no Will at all. It is true, thofe of them which were of
* L. 6. ff. de Lihens & poftbum. fared* htftitmndis mel exh^TiVdks,
the
fi o EuniichifmcDifflay>d*
the Prince's Guard were excepted, but this Exception only confirms the general Rule,
Exceptio in non except is fir mat Regulam. In general then it is certain, that they could not make any one their Heirs , or be themfelves Heirs to any one \ and their Eftate and Goods after their Death de- volved to the Prince's Treafury or Exche- quer.
They were alfo confidered as infamous Perfons, unworthy of the Privilege and Be- nefit of the Laws •, witnefs that famous De* claration of the Civilian Paulus. * Quam- vis nulla perfona excipiatur, tamen intelligendum eft da his legem [entire qui liberos tollere pojffunt • Jtaqi (i Caftraium libert um jure jurando quis ade- perit dicendum eft non puniri Vatronum hac hge.
They were uncapable of the Privilege of Adoption, the Law being exprefs againft them in that refped, f Sed & illud utriufq-^ adopt ionis commune eft y <\*od & ii qui generare non piffunt^ (quales funt Spadones) adopt are pof~ funt, caftrati autem non pojfunt. The difference between Spado and Caftratus, I have fhewn above in Chap. III.
However, I cannot but own, that the Emperor Leo has (if I may ufe the Expref- fion) re-capacicated them in Novel 26, by
*" L. ■ 6. ff. de jure Vattomtus. f S$f«' $ed &
illud hJkSuU Ub. uSiii 11. de.Adtyt;
which
-
Eumichifm cDifplafd. i x i
which he enables them to adopt; and the Reafon he alledges is very plaufible, which is, that as thofe who have loft the ufe of their Speech, or are not able to bring the Words out of their Mouths, fo as to be un- derftood, are by no means forbidden to make Signs with their Hands, to fupply the Office of their Tongue, or write down how they would have their Affairs managed. So neither fliould thofe who have loft their Genitals, and fo can have no Children, for that reafon, be debarred fome other Way, to make up their want of them. His Words are, jQuvmadrnodum cut vocls ufm ademptm qua lingua munia funt per manus ad implere & <[ui Sertnonem labiis fundere nequitj non pro- hibetur. Ita neque qui quod genitaltbus privati funt liberos non habtnt horum indigentiam alia Tttodo ccmpenfare ijetandum eft.
But tnis notwithstanding does not feem to be conformable to the Rules of Ju- ftice ; for ic is a Maxim of the Civil Law, as well. as Philofophy, and good Senfe, that adoptio nat twain imitatur9 whence follows^ that pro Monfiro eft tit mayr fit filius quam pattr, which would be if this fhould take Place.
It is certain, the Law has prefcribed the Age at which one may adopt in fuch man- ner, that the Proportion of Ages fhculd ever be obferved ; for it would be ridicu- lous, that in Adoption the Son fliould be
older.
1 1 2 Eunuchifm 'Difflafd*
older than the Father, or not fo many Years younger as might be according to Nature ; for thofe Reafons it is faid, that Adoption follows or imitates Nature. But how would it imitate Nature in this Cafe of Eunuchs, to permit one who not only never was a Father, but has not the Capa- city or Parts requifice ever to make him fo?
Befides it mud be obferved, that Adop- tion originally was only permuted to thofe Perfons which once had Children to com- fort them, znd in forne meafure to fupply that Lofs $ which Privilege afterwards was extended to thofe who had no manifeft Im- pediment to hinder them from having Chil- dren, but who in effedhad the unhappinefs never to have any ; but it never was aliow'd Women to adopt, becaufe they were unca- pable of the principal ErTedr. of Adoption, which is raievnd ?ower, but yet fometimes they were permitted to adopt by Difpenfe- tion, or by Indulgence of the Prince, and that they might be comforted for cheir dead Children. Ex Iniulgentia Vrincips ad fola- i tiam liberor-tttn amijjorum.
But furely it would be to abufe Adoption, to fuffer thofe People who never had, or ever could have any Children to make ufe of that Privilege. This is not to imi- tate or follow Nature, but to furpafs it ; | or rather infult and affront it, to give Chil- dren
Ennuchifm DiffJay'd. 1 1 }
dren to thofe who are defpoiled of the Means to produce any.
* The Civilians have had fo great a regard to thefe Confiderations, that they would not fuffer one of thofe Eunuchs who were permitted to make a Will, to inftitute a Pofthumous Child for his Heir. The Words of Ulpian are very plaia in this Cafe in the Law, Sed eft quafitum §. i. Sedfi Gaftra* tits Jit, Julianus Proculi opinionem feculas non put at pofthamum, Haredem pojje inftitnerey quo jure utimur.
I muft confefs, I cannot but wonder that Scbueidevin, a Perfon of fo much Judgment and Learning, fhould maintain, That a Eunuch was capable, according to Law, of taking upon him the Office of a Tutor or Guardian. It is true, he feems as if he would be underftood ro mean thofe Impo- tents who have only loft one of thofe Parts Nature had beftow'd upon other People, and his Comparifon gives us room to be- lieve fo : Fory t fays he, as one cannot refufe Wardship to any one under pretence that be has but One Eye, or that he is what the Lawyers call Morbofus, certainly he whom they call Spado, can on no pretence whatsoever he exempt from
* Lib. 6. ff. de Liber. &pofth. hired, infiituendis vel exbtredexdis lib. 29. Seel, penult, de inofficios Teftam. t Schueideuin in Fnjlitut, lib, 1. fit, 25. Seel. 7.
executing
1 1 4 Eunuchism T)ifflafd.
executing that Office : And he confirms his Opinion by the * Spadonem 2. of the 6 ff. de ts£dilitio Edicto & Redbibitio?jey & quanti minoris7 which contains thefe Terms, Spa- donem morbofum non ej]e, neq\ vitiofum verius mihl vjdetuY fid fanum effe, fecuii ilium qui unum Tefticulum babet qui ethm generare pottfi. That which makes me believe that he does not mean in that Place an Eunuch properly fo called, is, that in the very Title there is a diftinclion made between \ Morbofus and Vitiatusy as alfo between Vitwm Simplex, and Vitium corporis penetrans ad Stimium^ [j and particularly mentions* thofe who are excefiively fearful, greedy, covetous, or foon provoked to Anger. How then can a Man fo timorous and -fearful as an Eunuch is, ferve as a Support and Affiftance to a Minor under his Tutelage, who perhaps may, notwithftanding his Non-Age, have infinitely greater Courage and Vigour of Spirit than himfelf?
But be that as it will, I am fure the thing it felf appears to me to be contrary to Order and Jufb'ce, and I may add, the * Law it felf, which (ays,- that Wardfhip is a f Manly Office, far beyond the weaknefs of
* Infitut. de laved, cualli. QP differ. /. 4. f Lib. I SeB. 11. || Lib. 20. SeB. 7. ff. qui 'Tejlamenta. j
facere poffunt.
a Wo-
Eunuchlfm *Diftla?d* 1 1 5
a Womanifh Soul. -J- Tutelam adminiftrare 'virile munia eft, & ultra Sexum feminea infir- mitatis tale Officium eft.
I haveofcen wonder'd how the Civil Law came to permit them to take Arms. || Qui cum umco Tejticulo, fays the Law, natus eft juve militabity fecundum Divi Trajani refculum. And the Reafon which the Law gives for it is (till more furprizing, becaufe truly the Generals Sylla and Cotta, were faid to be iff the fame Condition. Nanr & Duces Sylla & Cotta r/iemorantur to habitis fuijfe Na>ur<e. But becaufe there happened to be two great Men that were Eunuchs, by a very particular Exception to that Rule, muft k be therefore made a Law, that all others are capable of bearing Arms ?
The Conjugal Combat is of a different Nature from the Military, and fo are the Arms ,• but as Eunuchs are not accoutred with thefe, they aie intirely in an incapa- city of engaging in this agreeable Warfare. This is the Decifion of Plautus in that witty Aliufion of his, * Si amandum eft, amore oportet teftibus prafentibus.
In fhort, an Eunuch was never fuffered to appear in any folemn Ad:, t Ad folewnia
f Lib.' 1. Cod. yuand. Alulier Tutor, off. fung.fotefi. "|| L. 4. lib. 49. tit. 16. de Re Militar'i.* * Plant, in Cur ml. \ Lib, z^j. Sect. 7. ff. Qxi Teftament. face-
re foffu?it,
adhi-
n6 Eunuchifm DifplayJd.
adhiberl non pete/} cum juris Civilis Communio- nem non habeat in totumy ne Vr&tcris c^uidem £- diffi Natur&.
I have faid enough of this Subjeft, and fliall conclude this Chapter by obferving that we muft make a great difference be- tween voluntary Eunuchs who have been made fo by their own Will and Confent, and thofe who have been conftrained to be made Eunuchs to fave their Lives., or fome fuch like Neceffity, The former were ever odious and defpicabie, but the latter ("if their Behaviour do not deferve otherwise) ought to be pitied, and demand our Help and Support.
CHAP. XL
What Rani voluntary Eunuchs have held in Civil Society , and after what man- tier the Laws have confider }d them9 and what Rights and Privileges they had therehy allowed them.
IF forced Eunuchs, that is, thofe who have been made fo in their Infancy of Youth, in the times of Perfecution, or by the Command or Direction of a Tyrant, and even thofe who became fo by fome Accident or Misfortune, were, notwith- ftanding, the Objeft of the Contempt and
Raillery
Eunuchifm Difpla/d. 1 1 7
Raillery of the reft of Mankind ; wliac Indignation muft they have conceivM a- gainft thofe bafe and groveling Souls, who by mere views of Intereft and Ambition, have caufed that exteriour part of their Body to be cut off, which is the mod noble and moft advantagious to Society ? The Law condemns them to the greateft PunHh- ment, as thofe that are their own Mur* derers. Let us fee how the Emperor Adrian paffes Sentence againft them. If any one, fays he, does contrary to my Edi&, the Sur- geon who performs the Operation, as well as he that fpontaneoufly offer'd himfelf to undergo it, (hall be put to Death ; or which is the fame thing, it (hall be a capital Crime in both. His words are, * Acfi quis adver- [us Ediclum me urn fecerit. Medico quidetns qui exciderit, capitate erit3 Item ipfi qui fe fponte excidendum pr<tbuit.
They were, as I have often obferv'd, look'd upon heretofore as infamous in the higheft Degree; they were banifhd the Society of Men, nor could they make either Man or Woman their Heir, nor be themfelves Heir, to either.
Agreeable to this, I (hall inftance a Cafe out of \ Valerius Alaximus. Genutius, Prieft
* L. 4. ff. ad Legem Cornel, de Sicatiis. f Vale- rius Max, lib. 7. cap. 7. Exem%. 6,
to
i i 8 Eunuckifm TUfpla/d.
to C/hele Mother of the Gods, having ob-- tain'd of the Praetor Cn. Orefiesy the Poffef- j fion of the Eftate left him by Nevianus in his Will, Sardinius appealed to the Conful Mamercus, infixing, that Genutius being vo- luntarily deprived of thofe parts which made him a Man, ought not to be rank'd either among Men or Women $ upon which, the Decree of the Prator was re- vers'd. This was an A&, fays our Author,} worthy Mamercus, and a Prince of the Senate, for he bindred the Seats of our Judges from being fullied with the fight of fo unworthy a Terfon as Genutius, and that his fauealing effeminate Voice fhould not be heard on his fre- ttnce of demanding Juftice.
This is fufficient for this Article ; what has been laid in the foregoing Chapters may be applied as to other Cafes. I fhali only add, that even alfo amongft volunrary Eunuchs^ fome are excepted from the general Con^ tempt, and that publick Condemnation fo: juftly due to others, fuch as the unhappy; Combafas, and others in the like Cafes : not that they are altogether excufable, but it may be faid of them, that they became fo, becaufe they thought thereby to avoid the greater Evil, and imitated that Merchant of whom Juvenal makes mention, or rather the Beaver, who Gelds himfelf tq fave his JLife.
lmi\
Eunuchtfm Dijf!ay\L \ r 9
- lm it at us C aft or a qui fe *
Eunuchum ipfe facit, cuficns evadere Damno TefticuLfum —
Juft as the Beaver, that wife thinking Brute^ Whoy when hard hunted on a clofe Ptrfuit, Bites off his Stones, the caufe if all the ft rife y And pays *em down a Ranfom for his Life,
Dryden.
This Poet was of the fame Opinion with thofeNaturalifts, \ who believed that the Beaver bit offhisTefticles to deliver himfelf from the Hunters Po^er, imagining tjiat he ispurfued for nothing elfe j but Monfieur, the Baron de la Hontan, has fufficiently re- futed^ that old Error : Thefe are his Words,
|| ' With fubmiffion to the Difcoverers c of Nature, and the Searchers into the 1 Secrets of the Almighty upon the Earth,
it is not true that the Beaver mutilates or ? makes himfelf an Eunuch as has been be- 1 liev'd, that he might thereby efcapg the f too eager purfuit of the Hunter ; no, I the Males have coo great a Value for their
* Juvenal Satyr. 12. -f Ariftol. lib.-], cap.?.
Hiftor. Animal JEfop. in Apol JElian. lib. tf. cap. 33. Ptir. hb. 17. cap. 6. i| Vofage de la, tfohtan dans
VAmeriyue feptentrionah. Torn* 1. Lett. 16. p. 181. QPc.
c Sex,
20 Eunuchism Difpla/d.
Sex, and have a greater regard than that to the Propagation of their own Species. I cannot at the fame time conceive upon what grounds People have built fo great a Chimera, for in truth, the Matter which the Followers of Hyfocrates call Caftoreumy is not enclos'd in thofe precious and folded Parts, but in a Receptacle or Vehicle made not unlike a Pouch or Pocket, which is fo peculiarly adapted to the Organicai Mechanifm of thefe Ani- mals, that Nature feems only to have form'd it for them j the Ufe that the Beaver makes of this Matter, is to cleanfe anddifengage his Teeth when they are full of the Gum of fome certain Shrubs he generally feeds on, and which very much incommodes him.
* But fuppole I (hould grant that the Ca- fioreum is lodged in the Tefticles, how could this Animal bite them off without tearing to pieces thofe Nerves to which they are joined near the Os Pubis. (Show. me any Huron Officer of them all can talk! more like an Anatomift) But — I have been fo much taken up with my own Praifes, that I have almoft forgot what Confequence I would draw from this tearing off the Nerves, &c No Matter, I will not for all that be beat out of my; Scientificai Ratiocinations. And were not e/£/w», think we, and other fuch like
I Dreamers
Eunuchifm Difpla/d. r 2 1
Dreamers in natural Philofophy,well em* ployed to tell us of hunting of Beavers? Did they extrad this profound Knowledge in their moft ftudious Medications in their Studies ? Had they had the Honour to live as I have done amongft thefe Amphibi- ous Animals, they would have known that a Beaver does not trouble himfeif about a Hunter } for you mult underftand, that- this Animal has the Inftind or Precaution never to ftir far from the Bank of the River or Lake where he has made his Den or Hole ; befides, he is very quick at hearing, and ever upon the Iiften, and on the lealt Noife, he plunges himfeif in and fwims under Water till fuch time as he fancies he may return fafely to his Habi- tation. But if this Reafon bears no weight with it in refped to the Land Beavers, I muft fend you both to the Os Pubis, another very peremptory Argu- ment •, for if the Beaver to flop the pur- fuit of the Enemy makes that bloody Operation as fome have believ'd, Nature would have given him in that Adion but a very imperfed Inftind ; for when this Animal by lofing of his Tefticles (hall have no Caftoreum left, yet he would be ftill liable to be hunted, and with no lefs eagernefs of purfuic than before ; for the Caftoreum is not fo confiderable, o: rather, it is nothing in companion of the
* Skin
122 Eunuchtfm Difplafd.
' Skin: This is the cheif Prey, and the \ Mafterpiece of the Bead j and therefore 1 the poor Beaver to fave himfelf from c the Avarice of the Hunter, ought at c leaft to flea himfelf alive, and throw him c his Skin ; and even then I cannot tell i whether that barbarous and infatiable Fi* c gure call'd Man, would be contented with- ' out the Fleih too and Bones of this inno- ' cent Animal.
c His Skin is very odd and different one c part of it from the other, forra'd and c composed of two quite oppofite forts of c Hair or Fur, one long, blackifh, mining
* and round, the other loofe, foft, and c longer in Winter than at other times, and c is the fineft filky Down in the World. I c need not tell you 'tis this laft fort which c is fo valuable, and" fought after with fo c much eagernefs, and that thefe Animals
* would live more peaceably, and with *■ greater fecurity, had they only a Skin c covered with the other. Thus far Mon- fieur le Baron de la Hontan.
This Gentleman has given a very curious Defcriprion and Hiftory of the Beaver, but I have contented my feif with citing only what regards Caftration, and I can have no manner of Difficulty to give into the Opinio;) of chis noble Traveller, who was not only a Perfo; of Learning, but a Man of good Senfe and Tafte of Things,
and
Eunuchijhi rDifplafd. 1 2 j
and therefore furely at leaft very capable of thinking, reafoning, and framing a juft Judgment on fuch a Subject as this, which only requires Sight and Difcernment.
I have obferv'd in reading Pliny, that about his Time there was an old Phyfician whofe Name was Sextius, diligentiffimus Me- dicine veteris Autory who was much of the fame Opinion with this learned Baron Je la. Hontan, and as I have had the Honour of feeing this ingenious Baron, to whom the Publick is fo much oblig'd for many rare Difcoveries he has made them, and for his having fo agreeably entertain'd them; (though his Works are wretchedly tranfla- ted into Engiifo) 'tis therefore I cannot help fpeaking of him with that Refped and Ho- nour which I think due to his high Merits and excellent Qualities.
G 2 CHAR
1 24 Eunuchifm Difpla/d.
CHAP. XII.
What Rank loth voluntary and forced Eunuchs have held in the Churchy and after what manner her Canons have confided d themy and what Rights and Privileges they have thereby aU low^d.
GO D Almighty ever had an Averfion for all mutilated and maimed Ani- mals, they were an Abomination to him. * You fliall not offer unto the Lord, (fays he himfelf in the Holy Scriptures) that which is brulfed cr crufiied, or broken or cut ^neither flj all you make any Offering thereof in your Land. This Prohibition indeed is general, but there is another which has a particular re- lation to Man,t and proves, that an Eu- nuch fhall not enter into the Congregation of the Lord, it is, Church of the Lord in the Original.
Some Interpreters of the Holy Scripture, believe that by this Word Congregation or Church, is only meant the Affembly of the Jtwsy and that God only forbids by this Law, thofe who were made Eunuchs (as Jefus
* Levit. Chap. 22. v. 24. f ^cut. Chap. 23. v. 1.
Chrijl
ttunuchifm Difpla/J. 1 2 5
Cbrifi himfelf is pleas'd to exprefs it in the 19th Chapter of St. Matthew's Gofpel) to be admitted into Affemblies or publick Offices. I (hall not here infert the feveral fpiritual Senfes which Tbeodoret, Clemens Alexandrinus, and feveral other Fathers of the Church have given upon this Paiftge, it is certain that by this Text, one may clearly perceive that a certain Sterility and Impotence, are things unworthy and very difpleafing to God, and thefe Explications would not only take up too much Room in this fmall Work, but would be likewife too great a Digreffion ,• I. fhall therefore only fay, that by this Word Congregation or Church, from which Eunuchs are excluded, muft be underftood, not only the Affemblies of the Jews and their Magistracy, but even all their Rights and Privileges; an Eunuch could not enjoy any of thefe Advantages, they could not be reckoned or accounted amongft the Numbers of God's People, nor be an Ifraelite, nor a Son of Abraham, nor enjoy any of the Privileges of the Jewifh Nation, nor partake of the Benefits
l yj? Ju,biIee' In a Word> Eunuchs were banifli'd from the publick Society of the Jews, and in this Senfe is the Word Congrega- tion underftood in the 4th Verfe of the 20th Chapter of the Book of Numbers, and in feveral other parts of the Holy Scrip- ture. J r
G % We
12 5 Eunuchifm Ttifpla/J.
We fee here a terrible Curfe and Male- £ i&ion ; the Law of God is much more fevere agaioft Eunuchs than the Civil and Political Laws I have before cired. But perhaps fome will fay, that thefe Laws do not bind under the new Difpenfation, and that they are far from excluding Eunuchs iiom the Church ox Congregation of the FaithfuL If we believe Origen or the Va- hfians, it is neceffary to be an Eunuch to gain the Kingdom of Heaven.
But I have evidently made it appear in the foregoing Chapters, how thofe Words of Jefus Cbrift, in the 19th Chapter of St. Matthew's Gofpel are to be underitpod, and how even Origen himfelf underftood them afterwards, as alfo that the Laws of the Chriflian Churck exprefly condemn'd voluntary Eunuchs, and even fome of the other forts. The Canon * fays, that Corfore vitiati fimiliter a [acrid Officiis prohibentur, this is a little general, but what follows is more particular. % Si quis fro agritudine nat#ralia a Medicis fecJa habuerit } fimiliter & quia Barbaris, aut qui a Dominis fuis caftrati fnerinty & moribm digni inveniuntur bos Canon • admit- tit ad Clerum promoveri. Si quis autem fanw ven per Dijciplinam Relpgionis abftineptia fed per abfcijjiowm ■ - exifiimat pofje a fe carnaks
* Di/lfatf. 55. cap. K t. Ibid> cap, 10. .
\ - Con*
i
Eunuchifm Difpla/d. 1 27
Concupifcentias amptttari, & ideo fe caftrayerit, non turn admitti dectrnimtts ad aliquod Cierica- tr/s Officium. Quod (I jam ftterit ante promotes ad Clerum probibitus a juo minifierio deponalur. The Reafon of this Difference we are told in the 8th Canon, which after having fpoken of thofe Eunuchs who are invo- luntarily fo, that cafu aliquo contigerit dum operi rujtico curam impcndunt, aut aliquid faci- entes Jeipfos nonfpontepercutiunty and oppos'd them to voluntary Eunuchs, it fays, ni Mis enim Voluntatem vindicanda qua (ibi caufa fuit ferrum injicere, iniflis atttem Ca/ibus Veniam me- ruit, and fays the fame thing of thofe whom Barbarians, Sicknefs, a Tyrant, or an Ene- my has redue'd to that wretched Condition, and thefe, fays the Canon, deferve our Commiferation and Support.
This Law is much more ancient than the Decree of Gratian, whence I have extract- ed the Decifions I have here inferted • it is
eftablifti'd by the Council of Nice, which is the firft of the OEcumenicai or General Councils, the firft Canon of which is as follows : c If any Perfon who is diftem- * pered and oblig'd to be made an Eunuch c by the Surgeon, or if he be cut by Bar- c barians, he may remain among the Cler- c gy, and in the State oc an Ecclefiaftick ; c but if he be well in Health and caftrates c himfeif, if he be of the Body of the c Clergy, he muft abftain from exercifing G 4 * his
128 Eunuchifm DifpJa/J.
f his Minifterial Function, and that for the € future, no one of that fort (hall beadmit- ' ted to bean Ecclefiaftick.
Now as it is evident that this Decree re- fpe&s only thofe who have deliberately acled after this manner, and who have caftrated themfelves, this cannot any ways affe<5l thofe who were made Eunuchs by Barbarians or by their Mafters, for thefe may be receiv'd into Orders according to the Rules of the Church, provided they have no Impediment otherwife.
This Canon of the Nicene Council is infer ted in the Life of St. Athanafias by Monfieur Herman, with Reflections of that Judicious Author, which it will not be im- p oper to mention here, and which is as follows. ' It is not poflibla, in reality,
* to fay what were the Motives that in- >* duced the Fathers of the Council of Nice
* to treat uf this Subject, and to make ufe
* of this juft Severity againft thofe who c made themfelves Eunuchs by their own
* Hands; it is certain that this wilfurl mu-
* tiiation, which was forbidden by the Ci-
* vil Laws, and particularly by thofe of
* the Emperor Adrian, could not be ap*
* prov'd of by the Authority of the Church.
* The inconfiderate Zeal of Origen, who
* made himlelf an Eunuch through a too
* literal Explanation of the 19th Chapter
* of St. Matthew's Gofpel, was condemn'd
Eunuchifm T)ifpla/d. f 2 9
by Demetrius his Bifhop, though at the fame time he admired this Action as a Tranfport of extraordinary Piety. The abufe of fome Hereticks who were callsd the Vakfiam, caftrated all who were of their Se&, had before that been confider'd as an Extravagance fufficiently contrary to the Sentiments of true Religion, as- well as the common Rules of Humanity. All thefe Confiderations fufficiently jufti- fy the Council of Nice, but do not inform us what was the Occafion. Some will have it that this Canon was made upon occafion of Lefutius, who was advanc'cl by the Arrians to the Epifcopal See of Antiocby and was deprived becaufe he had caftrated himfelf; but fince Theodoret de- clares that his Ordination was contrary to the Decrees of the Nicene Council, ic has given occafion to fome People to- be- lieve, that that Prieft had not then com- mitted that Extravagance, and that ic was not till fince the Time of that Holy and Venerable AfTembly, that the Defoe-, he had to have a more free Converfation with Eflolia, a young Lady, made him> with his own Hands, like Origen, arm him- felf againft all Sufpicion, which he, like: him, imagin'd otherwife might arife froma
* a malicious and cenforious World.
ff But however that be,, it is certain thar.
* thole who of p§rfe& Men became Eu-
G £ 1 BoicUs*
1 3 o Eunuchifm 'Diftlafd.
nuchs, either through Violence of others, or Sicknefs, are not excluded from the Dignities of the Church ; and this actu- ally was the Cafe of Si German and St. Ig- natius, who fo worthily filled the Patri- archal See of Conftantinople. But thofe who out of a falfe Zeal for Chaftity, or fome other Motive, have been induced to commit on themfelves fuch an Ad of Barbarity, are judged unworthy of the 1 Fun&ions of the Miniftry, if they were
* before in Orders, and of ever being ad-
* mitted thereto if they were Laymen* Thus far the Canon.
As to thofe who are made Eunuchs for In- sereft, Ambition, or other vile,bafe,and odious Motives, it was not enough that they were excluded the Miniftry, but they were eyer jeputed as infamous, and baniuYd the So- ciety of Men ,• and that this was the fenfe ©f Antiquity, I have fufficiently made ap- pear in the Example of Gmutius.
But I go yet farther, and not only efteem shem as Perfons deferving the utmoft Shame and Infamy, but that they ought to be puniuY'd with all the feverky of capital Offender?. The Civil Law looks upon them, and declares them to be felf-murder- ersj for it fays, f That if any one cut him-
* felf? that is, if he cut off his viril Mem- c bers, he (hall not be admitted a Member
* of the Clergy, becaufe he is a Suicide or
Eunuchism 'Difflay'd. i } x
c Self murderer, and an Enemy to the Purpo- ' fesof God 5 but if he t>e already a Clerk, c or in Orders, let him fuffer condemna- c tion, for he is a felf-murderer. * Si ^«/x abfeideritfemttipfum, id eftyfiquis amputaymt fibi Virilia nonftet Clericus, quia Jul eft homicida y & Dei Condition* inimicus. Si quis cum Cleri- cusfuerityabfcideritfemetipfum omnino damnetur, quia fui homicida eft.
This Term Homicida or Murderer, mud not be taken in the literal Senfe } for rigo- roufly fpeaking, it is not always true that he who makes himfelf an Eunuch dies un- der the Operation, but it is here made ule of, becaufe he is in danger of dying by fuch Operation ,• for it has been ob- ferv'd in the ioth Chapter of this Work, by the Emperor Juftinian, that of Fourfcore andTeri People which he knew to have been gelt, not above Three efcap'd Death. It is fpr this Reafon then, that thofe who are voluntary Eunuchs are called Suicides or Self- murderers ; that is, by reafon of the Danger that might follow Caftration ,• propter peri- culum quod fequti porerat feclionem ; in the fame fenfe as it is faid in the laft Chapter of the 87th Diftinction, that wbofoever expofes an Infant is a Homicide or Murderer • which is grounded upon this Reafon, that we muft
Ibid* Cap* 5.
*Ofc
i 5 * lunueBifm TSifflafi.
not confid'er what actually does happen, but what may. frator non ait cttjus cafus nocere pofa, fays the Law^ ex bis Verbis * maniftjlatur non omm quidquid fofitum eft> fed quidyuidfic pofitum 8 ft ut nocere fojjit , hocfolum fropicere "Pratorem ne poffit nocere^ nee fpBamm %t noceat% fed mnino fi nocere poffit Ediclo hew ft ; Cmcetttr- antem qui pofitum habuity (lv& jwcuit id quod pofitum &r it five non nocuit.
I ffaall add to the Cafes excepted by the law another Cafe, and that is, when the Welfare and Health of the whole Body re- quires* that one part be cut off, as when people have Mortifications in their Legs $&$ Arms, &c. for it is a Maxim of good* Seiafe, thas one part had better be loft than the whole, prxftat partis quam totim facere jjtBwrafn? but I have evidently fnewn, that neither Conference nor Religion can ferve as a pretence for this Infamous Operation 5; fe» k is not lawful though k be to preferve &ny Virtue, as for Example, ChaQity, be- caufe there are never wanting other Means iy God's Grace, whereby a Man may not only acquit but preferve and defend this 'Virtue, Non eft 1hit& ad fcundam aliquant Tirtutem^ v^g. C^ftitatem quia non defunt alia- ynedia quibw cum Dei Gratia fojfit homo & ajfzqui & tnerl banc Virtutzm*
* L. Si vero 5. Seft> n. lib* ?• ff. tit. 3. de his qui iffctderint vel dejectrint*,
lilt:
Eunuchifm 7)iffJafd, i j j
But before I end this Chapter, I (hall beg leave to fay, that there remains yet one thing worthy the Obfervation of the niceft Criticks, andmoft celebrated Canonifts and Civilians j which Mornac takes notice of in his Commentary upon the Law Si quis Cod.. de Eunuchis, and is this.
The 9th Canon of the f yth Diftindion^ has thefe Words, Eunuchus ft per infidias ho- minum faclus eft txl [i in perfecutione ei funt antputat virilia vel it a natus, eft dignns^ftat Efifcopus ; this Word Epifcopus feems to be very ill placed ; we muft therefore, to clear up this Doubt, have reeourfe to the 21 of the Apoftolical Canons, where we find in the Greek Copy, the Word xMjpai* and not '$.irinta7r.&9 and what gave occafion Clays Mornac) to the Learned, to be be in doubt concerning this Matter, was, that the Inde- cency and Deformity attending an effemi- nate, defpicable and beardlefs Man, would- not permit us to believe, the Church would advance an Eunuch (one who was no Man., properly fpeaking,) to the Epifcopal Dig- nity, which would qualify him to teach, prefide over, and govern the reft of the Clergy, who properly were fo. This Re- flexion is not ufelels here, for k plainly (hews, that what ever Support and Com- paffion the Church may have for thole un- happy Perfons,. their Condition was never- thetelk fo abje<ft and vile, that however 0-
ihciK
i j 4 Eunuchifm Difpla/d.
therwife worthy they might be, (he never would place them in her higheft Stations, or confer on them her moft confiderable and eminent Dignities.
I fhall conclude this Chapter, and this firft Part of my Treatife, with fome Re- marks which will not be foreign to the Subjed. I muft fay then, that I have not here pretended to write a natural Hiftory of Eunuchs, or an exact Relation of thofe People, as they have been confidered in ail Ages and Countrys, the Cuftoms of Nati- ,- ons, and Times, differ very much ; and to ' the foame of human Reafon be it fpoken, we fee that which was the common Tail in one Age, was Difguft in another. This di- verfity appears every where amongft diffe- rent People, who have a different Taft and Genius. This deficiency, deprivation, or lack of Virility, or Manhood, is not equals ly opprobrious in all Places; in many Places in the World it has rendered fome People very Confiderable, which otherwife, would not have been in the leaft taken notice of.
They have been employed in the higheft Offices, and have received Honours not in- feriour to Sovereign Princes ,• and even to this Day are held in the fame Refpeft in the Levant, Verjia, Egypt, Mefopotamia ; and it is notorious, that in the Port of the Grand Seignior, and through all that vaft Empire, which extends it felf over three Parts of the
old
Eunuchifm DiftJa/d. i 3 5
old World, Eunuchs poflefs an Authority, little lefs than Sovereign. They were here- tofore the Eyes and Ears of the Kings of Terjiay as they are now of the Ottoman Em- perors.
The Rowan* on the contrary, ever held thefe Hail-men in the utmoft Difdain and Horror ; they abominated Caftration. Let us hear how Cafar fpeaks, on occafion of an Infinity of People whom Pharnaces had cau- fed to be deprived of their Virility ; * which Vunifhmcat, fays he, the Romans efteem worfe than Death. Jguod quidem fupflicium gravius morte civa Roma-ni ducunt * and yet we fee that forne little time after ?lautianus> in the time of the stntonwijhey made a great Num- ber of Eunuchs, as I have before obferved in this Work ; and at prefent the Italians make no fmall Account of them.
t Monfieur Chevrean fays, (and it is true enough) that they call their Eunuchs or Ca/trati, if they have a fine Voice, Vertuous \Vertuofi~] ('and fo they honour their Courtis fans likewife with that Title when they iing or play on the Guitar^ Queen Chriftina ufed to call them la Virtuofa CanagHa, than which could not be a more poignant Ex- preffion.
* De Bell, Alex and, | Chevrean a Tom, i, p. 200.
But
ij6 Hunuchifm Difpla/d.
But it is a Matter worth Obfervation^ that Italy only (which is but a little Angle in Comparifon of the.Chriftian World; pro- duces Eunuchs. I know very well, they will tell us at Rome, that every one who makes an Eunuch is excommunicated, ipfo faBo ; but how the great Men at the Court of Rome can, notwithftanding, encourage this Practice, (as in fad they do, by encou- raging Eunuchs, not only in their Operas,, but even in their very Churches, which if they did not, there would be none) is what I have not capacity enough to comprehend. For certainly, no fine Voice can compen- fate for fuch a Loft to the Eunuch, what- ever he may gain by it ; nor give fo much Satisfaction to the Audience, as may coun- tervail the Encouragement of fuch Mutila- tions, which is abfolutely againft the very Letter of the Ecclefiaftical Canons, and in- volves the Agent in an Excommunication^ ipfo fatfo.
But this being not my Bufmefs to dive in- to, and no ways the Intention of this Work, I mail only fay, that it will be fufficienc for me to conclude all what I have hitherca faid on.- this- Subject, that there appears to be not any one Ordinance, nor Law, nor? Conftitution, that regulates the Marriage of Eunuchs, which infallibly we mould dis- cover in. either ancient or modern Hiftory,. <qi in the Compilers of the Laws^ if it had
besa.
Eunuchifm 'DiftJa/d. i jy
been permitted them to contract Marriage, as we do a&ually find feveral Laws in rela- tion to their making themfelves fo, and con- cerning their Power of making Wills, A- doption, and becoming Guardians, &c. But on the contrary, we find Laws which abfolutely forbid and prohibit them to mar- ry ; and this fliall be more particularly ex- amined in the 2d Part of this Treatifs.
The End of the Firft Part. »
PART, IE
&i*mmmiM®i§iW^Mm^^m
PART II.
Wherein is examined what Right Eunuchs have to marry, and whe* ther they ought to be fuffered to enter into that State.
CHAP. t.
Of the Nature and End of Marriage* That an Eunuch can no ways anjwer that End.
M
Y Defign is not here to make an Elogium on Marriage, or throughly examine the Mat- ter of that State in all it's Circumftances. This feems to be the Employment of the Cafuifts, and Sanchez,, and Pontius have found wherewithal on this Subject, to make each of them a large Volume in Folio ,• and we have
feen
Eunuchifm T^ifplafd. ijo.
feen in our Days an Ecclefiaftick of Florence, Charles Maz&i, who has endeavoured to treat fuccin&ly on this Subject, and reduce the mod material Cafes into an Abridgment, as appears in the Title Page of his Book, which is, Mare magnum Sacrament i Matrimo- nii in exiguo. However, this Treatife of his, is a Volume in Folio, which made a pleafant Gentleman fay, that if that Author, in pre- fencing the World with a Book in Folio, has only given us -the Ocean of Matrimony in Miniature, how many Volumes would it make in its full Extent? But be that as it will, it is certainly a Sea of fuch vaft Circumfe- rence, fo troubled, and fo full of Rocks, Quick-fands, Gulfs, and Whirl-pools, that the moft able Dealers in Cafuiftical Theo- logy find themfelves very often in fo much Perplexity, that they are uncertain which Courfe to fteer ; I (hall therefore content my felf to lay down fome general Princi- ples, by which I fliall make appear, what is the Nature and the End of Marriage, that I may thence draw fuch Confequences as are neceffary to the particular Subject Mat- ter of this Second Part.
Marriage then according to the general Definition which the Lawyers give, is, A Ccnfent cf Man and Woman, to pafs their Lives together in a perpetual Union, which is infepura- ble, only by the Death of either Party. Vki &
Ma-
14° Eunuchifm DlffJay^d.
Muliirh conjuntlio individual?) vita confuetudi- nem continent.
Though this Definition be made by the Learned Sages of the Law, who are its very Oracles ,* yet withiubmiffion to their Reverences, I muft beg leave co-fay it is not juft ; for if this Definition fhould hold good, the Turtle which has never but one Mate, and will never couple with any other while that is living, may be faid to contract Mar- riage, which ought by no Means to be faid of Brutes, and Creatures deftitute of Reafon and Underftanding. Befides, according to this, conftant Concubinage with one Wo- man would alfo be a true Marriage, which feems contrary to the Inftitution of the Union of Marriage. All infeparable Uni- ons in Society are not Marriages ; however, not to difpute here a Definition, which has been univerfaliy received for fo many Ages, I (hall only obferve, that it contains in it two Exprefiions, which are fomewhat obfcure, and need Explication $ the firft is Conjunct™, which is not to be taken (imply for the Confeht of thofe who are to con- trad Marriage, but muft alfo be taken pro Cor forum Commixtione : The Second is, Indi- vidual, which is to be underftood of thofe who contrad Marriage, and are fuppofed to have a Defign of living together in Uni- on till the Death of either Party ; for Di- vorce being permitted amongft the Romant,
as
Eunuchifm T^if^lafd. 141
as may be feen by the whole Title of the Code de Repudits, and of the Digeft, De Divortiis & Repudiis : This I thought necef- fary to premife, that what (hall be faid in this Chapter, may the better be underftood, and all Doubts and Equivocation of Words entirely removed.
Marriage undoubtedly is the moft excel- lent of all Unions.
1. Becaufe God himfelf inftituted it in Paradife, during the State of perfed Inno- cence.
2. Becaufe there is nothing of fo great Ad-1 vantage and Conveniency to Man in this World, as Marriage, nor which fuits more with his Necefficies.
;. Becaufe it is of abfolute Neceffi'y to the World, to keep up Society, and preferve Chaftity and Modefty.
The Difference of Sexes, and thefe Words increafeand multiply, which God himfelf pro- nounced when he joined them together, when he inftituted Marriage, and bleffed it, evidently demonftrate, that the End of that Union could be nothing elfe but the propa- gation of Mankind.
This Union then could not be fuppofed to be only a bare Confent of each Party to
live
x42 Eunuchifm rDifp!a/d.
live together, as forrie have imagined, but pro Corporum Commixtione, of to fpeak a lit- tle plainer, pro copula carnalu Thefe Words of God, and they two fljall be one Flefh, can mean nothing elfe. The Canonifts cori- fider the Daughter and her Husband, as one only Perfon, as one and the fame individual Child, and the fame of the Son and his Wife, Sic Vir & Uxor, fay they, non jam duo fed una caro funt, non aliter eft Nurus reputanda yuam Filia, now they can by no means be faid to be one Fiefh, but by confummation of Marriage, non aliter Vir & Uxor poffunt una caro fieri, nifi carnali copula fibi adbareant. Thefe are the Terms made ufe of in the Canon Law.
In fhort, if thefe Words muft fignify on- ly a fimple Confent, in what Senfe muft we underftand the Words of St. Paul? Who fays, chat he who lies with a lewd Woman is the fame Body with her, for they two, fays he, are made one Flejh. A Man who commits Fornication with a Woman, does not thereby engage himfelf to live with her as long as he lives ; how then can he become one Flefti with her, uniefs it be, as I faid before, per Corporum Commixtionem, or per Copulam carnalem ? And what End could this Conjunction have, according to the In- tention of Almighty God, who was its prime Inftitutor, but Procreation ? Encreafe and Multiply, fays he, it was for this End I join- ed
Eunuchism Difflafd. 143
ed you together. He does not fay, Divert yourfelves, give a Loofe to your BrutifljPaj/lms, do what your fnfual appetite and mere Nature prompt you to, merely to pleafe and fatisfy your Inclinations , but Encreafe and Multiply.
Befides, Adam being then in the State of Innocence, God could not give him fuch Liberties, for he had not then thofe Con- cupifcenfes of the Flefh, which his Pofteri- ty bring into theWorld, impreft in their very Nature.
It is true, fome Interpreters are willing to believe, that this Word Increafe, means no more than the Growth of the Body ; but it is certain, it has a farther fignification, for in the Original, it (ignifies fruftify or be fruitful, and in this Senfe it is taken in ho- ly Scripture. The Lord hath fworn in Truth unto David, and he will not turn from it, of the Fruit of thy "Body foall I Jet upon thy Throne, Pfalm 1 ;2. v. n. That is, one of thy Po- fterity . And in this Senfe Elizabeth under- ftood it, when (he faid to the Bleffed Virgin Alary, Bleffed be the Fruit of thy Womb.
Prophane Authors have alfo underftood it after this manner, witnefs this Verfe of Claudia?} *.
Nafcitur ad fruclum mulier prokm^futuram.
* In Eutrop. Lib. 1.
This
144 Eunuchifm THfpIa/J.
This Expreffion is well known in the Ca- non Law, * in which the Mother is called the Root, and the Child the Flower or Ap- ple, Mater in frocreatione Filii dicitur Radix, Filius veroflos & pomum. It is certain, that the Word multiply, which follows, fruBify, or increafd, leaves no room for Doubt or Am- biguity, but that increafe and fruclify muft neceffary fignify the fame thing.
St. Paul talking of Widows, would have the younger marry, and bear Children. Women therefore were to be married fop that Reafon and Intent, that they may bear us Sons and Daughters, that -we may be encrea- fed and not diminished, as the Prophet Jere- my expreffes it, Chap. 29. v. 6.
God then inftituted Marriage only for Generation, and that by that means we might live in our Pofterity, and in tome Sort make our felves living after Death, f Natura nos docet parentes pios liberorum procre- andorum animo & voto uxores ducere ^ . . . Etenim id circo Filios Filiafve conGipimm atq\ edimus ut ex prole eorum, earumve, diuturnita- tis nobis Memoriam in z^vum relinquiamus.
Whence fome Interpreters believe, that pfus Chrift, when in St. Luke's Gofpel, ifhefaid, that People (hall not marry, or
* Cap. tunc Salvabitur tf.qutft- 5« 8^/KA Glofs.fn\ + L. 2 20. jf. deverbor. jignif. Seft< 3. infn. \[Chap. 20. v. 35, $6.
JLanucbifin D if pi ay' d. 145
be given in Marriage after the Refur rection, becaufe, fays he, Neither can they die any more, meant the fame, as if he had faid, that Marriage being only inftituted to give us Succehors after our Death, it would not be necefiary for Men to mar- ry after the Refurrection, becaufe they could not die any more, or want Suo ceffors.
The Defire of having IfTue is impreft by Nature, both in the Man and Woman, but fome will have it, that it is much greater in the latter, and thence it comes to pais, fay they, that that Contract has taken its Name, rather from the Woman than the Man, for t Matrimcmum, fay they, is fo call'd, a Matrh nomine it on adeptoy Jam fed cum fpe & Omine adipi- fcendi. But I muft own I am not of their Opinion, for it is certain, that the Man perpetuates his Name and Reputation, by Means of his Children ♦, and therefore muft naturally be fuppos'd, much more to defire them than the Woman, whole Reputation confifts entirely in doing her Duty towards her Husband and Family, for the Husband, according to St. Paul, is tfc Glory of the Wife.
H Eefides
\AuU GeU. lib. 18, Chap. 6
1 46 Eunmhijw DiffUfd.
Befides, according to the Canonifts * Films Alatri ante Partum eft onerojm, in pjrtu dolorofiiSj poft parhm laborivfits. I am therefore inciin'd to believe, that it is more probable, that Matrimony took its Name from the Woman, becaufe ihe contributes more to it than the Man ♦, but however that be, it is certain, this ftili reiults from it, that the Defire of pro- -creating Children, is the End of Marriage.
The Philofophers were very clear as to this Point. For, as (fay they) Man is naturally and fubftantially . an Animal, jo is he of Confequence a living Creature, "but the moft natural Act of all living Things is to Generate, or Eeget their Like § It is a PerfeBkn (fay they farther) for ever; Thing to produce its Like. ^uemvXthnociumHomo mtitraliter & fubftan- i\a iter eft Animal? ita eft Vivem>Natvra- lijjivmm autwnOpus Viventiwn eft generare j hi Senile 5 Perfe&um eft, Umtmquodq? cum Simile f.hi producere poteft. According to thefe Maxim i, how .can Marriage be iupported to agree with the State and Condition of a Eunuch ? And does It not hence evidently appear, that Eunucnifin and Marriage are two Things incompa- tible and euentially oppofite ?
The
Cap* .exf. <fe Converf Infidel*
Eunuch ifm D/fp/ayd. 147
The very Heathens, who had no other Guide than the obfcure Light of human Reaibn, would never permit any one fhoukl contract Marriage, with any other End than Procreation, as may be ieen by the following Example.
" Septith, • Mother of the Trachale^ "" out of Spite to her Sons, tho' ihe was " then advanced to an Age paft Child* " bearing, married PMwms, who was x' likewile very old, and by her Will, °' deprive! them of fucceeding to her w Eftate, upon which they complain'd to " Aitxnftus, who declar'd the Marriage* " null, and fet aflde the Will, made her " Children her Heirs, and depriv'd the a old Man of the Advantages his Wife " de/Tgn'd him, becaufe (fays he) they " had contracted Marriage without any * Hopes of Ifliie.
Had Tuftice herfelf fate on the Throne, and took Cognizance of this Caufe, could flie have pronounc'd a more grave and equitable Sentence? The very Beafts themfelves, who never finnU, but reman within the Bounds of their Nature, never fufFer the Male to approach them bit cn> Recount of Generation, ..
H* CHAR
348 TLunuchifm Difpla/d.
X H A P. II.
Eunuchs being entirely incapable of an- fwering the End of Marriage , ought by no Means to contract it.
EUnuchs, who contract Marriage, are Cheats, and as fuch ought to be punifh'd.
u For in the firft Place, it is certain, they are guilty of a notorious Act of Falf- hood, for they put on the Appearance of Men, when they are not fo in Reality. Falfhood, according to the Learned in the Laws, * eft ABus dolofus veritatis ?nw tanda gratia, ad altervm decivie?idumfaftus quern lex pro falfo habet, & lege Cornelia? de faljis coercet. It is not neceffary that Eunuchs to be guilty of this Crime, lhould fay pofitively, that they were ca- pable to fatisfy the Duties of Marriage, it is fufficient that they knew what thofe Duties are, and that they engage in fuch Contracts, and make a Semblance to the World as if they could really perform what is required in that State ^ for t Fah
fum
* Novell 73 in Trincip* § X. Ekganter. 24. rf grcireprobes jf. de pgnor aft.
EuHticbifm DiffUyrd. 149*
fnm committitur 71071 ditto fed fatfo, as may be feen in all the Cafes reported in the Law, Qnid fit falfum quarfair, 2 1 jf ad Legem ConieUam de Faljis.
2. In the fecond Place, they promife that which they cannot perform. There h a Difference in tlie Law between Efpoufals and M.it ri mony.Sp 071 f alia & Matrimonii^ ^ Spovfaia furit vientw & rcpromifo Nup- turumfuturarwn. Thefe are the Terms of the Law, ff. 1. de Spoufalibus.
This Word Spnnfa-h comes from the Word Spo7tdere, which Signifies to promife. The Canon Law is very different from the Civil, -in relation to the affiancing or efpoufmg young Perfons or Children. The former t makes this exprefs Decifion, Sponf cilia ambonim Infa7ithim, pel alterius tantttm per fupervenientiam Ma) oris JEtatis non va'idantvr, neopublicam hoveftatem in- ducunt. The other, on the contrary * fays abfolutely, that Sponfalibus contrahendis j¥tas Covtrahertium d finita ncn e/?, but it adds thefe V ords, ut in Matrimonii^ that is to fay, bt Matrimomo 71071 con/ideratur prhicipaiter Mtss fed Potentia generattdh The Age of thofe who are to contrail, ought to be certain, becaufe they muft be capable of Confummation, If it fhould
H 3 io
Sixt.DecreUib.^tit. 2. * 14 jf- de Sponfalibus.
250 Eunuchijm Difpl&fd.
fo happen, that one is not capable, it is then no Marriage, for ubi datur pennixtio habilis eum inhabitum vitiatur AEtusflnando reqmr'iiur Concurfus habilitates in Utro% This is a Maxim which is evidently de«« monftrated by the Canonifts, who have made Commentaries on the Law, Utile 71011 debet per Inutile vitiari.
And it is upon this Maxim that the fecond Chapter de Frig'dis is founded, which has thefe exprefs Words, fait Puer qui von poteft redder e debit urn, ron efi aptits Ccrjitgio, Jic qui impotertes fimtjninime apti ad ccvtrahenda matrimonia reputa7ititrr An Infant then is not fit to marry, becaufe he cannot perform the Duties of Mar- riage.
It is very pleafant to read the Difpetv fations given by the Arch-Bifhop of Tours in the Marriage of Lewis the Dauphin, Son of Charles the Seventh, and Margaret of Scotland, becaufe he was but fourteen Year of Age, and {he but twelve, as if a Difpenfation of that Kind was in the Power of Man, which Nature could only grant.
Jnjliviav has fix'd Puberty to fourteen Yeas in tojs and twelve in Girls, but he extents out of the general Rule, thofe qn r I h i Mi 1 1 i %4 fupplet At at em. But Nature' is fubjedt to no Laws, neither Civil nor Cancn, Ihe fometimes makes her own
Rules
Eunucbifm DifflfifL I 5 1
Rules, fometimes {he is niggardly, fome- times lavifh of her Favours. The Holy- Scripture tells us of a Solomon and or' an Acktz., the one begot Roboam at eleven- Years of Age, and the other EzcUm at ten.
St. Jerovu Pope Gregory the Great, Sb:- fi&ffr, MoniieurBwcfoo.', andfeveral others have related fevcral In (lances of the like Nature. Thev tell us, they knew of a Boy at ten Years of Age, who had a C! ild by his Nurie, and feveral other Examples of thefe early Fruits. But neither the Authority nor Artifice of Men any ways contribute to thefe rare Producti- ons.
But Euauchshaving no more that, which might render them capable of Marriage, do well to have Recourfe to the Au- hority of Men -? but they can never put them into a Condition capable of Confurnmati*!** and they never will thenre be able to ob- tain the Power to execute what they have engaged and promifed.
They therefore moft certainly are id the Wrong to promife folemnly what they know they can never perform themlelves, whatever Help and Affiftance they may otherwife have.
H.4. The
x$2 Eunuch ifm Difpl&fd.
The Cannonifts fpeaking of David\ Marriage with the Sbunamite * put the Quefiion, whether David did well to efpoufe her, Bathfieba, Abigail, and his ether Wives and Concubines being yet living, and being himfelf not in a Con- dition to confummate. And they excufe him, becaufe he did not take her through a Motive of Concupifcence, or of his own I Inclination, but by the Advice, or rather I Direction of his Phyficians, and to fatisry the great Men of this Kingdom •, and they tell us, that by this Means the Life of that King was prolonged \ Adomjah being conquer M, and the Reign of Solomon being eftabliilied, we ought to judge favou^ rably.
Laftly, Marriage is a Kind of Bargain and Sale, whereby the Husband accquires the Power over his Wife's Body, and {he in like Manner of her Husband's.
At Rome, heretofore, Marriage was by Purchafe, per Em$ticnemy it is then an honeft Contract,' in which, fay the learn- ed in the Laws, * there never ought to be prefum'd a Fraud, when either of the Parties malicioufiy keeps any Thing fecret from the other. Now, as in a Con-
traft
* i Ch. i Booh ofKhigs* + L. ea qua cammed damli wufaff.*vd. CoMrabdi empt.
Eunachifrn Difplafd. 15 j;
tra& of buying and felling, nothing ought to be conceal'd or doubtful, but the Buyer be inform'd of the Faults of the Com- modity he is going to buy, or of the fecret: Diftemper of the Beaft he has purchafed, So likewife in this Contract or Commerce of Marriage, all the Fraud muft be impu- ted to the Eunuch, who conceals his Im- potency.
Fragofm examines this Queftion, in his excellent Treatife, entituled, Regimen Rei- public & Cbrijliait&j Impedimenta Matrimo- iwy, an Jint i evelanda quando funt omnbio far eta, and he makes this Decifion, that whofoever (fays he) * does not reveal all Impediments which are ietrimtntaL I'nz grievouQy, (mvrtally he calls it. J The Marriage of thefe Sort of People is* f) odious, that it is always declared to be null and void, as foon as it comes to be known.
The Marriages amongft the ancient Romans, per Coemptionem, was celebrated after this Manner : After fome few Ce- remonies, the Parties ask'd one another the following Queftion s-} the Man ask'd- the Woman if fhe would be the Mother or a Family? She then is to anlwer I will. Then the Woman, in her Turn, ask'd the H 5 Man
Tart. \,llb. 5. d/fput, 12. [ 10, mm. 351
1 54 Eunuchifm Difplafd.
Man, if he would be the Father of a Fa- mily, who anfwers likewife, I will And this was as good a Marriage as any in the World.
The fever al Solemnities made ufe oi in the Roman Marriages, may be feen at large, in the fixth Book of St. Augnfims City of God, in Rofcius, and other Km* thors, who have written of the Roman Antiquities,
CHAP. III.
The Marriage of Eunuchs is con flier ed as null, and as if it had never been.
IT is a Maxim hi Law that, falfum quod efij nihil eft, an Eunuch which is united to Woman by Marriage, deludes and cheats her, becauie on his Part he is not able to contribute what he ought, in Relation to the Sub fiance of Matrimony -y and we may truly fay, fuch an Union is only a vain Phantom, a falfe, fictitious Marriage, and in Reality, no Marriage at all. And therefore, when a Woman, who has been thus furpriz'd by an Eunuch comes to be lawfiilly feparated from him, they do not diflblve the Marriage, but lay
it
Eunuchifm Bifp&tf'd. i 55.
it is Null, that is, it is no Marriage at all,- And it is upon t is Principle that the Laws relating to t ,efe Sort of Unions are founded, * which fhew, that in iiich Cafes there is neither Husband, nor Wife, nor Portion, nor Dowry. The Law intitied, in Caujis, contains an exprefs Becifion in this Cafe, Si Maritus |fays that. Law) Uxore ab initio Matrimoyiii vfq$ ad duos annos continuos computavdos coire vmrimey propter ytaturalem imbeciUitatem valeat^ potefi MuYie?\ vel ejus Tar elites finepericulo Dotis amittends, repudium viarito iniitere. The Law Si ferva Servo f explains it yet more clearly, Si fpadoni Mulier mpjerit diflinguer.dum arbitror caftratm fucrit vecne, nt in Caftrato dicas dotcm r,m effey in eo qui caftratus vcn eftm quia eft Matrix. 0- ?iium, & Dos & Doiis attio eft. In the fecond Cafe, the Husband can bring his Action for his Wife's Portion, and the Reafon there given is this, That it is a Marriage, and by Confequence in the firffc Cafe there is no Marriage, fince there is no Action allow'd to be brought •, but this Matter requires a little more our Atten- tion,
It
* Vih. <. tit. 17. /. 10. \ Llh. 23. ffc.3. de
156 Eanuchifm DiffUfi.
It is generally imagin d, that becaufe a Woman is ty'd by Contract to a Man, and the Ceremonies of the Church have made that Bond Solemn, that therefore it is a true Marriage, but that is a very great Midalce : This vulgar Error is built upon that Maxim of the Law (which I (hall explain in its proper Place) Confenfus, non Concnbhm Matrimonhtm fetch. But it is roi enough that a Woman is Contracted and Elpoufed in the Face of the Church, led Home to the Houfe of her Husband, and put into his Arms, for all thefe Cir- cum fiances are only the Signs of a Mar- liage, but do not make one $ the Man and Woman both ought to be marrigeable, that is, capable of Confummation.
It was therefore with good Reafon, that Jnflhnan in his Ihftitutes has decreed, that if fiich a Woman lofts her Husband before {he is Viripotens, fhe was nev:r lawfully a Wife.. * Nee Vir (fays he) mo lixorjiec Nupti&7 nee Matrimonhim^ec Dos hiieWigiiur.
Laheo gives yet a clearer Ex-plication, quarto PupiU&y fiyi fea, qmniactg^gx mpfe* rit ft ea minor quam Vir'potem mtpjent 0:011 ante ei7 L'gatum debebitur quam Vm-
pot em
1 ■ -mm— — " m
J Tit. de Nuptiis § 1 2,
Eunuchism DifpUfd. 157
fotem effe c&perk, quia von pot eft videri ympta, qiiA virum pati nonpotefi,
* Hiftory reports a Fact worthy cur Obfervation, Francis, the Firft of that Name, King of France, willing to bring the Duke of Cleves off from the Interefi: of the Emperor, Charles the Firth, and en- gage him in his own, oblig'd Margaret- of France, his Sifter, and Albert King of ; Navarre, his Brother in Law, to give him in Marriage their Daughter 3^iw£, who was then only Nine Years of Age 5 the Mar- riage was concluded and, and celebrated in the City of Cbateleraud, the Bride put to Bed 5 however it wasfaid afterwards by the Pope, that this was no Marriage, and that young Princefs was married anew to Antony of Bourbon,
It was, no Doubt, on this Principle,that the Court permitted t a 37-oung Girl who had been married to the elder Brother, to marry afterwards to the younger, becaufe Ihe became then to be marrigeable. But this would have been approving of Inceft, had they believ'd the firft a true Marri- age
$ X. 30 jf. quart do dies leg. vel. fideic. cedat, *Tride Vrucbueri manuale icoo Quxftlon. iUnjirium Thzolog. Cent or. 8. q.uafl 43 • \ Trefor oa laSik- Votbeque du Droit Francois par M. Lauret} Boucbd Tom, 2. Vag* 683.
158 Eunuchifm D iff I ay* d.
age, it is therefore evident, they did not look upon it as fuch.
§ The Councils have exprefl y forbidden Pritfts to marry thofe,who are notorioufly uncapable to exercife the Functions of Marriage. The Canonifts are much more Deciiive in this Matter than other Law- jrers, for they go fo far as to fay, thatr Covtra&os ante Fubertatem etiam cum Niju, camalis Copula non facit Matrhnonium.
If we would know what Pubertas means, we may be fully fatisfy'd in the third Chapter of the fame Title, which tells us that, Puberes a pube funt vocati, id eft, a . pudentia Corporis Ttuncupati, quia h&c loca \ primo lamtghiem ducunt. Quidem tamen ex mam. pubertatem exiftimant, id eft, eum ejfe puberem qui tredecim annos implevit, quam- vis tardijjime pub ej cat \ Certum eft autem earn puberem ejfe, qu& ex babitu Corporis pubertatem oftendit, & generare jamjam po- teft, & puerpern funt qua in annis pueri~ libus par hint.
So therefore, according to this Definiti- on, Eunuchs can never be Vuberes, and being otherwife uncapable of Marriage, of Confequence thoie they contract are null of Courfe.
§ CapltuU 16. Decretal Gre$or. Llh. 4. Tit. 2.
Eunuchifm DifpUfd. i $9
I fhall end this Chapter by obferving, that, non eft inter eos Matrimor.nim qttos von copulat Commixtio Sexus. As it is laid in Gratian. * Non eft dubium, fays he, Warn Mulierem 71071 pertinere ad Alatrimo* viiim, cmn qua Commixtio Sexus 71071 docetur fuijfe. § Qui Matr'itnuftio conjunBi fuut & mibcre non pojfimt, illi nonfunt Conjuges. In fhort, we fee what ,is a Marriage ac- cording to the Cafuifts, In 0711711 Matri- 7iio7iio, fay they, t Conjvn&io inteUigitur Jpiritualis, quam c 071 jinn at, & perjxk Con- jmiftorum Convnixtio corporalis.
The Marriages then of Eunuchs never were truly Marriages, becaufe there never was a true Conjunction, and in iuch Cafes the proper Judges do not pronounce a Diffolution, but only fay in plain Terms, that there is no Marriage at all, and that the Parties complaining may have the Liberty to Contract with whom they^ pleafe, * Time proprie non fit Di- vortium, fed jit Declaratio, ut alii fciant illam Societatem non ejfe Conjngium, & conceditur Perfona qus. habet Natura vices integras, ut et?a7n vivente altero, impotente pojjit co7ttrahere.
The
* Deer tt, 2. pars com. 37. quefl, 2, cap. ij, § ibid. cap. 30. \ ibid. cap. 37. * Collat. 4. N<3- veil, 22; tit. de caufis [olutiQnis cum pxna*
i6o TLunuchifm Difylxfd,.
The Church of Rome, which looks upon Matrimony as a Sacrament,never diflblves- it, quoad Vinculum, but feperatcs the Party complaining only, quoad Tborum \ but where they permit the Party com- plaining to marry again, 'tis becaufe they look upon the former Marriage to have been ipfo fafio null, and as if it had ne^ ver been. :a
It is therefore to mock and abufe the moft grave and ferious Ceremonies of Religion, to countenance a falfe and chi- merical Ad, and authorife an Impofture,. that unavoidably muft be attended with fuch Inconveniences, which it is good to prevent. We may truly fay of thefe Peo- ple, that their Cafe is exactly parallel with that mention 'd in the Novel t of the Emperor Jufimran, which was made to punilh either, of the Parties who mould be found to have given Caufe for diffol- ving fuch Conjuction.
So' 'on had long before, made a Law a^ gainft thofe, who could not render their Wives what was their Due ♦, and ordain'd that in fuch Cafe, the Women might bring an ABion upon the Cafc^ for Dar mages againft their Impotent, or -Non-per- formi^S Husbands.
CHAP.
f CoUat. 4. Novel* 22. Tit. de Caufis Solutm't cum $<znz*
Eunuchifm DifpUfd. i6x
CHAP. IV.
The Inconveniencies generally attending Eunuchs Marriages,
THE Poet Claudian *t {peaking of an Eunuch, calls him a wrinkled old Woman •, and Terence has much the fame* Expreilion, § Ewinchum, fays he, ilhtmve Ob jeer o ? Inhoneftum Homir.em quern mer- catus eft, here, fenem MuXierem. But * Martial pufhes the Satyr much farther, he is not only content to fay, fpeaking of Nwnay who had feen an Effeminate Eu- nuch.
Thelin vlderet in Toga Spadonem, Dammtam Numa dixit ejfe M&cbatn$
Which is one of the mofl: biting Expref- fions in the World, but fays farther,
D&s etiam diBa eft. Nondum tibi Roma videtur Hoc fatht Expettas?imiqiiid & ut pariat?
All
•f /» Eutroi). Lih. t." § Terent. Eunuch. Aft 2\ Sccn.%. * Martial Ep. 52. lib. 10.-
1 62 Uunmh'tjm DiftUyrd.
All the Difference is, that Martial fpeaks of two Men who made themfelves pafs for Women, and thofe I difcourfe of are Men who in Reality are as Women, and to whom very well may be applied that which is faid in the Law, cum vir vubit, Cod. ad Legem Corneliam. They are the Words of the Emperor Conftantius- and Ccvftavs, Cum vir, fay they, mibit ut fmnhia vice* parztitra quid cupiatvr, vM Sexm per didit locum, abi Jcelvs eftid, quod man proficit fcire, vibi Vemu mutatur hi al- terum fonnamjibi amor qn&rituriiec videtur9 for fuch a Conjunction cannot produce the Effect the Women hope for, and far from the End and Intention of Marriage, for according to our Countryman Owev,
* Fcsmlna Fortuna fmilis formofa vide-
tur Non amat Ignavosilla^ vec ifta Viros*.
Or rather as the fame Poet, \[
Sape qnlefcit Age rjtov fe?np >er arandm,atUxor Eft Age r, ajfidno vult tamen ilia- coll.
But if this Idea be a little too fevere upon Eunuchs, it muft be "remembred,,
that
* Epigram. 55. § Idem Eprg. 17$.
Eumahifm DiftUfd. 1 6 J
that there are others not more adyanta-- gious, and the Confequences of which are as little favourable to them and their Wives.
Juvenal § calls a Eunuch a half Man,. Semivir . but the Holy Scripture goes yet farther, the Prophet Ifaiah calls him (as has been before obfeiv'd) a wither'd pr dry Tree.
Tnincus hersjacul,fpecies & inutile figitum Jfrec fatis exa&um ejl Corpus an Umbra form. *
This is a trueDefeription of an Eunuch •. but I {hall add two Strokes more, which will quite finilh this Picture, one X fhall take from the Civil Law, and the othe* from the Holy Scripture.
A Eunuch is a Perfon always fickly and languishing t Morbofus, and by Confe- quence uncapable to perform the Fun- ction of an a&ive Life ♦,/«£ aut^m itafpado eft, fays Paulus the Civilian, lit tarn ne- eejf aria pars corporis ei penitus abjit, Mor- bofus eft •, he is an impotent, fickly Per- fon^ who fees himfelf in the Occaiion of A&ion and cannot. Like what the Poets
feign
§ Satyr 6. v. ^13. * Ovid Am* Jib. 3. Ekg 7* * Lib. 2i, tit. i.de jZdiliti^-Editto, Lib. 7
164 Eunuchifm DifptayrA»
feign of Tantalus, he fees himfelf placed in the Midft of thofe Goods and Pleafures he can by no Means enjoy, and we may fay of him what Horace fays of his- Mifeiv.
* viz;
Tantalus a labris Jitiens fugientia captat Flumina, quid rides I Mutato nomine deTs Fabnla narratur. Congeftis undifc facets hidormis ivhians, & tanquamparcere facrh Cogeris, aut pitfis tanquam gaudere Tabdlis...
Poor wretched Tantalus, as Stories tell, (Dooirfd to the worft,. the curfed'ft Plague
in Hell,) Stands up Ghin deep, in an o*feflowing
Bowlj But cannot drink oneDropto favehisSouL What doft thcu laugh? and think that
thou art free. Fool change the Name, the Story's told of
thee. Thou watched o'er thy Heaps, yet midft
thy Store Art almoft ftarv'd for Want, and ftill art
P°or- r
You fear to tcuch, as if you roVd a Saint,
And ufe no more than h if 'twere Gold in
Paint.
The,
* Horat. Sir mm* Lib* i. Satyr- u
Eunuchifm Difplay'd. 165
The Difference confifts only in this, that the Mifer can, but will not enjoy the Pleafure of his Goods, but the Eunuch on the contrary would but cannot, and there* fore the Comparifon of Tantalus is much more juft in refpect of the Eunuch than the Mifer, and it may more properly be faid of him than of the covetous Man.
Iniormh ivhiavs, & tavquam par cere facrU Cogens, out piSis tayiquamgaudereTabellis.
So far then is a Woman that lyes by the Side of an Eunuch, from giving him Enjoyment, that on the contrary, (he gives him the utmoft Chagrin and Af- fliction, becaufe of his wretched Incapa- city-
This Truth was well known to the Wife MAN, and is the laft and finifhing Stroke of a Eunuch^s Picture: The Au- thor of Ecclejiafticus (whether the Son of Siracb, or Solomoii) compares a Man that is persecuted of the Lord, or that bears the Pain, or Weight of his own Iniquity, to a Mouth Jfntt up, to a Grave, to a Sevfelefs Idol, to a Eunuch •, for it feems they are all one in the Language of that wile Au- thor^ whofe Words are thefe, viz. t Delicate &
poured
\ Chap. 30. v. 18, 19, 20;
v66 Eunucbifm Difpltfd.
poured vpon a Mouth {hut up, areas ^^.s cfMeat upon aGrave. What Good doth 'tin Oft ring unto, an Idol ? For neither can it eat, nor fw'eU, Jo is he that is perfecuted of the Lord. He feeth with his Eyes, and, proaneth as an Eunuch that embracetb a Virgin and Jigheth,
The Companion is very Juft, for un- doubtedly, luch an One bears the Pain, or Weight of his own Iniquity j whether it be that he had no other View, but to Cheat the poor Woman, in order to pof- fefs himfelf of her Fortune, or gain fbme other considerable Advantage ^ or that through a monftrous Brutality, he aban- don'd himfelf to an Intemperance, he knew he could no ways Support : But be that as it will, it is certain the Woman is Cheated, and fhe may with Juftice fay, in fttch a Cafe, wjiat Augujlm faid for- merly, as he was fitting between Virgil and another Poet, I fit between Sighs and Tears t Sedeo Inter Sufpiria & Lachry- mas. And if fuch Frauds mould be al- lowed, there would refult many Inconve- niences, which would naturally Ihew themfelves, For
i. A Woman that lyes by the Side of {\ich a Man (if I may call him fb) would ianguiih and pine away ^ in vain doeslhe try to excite him to render what's her Due 3 all her Efforts are vain and ufielefs,
Ihe
Huxucbifm DifpUfd. 167
{he never can fucceed-, So that having not tafted the Joys of Marriage, nor having any Appearance She ever ihall, fhe pines and airlifts herfelf in Secret^ nor is this without Example.
Hiftory tells us, that the Emperor Covjhvitius had to Wife, Eitfebia, a moft beautiful Princefs, and of whofe Beauty the whole World fpoke with Admiration. Covftantim was of a foft, effeminate Con- ftitution, and weaken'd by long and con- tinued Diftemners •, Eitfebia, who was in the Flower of her^ Age, had frequently thofe Diftempers which are incident to her Sex, and in (hort, pin'd away, and ended her Days, Hectick, Dry'd-up, and Difc figur'd, thro' an inward Chagrin and Difcontent, of never having the fweet and agreeable Converfation and Careffes of an Husband : Nor could the Excellence of her Beauty, nor her Youth, nor the Sovereign Honour of being Emprefs, give ber the leaft Satisfa&ion or Pleafure, or make Compensation for fuch a Lois.
Perhaps this might be Lawful in an Emperor, at leaft no One could dare to Queftion his Conduct-, but furely this ought bv no Means to be fufrerd in a private Perfon, whofe unjuft Intention is only to make a Woman miferable and wretched, to fatisfy fome wicked Paffion^ »or can it any wife fuit with Juftice, to
favour
1 68 Eunuchism Difplafd.
favour any One in fuch an Undertaking, which muft end in the Sacrifice cf an in« nocent Woman, a Virgin and Martyr.
But this was actually the Cafe of Mrs. $- -»f, Daughter to an Eminent Apo- thecary in London. (Sic parvis componere magna Jole-b-anu) Who, becaufe he cculd thereby put his Daughter off with a fmall Fortune, married her to an old Pewterer, but very Rich*, this poor Vi&im (for fo I may call her5< fince fhe was married a- gainlt her Inclination to an old Fellow) was not long after her Marriage, in Com- pany with fome Relations, amongft whom I was*, after many Compliments, the Wo- men begun to Congratulate her on her happy State, as they call it, wherein fhe Commanded the World as having Lockets, a Necklace, and Earings of Diamonds, to {hine with at Church, &c. TV?, (fays the poor, unhappy Difconfolate, fighing like Faithccio the Eunuch, whom I took No*
tice of before) but there is yet fome
thing wanting,
-2. It may happen, that fome Women tnay not be capable of fo much Govern* ment of themfelves, as to bear up under inch a terrible Proof, and refift thofe Temptations, fhe may in fuch Cafe find herfell expos'd to $ The Spirit indeed may be willh'g, but we have been told, that The FleJI) U weak. And it would be a
Matter
Eunuch l fm DifpUfd. t6f
Matter of no great Surprize, if a Woman* that does not find at Home, wherewithal! to fatisfy a provok'd Palfion, mould re- ceive ellewhere, what may "be neceilary to lay and becalm its Rage and Fury,
Monfieur Ochien, one of the Members of the Royal Society at^ Ber-in, fome Years ago, told a Friend of mine in Con- verfation, that he happened to be a vifit- ing a Bayliff (a Juftice of Peace) in that Country, where there came a Woman (who had been married to a Swifs) run- ning in great Hafte into the Room, with a Child in her Arms, complaining that her Husband was an Eunuch, and no Man •, being ask'd if the Child fhe had in- ner Arms was not hers, fhe fail Yes; Why then fays the Bayliff do you lay vour Husband is an Eunuch * She readi- ly reply'd it was not his Child, for that having obferv'd for many Years after they were married, that He did nothing that came to any thing, fhe defir'd a Ma Ton's Journeyman, that was then at Work at their Houfe, to fee if he could perform better, who thereupon laid hei down upon: a Trunck that ftood hard bye, and get that Child at , one Stroke -, and that her Husband could not do fo much for many Years, notwithstanding all his Endeavours. The Husband was immediately cited, and erder'd to be fearch'd, and upon Exami- I nation,
ay© Eunuchifm Dijplafd*
nation, it was found, that he had never -a Tefticle, he own 'd he had loft one in the £rmy, by the Shot of a Musket, and the other afterwards by a Diftemper. This important Affair being tranf- mitted to the neighbouring Univerfity, the Marriage was .annull'd, and the Wo- man married to her other Husband the Mafon,
This Eunuch plainly faw his Wife had a Child, and that (he muft of Confequence have had an Affair with another Man : However he thought fit to make no Words of it. Tie Truth on't is, Men of his Character are never Jealous, and I am verily periwaded, that if one mould pro- ;pofe to an Eunuch that was going to be married, that he mould amongft other Articles of Marriage, give his Wife that was to be, fiich Permiiiion, he would not make much Difficulty to grant it, for fuch Agreements have a&ually been in the World.
I fhall not here iirftance the feveral Decifion swe find in the Imaginary Cuckold of Moliere^ becaufe it is meer Fiction and Invention ^ but a ve:y true Example, which is this.
The late Countefs of Moret, w'io liv'd In the Reign of Henry the III. and Henry the IV. Kings ,of France, was married to her third Husband, Monfieur
.de
Eunuchifm D if play* d* 171
<fe Varies, Governor of the Cbappel, and was married to this Gentleman, who was Captain of the Hundred ^ Swifs, when the King fent him into Spain, alter the Mar- riage between that Prince and the Infanta was concluded, to Compliment on the King's Behalf the future Queen : The Countefs ie Moret was alfo Mother to the Count ie Moret, natural Son to Henry the IV. who was kill'd near Caftknau- dary, in the Year 16 %2,< when the Duke ie Montmorancy was taken at Langnedock. This celebrated Lady is taken Notice of jn Barclay** Euphormiort, under the Name of Ca-fnia ; it was faid there, that fhe was likewife marry 'd to the Count ie Cejj- jaufy , who was afterwards fent Ambalfa- dor to Conftavtinople, and in that Author may be feen the Defcription, or (as the Lawyers call it) a Precedent rbr Articles of Marriage, with a Claufe for a Marr who is willing to be rnade a Cuckold, and who thereby Promifes, Covenants, and Obliges himfelf to grant fuch PermiiTion, which Claufe it feems, was very peace- ably Executed, without any Let, Trouble, Moleftation, or Hindrance whatever, of him the faid, See.
Perhaps the Lady found herfelf but ill ferv'd in her former Marriages, which made her take this Sage Precaution.
Fut
1 72 Eunuchifm Difplafd.
But this Precaution would be muck snore Juft and Reafonable for Eunuch* Wives than others, for they wou'd be more tractable upon this Article \ for they knowing themfelves uncapable to acquit themfelves of the Marriage Duties, they wou'd confent to Humour their Wives in this Refpedt, to avoid Reproaches and Complaints : Nay, they would help them, if Occafion was, in a Cafe of fuch extra- ordinary Emergency-, and it has been Imown (that when they found their Wives inclin'd to Libertinifm and Debauchery) they have favoured that Inclination, and made an Advantage and Profit of their Proftitution. Witneis Dydi??ms>u\)oii whom Martial t made that Biting and Satyri- cal Epigram, an Example that proves what I have faid, for he Proftituted his Wife himfelf, in Hopes to get Rich by fuch infamous Commerce.
5. It would occafion a great many Wo- men, for Fear of falling into one of thefe two unhappy Extremities, not to engage in Matrimony, till they had a Proof of %vh&t they muft expect •, or put in Practice fche Advice and Council, Ovid gives every Lover, that is, * . Unie legat quod amet
A ®-/id} ds Arts Ammdi Zib. i-
Eunuchifm Difplafd. TJJ.
nhi retia ponaty for according, to the fame' Poet,
Sch btne Venator^ Cervis vbi Rstia ponat%
But as Women have no lecret Foreknow- ledge of the Validity or Invalidity of a- Man,fo would they be obliged to have Re- courfe to fome fage Perfon to give them Satisfaction in this Affair, before they would engage in the fail: Bands of Wed- lock-, for it is not the Faihion now a Days for Men to fliew themfelves naked to their Miftrefles before Marriage, as Plato » decreed in his Laws. *
Now thofe who believe Plato meant this only, that they might fee the Beauty and fine Proportion of the Body, are miftaken •, it was to be fatisfied by the Eve, by a thorough Infpe&ion, that a* Man was in a Condition not to deceive a Woman •, and perhaps this, at that Time was neceilar r, for all the World was not then, nor now is. fo honeft as the Father of the Emperor Galbx, who as Suetonius t reports, was very low of Stature, and withall crooked 5 that neverthelefs Lifia OceUma^ a very beautiful and rich young I 3 Lady
*" PlMdi Zegibus, Lib, 10.- \ Suit* in GaJ&. cap.. 3.
174 Eunuchifm Difplafd.
Lady, fell in Love with him, on Account of his great Quality 5 upon which, it feems, he ftript himfelf naked, andfhew'd her the Imperfection of his Body, left thro5 her Ignorance fhe might be impofed upon.
I carmot fay, fuch Infpe&ion would alwa]-s be fu-fficient, for there are very few unmarried Perfons know what renders a Man capable of Matrimony , it is only Ufe and Experience muft inftrud them.
t Monfieur de Thou, in his Hiftory* tells us, that Charles de Qiiellenec, Baron de Font, in Brit any 9 had married Cather'ne de Partheras, Daughter and Heirefs to John de Sonbixe ;but that fome Time after his Wife's Mother brought an -Aftion a- gainft him, to fet afide the Marriage, under Pretence of his being impotent •, that the Suit was depending at the Time of the Maffacre of Paris, in which he was kill d ^ that his Body having been cart out among others before the Louvre, and expofed to the View of the King ,and Queen, and all the Court, a great Num- ber of Ladies, who had- no Manner of Horror in beholding fuch a cruel Spe&acle, and who looked, without Shame, very curiaufly upon thofe naked Bodies, cart.
their
Iboran.Hift'jr.lib. 52.
TLunuchifm DifpUyrd. tjf
their Eyes very particularly on the Baron de Pont, and very carefully examined whether they could difcover the Caufe 02? Marks of that Impotence, of which he had been accufed. But I doubt whether, with all their Application in examining thofe Objecls, they were a Jot the wifer, upon that Subjea..
The Roman Ladies heretofore were not contented with bare Looks, they made their Judgment of the Ability of a Man by a more certain Teftimony •, his Strength and Addrefs in their Publiclc Gaines. This could not fail to render a Man accomplifh'd in the Eyes' oi the Ro^r man Ladies.
Thefe Precautions one would think not altogether ufelefs, considering that Mar- riage is a State wherein one is engaged for' Life ; for we do not live in thofe Days; when People could make Contra 61 s of Marriage ad Tempus, for a Time, aswasr that, which #Monfieur de Varlllas + fays he faw in the King of France's Library, and was made between two Perfons of Quality* of the County of Armagnac, for feven Years only, with a Provifo, neverthelefs, to prolong that Term,if the Parties lhould be fo minded.
I 4 4. It
f Vtde3 VaUfiana. p. 371
ij6 Euxuchijm Difplafd..
4. It would make fome Women, who have too much Virtue, to enter upon their Marriage State ab Micitis, with a Grime* and who cannot live all their Life in the State of Inaction, with a Phantom of a Hu(band> be obliged to feek a Remedy b;y Pivorce. An honeft Woman can find no Confolation, but with a Huiband, as Agrippira. told Tiberius,- when fhe ask'd him to be married.
In ihort, if a Woman be not honeft, fhe- will find Ways to fatisfy Nature, out of the State of Marriage : We very feldom meet Wives of the fame Humour with thofe of Domitius TitHa\ whofe Hifrory Plivy has given us, in one of hk Epiftlest and which is related with curious Reflecti- ons by Mr. Baf.e^ in his Hiftorical and Critical Dictionary, in the Article
What is reported in the Menagiana, is alfo the common Taffce of the fair Sex : k is there faid, that in a great Company both of Men and Women, where they" were talking about what ought to be re- quired to the perfect Accomplishment of Man or Woman* One faid, a Man ought to ad like a Man, and fmell like a Man, and as to Women, fays he, I don't love thofe. that are Mafailiveh and I, (replies immediately* a Lady that liften'dto his
Difcourfe
Eunucbifm Difplkj 'a. 1 7 7
Difcourfe) am of your Opinion, for I hate an Effeminate Man.
We do not live now in the Days of John the Fifth, Duke of Brittany, who laid, that a Wife was wife enough, if fhe knew the Difference between her Hus- band's Shirt and Breeches. It has indeed been obferv'd by fome, that the lefs knowing they are, the lefs are they fub- jed to be drawn afide 5 but it is certain at the fame time, that when Nature fpeaks, and Reafon does not reffrain them, . they will be obey'd. Moniieur Varilla.^ ; lays it down for, a F?.3$- that the more witty Women are, they are the more- eafy to be wrought upon. .. Tarquato Tajfo has made a Difccurfe on Purpofe to pr >ve it, and Voiture complains, that: he has - experience among ft the Shepherdeffes, or Gountry Girls, that fome are too dull to ; be won over by the Arts of the- mod able Lover, and thofe that have moil Wif3. are foaneft brought to hear Reaibn, but that both are very difficult to be~ per— fuaded on that Topick. .
I am ajhmjh"d\ When I read the Ex- tract .which Monfleur Bernard \ has made us from the Collection of the Thaties of I 5 Peace.
£Ll ICY
*?S Eunuchifm DiJ}/ayTd.
Pace Sec. Where that Author gives the Lpithet ofUithappy, to Margaret, Dutchefs ot Carwthea, to whom Lewis of Bavaria% had granted Letters of Divorce from John, Son to the King of Bohemia, on Account of his Impotence, his Words are thefe, viz. ''That Piece (the Letters)'
- lays he, is confiderable — on
u Account of the Manner in which that
; Unhappy Princefs explain'd herfelf,
what Methods fhe made u e o^ and
■a what great Pains, fhe fa id, fte had
x taken, to make her Husband render
• her the Duties of Marriage. He then reports the Terms in which that Affair is delivered, but he only puts them down, but docs not tranflate them.
But fince I have faid, I am a-P.omfi'd: at that Author's Conduct in this Matter, I1 think it necefFary to give the Reafons why I am fo. For flfit, this- Epithet, Unhappy could not be given to that Dutchefs, becaufe Ihe had obtained thefe- Letters of Divorce* on the contrary, for that very Reafon, flie ought to have been- efteem'd Happy, to be feparated from an Impotent Husband • not only Juftice which was done Ik r in that Refpect, butalfothe- Deliverance from fo heavy a Yoke, de- ferv'd ihe flatasld be rather term1 d Happy than Unhappy. Had Monfieur Bernard poke© of that Lady in Relation to the.
Condition
Ettnachifm Difplafd. 179,
Condition fhe was in, when in Subje&ioa to her Husband, he would have had Rea- fon then to call her Unhappy 1 becaufe Hie was fo in Effed: ^ but he fpeaks in Ke- lp ett of her Liberty, and in that Cafe 'tis true (he had been Unhappy, but was not then fo.. Mr. Bernard is a Perfon too Ju- dicious to have made fuch Miftakes • it is then becaufe ihe was fo bold as to deiire thefe Letters of Divorce, and complain of the Impotence of her Husband i* and- tell the Reafons; which juftify'd her De- mands, and the JMeans bv which (he was throughly convrnc'd of his Inability and. by which ill e perfuaded the Judges;
Monfieur Bernard was. too good a Divine and Politician * and was toowelLacquaint- ed, both with Sacred and Profane Hiftory, not to know that neither Religion, nor Confcience, nor Honour, nor. Modefty oblige a- Woman, who has not natural: Courage enough, to fufFer' Martyrdom, and die a lingring Death, who has not Strergth to mortify herfelf, by a long and perpetual Continence,, to live with a Husband that is impotent, and uncapa- ble ro render her the Duties of a Husband.
It he fancied Relig on and Confcience ob'ig^d a Woman in inch a Cab to keep a profound Silence, he fell mto the Herefre of the Abetians, whofe. Error is. refuted
by
i8o: Euvuchifin Difprafd.
by St. Augitftn, in the 87th Chapter, of his Book of Herefy,
If he belie vd, that Honour and Mo- defty obliged her to have that extrava- gant Patience, he has given into the Re- veries and Viiions of thofe Fanaticks, who Fancy, one had better fuffer Death, than di (cover to a Phyfician, or Surgeon a fecret Part if it Ihould happen to be DiftemperoV and who may put into the Catalogue of their Martyrs, Mary, Daughter of Charles the Hardy, Duke of Burgundy, who was married to the Emperor Maximilian, the ■ :rM Son of Frederick the Third.
This Princefs had a high metled Horfe prefented to her, which threw her down,, and fo^ rudely, that (he broke her Thigh, ©f which Fall (he dy'd, having not been . able to prevail fo much upon her Mode- fly, as to expofe that Part to the View of the Phyficians. and Surgeons, who 'tis. highly probable might have cur'd her.
I (hall put an End to this Chapter, by faying, that if the Dutchefs cf Carinthect- was to blame, the whole Body of the Civil Law ought to be condemned, which allows Women to exhibit ProceiTes againil their Husband si if Eunuchs or Impotent, when according to the fcrupulous Divini- ty of Monfieur Bernard, it ought to re-- prefs the Incontinence of thofe Unhappy
Women*
Eunuchifm Difplafd. 181
Women, and look on them as wanting Modetty, becaufe they dare complain.
CHAP. V.
Xhe Civil Law forbids the Marriage of Eunuchs*
AS the Marriage of an Eunuch cannot fubfift, it was an Ac~t of the highefi Prudence in the Legiflators, not to luffer. it to be contracted. Neither Publick Honour nor Juftice will permit thofe Things to be done, which they cannot let-, fubfift. Dirimuvt Matrhnomum contrac- turn, hnpedhmt Mdtrimammn covtralen* dttm. * This is a Maxim which the Ca- - nonifts, who have written upon the Chap- ter de Sp onfall bus & Matrimoniis, have folidly eftabliihed, and is agreeable to the Civil Law,, t which forbids thofe Per- fans to be affianced,, between whom. there are lawful Impediments, to contract Marriage. Quamv'is (fays the Law) ver- bis vratzoms cautumft, ne Uxorem Titter
Pup ill am
f * Sext.Dtcret. Mb. 4. tit. u \ Z^tG^ff* tih 23. tit* 2. diritu Niqt. §5,
i8i2 Eunuchifm D/fp/ayrd.
Pup'illamfuam ducat; tamen IntelUgendum eft' ve defp.onderi qnidem poffe ^ Nam am qua Nuptid contrabi 7ton pojfunt, h&c plerumq^ 7te qnidem defponderi poteft. Nam qu& duel pot eft jure defpondetur.
The Argument is well nigji the fame, a Nuptiis previijjis ad Sponfaiapr&miffa ab iifdem pohtbUis ad eademfponfalia inter di- ffa ^ & Matrhnonio validu ad Matrimoniunv contrabendum & abe&kmJnvalidoadidem* inter dh en dum.
For, fmcerhe Contract of Marriage and the Solemnities which follow, only teftify a-Promife which has been made between two Perfons, to render each other the Duties ot Marriage, it is therefore evident,, that thofe who cannot render thofe Duties, ought not to many, and the fame Reg- ions which would dilfolve a. Marriage that had been contracted, ought eiFe&ually to- hinder its being contracted.
The Emperor Leor who decided this- Cafe, went much farther, * fcr he not only forbad Eunuchs to marry, but alio pronounced and ordain'd a Penalty againft thofe that ihould irmxy them ^ which . may be feen in the Ninety Eighth Con- ftitution, entituled, de p&va Emwcborum jl Uxores ducant. The Motive that induced'
him
* § Si advtrfus Jnftjt. deWafts/s*.
Eunuch ifm DifpUfd. rgj
Kim to make this Decreets very noble,it is* (fays the Conftitution) becaufe liich Marri- age having nothing of Reality fai it,cannot therefore be accompanied with the Holy Ceremonies, which make an efTential Part of Marriage, and ought to be read entire, I would therefore rniert it without omit- ing the lean: Tittle, were it not too long for the propofed Brevity of this Work. But here follows the principal Part, by which may be fesen ks principal Aim- and Intention, that is, Whoever Ihould go to the Marriage of Eunuchs, ihould incur the Penalty of a Ravifher, or Adulterer,- and the Priefr who (Wild dare to be guilty of fuch Prophanation, as to celebrate fuch Marriage, was to be degraded. Propterea fancimm {fkji rthe Conftitution) wbji qn's Emmchornm ad- Matrimomwn precedere covipaytnr, & ipfe Stup/i pen& obnoxius jit, & qui Saierdos ifti:ts?nodi Con'junB'iomm profanato fac ificio perfirere anfus fiierit facer dot a i digmtaU denude! itr.
* Prophane Hiftorv tells us, that Au- guftus, who regulated the Roman bhows or Spectacles, which before were in great Confhfion, took particular Care to aiiign every Body his proper Place, and amongft others, there was a Regulation for the
Seats-
Suetw* in Augufl%. ca$* 44*
1 84 Eunuchifm Difplafd.
Seats of married Men, and thoie of lew Condition likewiie had theirs. But. Martial * tells us, that Eunuchs . dared not fit upon the Benches* of married Per- fons, nor io much as be feen amongft them at the Theatre. Let us fee how he. entertains Dydim'us, who with a haughty- Voice, it feems, would talk of the Edidts of Domitian concerning the Theatre, and the Hopes he had that they would be ob~- ferv'd •, his^Words are,
Sp alone cum f.s evicatorfinxo Bt Ccncvbmo mollior Celeveo <j^ tie m feBus 11 1 ttlat matris Mu tbeaGa litis Tbeatra loqueris & Grains & EdiBa. Trabeafq^ & Has fibula] q^ Ceytfufq^ Jit p tunic at a pauper es rami monftras Sedere in Equititmliceat 'an T-ibi Scamnis ? Videbo Dydime : non licet Marit or urn.
This Dydimus, as I before obferv'd, had a Wife ♦, however ... we fee he was not considered as a married Man, be- caufe he was an Eunuch.. It is true this was long befre the Conftitution of the Emperor Leo,, for iince that Time, we fcarce find any Example that an Eunuch was permitted to marr v, except him of the Court of Saxony, of whom I Ihatfe
make
Eunuchifm Difplafd. 185
make Mention in the next Chapter. = All Ecclefiaftical Societies or Communions, do not only content themfelves to blame, theie Marriages, but expreily forbid them, as we (hall fee in the three enfuing Chap- ters, with which I fhall conclude this Second Part.
C H A P. VI.
The Roman Catholic k Church does vol Juffer the Marriage of Eunuchs.
THE Roman Catholicks, who confider Marriage as a Sacrament, have taken Care not to have one of their Sab- ered Myfteries profan'd. I fhall inftance Tome few authentick Examples, which will prove what I fa)7-.
Bernard' Ant ovine, a celebrated Advo- cate (or Attorney) in the Parliament oi Boitrdeaitx, in the fecond Part of his Corn- par ifon, between the French Laws with the Roman, * reports a Cafe, which was heard in his Time before the Parliament of Paris, upon the very Subject.
Ho
fag. 513,
1 86 TLunuchifm Difplay'd.
He flrfl: indeed, makes fome Reflexions upon the Paragraph Spadomtm, of the "Law Pompomns, which the 6th tf. de jEdilitio EdiBo, and he thinks it ftrange (and with Reafcn Good) that Ulpiav^ who was Author of that Law, mould decide, that a Man, who mould have one of his Fingers, or Toes cut off ihould ie look'd upon to he Sickly,, or (as the Law Term is) Morhofus, and that ail Eunuch, who has loft fo neceflary a Part fhould. not. He (ays, this is flu-prizing, and that he cannot fee. the Reafon, that when the Caufe of Generation, which gives even the Name of Man to him, who is therewith endued, is cut off, a Man no longer deferves that Name, and that his Opinion is, That he who lofes one Part out of Twenty, has left Hurt done him, than loflng One out of Two. And then adds, that the Parliament of Paris, had by (an Arret, or) Decree of the Fifth of January, 1607, given Sentence in Favour of C attdhte Godefroy, whofe Marriage was not juffly Contracted, and that fhe fhould not proceed to Solemnize a Mar- riage fhe had Contracted with a Man who, (the Surgeons and Phyfic'ans by their Report had affur'd the Court) had' but one Tefticle, tho5 at the fame time they added, they were of Opinion he might Engender.
The
Eunuchifm DifpUfd. 187
The famous Stephen Pafquier, being formerly confulted on the feme Subject, makes Anfwer in this Epigram.
Eft VJrum tota Con/ux te pentegat Urbe ' Naturaq-, alio Tejle carere dolet. Officiatve Toro Sociali res ea, certe^ :
Nefcio, at bocScio quod Te negat etfeVirum. Cojitra probatium jucundo tramite dicis
G audi a Conjvgij mitie per aft a Tibi. Quid garrisZBiuos cum fait em jura requirunt
Uno te ne Virum Tefte probare potes ?
He might have added the 99th of Martial's Epigrams, in his feventh Book, which ends with this expreffive Yerfe.
Vis dicam vervm, Po7itice mdius Hmo es.
Furetiens Dictionary, as alto that of Trevonx, under the Word Einrucb fay?. that by an Arret, or Decree of the Great Chamber of the Eighth r'f January 166?, it was adjudged that an Eunuch could not marry, even tho5 all Parties conferr- ed. The Authors of thofe two excellent Works extracted that Arret, or Decree out of the Journal of Audiences t and is the fame which was reported by Mon-
ileur
f Lib. 6. C/&. 2.
*88 Eunuchism DiffU/d*
fieur Chud e Furetlere, who oblig'd the Publick with his Tranflation of the Ro- man, or Civil Laws into French, and making a Companion between them and the Royal Edidts, theCuftoms of France and the Decifions ef their Sovereign Courts t»f Judicature, and he fays exprefly, that a Eunuch cannot oblige a Prieft to marry" him, tho' the "Woman knowing all Ci^ cumftances fliould ferioufly Confent..
The Tenth Chapter of the Fourth Book of the Arrets of Avne Robert, which only treats of the Diflblution of Marriages, on- Account of Frigidity and Impotence,, (hews that it is a conftant Law, that Eunuchs cannot marry.
Pope Sixtns jfW nt%$ caus^ a .Bull to be lent into Spain, wherein he declard null the Marriages of Eunuchs.
I (hall conclude this Chapter with an* Hiftorical Fact, which is very decifive on this SubjecT:, and which is reported by the learned Monfieur Stick, Son to the Illuftrious and famous Mr. Stick, ProfefYor of Law in Italy, the very Papinian of our Age. He fays, in his Difpute for the Dcclror5 s Degree, in which he treats of the Nullify of Marriage, that being fome time before in Italy, he knew that one of
the:
§ 28. ft 20.
Eunucbifm DifpLfd. 189
the principal Muficians of the Duke of Mantua, nam'd Corto m, an Eunuc 1 , had a Mind to marry a very beautihil Singer, belonging to the fame Prince, whofe Name was Barbarnccia, but were oblig'd to ask Leave of the Pope, who absolutely refused it, with pofitive Orders never to Addrefs to that Court for the future on that Account.
CHAP VII,
The Lutherans t and thofe of the Confef- fion of Augsburg, do .not fujfer the Marriages of Eunuchs.
TH E Divines and Lawyers of this Religion are very fcrupulous on this Head, mid their Motives are very judi- cious and agreeable to Religion and Heafon.
Gerhard, one of the greater!: of their Divines, and who has reduced almoft all Luther^s Works into common Places, fays exprefly under the Title de Conjuglo * that a Woman ought not to be permit- ted
* S235._f.35S,
1 90 Eunucbifm Difylay^JL
ted to marry an Eunuch. The Motive that induc'd him "to make this Decifion was, that Marriage having for its prin- cipal End, Generation, thofe People who are not capable of attaining that End, ought by no Means to be lufrer'd to en- gage in that State, and fuch (fays he) are Eunuchs and Spadones. That tho' fome of thefe having one Tefticle, may be ca- pable of knowing a Woman, yet for all that, they ought not to marry, becaufe, fcefides that they are not capable or getting Children, they are not capable to fa- tisfy the Defires of a Woman, nor extin- guifh that Heat which Nature has enkind- led in their Conftitution and Tempera- ment.
The fecond Motive which fway'd this great Man was, that a Woman not find- ing in the Perfon of her Husband, that Satisfaction ihe defiYd, would be eafily drawn away to Sin.
The third Motive was, that a Woman is cheated by a Phantom of Marr age, as is that of an Eunuch y and whether (he was ignorant of the Condition of fuch a Man before Marriage, or really knew it, and had then a better Opinion or her Strength than fhe ought, yet in both thefe Cafes ihe is cheated. Now the Laws ought to prevent thefe Cafes, and not only ad- vife fuch ralh Women, but alfo hinder
them
Eunuchism DiffUtfd. 19 f
them from expoiing themfelves to an evident Danger.
The Scrupulofity of thefe Divines go yet further, for they do not permit an Hermaphrodite to marry, at leaft when one Sex dees not prevail fo vifibly imd confiderably over another, as to put them out of all Apprehenfion of the Con- fluences: And if this Hermaphrodite makes any Difficulty jto be exam in VI by Surgeons and Phvficians, or Matrons, it gives great Sufpicion, and fuch Per- fon ihall not have Permiifion to marry.
It is a general and conftant Maxim with them, that all Impotence, of what Kind foever, and from what Caufe fo- jever proceeding, makes null and void, a Marriage that is contracted, -and is anln> pediment (when it is known before) hin- uring its being contracted. There is neverthelefs an Exception to this general Rule, which is, if this Impotence arrives after the Contract by fome Accident, then it will not diflblye it. This is founded both on the Civil, and Canon Laws. * Nihil enzm tarn htmatmm e(fe videtur quarn fortitis Cajibus Mulieris Ma- ritum, & cuntra Uxor em vin7 partidpem
efe.
* !>. ft doUm 22 §. fi Maritus 7> f sohU Ma- trimQn.
192 Eumtchifm Difpltfd.
tjfe. The Canon qtwd antem 27. queft 2. is pofitive, Inipojfibilitas coenndi (fays the Canon) Ji pcfl Carnalem Copnlam in- venta fuerit in aliqno, 71071 fclvit Conju* giitm t // vero cntte carnaiem Copnlam depre- benfa fuerit, liberum facit Mnlieri alum Virum accipere. This is Luther s Opini- on, in hisTreatife, De Vita Covjugali \(
The Confiftorial Law of that Commu- nion, agrees exactly with their Divines* Carptovim, who is its Oracle, reports, the Decifions made by this Confiftorial Law The fecond Number of the 16 th Defini- tion of the firft Title, has theft Expref- flons Non yermittendim Mnlieri nt Eu* jiucbo xnbat. I muft own, I have read with fome Aftonimment, in the Extract which the learned Monfieur de Beanval has given us, of a Book of Mr. Brnkerus^ intituled, The DecifiOis of the Matrimo- nial Law. * That the Cafe having been preferred to the Court of the King of Poland , as Elector of Saxony, of an Ita- lian Eunuch, his Chamberlain, who had marryed a young Woman, who had been made acquainted with his Condition, and liad obtained her Father's Confent, fome
Divines
•f- Cum quod, autsm || Tom. 2. Irenxus German, fo. i<6. 6. '*KiftQ?re desQuvrages dcsScavansiFchi'fi6'j>.%9<>
Eunuchifm DiffUfi. \$%
Divines undertook to difturb this Mar- riage, as being null and void, while others again maintained it was good and valid. But that that Prince, having Ceen the O pinions -and Reafons of both Sides, eon- firin'd the Marriage^ but decreed, it fhould not be drawn into Precedent for the future.
One may fay, in refped of this Di ver- ity of Sentiments amongft the Divines of the Electorate of Saxony, what Mcn- fieur Beanval fays elfewhere, abcut the Councils that were held on Acccunt of the Sect of the Valefians. t Several Councils- (fays he) were affembleA thereupon, and en- ereafed the Diforder by the Contradiction of their Decrees. So true is it6 (continues he) to the Shame of human Reafon, that there can be no Devotion fo ridiculous and mad, but will find fome People to patronise end defend it. And indeed it is certain, by the Cafe I have juft now inftanced, that the lefs reafonable and lefs probable Opinions, have found thofe who will Tootir" 2nd Nail maintain them.
But this Cafe is a very particular One,
and does not at all break in upon the.
publick, and generally receiv'd Dedfions,
and much lefs, becaufe it is authorized
K by
f Ibid. Decern. 1691. A&* 3. p. 175.
$94 Euftuchifm Difplafd.
by a Prince, who did at the fame Time
declare, that it mould not be drawn into Precedent^ tho' I muft confefseven that is Dangerous, for it has been too often known, that Decifions which have been ;made with a Claufe inferted, that they ihould not be drawn into Precedents, -have been fo far themfelves made Prece- dents, as People have thence nrefuined to make other Decifions with like Claufes inferted, a Thing by all Means to be avoided*^ for Laws are to be made for the general Good, not for a particular *Good.
But, to return to the Saxcm Cafe, had the Elector approv'd and authoriz'd the Fa£t purely and fimply, without any Qualification or Reftri&ion, k would not therefore be the more valid, and that Permiffion would have given it not a Jot the more Force -, for by the Difpofiti- <tm of the Law, Marriages which are abfolutely forbidden by the Law, are not at all the lefs Unlawful, or Unjuft in themfelves, tho' the Prince permits them by Refcript to be contracted-, becaufe thefe Marriages ^ being contrary to the Laws, the Refcript which was obtain'd by Permiffion, is look'd upon in the Eye of Sic Law to be Surreptitious, and to have &een obtain'd from the Prince by Sur- ttigej thefe .are Jthe very Terms of &he
Law
Eunucbifm DifplayJd. 195
Law * Precandi qunque impofterum fuper tali Coyijugio (imo potius Contagio) cuncli* Ikentiam denegamus ut Unufquifq-, cognof- cat) Impetrationem quoq; rti cujus eft, denegata petitio, mc ft per Surreptionem poft banc diem obthmerlt, fbimet profu* turum.
But it is much to be wifrfd, that Monfieur Beauval, who has reported this Cafe, and who Reafons upon every Sub- ject he undartakes to treat of, with fb much Juftice and Solidity, would have given us his own Opinion upon this famous Queftion of Eunuch s Marriages.- Butthis what he feldom does^he carefully avoids giving his own Sentiments on any Matter, which the World imputes to his Modefty. That this is only what he de* ferves, I could prove by feveral Inftances, but there is one I cannot omit, and that is, after having given us an Extract of the Treatife of Nature and Grace, put out by Mr. de Jurieu, he clofes it, in thefe humble Terms, as this Work, fays he, is fuU of^ very metaphyseal Reflexions, the World will pardon him if he has fomewhat exceeded his Bounds* He fpeaks here of the Anfwer of a new Convert to the Let- K 2 ter
* Lib. 5. Tit, S. Cod, fi Nupti* ex refcripto pe-s tmtur /. 2,
1 96 Eumtchifm Difflafd.
ter of a French Proteftant, which may ferve as an Addition to the Book of Dovu Dennis, of St. Martha, intituled, An Aw fwer to the Complaints of the Proteftant s >j where after having reafon'd like a very- able Politician, he concludes in thefe mod eft Expreilions, But let us return to the Bounds of our own Territories, which we have fo often refo:v°d not to tranfgrejs^ nor fleer our Ccurfe in the Sea of Poli- ticks, which other's have Horn with Jo much Succefs. He excufes himfelf very often on feveral Pretexts, as may be feen in thofe feveral Places I reter to in the Mar- gin, § and tho' every One knows that he is' very capable to handle, with ut- moft Exa&nets, every Subject which he has thought fit to rejecl with Humility, this therefore, as Ifaid before, muft be entirely owing to bis Modefty.
Eut in this Cafe, he could find no Ex- cufe, fbr his Queftion was entirely with- in his Sphere, or the Bounds-of his Ter- ritories (as he exprefles it) unlefs he might think the Subjed being copious, would engage him to exceed the Brevity
of
^ Hifl. des Ouvrages des Scavans. Nov. 16S7* May 1688, cafually July i6U9 Sept. i653, 03. v688, J&i. 1689, $&. -686, March 1689, Feb. 1^92, Aug. 1692, Afr.il 1693.
Eunuch l fm Difplay'd. 107
of an Extrad, and (well into a compleat Treatife ; or perhaps he knew this Mat- ter had been frequently handled before, and that it was not neceftary to prefent it to the Pahlick on this Occafion,jui which he only proposed to make an hx- tract of a Book which cafually fell into his Hands, and not thoroughly to dif~ cufs this famous Subject ^ and in Effect he does fay,. * that the <girfticn, if it be pe m'hted Eunuchs to cdntraS Marriage-, has been very often under Agitation. m And indeed, he had good Reafon to fay fo$ for it is very true, that Me! chi or In chojfer has made a Treatife de Eunucbifmo, which was Printed at Colcgn in Octavo, in the Year 1653. We have befides the Differ- tation, de Eurni his, of Gafper Leipcherus^ Printed at Leipfick in Quarto, in the Year 1665:. "We have feen a Sermon of Samuel S7nith, upon toe Converiion of the Queen of Ethiopia's Eunuch, in the 8th Chapter of the Acis of the Apoftle^, printed in Octavo at London, in the. Year 1632. There is likewife a Treatife of Franc, de Amoya Baetici, intituled,, Euruchvs, upon the Law Eunuchtts, v. c„ qui t eft amenta facer e poffunt, and which may be feen in his Observations printed ■Jh K 3 af
If td. Feb. 1716, att 7. ft 8 9.
198 Eunuchifm Difplafd.
i*t Geneva in Folio, 1656. a Treatife of Marcellimis Fravcolhnis, de Matriwonto fpadcvts^ utrcq^ Teftiailo carentis. Printed at Venice in Quarto, 1605. There is aifo another Treatife ie Eumichis, by Tbeophilm Raynauld, whom Mr. Bayle often makes ufe of on Occafion. The hundred and twelfth Letter of Monfieur de la Mothe h Vayer\ which is in the eleventh Tome of his Works, treats of Eunuchs in General. And laftly, we have the Diflertation of Saldemts de En*- wirhh, which is the fifteenth of the third Book of his Otia Thologica ^ and a^ Col- leclion of Confultations and Decisions upon that Subjedt, which I fhall have Occafion to mention hereafter in this Treatife.
But for my JufKfication in undertaking* this Work, after fo many great Men, (be- fides what I have alledged in the Preface) I fhall only fay, that molt Part of thefe Authors Works are only to be found in Catalogues and Libraries-, and befides, that they only treat of Eunuchs in gene- ral, and do not defcend to Particulars. The Queftion herein confider'd, among manv "others, is very feldom treated of, and then too, very1 briefly and curforiljjr We may indeed fee fomewhat like it, in the Treatifes of Civilians, Divines, and Phyficians-, but very often we find Things
there
Eunuchifm Difplay'd. 1 99
here related oat of Prejudice and Partia- lity •, but befidesthat, every Thing there is treated very fuccinctly, it is evident that it is impoflible to make a certain- and universal Svftem of Law or Divinity upon the Marriage of Eunuchs.
CHAP. VIII.
tfone of the Reformed Churches atfow th& Marriage of Eunuchs.
IT is no difficult Matter to fhew that the Reformation does not allow the Marriages of Eunuchs. I fhall begin with the Church of France $ and it is cer- tain there is no other Chriftian Com- munion in the World, which has fo for- mally declared its felf upon this Subject 5 for befides the Do&rine this .Chirr 91 pro- fefTes, there is an exprefs Canon in ^er Difcipline againft it 5 that Difcipline which every one looks upon to be the Re- fiilt, or rather the verv Quinteirevjce of her National Synods. This Article is $fr fourteenth of the thirteenth Chapter and treats of the Marriage ^ of Eunuchs, the- Words are as follows, v\%+
K 4. Nov
zoo Eunuch ijm DiffUy^d.
Now as tie principal Occaji on of Marri- age is IJfue, and the avoiding ofTornication-, the Marriage of one who is known to he an Eunuch, ought hy no Means to he received or folemnixed in the Reformed Church.
The famous Monfieur Larroque, who has fhewn the Conformity and Agreement of this. Difcipline, with that of tlie primi- tive Chriftians, proves, that this was likewife their Sentiment, as to this Affair. I cannot help owning, that this Difcipline was only made in France, but fince the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and that the Proteftants were obliged to leave Trance, and moft of them retired into Brandenburg *, his Pruffian Majefty has ap- proved k in his Dcminions, inafmuch as -at relates to the French, who have there cftablifhed themfelves, on Account of their Religion •, and has commanded it to be ob- ferv'd and put in execution, in thofe Mat- ters which do not interfere with the Epis- copal Rights. tSo that at prefent it is become a Law in Brandenburg to thofe new Subjects, as facred as formerly in France ; and as it is even with the ancient Subjects of that Prince, and all the Prote- ftants of Germany ^ as may appear more
plainly
\ Vld. Tbe late King of Pruffia'J Declaration on tJjls SubjeB) 7 Decern* 1689.
Eumchifm Difplafd.. 201
plainly by a Book printed at Italy, in the Year 1785. and colledtedby Jerom Bel- pbhws, intituled, Eunwhi Conjiighim^ die Kepannen Hey rath. Hoc ejt, fcripta & ju- dicia "traria de Conjugio inter Eumicbum & Virgbiem Juvencellamy Anno 1666. ccv- tratfo, a quilmjdem fupremis Theologormn Collegiis petit ay ab Hieronimo Dclpbhw,- C. P. HaU apitd Melcbiorem Belfcblagen7. 1685.
Asalfoby the Judgment and Decifion given upon the Cafe I quoted in the fourths Chapter of this fecond Part.
The Republick of Geneva have receiv'd the fame Laws *, and feveral Cafes which have reprefented themfelves to that Body r have con firufd this Truth. Paul Cyprxns fays, in his excellent Treatife deConmtbio- umjure, c That this wife Republick has a Law that forbids Males to marry be- fore eighteen Years of Age, and the Fe- males before fourteen, and that it is not lufndent to conflder or count the Yearsj, but that Regard ought to be had to the Vigour of the Body, and its Tempara-- ment.
It is true there are Relations from the Qevant, that give us an Account, that the ]$AV7ansy. certain Pagans of the Country,, have fo great an Eiteem for Matrimony,, that, almoft" every body marries at the Age of itxcn years, and thefe Accounts -. K $ add:
<
202 Eumthifm Bifpltfd.
add, that if any one dies before he is -mar- ried, the Cuftom is, to hire a Girl to lye down with the dead Body, that it might be laid he was married before his Body was committed to the Flames to be burnt,, according to the Cuftom of the Country . But Monfieur h Payer makes feveral Re- flections on this Cuftom, fhewing it not to be fo very vain,as fome have imagined* fince if they marry at feven Years old, 'tis becaufe they are as capable at thofe Years, in that Country, as they are in other Places at a more advanced Age. The different Situation of the Place (fays he) makes our Constitution quite the Re- verfe in every Thing \ and Solhms tells us, of fome Women (lor fo it feems they muft be called) that have been big with Child at five Years old. Odoriats confirms this in his Itherarium or Journal ; and k has been fome time fince known, in the King- dom of the Great Mogul, that a Girl, only of two Years of Age, that had a Belly fwoln as big as any Woman, and that almoft a [ Year afterwards, had hes proper Purgations, and was brought to. Bed of a fine Boy.
The fame Ecclefiaftical Law is likewife eftablifh'd in England, as appear* by the Seventh Chapter of the Title De Matrix
vwnh
Eunuch i fin Difplkyrd. 20 J
wofiio § in the Reformation of the Eccle- fiaftical Laws, made firft by the Autho- rity of King Henry the VIII. and finifti'd and publim/d afterwards by Edward the VI. This Chapter treats De his qu& Ma- trimonium hnpediunt. And thefe are the Terms, viz. Quorum natw a perefini aliquot eldde fie extenuata eft, ut prorfus Veneris participes ejfe non pojfit, & conjvgem lateat quanquam confenfus mutmtx extiterit, & cmni reliqua Ceremonia matrinwniuuv fuerit progreffum tamen verum in hujtif??wdi Con- jmiftione Matrimomum fnbeffe non poteft, deftituitur enim altera per fona bevftcio fuf- cipienda Prom, & etiam ufii Conjugij caret.
The Divines, and Law}rers- of Holland*, as well as elfewhere, diftinguiQi the Canfes that hinder, or are Impediments to Marriage, and range them under two- different Heads, alia (fay they) impedi- menta * a lege, Ilia funt jEtas immature mentis bnpotentia. Corporis ad Cohabitation vem Incapacitas -, I ft a funt a vwrbo incura- bili, nt ex. gr. Lepra, a Cirpa, a-Diverjitate Reli^ionis, a propinquitate Sanguinis*. I mull own however, that fortius, who is
one
§. Printed in London, infttart'O} Amto* 1640* p 40. 41.
* Vottii Tollt. EccJef.pars prima, tib. 3. Tjrafc % fc Matrimonii Sift* z+™%* u ftte/h 3^
2Q4 TLunuchifm DiffUfd., ©ne of the greateft, that ever was in the^. united Provinces, for, this man y an Age, feems to hefitate upon the Marriage of Eunuchs ♦, in reality he determines no* thing at all upon that. Subject, but refers, to. the Lawyers and Judges, to whom he fays, the Difcuflion of fuch like Subjects rather belong, than to Divines. We mufb there ^ have Recourfe to them -, and as the Civil, and Canon Law are obferv'd in thofe^ Provinces, at leaft in thofe Cafes, which are not determined by their own peculiar Laws and Cuftoms^ it is eafy to conclude, that the Marriage of Eunuchs js not thereby any wife allow'd or fuffer'd •, in that thefe are the Impe- diments which hinder Marriage, accord- ing to the Civil Law.
Lepra fupervenievs, furor, orior Sanguis &
abfens. L&faqh Virginltas, membri Damnum, mi*
nor Atas. H&refis ac Lapfus, fideiq^ remiffio, prorfus Sponfos diffociant cif votafutura retrattant..
The End cf the Second Part.
Eunuchifm DifgUfd. 20.5.
PART III.
Wherein are anfwer'd and refuted1 all the Objections that can be brought agamft the Second Part of this Work,,
CHAP. L
Fir ft Objection.
ri"lH A T the Prohibition of Marriage 1 ought vot be imderftood to be fo gene- ral, as to extend to all Sorts of Eunuchs, fnce there are fome capable to fatisfy the Deft res of a Woman*.
Anfwer to the ObjtTion,
To examine this Objection, and: to- anfwer it in Order as.- it ought, we muflr firfl fee of what Nature thefe Deh'res are that an Eunuch is capable of fatislymg, if they are lawful, and to be allow Jd ♦,
and
2 ©6 TLanuchifm Difplayrd.
and in the fecond Place* wha* Eunuchs are capable of fatisfying fuch Defires.
t Arnobius fays indeed, that Eunuchs are very amorous : Et majoris petulantiz. feri atq\ omvihua poflpojitis pudoris & PerecnndtA fr&nis m objc&nam prorumpere vilitatem.
* Terence fays much the fame Thing in. other Terms. Ph. infajris, qui if hue facere Eunuchus potuit. P. Ego ilium nefcio ' qui fucrit, hoc quod fecit resipfa indicat. ■ P. at Pol Ego amatores Mulierum ejfe audi- erarn eos maximos fed '.nihil poteffa.
But not to run back fo far into Anti« qmity •, Father Raynauld in his Book de Eimuchis tells us, that he has read a World of Examples of this impure Familiarity between Women and Eunuchs, and he laughs at the Confidence People generally repole in them, in trufling them with the Care of their Wives and Daughters,
Andrew de Verdi er fays much the fame Thing in his various Readings, and relates the Sentence of Apollonius Tyan&vs againft an Eunuch of the King of Babylon\\vho was found abed with one of that King's MiftrefFes.
However it is certain that an Eunuch can only fatisfy the Defires of the Flelh,
Senfuality,
f Lih 5ji * Eunuch* Aft 4. Sw& I-
Eunuch ifm DifpUfd. 207
Senfuality, Impurity, and Debauchery • and as they are not capable of Procrea- tion, they are more proper for fuch cri- minal Commerce than perfect Men, and more efteetn d for that Reafon by lewd Women, becaufe they can give them all the Satisfaction without running any Risk or Danger.
+ Sunt qtws Eumtchi zvibelles, ae mollw
femyer, Ofcitla deieBent & Defperatio Barba, Et quod abortzvo non eft opus.
There are, who in fofr Eunuchs place their
Blifs, And fhun the Scrubbing of a Bearded Kifs^ To 'fcape Abortion Dryden.
Witnefs that Woman in Pet renins \ who when a Man fpoke to her thefe Words$ Non intelligo vie vimm ejfe funerata eft ilia corporis pars qua quondam Acbiies eram •, Reply ay Nunc etiam languini. tuo gratias ago in umbra voluptatis diutius dagi.
This
t Juvsiml* $atjr> 6*v^66+ * Ca^.%9%
2oS Eunuchifm Difplafd^
This Woman was of the fame Chara£fer- of Gellia, againft whom Martial made, his Epigram, dedicated to Pannicus.
* Cur tanttim Emiuchoa habeat tua Gellea,.
quark ? Pannice, vult f Gellia noxparere.
This is the a me Gellia, of whom Mar- tial in another Place has alfo drawn fo Frightful a Picture, and of her Tears •, and' fpeaks of her after this Manner.
t Ami jf urn %on flet, cum fola eft Gellia,
Pat re in Stquis adeftj jujf^ profdiunt Lachryma.
The Son of Sirach fays, that he who violates Juftice by an unjuft Judgment, is an Eunuch that would deriower a Vir- gin jl. Ever,y Body knows that in fome Countries heretoiore young Princeiies were committed to the Care of Eunuchs. The wife Man compares Juftice to one of thefe Virgins ♦, and the Judges to thofe who ought to guard her with a Fidelity full of a profound Refpecl:. Some Eunuchs
are^
* Lib. 6. Epigram 6l*'h\ Lib, i. Bfzft, ix.
Eunachifm . DityLifd. 2 Cq
are therefore capable of fatis'ying tKe De- flies cf a Woman 5 but all thoie Defires are not lawful, and cannot be perrhitted even in the State of Matrimony, where if any where they would be juftifiable. The very Heathens themfelves, who had only trie dim Light of Nature to guide them, could exclaim againft them, tho' ia Wedlock.
* Obfc&m procul bine difcediteftammdC;
Hence ever be exil'd ye Fires obfeene.
Such married Perfons have this Sen- tencepaft on them, viz. Origu quidem amo- rh honeftaerat fed magnitudo deformis \ ni- hil autem inter eft ex qua honefta caufa quia infaniat, vnde & Ziflus Vi'Jagoricus in Seittentw, adulter eft, inquit* infuam Uxo- rem amatcr ardcntior ; in aliena quippe Ux~ ore omnis Amor Turpi s eft \ in fit a ttimim. Sapiens jud'uio debet aware covjugem non ajfectu^ non regnet in eo voluntatis impetus vecpr&ceps feratvr ad coitumjiihil eft fcedius quam Uxorem anwe quafi adulter am.
St.Jerom is yet more clear and ex- preflive in their Condemnation* Liber o*
rum
* Qvid.Mctam* LiLg*
-2 1 o ILunuchifm T>ifpiay*d.
rum ergo (fays he) in matrimonii) coMeJfct font Opera, Vohtptates autem qu& de Mere- tricum amplexibvs capiuntur in Uxore font damn at a.
The Cafirifts are likewife very precife in this Matter, and declare all Marriages contracted on fuch Motives highly blame- able.. Such irregular Marriages, fay they, were the Caufe that Cod deftrovVl the World by the FfcodL * The Sons "of God faw the Daughters of Men, that they were fair, and they took them Wives, of all which they allow ; or, according to their fenfual Appetite *, and thefe Marriages were the Caufe of the Deftru&ion of. the whole Earth.
The lawful Defires of a "Woman are to have Children.
Dido, when flie few, fhe was going to fee abandoned by */£neas9 fpeaks to him in. thcfe Terms.
+ Saltern ft qua tmhideTe fofcepta fuijfet Ante fugam foholes, Ji quis mihi parvnlus
Aula, Luderet J&weas, qui te tantum ore referret, Non equidem omnino capta aut deferta
viderer^
Thus
* Ccnef. 6.u, 2, + Eneid. lib. 4.
Eunuchifm DiffUfd. 2 1 i
Thus tranflated by Mr. Drylen.
Had you defer'd at leaft your hafty Flight, And left- behind fome Pledge of our
Delight, Some Babe to blefs the Mother's mournful
Sight. Some young Mneas to fupply your Place, Whofe Features might exprefs his Father's
Face, I would not then complain to be berefty Of all my Husband, or be wholly left.
And we find in the Holy Scripture the ehaft Rachel could fay to her Husband,. Give me Children. Genef. Chap* 30. v. 1.
I would be a Mother, I would have Children, it was for that Reafon I took a Husband •, this is the Language of a pru- dent and honeft Wife, and who far from deferving Reprehenfion (according to the falfe Modeftv of fome certain People) for complaining that her Husband is not capable of fatisfying her juft Defires, and that therefore would be divorc'd from him, rather on the contrary, deferves Praife and' Commendation, becaufe me cannot perfuade her felf to acl all her Life long the Partof a lewd Woman. ^
Procreation
2*2 Eanuchijm ViftLfA-.
Procreation then is. the lawful End of Marriage. It is true, that End is not always obtain xl \ there are fuch things as barren Wom^n, as well as impotent, or (if I may ufe the Expreffion) barren Men •, who feem to want Nothing necef- fary for that Work, any more than their Husbands, neither being able to reproach each other, it is from God only that thefe ought to defire Children, they are in Ja* cob's Cafe, who faid to his Wife, who ask'd him to give her Children, am I in God's Stead ? Genef. Chap. 3. v, 2.
But however it be, it is" certain, People
who are going to marry, ought to follow
the Advice the Angel Raphael gave to
Tobias t which fome holy Perfons have
thus Paraphrafed ' Hear me (fays he) and
I will tell you thofe, whom the Devil
hath Power over, when Perfons engage.
in Marriage, without having the Fear
of God in their Heart, and only think
on fatisfying their brutilh Appetite,
like the Horfe and Mule, which have
no Underftanding, the Devil hath
Power < over them. But for ycur Part,
the third Night you fhall receive the
Eleffing of God, that you two may have
Healthy Children. After the third
Night
lob. Chap. 6.
Eunuchifm Difylafd. 21 f
c Night you (hall take this Virgin in the 1 Fear ot' the Lord, and with lJefire of
* Ifiue, more than by -a Movement of Paf* c fion, that you may partake ot the Be-
* nedidtion or-God.
But all Eunuchs are not capable of fatisiying the impure and laiciviousDefaes ot a Woman. The Civilians thus diftin- guilhed Eunuchs, §Xavi%m intertft, (fay they) inter b&c vhia qua Grtci, K>tKGnQ*cti>y Vitiofitatein diamt, ivierq-, iraf©* id eft perturbatiovem at vow id eft Mo r bum •, ant apparUv id eft agrctiojtem, tantum htter talia Vi'ia &'eu?n Morbumex quo quis-mi- ms apt us vfnijit differ t. For lome are de- fective in the Quantity of the Humidum radicale, fome in the Quality-, and others again in both Quantity and Quality, and in lhort, ji qwsjta ftp ado eft vt tarn vecejfa- ria pars Corporis ei penitus abjit, morbofus eft, fays the Law. *
But of what Sort foever they be, Eu- nuchs ought by no Means to be iiifferVl to marry, beeaufethoy (a: m ft) can only fatisfy t elafcivious, impure, and unlaw- ful Deiires ofa Woman, I
CHAP.
" * Z. 7. f. de JEdilitio Edfko & RzdbiUtlQ}K&. quantz tntngris.
214 JLunuckifm DifpUfd,
C H A P. II.
Second Objection.
That Marriage is a Civil Contraft, and ther fore lawful for every Body to engage 4n it, and confequently Emuchs.
Anfwer to this Objeftion.
There are*Teveral Caufes that hinder a Perfon s contracting Marriage, which by Lawyers arecompris'd in theie threeV eries.
Votum, Vis^Error, Cogtiatio, Crimen, honeflas Religio, Rap.tus, Ordo, Ligamen, & *Aitas Aniens, Affinity Ji Ciafideftinus & Impos.
But we fliaH enter into a more particu- lar Examination of this Matter, and which will not be unworthy our Atten* lion.
It is a Principle in Law, that EdiBwn Matrimonii eft Prohibitorinm. That is, every one may marry who is not pro- hibited, Matrimonhm cuilibet contrahere licet, cui non prohibetnr. It is not there- fore fa generally permitted, but there are fome Perfons, that in fome Cafes maybe prohibited,
The
Eunuchifm DifpUy'd. 215
The Caufes which hinder Marriage, are very many, and of a different Na- ture •, feme are drawn from the Civil Law only, and fbme only from the Canon, and others a gain from both.
Thofe which are from both, are the Age of Puberty not yet attain'd, Near- nefs or" Relation, Alliance, Difference of Religion, Impotence, either of the Man, or Woman* and the publick Honour.
Thofe which peculiar to the Civil Law, are the Condition of the Party, if a Slave and is believ'd to be free •, Rape, (or Vio- lence) the Power, or Authority that a Man has over a AVoman, Propter pericu* him Imprefioins fve Coaftiovis ; The In- equality of the Fortune of the Parties, was heretofore confider'd as an Impedi- ment, but that has been fince alter 'd by the Kew Civil Law, that is, by theCon- ftitution of latter Emperors t Jure no* viffimo inter zus Perfiwas Nuptis, non pro- bzbentur.
Thofe laftly, which are peculiar to the Canon Law, are of two Sorts ^ the one make Marriage unlawful and null, fuch as are, Holy Orders, Solemn Vows, or the Poffeflion of « Religious, or Mona- ftick Life ^ the other only render it un- lawful
+ J&ttl 7$' Cap. 3, Novel. 117. C<?. &
2 \6 Eurmehifm Difphfd*
lawful, as a former Contract with ano- ther Per ion, fimpte Vows, being forbid- den by a Superior, the Times lorbidden by the -Church, Spiritual Affinity, as when a Man contracts with a fingle Wo- man, whom he is inft-ruding in the Principies of Religion-, Herefie, publick Penance and Crime, by which Term Crime, the Canon Law underftands. i. Inceft, 2. When a Man has occafion'd the Death of one Woman to marry another, 3. Kil- ling of a Prieft, or Minifter, or one in Holy Orders. 4. Marriage before contract- in g with a ReligiousWoman erNunn. But moft ofthefe being proper to the Churches o Rome and Greece, do not fall imme- diately under our Confideration in thefe Parts.
However, this fufficiently demonftrates that it is no£ Lawful for every Body to contrad Marriage, but amongft all thefe,. hnpoterxe is confider'd as one of the Prin- cipal, both by the Civil and Canon Law, as I have fufficiently made appear in the fecond Part of this Work.
But this Maxim, or Principle, is not peculiar to Contracts of Marriage 5 it alio reaches all manner of Contracts whatfo- ever, for as, Edi&nm Matrimonii ejl pro- hibitorium, io E&i&um Contra&um, is alio Prohibit or'ium, that is, every one may con- trad, who is not prohibited.
Bat
Eanucbifm DifpUfL ZiJ
But fome Perfons are forbid to con", tract, or make any Bargain what foe ver, that is, fuch Contracts, or Bargains ihall not be valued, or ftand good in Law. U Some are uncapable by Nature, as Fools, People that are Mad, Prodigal Perfon.% (who heretofore were planted in the Rank of Madmen) Drunkards, while they are fh, Infants, or fuch as are under Age, Deaf and Dumb^ People. 2. Some are adjudg'd legally incapable, as the Heirs apparent of Families. The Father to contract with his Son, while he is undec his Power, a, Wife, a Slave, a Governor: of a Province t Propter periculum Metus & bnpreffionis. 3. Some are incapacita- ted ah homine (fays the Law) that is, by the Nature of certain Compacts made between Man and Man, for Example, John Pox, fells to Richard Stee\ a Horfe; on Condition that he {half not fee it again, or that he ihall not fell it, but to fuch or fuch a Perfon : It is not therefore Lawful, according to this Compact, for Richard Steele, to fell the Horfe to any other Perfon whatsoever-, for in this Cafe, John Fox impofes a Law uporj Richard Steele (or according to our Englilb Laws, the Tender upon the Vendee) Ret L enim
f i. in rt Mmdtto cod. Man fail
2 1 8 'Eunuchifm DtfpU/d.
tnimfud qiiifqnis Moderator, & arbiter Rel fu& legem qiiifqnis dicere peteft. 4. People cannot contract, by Reafon of theCuftoms of Places ; but of this we need not in- fiance any Cafes, the whole Cuftomary Laws of England is one great and per- manent Example.
And it is the fame Thing with Men as Things, the Parity is exactly the fame ^ 'befides there is yet fomewhat more worth our Consideration, and that is, that an Impoffibility of Performance entirely makes void the Contract. How then {hall, the Contract of Marriage, made by an Eunuch ftand Good, who is in an entire Impofiibility to do what he has pro- inis'd, that is, to perform the^ Functions *)f Marriage, the End of which, I have more than once fufficiently {hewn is Procreation,
CHA P;
Eunuchifm -DifpUfd* 2 1 9
CHAP. Ill,
third Objecllofi.
A N Eunvch who is capable to ptrfrm ai jf\ the Duties of Marriage^ except fhofe which concern Generation^ may not- ■mthftandhtg covtratl, face it is a Maxim* that it is the Content of Parties, not Bedding makes a Marriage. Confeftfm ?wn Concubitus facit Matrimonium*
Avfwer to this Objection.
IT is an old Proverb, that every Mali ought to known his own Trade ^ for it is a Shame to know every Thing but what we ought to know. It is therefore very Ridiculous for airy One to pretend to be a good Husband, and to do all the Duties of Marriage, when he is not capable of performing the princi- pal Functions of all. It is not with fuch a One, as with that Buffoon, whom Cardinal Perron t takes Notice ot, when he was at Mantuay the Duke pointing to a Buffoon, told him, there was Magio Buffone, & non ha Spirito h the Cardinal L 2 reply^d,
f ?,rr,n':m* p, 44
^20 JLunucbifm Difpltfd*
reply'd, quefio Bvffone ha pert ant o dello Spirit o^ The Duke ask'd him Why ? Perch* (Fays he)vivie d\ino me filer o che von Sa fare. But the Trade of. a Husband is quite an- other Thing •, he does not live by it at 511, if he does not know how to work at it 5 for in that Occupation there muft be no trifling 5 Work muft not be flight- ed up, but made True and Subftantial.
+ Nil ill perludumfmulabitur, Omnia fient Ad Ver.um.
And if this be not efFedually done, a Woman fuffers very much, and Nights will grow long and tedious.
* 0 ! nox quam longa es qua facts una fexem't
Witnefs the Anguifh and cold Sweats cf poor Egley whom Martial \\ {peaks of, that lay languilhing between two com- fortable Bedfellows-, an old Man, and an Eunuch.
Cumfene commmiem vexafSpadoDydimusEglen
Et jacet in medio Jicca pueEa toro yiribus hie operi non eJK hie utilis minis
Ergo
'4 Juv. Satyr 6* v. 324, * Sp, 7. Uk. 4» II &•
At, J£. 82,
Eunucbifm Difplafd. 223
Ergo fine ejfetlu prurit itterq-, prior Shpplex ilia rogat pm fe miferifq^ diiobtts Huncjuveytem facias bunc Cyiherea Virwru
It is not therefore in the Practice that we find the Truth of this Maxim, * Cor> fevfus tion Concubitus facit Matriivjonium % let us fee what we can do in the Theory.
Tiie Civilians make a great Difference between that Confent w'uch is given at the Time of contracting Marriage, or Ef- poufal, and that which is given at tha Time of folemnizms* thofe Efpoufals, or a&ualMarriage.Tbe firft is onl^aPromife to folemnize, and the latter is a Promife to confummate. (1 Allude (i (fay they)iV«£- v tias contrahere,aliufadNuptias contrahendas fife obligare. The former of thefe Confents is a Pact or Agreement of future Wedlock^ the latter is a Fad ofprefent Mirriage*. One is a Promife tatake a Wife^ the other is the Execution of that Promife, a Wife is aftually- taken. A Promife (fay they) frfl made by Words, is ratified by the Fafts and Things themf elves. Promt ffio prius fafta Verbis, rebus ipfis, & faftis ralifica* tur. And there is as much Difference be- ll' 3 tween
* L. 30. f di diver/. Jfcj. Jw. \ Lrfi$enam g, dc verborum Obligations*
222 Eumchijm Diftlafd.
tween thefe two Confents, as there is be- tween a Promife and the Execution of that Prcmife. In one a Man does not confent that he will immediately confum- mate Marriage, he only promifes that he will do it in Time. But in the other a Man is willing to be married that very Inftant. Eo ipfo memento maritm ferl -unit & eo ammo & dejlinatione covfeniit lit ft Matrimoniwn. He promifes then to confummate < 'tis to the firft of thefe two Cafes, this Maxim muft beapplied.
In ihort the true Meaning of this Max- im is ihi% and muft be thus applied •, that 1% it fignifies, that fimple Cohabitation is not the Effence of Marriage •, a Carnal Knowledge is not fufficient to conclude it a Marriage, the mutual Confent of Par- ries is absolutely necefTary : This Confent is not a mutual Confent of two Perfons to inow each other ^ but fay the Lawyers, Confenfus cohptbitavdi & individuam vHfk Covfuetudhiem retime fidi facit Conjvghm. It is not the bare Confent alone, or the Cohabitation alone, that can make it a Marriage, but both together. Befides, the Covfent mention'd in the Maxim, is only a Confent which belongs (in the Law Terms) ad Nitptlanim probatiovem fed von ad fubjlantiaw. The Intent of that Max- im is not to declare in what Matrimony ejfentially confifts, but to fix the Time of
its
Eunachifm Dsfplajrd. 22 J
its Beginning, and from what Inftant to account it contracted •, for lying with one another is no more a Proof of Marriage than lying afiinder ^ or living feparate, a Proof of its Nullity or DhTolution.. Non ex Covcubiiu?tupti& probavtur icuti & retro Secubitn Matrimomnm 71 on diffociatur feu Jeparatiovie Thorl aut Cobabitationis. Such like Unions and Separations conclude Nothing, , i >
There are indeed fome Conjectures of more Certainty, by which the Lawyers judge of the Confummation of Marriage, fuch as are the Ceremonies generally uied at fuch Times, the Opinion of the Neigh- bourhood, the formal bringing .the Wo- man home to her Hufband's Houfe, Mar- riage Settlements, and fuch like. Ex Comparations Perfovarwn, ex vit£ Gtnjitn&i~ one, exVic'norum Opinione, ex dedufyi rg in doinum Mariti, exaqw & ignis acrept:o- re, ex do'alibus irfirnme7itis fe* Tabu Is nuptiaUbus, f°u tefiatione. A,nd thefe a- mongft the Turks make the only Diffe- rence between a Wife and a Concubine. .
But all this is not the EfTence ot Mar- riage * thefe Ceremonies are orty Con- jectures, or Proofs, by which one may judge that a Marriage has been contract- ed between the Parties. If Marriage only confifkd in the bare Confent, we may fay with the Woman in Ovi£ 1
L 4 Si
2*4 Etwuchifm Difplafd.
Si was antiquis placmjfet matribm idem Gens bomimm vitio deperitura fuit
^jnqne iterum jacerct generis primordfa noftri hi vacua lapides orbe para?tdus erat*
CHAP IV.
Fourtb Obje&ion.
'YNCafe a Man cannot be witb a Wife X like a Husband, yet he way like a Bra* iher, live with her as a Sifter.
Anfwer to this Objection.
THis ObjedHon is founded upon the Chapter, Laudabilem eft infra, which contains thefe Words, if they both con- fent to live together, the Husband if he cannot have her as a Wife,^ may at leaft as a Sifter, quod Ji mnbo confentiant final effe, Uti etiam & Ji non tit Uxor em fait em babeat ut Sorarem. The Glofs upon this Word Ambo, fays expreflyy they muft both content, becaufe it being no Mar- riage, they are not oblig'd to each other, quia cum ttuUttm Jit Matrimonium %<m tenetur alter alttru.
But
Eunuch ifm DifpUfd. 225.,
But the two following Reflexions wilt entirely deftVoy the Objection that is founded upon thefe Words.
i. The firft is, that thefe^ Words have Relation to' the Leave which is gfverr to a Woman to difTblve her Marriage, after having for fome certain time, been well afliir'd of her Husband^ Impotence, fhe mxf then in Tuch Care, make void her Marriage, unlefs both confent to live together like Brother and Sifter ^ by which it is plain, thefe Words relate to » Marriage that has been contracted, not to a Marriage, that is to be contracted^ and relate to a Man that has been found for fome confiderable time to be impo- tent, not to a Eunuch, who is notori-- ouily 15, and who bv no -Aid of Art or Nature, can ever be made capable of Generation.
2. The fecond Reflexion confifts in this, that both Parties mull confent to reft upon that footing' of Brother and Sifter ^ which fhews there is no Union between them, and that the firft Confent given t» each other, having not pro- duc'd the Effe£t for which it was given, it is naturally, and ipfo fatfo revok'd. That there muft'be a new one given upon a certain Knowledge of the. Part y but then fcais is no Marriage, but a Union, (if J, may & c-11 it) of fupport, which L 5 can
226 Eunuch fm Diffhfd.
can only be Burthenfome to the Woman % for in that, the foft Name or Sifter can- not make any Recompence for the Lofs 01 the Advantages attending a Wife. When once People are married, they love me another more and more, as being Man and Wife. All Women are ©f the fame Mind with Biblh in Ovid |( they can't abide to be call3d Sifter, by a Man who fills the Place of a Husband.
yam Dominum appellat, jam nomiwa Satigui-
i:is odit. 3iblida7jayn mavnlt^ qttamfevocet illeSo-
rorejn.
In fhort, this Objection falls of it felf, fince it only relates to Marriages con- traded with Men, known by Experience to be impotent 5 ard the Queftion here is, whether an Eunuch known as fuch* can contrad Marriage..
CHAP.
£ Mitamjrgbi lib. 9. v. 465*.
Eunuchifm DlffUfL 22 \J
C H A P. V.
Fifth Objection.
IF Eunuchs ought to be forbidden to mar^ ry7 becanfe they are incapable of Gene- ration, the Jame^ Re of on would hold as to- old Perfons, whofe Age has put them into the like Incapacity of performing the FunSz- ons of Marriage- and fine e they are not for- bidden, no more ought Eunuchs.
Anfwer to this Objection.
THIS Cbje&ion is founded upon a falfe Principle, viz. That no one- has Right to marry, but thofe who are capable of Generation, or if the Woman be barren, that then the Marriage ought to be difiblved. This Principle, and the Confequence drawn frorn it, are fa abfurd, that the bare Propofal of it is a fufficient Refutation.
If this Objection be not founded upon: this Principle, it is yet lefs fupportable, For a \!an,unlefs he turn mere Child, or is afflicted with fome capital Diftemper, may fee capable of getting Children. There are a thoufand Examples in the World, of old Men who have got Children at fcur-
fcorea
esS Eumchifm DiffUfA
fcore, or fourfcore and ten Years of Age£ which is generally the longefl: Date of Man's Lire. So that one may fay, that a Man of a good Conftitution, may get Children as long as he lives. However, if he be fo decrepit that he cannot do any one Function of Marriage/ or becomes as an Eunuch, I ownthen^ that iffuch aPer- fon intends to marry, he would a£t againft the End and Institution of Marriage ; and the Civil Magistrate or the Fxclcfiaftical, would do well to hinder fuch an Under- taking, and reprefent to him what A/aw, in Ovids Metamorphofis, did to Ulyjfes*
DeMliiatwum quidTepetis Improbe Munus.
Such a one does like the Male of the Halcyons, or King's, FiCher, who when they are fo old they cannot move, embra- ces his Female and dies.. #
But iffuch a Perfon will marnr*. in my Opinion it ought to be - to a Woman of mudi the fame Age with himfelf^ for the* Fire of Youth being extinguished in thenx both, they would not be in any Appre- hension or thofe Inconveniencies LlhalV obferve in the following Chapter; and it is properly in this Cafe that a Husband receiving much Help and Affiftance fronx hi$Wi£, may then loojt upon her asa
£iftery
Eunuchism DifpU/d. 22.9
Sifter, dice neither, of them are capable oflffiie.
But the principal Reafon why old Peo- ple may marry,, and who are reproach 5d tor lb-doing, on Account, or their Age, is this, that they could once generate, and perhaps have effectually done^ Co in their Youth, they have therefore in them the Faculty of Generation, though they do not procreate in Efredt 5 in them Age is more powerful than Nature, which made them capable. Now we fee that Nature has oftentimes its Sallies, or Providence gives them Strength to furmount all Ob-, ltacles of Age. * I fhall not here, infert the Fable of a certain gooa old Man named Hircus7 who begg'd of the three Gods that came to vifithim, to give him a Son, though fhe was far advanced in. Age,, which they accordingly granted' him. The Learned are of Opinion* that, this was the Story of Abraham and Sarab^ in difguife : But I fhall inftance a Rela- ti not J) Velafco of Tarentum, as a Thing very wonderful, and may be iten in his. Phiiomum. This Perfon, fays he, faw a, Woman, who had her. IVleuftjua at fixty
Years,
* S. Romuald. Tbefaur. Hiflor. £? Hiftor. hj. folk. Xom* 1. £ 9& || lb%L$. 2iu
«2sS Eunuchifm DiffUfA
fcore, or fourfcore and ten Years of Agev which is generally the longeft Date of Man's Lire. So that one may fay, that a Man of a good Conftitution, may get Children as long as he lives. However, if he be fo decrepit that he cannot do any one Function of Marriage, or becomes as an Eunuch, I own then* that iffuch aPer- fon intends to marry, he would acl; againft the End and Inftitution of Marriage ; and the Civil Magiftrate or the Ecclciiaftical, *vould do well to hinder fitch an Under- taking, and reprefent to him what A}'**9 m Ovids Metamorphofis, did to Ulyjfes.
TJebiliiatwiiVi guldTepetis Improbe Mtwus*
Such a one does like the Male of the Halcyons, or King's.. Fi(her, who when they are fo old they cannot move, embra- ces his Female and dies.. _
But iffuch a Perfonwill marry*, in my Opinion it ought to be - to a Woman of mush the fame Age with himfelf^ for the< Fire of Youth being extinguifhed in them. feoth, they would not be in any Appre- hension of thofe Inconveniencies I fhalV obferve in the following Chapter $ and it is properly in this Cafe that a Husband: receiving much Help and Aififtance from- bisWiiv, may then loojc upon her as a
Sifter*
oflfift
perhaps \ Iain, i Facultv .
BKUffM
them cq lias oitfl eivti t::.
mii
sund B Go&fa
a Son, t:
Eunuchism Di/plafd; 22.9
Sifter, fince neither, of them are capable oflfliie.
But the principal Reafon why old Peo- ple may marry,, and who are reproach 54 for lb-doing, on Account, of their Age, is this, that they could once generate, and perhaps have effe&ually done^ Co in their Youth, they have therefore in them the Faculty of Generation, though they do not procreate in Effefr 5 in them Age is more powerful than Nature, which made them capable. Now we fee that Nature has oftentimes its Fall res, or Providence gives them Strength to fur mount all Ob-, ltacles of Age. * I fhall not, here, infert the Fable of a certain gooa old Man named H\rcus7 who beggfd of the three Gods that came to vifithim, to give him a Son, though fhe was far advanced ia Age,., which they accordingly granted" him. The Learned are of Opinion^ that. this was the Story of Abraham and Sarah^ in difguife : But I fhall inftance a Rela- ti not || Velafco of Tarentuin, as a Thing very wonderful^ and may be ieen in his. Pbiiomum. This Perfon, fays he, faw a, Woman, who had her. Menftrua at iixty
Years,
* S. Romuald. Tbefaur. Hijior. tf Hi/ior. % foUa. lorn* 1. & 9& || Ipd* $, 23 u
2 jo Eunuch if m Difplaj*d.
Years of Age, and had a Son at the Age of fixtyfeven.
Mauritius Codeus, in his Commentary upon the firfl: Book of .Hipocrates, Of the Diftempers of Women, tells us of a Woman who had her Menfirua at feventy Years of Age, and conceiv'd a well fhap'd Child, of which ihe mifcarried with the ihaking of a Coach.
The Law Si Major in the^ Code de hgithru He/ed. makes mention of a Woman that had a Child after fifty Years of Age. Cornelia, of whom Fliny^ takes Notice, was brought to Bed of VolufuB Satnrninvs (afterwards Conful) when Ihe was paft threefcore and two Years old-, and the learned Joubert fays pofitively, that a Woman, who was mar- ried to a Cutler in the Town of Avignon, eaird, Andrew, who was then Servant to Cardinal Joyeufe, who continu'd to bear Children till Ihe was fevQnty Years Old.
But if Nature cannot furmonnt thefe Obftacles, God, who is the Lord of Na- ture, very often does •, in giving Women Children, at an Age when they could entertain no Hopes of having any. Sarah, and Hanah the Mother cf Samuel, are Examples of this Truth in the Holy Scripture 5 He maketh the barren Woman
Uf
Eunuchifm Difflay^d. 2jr
to hep Hojtfe (fays the Royal Pfalmift, ani to he a joyful Mother of Children,. and Experience has fo often ihewn this that it is impoifible to doubt of it.
There is then a great Deal ox Diffe- rence between the Marriage of old Men and Eunuchs. God often makes ufe of human Means to work Miracles. Per- Ions ad vane d in Years may be made ufe of as Inftruments to ihew God's Power, ; but Eunuchs never can. In that, Eu- nuchs being neither naturally nor iuper- naturally capable to get Children, are by Confequence, in no Manner capable, nor worthy of being married.
CHAP.
2} 2 JLunuchifm DifjUf'it. CHAP. VI.
Sixth Ohjeftion.
IF a Woman that is about to marry ± knows that her Intended Husband is an Eunuch, and is not ignorant of the Qonfequences \ then in that Cafe foe may lawfully marry him, becanfe it is a Maxim in Law, that there is no Injury to thole that- are willing-, Vol.nti non ft hi~
Anfwer to this ObjeBioiu
THis Maxim, Volenti non fit Injuria, is held both by the Civil, and Canon taw 5 as -when a Perfon fells a Man's Son, who is willing to be fold, then in that Cafe, the Father may have his Adtion at Law, de Injuria in his own Name, but the Son cannot in his Name,i becaufe h'ej was willing, and Volenti nam ft Injuria. The Words of the Civil Law are thefe,. viz. * Ufqs adeo autem in- juria qua fit liberis nofirh. no f rum pu-
dorem
* lu u
Eunuchifm "Difplafd. 23^
iorem pertivgh, ut etiam fi vo'eittemfilium quis vcndiderit, patri fuo quidem nom'rne competit hipiriarum aBio, filii vero nomine von competit, qua nulla 'injuria eft qua in volentem fiat. And the Canon Law fays, fcienti & eonfentienti non fit Injuria, and this is taken trom the Law de diverfis Re- gulis JurU, which fays that no one {hall be efteem'd to defraud any one that knows and confents to it, Nemo videtur fraudarc eos qui fciunt & confentiuut, and js in fbme Sort explain'd by the * Si intelligatur 6. De JEdilitio Edifto. Si intelligatur VI- tium, Morbus qua mancipii ltt p\erumq\pignis quibufdam folent demonftrare vitia, potefi did Edittum cejfare ; hoc enim tantum intu* tndum eft ne Emptor dcipiatur.
Now to conclude, that a Woman is cheated and defrauded willingly and by her own Confent, it muft clearly be made ap- pear that fhe was neither induced nor de- duced, that fhe knew all the Defedts^ pe- culiar to Eunuchs, and the Inconvenient cies fhe is to fuffer •, and except all this-be, fhe is cheated by Surprife, and not willing- ly : Belides, a Woman ought to be well allured of her Continence and Chaftity,
that
* Ufa adeo 5 ff. de Injuriis S3> famof. Libellis. lib. 47. tit. 10. Sext, Veer tt, lib. 5. Tit. de Reg* Jur. Reg. 25.
2J4 Eunuch ijm DifthfA.
that fhe be well acquainted with what an Eunuch is, and the Inconyeniencies attend- ing Qich a Marriage, will very often put both thefe two Virtues to their utmoft Proof-, and lhe muft be allured fhe can bear up under thofe fevere Conflicts, without all this, fuppofing that VolevV von fit 'rn'ju- r\ay yet neither the Civil nor Eccleiiaftical Powers ought to fuffer her to be expofed to Temptation, and put her felfin evident Danger of commit ting Sin, as I (hall make appear at the End of this Chapter, and by Confequence ought not to let her marry. And in this Cafe the Objection falls to the Ground.
Tiere are other Exceptions to this ge- neral Rule, which the Lawyers take No- tice of, for Example, fi quia Pnellam^ vor letttem rapnerit,Jt qitis volentem fi him \y\Ur- vertat^fi quis VGlentem fervnm cormmpat^ and the like.
The true Senfe of this Maxim is, that a Perfon who has confented to the Injury done to himfelf, cannot have his Action againft the Perfon that did him that Inju- ry by his own Confent. We fee now what Application can be made of this Maxim, in relation to Eunuchs Marriages. When a Marriage is declared Null on Ac- count
f 'Novel. 22. Cap.firQccafiorHM 6*
Eunuchifm Difplafd. 2^5
count of the Impotence of the Hufhand, he is not only obliged to give back her Fortune and pay her Damages •, but fhe by no Means obliged to return him the Rings and other Prefents he made to her. But if fhe knew before Marriage, that he was impotent, even in that Cafe fhe may make void the Marriage, or rather have it declared null. But cannot have her A&ion againft him for Damages, Volenti won faftnf nit injuria. And one may with Reafon Reproach fuch a one in the Words of Horace*
* Vrudem emfli vhlofum *ditfa tibi eft fcx Infeqneris tamen hmtc & lite moraris iTti- qua.
And this Law is received all over the World,
But to anfwer folidly this Objection, and to which there can be made na manner of Reply, I can make ufe of Nothing better than the Words of the learned Cyprtus, as contained in the 41,. and 42, of the 13th Paragraph of the 9th Chapter, of his moft excellent Work, de Jure Connubiorum, and which will
effe&ually
* Lib. 2. JEpift. 2. v. 1 8.
\tlfi Eurtucbifm Difplafd.
efFe&ually anfwer this Obje&ion, and at the fame time,, put a handfome Conclu- sion to this Chapter and this Treatife, both together.
c Queritur H mulier fpadoni vel Eu- nucho fidem dederit non ignara cunt hoc vitio affectum, vel poft Sponfalia refciverit eum Viruin non efle, 8c nihil- ominus nuptias confummare cupiar, id eiconcedendum £ Et ft quidem con- ftiterit eum ad Commixt-ionem conjuga- lem inhabilem efle nuptiis illi interdi- cendum, 8c fponfalia diffblvenda exi- ftimaverim.
' I. Quod lege Divina fpadones prohi- benter mariti fieri, Itaque nee illis lnu- lieres nubere pofliint. * 2. Quod 8c Imperatorum conftituti- onibus vet i turn eft.
\ $\ QP°d ejusmodi C6njugium Bene- di&ionis non fit caoax.. c 4. Quod nulla iftarum caufanim prop-
* ter quasConjugiuma Deo-inftitutumeft, 1 hie locum habeat.
c 5. Propter periculum ne Mulier alibi
* amori operum dare iacipiat (ut eftnatu-
* ra hominum prodivis ad libidinem).&
* conjugio anus ufum nullum habere ' poteft, pro Velamento turpitudinis uta- 4* tur. Nee ad rem facit quod Mulier t fciens volens nugtias illas cupiat, Nam
Eunuch ifm DifpUy'd. 237
In re tanti Moment^ Magiftratus eft partibus confulere, qui fuis Commodis confulere non poflunt, cum perire volens audiendus non fit. Nam verendum eft, , ut dixi, ne mulier ejus pertefa conjun- dionis alium portum querat quo fefe recipiat, ut Theogindis verbis utar. Quibus incommodis Magiftratum me- dere oportet ufq$ adeo ut etfi de virit vitio aut morbo non queratur Uxor, nihilominus hifice nuptiis intercedere debeat.
' Sed quid fi mulier fciens volens fpa- doni nupferit, & Matrimonium confum- matum fit •, Refp^ Cbi imputare debet, qua? ei quern fui Virum non efTe nupferit, Interim tamen Matrimonium dyctfA©- yapQ- id eft pro nullo habendum eft, utquod contra leges inter eas Perfonas coierit, qui matrimonio jungi non pof- lunt. Qua de Caufa etiamfi earn fa&i non pen it eat, nihilominus a Viro difce- dere debere, 8c ii nolit fegregandam effe exiftimaverim. Neq^ enim Mu- lier prava 8c legibus prohibits, fua Conruventia re&a officere poteft. Et Conjugium confirmatur officio Carnali, •veruin antequam confirmetur, impofli" bilitas Officii folvit vinculum conjugii, i$ Queft. 1 Cap. 1. Verba Auguftini. ■Quam vis contra fentiatPapa Alexander
£ ve]
2 3 8 Eunuehifm Difplay^d.
* vel ut alii volunt, Lucius cap. Reqtth c ciefti: 3 '5 Queft. prima qui vult eas qua* c pro Uxore haberi non poflunt, pro So- "'. roribus habendas, quodvix eft, ut defendi c poffit idq^ propter illas quas commemo-
* ravimus Caulks.
. The Queftion is, if a Woman has given her Promife to an Eunuch, knowing him to have that Defect, or after her Marriage (hall difcover that he is no Man, and yet ffcill (hall deiire a Confummation of the Nuptials, whether fuch a Requefl is to be allow'd > and if it fhall appear that he is unable for Conjugal Mixture, the Marri* age is to be diflolved in my Opinion, for thefe Reafons.
i ft, Becaufe by the Law of God, Eu- nuchs are prohibited from becoming Hus- bands, and therefore no Woman can mar- ry them.
2dly, That it is forbid by the Imperial Gonftitutions and Laws.
3dly, That fuch a Marriage is not ca^ pable of any Blefling.
4thly, Becaufe none of thole Reafons, for which Matrimony was inftituted by God, can take Place in this Cafe,
5thly, For Fear the Woman mould transfer her Love to another, (as the Na- ture of our whole Species is inclinable to Luft) and fo make the Marriage, of Which Ihe can have no Ufa a Veil and
Cover
Eunuch'tfm Difplay'd. 2jp
Cover for her own vicious Practices. Nei- ther is it to the Purpofe, to lay the Wo- man contracted this Marriage knowingly or wittingly, for in a Cafe of fo great Importance, it is the Duty of the Magi- ftrate to ronfult for the Parties, who can* not coniult their own Good ; and they are no more to follow their own Humour, than a Perfon :s who would deftroy him* felf. For it is to be fear'd, as I before faid, the Woman, wearied with fuch an Union, may look cut, in the Words of Theogini, for another Harbour. All w hich Inconveniencies, it is the Mag;ftrates Bu- fmefs to prevent, fo that althV the Wo- man mould not complain of this Defect, yet he ought to interpofe and prevent the Nuptials.
But that if a Woman knowingly, and willingly, fhould marry an Eunuch, and the Marriage is confummated, the Com- mon-wealth ought to bear the Blame, who fuffer'd a Marriage of this Kind. In the mean time the Marriage is a Marriage, and no Marriage, becaufe it was con- tracted between fuch Per ions, who ac- cording to the Laws are not allow'd to marry, upon which Account, altho' the Woman does not repent of the Action, yet fhe ought to depart from the Man, and if fhe will not, it is my Opinion fee fhall be forced to feparate^ becaufe
a
$4© Eanuchifm Difpla/d. a perverfe "Woman, and one prohibited by the Laws, cannot fulfill that Office by herfelf, and the Confirmation of Ma- trimony, is by the carnal Office, but be- fore the Confirmation commences, the Impoilibility of doing that Office breaks tlie Tye of Matrimony •, which are St. • Auflins Words, the 33d Queftion, Chap. ifL Although Pope Alexander, or as o- thers would have it, Lucius upon the 33d Queftion in the Chapter Requictefti, would have thofe, who cannot be account- ed as Man and Wife, to be accounted as Sifters, which is almoft impoffibleto be defended, and that for thofe Reafons we before mention d.
*^
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