Chap. I.]

THE DOMESTIC RELATIONS.

143

of Adam and Eve, accompanied by the strong declaration ofour Saviour, “ What God hath joined, let not man put asun-der,” * seems fully to warrant this belief.

Accordingly, in Christian countries, it has, with almost uni-versal consent and approbation, been solemnized by the minis-ters of religion, and before the altar; and, in the largest branchof the Christian church, the dignity of a sacrament has beenconferred on it, and the consent of the parties is ratified by thesolemnities of a sacramental service. In this country, the muni-cipal law regards marriage as a civil contract between the par-ties, and permits its celebration by a civil magistrate ; butpublic opinion, stronger and more authoritative than law, hasmade this provision nothing worth, and the marriages are ex-tremely few, which are not celebrated by clergymen. Themunicipal law, moreover, although it does not acknowledge thereligious character of this contract, still treats it as it treats noother contract. In no Christian country, can it be dissolved bythe mere consent of both parties, or even of all the persons in-terested in its continuance ; and, in England and every one of theUnited States, its dissolution can be accomplished only aftermuch delay and expense, and for reasons of the most peculiar andpressing kind. In this State (S. Carolina), there has been noinstance, since the revolution, of a divorce of any kind, either bythe sentence of a court of justice, or by act of the legislature, fNor are the importance of the marriage union, and the objectsof its institution, unworthy of its divine origin, and of the nu-merous and special guards which the law has thrown around it forits protection and perpetuation. The number and solemn na-ture of the duties springing from the relation, fully correspond tothe importance and sacredness which belong to the relation itself.But how shall these duties be enumerated ? how described andset forth with adequate fulness and variety of illustration ? Theyoccur every day, and almost every hour of every day. Theyare not confined to the external conduct, nor to the expressionsof the tongue ; they reach the thoughts and intents of the heart, fBesides being numerous and various, these duties are of every

* Matt. xix. 6*. t Kent's Commentaries on American Law, Vol. II. p. 88.

X Matt. v. 28.