Page:Marriage Its Origin, Uses, and Duties.pdf/12

 what appears as a second account of the creation, it is not simply stated, as in the first, that God created man, male and female; but that he first formed man from the dust of the ground, and afterwards made woman of a rib taken out of the man's side. We here find the same general truth, that "man" includes both male and female, but we acquire the additional particular truth, that "woman was taken out of man." Through the thin veil of this allegory we may discern the truth, that the feminine principle is a derivation from the masculine, that feminine love is derived from masculine wisdom. Let us glance at the moral or mental creation of man, that we may obtain some clear perception of this point.

The faculty of acquiring wisdom is that which distinguishes man from animals, and wisdom itself is that which raises him above them. As however, no intellectual acquirement can be made but from the promptings of some love, man cannot acquire wisdom but from the "LOVE OF GROWING WISE." This is that primary love which lies at the foundation of all human improvement, and gives man the power of endless progression. We see it in its earliest development in the thirst for knowledge, so ardent even in childhood. And that this love is a pure inspiration from the Father of lights, for the purpose of leading his children to himself is evident from the circumstance of its existing in the mind before there is any rational motive to give it birth. It is not, indeed, in its earliest state the spiritual love of growing wise,