Ebook A History of Divorce

So far as I am aware, there is no book in the English language which gives a concise and simple account of the history of divorce, and there is no modem problem in which the historical and comparative study of law and opinion is so essential for those who administer or make the laws, and all those who wish to have an adequate knowledge of the subject in its modem bearings. The extraordinary diversity of laws and opinions which exists in modem countries of the same degree of civilisation, often professing the same religion, when seen in the light of history is found to have certain common elements which show that substantially the same forces have been at work in their evolution. The object of this book is to explain, as briefly and simply as I can, how this diversity came about, to endeavour to deduce from the facts of history the tendencies of thought and legislation, and to ascertain the principles which, according to the teaching of history, ought to be applied to modern legislation on the subject.