CAUSES OF DEPRAVITY. 119 pure inoral feelings which it alone can bring to this repast. Hence, their offspring must of necessity be far below their pa rents in intellectual and moral endowment, because parental intellect and moral feeling were not called forth by love, and therefore not transmitted to offspring. Moreover, their offspring must necessarily be essentially animal; because the supposed disagreement of parents rouses all their animal passions, and transmits them, thus roused, to offspring Such sensual intercourse is MORALLY WRONG, even by those legally married to each other, because it may, must, beget human animals only, but never human intellect and soul, except of an inferior grade-never that born in the 'IMAGE OF GOD.' Our world is full already of such scapegoats of humanity. Hence, to a great extent, its appalling depravity. This fatal omission of sanctifying this function by spiritual love, it is, which has al lowed animal propensity to go on begetting mankind “in sin, and bringing them forth in iniquity.". This is that "forbidden fruit," that "original sin," which has comparatively blasted and imbittered humanity until now, and will continue to do so till supplanted by spiritual love and its accompanying intercourse of soul. To this one cause more than to all others combined, is attributable that wide-spread sensuality and depravity of mankind in all their forms, in all their aggravation. Nor can the latter be removed but by obviating their cause, namely, sensuality without spiritual love. As the elements of sin and vice, and of disease and pain, are propagated, how cruel and wicked thus to usher into the world beings constitutionally so puny, so sickly, so depraved, so miserable, perhaps a curse to themselves and their race! Especially since they might just as well, ay, better-with more pleasure to parents, as well as infinitely more happiness to offspring-have been highly endowed, physically and mentally, and most exalted in their intellectual capabilities and moral virtues. Oh! parents, pause and tremble! in view of relations thus fraught with weal and wo to yourselves, your children, and your children's children forever. 3 120 SECTION IX. ALL-IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS TO THE MARRIED: RECIPROCITY. Necessity of Reciprocity in love. Do. in parentage. The marriage rites. "The tie that binds." Want of sexual reciprocity the great cause of discord. Advice to brides. Effects of refusals. Reasons. Cases. Reluctant marriages. Nero. Potipher's wife. Amnon. Tamar. A case. Advice to husbands. Do. to wives. Cause of dif ference. LOVE always requires a RETUrn. tuent ingredient in its very nature. RECIPROCITY is a consti- ever be happy in either love or wedlock. Its absence is misery to the ardor of the one, and repugnance to the coldness of the other. A cardinal law of both love and connubial bliss requires, that the more tender the affection of either, the more cordially should it be reciprocrated by the other. This requi sition is fundamental and absolute, and based in the physiological principle stated by St. Paul, that "The man hath no" parental "power over his own body, but of the woman; and the woman hath no power over her own body, but of the man." Duality has already been shown to appertain to love and marriage. It does so because it appertains to parentage, the former two having their only terminus in the latter Because parentage absolutely requires the joint participancy of two, a male and female, and allows only two to partake in the authorship of every single product of humanity, both of whom must necessarily thus partake together; therefore love, which is only an incipient and preparatory stage of parentage, must be reciprocal between two opposite sexes. Both must LOVE EACH OTHER, in order that both may participate with each other in this parental copartnership. As both must participate together in this repast of love, in order to render it productive, so both must cordially love each other as a preparation for this repast. The absence of this reciprocity in love, renders it incipid and painful, for the same reason that the parental func tion is abortive unless participated in by two conjointly. The exalted pleasure shown in Chapter I., Section V., to appertain to this parental function, constitutes the one essential imbodi ment of love, as well as the principal object and ingredient in marriage. Its anticipation imbodies the chief incentive of the former, and the main motive of the latter. What other motive does or should prompt either? Nothing but this single legiti mate object of marriage, and only consummation and constituent element of love. What else does the very etymology of matrimony signify ?* And in what consists the marriage vow, but in the implied and fully recognised act of covenanting with each other to participate together in this ultimate repast of love? Candidates for matrimony! what but this do vou seek and proffer in forming this alliance? Affected prudishness may pretend to frown upon this home truth; but, viewed in whatever light you please, the long and short, warp and woof, and sole imbodiment, of both love and matrimony-the one legitimate element, end, motive, and object desired and prompted—of either separately and of both collectively.— consists in the anticipation and pledging of each to participate this function of love with the other. This is the origin of the marriage RITES. The bridegroom justly thinks himself enti tled to these rites, because the very act of the bride in becoming his wife consists simply in a surrender of her celibacy, and a pledge to partake in this parental function. And the value set by either party on matrimony is mainly the price set on this repast. Other advantages grow incidentally out of marriage, but are only incidental. All depend on this are its satellites and grow legitimately out of it. This being "THE tie that binds," the absence of reciprocity here is of course the bane of contention. If similarity in other respects is essential to love, how ALL ESSENTIAL in this the very essence of the marriage covenant and compact? Matrimonial felicity can no more be had without reciprocity and * Derived from "matrix," which signifies sicature, mould, &c. (Exod. xiii. 13, from which also matron is derived, and from monos, which signifies one. mutual pleasure here, than noon-day without the sun; nor can discord co-exist with reciprocity here any more than dark ness and sunshine; because they who cannot make each other happy in this the ultimatum of love and marriage, cannot in minor matters; while those who can, will find all the minor causes of discord drowned in this key note of concord. The happiness conferred by each on the other being the sole occasion of love, and reciprocity here being the heart's-core of all the happiness of both love and wedlock-their basis, and frame-work, and superstructure, and all in all-therefore those who are qualified to confer on each other this summum bonum of matrimonial felicity, are bound together by the strongest bond of union connected with our nature; whilst those who cannot both confer and receive mutual pleasure in this respec cannot possibly be happy in married life, and consequenti cannot possibly love each other; and therefore should never enter together the sacred enclosure of wedlock. On nothing does the bridegroom set an equal value. All else in married life is of little value to him compared with reciprocity and happiness here. This expected pleasure alone prompts mar riage. Oh! if I could catch the matrimonial ear of the whole world, I would say, in the language of this law of love, to the blooming bride as she enters upon the nuptial relations: all the happiness you are capable of conferring and receiving in married life, note every invitation to, this banquet of love, and cordially respond. Coldness or squeamishness in love's repast, will dampen your consort's pleasure, and therefore his love, while your cold repulse or petulant refusal persisted in, will be the death-blow of matrimonial felicity to you both-a blasting sirocco to his fondest hopes; for it will force him to drink the mere dregs of the marriage cup, in lieu of the de licious nectar he had so fondly expected to sip at the hymencal altar. But, if you watch the rising desires of love, and bestow the welcome embrace, you re enkindle its flame and crown your blessed union with the complete fuition of this the imbodiment of all its pleasures. By But, nothing will sting him so severely with disappointment, despair, and hatred, as unsatisfied desire. The reason is this. As already seen, Amativeness, the cerebral organ of this passion, bears the most intimate relation to the whole body, and the entire mentality, as the means of the propagation of both. Hence, its gratification abates that burning fever consequent on its unsatisfied cravings, and calms down that irritability of the animal propensities, which always necessarily accompanies its reversed and painful action. The precise physiological principle involved, is, summarily, this: Amativeness bears the most intimate reciprocal relation possible to the body, in order to its propagation, and also to the animal propensities. Hence, gratification sates that feverish, morbid, irritable, and depraved state of both this organ and of the whole of the animal propensities, among which it is situated; but its denial, fires up to their highest pitch of abnormal and therefore depraved manifestation, the whole of the animal region, the body included; and thus produces sin and misery in their most aggravated forms. Fully to enforce this cardinal doctrine, requires the full exposition of that fundamental law of relation subsisting between the various states of Amativeness and of the animal propensities.* But, assuming this point, behold in it the cause of that bitter hatred and implacable revenge always and necessarily consequent on the cold refusal in place of the soul-inspiring expectation of a cordial welcome! This doctrine of the necessity of reciprocity must commend itself to all who have experience concerning it, and requires no other proof; while the uninitiated will find ample proof in the universal fact that those husbands and wives either one of whom went reluctantly to the hymeneal altar, never lived happily together. Scrutinize all the cases in which either party was over-persuaded by the importunity of the other, or by offi cous parents or friends, and every identical one, except those in which the requisite reciprocity has been subsequently re * See "Education and Self-Improvement," p. 94. |