in the domestic relations; that, by her very nature she looks up to man as her protector, and loves to confide in his hands her happiness for life; and that she can be ruined only by abusing that confidence proving false to that reliance, and using the very loveliest trait in her character as the instrument of her undoing. And then let us consider the misery into which a loss of virtue must plunge the victim and her friends for ever; the worth of that soul, which, unless a miracle interpose, must, by the loss of virtue, be consigned to eternal despair; and I ask whether, in the whole catalogue of human crime, there be one whose atrocity more justly merits the deepest damnation, than that which, for the momentary gratification of a lawless appetite, will violate all these obligations, outrage all these sympathies, and work out so wide-spreading, so interminable a ruin?

Such is the lesson of natural religion on this subject.

III. The precepts of revealed religion may be very briefly stated:

1. The seventh commandment is, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Ex. xx, 14. By the term adultery, is meant every unlawful act and thought. The Mosaic law enacted that he who seduced a woman should marry her. Ex. xxii, 16, 17. This is, doubtless, the equitable rule; and there is no reason why it should not be strictly enforced now, both by the civil law and by the opinions of the community.

2. The punishment of adultery was, under the same law, death to both parties. Lev. x, 22. Deut. xxii, 22. That this should now be enforced, no one will contend. But it is sufficient to show in what abhorrence the crime is held by the Creator.

3. The consequences of whoredom and adultery are frequently set forth in the prophets, and the most awful judgments of God are denounced against them. This subject is also treated with graphic power by Solomon, in the book of Proverbs. See Proverbs v, 3-29; vii, 5-26

4. Our Savior explains the law of chastity and marriage in his sermon on the mount, and declares it equally to respect unclean thoughts and actions: "Ye have heard

that it hath been said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee (or cause thee to offend), pluck it out and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." Matt. v, 27–32. That is, as I suppose, eradicate from your bosom every impure thought, no matter at what sacrifice; for no one who cherishes impurity, even in thought, can be an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.

Uncleanness is also frequently enumerated among the crimes which exclude men from the kingdom of heaven: Ephesians v, 5, 6: "No whoremonger or unclean person hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God."

Galatians v, 19-21: "Now, the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness; of the which I tell you before, as I have told you in times past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

Colossians iii, 5, 6: "Mortify, therefore, your members, which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affections; for which things' sake, the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience."

Let every one remember, therefore, that whoever violates this command, violates it in defiance of the most clearly revealed command of God, and at the peril of his own soul. He must meet his act, and the consequences of it, at that day when the secrets of all hearts are made manifest, when every hidden thing will be brought to light, and when God will judge every man according to his deeds.

I remarked above, that the law of chastity forbade the indulgence of impure or lascivious imaginations, the narboring of such thoughts in our minds, or the doing of any thing by which such thoughts should be excited. Of no vice is it so true as of this, that "lust, when it is cherished, bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth

forth death." Licentiousness in outward conduct never appears, until the mind has become defiled by impure imaginations. When, however, the mind has become thus defiled, nothing is wanted but suitable opportunity to complete the moral catastrophe. Hence, the necessity of the most intense vigilance in the government of our thoughts and in the avoiding of all books, and all pictures, and all society, and all conduct and actions of which the tendency is to imbue our imaginations with any thing at variance with the purest chastity. Whatever, in other respects, may be the fascinations of a book, if it be impure or lascivious, let it be eschewed. Whatever be the accomplishments of an acquaintance, if he or she be licentious in conversation or action, let him or her be shunned. No man can take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned We cannot mingle with the vile, let that vileness be dressed in ever so tasteful a garb, without becoming defiled. The only rule of safety is, to avoid the appearance of evil; for thus alone shall we be able to avoid the reality. Hence it is, that a licentious theatre (and the tendency of all theatres is to licentiousness), immodest dancing, and all amusements and actions which tend to inflame the passions, are horribly pernicious to morals. It would be interesting to learn on what principle of morals a virtuous woman would justify her attendance upon an amusement, in which she beholds before her a once lovely female uttering covert obscenity in the presence of thousands, and where she is surrounded by hundreds of women, also once lovely, but now abandoned, whose ruin has been consummated by this very means, and who assemble in this place, with the more certain assurance of thus being able, most successfully, to effect the ruin of others.

CHAPTER SECOND

THE LAW OF MARRIAGE.

Ir has been already remarked, in the preceding section, that the law of chastity forbids all sexual intercourse be tween persons who have not been exclusively united for life. In the act of marriage, two persons, under the most solemn circumstances, are thus united; and they enter into a mutual contract thus to live in respect to each other This relation having been established by God, the contract thus entered into has all the solemnity of an oath. Hence he who violates it is guilty of a two-fold crime: first, the violation of the law of chastity; and, secondly, of the law of veracity,—a veracity pledged under the most solemn circumstances.

But this is by no means all that is intended by the institution of marriage. By the contract thus entered into, a society is formed, of a most interesting and important character, which is the origin of all civil society; and in which, children are prepared to become members of that great community. As our principal knowledge of the nature and obligations of this institution is derived from the sacred Scriptures, I shall endeavor briefly to explain the manner in which they treat of it, without adding any thing to what I have already said, in regard to the teaching of natural religion.

I shall consider, first, the nature of this contract, and, secondly, the duties which it enjoins, and the crimes which it forbids.

First. The nature of the contract.

1. The contract is for life, and is dissoluble for one cause only, the cause of whoredom :

Matthew xix, 3-6, 9.

"Then came sorne of the Pharisees to him, and, tempting him. asked, Can a man,

upon every pretence, divorce his wife? He answered, Have ye not read, that at the beginning, when the Crea tor made man, he formed a male and female; and said, for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and adhere to his wife; and they two shall be one flesh. Wherefore, they are no longer two, but one flesh. What then God hath conjoined, let not man separate. Wherefore, I say unto you, whosoever divorceth his wife, except for whoredom, and marrieth another, committeth adultery." I use here the translation of Dr. Campbell, which, I think, conveys more exactly than the common version the meaning of the original.

2. We are here taught that marriage, being an institution of God, is subject to his laws alone, and not to the laws of man. Hence the civil law is binding upon the conscience only in so far as it corresponds to the law of God.

3. This contract is essentially mutual. By entering into it, the members form a society, that is, they have something in common. Whatever is thus in common, belongs equally to both. And, on the contrary, what is not thus surrendered, remains as before in the power of the individual.

4. The basis of this union is affection. Individuals thus contract themselves to each other, on the ground not merely of mutual regard, but also of a regard stronger than that which they entertain for any other persons else. If such be not the condition of the parties, they cannot be united with any fair prospect of happiness. Now, such is the nature of the human affections, that we derive a higher and a purer pleasure from rendering happy those whom we love than from self-gratification. Thus, a parent prefers selfdenial, for the sake of a child, to self-indulgence. The same principle is illustrated in every case of pure and disinterested benevolence. This is the essential element, on which depends the happiness of the married state. To pe in the highest degree happy, we must each prefer the nappiness of another to our own.

5. I have mentioned above, that, this oeing a voluntary compact, and forming a peculiar society, there are some