Conjugial Love (Rogers) n. 307

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307. (11) Before the celebration of the wedding, a marriage covenant should be established in the presence of witnesses. A marriage covenant ought to be established before the wedding is celebrated in order that the requirements and ordinances of truly conjugial love may be acknowledged and a remembrance of them be retained after the wedding. Such a covenant also serves as a bond, obligating the couple's minds to an honorable marriage. For after some initial tastes of marriage their former state preceding betrothal recurs at times, and in that state their memory fails and they begin to forget the covenant they entered into. Indeed, attractions in the case of unchaste people to unchaste desires cause them to forget it altogether, and if it is then called to mind, they curse it. To deter such transgressions, however, society itself has taken under its jurisdiction to protect that covenant, and has set penalties for those who break it. In sum, a prenuptial covenant makes plain the requirements of truly conjugial love, establishes these, and binds libertines to complying with them. In addition, such a covenant establishes the legitimacy of any children they produce, and legally secures for the children a right to inherit their parents' possessions.


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