Marry his deceased Wife's Sister, considered in a Letter to a Clergyman of the Reformed Dutch Church. By Clericus. New York, W. E. Dean, Printer, 1827. pp. 25; octavo.

REMARKS ON THE LETTER OF DOMESTICUS, containing the Doctrine of Incest stated; with an examination of the question, Whether a Man may Marry his deceased Wife's Sister. By Veritas. New York. Published by G. & C. Carvil, 1827. pp. 40. 8vo.

ECCLESIASTICAL PROCEEDINGS, IN THE

CASE OF MR. DONALD M'CRIMMON.
By Colin M'Iver, V. D. M. pp.

42. 8vo. CONSIDERATIONS

on the proposed erasure of Sect. 4, Chap. xxiv. of the Presbyterian Confession of Faith, which asserts, that "The man may not marry any of his wife's kindred, nearer in blood than he may of his own; nor the woman of her husband's kindred, nearer in blood than of her own." By Ezra Styles Ely, D. D.

The subject of these publications is one which has for us no attractions; and as many folios as this review exhibits titles of pamphlets might have been published, in relation to it, without any notice from us, if the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church had not seen meet to make an order, which seemed to call our attention to it as a matter of duty. In the discharge of this duty, unpleasant as we have found it, we have not only pretty carefully perused all the publications mentioned at the head of this article, but a good deal more. We knew that in the time of Henry VIII. of England, who had married his brother's widow, all the learning of Europe was put in requisition to throw light on this subject. We therefore, among other things, looked over Hume's* History of England, to re

Hume is a writer whom, on certain subjects, we should never quote as an authority. If we recollect rightly, it was

vive our recollections; and we think it may not be amiss to lay before our readers a few quotations from that historian, and afterwards to continue a historical view of the subject (of a very general kind however) from the period of the Reformation to the present time.

It will be recollected that Pope Julius had granted a dispensation to Henry to marry the wife of his deceased brother; and that his successor, Clement, could never be prevailed on to disannul the marriageNot, it was sufficiently evident, from any conscientious scruples, with which he appears never to have been much troubled, but altogether from political considerations.

"Henry," says Hume, "affirmed that his scruples arose entirely from private reflection; and that, on consulting his confessor the Bishop of Lincoln, he found doubts and difficulties. The king himthe prelate possessed with the same self being so great a casuist and divine, next proceeded to examine the question more carefully by his own learning and study; and having recourse to Thomas, of Aquine, he observed that this celebrated doctor, whose authority was great in the church, and absolute with him, had treated of that very case, and had ex pressly declared against the lawfulness of such marriages. The prohibitions, said Thomas, contained in Leviticus, and among the rest that of marrying a bro ther's widow, are moral, eternal, and founded on a divine sanction; and though the pope may dispense with the rules of the church, the laws of God cannot be set aside by authority less than that which enacted them. The Archbishop of Canterbury was then applied to; and he was required to consult his brethren: All the prelates of England, except

the celebrated Charles Fox who said of

Hume and Gibbon, "that the first loved a king, and both hated a priest, so much, that they were never to be trusted, when a king or a priest was the subject." But the prejudices of Hume do not appear to have had influence in what he records as tion. When he takes occasion to deliver a historian, on the topick under considera

his own views, he shows, as usual, his total disregard of revelation. But his

historical statements are the less to be suspected, because they contravene his own opinions.

• Burnet, Fiddes.

last quotation, was as he declared, and as is confirmed by a preceding quotation, the fair result of reports and decisions from the most learned universities and individuals of Europe, in his case. We wish that the last quoted sentence from Hume may be particularly noted; because it contains what we believe to be the exact truth, and for the sake of which our whole reference to this case has been made. It has been made to show what was the state of publick opinion, in regard to the subject before us, throughout the whole of Christendom, at the period of the Protestant reformation. It was known then, as it is known now, that in ancient Persia and Egypt, pagan princes, esteeming it a degradation to marry either with their own subjects or with the royal families of other nations, had espoused their nearest relatives; and that Vortigern, king of South Britain, while Britain was yet Pagan, had married his own daughter. But this heathenish and abominable incest, and all approximation to it, had always, and with entire unanimity, been regarded with horror by all Christians, from the earliest days of the church up to that time. At one period, indeed, the church had gone far to the other extreme, and made it incest to marry within the seventh degree, either of consanguinity or affinity. But to marry within the fourth was, as Henry asserted, unheard of; except that in Spain and Portugal* there had been some in

• The abject subjection of Spain and Portugal to Romish superstition and papal authority, beyond any other countries of Europe, is well known. Portugal has long exhibited the most disgusting exam. ples of incestuous marriages. Near the close of the 17th century, the very case occurred for which John the Baptist reproved Herod. We have the following record, in relation to Alphonso, King of Portugal, and his brother, Don Peter. "Alphonso's wife having transferred her affections to Don Peter, a circumstance which had led her to induce her husband to

submit to the resignation [of his crown], their marriage having been declared null by the chapter of Lisbon, and the regent

stances of a man espousing two sisters. This however had always been done by a dispensation from the Pope, whose power was not only denied and disregarded by Protestants, but in this matter seems to have been much questioned, even by many staunch Romanists-That the Pope could not legalize the marriage of two brothers with the same woman, was the very case, on which the voice of learning and religion throughout Europe had been given against him.

ever

Let us now see how this subject has been viewed by the whole body of European Protestants, since the separation from the Romish church. As speedily as prac ticable, after the reformation, the Protestant churches severally drew up and published Formularies, or Articles, of their Faith. The collection of these, which has been made, and published in Latin, not being just now at hand, we avail ourselves of the labours of the ve nerable man, lately deceased, who published, about ten years since, the work whose title stands first at the head of this review. The profound learning, fervent piety, and scrupulous conscientiousness of Dr. Livingston, afford an ample pledge for the verity and accuracy of his statements. After showing that

having gained a papal dispensation, and the consent of the states, married the lady who had been his brother's wife. On the death of Alphonso, the regent succeeded by the title of Peter II."-Article Portugal, in New Edinburgh Ency clopedia. "Joseph, who died in 1777, having left no sons, was succeeded by his daughter Mary, whom he had married, by dispensation from the Pope, to Don Peter, her uncle, with a view of preventing the crown from falling into a foreign family."-Ibid. "The Prince of Brazil, the son of that incestuous marriage, is wedded to his aunt."-Buck's Theological Dictionary, Article Incest. Here we have not only an uncle marrying his niece, but a nephew marrying his aunt. The late contract of marriage between Don Miguel and his niece, the daughter of the Emperor of Brazil, shows that royal incest is still as fashionable as ever in Portugal.

not only the early fathers of the Christian church, both Greek and Latin, in the works which they published as individuals, but also in the decrees of several ecclesias tical councils formed under their influence, were unanimous in condemning as incestuous, marriages within the usually prohibited degrees; and that the Romish church, agreeably to what we have already seen, had ever done the same, he adds

"Among the celebrated reformers there was not a dissenting voice. They were explicit and unanimous upon the subject.* Zuinglius, in a letter to Grineus, enlarges upon four points, asserting -1. That although civil magistrates should tolerate such marriages, yet no power on earth can render void the law of God. 2. That the apostles made no new law respecting marriage, under the gospel, but left this article as they found it. 3. That marrying within near degrees was abhorred by the Greeks and other civilized heathen. And, 4. That such marriages, being against the law of God, ought to be dissolved.

"The sentiments of Calvin may be satisfactorily gathered from two of his letters. One is supposed, from the closing paragraph, to have been written to Grineus. Of the other, it is uncertain to whom it was addressed. They are both to be found in the collection of his epistles.

In the first he writes: It must be maintained that the prohibition, respecting sisters in law, is one of those, which time nor place can never abrogate. It proceeds from the very fountain of nature, and is founded upon the general principle of all laws, which is perpetual and inviolable. When the emperor Claudius obtained the sanction of the senate to re

move the opprobrium of his incestuous marriage with Agrippina, there was none found to imitate his example, excepting only one liberated slave. I mention this

to show how inviolable the law of nature

"Melancthon, with his characteristic modesty, declined to give his opinion upon the question, when requested by Henry VIII, from which, it has been sug. gested that he differed from his brethren in this article. But as he afterwards joined with the Lutheran divines in their decision upon that subject, he cannot be considered to have maintained opposite sentiments.-A similar conclusion may perhaps also apply to Bucer.

is, even among profane nations.-Let the examples drawn from the heathen, if in exceed us, make us ashamed.-Indeed to virtue and modesty they should appear to me, this single admonition of Paul is sufficient: Whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.'

"In the other letter, Calvin says: "It is sufficiently known in what degrees of consanguinity, God in his law forbids marriage. What relates to the degrees of affinity is equally obvious. There are some who dispute, or rather cavil, whether it is not lawful for a man to take the sister of his deceased wife; and they seize, as a pretext, upon the words, Levit. xviii. 18. during her life time. But their error is refuted by the very words of that text. Because what is there condemned by Moses, is not for incest, but for cruelty to the wife. That text actually respects polygamy.'

"Ecolampadius, in a letter dated 1531, asserted: That the law in Leviticus did bind all mankind; and that the law in Deuteronomy respecting a brother's marrying his sister-in-law was a dispensation of God to his own law, which dispensation belonged only to the Jews.'-Similar citations might be made from the writings and others, who were eminent for their of Beza, Bullinger, Ursinus, Musculus, profound erudition and exemplary piety, in the reformed cantons of Switzerland, in Geneva, and on the Rhine.

"All the Protestant churches have uniformly considered, and unequivocally maintained, a marriage with a sister-inlaw to be incestuous. A few documents

respecting the principal denominations, will abundantly illustrate and confirm this

assertion.

The sentiments of the Lutheran church are accurately expressed by those celebrated divines, who, in the name of their church, replied to the inquiry, made by Henry VIII, whether it was lawful for a famous Letter, they prove the law of Leman to marry his sister-in-law? In their vit. xviii. to be of universal obligation, and adopt the most forcible language in reprobating such marriages. They close by saying; It is manifest, and cannot be denied, that the law of Levit. xviii. prohibits a marriage with a sister-in-law-this is to be considered as a divine, a natural, and a moral law, against which no other law may be enacted, or established. Agreeably to this, the whole church has always retained this law, and judged such marriages to be incestuous. Agreeably to this also, the decrees of synods, the cele

brated opinions of the most holy fathers, and even the civil laws, prohibit such marriages, and pronounce them to be incestuous. Wherefore we also judge that this law is to be preserved in all the churches, as a divine, a natural, and a moral law; nor will we dispense with, or permit in our churches, that such marriages shall be contracted; and this doctrine we can, and as God shall enable us, we will resolutely defend.'

"In an exposition of the Augsburg confession of faith, by a learned Danish divine, the opinion of the Lutheran church respecting this article, is thus expressed, whoever is inclined and resolved to enter into the matrimonial state, ought to begin in the fear of God; and to look out for a person who is not nearly related to him, either in blood or by marriage-see Levit. xviii. and xx., and here, let it be observed, that where a man is forbidden to marry any near of kin, there the female is understood to be equally prohi bited, in the same degree of relation, although the woman be not mentioned. So Levit. xviii. 14, thou shalt not approach thy father's brother's wife, includes also the mother's brother's wife. So consequently, no woman may take her sister's husband, for the relation of a brother's wife and of a sister's husband are exactly in the same degrees.'

"A celebrated Lutheran civilian says, wherever a marriage is contracted within a degree prohibited by the divine law; for instance, if a man should marry the sister of his deceased wife, there such marriage is incestuous, and ought not to be deemed a legitimate union, but stigmatised as an impure mixture. It cannot be palliated by any dispensation, but ought to be rescinded; and the contracting parties, notwithstanding they may plead ignorance, should be punished by the magistrate. Human laws may not contravene the divine authority, nor can an inferior magistrate dispense with the precepts of the supreme Lawgiver.' F. Balduin. Lab. iv. cap. 13. de cas. cons.

"The Church of England has always most strictly adhered to the table of prohibited marriages, agreeably to Lev. xviii. as published by authority and found in most of the English editions of the Bible. Among other degrees forbidden in the male branch, is art. 17. A man may not marry his wife's sister;' in the female, art. 18. a woman may not marry her sister's husband. That every marriage within these prohibited degrees, will, by the canon law of England, subject the parties to severe penalties, and to immediate excommunication from the church, is well known.

"The Church of Scotland appears to

have been so deeply impressed with a conviction of the enormous evil of incest that she has introduced the subject even into her confession of faith, and fixed the principles of prohibited degrees, in language the most intelligible and decided.

"The Church of Scotland adopted the standards established by the Westminster assembly of divines. What that assem bly judged of Levit. xviii, 18, may be ascertained from the remarks made upon that text, by those learned men who were appointed by the committee for religion to make annotations upon the Bible.-Verse 18. To her sister. This is to be understood, not of two sisters, one after another to wife, the latter upon the death of the former, for the marriage of a brother's wife is forbidden before, verse 16, and by consequence a woman must not marry her sister's husband; and so two sisters are already forbidden to be married to one man, verse 16; wherefore, this verse 18, is a prohibition of polygamy, that is, of having more wives than one at once, and the reason sheweth it, that the one may not be a vexation to the other-The word sister in a general acceptation may be ap plied to any woman, as the word brother to any man, Gen. xix. 7. And it is to be noted, that it is sometimes applied to things, which in propriety of speech, come not under such a title or denomina. tion; as the wings of the beast, Ezek. i. 9, are said to touch a woman to her sister, as the Hebrew phraseth it, see Exod. xxvi. 3.'

"The construction which the Reformed Dutch Church puts upon Levit. xviii., verse 16, is evident from the marginal notes, which the translators, who were appoint. ed by the national synod of Dortrecht held 1618 and 1619, have annexed to that text.

"From this law it necessarily follows, that a woman who has been married with one brother, may not, after his death, marry with the other brother; and upon the same principle, a man who has been married to one sister, may not after her death, marry the other sister.'-See their note upon verse 18.

"It consequently can by no means, from this be concluded, that the husband, after the death of his wife, may marry her sister.'

The Reformed Church is established by law in Holland, and is consequently the National Church. Her canons are therefore recognised by the civil government, and made the laws of the state.

Dr. L. then inserts at length, the canon which relates to marriages, in which the prohibited degrees are particularly specified, and within