The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-11-20

vorce-Marr1age Is Not a Civil
Contract and 1t Cannot Be Dis
solved at Will Of Parties.
Rev. Lyman Abbott y. d., the stor
| of the Plymouth Congregational church
| and editor of the outlook. delivered a
| lecture i'm the Lyceum last night on
| Homes" The lecture was for the
benefit of the Congregational church,
of Cnrbondale. Dr. Abbott having given
his services without price to aid the
movement to reduce the debt which
| now encumbers that church
The distinguished speaker was intro
| duced by Rev. Thomas F.. May, pastor
Tot the Carbondale church, who said
| that when death removed the Rev.
Henry Ward Beecher, the greatest pull
pit orator Of his time and who for forty
years filled the pulpit of the Plymouth
Congregational church of Brooklyn, n.
y, and it was necessary to find a Sue
| cessor to him, that successor was dis
| covered in the person of Rev. Lyman
Abbott, u. ID. ut is with reverential
gratitude and pleasure" concluded the
| speaker. that / introduce the Rev. DR..
| Lyman Abbott"
| DR.. Abbott is tall, spare man with
| the face Of a thinker, partially con-
| cealed by IL beard rapidly becoming
white. He is Il very bald man. with u
| highly developed forehead. His hair,
like his whiskers, is nearly white and
is worn long, falling to the collar. DR..
| Abbott is not a theatrical speaker. His
gestures are few and unstudied but
I I,
and an aptncss of illustration which
drive home the truth OF his words and
| brings conviction to those who hear
him. His theme last night, 1.-The
Home" was illumined by little side
lights of humor and pathos, which were
delightfully."- interviewer into the more
serious part of his discourse
WHAT. THE HOME IS.
| in opening his address, DR.. Abbott
said: II am here to talk to you for :,
little while tonight OH The Home All
of our lives receive their inspirations
from the home. 1t is in the home we
learn many of the lessons that have Il
| good or evil effect on our lives. The
home is the sacred foundation of life,
and it has its enemies, and real, bitter
| enemies they are"
| He referred to divorce as one of the
chief enemies of the home, and said it
was appalling to- think that in stnid old
New England there is one divorce to
every ten marriages and these figures,
he said. do not tell of all the marital
| infelicity and unhappiness that exist.
AS the first enemy of the home he
placed Il self-indulgent age. which is
| tn sol F. hn do
tion of love.
| Where there is no love there is no
| happiness" the speaker continued. In
New York our clubs are so luxurious
and bachelor apartments so comfort
able that men withhold from marriage.
They are unwilling to make the sacli-
fee, and they are unwilling to ask u
girl 10 enter life where her mothar en-
tered it. J do not believe they read the
modern girl Alright, but so they read
| her.
| DR.. Abbott said he believes in Il tax
on bachelors. to begin when they are
twenty-five and to be increased every
two years The bachelors ought to sup
| port the orphans of the country.
Marry early" was the speakers adj
vice. Get Il home and begin life to-
|
Mate first and build your nest after
wards. The second enemy of the home
| is life in large cities, and the tendency
| of the times is to rush into the con-
gested centers of population. Big hotels
| and the modern tenement, called an
apartment house, do not constitute a
real home. The true home is in the
country, or at least in the rural cities,
| w f.l1,
his head, free air to breathe and room
for the children to play.
| a FALSE CONCEPTION.
| "The third enemy of the home is the
| false conception. of the family relation.
The Roman Catholic church. with an
| instructive wisdom, placed itself at the
gateway OF life and mate L.a!riage IL
sacrament TO be administered only by
| its clergy. The Protestant religion.
| anxious to get away from this, rushed
| to the other extreme and said marriage
| is II civil contract, in which co-euuul
parties enter into Il vo-euual partner
! ship and consequently made way for
, the natural argument that the contract
can be dissolved, rs any other civil con-
| tract, ut the pleasure OF the parties
Il ;lcEy that marriage Is Il civil con-
| tract; ! deny that the parties to it are
| co-euual partners, ana / deny that it
can be dissolved"
| He dwels upon the laXity of the mar
| riagc relation that followed in the train
Of the civil marriages in Rome, men-
| tioning one Roman woman who became
| II wife for the twenty-third time, and
was the lwcnly-lirst bride her husband
had taken To his arms.
God made man and woman To he
mated" resumed the speaker. 1T is
vital, it is fundamental that it should
be so. This is not of mans making,
but of Gods. All other forms OF organ
izatlon have changed on lassed away,