BACHELOR, a term anciently applied to a person in the first or probationary stage of knighthood who had not yet raised his standard in the field. A knight bachelor is one who has been raised to the dignity of a knight without being made a member of any of the orders of chivalry such as the Garter or the Thistle. The title uSie of a knight bachelor is not hereditary. It also denotes a person who has taken the first degree in the liberal arts and sciences, or in divinity, law or medicine, at a college or university; or a man of any age who has not been married, the most usual meaning of the term. Taken as a class in a community, bache lors have, from the earliest times, been the subjects of much and varied legislation. In nearly every country, at some period in its history, penalties have been imposed upon male celibates through the legislative branch of the government, the general basis for such legis lation being the principle that the citizen was under moral obligation to the state to rear up a family of legitimate children, at least should he be capable, morally, physically and finan cially. The old Jewish command to The fruitful and multiply° was faithfully carried out by the Hebrews who regarded marriage as a duty.
In such nations as Sparta, where individual interests were always subservient to those of the state, the laws were more severe, and criminal proceedings were instituted, under the laws of Lycurgus, both against those who for any unreasonable excuse failed to marry, and against those who through marriage in late life made probable children of unhealthy con stitution. At Athens, though formerly regarded as a crime by the laws of Solon, celibacy was not severely punished, and later, though the practice was discouraged, interference with the inclinations of individuals in this respect grad ually became of little practical value, and the laws finally fell into disuse.
In Rome, the imposition of heavy penalties upon male celibates was instituted at a very early period, and later even women were sub jected to the same rigid laws. According to the Lex Julia et Papia Popper°, penalties were posed on those who failed to marry after a certain age,, and an unmarried person could not come into possession of a legacy un less he be married within a hundred days after the testator's death. The provisions of the law allowed widows a year in which to comply, and divorced women six months from the date of divorce, but these pe riods were later changed and extended to two years, a year and six months, respectively. This law did not apply, however, to men above 60 years of age, and women above 50 years. In cases of childless persons (males from 25 to 60 years of age, and females from 20 to 50 years) who should become beneficiaries under a legacy, one-half of the value of such legacy was for feited. In later years, especially in England, France and the United States, taxes upon bachelors have been proposed more for pur poses of state revenue than to compel marriage, but though such legislation has been pushed in some instances with great vigor, the success of the movement has not been marked.