On The Estate Of Pyrrhus

Another matter which surprises me is that there was no agreement about a dowry for the woman on the part either of him who gave her or of him who took her in marriage.[*](The legal contract involved by the bestowal of a dowry constituted the most important proof of the legal character of the union.) For, on the one hand, if Nicodemus gave a dowry, it would have been only natural that the amount of the dowry should be mentioned in the evidence of those who allege that they were present; on the other hand, if our uncle, under the influence of his passion, contracted a marriage with a woman of this character, clearly he who gave her in marriage would have been all the more careful to procure an agreement from the other party stating that he received money with her, so that it might not be in the latter's power easily to get rid of the woman whenever he wished.