bidden by the (Levitical) law (see Trier, De legibus 3I'o^ saicis de incestii, Frcft. a. Oder, 1726). See Affinity? Consanguinity. "An instinct almost imiate and imi- versal," says Gibbon {Decline and Fall of the Roman Empii-e, iv, 351), "appears to prohibit the incestuous commerce of parents and chUdren in the infinite series of ascending and descending generations. Concerning the oblique and collateral branches, natiu-e is indifferent, reason mute, and custom various and arbitrary. In Egypt, the marriage of brothers and sisters was admit- ted without scruple or exception ; a Spartan might es- pouse the daughter of his father, an Athenian that of his mother ; and the nuptials of an uncle with his niece were applauded at Athens as a happy union of the dear- est relations. The profane lawgivers of Rome were never tempted by interest or superstition to multiply the forbidden degrees; but they inflexibly condemned the marriage of sisters and brothers, hesitated whether first cousins should be touched by the same interdict, revered the parental character of aunts and uncles, and treated affinity and adoption as a just imitation of the ties of blood. According to the proud maxims of the republic, a legal marriage could only be contracted by free citizens ; an honorable, at least an ingenuous birth, was required for the spouse of a senator; but the blood of kings could never mingle in legitimate nuptials with the blood of a Roman ; and the name of ' stranger' de- graded Cleopatra and Berenice to live the concubines of I\Iark Antony and Titus." Vortigem, king of South Britain, equalled, or, rather, excelled the Egyptians and Persians in wickedness by marrying his own daughter. The queen of Portugal was married to her uncle ; and the prince of BrazD, the son of that uicestuous mar- riage, wedded his aunt. But they had dispensations for these unnatural marriages from his holiness. "In order," says Paley, "to preserve chastity in families, and between persons of different sexes brought up and living together in a state of unreserved intimacy, it is necessary, bj- every method possible, to inculcate an ab- horrence of incestuous conjimctions; which abhorrence can only be upheld by the absolute reprobation of cdl commerce of the sexes between near relations. Upon this principle the marriage, as well as other cohabita- tion of brothers and sisters of lineal kindred, and of all who usually live in the same family, may be said to be forbidden by the law of nature. Restrictions which ex- tend to remoter degrees of kindred than what this rea- son makes it necessan^ to prohibit from intermarriage are founded in the authority of the positive law which ordains them, and can only be justified by their tenden- cy to diffuse wealth, to connect families, or to promote some political advantage." The Roman law calls inces- tuous connection Jncestus jnris gentium, while it desig- nates as Incestus juris cirilis the intercourse between other members of the families which it considers within the forbidden degrees. The principal law against in- cest, however, is the Lex Jidia de adulttriis co'ercendis of Augustus. Children born of incest {Ubcri iiices/uosi) are by it bastardized. The canon law extended the for- bidden degrees very far, thus giving a more extended signification to the appellation of incest. By it a dis- tinction was made between the Incestus juris diiini, re- lating to such degrees of relationship as were already condemned by the Mosaic law, and the Incestus juris humani, relating only to such degrees within which marriage is forbidden by ecclesiastical laws. But as in the latter case dispensations can, in the Romish Church, always be obtained, this form of incest is mere- ly considered an offense against the laws of the Church, The penal statute of Charles V concerning incest is based on the Roman law, but includes also cohabitation with a daughter-in-law, a step-daughter, and a mother-m- law. Consequently incest, properly so called, can only take place between ascendants and descendants, brothers and sisters, parents-in-law and children-in-law, step- parents and step-children. Prosecution for incest, how- ever, is legal only in cases where persons have had sex-
INCHANTMENT
541
m C(ENA DOMINI
ual intercourse without marriage ; it is inapplicable where marriage has been contracted in good faith, and only afterwards tlie contractors become aware of tlieir connection being incestuous. Modern law, whicli in the main is based on the Levitical, and from which the rule of the Roman law differs very little, prohibits mar- riage between relations within three degrees of kindred ; computing the generations not from, but through the common ancestor, and accounting affinity the same as consanguinity. The issue, however, of such marriages are not bastardized unless the parents be divorced dur- ing tlieir lifetime. Penalties are enacted for incest and unchastity varying from simple imprisonment to hard labor for a term of five or six years. Sexual intercourse between parties in different degrees of the collateral lines is in many cases considered only as punishable by the police regulations. The ascendants are generally punislied more severely than the descendants. The modern Jews permit the marriage of cousins, and even of the uncle by a niece. See Pierer, Universal Lexi- kon, viii, 8-11 ; Paley, Moral Philosoi^hy, i, 31G sq. ; Buck, Theolof/ical Dictionary, s. v.
INCEST, Spiritual, an ideal crime committed be- tween two persons who have a sjiiritual alliance, by means of baptism or confirmation. This ridiculous fan- cy was made use of as an instrument of great tyranny in times when the power of the pope was unlimited, even queens being sometimes divorced upon this pretence. Incest spiritual is also understood of a vicar or other beneficiary who holds two benefices, one whereof de- pends upon the collation of the other. Such spiritual incest renders both the one and the other of these bene- fices vacant. — Henderson's Buck.