Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1867-12-25
From the Journal of Health.l
How TO Choose a Wife.
BY REV. HENRY WARD BEEcHER.

BY REV. HENRY WARD BEEcHRR.
When, according to the scripture
word, the time came for Jacob to found
a family-and that may be considered,
ordinarily, as really the beginning OF q
mans life-his old father called him TO
him, and said: Thou shalt not take
a wife of the daughters of Canaan" -
Why did be forbid him to take wife
from among the inhabitants Of Cansanl
Because he knew that with the wife he
he would take the religion. Reared
without deep religious feeling, misled
and corrupted by their very religion,
had he brought into his household the
fairest and discre etest wife from among
the Canaanites the probability IS that
he would have brought in with her
the cause of long train of miserable
mischiefs, and defeated the very de
SIGNS of God. For it is a proverb that
a man is soIlat his l5iifs ,OiA let him Be.
1t is true than now and then there
are men so strong that they control; !;
but, after all there is no art, nor cum
ming, nor devise, nor strength, nor VIII,
nor wisdom by which man can keep
the heat of summer or the cold OF win
ter from sitting into the cracks OF his
house and q Woman's influenced in the
household, if she be not too stormy
and violent, if she be artful, sits itself
Int, a mans life as summer air or win
ter frost into house. One cannot
fight the eircumambient atmosphere
and vet man might as wellattempt to
mt Il from him, as to attempt to put
from him that influence which Is at
his bosom; which is at his board
which is in bed; which is in his morn
ing: which is in his noon; which IS IN
his night; which comes at all unWatch-
ed moments, and at all times OF weak
ness which has a pressure that Is al
most atmospheric.
Old Isaac was q wise man, and ne
cave sound advice to his son when ne
said to him "Do not 60 among the
Capaanites to get a wife stand to the
customs and religion of your fathers" "
And that might not be bad advice yet.
There are a great many men who marry
fancy wives, and get fancy religion with
them. 1t is not good thing for per
son 10 abandon the religion Of his faith
ers- To run after some new religion, as
If Il were the last fashion or the last
dress pattern. And worse than all, II
| is bad thing for a man to marry q
wife that is goddess, worldly. giddy, fool
ish. pro6tless, and With her catch the
itch of an accursed religion. So Isaac
said TO Jacob Thou shalt not take a
wife of the daughters OF Canaan
And so ! say to you.
Canaan, nowadays, Is everywhere,
Canaan is every house where there has
been no family prayer; where there has
been no recognition of God during the
whole rearing of the household where
Mammon is the god where pleasure i,
the highest idea of religion and the
end of existence; where the conscience
Is disrobed: where selfshnessis crown
ed and sceptered. Wherever there i:
a goddess household, there is the land
of Canaan. And there If you vii
hear the voice of the Lord speaking to
YOU young man, he will ssy; Thou
Shalt not take unto you a Wlfe from the
daughters of Canaan"
A man that marries good wife has
very little more TO ask OF the LORD
until he dies, because when the LORD
makes up his mind to give . man
good wife, he makes up his mind to do
everything else that he wants. A good