ening to the voice of passion in the uncertainty of
knowledge, or the fluctuations of opinion. And there are many persons
in our own day who, enlightened by the study of anthropology, and
fascinated by what is new and strange, some using the language of fear,
others of hope, are inclined to believe that a time will come when
through the self-assertion of women, or the rebellious spirit of
children, by the analysis of human relations, or by the force of outward
circumstances, the ties of family life may be broken or greatly relaxed.
They point to societies in America and elsewhere which tend to show that
the destruction of the family need not necessarily involve the overthrow
of all morality. Wherever we may think of such speculations, we can
hardly deny that they have been more rife in this generation than in any
other; and whither they are tending, who can predict?

To the doubts and queries raised by these 'social reformers' respecting
the relation of the sexes and the moral nature of man, there is a
sufficient answer, if any is needed. The difference about them and us is
really one of fact. They are speaking of man as they wish or fancy him
to be, but we are speaking of him as he is. They isolate the animal
part of his nature; we regard him as a creature having many sides, or
aspects, moving between good and evil, striving to rise above himself
and to become 'a little lower than the angels.' We also, to use
a Platonic formula, are not ignorant of the dissatisfactions and
incompatibilities of family life, of the meannesses of trade, of the
flatteries of one class of society by another, of the impediments which
the family throws in the way of lofty aims and aspirations. But we are
conscious that there are evils and dangers in the background greater
still, which are not appreciated, because they are either concealed
or suppressed. What a condition of man would that be, in which human
passions were controlled by no authority, divine or human, in which
there was no shame or decency, no higher affection overcoming or
sanctifying the natural instincts, but simply a rule of health! Is it
for this that we are asked to throw away the civilization which is the
growth of ages?

For strength and health are not the only qualities to be desired; there
are the more important considerations of mind and character and soul. We
know how human nature may be degraded; we do not know how by artificial
means any improvement in the breed ca