The following is based on the list from Honore de Balzac's The Physiology of Marriage (1824-29). It is a loose translation, and the passage has appeared in various forms over the years. The text outlines the reasons for which a man may marry - the complete A-Z, if you like...
He may, it is stated, marry from ambition, from beauty, from cunning, from devotion, from ebriety, from folly, from giddiness, from heroism, from idiocy, from jauntiness, from kindness, from love, from malice, from nonchalance, from obstinacy, from pigheadedness, from quarrelsomeness, from raggedness, from spite, from toadyism, from utilitarianism, from virtue, from want, from x (the unknown quality), from youth and from zanyism.
Which one are you, I wonder?
For those wishing to further investigate this curious work, see here. It should be noted that this online version differs somewhat from the above, but is just as entertaining and thought-provoking.
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