“If they had only themselves to consider, lovers would not need to marry, but they must think of others and of other things. They say their vows to the community as much as to one another, and the community gathers around them to hear and to wish them well, on their behalf and its own. It gathers around them because it understands how necessary, how joyful, and how fearful this joining is. These lovers, pledging themselves to one another "until death," are giving themselves away, and they are joined by this as no law or contract could join them.” IfsThinkingNeedsGivingWellsLawWishCommunityLoversContractsFearfulJoyfulBehalfVowJoining Author:Wendell Berry
“Unfenced by law, the unmarried lover can quit a bad relationship at any time. But you - the legally married person who wants to escape doomed love - may soon discover that a significant portion of your marriage contract belongs to the State, and that it sometimes takes a very long while for the State to grant you your leave.” WantMayPersonsLongSometimesStatesLawLoversMarriedQuittingSignificantGrantsContractsPortionsDoomedUnmarriedBad RelationshipMarriage Contract Book:Committed: A Sceptic Makes Peace With Marriage Source: Committed: A Sceptic Makes Peace With Marriage
“The law is an expression of God 's holy will and as such must be honored and loved," said the preacher piously. "Rubbish," said the Master. "The law is a necessary evil and as such must be cut down to the barest minimum. Show me a lover of the law and I will show you a muttonheaded tyrant .” SaidShowsLawEvilCuttingExpressionMastersLoversHolyTyrantsPreacherMinimumShow MeHonoredRubbishNecessary Evil Author:Anthony de Mello