were the formative period of the Church.

The direct words of Christ so far as they relate to women and as we have
them in the Gospels concern themselves wholly to bring about purity in
the relation of the sexes. "Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt
not commit adultery; but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on
a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in
his heart."[212] His commands on the subject of divorce are positive and
unequivocal: "It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let
him give her a writing of divorcement; but I say unto you, that every
one that putteth away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication,
maketh her an adultress; and whosoever shall marry her when she is put
away, committeth adultery."[213] Christ was content to lay down great
ethical principles, not minute regulations. Of any inferiority on the
part of women he says nothing, nor does be concern himself with giving
any directions about their social or legal rights. He blessed the
marriage at Cana; and to the woman taken in adultery he showed his usual
clemency. For the rest, his relations with women have an atmosphere of
rare sympathy, gentleness, and charm.

But as soon as we leave the Gospels and read the Apostles we are in a
different sphere. The Apostles were for the most part men of humble
position, and their whole lives were directed by inherited beliefs which
were distinctly Jewish and Oriental or Greek; not Western. In the Orient
woman has from the dawn of history to the present day occupied a
position exceedingly low. Indeed, in Mohammedan countries she is
regarded merely as a tool for the man's sensual passions and she is not
allowed to have even a soul. In Greece women were confined to their
houses, were uneducated, and had few public rights and less moral
latitude; their husbands had unlimited license.[214] The Jewish ideal is