The author offers practical and philosophical guidance for choosing a spouse and building a marriage, arguing that marriage remains the most honest mode of love while warning against conflating it with seduction or prostitution. He examines social context, sexual selection, age and health, physical attraction including race and nationality, emotional and intellectual compatibility, and financial considerations, then considers common hardships and stages of married life—depicted as hell, purgatory, and paradise. Throughout he urges careful deliberation, sincere conduct, and the use of reason and self-knowledge when deciding to marry, proposing analytical methods and candid reflections to help readers weigh benefits and risks.