170 SELECTION TO PRECEDE COURTSHIP. 



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Selection presupposes a knowledge of the quality or 

 qualities of the article selected. It necessitates an acquaint- 

 ance also with the theory that shall correctly indicate the 

 presence of desirable as well as undesirable qualities ; in 

 short, it presupposes a knowledge of the philosophy of 

 human nature. 



Selection to Precede Courtship. In teaching 

 that selection should precede courtship we are led to infer 

 that the intellect has a paramount part in this work the 

 sentiments are to be subordinated until such time as they 

 receive permission to enter the field. 



Certainly if human reason is ever to be enlisted in its 

 duty pertaining to the welfare and happiness of man, this 

 occasion of selecting a life companion and joint parent of 

 offspring is a suitable and becoming one for its exercise. 



We would not employ a servant, a book-keeper, a confi- 

 dential secretary, without thorough inquiry into his or her 

 fitness for the position. We would not buy an estate with- 

 out all our inquiries were first satisfactorily answered by 

 persons competent to give the information, and we never 

 give offense in asking for a full declaration of all facts 

 having a bearing on the value of personal services or real 

 estate, that we may form an intelligent estimate of its value 

 to us. 



Now, phrenology claims its ability to give an impartial 

 and correct inventory of all one's mental, moral arid physi- 

 cal predispositions. 



If, under the guidance of his reason (not inclination), 

 a man candidly acquaints a lady that he contemplates mar- 

 riage when he can select a lady of suitable qualifications, 

 that his acquaintance with her has given him a pleasant 

 impression of her fitness, but that no proper judgment can 

 be formed on a slight or superficial acquaintance, and that, 

 inasmuch as a mistake would be as prejudicial to her happi- 

 ness as to his own, he will esteem it a favor to be furnished 

 with a full delineation of her natural qualifications, offering 



