In considering this sacrament we have again to see how something natural has been transformed by the power of god acting through his Church. As in penance, where the matter of the sacrament is sorrow for sin, what is transformed is not something non-human, such as oil or water, but the mutual consent of a man and a woman to give themselves to one another for the purpose of continuing the human race; something, that is to say, effectively significant even before it is given a new dignity by the action of Christ. For marriage is as old as the human race, and following the lead given by St Paul (Ephesians v, 31) we can learn its significance from the original institution in Paradise.

The account given in the book of Genesis (ii, 18-24) begins with God's action in creating a partner for Adam, because ‘It is not good for man to be alone’.