no place in the phases of life which we know as "higher,"
is a manifest absurdity, and comes from those attenuated concepts of
what constitutes spirituality, which Theology has postulated; concepts
which, entrenched behind the walls of "thus saith the Lord," have
temporarily defied modern progress.

There is no wide gulf between the spiritual and the material worlds,
although the material is but an imperfect reflection of the basic
principle of life.

Marriage, then, is eternally going on, "Nature is a system of
nuptials," says a writer, and nature is only the language of spirit or
Divine Life.

How it came about that Theology made the mistake of degrading
sex-union and of limiting it to the ephemeral life of the body only,
we shall come to later. For the present, a brief resume of the types
of marriage ceremony, which have been universal, will convince us that
Nature has always sought to convey to the human mind this great secret
of eternal and never-ceasing union of complementaries.

Take, for example, the symbol of the wedding-ring. This custom,
varying only in unimportant details, consistent with the prevailing
social custom of the times, has come down to us from prehistoric days.
The golden circle, sometimes worn only by the bride, but frequently by
both bride and groom, is emblematical of the completion of the circle
of wisdom and the final attainment, in "the twain made one," of the
finding by each of "the other half." The circle is always used to
express the Absolute; Aum; the Supreme Power that is "without
beginning and without end."

According to the old Jewish law, the wedding ring must be made of pure
gold and must be earned and paid for by the bridegroom; he might not
acquire it by credit or gift. There is in this custom something more
than mere thrift; or the assurance of the bridegroom's ability to
sustain the needs and comforts of his wife and prospective family. It
symbolizes the truth that no one may hope to acquire this priceless
blessing of perfect conjugal union, other than by his own efforts.
Immortality must be earned, and perfect union, counterpartal
union--which means actually "twain made one," comes only by dint of
strife and demand and proof of our fitness for the Perfect Life.

Another custom, which has been in almost universal vogue, is that of
drinking wine, emblematical of the "wine of life," at the completion
of a marriage ceremony. Sometimes this has been the prerogative of the
b