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LETTERS. 259
something really noble and sacred. It was a sacred union
previous to the act performed by the clergyman; but peo-
ple would either not consider this, or forget it, if the Church
did not give to the inward law a form and a word which
express its sacredness, and become a tie oinly because they
represent what most ought to unite man and wife. Geijer
said once: “Love wants to be backed by duty;” and
another time: “One speaks of love as something stag-
nant, and yet no love can be imagined without metamor-
phoses.” Look round in the world, and ask yourself how
many men would continue to be a faithful husband and
father, if, during the fluctuations of his love, he had not a
support in duty and in public moral opinion (the offspring
of duty); if, during the’ metamorphoses of his life of love,
a sacred law did not lead to a normal development.
The Society of Friends, who have rejected all outward
laws, and appeal to the inward law, the inner voice, as the
only rule of conduct, have yet presupposed that this inner
law must be valid for all, and upon it they found their
unions. Thus, for instance, in weddings, the contracting
parties declare before the congregation that they purport
living together as husband and wife, and this is sufficient to
consecrate the marriage. But the discipline of feelings, of
thoughts, and of the whole course of life, is so severe from
early childhood amongst the Society of Friends, that public
opinion is more binding for them than are the forms of
law and of the Church for us, and they lead with them to
the same end. That persons before they bring children
into the world ought well to weigh the importance of such
a step, and of the duties which belong to it, this, one would
think, is the claim of sound morality and of experience.
Therefore also it is that one gives the name of ¢llegitimate
to the union which disregards this higher aim of marriage.
That the children should suffer for this as «legitimate is
unjust as far as they are concerned, but how can this be
avoided? It is the fault of the parents, and thie sins of the
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