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16 shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be ," Gen. ii. 23, 24. Again, "they twain shall be ," Matt. xix. 5. And again, "so ought men to love their wives as their. He that loveth his wife, loveth —they two shall be ," Eph. v. 28, 31. If these terms have any meaning, worthy of divine inspiration, they indicate that, consistent with distinct personal identity, and individual responsibility, there is, if not a physical, still at least a moral union produced. And whether, in a certain respect, both are not comprehended, we, most assuredly, are not competent to decide.

2. That it is an union which constitutes a root or centre of new relations and kindred. The parties stand no longer separate, but their mutual relatives, as it regards the married persons, are completely blended and consolidated.

3. That it is an union which renders the communion of bodies legitimate and honourable; or,