D I V O R C E .
i l life
«
B o o k IV.
I f a mail lay to his wife “ you are divorced, i f it pleafe God ”
and fhe die before the utterance of the latter words, divorce does not
take place, becaufe on account of the refervation “ i f it pleafe G od,”
the words preceding do -not Hand or operate as a defire exprefled.
O bjection.— A s death prevents divorce, that is to fay, as it is
on account of death that divorce cannot take place, it follows that the
fame circumftance in the prefent cafe precludes the words “ i f it pleafe
“ God” and thereby prevents them from operating to annul the firft
words in their effedt, and thus it would appear that .on account of the
woman’s dying as above, the divorce fliould take place upon her, the
not having expired until after the words “ you are d iv o r c e d and before
the utterance of the refervation “ i f it pleafe G od.”
R e p l y .— D eath operates to the prevention of divorce on account
of its cutting off the fubject o f i t ; but it does not prevent the effect of
the refervation in the prefent cafe, as the validity of refervation depends
upoii that of the declaration, which refts upon the hufband, who
is ftill living: but it would be otherwife if he fhould die before bavin?
uttered the refervation, as in that cafe it is not added to the preceding
words.
Divorce pro- j F a man fay t0 his wife “ you are under three divorces all bat
an exception “ one," two divorces take place;— and if he fay “ all but tw o," dm
number! ° divorce takes place ; for it is a rule that this figpre of fpeech termedaccortüngiy
I ff* 1“ , is expreffive of a remainder from the whole o f a given number
from which an exception is made; and this is approved, becaufe there
is no difference whatever between a man’ s faying (for e x am p le ) I
“ owe fuch an one nine Dirms,” or “ I owe fuch an one ten Dirms
“ all but one;” wherefore this mode of fpeaking by the exception of
a part from the whole is approved, becaufe it amounts to a mention,
fimply, of what remains after the exception is made, as in the prefent
inflance.
5 But
But the exception of the whole from the whole is difapproved,
fince, after exception of the whole, nothing whatever remains, the
mention of which might be eftablifhed; and hence, i f a man fay to his
wife “ you are under three divorces all but three, -the. three divorces
take place upon her, becaufe the exception of a whole from a whole is-
nugatory, and therefore not admitted to have any effedfe
A nd here, as in the preceding cafes, the exception is of no effedf,.
unlefs it be immediately connected with what goes before, namely, the-
fintence o f divorce-.
C H A P . V,
Of the Divorce of the SicL
mI f a man-, lying on his deathbed, repudiate his wife either by one M M
areverfib e divorce, or by three divorces, and die before the expiration vf Ice\ hV*
,| .° ller f<ht,. fhe is ftill in titled to her in—he-r-i-t-a*—ncwe xfirvomm uhiois ^eAftiaa itce;: DbUuLt b’ a^nd in he-"
H M M not die.imtil after the accomplifhment of her-Edit, fhe has b e ^ t h e t "
aim. hhafei maintains that fhe is.not an inheritrefs in either cafe pitation of
as-the matrimonial connexion, which was the caufe o f her inheritance’
w * B y the M u jf u —
lm a n law , a woman, on the death o t her hufband I en fb l.a . H M IB i I h HHH1 H M h H
H the wife T i b a countera<a « V fraudulent collufion be-
Wife and her dying hufband, to the prej udice o f his h e ir s,.
iss: