vertue from 〈◊〉 insults and violence After all this should one admire â—â—t in all well regulated States such â—â—â—â—nite care has been taken to cause aâ— exact observation of Marriage â—s it a wonder that in the Republick of Lycurgus the haters of it should 〈◊〉 excluded from publick sports Speâ—â—â—cles and entertainments Can one 〈◊〉 surprised that in the Commonâ—â—alth of Plato Batchelors of 35 â—â—â—rs were accounted infamous In 〈◊〉 â—ord it is miraculous that in all â—es and even amongst the barbaâ—â—â—s Nations a particular deference 〈◊〉 been payed to married men and â—â—â—t Marriage has been much more â—â—eemed than Celibacy It is Sir 〈◊〉 foundation of the world and the â—â—â—xhaustable source of Families 'T is â—â—â—t which gives Citizens to Cities â—â—â—abitants to Provinces and Subjects 〈◊〉 Kingdoms 'T is that which afâ—â—â—ds Kings to People and People to Kings 'T is that which furniâ— the Country with Labourers the Tâ—bunals with Judges the Churches wâ— Preachers and the Armies with Soâ—diers 'T is that which has produâ— Heroes on Earth and Gods in Hâ—ven Poets have married Gods 〈◊〉 well as Men. Saturne had his Cebâ— and Jupiter his Juno both which hâ— been Mothers of several of those fâ— Divinities which Pagan antiquity fâ—merly adored In a word 't is Mâ—riage that gives life to Arts and Sâ—ences That keeps up Traffick Tâ— maintains Societies and to whicâ— owing the greatest part of those whâ— some Laws and prudent Disciplinâ— without which the world would 〈◊〉 but a Cavern of Thieves Can it 〈◊〉 too much esteemed after this Aâ— needs there any more to prove tâ— nothing is better or more excâ—lent if you except a real conâ—nence Yes Sir there is required morâ— for one may make appear that it such in a manner yet more convâ—cingly You will be satisfied of 〈◊〉 if you consider it with me Fiâ— â—he bond of the most perfect most â—et and most wholsome of all huâ—â—e conjunctions And Secondly 〈◊〉 â—he exercise of the most lawful â—â—st agreeable and most absolute auâ—â—â—rity of the world Nothing unquestionably is more â—â—â—fect than this union in respect 〈◊〉 its subject to its end and to its â—â—nner Marriage unites Man and â—oman that is to say what there 〈◊〉 of most excellent and most perfect 〈◊〉 the corporeal nature what resemâ—â—â—s â—s in it self all the Beautys of this â—â—eat Universe what alone is of â—â—re value than all the other Creaâ—â—es together In fine what by the â—â—derstanding and reason with which 〈◊〉 is endowed to the exclusion of 〈◊〉 other Creatures has merited â—â—e glorious name of the Image of â—od What do you imagine to be the â—â—st part of this subject It is a â—elestial Soul It is an immortal â—pirit an angelical and immaterial â—â—bstance It is a being that partakes 〈◊〉 some sort of that of God himself â—eneca goes yet further When he considers its excellency he will havâ— it to be God himself who that aâ— I may say is come to lodge withiâ— our bodies Quid aliud voces animan nisi Deum in humano corpore hospitem Sen. Ep. 32. 'T is thaâ— makes St. Austin say 〈◊〉 That after God nothing is betteâ— than the Soul Anima post Deum nihil melius As to the Body which is the other part that Marriage unites it the Man and woman we may affirm that as miserable as it is in relation to its substance and to the various accidents to which it is subject it is notwithstanding the most perfect and most excellent work of Nature in respect of its composition which as the Psalmist so ellegantly asserts is all embroadery of its aim which is to serve as an organ to the Soul and to be as it were its Ornament Corpus est vestimentum animae says St. Chrysostom The Body is the Garment of the Soul and in a word of its use which is to be imployed in the most noble most necessary and most important actions of life Behold then the first perfection of â—â—raiage viz. That it unites Boâ—â—â—s and Souls that it joynes togeâ—â—â—r the two finest Creatures in the â—orld That it is a composition that iâ— most rare and precious in the esâ—â—â—ce of things This kind of Union 〈◊〉 seen no where else nor in any oâ—her subject The Conjunction of the Stars is a Union purely corporâ—al the Copulation of Beasts is a Union purely carnal Fornication is a Union of Body without Soul And Friendship as strong as it may be betwixt two friends is notwithstanding but a U ion of Souls without Body There is nothing but Marriage that truly unites Bodies and Souls togather Its second perfection consists in its â—nd which according to nature is to multiply men according to grace is to encrease the number of the Elect and according to Nature and Grace to retain the Sexes in the â—ounds of Wisdom Modesty and Honesty in removing the disorders of debauchery What can be more worthy of God and Man than this End I say in the last place that tâ—â— manner of this Union likewise makâ— up one of its beauties Marriage dotâ— not only joyn the Bodies it also â—nites the Souls 'T is much I confess but there is still something incomparably greater It not only unitâ— Bodies and Souls but O surprisinâ— wonder of two Bodies and twâ— Souls it makes one and the samâ— Person Man and Wife says Jesâ— Christ are no more two but one flesâ— Aristotle affirms of a real friendship that it is a soul which inhabits 〈◊〉 two Bodies But the union of Marrâ—age is still much more intimate Theâ— are no more two Bodies but one single Body no more two Souls but onâ— single Soul They are no longer twâ— Bodies tyed to one Soul No longer two Souls confounded in one Body 'T is a something I know noâ— what which is not absolutely one oâ— t'other but is more than both and cannot be expressed Possibly the Comick Poet thought of nothing less than to represent to us the wonder of this Union when he made the diverting peice of his 〈…〉 â—nphytrion It is notwithstanding â—hat he doth after the most natuâ—â—â— way imaginable in the Scene of â—â—e two Sofias He makes them to 〈◊〉 of so perfect a resemblance that â—â—ey look upon one another as one â—â—d the same person They are not 〈◊〉 all distinguishable They are two 〈◊〉 number yet but one in action and â—ovement They always speak by I and not by We. They do not say â—ou art there and I am here but I am there I am here Plautus expresses 〈◊〉 in his Language with an emphasis â—e cannot render in ours What you would persuade me no body ever heard says Amphytrion to Sosia that one man should be at the same time in two different places Nemo unquam homo antehac Plaut Amphyt Act 2. Sc. 1. Vidit nec potest fieri tempore uno Homo idem duobus locis ut simul sit By what inconceiveable art could it be that thou wast at the same moment here and in
Death it self that puts an end to all doth not always conclude this because it doth not only unite the Bodies It unites also the Souls Trajicit fati littora magnus amor Propert. lib. 1. Eleg. 19 Sen. Agam. Act. 2. Amor jugalis vincit ac flectit retro It is likewise very fertile and the fruits which it produces are more precious than all the Gold of the Indies Thy Wife says the Prophet shall be in thy House as 〈◊〉 Vine abounding in fruits Psal 128.3 â—nd thy Children like Oâ—â—ve branches round about thy table In 〈◊〉 word as I have already said noâ—hing is more disinteressed than the â—ove of a Wife She loves her Husâ—and for the sake of himself and beâ—ause she is easily persuaded that in â—is respect nothing ought to appear â—ore aimable to her To know its whole extent and how â—ar it goes you need only to read â—he Song of Songs in the Bible There â—ou will perceive the Air and disâ—over the secrets of a certain pleaâ—ure which charms the heart and â—ransports the Soul in spight of it â—elf It is filled with expressions so â—ender and figures so effecting that â—ne must be harder than a Rock not â—o be wrought upon therewith I 〈◊〉 now very well that the principal â—esign of the Holy Spirit that diâ—tated to Solomon was to represent â—o us the flames of the Divine Love â—nd the mystical union of Christ and â—is Church But we can never be â—ble to frame to our selves the excellency thereof unless we supposâ— the same things in the conjugal union since the one is imploy'd there in as the lively Image of the other This being so it is impossible to express the sweetness and satisfactioâ— of a happy Marriage This wise Kinâ— speaks to us of it in such magnificeâ— terms and exposes to our eyes aâ— its delights in so pleasant a manneâ— that one is transported almost out 〈◊〉 himself One talks of nothing theâ— but of my Love my particular Frienâ— my Dove my perfect one my Sisteâ— my Spouse of surfeiting with Lovâ— of Myrrhe of Aloes of Aromatiâ— smells of passing the day with hâ— well-beloved under the shade of Palm Trees and amidst the flowers of Pomâ—granets and the night on the bosoâ— and between the breasts of the faireâ— amongst Women All this t is truâ— ought to exalt our minds above thâ— objects of the senses and to put before our eyes the ineffable sweetneâ— of our Communion with Jesus Chrisâ— the real Spouse of our souls Buâ— who doth not see yet further thaâ— man ought to find in the union of Marriage well near the same pleasures â—â—at the faithful discover in their uâ—â—on with God since the first is as 〈◊〉 were the Plan and Model of the â—â—â—ond and that the pleasures of the â—â—â—ond cannot be real if the pleasure 〈◊〉 the first is not so In fine I add that nothing is more â—holsome than this union Marriage 〈◊〉 of it felf the undoubted way to â—â—radise If an infinite number of â—â—rsons go astray and make it the â—â—y of Hell it is because they practise â—â—t its pure maxims and remove â—â—emselves from the ends which it â—â—oposes God has instituted it to be 〈◊〉 excellent remedy for Man against â—â—continence and by consequence to â—â—ntribute wonderfully to his Salvaâ—â—â—n by carrying him to Wisdom and â—â—nctity He likewise design'd it for â—â—m to be a perpetual means of inâ—â—easing his vertues One has a Wife â—â—e has a Husband They must be â—â—ved They must be supported And 〈◊〉 spite of their proper infirmities â—â—ey must make it a continual joy to â—â—ssess one another by a love of â—â—mplaisance which appears in no other Society One has Children they must be instructed One must labour to make them good in their kinds They must have examples of goodness One must instill into their minds wholsome principles In a word one must endeavour to save them Can one afford them for their Salvation the cares which Nature and Grace require without taking some for ones own One has troubles One has displeasures One has tribulations Alas who has not O quam dura premit miseros conditio vitae Cornel. Gall. â—leg 2. O! how hard a state of life oppresses the miserable One must digest them in patience One must receive them with humility from the hand which dispences them One must recollect all the motions of real faith and hope to avoid being overwhelm'd with their weight and to discern through all these miseries that hand of God who delivers when it is time and who by an adorable dispensation oftentimes makes of them in a Christian Marriage a source of Benediction and Grace as they are one of Salvation and Sanctification It is Sir with the virtue of a Batchelour and that of a married Man as with avarice and liberality This requires nothing but communication That has nothing for its aim but restriction One has the hand always open because it loves to diffuse it self and the other has it always shut because it has no pleasure in gifts The vertue of Celibacy with the men of this world is a dead virtue that is of no use nor profits any body Which made Tertullian say very eloquently Malo nullum bonum quam vanum Tertull. lib. 1. de pud Quid prodest esse quod esse non prodest It is an idle barren particular virtue and which terminates in the sole subject to which it is fastned In a word it is a virtue of a carnal temparament or prudence which has nothing of nobleness in it self and which if one examines it near will appear to be founded upon the motives of a soft delicacy The virtue of Marriage on the otherside is a living and fructifying virtue It is a productive virtue which tends only to multiplication It is a publick virtue It is a virtuâ— of example Omnibus patet It is 〈◊〉 virtue of choice and election It iâ— a virtue of force and victory and iâ— only so upon the account of the greaâ— difficulties it has to engage with Virtus dum patitur vincit as a Poet says Virtue whilst it suffers conquers Certamen aufer ne quidem virtus erit Without opposition and engaging their would be no virtue In a word it is a virtue of usefulness and profitable to all the world There is none perhaps but this to which one may justly apply these two verses of Sententious Horace Aeque pauperibus prodest locupletibus aeque Hor. Ep. l. 1. Ep. 1. Aeque neglectum pueris senibusque nocebit 'T is equally advantagious to the poor and rich And the neglect of it brings equal damage to Boys and Old Men. After having shewn you the excelâ—ency of Marriage with relation to the â—dvantage of its union it is not unâ—t to make it appear to you with â—elation to the authority it confers By nature we love to rule and to be â—uperior The design of making themâ—elves equal to God
examine but the outside and who only judge of things by appearances imagine that there are heroical and very extraordinary Qualities in them Which made Virgil to observe Ah! hodiè laus est non ultima fingere vultum Alas None of the least Praises now adays is to dissemble So much is Vertue despised and Sincerity out of use in the world To enter into the bottom of the dispute I make a proposition directly contrary to that of my Adveriaries Marriage say they is not agreeable to man It is for his glory not to marry And I affirm that Marriage doth agree with Man It is necessary for him He cannot well forbear it The first part of this work very clearly proves the truth of my Proposition since God has instituted Marriage since our Saviour has confirm'd it since the Apostles have recommended it since all Nations of the World have practised it since it conveys to man such great advantages can one doubt of its agreement with him and if it is thus excellently good as I have maintain'd it all along can one assert that it is unworthy of man But let us see the Reasons upon which it's Adversaries rely in order to cry it down They all return to these three First It is repugnant to the Empire of Reason over the Senses and Passions Secondly It puts man in the rank of Beasts Lastly it hinders him from resembling the Angels One may reply to all this in few words What Logick is this Reason is in man what the King is in the State It ought to subject all to it self and to submit it self to nothing All the passions should condescend to it but it should never yield it self to any of them Therefore Marriage doth not agree with Man Therefore man ought not to marry Can there be more miserable arguing One grants the Principle Reason ought to govern the passions It ought to be the Mistress But where have these men learnt that Marriage is contrary to its Sovereignty One may from this principle infer conclusions absoluetly opposite to theirs Reason ought to govern the passions by consequence Marriage is necessary for Man Why because the Passions are much stronger in Celibacy than in Marriage because Marriage is it self a means to tame the Passions because Reason governs them consequently with more easiness But say they it ought to triumph over them It ought to captivate them Reason ought that I may so speak to swallow up the passions This is an evil Doctrine equally unknown in the School of God and that of Men. The passions are good in themselves They are become criminal only by the pollution of Sin which has disorder'd them Man must not be absolutely dispossess'd of them they are essential to him He cannot even live with integrity according to St. Austin without their assistance Affectus animi qui non habent recte non vivunt The Indolence of the Stoicks has been at all times condemned Man neither can nor ought ever to be without Passion The simple Question is to rectify it by reducing it into that happy Limit above or beneath which vertue cannot subsist Est modus in rebus sunt certi denique fines Hor. Serm. lib. 1. sat 1. Quos ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum There are certain means and limits of things which bound right on either side One ought to place it under the just law of Reason without which it ceases to be legitimate For appetitus lege naturae subjectus est rationi as St. Ambrose says And without that St. Austin tells us that Passion is nothing but the motion of the Beast Affectio sine ratione motus est bestialis Now of all things that are able to father his Empire of Reason upon the passions I affirm that there is nothing more efficacious than Marriage St. Paul sees nothing fitter to dispose men to wisdom By consequence I have reason to say and my adversaries are in the wrong to deny it that Marriage is very worthy of man and absolutely necessary for him even according to their own principle As animal as the action of Marriage is it is notwithstanding very conformable to right Reason and the Nature of man One may say that man is a mixt animal He is neither all Flesh nor all Spirit he is a compositum of both He has a Body he has a Soul Each of these two parts of his Being applies it self to those objects which are suitable to it and agreeable to its Nature As the Soul is of a coelestial and immaterial Original its single prospect is to exalt it self above sensible things But the body which is terrestrial follows its natural destination All it's motions tend downward It proposes to it self nothing but the enjoyment of Creatures Man by his Soul has the honour to be the Image of God and the Companion of Angels But indeed by his Body he enters in some sort in communion of Nature and Society with Beasts He doth in this regard what they do The same accidents happen to him He has the same desires He is touched with the same Objects and has no priviledge over them in this respect Those ancient Heroes who gave terror and admiration to the whole world by the force of their judgments and the excellency of their Genius have not fail'd to be subject to the concupiscible appetites as well as the vilest of animals After having equal'd themselves to the Gods in the superior part of their being they must resemble beasts by the insurmountable Law of the inferior part I confess that it is very mortifying for the King of Animals not to be distinguish'd herein from his Subjects and to encrease after the same manner and by the same ways as they But be not surprized at it This was necessary for the design of their common Creator He has of a sudden and without distinction of Sex form'd that innumerable multitude of Spirits which compose the Hierarchy of Angels and Devils because being incorruptible intelligences they were by consequence incapable of generation But God having been pleased to make all human-kind of one blood as the Apostle says and by way of generation it was necessary to give to Man an Organized body It was necessaty to render him capable of multiplying It was expedient for him to make two Sexes In a word it was convenient to give them that natural desire of uniting together which makes the propagation of the kind but which is never lawful without Marriage Can one assert after this that it is unworthy of man with relation to this Union of Sexes As despicable as it is in it self is it not sufficient that it is the design of Nature and the very order of God who has commanded us to encrease and multiply in order to rase all the Scandal which the most scrupulous persons might receive from thence As I have already said it is as conformable to reason as agreeable to the nature of man Reason it self disposes
the Celebacy of Lay-men If it be a virtue certainly 't is none of the most considerable It is even of the nature of those which very often lead the way to vice What advantage doth it bring to them unless it be to expose them to great temptations unless it be to deprive them of a very commodious assistant such as a Wife is unless it be to renounce the sweetest of Societies And this for I know not what difficulties they frame to themselves whereof one part is purely imaginary another is tyed to all the conditions of life and the rest is nothing in comparison of the real pleasures of Marriage What advantages likewise return from thence to the Republick People are oftener scandalised than improved thereby and very often are seen examples of them which more deserve our horrour than our imitation I speak of worldly Batchelors and not of such as are withdrawn from the world and consecrated to the Almighty The most favourable judgment thaâ— one can make of the wisest Celebacy is that it is a virtue which dotâ— neither good nor evil Now for thâ— reason that it is without action oâ— may say that it is a kind of vice foâ— according to Cicero Virtutis laus omâ— in actione consistit From whence come this of Silius the Italian Actio si desit virtus est sutile 〈◊〉 men Virtue 's a useless Name withouâ— practice Celibacy then has nothing but thâ— name of Virtue It has neither thâ— effect nor the truth of it It is a simple quality which is very often founded upon the temper and constitutioâ— of bodies or which is of less importance upon the maxims of a carnal prudence After all man was made for Society Non solum noâ— nati sumus Cic. L. 2. We are noâ— born for our selves only It is not good that man should 〈◊〉 alone says God himself Est opus auxilio says Ovid. we have need of help Tristis eris si solus eris You 'l be sorrowful if your alone The testimony of a single person is of no account amongst Lawyers Vox unius vox nullius And as the Father of Philosophers says two are better than one both for council and action Arist L. 8. Eth. Duo simul viventes intelligere agere sunt potentiores quam unus The Divinity it self which is but one in essence is notwithstanding more than one in person And why has God created two Sexes in Nature if it was not to make us understand that one is necessary to the other and that they cannot subsist without being joyned together Are not all living creatures bent that way by a natural inclination Is it not this mutual love of males for females and females for males thet multiplies their Species and preserves the world Ovid. Nec caeant pecudes si levis absit amor If we beleive the Naturalists this desire extends to insensible things They tell us of divers Plants that can neither encrease nor fructifie without company as the Palm am ngst others And can Man after this without violating in some measure the rights of Nature despise his union with Woman that is to say what she has of most compleat and charming T is true as the Ancients say that Man is of a nature absolutely Heroical that can innocently excuse himself from her But how ridiculous and unjust is he add they that despise Marriage the first and purest of Societies But Sir if you would know the real motives of Marriage you are only to consider Man with relation to the four bodies whereof he is composed I shall call the first The Body Natural The second The Body Politick The third The Body Domestick And the fourth The Body Ecclesiastick Mankind State â—mily and Church are these four â—odies With relation to mankind â—e is Man To the State he is Citiâ—en To the Family he is Son And 〈◊〉 the Church he is Faithful These â—ur qualities put him equally under â—e obligigation of Marriage As â—an he ought to labour for the proâ—agation of mankind As Citizen â—r the preservation of the Common-â—ealth As Son he ows Successors to is Family and as Faithful he owes â—lect ones to the Church Marriage 〈◊〉 absolutely necessary to fulfill all these â—uties and to discharge all these enâ—agements They ought to be exâ—lain'd to you more at length To begin with the first point It 〈◊〉 certain that every Animal is oblig'd â—o interest himself in the conservation â—f his Species but particularly Man â—ho is king of all T is for him that all â—he rest were made and without him â—he world would be but a frightfull Soâ—itude For this reason God comâ—anded him to increase and multiply â—mmediately after his Creation And â—or the same reason he inspird him with the desire of it and gave him that eager inclination of Cooperating with another Sex wherewith all men as I have said are naturally transported It must be granted that there is nothing in nature either so violent or so necessary Without this love where 's that man that would converse with woman where 's the woman that would endure man But to the end that no abuse might be made thereof God has assigned it bounds he has fixed it between two persons he has confined it to the sacred laws of Marriage Be it as it will if it is mans duty to increase his Species it is no less his duty to marry since one cannot reasonably be done without the other Man may be considered in a double sence vel Physice vel Theologice In the Theological prospect nothing is more dispisable it 's true t is a revolted Subject It is a sinful creature It is an object of Horror to Heaven and Earth It is a composition of crimes and miseries Man says the Prophet in this respect is nothing but Vanity If one should weigh him with nothing he would â—e found even lighter They are all â—ys he elsewhere corâ—pted Psal 14.1 and become aboâ—inable by their works â—here is not one doth good But in â—e Physical and Natural sence what 〈◊〉 more admirable than Man O God â—id the same David What is Man â—at thou shouldst remember him and â—e Son of Man that thou shouldst be 〈◊〉 careful of him Thou hast made him â—t a little less than the Angels Thou â—ast crowned him with glory and hoâ—our Thou hast given him the Empire 〈◊〉 all things here below In this reâ—pect the Philosopher regards him as â—he end of all Creatures Nos sumus quodam modo â—is omnium St. Arist Anstin â—kewise instructs us that all things are â—omprised in him In homine est omâ—is creatura He considers him as the miracle of Nature Homo magnum â—t miraculum And our eloquent Ciâ—ero will have him to be of more worth â—han all other creatures together Hoâ—o caeteris animalibus longe praestat I add â—hat this same Theology which lessens him so much when it considers him in the irregularities of
you ask me the true reason that ought to make us desire the propagation of Mankind the duration of States and the Conservation of Families It is nothing else but the Subsistence of the Church which is infinitely more excellent than the World and all its Societies This ought to be the chiefest end of all our Vows and all our Cares How ought a Christian do you think to endeavour the advancement of this Mystical Empire of Jesus Christ the exaltation of his Reign the Subsistence of his Church He may Sir acquit himself of this Duty in a double manner both by Passion and by Action First he must suffer he must mortify himself In the Second place it is necessary that he labour and put himself in action for her Now of all the Actions that may contribute to this end Marriage is without doubt the principal Since it is the natural and material cause of the faithful without which all moral causes would be absolutely useless When Moses built his Tabernacle the Men and Women contributed voluntarily and with great Zeal all that was necessary for its construction What scandal would it be for Christians not to do for the Truth what the Jews did for the Figure Those people dispossessed themselves with pleasure of the most precious things they had in order to enrich that ancient Tent of the Desart What should not we perform then for the glory of this Divine Tabernacle which God has planted and not Man But Sir the question here is neither of Gold nor Silver precious Stones or fine Linnen Purple or Scarlet The Tabernacle of the Church is not composed of dead and insensible things Brutal and Inanimate Stones enter not into its construction There must be living ones for that end There must be faithful Men. There must be reasonable creatures There must be Christians sanctified by the aspersion of the blood of Christ How glorious is it for a Father or Mother to contribute a great number of these living Stones for the Edification and Conservation of the Church Marriage is the only quarry 1 Pet. 1 2.16 from whence they must be had God allows of no other Indeed they are not in a condition proper to build this holy structure My Mother conceived me in sin and brought me forth in iniquity says David If we refer our selves even to the Satyrick Poet he will likewise instruct us in what the Scripture every where tells us that all Men are born with Sin Nam vitijs nemo sine nascitur Horat. Serm. L. 1. Sat. 3. But here Grace is added to Nature Marriage makes Men And of these men God makes his Elect. Insomuch that it is ever true to say in a certain sense that Marriage makes the Elect which are members of the Church since it is the Organon of Nature to bring them into the world and that Grace whfch regenerates them acts upon them only as upon works of this very Nature In this prospect it is scarce possible to express the excellency of Marriage and what strong engagements men are under to marry Philosophers say that a Being may destroy it self two ways by Substraction and by privation of means either in doing things contrary to its Subsistence or in omitting those things which are necessary to it Pharaoh destroyed the Church of Israel in the first manner And those who live unmarried now a days destroy the Christian Church in the second That barbarous King by causing all the Male Children of the Jews to be thrown into the Nile rendred their propagation fruitless and those who remain in the state of single men as far as they can make it impossible So that the Church is not beholding to them for its subsistence This Doctrine is even conformable to the expressions of Scriptute which says that he who doth not prevent a mans death by furnishing him with means to live kills him If this Theology be true as we must not question it I can hardly conceive how all those obstinate and professed Batchelors should not be amazed thereat What greater misfortune could arrive to them than not only to have performed nothing for the Glory and Advantage of this undefiled Spouse of our Saviour which cost him his life but also to have laboured for its destruction by not doing what is capable to preserve it Where is the State where is the Family where is the Society more worthy to subsist than the Church All the rest is supported only for her sake Columna est Orbis Ecclesia The World this unhappy World which so outragiously persecutes her would be destroyed without this daughter of Heaven It is preserved only to give place to the fulness of the Elect. So soon as they are all in the Essence of things adieu to the world Heavens What afflictions should not those old Batchelors undergo for not having contributed to its conformation But Sir one of those things which ought methinks to be most prevailing with you for Marriage is that you will infallibly marry at one time or other Sooner or later you will be inclined to it It is with Marriage as with new fashions At first they appear insupportable But by little and little the eyes are accustomed to them and at length one submits to them with others How many men likewise do we observe who after having long declamed against Marriage fail not to confine themselves under its laws Are you ignorant that those who speak of it as of a solly say that it must be done once in a mans life That Poet so knowing in the Art of Love whom I have already cited so often tells us with a grace that Venus never loses her rights and that all men are tributary to her Et Venus ex tota gente tributa petit Ovid. Ep. 4. Venus claims Tribute from all the amorous Race If you are not in Love whilst you are young you must necessarily love being old If not to day you must of Course to morrow Catul. Privil Ven. Cras amet qui nunquam amavit The same Ovid observes likewise what is very true that the later Love appears the more violent it is Venit amor graviùs quo seriùs Ep. 4. Would you Sir deferr your Marriage to a time wherein you 'll be unfit to marry to a time wherein passion is as it were unactive to a time wherein the blood is congealed in the Veins If Marriage is a sort of solly 't is certainly a double one in that decrepit age wherein a man is good for nothing but to bewail the dismal Wast of years wherein by the weakness of Nature he cannot walk without the support of a Stick wherein a defenceless impotence confines him to the Empire of a young wife Sponso Seni mulier juvencula imperat Wherein the Body being crack'd by the severe Efforts of age is no longer able to support its members to speak with another Poet. Vbi jam validis quassatum viribus aevi Lucret. L.