§ I. On the Unity of Matrimony

1549. - The unity of Matrimony is placed in this, that Matrimony is the conjunction of one man with one woman.

1° It is certain that polyandry conflicts with the natural law, because it is adverse to the principal ends of Matrimony, namely the generation of offspring and its good education. - Thus all.

2° It is certain that simultaneous polygamy is prohibited and void in every case, at least by the positive divine law of the new law, as is clear from Luke¹: Everyone who dismisses his wife and marries another commits adultery. It is likewise clear from Trent.²

3° It is certain that second nuptials and further ones are licit both for the man and for the woman, even under the Evangelical law. This is clear from the authority and practice of the Church, and also from Sacred Scripture³: A woman is bound to the law for so long a time as her husband lives; but if her husband shall have fallen asleep, she is freed: let her marry whom she wishes, only in the Lord.