all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth; for it is his footstool; neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.  Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.  But let your communications be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay:  for whatsoever is more than these cometh from evil.” (Matthew v., 27-28; 31-37.)

I have tried to reach those realities of human nature on which human morality must be based.  I believe that the fundamental things which we must take into account are, first, the complex nature of human beings, who having body, soul, and spirit to reckon with cannot neglect any one of these without insincerity; and, secondly, the solidarity of the human race, which makes it futile to act as though the “morals” of any one of us could be his own affair alone.

It is because of this solidarity that marriage has always been regarded as a matter of public interest, to be recognized by law, celebrated by some public ceremony, protected by a legal contract.  All are concerned in this matter, for it affects the race itself, through the children that may be born.

Human children need what animals do not, or not to the same extent.  They need two parents:  they need a stable and permanent home:  they need a spiritual marriage, a real harmony between their parents, as well as a physical one.  A child is not provided for when you have given it a home and food and clothing, since it is a spirit as well as a body—­a soul and a spirit, a being craving for love, and needing to live in an atmosphere of love.  The young of no other species need this as children do, and therefore, it is the concern of the community to see that the rights of these most helpless and most precious little ones are safeguarded.  I cannot believe that any State calling itself civilized can ever disregard the duty of safeguarding the human rights of the child, and I repeat its human rights are not sufficiently met when its physical necessities are guaranteed.  But I go further.  I claim that it is really the concern of all of us that people who love should do so honestly, faithfully, responsibly.  Marriage should be permanent; that is true in a sense that makes it important to all of us that it should succeed.  Those who have loved and ceased to love have not failed for themselves only but for all.  They have shaken the faith of the world.  They have inclined us to the false belief that love is not eternal.  They have, so far as they could, destroyed a great ideal, injured a great faith.  People—­and some of these are my personal friends, and people for whom I have a very great respect—­who affirm that a legal or religious marriage is not necessary because their relations to one another are not the concern of the community, may have, it seems to me, a morality that is lofty, but not one that is broad, not one that is truly human.  It is not true (and, therefore, it is not moral) to say that marriage is