Primitive men probably knew nothing of a period of
engagement, and lovers would proceed to become wholly wedded just as
soon as nature laid her compelling hand upon them. But it is our glory
that we are not simply the tools of natural forces. We belong to the
directorate in this life, and even on the force of love we can impose
times and seasons. But when the right time does come, then lovers who
have already been attaining to union of heart and mind express their
passion also in the union of their bodies, and this wonderful
experience, when it does so enter life, is realized as something
sacramental. It is literally and exactly an expression in the terms of
the body of something which is already a spiritual fact. Nothing
satisfies real love except this complete mingling of two personalities.
It is not satisfied without physical intimacy, and yet physical
intimacy alone is not enough. That which is satisfied by mere physical
intimacy is not love. The full human passion which alone deserves that
name calls also for intimacies of mind and spirit--for the interplay of
two personalities through the whole stretch of their powers.
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