THE SCIENCE OF HAPPINESS 



maimed, crippled, congeni tally malformed and dis- 

 eased; in a word, that great galaxy of unfortunates, 

 doomed prenatally to be a burden to themselves and a 

 menace to society, whose very existence is a reproach 

 to the boasted intelligence of our race ? 



When we reflect that these, and a multitude of others, 

 one stage removed above their low estate, have been 

 fore-doomed to an existence of misery by the misjudg- 

 ment of their ancestors, we may well feel disposed to 

 thrust prudery aside for the nonce, and to discuss the 

 subject of the selection of a marriage partner with the 

 same frankness with which we approach less important 

 subjects. 



First of all, then, let us strive to lay the ghost of 

 that familiar bugaboo, which evidences itself in the 

 world-old delusion that each human soul has only one 

 companion soul one only "affinity" which it needs 

 must find in order to attain the goal of happiness. 

 If such were indeed the fatal fact, what possible chance 

 would any individual have of finding this one com- 

 panion soul among all the world's multitudes? Ob- 

 viously none ; and happy marriages would be rare indeed. 

 But under actual conditions the case is far different 

 from what this romantic delusion presupposes. 



Rest assured that there are hundreds or if you pre- 

 fer thousands or tens of thousands of persons of the 

 opposite sex of approximately your own age, in any one 

 of whom you might find a suitable and congenial life- 

 companion. Indeed, the fact that these are so numer- 

 ous supplies the one greatest danger to permanent 



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