24
A Solemn Appeal
they could expect of their posterity, but diminished energy of body and
mind which would not elevate society, but sink it still lower.
Sickly men have often won the affections of women apparently
healthy, and because they loved each other, they have felt themselves
at perfect liberty to marry, neither considering that by their union
the wife must be a sufferer, more or less, because of the diseased
husband. In many cases, the diseased husband improves in health,
while the wife shares his disease. He lives very much upon her vitality,
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and she soon complains of failing health. He prolongs his days by
shortening the days of his wife. Those who thus marry, commit sin
in lightly regarding health and life given to them of God to be used
to his glory. But if those who thus enter the marriage relation were
alone concerned, the sin would not be so great. Their offspring are
compelled to be sufferers by disease transmitted to them. Thus disease
has been perpetuated from generation to generation. And many charge
all this weight of human misery upon God, when their wrong course of
action has brought the sure result. They have thrown upon society an
enfeebled race, and done their part to deteriorate the race, by rendering
disease hereditary, and thus accumulating human suffering.
Another cause of the deficiency of the present generation in phys-
ical strength and moral worth, is the union of men and women in
marriage whose ages widely differ. It is frequently the case that old
men choose to marry young wives. By thus doing the life of the hus-
band has often been prolonged, while the wife has had to feel the want
of that vitality which she has imparted to her aged husband. It has not
been the duty of any woman to sacrifice life and health, even if she
did love one so much older than herself, and felt willing on her part to
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make such a sacrifice. She should have restrained her affections. She
had considerations higher than her own interest to consult. She should
consider, if children were born to them, what their condition would
be. It is still worse for young men to marry women considerably older
than themselves. The offspring of such unions in many cases, where
ages widely differ, have not well-balanced minds. They have been
deficient also in physical strength. In such families, varied, peculiar,
and often painful, traits of character have frequently been manifested.
The children often die pre-maturely, and those who reach maturity, in
many cases, are deficient in physical and mental strength, and moral
worth.