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hibition of these marriages constituted part of the moral law of God: and that the prohibition was not confined to blood relations, but was extended to those nearly related by marriage, founded on the principle from the time of our first parents, that "the man and his wife are one flesh," and consequently his wife's relations are his, and conversely the husband's relations are hers; "and this makes affinity, or relation by marriage, as strong as—nay, in some respects, stronger—than consanguinity or relation by blood; since a man is to leave his father and mother, his nearest blood relations, and to cleave unto his wife, because they are one flesh; and if they are one flesh,—and it is God's truth which declares them so—then from that intimate union, that identity we may rather call it, between a man and his wife, whoever is near of kin to the one is necessarily near of kin to the other" (from sermon by Honble. and Rev. R Liddell, preached at St. Paul's and St. Barnabas', London, the first Sunday in Lent, 1858). "For what can be 'nearer' to a man than his own wife, or rather, than his own flesh? For 'they are no more twain, but one flesh'. So that by means of the wife, the sister also passes into the kindred of the husband" (Dr. Pusey, quoting St. Basil, I., p. 30). And further, we must believe that what is forbidden to the man is also forbidden to the woman as regards the same degree of relationship. On these points I shall quote the tract by John Keble mentioned already. He says, pp. 13-17: "In Leviticus, chap. 18, certain marriages are forbidden, as specially offensive to God. Some people say that the prohibition belongs to the civil law only of the ancient Jews, and that, so far as it is concerned, persons of other nations may contract such marriages without sinning. But this must be a mistake, for it appears from the end of the chapter (Lev. xviii. 24-30) that such marriages were among the crimes which drew down God's heavy anger upon the Canaanites. 'Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things, for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: and the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomiteth out her inhabitants. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own
