ution in any civilized
land. Being well known as not uncommon among certain heathenish and
barbarous tribes, it was looked upon as a heathenish and debasing
institution, the outgrowth of ignorance and gross sensuality, and a
relic of a sensual age. Now, this is no longer true. Even in this, the
most enlightened of all lands, where there are most ample facilities
for culture, for moral and mental development, polygamy holds up its
hideous head in defiance of all the laws of God and man. It is true
that the perpetrators of this foul crime against humanity and Heaven
have been driven by the indignation of outraged decency to seek a
lurking place in the far-off wilderness of the Western territories;
yet the foul odors from this festering sore are daily becoming more
and more putrescent, and in spite of the distance, are contaminating
the already not overstrict morals of the nation.

No better evidence of the blighting, searing effect of this gross social
crime could be found than the fact that not only is polygamy coming
to be winked at as something not so very bad after all, but men from
whom we have a right to expect something better are coming forward in
its defense.

We have just been perusing a work written for the express purpose of
justifying and advocating polygamy, which was written by an evangelical
clergyman. He was evidently not willing to own his work, however, since
his name is carefully excluded from the title-page, and his publisher
put under an oath of secrecy. The arguments which he makes in favor
of polygamy are chiefly the following:--

1. That it is approved by the Bible.

2. That a robust man requires more than one woman to satisfy his sexual
demands.

3. That there are more women than men; and since every woman has a right
to have a husband, the only way all can be supplied is to allow several
women, two or more, according to the capacity of the man, or as they
can agree, to form a marriage partnership with one man.

4. That the great men of all ages have been polygamists in fact, if
not by open profession.

5. That monogamy is a relic of the paganism of the ancient Greeks and
Romans, with whom it originated.

6. That it is the only proper and effective cure for the "social evil,"
and all its attendant vices and dire diseases.

As this work has had quite a circulation, bearing the imprint of a
well-known Boston publisher, and has not received any answer that we
are aware of, we deem it wor