PART II. MATING AND MARRIAGE 



THE instinct of mating is one of the strongest in 

 human beings, as well as in animals. In fact, it is 

 only second to that of hunger ; these two are the most 

 powerful factors in life. 



Now courtship, as we have seen, has undergone a 

 long period of evolution, its roots reaching far back 

 to animal conditions. We shall find that marriage 

 follows the same course, and can also be traced back 

 to animal beginnings. First of all, there is purely 

 physical mating in the lowest animal species; then a 

 higher element is gradually added as we ascend the 

 scale of life. Among the higher animals pairing lasts 

 at least for some time after mating. It is, however, 

 in Man that a real spiritual factor comes into play. 

 This gradually leads to a more intimate relation be- 

 tween man and woman, a spiritual bond thus being 

 established which is lacking in animals, and which lies 

 at the root of marriage. Through the ages and with 

 the growth of civilization it has become more and 

 more refined, until our modern ideal of marriage has 

 been developed. Marriage has traversed many roads ; 

 it has varied in form with different peoples and 

 changed with different times. 



