The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1885-09-24
The Ideal LIarria4e,

From Boston Minister'S Sermon.
He preached, in response to many
special requests, on Marriage, takin;
;or his text Genesis ii, 21-24. He sale
the subject of marriage was ta':en be-
cause of its intrinsic importancea and its
fundamental relations to all social Or
der. The community are now in fear ofc
coming pestilence that will bring death
and destruction in the summer. e.
forts are being made to ward of this
enemy and prevent its fearful work,
but at the same time another pesti-
lence is on the way and it's black fringe
is touching us. 1t is far more danger
Gus than any other conceivable one.
from the fact that it menaces the Rome,
the greatest of all institutions. In
Massachusetts in 1860 there was one
divorce to fifty marriages, in 1876 one
to every twenty, and in 1883 one to
every fourteen. In New England 2, 900
families are broken up by divorce every
year.
This alone is an appalling state of
affairs. Along with the increase in
divorce moral poison has increased.
ln.the period between 186O-7O divorce
increased two and One-half times in
frequency while crimes against chastity
and morality increased three-fold.
The question then comes: Has not
looseness of legislation fostered loose
ness of social life, and how long will it
take to bring the ratio of divorce to
marriage to an equity? Then the
home as an institution will be de-
strOyed, and the millennium of hell
will be here. The marriage bond is
sinking in the public estimation to a
mere civil contract, and there
needs to be a reassertion of the divine
origin OF marriage. The Roman Catho-
lie church is not responsible for
any of this state of affairs, be it said
to its credit. The difficulty is, that sub
ordinate reasons of a profane nature
have undermined the sacred element.
Marriage has become the stepping
stone to improve family connections,
to gain admission to society, to gain
power, and many like things. The
young man looks for wealth, the girlto
gaining her own way. The meaning of
the institution seems to be misappre-
hended. For this process of disinte-
grafton something is needed besides
prohibitory legislation. 1t is not the
lack OF high ideal that renders so
many marriages of our day series of
social disasters? 1t must be religion
and morality i'll its highest sense. The
ideal must be raised III the popular and
youthful mind. The underlying ideal
and primeval princi pie is moral, not
physical or material. The idea is that
it is not good for man to be alone, and
so woman was made as his compile
principle is companionship There is
nothing equal to the dreariness of a
heart that has been torn from its
counterpart by death. The unmar-
rled man or woman must have some
thing as substitute, either ingreater
work or larger interests to that self-cen-
tered seltishness which makes the term
"old maid' or '.bachelor" opprobious.
True marriage is the greatest moral
good, an actual and absolute surrend-
er of the individual unit The only
higher act is surrender to God. True
marriage is a redemptive force, and is
aimed to destroy seltishness and teach
us the secret OF living for Others and
not for ourselves The social value of
the institution is inevitably salutary
In any social organization. Somelook
upon marriage in the same way as the
pairing ofbirds in spring. Hewho does
take this purely physical view is lower
than bird or beast. This danger can
only be averted when young men and
women look at matrimony as means
OF moral elevation and spiritual en-
lightenment.