It was not my intention, at first, to say a single word, directly, on the subject of religion, but I should leave this chapter very incomplete indeed, as well as do violence to my own feelings, should I say nothing at all of Bible cla.s.ses, and other means of religious instruction, with which the age, and especially this part of the country abounds, not only on Sundays, but during the long evenings of leisure which, for a part of the year, many young men enjoy.
Viewed merely as a means of improving the _mind_, and acquiring much authentic historical information to be found nowhere else, the study of the Bible is a most valuable exercise, and ought to be encouraged. To adults who labor, a walk to church, and prompt attention to the Bible lesson, is happily adapted to the health of the body, no less than to intellectual improvement; and whatever objections might be urged against subjecting infants and young children who attend other schools during the week, to the present routine of Sabbath instruction, I am quite sure that the cla.s.s of young persons for whom I am writing, would derive the most lasting benefit from studying the Bible.
I have made these remarks on the presumption that they were to derive no _moral_ improvement from Bible instruction. However, I see not how these schools can be long attended by ingenuous minds without inspiring a _respect_, at the least, for that book which is superior to all other books, and for that religion which it inculcates; which is above all sect, and beyond all price.
SECTION VII. _Of Female Society in reference to Marriage._
It is now time to consider the subject of female society in reference to matrimony. I shall find it necessary, however, to make a division of my subject, reserving a more _complete_ view of female qualifications for a succeeding chapter.
Whatever advice may be given to the contrary by friends or foes, it is my opinion that you ought to keep matrimony steadily in view. For this end, were it for no other, you ought to mingle much in society. Never consider yourself complete without this other half of yourself. It is too much the fashion among young men at the present day to make up their minds to dispense with marriage;--an unnatural, and therefore an unwise plan. Much of our character, and most of our comfort and happiness depend upon it. Many have found this out too late; that is, after age and fixed habits had partly disqualified them for this important duty.
All that has been hitherto said of female influence bears upon this point. According to the character of the person you select, in a considerable degree, will be your own. Should a mere face fascinate you to a _doll_, you will not need much mental energy to please her; and the necessity of exertion on this account being small, your own self will sink, or at least not rise, as it otherwise might do.
But were I personally acquainted with you, and should I perceive an _honorable_ attachment taking possession of your heart, I should regard it as a happy circ.u.mstance. Life then has an object. The only thing to be observed is that it be managed with prudence, honor, and good sense.
The case of John Newton is precisely in point. In very early life this man formed a strong attachment to a lady, under circ.u.mstances which did not permit him to make it known; which was probably well for both parties. It did not diminish _her_ happiness, so long as she remained in ignorance on the subject; and in scenes of sorrow, suffering, and temptation, the hope of one day obtaining her soothed him, and kept him from performing many dishonorable actions. "The bare possibility," he says, "of seeing her again, was the only obvious means of restraining me from the most horrid designs, against myself and others."
The wish to marry, if _prudently_ indulged, will lead to honest and persevering exertions to obtain a reasonable income--one which will be satisfactory to the object of your hopes, as well as to her friends. He who is determined on living a single life, very naturally contracts his endeavors to his own narrow personal wants, or else squanders freely, in the belief that he can always procure enough to support himself.
Indeed it cannot have escaped even the careless observer that in proportion as an individual relinquishes the idea of matrimony, just in the same proportion do his mind and feelings contract. On the contrary, that hope which aims at a beloved partner--a family--a fireside,--will lead its possessor to activity in all his conduct. It will elicit his talents, and urge them to their full energy, and probably call in the aid of economy; a quality so indispensable to every condition of life.
The single consideration, "What would she think were she now to see me?" called up by the obtrusion of a favorite image,--how often has it stimulated a n.o.ble mind and heart to deeds which otherwise had never been performed!
I repeat it, I am aware that this advice is liable to abuse. But what shall be done? Images of some sort will haunt the mind more or less--female influence in some shape or other will operate. Is it not better to give the imagination a virtuous direction than to leave it to range without control, and without _end_?
I repeat it, nothing is better calculated to preserve a young man from the contamination of low pleasures and pursuits, than frequent intercourse with the more refined and virtuous of the other s.e.x.
Besides, without such society his manners can never acquire the true polish of a gentleman,--general character, dignity, and refinement;--nor his mind and heart the truest and n.o.blest sentiments of a man. Make it an object then, I again say, to spend some portion of every week of your life in the company of intelligent and virtuous ladies. At all events, flee solitude, and especially the exclusive society of your own s.e.x. The doctrines even of Zimmerman, the great apostle of solitude, would put to shame many young men, who seldom or never mix in female society.
If you should be so unfortunate as not to have among your acquaintance any ladies whose society would, in these points of view, be profitable to you, do not be in haste to mix with the ignorant and vulgar; but wait patiently till your own industry and good conduct shall give you admission to better circles; and in the meantime cultivate your mind by reading and thinking, so that when you actually gain admission to good society, you may know how to prize and enjoy it. Remember, too, that you are not to be so selfish as to think nothing of contributing to the happiness of others. It is blessed to _give_ as well as to _receive_.
When you are in the company of ladies, beware of silliness. It is true that they will sooner forgive foolishness than ill manners, but you will, of course, avoid both. I know one young gentleman of great promise, who adopted the opinion that in order to qualify himself for female society, he had only to become as foolish as possible, while in their presence. That young man soon lost the favor of all whose friendship might have operated as a restraint; but unwilling to a.s.sociate with the despicable, and unable to live in absolute solitude, he chose the bottle for his companion; and made himself, and the few friends he had, miserable.
Nothing, unless it be the coa.r.s.est flattery, will give more offence, in the end, than to treat ladies as mere playthings or children. On the other hand, do not become pedantic, and lecture them on difficult subjects. They readily see through all this. Neither is it good manners or policy to talk much of yourself. They can penetrate this also; and they despise the vanity which produces it. In detecting deception, they are often much quicker than we apprehend.
A young gentleman, in one of the New England States, who had a.s.sumed the chair of the pedagogue, paid his addresses to the beautiful and sensible daughter of a respectable farmer. One day, as she was present in his school, he read to her a hymn, which he said was from his own pen. Now it was obvious to this lady, and even to some of the pupils, that the hymn was none other than that usually known by the name of the "Harvest Hymn," modified by the change of a few words only. How much effect this circ.u.mstance might have had I cannot say with certainty; but I know it disgusted _one_, at least, of the pupils; and I know, too, that his addresses to the lady were soon afterwards discontinued.
A young man who would profit from the society of young ladies, or indeed from any society, must preserve a modest and respectful spirit; must seek to conciliate their good will by quiet and unostentatious attentions, and discover more willingness to avail himself of their stock of information, than to display his own knowledge or abilities.
He should observe, and learn to admire, that purity and ignorance of evil, which is the characteristic of well-educated young ladies, and which, while we are near them, raises us above those sordid and sensual considerations which hold such sway over _men_, in their intercourse with each other. He should treat them as spirits of a purer sphere, and try to be as innocent, if not as ignorant of evil as they are; remembering that there is no better way of raising himself in the scale of intellectual and moral being. But to whatever degree of intimacy he may arrive, he should never forget those little acts of courtesy and kindness, as well as that respect, and self-denial, which lend a charm to every kind of polite intercourse, and especially to that of which I am now speaking.
Whenever an opportunity occurs, however, it is the duty of a young man to introduce topics of conversation which are decidedly favorable to mental and moral improvement. Should he happen to be attending to the same study, or reading the same book with a female acquaintance, an excellent opportunity will be afforded for putting this rule in practice.
CHAPTER VI.
Marriage.
SECTION I. _Why Matrimony is a Duty._
Matrimony is a subject of high importance and interest. It is _important_, because it was among the earliest inst.i.tutions of the great Creator; because it has always existed in some form or other, and must continue to exist, or society cannot be sustained; and because in proportion as the ends of the Creator are answered by its establishment, just in the same proportion does the happiness of society rise or fall. It points out the condition of society in this respect as accurately as a thermometer shows the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere. I might even go farther, and say, that in proportion as the original and real ends of marriage are answered, do the interests of religion also rise or sink.[11]
This inst.i.tution is peculiarly interesting from the fact that it involves so many items of human happiness. We often speak of the value of _friendship_. What friendship like that which results from a happy union of the s.e.xes? We talk of _education_. What school so favorable to improvement as the domestic circle may be rendered? Whether we consider education in a physical, mental or moral point of view, all its plans are imperfect without this. No man or woman is, as a general rule, fully prepared for the humblest sphere of action on earth, without the advantages which are peculiar to this inst.i.tution. Nor has any man done his whole duty to G.o.d, who has left this subject out of consideration.
It has sometimes been said, and with much truth, that "no unmarried person was ever thoroughly and completely educated." It appears to me that were we to consider the intellectual and physical departments of education, merely, this would be true; but how much more so when we take in morals? Parents,--teachers,--what are they? Their labors are indeed of infinite value, in themselves considered; but it is only in a state of matrimony, it is only when we are called to the discharge of those multiplied duties which are involved in the endearing relations of husband, wife, parent and guardian, that our characters are fully tested and established. Late in life as these relations commence, the circ.u.mstances which they involve are so peculiar that they modify the character of the parties much more than has usually been considered.
I am fond, therefore, of contemplating the married state as a school;--not merely for a short term, but for _life_;--not one whose teachers are liable to be changed once or twice a year to the great disadvantage of all who are concerned, but whose instructors are as permanent as the school itself. It is true, that like other schools, it may result in the formation of bad character; but in proportion to its power to accomplish either good or bad results, will be its value, if wisely improved.
It is not to be denied that this view of the subject is in favor of _early_ marriage. And I can truly say, indeed, that every thing considered, early marriage does appear to me highly desirable. And it would require stronger arguments than any which I have yet seen adduced, even by some of our political economists, to make me surrender this opinion.
The only serious objection, of a popular kind, to early marriage, arises from the difficulty of supporting a family. But the parties themselves must be supported at all events, whether married or single.
"But the consequences"--And what are the consequences? An _earlier_ family, indeed; but not of necessity a larger. I believe that facts will bear me out in stating that the sum total of the progeny of every thousand families who commence at from twenty-five to thirty, is as great as that of one thousand who begin at from twenty to twenty-five.
I have even seen pretty large families where the eldest was thirty-five years younger than both the parents; and one or two instances of numerous families where marriage did not take place till the age of forty. Physiologists have long observed this singular fact, and it has sometimes been explained by saying, if indeed it be an explanation, that Nature, in these cases, unwilling to be cheated out of her rights, endeavors to make up in energy and activity what has been lost in time.
The question, however, will recur, whether families, though equally large, cannot be better maintained when marriage is deferred to a later period. And it certainly is a question of immense importance; For nothing is more painful than to see large families, whose parents, whether young or more advanced, have not the means of educating them properly. It is also not a little painful to find instances of poverty so extreme that there is absolute suffering, for want of food and clothing.
But the question must be determined by facts. And it would be greatly aiding the cause of humanity if extensive comparisons were made between the pecuniary condition of those who marry early and those who defer the subject to a later period. But from my own limited observation I am fully of opinion that the result of the comparison would be greatly in favor of early marriages. Should this prove to be true, the position which I have a.s.sumed is, I think, established; for it appears to me that no other argument for delay has any claim to our notice.
On the other hand, the following, among other evils, are the results of deferring marriage.
1. The temper and habits of the parties become stiff and unyielding when advanced in life, and they learn to adapt themselves to each other with difficulty. In the view which I have taken above they become miserable as teachers, and still more miserable as scholars.
2. Youth are thus exposed to the danger of forming habits of criminal indulgence, as fatal to the health and the character, as they are ruinous to the soul.
3. Or if they proceed not so far, they at least acquire the habit of spending time in vain or pernicious amus.e.m.e.nts. All mankind must and will seek for gratifications of some sort or other. And aside from religious principle, there is no certain security against those amus.e.m.e.nts and indulgences which are pernicious and destructive, but early and virtuous attachments, and the pleasures afforded by domestic life. He can never want for amus.e.m.e.nt or rational gratification who is surrounded by a rising family for whom he has a genuine affection.
4. Long continued celibacy _contracts_ the mind, if it does not enfeeble it. For one openhearted liberal old bachelor, you will find ten who are parsimonious, avaricious, cold-hearted, and too often dest.i.tute of those sympathies for their fellow beings which the married life has a tendency to elicit and perpetuate.[12]
5. Franklin says that late marriages are attended with another inconvenience, viz.; that the chance of living to see our children educated, is greatly diminished.
6. But I go much farther than I have hitherto done, and insist that other things being equal, the young married man has the advantage in a _pecuniary_ point of view. This is a natural result from the fact that he is compelled to acquire habits of industry, frugality, and economy; and is under less temptation to waste his time in trifling or pernicious amus.e.m.e.nts. But I may appeal to facts, even here. Look around you in the world, and see if out of a given number of single persons, say one thousand, of the age of thirty-five, there be not a greater number in poverty, than of the same number who settled in life at twenty.
Perhaps I ought barely to notice another objection to these views. It is said that neither the mind nor the body come to full maturity so early as we are apt to suppose. But is complete maturity of body or mind indispensable? I am not advocating the practice of marrying in childhood. It takes sometime for the affections toward an individual to ripen and become settled. This is a matter involving too high responsibilities to justify haste. The consequences, speaking generally, are not confined to this life; they extend to eternity.
[11] Some of the topics of this section have been antic.i.p.ated, in part, in a previous chapter; but their importance ent.i.tles them to a farther consideration.
[12] I know this principle is sometimes disputed. A late English writer, in a Treatise on Happiness, at page 251 of Vol. II, maintains the contrary. He quotes from Lord Bacon, that "Unmarried men are the best friends, best masters, and best servants," and that "The best _works_, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from unmarried or childless men." He also introduces Jeremy Taylor, as saying that "Celibacy, like a fly in the heart of an apple, dwells in perpetual sweetness."
In commenting upon these remarks, this writer says, "One half of the most eminent persons that have ever lived in the world of science and literature, have remained unmarried," and "in the connubial state, too frequently, the sympathies are connected within the family circle, while there is little generosity or philanthropy beyond." And lastly, that "Unmarried men possess many natural excellences, which if not engrossed by a family will be directed towards their fellow creatures."
Now it is admitted that many eminent men, especially in science and literature, have been bachelors; and that among them were Newton and Locke. But this only proves that while thousands and tens of thousands of their fellow beings spent their lives in insignificance, for want of a definite object to live for, these men, having an _object_ before them, _accomplished_ something.
And if you could induce _one_ single man in a _thousand_, nay, one in ten thousand, to make a similar use of his exemption from the cares of a family, much might be expected from celibacy; or at least, the results of their labors might be a partial compensation to society for the evil tendency of their example.
For marriage cannot be denied to be an inst.i.tution of G.o.d, and indispensable to the existence of society. And who can say that he has purchased an indulgence to disobey a law which is in some respects paramount to every other, however great the price he may have paid?
That marriage tends to concentrate our sympathies within the family circle, I do not believe. A proper investigation of the subject will, I am certain, prove this a.s.sumption unfounded.
Facts do _not_ show unmarried men to be "best friends, masters, servants" &c.; and I am sorry to find such a _theory_ maintained by any sensible writer. Some of the ill.u.s.trious examples of celibacy which are usually brought, were by no means estimable for their social feelings or habits. What would become of mankind, if they were all to immure themselves in dungeons, or what is nearly the same thing to social life, among books and papers? Better, by far, to remain in ignorance of the material laws which govern the universe, than to become recluses in a world like this. Better even dispense with some of the lights which genius has struck out to enable us to read suns and stars, than to understand attraction in the material world, while we are insensible to all attractions of a moral and social kind. G.o.d has made us to _feel_, to _sympathize_, and to _love_,--as well as to _know_.