INFLUENCE OF MARRIAGE

Habit and long life together are more necessary to happiness, and even to love, than is generally imagined. No one is happy with the object of his attachment, until he has passed days, and above all, many days of misfortune with her. The married pair must know each other to the centre of their soul – the mysterious veil which covered the two spouses in the primitive church, must be raised in its utmost folds, how closely soever it may be kept drawn to the rest of the world. What! On account of a fit of surprise, or burst of passion, am I to be exposed to the fear of losing my wife and my children, and to renounce all hope of passing my declining days with them? Let no one imagine that fear will make me become a better husband. No; we do not attach ourselves to a compassion which we are in danger of losing – the soul in man, as well as his body, is incomplete without his life; he has strength, she has beauty; he combats the enemy and labours in the field, but he understands nothing of domestic life; his companion is waiting to repair repast and sweeten his existence. He has losses, and the partner of his life is there to soften them; his days may be sad and troubled, but in the intimate arms of his wife he finds comfort and repose. So without woman, man would be rude, gross, solitary. The woman spreads around him the flowers of existence as the creepers of the forest, which decorate the trunks of hardy oaks with their perfumed garlands. Finally, the Christian pair live and die united; together they reap the fruits of their union; in the dust they lie side by side; and they are united beyond the tomb.