Everyone who has studied life in many civilized countries, and the literature reflecting that life, will observe the antagonism of these two institutions: the recognition of the greater influence of the mistress than the wife, the constant triumph of passion over duty and deep, steady affection. We see the neglect of the home for the café, the theatre, the public amusement; the consequent degradation of the home into a place indispensable as a nursery for children, and for the transaction of common, every-day matters, a place of resort for the accidents of life, for growing old in, for continuing the family name, but too tedious a place to be in much, to spend the evening and really live in. Enjoyments are sought for elsewhere. The charm of society, the keener interests of life, no longer centre in the household. It is a domestic place, more or less quiet, but no home in the true sense of the word. The true home can only be formed by father and mother, by their joint influence on one another, on their children, and on their friends. The narrow, one-sided, diminishing influence of Continental homes amongst great masses of the population, from absence of due paternal care, is a painful fact to witness. That there are beautiful examples of domestic life to be found in every civilized country--homes where father and mother are one in the indispensable unity of family life--no one will deny who has closely observed foreign society. Indeed, any nation is in the stage of rapid dissolution where the institution of the family is completely and universally degraded; but the preceding statement is a faithful representation of the general tone and tendencies of social life in many parts of the Continent. That the same fatal principles, leading to the like results, are at work both in England and America will be seen as we proceed. Licentiousness may be considered as still in its infancy with us, when compared with its universal prevalence in many parts of the Continent; but it is growing in our own country with a rapidity which threatens fatal injury to our most cherished institution, the pure Christian home, with its far-reaching influences, an institution which has been the foundation of our national greatness. The results of licentiousness should be especially considered in their effects upon the youth of both sexes, of both the richer and poorer classes; also in their bearing upon the institution of marriage and upon the race. In all these aspects it enters into direct relation with the family, and no one who values the family, with the education which it should secure, can any longer afford to ignore what so intimately affects its best interests. It is to the first branch of the subject that reference will here be chiefly made.