ranks of bachelors. They stand, so to speak, in the twilight zone of
bachelorhood, with one leg furtively over the altar rail; it needs only
an extra pull to bring them to the sacrifice. But if they could
compound for their immunity by a cash indemnity it is highly
probable that they would take on new resolution, and in the end
they would convert what remained of their present disrepute into a
source of egoistic satisfaction, as is done, indeed, by a great many
bachelors even today. These last immoralists are privy to the
elements which enter into that disrepute: the ire of women whose
devices they have resisted and the envy of men who have
succumbed.




22.


Compulsory Marriage


I myself once proposed an alternative scheme, to wit, the prohibition
of sentimental marriages by law, and the substitution of
match-making by the common hangman. This plan, as
revolutionary as it may seem, would have several plain advantages.
For one thing, it would purge the serious business of marriage of the
romantic fol-de-rol that now corrupts it, and so make for the
peace and happiness of the race. For another thing, it would work
against the process which now selects out, as I have said, those men
who are most fit, and so throws the chief burden of paternity upon