he subject was entirely neglected in our
colleges; today at least 100,000 college boys and girls have the
opportunity to enroll in college courses or to attend discussion
conferences on marriage. Wise men and women have studied the basis for
successful marriage and have written about it. Laws have been changed so
that such books--written by American sociologists, doctors, and
psychiatrists--are generally available in college libraries today.

However, even the best books do not answer all the normal questions
which arise. In many progressive communities marriage clinics have been
established, where both engaged and married persons may secure advice
from wise, trained authorities.

The ideal consultant is a wise family doctor--especially if he has known
both young people from childhood--to whom they can go together for a
personal conference. Sometimes the family minister is wise enough to
give help.

Appropriate knowledge about sex is necessary for the engaged. Sexual
experience is not. Certainly it can now be said--as it could not five
years ago--that no modern marriage need be wrecked because the young
couple did not know where to turn for helpful advice.

_Dr. Ellsworth Huntington_

CHAPTER THREE

_Ought I To Marry?_

"Ought I to marry?" is not a simple question. Its answer is full of a
thousand complications. For the great majority of people it is one of
the three most important questions that are ever answered or left
unanswered in a whole lifetime. The other two are "What is my main
purpose in life?" and "What is to be my occupation?" They are old
questions, but "Ought I to marry?" is new. In the old days everyone was
married as a matter of course. Perhaps in the future the main question
will be, "Am I fit to be married?"

"Ought I to marry?" is really three questions in one. First, "Have I a
right to marry?" Second, "Is it wise for me to marry?" Third, "Is it my
duty to marry?"

You say, perhaps, that these questions are your own business and nobody
else's, but you are wrong. They _are_ somebody else's business, and the
somebodies else are a good deal more numerous than you think. The first
somebody is the man or girl whom you want to marry. Will it be good for
him or her to marry _you?_ The next somebodies are the children whom
you and your mate may have. They have a right to be born with a good
inheritance, to be reared in good health, and to be well trained in a
happy home. Your children's c