New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-09-18
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
Tho Marriage Question.

Marriage is divine institution Ina'
:. % .ay the marriage institution emooo"s 'n9
90, humane and therefore the highest or u''"e'
;Iss Of the sexual relation. 1t expresses pre-
c;selv that aspect of the relation between inc
s.-es which is peculiar to man, and when ac'
.o,I;,sly II il honorable for him 10 CONFORM To-
md disbonorable for him to contemn.
vbot s the exact definition Of marriage Ac'
oo,d;og 70 every dictionary, marriage means
ro,b;tc mole and nothing less than the fsa
-, If one man with one WOMAN for lie. lh1'
80, ,nov have been Influenced by mutual love
ru,,lv. or by motives Of ambition; the Ia" pro-
rounces il alike valid in either case, and suii'''
i.s issues to equal social advantage.
Tins marriage ia purely social phenomenon.
I. doss NOT mean the spiritual orn'isiOe dri"n d
tro persons, but OILY their actual 'r ''s'o'7
urion. does not mean the r0ii"'ary union o.
- n.fties. or heir mutual consent TO 1--we To-
,-stber dsralfe r,lacif0. bu, simply Legal, or
s....,,u, irpo-ei. o ligat.on 20 lTe together d@-
r,,e ,ii5. A man ma, i've ali DIS days ia pef"ct
sl,liry 20 one woman; ney, more, the parties
,,.v slva,s exbiJ, relations Of the NEST iat.ma-e
,r..,.,y: ard set il would be { complete peTvsr-
.i.n.C .l,e lord t. cal their connection mar
r,se. For it is essential 20 marra-e tnat 70 nave
,be ,otfcstion Of soci " or ihe cisl magistrate,
en- that no merely voluntary UNION, however 81 e.
r,r II parties 10 il may be in point OF culture
has IN. slightest claim 20 call tel c5pI1sii'
If,ou rex whenc ,oci,ty drives The light d
i,nrose this obligation upon rs DIPPING, me
snec.ige Of any subsequent change OF VIII q"
ibeu pa,t. the Isp'y is oiri' 1s, namely ron ''o
..,...;ti.. of its own existence. The germ o.
society is the family, md the family has NJ ou'-
wax nut marriage Destroy moTise, or roe
lrs;re un.on of one MN urn one woman, and
so, testfoy fxsd or unitay paternity anl VIM
emf unirnr, pat,mi5y, o; course there Gao od a.
c,,ii, unity hut only family diis'on' tof'
woman bays dozen children, eesc'n-en e'1A
9.m n dife4crt father, ard bearing c1cn dI'!e'-
80. mann, acc.rsr-ly, II is manifest that 40 TAM
~, o., united bsu.e On exist among taen. IL -
,.,;-e.+ r. short. ihat they are not IA p'y, 'it
,.l, +be rhaffiy d,liMtreIit'on OF iinIJ, and
....,oi.,i-' " without eat STAINS oTracosntion'
The, MO a ,atr, pat lTsl hrrJ, without tae UNITY
Impressed by society, md consequently "i-houl
any dignity above the oiu es.
II.ncs society iads It's amfe right 70 unite on'
r,en a,ih one wonaa 60, he, "a the oeces'sles o'
IT, own existence, that existence bling d"prni'h5
rror me integrity Of the family bond, whicn 5jni
a..;n depends upon The uGita-y paternity OF IT.
u.e..b,ss. n uoA you ASA stu iuItnef, "hy
m, necessities of is oNn existence shoo'd
ccn,titu,e a righ- on the part OF society {, hn''
mans natural feedom--the snswer 70 thai q1"s-
,;on i. equally Oh ols. Il H. IN this f-c', that
-aci,t, l. ihe instrument or method of man' ) per-
feet development, the sine ga non OF his di-
,;u,l, eppointed destiny. Nan was created to
81 doe the outward TO him'ell To the uses OF Hls
own life or TO have the dominion over all IN ns'
in the heavens above and the earth beneath, and
the wateis under ths earth. But without social
unity. or the fellowship OF his kind, this destiny
would be- obviously unattainable. Society con
,eCusntN derives perfect right to make the ne
c,ssiies Ci rs own existence supreme Ia" Tor
lpnn. from the very splendors Of man's own dcs-
TRY.
Murriece then is honorable, in a social point Of
view. because il is essential TO the family bond,
which bond forms thu nucleus Of society. For ua-
less .oci,ty we're provided with members it ecu Il
+ not it,. II grow, and unless the family existed to
soon cohsume itself The indomitGble instinct OF
dominion in man, would lead him to enslaye oil
his Own kind, as well as the lower animals, if it
were not for the barriers which society erects in
the family, the Tube and the nation.
But now some one may ask, why may not the
family bond date from the maternal side : Why
has society always made lis children derive their
81 Ia, Ia
words. why has woman as roman, since the be-
ginning Of history, been dened s)cial recognition
end received il ouly as tcife :" This question /.
fundamental, and introduces you at oace into the
religious or symbolic pSAea ala Of marriage. This
sspec Of marriage is pIoio indy poetic and inter
esting. Let US endeayor 10 treat j. as lucidy a.
cur very In tied space viii allow.
ALI the phenomena Of Nature, and al the insti
tutions of Society, are symbolic, or representa-
tive because they are purely finite, or have NJ
existence save to limited intelligence. Bein.
thus intrnscally finite they confess that thsJ
are not absolute or divine realities, but only tn,
phenomtna or mamie stat ons Of such reat!s 3
The very things which God creates or gives beinG
10 must necessarily, because he is infinite or per
;tct, be Themselves ininte or PaTiect. Hence
finite or imperfect things-al those things which
east oDly relatively to other existence, can
not be divine realities, cannot be the very thing
God creates. But lot being these very thing
what remains fer them 10 be Ii remains 70
them to be the images, the shadows, the wit
misses, tie phenomena, the manifestations o
these very things to l'mIted intelligence, OF al
intelligence instructed only by the senses, and in
capable as yet Of rational disceEnnsat.
Now if ell natural things and all social institu
tons be thus purely pheDomenol-ifthey thus ne
eesssrily symbo izs or sensuopsly represent iigin
realities which are Themselves incognizlble t,
ssnst-theD il follows that the natural distinc io
nftia ~ Aes and the SOC III III rn