i'm only saying that "other than what is licit and reasonable" presumes that some violence is, in fact, both licit and reasonable ("moderate" as he also calls it). that's obviously vague, but particularly in the context of disciplining servants and children, it does imply, what shall we call it, the laying on of hands. "no violence" might well, in this context, mean crippling or killing her. moreover, insofar as he contrasts the "old law" with the "politer" reign of charles II, where is the improvement if physical "chastisement" was already prohibited?
sorry. this is getting pedantic.
in the end, it's just not at all clear that "rule of thumb" as a phrase derived from any of this, which was the point, iirc.
j
On Tuesday, November 11, 2003, at 02:14 PM, andie nachgeborenen wrote:
>
> Obviously it is disputable, although the text says "no
> violence," which is pretty plain if one is a stickler
> for plain language. Some judges are, some are not, But
> the main thing here is that Blackstone is not reciting
> current (late 18th century) English law; he is
> describing the "old" law -- how old is not clear from
> the text, but at least before the reign of Charles II
> (r 1660-85), and probably older; possibly even the
> pre-common law rule of the Anglo-Saxons. At any rate
> not the common law rule of his day. It is therefore
> illiterate or dishonest to cite Blackstone for a legal
> justification for wifebeating, as the source Kells
> cited did. jks
>
> --- jeffrey fisher <jfisher at igc.org> wrote:
>> so, what does the otherwise clause mean, here?
>> especially in the
>> context of correcting women being like correcting
>> slaves?
>>
>> i'm reminded of the butler in "The Shining" . . . "I
>> corrected her" . .
>> .
>>
>> j
>>
>> On Tuesday, November 11, 2003, at 12:02 PM, andie
>> nachgeborenen wrote:
>>
>>> But this power of correction was confined
>>> within reasonable bounds;58 and the husband was
>>> prohibited to use any violence to his wife, aliter
>>> quam ad virum, ex causa regiminis et castigationis
>>> uxoris fuae, licite et rationabiliter pertinet
>> [other
>>> than as licitly and reasonably pertains to the
>> husband
>>> for the rule and correction of his wife].
>>
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