Waco evening news. (Waco, Tex.) 1888-1889, 1888-12-03
rs MARRLAGEA FAIL URE.

strong undercurrent which seriously
questions the marriage relation. 1t is
an age of inconoclasm and no system
IS so venerable or sacred as to escape
dissection. The time is coming when
moralists and socialists will be obliged
seriously to defend the marriage rela.
ton. But is marriage a failures There
are three sorts Of marriages estimated
by three parties from three different
points Of view. One marriage IN the
church from a religious point OF view,
by the state from a political stand
point, and marriage as considered by
sentimentalists. Marriage by the
church concerns theologians and not
the general public. The state which
concerns itself only with broad and
material subjects and gets at things
in the rough and on an averagc. per.
ceiving that men and women by force
Of a law Of nature, will come together
and offspring be the result, concerns
itself mainly with the protection of
women and the care Of children, and
has instituted homogeneous marriage
as the best means to those two ends.
In this respect compared with Hebrew
concubinage, the Harem system of
the Mohammedams or the Beast Of
burden system of other peoples, the
marriage relation in which woman is
made equal in rights of person and
property with the man is the grandest
success OF history.
1t is the sentrementalist who finds
marriage failure because his point
of view is wrong. He makes two
great mistakes one in miscalculating
the feeling which leads to union OF
the sexes, AMI another in assuming
happiness to be the end Of life. which
it is not. He has great faith in the
existence of a sort Of divine afflatus
called love, which draws two young
people together who were born for
each other and in marriage melts
them together as one, producing
mutual life of sugar and honey and
bliss. With this theory it is no won.
der that he is forced to question the
marriage relation. Intelicitous mar.
riages meet him on every hand in which
the sugar and honey melt away with
the honeymoon, or turn to vinegar
and instead of questioning his theory
he begins to doubt marriage. But the
gravest mistake Of the sentimentalist
is in estimating the number Of INTEL.
icitous marriages.. Comfortable mar
ried people are as three to one, com.
pared with the unhappily married, but
he judges the rule by the exception.
which is monstrous but too common
process ofreasoning. While the so.
called love is painfully deficient in
stability, habit and a mutual Interest
in prosperity and children, take up
the process Of uniting the sexes and
nine out Of ten of married couples jog
along through life comfortable at least.
Happiness is not an end ofnature. but
only an accessory coming only from
duty performed, and in this sense,
nlne.tenths of marriages are happy
ones. 1t will also be found that infell.
citous marriages result from cause.
which would produce infelicity in any
other form Of union. Unhappy mar.
riages are most frequent among the
lower and the upper classes, and al.
most lacking in the middle classes.
There are, of course, many unhappy
marriages the result Of mismating
wher an angel is tied to demon
the gentle to the coarse, the pure to the
impure, but the same influence OF
mistake which led to such mismatinf
would have operated in any other re-
lation. If cases of misery invalidate
marriage thy strike every other sys
tenn of society, for misery as an excep
ton. abounds every where. Tit
truth is the scntimentalist is Away
bad reasoner, and an unsafe guide
The state takes the best view of mar
rage, and in yearly improving it as :
civil contract is steadily improving tn
| ,ooI;x:oo g o~I ,1>.1J 900 -.