Many laws have been made against bachelors by various nations, who all
concurred in considering the bachelor as an enemy to his country and to
mankind. The chief of these laws were those made by the Romans, and
consisted of fining the bachelor, and various other penalties: the most
celebrated one was that of Augustus, which was entitled the "_Lex julia
de maritandis ordinibus_" by which the bachelor was made incapable of
receiving legacies, or of holding inheritances given by a will, unless
they were bequeathed to him by a near relation. Plutarch observes that
this brought many to marry, not for the mere sake of raising heirs to
their estates, but to make themselves capable of receiving legacies, and
for the purpose of inheriting such estates as might be left them by a
friend.

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