CHAPTER X.
MARRIAGE.
The Definition of Marriage--Marriage Among Animals--The Predominance of Monogamy--The Question of Group Marriage--Monogamy a Natural Fact, Not Based on Human Law--The Tendency to Place the Form of Marriage Above the Fact of Marriage--The History of Marriage--Marriage in Ancient Rome--Germanic Influence on Marriage--Bride-Sale--The Ring--The Influence of Christianity on Marriage--The Great Extent of this Influence--The Sacrament of Matrimony--Origin and Growth of the Sacramental Conception--The Church Made Marriage a Public Act--Canon Law--Its Sound Core--Its Development--Its Confusions and Absurdities--Peculiarities of English Marriage Law--Influence of the Reformation on Marriage--The Protestant Conception of Marriage as a Secular Contract--The Puritan Reform of Marriage--Milton as the Pioneer of Marriage Reform--His Views on Divorce--The Backward Position of England in Marriage Reform--Criticism of the English Divorce Law--Traditions of the Canon Law Still Persistent--The Question of Damages for Adultery--Collusion as a Bar to Divorce--Divorce in France, Germany, Austria, Russia, etc .-- The United States--Impossibility of Deciding by Statute the Causes for Divorce--Divorce by Mutual Consent--Its Origin and Development--Impeded by the Traditions of Canon Law--Wilhelm von Humboldt--Modern Pioneer Advocates of Divorce by Mutual Consent--The Arguments Against Facility of Divorce--The Interests of the Children--The Protection of Women--The Present Tendency of the Divorce Movement--Marriage Not a Contract--The Proposal of Marriage for a Term of Years--Legal Disabilities and Disadvantages in the Position of the Husband and the Wife--Marriage Not a Contract But a Fact--Only the Non-Essentials of Marriage, Not the Essentials, a Proper Matter for Contract--The Legal Recognition of Marriage as a Fact Without Any Ceremony--Contracts of the Person Opposed to Modern Tendencies--The Factor of Moral Responsibility--Marriage as an Ethical Sacrament--Personal Responsibility Involves Freedom--Freedom the Best Guarantee of Stability--False Ideas of Individualism--Modern Tendency of Marriage--With the Birth of a Child Marriage Ceases to be a Private Concern--Every Child Must Have a Legal Father and Mother--How This Can be Effected--The Firm Basis of Monogamy--The Question of Marriage Variations--Such Variations Not Inimical to Monogamy--The Most Common Variations--The Flexibility of Marriage Holds Variations in Check--Marriage Variations _versus_ Prostitution--Marriage on a Reasonable and Humane Basis--Summary and Conclusion..