You won’t be lonely now…

Many men are a bit dismissive of the concept of marriage. To some of us, marriage is an institution designed to tie us down, break us in and lead us, like obedient donkeys, into a lifetime of domestic drudgery.

Just think of the language we use. Wives are trouble and strife, and marriage is a prison sentence.

And yet, if you're with the right person and you're at the right time of your life, a good marriage can be the solid foundation for everything you achieve in life. Here are 10 good reasons to embrace marriage.

If you've married the right person she'll be a friend as well as a lover. She'll be there when you need her, through good times and bad. When you catch some winter flu and your friends won't come near you for fear of infection, she'll be the one mopping your fevered brow.

That might be true of a girlfriend as well, of course, but getting married means publicly agreeing to be there, for each other, for life. There's a psychological permanence about marriage that even co-habitation or parenthood can't match.