|
Atlas, and of their commerce with the inhabitants of Venus.
VII.
OF MARRIAGE AND OTHER CURIOUS CUSTOMS
OF THE ATLANTEANS:
AND OF SACRIFICES TO THE GODS.
I have already adverted to that most singular conception of
the duty of the married which opposes the customs of Atlas to
those of any other race on Earth. But the considerations which
established it have yet to be discussed. I will not insist on
that gross and cynical point of view which might perceive in
English marriage today a practical vindication of the Atlantean
position. On the contrary, in Atlas marriage formed the loftiest
of ideals. It resembles the 'Hermetic marriage' of certain
alchemists. The bond between the parties was only stronger for
the absence of the lower link. The idea underlying this was in
the main a particular case of the general proposition that
whatever was natural should be transcended. As will be seen in
the final chapter, the very stigma of success in their Great Work
was the transcending of the sexual process. The bond of marriage
was not, however, entirely of this negative character. It had its
positive side, and here closely resembled the so-called Christian
doctrine of Christ and the church. Husband and wife were to be
father and daughter, mother and son, brother and sister, teacher
and pupil, and above all, friends. And this relation was to
subsist on all planes. The hieroglyph of love was a cross; that
of marriage, parallel straight lines, and as the cross was to be
transcended in the circle, so were these lines to converge not on
earth, but in Venus. In the meanwhile each partner led his own
free life; and it often occurred that a woman, having borne two
children to a man and married him, would bear two children to
another man, and so on perhaps for two centuries, thus acquiring
a cohort of husbands. Such an arrangement must clearly have lead
to grave confusion had any question of property and inheritance
been involved, but notions so unfortunate were unknown. Where all
had every heart's desire, of what value were they? It is true
that some division of labour (though little) was involved in the
social scheme, but it occurred to no one to regard the
supervision of serviles as less honourable than the offering of
great sacrifices. In a perfect organism one part is as necessary
and decent as any other part, and no sane observer can reason
otherwise. For a perfect organism has a single definite aim, and
the only dishonourable feather on an arrow would be one that was
out of place. Human nature being what it is, one may nevertheless
agree that this measureless content with the existing order,
except in so far as the purpose of the establishment of that
order was unfulfilled, was rendered possible by the extreme
lightness of the toil demanded of any individual. But it is
impossible for slaves to understand free men. It is always a
wonder to Englishmen that a man should devote himself to
unremitting toil for an ideal. He is called a crank, basely
slandered, the lowest motives being without any reason assigned
to his actions, mocked, persecuted, perhaps crucified. This is
partly forgivable, as in England philanthropy is almost
invariably the mask of vice and fraud.
The ceremony of marriage* was simple, dignified, yet poignant.
The lovers in the presence of their whole house, publicly
|