Kapitel 84 |
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Paper 84 |
Ægteskab Og Familieliv |
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Marriage and Family Life |
84:0.1 (931.1) MATERIAL nødvendighed grundlagde ægteskabet, sexhunger forskønnede det, religion sanktionerede og ophøjede det, staten krævede og regulerede det, mens senere tiders udviklende kærlighed er begyndt at retfærdiggøre og forherlige ægteskabet som stamfader og skaber af civilisationens mest nyttige og sublime institution, hjemmet. Og opbygningen af hjemmet bør være centrum og essensen af alle uddannelsesmæssige bestræbelser. |
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84:0.1 (931.1) MATERIAL necessity founded marriage, sex hunger embellished it, religion sanctioned and exalted it, the state demanded and regulated it, while in later times evolving love is beginning to justify and glorify marriage as the ancestor and creator of civilization’s most useful and sublime institution, the home. And home building should be the center and essence of all educational effort. |
84:0.2 (931.2) Parring er udelukkende en handling til selvopretholdelse forbundet med forskellige grader af selvtilfredsstillelse; ægteskab, opbygning af hjem, er i høj grad et spørgsmål om selvopretholdelse, og det indebærer udviklingen af samfundet. Selve samfundet er den samlede struktur af familieenheder. Individer er meget midlertidige som planetariske faktorer—kun familier er vedvarende instanser i den sociale evolution. Familien er den kanal, hvorigennem floden af kultur og viden flyder fra en generation til en anden. |
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84:0.2 (931.2) Mating is purely an act of self-perpetuation associated with varying degrees of self-gratification; marriage, home building, is largely a matter of self-maintenance, and it implies the evolution of society. Society itself is the aggregated structure of family units. Individuals are very temporary as planetary factors—only families are continuing agencies in social evolution. The family is the channel through which the river of culture and knowledge flows from one generation to another. |
84:0.3 (931.3) Hjemmet er dybest set en sociologisk institution. Ægteskabet voksede ud af samarbejde om selvopretholdelse og partnerskab om selvopretholdelse, hvor elementet af selvtilfredsstillelse stort set er tilfældigt. Ikke desto mindre omfatter hjemmet alle tre væsentlige funktioner i den menneskelige eksistens, mens livsudfoldelse gør det til den grundlæggende menneskelige institution, og sex adskiller det fra alle andre sociale aktiviteter. |
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84:0.3 (931.3) The home is basically a sociologic institution. Marriage grew out of co-operation in self-maintenance and partnership in self-perpetuation, the element of self-gratification being largely incidental. Nevertheless, the home does embrace all three of the essential functions of human existence, while life propagation makes it the fundamental human institution, and sex sets it off from all other social activities. |
1. Primitive parforhold ^top |
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1. Primitive Pair Associations ^top |
84:1.1 (931.4) Ægteskabet blev ikke grundlagt på seksuelle relationer; de var tilfældige i forhold til det. Ægteskabet var ikke nødvendigt for det primitive menneske, som frit kunne hengive sig til sin sexappetit uden at belemre sig selv med ansvaret for kone, børn og hjem. |
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84:1.1 (931.4) Marriage was not founded on sex relations; they were incidental thereto. Marriage was not needed by primitive man, who indulged his sex appetite freely without encumbering himself with the responsibilities of wife, children, and home. |
84:1.2 (931.5) Kvinden er på grund af sin fysiske og følelsesmæssige tilknytning til sit afkom afhængig af at samarbejde med manden, og det får hende til at søge beskyttelse i ægteskabet. Men ingen direkte biologisk trang førte manden ind i ægteskabet—og slet ikke holdt ham fast. Det var ikke kærlighed, der gjorde ægteskabet attraktivt for mennesket, men sult efter mad, som først tiltrak den vilde mand til kvinden og det primitive ly, som hendes børn delte. |
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84:1.2 (931.5) Woman, because of physical and emotional attachment to her offspring, is dependent on co-operation with the male, and this urges her into the sheltering protection of marriage. But no direct biologic urge led man into marriage—much less held him in. It was not love that made marriage attractive to man, but food hunger which first attracted savage man to woman and the primitive shelter shared by her children. |
84:1.3 (931.6) Ægteskabet blev ikke engang skabt af den bevidste erkendelse af forpligtelserne ved seksuelle relationer. Det primitive menneske forstod ikke sammenhængen mellem at give sig hen til sex og den efterfølgende fødsel af et barn. Engang var det en udbredt opfattelse, at en jomfru kunne blive gravid. De vilde fik tidligt den idé, at babyer blev skabt i åndeland; graviditet blev anset for at være resultatet af, at en ånd, et spøgelse under udvikling, trængte ind i kvinden. Både kosten og det onde øje blev også anset for at kunne forårsage graviditet hos en jomfru eller ugift kvinde, mens senere overbevisninger forbandt livets begyndelse med åndedrættet og med sollys. |
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84:1.3 (931.6) Marriage was not even brought about by the conscious realization of the obligations of sex relations. Primitive man comprehended no connection between sex indulgence and the subsequent birth of a child. It was once universally believed that a virgin could become pregnant. The savage early conceived the idea that babies were made in spiritland; pregnancy was believed to be the result of a woman’s being entered by a spirit, an evolving ghost. Both diet and the evil eye were also believed to be capable of causing pregnancy in a virgin or unmarried woman, while later beliefs connected the beginnings of life with the breath and with sunlight. |
84:1.4 (932.1) Mange tidlige folkeslag forbandt spøgelser med havet, og derfor var jomfruer meget begrænsede i deres badning; unge kvinder var langt mere bange for at bade i havet ved højvande end for at have seksuelle relationer. Deforme eller for tidligt fødte børn blev betragtet som dyreunger, der havde fundet vej ind i kvindens krop som følge af skødesløs badning eller ondskabsfuld åndeaktivitet. Den vilde tøvede naturligvis ikke over at kvæle sådanne afkom ved fødslen. |
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84:1.4 (932.1) Many early peoples associated ghosts with the sea; hence virgins were greatly restricted in their bathing practices; young women were far more afraid of bathing in the sea at high tide than of having sex relations. Deformed or premature babies were regarded as the young of animals which had found their way into a woman’s body as a result of careless bathing or through malevolent spirit activity. Savages, of course, thought nothing of strangling such offspring at birth. |
84:1.5 (932.2) Det første skridt i oplysningen kom med troen på, at seksuelle relationer åbnede op for, at det befrugtende spøgelse kunne komme ind i kvinden. Siden har mennesket opdaget, at far og mor er ligeværdige bidragydere til de levende arvefaktorer, som igangsætter afkom. Men selv i det tyvende århundrede forsøger mange forældre stadig at holde deres børn i mere eller mindre uvidenhed om det menneskelige livs oprindelse. |
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84:1.5 (932.2) The first step in enlightenment came with the belief that sex relations opened up the way for the impregnating ghost to enter the female. Man has since discovered that father and mother are equal contributors of the living inheritance factors which initiate offspring. But even in the twentieth century many parents still endeavor to keep their children in more or less ignorance as to the origin of human life. |
84:1.6 (932.3) Fremkomsten af en simpel form for familie var garanteret af den kendsgerning, at den reproduktive funktion indebærer et forhold mellem mor og barn. Moderkærlighed er instinktiv; den opstod ikke som ægteskabet. Alle pattedyrs moderkærlighed er en iboende gave fra det lokale univers’ hjælpende ånder, og styrken og hengivenheden er altid direkte proportional med længden af artens hjælpeløse barndom. |
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84:1.6 (932.3) A family of some simple sort was insured by the fact that the reproductive function entails the mother-child relationship. Mother love is instinctive; it did not originate in the mores as did marriage. All mammalian mother love is the inherent endowment of the adjutant mind-spirits of the local universe and is in strength and devotion always directly proportional to the length of the helpless infancy of the species. |
84:1.7 (932.4) Forholdet mellem mor og barn er naturligt, stærkt og instinktivt, og det tvang derfor primitive kvinder til at underkaste sig mange mærkelige forhold og udholde utallige prøvelser. Denne tvingende moderkærlighed er den hæmmende følelse, som altid har stillet kvinden så enormt dårligt i alle hendes kampe med manden. Selv da er moderinstinktet i den menneskelige art ikke overvældende; det kan modarbejdes af ambitioner, egoisme og religiøs overbevisning. |
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84:1.7 (932.4) The mother and child relation is natural, strong, and instinctive, and one which, therefore, constrained primitive women to submit to many strange conditions and to endure untold hardships. This compelling mother love is the handicapping emotion which has always placed woman at such a tremendous disadvantage in all her struggles with man. Even at that, maternal instinct in the human species is not overpowering; it may be thwarted by ambition, selfishness, and religious conviction. |
84:1.8 (932.5) Selvom mor-barn-forbindelsen hverken er ægteskab eller hjem, var det den kerne, som begge dele udsprang af. Det store fremskridt i parringens evolution kom, da disse midlertidige partnerskaber varede længe nok til at opfostre det resulterende afkom, for det var hjemmearbejde. |
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84:1.8 (932.5) While the mother-child association is neither marriage nor home, it was the nucleus from which both sprang. The great advance in the evolution of mating came when these temporary partnerships lasted long enough to rear the resultant offspring, for that was homemaking. |
84:1.9 (932.6) Uanset modsætningerne i disse tidlige par, uanset hvor løst forbundet de var, blev chancerne for overlevelse stærkt forbedret af disse partnerskaber mellem mand og kvinde. En mand og en kvinde, der samarbejder, selv når man ser bort fra familie og afkom, er på de fleste måder enten to mænd eller to kvinder langt overlegne. Denne parring af kønnene forbedrede overlevelsen og var selve begyndelsen på det menneskelige samfund. Kønsarbejdsdelingen skabte også komfort og øget lykke. |
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84:1.9 (932.6) Regardless of the antagonisms of these early pairs, notwithstanding the looseness of the association, the chances for survival were greatly improved by these male-female partnerships. A man and a woman, co-operating, even aside from family and offspring, are vastly superior in most ways to either two men or two women. This pairing of the sexes enhanced survival and was the very beginning of human society. The sex division of labor also made for comfort and increased happiness. |
2. Den tidlige moderfamilie ^top |
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2. The Early Mother-Family ^top |
84:2.1 (932.7) Kvindens periodiske blødninger og hendes yderligere blodtab ved fødslen antydede tidligt blodet som barnets skaber (endda som sjælens sæde) og gav ophav til blodbåndsbegrebet i menneskelige relationer. I tidlige tider blev al afstamning regnet i den kvindelige linje, da det var den eneste del af arven, der var sikker. |
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84:2.1 (932.7) The woman’s periodic hemorrhage and her further loss of blood at childbirth early suggested blood as the creator of the child (even as the seat of the soul) and gave origin to the blood-bond concept of human relationships. In early times all descent was reckoned in the female line, that being the only part of inheritance which was at all certain. |
84:2.2 (932.8) Den primitive familie, der voksede ud af det instinktive biologiske blodsbånd mellem mor og barn, var uundgåeligt en mor-familie, og mange stammer holdt længe fast i dette arrangement. Moderfamilien var den eneste mulige overgang fra gruppeægteskabet i flokken til det senere og forbedrede hjemmeliv i de polygame og monogame faderfamilier. Moder-familien var naturlig og biologisk; fader-familien er social, økonomisk og politisk. Moderfamiliens vedholdenhed blandt de nordamerikanske røde mennesker er en af hovedårsagerne til, at de ellers progressive irokesere aldrig blev en rigtig stat. |
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84:2.2 (932.8) The primitive family, growing out of the instinctive biologic blood bond of mother and child, was inevitably a mother-family; and many tribes long held to this arrangement. The mother-family was the only possible transition from the stage of group marriage in the horde to the later and improved home life of the polygamous and monogamous father-families. The mother-family was natural and biologic; the father-family is social, economic, and political. The persistence of the mother-family among the North American red men is one of the chief reasons why the otherwise progressive Iroquois never became a real state. |
84:2.3 (933.1) Under mor-familie-moralen nød hustruens mor stort set den højeste autoritet i hjemmet; selv hustruens brødre og deres sønner var mere aktive i familietilsynet end manden. Fædre blev ofte omdøbt efter deres egne børn. |
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84:2.3 (933.1) Under the mother-family mores the wife’s mother enjoyed virtually supreme authority in the home; even the wife’s brothers and their sons were more active in family supervision than was the husband. Fathers were often renamed after their own children. |
84:2.4 (933.2) De tidligste racer satte ikke meget værdi på faderens indsats for de troede, at barnet kun var kommet fra moderen. De troede, at børn lignede faderen fordi de boede i hans nærhed, eller at de var “mærket” på denne måde, fordi moderen ønskede at de skulle ligne faderen. Senere, da man gik fra moder, til faderfamilier, tog faderen hele æren for barnet, og mange af de tabuer som galt en gravid kvinde blev efterfølgende udvidet til at omfatte hendes mand. Den potentielle fader ophørte med at arbejde når tidspunktet for nedkomsten nærmede sig, og ved fødsel, gik han i seng, og blev der sammen med konen, for at hvile i tre til otte dage. Hustruen kunne stå op den næste dag og engagere sig i hårdt arbejde, men manden forblev i sengen for at modtage lykønskninger. Det var alt sammen en del af de tidlige skikke med henblik på at etablere faderens ret til barnet. |
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84:2.4 (933.2) The earliest races gave little credit to the father, looking upon the child as coming altogether from the mother. They believed that children resembled the father as a result of association, or that they were “marked” in this manner because the mother desired them to look like the father. Later on, when the switch came from the mother-family to the father-family, the father took all credit for the child, and many of the taboos on a pregnant woman were subsequently extended to include her husband. The prospective father ceased work as the time of delivery approached, and at childbirth he went to bed, along with the wife, remaining at rest from three to eight days. The wife might arise the next day and engage in hard labor, but the husband remained in bed to receive congratulations; this was all a part of the early mores designed to establish the father’s right to the child. |
84:2.5 (933.3) I begyndelsen var det skik, at manden tog til sin kones folk, men i senere tider, efter at en mand havde betalt eller udredt brudeprisen, kunne han tage sin kone og sine børn med tilbage til sit eget folk. Overgangen fra moderfamilien til faderfamilien forklarer de ellers meningsløse forbud mod nogle typer fætter-kusine-ægteskaber, mens andre af samme slægtskab er godkendt. |
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84:2.5 (933.3) At first, it was the custom for the man to go to his wife’s people, but in later times, after a man had paid or worked out the bride price, he could take his wife and children back to his own people. The transition from the mother-family to the father-family explains the otherwise meaningless prohibitions of some types of cousin marriages while others of equal kinship are approved. |
84:2.6 (933.4) Da jægermoralen forsvandt, og flokdyrene gav mennesket kontrol over den vigtigste fødevareforsyning, var det hurtigt slut med moderfamilien. Den fejlede simpelthen, fordi den ikke kunne konkurrere med den nyere fader-familie. Den magt, der lå hos moderens mandlige slægtninge, kunne ikke konkurrere med den magt, der var koncentreret hos manden og faderen. Kvinden var ikke i stand til at klare de kombinerede opgaver med at føde børn og udøve kontinuerlig autoritet og stigende magt i hjemmet. Hustrutyveri og senere køb af hustruer fremskyndede moderfamiliens endeligt. |
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84:2.6 (933.4) With the passing of the hunter mores, when herding gave man control of the chief food supply, the mother-family came to a speedy end. It failed simply because it could not successfully compete with the newer father-family. Power lodged with the male relatives of the mother could not compete with power concentrated in the husband-father. Woman was not equal to the combined tasks of childbearing and of exercising continuous authority and increasing domestic power. The oncoming of wife stealing and later wife purchase hastened the passing of the mother-family. |
84:2.7 (933.5) Den enorme ændring fra moderfamilien til faderfamilien er en af de mest radikale og komplette omvæltninger, som menneskeheden nogensinde har foretaget. Denne ændring førte på én gang til større social udfoldelse og flere familieeventyr. |
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84:2.7 (933.5) The stupendous change from the mother-family to the father-family is one of the most radical and complete right-about-face adjustments ever executed by the human race. This change led at once to greater social expression and increased family adventure. |
3. Den faderdominerede familie ^top |
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3. The Family Under Father Dominance ^top |
84:3.1 (933.6) Det kan godt være, at moderskabsinstinktet førte kvinden ind i ægteskabet, men det var mandens overlegne styrke, der sammen med indflydelsen fra skikkene praktisk talt tvang hende til at forblive i ægteskabet. Hyrdelivet havde en tendens til at skabe et nyt system af skikke, den patriarkalske type familieliv; og grundlaget for familiens enhed under hyrde- og de tidlige landbrugsmønstre var faderens ubestridte og vilkårlige autoritet. Alle samfund, hvad enten de var nationale eller familiære, gennemgik stadiet med den patriarkalske ordens autokratiske autoritet. |
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84:3.1 (933.6) It may be that the instinct of motherhood led woman into marriage, but it was man’s superior strength, together with the influence of the mores, that virtually compelled her to remain in wedlock. Pastoral living tended to create a new system of mores, the patriarchal type of family life; and the basis of family unity under the herder and early agricultural mores was the unquestioned and arbitrary authority of the father. All society, whether national or familial, passed through the stage of the autocratic authority of a patriarchal order. |
84:3.2 (934.1) Den sparsomme høflighed over for kvinder i Det Gamle Testamente er en sand afspejling af hyrdernes skikke. De hebraiske patriarker var alle hyrder, som det fremgår af ordsproget: “Herren er min hyrde.” |
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84:3.2 (934.1) The scant courtesy paid womankind during the Old Testament era is a true reflection of the mores of the herdsmen. The Hebrew patriarchs were all herdsmen, as is witnessed by the saying, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” |
84:3.3 (934.2) Men manden var ikke mere skyld i sin lave opfattelse af kvinden i tidligere tider, end kvinden selv var. Hun fik ikke social anerkendelse i primitive tider, fordi hun ikke fungerede i en nødsituation; hun var ikke en spektakulær helt eller krisehelt. Moderskab var et tydeligt handicap i eksistenskampen; moderkærlighed handikappede kvinder i stammeforsvaret. |
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84:3.3 (934.2) But man was no more to blame for his low opinion of woman during past ages than was woman herself. She failed to get social recognition during primitive times because she did not function in an emergency; she was not a spectacular or crisis hero. Maternity was a distinct disability in the existence struggle; mother love handicapped women in the tribal defense. |
84:3.4 (934.3) Primitive kvinder skabte også utilsigtet deres afhængighed af manden ved deres beundring og bifald for hans kampånd og virilitet. Denne ophøjelse af krigeren ophøjede det mandlige ego, mens det tilsvarende nedtrykte det kvindelige og gjorde hende mere afhængig; en militæruniform vækker stadig de feminine følelser. |
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84:3.4 (934.3) Primitive women also unintentionally created their dependence on the male by their admiration and applause for his pugnacity and virility. This exaltation of the warrior elevated the male ego while it equally depressed that of the female and made her more dependent; a military uniform still mightily stirs the feminine emotions. |
84:3.5 (934.4) Blandt de mere avancerede racer er kvinder ikke så store eller stærke som mænd. Kvinden, som er den svageste, blev derfor den mest taktfulde; hun lærte tidligt at handle med sin sexcharme. Hun blev mere årvågen og konservativ end manden, om end lidt mindre dybtgående. Manden var kvinden overlegen på slagmarken og i jagten, men i hjemmet har kvinden som regel udkonkurreret selv den mest primitive mand. |
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84:3.5 (934.4) Among the more advanced races, women are not so large or so strong as men. Woman, being the weaker, therefore became the more tactful; she early learned to trade upon her sex charms. She became more alert and conservative than man, though slightly less profound. Man was woman’s superior on the battlefield and in the hunt; but at home woman has usually outgeneraled even the most primitive of men. |
84:3.6 (934.5) Hyrden søgte føde hos sine flokke, men i alle disse pastorale tidsaldre måtte kvinden stadig sørge for den vegetabilske føde. Det primitive menneske undgik jorden; den var alt for fredelig, for lidt eventyrlig. Der var også en gammel overtro om, at kvinder kunne dyrke bedre planter; de var mødre. I mange tilbagestående stammer i dag tilbereder mændene kødet, kvinderne grøntsagerne, og når de primitive stammer i Australien er på march, angriber kvinderne aldrig vildt, mens en mand ikke ville bøje sig ned for at grave en rod. |
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84:3.6 (934.5) The herdsman looked to his flocks for sustenance, but throughout these pastoral ages woman must still provide the vegetable food. Primitive man shunned the soil; it was altogether too peaceful, too unadventuresome. There was also an old superstition that women could raise better plants; they were mothers. In many backward tribes today, the men cook the meat, the women the vegetables, and when the primitive tribes of Australia are on the march, the women never attack game, while a man would not stoop to dig a root. |
84:3.7 (934.6) Kvinden har altid været nødt til at arbejde; i hvert fald helt op til moderne tid har kvinden været en egentlig producent. Manden har som regel valgt den lettere vej, og denne ulighed har eksisteret gennem hele menneskehedens historie. Kvinden har altid været den, der bar byrden, bar familiens ejendom og passede børnene, så manden havde hænderne fri til at kæmpe eller jage. |
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84:3.7 (934.6) Woman has always had to work; at least right up to modern times the female has been a real producer. Man has usually chosen the easier path, and this inequality has existed throughout the entire history of the human race. Woman has always been the burden bearer, carrying the family property and tending the children, thus leaving the man’s hands free for fighting or hunting. |
84:3.8 (934.7) Kvindens første frigørelse kom, da manden indvilligede i at dyrke jorden, indvilligede i at gøre det, der hidtil var blevet betragtet som kvindearbejde. Det var et stort skridt fremad, da mandlige fanger ikke længere blev dræbt, men blev gjort til slaver i landbruget. Det medførte en frigørelse af kvinden, så hun kunne bruge mere tid på husholdning og børneopdragelse. |
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84:3.8 (934.7) Woman’s first liberation came when man consented to till the soil, consented to do what had theretofore been regarded as woman’s work. It was a great step forward when male captives were no longer killed but were enslaved as agriculturists. This brought about the liberation of woman so that she could devote more time to homemaking and child culture. |
84:3.9 (934.8) Tilvejebringelsen af mælk til de unge førte til tidligere fravænning af spædbørn, og dermed til, at mødrene fik flere børn, der således blev fritaget for deres til tider midlertidige ufrugtbarhed, mens brugen af komælk og gedemælk i høj grad reducerede spædbørnsdødeligheden. Før samfundets hyrdestadie plejede mødre at amme deres babyer, indtil de var fire og fem år gamle. |
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84:3.9 (934.8) The provision of milk for the young led to earlier weaning of babies, hence to the bearing of more children by the mothers thus relieved of their sometimes temporary barrenness, while the use of cow’s milk and goat’s milk greatly reduced infant mortality. Before the herding stage of society, mothers used to nurse their babies until they were four and five years old. |
84:3.10 (934.9) Med faldende primitive krigsførelse aftog forskellen betydelig mellem den kønsbaserede arbejdsdelingen. Kvinder gjorde dog stadig det virkelige arbejde, mens mændene stod vagt. Ingen lejr eller landsby kan overlades ubevogtet dag eller nat, men tæmning af hunden gjorde selv denne opgave nemmere. Landbrugets indførelse har generelt forbedret kvindens prestige og social status; i det mindst galt dette indtil det tidspunkt, da manden selv begyndte at dyrke jorden. Så snart manden tog fat på at dyrke jorden, fulgte der straks store forbedringer i landbrugsmetoderne, som fortsatte i de følgende generationer. I jagt og krig havde manden lært værdien af organisation, og han introducerede disse teknikker i branchen og senere, da han overtog store dele af kvindens arbejde, forbedrede han betydeligt hendes noget løse arbejdsmetoder. |
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84:3.10 (934.9) Decreasing primitive warfare greatly lessened the disparity between the division of labor based on sex. But women still had to do the real work while men did picket duty. No camp or village could be left unguarded day or night, but even this task was alleviated by the domestication of the dog. In general, the coming of agriculture has enhanced woman’s prestige and social standing; at least this was true up to the time man himself turned agriculturist. And as soon as man addressed himself to the tilling of the soil, there immediately ensued great improvement in methods of agriculture, extending on down through successive generations. In hunting and war man had learned the value of organization, and he introduced these techniques into industry and later, when taking over much of woman’s work, greatly improved on her loose methods of labor. |
4. Kvindens stillning i det tidlige samfund ^top |
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4. Woman’s Status in Early Society ^top |
84:4.1 (935.1) Generelt betragtet så er kvindens status under enhver tidsalder, en temmelig god målestok for den evolutionære udvikling af ægteskabet som en social institution, mens ægteskabets fremskridt i sig selv er en rimelig nøjagtig målestok for den menneskelige civilisations fremskridt. |
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84:4.1 (935.1) Generally speaking, during any age woman’s status is a fair criterion of the evolutionary progress of marriage as a social institution, while the progress of marriage itself is a reasonably accurate gauge registering the advances of human civilization. |
84:4.2 (935.2) Kvindens status har altid været et socialt paradoks; hun har altid været dygtig til at styre mænd; hun har altid kapitaliseret på mænds stærkere seksualdrift til sine egne interesser, og til sin egen position. Ved at handle subtilt med sit køns charme, har hun ofte været i stand til at udøve en dominerende magt over manden, selv når hun har været holdt af ham i ydmygt slaveri. |
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84:4.2 (935.2) Woman’s status has always been a social paradox; she has always been a shrewd manager of men; she has always capitalized man’s stronger sex urge for her own interests and to her own advancement. By trading subtly upon her sex charms, she has often been able to exercise dominant power over man, even when held by him in abject slavery. |
84:4.3 (935.3) De tidlige kvinder var ikke en ven, kæreste, elsker, og partner for manden, men snarere et stykke ejendom, en tjener eller slave og senere, en økonomisk partner, legetøj, og børneføder. Ikke desto mindre har korrekte og tilfredsstillende seksuelle relationer altid involveret et element af valg og samarbejde fra kvindens side, og det har altid givet intelligente kvinder betydelig indflydelse på deres umiddelbare og personlige status, uanset deres sociale position som køn. Men mandens mistillid og mistænksomhed blev ikke bedre af, at kvinderne hele tiden var tvunget til at ty til klogskab i forsøget på at afhjælpe deres trældom. |
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84:4.3 (935.3) Early woman was not to man a friend, sweetheart, lover, and partner but rather a piece of property, a servant or slave and, later on, an economic partner, plaything, and childbearer. Nonetheless, proper and satisfactory sex relations have always involved the element of choice and co-operation by woman, and this has always given intelligent women considerable influence over their immediate and personal standing, regardless of their social position as a sex. But man’s distrust and suspicion were not helped by the fact that women were all along compelled to resort to shrewdness in the effort to alleviate their bondage. |
84:4.4 (935.4) Kønnene har haft store vanskeligheder med at forstå hinanden. Manden fandt det svært at forstå kvinden, og forholdt sig til hende med en mærkelig blanding af uvidende mistillid og bange fascination, hvis ikke med mistænksomhed og foragt. Mange stamme- og racemæssige traditioner henførte vanskelighederne til Eva, Pandora, eller en anden repræsentant for kvindekønnet. Disse fortællinger var altid forvrænget således, at det så ud som, at kvinden bragte ulykke over mennesket; og alt dette indikerer den universelle mistillid til kvinden. Blandt de årsager som er fremført til støtte for præsteskabets cølibat var den vigtigste kvindens smålighed. Det faktum, at de fleste formodede hekse var kvinder forbedrede ikke det gamle omdømme hun havde. |
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84:4.4 (935.4) The sexes have had great difficulty in understanding each other. Man found it hard to understand woman, regarding her with a strange mixture of ignorant mistrust and fearful fascination, if not with suspicion and contempt. Many tribal and racial traditions relegate trouble to Eve, Pandora, or some other representative of womankind. These narratives were always distorted so as to make it appear that the woman brought evil upon man; and all this indicates the onetime universal distrust of woman. Among the reasons cited in support of a celibate priesthood, the chief was the baseness of woman. The fact that most supposed witches were women did not improve the olden reputation of the sex. |
84:4.5 (935.5) Mænd har længe betragtet kvinder som ejendommelige, selv unormale. De har endda troet, at kvinder ikke havde nogen sjæl; derfor blev de nægtet navne. I tidlige tider var der stor frygt for den første seksuelle relation med en kvinde; dermed blev det skik, at en præst havde det indledende samleje med en jomfru. Selv en kvindes skygge blev anset for at være farlig. |
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84:4.5 (935.5) Men have long regarded women as peculiar, even abnormal. They have even believed that women did not have souls; therefore were they denied names. During early times there existed great fear of the first sex relation with a woman; hence it became the custom for a priest to have initial intercourse with a virgin. Even a woman’s shadow was thought to be dangerous. |
84:4.6 (935.6) Fødslen var engang generelt betragtet som noget der gjorde en kvinde farlig og uren. Mange stammeskikke fastsatte, at en mor skulle gennemgå omfattende rensningsceremonier efter fødslen af et barn. Med undtagelse af de grupper, hvor manden også deltog liggende i sengen, blev den vordende mor undgået og efterladt alene. Fortidens mennesker undgik til og med at få et barn født i huset. I sidste ende fik de gamle kvinder ret til at hjælpe moderen under fødslen, og denne praksis gav oprindelse til erhvervet som jordemoder. Under fødslen blev snesevis af tåbelige ting sagt og gjort i et forsøg på at lette fødslen. Det var skik at dryppe den nyfødte med helligt vand for at forhindre spøgelsers indblanding. |
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84:4.6 (935.6) Childbearing was once generally looked upon as rendering a woman dangerous and unclean. And many tribal mores decreed that a mother must undergo extensive purification ceremonies subsequent to the birth of a child. Except among those groups where the husband participated in the lying-in, the expectant mother was shunned, left alone. The ancients even avoided having a child born in the house. Finally, the old women were permitted to attend the mother during labor, and this practice gave origin to the profession of midwifery. During labor, scores of foolish things were said and done in an effort to facilitate delivery. It was the custom to sprinkle the newborn with holy water to prevent ghost interference. |
84:4.7 (935.7) Blandt de ublandede stammer, var barnefødsler forholdsvis lette, og varede kun to eller tre timer; men det gik sjældent lige så let blandt de blandede racer. Hvis en kvinde døde i barselssengen, især under fødslen af tvillinger, troede man, at hun havde gjort sig skyldig i ægteskabsbrud med et spøgelse. Senere, betragtede de højerestående stammer død i barselsseng som himlens vilje; sådanne mødre blev anset for at være døde i en ædel sags tjeneste. |
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84:4.7 (935.7) Among the unmixed tribes, childbirth was comparatively easy, occupying only two or three hours; it is seldom so easy among the mixed races. If a woman died in childbirth, especially during the delivery of twins, she was believed to have been guilty of spirit adultery. Later on, the higher tribes looked upon death in childbirth as the will of heaven; such mothers were regarded as having perished in a noble cause. |
84:4.8 (936.1) Kvindernes såkaldte beskedenhed hvad angår deres tøj og eksponeringen af deres person, voksede ud af den dødbringende frygt for at blive observeret på tidspunktet for en menstruation. At blive opdaget i denne sammenhæng var en alvorlig synd, overtrædelse af et tabu. Ifølge de gamle tiders skikke blev enhver kvinde, fra pubertet til slutningen af den fødedygtige periode, underlagt en fuldstændig karantæne fra familien og samfundet en hel uge hver måned. Alt, hvad hun rørte, sad på, eller lå på var “urent.” Det var længe skik at slå en pige brutalt efter hver månedlig periode i et forsøg på at drive den onde ånd ud af hendes krop. Men når en kvinde passerede over den fødedygtige alder, blev hun normalt behandlet mere hensynsfuldt og givet flere rettigheder og privilegier. I lyset af alt dette var det ikke underligt, at kvinder blev set ned på. Selv grækerne anså menstruerende kvinde for at være en af de tre store årsager til urenhed, de to andre var svinekød og hvidløg. |
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84:4.8 (936.1) The so-called modesty of women respecting their clothing and the exposure of the person grew out of the deadly fear of being observed at the time of a menstrual period. To be thus detected was a grievous sin, the violation of a taboo. Under the mores of olden times, every woman, from adolescence to the end of the childbearing period, was subjected to complete family and social quarantine one full week each month. Everything she might touch, sit upon, or lie upon was “defiled.” It was for long the custom to brutally beat a girl after each monthly period in an effort to drive the evil spirit out of her body. But when a woman passed beyond the childbearing age, she was usually treated more considerately, being accorded more rights and privileges. In view of all this it was not strange that women were looked down upon. Even the Greeks held the menstruating woman as one of the three great causes of defilement, the other two being pork and garlic. |
84:4.9 (936.2) Hvor tåbelige disse fortidens forestillinger end var, gjorde de noget godt, da de gav overbebyrdede kvinder, i det mindste som unge, en velkommen hvile og gavnlig fordybelse, en uge hver måned. Således kunne de skærpe deres forstand angående behandling af deres mandlige partnere i resten af tiden. Denne karantæne af kvinder beskyttede også mænd fra overdreven seksuel nydelse og bidrog dermed indirekte til begrænsning af befolkningen og til forbedring af selvkontrollen. |
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84:4.9 (936.2) However foolish these olden notions were, they did some good since they gave overworked females, at least when young, one week each month for welcome rest and profitable meditation. Thus could they sharpen their wits for dealing with their male associates the rest of the time. This quarantine of women also protected men from over-sex indulgence, thereby indirectly contributing to the restriction of population and to the enhancement of self-control. |
84:4.10 (936.3) Et stort fremskridt blev gjort, da en mand blev nægtet retten til at dræbe sin kone efter forgodtbefindende. Ligeledes var det et skridt fremad, da kvinden fik retten til at eje bryllupgaverne. Senere fik hun den juridiske ret til at eje, bestemme, og selv disponere over ejendom, men hun var længe frataget retten til at arbejde indenfor enten kirke eller stat. Kvinden har altid været behandlet mere eller mindre som ejendomsret, helt frem til og ind i det tyvende århundrede efter Kristus. Hun har endnu ikke opnået verdensomspændende frihed fra afsondrethed under mandens kontrol. Selv blandt avancerede folkeslag har mandens forsøg på at beskytte kvinden altid været en stiltiende hævdelse af overlegenhed. |
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84:4.10 (936.3) A great advance was made when a man was denied the right to kill his wife at will. Likewise, it was a forward step when a woman could own the wedding gifts. Later, she gained the legal right to own, control, and even dispose of property, but she was long deprived of the right to hold office in either church or state. Woman has always been treated more or less as property, right up to and in the twentieth century after Christ. She has not yet gained world-wide freedom from seclusion under man’s control. Even among advanced peoples, man’s attempt to protect woman has always been a tacit assertion of superiority. |
84:4.11 (936.4) Men primitive kvinder ynkede ikke sig selv, som deres nyligt frigjorte søstre har for vane at gøre. De var trods alt ret lykkelige og tilfredse; de turde ikke forestille sig en bedre eller anderledes måde at leve på. |
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84:4.11 (936.4) But primitive women did not pity themselves as their more recently liberated sisters are wont to do. They were, after all, fairly happy and contented; they did not dare to envision a better or different mode of existence. |
5. Kvindens stilling under de udviklende skikke ^top |
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5. Woman Under the Developing Mores ^top |
84:5.1 (936.5) Når det kommer til at formere sig, er kvinden lige med manden, men i partnerskabet af selvopholdelse arbejder hun fra en klar ulempe, og dette handicap af påtvunget moderskab kan kun kompenseres af den fremadskridende civilisations oplyste skikke og af menneskets stigende følelse af erhvervet retfærdighed. |
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84:5.1 (936.5) In self-perpetuation woman is man’s equal, but in the partnership of self-maintenance she labors at a decided disadvantage, and this handicap of enforced maternity can only be compensated by the enlightened mores of advancing civilization and by man’s increasing sense of acquired fairness. |
84:5.2 (936.6) Efterhånden som samfundet udviklede sig, steg de seksuelle normer blandt kvinder, fordi de led mere under konsekvenserne af overtrædelse af de seksuelle skikke. Menneskets sexstandarder forbedres kun langsomt som et resultat af den rene følelse af retfærdighed, som civilisationen kræver. Naturen kender intet til retfærdighed—den lader kvinden alene lide under fødslen. |
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84:5.2 (936.6) As society evolved, the sex standards rose higher among women because they suffered more from the consequences of the transgression of the sex mores. Man’s sex standards are only tardily improving as a result of the sheer sense of that fairness which civilization demands. Nature knows nothing of fairness—makes woman alone suffer the pangs of childbirth. |
84:5.3 (936.7) Den moderne idé om ligestilling mellem kønnene er smukt og værdig for en ekspanderende civilisation, men den findes ikke i naturen. Når magt er ret, hersker manden over kvinden; når der hersker mere retfærdighed, fred og rimelighed, kommer hun gradvist ud af slaveri og ubemærkethed. Kvindens sociale position har generelt varieret omvendt med graden af militarisme i enhver nation eller tidsalder. |
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84:5.3 (936.7) The modern idea of sex equality is beautiful and worthy of an expanding civilization, but it is not found in nature. When might is right, man lords it over woman; when more justice, peace, and fairness prevail, she gradually emerges from slavery and obscurity. Woman’s social position has generally varied inversely with the degree of militarism in any nation or age. |
84:5.4 (937.1) Men manden tog ikke bevidst eller beslaglagde forsætligt kvindens rettigheder for derefter gradvist og modstræbende at give dem tilbage til hende; alt dette var en ubevidst og ikke planlagt episode af den sociale evolution. Da tiden virkelig var inde til, at kvinden skulle nyde godt af flere rettigheder, fik hun dem, og det var helt uafhængigt af mandens bevidste holdning. Langsomt, men sikkert ændrer skikkene sig, så de giver mulighed for de sociale tilpasninger, som er en del af civilisationens vedvarende udvikling. De nye skikke gav langsomt kvinderne en stadig bedre behandling; de stammer, der fortsatte med at være grusomme mod dem, overlevede ikke. |
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84:5.4 (937.1) But man did not consciously nor intentionally seize woman’s rights and then gradually and grudgingly give them back to her; all this was an unconscious and unplanned episode of social evolution. When the time really came for woman to enjoy added rights, she got them, and all quite regardless of man’s conscious attitude. Slowly but surely the mores change so as to provide for those social adjustments which are a part of the persistent evolution of civilization. The advancing mores slowly provided increasingly better treatment for females; those tribes which persisted in cruelty to them did not survive. |
84:5.5 (937.2) Adamiterne og Noditerne viste kvinderne øget anerkendelse, og de grupper, der blev påvirket af de vandrende Anditer har haft en tendens til at blive påvirket af Edens lærdomme om kvinders plads i samfundet. |
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84:5.5 (937.2) The Adamites and Nodites accorded women increased recognition, and those groups which were influenced by the migrating Andites have tended to be influenced by the Edenic teachings regarding women’s place in society. |
84:5.6 (937.3) De tidlige kinesere og grækere behandlede kvinder bedre end de fleste omkringliggende folkeslag. Men hebræerne var yderst mistroiske over for dem. I Vesten har kvinden haft det svært under de paulinske doktriner, som blev knyttet til kristendommen, selvom kristendommen gjorde fremskridt ved at pålægge manden strengere seksuelle forpligtelser. Kvindens situation er næsten håbløs under den særlige nedværdigelse, som hun udsættes for i muhammedanismen, og hun har det endnu værre under læren i flere andre orientalske religioner. |
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84:5.6 (937.3) The early Chinese and the Greeks treated women better than did most surrounding peoples. But the Hebrews were exceedingly distrustful of them. In the Occident woman has had a difficult climb under the Pauline doctrines which became attached to Christianity, although Christianity did advance the mores by imposing more stringent sex obligations upon man. Woman’s estate is little short of hopeless under the peculiar degradation which attaches to her in Mohammedanism, and she fares even worse under the teachings of several other Oriental religions. |
84:5.7 (937.4) Det var videnskaben, ikke religionen, der virkelig frigjorde kvinden; det var den moderne fabrik, der i høj grad frigjorde hende fra hjemmets trange kår. Mandens fysiske evner blev ikke længere en afgørende faktor i den nye vedligeholdelsesmekanisme; videnskaben ændrede levevilkårene så meget, at mandens kræfter ikke længere var så overlegne i forhold til kvindens kræfter. |
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84:5.7 (937.4) Science, not religion, really emancipated woman; it was the modern factory which largely set her free from the confines of the home. Man’s physical abilities became no longer a vital essential in the new maintenance mechanism; science so changed the conditions of living that man power was no longer so superior to woman power. |
84:5.8 (937.5) Disse ændringer har tenderet mod kvindens frigørelse fra slaveri i hjemmet og har medført en sådan ændring af hendes status, at hun nu nyder en grad af personlig frihed og kønsbestemmelse, der praktisk talt svarer til mandens. Engang bestod en kvindes værdi i hendes evne til at producere mad, men opfindelser og rigdom har gjort det muligt for hende at skabe en ny verden, hvor hun kan fungere—sfærer af ynde og charme. Således har industrien vundet sin ubevidste og utilsigtede kamp for kvindens sociale og økonomiske frigørelse. Og igen er det lykkedes evolutionen at gøre det, som selv åbenbaringen ikke formåede. |
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84:5.8 (937.5) These changes have tended toward woman’s liberation from domestic slavery and have brought about such a modification of her status that she now enjoys a degree of personal liberty and sex determination that practically equals man’s. Once a woman’s value consisted in her food-producing ability, but invention and wealth have enabled her to create a new world in which to function—spheres of grace and charm. Thus has industry won its unconscious and unintended fight for woman’s social and economic emancipation. And again has evolution succeeded in doing what even revelation failed to accomplish. |
84:5.9 (937.6) Oplyste folkeslags reaktion på de uretfærdige skikke, der styrer kvindens plads i samfundet, har faktisk været pendulagtig i sin ekstremitet. Blandt industrialiserede racer har hun fået næsten alle rettigheder og er fritaget for mange forpligtelser, såsom militærtjeneste. Enhver lettelse i kampen for tilværelsen har bidraget til kvindens frigørelse, og hun har direkte nydt godt af ethvert fremskridt i retning af monogami. Den svagere part vinder altid uforholdsmæssigt meget ved enhver justering af skik og brug i den progressive samfundsudvikling. |
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84:5.9 (937.6) The reaction of enlightened peoples from the inequitable mores governing woman’s place in society has indeed been pendulumlike in its extremeness. Among industrialized races she has received almost all rights and enjoys exemption from many obligations, such as military service. Every easement of the struggle for existence has redounded to the liberation of woman, and she has directly benefited from every advance toward monogamy. The weaker always makes disproportionate gains in every adjustment of the mores in the progressive evolution of society. |
84:5.10 (937.7) I parforholdets idealer har kvinden endelig vundet anerkendelse, værdighed, uafhængighed, lighed og uddannelse; men vil hun vise sig værdig til alt dette nye og hidtil usete? Vil den moderne kvinde reagere på denne store sociale frigørelse med dovenskab, ligegyldighed, ufrugtbarhed og utroskab? I dag, i det tyvende århundrede, gennemgår kvinden den afgørende test i sin lange eksistens i verden! |
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84:5.10 (937.7) In the ideals of pair marriage, woman has finally won recognition, dignity, independence, equality, and education; but will she prove worthy of all this new and unprecedented accomplishment? Will modern woman respond to this great achievement of social liberation with idleness, indifference, barrenness, and infidelity? Today, in the twentieth century, woman is undergoing the crucial test of her long world existence! |
84:5.11 (938.1) Kvinden er mandens ligeværdige partner i racens reproduktion og derfor lige så vigtig i racens udvikling; derfor har evolutionen i stigende grad arbejdet hen imod realiseringen af kvinders rettigheder. Men kvinders rettigheder er på ingen måde mænds rettigheder. Kvinden kan ikke trives med mandens rettigheder, lige så lidt som manden kan trives med kvindens rettigheder. |
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84:5.11 (938.1) Woman is man’s equal partner in race reproduction, hence just as important in the unfolding of racial evolution; therefore has evolution increasingly worked toward the realization of women’s rights. But women’s rights are by no means men’s rights. Woman cannot thrive on man’s rights any more than man can prosper on woman’s rights. |
84:5.12 (938.2) Hvert køn har sin egen særegne eksistenssfære og sine egne rettigheder inden for denne sfære. Hvis kvinden stræber efter bogstaveligt talt at nyde alle mandens rettigheder, så vil ubarmhjertig og følelsesløs konkurrence før eller siden helt sikkert erstatte den ridderlighed og særlige hensyntagen, som mange kvinder nu nyder, og som de for nylig har vundet fra mænd. |
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84:5.12 (938.2) Each sex has its own distinctive sphere of existence, together with its own rights within that sphere. If woman aspires literally to enjoy all of man’s rights, then, sooner or later, pitiless and emotionless competition will certainly replace that chivalry and special consideration which many women now enjoy, and which they have so recently won from men. |
84:5.13 (938.3) Civilisationen kan aldrig udviske adfærdskløften mellem kønnene. Fra tidsalder til tidsalder ændres skik og brug, men aldrig instinktet. Medfødt moderkærlighed vil aldrig tillade den frigjorte kvinde at blive mandens seriøse rival i industrien. For evigt vil hvert køn forblive suverænt i sit eget domæne, domæner bestemt af biologisk differentiering og af mental forskellighed. |
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84:5.13 (938.3) Civilization never can obliterate the behavior gulf between the sexes. From age to age the mores change, but instinct never. Innate maternal affection will never permit emancipated woman to become man’s serious rival in industry. Forever each sex will remain supreme in its own domain, domains determined by biologic differentiation and by mental dissimilarity. |
84:5.14 (938.4) Hvert køn vil altid have sin egen særlige sfære, selv om de til tider vil overlappe hinanden. Kun socialt vil mænd og kvinder konkurrere på lige vilkår. |
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84:5.14 (938.4) Each sex will always have its own special sphere, albeit they will ever and anon overlap. Only socially will men and women compete on equal terms. |
6. Partnerskab mellem mand og kvinde ^top |
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6. The Partnership of Man and Woman ^top |
84:6.1 (938.5) Forplantningstrangen bringer uvægerligt mænd og kvinder sammen for at opretholde sig selv, men alene sikrer den ikke, at de forbliver sammen i et gensidigt samarbejde—grundlæggelsen af et hjem. |
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84:6.1 (938.5) The reproductive urge unfailingly brings men and women together for self-perpetuation but, alone, does not insure their remaining together in mutual co-operation—the founding of a home. |
84:6.2 (938.6) Enhver vellykket menneskelig institution omfatter modsætninger mellem personlige interesser, som er blevet justeret til praktisk harmoni, og husflid er ingen undtagelse. Ægteskabet, som er grundlaget for opbygningen af hjemmet, er den højeste manifestation af det antagonistiske samarbejde, som så ofte karakteriserer kontakten mellem natur og samfund. Konflikten er uundgåelig. Parring er iboende; det er naturligt. Men ægteskabet er ikke biologisk, det er sociologisk. Lidenskaben sikrer, at mand og kvinde finder sammen, men det svagere forældreinstinkt og de sociale normer holder dem sammen. |
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84:6.2 (938.6) Every successful human institution embraces antagonisms of personal interest which have been adjusted to practical working harmony, and homemaking is no exception. Marriage, the basis of home building, is the highest manifestation of that antagonistic co-operation which so often characterizes the contacts of nature and society. The conflict is inevitable. Mating is inherent; it is natural. But marriage is not biologic; it is sociologic. Passion insures that man and woman will come together, but the weaker parental instinct and the social mores hold them together. |
84:6.3 (938.7) Manden og kvinden er praktisk talt to forskellige varianter af den samme art, som lever i tæt og intim forening. Deres synsvinkler og hele livsreaktioner er væsensforskellige; de er helt ude af stand til at forstå hinanden fuldt og helt. Fuld forståelse mellem kønnene er ikke opnåelig. |
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84:6.3 (938.7) Male and female are, practically regarded, two distinct varieties of the same species living in close and intimate association. Their viewpoints and entire life reactions are essentially different; they are wholly incapable of full and real comprehension of each other. Complete understanding between the sexes is not attainable. |
84:6.4 (938.8) Kvinder synes at have mere intuition end mænd, men de synes også at være noget mindre logisk. Kvinden har dog altid været den moralske bannerfører og den åndelige leder af menneskeheden. Den hånd, som gynger vuggen omgås stadig med skæbnen. |
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84:6.4 (938.8) Women seem to have more intuition than men, but they also appear to be somewhat less logical. Woman, however, has always been the moral standard-bearer and the spiritual leader of mankind. The hand that rocks the cradle still fraternizes with destiny. |
84:6.5 (938.9) Forskellene mellem mænd og kvinder hvad angår deres natur, reaktion, synspunkt, og tænkning, bør på ingen måde give anledning til bekymring, men bør betragtes som særdeles gavnligt for menneskeheden, både individuelt og kollektivt. Mange klasser af universets skabninger er skabt med et dobbelt aspekt af personlighedsmanifestation. Blandt dødelige, Materielle Sønner og midsoniter, er denne forskel betegnet som mandlige og kvindelige; blandt serafer, keruber, og Morontialedsagerne er den blevet kaldt positiv eller aktiv og negativ eller passiv. Sådanne dobbelte kombinationer giver en langt større mangfoldig alsidighed og overvinder medfødte begrænsninger, som også gælder for visse treenige forbindelser i Paradis-Havona systemet. |
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84:6.5 (938.9) The differences of nature, reaction, viewpoint, and thinking between men and women, far from occasioning concern, should be regarded as highly beneficial to mankind, both individually and collectively. Many orders of universe creatures are created in dual phases of personality manifestation. Among mortals, Material Sons, and midsoniters, this difference is described as male and female; among seraphim, cherubim, and Morontia Companions, it has been denominated positive or aggressive and negative or retiring. Such dual associations greatly multiply versatility and overcome inherent limitations, even as do certain triune associations in the Paradise-Havona system. |
84:6.6 (939.1) Mænd og kvinder har brug for hinanden i deres morontielle og spirituelle såvel som i deres jordiske karrierer. Forskellene i synspunktet mellem mand og kvinde fortsætter selv efter det første liv og gennem de lokale og superuniverselle opstigninger. Og selv i Havona vil de pilgrimme, der engang var mænd og kvinder, stadig hjælpe hinanden i opstigningen til Paradis. Aldrig, selv ikke i Finalitetens Korps, vil skabningen metamorfosere så meget, at de personlighedstendenser, som mennesker kalder mand og kvinde, udslettes; altid vil disse to grundlæggende variationer af menneskeheden fortsætte med at fascinere, stimulere, opmuntre og hjælpe hinanden; altid vil de være gensidigt afhængige af samarbejde i løsningen af forvirrende universproblemer og i overvindelsen af mangfoldige kosmiske vanskeligheder. |
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84:6.6 (939.1) Men and women need each other in their morontial and spiritual as well as in their mortal careers. The differences in viewpoint between male and female persist even beyond the first life and throughout the local and superuniverse ascensions. And even in Havona, the pilgrims who were once men and women will still be aiding each other in the Paradise ascent. Never, even in the Corps of the Finality, will the creature metamorphose so far as to obliterate the personality trends that humans call male and female; always will these two basic variations of humankind continue to intrigue, stimulate, encourage, and assist each other; always will they be mutually dependent on co-operation in the solution of perplexing universe problems and in the overcoming of manifold cosmic difficulties. |
84:6.7 (939.2) Selvom kønnene aldrig kan håbe på at forstå hinanden fuldt ud, er de effektivt komplementære, og selvom samarbejdet ofte er mere eller mindre personligt antagonistisk, er det i stand til at opretholde og reproducere samfundet. Ægteskabet er en institution, der er designet til at udligne kønsforskelle, samtidig med at det sikrer civilisationens fortsættelse og racens reproduktion. |
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84:6.7 (939.2) While the sexes never can hope fully to understand each other, they are effectively complementary, and though co-operation is often more or less personally antagonistic, it is capable of maintaining and reproducing society. Marriage is an institution designed to compose sex differences, meanwhile effecting the continuation of civilization and insuring the reproduction of the race. |
84:6.8 (939.3) Ægteskabet er moderen til alle menneskelige institutioner, for det fører direkte til grundlæggelsen og opretholdelsen af hjemmet, som er samfundets strukturelle grundlag. Familien er afgørende forbundet med mekanismen for selvopretholdelse; den er det eneste håb for racens videreførelse under civilisationens skikke, samtidig med at den på den mest effektive måde giver visse meget tilfredsstillende former for selvtilfredsstillelse. Familien er menneskets største rent menneskelige præstation, idet den kombinerer udviklingen af de biologiske relationer mellem mand og kvinde med de sociale relationer mellem mand og kone. |
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84:6.8 (939.3) Marriage is the mother of all human institutions, for it leads directly to home founding and home maintenance, which is the structural basis of society. The family is vitally linked to the mechanism of self-maintenance; it is the sole hope of race perpetuation under the mores of civilization, while at the same time it most effectively provides certain highly satisfactory forms of self-gratification. The family is man’s greatest purely human achievement, combining as it does the evolution of the biologic relations of male and female with the social relations of husband and wife. |
7. Familielivets ideal ^top |
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7. The Ideals of Family Life ^top |
84:7.1 (939.4) Kønslig parring er instinktiv, børn er det naturlige resultat, og familien opstår således automatisk. Som racens eller nationens familier er, sådan er også dens samfund. Hvis familierne er gode, er samfundet også godt. Den store kulturelle stabilitet hos det jødiske og det kinesiske folk ligger i styrken af deres familiegrupper. |
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84:7.1 (939.4) Sex mating is instinctive, children are the natural result, and the family thus automatically comes into existence. As are the families of the race or nation, so is its society. If the families are good, the society is likewise good. The great cultural stability of the Jewish and of the Chinese peoples lies in the strength of their family groups. |
84:7.2 (939.5) Kvindens instinkt for at elske og tage sig af børn gjorde hende til den interesserede part i at fremme ægteskab og primitivt familieliv. Manden blev kun tvunget til at bygge et hjem af presset fra de senere skikke og sociale konventioner; han var langsom til at interessere sig for etableringen af ægteskab og hjem, fordi sexakten ikke har nogen biologiske konsekvenser for ham. |
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84:7.2 (939.5) Woman’s instinct to love and care for children conspired to make her the interested party in promoting marriage and primitive family life. Man was only forced into home building by the pressure of the later mores and social conventions; he was slow to take an interest in the establishment of marriage and home because the sex act imposes no biologic consequences upon him. |
84:7.3 (939.6) Det seksuelle forhold hører til naturens orden, men ægteskabet er socialt og har altid været reguleret af skik og brug. Skikkene (religiøse, moralske og etiske), sammen med ejendom, stolthed og ridderlighed, stabiliserer ægteskabets og familiens institutioner. Hver gang moralen svinger, svinger stabiliteten af ægteskabsinstitutionen i hjemmet. Ægteskabet er nu på vej ud af ejendomsstadiet og ind i den personlige æra. Tidligere beskyttede manden kvinden, fordi hun var hans ejendel, og hun adlød af samme grund. Uanset dets fordele gav dette system stabilitet. Nu betragtes kvinden ikke længere som ejendom, og der opstår nye skikke, som er designet til at stabilisere ægteskabs- og hjemmeinstitutionen: |
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84:7.3 (939.6) Sex association is natural, but marriage is social and has always been regulated by the mores. The mores (religious, moral, and ethical), together with property, pride, and chivalry, stabilize the institutions of marriage and family. Whenever the mores fluctuate, there is fluctuation in the stability of the home-marriage institution. Marriage is now passing out of the property stage into the personal era. Formerly man protected woman because she was his chattel, and she obeyed for the same reason. Regardless of its merits this system did provide stability. Now, woman is no longer regarded as property, and new mores are emerging designed to stabilize the marriage-home institution: |
84:7.4 (939.7) 1. Religionens nye rolle—undervisning, om at forældrenes erfaring er essentiel, ideen om at frembringe kosmiske borgere, den udvidede forståelse af forplantningens privilegium—at give sønner og døtre til Faderen. |
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84:7.4 (939.7) 1. The new role of religion—the teaching that parental experience is essential, the idea of procreating cosmic citizens, the enlarged understanding of the privilege of procreation—giving sons to the Father. |
84:7.5 (940.1) 2. Videnskabens nye rolle—forplantning bliver mere og mere frivillig, underlagt menneskets kontrol. I oldtiden sikrede manglende forståelse, at der kom børn, selv om der ikke var noget ønske om det. |
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84:7.5 (940.1) 2. The new role of science—procreation is becoming more and more voluntary, subject to man’s control. In ancient times lack of understanding insured the appearance of children in the absence of all desire therefor. |
84:7.6 (940.2) 3. Den nye indflydelse i fristelsen af glæde—her indføres en ny faktor i racens overlevelse; oldtidens mennesker udsatte uønskede børn for at dø; moderne mennesker nægter at føde dem. |
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84:7.6 (940.2) 3. The new function of pleasure lures—this introduces a new factor into racial survival; ancient man exposed undesired children to die; moderns refuse to bear them. |
84:7.7 (940.3) 4. Forældreinstinktets styrkelse—hver generation er nu tilbøjelig til at fjerne fra den reproduktive strøm af racen de personer, hvis forældreinstinkt ikke er tilstrækkeligt udviklet til at sikre forplantning af børn, de vordende forældre i den næste generation. |
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84:7.7 (940.3) 4. The enhancement of parental instinct—each generation now tends to eliminate from the reproductive stream of the race those individuals in whom parental instinct is insufficiently strong to insure the procreation of children, the prospective parents of the next generation. |
84:7.8 (940.4) Men hjemmet som institution, et partnerskab mellem en mand og en kvinde, datere sig mere specifikt fra Dalamatias dage, for omkring en halv million år siden. Andon og hans nærmeste efterkommers monogame livsform var blevet forladt længe før. Familielivet, var imidlertid ikke meget at prale af før Noditerne og de senere Adamiters tid. Adam og Eva udøvede en varig indflydelse på hele menneskeheden; for første gang i verdenshistorien så man nemlig i Edens have mænd og kvinder, der arbejdede side om side. Edens ideal, hele familien som gartnere, var en ny idé på Urantia. |
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84:7.8 (940.4) But the home as an institution, a partnership between one man and one woman, dates more specifically from the days of Dalamatia, about one-half million years ago, the monogamous practices of Andon and his immediate descendants having been abandoned long before. Family life, however, was not much to boast of before the days of the Nodites and the later Adamites. Adam and Eve exerted a lasting influence on all mankind; for the first time in the history of the world men and women were observed working side by side in the Garden. The Edenic ideal, the whole family as gardeners, was a new idea on Urantia. |
84:7.9 (940.5) Den tidlige familie omfattede en beslægtet arbejdsgruppe, inklusive slaverne, som alle boede i samme bolig. Ægteskab og familieliv har ikke altid været identiske, men har af nødvendighed været tæt forbundet. Kvinden har altid ønsket den individuelle familie, og til sidst fik hun sin vilje. |
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84:7.9 (940.5) The early family embraced a related working group, including the slaves, all living in one dwelling. Marriage and family life have not always been identical but have of necessity been closely associated. Woman always wanted the individual family, and eventually she had her way. |
84:7.10 (940.6) Kærlighed til afkom er næsten universel og har en afgjort værdi for overlevelse. Fortidens mennesker ofrede altid moderens interesse for barnet velfærd; en eskimomor slikker endda stadig sin baby i stedet for vaske den. Men primitive mødre nærede og plejede deres børn, når de var helt små; ligesom dyrene, så kasserede de dem, så snart de voksede op. Varige og kontinuerlige menneskelige forhold har aldrig været baseret på biologisk hengivenhed alene. Dyrene elsker deres unger; mennesket—det civiliserede mennesker—elsker selv sine børnebørn. Jo højere civilisationen er, jo større er forældrenes glæde over børnenes fremskridt og succes; dermed opstår den nye og højere erkendelse af stolthed over navnet. |
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84:7.10 (940.6) Love of offspring is almost universal and is of distinct survival value. The ancients always sacrificed the mother’s interests for the welfare of the child; an Eskimo mother even yet licks her baby in lieu of washing. But primitive mothers only nourished and cared for their children when very young; like the animals, they discarded them as soon as they grew up. Enduring and continuous human associations have never been founded on biologic affection alone. The animals love their children; man—civilized man—loves his children’s children. The higher the civilization, the greater the joy of parents in the children’s advancement and success; thus the new and higher realization of name pride comes into existence. |
84:7.11 (940.7) De store familier blandt fortidens folk var ikke baseret nødvendigvis på hengivenhed. Mange børn blev ønsket, fordi: |
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84:7.11 (940.7) The large families among ancient peoples were not necessarily affectional. Many children were desired because: |
84:7.12 (940.8) 1. De var værdifulde som arbejdere. |
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84:7.12 (940.8) 1. They were valuable as laborers. |
84:7.13 (940.9) 2. De var en alderdomsforsikring. |
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84:7.13 (940.9) 2. They were old-age insurance. |
84:7.14 (940.10) 3. Døtre kunne sælges. |
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84:7.14 (940.10) 3. Daughters were salable. |
84:7.15 (940.11) 4. Familiens stolthed krævede udbredelse af navnet. |
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84:7.15 (940.11) 4. Family pride required extension of name. |
84:7.16 (940.12) 5. Sønner betød beskyttelse og forsvar. |
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84:7.16 (940.12) 5. Sons afforded protection and defense. |
84:7.17 (940.13) 6. Frygt for spøgelser forårsagede en frygt for at være alene. |
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84:7.17 (940.13) 6. Ghost fear produced a dread of being alone. |
84:7.18 (940.14) 7. Visse religioner krævede afkom. |
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84:7.18 (940.14) 7. Certain religions required offspring. |
84:7.19 (940.15) Tilbedere af forfædrene ser fraværet af sønner som den største ulykke i tid og evighed. Mere end noget andet, ønskede de sig sønner som kunne forrette højtidelighederne efter deres død, for at tilbyde de nødvendige offergaver for genfærdets rejse gennem åndelandet |
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84:7.19 (940.15) Ancestor worshipers view the failure to have sons as the supreme calamity for all time and eternity. They desire above all else to have sons to officiate in the post-mortem feasts, to offer the required sacrifices for the ghost’s progress through spiritland. |
84:7.20 (941.1) Blandt de gamle vilde begyndte man at disciplinere børn meget tidligt, og barnet indså tidligt, at ulydighed betød nederlag eller endda død, ligesom det gjorde for dyrene. Det er civilisationens beskyttelse af barnet mod de naturlige konsekvenser af tåbelig opførsel, der bidrager så meget til moderne ulydighed. |
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84:7.20 (941.1) Among ancient savages, discipline of children was begun very early; and the child early realized that disobedience meant failure or even death just as it did to the animals. It is civilization’s protection of the child from the natural consequences of foolish conduct that contributes so much to modern insubordination. |
84:7.21 (941.2) Eskimobørn udvikles på så lidt disciplin og korrektion blot fordi de er naturligt føjelige små dyr; Børn både blandt de røde og de gule mennesker er næsten lige så let medgørlige. Blandt de racer, der indeholder arv fra Anditerne, er børn ikke så rolige; disse mere fantasifulde og eventyrlystne unge kræver mere træning og disciplin. Moderne problemer med børnekultur bliver stadig vanskeligere: |
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84:7.21 (941.2) Eskimo children thrive on so little discipline and correction simply because they are naturally docile little animals; the children of both the red and the yellow men are almost equally tractable. But in races containing Andite inheritance, children are not so placid; these more imaginative and adventurous youths require more training and discipline. Modern problems of child culture are rendered increasingly difficult by: |
84:7.22 (941.3) 1. Den høje grad af raceblanding. |
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84:7.22 (941.3) 1. The large degree of race mixture. |
84:7.23 (941.4) 2. Kunstig og overfladisk uddannelse. |
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84:7.23 (941.4) 2. Artificial and superficial education. |
84:7.24 (941.5) 3. Barnets manglende evne til at erhverve kultur ved at efterligne forældrene—forældrene er fraværende fra familiekredsen en stor del af tiden. |
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84:7.24 (941.5) 3. Inability of the child to gain culture by imitating parents—the parents are absent from the family picture so much of the time. |
84:7.25 (941.6) De gamle ideer om familiedisciplin var biologiske og voksede ud af erkendelsen af, at forældre var skabere af barnets væsen. Familielivets fremskridende idealer fører til den opfattelse, at det at bringe et barn til verden, i stedet for at give visse forældrerettigheder, medfører det højeste ansvar i den menneskelige eksistens. |
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84:7.25 (941.6) The olden ideas of family discipline were biologic, growing out of the realization that parents were creators of the child’s being. The advancing ideals of family life are leading to the concept that bringing a child into the world, instead of conferring certain parental rights, entails the supreme responsibility of human existence. |
84:7.26 (941.7) Civilisationen anser forældrene for at påtage sig alle pligter, og barnet for at have alle rettigheder. Barnets respekt for sine forældre opstår ikke i erkendelse af den forpligtelse, der ligger i forældrenes forplantning, men vokser naturligt som et resultat af den omsorg, træning og hengivenhed, der kærligt udvises for at hjælpe barnet med at vinde livets kamp. Den sande forælder er engageret i en kontinuerlig tjeneste, som det kloge barn kommer til at anerkende og værdsætte. |
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84:7.26 (941.7) Civilization regards the parents as assuming all duties, the child as having all the rights. Respect of the child for his parents arises, not in knowledge of the obligation implied in parental procreation, but naturally grows as a result of the care, training, and affection which are lovingly displayed in assisting the child to win the battle of life. The true parent is engaged in a continuous service-ministry which the wise child comes to recognize and appreciate. |
84:7.27 (941.8) I den nuværende industrielle og bymæssige tidsperiode udvikler ægteskabsinstitutionen sig i nye økonomiske linjer. Familielivet er blevet dyrere og dyrere, mens børn, der tidligere var et aktiv, er blevet økonomiske forpligtelser. Men selve civilisationens sikkerhed hviler stadig på den ene generations voksende villighed til at investere i den næste og fremtidige generationers velfærd. Og ethvert forsøg på at flytte forældreansvaret til staten eller kirken vil vise sig at være selvmorderisk for civilisationens velfærd og fremskridt. |
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84:7.27 (941.8) In the present industrial and urban era the marriage institution is evolving along new economic lines. Family life has become more and more costly, while children, who used to be an asset, have become economic liabilities. But the security of civilization itself still rests on the growing willingness of one generation to invest in the welfare of the next and future generations. And any attempt to shift parental responsibility to state or church will prove suicidal to the welfare and advancement of civilization. |
84:7.28 (941.9) Ægteskab, herunder børn og deraf følgende familieliv, stimulerer den menneskelige naturs højeste potentialer, og tilbyder samtidig en ideal kanal til at udtrykke disse levendegjorte egenskaber af dødelige personlighed. Familien tager sig af den biologiske fortsættelse af den menneskelige race. Hjemmet er den naturlige sociale arena, hvor etikken i broderskab baseret på blodets bånd kan forstås af de voksende børn. Familien er den grundlæggende enhed af broderskab, hvor forældre og børn lærer tålmodighed, altruisme, tolerance og overbærenhedens lektier, som er så afgørende for realiseringen af broderskab blandt alle mennesker. |
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84:7.28 (941.9) Marriage, with children and consequent family life, is stimulative of the highest potentials in human nature and simultaneously provides the ideal avenue for the expression of these quickened attributes of mortal personality. The family provides for the biologic perpetuation of the human species. The home is the natural social arena wherein the ethics of blood brotherhood may be grasped by the growing children. The family is the fundamental unit of fraternity in which parents and children learn those lessons of patience, altruism, tolerance, and forbearance which are so essential to the realization of brotherhood among all men. |
84:7.29 (941.10) Det menneskelige samfund ville blive meget bedre, hvis de civiliserede racer i højere grad vendte tilbage til anditternes praksis med familieråd. De opretholdt ikke den patriarkalske eller autokratiske form for familiestyre. De var meget broderlige og forenede og diskuterede frit og ærligt alle forslag og reguleringer af familiemæssig karakter. De var ideelt set broderlige i al deres familieforvaltning. I en ideel familie forstærkes både den barnlige og den forældremæssige kærlighed af broderlig hengivenhed. |
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84:7.29 (941.10) Human society would be greatly improved if the civilized races would more generally return to the family-council practices of the Andites. They did not maintain the patriarchal or autocratic form of family government. They were very brotherly and associative, freely and frankly discussing every proposal and regulation of a family nature. They were ideally fraternal in all their family government. In an ideal family filial and parental affection are both augmented by fraternal devotion. |
84:7.30 (942.1) Familielivet er stamfaderen til sand moral, stamfaderen til bevidstheden om loyalitet over for pligten. Familielivets påtvungne forbindelser stabiliserer personligheden og stimulerer dens vækst gennem den nødvendige tilpasning til andre og forskellige personligheder. Men endnu mere afslører en sand familie—en god familie—for forældrenes ophavsmænd Skaberens holdning til sine børn, mens sådanne sande forældre samtidig skildrer for deres børn den første af en lang række stigende afsløringer af Paradisforælderens kærlighed til alle universets børn. |
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84:7.30 (942.1) Family life is the progenitor of true morality, the ancestor of the consciousness of loyalty to duty. The enforced associations of family life stabilize personality and stimulate its growth through the compulsion of necessitous adjustment to other and diverse personalities. But even more, a true family—a good family—reveals to the parental procreators the attitude of the Creator to his children, while at the same time such true parents portray to their children the first of a long series of ascending disclosures of the love of the Paradise parent of all universe children. |
8. Farerne ved selvtilfredsstillelse ^top |
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8. Dangers of Self-Gratification ^top |
84:8.1 (942.2) Den store trussel mod familielivet er den truende flodbølge af selvtilfredsstillelse, den moderne nydelsesmani. Det primære incitament til ægteskab plejede at være økonomisk; seksuel tiltrækning var sekundært. Dette ægteskab var baseret på selvopretholdelse, der førte til udbredelse af racen og tilbød samtidig en af de mest eftertragtede former for selvtilfredsstillelse. Ægteskabet er den eneste institution i det menneskelige samfund, der omfatter alle tre af de store incitamenter til at leve. |
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84:8.1 (942.2) The great threat against family life is the menacing rising tide of self-gratification, the modern pleasure mania. The prime incentive to marriage used to be economic; sex attraction was secondary. Marriage, founded on self-maintenance, led to self-perpetuation and concomitantly provided one of the most desirable forms of self-gratification. It is the only institution of human society which embraces all three of the great incentives for living. |
84:8.2 (942.3) Oprindeligt var ejendom den grundlæggende institution for selvopretholdelsen, mens ægteskabet fungerede som den unikke institution for forplantning. Selvom tilfredsstillelsen af sult, leg og humor, samt periodisk seksuel tilfredsstillelse, var midler til selvtilfredsstillelse, er det stadig et kendsgerning, at de skiftende skikke ikke har formået at opbygge nogen særskilt institution for selvtilfredsstillelse. Det er på grund af denne manglende udvikling af specialiserede teknikker til lystbetonet nydelse, at alle menneskelige institutioner er så fuldstændigt gennemsyret med denne nydelsesjagt. Akkumulering af ejendom er ved at blive et instrument til at øge alle former for selvtilfredsstillelse, mens ægteskabet ofte kun betragtes som et middel til nydelse. Og denne overforkælelse, denne vidt udbredte nydelsesmani, udgør nu den største trussel, der nogensinde er blevet rettet mod den sociale evolutionære institution i familielivet, hjemmet. |
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84:8.2 (942.3) Originally, property was the basic institution of self-maintenance, while marriage functioned as the unique institution of self-perpetuation. Although food satisfaction, play, and humor, along with periodic sex indulgence, were means of self-gratification, it remains a fact that the evolving mores have failed to build any distinct institution of self-gratification. And it is due to this failure to evolve specialized techniques of pleasurable enjoyment that all human institutions are so completely shot through with this pleasure pursuit. Property accumulation is becoming an instrument for augmenting all forms of self-gratification, while marriage is often viewed only as a means of pleasure. And this overindulgence, this widely spread pleasure mania, now constitutes the greatest threat that has ever been leveled at the social evolutionary institution of family life, the home. |
84:8.3 (942.4) Den violette race indførte en ny og kun ufuldstændigt realiseret egenskab i menneskehedens erfaring—legeinstinktet kombineret med sansen for humor. Sangikerne og Andoniterne havde til en vis grad dette instinkt, men det Adamiske arveelement ophøjede denne primitive tilbøjelighed til potentiale for nydelse, en ny og ophøjet form for selvtilfredsstillelse. Den grundlæggende form for selvtilfredsstillelse, bortset fra at stille sulten, er sextilfredsstillelse, og denne form for sanselig nydelse blev enormt forøget ved blandingen af Sangikerne og Anditerne. |
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84:8.3 (942.4) The violet race introduced a new and only imperfectly realized characteristic into the experience of humankind—the play instinct coupled with the sense of humor. It was there in measure in the Sangiks and Andonites, but the Adamic strain elevated this primitive propensity into the potential of pleasure, a new and glorified form of self-gratification. The basic type of self-gratification, aside from appeasing hunger, is sex gratification, and this form of sensual pleasure was enormously heightened by the blending of the Sangiks and the Andites. |
84:8.4 (942.5) Der er en reel fare i kombinationen af rastløshed, nysgerrighed, eventyr og hengivelse til fornøjelse der karakteriserer menneskeracerne efter Anditernes tid. Sjælens sult kan ikke tilfredsstilles med fysiske fornøjelser; kærligheden til hjemmet og børnene forstærkes ikke af den ukloge jagt på fornøjelser. Selv om I udtømmer ressourcerne i kunst, farver, lyd, rytme, musik og personlig udsmykning, kan I ikke håbe på, at man derved kan ophøje sjælen eller nære ånden. Forfængelighed og mode kan ikke bidrage til opbygning af et hjem og børnenes opdragelse; stolthed og rivalisering er magtesløse til at forbedre overlevelsesevnen hos de efterfølgende generationer. |
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84:8.4 (942.5) There is real danger in the combination of restlessness, curiosity, adventure, and pleasure-abandon characteristic of the post-Andite races. The hunger of the soul cannot be satisfied with physical pleasures; the love of home and children is not augmented by the unwise pursuit of pleasure. Though you exhaust the resources of art, color, sound, rhythm, music, and adornment of person, you cannot hope thereby to elevate the soul or to nourish the spirit. Vanity and fashion cannot minister to home building and child culture; pride and rivalry are powerless to enhance the survival qualities of succeeding generations. |
84:8.5 (942.6) Alle opadgående himmelske væsener nyder alle godt af hvile og omvekslingsledernes tjeneste. Alle bestræbelser på at opnå sund adspredelse og engagere sig i opløftende leg er sunde; forfriskende søvn, hvile, rekreation, og alt tidsfordriv, der forhindrer monotoniens kedsomhed, er værd at bruge tid på. Konkurrencelege, historiefortælling og endda smagen af god mad kan tjene som former for selvtilfredsstillelse. (Når du bruger salt til at smage på maden, så tænk på, at mennesket i næsten en million år kun kunne få salt ved at dyppe maden i aske). |
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84:8.5 (942.6) Advancing celestial beings all enjoy rest and the ministry of the reversion directors. All efforts to obtain wholesome diversion and to engage in uplifting play are sound; refreshing sleep, rest, recreation, and all pastimes which prevent the boredom of monotony are worth while. Competitive games, storytelling, and even the taste of good food may serve as forms of self-gratification. (When you use salt to savor food, pause to consider that, for almost a million years, man could obtain salt only by dipping his food in ashes.) |
84:8.6 (943.1) Lad mennesket nyde sig selv; lad menneskeheden finde nydelse på tusind og én måde; lad den evolutionære menneskehed udforske alle former for legitim selvtilfredsstillelse, frugterne af den lange opadgående biologiske kamp. Mennesket har velfortjent nogle af hans nutidige glæder og fornøjelser. Men se dig godt for i forhold til skæbnens mål! Fornøjelser er i sandhed selvmorderiske, hvis de lykkes med at ødelægge ejendom, som er blevet en institution for selvopretholdelse; og selvtilfredsstillelse har i sandhed kostet en fatal pris, hvis de medfører ægteskabets sammenbrud, familielivets dekadence og ødelæggelsen af hjemmet—menneskets højeste evolutionære erhvervelse og civilisationens eneste håb om overlevelse. |
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84:8.6 (943.1) Let man enjoy himself; let the human race find pleasure in a thousand and one ways; let evolutionary mankind explore all forms of legitimate self-gratification, the fruits of the long upward biologic struggle. Man has well earned some of his present-day joys and pleasures. But look you well to the goal of destiny! Pleasures are indeed suicidal if they succeed in destroying property, which has become the institution of self-maintenance; and self-gratifications have indeed cost a fatal price if they bring about the collapse of marriage, the decadence of family life, and the destruction of the home—man’s supreme evolutionary acquirement and civilization’s only hope of survival. |
84:8.7 (943.2) [Præsenteret af serafernes leder stationeret på Urantia.] |
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84:8.7 (943.2) [Presented by the Chief of Seraphim stationed on Urantia.] |