My friends, the subject in which we finished reading yesterday evening was war. The next subject is one of great interest to all of us. It is marriage.

      As we have seen that man is so organized by nature, that he must like that which is agreeable to him, and dislike that which nature has made disagreeable, all engagements between men and women, professing to like or love each other, through future unknown changes in both, will altogether terminate. Other and much better arrangements will be formed for this union, agreeable to the divine laws of their nature, and which will put an end to the present prostitution of both body and mind, to jealousy, and to all sexual crimes. The invention of unnatural marriages has been the sole origin of all sexual crimes. They have rendered prostitution unavoidable. They have erected a spurious chastity, and destroyed all knowledge of pure chastity. For real chastity consists in connection with affection, and prostitution in connection without affection.

      The artificial bonds of indissoluble marriage, and the single family arrangements to which marriage leads, are much more calculated to destroy than to promote affection, and, in consequence, the parties frequently live together in a state of real prostitution, both of body and [127] mind, and by the customs, established in various countries, they are obliged to be satisfied with this spurious chastity, which is real prostitution.

      In the new state of existence, that which experience has proved to be really beneficial in marriage or single family arrangements, will be retained, while all that is injurious and contrary to nature, will be dismissed.

      By these arrangements, men and women will be equally well educated, they will have the same rights, and privileges, and they will associate on terms of intimacy through their lives, with those only for whom they cannot avoid feeling the most regard and greatest affection.

      Now consists in buying and selling for a monied profit, and necessarily engenders every kind of deception and injustice under the specious term of fair trading. This kind of traffic will not be known in our new state of existence. The fewest in number, and those especially appointed for the purpose, will make such exchange of commodities, between the different associations as experience shall prove to be the best for all, and every commodity will be exchanged in cases, for the same amount of labor which it contains according to general estimates, accurately made, and applicable alike to all parties. Those who convey the articles from one place to another and make the exchange will have their labor added to the previous estimate of labor in them.

      The equitable exchange of surplus production, upon this system, will be much better effected than they are now, by less than one per cent of the present cost to the producers, all of which is deducted from the real value of their labor; and all the degradation and immorality of bargaining will be withdrawn from society.

      Will be arranged, in the new state of existence, to give every advantage which can arise from it, while almost all its real inconveniences will be greatly diminished. And all who desire will have the privilege of removing from one association, and from one district to another, under such regulations as will be for the benefit of all the members of the communities.

      The accommodations for traveling by land or water, will be the best that can be devised for health and comfort, and for promoting the means of improvements. These objects, by foresight under a proper system may be obtained without difficulty. [128]

      All the advantages which old society has endeavored to gain from governments, religions, laws, wars, marriages, and commerce; in all of which it has grievously failed, will be attained and secured, in the new state of existence, by an entire change of the circumstances by which the whole character of man will be formed by education from infancy to maturity.

      He will be trained and educated from birth within circumstances all in unison with the known laws of his nature; he will be early taught to discover and understand them by the exercise of his intellectual faculties and to act in obedience to them by a conviction, that they alone, can lead to happiness, and by observing the advantages derived from obeying these laws by those of mature age and experience.

      All will thus acquire an accurate knowledge of the science of the influence of circumstances over human nature and know how to act upon that knowledge in all the business of life. They will speedily learn to know what is essential to the well-being, the well-doing and the happiness of society. They will soon discover that the great business of life will consist in educating, producing, preserving, distributing, and preparing the means for enjoying. And to do these, in the best manner, for the young, middle aged, and old, the three classes into which society will be divided will occupy the attention of every one, and be a constant source of exercise, interest, and pleasure to all.

      The sacrifice to which men of the present generation must submit, before they can secure the benefit of this new state of existence, is, that they must enjoy their happiness upon principles of perfect equality with all of the human race.

      For these enjoyments cannot be obtained under any system of artificial inequality or separation into distinct classes. The new state of existence will admit of those differences only which nature makes unavoidable, that is, age and knowledge.

      This new mode of education will call into full action the physical, intellectual, and moral powers of all individuals, and will form them to be, in consequence, much more competent to the whole business of life than their predecessors in old society.

      Artificial governments will be required only so long as men shall be retained in ignorance of the divine laws of their nature, and trained to be vicious. A preliminary government will be therefore necessary, while the change is progressing from the old to the new state.

      After the change shall have been effected, by the education of an entire [129] generation in the knowledge and practice of the divine laws, a natural government will be formed in unison with them.

      It is now evident, that no people can be virtuous, intelligent and happy under any despotic or elective government, or under any modification of them. They must necessarily produce evil continually.

      Monarchy is defective in principle, on account of the uncertain character of the sovereign, as well as the extreme inequality it produces in the condition of the governed.

      The elective principle is equally defective, under the old arrangement of society, on account of the corruption of morals, and the unceasing bad feelings which it engenders.

      And any combination of these two modes of government will necessarily partake of the evils of both. But no government, even the best ever known in old society, can do more than mitigate, for a short period, some of the innumerable evils which an opposition to the laws of nature unavoidably produces.

      The existing generation however is not prepared for a government in accordance with all the laws of nature; we have been so much injured by the erroneous impressions which have been made on our minds, and by the vicious character which has been formed for us, that the utmost that can be expected in our case is an approximation in some degree toward that which is right in principle and correct in practice.

      A preliminary government must, therefore, be framed for the present generation, to lead it onward gradually, as the mind expands, and the practice improves, until our children shall be fully prepared for one in accordance with all the divine laws of human nature.

      And this preliminary government must be made to approximate more or less to the laws of nature, as the parties preparing to act upon the social system shall have acquired more or less knowledge of it.

      In this preliminary government, therefore, there must be a modification of the existing laws and customs relative to religion, marriage, private property, responsibility, or rewards, or punishments, and of the modes of producing, distributing, and enjoying, as well as of educating those who have been already partially instructed in the false notions and injurious practices of the present systems.

      The extent to which these approximations shall proceed toward the perfect laws of nature, must be left to the decision of the united will of the parties, who associate, to commence the social or natural system; or to the, perhaps, more calm determination of the person whom they may appoint to administer the new government, until they shall become sufficiently experienced to govern themselves according to the laws of their nature. [130]

      It is probable these modifications will be at first, various, depending, in some degree, upon the climate, soil, and previous habits and customs, but most essentially, upon the progress the whole party uniting may have acquired of the laws of their nature.

      It will be readily conceived that in the new state of existence slavery will be unknown. It will, of course, die a natural death under the preliminary government of the present generation, and in the second generation, servitude also will cease.

      After that period all the domestic operations of the world will be performed by mechanical inventions and chemical discoveries, under the direction of the youth of both sexes, a knowledge of which they will acquire theoretically and practically, as a necessary and important part of their education, and in this respect all will pass through the same training and exercise. It is probable that this part of the business of life will be easily completed, in a manner greatly superior to anything hitherto known, before these young persons shall be twenty years of age, perhaps at eighteen, and the arrangements may be so formed as to make that which is now considered a task of slavery by the most ignorant, to become a delightful occupation; in fact, a pleasure and a pastime to the most intelligent in principle, and the most expert in practice.

      In this new state of existence, physical and intellectual employments will be held in estimation in proportion as they are necessary and useful; and all useless occupations, as long as there shall be anything useful to perform, or new knowledge to acquire, will be deemed a waste of time and faculties, to be practiced only by the irrational or insane.

      Idleness, the bane of human happiness, will be unknown; it will be wholly prevented by the new mode of education as it will be applied in infancy, childhood, and youth; while, on the contrary, over-exertion of body and mind, will not be practiced, because all will know that temperance in the exercise and use of all our faculties will give the greatest amount of happiness that human nature can enjoy.

      A government founded on these principles will attend solely to the improvement and happiness of the governed.

      Its first inquiries will be to ascertain what human nature is, what are the laws of its organization and of its existence from birth to death.

      The second, What is necessary for the happiness of a being so formed and matured.

      And the third, What are the best means by which to attain these requisites, and to secure them permanently for all the governed. [131]

      We have developed the divine laws of human nature in sufficient detail for the present purpose.

      Those things which are necessary for the happiness of a being so formed and matured, are comprised, perhaps, in the following enumeration

      1. The possession of a good organization, physical, mental, and moral.

      2. Having the power to procure, at pleasure, whatever is necessary to keep that organization in the best state of health.

      3. An education which shall cultivate, in the best manner, from infancy to maturity, the physical, intellectual, and moral powers of all the population.

      4. The means and inclination to promote the happiness of our fellow-beings.

      5. The means and inclination to increase continually our stock of knowledge.

      6. The means of enjoying the best society we know, and more particularly, the power of associating at pleasure with those for whom we cannot avoid feeling the most regard and greatest affection.

      7. The means of traveling at pleasure.

      8. A release from superstition, from supernatural fears, and from the fear of death.

      And lastly, to live in a society in which all its laws, institutions, and arrangements, shall be in accordance with the divine laws of human nature, well organized, and well governed. A more detailed examination of these nine general conditions will be found in the appendix.

      The third great object of a natural government will be to devise and execute the arrangements, by which these conditions shall be obtained for, and secured to, all the governed.

      Its laws will be few, easily to be understood by all the governed, and in every instance in unison with the laws of human nature. They may be perhaps contained in the following

      1. As all men have equal rights by nature, all will have equal rights in the new state of existence; and, therefore, all men shall be upon a perfect equality from birth to death in their conditions of life.

      2. As all men are composed of their own peculiar organization at birth, and of the influence which the circumstances around them from birth made upon that particular organization, and as no man creates his own organization, or the circumstances which surround him, in infancy, childhood, and youth, or at any subsequent period of life, [132] except in so far as he is influenced thereto by the impressions previously made on his organization by those early circumstances, therefore, no man shall be held responsible for his physical composition, for his intellectual faculties, or for his moral feelings, and consequently for his character and conduct.

      As the society however in which he shall be born and shall live, will derive all the benefit of his good actions, and experience all the inconveniences of his bad qualities, and as the society will have in a very great degree the formation of the character and direction of the conduct of all individuals, under its education and government; it will be alone entitled to all the praise or blame which the actions of the individual may deserve. Beings formed as man is, cannot justly be entitled to individual reward or punishment in this life or the next.

      3. As no individual can believe or disbelieve contrary to the strongest impressions made upon his mind, no merit or reward, no blame or punishment shall be awarded to any individual for any opinions, notions, or faith whatever.

      4. As man is organized to receive impressions from external objects and internal reflections, according to the unchanging or divine laws of his nature, no man shall be made, in any degree, responsible for his sensations, whether of liking or disliking, loving, indifference, or hating, of pleasure or of pain, or of whatever character or description they may be.

      But all shall be educated from infancy in perfect sincerity, that they may give a faithful expression of their sensations, in order that society may acquire the most accurate knowledge of human nature, and consequently of the means by which all may be the most improved and rendered the most happy.

      5. Each individual shall have his physical, intellectual, and moral nature cultivated from infancy to maturity, in the best manner known to the society in which he shall be born and shall live.

      6. Every individual shall pass from infancy through the same general routine of education and domestic teaching and employments, in order that the highest happiness may be permanently secured for society, and that every one of its members may have, with the least inconvenience, his full share of the best of everything for his individual nature.

      7. The best only of everything shall be produced by society for all its members.

      Because to do so will be the most perfect economy, consequently the best cultivation, the best buildings, the best dress, the best vessels, machinery, and manufactures, the best, education, and the best [133] amusements and recreation, known at the time, will be always provided for the use and enjoyment of every member of the society.

      8. As loving and hating, liking, indifference, or disliking, depend not upon the will but upon the impressions which external objects compel each individual to receive by reason of his particular organization--

      There shall be no artificial or unnatural bonds or engagements between the sexes, compelling them to commit perjury under the name of marriage, by promising to love when they may be compelled to hate.

      9. As pure chastity consists in cohabitation with mutual affection, and prostitution in connection without mutual affection, all children in the new state of existence will be naturally produced, according to the divine law of human nature, and none will be produced unnaturally as at present without affection.

      10. All children born in the new state of existence shall be from their birth under the special care of the society to which they belong.

      11. The children of all parents shall be trained and educated together, by the society, as the children of one family, and all of them shall be early taught the divine laws of their nature, in order that they may acquire a real affection for each other, and a pure charity, arising from a knowledge of the cause of every difference in person, mind, and feelings, which may exist among themselves, or between them and any of their fellow-beings.

      12. All parents shall have free intercourse to and with their children, during the whole period of the formation of their character, which, a short experience will convince them, can never be well formed under any single family arrangement.

      13. There shall be no unnecessary private property possessed by any one in this new state of existence. But each adult shall have the full use of two private apartments as long as the party to whom they shall be allotted by the society shall desire to retain them. They shall also retain all clothes and other things which they may receive from the society according to its rules, for their exclusive use and consumption.

      14. As it is necessary for the attainment of all the conditions requisite to give happiness to mankind, that some certain number of individuals shall be associated as one family, to give the greatest amount of advantages with the fewest inconveniences, and as it is probable that experience will prove that number to be about one thousand individuals, composed of men, women, and children in the usual proportions; all the arrangements in the new state of existence shall be devised to admit the formation of associations and communities to consist of three hundred, as a minimum, and two thousand as a maximum, to form, [134] instead of single families, the nucleus society, or the natural congregation of men in one place, the best calculated to promote each other's happiness.

      15. That the aggregate of society, in this new state of existence, shall be composed of the union of these communities into such numbers or circles as shall be found in practice, the most convenient for their general government.

      It is probable, that very generally, they may be united into circles of tens for more local purposes, into hundreds, for smaller districts, into thousands, for larger districts, into millions, for the most extended purposes, until there shall be no artificial separation between any portion of mankind, to be an obstacle to prevent a union of language, of interest and of feelings. Every obstacle to the union of mankind, being an evil.

      16. Each of these communities, to secure their independence, shall possess around it, land sufficient for the full support of all its members, when they shall be at the maximum in number.

      17. Each of these communities shall be arranged to give, as nearly as possible, the same advantages to all its members, and to afford easy communication with all other communities.

      18. Each community shall be governed in all its general proceedings, by the council composed of all its members, between the ages of thirty-five and forty years. And each department shall be under the immediate direction of a committee formed of the members of this council. And these members shall be chosen in the order to be determined upon by each council.

      There will be, therefore, no selection or election of any individuals to office, after a period when all shall be trained to be more than equal to take his full share of the duties of management at the age fixed upon.

      19. At thirty-five years of age, all who shall have been trained from infancy in the communities, shall be officially called upon to undertake their full share of the duties of management, and at forty-five they shall be excused from officially performing them.

      20. The business of the council shall be to govern all the circumstances within the boundaries of its own community. To endeavor to improve them, by removing continually the most unfavorable circumstances to happiness, and by replacing them, by the best that can be devised among themselves, or, that they can obtain a knowledge of, from all the other communities.

      21. The council shall have full power of government in all things as long as they do not act contrary to the divine laws of human nature. [135] These laws shall be their guide upon all occasions, because, when understood, they will prevent one unjust or erroneous decision or proceeding.

      22. If, however, which is deemed scarcely possible, this natural council of government shall ever attempt to contravene the laws of human nature, the elders of the community, who have passed the council, shall call a general meeting of all its members, above sixteen years of age, who have been trained from infancy within the communities. At this meeting, the conduct of the council, shall be calmly and patiently investigated, and if a majority of its members, shall afterward determine that the council has acted, or attempted to act, in opposition to the spirit of these divine laws; the government shall devolve upon the members of the community who have passed the council, and who are under fifty years of age, united with these members, who have not entered the council who shall be above thirty year's of age.

      23. All other differences of every description, if indeed it be possible for any to exist in such communities, shall be immediately determined and amicably adjusted between the parties, by the decision of a majority of the three oldest members of the council. Except when the difference shall exist between members of the council, when it shall be in like manner decided by the three members, who have last passed through the council.

      24. As soon as the members of these communities shall be educated from infancy in a knowledge of the divine laws of their nature, trained to act in obedience to them, and they shall be surrounded by circumstances all in unison with these laws, there shall be no individual punishment or reward.

      All these educated, trained, and placed must, of necessity, at all times, think and act rationally, except they shall become, physically, intellectually or morally diseased, and in this case the council shall direct to the best mode of cure, by removing them into the hospital for bodily or mental invalids until they shall be recovered by the mildest treatment that can effect their cure.

      25. The council, whenever it shall be necessary, shall call to its aid the practical abilities of any of the members, under thirty-five years of age, and the advice of any of the members who shall have passed the council.

      The individual Spartans were not the legitimate subjects of praise or blame, they were not, any more than any other people, the formers of their own character, but their characters were formed for them by the circumstances introduced by Lycurgus. [136]

[COD 127-136]