divorce. Martial, for instance,[100] says that one Theselina married ten
husbands in one month. Still, allowing for the natural exaggeration of
satirists, we are yet reasonably sure that divorce had reached great
heights in the upper classes. Whether it was as bad among the middle
classes is very improbable. There was one kind of marriage which,
originally at least, did not admit of dissolution.[101] This was the
solemn marriage by _confarreatio_, already described, which qualified
the husband and wife for the special priesthood of Jupiter. Women soon
grew to value their freedom too highly to enter it; as early as 23 A.D.
the Senate had to relax some of the rigour of the old laws on the matter
as a special inducement for women to consent to enter this union.[102]

We may now observe what became of the wife's property after divorce and
what her rights were under such circumstances. If it was the husband who
had taken the initiative and had sent his wife a divorce, and if the
divorce was not the fault of the woman, she at once had an action in law
for complete recovery of her dowry; on her own responsibility if she was
_sui iuris_, otherwise with the help of her father.[103] But even the
woman still under guardianship could act by herself if her father was
too sick or infirm or if she had no other agent to act for her.[104] For
the offence of adultery a husband had to pay back the dowry at once; for
lesser guilt he might return it in instalments at intervals of six
months.[105] If, now, the divorce was clearly the fault of the woman,
her husband could retain certain parts of the dowry in these
proportions: for adultery, a sixth part for each of the children up to
one half of the whole; for lighter offences, an eighth part; if the
husband had gone to expense or had incurred civil obligations for his
wife's benefit or if she had removed any of his property, he could
recover the amount.[106]