Page:Love and its hidden history.djvu/117

 affectional nature, and facts such as I have herein set forth, are valuable and worthy ofconsideration.

Harmony is order and order is secured by law. I have seen social disorder created by disobedience to law; but never witnessed harmony promoted by compromise of principle. The laws of nature are just and merciful, and no person need hope to find happiness while such are disregarded.

Among people generally inharmonious relations are formed, and, being formed, are constantly aggravating the parties, who instead of harmonizing themselves, irritate the minds of each other. Persons who teach the beauties of conjugal philosophy should not practically deny their instructions by discarding the obligations of their voluntary acts. It matters not how beautiful the philosophy of nature may be, if man or woman be not morally true to the laws which govern them. I have seen harmony in married life; and I have seen antagonism and discord. Are the elements of nature at such variance that peace and order cannot be maintained between parties? Has God so ordered the existing social order of husband and wife, that discord cannot be avoided; that war must continue during such relation? What are the elements constituting the one that are not discernible in the other? Are not all flesh and blood, and do not the same elements make each? A second thought will show that the discords of married life originate, not always in the soul or body, but in the ignorance of the spirits which are coupled. When parties become alienated from each other by law; when married persons separate because they have no affinity, it often proves only their own ignorance of truth, if not their moral delinquency and faithlessness to their covenant engagements.

I have watched the progress of parties seeking divorce from each other; but I have not yet seen a case which did not arise from either ignorance of nature's laws or a gross want of integrity. It is true that such delinquency may not fasten itself to both parties, but it is often sure to belong to one or the other.

Inharmonies are generally most severely felt in those minds not improved by proper culture. And the difficulty exists not because nature, in her order, has brought together parties in antagonism,