But sin and error are one in the unpardoning eye of nature.
Thus, if thou dost err, though in all innocence, though the gods
absolve thee, thou wilt reap the bitter harvest of thy misguided
sowing, one day--thou or thy children after thee. The doom is spoken,
and however tardy, must fall--and the offense is never expiated. There
is nothing more relentless than consequence.
"If thou weddest unwisely thou dost double thy children's portion of
difficulty, since thou art unwise and their mother unfit. If,
perchance, thy only error lay in thy choice of wife, the result is
still the same. Let her be most worthy, and yet she may be most
unfitting. She must fit thy needs as the joint fits the socket.
Virtue is essential, but it is not sufficient. Beauty is good--I
should say needful, but certainly it is not all. Love is indispensable
and yet not enough."
"I should say that these three things are enough," put in Kenkenes.
"They would gain entrance into the place of the blest--the bosom of
Osiris--but they are not sufficient for the over-nice nobility of
Egypt," the scribe averred promptly. "Thou must live in the world and
the world would pass judgment on thy wife. If thou art a true husband,
thou wouldst defend her, and be wroth.
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