The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1896-01-10
Written for the Jasper COURIER.
the RELIGION OF MARRIAGE.


Written for the Jasper COURIER. i
the RELIGION OF MARRIAGE. q
inv LADY COOK. nee Tennessee Clafin) q
The subject of marriage concerns
everyone so nearly that scarcely too l
much can be written about it. Any |
fresh light that can be thrown upon 1
it is OF necessity a public benefit.
The dean Of Lichfeld must have
been Of this opinion when ne pub
lished his recent "History OF Mar
riage, Jewish and Christian, in re-
lation to Divorce and Certain for
bidden Degrees. Whatever merit
it NAV have as a Church dignitary's
plea for extreme clerical views, as a
history Of marriage it has no value
whatever. 1t does not even tell us
what marriage is, and the Deans
notion OF its religious aspect appears
to be confined to the ''indissolubllity
of the bond" aud the infamy Of
marrying deceased wife's sister.
He says Of the latter, 'ln the eyes
Of the Church such a marriage Is
; incestuous, and no State legislation
can alter this character" but he
does not show why it is thus. The
indissolublc "oneness" Of man and
wife is gravely based upon 1.-THE
= deep significance Of the mode II
!, which Eve was created" out o
: Adams side. He refers to "the be
: lief OF not a few Of the rabbis.
= that in the first human being, maj
! and woman were united together
- = and th 1t they were endowed with
- separate existence only when tn
latter was formed, but so, neverthe
less. as still to remain lone flesh.
He quotes Eusebius, who said, NV
N must first learn about mans nature
or ~ for that which we had originally VIZ
!. not the same which We now hav'
ID Then it was androgynous, in for
a and name combination OF Dol
M male and female" This huma
th hermaphrodite, having the orgal
m and sexes of both male and iemal
oh this monster Of man and awom'
he combined, is the good Dean's co
,g ception Of Gods highest effort
creation, whereas the merest tyro
zoology would tell him that such
being, if it ever existed, could ra
civ On mar with the androgyns
- snails and earthworms that or;
~ beneath our feet. Such a grotest
;ve tale might have done in the infaI
,,vs of intelligence, but now it can o
on excite a good-natured smile OF pl
except on the countenance OF
Dean. !.
We learn the nature Of marri
,;na better from poets, historians,
the philosophers, than from pre-
The assistance Of the philologlst
Tho not to be despised These tell
mo that the word comes from the Ii
ness no Maritus, and this from Mars.
we'd that Mars had probably the 81
ar. origin as the English words !
ina. and Maid. namely the very anc
has verb, to-may: may-en, man; II
avos ed maid; mayer, mar; ma
mars. Chaucer says, "He WI
that hath no wifi hold him sh'
he liveth helpless and all desoi'
tho The original idea was that nel
mar man nor maid could live a full
sa- manly and womanly life, ex'
maid by being unites. This sentln
andIis as old as humanity, and exi
!, ofIlonp bef,re Christianity or Juda
4 of Among the Romans, Mars was
cont glorified man and Venus an all
ceiling woman. 1t was poetic
vhep cessity. therefore, that in them
,ous- Ilour and beauty should be 10
, forItogether, or as Dryden wrote
n to another couple:
apital "Happy. happy, happy pair
.515 None but the brave,
None but the brave,
None but the brave deserve the fail
Holinshed applies the word
ahele potent" to a young lady to ex
ahove that she was mariable. True
vhose riaye is the home and heave
twiceIlove. Its state is thus beaut
alton, described oy .h"ucei
4, in "Arviragus and Dorigene his viii
. that In soveraine blissse leden forth
.ha.l Never eft ne was their anger
,-:,l. betwene,
drink He cherished hir as though she
D fight a quene,
gainst And she was to him trewe 10Y
mans more"
ais Of Ben Johnson wrote:
(" Marriage Loves object is: at
bright eyes !,
He lights his torches and calls
~. the his skies,
", For her he wings his shoulder
'fu' doth fly
nee TO To her white bosom as his sanc'
ID the She makes him smile in sorrow
mean. doth stand
and | awlx. xa a,', an a.
effect ' ,:.,lo ,,o,,;a, of ma,
''e' a. and without this it is unwor