When Adam awoke out of the deep sleep into which he had been cast by the Almighty, and beheld the lovely being in his presence, he was told by his and her maker, that the woman was given to be _with_ him, not given _to_ him; for so we understand by the words of Adam, when he would have framed an excuse for his sin—“The woman that thou gavest to be with me.” Therefore the inference is plain that woman was not given to man to be his slave, nor the victim of his caprice or violence, nor the plaything of an hour, but a partner and confidante in all that concerned him; the sharer of his joys and sorrows, of his prosperity and adversity. Woman was not to be subjected to harsh and cruel treatment, but to be cherished and protected; and to be on an equality in every way with man. There is great force and truth in what was penned by an aged writer—“Man and wife are equally concerned to avoid all offences to each other in the beginning of their conversation; a very little thing can blast an infant blossom; and the breath of the south can shake the little rings of the vine, when first they begin to curl like the locks of a new-weaned boy; but when by age and consolidation they stiffen into the hardness of a stem, and have by the warm embraces of the sun, and the kisses of heaven, brought forth their clusters they can endure the storms of the north, and the loud noise of the tempest, and yet never be broken.” Peculiar scope is given for the exercise of the highest qualities of the heart, through the obligations which belong to the state of matrimony. The presence of our Lord and Saviour at a marriage feast, and the example of the early Christians, give force to the statement that marriage is a divine institution. Marriage was held in great esteem by the venerable fathers of ancient days, and considered highly honourable, whilst celibacy was discountenanced by them.