The Eugenic Marriage, Volume 3 (of 4): A Personal Guide to the New Science of Better Living and Better BabiesHague, W. Grant (William Grant)
Science
The Eugenic Marriage, Volume 3 (of 4): A Personal Guide to the New Science of Better Living and Better Babies
Hague, W. Grant (William Grant)
Eugenics; Hygiene; Marriage
Now, what will it be? Of course it will be different with each
housewife. With many it will be "a home of our own." It may only be a
piano for the children, or it may wisely be more insurance. Possibly you
live in the country, and you long for the social and other advantages of
the city. You may be a city wife and may long for a farm in the glorious
country. It may be a trip to Europe; or a college education for the boy;
or a musical career for the daughter. It does not matter what it is, the
"it" is the thing itself, and, having found it, the world for you has
changed. The lonesomeness, and the hopelessness, and the wretchedness of
life have disappeared. There is always in the future the "it"; no matter
how dark and gloomy the road may be, it is illuminated at the far end
with the realized "it." It is the bearing of the burden of life that
makes a wife, and when we have "something to work for" we begin to live.
Love is the explanation. We don't want the home for ourselves. We want
it for those we love, we want those we love in the atmosphere, which I,
as mother, will make in "our home." It is the elemental mother that
speaks,--the motherhood spirit that pours out eternally in
self-sacrifice and keeps no debit account. It is the cry of the primal
mother that echoes through all the ages and which has kept the race sane
and safe and hopeful. Having something to work for supplies the element
necessary to cheerfulness. In the darkest moments, when everything seems
to go wrong, the thought that we can look forward to a time when a great
change is coming, when we will move to the new home, when we go to the
farm or the city as the case may be, or when John will finish his
college course and start out as a lawyer,--when the strain of skimping
and making ends meet is over we feel that the struggle will let up and
we can rest in peace for a little while. It is sharing these burdens
that counts, and brings out the best elements of human nature. The
struggle of making ends meet draws the young couple closer together,
and adds that touch of divinity that is essential to confidence and
love. It strengthens character, curbs the tendency to unnecessary
expenditure of money and time, and teaches frugality and patience. The
incentive to win out is ever present, and it is the anchor that means
final satisfaction and success.
Try to see the point. Work for something,--something worth while, and
when you have once begun never turn back. "Nothing-succeeds like
success."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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