Value of chastity.—True marriage is based on genuine, pure love and the harmonious mental and temperamental adaptation. True love between the sexes is the child of the sex life. When lascivious thinking and habits change sexuality into sensuality lust becomes a substitute for love. If the real cause of divorce were known it would be found in most cases to be due to the dissipation of the vital energy, which is the basis of love. In nearly every case man is responsible for his home’s being wrecked. In the choice of a companion, chastity is of vital importance.
Temperaments.—Authorities recognize three distinct temperaments: the motive, the vital and the nervous or mental. Where the motive organs, the muscles and bones, predominate, the physical powers will be most prominent. Where the vital organs, indicated by a heavy-set body and a full chest, predominate, the manifestations of life will be most prominent. Where the nervous system predominates, the mental powers will be most prominent.
Motive temperament.—The motive temperament is indicated by bones broad and large; muscles slim, firm and tough; the individual is tall, angular, brow prominent, cheek-bones high, shoulders broad, chest full, eyes and hair usually dark. Such persons are usually very pronounced in their views; firm, ambitious, stern and severe. Two persons having very pronounced motive temperaments should not marry. There would be two bosses in the home and the children would be willful and unsociable.
Nervous temperament.—The nervous temperament is indicated by sharp features, light frame, head rather large, face oval, forehead high, eyes expressive, movements quick, neck slender and feelings usually intense. Should parties of this temperament marry disagreements would be frequent and the children would be delicate, weak and over precocious.
Vital temperament.—The vital temperament is indicated by a rather low, heavy-set body, hands and feet small, neck short and thick, chest full, shoulders broad, face and head round, hair and eyes generally light. Persons of this temperament are, as a rule, not great students, inclined to be impulsive, very sociable, versatile, cheerful and ardent and liable to be fickle. Where these characteristics are very pronounced, marriage with a person of another temperament would be advisable. However, most persons of the vital type have a harmonious, balanced temperament. Here likes may marry like.
Like should not marry like.—If one has a very pronounced motive temperament he should choose a companion having a more plump and symmetrical form, with a genial and yielding nature. This would be conducive to domestic harmony and would give the children a favorable heredity.
The law of compliments.—One with a pronounced nervous temperament should select a companion having a vital temperament or one having a moderate motive temperament. If young people were prompted by unselfish motives and a pure chaste love, mistakes in marriage would be extremely rare. Where choice of a companion is determined by financial interests, sensual desire, or other selfish motives, the soul is denied its prerogative in the selection of a mate. No man in a normal condition and prompted by unselfish motives would select for his companion a masculine woman, a consumptive, a neurotic or one with an excessive motive or nervous temperament, and vice versa. The subjective minds of possible soul-mates come naturally and easily to comprehend each other’s joys and sorrows, longings and love. Most married people are fairly well-mated and comparatively happy. Their adaptation to each other and their soul oneness grew out of a natural affinity to which they unselfishly yielded rather than from an intelligent choice based on a knowledge of the laws of adaptation.
Mismates.—Perhaps one-half of the married are not well-mated, for reasons already stated. Owing to the fact that so many are mismated, a condition growing out of artificial and unnatural social, economic and moral conditions, the advice of this chapter should be carefully studied by young people before they make the choice of a life companion.
Atavism.—All students of natural history have occasionally observed among plants and animals the reappearance of something that belonged to their remote progenitors, but which did not belong to their immediate parents. This tendency for remote ancestral characteristics to reappear after lying dormant for one or more generations, is called atavism. This fact is sometimes observed in the human family.
Examples.—As a rule, when one child in the home possesses some marked morbid tendency or special gift not possessed by other members of the family, it can be accounted for on the basis of some initial or maternal impression. But this is not always true. A deaf mute may be born in a home and the cause traced to some remote deaf mute ancestor. Consumption, insanity and other diseases may disappear for one or more generations and then reappear. This is a fact recognized by many physicians.