{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_47947/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_47947","id":"gutenberg_47947","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47947","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Parenthood & Family Relations","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Sexuality & Erotica","Category: Teaching & Education","Sex","Sexual health"],"text":"[Illustration:\n\nTELLING THE STORY OF LIFE; THE PRESENT DAY IDEA OF SEX INSTRUCTION.\n\n \u201cO, THOU CHILD OF MANY PRAYERS,\u201d]\n\n\n\n\n SELF KNOWLEDGE\n AND\n GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION\n\n VITAL FACTS OF LIFE FOR ALL AGES\n\n A Complete and Comprehensive Guide to Parents for the Proper\n Instruction of Their Children, Concerning the Delicate\n Questions of Life; Timely Help for the Boy and Girl,\n at the Ages of Greatest Danger, with Warnings\n of the Pitfalls which Lie Hidden in\n Their Pathway,\n\n TOGETHER WITH\n\n Vital Information for the Marriageable; Safe, Sane, Scientific\n Counsel for the Married of all Ages, including Knowledge\n Vital to those in Middle Life and Declining\n Years, with a Word of Warning Against the Prevailing\n Ignorance of God\u2019s Sacred Laws of\n Sex and Heredity\n\n BY\n PROFESSOR T. W. SHANNON, A.M.\n\nInternational Lecturer on Moral, Social and Reform Topics; Member of Advisory\nBoard World\u2019s Purity Federation; also Author of Eight other Purity Books\n\n With Special Chapters by Hon. Stanley Finch, Special Commissioner for\nThe Suppression of the White Slave Traffic, U. S. Department of Justice;\n B. S. Steadwell, President World\u2019s Purity Federation and\n Charles W. Eliot, Former President Harvard University\n\n INTRODUCED BY\n\n B. S. STEADWELL\n\nPublisher \u201cThe Light,\u201d Official Organ of The World\u2019s Purity Federation\n\n PUBLISHED EXCLUSIVELY BY\n\n THE S. A. MULLIKIN COMPANY\n MARIETTA OHIO\n\n\n COPYRIGHTED, 1913, BY\n THE S. A. MULLIKIN CO.\n\n Agents wanted in all English-speaking countries. Address publishers\n at foot of title page.\n\n\n\n\n Dedicated\n\n TO THE GRANDFATHERS AND GRANDMOTHERS,\n TO THE FATHERS AND MOTHERS,\n TO THE HUSBANDS AND WIVES,\n TO THE BACHELORS AND MAIDS,\n TO THE YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG WOMEN,\n TO THE BOYS AND GIRLS,\n TO THE BABES THAT BE AND ARE TO BE,\n THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED\n BY THE AUTHOR.\n\n[Illustration: YOURS FOR THE UPLIFT OF HUMANITY\n\nT.W. Shannon]\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nTruth like gold is unaffected in quality by its environment, but the\nenvironment of truth does affect the character of the person receiving\nit. Half truths clothed in obscene language and imparted by the ignorant\nor vicious have made mental, moral and physical wrecks of millions. The\nsame truth received from a pure mother, noble father, a good book or a\nwise teacher, safeguards the youth and accomplishes untold good.\n\nThe purpose of this book is not only to enable parents, teachers and all\nmatured people, to inform themselves more fully concerning the vital\nfacts of life, but it furnishes a specific guide to all parents, who\nwould know how to tell their children the sacred story of life, and\ncounsel intelligently with their sons and daughters at the ages of\ngreatest danger and give them clean, concise and scientific sex\ninstruction with a view to safeguarding them against the demoralizing\nhalf truths of vicious or ignorant schoolmates, servants or companions;\nand to all others of sufficient age, who have an opportunity for service\nto innocent and helpless children, who would have a wise word at the\nright time; and to the young man and young woman, married or single,\nwho would avoid the pit-falls lying in the pathway of those ignorant of\nGod\u2019s sacred laws of nature; and to all mankind who seek to make the\nworld better by more intelligent and better living.\n\nThe author of this book is sacrificing home life, financial interests,\nand much that is dear to all human hearts, to humanity\u2019s cause. He\nlectures by day and works and travels by night and is unable to meet\nhalf of the calls for service. During engagements of two or three days\nhe labors at night without money and without price in private interviews\nwith young men after his lectures until midnight, one, two, three and\nfour o\u2019clock in the morning, hoping thereby to lend a helping hand to\nthousands to the end of nobler, purer and better living. In this work he\nhas met with marvelous success. He now hopes to send his vital messages\nto the four corners of the earth in book form in order that the\ninfluence of his work may be felt in wider circles than he may ever hope\nto reach in personal endeavors. The spirit in which this book has been\nwritten is best expressed in the words of Henry Van Dyke:\n\n\u201cThere is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It\nis to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher. There is a nobler\ncharacter than that which is merely incorruptible. It is the character\nwhich acts as an antidote and preventive of corruption. Fearlessly to\nspeak the words which bear witness to righteousness and truth and\npurity; patiently to do the deeds which strengthen virtue and kindle\nhope in your fellow men; generously to lend a hand to those who are\ntrying to climb upward; faithfully to give your support and your\npersonal help to the efforts which are making to elevate and purify the\nsocial life of the world.\u201d\n\nProf. Shannon observes that the spirit of society and the attitude of\nour government has been to protect our forests, inspect our swine and\nneglect our children, but that a wiser and more hopeful day is dawning.\nMore interest in the study and application of the laws of Heredity has\nbeen taken in the past ten years than in the previous ninety. Newspapers\nand magazines contain articles by leaders of eugenic thought; purity\norganizations are springing up throughout the country and sounding the\nword of warning against the prevailing ignorance of these subjects;\nbooks are being written; sermons and lectures delivered and the masses\nare becoming interested. In this Prof. Shannon is doing his part. The\nsale of his books to date have reached in excess of a quarter of a\nmillion copies with no organized effort behind them. Each copy sold\nseems to sell two others, and with the business growing by leaps and\nbounds and getting beyond his control, the present publishers with a\nsales system unexcelled, were selected as a medium for placing his\nmessages literally into the homes of millions.\n\nProf. Shannon is a member of the Advisory Board of the World\u2019s Purity\nFederation and lectures under the auspices of this movement. Eight years\nas teacher of Biology, after his graduation from college, his experience\nin writing eight other purity books and years of research and lecturing\non these subjects have eminently qualified him for the high position he\nholds to-day with the World\u2019s Purity Federation, and as author of a\nnumber of books on moral, social and reform topics which are to-day\nmeeting with such an enormous sale. He sends forth this volume on its\nmission of usefulness to the human race with the implicit faith that it\nwill be the means of safeguarding the youth wherever it goes and make\nthousands of homes happier and brighter and the world a better place to\nlive.\n\nTHE PUBLISHERS.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe saddest thing in all this world is a human wreck,--a man or a woman,\nyoung or old, who is undone and who, in one or more walks of life, is a\nfailure. There are so many of them! Mental wrecks, physical wrecks,\nnervous wrecks, social wrecks, business wrecks, character wrecks. The\naspect of these derelicts is the more pitiable because of the\npossibilities before every well-born human being, who, with the\nendowment of intelligence and other gifts and powers bestowed upon him\nby a kind Creator, is capable of rising to heights of human perfection.\nAmple provision made for man\u2019s every need and want by God, and yet we\nfind misery where there ought to be happiness, poverty where there ought\nto be riches, darkness where there ought to be light, ignorance where\nthere ought to be knowledge, vice where there ought to be virtue, and\nturmoil and strife where there ought to be peace. Only too accurately do\nthe poet\u2019s words apply:\n\n \u201cOf all the sad words of tongue or pen,\n The saddest are these: \u2018It might have been.\u2019\u201d\n\nThis problem of human wreckage becomes more depressing when we consider\nthat in the breast of every person there is an innate desire to live\ntrue, to win success. The day dreams of every boy and girl picture\nthemselves as the hero or the heroine in the story which weaves into its\nplot their ideal men and women. Their ideals may be low, that is the\nfault of their environment and training, but their ideals always\nrepresent their own highest conceptions of manhood and womanhood. But\nsooner or later struggle comes, appetite craves, and passion cries out,\nand if they are unprepared for life\u2019s real conflict, they go down, and\nanother failure is recorded and another wreck left to float and endanger\nevery other craft upon life\u2019s seas, until human wreckage is becoming so\nenormous that it is a question in the minds of scientists and\nsociologists as to how long humanity can keep up its present pace and\nsurvive the centuries.\n\nThe causes of human wrecks are many, far too many to be tabulated or\nenumerated. In a sentence they result from the principle that it is\neasier to coast than to climb; so much easier to float than to struggle\nagainst the current. Like the weeds that kill out the crops, just so is\nhumanity beset by enumerable temptations at every turn, social and\neconomic customs force downward a great many who would otherwise rise to\nhigher things, and, it is suspected, that in the very nature of man\nthere is a strong tendency to evil which can be overcome only by divine\ngrace. Appetite and passion are the two forces to which man\u2019s higher\naspirations most often give way. Intemperance and impurity, in their\nbroader meaning, are the two bars upon which most human wrecks have\nstranded. Social impurity, or the abuse of the sex function and nature,\nis by far the most insidious, and with respect to the number and\ndegradation of its victims, the greatest evil in the world to-day.\n\nThis book is one of the most valuable ever written because it treats\nfully and wisely this question of personal and social purity; it points\nout the reefs, the bars, the snags, the icebergs, the shallow and\ndangerous places where human wrecks are made; it guides those who accept\nit as their pilot into the deep waters of an unobstructed channel where\nthe voyage of life will be ever safe, successful, glorious. Here will be\nfound an incentive to climb rather than to coast, an inspiration to\nstruggle even against the current if in the struggle may be won some of\nthe more valuable prizes of life. Here is a book that holds high the\nsingle standard of morality, and demands that men shall be as pure as\nwomen; it stands boldly for the education of the young in sex hygiene,\nand proclaims a truth that ought long ago to have been universally\nknown, that it is the right of every person to know every knowable fact\npertaining to themselves, and that such knowledge ought to be imparted\nto them before the lack of it has brought injury to their lives. This\nis a book that will help to forever banish that false modesty and\nprurient thinking which has made the tremendous growth of public vice a\nreality, until every girl is in danger of enslavement and every boy\nthreatened with its corruption.\n\nThis is not a pioneer book on these questions. Other most excellent\nworks have preceded it, for which we should all be grateful, and have\npaved the way for this latest volume. The excellence of this work\nconsists largely in its completeness. It is a book for the home, for\nevery home, and for every member of the home. It tells exactly what\nought to be known concerning the sex nature and life of the individual,\nand the normal relations of the family and society, and best of all it\nteaches parents how to impart this saving knowledge to their children.\nAny and every home that takes this book as a friend and counselor, and\nfaithfully studies its pages, will fortify every person within the\nportals of that home against the baneful influences of impurity and\nvice.\n\nThe writer has known Prof. T. W. Shannon, the talented author of this\nbook, for some years, and we have watched his efforts with interest and\nadmiration. A voluminous writer, a wide traveler, he has probably\nreached more people with his uplifting message of purity through his\nbooks and upon the platform than any other living man of the same age.\nHis methods are never sensational and he does not stoop to uncovering\nall the cesspools of sin and vice, but he leads people upward by\ndirecting their minds and hearts to the beauty and rewards of pure\nliving and right thinking. Through the strength of his personality and\nthe profound truth in his message, he has helped thousands of college\nstudents and other young men to avoid the pitfalls which have brought\ndisaster to so many young lives. By education and experience Prof.\nShannon is eminently fitted to prepare just such a book as this and his\nauthorship should at once entitle it to a high place among the standard\nworks of the day dealing with these problems.\n\nAs the volume has received my own endorsement, even so I trust it may be\nmost cordially received into the homes of America, that our sons and our\ndaughters may be fortified through the truth, presented in an attractive\nand safe and sane manner, against the temptations which constantly meet\nthem; that human wrecks may be fewer, and that every life may have a\nfair chance to attain all for which it was created.\n\nB. S. STEADWELL.\n\nLa Crosse, Wisconsin,\nDecember 18, 1912.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nFIRST DIVISION\n\nTHE HOME\n\nCHAPTER PAGE\n\nI THE ESSENTIALS OF A HOME 15\n\nII THE FATHER\u2019S RELATION TO THE HOME 24\n\nIII THE MOTHER\u2019S RELATION TO THE HOME 29\n\nIV THE BOY\u2019S RELATION TO THE HOME 34\n\nV THE GIRL\u2019S RELATION TO THE HOME 41\n\nVI TRAINING AND GOVERNMENT IN THE HOME 47\n\n\nSECOND DIVISION\n\nHOW TO TEACH SOCIAL PURITY AND SEX TRUTHS\nTO A CHILD\n\nVII THE RIGHT OF A CHILD TO A KNOWLEDGE OF SEX 63\n\nVIII FIRST STORY--BABY PLANTS 87\n\nIX SECOND STORY--BABY OYSTERS AND FISH 99\n\nX THIRD STORY--BABY BIRDS 104\n\nXI FOURTH STORY--BABY ANIMALS AND MAN 108\n\nXII PRACTICAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED 117\n\n\nTHIRD DIVISION\n\nHOW TO TEACH SOCIAL PURITY AND SEX TRUTHS\nTO A GIRL\n\nXIII A TALK TO MOTHERS 122\n\nXIV MOTHER\u2019S FIRST TALK--THE FEMALE FORM 130\n\nXV MOTHER\u2019S SECOND TALK--DAWNING OF WOMANHOOD 138\n\nXVI MOTHER\u2019S THIRD TALK--CHOOSING A CHUM 143\n\nXVII MOTHER\u2019S FOURTH TALK--CONFIDENTIAL ADVICE 146\n\nXVIII MOTHER\u2019S FIFTH TALK--A SMALL GIRL\u2019S ETHICS 157\n\nXIX MOTHER\u2019S SIXTH TALK--HOW TO GROW BEAUTIFUL 162\n\n\nFOURTH DIVISION\n\nHOW TO TEACH SOCIAL PURITY AND SEX TRUTHS\nTO A BOY\n\nXX A TALK TO FATHERS 166\n\nXXI FATHER\u2019S FIRST TALK--BOYS MAKE MEN 173\n\nXXII FATHER\u2019S SECOND TALK--PERFECT BOYS MAKE\nPERFECT MEN 182\n\nXXIII FATHER\u2019S THIRD TALK--IMPERFECT BOYS MAKE\nIMPERFECT MEN 195\n\nXXIV FATHER\u2019S FOURTH TALK--HOW TO LIVE A PURE\nLIFE 204\n\nXXV FATHER\u2019S FIFTH TALK--THE TRUE YOUNG\nKNIGHT 211\n\n\nFIFTH DIVISION\n\nVITAL FACTS OF LIFE FOR THE YOUNG WOMAN,\nMARRIED OR SINGLE\n\nXXVI THE REAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SEX 218\n\nXXVII THE VICIOUS NOVEL 225\n\nXXVIII THE PUBLIC DANCE 232\n\nXXIX A YOUNG WOMAN\u2019S ETHICS 237\n\nXXX THE WRONGED GIRL 245\n\nXXXI THE MIRACLE OF MOTHERHOOD 258\n\nXXXII PRACTICAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED 266\n\nXXXIII BEAUTY BY BATHING 276\n\nXXXIV PHYSICAL CULTURE 291\n\n\nSIXTH DIVISION\n\nVITAL FACTS OF LIFE FOR THE YOUNG MAN,\nMARRIED OR SINGLE\n\nXXXV THE DEEPER SIGNIFICANCE OF SEX 304\n\nXXXVI CONTINENCE 313\n\nXXXVII PROSTITUTION 318\n\nXXXVIII VENEREAL DISEASES 322\n\nXXXIX A YOUNG MAN\u2019S ETHICS 331\n\nXL MANHOOD WRECKED AND REGAINED 337\n\nXLI PRACTICAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED 345\n\nXLII PHYSICAL CULTURE 371\n\n\nSEVENTH DIVISION\n\nHEREDITY, OR VITAL FACTS FOR THE MARRIED\nAND MARRIAGEABLE\n\nXLIII HEREDITY, A FACT 386\n\nXLIV HEREDITY AND REPRODUCTION 413\n\nXLV CHOOSING A COMPANION 435\n\nXLVI PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND MORAL PREPARATION FOR\nPARENTHOOD 445\n\nXLVII PRENATAL TRAINING 454\n\nXLVIII DELINQUENCIES, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 468\n\nXLIX BIRTHMARKS 494\n\nL HEREDITY, ENVIRONMENT AND REDEMPTION 506\n\nLI COURTSHIP, MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE 518\n\n\nEIGHTH DIVISION\n\nVITAL FACTS FOR MARRIED OR UNMARRIED, OF\nMIDDLE LIFE AND OLD AGE\n\nLII VITAL FACTS CONCERNING THE \u201cCHANGE OF LIFE\u201d\nIN WOMAN, AND THE YEARS TO FOLLOW 528\n\nLIII VITAL FACTS CONCERNING THE \u201cCHANGE OF LIFE\u201d\nIN MAN, AND THE YEARS TO FOLLOW 540\n\nLIV PRACTICAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED 550\n\n\nNINTH DIVISION\n\nMORAL, SOCIAL AND REFORM TOPICS\n\nLV SCHOOL INSTRUCTION IN SEX HYGIENE--BY\nCHARLES W. ELIOT 560\n\nLVI THE WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC--BY HON. STANLEY\nW. FINCH 570\n\nLVII THE PURITY MOVEMENT--BY B. S. STEADWELL 599\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\nCOLORED PLATES\n\nTelling the Story of Life Frontispiece\n\nA Gift from Heaven\n\nGod\u2019s Richest Blessing to a Home\n\nI Love You\n\n\nHALF-TONES AND CHARTS\n\n PAGE\n\nHome 17\n\nIdeal Relations in the Home 35\n\nLet Them Play Together 39\n\nChums in the Home 43\n\nDanger 79\n\nFlower 94\n\nFemale Internal Organs 133\n\nSexual Organs of Male 186\n\nDeveloping Knighthood 212\n\nFriendship 238\n\nBeauty by Bathing, No. 1 277\n\nBeauty by Bathing, No. 2 278\n\nBeauty by Bathing, No. 3 282\n\nBeauty by Bathing, No. 4 283\n\nBeauty by Bathing, No. 5 290\n\nPhysical Culture, No. 1-6 295\n\nPhysical Culture, No. 7-12 297\n\nPhysical Culture, No. 13-14 302\n\nPhysical Culture Exercise, No. 1 375\n\nPhysical Culture Exercise, No. 2 376\n\nPhysical Culture Exercise, No. 3 377\n\nPhysical Culture Exercise, No. 4-5 378\n\nPhysical Culture Exercise, No. 6 379\n\nPhysical Culture Exercise, No. 7 380\n\nPhysical Culture Exercise, No. 8 381\n\nPhysical Culture Exercise, No. 9 382\n\nPhysical Culture Exercise, No. 10 383\n\nPhysical Culture Exercise, No. 11-12 384\n\nA Wild Rose 388\n\nAmerican Beauty Rose 389\n\nA Wild Strawberry 392\n\nA Cultivated Strawberry 393\n\nResults of Personal Liberty 402\n\nProtected 403\n\nLouise and Mary Carter, Twins 418\n\nWell Born 446\n\nNeglected 478\n\nHeredity Chart, Emma W. 506\n\nHeredity Chart, No. 1 508\n\nHeredity Chart, No. 2-A 509\n\nHeredity Chart, No. 2-B 511\n\nWell Preserved and Contented Old Age 529\n\nClimax of a Well-Spent Life 541\n\nHon. Stanley W. Finch 571\n\nJohn B. Hammond 575\n\nTouring Purity Conference at Los Angeles 579\n\nTouring Purity Conference, Chattanooga 583\n\nTrial of a White Slaver 595\n\nB. S. Steadwell 601\n\nT. Albert Moore, D.D 605\n\nTouring Purity Conference, New Orleans 611\n\n[Illustration: HOME.]\n\n\n\n\nSELF KNOWLEDGE AND GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION\n\nFIRST DIVISION\n\nTHE HOME\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nTHE ESSENTIALS OF A HOME\n\n\n=The basic incentive for marriage.=--A completed home embraces a father,\nmother and one or more children, bound together by natural love for each\nother. The initial step in home building is taken when a man and woman\ndecide to assume the duties, responsibilities and functions of marriage.\nCourtship and marriage may be prompted by a number of motives. There is\nbut one natural and worthy motive--LOVE. This motive may be a little out\nof date in some circles, but it remains essential to a normal home, a\nhappy productive home. This expression of love is awakened to conscious\nactivity through acquaintance and friendship, becomes a joyful reality\nin courtship, is consummated in marriage and is perpetuated through\nlife, because of a chaste, pure, unselfish sex preference of one man\nfor one woman and that one woman for that one man. If for any reason,\nthis sex preference is ever broken, the bonds of love between husband\nand wife will be weakened, if not severed for all time. This bond of\nunion may be broken in a number of ways. There may be other causes of\ndomestic inharmony, all of which can be adjusted so long as sex\npreference, or love, binds the two as one. Under the guidance of\nunselfish sex selection, few mistakes would ever be made, in the choice\nof a companion.\n\n=The tests of true love.=--A man and woman bound by pure love for each\nother, may live in a shack or a humble rented cottage, they may have to\ntoil late and hard to support a family of growing children, but they and\nthe children will be happy and usually healthy and strong, bound\ntogether by mutual love. They will remain true to each other through\nadversity, sickness and death.\n\n=Mismated.=--If husband and wife are not bound to each other by a natural\nsex preference, or love, though they may hold in their possession broad\nacres of land, railroad bonds and heavy deposits in the bank, live in a\nmansion and move in the \u00e9lite circles of society, they will not love\neach other, their children, or be able to build a REAL home.\n\n=Other incentives for marriage.=--It is quite customary,\n\n[Illustration: A GOOD ARGUMENT FOR PURE LIVING]\n\nin some grades of society, to choose a life companion for social or\nfinancial advantage. Such unions are not natural. They are cold business\ntransactions. A man prompted by these motives sees in a woman the\nqualities of a good housekeeper, a social queen, or a financial gain. A\nwoman prompted by unnatural motives sees in a man opportunities for\nsocial prestige, a life of luxury and ease. They drift apart instead of\ntheir personalities blending, through love, as one. Soon he spends his\ndays in his daily vocation and his evenings in the lodges. She finds her\nonly pleasure in following the latest fashions and devoting her time to\nvarious social functions. Each have their secrets and manage to avoid\npublic disgrace.\n\nShould a child be born into such an unnatural home, it would receive an\nunfortunate heredity and a still more unfortunate environment. The\ninitial of its life was accidental, its prenatal rights were not\nregarded, its advent was not welcomed, it is now turned over to a hired\nnurse. Such a child is more unfortunate than an orphan. In no true sense\nhas it a father or mother. This child, when visitors are about, or when\nthe family is making a public display, may be petted, pampered and\nspoiled by its parents and on all occasions lavishly supplied with dress\nand toys; thus egotism will be stimulated and propensities gratified and\nthis child will be placed at a decided disadvantage in life. Compared\nwith this child, the little ragged street urchin is to be congratulated.\n\nWhen the natural, God-designed and God-honored, sex instinct is\nperverted and base desire supplants love, in the choice of a companion,\nthe home instinct is degraded, love dethroned and inharmony prevails.\n\nThe Romance, of Courtship and the Honeymoon, is Transitory. There is a\ncertain amount of the glamour, mystery, novelty, romance and poetry\nconnected with courtship and the honeymoon, while perhaps natural at the\ntime, but in the very nature of the case cannot be permanent. The plain,\npractical, everyday experiences of life must become prominent in every\nsuccessful home. The fairyland, of flowery visions, rippling streams of\nsentiment, poetic fancies of bliss and the lunar and stellar raptures of\nlove, must yield, after a period of such experiences, to mundane\nrealities where these beautiful dreams terminate and air castles are\ndestroyed and life once more becomes real.\n\nWhen the termination of this romantic period comes to the young wife,\nwhose vision of marriage was received from sensational novels, fashion\njournals, the theater and gay social gatherings, and to the young\nhusband, kid-gloved, well-starched and much-cravatted, it will be\nunexpected and very disastrous to their imaginary love. Cruel and\nprudish are they, who are responsible for creating artificial social\nvisions in the minds of the youth. But when the termination of romance\ncomes to the young husband and wife, whose courtship and marriage have\nbeen true to nature, this will be supplanted by the dawning\nconsciousness of life\u2019s real mission in marriage and they will discover\nthat the truest, sweetest and most enduring pleasures and joys of life\nhave only begun.\n\n=The first born.=--Fortunate and happy is that young couple, who, before\nthe romance of marriage is over, becomes aware that preparations must be\nmade for the first little stranger into their home. If the faint\nprophecies, of the approaching advent of their first-born, thrill their\nlives with hopeful and joyful anticipations, marriage will now have a\ndeeper significance, the bonds of love and dependence become stronger\nand the pleasures of life more real. The supremest moment of marriage\ncomes when the young husband, who for the first time, in the birth\nchamber, stands by his wife\u2019s side, holding her hands in his; stoops and\nkisses her lips, cheeks and brow, as she bravely and beautifully endures\nthe throes of parturition. Such an experience is enough to transform a\nbrute into a man. When the first-born is placed to the young mother\u2019s\nbreast, a deep, profound, but quiet happiness knows no bounds in two\nhearts that beat as one. This is the primary purpose of marriage. A\ncooing baby is nature\u2019s own sequel to the honeymoon.\n\n[Illustration: GOD\u2019S RICHEST BLESSING TO A HOME.]\n\nHealth, happiness and life worth living is made possible through\nparenthood.\n\nIf a child was intelligently planned for and warmly welcomed into every\nhome, the first year of married life, then one by one at reasonable\nintervals until the family consists of four to eight healthy, happy,\nwell-cared-for children, most of the problems of marriage would be\nsolved.\n\n=The childless homes.=--All efforts to evade the fiat of nature and God,\n\u201cmultiply and replenish the earth,\u201d not justified by the authors of this\nlaw, will lead to health blighted, happiness destroyed, a home wrecked\nand two souls will be arrested in their endless progress. In homes,\nvoluntarily childless, and in homes where one or two little intruders\nwere accidentally and unwillingly admitted, can be found the most\nserious and perplexing social problems.\n\n=Childless homes made happy.=--The involuntarily childless homes, and the\nhomes voluntarily childless, because of justifiable reasons, need not be\nunhappy. Their paternal and maternal natures may be developed by\nadopting homeless children. In this land there are many such happy\nhomes. If the mother love, in childless homes, annually wasted on poodle\ndogs, was expended on homeless children, there would soon be no\nchildless homes, orphan homes and homeless children, and more happiness\nin the world.\n\n=How shall family troubles be solved?=--While natural sex preference and\nthe birth of children solve almost all the domestic problems and make\npossible the solution of all family troubles, they do not render the\nhusband and wife immune to all differences, disagreements,\nincompatibilities and perplexities. It is not possible for the husband\nto see everything from his wife\u2019s view point, or the wife to see\neverything from the husband\u2019s point of view. If they differ in taste,\nretain their personalities, have lofty ambitions, possess sensitive\nnatures and have their individual ideals, they will often differ in\ntheir opinions, and, occasionally very good people will find themselves\nin disastrous disputes. Commendable ideals and virtues, as well as\nfaults, may become the sources of domestic trouble. What should they\ndo--separate? No. Secure a divorce? Certainly not. Let these steps be\nthe last possible resort. Where a family of children are to be scattered\nand injured by the disgrace, perhaps a divorce should not be sought, on\nany grounds. The bleeding hearts and blasted hopes caused by one divorce\nis greater than that caused by a score of deaths. Divorce degrades\nmorals, withers ideals and causes untold human suffering. What is the\nremedy? Agree to let past differences, disagreements and quarrels remain\nin the past. Don\u2019t bring the dead yesterdays over into the living\nto-days. Each morning, give each other a clean slate. Resolve each\nmorning to please, rather than to displease your partner. By doing this,\nirreconcilable differences will gradually disappear. This does not mean\nthat they should lose their individualities, or compromise with their\nconvictions. This is not a radical or expensive remedy, but one that\nworks in nearly every case.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nTHE FATHER\u2019S RELATION TO THE HOME\n\n\n=The father is the head of the home.=--The character of the home\ndetermines the character of the church, society and the nation. The home\nis the most important of all earthly institutions. The problems of\nsociety, the church and the nation, if ever solved, must be largely\nsolved in the home. The home is both a civil and divine institution.\nCivil and divine law place the husband and father at the head of the\nhome. No teacher sustains a more vital relation to society, no minister\nto his congregation, no king to his empire, or president to his\nrepublic, than does the conscientious father, who does his best to build\nan ideal home. He is truly serving God and his country, in the highest\nsense. In the work of building a home, he is serving society and the\nchurch in a higher sense than he would be, were he neglecting his\nfamily, by writing books, teaching school, delivering lectures or\npreaching sermons.\n\n=His relation to his wife.=--The relation of husband and wife is a\npartnership affair. In every sense they are equal partners. Their rights\nand privileges are equal. Their part in building a home is not, in all\nrespects, the same. The service of one is as important as the other.\nNeither can build a home without the other. Their service is\nincomparable.\n\n=He is to furnish financial support.=--Nature has fitted man mentally and\nphysically for devising means of earning a support for his family.\nWhatever occupation, calling or profession he may engage in, he should\nput forth the best effort of which he is capable to produce an income\nthat will support his family decently.\n\nThe amount of money he can furnish his wife, will depend upon his\nearnings. They should talk over this matter as partners. One has as much\nright to the income as the other. They should not spend more than is\nproduced. If the income is small, both should economize. They should\nendeavor to save something each year, even if the income is small. Money\nis stored-up human energy. If the income is large, they should be more\nliberal in the use of it, but it is always a sin to waste money. The\nhusband has no right to cause his wife to beg him for money, to meet her\npersonal expenses or the expenses of the children. The money is not\nexclusively his own. Home building is a partnership in which every\nmember of the home is interested in every dollar produced. Legally the\nfather may spend his money on his selfish indulgences. Morally he has\nno right to spend the home company money in a way that will not benefit\neach member of the home. For a father to annually spend fifty or more\ndollars on tobacco or drink and refuse corresponding amounts to his wife\nand children to be spent needlessly by them, is as dishonest, as for a\nmember of a firm, or the president of a bank to misappropriate the funds\nof a partner or a depositor.\n\n=He is to furnish moral support.=--For a man to build a reputation for\nhonesty, truthfulness, sobriety and virtue and to possess a good\ncharacter are of more value to his wife and children, as a home builder,\nthan to be able to produce large earnings and to be free with the same.\nWhen a man assumes the responsibility of building a home, his family\nhave a right to demand of him honesty, integrity, sobriety and virtue.\nHe has no more right to rob them of one than the other.\n\n=He is to love his wife.=--While the romance of courtship and the\nhoneymoon cannot be continued for life, yet he should always show her a\ndeep respect, a manly courtesy, a true love and absolute loyalty to his\nmarriage vow.\n\n=The relation of the father to his children.=--Each child born into the\nhome is a new member added to the partnership. The children have\nfinancial, social and moral rights that should be respected by the\nparents. While civil law and God place the father at the head of the\nhome, this does not give him special rights and privileges, or\nconstitute him a boss or ruler, but he should so conduct himself that\nthe family will regard him as their protector, supporter and adviser. He\nshould not swear, tell vulgar stories, use tobacco or indulge in strong\ndrink unless he is willing for each member of his family to follow his\nexample. As partners in the home, they have the same moral rights as\nhimself. He should be to his children a chum, a friend, a companion. He\nshould constantly endeavor to make the children happy. There are times,\nin the home, when the father\u2019s decision must be law. He must support his\nfamily. The law holds him responsible for their support and for their\ndeportment as citizens. As long as they are under age, if they contract\na debt or damage property, the law holds the father responsible. This\nresponsibility makes it necessary for him to decide some things, in a\nway that a child may not wish to coincide. This should be done in a\ndignified and pleasant way.\n\nThe father should never allow himself to become angry or to use hasty\nand abusive language in correcting a child. If he does, he demonstrates\nhis own weakness and inability to be a real father. Punishment of some\nnatural kind is sometimes necessary, but corporal punishment, as a rule,\nis brutal.\n\nThe father should so conduct himself as to command the respect,\nreverence and love of his children. He should be sociable and gentle, as\nwell as dignified and strong. He should have their complete confidence,\nso they will come to him with their problems and troubles. The sacred\nservice of a true father in the home, can only be equaled by the service\nof the mother. The fathers who toil long and late, study and strive to\nsupport, educate and train a family of children to become good citizens\nand devoted Christians, will receive a rich reward here and a royal\nwelcome yonder.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nTHE MOTHER\u2019S RELATION TO THE HOME\n\n\n=Husband and wife equal partners.=--In the partnership of building a home,\nthe wife is, in the truest and fullest sense, an equal partner with her\nhusband. Equal rights and privileges should characterize their\nfinancial, social and moral relations. They are complements of each\nother. Neither is ever completed until the other half is found. They are\nessential to each other\u2019s highest development. Neither can build a home\nwithout the other. Their relations to the home are of equal importance.\n\n=How they differ.=--They differ in their functional relations to the\nbuilding of a home. While their interests are mutual and their duties\noften overlap each other, yet they differ in some respects in their\nrelations to the home. The husband is the producer; nature and God place\non him the responsibility of feeding, clothing, sheltering and educating\nthe family. The wife is the housekeeper; nature and God place on her the\nduty of motherhood and the love and care of children. Both husband and\nwife need special preparation before and after marriage for their\nrespective relations to the home.\n\n=Marriage means motherhood.=--Unless a woman loves little children and\ndesires to teach and train boys and girls to become ideal men and women,\nshe should not think of accepting a marriage proposition. Marriage is\nfor the purpose of offspring. All girls should train and develop\nthemselves with a view to the sacred functions of motherhood. Those who\nare mentally opposed to and physically incapable of motherhood should\ndecline marriage. Such women can and should find some other occupation\nbetter fitted to their tastes, or physical condition, where they can be\ncontented and help make the world better.\n\n=A farce.=--In apartment houses, hotels and lodging places are to be found\nmen and women living together under a form of legal matrimonial\nalliance, where the true idea of home is not contemplated, children are\nnot wanted and no domestic happiness anticipated. These are human\nabodes, where the echo of birth is never heard; where the thrill of joy,\ncaused by cooing babies, is never felt; and where conversation is never\ndisturbed by romping children. This is a home only in name. This is a\nplace of lodging where two miserable selfish beings are waiting for\ndeath to step in and end the farce.\n\n=A good substitute for a home.=--I was once entertained in a home where\nthe husband and wife had crossed over the half century line of life.\nDuring my first day in that home, every few hours, the husband or wife\nwould bring in from two to six boys and girls introducing them to me as\ntheir boys and girls. When the number had run up in the neighborhood of\ntwenty, that home got interesting. When I inquired how often they had\nbeen married and how many children they had, I was informed that they\nwere only borrowing them from the neighbors. I never saw a home with a\ngreater influence for good. Though childless, their home was a heaven;\nfor the neighboring children resorted, played games, and received\ninstructions of the highest order there. The children were trained to\nhunt up the old, the sick and the poor and to daily carry them flowers\ngathered from the yard and garden of this old couple. This was an ideal\nimitation of the real thing--a model home. I wish every childless home\ncould be converted into such an ideal imitation, or a real home.\n\n=A good housekeeper.=--One of the qualifications a wife should have is a\nreasonable practical knowledge of how to keep house. It may not be\nnecessary for her to do all her house work, but she should understand\nhow it should be done. A man has as much right to demand that his wife\nknow how to wash clothes, bake bread, sweep a room, and make a bed, as\nshe has to expect him to be industrious, know how to form or conduct\nhis business or profession. She must know how to do these things in\norder to properly manage a well-ordered home.\n\n=She should know the value of a dollar.=--The wife should know the value\nof a dollar and how to invest it in food, clothing and household\ncomforts. To do this, she must make these things a study. Unreasonable\nextravagance of wives has caused many unhappy homes.\n\n=She should keep herself attractive.=--She could never have won her\nhusband had she not made herself attractive. Marriage does not lessen\nman\u2019s interest in his wife\u2019s attractiveness. The wise woman will not\npermit her husband to become ashamed of her.\n\n=She should be industrious.=--A reasonable amount of physical exercise is\njust as essential to a woman\u2019s health as it is for a man. The indolent\nwife who settles down in an easy chair and reads novels all day,\nsatisfied with the fact that she is married and unconscious or\nindifferent to the fact that she must keep her husband\u2019s respect, is\nlikely to lose his respect and love.\n\n=She should take an interest in her husband\u2019s affairs.=--A wife should\nknow enough of her husband\u2019s business or professional affairs to enable\nher to appreciate his ambitions and to sympathize with him in his\ntrials. In this way, some women help to make their husband\u2019s success.\nThere is quite a difference between interest and encouragement, and in\ninterference. One leads to success; the other to failure.\n\n=Home first.=--A good wife or mother will make the interests of her home\nfirst. If her home is first, in her mind and heart, she will not find\ntime or inclination to gossip about her neighbors, or to contrive new\nways of amusing herself. Her home interests will completely fill her\nlife, consume her time, satisfy her \u00e6sthetic nature and furnish her the\ngreatest opportunities for Christian service in the world. This does not\npreclude membership in a humanitarian society, a reading circle, or\nchurch. Great as this service may be, it is not equal to the home. A\nhome builder is never justifiable in neglecting her home duties for her\nobligations to a club, a lodge or the church. By spending a few hours,\nin practical contact with other housewives at a social meeting or\nchurch, she is all the better able to perform her home duties. But these\nthings should be subordinate to the duties of home building. Christ in\nthe home will mean Christ in society, the church and the nation.\n\n=The anteroom to heaven.=--When a woman has entered married life with her\nprince, determined to make a real wife and mother, she has chosen the\nhighest and most fascinating career that is possible for a woman. Her\nhome will be an anteroom to heaven.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nTHE BOY\u2019S RELATION TO THE HOME\n\n\n=The boy problem.=--The boy problem is becoming one of unusual interest to\nwriters, teachers, lecturers, ministers and parents. Books, teaching,\nlecturing and preaching can aid some, but the real problem of the boy\nmust be solved in the home.\n\n=A boy should be treated differently from his sister.=--The mental make-up\nof a boy, his superior strength, his natural aspirations and his duties\nin life, require that some of his training should differ from that of\nthe girl.\n\n=He should be taught to work.=--One of the most important steps in the\nsolution of the boy problem is to have the boy actively engaged in some\nwholesome, pleasant and rational way. He should be given work that is\nworth doing well and that will be of use to him in future life. This\ntraining should begin in childhood and continue until he is matured.\nEvery day he should have some task to perform and he should never be\nallowed to neglect his work.\n\n=Boys enjoy making money.=--A boy should be\n\n[Illustration: IDEAL RELATIONS OF CHILDREN IN THE HOME]\n\ngiven a chance to make some money. Rarely should money be given to a\nchild. It is far better for him to earn it. He will in this way learn\nthe value of a dollar. He should be encouraged to deposit his money in\nbank, to loan it, on interest, or to wisely invest it. It is a great\ndeal better for a boy to invest and lose than to spend his earnings for\ncandy or a ticket to a ten cent show. A boy had as well be allowed to\nswear, drink and steal as to waste his money. If started right most boys\nwould take pride in saving their money. Usually when parents wish their\nchildren to have candy or some other luxury, it would be wiser for them\nto pay for it, than for the children to do so. A child should be\nencouraged to give, out of his own money, to the needy, Sunday School\nand church.\n\nBoys should have their own room in the house, their own things in the\nroom and their property rights should be respected. When he fails, he\nshould be encouraged; when downhearted, he should be boosted and when he\nsucceeds, he should be praised and commended. Give the average boy a\nchance and he will make a man.\n\n=His future vocation.=--Very early, boys show aptitude toward special\nvocations. When they do, they should be encouraged in every way\npossible. However, they should not be nagged and forced to follow any\nvocation for which they may have shown interest and natural skill.\nFurnish them helps and books and allow them to develop their own\nindividualities. Parents should not choose the boy\u2019s vocation for him.\nThey should not interfere with his choice, unless it be pernicious.\n\n=Morally, his training should be the same as that of his\nsister.=--Parents, who hold to two sets of morals, do right for the girl\nand do as you please for the boy, are not qualified to train a boy. A\nboy should be trained to believe that whatever is morally wrong for his\nsister and mother is equally wrong for him; it is just as ungentlemanly\nfor him to swear, as it would be unladylike for his mother and sister to\nswear; that it is just as wrong for him to use vulgar and obscene\nlanguage as it would be for his mother and sister to do so; that if he\ncan drink and be sexually impure and remain a gentleman, his mother and\nsister can indulge in the same vices and remain perfect ladies. If\nparents believe in the double standard of morals, that the boy must sow\nhis \u201cwild oats,\u201d most likely he will. There is no sane reason why a boy\nshould swear and his sister should not, why a boy should use tobacco and\nhis sister should not, why a boy should drink and his sister should not,\nor why a boy should be sexually impure and his sister should not. The\nboy, with the single standard of morals instilled in his mind, is\nincomparably more likely to make a useful, successful, great and good\nman than the boy trained to believe in the double standard.\n\n=Boys should play with girls.=--Boys are, by nature, inclined to be rough,\nrude, coarse and untidy. They need to associate with girls who naturally\nhave just the opposite tendencies. It is refining for boys to learn to\nenjoy the games of girls.\n\nA girl\u2019s ambition is to be beautiful; a boy\u2019s ambition is to be strong.\nThese preferences are natural and they should be encouraged in them. All\nboys delight in displaying their physical powers. Thus, they are led to\ntest their strength with their sisters and often display roughness and\nrudeness. They should be carefully instructed that it is natural for\ngirls not to be as strong as boys, and that for this reason they should\nprotect girls and never be rude with them. Boys should have a place and\nthe proper means of taking exercise.\n\n=The boy and his mother.=--The mother and her boy should be chums. They\nshould keep on the most intimate terms. The mother can often instill,\ninto the mind and heart of her boy, a refined nature, gentle feelings,\npure motives and a manly purpose, in a way that is not aggressive, and\nyet it is permanent.\n\n=A boy\u2019s companions.=--It is important for a boy to have good companions.\nIf he has been trained as indicated, he will not rebel when his parents\noffer\n\n[Illustration: LET THEM PLAY TOGETHER]\n\nsuggestions. However they should endeavor not to appear to be choosing\nhis companions.\n\n=Going to college.=--Many boys would be better off never to go to college.\nThe contaminating influences of some colleges cannot be overestimated.\nOf all rowdyism, college rowdyism is the most demoralizing. In very\nrecent years special efforts have been made in some of our colleges to\neliminate this objectionable feature. There are some colleges where the\nmanly, the moral and the religious predominate and the boy is fully as\nsafe as at home. Before a boy is sent to college he should be fortified\nand safeguarded against college contaminations. Parents should\ninvestigate college morals before making the choice of a college for\ntheir boy.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nTHE GIRL\u2019S RELATION TO THE HOME\n\n\nThe girl in the home is a member of the partnership plan of the family.\nShe should have the same financial, social and moral rights of her\nbrother. Her moral training should be no better than his. If she is\nproperly trained in the home, her services are as valuable as her\nbrother\u2019s and she should have the same financial rights.\n\n=The girl and her father.=--The father, if worthy of being such, should\nhave the confidence, respect and love of his daughter. She should feel\nfree to approach him with her wishes and her problems. His advice and\ncouncil will be of great value to her in her social relation with young\nmen. Many girls fail to show themselves interested in their father.\nGirls should be attentive, kind and loving in their relations to their\nfather.\n\n=The girl and her mother.=--A mother should not forget the experience of\nher girlhood. Though busy and burdened with many cares, she should take\ntime to talk, often and intimately, with her daughter, of her own\ngirlhood, her own temptations, her own experiences in the various\nvicissitudes of life. By wisely cultivating the relation of a\nsympathetic companionship, the mother can often bridge her daughter over\nthat period of adolescence, when many girls come to regard their mothers\nas \u201cold fogies.\u201d This is a stage of growth in a girl\u2019s life. It usually\noccurs when they are in the high school. They openly and unkindly\ncriticise their mother\u2019s dress, speech, advice, council and religion.\nThis is a period of development that girls pass through. The right\nrelation between the girl and her mother would save the mother from many\ntears and heartaches and the girl from many regretful memories of\nmisconception and blindness.\n\nFortunate, is the girl, who has never had an attack of \u201chigh school\nsnobbery,\u201d who has never spoken lightly of the imaginary deficiencies of\nmother; but, who has always found it a joy to divide gifts with mother,\nto hand her the prettiest rose and to read her a choice story.\n\n=The girl and her brother.=--Girls do not always appreciate the influence\nthey are exerting over their brothers. A boy\u2019s estimate of woman is\noften received from his sister\u2019s influence. A sister has it largely in\nher power to make her brother gentle, true and pure. She can make home\nattractive and pleasant for him and thus save her brother from seeking\npleasures in questionable places and ways. Brothers and\n\n[Illustration: CHUMS IN THE HOME]\n\nsisters should grow up together, be educated together, play together\nand, as far as possible, help each other. Their joys and sorrows, aims\nand purposes should be mutual. Her lack of physical strength, her\nnatural tastes and aspirations, her duties and mission in life, being in\nmany respects different from her brother, require a line of preparation\nunlike her brother receives.\n\n=Her first and most valuable training.=--Marriage is not the only goal\ntoward which a young woman may turn, but it is the most natural,\nimportant and worthy. Most all girls look forward to marriage as a\npossible and desirable goal. Perhaps no woman would refuse marriage, if\nthe right man should propose. It is for this reason that every girl\nshould prepare herself thoroughly to be a housekeeper, a wife and a\nmother. This should be her first and most thorough training. She should\nnot rest satisfied until she has learned every phase of how to keep\nhouse, to care for the wants of small children and to manage hired help.\nThis training should begin in childhood. A girl should be able to dress\nherself and to keep her own room by the time she is ten years old.\nWhatever may be her career in life, she will always be the better off\nbecause she is a good housekeeper. She may not have to be a housekeeper,\nfor she may have servants, still she is all the better off, as she will\nunderstand how to manage the servants.\n\n=The independent girl.=--In addition to having prepared herself for a\nhousekeeper, a wife and a mother, she should now prepare herself for\nsome vocation in life. The right man may not present himself, she may be\ncalled upon to support an aged mother or father, or an invalid husband,\nand she will need to know how to earn a living. A girl, unprepared to\nsupport herself, waiting year after year for some man to come and marry\nher, is an object of profound pity. If the right man comes along and\nmarries her, all is well. But she often marries the wrong fellow, or\nwaits for many weary years and yet, he never comes. A generation ago few\nopportunities of earning a support were open to a girl. Conditions have\nchanged, woman\u2019s ideals have grown and the world offers her other\nvocations than housekeeping, wifehood and motherhood, and unless these\ncome in very attractive form she can choose the vocation of art, music,\nteaching, stenography, book-keeping or some other calling. By the time\nshe is eighteen, a girl should be able to keep a house or earn a living\nin some business way. This will give her an assurance of independence.\nRegardless of the wealth of her parents, she should have these two\nqualifications. If her parents are poor and she is ambitious, she can\nnow work her way through college, if she desires.\n\nIf the morals of a girl have been properly safeguarded by her mother\u2019s\ntraining and teaching, the independent girl is little more likely to\nfall than the girl who remains at home and waits for a husband.\n\nThe independent girl who goes out into the world with her brother,\nshoulders the same burdens, wrestles with the same problems, fights the\nsame battles and overcomes the same difficulties, will meet a better\nclass of men than those who would likely seek her out in her home. She\nis more likely to be happily married, than if she remained at home. She\nis now better fitted to be a housekeeper, wife and mother, than if she\nhad remained at home. She has learned how to produce a dollar, she now\nknows the value of it and how, wisely, to spend it.\n\n[Illustration: MOTHER\u2019S RESPONSIBILITY.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nTRAINING AND GOVERNMENT IN THE HOME\n\n\n=Home a unit of government.=--As already observed, the home is a\npartnership. It is a unit of government. In an ideal unit of home\ngovernment, every member is governed by and through an intelligent\nunderstanding of the customs, rules and laws, a conscientious\nrecognition of what is right and wrong and the golden rule of love. Each\nhave equal rights. What is wrong for one is equally wrong for each and\nall. What is right for one is equally right for each and all. Such a\nhome is a unit of government where parents and children are organized\nunder a constitution of intellect, conscience and love; for the purpose\nof building character, fitting themselves for larger citizenship in this\nlife and the life that is to be the sequence to this one.\n\nThe home is the biggest institution in the world. Home building is the\nnoblest and highest vocation in life. Its responsibilities are\nstupendous, its possibilities are limitless and its rewards are\ninfinite. Home builders should be the best qualified and the most\nskillful of architects.\n\n=The training of a child.=--Solomon said, \u201ctrain up a child in the way he\nshould go and when he is old he will not depart from it.\u201d The thoughts,\nactions and habits of childhood have much to do with a child\u2019s future\ncharacter and possibilities. When a child\u2019s training is commenced in\nearly childhood, was it begun soon enough? After a noted surgeon had\nexamined a patient, turning to a friend he said, \u201cIf I could have had\nthis patient two generations ago, I could have saved his life.\u201d When\nOliver Wendell Holmes was asked when a child\u2019s training should begin, he\nreplied, \u201cAt least one hundred years before he is born.\u201d Sometimes it\nhappens that good children are made bad and bad children are made worse\nby the company they keep before they are born. The little boy was not\nfar wrong, who, when he found his mother lamenting the choice she had\nmade of a life companion, said, \u201cMamma, we made a bad choice when we\nchose papa, didn\u2019t we?\u201d Some children have made an equally bad choice of\ntheir mammas and some appear to have made a doubly bad choice of both\nparents.\n\n=Each child must be studied.=--A child is not easily understood. No two\nchildren are alike. Each child has a very complex nature. He is the\nproduct of the ages. The complex nature of his parents are blended into\nhis being, producing a more complex being. He is not a duplicate of\neither. He has received from his parents a blending of their natures; in\na limited way, what they inherited from his grandparents and their\ngrandparents back to Adam. Parents and teachers should try to discover\nhis latent forces, his slumbering passions, his genius, his inherent\npropensities and native goodness. They should wisely use nature\u2019s laws\nand God\u2019s gifts, in constraining, controlling and eradicating the\ninherited and acquainted tendencies that are pernicious; also in drawing\nout, giving direction to and developing the inherited and acquired good\nin his life.\n\n=Importance of early training.=--Children in the home are to be trained.\nTheir prenatal culture, the most important part of a child\u2019s education,\nmay have been respected or neglected. This cannot be altered now. The\nnext agency to be utilized in the child\u2019s training is environment. This\ncan be applied from its birth. The child is more susceptible to external\ninfluences in babyhood than in childhood, in childhood than in youth, in\nyouth than in maturity. The child becomes more fixed in disposition and\ncharacter and more difficult to change as he grows older.\n\n=The training of parents.=--If I were a perfect sage, philosopher or\nChristian, or all three combined into a perfect teacher, I would much\nprefer the task of training one hundred little children than the task of\ntraining ten parents (including the author) how to train their children.\nMost parents need to devote three hours, to a careful analysis and study\nof their inherited and acquired weaknesses, to one devoted to a similar\nstudy of a child.\n\n=A study of disposition.=--Such peculiarities of mind and disposition as\ncruelty, ambition, firmness, conscientiousness and affection may be so\npronounced in one\u2019s life as to bias his judgment and unfit him for the\ntraining of children. When one of these characteristics is very dominant\nin a father or mother, it will most likely appear in an exaggerated form\nin one or more of the children. Like excites like, is a law that should\nbe thoroughly understood by parents. Where firmness is very pronounced\nin both parents and child, there will be a constant clash unless one or\nboth exercise full self-control. Such a child should be controlled\nlargely by love. A severe or cruel parent will make a coward of a timid\nchild and a criminal of a self-willed child. The over-conscientious\nparent will disgust one child and make a fanatic of another. The\nover-affectionate parent will appeal alone to the affections and leave\nthe will of a child undeveloped. Appealing alone to the ambition of a\nvery proud, ambitious child is likely to make him conceited and\negotistical. For a parent to quarrel, have a fit of anger or to use\nviolence is degrading and demonstrates his weakness and incapacity to be\nat the head of a family. At the same time, these mental states tend to\nawaken similar feelings in the child, which usually result in a clash.\nIf the child had first displayed anger, this could have been overcome\nby self-control, kindness and love on the part of the parent.\n\n=The law of influence.=--If you want to arouse a desirable feeling,\nsentiment, emotion or conviction in another, you must be controlled by\nthat mental and moral state and allow it to emanate from you. If you are\ncontrolled, by an undesirable thought or feeling, others must have\nself-control enough to resist your influence, or soon they will be\ncontrolled by a similar mental state. Thus, we see that unless parents\nexercise judgment and self-control, they will often use methods that are\nunwise and harmful.\n\n=Defects in our homes and schools.=--One of the saddest defects in our\nhome training and our system of education is, that when a child reaches\nmaturity in the home or graduates from the high school or college, he\nknows more about other things than he does about himself and the\nessentials of building a home. How to analyze, study, know and control\none\u2019s self; how to understand, train and govern children would be of far\ngreater value in the education of young men and women than many\ndepartments of study we now emphasize.\n\n=The function of the home.=--The children are in the home for the primary\npurpose of being developed into ideal men and women. To accomplish this\nend is the mission of parents. To do this effectively parents must\npossess high ideals. These ideals include such training and education as\nwill lead to a strong and healthy body, a keen and well-trained\nintellect, a moral and religious character and an abiding faith in God.\n\n=Physical training.=--The physical, mental and moral natures are\nintimately and vitally related. One influences each of the other two.\nThe physical health and strength of a child hinders or helps the mental\nand moral life. The proper time to overcome the weakness of any physical\nfunction, or inherited physical weakness, is in childhood. This is done\nby proper dieting, hygienic living, bathing, exercise and sexual\nchastity. Improperly prepared and unwholesome food are the chief causes\nof death among infants and a leading cause of impaired indigestion in\nchildhood. The kind of food used, effects the mind and character of the\nchild. Too much candy, rich pastries and meat are not good for a child,\nor grown people either.\n\n=Use of medicine.=--One hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) are spent\nannually on patent medicine and fully that much or more on mineral\ndrugs. We are not animals. We do not know how to live. Few men would be\nwilling to give a lawyer ten dollars to tell him how to keep out of\ntrouble, but he will give him all he has to get him out of trouble. Few\nwould give ten dollars to a doctor for preventive advice, but they will\npay a doctor all they possess, for a cure. Oliver Wendell Holmes had a\ncustom of saying, \u201cIf all the drugs of the world were thrown into the\nsea, it would be a blessing to humanity, but a curse to the fish.\u201d\nChildren should be kept healthy by hygienic living.\n\n=Use of condiments, coffee, tobacco, etc.=--Condiments, tea, coffee and\ntobacco are not foods--they stimulate--they do not strengthen; they\ncreate unnatural appetites and inflame the passions. No one would drink\ntea or coffee were it not for the tannin and caffeine contained in them.\nIf these drugs were removed, these drinks would be no more tempting than\na cup of warm water. Most people, who use these drinks would consider it\na sin to go to a drug store, buy some pure tannin or caffeine, dilute it\nwith water, sweeten it with sugar and drink it.\n\n=The tobacco habit is an enormous evil.=--It creates a demand for\nsomething stronger. It paves the way for the whisky habit. Drunkenness\nis largely due to a pathological physical condition. Remove the causes,\ncoffee, tobacco and sensuality and it will do more to check drunkenness\nthan all the legislation that can be secured in the next century.\n\n=Mental training.=--The mental training of children is very largely\ncommitted to school and college teachers. Parents should take a very\nintense interest in the child\u2019s education. They should study the\ntalents and discover and strengthen the weaker faculties of the child.\nMost children get their minds \u201cstuffed\u201d with unassimilated facts.\nNothing is clear to them. They do not remember what they have learned.\nThey cannot reason logically. They have had their minds \u201cstuffed.\u201d\nParents as well as teachers, can largely prevent this. From the earliest\nmental training of the child, he should be trained to take a personal\ninterest in knowing things. He should be taught to think. Encourage a\nchild to ask questions. If he asks questions which he should understand,\nhave him answer them and give his reasons for the answer. In some cases\nask him questions that will suggest an answer. Getting a child started\nright is the more important half of his education. He will look after\nthe other half.\n\n=Moral training.=--The object of all moral training of a child is\nself-government or self-control. Before a child is capable of\nself-government, he must be taught to distinguish between right and\nwrong. This is largely the work of the intellect. His conscience must be\nawakened and quickened. Conscience is a natural instinct through which\nGod\u2019s spirit and man\u2019s conception, of right and wrong, prompts him to\nmoral action, and which condemns the action he conceives to be wrong and\napproves the action he conceives to be right. The will must be so\ntrained and developed that a child is able to will to do what he knows\nto be right and his conscience approves. He is now a perfectly free\nagent, a law to himself. He is governed from within and need not to be\ngoverned from without. This moral training requires years and should\nbegin in infancy.\n\n=Let the baby alone.=--Good babies are made bad by receiving too much\nattention. The baby should not be lifted from the cradle, fondled and\ncoddled, kissed and talked to, simply because it gurgles or makes an\ninnocent attempt to be noticed. This is needless attention. At first it\nis disagreeable to the child. Later a demand is created and the child is\nspoiled. If left alone babies would entertain themselves much of the\ntime.\n\nWhen a baby is learning to crawl and walk, observe the \u201clet alone\u201d\npolicy as much as possible. Keep an eye on the child to see that it does\nnot get hurt. What you do not want it to have, put out of its reach. It\nshould be safeguarded from places of danger. If these precautions are\ntaken, you will be saved the excuse for that endless round of \u201cdon\u2019t get\nhurt,\u201d \u201cdon\u2019t touch that,\u201d \u201cdon\u2019t do that,\u201d etc. By these endless\n\u201cdon\u2019ts\u201d children are taught disobedience. If the child falls, unless it\nis hurt, do not run and pick it up. Let it alone, it will get up. In\nthis way you teach it to be independent and self-reliant. If you run\nand pick it up, the child gets the idea that you were to blame. Later,\nwhen it falls, it screams, cries and gets angry. Perhaps you hit the\nobject and teach the child that the object over which it fell was at\nfault. This is deception and has a bad effect.\n\n=Give the child something to do.=--Teach it to dress itself, to take off\nand put on its shoes and stockings. It should have a special place to\nput these, on retiring. It should have a drawer or a room where it can\nput its individual belongings. This teaches the child the idea of\nresponsibility.\n\n=The first idea of wrongdoing.=--When a child eats some forbidden thing,\nor does some forbidden act, from which it suffers, it can be led to see\nthat it has violated the laws of nature. If possible, alleviate the\npain, but the lesson which nature would teach, through pain, should be\nemphasized. The child should see that the pain came as a result of\nviolating the laws of nature. A little later in life, the child can be\ntaught that all desires, thoughts, words and acts that are helpful to\nself and others are right and those that injure self and others are\nwrong. These principles can be applied gradually to the laws of the\nhome, of society and God.\n\n=Parents should agree.=--There should be a perfect agreement between\nparents, with respect to the government in the home. Where parents\ndisagree, children lose all respect for parental authority. Differences\nshould be discussed by parents, only when the children are not present.\n\n=Punishment in the home.=--Whipping, slapping and cuffing are relics of\nsavagery. Whipping should never be resorted to except in extreme cases.\nIt is not the natural consequence of disobedience. It never appeals to a\nchild\u2019s sense of justice. Punishment should always be natural and\nconsistent with justice. Some examples will illustrate these principles,\nas follows: A child is called to breakfast--it does not come.\nStubbornness or disobedience is the cause. What should be a natural\npunishment? Scolding, slapping, jerking the child up and forcing it to\nthe table? No--there is no logical connection. The punishment should\nconsist in the child\u2019s doing without its breakfast. This should be\nexplained to the child: A boy loses his toy. Should he be pitied and\nanother bought for him? Certainly not. Should he be whipped? This would\nnot be natural. He simply goes without his toy until he finds it: A boy\nsteals some object. Should he be whipped? No. His attention should be\ncalled to the nature of his sin. He should be compelled, if necessary,\nto return the stolen object and confess his wrong. The deep sense of\nhumiliation is the natural punishment. Let him feel the full force of\nit: A boy uses tobacco. Should he be whipped? Certainly not, as long as\nhis teacher, the family doctor, the minister and the father use it. No\nchild on earth could see any connection between the wrong and the\npunishment. What should be done? Nine times out of ten, under present\nconditions, the boy will use tobacco, in spite of all that a mother can\ndo. So long as doctors, teachers, ministers and fathers use tobacco,\nlegislation against the cigarette will increase our youthful criminals.\nIf a father has a moral right to use tobacco, so has his boy. If the boy\ncan be led to see clearly that the use of tobacco is wrong, if his\nconscience can be awakened and if his personal will can be brought to\nconstantly oppose the use of it, then he can be saved. THIS IS THE ONLY\nREMEDY.\n\n=Study the offense.=--Find the natural consequence. Become an example of\nobedience to every law, for your child. Show the child the results of\nwrong living and the benefits of right living. This will usually obviate\nall punishment, aside from what nature inflicts.\n\n=Corporal punishment.=--If corporal punishment be unavoidable, it should\nnot be administered when either parent or child is angry. This would\nonly increase the cause that made the punishment necessary. In most\ncases it would be best to postpone the punishment until the next day.\nOnly a very rebellious child can be helped by this method.\n\n=Scolding and threatening.=--From a hotel window I heard a mother say to\nher twelve-year-old girl, \u201cI will gouge your eyes out.\u201d \u201cI will slap\nyour head off, you little hussy.\u201d A child treated in this way becomes\nwillful or spiteful, loses self-respect or respect for the parent.\nScolding and threatening children are sins against their finer natures.\n\n=Three good rules.=--The author\u2019s father would not employ men on his farm\nwithout the understanding that they were not to swear, speak vulgarly\nabout a woman, or tell a \u201cghost\u201d or \u201cbugaboo\u201d story in the presence of\nhis children. A servant, man or woman, about your business or home, can\nundo or counteract in a few hours or days, in a single statement or\nstory, picture or book, act or habit, the life efforts of a noble father\nand a pure mother. One of the purest men recently said to me, \u201cWhen I\nwas only fifteen years of age I heard a servant utter one sentence that\nrequired a score of years to get its effects eradicated.\u201d Men have told\nme of the pernicious effects of servants, dating back to when they were\ntwo and three years old. Frightful stories and startling statements, of\nimpending dangers, destroy the natural freedom, independence and courage\nof many children for life. Once I sat by the side of a nervous mother\nholding a nervous four-year-old girl in her lap, as our train sped\nforward at the rate of fifty miles an hour, over one of those\nmagnificent stretches on a western prairie. We had discussed heredity,\nchild training and other interesting and vital subjects, when she\nreferred to her nervous little girl and told me how at night she would\nnotice her little body twitching, jerking, floundering and all at once\nshe would awake with a scream having dreamed that she was falling from\nsome dizzy height toward jagged rocks and certain death beneath; or that\nsome huge angry beast, poised on tiptoes and in the act of pouncing upon\nher and tearing her body into shreds--a horrible nightmare. About the\ntime she had finished describing one of those fearful experiences and\nwas in the act of asking me for advice, we were passing an object on the\noutside that interested the little girl; quickly she turned and began\npeering through the window. She was in no danger. Her head was not\nprojected beyond the window. The nervous mother grabbed the little girl\nby the body and cried, \u201cYou are falling! You are falling!\u201d My reply to\nher request for advice was, \u201cMy! if you should handle me that way, I\nwould have a half dozen nightmares here in open daylight.\u201d I told that\nmother that her daughter\u2019s nervousness was due to bad heredity and bad\nenvironment and that she was responsible for both.\n\n=Personal purity.=--As soon as a child begins to enquire about its origin,\nit is old enough to be told the truth in the right way. Some children\nbecome interested when they are three and four, all normal children by\nthe time they are seven. Since the inquiring mind will not rest\nsatisfied until a plausible answer has been received, and since the\nignorant and vicious youth is ever alert and anxious to give this\ninformation in a pernicious way, it behooves the thoughtful parents to\nsafeguard their children with the truth told in the right way. No normal\nboy should reach the age of eight, or girl the age of ten, before they\nhave been told the story of life.\n\nChildren often discover, or are taught, the secret vice at a very early\nage. Sex consciousness and pleasure may be early developed because of\nsome unnatural conditions of the sex organs. For this reason, parents\nshould know that these parts are normal in their children. When children\nare observed to frequently handle, or scratch these organs, unnatural\nconditions should be suspected. The child should not be slapped or\nscolded, rather call in the family physician. Trying to keep a child\nignorant concerning this vice is impossible, therefore unwise. There is\nnot one boy in fifty who does not know of the vice, and understands the\nlanguage used to describe it. Trying to keep a child from vicious\ncompanions is good as far as it goes, but the facts are that the child\nis most likely to discover the vice himself, while it is hardly possible\nto keep a child entirely away from the vicious. The only sane method is\nto teach the child the laws of personal purity. If the secret vice is to\nbe prevented, some children should receive council when they are six,\nothers at eight, all by the time they are ten or twelve. Children have\ninherited lustful tendencies. Their troubles are more largely from\nwithin than from without. Hence the children that have been most\ncarefully guarded from bad company and kept in ignorance are usually the\nones who are most injured by the secret sin. A single talk to a child is\nnot sufficient. We frequently instruct and appeal to the child to be\nobedient, truthful and honest; in like manner we should at reasonable\nperiods instruct and encourage him to keep his thoughts and desires\npure.\n\n\n\n\nSECOND DIVISION\n\nHOW TO TEACH SOCIAL PURITY AND SEX TRUTHS TO A CHILD\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nTHE RIGHT OF A CHILD TO A KNOWLEDGE OF SEX\n\n\n=Social conditions of childhood changed.=--The social conditions of\nchildhood have changed much in the last fifty years. Just as our\nchildren have opportunities and possibilities far greater than had we\nwhen we were children; so they are exposed to temptations and dangers\ngreater than were we, when we were children. The suggestive, and\noft-times positively obscene pictures on post cards, in books and on\nbillboards; the viciously immoral literature; the cheap moving picture\nshows of to-day, were not social problems threatening the purity of our\nchildhood.\n\n=Knowledge of self important.=--There were ethical, biological and vital\ntruths that our parents, because of mock modesty and a false and\ninadequate education, failed to give us in our childhood. This was a\nserious defect in our early education. We met with temptations, were\noften overcome by them and we are not what we might have been had we\nbeen safeguarded by a better knowledge of ourselves. But, because of the\nbetter social conditions of our childhood, we were better able to grow\nup without this information and with less injury to ourselves, than our\nchildren can, without this information, under present social conditions.\nIf we would safeguard the character of the children of to-day and the\nyouths of to-morrow and the manhood and the womanhood of the succeeding\nday we must give our children a correct knowledge of themselves.\n\n=The confidence of childhood.=--When children are born, they have a\ncapacity for learning how to stand alone, crawl, walk, love and hate,\nspeak and read, to judge of what is right and wrong. All they may come\nto know in the future, true or false, good or evil, they must learn.\nComing into our homes without knowledge and utterly helpless, they\nnaturally come to recognize their parents as their rightful teachers and\nto have absolute confidence in them. Ask a child from three to ten years\nold who he thinks is the best man in the world. The reply will be, \u201cmy\npapa.\u201d Ask him who he thinks is the best woman in the world. The\ninstinctive reply will be, \u201cmy mamma.\u201d The answer may be true or false,\nbut we do not question the sincerity of the child. The greatest calamity\nthat can come to that child, comes when he is compelled by convincing\nevidence to reverse in his judgment this sincere and implicit faith in\nthe goodness of his parents. No greater misfortune than this, can come\nto the parents. This natural and complete confidence and dependence of\nthe child gives the parents a very decided advantage over all other\nteachers in the future training of the child.\n\n=Inquisitiveness of childhood.=--It is because of this natural confidence\nthat the child goes to the parents with his many questions. The almost\nceaseless activity and playfulness of a child, are in response to\nnature\u2019s call for exercise in the natural and healthful development of\nevery organ of the body. The many questions of a child are in response\nto nature\u2019s call for exercise in the development of every faculty of the\nmind. The unfolding, growing, developing mind of a child naturally asks\nquestions. It is for this reason that a child is said to be an animated\ninterrogation point. Some of the questions of a child may perplex a\nphilosopher, tax the patience of a Job, or embarrass a brass monkey; but\nthe naturalness and sincerity of the child demand honesty, frankness and\nwisdom on the part of parents.\n\n=How did I get into this world?=--At the age of three, four and five the\nchild will begin to ask questions as, \u201cWhere does the rain come from?\nWhere does the snow come from? Where do the clouds come from?\u201d When\nkittens, pups, pigs, a calf, a colt are born, the child very naturally\nasks about their origin. The child is told repeatedly that he is four,\nfive or six years old; that he has had that number of birthdays and has\nseen that number of Christmases. He remembers only half of them. He\nlistens with interest to his parents as they relate some thrilling event\nof years gone by. A bright inquiring child will naturally ask, \u201cMamma,\nwas I in the world at that time?\u201d The mamma replies, \u201cNo, darling, that\nhappened six months before you were born.\u201d How very natural it was for\nthe child to ask, \u201cWell, mamma, where was I at that time? How did I get\ninto the world?\u201d An angel could not be more sincere, or ask a purer\nquestion. This was no evidence of the child\u2019s depravity. When I find a\nchild of seven or eight years old who has not asked about his origin, I\nknow that one of three conditions will explain this unusual mental state\nof the child. (1) The parents have not encouraged the child\u2019s mental\ndevelopment by permitting him to be free in asking questions. (2) The\nchild has heard the story of life told by vicious companions, in half\ntruths, clothed in vulgar language and is keeping his information a\nsecret from his parents. (3) The child is not developing quite as fast\nas I would like for my child to develop.\n\n=The unsatisfied mind.=--When the inquiring mind of a child has once\nbecome interested in this question, it is not possible for him to be\nsatisfied until a plausible answer has been received. The child\u2019s\nfuture, physical, mental and moral life more largely depends upon the\nanswer given to this question, than to any other question of his\nchildhood.\n\n=The most vital part of a child\u2019s education neglected.=--In the past,\nparents, teachers, reformers and ministers have very largely held to the\nold theory, that, if children are to be kept pure and innocent, they\nmust be kept ignorant of all information pertaining to sex. We have them\nlearn the physiology, anatomy and hygiene of their brain, heart, lungs,\ndigestive and nervous systems as if their very lives depended upon a\ncorrect knowledge of these parts; but we have allowed them to grow up in\ntotal ignorance concerning the sacred sanctuary and function of human\nreproduction, upon which so much of health, happiness and success in\nlife depends.\n\n=Mistakes of the past.=--In the past all faithful parents have loved their\nchildren as much as we have loved our children. They were as much\ninterested in safeguarding the virtue of their children as are the\nparents of to-day. They endeavored to train their children in harmony\nwith their ideals of right. Our parents, in their childhood, got the\nidea that all language and information concerning sex was essentially\nimpure. All their information was received from vicious, ignorant\nsources. In matured life, they came to see that all the words and\nlanguage they had heard pertaining to sex and all the mental and moral\nimpressions they had received, had done them great harm. Their\nexperience led them unwisely to conclude that all information of this\nkind is injurious to a child. They failed to see the difference between\nreceiving only half-truths, expressed in vulgar words and phrases,\ntaught by the vicious and ignorant; and in receiving the pure truth, in\nchaste language from the lips of a wise teacher, a noble father or a\npure mother. A nugget of gold may be pure gold, whether found in a mud\nhole, a slop bucket, a tar bucket, or a clear stream of water. But, if\nyou come in contact with the surroundings of the gold, your remaining\nclean, becoming cleaner, or becoming soiled, will depend on the place\nwhere you find the gold. The effects, good or bad, of sex knowledge,\nupon a child are largely determined by where and how he gets his\ninformation. If he gets this information from a careful and wise teacher\nno harm can come from it. If he gets the information from the\nmisinformed and the impure, only harm will follow.\n\n=To teach sex truths, two qualifications necessary.=--You would not think\nof having your child taught mathematics by one, who, himself, was never\nproperly taught, or who knew only half-truths about mathematics. You\nmight not demand of him a moral qualification, if he possessed the\nintellectual equipment. But, in the teaching of sex, a moral\nqualification is even more necessary than the intellectual. But few\nadults are prepared to tell the story of life to a child, and fewer\nstill are prepared to give additional instruction as the child grows\nolder. For one to do this work successfully two qualifications are\nabsolutely necessary. (1) Parents and teachers must have a moral\nqualification. They must regard the organs of sex and their functions as\npure and sacred. If they have the taint of lasciviousness in their\nthoughts of the creative function, it would be a dangerous experiment\nfor them to attempt to teach their children about the origin of life, or\nto give other instruction to those more advanced in years. The\nmisinformation and false education they received in childhood and the\nconsequent mock modesty, are the greatest difficulties in the way of\ntheir performing this sacred duty to their children. For this reason the\nadult classes are as much in need of correct instruction in sex as are\nthe children. (2) Parents and teachers must have a mental qualification.\nOne-fifth of the names referring to the organs of sex, their functions\nand their abuse, that adults are forced to use when they try to express\ntheir thoughts about sex, could not be found in the dictionary, and,\none-half of those that could be found in the dictionary would not refer\nin their meaning, even remotely, to the sexual system. They picked up\nthese words in childhood from ignorant schoolmates and companions whose\nminds were tainted with debasing thoughts of sex. The use of these\nvulgar words, in the presence of a boy who has heard them before,\nsuggests to his mind that which is lascivious. Those who would teach\nthese things, to the young or old, should be able to command a chaste,\nclean, plain, language.\n\n=How a father failed.=--During one of my courses of lectures, a cultured\nlawyer invited me to his office for an interview. He reproduced, in\nlanguage and gesture as best he could, a speech he had made to his\ntwelve-year old boy warning him of the dangers of the secret sin. I saw\nthe lawyer was deeply interested in his boy. He loved him and was deeply\nconcerned about his future. The language he used was the same he had\nlearned when a boy and the same his boy had evidently heard on the\nplayground. I question whether the father\u2019s advice did his son much\ngood. Here was a case where good service was neutralized by suggestive\nlanguage.\n\n=How a teacher failed.=--A few months ago I lectured in a city where\nimmorality was appalling. The superintendent of schools called into the\nchapel about six hundred boys, from ten to eighteen, and attempted to\nlecture them on social purity. He soon became embarrassed, used some\nstreet terms, excited lascivious thoughts, looks, smiles and laughter\namong the boys and utterly failed in his efforts. If this lawyer and\nteacher failed with the advantages and solicitude they must have had,\nwould not the great mass of parents, teachers and ministers fail for the\nsame reasons.\n\n=Parents not wholly responsible.=--A few editors, doctors and reformers\nhave censured parents severely for not teaching their children the truth\non these subjects. They should remember that ten years ago a very few\nparents had read a sane book or listened to an intelligent lecture on\nthese subjects. Their only information had been gained from the\nplayground and street on the sly. Courses of lectures, adapted to age\nand sex, should be given in every community. Ministers, teachers,\nphysicians, merchants, parents, young and old, educated and uneducated,\nall should hear them. A few standard books on sex-hygiene and social\npurity should be put in every home. Jesus said, \u201cYe shall know the truth\nand the truth shall make you free.\u201d More people are in physical, mental\nand moral slavery because of ignorance concerning the laws of sex, than\nall other causes combined. It follows that those who have learned the\ntruth should impart it to those who have it not.\n\n=How children have been treated in the past.=--We have seen how parents\nhave been led in the past to conclude that all information as to the\norigin of life is injurious to a child. For a child to inquire, \u201cWhere\nwas I before I was born? How did I get into this world?\u201d was a sure sign\nof his depravity. As a result of these traditionary ideas some parents\nhave slapped a child for asking about his origin. Still, others have\nscolded and ordered the child from the room, commanding him never to ask\nsuch ugly questions again. What must be the feelings of a child treated\nin such an unappreciative and heartless way! Such treatment has never\nsatisfied the inquiring mind of any child. Under such treatment a child\nwill go off alone, pained and puzzled to know what was wrong in that\nsimple, natural, honest question. In most cases the child\u2019s question has\nbeen evaded by some one of a hundred falsehoods about \u201cswamps,\u201d\n\u201csinkholes,\u201d \u201chollow logs and stumps,\u201d \u201cbird nests,\u201d \u201cstorks,\u201d \u201cold\nwomen,\u201d \u201cdoctor\u2019s satchel,\u201d and \u201cunder a cabbage head.\u201d When only a\nsmall boy, I was called from my bed early one spring morning to see a\nbeautiful colt the mare had found. For awhile I looked at the colt with\nadmiration and wonder. Then I very naturally inquired, \u201cWhere did the\nmare find her colt?\u201d I was told that she found it in a nearby brush\npile. For the next six months no brush pile escaped my eager eyes.\n\n=An example.=--On my second lecture trip through Canada, a father told me\nhow he answered his little girl\u2019s question, \u201cPapa, how did I get into\nthis world?\u201d His answer was as follows: \u201cDaughter, God dropped you out\nof heaven one day while it was raining. Papa saw you falling from a\ncloud and ran out and caught you in his arms and brought you into the\nhouse.\u201d That father was boasting of his tact and wisdom.\n\n=Another example.=--A mother in the South, in reply to a similar question\nasked by her five-year-old boy, said: \u201cSon, God sent you into this town\non the Cotton Belt train, about three o\u2019clock one afternoon. The doctor\nwas at the depot and saw you. He knew that we wanted a little boy, so he\nput you in his satchel and brought you to mamma.\u201d When this mother\nrelated this to me, her boy was nine years old and had not asked her\nanother word about his origin. At the close of my lecture, with tears in\nher eyes, she said: \u201cProfessor, do you suppose that my little boy has\nbeen hearing vulgar stories and is keeping his information a secret from\nmamma?\u201d \u201cYes, nine times out of ten, if you have a bright boy,\u201d was my\nreply. Upon investigation she found that her boy had been hearing vulgar\ntalk for about three years. How long do you suppose it will take that\nboy to eradicate from his mind and heart the evil effects of such\ntraining? It is not a question whether your child and mine shall get\nthis information or not. That question is settled. The child will get\nthe information. The questions for us to settle are: _When shall this\ninformation be given? Who shall give it? What shall be given? How shall\nit be given?_\n\n=Results of the old method.=--I shall not call in question the love,\nsincerity and honesty of these parents. In most cases they were sincere\nand did the best they knew how. I am concerned about the results of this\ntime-honored method. Did the old method of deception, misleading and\nfalse replies ever satisfy the inquiring mind of a child? Did the old\nmethod ever make a child wiser? Did it ever lead a child to regard human\nreproduction as delicate, sacred and pure? Did it ever lead a child to\ngreater love and faith in its parents? Only negative answers can be\ngiven to all these questions.\n\n=How the child finds out.=--As a rule, it is not long after a child\nbecomes interested in his origin until some older child, a playmate or\nservant will say, \u201cI know something that you do not know. You would like\nto know it. It is how little children come into this world. I will tell\nyou all about it, if you will not tell your mamma and papa about it.\u201d I\ndo not care how good the child may be, how well trained, or how\nobedient: such is the intense interest of a child in the mystery of his\nlife that he will agree to keep the story a secret. Now the child\nlistens eagerly to the half-truths, couched in impure language and gets\na perverted vision of the origin of life.\n\n=What are some of the results?=--Five very sad misfortunes have come to\nthe child. (1) The child has learned that his parents evaded his\nquestion; in most cases, he discovers the answer to have been a\nfalsehood. (2) To the extent that the child comprehends the falsehood,\ndoes he lose confidence in his parents. (3) He has learned to keep these\nvital matters a secret from his parents. (4) The child cannot think of\nhis parents\u2019 relation to the initial of his life, except in terms of\nvulgarity. Early images do not easily leave the mind of a child. Ugly\nwords, impure pictures, obscene language, with all their vile\nsuggestiveness, ofttimes remain through life. (5) He regards the organs\nof sex and their functions as vile and sinful. God never planned that\nany human being should entertain any such degrading and demoralizing\nviews of the divinely created organs and function of human reproduction.\nIt is impossible to estimate the evil effects of this false training.\nYet, there are many people, often very religious, who estimate their\nmodesty, refinement and culture by the degree of conscious shame they\nhave when questions of sex are referred to. Just to the extent that we\nfail to see that God is the author of sex, that sex is sacred and pure,\nour glory and not our shame, has a false training degraded us.\n\n=Boys lose confidence in their parents.=--You ask, does a child lose\nconfidence in his parents when he has discovered that they have told him\na falsehood about his origin? Certainly he does. In the past three years\nnot fewer than seven hundred and fifty young men from eighteen to\nthirty-five have written me for advice in regard to their youthful\nindiscretions. One question I have invariably asked those young men,\n\u201cDid your father ever warn you of your sexual dangers?\u201d Only two have\nreplied in the affirmative. Those young men were once as innocent and\npure as your little boy. They first went to their parents for\ninformation about these delicate matters. They were treated as I have\ndescribed. They received their information from sources and in a way\nthat led to sexual abuse.\n\n=Girls lose confidence in mother.=--While on a seven thousand-mile lecture\ntrip, in company with twenty other lecturers, conducting purity\nconventions in many of the large cities in the United States and Canada,\nafter the evening sessions were over, in company with one or two\ndetectives and other parties of our crowd, we visited the \u201cred light\u201d\ndistricts and saw several thousand erring girls from twelve to twenty\nyears old. Those girls were once as innocent, pure and sweet as yours\nor mine. They first went to their mothers and asked about the origin of\ntheir lives. Those were golden opportunities for safeguarding the virtue\nof those girls. More easily than at any other time in life could those\ngirls have been impressed with the sacredness of sex. At no other time\nin life is it so true that \u201can ounce of prevention is worth a pound of\ncure.\u201d Much more of Christian effort is put forth to rescue the fallen\nthan to prevent the youths from falling. More churches are open to\nlectures on rescue work than on preventive work. More money can be\nraised for rescue work than can be raised to prevent youths from\nfalling.\n\n=Boys and girls want to know the real truth.=--One morning a number of\nhigh school boys requested that I give them a lecture more advanced than\nthe one I had given. While passing through the hall, at the close of\nthis special lecture to the young men, I was approached by the lady\nprincipal with the request from the high school girls for a special\nlecture. She told me that fourteen had made the request and that several\nadded: \u201cWe wish that Prof. Shannon was a lady lecturer. There are so\nmany things we would like to know, but would hesitate to ask a gentleman\nlecturer.\u201d Then the lady teacher added, \u201cI said, girls, why do you not\nask your mamma for such information?\u201d With hands uplifted, a look of\nsurprise, a gasp for breath, those girls replied: \u201cI would not think of\nasking mamma such questions.\u201d Why not? Let me tell you why. When they\nwere little innocent girls they went to their mothers with their first\nquestions of sex. They were treated as already indicated. Their\ninquiring minds and unsatisfied interests in the mysteries of life led\nthem to go elsewhere for this information. It was at this point in their\nlives that a chasm started to form between themselves and their mothers.\nThere is not one boy in twenty-five who will go voluntarily to his\nfather for information or advice about his sex-nature. The same\nstatement is almost as true about girls and their mothers.\n\n=1,000,000 children adrift.=--1,500,000 children are born annually in this\nChristian nation. One-third of this number die before they are ten years\nold. Annually one million children inquire, \u201cHow did I get into this\nworld?\u201d Not more than one in twenty receive a kind, truthful and\nintelligent reply. More than nine-tenths are treated in one of the\nfollowing ways: (1) Told some one of fifty falsehoods. (2) A slap, with\norders to clear out. (3) Some form of ridicule, such as \u201cshame on you.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t let me hear you ask such an ugly question again.\u201d \u201cI am disgusted\nwith you.\u201d That settles it. The golden cords of confidence and\ninfluence are severed. Never again will those children go to their\nparents for information pertaining to sex. Elsewhere, they will find\nfriends who will gladly give them the information. These children, one\nmillion strong, are now adrift on the storm-tossed sea of passion,\nwithout chart or compass; drifting, drifting, drifting for years toward\nports, to them, unknown.\n\n[Illustration: DANGER!]\n\n=The virtue of a quarter of a million of boys sacrificed.=--Time passes.\nThe boys are now sixteen to twenty-five. They have boon and base\ncompanions. Their imaginations are at fever heat with morbid interest\nand their ambitions are aflame with daring. One quarter of a million\nyoung men annually sacrifice the priceless gem of manhood\u2019s virtue just\nhere. Now, they are nearing the fearful rapids of vice where most of\nthis number annually become diseased and many perish as sex-maniacs in\nthe awful maelstrom of lust.\n\n=60,000 girls annually.=--With the passing of time, the girls from twelve\nto seventeen, many without the safeguard of knowledge, are associating\nfreely, gayly with their boon male companions, exposed to all the\ntemptations and dangers incident to young womanhood. Many, many thousand\nyoung women annually sacrifice the priceless gem of womanhood\u2019s virtue\njust here. Owing to the double standard of morals, sixty thousand of\nthis number are forced against their own wills into the public\nmaelstroms of immorality.\n\n=Who is to blame.=--Thousands of poor prudish parents line the shores,\nand, with broken, bleeding hearts are crying out in anguish, \u201cMy God, my\nGod, why has this awful blow fallen on us?\u201d The poor, ignorant,\ndiseased, exiled, passion-ridden children, in many cases beyond the\nreach of the home, society and the church, exclaim, \u201cOh, if I had only\nbeen told of these dangers!\u201d\n\nAll along the almost socially inaccessible rock-bound shores of this sea\nof human passion, the churches and philanthropists are building and\nmaintaining rescue and foundling homes at an outlay of millions in\nmoney. They are not, and cannot, rescue one in twenty. The foundling\nhomes are crowded to a dangerous, unsanitary overflowing with\nillegitimate children, whose mothers are out in the rapids of vice, or\nentirely lost in the maelstrom of immorality. Too long have the churches\nbeen satisfied with snatching, here and there, a piece of human wreckage\nfrom the waves of vice, instead of erecting a lighthouse system of\nproperly warning and informing the childhood of the land.\n\n=The new way.=--We have seen the results of the old way of dealing with\nchildren in matters of sex. Is there a new and better way? We shall see.\n\u201cYe shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.\u201d The new and\nbetter way is to tell the truth to the child.\n\n=How shall a child be told.=--One day when our little girls were four and\nsix, wife said, \u201cHusband, I am in trouble about our little girls. They\nare asking where they were before they were born and how they got into\nthis world. How am I to answer them?\u201d \u201cTell them the truth,\u201d was my\nreply. \u201cBut, they are not old enough to be told the whole truth,\u201d was\nher reply. We talked over the problem and arrived at the following\nsolution of the problem: Since I had been a teacher of biology for\nyears, and it was presumed that I was familiar with the stories of life\namong the plants and animals, it was agreed that I should at once tell\nthem a nice little story about God\u2019s beautiful plan of bringing all the\nlittle plants into the world. Six months later I was to tell them the\nstory of life about the oysters and fish. Every six months to a year I\nwas to tell them a more advanced story. As they were girls, wife\nreserved the right to tell them the last story to be told when they were\nnine and ten.\n\nThese stories were all told in the order given. Our girls are now twelve\nand fourteen. We have never had an occasion to regret that we have\nfollowed this natural method of instructing them. They seem to have no\nmorbid curiosity about questions of sex. They look upon the facts as\nbeing natural, sacred and pure. Wife and I can approach them on these\nsubjects without embarrassment to them or us.\n\n=When should a child be told?=--The average boy should be told all these\nstories by the time he is eight, not later than nine. The average girl\nshould be told all these stories by the time she is nine, not later than\nten. The developing mind of the average child and the social influences\nto which he is exposed, demand that he be safeguarded by the whole\ntruth, this early in life. While the girl and boy develop alike until\nthey are ten or eleven, the boy being exposed to vicious companions more\nthan is his sister, he should be told the story of life earlier than\nshe. At the age of seven, boys know more about these things than the\ngirls do at ten and twelve. You had better tell the child the truth at\nsix, than to have him told by the vicious at the age of seven. If a\nchild could understand the story of life at three, and was properly\ntrained afterward, this information could not do him one particle of\nharm. This statement is either absolutely true, or God is the author of\na plan of human increase, the knowledge of which is essentially sinful.\nPersonally, I decline to believe the latter.\n\nIf the child has been informed by vicious playmates or servants and his\nmind has been tainted, the only sane and safe method is to tell him the\nfull truth as quickly as possible, regardless of his age.\n\nIf the child has been allowed to grow up to the age of nine or ten,\nignorant of the story of life, I would tell him all the stories,\nbeginning with the first story, telling them only a few days apart.\nWhere parents are not prepared to do this, I would advise them to place\na suitable book, presenting these stories in a clear, chaste and\ninteresting way, in the hands of the child, saying, \u201cHere is a very\ninteresting little book telling you just what you will be interested in\nknowing and what I would like for you to understand.\u201d\n\n=The ideal way.=--The ideal way would be to start with the child when he\nfirst inquires about his origin, telling him the first story about the\nplants. Promise to tell him other stories about the oysters, fish,\ninsects, birds, animals and man as he grows older and can understand\nthem. Where a child is naturally very inquisitive and insists on knowing\nmore, I would not hold him off too long for the next story.\n\n=How to introduce each new story.=--I would introduce each new story by\nreviewing the story of the plants and flowers. There are at least three\nreasons for this. (1) You can go into all the details of reproduction in\nthe flower without danger of awakening the sex consciousness of the\nchild. (2) It saves going into the detail when you have come to the\nhigher animals and man. The child\u2019s mind usually comprehends more than\nwe give it credit for. If he understands the details of reproduction in\nthe flower, his innocent fancy will fill in the details when he hears\nthe other stories. (3) If he has been so unfortunate as to fall in with\nbad company at any time and his mind has been tainted with their\nstories, there is no means you can use in ridding his mind of impurity,\nquite so effectively, as by telling him the story of life in the flower.\n\n=Teaching these truths in the public schools.=--The violation of the laws\nof sex is the chief cause of physical, mental and moral degeneracy. The\ndegenerate classes are increasing at an appalling rate. Correct\nsex-instruction in childhood is the most important and effective step in\nthe solution of this problem. There is a growing conviction among the\nstudents of sociology that sex-hygiene should be taught in the public\nschools. There are some teachers in all departments of school work, who,\nin morals at least, are not fitted for this delicate work. At present,\nan extremely few have the educational qualification for this delicate\nwork. When teachers are required to take a course of training in these\nsubjects, there will still be but few who are possessed of the natural\ntalent for effectively and wisely presenting these subjects to children\nof the different grades.\n\nAlready colleges and universities and even a few high schools have begun\nto teach sex hygiene in a limited scientific way. This work will first\nbe introduced into the high school work and later, gradually be\nintroduced into the lower grades. Definite instruction will not be\ngiven, for many years at least, and possibly never, to boys under eight,\nand girls under ten or eleven. If this statement is true, it will be\nseen that the schools will have left the first and most important part\nof this training to be done in the home. The teaching of morals in the\npublic school can never be substituted for the teaching of morals in the\nhome. The present great awakening on these subjects will shortly result\nin three-fourths of the parents teaching these truths in their homes.\nSince one-fourth of the children do not get any moral instruction in the\nhome and they do not go to Sunday school or church, the public school is\nthe only place where they can be given moral training for citizenship.\n\n=How this can be done.=--In my opinion, the safest and most effective\nmethod of dealing with these questions in the public schools, for the\npresent at least, would be for the school boards in two or three\ncounties to select and employ a gentleman and a lady lecturer, having\nnatural gifts, moral and educational qualifications, whose duty it shall\nbe to lecture to all the boys and girls; the male lecturer, lecturing to\nthe boys and the lady lecturer, lecturing to the girls. All other\nteachers should be required to be sufficiently versed in these matters\nto enable them to solve any individual problems that may arise in their\nsocial relations to the pupils in school.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nTHE FIRST STORY--BABY PLANTS\n\n\n=The author\u2019s experience.=--When our girls, Fay and Fern, were six and\nfour years of age, they became interested in learning about their coming\ninto the world. Their mamma had told me of their puzzling questions. We\nagreed that I should tell them a story of life, every six months or a\nyear, until they were nine or ten. Then their mamma should tell them the\nlast story, the story of their life.\n\nA few days later some young men, whom we were helping through college,\nand I were working among the flowers, when one of the girls made some\ninquiry about the relation of birds. This naturally opened the way for\nmy first talk. I promised her and her sister a very interesting story at\nthe rest hour at noon. As ever, they were both anxious to hear a new\nstory. Dinner over, they followed me into the greenhouse. I gathered a\nnumber of flowers and invited them to be seated near me while I told\nthem the story.\n\n=Praise a child for asking.=--I opened the story by saying, \u201cMamma tells\nme that you have become interested in knowing where you were before you\nwere born and how you got into this world. We have talked together\nabout your interest in this matter and we are glad that you have asked\nthese questions, and especially because you came first to us. For you to\nask these questions so early in life indicates that you are very bright\nand intelligent. We are your natural teachers. We love you as no one\nelse does or can. In the future, anything you wish to know about\nyourselves, come to us and we will take pleasure in telling you all that\nis best for you to know.\u201d\n\n=Why the child should be told gradually.=--You would like to be able to\nread and understand all there is in the fourth reader. There is nothing\nin the fourth reader that could do you a particle of harm. There are\nmany things in the fourth reader that you could not understand. Papa and\nmamma might read and try to explain them to you. Still, there would be\nsome things that we could not make plain to you, for the reason that you\nare not old enough for your little minds to grasp them. You understand\nthat you must learn first what there is in the first reader. When you\nhave learned all there is in it, then you are ready for the second\nreader. The mastery of the second reader prepares you for the third and\nthe third reader prepares you for the fourth. There are some things that\nyou understand to-day, that you could not understand six months ago.\nThis great world is full of things that you cannot understand now; but,\nas you grow older and your mind grows stronger, step by step, you will\nlearn and understand things that you cannot understand now. There are so\nmany things in this world that may be known, that no one lives long\nenough to learn them all. Just so, you would like to know how God brings\nlittle children into this world. This is God\u2019s wonderful plan. It could\nnot do you a bit of harm to know all about it, if you could understand\nit. But you are not old enough now. Papa can tell you a beautiful story\nabout how God brings all the little sprigs of grass, weeds, vegetables\nand trees into the world now, and in a few months I can tell you about\nthe mussels, oysters and fish. Then, when you are a year older, I will\ntell you about the birds; later, I will tell you about the higher\nanimals. When you are eight or ten, mamma will tell you the last\nstory--God\u2019s beautiful plan of bringing little children into the home.\n\n=Some things right one time and wrong at another.=--You are both old\nenough to know that there are some things we do that is right for us to\ndo under certain conditions, but would be very wrong for us to do under\nother conditions. Some things would be right to do during the week, but\nwrong if done on Sunday. Every few days you take an all-over bath. It is\nperfectly right for you to take these baths and for your mamma to help\nyou. All people, who desire to live cleanly lives and enjoy good health,\ntake frequent all-over baths. But you have noticed that when you take\nbaths, other people are not invited to be present, not even papa is\npresent. This is because our bodies are sacred. We wear clothing that\nour bodies may not be exposed to the gaze of other people.\n\nWe do not speak the name of God and Jesus in a light and frivolous way\nbecause these names are sacred.\n\n=Why we do not talk about the origin of life.=--One of the most delicate,\npure and sacred experiences connected with human life is God\u2019s beautiful\nplan of bringing little children into the home. It is so sacred, pure\nand delicate that good people seldom speak of it, and never in a light\nand foolish way. It is for this reason that you have never heard your\nmamma and papa speak of it. It is right for fathers and mothers,\nhusbands and wives to speak to each other about this matter; also, for\ngrown people, when there is some good reason for doing so. It is not\nwise or best for little children to talk about how children come into\nthe world except to their parents. We are your natural teachers and we\nwant you always to feel free to come to us with questions about things\nof this nature. When you are older you will understand better why papa\ngives you this advice.\n\nMany men and women, boys and girls have not been carefully trained to be\ngood. They get angry and quarrel or fight, use bad language, break the\nSabbath, and do many other wrong things. Some appear to take pleasure in\ndoing wrong and in leading others to do wrong. This class of people do\nnot look upon God\u2019s plan of bringing little children into the world as\nbeing pure and sacred. They use very bad language when they try to talk\nabout the story of life or tell it to others. When little children hear\nthese people talk about the story of life, their little minds and hearts\nare filled with bad words and very wicked thoughts. In this way many\nlittle boys and girls are started wrong in life and they are sure to\nhave a hard and painful struggle to rid themselves of impure thoughts,\nwords and habits in after life.\n\nIt may not be very long until some schoolmate or someone older than you\nwill say, \u201cI know something that you don\u2019t. You would like to know it\nand I will tell you, if you will not tell your papa and mamma about it.\u201d\nNow, girls, whenever someone wants to tell you something and asks you\nnot to tell your mamma and papa, you may be sure that it is wrong, that\nit will injure you, and most likely it is false. Mamma and papa would\nadvise you to say to them, \u201cWe don\u2019t want to hear anything that we\ncannot talk about to mamma and papa.\u201d\n\n=Story of the plants.=--The story of life that papa will tell you to-day\nwill be about the plants, vegetables and trees, how their young come\ninto the world. Papa has gathered some beautiful flowers with which to\nillustrate the story. This will be our first lesson in Botany. Every\npart of a plant has special names. Many of the names are too difficult\nfor you to remember. When you get older you will learn and remember the\nnames. The story of life in all flowering plants begins in the flower.\n\n=The outer parts.=--At sight, we notice that the many parts of a flower\nare arranged in whorls or circles. The outer whorl is called the (1)\ncalix. You will notice that in some of these flowers, the calix is\nhighly colored, in others it looks like little green leaves and in some\nof the flowers the calix is absent. You will observe that in some\nflowers the calix is composed of four or more parts. These separate\nparts are called (2) sepals. In other flowers the sepals have grown\ntogether so they appear to be only one sepal. In such flowers we count\nthe sepals by the small notches on top.\n\nThe second whorl is called the (3) corolla. This whorl is usually the\nmost highly colored part of the flower. If either of these whorls is\nabsent in a flower, it is the calix. Sometimes both whorls are absent.\nThe separate parts of the corolla are called (4) petals. Sometimes the\npetals are separate from the base of the flower. In other flowers they\nare more or less united.\n\n=The papa parts.=--While the calix and corolla form the most attractive\nand beautiful parts, they are not the most important parts of a flower.\nThe prettiest things are not always the best or most useful things. Let\nus now carefully examine these central organs. They are called the\nessential organs. Were it not for these organs in the flowers, no new\ngrasses, plants, vegetables and trees would come into this world. Such a\nmisfortune would rob this world of most of its beauty and much of its\nvalue. In this flower, the next whorl consists of a number of small\nslender organs. These are called (5) stamens. They are the father parts\nof the flower and possess the father nature. On top of these organs are\nlittle delicate bodies, poised lightly, and filled with a very fine\ndust. These little bodies are called (6) anthers. The fine grains of\npowder are called pollen. You can rub the pollen off with your finger.\nThis dust varies slightly in color in different flowers.\n\n=The mamma parts.=--The central organ in this flower is called the pistil.\nThe pistil is composed of three parts. At the base of the pistil is the\n(7) pod, more correctly called the ovary. In the ovary little seed are\nformed. On top of the ovary is a slender organ called the style. On top\nof the style is a spongy enlargement called the (9) stigma. The stigma,\nstyle and ovary form the mother part of the flower and possess the\nmother nature. In some plants each flower has more than one pistil.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n=How the papa and mamma natures unite.=--When the pollen is ripe, the\nanther cells burst open and the little, light, powdery pollen falls out\nand it is carried by gravity, the wind or by insects to the stigma. The\nlittle pores of the stigma open and admit the grains of pollen and the\nstyle carries the pollen to the ovary where it unites with the little\nseed. The seed are then said to be fertilized. This means that the\nfather and mother natures have united in the seed. The seed grow and\ndevelop in the ovary. While this is being done, food for the little baby\nplants to live on while only a day or two old, is being stored up in the\nseed. In such seed is the tiny beginning of a future plant. The seed\nripen in the pod. The pod bursts open and the seed fall upon the ground,\nor men gather them, and later plant them in the soil. The spring\nsunshine and rain cause the seed to sprout and as tiny stems appear\nabove the ground, only an inch or so high, they are nothing in the world\nbut little baby sprigs of grass, little baby weeds, little baby\nvegetables or little baby trees.\n\nWhen God created the first grasses, plants and trees, He commanded them\nto be \u201cfruitful and multiply.\u201d In this story you have learned how all\nthe grown-up plants and trees obey this command of God.\n\n=The two natures do not always exist in the same flower.=--In the flowers\nwe have studied, we found both the male and female organs in the same\nflower. Each flower possessed the two natures, male and female. But\nthis is not true of all plants and trees. In some plants and trees\nflowers can be found having only stamens. These would be father-flowers.\nThey could not produce seed or fruit. On some plants and trees may be\nfound flowers having only pistils. These are mother-flowers. Flowers of\nthese two kinds may be found growing on the same limb of a plant or\ntree, or on different limbs, or on different trees. The poplar and\nwillow trees are examples of the last kind.\n\nIn the case of the Indian corn, the ear of corn, including the cob, the\ngrains, shuck and silk form the mother part of the cornstalk. The tassel\nof the cornstalk is the father part and contains the father nature. The\ntassel produces a great deal of pollen. You have, on passing through a\npatch of corn, noticed the pollen falling everywhere and covering\neverything. Ears of corn sometimes have as many as 1000 grains of corn\nto the cob. Each grain sends out one or more little silks beyond the\nshuck to catch some of the pollen. Should these little silks fail to\ncatch the grains of pollen, no grains of corn would form on the cob. The\nfather and mother natures must unite if little seed are formed. From\nthis we learn why it is that every little sprig of grass, weed,\nvegetable, and tree must have a father and mother and their natures must\nunite.\n\n=The three methods.=--We mentioned three ways by which the pollen from the\nmale organs is carried to the stigma of the female organ: wind, gravity\nand insects. In the corn, the ears are below the tassel and gravity is\nall that is necessary to carry the pollen to the silks. Where one tree\nbears bloom having only stamens and another tree of the same species\nbears flowers having only pistils, nature may use both the wind and\ninsects in carrying the pollen from the male to the female tree. In some\nplants and trees the blooms are so constructed that gravity and the wind\nare of but little service. In such flowers a sweet juice is formed at\nthe base of the flower. This attracts the bees and insects. As they\npress down into the flower to sip the sweet juice they rub off some of\nthe pollen on to their wings, legs and back. The next flower they enter,\nsome of this pollen is rubbed off on the stigma of that flower. In this\nway the seed are fertilized. From this we see that the real purpose of\nthe sweet juice in the flower, is not produced for food for the insects,\nbut for the purpose of attracting the insects so they may carry the\npollen from one flower to another.\n\n=A most wise, sacred and beautiful plan.=--In this little story, you have\nlearned in a general way God\u2019s plan of bringing all little grasses,\nplants, vegetables and trees into being that come from a seed. You have\nlearned two great laws, namely; every plant that comes from a seed must\nhave a father and mother, and, the father and mother natures must unite\nin the seed. These two great laws are just as true in the animals and in\nthe human family as among the plants. When we most admire a beautiful\nbed of flowers or a blooming tree, when we gather a bouquet of flowers\nto wear, or offer to a friend, at that very moment the two natures are\nuniting for the purpose of increasing their kind. God is the author of\nthe male and female organs of the plants and for this reason the union\nof their two natures is sacred and pure. Plants were the first living\nthings that God made; man was the last. The plants were at the bottom of\nGod\u2019s work of creation; man was at the top. If the same laws we have\nfound in the plants, that enable them to bring their little children\ninto the world, are the same laws that enable human fathers and mothers\nto bring their little children into the world, and since we found this\nplan to be sacred and pure among all the flowers; then this same plan,\nwhen used in the human family, must be pure and sacred. If man is so\nmuch higher in the scale of life than the flower, then these laws must\nbe even more sacred in the human family. This will show you how very\ndegrading it is to entertain low and vulgar thoughts about the coming of\nlittle children into this world, as some people do.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nTHE SECOND STORY--BABY OYSTERS AND FISH\n\n\n=The story of baby oysters.=--Before telling this story to my little girls\nI reviewed the story of the plants. This refreshed in their minds\ncertain very important laws that they had learned in the first talk.\nThis talk was given when they were about six and eight years old.\n\nIn studying the story of life among the plants, you will remember that\nwe learned that in most plants the male and female organs of sex were in\nthe same flower. Among the lower forms of animal life, we find both the\nmale and female natures in the same animal. The oyster furnishes a good\nexample. These little animals are surrounded with and fastened to a very\nhard and heavy shell. These animals live in great masses and their\nshells are cemented together. Growing in this way they cannot move\nabout, or mix and mingle with each other. The mother parts of the oyster\nproduce little eggs which are fertilized by a substance formed by other\norgans containing the father nature. The fertilized egg, when laid,\nfloats off and becomes attached to the shell of some oyster on a nearby\nrock. Later, it hatches and the little baby oyster forms about its body\na hard shell that is made larger as the little animal grows. In this way\nthe little oysters come into the world. Among the oysters, we find the\nsame laws that we found in the plants, _i. e._, each baby oyster must\nhave a father and mother and the father and mother natures must unite.\nIn the plants the father and mother natures unite in a little seed; in\nthe oyster this union takes place in a little egg.\n\nWhen God made the fish, lizards, snakes, birds and higher animals, he\ngave to one a papa or male nature, with suitable sexual organs; to\nanother animal of the same kind he gave a mamma or female nature, with\nsuitable female or sexual organs. In the plants we find that the female\nsexual organs, the ovaries, produced little seed. We found that the male\nsexual organs, the stamens, produced a fine powdery substance called\npollen. Among the animals, the sexual organs of the mother produces\nlittle eggs and the sexual organs of the father produces a fluid called\nsemen.\n\n=The story of baby fish.=--Now we will study the fish. In the spring\nseason of the year thousands of tiny eggs are formed in the ovaries of\nthe mother fish. When these eggs are matured, the mother fishes swim in\nlarge crowds, called \u201cschools,\u201d from the deep water of a stream, river\nor sea to some shallow place that seems to them to be suitable for a\nnest or home for their young. The mother fishes lay their eggs in a\nmass of albuminous substance, like the white of an egg, that spreads out\nin a very thin sheet holding the little eggs one in a place and close\ntogether. The father fishes swim along sometimes a foot, a yard or more\nbehind the mothers and expel from their bodies the semen that unites\nwith and fertilizes the eggs. This special fluid of the male fish is\nformed by his sexual glands, called testes. In this way the father\nnature unites with the mother nature to produce every little fish that\ncomes into this world.\n\n=Why the mother fish lays so many eggs.=--The female fish forms thousands\nof these little eggs in her body each year. The female codfish has been\nknown to lay as many as 6,000,000 eggs in one season. You could not\ncount as many in a lifetime. The reason why the mother fish produces so\nmany eggs is, that not one fish egg in twenty-five, on an average, will\never hatch and not more than one out of twenty-five little fishes ever\ngrow to be an inch long. They have little, or no, protection, and they\nhave so many enemies. There are hogs, turtles, crocodiles and\nalligators; the ducks, geese and other water fowls; as well as most of\nthe fish that feed upon fish eggs and small fish. That the streams,\nrivers and seas may be kept supplied with an abundance of fish, God has\nplanned for the mother fish to lay thousands of eggs.\n\n=All baby fish are orphans.=--Most kinds of fish leave their eggs as soon\nas they are laid and fertilized and never see or know their young. There\nare a few male fish, known as game fish, which swim over and around the\neggs until they are hatched to keep other kinds of fish from eating the\neggs. As soon as the eggs are hatched, he leaves. In this way all little\nfish grow up as orphans. They never know or enjoy the presence of their\nparents. The parent fish do not labor or sacrifice for their young, and,\nfor this reason, they have no love for them. Should they ever meet their\nyoung in the river or sea they would have no way of knowing them or of\nfeeling any sense of joy.\n\n=Fish do not pair off.=--We found in the study of the plants that the seed\nwere fertilized while in the pod or ovary. In the fish we found that the\neggs are fertilized outside of the mother\u2019s body. In nearly all the\nanimals above the fish the eggs or ova are fertilized while in the\nmother\u2019s body. There is no love between the male and the female fish.\nThey do not pair off and live in families. Among all the spiders,\nlizards, serpents, many of the insects, crawfish, frogs and toads there\nis a tendency, at certain seasons, for the male to choose a female with\na view to a home and family. But among all the animals we have named,\nmany of the male and female animals part or leave each other as soon as\nthe eggs are fertilized, and all the others leave each other as soon as\nthe eggs are hatched. The love of the male for the female lasts but for\na little time; while there is no love for their young after they are\nhatched. Before the young are hatched some of their parents show\ninterest in their eggs and make some provisions for their young when\nhatched. But this is all done before the young are hatched. The young\nall grow up as little orphans.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nTHE THIRD STORY--BABY BIRDS\n\n\nWhen our little girls were seven and nine this talk was given. The\nprevious stories were reviewed bringing out the resemblances and\ndifferences. They were permitted to ask questions. In this talk they\nwere very alert to see and apply all the lessons learned from previous\nstories.\n\n=The beginning of love.=--In this review of the story of life, among the\nplants and fish, we found no love or personal feeling between the male\nand female. Among the insects and reptiles we found that the males and\nfemales choose each other, when led by instinct to bring their young\ninto the world. From the fish to the birds we find the simplest form of\nlove and interest on the part of the parents in their young. This is\nshown by the care the parents take in the protection and care of the\neggs and the food prepared for the young before they are hatched. The\nmale crawfish picks up the fertilized eggs with his feelers, that are\narranged in a double row underneath his tail, and, by means of these\nfeelers, he carries the eggs close to his body until they are nearly\nready to hatch. The frogs and toads show great tenderness for their\neggs. A great many books have been written about all these animals and\nwhen you are older you will be greatly interested in learning more of\nthe detail of reproduction among these curious animals. Among all the\nanimals we have studied the male and female separate as soon as the eggs\nare fertilized and laid, in other cases as soon as the eggs begin to\nhatch. The parent animals show no interest in their young after they are\nhatched and their children never know their parents or love them.\n\n=The ant and the bee.=--Two exceptions should be made to the above\nstatement, the bee and the ant. They do not pair off and mate, as do\nother insects, but they live in colonies, or societies. They do not seem\nto have any special interest in their offspring or even a mate, but in\nthe whole community of bees or ants. The perfect social organizations\nthey form and the homes they build rival the skill and intelligence of\nman. There are some interesting books written about the bee and ant by\npersons who have spent years in studying them. When you are older you\nmay be interested in reading such books.\n\n=Baby birds.=--We will study God\u2019s plan among the birds. In studying the\nfamily life of the birds we find a higher form of instinct, more love\nand care for each other and their young than among the animals we have\nstudied.\n\nWe often feel disgusted at the ugly, slimy toads, lizards and serpents\nliving in swamps and pools. But not so with the birds. Most of them are\nvery interesting and beautiful and some are fine musicians. Among most\nof the wild birds of the fields and forests, in the spring time the male\nchooses among the females the one that most suits his fancy and they are\nmated or married. When they decide to raise them a family they build\nthem a nest. This is their home. The partridge and lark build their\nnests on the ground, the swallow in chimneys, the pigeons in barns, the\nwoodcocks and woodpeckers in hollow limbs, the wild ducks and geese on\nthe ledges of rocky cliffs, or in the high grass and weeds on the edge\nof a lake, but most birds build their homes in bushes and trees. The\ncuckoo does not build a nest, but lays her eggs in the nest of other\nbirds, to get rid of all labor and trouble of hatching, feeding and\nrearing her young. We feel a natural contempt for the cuckoo. In every\nfemale bird there are organs called ovaries where at certain seasons\nlittle eggs are formed. While small or soft they are fertilized by the\nmale bird. As the egg grows in the body of the mother bird a hard thin\nshell is formed around them. When the eggs are fully formed and the nest\nis completed, the mother bird lays the eggs in the nest, usually one\negg a day. For several days these eggs must have some extra heat or they\nwill not hatch. Among most birds, the mother sits on her eggs so that\nthe warmth of her body will cause the fertilized cell in each egg to\nform the little bird. While she sits on the eggs the father bird gathers\nfresh berries and worms and brings them to the mother bird to eat. When\nnot bringing her water or food, he is usually found perched upon a\nnearby limb cheering his wife by talking and singing to her. When her\nlittle legs become tired, he will take her place, while she goes and\nfinds fresh food or water. When the little birds are hatched, from\nsunrise to sunset the parents are busy catching worms and insects and\nfeeding their young. As their children grow older and larger, in some\nmysterious way, they teach them the danger of men and guns, cats and\nsnakes. When they are about grown they are taught to fly. From this time\nuntil the next spring they will live in flocks, when they will again\nmate and raise a family. In this way all the beautiful feathery\nsongsters are brought into this world.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nTHE FOURTH STORY--BABY ANIMALS AND MAN\n\n\nAs the days and months glided by, our little girls were greeted one\nautumn morning by the advent of a little baby brother. Wife had given\nconsent, years gone by, for me to tell the foregoing stories of life;\nbut, only a few months before the above event, she had requested the\nprivilege of telling this last story, as the girls would naturally ask\nof her how the little fellow came. This she told them, in a way no\ndoubt, better than I could have done.\n\nIn lecturing to multiplied thousands of boys and many hundreds of girls,\nI have told the stories of life much as I did to my little girls, with\nthis story added.\n\n=Baby animals.=--We will now study God\u2019s plan of increase in the higher\nanimals and man. We shall find many striking resemblances and\ninteresting variations between the lower forms of life that we have\nstudied and the higher forms that we shall now study. All along the\nascending scale of life we have found male and female organs of sex,\npossessing male and female natures. We have found that the male organs\nof sex produce a fertilizing substance called pollen in plants and\nsemen in animals; that the female organs of sex produce seeds in plants\nand eggs in animals. We have found that every new plant, fish, insect,\nand bird comes from the union of the pollen with the seed, or the semen\nwith the eggs. This last fact is true of the higher animals and man. We\nfound that the seed of the plants are fertilized in the ovaries of the\nmother organs; that eggs of fish are fertilized outside of the body of\nthe mother; that the eggs of insects and birds are fertilized inside of\nthe mother\u2019s body. This last plan is also true of the higher animals and\nman. We found that the seed of plants were sown or planted in the soil;\nthat the eggs of fish were deposited in water; that the eggs of insects\nand birds were laid in some specially arranged place for them, usually\ncalled nests. In the higher animals and man the young starts from a tiny\nfertilized egg and grows in an organ in the mother\u2019s body, called the\nwomb, until it is strong and old enough to be born.\n\nThe earliest stage of plant life in the little seed is called an embryo.\nWhen the seed has been planted and the little embryo appears above\nground, it is then a little baby plant. The earliest stage of animal\nlife in the egg of the fish, insect or bird, is an embryo. The mother\npart of the plant stores up food in the seed and the growing embryo\nfeeds upon this food, until its little roots have grown down into the\nsoil where they can take up food from the soil and the blades or leaves\nare large enough to receive light and heat from the sun and food from\nthe atmosphere. The mother fish, insect and bird store up food in their\neggs for the little embryos to live upon until they are hatched. Among\nthe higher animals and man, the embryo begins with the tiny fertilized\negg in the mother\u2019s womb and receives nourishment and life from the\nmother\u2019s blood through a duct, called the placenta, which is connected\nwith the mother\u2019s womb at one end while the other end connects with the\nbody of the embryo at a point called the navel. In this way the mother\nfurnishes the young with all the air, food, water and life that it gets\nuntil it is born. Among the higher animals and man the young when born\nare very tender and helpless. For several weeks or months they are fed\non milk from their mother\u2019s breasts. In higher forms of life the birth\nof young is attended by greater sacrifice and suffering than in lower\nforms of life. For months, and in the case of man, for years, the\nparents must labor and sacrifice to feed, protect and educate them.\nBirth in the human family is attended by greater suffering and the\nlittle baby is more helpless and tender, and for this reason requires\nmore tender care than the young of any other animal. You have observed\nthat in the lower forms of life where the parents do not have to suffer\nto bring their young into the world or labor to provide for them food\nor shelter that they do not love their young. As we ascend the scale of\nlife in our study, we find that love exists between the parents and\nyoung just in proportion as the parents suffer and labor for their\nyoung.\n\nOne of the most impressive and effective ways of telling the story of\nlife in man was told by a wise and queenly mother in the following true\nstory. This mother introduces the story by telling how solicitous she\nbecame about her little boy when he was about seven or eight years old.\nHe was in the public school where he was likely any day to hear the\nstory of life from some wicked boy. She was anxious that her boy should\nhear this story first from his mother\u2019s lips.\n\n=How a mother told the story of life to her boy.=--In telling the story,\nthe mother said:\n\nOne morning, the opportunity that I had been praying and watching for,\ncame. I observed my little boy playing rather roughly, not cruelly, with\nthe pet cat. Speaking kindly to him, I said, \u201cSon, don\u2019t be rough with\nthe old cat; handle her gently.\u201d \u201cWhy, mamma?\u201d he replied. \u201cSon, mamma\ncannot make the reason clear to you now, but you obey mamma and in about\nten days, mamma will tell you a very beautiful story, and, then you will\nunderstand.\u201d As those days glided by, with pride I observed the unusual\nattention and kindness he showed the old cat. One morning, about ten\ndays later, he came running into my presence, perfectly delighted,\nwonderfully elated, and overflowing with joy, he invited me out the back\nway to see what he had found. I anticipated his discovery, but I wanted\nhim to have all the pleasure. So, I offered him my hand while he proudly\nled the way. As we stepped from the back porch, turning he pointed his\nfinger under the floor; I looked, and there was the old mother cat and\nby her side were four as beautiful little kittens, basking in the\nsunlight, as the human eye ever saw. He bragged about having found them;\ncalled my attention to their color and markings; and claimed two of them\nas his own.\n\nWe sat down on a rustic seat where we could still see them. We admired\ntheir plumpness, color, eyes and playfulness and chatted together about\nthem. At length I said, \u201cSon, do you remember about ten days ago when\nyou were playing rather roughly and I asked you to handle the old cat\ntenderly?\u201d Promptly he replied; \u201cYes, mamma, and you promised me that in\nabout ten days you would tell me a beautiful story that would explain\nwhy I should handle the old cat kindly. Can you tell me that story this\nmorning?\u201d \u201cYes, son, mamma is ready to tell you the sweetest and purest\nstory that a mother can tell her son. When mamma asked you to be kind to\nthe old cat, those four little kittens were then in her body. That was\nwhy the old cat was larger than she is now. The little kittens were then\nmuch smaller and very tender, and, had you been rough with the old cat,\nyou might have injured them; and, then, they might have been born\ncrippled, deformed or dead. When they were born three or four days ago\ntheir little eyes were so tender that the full light of the sun would\nhave put out their sight, so they were born with their eyelids closed\nand glued together. The old cat knew how tender their eyes would be, so\nthree or four days ago she went away back under the dark floor and gave\nthem birth. As they have grown older and their eyes have become\nstronger, every few hours the old cat has brought them a few feet nearer\nthe light. Meanwhile, their eyelids have gradually opened until they can\nnow look up at the sun as well as you can. If they had been born out in\nthe open, the full light of the sun would have made their tender little\neyes very sore or put them out.\u201d\n\nBy this time I saw that my boy was very anxious to ask me a question. I\nwas just as eager for him to ask it. I believed that he was going to ask\nthe very question that my mother heart longed for him to ask; the very\nquestion that I believed God wanted my little boy to ask. I paused and\nlooked into his little upturned face. As his deep, true blue eyes met\nmine, spontaneously, naturally, seriously he enquired, \u201cMamma, was I\nonce in your body, too?\u201d \u201cYes, son, you were formed in mamma\u2019s body, in\na little nest or home underneath mamma\u2019s heart. You started as a little\ncell. For two hundred and eighty long days, nine full months, nearly a\nwhole year, you were growing in mamma\u2019s body. Mamma knew that you were\nthere and loved and prayed for you long before you were born. Mamma had\nto be careful not to meet with an accident lest you might be born\ncrippled, deformed or dead. Mamma had to be cautious about the food she\nate, the air she breathed, the water she drank, the exercise she took,\nall she thought and did; because you were united to mamma by a little\ncord filled with blood vessels, through which mamma was supplying you\nfrom her blood with all the materials necessary for your forming body,\nmind and soul. In this way you were being influenced by mamma. Mamma was\nanxious that you might have a healthy and perfect body and grow up to be\na smart, good and great man. If mamma had been angry, untruthful or\ndishonest during these months that you were a part of her, you might\nhave been born with an ugly disposition, tendency to steal or be\nuntruthful. Mamma was very careful about all she thought, said and did\nduring the months you were a part of her body.\n\n\u201cMamma knew about the day that you would leave your little home and come\ninto this world. For hours mamma suffered great pain. The faithful\ndoctor was present and did all he could to lessen mamma\u2019s suffering.\nPapa stood at my side, held my hands in his, often stooped over and\nkissed my lips, cheeks and brow. As soon as you were born, the air\nrushed into your lungs and you cried, just as all little babies do when\nthey are born alive. Mamma heard your baby cry and it thrilled her with\njoy known only to a mother, when she knows that her little baby is\nalive. But, son, when you were born and for many weeks and months, you\nwere tiny, tender and helpless. No one in this world, and, God could not\nhave found an angel in all of heaven who could have cared for you as\nwell as mamma could. Mamma fed you at her breast, held you in her lap,\nfondled you in her arms and sung lullabies to you. When you were only a\nfew weeks old you would have the colic. All night long your little body\nwould be racked with pain and mamma would walk the floor with you, rub\nyour little body and sing to you.\u201d By this time my little boy was\nstanding up close by my side, had both arms thrown around my neck, his\nlittle lips were kissing my cheek, and tears were rolling down his on to\nmine. Then he said, \u201cMamma, I am glad you have told me that story. I\nlove you better now. I did not know that you loved and prayed for me\nbefore you ever saw me; that you were so careful that I might be well\nborn; that you had to suffer so much when I was born; and that you\ncared for me so good when I was so small and when I was sick. This story\nwill help me love you better and I will try never to disobey or tell you\na falsehood.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nDo you not see how much better it was for this boy to hear the story of\nhis life from the pure lips of his loving mother, than to hear it first\nfrom the lips of some ignorant and wicked boy or man? Well this is the\nstory of your life. You cannot understand now how much your mamma\nsuffered in bringing you into this world. Then, both your father and\nmother have made many sacrifices for you and are deeply interested in\nyour future. If you should make a shipwreck of life, I am sure that\ntheir old days would be spent in grief. How can you repay your parents\nfor all their sacrifices? If you will keep your thoughts, words and\nactions pure, every time your parents see or think of you, they will be\nthrilled with joy and appreciation. Will you not now promise yourself\nand promise God that by His forgiveness of the past, grace and help now\nand in the future, that you will keep yourself pure? When you have done\nthis will you not go and kiss mamma, and tell her that you love her\nbetter than ever before and that you are determined to live up to her\nprayers and wishes?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nPRACTICAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS\n\n\n=When should parents begin telling a child of his origin?=--When a child\nasks about his origin he is old enough to be told the first story. Some\nchildren will ask about this by the time they are three or four years\nold, others not until they are five or six. A normally developing child\nwill certainly become interested in this matter by the sixth year. If a\nchild has not asked about his origin by the time he is six, it would be\nwise for the parents to ascertain by questioning him whether he has\nreceived this information elsewhere.\n\n=If they find he has gained this information from the vicious, what\nshould they do?=--I would suggest that they wisely, tactfully and kindly\nask him to tell them all he has heard, promising him that they will tell\nhim the real truth in a number of very interesting stories. If he has\nreceived only very limited information, I would tell him at once the\nstory of the plants and promise him another story in a few days or weeks\nabout the oysters. If he has received considerable information in\nhalf-truth and learned several vulgar expressions, I would tell him\nthese stories of life, one at the time and one each day until I had\ncovered all the half-truths he had learned. I would endeavor skillfully\nto impress him with the sacredness of the laws of life. I would try to\ninduce him to discard every false name he has learned by giving him the\nchaste pure names. I would teach him that we should be modest and\ndiscreet regarding these organs, and when and how to speak of them; that\nwe should carefully avoid entertaining the idea they are in themselves\nsinful or that they are our shame and humiliation; that these organs and\ntheir functions are sacred, delicate and pure; and that they are our\npride and our glory.\n\nIf this advice were universally followed by teachers, ministers and\nparents among all children over ten, youths and adults, it would\nimmediately reform and purify society.\n\n\u201c=If a child, especially a boy, is not fully satisfied with the\ninformation contained in these stories, and should ask for a more\ndetailed explanation of the child\u2019s origin, how would you answer\nhim?=\u201d--I would first try to decide whether the child is prompted by\nnatural or morbid curiosity. If the child is sincere, very bright and\ninquisitive, you will have a very pleasant task and one that should\nresult in only good to the child. I would start with the plant and show\njust how the two natures reach each other in the seed. Then I would\npass in my detailed explanation to the oyster and fish. I would call his\nattention to the real visible examples of mating among the insects,\nbirds, and domestic animals. I would call his attention to the father\nand mother of insects and birds as they build their cells and nests to\nreceive their eggs when laid. I would call attention to the fact that\nfood is stored up in the egg or cell for the young before and after it\nis hatched. I would call his attention to the fact that among the\nanimals where the young is born alive, that the mother furnishes the\nyoung with food before it is born. If the child has witnessed the mating\nof the birds and domestic animals and this is explained to him in\ndetail, the necessity for a detailed discussion of human mating will be\navoided. The child could be informed that human mating is practically\nthe same.\n\nIf the child is prompted by morbid curiosity, the task is a more\ndifficult one, the ideal results are not so certain, but the above\nmethod is the only one that can be safely followed.\n\n=To be able to give sex and social purity truths effectively to children\nand youths, what qualifications should parents and teachers have?=--They\nshould have tact or skill. It is possible to approach them in such a way\nas to do great harm. This qualification comes to one as a result of\ncareful study of these subjects, the consciousness of personal\nresponsibility and a realization of the child\u2019s need of being\nsafeguarded by a clear knowledge of the truth. (2) They should be able\nto discard all words and phrases they learned from the ignorant on the\nstreet and playground. They should be able to use a chaste, simple,\nscientific sex vocabulary. (3) They should be free from all mental and\nmoral taint. No one can tell or willingly listen to a lascivious joke\nand then be able to tell effectively a child of his origin, the\nfunctions of his sexual system and his temptations and dangers in\nconnection with them.\n\n\u201c=Would it be safe for all parents and teachers to give sex information\nto children?=\u201d--It would, if all possessed the qualifications mentioned.\nA thief is not the proper person to teach honesty to a child. A liar is\nnot the proper person to teach truth. A tobacco-using father is not the\none to teach his boy not to use cigarettes. A swearing man is not\nqualified to teach his boy not to swear. Occasionally a child is saved\nfrom one or more of these vices by becoming utterly disgusted with the\nvice in his father. The child is an imitator. The child is quick to\ndetect the difference between teaching and practice. One must practice\nwhat he teaches, if he expects his child or pupil to accept and follow\nhis teaching.\n\n=If parents and teachers do not possess these qualifications, what\nshould they do?=--It is their duty to prepare themselves for this\nservice. Under present social conditions, they are not qualified to be\nat the head of a family, or to teach children unless they have these\nqualifications. Those who have these responsibilities upon them and feel\nthat they cannot at present effectively perform these duties can secure\nthe services of others or they can place in the hands of a child or\nyouth a safe and interesting book containing what the child needs to\nknow.\n\n=If a child is told these delicate truths will he not tell other children\nabout them?=--That will depend upon the nature of the child, the way he\nhas been trained and the tact used in telling the story of life. Some\nchildren have inherited a gossipy nature and some have been\nunfortunately trained. They would. But most children would not seek to\ninform other children; they would not seek this information from the\nvicious when they know they could obtain the truth from parents and\nteachers.\n\n\n\n\nTHIRD DIVISION\n\nHOW TO TEACH SOCIAL PURITY AND SEX TRUTHS TO A GIRL\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\nA TALK TO MOTHERS\n\n\n=Similar information needed by the boy and girl.=--Thus far the author has\ndealt with the best methods of telling the story of life to a child.\nThese stories can be as effectively and appropriately given by one\nparent as by the other. Where children develop early or where they are\nvery inquisitive, it would be well to begin earlier and tell the stories\nfaster than you would to the other class of children. Boys and girls are\nneuter as to gender until they are ten and eleven years old. The\ninformation given to one may be given to the other. Carefully ascertain\nif your child is perfectly normal in his or her sexual organs. This is\ntoo vital to be neglected. A simple operation performed on a boy or girl\nwhen only a few days, weeks, months, or years old would often save a\nchild from a life of impure thoughts and vicious habits.\n\n=How to satisfy morbid curiosity.=--Every possible means should be used\nto keep small boys and girls from acquiring and cultivating morbid\ncuriosity about the sexual organs of each other. This is not\naccomplished by telling them that the difference between a boy and girl\nis that one wears trousers and the other dresses. This can be prevented\nor overcome by having small boys and girls in the home both together\nunder the mother\u2019s watchful care. While bathing or dressing the baby,\nthe older boys or girls may be permitted to view and admire baby\u2019s body.\nIn one of these ways the mother can in a perfectly natural and modest\nway make it possible for the children to observe the difference between\nboys and girls. Most likely one will ask some question pertaining to\nthis difference. The mother can then explain that the organs of sex make\nthe difference between boys and girls; that these organs of the boy will\ncause him to grow up to be a man and these organs of a girl will cause\nher to grow up to be a woman. The earlier in life the boy and girl\nbecomes acquainted with this difference, the less of morbid curiosity\nthey will develop.\n\n=The boy of ten.=--When the boy reaches the tenth year he begins to look\nupon life from the masculine point of view and his father is his natural\nteacher. If the father is dead or careless the mother should see that\nher boy is given such information as his developing boyhood and manhood\ndemands. The informed mother could do this herself, other mothers could\nhave the family physician give her boy talks or she can secure suitable\nbooks that will furnish him this information. The mother should be\ncareful to purchase for her boy only such books as are perfectly chaste,\naccurate and adapted to his age.\n\n=The girl of ten.=--When the girl reaches her tenth and eleventh year she\nbegins to look upon life from the feminine point of view and her mother\nbecomes her natural teacher. But if mother is dead or indifferent the\nfather should see that his daughter receives from himself, a lady\ndoctor, or buy for her a good and appropriate book containing what her\ndeveloping girlhood and womanhood demands.\n\n=Advantages of beginning early.=--There are several advantages in\nbeginning this instruction early; your child\u2019s first impression\nregarding the organs of sex will be that they are pure and sacred, you\nretain your child\u2019s confidence, and your child will feel free to come to\nyou for future instruction. If you do not begin early your children get\nthis information from the vicious and ignorant youths, their mind and\nhearts will be filled with impurity, you lose their confidence and they\nmay reach a condition where they will not allow you or anyone else to\nadvise them on these matters.\n\n=Wise instruction needed.=--When a girl is eleven she has reached an age\nwhere her approaching womanhood demands other lines of sex instruction.\nThe study of social questions has made rapid progress in the last ten\nyears. There are few sincere, thoughtful parents who do not recognize\nthe need of wise instruction in these matters for children. Wise mothers\nare asking, What, When and How Shall the Truth be Told?\n\n=A talk on the dawning of womanhood.=--The mother should give her daughter\ninstruction concerning her approaching adolescence. This should be given\nbefore the courses start. This change usually occurs when the girl is\nfrom twelve to fourteen. In girls of precocious development, this change\nmay occur in the eleventh year. Many mothers say nothing to their\ndaughters about this period of life. This is a very great mistake. When\nit occurs in the life of the uninformed girl, she is often greatly\nfrightened and resorts to some injurious device, such as cold water, to\nstop the work of nature. Through doctors, husbands and wives I have\nfound that many women owe their poor health to mothers who failed to\ngive this natural and vital information.\n\n=The female form.=--In this talk the mother should inform her daughter\nabout her organs of sex, their God-given functions and the meaning of\nthe change that is likely to come to her at any time. Don\u2019t intimate\nthat she has organs to be ashamed of, but teach her that these organs\nform the sacred sanctuary which will one day enable her to become the\nsweetest and holiest of God\u2019s creatures--a pure, happy mother. Ask her\nto notify you of the first signs of this change and promise to give her\nanother talk about how to care for herself at the time.\n\n=Be a companion to the daughter.=--A true mother will be her daughter\u2019s\nbest \u201cchum\u201d cultivating the most intimate confidence and companionship.\nIf you will do this, your daughter will be free to come to you for\ninformation and advice pertaining to her sex problems and you will\nrarely have to say to her, \u201cThou shalt not.\u201d\n\n=A confidential talk.=--By the time the girl is twelve the mother should\nhave a confidential talk with her about the secret vice. While girls are\nnot so likely to be taught or to discover this vice, and are not likely\nto practice it to the extent of boys, yet authorities claim that\none-third of the females practice the secret sin at some time in life\nand to some extent. It is claimed by some authorities that more women,\nthan men, are in the asylum because of this vice. This is because their\nnervous system is so much more delicate than is the case in men. In\nschools and sometimes among servants in the home may be found a\nsex-pervert who will take a fiendish delight in teaching this vice to a\nlittle girl. Mothers cannot be too cautious about these dangers.\n\n=A real transition.=--Few mothers begin to comprehend the mental phases\nthat attend the dawning of womanhood. The building of the new sex life\nmeans a real transition from one distinct period of life to another,\nfrom the experiences of girlhood to womanhood. For the first four years\nof adolescence there is a constant clash in her mind between the feeling\nof the girl that was and the woman that is to be. This is caused by the\ncreation of a new life, the sex life, whose immediate functions is to\nchange her from girlhood to womanhood. This new life is stimulating\nrapid growth and changes in many organs of the body, awakening the\nsocial nature, quickening every faculty of the mind and giving new\nimpulses to the moral nature. No wonder that the girl does not always\nunderstand herself. The mother needs to be tact and wisdom combined, if\nshe is to understand her daughter and assist her in giving proper\ndirection to this new life. Inform your daughter that these strange\nexperiences are due to the changes that are taking place in her body and\nmind; that she will often have tendencies to be peevish, irritable, cry\nand take offense, to be sentimental and self-conscious. Remind her that\nyou have not forgotten the experiences of your girlhood, that you are\nsympathetic, that you are interested in helping her overcome all wrong\ntendencies and that you will gladly aid her all you can in the direction\nof this new life to the development of charming, ideal womanhood.\n\n=Important advice to mothers.=--Gradually everything pertaining to her\nwomanhood should be told her. Instill into her mind slowly and\ncautiously the beauties of wifehood and the sacredness of motherhood and\nteach her that these glorious honors in their perfection come only to\nthose who know themselves, think pure thoughts and live pure lives.\nDon\u2019t tease little girls about sweethearts. Don\u2019t rush them into\nsociety. Allow them to remain innocent, playful girls as long as\npossible. When fourteen or fifteen, tactfully impress upon her mind that\nunkissed lips will be the most queenly gift that she can offer her king\nat the marriage altar; that virginity of mind and body will be\nappreciated by him as of more value than the most costly jewels. Teach\nher to demand a white life of her male friends and admirers, and, to\ndemand as pure a life of her coming prince as he will demand of her.\n\n NO ONE HAD TOLD HER.\n\n She was just in the bloom of life\u2019s morning;\n She was happy, and free, and fair;\n And a glance in her bright eyes would tell you\n Of nothing but innocence there.\n\n She was waiting for some one to tell her,\n As she stood with reluctant feet,\n On the banks of the wonderful river\n Where childhood and womanhood meet.\n\n She waited, but still no one told her\n The secret of life so sublime;\n And she held not the safeguard of knowledge\n In life\u2019s beautiful morning time.\n\n The flower so sweetly unfolding\n Was crushed by a rough hand one day,\n And the jewel, so sacred, so precious,\n Was stolen and taken away.--_Selected._\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\nMOTHER\u2019S FIRST TALK--THE FEMALE FORM\n\n\nYou have been told God\u2019s plans in bringing all the little fish, plants,\nbirds, animals and human babies into the world. You have enjoyed all\nthese stories. We have not gone into detail in these talks. When you are\nolder, if you desire you can study the laws of life more thoroughly. We\nhave tried to satisfy your inquiring mind and lead you to see that God\u2019s\nlaws of increasing life are pure and sacred.\n\n=All these years you have been a little girl.= You have been growing\nlarger and wiser all the time. You have worn short dresses, loved your\ndolls, played with little boys and girls; you have been innocent, free\nfrom care, jolly and happy. You will be a girl for several years to\ncome. You should not be in a hurry to get away from the joys, pleasures,\nand ways of girlhood. However, God has not planned for you to be a girl\nalways. He has wisely planned for you to grow and change in body and\nmind, from a girl into a woman, that you may some day be a mother.\n\n=A review.=--In previous talks we found that every little baby plant and\nanimal had a father and a mother. We found that the pollen produced by\nthe small organs of the flower had to unite with the seed formed by the\nmother organs, before a little plant could come into the world. We found\namong the animals that little eggs were formed by organs in the mother\u2019s\nbody, called ovaries, just as seed are formed by ovaries in the flowers.\nWe also found that these little eggs formed by the mother organs could\nnot become baby animals without the union of a life-giving substance\nfrom the father animals. In the higher animals, where the mother nurses\nher young with milk formed by the mother\u2019s breasts, we find many\nresemblances to the lower animals, with some very interesting additions\nto the reproductive organs.\n\nAmong some of the lower animals, such, for example, as mussels and fish,\nno provision is made to nourish and feed their young; some, such as the\nbee, store up food in cells; while still others, such as the bird,\nprovide food for the young for some days after they are hatched.\n\n=Mothers of the higher animals and man.=--In the higher animals, the\nmother supplies her young with food for weeks or months after they are\nborn, by means of organs called breasts or udders. These organs are not\nfound among the lower animals. They are vitally associated with, and\ntherefore a part of, the female organs of sex of the higher animals and\nman.\n\n=How mothers in the lower and higher forms of life differ.=--Among the\nhigher animals, the eggs are formed by ovaries, just as in the case of\nplants and the lower animals. Here we find another important addition to\nthe female organs of sex. As soon as the egg is formed by the ovary it\npasses, by means of a duct called the fallopian tube, into a pear-shaped\nvessel called the uterus, or womb. Here, if the egg is fertilized by the\nmale substance, it becomes attached to the wall of the womb. At this\npoint of the womb, a cord is formed, containing a vein and artery,\ncalled the placenta. The placenta connects with the body of the young at\na point called the navel. The forming young receives its air, food, and\nlife through the cord from the mother\u2019s blood.\n\nThere is a very close resemblance between the creative organs and their\nfunctions in the higher animals and man. We could not become fathers and\nmothers without these special organs of sex.\n\n=The essential female organs of sex.=--These consist of ovaries, oviducts,\nwomb, vagina and breasts. All these organs, except the breasts, are on\nthe inside of the body--in the lower part of the abdomen.\n\nIn a mature woman the (1) ovaries, two in number, are small\nalmond-shaped glands just below the navel and are four or five inches\napart, one located in the left side of the body and the other in the\nright. The ovaries are enveloped in a broad, thin, strong membrane and\nconnect with the upper part of the (2) womb by slender cords called (3)\noviducts.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n=Location and function of the ovaries.=--There takes place in every girl,\nwhen she is from twelve to fifteen, a remarkable change, called puberty,\nor adolescence. From this time on, until she is forty to forty-five\nyears old, there will be formed in one of the ovaries every four weeks a\ntiny egg, or ovum. The ovum is less than 1/120 of an inch in diameter.\nWhen this little egg breaks through the membrane of the ovary, it would\ndrop down into the cavity of the body were it not for a most wonderful\nprovision. The oviducts, or, as they are often called, the fallopian\ntubes, are ducts connected with the upper part of the womb, are three\ninches in length and have finger-like ends. When the little egg breaks\nthrough the membrane of the ovary, the little fingers of the oviducts\nclose about the ovary and receive the little egg which then enters the\ntiny mouth of the oviduct and is conveyed through its small cavity to\nthe womb.\n\n=The location and function of the womb and vagina.=--The womb, or uterus,\nis located midway between the ovaries on the right and left, and between\nthe bladder in front and the rectum behind. The ovaries and the womb are\nsupported near the center of the abdomen by means of cords and muscles\nstretched across from the walls of the abdomen. The womb is a\npear-shaped muscular organ with the small end pointing downward, and in\na matured woman is three inches in length, two inches in width and with\nwalls one-half inch thick. The cavity of the womb is small and has three\nopenings, two near the top leading into the oviducts and one at the\nbottom opening into the (4) vagina. It will be seen from the cut that\nthe lower end of the womb dips into the upper end of the vagina about\none inch. This part of the womb is called the (5) os uteri, or mouth of\nthe womb. The vagina in a grown woman is from four to six inches in\nlength, of firm but very elastic tissue. It aids in holding the womb in\nposition, serves as a passageway for the menstrual fluid to pass from\nthe body, and has other purposes that will be mentioned in another\nchapter.\n\n=The breasts.=--The form and position of the (6) breasts, or mammary\nglands, being known to you, it is not necessary for me to describe them\nhere. Through the nerves they are closely related to the other sexual\norgans. With the approach of puberty they make considerable growth.\nHowever, it is not common for a girl\u2019s breasts to develop to any\nconsiderable size before she is married. When she becomes a mother, the\nhundreds of tiny glands in her breasts form milk from her blood with\nwhich to nourish her child.\n\n=The creative energy.=--From the dawning of puberty, all through life, day\nand night, asleep and awake, the breasts and other sexual organs are\ngenerating an energy that is being distributed throughout her entire\nbeing. It is this energy that helps to develop the girl into perfect\nwomanhood. If the breasts and ovaries of a small girl could be\npainlessly and skillfully removed without injury to any part of her\nbody, she would not develop into perfect womanhood in other respects.\nThis experiment proves that these organs are secreting an energy that is\nnecessary in developing and maintaining an ideal womanhood.\n\n=Information concerning the external organs.=--The word vulva is the name\nof the lower external female organs of sex. It is composed of the\nfollowing parts: (1) The labia majora are the outer and larger lips or\nfolds; (2) The labia minora are the smaller and more concealed lips; (3)\nThe mons Veneris is the prominent, eminence formed by fatty tissue\nsituated just in front and above the labia majora; (4) The hymen is a\nvery thin membrane which partly closes the opening to the vagina; (5)\nThe clitoris is a small organ of an erectile structure and is the site\nof passion in the female. This organ is situated near the upper and\nfront part of the opening into the vagina and between the folds of the\nlabia minora. Connected with this organ is a small tough membrane or\nligament called the frenum which corresponds to the frenulum of the\nmale. Sometimes, though rarely, this is short and tight or broad and\nhooded. When this is the case the parts become irritated at times\ncausing sex consciousness and passion; and when it does the girl will\nrub or scratch these organs. If she does this often she will become\nconscious of a sense of pleasure. She will then handle the organs for\nthe purpose of producing this pleasure. In this way a girl will learn a\nvicious habit, the nature and effects of which we will study in another\ntalk. While only a few girls have this trouble, it is very necessary\nthat the causes be removed. Should you find yourself frequently rubbing\nthese organs you should speak to mamma about it.\n\n=Confidential advice.=--In the mucous membrane of these external organs of\nsex are thousands of little glands that secrete a foul, filthy substance\ncalled smegma. If this is not removed frequently with a damp cloth, it\nwill irritate these organs and produce an offensive odor.\n\nIf you should discover that you are frequently scratching those organs,\nor have an unnatural feeling, you should consult your mamma for advice.\nYour health, happiness, life and character are, to a considerable\nextent, based on these organs\u2019 being natural and normal.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\nMOTHER\u2019S SECOND TALK--DAWNING OF WOMANHOOD\n\n\n=An interesting change in a girl\u2019s life.=--In the previous talk, we found\nthat God has planned for a most interesting change to take place in a\ngirl\u2019s life. This change from girlhood to womanhood, called puberty, and\ncovering a period of eight years, is brought about by certain changes in\nthe sexual organs. At birth these organs are inactive and remain so\nuntil the girl, in this climate, is thirteen or fourteen years of age.\nIn the Southern states it occurs a year sooner. In Central America,\npuberty comes when the girl is ten and eleven. In Canada this change\ncomes a year later than here. Thus we see that climatic conditions\neither hasten or retard this change. In climates where puberty is\ndelayed to the fourteenth and fifteenth years, girls are healthier, more\nenergetic and live longer than in warm climates. This would indicate\nthat the longer puberty is delayed in a girl\u2019s life, if she is otherwise\nhealthy, the better for her. If the girl keeps company with wild girls,\nenjoys obscene jokes, reads cheap novels, entertains impure thoughts or\nhandles her sexual organs, she may cause puberty to come on six months\nsooner than it naturally would come--a misfortune indeed for her. In a\nfew girls, especially those who develop rapidly, puberty may occur in\nthe eleventh year.\n\n=Signs of puberty.=--During this period of puberty, or adolescence, which\nusually lasts for eight years, she is changing from a girl to a woman.\nThis is one of the most important events in a girl\u2019s life. The approach\nof this period is usually heralded by an uneasy feeling in the small of\nthe back, heaviness about the ovaries, sometimes by headaches and\npossibly by pains in other parts of the body. One of the ovaries has\nformed a little egg or ovum. A flow of mucus tinged with blood, formed\nby the mucous membrane of the womb, passes from the body by way of the\nvagina. This usually lasts about four days. Meanwhile the ovum is\nconveyed by the fallopian tube to the womb where, after the flow has\nceased, it remains several days, before passing from the body by way of\nthe vagina.\n\n=Menstruation.=--The discharge is called the menstrual fluid. If the girl\nis healthy, this will occur once each lunar month, or every twenty-eight\ndays. It is for this reason that the flow is called menstruation. This\nword comes from the Latin word \u201cmensis,\u201d meaning a month. This monthly\nexperience is known by several names, \u201cMenses,\u201d \u201cperiods,\u201d \u201ccourses,\u201d\nand \u201cunwell.\u201d The doctors use the term \u201cMenses,\u201d and this is doubtless\nthe best one to use.\n\n=How made regular and painless.=--When a girl has good health, does not\nexpose herself so as to take colds, dresses so as not to compress her\nbody and push these organs out of their proper place, takes plenty of\noutdoor exercise, keeps her mind pure and free from ugly thoughts, and\ndoes not abuse her sexual organs, she will be regular in her menses and\nwill feel but little inconvenience or pain. Experience shows that just\nin proportion as a girl fails to follow the rules I have just stated,\nwill her menses be irregular and painful.\n\n=Physical, mental and moral changes.=--It will be noticed in the first\nstages of puberty that the limbs are growing larger and more shapely,\nthe shoulders are growing backward and downward, the chest is expanding,\nthe breasts are enlarging, the skin is becoming more delicate and rosy,\nthe hips are growing broader, the hair is growing thicker, longer and\nmore glossy, and the voice is developing richer tones. With all these\nphysical changes that are taking place, the mental and moral natures are\nchanging as well. The girl will now take a keener interest in society,\nand in mental and moral matters. These changes show that the developing\nsex life is making a woman of the girl.\n\n=The charms of womanhood.=--This new life is making her attractive,\nlovable, sociable, brilliant and attractive. This new life adds very\nmuch to the natural charms of a girl, making the naturally beautiful\ngirl more beautiful and the homely girl more attractive. The girl with a\n\u201cdoll face,\u201d and weak in her sexual nature, will not be as attractive as\nthe more homely girl whose normal sexual life has given her these\npersonal charms of a healthy, strong womanhood.\n\nWhen you see or feel the first signs of this change, consult your mamma,\nand she will give you directions and advice about how to care for your\nperson during the menses. This is a perfectly natural experience that\nall girls have. It indicates that the special organs are developing and\npreparing for motherhood. Menstruation is not a disease; it is a natural\nfunction. Girls should be proud of this new accession to their girlhood.\nHealth, happiness, and beauty of womanhood and the sacred function of\nmotherhood, which will one day declare them the sweetest and holiest of\nGod\u2019s creatures are vitally related to this function. Girls with perfect\nhealth, who are usefully and happily employed, who entertain no base\nideas of this function and who pay no special attention to it,\nexperience little or no pain and little flow.\n\n=Meaning of menstruation.=--Ovulation and menstruation usually occur\nabout the same time. Ovulation consists in the formation of an ovum or\negg by one of the ovaries once a month. Without the formation of the\novum motherhood would not be possible. Menstruation consists of a flow\nof bloody mucus formed by the velvety lining of the womb. This has the\neffect of purifying a woman\u2019s blood and preparing the womb to receive\nthe ovum. After this change first takes place several years will be\nrequired before she is old enough to marry and raise a family. Until she\nis married, the ovum each month lingers in the womb a few days and then\npasses out. When she is married, if she and her husband are strong and\nhealthy, at the close of some menstrual period a cell from the husband\nwill unite with one of these little eggs, which will become attached to\nthe velvety walls of the womb, the door to the womb will close, and this\nbeginning life will grow for two hundred and eighty days, when the door\nof the womb will open and a little baby will be born into the home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\nMOTHER\u2019S THIRD TALK--CHOOSING A CHUM\n\n\n=Early Adolescence.=--You are now entering upon that period of a girl\u2019s\nlife known as the adolescence period. You are now passing from girlhood\nto womanhood. This period will be about seven to eight years long. The\nfirst four years will be the most important years of your life. This is\ntrue for many reasons. During this period you will be largely a girl and\npartly a woman. The mind of the girl that was and the woman that you\nwill be, will occasionally cause you to have confusing experiences. You\nwill have many new and strange feelings, emotions, impulses. During\nthese years you will need the advice of those older than yourself.\n\n=New social desires.=--One of the new experiences you will have, will be\nthe desire for social privileges. You will want a little girl chum. This\nis perfectly natural. God has given you a social nature. You should\ncultivate your social gifts. This will enlarge your happiness and\nusefulness.\n\n=Why a girl wants a chum.=--The reason small girls desire chums is because\nthe new sex life stimulates and awakens the social nature. This is a\nperiod in a girl\u2019s life when she is especially interested in things\nromantic and sensational. Girls naturally choose their special chums,\nand it is so easy for them to engage in conversation that they would not\nwant their mothers to hear. This sensational friendship might lead to\nexaggeration, disobedience, and the secret meetings with other girls or\nboys. It is not hard for a mother to see how her daughter might become\nthoughtless, rash, indiscreet and be overtaken in some very great wrong.\n\n=A girl needs two chums.=--In this period of life little girls need two\nchums, her mother and a girl friend. She will often need her mother\u2019s\nadvice in the choice of a girl chum.\n\n=Choosing the right chum.=--If you wish to have one or more girl friends,\nyou should exercise great care in your choice. If you find a girl\ninclined to exaggeration, to use by-words, to use improper language\nwhile talking about her boy friends, to desire secret meetings with\nboys, however attractive she may be, you should not be chummy with her.\nTo form intimate friendship with such girls would be a great risk. You\nwill find it safest always to be chaste, sincere and dignified in\nconversation, even with a girl chum. This does not mean that you should\nnot have innocent fun.\n\n=The wise girl.=--The wise girl will take her mother into her confidence\nand ask for advice in the choice of her chum. Mamma will always\nappreciate the opportunity to be to you a chum, a friend, a companion\nand a mother.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII\n\nMOTHER\u2019S FOURTH TALK.--CONFIDENTIAL ADVICE\n\n\n=Organs of sex can be abused.=--In other talks we learned the names,\nposition and functions of the different parts of the female form. In\nthis lesson we will study one of the abuses of the organs, and the\neffects. In childhood, youth and middle and old age the organs of sex\nmay be abused in several ways. If girls knew their delicate nature and\ntheir sacred mission, I am sure they would never abuse these organs. The\nmore delicate and sacred an organ is, the more serious will be the\npenalty following its abuse. The abuse of these most delicate organs of\nthe body results in poor health, poor development, much suffering, and\nshould the victims marry, their children would be puny, sickly and\nshort-lived. The bearing of strong, healthy, beautiful, playful children\nis woman\u2019s highest mission. It is for this reason that girls should\nunderstand the nature and functions of these organs and the results of\nabusing them.\n\n=The secret sin--how learned.=--The special abuse we shall consider at\nthis time is one that small girls are liable to learn or to have taught\nthem by companions or servants. This habit has several names. It is\ncalled the \u201csecret sin,\u201d or \u201csecret vice,\u201d for the reason that every\norgan of the body, faculty of the mind and power of the soul is abused\nby it; \u201cself-pollution,\u201d because it is filthy; or \u201cmasturbation,\u201d which\ncomes from two words meaning the abuse of the body with the hand. This\nabuse consists in rubbing or handling the sexual organs so as to excite\nthem and bring on a feeling of pleasure. Usually this vice is taught a\ngirl by some companion. If a girl does not keep these parts clean, they\nbecome irritated and she will be disposed to rub or scratch them. In\nthis way she would likely awaken a sense of pleasure and finally\ndiscover the vice. It sometimes occurs, not often, that a small ligament\nor membrane, called the frenum, is too short or broad, and this causes\nirritation and leads a girl to discover the secret vice. If you should\nfind yourself inclined to rub those parts often, you should mention it\nto mamma. A girl may, by pressing this part of her body against some\nobject, or by sitting with her feet underneath her, with the sole or\nheel of a shoe pressing or rubbing against these organs, discover this\nvice.\n\n=What you should not do.=--From these illustrations you will learn that\nyou should never handle or rub these organs except to wash and keep them\nclean. When you study these organs with a view to understanding them,\nor when you think of their sacred functions, these mental relations to\nthese organs never do them harm. But when you entertain thoughts about\nthem that you would not be willing to express to your mother; when you\nread an immoral book, look upon an obscene picture or engage in improper\nconversation about these organs, then these mental states cause the\nblood to rush to these organs and sex consciousness and passion follow.\nA girl cannot keep from the secret sin if she permits her mind to engage\nin wrong thinking.\n\n=The moral effect of the sin.=--Perhaps the first effect of this sin is to\nbe seen in the moral nature. The expression in the girl\u2019s face often\nindicates that she is conscious of wrong doing. She will likely become\nirritable, peevish and disobedient. She will not take the interest in\nprayer, the Bible, good books and the church she once did.\n\n=The mental effects.=--The constant excitement of the organs of sex leads\nto many forms of nerve trouble. The mind becomes sluggish and stupid.\nMemory fails and sometimes the poor victim becomes insane. This habit\nleads to a gloomy, despondent, discouraged state of mind. One does not\nlonger enjoy life. Because of this mental state many commit suicide.\n\n=The physical effects.=--Perhaps the most noticeable effects of this vice\nare to be found in the physical system. The eyes become hollow and\nlusterless, complexion sallow, cheeks haggard, lips and ears pale,\nmuscles soft and flabby, the breasts shrink, the bodily form is stooped\nand weak. Every time the life-giving blood is caused by this sin to rush\nin undue quantities to these organs, it returns to the heart with less\nof life and more impurities. Such girls will grow up to be weak, puny\nwomen and will suffer from dyspepsia, consumption and nervous troubles.\nIf you have learned to misuse these organs, you must determine that you\nwill never do it again. By keeping the mind pure and never abusing these\norgans you will develop a healthy and perfect body, a bright and\ncheerful mind, a charming, winning personality, and live to be useful\nand happy.\n\n=Two letters from young women.=--From a large number of letters received\nfrom young ladies who have heard the author\u2019s lectures or read his\nbooks, the following letters are added to this chapter. A big-hearted\nman in Canada gave 500 copies of Perfect Manhood to that number of young\nmen. Fortunately, a young woman who was greatly in need of help, read\none of these books. These letters tell the sad story of thousands, whom\nthe author is anxious to help.\n\n=First Letter.=--\n\n\n----M--, CANADA.\n\n_Dear Professor:_\n\n You will doubtless be surprised at receiving a letter from a young\n lady of twenty-seven, on a very delicate subject. Recently, I read\n one of your books, \u201cPerfect Manhood,\u201d presented by a friend to my\n brother. It was a great revelation to me. I wish I could have read\n it when I was twelve. When eleven, I was taught the secret sin by\n older girls. I continued the habit until I read your book. I never\n received one word of instruction about this vice from parents,\n teachers, or physicians. When twenty, I became an invalid. For one\n year I was placed in a hospital and treated by eminent specialists.\n I improved much. When I was twenty-four, my mind failed me and I\n was placed in a private institution. I am now very gloomy,\n despondent and I constantly dread a return of mental trouble.\n\n I will greatly appreciate the favor if you can give me some\n additional advice and help. Please help me if you can.\n\nMost sincerely,\n\n----\n\n\n\nSome four times a year, for three years, I received a letter from her.\nFor eighteen months her letters indicated a hard-fought battle, small\nvictories and a strong determination to win out. Each succeeding letter\nindicated greater victories. In her last letter she assured me that her\nwomanhood had been restored and that she was entertaining a marriage\nproposition from a worthy and very superior young man.\n\n\n_Professor T. W. Shannon, City._\n\n DEAR SIR: I heard your lecture this afternoon and am now going to\n write for help and advice. First, I shall tell you the story.\n\n Like most children, I began quite early in childhood to ask about\n my origin, and received answers that were falsehoods. I do not\n remember just what I was first told, but the replies given did not\n satisfy my enquiring mind. I eagerly listened to the vulgar stories\n of servants and schoolmates and before I was twelve years old my\n mind was taken up with lascivious thoughts and vulgar expressions.\n\n Two months before I was thirteen, I was taught how to practice that\n awful habit, the secret sin. I became a slave to it. I could not\n stop. In the spring after I was fourteen I was converted. Again I\n tried, oh so hard, to quit this habit, but I could not. My mind was\n filled with those ugly words and I could not expel them. This sin\n is still troubling me and I can\u2019t get rid of it. Oh, I would give\n anything if I could.\n\n Now, I am away from home attending college, and I know that my\n parents (especially mamma) are worried. They fear that I, being\n young, and, as they think, ignorant of all these things, may bring\n disgrace to them.\n\n Last winter a friend gave me a book entitled, \u201cLetters of Love to\n Our Girls,\u201d but mamma and papa hid it. I asked them why they did\n so. I received the answer, \u201cIt is a book that no married person\n should read, let alone a young girl.\u201d\n\n I have a little sister nine years old. For four years she has often\n asked questions about the origin of animals. When a colt is born or\n a calf, or kitten, or pigs, she always asks the same question.\n \u201cWhere did Dolly find her colt? Where did Lily find her calf?\u201d\n etc., and they always put her off with some falsehood.\n\n Please advise me how I may be able to rid myself of this habit.\n\nYours in earnest,\n\n----\n\n\n\n=I gave her the following advice:=\n\n\n\u201c_Dear Friend:_\n\n Your letter received. In reply, I am glad you had the courage to\n ask for advice and to state facts so frankly.\n\n Your trouble began with your false training in childhood. If you\n had been taught the sacredness of the sexual organs and their\n functions, your mind would have been safeguarded against this vice.\n Instead, you received the very opposite information. Half-truths,\n clothed in vulgar language, received from the ignorant and vicious,\n lead naturally to a morbid interest in matters of sex and\n consequently to a habit of lascivious thinking. Impure thinking\n causes the blood to rush to the sexual organs. The inflamed and\n gorged condition, due to this rush of blood to these parts, results\n in frequent experiences of sex consciousness and passion. This\n leads very naturally to the handling of the organs of sex.\n\n That you may clearly understand the relation of the mind to the\n secret sin, and what you must do if you would break from it, I will\n use the following illustration: Suppose that you have been at hard\n work for five or six hours and have had nothing to eat during the\n time. You now come into the presence of a well-spread table, or a\n basket full of luscious fruit. You must wait ten minutes for others\n to take their places at the table. You become quite conscious of\n hunger; you remember how the kinds of food taste, how you have\n enjoyed them before, and you are eager to begin eating. These\n mental states cause the blood to rush to the salivary glands. They\n are stimulated to unusual activity. Under these conditions the\n saliva flows rapidly. Just at this moment, something unusual\n occurs. The blinding flash of lightning followed quickly by a\n deafening peal of thunder. Looking out you see some limbs falling\n from a nearby tree. You run to the window and for ten minutes your\n attention is wholly called from the thought of food. Now the saliva\n is flowing just fast enough to keep your mouth pleasantly moist.\n Excitement over, you again become interested in the food, hunger\n returns, you begin once more to entertain pleasant thoughts about\n the food, blood rushes to the mouth and the salivary glands are\n stimulated and the saliva is formed many times faster than when\n your mind was wholly engaged in the exciting scene a few minutes\n before.\n\n When you allow your mind to entertain impure thoughts and words,\n the blood rushes to the genital organs and they become inflamed,\n resulting in passion. Now your victory over this habit will come\n just as fast as you can learn to get control of your mind in these\n matters. This is not done in a day. For five or six years you have\n allowed your mind to entertain wrong thoughts. In this way you have\n brought about a condition in which the slightest suggestions\n relating to sex, any pressure or friction of clothing or irritation\n of parts causes the blood to rush to these organs apparently\n without your willing it. This will gradually cease as you begin to\n get control of your mind.\n\n There are several things that will help you. When you are tempted\n to entertain impure thoughts or to practice the sin, immediately\n engage your mind in something else. Pray, read the Bible or some\n good book, write a letter to mamma or some friend, perform some\n duty or take a walk, anything that will take your mind from the\n temptation. Refuse to handle these organs except to keep them\n clean. Bathing the parts in cold water tends to allay passion. If\n you have in your possession any suggestive pictures or questionable\n literature, destroy them. Cultivate the habit of looking upon every\n young man as you would upon your brother or father.\n\n One of the most common effects of this habit is discouragement,\n gloominess, despondency. These mental states must be overcome.\n Constantly a firm \u201cI will break from this habit,\u201d \u201cI will have only\n pure thoughts.\u201d Don\u2019t chide and condemn yourself any more because\n of the errors of the past. God has mercifully and lovingly forgiven\n them and graciously offers to give you strength and grace with\n which to win the battles of the future. Hopefully, cheerfully and\n bravely face the future. You may occasionally meet with defeat. If\n so, try again. No lasting defeat can come to one who keeps on\n trying. Victory will crown the persistent effort.\n\n We often help ourselves by helping others. You are only one of the\n many girls who have had a similar experience. The battles you are\n fighting in your life will enable you to be a blessing to other\n weak ones.\n\n If I can be of any help to you in the future, write me. If this\n letter helps you in any small degree to win a victory, pass the\n blessing on to another.\n\n\u201cVery sincerely,\n \u201cT. W. S.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII\n\nMOTHER\u2019S FIFTH TALK--A SMALL GIRL\u2019S ETHICS\n\n\n=The social nature.=--You are now of an age when you will appreciate a\nheart to heart talk on the social relations of small girls and boys. God\ngave to us our social natures. It is our social nature that leads us to\ndesire new acquaintances, to be with old friends, to be in large\ngatherings of people, and to have special friends. A reasonable amount\nof social activity is essential to our well-being. Most of our real\npleasure in life grows out of our relation to society. Genuine innocent\npleasure is nature\u2019s greatest tonic. Innocent games, a big romp, a good\nlaugh, all help to develop the body, prolong life and increase one\u2019s\nusefulness. Plays, games, a good time, should form a large part of\nchildhood. The boy\u2019s masculine nature leads him often to prefer games\nthat require strength, endurance and daring. The girl\u2019s feminine nature\nleads her often to prefer games that require less of strength, endurance\nand danger. It is for this reason that boys enjoy games of football and\nbaseball and girls enjoy their dolls, tennis and croquet.\n\n=Boys and girls should play together.=--While boys prefer to play with\nboys much of the time and girls prefer to play with girls much of the\ntime, yet their opposite natures lead them to enjoy being with each\nother in conversation and games. In most homes and communities, boys and\ngirls are nearly equally divided as to number. This would indicate that\nGod planned for boys and girls to be much with each other.\n\n=The sex and social nature.=--God has given us a sexual nature as well as\na social nature. If boys and girls have not learned bad language,\nengaged in impure thoughts or formed habits of vice, they have been\nrarely conscious of their sex nature before the dawning of puberty.\nAfter puberty the organs of sex are generating a sex life that results\nin occasional sex consciousness. This is not an injury, not a sin. If we\nkeep our minds pure, avoid everything that would excite these organs,\nthis new sex life will make wonderful changes in every organ of the\nbody, faculty of the mind and power of the soul. The consciousness of\nsex, or what may be correctly called passion, simply means that we are\nin possession of creative energy. By keeping the mind pure, taking\nplenty of physical exercise, mental study and sympathizing with and\nloving everybody, this sex life will be built into the muscles and brain\ntissue, giving strength of body, brilliancy of mind and warmth of soul.\nThe developing sex life is slowly and gradually preparing them for\nfatherhood and motherhood. This preparation is not completed until they\nare matured. The girl does not mature until she is about twenty and the\nboy until he is about twenty-four. During the eight years of adolescence\nfor the girl and ten for the boy, she is gradually passing out of\ngirlhood into womanhood and he from boyhood into manhood. During the\nfirst half of these periods, she is more girl than woman, he is more boy\nthan man. During these early years the boy may be a manly boy and the\ngirl a womanly girl, but they are still children. They should still play\ntogether without any thought of being sweethearts. It is natural for a\ngirl to admire one boy more than she does another because he is gallant,\nkind and manly. For like reasons, it is natural for small boys to admire\none girl more than another. Occasionally these little experiences of\nadmiration take on the more serious form of love. If older people do not\nencourage or tease them their little spasms of love will soon disappear.\nIt is best for boys and girls not to think of each other as sweethearts\nand lovers until they are nearer matured.\n\n=The \u201cboy-struck\u201d girl and the \u201cgirl-struck\u201d boy.=--They range in age from\nten to twenty. They excite the pity of some, the disgust of others and\nthe love and appreciation of none. They will carry on an insane or\nridiculous conversation over the phone for an hour, or stand on the\nstreet corner and engage in the most silly nonsense. He is usually a\ncigarette-smoking nonentity and she a simpering, giggling, flirting,\namusing imitation of what she would like to be. In the schoolroom they\npass notes and receive low grades. She carries her dressing to the\nextreme limit of idiocy, disfiguring her body and ruining her health. As\nshe grows older she takes lonely midnight strolls and buggy rides. It\nwill be a miracle if the \u201cboy-struck\u201d girl does not fall. Even if she\ndoes not fall into disgrace, it will be difficult for her to regain her\nself-respect and the confidence of her neighbors.\n\n=Confidential social advice.=--While the association of boys and girls is\nnatural, enjoyable, and has its blessings, it is not without its\ntemptations and dangers. Passion should never be aroused. In associating\nwith boys, girls should be very careful in regard to their dress. They\nshould not wear dresses that unnecessarily expose their breasts or\nlimbs; they should never use a word or expression that would suggest\nwrong thoughts to their boy friends; they should never go off alone with\nboys; and they should never permit a boy to hold their hands, pinch\ntheir arms, play with their hair, hug or kiss them. All these things\ntend to arouse passion in a way and to an extent exceedingly dangerous.\n\n=A class of dangerous boys.=--It will be well for you to remember that\nmany boys are very wicked. Poor boys! In many cases they have not been\ntrained to be polite, kind, and pure. They have no idea how sinful it is\nto use obscene language, to be immodest, and by these methods to seek to\nruin the character and life of a girl. Such boys would rather ruin a\ngirl than be president. Girls should be careful not to associate with\nthis class of boys.\n\n=The true, the pure boys.=--Some boys are as innocent and pure as most\ngirls are. Good boys and young men who have been well trained are always\nkind, courteous, brave, true, and pure. Association with this class of\nboys is always helpful.\n\n=Girlhood comes but once.=--Don\u2019t be in a hurry to grow into womanhood. Be\na joyful, playful, happy little girl just as long as you can. Of course\nyou will not want to play or be with your friends all the time, or even\nmost of the time. You will be in school much of the time. You will want\nto spend some time on your music, in learning how to make your clothing,\nhow to care for the bedrooms, and how to cook. You will wish to form\nhigh ideals and gain inspiration from reading books of travel, of\nhistory, some fiction of high moral and literary tone, biographies of\ngreat and good people, the best magazines and, of course, you will not\nleave the Bible out of your daily reading.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX\n\nMOTHER\u2019S SIXTH TALK--HOW TO GROW BEAUTIFUL\n\n\n=A girl\u2019s vanity.=--When girls reach the age of fifteen and sixteen their\npersonal interest in personal beauty is apparent. Their frequent use of\nthe mirror, a mania for primping: poring over such glaring headlines as,\n\u201cBecome Beautiful,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t be Fat,\u201d \u201cBe Plump,\u201d \u201cBeautiful Dresses, a\nWoman\u2019s crown of Glory,\u201d \u201cCure for Pimples and Black-heads,\u201d found in\nthe papers and magazines, all indicate a girl\u2019s interest in being\nbeautiful.\n\n=There are two kinds of beauty.=--Physical beauty and intellectual and\nspiritual beauty. Not all can have the first, but all can have the\nlatter. The first, unfortunately, may be a source of temptation and\ndanger; the latter, fortunately, a blessing. Physical homeliness, entire\nor in part, may be outgrown, or cured by hygienic living and judicious\ntreatment, or it may be over-shadowed by the possession of lovely traits\nof character.\n\n=Beauty and the sex nature.=--No young woman, however beautiful\nphysically, can develop a charming, attractive personality unless she\npossesses a normal sex nature. This end may be achieved by maintaining\na hopeful, cheerful and perfectly chaste state of mind and perfect\nfreedom from all habits of vice. In this way the vital energy of\nwomanhood can be easily directed so as to carry life and health to every\norgan and part of the body.\n\n=Puberty pimples.=--Soon after the dawning of puberty, many girls are\ntroubled with pimples. They usually appear on the face, often only on\nthe forehead. The back may be affected in the same way. They usually\nlast two, three or more years and resist every effort to remove them.\nThe girl had just as well make up her mind to endure them until nature\ntakes them away. It was once thought that they were evidences of the\npractice of the secret vice. In some cases this is true. But in most\ncases they are inseparable from the early years of puberty.\n\n=Treatment.=--By following certain simple rules this trouble may be very\nmuch reduced. Avoid eating highly seasoned foods and rich pastries. Take\nplenty of open-air exercise. Massage the face with the hands, using a\ngood quality of absorbent cream. If cold baths are begun in the summer\ntime, so as not to shock the system, this is very valuable. During the\nmenses, plenty of warm water should be used. Absolute cleanliness will\nprevent many forms of female troubles.\n\n=How to correct some kinds of homeliness.=--Stringy, greasy or dull hair\nmay be made a crown of beauty by scrupulous care, tasteful arrangement\nand the use of suitable decorations.\n\nWhere the bodily form is too thin or too fat, or scrawny and angular,\ncorrect habits of eating and exercise are the natural remedies. Very\nthin persons will usually gain flesh by taking open-air exercise and\neating nutritious food. Fleshy persons can usually reduce their flesh by\neating two meals a day, eating a less nutritious diet and by taking more\nexercise. If this advice is introduced gradually no inconvenience will\nbe noticed.\n\n=A substitute for physical beauty.=--There are some forms of physical\nirregularities, such as prominent ears, large and irregular teeth; a\nreceding chin or forehead; thick or thin lips; a long or ill-shaped\nmouth; small, expressionless eyes; a large, flat or pug nose, none of\nwhich can be remedied by the advice given. She must develop the truest\nform of beauty--a charming, winsome personality, a lovely character. She\nwill then possess a charm that cannot be excelled by any physical queen\nof beauty, and that she may retain long after the glow of physical\nloveliness has faded.\n\n=Some \u201cmusts\u201d and \u201cmust-nots.\u201d=--She must cease frowning and learn to\nsmile; she must repress anger and resentment, and turn the other cheek;\nshe must not seek favors, but discover the joy of bestowing blessings on\nothers; she must intensely interest herself in everything that will\nstimulate and develop the intellect, expand the soul and enlarge her\nspiritual vision; she must revel in the sweetest strains of music and\nthe most bewitching beauties of art and nature. By following this\nadvice, the naturally beautiful girl will add a new charm to her\nattractiveness, and the homely girl will transform her defects into\nseeming beauties and develop the indefinable loveliness of a beautiful\ncharacter.\n\n\n\n\nFOURTH DIVISION\n\nHOW TO TEACH SOCIAL PURITY AND SEX TRUTHS TO A BOY\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX\n\nA TALK TO FATHERS\n\n\n=The importance of fatherhood.=--In the past we have written, talked and\nsung of the duties, responsibilities, faithfulness, sacrifice and love\nof motherhood. Is there any reason why the father should have less of\nthese sacred parental qualities than the mother? Did not God in his\nearly revelations to his chosen people honor fatherhood as much as\nmotherhood in his relation to the training of children? In no other way\nhas God bestowed larger capacity, power, honor and responsibility upon\nman than when he made him capable of fatherhood. Fatherhood--the giving\nof life to another--makes man a co-worker with God in the creation of\nhuman beings. This creative relation to children gives dignity,\nsacredness and immeasurable responsibility to fatherhood.\n\n=The father is the son\u2019s natural teacher.=--If a man at the head of a home\nis to measure up to the full meaning of fatherhood, he must assume the\nresponsibility of teaching purity and sex truths to his boy, instead of\nleaving him to get his primary sex culture from the playground; his\npreparatory sex enlightenment from the street; and his complete course\nof sex education from the saloon, the gambling house and the brothel,\nwhere the moral atmosphere is saturated with all that is vicious and\npolluting; where the vilest pictures are to be seen, vilest conversation\nis to be heard and the vilest associations are to be formed.\n\n=The wise father looks after less important phases of his son\u2019s\neducation.=--If his son decides to be a farmer, he tells him all he knows\nabout farming and sends him to an agricultural college. If he decides to\npractice medicine, he tells him all he knows about medicine and sends\nhim to a medical college. His interest in his son would lead him to\nfollow this plan should he choose some other calling or profession.\nCompared to the education, training and development of a boy in relation\nto the teaching of purity and sex truths, all other training pales into\ninsignificance. The boy can just as easily become a successful farmer\nwithout a knowledge of agriculture, horticulture and stock-raising; he\ncan as easily become a successful physician without a knowledge of\nmedicine; he can as easily become a successful lawyer without a\nknowledge of laws, as he can develop into a pure, virile manhood without\na correct knowledge of his sex nature. Since half truths are often more\ninjurious than ignorance, and since the enfolding sex life of a boy\ndemands information, and since he will get this information true or\nfalse, it logically follows that correct sex education is the only safe\nmethod to be followed in the complete education of the boy.\n\n=The father who holds to unethical ideals.=--The father who holds to or\npractices the double standard of morals is not qualified to teach these\ntruths to his son. If he believes that it is a smaller sin for his son\nto be immoral than for his daughter; if he believes in the \u201csex\nnecessity lie\u201d for his son and absolute virginity for his daughter; if\nhe uses vulgar words or indulges in lascivious stories, he is\ndisqualified for this sacred duty of a father. Recently I lectured in a\ntown of several thousand inhabitants where the mayor boasted of taking\nhis seventeen-year-old son to St. Louis and introducing him to an\nimmoral life. Such a father\u2019s influence on his own son is a withering,\nparalyzing, blighting curse. The sons of such beastly sires are to be\npitied.\n\n=The model father.=--I assume that I am now addressing a model father, one\nwho, at least, desires to be a worthy example and a wise teacher and\ntrainer of his son. The model father should not only be pure in outward\nlife, but he should regard the organs of sex and their functions as pure\nand sacred, he should possess a fair knowledge of sex and be able to use\nonly pure language in his confidential talks with his son. I am fully\naware that very few fathers have had an opportunity to hear a series of\nlectures or to read a good book on these lines that would help them\nperform this duty. The mission of this book is to aid and inspire every\nsincere father in his duty of supplying his son with these truths.\n\n=How to proceed.=--This is not a difficult problem to the young father who\nis fairly well informed and who has strong convictions of his duty. He\ncan start with his son, as soon as he asks about his origin, and tell\nhim the stories of life, six months or a year apart, and continue to\ngive him such information as his developing boyhood and manhood demand.\nBut to the uninformed father, out in middle life, aroused for the first\ntime to the great need of this teaching and to his personal\nresponsibility to his boys ranging from five to twenty years old, this\nis not an easy problem. In this case I would suggest that, if possible,\nhe should avail himself of hearing a good course of lectures, and buy\nfor himself a practical and complete book on sex for himself and smaller\nbooks adapted to the age and sex of his children. If he has a boy from\nfive to eight years old, begin by telling him the story of how plants\nare brought into the world. If he has a boy ten to fifteen, I would\nadvise that he put in his hands a book containing stories of life from\nplants to man and encourage him to read it. If there is real\ncompanionship between the father and son, a better plan would be for\nthem to read the book together and talk with each other. When this is\ndone and a few days have passed the father should give him a book\ncontaining such information as a boy from ten to fourteen should know.\nAnd if proper companionship exists, they should read this book and talk\nover its revelations together. When this is done the boy should be\nencouraged to talk over any personal problem he may have. It would be\nwell for the father to inquire of his son, if he has any irritation or\nsoreness in his sexual organs, if the prepuce is capable of passing back\nand if the frenulum is too short. The boy should understand that he will\nbe welcomed at any time to return with his problems and to ask for\ninformation.\n\nIf he has a boy over fifteen he should be presented with a book that\ncovers the problems of a young man. If there is a companionable relation\nbetween the father and his son, it would be well for them to read and\ntalk over the revelations of this book. The son should be encouraged to\nask questions and to talk about his personal problems.\n\n=When should a boy be informed of the secret sin?=--In no case should this\nbe postponed until a boy is twelve. Out of one thousand of the young men\nwho have read \u201cPerfect Manhood\u201d and in that way were lead to write me\nabout their troubles not one in twenty-five learned the habit after he\nwas twelve, many commenced when they were eight and ten, a few when five\nand six, one stating that so far as he knew he was born practicing the\nvice.\n\nLecturing to nearly one hundred thousand young men a year and having\nseveral thousand a year to interview me, in this way the conclusion from\nmy correspondence is confirmed. When a boy is fourteen he should be\ngiven a more complete talk on the nature and effects of the secret sin.\nIf he is found to be guilty he should be induced to break off. If his\nsexual desire is due to a tight prepuce, this should be treated by the\nfamily physician. If due to a tight frenulum, this requires the\nattention of a doctor. As a rule his sexual excitement grows out of a\nmind that has been filled with lascivious thoughts from some schoolmate\nor servant. This can be corrected by satisfying the boy\u2019s morbid\ncuriosity with the truth and a faithful warning of the dangers of this\nvice.\n\n=Fathers should not be suspicious but watchful.=--A wise father will have\na frank, positive understanding with every servant in the home and\nemployee on the farm, or in his business, that he is not to encourage\nvice by vulgar conversation, vicious practice, or by presenting the\nchild with a vile book or showing him a lude picture. Keep an eye on the\nlittle visitors--and the big ones too. There are in circulation some\nmost inconceivable immoral books that teach children every phase of sex\nperversion. I recently secured such a book and it was estimated by the\nschool board that two hundred or more boys from twelve to sixteen had\nread it. Only a few months ago the president of a female college living\nin the girls\u2019 dormitory told me of how one of the college girls had\nintroduced his three-year-old boy to the vice. About the same time and\nin the same State, an editor said to me, \u201cProfessor, you don\u2019t realize\nthe temptations to which the small Southern boy is exposed in his\nrelation to the colored help about the home.\u201d A wise father will be on\nthe guard from the time his boy has quit the cradle until he has passed\nsafely through the stormy period of adolescence.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI\n\nFATHER\u2019S FIRST TALK--BOYS MAKE MEN\n\n\nTrees are grown-up sprouts; dogs are grown-up pups; horses are grown-up\ncolts; and men are grown-up boys. A crooked, scarred sprout will produce\nan ugly, useless tree; a starved, neglected and abused pup will grow up\nto be a cowardly or vicious dog; a spoiled colt will make a vicious\nhorse; boys who are not trained to work, study and be moral will grow up\nto be lazy, stupid and bad.\n\n=A perfect tree, dog, horse must be trained.=--If you want a perfect tree,\none that will be straight and shapely, one that will afford perfect\nshade or bear large, luscious fruit, you will have to give it proper\ncare and training while it is young. If you want to have a perfect dog,\none that will be large and handsome, one that will do what you want him\nto do, you must give him good care and training while he is young. If\nyou would have a perfect horse, one with elastic bearing and beautiful\nform, one that will be gentle, go the gaits and travel fast, you must\nfeed, groom and train him while he is young.\n\n=Boys need training.=--If you would become a perfect man, you must be\nwisely trained and taught. A large part of this you can and must do for\nyourself. You must get a true idea of what it takes to make a perfect\nman. You must desire and purpose daily to live that life that will help\nyou to reach your ideal. You must be willing to be trained and taught by\nthose who are older and wiser than yourself.\n\n=Boys want to be men.=--All boys really want to be men. They are great\nimitators. They look at men and decide what man they would rather be\nlike. What a pity that all men are not what they appear to be to the\ninexperienced boy. So many appear to the boy to be real men, when they\nare not. Boys try to follow their examples and fail. It is so easy for a\nboy to make a mistake in what is required of him to become a perfect\nman.\n\n=How one boy tried to be a man.=--I am quite intimately and personally\nacquainted with a man, who, when a boy, lived on a farm near a small\ntown. Like all boys he longed to be a man. Some of his ideas were good\nand some were false. When he was about eight years old, he decided that\nif he could only ride a big bay horse and take a sack of corn to mill,\nthen he would be a man. It was a happy day when he was allowed to do\nthis. Having carefully balanced a sack of corn on the horse\u2019s back, his\nfather placed him on the horse behind the sack and started him to the\nmill.\n\n[Illustration: I WAIT FOR MY FUTURE.]\n\nThat was the happiest day of his life. As he rode along the street of\nthe village, all the boys and girls, men and women, seemed to be out on\npurpose to look at him. He could almost hear them saying, \u201cYonder\ngoes ---- to mill this morning. See what a big man he is.\u201d That boy never\nfelt more like a man in his life than he did that morning. What do you\nsuppose happened as he went back home? It was the saddest experience\nthat boy ever had up to that time. His sack fell off. Then he cried like\na boy. He felt like a boy. He acted like a boy. He knew that he was only\na little boy. For several weeks he was willing to be only a little boy.\n\n=Use of profanity.=--It is perfectly natural for a boy to long to be a\nman. So, it was not long before that boy again wanted to be a man. This\ntime, a boy, some three years older than he, was visiting his home. His\nfriend was some three inches taller, twenty pounds heavier and a few\ngrades higher in school than he. As these boys rambled over the fields,\nclimbed trees, and played together, my little friend had to listen to a\nconstant stream of oaths, pouring from the lips of his visitor. He had\nbeen taught that swearing was a very great sin. Had he heard a little\ndirty street waif, or an old bloated, swaggering drunkard swearing, it\nwould have been disgusting. But this time, swearing did not sound so\nbadly. His friend wore fine clothes, his family had wealth and culture\nand this seemed to change the nature of swearing in this case. Before\nthat day was over our little friend had decided that the only difference\nbetween him and his friend was, that his visitor could swear and he\ncould not. He felt, that, if he could only swear, instantly he would\ngrow six inches taller, twenty pounds heavier and a great deal smarter.\nHe finally decided to try it. While they were walking by the back porch,\nhe made the effort of his life and out came a big ugly oath. His heart\nhurt him. His conscience condemned him. He was sure that God heard him.\nHe had dishonored his father and mother. He had insulted God. He\nwondered if his mother was not near. Glancing quickly over his shoulder,\nhe saw his mother on the porch, and the expression on her face showed\nthat she was much grieved. When the visitor had returned home and our\nlittle friend had danced at the end of a peach tree switch for some\nmoments, he decided that swearing would not make a man. This was his\nfirst, last and only oath. He has never ceased to thank and love his\nmother for her faithful training.\n\nAlmost all men and boys who swear started where he did. They thought\nswearing would make them taller, heavier, wealthier, and smarter. This\nsin has never helped a boy to become a man. If a boy can swear and be\nmanly, his mother and sister can swear and be perfectly ladylike. No\nman or boy can give a good reason why he swears. Intelligent people are\nsupposed to understand and mean what they talk about. Idiots do not. Not\none man or boy in a hundred, who swears, understands and means what he\nsays. The words that he uses make him call upon God to send something or\nsomeone to hell. He does not understand or mean this. Idiots would be\nexcusable for swearing; sensible men and boys are not. The kind of\nclothing a boy wears, the house he lives in, and the carriage he rides\nin, do not make his swearing manly.\n\n=Use of tobacco.=--Months went by. This boy\u2019s noble father had crossed\nover the river into heaven. He and his widowed mother were visiting\namong their relatives who lived in a rough country, many miles from\ntheir home. One night, after making a long journey on horseback, he\nslept so well that he did not wake until the sun was an hour high. On\narising, he found that his cousin, a boy fifteen years old, had been out\nin the woods and had killed a number of squirrels before breakfast. In\nhis estimation, his cousin was a hero, a great man.\n\nBreakfast over, they rambled over a large tobacco farm. They became very\nchummy. At length they came to a large tobacco barn. His cousin pulled\noff a leaf of tobacco, rolled up a shapely cigar, lighted it and began\nsmoking. As our friend stood and watched those dense clouds of smoke\npour from the mouth and nose of his cousin, he whispered to himself,\n\u201cNow I know why you can kill a mess of squirrels before breakfast. If I\ncould smoke, I could do the same thing.\u201d Once more he decided he would\ntry to be a man. He selected the largest leaf that he could find. When\nhe had finished making his first cigar, it resembled a saw log about as\nmuch as it did a first-class Havana. His cousin noticed that he could\nnot get it into his mouth, and said, \u201cYou take my cigar and keep it\ngoing for a few minutes and I will make you one.\u201d He kept it going for a\nfew minutes, then it kept him going for about three hours. He lost\nlittle less than ten pounds of his former weight in a hurry. He was soon\nso weak that he could scarcely walk back to the house. His mother and\nfriends were greatly frightened. His cousin\u2019s face was as pale as a\nsheet. There was not a doctor in ten miles of the place. Many remedies\nwere thought of and used. None did any good. Finally, his uncle\u2019s\nfather, quite an old man, suggested that the best remedy, ever used in\nthose parts of Kentucky for sick stomach, was a sweetened toddy. This\nboy had been taught that the use of tobacco was a great sin and that the\nuse of whisky was a still greater sin. He had acted very much like a\nfool and felt like one. He understood his case better than they did. He\nreasoned like this: \u201cif whisky is worse than tobacco, the remedy they\nwant me to take will kill me.\u201d But, he was between two fires. If he\nconfessed what he had done, he would get a switching, and if he took the\nremedy they were offering, he would die. What do you suppose that boy\ndid? He was determined to keep his secret and he did not want to die,\nso, for convenience, he became a Christian Scientist, denied that he was\nsick and got well. This was his first, last and only experience in the\nuse of tobacco.\n\n=Why boys are tempted.=--Perhaps the average boy has no greater temptation\nthan to use tobacco. He sees merchants, lawyers, doctors, occasionally a\nminister, and often his father using it. He does not see the expense\nside of the habit, because prosperous business men use it. He does not\nsee the filthy side of it, because nicely dressed men use it. He does\nnot see the injury to body and mind, for doctors use it. He does not see\nthe wrong in the use of it, for good men use it. He does not see that\nthousands of children are in rags, live in rented cabins, go hungry and\nare deprived of many comforts and pleasures because the father has spent\n$50 a year for one or two score years on tobacco. He does not quite\nunderstand that doctors and sometimes ministers, like other men, die of\na tobacco heart. He does not desire to imitate the dirty, ragged, stupid\ntobacco using wag on the street corner. He wants to be like the man\ndressed in broadcloth, wearing a fine beaver hat, twirling a\ngolden-headed cane, with sparkling diamond ring and shirt studs and\nsmoking a twenty-five cent cigar.\n\n=The cigarette habit.=--The worst form of the tobacco habit is the use of\nthe cigarette. When a boy falls into this habit, at the age of ten to\nfourteen, he never develops properly in his body or mind. You will\nunderstand this statement better, when it is referred to in another\nchapter. The boy who uses tobacco does not progress well in his studies.\nThis has been tested in nearly all our military and naval schools as\nwell as in other schools and colleges. Boys who use tobacco will\ngradually lose respect and courtesy for ladies. It is claimed by those\nwho have studied the effects of the cigarette habit that it causes the\nboy to become dishonest. It is for these reasons that many business men\nwill not employ a boy who is guilty of this habit.\n\nThere are many other wrongs that boys are tempted to engage in, that if\nyielded to will result in habits that prevent boys from becoming perfect\nmen. It is hard for boys to see the injury that dishonesty and gambling,\ndisobedience to parents and breaking the Sabbath will do for them. Some\nboys take pleasure in doing wrong and leading other boys to do wrong. If\nyou keep company with them, do as they do, you will get a wrong start\nin life and find it a hard struggle later in life, when you would like\nto be a real man.\n\n=The kind of boys who make men.=--Someone has said, \u201cA dead fish can float\ndown stream, but it takes a live one to swim up stream.\u201d Any kind of a\nboy can float down the stream of life, have what he calls a good time in\nthe world, live and die and never be missed. It takes a boy with a\nstrong, healthy body, a sound mind, a pure heart and clean life, brave,\ndetermined and true to make a perfect man. You will need more than a\nstrong will and the help of true friends, if you would resist the many\ntemptations that are sure to come, be a perfect boy and become a perfect\nman. Christ alone can purify the heart and help you to live a clean\nlife.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII\n\nFATHER\u2019S SECOND TALK--PERFECT BOYS MAKE PERFECT MEN\n\n\n=Why we are given sexual organs.=--You have learned God\u2019s beautiful and\nsacred plan of bringing into this world baby plants, fish, birds,\nanimals and human beings. You learned from the stories of the plants and\nanimals that God provided them with organs of sex, for the purpose of\nincreasing their kind. When little children are born they have organs of\nsex. A boy\u2019s sexual organs have several important uses. They are as\nimportant to a boy as his mouth, ears, eyes or heart. They are just as\npure as any other organs of his body. These organs are very sacred. It\nis through their proper use that men and women obey God\u2019s command to \u201cbe\nfruitful and multiply.\u201d Without sexual organs, new plants, animals and\nhuman beings could not come into the world.\n\n=They are not sinful.=--We should never think of these organs as being\nsinful. They are not. The true names of these organs are as pure as the\nwords baby, home, mother, Bible, heaven, angels, God, so far as a word\nis concerned. The true names of these organs are found in the\ndictionary. Your sister and mother can find these words in the\ndictionary and just what they mean. They are placed in the dictionary\nbecause they are clean words and are a part of our language.\n\n=The names of these organs are pure.=--Unfortunately, almost all boys have\nreceived their first information about sex from the vicious. Such\nteachers are ignorant for they do not know the true names of these\norgans or their true purposes. They are vicious because their teaching\nis largely false and they fill the minds of boys with impure thoughts\nand ideas. Let twenty boys write down on paper all the names of their\nsexual organs that they have ever learned and not less than thirty names\nwould be found among them. Now go to the dictionary and look for these\nnames. One out of every five cannot be found, for the reason that it is\nnot a part of our language. The other words do not, even remotely, refer\nin meaning to the sexual organs. This is a sample of the ignorance of\nsuch men and boys who are always ready to tell a boy something that he\nis not to tell his parents. Such teaching is a very great evil. It has\npoisoned the minds and hearts of thousands of boys and started them on\nthe road to ruin. It is very important that you fix the thought in your\nmind that these organs are as pure as any other organ in the body and\nthat their names are just as pure as any other word in the language.\nThere are many reasons why we should not expose these organs or talk\nabout them, except when it is right or necessary for us to do so. We\nshould learn all we can about our lungs, hearts, brains and other organs\nof the body. When we can see these organs or pictures of them, they help\nto make many things plain to us that would be difficult for us to\nunderstand. For this reason we have placed the cut of a boy\u2019s body in\nthis book, showing the urinary and sexual organs.\n\n=The urinary organs.=--The urinary system consists of the following\norgans: Two (1) kidneys, only one can be shown in the cut. The kidneys\nare located just above the small of the back and in front of the spinal\ncolumn, or backbone. The kidneys take up water, waste matter and\nimpurities from the blood. In this way the kidneys help to keep the\nblood pure. This liquid mixture is called urine. The use of tobacco and\nstrong drink injures the kidneys, and prevents them from doing all the\nwork that they need to do in order to keep the blood pure and the body\nhealthy and strong. As fast as the kidneys form the urine it is carried\nby two ducts, called the (2) ureters, one leading from each kidney, and\nemptied into the (3) bladder. Here it is stored until we wish to\ndischarge it from our bodies. The urine is discharged from the body by\na duct that leads through the external sexual organ, and this duct is\ncalled the (4) urethra. This process of discharging the urine is called\nurinating. This is a perfectly natural act. There is no more sin in\nurinating than in shedding a tear. Because of unfortunate training, many\nboys think of this act as sinful. The words and expressions they have\nlearned for this act have been associated for years with low thoughts.\nIt is for this reason that you should cease to use those false words and\nexpressions and learn to say, \u201cI desire to urinate,\u201d or \u201cI have\nurinated.\u201d\n\n=The sexual organs.=--Some of the sexual organs are on the outside of the\nbody and some are on the inside of the body. Those on the outside of the\nbody are perfectly familiar to all boys. The external organ through\nwhich the (4) urethra passes is called the (5) penis. This organ is not\nshown in the cut, its position being shown by the figure (5). At the end\nof this organ is a sheath of loose skin, called the prepuce or foreskin.\nIn some boys the prepuce is quite long and tight. When the boys of the\nJewish race are eight days old they are circumcised. This act consists\nin cutting off that portion of the prepuce that extends beyond the head\nof the penis. The act is performed with a sharp knife and causes but\nlittle pain. Ninety millions of Mohammedans practice circumcision. This\n\n[Illustration]\n\nshould be performed on many boys in this country when they are only a\nfew days old. There are a number of reasons for this. Underneath the\nfolds of the prepuce are hundreds of little glands that secrete a\nsubstance that should be removed daily with water, or a wet rag. When\nthe prepuce will not glide back over the head of the penis, it cannot be\nkept clean. In such cases the secretion becomes white and hard and\ncauses irritation. Boys in this condition will often scratch this organ.\nIn many cases, these boys do not get along well in school, they are\nnervous, have fits and spasms, and this scratching often leads to a bad\nhabit.\n\nWhen the prepuce of a boy will not glide back, becomes red, sore and\nswollen, he should ask his father to have a doctor treat him. The doctor\nwill know how to enlarge the opening, break up the adhesion and glide it\nback.\n\nUnderneath the penis is a sack, called the (6) scrotum, in which are\nsuspended two glands, called the (7) testicles. The (7) indicates where\nthese glands would be if placed in the cut. Leading off from the (8)\ndescending artery are two small arteries, called the (9) spermatic\narteries. They carry pure blood to the testicles. Leading back from the\ntesticles are two small veins that separate from the spermatic arteries\nand are called the (10) spermatic veins.\n\nConnected with each testicle is a duct, called the (11) vas deferens\nthat passes up through the loins and over the bladder and becomes\nenlarged into a small vessel called the (12) ampulla. The ampullae open\ninto the urethra. Near the ampullae, and behind them, are two larger\nvessels, called the (13) seminal vessels. These vessels connect with the\nurethra by a small duct, at the point where the ampullae do. Surrounding\nthe neck of the bladder, the lower portion of the ampullae, the seminal\nvessels and the deep urethra is a very important gland, called the (14)\nprostate gland. Connected with the urethra and only a short distance\nfrom the prostate, are two small glands, called the (15) Cowper\u2019s\nglands. These glands and vessels are all very tender. They are protected\nby being placed on the inside of the body. Because of bad habits\nconnected with the organs on the outside, many men suffer much pain from\ndiseased conditions of the organs on the inside.\n\n=Puberty.=--When a boy is born, he has all these organs. The testicles and\nthe glands on the inside are inactive until he reaches the age of\nfourteen and a half. Until this time he has been only a boy. At about\nthis age the glands become active and begin to slowly form from the\nblood a fluid called semen. This period in a boy\u2019s life is called\npuberty. It is at this time that he starts toward manhood. We shall find\nlater that he will not be a perfect man until he is twenty-four. During\nthese ten years he will be changing gradually into a man. There is no\nway by which a boy can come suddenly to manhood.\n\n=Some things hasten puberty.=--There are some things that will hasten\npuberty. Several thousand miles South, puberty comes on a boy a few\nmonths sooner than it does here. Several thousand miles North, puberty\ncomes later than here. Thus we see that a warm climate tends to hasten\nthe arrival of puberty, and a cold climate will tend to retard it. This\nis the main reason why puberty, in the colored race, comes a few months\nsooner than it does in the white race. For centuries the negro lived in\nthe hot climates of Africa. In this country he has lived largely in the\nSouth. Vulgar language, impure thoughts and the cigarette habit will\ntend to hasten puberty. These bad habits arouse passion and lead to the\nformation of semen before the body is prepared to absorb it. This leads\nto the habit of wasting this energy from the body. It will be noticed by\nyou that the cigarette smoking and vulgar boys grow up to have a pale or\na dark complexion and many are stunted and ugly. Using cigarettes before\nyou are fifteen will do you more harm than to use them after that age.\n\n=The nature and value of the creative life.=--The wisest doctors tell us\nthat one drop of semen is worth twenty drops of blood; one ounce is\nworth twenty ounces of the purest blood. If a discharge of this energy\nwere taken from the body of a healthy, strong man, twenty-five years\nold, and placed in a small glass test-tube and allowed to settle for ten\nhours, it would divide itself into two unequal parts. The upper and\nsmaller portion would be thin, clear and slightly oily. It would look\njust like joint water. The lower and larger portion would be thick and\nmilkish in color, with many little (16) sperm cells. These cells can be\nseen only under the microscope. They are in the shape of a tadpole,\nexcept they are longer in proportion. They are very active at first, but\nwhen the fluid becomes chilled they soon die. They are formed from the\nblood and contain life.\n\n=The condition of an unwell man.=--If a discharge is removed from a man\nthat is in poor health, a man who drinks liquor, uses much tobacco, or\nwastes this energy from his body, it will be found that the amount, as a\nrule, is much smaller, the parts reversed, sperm cells fewer in number,\nsmaller in size, slower in movements, than in the discharge taken from a\nhealthy man. This illustration shows how bad habits injure the blood and\nrob a man of his energy.\n\n=How sex helps to change a boy into a man.=--We are now able to study how\nthis new life, this vital force, changes a perfect boy into a perfect\nman. We find that this energy is formed from the blood and contains\nlife. These sperm cells contain physical, mental and soul life. This\nwill be made plain to you, when you learn, that, when one of these sperm\ncells of a father unites with the cell of a mother, under proper\nconditions, the result will be a child having physical, mental and soul\nlife. A boy has physical, mental and soul life when he is born, but he\nhas not as much as he will have when he is grown. If he grows up to be a\nman, he will need more of this energy and life. This is the work of the\nsexual glands. They form, by the help of the blood, this energy. This\nenergy is absorbed by the body and carried by the blood to every part of\nhis being. It is in this way that this energy helps the body to grow,\nand the mind and soul to develop.\n\n=Two full brother colts.=--The use of this fluid can be illustrated in\nseveral ways. If two brother colts grow up side by side, they will look\nmuch alike when grown. If one of them be castrated when young, he will\nnot develop as well as the other one. The castrated horse is called a\ngelding. The other one is called a stallion. The stallion has a high\narched neck, dilated nostrils, sparkling eyes, a heavy thick mane and\ntail, broad, deep hip and chest muscles and an elastic bearing. He\ncommands the attention and admiration of all beholders. A boy can\u2019t\nmanage him. It takes a strong man to control him. Turn him out in the\nfield with one hundred geldings and he will rule all of them. The only\ndifference between these horses was that one had had his testicles\nremoved and the other had not. The gelding could not form from his\nblood any of this valuable energy. This energy was formed by the\nstallion and absorbed by his body where it gave him perfect development,\nan elastic bearing, fiery eyes, strong muscles and lots of vitality.\n\n=Two full brother chickens.=--Take two full brother chickens, put them in\nthe same pen, give them the same food and shelter and when they are\ngrown they will look very much alike. Suppose that when these roosters\nwere small one of them had been caponized, that is, his glands had been\nremoved, what would have been the result? The one not caponized would\ngrow a large red comb, ear lobes and wattles, long glossy neck and tail\nfeathers and long, strong spurs. In the case of the other bird, his\ncomb, ear lobes and wattles, neck and tail feathers and legs would\nresemble an old hen that had not laid an egg for months. If food is\nscarce, the first bird will scratch for worms and catch insects for a\nliving; the other one will starve. If food is thrown down for the old\nhen and her brood of chickens, the first bird will step up and pick up a\nbit of the food with his beak, drop it, then step back, point his beak\nat the food, glance up at the old hen, look down at the chickens and\ncluck to them to come up and eat the food. When they are through, if\nsome food is left, he will eat it. If not, he goes out and finds him a\nmeal. The capon will rush up to the food, with one foot crushing the\nlife out of a chicken and the other crushing the life out of another\nchicken; he hurriedly eats the food and does not offer any to the old\nhen and her chickens. If an old hawk or owl comes to catch the chickens,\nthe first bird will fight the enemy until the hen and chickens find\nshelter. The capon sneaks under the floor.\n\nThe first bird retained his glands, formed that vital energy, absorbed\nit back into his body; this made him industrious, gallant and brave. The\ncapon formed none of this energy, and he could not develop a perfect\nbody, be industrious, gallant and brave.\n\n=Eunuchs.=--Long years ago, men would select some boys that they wanted to\nbe slaves and remove their sexual glands when they were quite young.\nSuch boys were called eunuchs. When they were twenty-five years old they\ndiffered much from other men. They grew only a few scattering short\nhairs on their faces; their vocal organs never developed so as to\nproduce a deep base voice; their shoulders never became broad and\nsquare; being cowardly they were never sent to the battlefield, they did\nnot care to own property and had no desire for an education. Now,\ncompare in your mind, the manly man with the eunuch. This energy gives\nhim his beard, square shoulders, bass voice, brilliant mind, snap and\nvim, push and enterprise, bravery and attractive manliness.\n\n=If you would be a perfect man.=--While it is now very rare for a boy to\nbe made a eunuch, yet it is very common to see young men who are dull\nand stupid, lifeless and lazy, stunted and ugly. In most cases this is\ndue to their having wasted this energy.\n\nFrom these illustrations we see that the sexual energy strengthens and\ndevelops every organ of the body, faculty of the mind and power of the\nsoul. If a boy would have a strong, healthy and perfect body, this\nenergy must be kept in the body and built into the muscles. If he would\nhave a strong and brilliant mind, this energy must be directed to the\nbrain. If he would be strong in moral character, he must learn how to\nuse it in his moral nature. In the chapter on how to live a pure life\nthis will all be made plain to you.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII\n\nFATHER\u2019S THIRD TALK--IMPERFECT BOYS BECOME IMPERFECT MEN\n\n\n=Why some trees, kittens, calves, colts, do not become perfect.=--In the\nlast chapter we found how perfect boys become perfect men. In this\nchapter we shall find why some boys do not become perfect men. If a\ncrooked sprout is not made straight before it gets to be a young tree,\nit can never entirely outgrow the defect. If it received a wound before\nit grew to be a young tree, nature may heal the wound but the scar will\nindicate a weak place when it is grown. If the wound is a deep one,\ndecay may follow and its life greatly shortened. If a kitten, calf or\ncolt be starved or crippled while young, they will rarely outgrow these\ndefects.\n\n=Boys may injure themselves.=--There are many ways by which a boy may\ninjure himself physically, mentally and morally and prevent perfection\nin his manhood. We have learned that when the mind is kept pure and no\nbad habits are formed, that the sexual life will gradually change a boy\ninto a perfect man. Now we are to study the bad effects of wasting this\nenergy. Why are there so many men with defective bodies? When we study\nthe lower animals in their wild state, or when the domestic animals have\nbeen well kept by their owners, we find nearly all of them to be\nperfect. This is due to the fact that the lower animals have not\nviolated the laws of sex. They do not waste their sexual energy.\n\n=Many defective men.=--If you were to visit some of the insane asylums and\nlook into the faces of from one to two thousand of the unfortunates, you\nwould see some who do not possess a sign of intelligence. Many of them\nwere born of parents who had violated these laws. Many are personally\nguilty and have brought on their own ruin. In the penitentiaries and\nhospitals we find that many are there because they have been guilty of\nthe same wrongs. If many of these poor people had read the book you are\nreading, they would now be well and happy.\n\nThe following story is told by an author:\n\n=Robbing a vine of its life.=--\u201cWhen I was only a small boy, one lovely\nspring morning, I stepped up to a vigorous young grapevine, at the time\nthe sap was rising and flowing out the branches to every bursting bud\nand cluster of blooms. I had watched my father bore holes in the sugar\nmaple trees, a century old, and we would use the sap to make syrup and\nmaple sugar. I did not know that this really injured the old trees and\nthat tapping them when ten or twenty years old would have very seriously\ninjured them. So, with my knife, I cut a hole in the vine some two feet\nfrom the ground. At once the sap flowed as freely as from an old sugar\ntree. I stood by proudly and watched the sap flow out. Soon a puddle of\nsap had formed at the foot of the vine and the ground became damp all\naround. An hour passed and still the sap flowed. I became frightened. I\nwondered whether, at that rate, the vine would not disappear after a\nwhile. With mud, made from the sap and soil, I tried to stop up the\nwound and stop the flow. Quickly the flowing sap dissolved the mud and\nwashed it down. After repeated failures, I ran to the house and got some\nrags and strings and tried to stop the flow, but soon the rags would get\ndamp and the sap flowed as before.\n\n\u201cI decided to leave the vine to its own fate. The next morning I\nventured out to see what had occurred. The vine looked as it did the day\nbefore. I found that kind nature had formed a reddish substance and had\nfilled the wound and stopped the flow. That day I cut another hole in\nthe vine. Again the sap flowed but not so freely as the day before. Day\nafter day I repeated this for ten days. Will you be surprised when I\ntell you that the buds never matured into full size leaves, the clusters\nof blooms never matured into large clusters of grapes, and that the\nvine did not live many years? I had robbed the vine of its very life.\u201d\n\n=Some boys and men sap their life.=--Now there is an act that is performed\nby many boys and men by which they waste the vital fluid from their\nbodies. This act soon becomes a habit. It has the same effect upon them\nthat we found in the vine. Instead of their eyes glowing with luster,\nthey become dull and sunken. Instead of their cheeks having the rosy\nlook of youth and health the face becomes pale. Instead of offering a\nhearty warm handshake, it is lifeless and cold. Instead of muscles being\nhard and elastic, they are soft and weak. Instead of bright, alert\nminds, they are dull and listless. Instead of an elastic bearing and a\nstraightforward step, there are the languid movements and the swaggering\nwalk.\n\n=Boys do not know that it will hurt them.=--Very early in life some boys\nlearn to handle the sexual organs so as to produce a sense of pleasure.\nNot one in a hundred has been told that this habit will injure him. They\nhave an idea that this will make them men. You will some day, if you\nhave not already, hear boys boasting of committing this sin; or they\nwill want to teach it to you. These poor ignorant fellows have not been\ntaught that it is wrong and will injure them. They are to be pitied.\nThey need a friend that will take them off, one at a time, and have a\nfriendly talk with them. You may some time have a chance to give such\nadvice. Where a boy will not take your advice, it is not safe to make\nhim your companion.\n\n=The habit is often commenced early.=--Many boys begin this habit before\nthey are twelve, sometimes as early as five and six. They have watched\nyoung men and boys older than themselves. They do not know that the\nglands do not begin the secretion of this energy until after they are\nfourteen to fifteen. They try to follow the example of older boys. While\nthere is no waste of sexual material, it injures the nerves and pollutes\nthe mind and starts a habit that, unless stopped in the early teens,\nwill be hard to break off from later. Usually when a boy gets to be\nfourteen his conscience begins to tell him that the habit is wrong.\nFortunately, many boys quit at this age, some check themselves, others\ngo recklessly on to their certain ruin. When a boy breaks from the habit\nat fourteen or fifteen, this new energy soon overcomes the bad effects\nof the habit. If he continues until he is a young man, eighteen or\ntwenty, he will have a harder struggle to break from the habit, and it\nwill require a longer period for nature to overcome the bad effects of\nthe habit. Boys who go on through life practicing the habit never amount\nto much and in many cases shorten their lives.\n\n=How to keep from the habit.=--I hope you have never formed the habit. It\nis not necessary to do so. It is far wiser never to commit the sin. If\nyou will keep your hands off your sexual organs, refuse to let your mind\nentertain impure thoughts, your lips to speak vulgar words, your ears to\nlisten to obscene stories, your eyes to look upon impure pictures, you\ncan master your passions, be pure and clean.\n\n=Some effects of the habit.=--Some of the effects of this sin are as\nfollows: It injures the morals. The victim will take on a guilty look;\nmay become irritable and cross; may avoid good company and seek the\nvile; may quit reading the Bible and going to church. This is one class.\nThey are called bad boys. There is another class that are affected\ndifferently and would usually be called good boys. They are very modest,\nretiring fellows, rather shy of girls and would be shocked at immodest\nlanguage. As the habit fastens itself more firmly, they become more\nsensitive, stay more alone, the presence of girls becomes more\nembarrassing to them, they become quite suspicious and feel that\neverybody knows of their guilt. In both of these cases, if the habit is\ncontinued, it will get the mastery of them and will be very difficult to\nquit. The latter class will feel gloomy and discouraged. They feel that\neverything is going wrong and that everybody is against them. This is\ndue to the effect of the sin upon their nervous system. It is hard for\nthem to dismiss this idea. This state of mind will unfit them for\nbusiness of any kind. Unless they break from the sin and dismiss these\ngloomy feelings, they can\u2019t hope to succeed.\n\n=It injures the mind and morals.=--The boy who practices the secret sin\nwill one day find that he is falling back in his classes. His memory is\nnot as good as it once was. He cannot solve problems as easily as he\nonce could. If a kind-hearted, wealthy man should offer to put all the\nyoung men in a town of ten thousand people through college and meet all\ntheir expenses, on the conditions that they study hard and stand their\nexaminations, not half of them would accept his kindness. Why? They have\nwasted this energy and are without ambition. The young men who have been\nwise enough to live pure lives, have so much manly ambition that poverty\nwill not keep them from graduating.\n\nMany young men who die from consumption when from eighteen to thirty\nyears old are victims of this sin. In a few cases the sin leads to\nepilepsy or insanity.\n\n=It injures the sexual organs.=--The sexual organs become soft and flabby,\nwhen this sin is practiced much. Sometimes they do not develop properly.\nThe most common effect of the habit is varicocele. This often occurs at\nthe age of eighteen. The blood vessels in the scrotum become gorged with\nimpure blood and feel like a mass of tangled cords. There will be felt a\nvery unpleasant dragging pain in these cords and the left gland. Soon\nthe left gland will waste away until it is no larger than in a small\nboy. Sometimes both glands become affected. Passion aroused by the mind\nand handling the organs, even when the habit is not practiced, will\ncause this disease.\n\nThere are other bad effects that do not occur until the boy is a man and\nit is not necessary to mention them here. You have learned enough for\nyou to know that boys should not form the habit, and, if they have, they\nshould break away from the habit at once.\n\n=How to quit the habit.=--Where a boy has commenced the habit and desires\nto quit, there are some things he should know and do. The feeling of\nsexual desire, called passion, is caused almost entirely by the mind. As\nlong as a boy can keep his mind on something else, he will not have\nthese desires. He will need to avoid those things that lead the mind to\nthink about these organs. Handling and looking at the organs direct the\nmind to them. Looking at the pictures of partly dressed girls, reading\nobscene books, talking vulgarly or entertaining impure thoughts will all\ncause passion. All these things must be carefully avoided. You can bring\nyour will into play and become able to say and mean it, \u201cI will never\nagain commit the act.\u201d But, best of all, God can help you and offers to\ndo so. Go often to Him in prayer. Ask Him to purify your mind and heart\nand give you strength to live a pure life. Ask Him to help you to keep\nall His laws, to be a Christian and to become a perfect man.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV\n\nFATHER\u2019S FOURTH TALK--HOW TO LIVE A PURE LIFE\n\n\n=The adolescent period.=--The first distinct period of a boy\u2019s life is his\nboyhood. This closes when puberty dawns. This usually occurs when he is\nabout fourteen and a half. This is followed by a period of ten years,\ncalled adolescence. During these years he is changing from boyhood to\nmanhood. In his feelings, thoughts, looks and ways, he resembles the boy\nhe was and the man he is to be. In this mixed state, he is a problem.\nHis whole after life is to be largely determined by this period. The\nmost important part of this period is the first three years, from\nfourteen to seventeen. These three years are called puberty period.\nDuring these three years his sexual nature develops rapidly. Still he is\nmuch more a boy, during this period, than he is a man. This is the most\ncritical period of a boy\u2019s life. He is coming into possession of powers\nthat are new to him, he does not understand them, he is not prepared by\nnature to control them. He needs the advice and instruction of a wise\nfather, teacher or book at this period of his life. If a boy is wisely\ntrained during these three years and he follows the good advice given\nhim, there is little danger of his going wrong in the future.\n\n=A boy can live pure.=--There is an idea among boys and men, that it is\nnot best for them to live a pure life. Some of them think that doctors\nteach that they should gratify themselves in some way. There is not one\nintelligent, honorable doctor who teaches this lie. There are a few\n\u201cquack\u201d doctors, whose practice is largely among wicked men, who teach\nthis lie. When one of these \u201cquacks\u201d tells a boy this, the boy tells\ntwenty other boys and each of them whispers it to twenty more boys, and\nin this way many come to believe the lie. They reason like this, \u201cIf I\nput my arm in a sling for a year or more, I lose the use of my arm\nthrough the non-use of it. Therefore, if I do not gratify my passions, I\nwill lose my sexual powers.\u201d To one, who does not understand his sexual\nnature, this looks like good reasoning. But it will not stand the test\nof a simple illustration. Here is a woman who gives birth to a child\nwhen she is twenty and nurses it perfectly at her breast. This is the\nfirst time her breasts have performed this function, though they have\nbeen capable of doing so for five years. Suppose she does not become a\nmother again until she is forty. Again she nurses her baby as perfectly\nas she did the first time. But, there were nineteen years in her life,\nduring which these glands did not feed a child. The breasts of a woman\nare a part of her sexual system. These organs have a double function.\nOne is being performed all the time, day and night; that of secreting an\nenergy that is absorbed back into her body and that adds to her\nstrength, health and beauty. The second function is to secrete milk for\nher baby when she becomes a mother. The first function helps to keep her\nin a condition where the second function can be performed when she\nbecomes a mother.\n\n=The sexual organs have two functions.=--Now, in the case of a boy or a\nman, the sexual organs have a double function. The first function is to\nsecrete a peculiar energy that is absorbed by the body. It is this\nenergy that makes a boy a perfect boy when he is fourteen or fifteen,\nthat changes him from a perfect boy into a perfect man, and that keeps\nup his perfect manhood through life. We usually speak of a boy\u2019s sexual\nglands as being wholly inactive, having nothing to do until he reaches\npuberty. This is not true. It is true however that what we call semen is\nnot formed by his glands until puberty. If two boys were made eunuchs,\none when only a few days old and the other when puberty came, there\nwould be quite a difference between them at the age of twenty-five. Both\nwould be inferior men, but the second would be in many respects superior\nto the first. This can be explained only on the ground that the glands\nof the second boy formed a vital energy before puberty, and it was this\nenergy that made the difference between them. Now we see that this first\nfunction of our sexual nature is going on all the time. It is this\nfunction that keeps the sexual system in a condition, when at the proper\nage and under proper conditions, the man can become a father. These\nillustrations absolutely show that a boy, or a young man, does not have\nto gratify his passions. A boy can live as pure a life as a girl.\n\n=The effects of impure thinking.=--The secret of living a pure life is in\ncontrolling the mind and knowing how to use this energy. The mind has\nthe power to stimulate many of the glands of the body to greater\nactivity. For example, suppose that you have been hard at work for six\nhours, then you come into the presence of some fine fruit or a table\nspread with good things. What happens? Your mouth begins to water. What\ncauses this? The sight of food. Not exactly. The sight of the food\ncaused your mind to think of the food, to long for it. You remember how\nthe different things taste. The longer you have to wait, the more your\nmouth waters. Now the philosophy of it is this, your mind is stimulating\nthe little salivary glands in your mouth and causing them to secrete the\nsaliva rapidly. Just now you hear some one crying, Fire! Fire! Looking\nthrough the window, you see the neighbor\u2019s building is on fire. You\nrush over and for one hour you try to put out the flames, save some\nproperty or someone\u2019s life. Your mind is wholly withdrawn from all\nthought of food. During that hour your salivary glands secrete just\nenough saliva to keep your mouth moist, perhaps the heat and labor left\nyour mouth dry. Now you return home and your attention is called back to\nthe food. Again the saliva is formed rapidly, ten or twenty times as\nfast as while you were fighting the fire. Now, when a boy has impure\nthoughts in relation to his sexual organs, the mind stimulates passion.\nIf he is under the age of puberty, constant passion will injure his\nnervous system, lead him to form the secret sin and will misdirect that\nenergy so that he will fail to be a perfect boy, when puberty dawns.\nAfter puberty dawns, impure thinking and all impure states of the mind\nwill so stimulate the sexual glands that they will secrete more semen\nthan the body can absorb. What cannot be absorbed will in some way be\nwasted from the body. It is in this way that boys become imperfect men.\nNothing that a boy can do is more important than for him to keep his\nmind pure. Two things will help him; a Christian life and a strong will.\nOne is a gift; the other must be cultivated.\n\n=Ways of using up this energy.=--It is very important for a boy or young\nman to know how to use this energy. We know that if this energy is\nwasted, it leaves the body weak, makes the mind stupid and hurts us\nmorally. We have learned that when this energy is retained, our physical\nstrength is increased, our minds are more alert and our moral natures\ndevelop better. This shows that this energy can be directed to these\nparts of our being. How is this to be done? Let a boy who is conscious\nof sexual desire, tempted to practice the secret sin, take a brisk walk\nfor three or four miles and his passion is gone. What became of it? He\ndirected the energy to his muscles and expressed it in labor. Here is\nanother boy with passion, he too is tempted to waste this energy. He has\na hard lesson in mathematics. Let him will to take his mind off sex and\nforce it to solve those problems. In an hour or two passion is gone.\nWhat became of it? This time he directed it to his brain and it\nincreased his mental power. Here is another boy. His body is healthy and\nstrong, his mind is bright, but he is cold, unkind, unsympathetic and\nindifferent to the claims of the needy. He has passion and is tempted to\nwaste his energy. What should he do? Let him spend an hour loving the\nunlovely, boosting the discouraged, speaking kind words and doing noble\ndeeds and his passion will be gone. What became of it? He built his\nenergy into his sentiments, feelings and moral nature.\n\n=The meaning of passion.=--The consciousness of passion is the voice of\nnature telling you that you have an extra supply of creative energy on\nhand, that you can use in performing physical, mental and moral service.\nIf this energy is wasted, it will unfit you to perform the service. It\nis for you to decide what use you will make of this energy. Would you\nprefer momentary pleasure? Then, you can find it in sexual\ngratification. But you should remember that pay-day comes later.\nInferior manhood, disease, suffering, sorrow, regret and failure lie in\nthe road of all who live in vice. Only perverted ideals and views of\nlife would lead one to seek pleasure on the plane of an animal. Man\u2019s\nhighest, truest and sweetest pleasures come from the consciousness of\nperfect physical, mental and moral development. Self-management,\nself-control, self-government will keep us in harmony with nature and\nGod and result in true happiness and success.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV\n\nFATHER\u2019S FIFTH TALK--THE TRUE YOUNG KNIGHT\n\n\n=The true young knight.=--A true young knight is a boy, or young man, who\nis strong, brave, ambitious, intelligent, gallant and pure. The knights\nof the Middle Ages were strong men. They practiced athletics, took their\noutdoor sports and were proud of their physical strength. In those days,\none with a weak, defective body could not be a knight. They were also,\nbrave men. They would die for what they believed to be right. They were\nvery gallant toward women. They would offer every courtesy and respect\nto girlhood, womanhood, wifehood and motherhood. They had to be pure men\nto be strong, brave, gallant and manly. A knight would die in defense of\nwomanhood.\n\nThe purpose of this chapter is to inspire you to become a true knight in\nyour social relations with girls and ladies. The proper social relations\nof boys and girls, men and women, is one of the best ways of developing\nthe social side of our lives, of improving the mind and strengthening\nour moral natures. God has made us social beings. He wants us to enjoy\nlife.\n\n[Illustration: DEVELOPING KNIGHTHOOD]\n\n=Treat all girls as you would have boys treat your sister.=--Until girls\nare sixteen and boys are eighteen, when thrown together, it is wisest\nand best for them to engage in plays and games as children without any\nthought of being sweethearts. Small boys should learn that it is not\nmanly for them to squeeze the hand of a girl, tease, pinch or pull a\ngirl\u2019s hair and he should not think of such an ungentlemanly thing as to\ntry to kiss a girl. The reason for this advice is, these relations tend\nto create in the mind thoughts that a true knight will not entertain.\nYou would not want a boy to treat your sister in this way. A boy who\nwould treat another boy\u2019s sister as he would not want her brother to\ntreat his sister, is not a true knight. Nature and God teach that man is\nwoman\u2019s protector.\n\n=The truest bravery.=--The boy who would expose himself to danger and\ndeath to save a girl from drowning or being crushed by a street car, is\nbrave and deserves much praise. But he is not as brave and does not\ndeserve as much praise, as does the boy who defends the honor and purity\nof a girl, not his sister. To positively refuse to allow a boy to talk\nabout a girl in your presence in a way that you would not allow him to\nspeak to your sister, is the courage of a knight. The good name of a\ngirl is worth more to her than money, houses and lands. It is so easy\nfor boys, who engage in obscene language about girls, to invent and\ntell some story about some girl who is perfectly innocent, and, in this\nway, start others to talking about her. This is called slander. It is\none of the most unmanly and cowardly deeds a boy can be guilty of. This\nis a very common sin among a class of boys. A boy cannot become a true\nknight who allows himself to have wrong thoughts about girls, much less\nto talk about them. All vulgar men were once vulgar boys. If you will\ncultivate a hatred for vulgarity while you are a boy, you will hate it\nwhen you are a man.\n\n=Bad company.=--When hundreds of prisoners were asked, \u201cWhat brought you\nto this?\u201d they replied, \u201cBad company brought us to this.\u201d No doubt that\nmore boys go wrong through bad company than through any other agency.\nWhen a boy keeps bad company, it will be very hard for him not to do as\nthey do. Many times he will do wrong rather than be called \u201cbaby.\u201d A\ntrue knight will be interested in helping a bad boy to overcome his\ntemptations, but he cannot run the risk of being injured by making a bad\nboy his companion. If he associates with the rude, listens to vulgarity\nlong, he will become rude and vulgar.\n\n=Boys should protect girls.=--The very thought of a boy\u2019s insulting your\nsister causes a feeling of great hatred to rise in your breast. Why is\nthis? Girls are not as strong as boys. They need protection. That\nfeeling comes to you because you know that you are your sister\u2019s\nprotector. This is bravery. But the knightliest young knight, is the boy\nwho will not speak an unmanly word about another boy\u2019s sister and will\nbravely and kindly rebuke the boy who does.\n\n=The true knight has one standard of morals.=--No young knight would play\nand associate with a girl who uses cigarettes, vulgarity or swears.\nThen, if he is a brave, true knight, he will not ask for better company\nthan he is willing to give. The true knight of the twentieth century\nwill have but one standard of morals. Ever since the days of savagery,\nwhen man could swap, exchange or sell his daughters in the same way that\nhe could his property, society has been accustomed to a double standard\nof morals--purity and temperance for woman, do as you please for boys\nand men. In the days of savagery, the value of a girl on the marriage\nmarket was determined by her being pure. If she had been impure, no man\nwanted to buy her to become his wife, but she was stoned to death or\nforced to become a slave. Man was free. No one owned him. He could live\njust as he pleased. Woman could not do as she pleased. Her very life,\nthe privilege of becoming a wife and a mother all depended on her being\npure. Is it not strange that people have allowed this relic of savagery\nto pass down the centuries without correcting it. People take what is\ncustomary to be right. They do not try to decide whether a custom is\nfair, just and right or not. It is hard to rid our minds of this old\ncustom. If you should see a girl or woman walking along the street of a\ncity smoking you would condemn her as a bad woman. But there goes a man\ndoing the same thing. Is he as bad as the woman? We judge that he is\nnot. Unless we know him to be a bad man, we regard and treat him as a\ngentleman. On a street corner or in a hotel you hear a girl or woman\nswearing and using the most obscene language. You do not hesitate to\nbelieve that she is bad. You would frown upon her in society. You would\nscorn her association. Even the guilty man would not respect such a\nwoman. This is because custom has biased our very thinking. The very\nbest people are unfair to the girl and the woman. They forgive in man\nwhat they condemn in the girl and woman.\n\n=Will you enlist in the new knighthood?=--There was never an organized\neffort to break down and destroy the double standard of morals until\nsome twenty years ago. In England there are several hundred\norganizations of young men, in some of these there are several hundred\nmembers, and they have pledged themselves to live as pure lives as the\ngirls they expect some day to marry. Every one of these boys and young\nmen is a knight. These organizations are being formed throughout Canada,\nand there are some being formed in the United States. The world has\nnever offered such a grand and great opportunity for boys to become\nknights as it does in this century. In the days of chivalry, the young\nman who gave his life to protect the honor of a lady was a truer knight\nthan the man who gave his life on the battlefield to protect his\ncountry. It takes a higher form of bravery and manhood to protect the\nvirtue of girlhood and womanhood than it does to face whizzing bullets,\nbooming cannons, and exploding shells. The great purity movement of this\nage, with its ever-increasing army of brave, determined and\nself-sacrificing authors and lecturers, is enlisting and marshalling an\narmy of knights destined to overthrow this monster of savagery. All over\nthis country thousands of brave boys and men are enlisting. This great\ntwentieth century crusade against vice is summoning to its ranks every\nchivalrous boy and man and every good girl and woman. Here is the chance\nto be a true knight. Will you enlist? We invite you. We welcome you to\nbecome a true knight.\n\n\n\n\nFIFTH DIVISION\n\nVITAL FACTS OF LIFE FOR THE YOUNG WOMAN, MARRIED OR SINGLE\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI\n\nTHE REAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SEX\n\n\n=Views of the past.=--In the past, sex has been regarded as vitally a part\nof our physical organism. We are now learning that sex is vitally and\nsubstantially a part of our psychic nature--physical, mental and moral\nlife. In the male, this sex life may become chemicalized and find\nexpression on a purely physical plane, but this is not its true or\nhighest function. Its highest function in relation to the individual,\nmale or female, is the creation of new life--physical, mental and moral.\nIts highest function in relation to society is that of reproduction.\n\n=The unsexed male horse.=--If the male horse be deprived of certain sexual\nglands when he is a year old, at maturity he will not have the sparkling\neye; the high arched muscular neck; the heavy flowing mane and tail; the\ndeep hip and chest muscles, and the elastic bearing of the stallion.\n\n=The caponized male bird.=--If a male bird be caponized, he will not grow\na large comb, ear-lobes and wattles, long glossy, flowing neck and tail\nfeathers, or strong sharp spurs on his legs; he will be without\ngallantry, courage and energy.\n\n=The eunuch.=--If a boy be made a eunuch, when he is twenty-five he will\nhave no beard, unless it be a few short scattering hairs; his voice will\nbe devoid of the deep bass tones of a man; his shoulders will be round\nand drooped like a girl\u2019s; he will be without bravery, gallantry,\nambition, energy and will be very limited in mental capacity.\n\n=The unsexed girl.=--If the ovaries and breasts of a small girl should be\nremoved, when she is twenty she would not have the graceful outlines of\nlimbs, body, shoulders, neck and face; her skin would not become thin\nand fair; her cheeks would not have the ruddy glow; her eyes would not\nbe bright and expressive; her hair would not be long, heavy and glossy;\nher voice would not be rich and tender, sympathetic and musical; she\nwould not take a keen interest in intellectual, moral and social\nquestions; she would be a woman devoid of many of the physical, mental\nand moral characteristics belonging to attractive, beautiful womanhood.\n\nWithout these organs of sex it would not be possible for a girl to\ndevelop into attractive normal womanhood. Should these organs be\nremoved after she has attained maturity, she and her friends would\nnotice a gradual loss in her physical, mental and moral tone.\n\n=The two functions of the sexual glands.=--These easily recognized and\nwell established facts show that these organs perform an involuntary and\ncontinuous function that is vitally related to the attainment and\nmaintenance of perfect womanhood. We know that whatever interferes with\nthis function will prevent the attainment and maintenance of these\nideals. What is the nature of this function? The monthly creation of the\novum and the monthly period do not answer the question, for both\nrepresent a sacrifice. The function of becoming a mother does not\nexplain it, for the reason that perfect womanhood may be attained and\nmaintained in the single life. The explanation lies in the fact that the\nsexual glands of a woman, breasts and ovaries, each have two\nfunctions--a periodic and special function and a continuous involuntary\nfunction. After the dawning of puberty the ovaries, once every\ntwenty-eight days, produce an egg or ovum. This is their periodic\nfunction. Should she become a mother and nurse her child, this function\nof lactation would be the periodic function of the breasts.\n\n=The continuous function.=--Day and night, asleep and awake, both the\nbreasts and the ovaries are generating an internal secretion that is\nbeing absorbed and used by every organ of the body, faculty of the mind\nand attribute of the moral nature. This continuous function, not only\naids in the attainment and maintenance of perfect womanhood, but enables\nher to perform perfectly the periodic functions of motherhood and\nlactation.\n\nThe generation, absorption, distribution and assimilation of the sex\nlife in the development and normal functions of womanhood are controlled\nby natural laws, but these laws may be aided or interfered with by the\nindividual. As a result of morbid sex heredity, ignorance of sex laws\nand a false education, most people misdirect their sex life. When we\nlearn to plan intelligently for the creation of children, to respect\ntheir prenatal rights, to give them a warm and loving welcome into our\nhomes and wisely to instruct them in regard to their sex natures, the\nsex life will then be intelligently directed towards the development of\na more perfect manhood and womanhood.\n\n=The relation of the mind to the salivary glands.=--It is quite important\nfor one to understand the relation of the mind to the functions of the\nsexual system. The mind has the power to stimulate many of the glands of\nthe body to unusual activity. In the presence of delicious fruit, or a\ntable spread with tempting food, the mind stimulates the salivary glands\nto increased activity. The blood flows freely to the glands and they\nsecrete saliva many times as fast as they would when the mind is engaged\nin other things. If, when the saliva is being secreted so rapidly the\nmind should be suddenly directed to something else the unusual flow of\nsaliva would cease.\n\n=The relation of the mind to the organs of generation.=--The mind can\nawaken, intensify, and prolong a desire for food. This causes a rush of\nblood to the salivary glands, stimulating them to unusual activity in\nthe secretion of saliva. In the same way the mind can awaken, intensify\nand prolong sexual excitement. This causes a rush of blood to the\ngenital glands and stimulates them to unusual activity. In the male,\nthis results in the dissipation of the vital energy by voluntary or\ninvoluntary discharges of the vital fluid. In the female, the internal\nsecretions or vital energy does not become chemicalized as in the male,\nbut is directed to wrong channels or is dissipated by radiation.\n\nThere are some authors who hold that the injuries sustained by the\nfemale, due to impure habits of thinking, the secret sin, or sexual\nexcesses, are not caused by dissipated sexual life, but are due to the\nstrain upon the nervous system. We have already observed that the\ndevelopment of the feminine physical and mental characteristics during\nadolescence and the maintenance of womanhood are due to the generation\nof an internal secretion of the genital glands. The nerves, as well as\nall other organs of the body, faculties of the mind and powers of the\nsoul, are injured by the dissipation of this energy.\n\n=What produces impure thoughts.=--Whatever leads the mind to entertain\nlascivious thoughts about matters of sex will cause an excess of blood\nto flow to the genital organs, resulting in sex consciousness and\npassion. The reading of novels tainted with immoral suggestions,\nadmiring obscene pictures, engaging in the public round dance or waltz,\nkissing, caressing, teasing, fondling, or what modern society calls\n\u201cspooning\u201d if indulged in by the sexes, will produce these results.\nSelf-pollution, or the secret sin, is more common among the females than\nwas formerly believed. These indulgences lead to abnormal sexual desire,\nweaken the will and make it possible for the girl to surrender the\npriceless gem of virtue.\n\n=Effects of impure thinking.=--The dissipation of the sex life in any one\nor more of these ways will slowly undermine the physical, mental and\nmoral health. The victim loses the snap and luster of the eye, the ruddy\nglow of health, plumpness of features, and becomes conscious of bodily\nlassitude, nervousness, loss of mental and moral tone. Dissipation of\nthe sex life will explain many a nervous invalid and consumptive\npatient. = It is for you to decide.=--The continuous involuntary function\nof the creative organs is to generate this creative force, this life\nprinciple. It is for you to decide what use you will make of it. If you\nkeep your mind pure, eat only wholesome food, take plenty of exercise,\nbreathe deeply, sleep in properly ventilated rooms, spend much time in\nGod\u2019s out-of-doors, this creative life will vitalize the blood, give\nelasticity and strength to the muscles, and will express itself in\nphysical health, strength and beauty. By keeping your mind pure,\nfollowing the forgotten physical directions, taking plenty of mental\nexercise in reading books of high mental and moral tone, hearing good\nspeakers and indulging in independent thought, this vital principle will\nbe directed to the brain, where it will be converted into intellectual\nbrilliancy and mental vigor. If you keep your mind pure and follow the\nphysical directions given, cultivate an unselfish interest in the\nwell-being of others, sympathize with the sorrowing, boost the\ndiscouraged, love the unlovely, help to bear the burdens of others,\nrecognize your need of Christ, surrender your life to Him, this\nGod-given creative life will be directed to the moral nature. This is\nPerfect Womanhood.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII\n\nTHE VICIOUS NOVEL\n\n\n=The introduction.=--Since you were a very small girl I have very\ncarefully selected the stories told you and the books and papers read to\nyou. What we read very largely determines our thoughts, words, actions\nand character. In the past I have told you many stories of my childhood,\nstories I had heard, stories found in the Bible and good books, besides\nreading many good books to you. During these years I have selected many\nsimple interesting books for you to read. I made the selection for you\nbecause I knew what books were too difficult for you; what books would\ninterest you; what books would do you good and what books would do you\nharm. Then you enjoyed those stories which most appealed to a child.\n\n=Why girls are fond of novels.=--Usually the novel craze comes on a girl\nwhen she is about fifteen years of age. This is because of certain\nchanges that are taking place. God has made her a social being. About\nthis time in a girl\u2019s life the developing sex nature is stimulating and\nawakening the social nature. Thoughts of a lover, courtship, marriage,\nwifehood and motherhood are occasionally entertained by her. This is\nperfectly natural. The reason she wants to read novels is because they\ndeal with the social experiences and this appeals to and satisfies her\ndeveloping social life.\n\n=She is in a period of transition.=--Wonderful changes are now taking\nplace, not only in the delicate curves of bust and hips, in the dainty\ncoloring and superb vitality of body, but also in the thoughts, feelings\nand emotions. At this time a girl is passing from girlhood to womanhood.\nIt is the developing sex life that is producing all of these new\nchanges. With this new life and new experiences come new dangers. Prior\nto this time there has been but little difference between her mind and\nthat of her brother\u2019s. But, now, this new life is developing the woman\nin her. In this transition period, she is conscious of the girl she was\nand partly is, and of the woman she is to be and partly is. This is\nrather a mixed experience. This accounts for the girl\u2019s changeable\nstates of mind, emotions, feelings and sentiments. If this new life is\nproperly directed, it will contribute much to the joy, charm, and beauty\nof an ideal womanhood.\n\n=The difference between a good novel and a bad novel.=--The world is being\nflooded with novels, good and bad. They are very popular because they\nare light reading and appeal to the social nature. Their authors write\nlargely about courtship and marriage. Some of these books are good and\nsome dangerously bad. A good novel is one that is high in literary and\nmoral tone, true to life and gives one a natural and true idea of noble\nmanhood and pure womanhood; of their social relations in courtship,\nmarriage and parentage. A good novel can be read by a girl to her\nparents or before a company of young people without embarrassment. A bad\nnovel is one that is either highly sensational, intensely romantic,\nuntrue to life, tainted with immorality, or in some way gives one a\nperverted vision of all the sacred relations of life. A novel that a\ngirl would be ashamed to read before her parents, or a group of friends,\nbelongs to that class of literature that should be tabooed.\n\n=The effects of the vicious novel.=--If the girl reads the questionable or\nvicious novels, fancies them, admires their heroes and heroines, and in\nher mind condones their indiscretions, excuses their sins,--as the\nauthor does,--the influence cannot be otherwise than bad. Such novels\nmust give an unnatural tone to her thoughts, feelings and sentiments.\nCause and effect are always inseparably related. The outward life is the\nenfolding of the inner life of feelings, sentiments and emotions. This\ninner life is affected by what we read. If a girl delights in reading\nnovels that condone, excuse, or advocate a girl receiving caresses,\nkisses and keeping late hours at night with a beau, she will not likely\ngreet her prince at the marriage altar with the rare queenly gift of\nunkissed lips. If she delights to read the novels whose heroine was\nangelic in all things, except in the insignificant item of personal\npurity, she too will be in danger of lacking that same element of\ncharacter when she marries, should she be so fortunate as to become a\nwife. If she delights in reading novels, whose married heroines lived\n\u201cdouble lives,\u201d she too, one day may be guilty of imitating the heroines\nshe worshiped.\n\nNovels which are untrue to life, tainted with immorality, certainly\naccount for many girls going astray, many who overtrust their lovers,\nand many uncongenial marriages and many divorces. The title of a novel\nusually indicates its contents. Novels with sensational titles or titles\nsuggesting unnatural and immoral thoughts, appealing to the morbid and\nbaser feelings should be avoided.\n\n=How to direct and conserve the creative life.=--This new life, the sex\nlife of a girl, if rightly retained and directed will give strength,\nhealth, beauty and perfection of the body; alertness, strength and\nbrilliancy of every faculty of the mind and power of the soul. The sex\nlife is three-fold in its nature, being related to the physical, mental\nand soul life.\n\nIt is a law of human biology that the direction of this energy is very\nlargely under the direction of the mind. If one desires bodily\ndevelopment and will take regular and systematic physical training, this\nenergy can be built into the muscles giving them the body of an athlete.\nIf one desires intellectual development and will regularly and\nsystematically exercise every faculty of the mind, this energy will be\ndirected to the brain, resulting in intellectual brilliancy. The same\nlaw applies with equal force to the development of the feelings,\nsentiments and emotions of the moral nature. If we take normal physical,\nmental and moral exercise, this energy will be conserved in the blood,\nwhich is the life, and directed so as to produce a perfect development.\nSin alone has brought conflict and inharmony into our three-fold nature\nand prevents perfect happiness and perfect development. This is an\nappalling fact. We are hereditarily degenerate. God\u2019s grace and the\nright exercise of the will in relation to perfect self-control are\nnecessary conditions of individual and race improvement. If lascivious\nthoughts are allowed control of the will, this creative life will be\nmisdirected, the generative system will become abnormal, resulting in\nsexual weakness and depriving the entire being of the benefits of this\nenergy.\n\n=The relation of reading to the disposition of the sex life.=--A fondness\nfor reading highly romantic, intensely sensational, untrue and immoral\nnovels is abnormal and lead to a misdirection of this creative life.\nThere is the romantic element in our nature which should be developed,\nbut it should not be over-developed. We should have a balanced\ndevelopment. The degenerate elements in our nature, inherited or\nacquired, should be suppressed and eliminated. The vicious novel\nincreases the creation of the sex life and at the same time misdirects\nit. This intensifies our degeneracy.\n\nReading good literature, facts or fiction, or both, is normal and leads\nto a natural generation of and distribution of this energy. Girls should\nread a general line of good literature. The romantic nature is\nespecially active in youth. It is for this reason that the youth is\ninclined to read only fiction. If in young life we would develop\nproperly, we should choose a general line of reading, embracing some of\nthe standard books of fiction, history, travel, poetry, biography,\nessays and religion.\n\n=Advice concerning books.=--Every young person should possess some good\nbooks of his own, even if but few. They should read good books. Time is\ntoo valuable to be wasted in reading bad or even mediocre books. In this\nway they keep company with the great men and women of this day and of\nthe past. In this way they become heirs to the intellectual and\nspiritual wealth of the past and are intimately associated with and\nrelated to the mental and spiritual aristocracy of the present. They may\nnot be recognized in their community as belonging to the \u201cupper tens,\u201d\nbut they can keep company with the best men and women of the ages by\nreading good books.\n\nJust as we have read and talked together about good books and stories in\nthe past, so I trust we shall find it pleasant and profitable to be\ncompanionable in our reading in the future. I will be glad to aid you in\nthe selection of such books and magazines as will be pleasant and\nprofitable for you to read in the near future. I will always appreciate\nthe privilege of hearing you read a book that you like, of discussing\nthe merits of a book with you, or of giving you the best advice that I\nam capable of giving with reference to any book that you may desire to\nread.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII\n\nTHE PUBLIC DANCE\n\n\n=Why attractive.=--Dancing is one of the social temptations that come to\nyoung girls when they are fifteen and older. The gliding, swaying\nmovements of the dance, the brilliantly lighted halls, the intoxicating\nstrains of fast music, the gay and jovial throng and the display of\ndress appeal strongly to the feelings of young people.\n\n=Dancing in itself is not sinful or objectionable.=--There is nothing\nintrinsically wrong in the act of dancing. There is nothing sinful in\nthe act of bathing the entire body. But the act can be performed under\nsocial conditions when it would not be only a sin but a crime. There\ncould be no moral objection to the dancing together of young men,\nneither could there be any moral objection to the dancing of young\nladies with each other. Individuals could dance alone, brothers and\nsisters and near relatives from homes of culture, refinement and good\nmorals could dance together without committing a moral wrong. Or if\nsociety had remained satisfied with the old \u201cVirginia reel\u201d or the\n\u201csquare dance\u201d little harm would come of it. Dancing with these\nrestrictions, is seldom engaged in to-day for the reason that the\npleasure found in the waltz and round dance is so largely diminished.\n\n=The secret of the dance\u2019s hold on society.=--If modern dancing were\nrestricted to the chaste and pure, and limited to the parlors of the\nbest homes and safeguarded by the presence of the heads of that home,\ndancing would lose much of its attractive hold upon society. If the\ndancing of the sexes together were prohibited by law and should the\ngovernment provide well equipped dance halls in every village and city\nto be used free of charge, with the one restriction that the sexes dance\nseparate, there would be little temptation to dance. This reveals the\ntrue secret of the public dance. Here is about the relation assumed by\nyoung people in executing the dance as we have it to-day. The young man\nplaces his right arm around the waist of the young lady; she places her\nhead against his left shoulder, her heaving breasts are against his, her\nright hand is held in his left, he places his foot, sometimes his leg,\nbetween hers. To this must be added, the young lady, if properly\nattired, must wear a sleeveless, low-necked dress exposing, in part, her\nsecondary sexual charms, the breasts; wine, ale and beer are often\nindulged in freely by many of the young men and occasionally by some of\nthe young women.\n\n=The public dance a menace to society.=--From this description you will\neasily see that the public dance, as we have it to-day, appears to have\nbeen especially contrived, in all of its appointments, to awaken and\narouse the sex nature. It is for this reason almost all truly religious\npeople and churches condemn the public dance. In almost all communities\nthe public dance has been relegated by the best classes of society to a\nlower class. There are some communities where the dance is encouraged in\nhomes of wealth, culture and refinement. For a few years at least, they\npride themselves in the fact that only the best are invited. Here, of\ncourse, the harm would be reduced to some degree. Many erring women\nattribute their fall in part, or entirely to the public dance. Many\nvicious young men use the dance as their most successful means of\naccomplishing the ruin of young girls. When the young woman assumes for\nthe first time the relation of the dance, her sense of womanly modesty\nis greatly shocked. If she continues to dance, this relation becomes\nless embarrassing. If she becomes very fond of dancing, this will\nusually be due to her passions being aroused by the magnetic, amorous\ninfluence of her partner in the dance. She will not enjoy dancing with\nmen who fail to excite in her those agreeable feelings. She will be\npopular with this class of men to the extent that she is able to respond\nto their amorous nature. She will not fully realize that the pleasure\nshe enjoys, while dancing, is inseparable from her sex nature; she may\nnever fall, but constant sexual excitement caused by the dance will\nproduce all the evil effects of the secret sin.\n\n=Other objections.=--Aside from this main objection, there are a number of\nother objections. The flimsy dress, late hours at night, over-exertion\nand poorly ventilated halls are in violation of the simple laws of\nhealth. It fosters unfortunate social distinctions, leads many young\npeople to violate the wishes of their parents and their church vows,\nkeeps many from Christ, and interferes with the spiritual life of\nothers. It is responsible for not a few life-long invalids, premature\ndeaths from heart trouble and consumption, ruined marriages and cursed\nchildren with illegitimacy. It has broken the hearts, bowed the heads,\ncarved lines of sorrow on the face and silvered the hair of loving\ndevoted parents.\n\n=Right information needed.=--Few young people understand the nature of the\ndance. Those who have condemned it have rarely done so in the right\nspirit or given a satisfactory reason why the public dance is wrong.\nOwing to the relation of the modern dance to the sex nature it would\nusually be wiser to discuss it before single sex audiences. If young\npeople, who are interested in developing a perfect manhood and\nwomanhood, understood how the modern dance complicates each other\u2019s sex\nproblems, they would discard the dance from their social programmes. I\nam sure they would arrange for other forms of diversions and\nentertainment. The cold-blooded facts are, few, if any, vigorous young\nmen and women can persist long in the modern dance and maintain\nperfectly chaste thoughts and emotions. It is a sad thought that many\nyoung people are not interested in developing perfect manhood and\nperfect womanhood. They are not likely to heed the advice of this talk.\nBy all who understand the value of the creative life, the importance of\nkeeping the mind pure, this advice will be appreciated and heeded.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX\n\nA YOUNG WOMAN\u2019S ETHICS\n\n\n=Girlhood.=--We have talked with each other about a small girl\u2019s ethics,\nthe proper social relations of girls with boys. Your girlhood has been\none of innocence, playfulness and unbounded joy. I have noticed with\nreal pleasure that you have not been in a hurry to leave the period of\ngirlhood. Although you will soon be seventeen, and you are quite as\nlarge as your mother, you will not be a mature woman until you are about\ntwenty.\n\n=Occasional association with young men.=--You have had one or two\nschoolroom flirtations, of small consequence, a few times you have been\nescorted home from school or church by youths who had but recently\nreached the dignity of \u201clong pants,\u201d but you are now of an age when you\nwill be thrown more in company with young men. Many will call to see you\nwhom you will entertain no thought of marrying. For several years your\nsocial relation with young men will be only that of friendship. To\nassociate occasionally with young men who are socially, intellectually\n\n[Illustration: FRIENDSHIP.]\n\nand morally, your equal is natural, enjoyable and in many ways very\nhelpful.\n\n=Girls should demand a single standard of morals.=--You should treat young\nmen as you would wish young women to treat your brother. Many young men\nwill want to call, whose habits and character are such that you cannot\nassociate with them, without injury to your social and moral standing.\nIf you do not know a young man\u2019s record, who seeks your company, have\nyour papa or brother look it up. Be frank, kind and positive in your\nexplanation that you cannot encourage his attentions because of his evil\nhabits and his bad record. Assure him that you will gladly assist him to\nreform and to step up to the standard you hold for a young man, but that\nyou cannot and will not approve of his life by stepping down to his\nplane. If all girls would demand a \u201cwhite life\u201d of young men, fewer\nwould sow their \u201cwild oats.\u201d If all sensible and moral girls would\nfrankly and kindly express their disapproval of the filthy, expensive\nand injurious habits of using tobacco and drink, there would be fewer\n\u201cboozers\u201d and unfortunate appendixes to the wet end of cigarettes.\n\n=Many young men are indiscreet or immoral.=--In your association with\nyoung men be natural, be yourself, be frank, use good sense, guard\nagainst any indiscretion in yourself or in young men. It is a custom\nwith many young men to try to hold the girl\u2019s hand, to play with her\nhair, to pinch her arms, to pat her cheeks, to drop carelessly their\nhands in her lap, or to place their arms about her neck or waist. Unless\ndensely ignorant, such young men are vicious. All the males among the\nlower animals, at certain seasons, make a peculiar noise recognized by\nthe females as a \u201csex call,\u201d and the males have their peculiar methods\nof teasing the females inviting their consent to the sexual act. Whether\nyoung people put this sex interpretation on pinching, caressing, hugging\nand kissing or not, it is, in its final analysis, a sex call. These are\nthe methods used by the seducer. These are the indiscretions into which\nuninformed youths easily drift to their ruin.\n\nIf a young man appears to be ignorant of the real nature of these\nindiscretions, he is to be pitied and helped. If he persists in these\nindiscretions, he should not be extended the courtesy of an invitation\nto make another call. If you allow one young man to kiss you, he\nbelieves that you allow others the same privilege, whether you do or\nnot. Young men who possess one spark of manhood will admire and respect\nyou more than the girls they may kiss.\n\n=Be sensible.=--In your conversation with young men, have something\nsensible and interesting to say. Have some charming story to read or\ntell them. Have them read or tell you a story. This will enable you to\nhelp them cultivate an interest in intellectual matters. Many young\npeople get into the habit of indulging in the most insane and ridiculous\nconversation.\n\n=\u201cHands off.\u201d=--Moonlight walks along unfrequented streets or roads, night\nbuggy rides, late hours in the parlor, low-necked dresses and suggestive\npost cards, photos and pictures are unnecessary sources of temptation.\nWhen young women permit these social privileges and conditions, young\nmen naturally conclude that they are easy victims. The clear-eyed,\nfrank, pure, common-sense girl will have but little trouble in letting\nyoung men know her disapproval of that which is questionable, indiscreet\nor undignified. They will soon learn to respect her convictions. She\nwill seldom find it necessary to enforce her ideals in an aggressive\nway. She will kindly, tactfully and positively enforce the rule, \u201chands\noff\u201d; she will keep ever in her mind the ideal of manhood she hopes one\nday to realize in her king. She will never do or say anything while\nentertaining young men that would displease the mental image of her\nfuture prince.\n\n=Letter writing.=--If you should correspond with a young man, be\ninteresting, sensible, cautious and sincere. You should never put in a\nletter to a young man, what you would object to your mother\u2019s reading.\nYou would be surprised to know how many young men compare their letters\nfrom young women. If you will remember this and consider the possible\nconsequence, you will be cautious what you put in a letter.\n\n=Ethics of the engaged.=--Thus far we have studied the ethics of young\nwomen in their relation to young men, as friends only. Friendship may\nassume a more serious nature and ripen into love. Love is the strongest\nand at the same time the weakest, the most fickle; the most far-sighted\nand the blindest; the wisest and sometimes the most foolish, of human\nattributes. Love should listen to the voice of reason, judgment and\nwill. That experience, called love, that makes courtship so delightful\nand beautiful, marriage desirable and sacred, that harmonizes\ndifferences, blends personalities, and makes the two one, is the child\nof the sex life. When the sex life is normal, the two having lived\nvirtuous lives, love will be pure and intense. If one, or both have\nmisused their sex life, lust, the child of sensuality, may be easily\nmistaken for love. Harmony, happiness and heaven will reign in the home\nwhere both have been pure before marriage and remain true to each other\nafter marriage. Where one or both break their marriage vows the bond of\nlove is broken. The deed may never be confessed, but the estrangement\nwill be felt. Lust is responsible for most unfortunate marriages,\ndomestic inharmonies and divorces. Lust on the part of one, and love on\nthe part of the other, can never make a happy marriage. Pure love on\nthe part of both is the only thing that can stand the inevitable tests\nof marriage.\n\n=Some advice.=--Shun sudden emotions, cultivate sincerity, covet neither\nbeauty nor wealth, be true to the best that is within you; don\u2019t be in a\nhurry to become engaged; the first chance may not be the best; wait for\nthe coming of your prince. Until he comes, don\u2019t trifle with your\naffections or the affections of a gentleman friend by making marriage\nengagements. This is dangerous, as well as a very great sin. When you\nhave found your prince, you should not postpone marriage by a long\nengagement. It is not necessary or wise to wait until you are as well\nequipped for housekeeping as your parents now are.\n\n=Long engagements.=--If your prince is healthy, industrious, economical\nand has a few hundred ahead; or if he has a good education and a good\nposition, with the other qualities, he can make a living for his family.\nIf either of these conditions exists, a long engagement should be\navoided. If either of these conditions does not exist a definite\nengagement with a man would be unwise.\n\n=Hasty marriages.=--The other extreme of hasty marriage is to be\ncondemned. If marriage takes place when one or both are immature, the\noffspring must suffer. If an engagement follows a very brief\nacquaintance, disagreeable qualities may be discovered later, to be\nfollowed by a broken engagement. Hasty and brief engagements often\nterminate in the divorce courts.\n\n=Closing advice.=--When friendship has ripened into love, the vital\nquestion being asked and answered; fraternal relations established\nbetween the families; and the engagement is a blissful reality, what\nthen should be the rules governing the young woman\u2019s ethics? Inflexible\nrules would be difficult to give. Much depends upon the man to whom she\nis engaged and the length of the engagement. During the pending\nengagement both should remember that they are not married, and hence\nthere are liberties in the married life that are not theirs until the\ncivil phase of marriage has completed their oneness. All embracing and\nsitting in each other\u2019s lap should be entirely avoided. Pictures,\nshowbills and post cards have taught in recent years some very vicious\nlessons to the youth. An occasional good-by kiss between the engaged, at\nthe close of a call, just before parting, unaccompanied by an embrace\nshould result in no harm to either.\n\nShe should be frank, sincere and earnest, versatile, entertaining and\naffectionate, but very discreet. If she follows these simple and\nessential rules, she and her prince will be all the happier during their\npending engagement and will respect and love each other all the more\nthrough life.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXX\n\nTHE WRONGED GIRL\n\n\n=Why most girls go wrong.=--In my talk on a young woman\u2019s ethics, I\nendeavored to give you such information and advice, regarding your\nassociation with young men, as would safeguard your character. Few girls\nhave been as well informed by their mothers in these matters as they\nshould have been. As a result of ignorance, many girls, even out of our\nbest homes, annually fall. Were all girls taught by their mothers along\nthis important line and could they see the tragic consequence of going\nwrong, it is evident that very few young women would ever go astray.\n\n=Few women go wrong from choice.=--It should be said, in justice to fallen\nwomen, that but few would have gone wrong, had it not been for the\nseductive wiles of designing men. Man is woman\u2019s natural protector.\nWomen naturally trust men, and look to them for protection. The young\nman who lives a pure life, maintained by noble, pure ideas, is a safe\nguardian of a young woman\u2019s virtue. Unfortunately such young men are the\nexceptions and not the rule. Most young men receive their first lessons\nin matters of sex from ignorant, sinful men. From their early teens\ntheir highest ideas of manhood involve the ruin of some girl. The\ntraining that most boys and young men receive leads naturally to these\nperverted ideas. As a result of this false training the natural feelings\nof being a friend, a champion, a protector of a girl\u2019s honor and virtue\nare gradually transformed into the sentiments of a libertine. Such young\nmen are found in all grades of society. They cultivate the acquaintance\nof innocent, unsuspecting girls, make love to them, win their confidence\nand affections, set dates for early marriage, then practice their\nseductive methods with vows of marriage oft repeated, pluck the lily of\nvirtue and leave their victims to suffer endless remorse, while they\ngloat over their successes, go unwhipped and lose no social prestige.\n\n=If motherhood does not expose her sin.=--If this betrayal does not result\nin her becoming a mother, and her betrayer does not expose her sin to\nthe public, her problems will be much more easily solved. But, even if\nshe is so fortunate as to escape motherhood and her betrayer does not\nboast to others of what he has done, yet no pen can portray, no rhetoric\ncan describe and no imagination can conceive her fearful dreams, her\nfevered memories and her agonies of remorse.\n\n=If motherhood does expose her sin.=--The gravest problems arise where\nthe girl is to become a mother. To shield herself and to save her family\nfrom disgrace, her first thought will be to use some means to rid\nherself of the unborn life. In this awful hour of conscious guilt,\nmental bewilderment and soul agony the girl would gladly welcome death\nin any form rather than face the inevitable exposure that awaits her.\nGod only knows how many girls commit suicide and how many mysterious\ndeaths might be explained by this cause. Where they succeed in\ndestroying the unwelcome life, physical health is often wrecked. But\nsuppose that death or ill health does not follow, what must be the\neffects on the mind and soul that follow this cold-blooded act of\nwillful prenatal murder.\n\n=If her lover refuses marriage, she should confess to her mother.=--It is\nnot to be wondered at that so many girls, when deceived in a love\naffair, rather than face unforgiving parents, a cold and heartless\nworld, a social condition that excuses in man what is an unpardonable\nsin in woman, choose a life of immorality in a house of shame. This\nunkindness, this injustice, this down-right cruelty toward woman is a\nrelic of savagery that clings on to civilization with a tenacity that\neven Christianity has thus far failed to eradicate. Until the truth of a\n\u201cWhite life for two\u201d frees us from this monster of injustice, what\nshould the wronged girl do? To commit suicide, to murder her unborn\nchild, to run away from home and give herself over to an immoral life\nonly adds greater sins to the one already committed. Poor, weak,\nignorant, confiding girl, her lot is now a hard one. If there were\nanything remotely akin to manhood in her betrayer, he would now do the\nonly thing he can do that is right--marry her. If he refuses, then she\nshould at once go to her parents and make the most humiliating\nconfession a human being can make. It may require more effort to do this\nthan to try to solve the problem in any other way, but usually this is\nbest. Sometimes the parents will pity and forgive, sometimes they will\ncast her out. The last should never be true. Could the parents only\nrealize how much of her fall was due to their lack of proper education,\nhow much was due to passion they may have bequeathed her, they would not\ncast her out from home at such a time.\n\n=Homes for the unfortunate girls.=--Her parents, brothers and sisters have\nsocial rights that must be respected. For her to remain at home during\nher sickness would attract unnecessary attention to the event and\nsubject innocent members of the family to needless humiliation due to\nthe ridicule and scorn of the neighbors. There are homes in all our\nlarge cities for the unfortunate girl where she can spend a few months\nbefore and after the birth of her child. Should the child be\nstill-born, or die soon after birth, by going away from home, she and\nher family may be shielded from the curiosity and scorn of the friends\nand neighbors.\n\n=She should be true to her child.=--New problems arise if her child lives.\nMost young illegitimate mothers give their children over to some \u201cHome\nFinders Institution.\u201d Circumstances may sometimes justify, or seem to\njustify, this disposition of the child. The child is bone of her bone,\nblood of her blood, life of her life. She is largely responsible for\nbringing the innocent, helpless child into the world; she should not add\nto her personal sin and to her sin against the child by deserting and\nleaving it to the cold mercies of a selfish, unsympathetic world. If her\nparents sympathize with and forgive her, they will most likely have her\nreturn to their home with the child. The women of the community will\ncirculate the scandal on her return until they wear all the reports\nthread-bare. But the girl must make up her mind to face this, live an\nideal life and endure the sneers until she lives it down. This will be a\nsevere trial, but she will have a chance to show the world what a\nbeautiful life a wronged woman can live when given a half chance.\n\n=If driven from home.=--If her parents drive her from home, her experience\nbecomes the bitterest known to a human being. But she should not\ndespair. He who said to the woman, \u201ccaught in the act,\u201d \u201cgo and sin no\nmore\u201d is ever ready to help bear her burdens and speak to her the same\nwords of forgiveness and cheer. In all large cities there are \u201cHomes for\nthe Friendless,\u201d where friendless girls may go without charge until\nafter they recover from confinement.\n\n=A real living incident.=--I will tell you a real, living incident which\nis only one among many of the human tragedies, with shifting variations,\noccurring annually in nearly every community, enacted upon the dramatic\nstage of modern society\u2019s double standard of morals. A young lady of\ntwenty-four years, a teacher in a city high school, during a revival\nbecame deeply concerned about her spiritual interests. After seeking\nChrist for some four days, she said to her spiritual adviser: \u201cI am in\ngreat trouble. I can\u2019t get to God in the condition I am in. Since the\ndeath of my father and only brother, you are the only person to whom I\nhave felt that I could confide matters of such a personal and delicate\nnature as I feel compelled to relate to you. Since I came to your city\nfour years ago, I have assumed the title of \u2018Mrs,\u2019 allowing widowhood to\nbe inferred. I have never been married. I am wearing the name of the\nman, who by every possible moral right should have married me and been a\ntrue husband to me. I am a mother and my little girl of six summers is\nwearing the name of her father, which civil law says she has no right to\nwear. My mother, sisters, relatives and former friends all are under the\nimpression that I am divorced.\n\n\u201cIf I become a Christian, I want to unite with the church. If I give the\nname I am now wearing to be placed on the church register, I shall be\nliving and practicing a lie. If I give my maiden name, I shall expose my\nmistake, bring disgrace upon my family, brand my child with\nillegitimacy, and lose my position as a teacher, whereby I make my\nliving, support my child and am able to live a pure life. What must I\ndo?\u201d\n\nThe person to whom she related this story was greatly perplexed for an\nanswer. Though a godly man, a minister, the double standard of morals\nhad so biased his thinking that he was not prepared to give her a fair\nand just answer.\n\nHoping that additional light might help him out of his dilemma, he asked\nher to tell him what led to her fall.\n\nShe replied, \u201cAfter the death of father and brother, our bread winners\nand protectors, mother, sisters and I made our living by keeping student\nboarders from a church college. One of our boarders, a young law\nstudent, made love to me, won my affections and complete confidence. We\nwere engaged to be married on the day of his graduation. Only a few\nmonths before this event he asked for privileges that belonged only to\nthe married. I was perfectly shocked and dazed. I resented the request\nas an insult. He insisted that he meant no offense, that he considered\nthat we loved and trusted each other as much as we possibly could after\nwe were married. He insisted that we were as truly one as if we were\nmarried, that the mere legal phase was only a custom and had no moral\nsignificance and that it was very common for the engaged to enjoy this\nprivilege. After many days of entreaty, promise of marriage oft\nrepeated, and loving caresses, I made the profound mistake of my life.\n\n\u201cSome weeks before the commencement, I discovered that I was to be a\nmother. I pleaded with him for immediate marriage. He insisted that\nmarriage would interfere seriously with his examination work and that he\nwas to begin his legal profession in a distant state and that marriage\ncould be safely delayed until commencement. On the gay day of his\ngraduation he suggested that he had our future home in a distant state\nrented and furnished awaiting our arrival. He suggested that marriage\nthere would be rather romantic. I accepted the idea. We arrived in the\ntown, on a late night train, where he was to practice law. A hackman\nconveyed us to our new home. I found it as he had described it. We spent\nthe night as husband and wife. The next morning he suggested that we\nhad thoughtlessly made a very serious mistake, that to get married there\nwould ruin me socially and him in his profession. He suggested a plan\nthat appeared wise to me, viz.: after a few weeks to take a train to\nsome distant state and there be married. Later he suggested that we had\nbetter wait until the baby was born. Not until the child was two years\nold did I ever doubt his purpose of marriage.\n\n\u201cOne day a doubt took possession of me. I grew desperate in my\ndetermination. On his return home, I faced him and demanded immediate\nmarriage, refusing to live with him longer unless he took immediate\nsteps to correct the mistakes of the past. I pleaded for the rights of\nhis child, for my rights. Once more he renewed his fidelity and promised\nto arrange immediately his business so we could make the trip in a week\nor ten days. Meanwhile he secretly dissolved partnership, disposed of\nalmost all his property, took a midnight train, without a good-by kiss,\nand left for parts unknown.\n\n\u201cI sold off our furniture, wrote mother that husband and I had disagreed\nand had separated, that I would send her my little girl and would help\nsupport the family by teaching.\u201d\n\n=The minister\u2019s mistake.=--Then she said to the minister, \u201cI never meant\nto be a sinner, I am living a pure life. What must I do?\u201d The minister\nadvised her to confess to the church what she had done and said that he\nwould plead with the church to forgive and stand by her. If this woman\nhad followed the minister\u2019s advice she would have lost her position as a\nteacher, she would have lost her social standing, she would not have\nbeen given a sympathetic and loving welcome into the church, she would\nhave brought disgrace upon her home and placed society\u2019s stigma of\nillegitimacy upon her child. The minister would not have demanded a\nsimilar confession from the man who was far more guilty than she. That\nconscientious minister would insist upon restitution\u2019s being made for\nstolen property, as a condition of divine forgiveness, but a libertine\nmay pluck the lily of purity from a maiden\u2019s brow, and rob his child of\nsacred birth, allow mother and child to die in poverty, their grocer\u2019s\nand doctor\u2019s bills to go unpaid, the public to bury them in the potter\u2019s\nfield, while he revels in luxury and enjoys social distinction, and no\nrestitution is required in his case, as a condition of divine favor,\nmembership in the church, or a triumphant entrance into endless bliss.\n\n=Blinded by the double standard.=--She could not meet the minister\u2019s\ncondition. He was conscientious and could not make what to him would\nhave been a compromise with sin. Not fully appreciating that moral law\nis higher than civil law; that what is sometimes civilly wrong is\nmorally right; that centuries of submission to the double standard of\nmorals has so biased the public mind that even the best of society are\nincapable of always giving the wronged girl a square deal; she at last\npostponed her decision for the Christ. The meeting closed, later the\nschool closed and then she left the city and her whereabouts became\nunknown to the minister.\n\n=Was she scarlet or was she white.=--You will observe that this girl is\nnot to be classed in character with the girls who purposely give\nthemselves to a life of shame. This girl never meant to be bad. She\nover-loved and over-trusted the man to whom she was engaged. She had no\nfather or brother to advise and protect her. She was not informed as to\nthe seductive wiles of the libertine. Hers was a profound mistake.\n\nSuppose that her chum across the street had made the same mistake and\nher lover had kept his promise of marriage, would her chum\u2019s sin have\nbeen less than hers? Certainly not. Of the two women and their children,\nthe first deserves more sympathy, mercy and love.\n\n=She and her child had a moral right to his name.=--When the world\u2019s\npurity movement shall have relegated the double standard of morals back\nto the dark ages of savagery where it originated, and shall have\nestablished in the hearts of men the Christ standard, the \u201csingle\nstandard,\u201d a \u201cwhite life for two,\u201d then civil law will be made to\nharmonize with the moral law and the wronged girl and her child will be\ngiven the legal right to the name of the man who ought to be to them a\nhusband and father, with all the legal rights of support and a division\nof his property at his death.\n\nHer deceiver was under absolute moral obligation to give them his legal\nname. Then she and her child had an absolute moral right to wear his\nname.\n\n=Is it ever right for a wronged woman to choose the title Mrs.?=--If to\navoid the scorn, sneers and jeers of an unChrist-like social condition,\nand as an aid in securing honorable employment while she supports her\nchild and struggles to live a pure life, who would dare blame a wronged\ngirl, if she would choose to call herself \u201cMrs.,\u201d and let widowhood be\ninferred? If a wronged girl becomes a mother, if she is turned away from\nher home, if she desires to be a true mother to her own child, she will\nfind it impossible to find honorable employment as a single girl with a\nbaby and to avoid immoral solicitations from vicious men, unless she\nassumes the title of \u201cMrs.\u201d\n\n=When she will find it necessary to tell her child.=--When her child is\nold enough to understand and appreciate her misfortune, she will find it\nnecessary to make an explanation to her child. This will be a very\ndifficult thing to do. But if she has been a true mother, she will not\nlose the confidence and love of her child.\n\n=Tell her story to her lover.=--If an opportunity of marriage comes, she\nshould tell her story to her lover. If he is noble, and his love for her\nis genuine, and her character is all he believes it to be, he will\nlikely forgive and marry her. If her mistake is publicly known, or she\nis a mother, her lover will very likely find it out, and it will be\neasier to forgive before marriage than after.\n\n=When not necessary to confess the wrong.=--If her sin has not been made\npublic and she has not been a mother, I would not advise that she make\nconfession to her lover. Men who have been even more guilty do not\nconfess their sins. She will, all her life, shed many bitter tears and\nsuffer many heart agonies because of her mistake. These sad experiences\nmay make her all the more patient, kind and loving.\n\nI have told you these sad, sad tragedies that come to many girls who\nover-love and over-trust, that you may more perfectly sympathize with\nand help the erring ones and be safeguarded against the wiles of men.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXI\n\nTHE MIRACLE OF MOTHERHOOD\n\n\n=Sublime miracle of motherhood.=--My talks to you would not be complete\nwithout a study of the sublime miracle of motherhood, the creation of a\nnew life. It is no wonder that motherhood, in all ages and by the great\nof all nations, has been treated with due respect and reverence.\n\n=Ovulation.=--In this talk we shall begin with the beginning of life and\ntrace life\u2019s development up to birth. The formation of an egg, or ovum,\nby one of the ovaries once every twenty-eight days is called ovulation.\nWhen the ovum matures it breaks through the membrane of the ovary and\nthe little muscular fingers of the oviduct, on that side, take up the\novum and convey it to the womb. This usually takes place during\nmenstruation and the egg enters the womb near the cessation of the flow.\nSometimes the egg may reach the womb before menstruation begins. It is\npossible for an egg to form at any time between periods of menstruation,\nbut this is of unusual occurrence.\n\n=Impregnation.=--If, in either of these events, the husband and wife,\nbeing both of matured age, vigorous,\n\n[Illustration: A HAPPY MOTHER.]\n\nhealthy and strong, engage in the reproductive act, the wife will\nconceive. When one of the sperm cells of the husband unites with the\ngerm cell or egg of the wife, conception or impregnation takes place.\nThis is the beginning of life, the creative moment of a new life, a new\nbeing. It is at this creative moment that an immortal soul is started\nupon its eternal voyage, nine months before it makes its visible\nappearance in the world.\n\n=All life begins with a cell.=--Every living being begins life as a single\ncell of protoplasm. The cell from which a child is formed is produced by\nthe union of two cells, the germ cell of the mother and the sperm cell\nof the father. The germ cell is much larger than the sperm cell. At the\npoint where the sperm cell enters the ovum a new cell is formed. This\nnew cell is the beginning of a new life and is called the embryo. The\nembryo receives its nourishment for several days from the food material\nstored up in the ovum.\n\nWhen the sperm cell fuses with this minute ovum, 1-120th of an inch in\ndiameter, the ovum becomes attached to the velvety inner surface of the\nwomb. At this point of the womb the mucous membrane begins a rapid\ngrowth and in a very few hours has enveloped the ovum.\n\n=What takes place the first twenty-four hours.=--In the rapidly growing\novum marvelous processes are going on. In part the physical processes\nhave been studied. The vital and psychical processes that are taking\nplace, far more wonderful than the physical, cannot be understood or\ncomprehended by mortal man. So rapidly has the embryonic cell divided\nitself into two cells, these two into four cells, and these into eight,\nthen into sixteen, until many thousand cells have been produced in the\nfirst twenty-four hours.\n\n=The first thirty days.=--During the next thirty days this multiplication\nof cells by division goes on rapidly. The embryo is now receiving life,\nair, water and nourishment from the mother through the rudimentary\nbeginning of the placenta. The placenta when developed is a membrane\ncomposed largely of blood vessels, entirely surrounding the embryo and\nis attached to the womb near the top. At this point the umbilical cord,\nwhich connects with the child at a point called the navel, merges into\nand becomes a part of the placenta. These thousands of cells, under the\ncontrol of some invisible agency or law within the mother and the\nembryo, begin to arrange themselves in layers and groups. In this way\nthe rudimentary organs one by one, step by step, begin to form. At the\nend of the first thirty days the embryo is about one inch long and\none-fourth of an inch in diameter. At this time it has no resemblance to\na human being. Separate from all connection with the mother, no\nscientist could tell whether it is the embryo of a rat, a rabbit, a dog\nor a human being. It is this resident physical, mental and soul-life\nreceived from its parents that will determine for it a human body.\n\n=The second thirty days.=--During the next thirty days, new cells will be\nproduced rapidly, new organs will be started, other organs will take on\nmore definite form and the embryo will be many times larger and will\nhave a very distinct resemblance to a human being. During the latter\npart of the second month this human embryo will possess a very distinct\nappendage resembling a tail; the neck will be nearly as large around as\nthe body; the arms and legs, fingers and toes, ears, eyes, nose and\nmouth will all be quite distinct, and the head will appear overgrown.\nThe embryo at the close of the second month will be about four inches in\nlength and one and one-half inches in diameter.\n\n=The relations between the mother and the embryo.=--The little embryo has\nprojecting from its body, at the point called the navel, a large cord,\nlarger around than one of its legs. This cord is called the umbilical\ncord and connects the embryo with the upper part of the womb. Here the\ncord seems to branch out and to form a rather thick membrane which\nentirely surrounds the embryo. Where the umbilical cord connects with\nthe womb there are thousands of small blood vessels. Here the blood of\nthe mother bathes the blood vessels of the umbilical cord. In this way\nthe embryo absorbs from the mother\u2019s blood the materials from which its\nbones, muscles, brain, nerves and spinal cord are built. In this way the\nblood of the mother furnishes her forming child pure oxygen. In this way\nalso the mother is furnishing the embryo with life--physical, mental and\nspirit life. Here, too, she gives it joyous or sorrowful thoughts, a\ngood or bad disposition, a frail or strong constitution, mental\nbrilliancy or mental dullness, and influences its character in many ways\nbefore it sees the light of day.\n\n=The order of special maternal attention.=--During the first three and\nfour months the mother should breathe the purest air, drink the purest\nwater and eat plenty of wholesome, nutritious food. The physical health,\nstrength and perfect development of the child\u2019s body are largely\ndetermined during these months. During the fifth and sixth months the\nnervous system, including the brain centers, is being organized and\ndeveloped. Attention to mental exercise during these months and the\nmonths following will influence the child favorably in after-life. The\nmoral nature of the child is more largely influenced by the mother\nduring the eighth and ninth months than during the previous months. This\nindicates roughly the order of special attention that should be given\nby the mother to her forming child.\n\n=Symptoms of impregnation.=--After impregnation has taken place and the\ndays and months pass by, certain signs appear which tell her that she is\nto become a mother. The menses stop, the breasts enlarge, a dark color\nappears about the nipples, the abdomen enlarges and about the fourth\nmonth she feels the distinct movements of the fetus. This movement is\ncalled fetal life. However, life existed in the embryo from the\nbeginning. Feeling the movements of the fetus only indicates that the\nfetus has grown to where it has strength enough to make its presence\nknown.\n\n=Birth.=--At the end of two hundred and eighty long days, nine full\nmonths, three-fourths of a year, the strong muscles of the womb\ncontract, and all the muscles of the abdominal and pelvic cavities are\ncalled into action to expel the child from its maternal cradle or home.\n\nAll of nature\u2019s maternal processes, from the initial of life in the tiny\negg, through all the mysterious and interesting changes of embryonic and\nfetal development, until the babe is easily and quickly conveyed by\nmuscular energy from its warm, cozy, maternal abode and introduced to a\nworld of independent life and activity, are a sublime miracle--the\nmiracle of motherhood.\n\n=The maternal instinct.=--The maternal instinct is inherent in every\nnormal girl. It is this maternal nature that prompts little girls to\nplay with their dolls and with childish glee and innocent sincerity to\norganize their doll families into beautiful imitation of real life. The\nnatural desire of every girl, as she matures during the years of\nadolescence, is that she may one day become a mother.\n\n=A perfect body essential to ideal motherhood.=--The beautiful ideals of\nwifehood and the sacred ideals of motherhood can come in their fullness\nonly to those who make themselves worthy. The broad-minded, sensible\ngirl will not bind her young growing figure with a corset, pinch her\nundeveloped feet by wearing tight, high-heeled shoes, ruin her neck with\nhigh, stiff collars, expose her shoulders and bosom to the varying\nchanges of temperature by wearing low-necked dresses, ruin her health\nand throttle her mind and soul in a cradle of ignorance.\n\n=The independent girl.=--All girls should qualify themselves for some\nvocation, aside from marriage. The girl who stays at home and has\nnothing to do but dress and primp and wait for some man to come along\nand marry her is likely to develop into a flippant, extravagant social\nnonentity. The girl who qualifies herself for some vocation will not be\na burden to her parents. She will learn the value of money, will\nacquire self-confidence and personal dignity, will multiply the red\ncorpuscles in her blood, and thus be able to give her hand and heart to\nher coming prince with the knowledge that she is quite capable of\nentering upon the new duties of home-building.\n\n=All girls should have training for motherhood.=--But whatever be the\nplace or position to which you may aspire, you should also seek the\ntraining necessary to ideal motherhood. Your mother instinct calls for\nplenty of roomy quarters for the fetus. It is the mother instinct that\ndemands open-air athletics, free chest expansion and a correct poise and\ncarriage of body. It is the mother love that calls for books and\nmagazines that give special articles on courtship, marriage and the\nsacred mission of motherhood.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII\n\nSOME PRACTICAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED\n\n\n=How young can a girl become a mother?=--It would be possible but not\nlikely for her to become pregnant soon after her first menstruation. If\nthe ova should be fertilized at that time she would become a mother. In\nmost cases the ova would be too weak for impregnation to be perfect.\nShould it occur, as it does in some cases, soon after puberty begins, it\nis always unfortunate for the girl and her child.\n\n=How old should a woman be before she becomes a mother?=--She is not a\nmatured woman until the close of her adolescence, which is about the\ntwentieth year. Marriage means motherhood. Motherhood should not take\nplace until she is matured or practically so. Marriage before eighteen\nshould be universally discouraged. Children born of mature parents are\nhealthier, stronger, and live longer than do the children of immature\nparents.\n\n=Is there any way to lessen the inconvenience and pain of menstruation\nand child-bearing?=--Women of the savage races, women of the laboring\nclasses of Europe, and to some extent laboring women of this country,\ndo not suffer the inconvenience of menstruation and the pain of\nchild-bearing that most women do. If our girls and women took more\noutdoor exercise, if they did not displace their sexual organs by tight\nlacing, if they did not abuse these organs in other ways in single and\nmarried life, they would suffer less of penalties peculiar to women.\nHabits practiced for generations become fixed characteristics and are\ntransmitted to children. Hence part of the suffering of present-day\nwomanhood is due to the errors of the past.\n\n=What causes displacement of the womb?=--By reading Mother\u2019s First Talk\nyou will be able to fix in your mind the location of the womb and\novaries. You will find that they are near the center of the abdomen,\njust behind the bladder and are supported from above by long, broad and\nround ligaments. These ligaments are stretched across the abdominal\ncavity and are attached to the abdominal walls. The small end of the\nwomb rests upon the vagina. This tube being flexible affords but little\nsupport for the womb. If a woman wears a corset, or tight waist band\nabove her hips, the organs of the abdomen will be pressed downward. This\nis the principal cause of the womb\u2019s being forced down into the vagina,\nbent upon itself, tipped forward or backward. The displacement of the\nwomb interferes with the functions of the bladder and rectum.\nLeucorrh\u0153a and inflamed conditions of the womb often follow. The\nfault is not in God\u2019s arrangement of these organs, but in woman\u2019s\nslavish devotion to fashion. Were all girls taught by means of charts\nthe location of these organs, and their relation to the other organs of\nthe abdomen, fewer girls would try to be like fashion plates.\n\n=Is there some natural method by which a woman can replace her own womb\nand avoid exposure, operation and expense?=--Yes; if the following advice\nis followed early enough: Having removed your outer clothing, so as to\ngive you perfect freedom, assume a position on the bed that will throw\nyour hips above the rest of the body. This is easily accomplished by\nkneeling and then bending forward until the head and shoulders rest upon\na pillow. Now contract the muscles of the abdomen in such a way as to\nappear to be trying to draw air into the body through the vagina. In\nthis way all the abdominal organs are drawn toward the chest. When the\nwomb falls into place, a gurgling sound will be heard caused by the air\nrushing into the vagina and the womb. This is the evidence that the womb\nhas dropped back into its proper place. Now assume an easy position and\nbe perfectly quiet for one or two hours. Then arise, dress and go about\nyour duties. Don\u2019t strain yourself or over-work. Very likely the womb\nwill continue to drop out of place for several days. Keep up this\nmethod and soon the womb will remain in place.\n\nVery likely you will not succeed in replacing the womb, the first\neffort. It may be several days before you succeed.\n\n=What are the causes of ovarian trouble?=--The answer to the last question\napplies in this case. Anything that interferes with the menstrual\nperiod, such as taking cold, lascivious thought, secret vices; if\nmarried, sexual excesses. These conditions cause a rush of blood to the\nsexual organs, and this keeps them inflamed.\n\n=Should a woman have her womb and ovaries removed because of these\nconditions?=--Only in the most extreme cases, and, even then, only upon\nthe united opinion of several capable and honest physicians. In recent\nyears operations for these troubles have been too frequent. A woman is\nnever quite herself after one of these operations. If women were taught\nplainly and scientifically how to obey the laws of sex they would in\nalmost all cases recover without an operation. It is generally estimated\nby hospital authorities that from sixty-five to eighty per cent. of\nmarried women who are operated upon in their sexual organs have been\ninfected by gonorrh\u0153a. In almost every case they were infected by\ntheir husbands who thought they were cured. In the initial stage this\nis usually treated by the wife as leucorrh\u0153a; later she is treated by\nthe doctor, or operated upon and the real cause is kept secret from her.\nIn most cases an operation might be avoided, by going with her trouble\nat once to a doctor.\n\n=How may young women know they are marrying men free from venereal\ninfection?=--This will not be possible in all cases. A young lady should\nnot become engaged to a young man until she is acquainted with his\nrecord. She could have her brother or father look up his record. Your\nfamily doctor, or some reliable doctor that knows him, might be\nprofitably interviewed. When we have laid aside our mock modesty and\nfoolish prudery and shall come to regard these questions in a practical\nway, matured young women will not hesitate to ask the young man for a\nstatement from a reliable physician, showing that he is free from all\ncommunicable diseases.\n\n=What is the cause of pimples on the face and sometimes on a girl\u2019s back\nfrom twelve to seventeen?=--They are due to the change she is passing\nthrough. By some they have been considered as evidences of the secret\nsin, but they are not, at least in many cases. Many girls have these\nbumps who are perfectly free from the secret sin. It is true that they\nmay be caused in some cases by the secret vice.\n\n=What remedy would you suggest for these puberty pimples?=--Tonics,\nlotions and cosmetics will do no good. Common-sense remedies may\nmitigate this evil. Avoid rich pastries and highly seasoned foods, take\nplenty of outdoor exercise, bathe frequently, forget your pimples and be\ncheerful and happy. This is the best you can do. Nature in her own good\ntime will remove the pimples.\n\n=Is there a safe way by which a young woman can develop her\nbust?=--Several methods are advertised. Most of them are fakes. The\nvacuum method is perhaps the least injurious. If a young woman keeps her\nbody healthy, does not abuse her organs of sex mentally or mechanically,\nher bust should be normal. The greatest injury done by any of these\nartificial methods is, they lead a girl to be lascivious in her\nthoughts. By studying the lower animals we find that motherhood is\nnature\u2019s plan of developing the bust. It is natural for single girls to\nhave small breasts. There are some exceptions to this rule. It is,\ntherefore, unwise to try to enlarge them.\n\n=What injuries may follow artificial development of the\nbreasts?=--Flabbiness, inability to nurse a child, tumors and cancers.\n\n=What effect upon the morals of men has the wearing of low-necked dresses\nby girls and married women?=--All normal adolescent youths and adults\npossess sexuality. Occasional consciousness of sexual desire is natural.\nThese experiences simply indicate that we are in possession of creative\nenergy. If we keep control of our thoughts about the opposite sex, this\nenergy will be converted into physical strength, mental brilliancy and\nsoul beauty.\n\nIt is through the influence of the sex life upon the social nature that\nthe opposite sexes are attracted to each other and their association is\nmade sacred, beautiful, enjoyable and mutually uplifting.\n\nGod\u2019s greatest blessings to man may be abused by misuse. This is\npre\u00ebminently true of our God-given sexual nature. Improper thinking\nabout the opposite sex leads to special excitement of the sexual organs\nand results in conscious sexual desire. In the normal man such thoughts\nand wishes are awakened by suggestive and inviting environment. A dress\nthat only partially conceals the breasts of a woman, that reveals the\ndelicate curves of hips and limbs, has this influence upon the mind of\nthe normal man. The normal man usually fights off these temptations.\nSometimes they overcome him.\n\nFew men are normal. Licentiousness is transmissible. Most men have\ninherited very strong tendencies toward lust. Most men have received an\nunfortunate training from childhood. This has led to mental sex\nperversion. Improperly dressed women are a special temptation to these\nweak men.\n\nThe time has come for a reform in woman\u2019s dress. She should not dress in\na way that makes her a source of temptation to men.\n\nIt is natural for a woman to desire the attention, courtesy, gallantry,\nrespect, reverence and love of men. The normal sex nature in woman will\ndevelop those indefinable feminine physical, mental and moral charms. If\nshe dresses modestly and becomingly, if she is discreet, versatile and\nentertaining, she will have her admirers.\n\n=Is there any relation between the nude in art and immodesty?=--Yes and\nno. There are great masterpieces of beautiful figures of men and women,\nwhich stand for some lofty ideal, which represent some phase of ideal\nthought in life, some exposition of grace and strength, and, while they\nare nude, they are no more immodest than perfect landscapes. There are\nother famous nude figures of men and women which appear conscious of\ntheir nudity. Such have a bad influence. There are some ignorant or\nevil-minded people who would be injured as much by one of these classes\nof art as by the other.\n\n=Are there reliable tests of the virginity of a girl?=--The only test\nwhich a man has a right to make before or after marriage is a modest\ndemeanor, absence of familiarity, a pure state of mind and an innocent\nexpression in the face and look of the eye. The physical presence of the\nhymen, or a flow of blood at the consummation of marriage, should not be\nmade the test of a young wife\u2019s virginity. In some cases the hymen is\nabsent from birth and in others only partially represented. Where girls\nmay have had leucorrh\u0153a the parts are relaxed and no blood appears.\nIn stout blonds the presence of blood is the exception and not the rule.\n\n=What is the relation of \u201cspooning\u201d to the sex problems of young\npeople?=--This is a growing evil. It is the kindergarten to prostitution.\nYoung people cannot engage in \u201cspooning\u201d and maintain a pure state of\nmind. When the mind is engaged in sensual thoughts and wishes the sexual\nsystem is stimulated and inflamed by a rush of blood to those parts and\npassion becomes more or less intense. In this state virtue is in great\ndanger.\n\n=What is the relation of suggestive pictures and books to the problems of\nsex in young people?=--The suggestive sentences and pictures on post\ncards, bill boards, the novel and serial story all tainted with\nimmorality; and in the moving pictures found in most five and ten cent\nshows, are positively pernicious. They lead young people to believe that\nhugging, kissing, lying or sitting on each other\u2019s lap, and all other\nforms of \u201cspooning,\u201d are natural, harmless and a necessary part of the\nentertainment among young people. The young man who would offer to\npresent a young woman with a suggestive post card or book is stupidly\nignorant or viciously immoral. If young ladies value their virtue and\nhave the proper regard for young men, they will not accept such cards\nand book, nor allow them in their parlors. All women and girls and all\nvirtuous men should protest against the production, sale and\ndistribution of all books, cards, and pictures encouraging \u201cspooning\u201d\nand the improper dress of the female as an insult to virtuous girlhood\nand womanhood and dangerous to the virtue of boyhood and manhood.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII\n\nBEAUTY OF BATHING\n\n(By Annette Kellermann.--By Permission of _Physical Culture_.)\n\n In presenting to our readers the opinions and advice of Annette\n Kellermann, we publish the words of one who knows whereof she\n speaks. Miss Kellermann is celebrated for the beauty of her face\n and form as she is for her remarkable proficiency as an athlete.\n More than that, she is one who has fought her way from indifferent\n health to strength and beauty of the highest order, and her\n discussion of this subject should prove very readable.--_The\n Editor._\n\n\n=Architects of beauty.=--Nearly everyone looks upon beauty as an\nextraneous \u201csomething.\u201d Here is a quality which is in the greatest\nmeasure a physical endowment, yet the average woman casting about for\nmeans of cultivating it never for one moment seeks for its acquirement\nthrough physical means. All sorts of devices and medicines and\ncomplicated and costly methods are believed in and followed, as though\nbeauty were bestowed in about the same fashion that a poster is slapped\non a billboard. Gazing at the stars, she sees not what lies to her hand.\nFor beauty, poetical though its conception may be, has its roots in\nprosaic ground. The same factors which build up flesh and blood, bones,\nmuscle and nerves of the body are the architects of beauty. Beauty is of\nthe body and not apart from it, and its builders are those processes\nwhich maintain bodily health: breathing, eating, drinking, exercise,\nbathing and sleep. Its acquisition does not depend on chance, but its\ndevelopment lies within the control of each one of us.\n\n[Illustration: A complete air bath should be given the body several\ntimes each week, even though early rising is thus made necessary.]\n\nIn the following pages I shall try to tell clearly of the simple,\neasily-to-be-observed methods that can make each woman as beautiful as\nit is possible for her to be. When I think of how these simple, sensible\nand effective methods are neglected, through ignorance or\nthoughtlessness, and the torturous treatment so many members of my sex\nundergo: the face-skinning; the incasing in unbearable rubber\nundergarments to reduce flesh and the countless other \u201ctreatments\u201d of\nwhich they are willing dupes, I marvel and am almost ashamed of the\namazing credulity shown by my sex.\n\n[Illustration: Frequent and vigorous massage of the face and upper parts\nof the body is a great aid to beauty building.]\n\n=Beauty building through the bath.=--I shall discuss \u201cBeauty Building\nThrough the Bath\u201d because the various forms of baths properly applied\ncan improve the appearance to a remarkable degree and I shall therefore\nwrite at some length on this particular measure as a means of attaining\nor enhancing the physical charms. \u2019Tis a trite phrase that cleanliness\nis the handmaiden of beauty, and the first office of the bath is to\nclean. The skin is one of the organs by means of which the body is\nrelieved of waste. Its depurating action is unremitting and thus there\nis constantly exuded on the surface waste matters. Hence, unless\nfrequently bathed, the skin suffers in appearance, firstly, by reason of\nits uncleanliness; secondly, becoming clogged up, the wastes are not\nreadily eliminated from the blood, which becomes impure. In consequence,\nthe whole system suffers, the skin taking on a yellowish tinge, and the\ncomplexion becoming dull and sallow and coarsened by enlarged pores.\n\n=Cold and warm baths.=--The warm bath is taken daily by many people, who\nbelieve that only thus can perfect cleanliness be insured. There are\nopposing views as to whether the daily bath should be warm or cold; but\none should not be confused by the conflicting opinions, the reason\ntherefor being that differences between individuals necessitate varying\npractices, some being benefited by the cold, some by the daily warm\nbath, etc. When the daily bath is a cold one, a hot bath must be taken\ntwice or thrice weekly to cleanse the body, for cold water has no\ncleansing power.\n\nThe cold bath is a stimulant or tonic. The effect of the cold bath is to\nclose the pores of the skin, and the blood is driven into the body. But\non emerging from the bath, a \u201creaction\u201d sets in: the blood rushing to\nthe skin in quantities, reddening it and making it glow with warmth. The\nbody should be quickly and vigorously rubbed dry with a Turkish towel,\nas it increases the good effects of the reaction. The cold bath should\nbe a very brief one, and the warm bath, when taken daily, should not\nexceed ten minutes in duration. The latter should be followed by a cold\nsponge bath.\n\nIf, because one is lacking in vitality or from other causes the reaction\ndoes not follow, the effect of the cold bath is to depress instead of\nbenefit. The bath should never be taken if one is cold, one should be\nthoroughly warm before it, and it is best taken after exercise for this\nreason.\n\n=It is easy to inure oneself to the cold bath.=--Begin taking daily baths\nat a comfortable temperature, gradually lowering it from week to week,\ntill you can take it cold or almost as cold as it comes from the faucet.\nOr one can accustom one\u2019s self to them by taking a cold sponge bath in\nthe beginning, standing on a cloth or towel wrung out in hot water, or\nby standing in a few inches of hot water, if this is required, to lessen\nthe shock. But if despite these precautions you do not recuperate\nproperly from the cold bath, it is not for you, for you are not\nbenefited by it. Both hot and cold bathing accelerate the circulation,\nthe first relaxing the tissues, the latter giving them tone and\nfirmness.\n\n=The friction bath.=--But, perhaps, one of the most valuable of baths for\nthe skin, one that never fails to improve its texture and color is a\nbath that does not require water--the friction bath. It stimulates the\ncirculation to the skin and thoroughly cleanses it. The friction bath is\nself-applied by means of two soft bristled brushes. Beginning at the\nforehead, the face and neck are thoroughly brushed, then each arm in\nturn (working upward from the hand to the shoulder), then using both\nbrushes together, the shoulders, chest, sides, abdomen, back and lastly\nthe legs, brushing from the ankles upward. The treatment is continued\ntill each part of the skin is in a glow. It will be hard to reach the\nback of the body, but do the best you can. When taking the friction bath\nfor the first time, it will be necessary to avoid vigorous brushing and\nnot to continue the treatment very long, as in the beginning the skin is\neasily irritated, but as the treatment\n\n[Illustration: Friction baths with a flesh brush--not too stiff--will\ninsure a smooth, satin-like skin with a glow of health.]\n\nis continued from day to day, the skin becomes accustomed to it, and it\nmay be made as vigorous as desired. The friction bath will put one\u2019s\nskin in splendid condition, and it will not be possible for pimples,\nblackheads, or other eruptions to develop when the friction bath is a\nregular practice. The ordinary Turkish towel may be used for the\nfriction rub instead of the brushes.\n\n[Illustration: In the absence of flesh-brushes, one may go over the body\nwith a good, heavy bath towel to stimulate the skin and bring to it the\nrich glow of health.]\n\n=The relation of air to beauty.=--So much for baths and bathing. A great\ndeal more that is both interesting and helpful can be said, but enough\nhas been told to point out their value. In the order of their\nimportance will be described other measures which directly develop charm\nof face and form.\n\nFirst of all, as that on which every moment of life is dependent we\nought to consider air and its relation to the appearance. Oxygen has\nbeen called the \u201csweeper of the living body.\u201d Every two minutes the\nblood loaded with wastes is brought to the lungs to be purified. Just\nthink how important it is that the air be absolutely fresh and pure, and\nvitalized by the sunshine. If it has been vitiated from any cause, as by\nrebreathing so that it is lacking in oxygen and full of impurities, the\nblood, instead of being purified and vivified, is sent back, with but a\npart of its waste removed, impaired, and becoming more and more\ndevitalized and poisoned from the breathing of the impure air. The whole\nsystem suffers from the effects of the bad air.\n\n=Effects of foul air.=--During every moment in which impure air is\nbreathed, uncleanliness is fostered within the body, and even if disease\nin acute or chronic form does not follow, the whole bodily tone is\ngreatly lowered. Just what opportunity attractiveness has to develop in\nsuch a body is apparent. The eyes are dull, the complexion muddy, and\nscarcely in any way does the appearance escape deterioration. Yet it is\nso uncommon for the air of our dwelling and working places to be pure,\nas to be a treat when it is obtained. It is true that the average girl\nor woman cannot control the conditions in her place of work, but she can\nin her home, or at any rate in her own room, and sleeping or waking, she\nshould have her room thoroughly ventilated.\n\n=Air baths.=--Choked in its shroud of clothing, the skin is greatly\nhampered in the discharge of its functions. Such a measure as the\nfriction greatly mitigates this evil influence of clothing as it is worn\nnowadays, and keeps the skin in working order and health. Lacking this\nspecial care, it is not putting it too strongly to say that it\nsuffers--and severely. But what the skin needs is that air and sun have\na free access to it. How pallid and sickly of hue the skins of so many\npeople are. And how, lacking especial care, can they be otherwise, in\nthe darkened prison formed by the conventional clothing. Remember that\nexudations are constantly taking place from the skin, and that in a\nslight degree it breathes through its pores. Exposed to the air, the\nemanations from its pores would immediately be dissipated and diffused\non the atmosphere instead of being retained by the clothing to cling\nabout the body. We are compelled to wear what we can get in the way of\nclothing, but it is a simple matter to take a bath in the air and\nsunshine, and so for a few minutes daily permit these purifying\ninfluences access to our skins. The girl who goes to business daily is\nlimited in her opportunities to practice this valuable measure, but she\nwho stays home can easily arrange daily for a sun and air bath. The\nbusiness girl can take an air bath before retiring and in the summer an\nair and sun bath on arising in the morning before donning her ordinary\ncostume. Remove every stitch of clothing so that the air can play freely\nover the body. These are only suggestions, for one\u2019s own convenience\nmust determine when air or sun baths can be indulged in.\n\n=Exercise is the elixir of youth.=--If pure air and sunshine are the\ncleansers and the vitalizers of the body, exercise may be said to be the\nmolder and beautifier of the bodily form. But exercise does more than\nmake the muscles shapely and develop the body to beautiful proportions,\nand give it poise and grace. Exercise is the elixir of youth. It is the\nmethod whereby youthfulness of facial and bodily appearance is\npreserved, and which conserves youthful energies. It effectually wards\noff the dreaded old age signs. The physiological effects of exercise are\nthese: circulation and respiration are accelerated, all the bodily\nfunctions are stimulated, and through lungs and skin effete matter\nrapidly thrown off, old cells are broken down and replaced by new. The\nbody feels as old and worn out as the cells of which it is made up.\nRegular exercise prevents the accumulation of half-dead cells; it breaks\nthem down rapidly and eliminates them, so that they be replaced with\nfresh vital ones.\n\nAs to the sort of exercise, it is desirable and indeed necessary that a\nsystematic series of movements which sufficiently exercise every part of\nthe body be practiced daily. This is the only way to insure exercising\nregularly, which alone is of benefit, spasmodic exercise sometimes being\nvalueless.\n\n=Exercise in the open air.=--Exercise quickens the heart-rate, and thus\nthe blood requires a greatly increased amount of oxygen. One should\ntherefore never exercise in an unventilated room, and for this reason\nexercise in the open air is vastly more beneficial than when taken\nindoors. In fact, one should get outdoors often and where circumstances\nadmit the outdoor life (a phrase on everyone\u2019s tongue these days) should\nbe lived as much as possible. One should not, of course, fail to adopt a\nspecial system of exercises, for this insures that every muscle will be\nregularly used, and it is quite likely that one\u2019s activities, whether\noutdoors or indoors will but partly use the muscular system. Of outdoor\nexercise, walking is ideal, and can be taken at all seasons. And, of\ncourse, all outdoor games and sports are valuable. Exercise in play is\nthe thing, for it so completely diverts the mind as well as recreates\nthe body.\n\nOf all exercises, I personally regard, and authorities support my views,\nswimming as first in rank, the peer of them all. Every muscle is\nexercised by it, it is taken in the open air, and then there is the\ntonic of the water.\n\n=Diet.=--There are other measures of which it is necessary to speak and\nthey are too important to miss mention. She who seeks to improve her\nappearance or preserve it unblemished cannot afford to neglect her\ndiet--for remember that it is from food that flesh and blood are formed.\nIn greater or lesser degree, bad food and that improperly eaten can\nretard improvement from other measures followed. It is impossible to do\nmore than briefly pass on this subject in its relation to this\ndiscussion on how beauty can be attained. It is of chief interest to\npoint out that even where no other factors are at work, disfiguring\neruptions on the face are not infrequently caused by errors in this\nrespect. To be sure there are no special \u201cbeauty diets.\u201d The only thing\nthat is necessary is to avoid such foods as cause a maximum of work on\nthe part of the vital organs, and give only a minimum of nutriment in\nreturn. Rich, heavy pastry, pickled foods, white flour products, are all\nin the above-mentioned class, while cereals, eggs, milk, cheese, nuts,\nfruits and vegetables, rightly prepared, properly masticated, can be\ndepended upon to make good, rich, red blood, firm flesh and muscle, and\naltogether help greatly in enhancing personal charm and appearance.\n\n=Sleep.=--We hear much about \u201cbeauty sleep.\u201d Really, all sleep is beauty\nsleep. It is then that the exhausted nerves regain tone, and the body\ngenerally undergoes a restorative process. Nothing more surely\nundermines beauty than lack of sleep. It leaves its mark behind in dull\neyes and even loss of flesh. But in sleep, too, there is a right and\nwrong way. The right way is to sleep in a well-aired bed in a properly\nventilated room. The outdoor sleeping room is the ideal one, but it\ncannot always be arranged, so the next best thing is the indoor one with\nwindows wide open. One should awaken in the morning fresh and bright and\nstrong. Do not cover yourself heavily, just enough to keep comfortable.\nThe wrong way is--but why waste time in description. It is everything\nthe right way is not, and consequently one wakes up tired, heavy and\ndull-eyed.\n\n=Hair, face and teeth.=--Aside from the constitutional measures spoken of,\nthere is a word or two to be said in favor of simple local treatment\nthat the beauty seeker should resort to daily. I mean the little nightly\nattentions to the hair, face and teeth. The hair will be much healthier\nand brighter if carefully brushed and aired after the unnatural\nconfinement of the day. The teeth must be well cleaned, so that there\nare no tiny particles of food lodged between them to become decomposed\nand endanger the teeth. The simplest of tooth powders is all that is\nnecessary, but the brushing after each meal, if possible, and especially\nthe last thing at night, should not be neglected. The use of a pure face\ncream to soothe the skin from the day\u2019s irritation and exposure is also\nadvisable, though I do not approve of using cream instead of water, as\nis sometimes advised. Soap and water are the best cleansing agents.\n\n[Illustration: Persistent massage of the scalp and frequent brushing of\nthe hair are essential to the maintenance of the beauty of woman\u2019s\ncrowning glory.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIV\n\nPHYSICAL CULTURE\n\n(By George R. Borden, Physical Director.)\n\n\nFresh air and exercise are fast being considered the best health\nproducers in the world, yet how sadly neglected; as hundreds of women\ngive evidence every day, with the dull eye, flat chest and lifeless\ncarriage. Every woman would like to be attractive, but few are willing\nto devote any time to its acquirement. What arouses our admiration when\nseeing a statue of Minerva or Venus? It is the abounding life of the\nwhole body, finely developed chest and limbs and well-poised head.\n\nLet us learn how to breathe, how to walk with a strong and graceful\ncarriage. A small amount of time each day spent in systematic exercise\nwith deep breathing would change many a weak woman to a healthy, vital,\nliving person with the grace and beauty of perfect health and a fine\nphysique.\n\nLook around at any gathering of women and note if the majority are not\nvery far from our ideal of physical perfection. I care not how beautiful\nthe face if it is accompanied by narrow shoulders, thin neck and a flat\nchest, the possessor must give way to her plainer sister who knows the\nvalue of daily expansion of lungs with every muscle under control,\nperfect digestion and fine circulation.\n\nNaturally the plea is the lack of time for exercise; do not women find\ntime for reading, fancy work, calling and a multitude of other affairs,\nwhich might a thousand times better be spent in preparing themselves for\na healthy life? If more time were spent in the fresh air and in keeping\nthe body under control, there would be fewer peevish, tired-out, nervous\nwomen in the world, for the one who realizes the value of these things\nis too healthy to be aught but good natured and happy.\n\nWalking is one of the best exercises in the world, yet the crowded\ntrolley with its impure air is largely filled with women who could not\nwalk a mile. How many of my readers can walk three miles and have it\nonly serve to make them feel how well worth while is life? The majority\nof women think several squares a long walk, and I know many who take the\ncar for a quarter of a mile, walk through the stores and return on the\ncar, then wonder why they do not sleep well.\n\nEvery girl and woman that works, either in the home or elsewhere, needs\nexercise to develop muscles not in use, and improve circulation. Isn\u2019t\nit worth a few minutes a day to feel yourself physically ready for any\nemergency, digestion good, nerves a thing of the past, and abounding\nlife in every muscle?\n\nOf course these things cannot come in a week or month, but let your\ndaily exercise be as regular as your meals, walk with the idea of\ngetting all the good you can out of it, when you are seated, don\u2019t sink\ndown in a heap, keep your lungs expanded and bend at the hips not at the\nwaist as we are so prone to do while sewing, writing, and engaged in\nkindred occupations; a thing which leads to so many round shoulders and\nnarrow chests.\n\nWhen you are walking alone instead of planning your next work, give a\nlittle thought to breathing and how you are carrying yourself. Inhale as\nyou walk, retain the breath for a few steps then slowly exhale. Hold the\nhead well up, shoulders back, chest high, hips in and let your limbs\nhave a free swing and you soon look and feel as if walking were a joy.\n\nThe exercises following are so arranged that anyone can do them. Ten\nminutes each morning should be given to them followed by a bath and a\ntowel rub if convenient. If bath is not possible, a thorough rubbing of\nthe body with a rough towel is the next best thing.\n\nAt some time during the day a brisk walk followed by a few exercises\nbefore retiring and never forgetting the deep breathing will quicken the\nresults.\n\nHave plenty of fresh air at night as well as day and eat substantial\nfood and see if the results are not all you could ask.\n\nThe value of exercise is in the amount of life and vigor put in it.\nBetter not exercise at all than to do it carelessly.\n\n\nFIRST SERIES\n\nRepeat each exercise from twelve to twenty-four times.\n\n Exercise 1.--Position of Fig. 1. Swing the arms forward till they\n touch in front, return to side (Fig. 1).\n\n Ex. 2.--Swing the arms to vertical. See Fig. 9 for position of\n arms. Return to Fig. 1.\n\n Ex. 3.--Swing the arms backward as far as possible.\n\n Ex. 4.--Swing both the arms downward to the hips and return to\n position (Fig. 1).\n\n Ex. 5.--Position of Fig. 1. Swing the hands to the shoulders by\n flexing the arms at the elbows (palms up).\n\n Ex. 6.--Position of Fig. 1. Swing the hands to the arm pits by\n flexing the arms at the elbows (palms down).\n\n Ex. 7.--Position of Fig. 1. Circumduct the arms, making the fingers\n describe a circle and the whole arm a cone. (Arms perfectly\n straight.)\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n Ex. 8.--Open and shut the fingers, gripping the fist as tightly as\n possible, also extending them as far as possible.\n\n Ex. 9.--Position of Fig. 1. Keep the arms on a level with the\n shoulders, bend the body sideward to the left as far as possible.\n (See Fig. 2.)\n\n Ex. 10.--Same as Ex. 9, to the right side.\n\n Ex. 11.--Combine Ex. 9-10.\n\n Ex. 12.--Position of Fig. 1. Rotate (twist) the body sideward left\n as far as possible. See Fig. 3 for position. Keep feet in place.\n\n Ex. 13.--Same as Ex. 12, to the right side.\n\n Ex. 14.--Combine Ex. 11 and 12. Rotate from side to side, arms to\n be kept on a level with the shoulders and rigid.\n\n Ex. 15.--Hands placed on hips, bend forward and swing hands\n downward toward the toes as far as possible. See Fig. 4.\n\n Ex. 16.--Position of Fig. 4. Hold and swing both arms sideward up\n as far as possible.\n\n Ex. 17.--Same position. Swing the arms forward up as far as\n possible, arms will then be straight out over the head.\n\n\nSECOND SERIES\n\n Position of Fig. 5. Arms folded and the left toe touching at the\n side.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n Exercise 1.--Hop on the right foot and touch the left foot across\n in front of the right, at the same time unfold the arms and swing\n them sideward to their own sides. See Fig. 1 for the position of\n the arms.\n\n Ex. 2.--Same as Ex. 1, with the right foot.\n\n Ex. 3.--Hop on right foot, the left foot in position of Fig. 5.\n\n Ex. 4.--Hop on the left, right toe to the side.\n\n Ex. 5.--Arms in position of Fig. 5 and the left toe extended\n forward till the toe touches the floor; hop on right, keeping the\n left leg extended.\n\n Ex. 6.--Same as Ex. 5, with the right foot forward.\n\n Ex. 7.--Hands on hips, raise the left knee high up in front with\n the toe pointed downward. See Fig. 6.\n\n Ex. 8.--Same as Ex. 7, with the right leg.\n\n Ex. 9.--Position of Fig. 6. Hold, straighten the knee, raising the\n foot on a level with the thigh.\n\n Ex. 10.--Same with the right leg.\n\n Ex. 11.--Hands on the hips feet together, swing the left foot\n sideward left as far as possible with the weight of the body\n resting on the right leg.\n\n Ex. 12.--Same as Ex. 11, with the right leg.\n\n\nTHIRD SERIES\n\n Hands on the back of the head. See Fig. 7.\n\n Exercise 1.--Bend the body as far forward as possible, keeping\n hands on head.\n\n Ex. 2.--Bend body sideward left as far as possible.\n\n Ex. 3.--Bend body sideward right as far as possible.\n\n Ex. 4.--Alternate left and right.\n\n Ex. 5.--Keep the fingers locked as in Fig. 7, thrust the hands\n upward to vertical till arms are straight.\n\n Ex. 6.--Position of Fig. 7. Draw the head forward with the hands,\n keep the back straight, resist with the neck muscles.\n\n Ex. 7.--Draw the head backward and resist with the hands.\n\n Ex. 8.--Swing the elbows forward till they touch in front of the\n face, then swing them backward as far as possible.\n\n Ex. 9.--Position: Feet together, arms down to the side, lean\n forward and swing the arms to the side, lift left leg upward about\n five inches, leg and arms rigid. See Fig. 8.\n\n Ex. 10.--Same as Ex. 9, with right leg extended.\n\n Ex. 11.--Position of Fig. 8. Hold, swing arms forward till they\n touch. Repeat several times.\n\n Ex. 12.--Position of Fig. 8. Swing left foot forward till foot is\n about 8 inches above floor, lean backward to keep the balance. Do\n not let the left foot touch the floor. Repeat several times.\n\n Ex. 13.--Position: Swing the arms upward to vertical and rise on\n toes as high as possible (Fig. 9).\n\n Ex. 14.--Same position as Ex. 9 (Fig. 8). Hold that position and\n hop on the right foot at least twelve times.\n\n Ex. 15.--Same as Ex. 14, hopping on the left foot.\n\n Ex. 16.--Hands on the hips, rise high on the toes.\n\n Ex. 17.--Hands on the hips, raise the toes off the floor, weight on\n the heels.\n\n Ex. 18.--Position: (Squat) lower the body by bending the knees as\n low as possible and swing the arms forward up to the front\n horizontal.\n\n Ex. 19.--Same as Ex. 18, but swing arms sideward up to side\n horizontal.\n\n\nFOURTH SERIES\n\n_Towel_\n\n Position with the towel on the back of the neck. (Fig. 10.)\n\n Exercise 1.--Straighten the arms, thrusting the towel to vertical.\n\n Ex. 2.--Pull with the left hand till the arm is straight out to the\n side and the right arm is across the neck.\n\n Ex. 3.--Same as Ex. 2, with the right arm.\n\n Ex. 4.--Fig. 10, bend body sideward left.\n\n Ex. 5.--Fig. 10, bend body sideward right.\n\n Ex. 6.--Combine left and right.\n\n Ex. 7.--Bend body forward, keeping towel in position.\n\n Ex. 8.--Towel up to vertical, bend forward and swing towel down to\n the toes.\n\n Ex. 9.--Swing the towel downward and backward to the hips. Take a\n wide grasp on towel.\n\n Ex. 10.--Towel on back of hips (see Fig. 11), bend body forward and\n swing towel upward to vertical.\n\n Ex. 11.--Position of Fig. 11. Bend body sideward left as far as\n possible, swinging towel right.\n\n Ex. 12.--Same as Ex. 11, bend body right.\n\n Ex. 13.--Alternate left and right.\n\n Ex. 14.--(Squat) lower the body by bending the knees till the towel\n touches the heels.\n\n Ex. 15.--Position of Fig. 11. Swing towel backward as far as\n possible without bending the back.\n\n Ex. 16.--Position: Towel across in front of hips, arms rigid, swing\n towel to the left and in a vertical position. See Fig. 12.\n\n Ex. 17.--Same to the right.\n\n Ex. 18.--Bend forward, touching towel to toes. See Fig. 4 for\n position of body.\n\n\nFIFTH SERIES\n\n_Floor Exercises_\n\n Sit on the floor or bed with the legs straight, knees touching the\n floor.\n\n Exercise 1.--Swing arms to side horizontal and back as far as\n possible (Fig. 13); then swing forward, touching the fingers to the\n toes.\n\n Ex. 2.--Swing arms to vertical (see Fig. 14 for position of arms),\n then swing to toes.\n\n Ex. 3.--Flex left leg and swing arms to vertical (Fig. 14).\n\n Ex. 4.--Flex right leg and swing arms to vertical (Fig. 14).\n\n Ex. 5.--Flex both legs.\n\n Ex. 6.--Hands on floor, swing left leg to left side.\n\n Ex. 7.--Hands on floor, swing right leg to right side.\n\n Ex. 8.--Hands on floor, swing both legs to their own side.\n\n Ex. 9.--Extend the toes as far as possible, then flex them.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 13.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 14.]\n\n\n Ex. 10.--Arms at side in Fig. 13; swing the arms forward and clap\n hands in front, also extend the toes at same time.\n\n Ex. 11.--Hands on floor, keep knees straight, raise the left foot\n as high off the floor as possible.\n\n Ex. 12.--Same as Ex. 11, with right leg.\n\n Ex. 13.--Both feet.\n\n Ex. 14.--Hands on floor, swing to vertical and clap hands over\n head.\n\n Many exercises can be added to the above by lying on the floor and\n raising the feet, etc.\n\n\n\n\nSIXTH DIVISION\n\n\nVITAL FACTS OF LIFE FOR THE YOUNG MAN, MARRIED OR SINGLE\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXV\n\nTHE DEEPER SIGNIFICANCE OF SEX\n\n\nYou are now old enough to be exposed to all of the temptations and\ndangers incident to your approaching and rapidly developing manhood.\nPreviously, we have referred to many things in an elementary way, which\nyou should now have more fully explained. There are a number of\npractical and vital facts connected with the sexual organs and their\nseparate and combined functions of which you should have a thorough\nknowledge.\n\n=The nature of the sexual life.=--The child resembles the father\nphysically, mentally and morally, because the sperm cell formed from the\nfather\u2019s blood, that took part in the initial of the child\u2019s life, had\nin it the essence of the father\u2019s life, physical, mental and moral. For\nthe same reason the child resembles the mother in these three ways. When\nthe males of the domestic animals are deprived of their generative\nglands they are not able to develop the peculiar physical masculine\ncharacteristics that distinguish them from the females. They are also\nless independent, more inactive and show less rudimentary manifestations\nof intelligence. If man be made an eunuch, when he is a boy, he never\nfully develops masculine characteristics, and he develops little mental\nand moral tone. Similar results would follow in the female, if her\ngenerative glands were removed in childhood. It is quite noticeable that\nany form of sexual dissipation usually underminds the physical health,\nweakens the mental faculties and leads to loss in moral tone. It is\nequally noticeable that the intelligent retention of this energy leads\nto physical improvement, intellectual brilliancy and soul enlargement.\nThese illustrations reveal that the creative life has other uses than\nselfish gratification and unselfish reproduction. It is vitally related\nto the psychic life, health and happiness of the individual.\n\n=Other purposes of sex.=--The primary purpose of sex is that of\nreproduction. There are many reasons why the reproductive function of\nsex should be limited to a period of twenty-five years--from twenty-five\nto fifty years of age. Statistics show that this is man\u2019s period of\ngreatest reproductive possibility. Children born to men of younger or\nolder age do not receive as favorable heredity as children born within\nthe period mentioned. The sexual organs, like all other organs, require\nactivity. Two boys are made eunuchs; one at six months of age and the\nother just before puberty. The last mentioned develops much better in\nphysical, mental and moral tone. This shows that these glands are\nactive, that they generate energy, even before puberty, which is\nessential to their health and the development of every part of the boy.\nBut even the boy, made an eunuch at fourteen, will be a very defective\nman at twenty-five. This indicates that the sexual glands are generating\na creative energy, during this period of adolescence, that is needed to\nprepare him for the period of largest possibilities of fatherhood. As a\ngeneral rule, until he is twenty-four, this sex life should never be\nexpressed for reproductive purposes. The young man has other needs for\nit. When he arrives at his fiftieth milestone, if he has conserved this\nenergy, in youth, he will thus have added thirty or more years to the\nfifty already lived. The old men who wear a halo of health, energy,\nnobility, happiness and purity (there are but few), are men, who in\nyouth, young manhood and middle life, conserved the energy of manhood.\n\n=Man is hereditarily degenerate.=--Man cannot understand, why his hardest\nbattles are not with enemies on the outside, but with his own inherent\ninclinations to do wrong; why he makes such slow progress; why the mass\nof his fellow men are so indifferent to the development of ideal\nmanhood, until he gets a vision of the real cause of human degeneracy.\nThe one basic cause of all degeneracy in the past and present has been\nand is the dissipation of the creative life. It is possible and highly\nprobable that the original cause of the origin of degeneracy involved\nthe violation of the laws of sex. All practical and independent students\nof sociology are rapidly recognizing that this is the chief cause of the\npresent day degeneracy. They are recognizing that most children are the\nproducts of uncontrolled desire, that their prenatal rights were not\nrespected, that many were not warmly welcomed at birth, and but few are\nproperly instructed in regard to the laws of sex and the importance of\npurity. They see that the hope of the nation and the human race is to\ncome back to nature, be natural, not to substitute artificial laws for\nnature\u2019s laws, but to intelligently study and apply the laws of nature.\nThey see that the initial of every child\u2019s life should be intelligently\nand prayerfully planned, prenatally protected, also the birth warmly\nwelcomed, environment safeguarded and education natural and wise.\n\n=The sexual system has two functions.=--Take three brothers who have\nreceived good heredity and give them the best environment. We will make\nthis difference between these boys; the first is made an eunuch when\none year old, the second when he is fourteen, the third is permitted to\ngrow up normal. When they reach maturity, we find they have developed\ndifferently. The first has grown only a few scattering short hairs on\nhis face, his voice is like a girl, his shoulders are round and drooped;\nhe is cowardly, without capacity for business, with but very little\nmental capacity and wholly without mental ambition. The second one has\nslight but noticeable improvements in all of these particulars. The\nthird is normal. These facts show that the sexual organs have two\nfunctions, and that the organs of a small boy are not wholly inactive as\nbelieved by most people. Before puberty these glands are generating an\nenergy of great value to the boy that cannot be chemicalized and ejected\nfrom the body. When puberty dawns, the sexual organs become more\nnoticeably active and a part of this energy, at least, becomes\nchemicalized into a fluid containing active cell life which may be\nabsorbed by the body or ejected from the body. Before puberty this sex\nlife helps to change the baby into a perfect boy. From fourteen to\ntwenty-four this sex life helps to change the perfect boy into a perfect\nman. In these two periods the sex life has the one special mission,\nmaking a perfect man. In the latter \u201cteens\u201d and early \u201ctwenties\u201d it\nwould be possible to force this sex life into the function of\nreproduction. But this is not its natural mission during these early\nyears. He now enters the period of greatest reproductive possibilities.\nThis period should last for twenty-four to twenty-six years. During this\nperiod this creative life has two distinct functions. The first in\nimportance is that of reproduction. This is the highest, noblest, purest\nand most sacred function of manhood. In rare cases, such as an\nunfortunate heredity, accident or disease, over which the man has had no\ncontrol, may unfit him for normal reproduction. He is to be pitied not\ncensured. Through the effects of bad habits, upon sexual manhood, many\nmen are unfit for normal reproduction. The second function of this\ncreative life is to maintain perfect manhood. Sexual excess in the\nmarried life is just as much a violation of the laws of sex as sexual\nvice before marriage. The fourth period in a man\u2019s life begins when he\nis forty-five to fifty-five, and includes the remainder of his life.\nDuring this period the creative life has the one primary mission of\nmaintaining his manhood. While the reproductive function remains\npossible it rarely would be advisable to express this energy in this\nway.\n\n=The creative life.=--Until recent years nearly all students of sexology\nconsidered sex as essentially physical. Now the idea is growing that sex\nis vitally a part of the physical, mental and soul life of the\nindividual. The sexual organs are simply the generators of the creative\nlife and mediums through which this creative life is expressed in\nreproduction.\n\n=The meaning of passion.=--The consciousness of normal sexual desire is\nnot an evidence of sinfulness and it is not an excuse for dissipation.\nSexual desire rightfully interpreted means that we are conscious of the\npossession of creative life. This can be utilized in several ways. It\ncan be built into the body, into the mind, into the moral nature, it can\nbe used in reproducing the species, or it can be dissipated. Man must\ndecide the way he will use it. The disposition he makes of his sex life\nwill determine whether he and others are blessed or injured by the use\nhe makes of it.\n\n=How to build this creative life into the body.=--On the road might be\nseen a pair of strong draught horses pulling a wagon containing only an\narmful of wood. Becoming interested in knowing why those horses are not\nable to pull a larger load, you find, upon investigation, the wagon to\nbe so frail that, if you should double the load the wagon would break\ndown. The horses represent a strong, educated mind and the wagon a frail\nbody. Such a person is handicapped in the march of life. Others with\nstronger bodies, but with less of mental ability, will win more honors,\nreceive larger remuneration and accomplish more in life. One needs a\nstrong healthy body in which to train the mind and achieve results. In\nmost cases, it is a sin and a shame not to have a sound and perfect\nbody.\n\nBy keeping the mind pure, taking regular, systematic physical exercise,\ndeep prolonged breathing and observing ordinary health laws this\ncreative life can be built into tissue and muscle, developing the body\nof an athlete. There are examples where men, who by the secret vice,\nhave brought on initial stages of consumption, afterward broke from the\nvice and by control of the mind and physical culture cured the disease,\nrestored health and developed a fine physique.\n\n=How to build the creative life into a greater mind.=--The organs of\ngeneration are life generators. They create life, physical, mental and\nspiritual. This life is embodied in a very nutritious substance. This\nvaluable food material, with its essence of pure life, if not dissipated\nby vice, is absorbed by the blood. Nature sends the blood most freely to\nthe parts most used. If physical exercise is taken and the mind\nneglected, the body will be strong and the mind weak. If both the mind\nand body are uniformly exercised, they will be uniformly developed.\n\nIf the mind is allowed to revel in lascivious thoughts many times as\nmuch of this creative life will be formed as the blood can absorb. Thus\nthe blood is robbed of nutritious material and life that should never\nhave been removed. This surplus cannot be reclaimed by the body but must\nbe dissipated. Keeping the mind pure is of paramount importance. To do\nthis, the mind must constantly be engaged in some worthy activity. Keep\ncompany with great men and women by reading their articles in magazines\nand their books. Think great thoughts of your own. Be hopeful, cheerful\nand determined. The prize of a great mind will be yours.\n\n=How to build the creative life into a larger social and moral\nlife.=--Emotions, sentiments, feelings, hope, faith and charity are\nessential elements of a man\u2019s nature. He is not a full man, a well\nrounded man, a perfect man if these elements of his nature are\nneglected. These elements of his nature are fed on spiritual exercise.\nMan\u2019s degeneracy is an appalling fact. Regeneration, or Christ is a\nnecessity in every life. Christ loved the unlovely, inspired the\ndiscouraged, wept with those that wept, and lifted the burdens of\nstruggling ones. By following this example we will build His life, our\ncreative life, into a larger social and moral life.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVI\n\nCONTINENCE\n\n\nIt has been several months now since we had our last confidential talk.\nMany changes have taken place in your body and mind during these months.\nYou have been inclined to be more with large boys and young men and this\nis due to the changes that are going on. With the coming months you will\nhave less the feelings of the boy and more the feelings of the man.\n\n=The two forms of incontinence.=--I have been anxious to have a talk with\nyou on the subject of continence. By this word as applied to young men,\nwe mean abstinence from all voluntary sexual gratification. Having given\nyou talks on the subject of the \u201csolitary vice,\u201d which is one form of\nsexual gratification, I will now talk with you about the other form of\nincontinence, cohabitation or sexual relation with women.\n\n=A false idea.=--There is a widely prevailing idea among young men that\nthey must gratify their sexual desire in some way, and that if they do\nnot they will lose their reproductive power, or their ability to become\nfathers. They have an idea that sexual gratification is essential to\nsexual and physical health, mental development and manliness. They think\nyoung men are weak-minded and incapable who do not gratify themselves in\none of these two ways. Where did they get this idea?\n\n=The wrong application of biological law.=--They will tell you that\ndoctors teach that young men should gratify themselves. They will tell\nyou then that the non-use of an organ will lead to the loss of its\nfunction. The illustration they use is, \u201cIf the arm be kept in a sling\nfor a year, one will find he has lost the use of his arm for several\ndays. If the arm should be kept in a sling for ten years, he would\nlikely lose the use of his arm for life and the arm would wither;\ntherefore, if a young man should live a continent life for ten years,\nhis sexual organs would atrophy and he would lose his powers of\nfatherhood.\u201d\n\n=No reliable physician holds to the sexual necessity theory.=--In reply to\nthese arguments, no intelligent and reliable physician to-day teaches\nsex necessity. Some ignorant, unreliable, \u201cquack\u201d doctor occasionally\ntells a young man that his physical, mental and sexual strength will be\nruined unless he indulges in sexual gratification. This young man will\ntell twenty young men what he has learned and each of these will tell\ntwenty others. It is in this way that so many young men get the idea\nthat doctors advise sexual indulgence.\n\n=Continence does not destroy virility.=--Ten years, twenty years, or even\nmore, of absolute continent living will no more cause a man to lose his\nvirility than twenty years of absence from nursing a child will destroy\nthe function of lactation in a woman.\n\n=Only the unreliable doctors advocate sexual necessity.=--In every\nprofession of men there are some fakes. This is as true of the medical\nprofession as it is of other professions. In all large cities and in\nmany small towns there are ignorant, unreliable and unscrupulous\ndoctors. In almost every State, I have had young men to tell me that\nthey have been advised by doctors to visit the prostitute. Such frauds\nare a great social and moral misfortune to any community. The\nhigh-minded, capable, honorable doctors all advocate continence for\nyoung men. They are real friends to young men. Even the young man who\nhas made his mistakes will find the advice and treatment of this class\nof doctors to be far the safest and cheapest in the end.\n\n=Unanswerable arguments.=--It is not an uncommon occurrence to hear some\nvery prominent citizen advocate the necessity for a few public\ncharacters in every community to conserve the health of young men by\nministering to their sexual necessity and in this way protecting the\nvirtue of innocent girls and respectable women.\n\nThe test of sincerity and honesty of a man who claims to believe in\nforeign missions, is his willingness to go, to allow his child to go, or\nto help support those who do go as missionaries. The test of the\nsincerity and honesty of a man who advocates the necessity for the\nimmoral woman, is his willingness to contribute a mother, wife, sister,\nor daughter to the philanthropic interest of masculine health and the\nsafeguarding of innocent girls and respectable women. If he is not\nwilling to make this contribution he is not honest and not sincere when\nhe advocates public prostitution.\n\nIf public prostitution protects innocent girls and respectable women\nfrom the abnormal man, cases of rape and seduction would occur most\nfrequently where there are no lewd women. But the reverse is true. The\ncontinent young men would be guilty of committing all the assaults on\nfemale virtue. But it is the incontinent men who commit all the crimes\nof this kind.\n\nIf the social evil is a necessity and the immoral woman protects the\nvirtue of the innocent girls and virtuous wives, is she not a\nbenefactor? Who is engaged in a more commendable, philanthropic or\nChristian service? Then why should she be treated as an outcast? Should\nshe not be invited as a guest of honor at our social functions? Should\nshe not sing in the choir, or sit in a front pew in the most\naristocratic church?\n\nThe pugilist and athlete, in their training for special tests of\nstrength, endurance, and skill, abstain for long periods from all sexual\ngratification.\n\nIt is by living a continent life that the lower animals, unmolested by\nman, reach a state of physical perfection.\n\n=Effects of incontinence upon the married life.=--An incontinent single\nlife will naturally lead to excesses in the married life. Such young men\nget the idea that marriage means unlimited gratification. With these\nperverted views they enter and soil the sacred precincts of marriage and\nparentage. By marital excess, indulged in by no other animal or savage,\ntheir health is injured, their lives are shortened and their children\nare poorly born. This is a very common harvest reaped in the married\nlife. Back of this harvest, and back of the sowing is ignorance.\n\nFrom these facts and many others that could be had we see that absolute\ncontinence is not unnatural, but it is the only sane solution to a young\nman\u2019s sex problems.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVII\n\nPROSTITUTION\n\n\nWe have talked over many of the problems of boys and young men. You are\nnow sixteen and new problems are constantly coming up in your life for\nsolution. I would like to speak with you on this occasion about the very\nvital problem of illicit intercourse with women. By this expression is\nmeant all sexual intercourse with women outside of holy wedlock.\n\n=Men are as fallen as women.=--When this sin occurs among single people it\nis fornication, when among the married, it is adultery. Whether this\noccurs among the single or the married, it is prostitution. In this sin\nthere is no difference, in character, between the male and the female,\nthe married and the single prostitute; in either case, the priceless gem\nof virtue has been forfeited.\n\n=Men think less of their virtue than women.=--Partly due to a bad heredity\nand largely due to a false training and the existence of a double\nstandard of morals, boys and men are more willing to sacrifice their\nvirtue than are girls and women. There are a few degenerate girls and\nsome who have been reared in immoral homes who willingly sacrifice\ntheir virtue. But these represent only a very small part of the girls\nwho annually fall. Most of those who are known as fallen women were\ninduced to fall by designing men. Many methods are used to accomplish\nthe fall of girls. Lady clerks, stenographers and servants in homes and\nhotels receive such meager wages that they are often unable to meet\ntheir necessary expenses. Men have taken advantage of their financial\nneed and by skillful advances, artful entreaties and by offering to\nsupplement their income for special favors, they succeed in ruining many\ngirls.\n\n=Few women go wrong from choice.=--Some men use the dance, the theater,\nalcoholic drinks, certain stimulating drugs, buggy rides and late hours\nat night as means of accomplishing their fiendish purposes. Victory once\nwon, clandestine relations are continued until the girl finds that she\nis to be a mother, or her guilt becoming known, being often forced from\nher own home, ostracized by society, shunned by professing Christians,\nshe now becomes an outcast. Few girls ever go wrong from choice. Great\nas her sin is, it is small compared with his. There is not greater sin\nand crime than his. Possessed of one spark of manhood, he would marry\nthe girl; instead, he is more likely to boast of his achievement.\n\n=No less a sin because the fallen woman accepts a \u201cprice.\u201d=--Young men\noften ask, \u201cWhat harm can there be in seeking sexual gratification with\na woman who voluntarily gives her consent for a price?\u201d There are many\nreasons why this is wrong. The Bible condemns it as a very great sin.\nCivil law condemns adultery as a crime. By both civil and divine law it\nis considered as great a crime as stealing, murder or drunkenness. If\nmen controlled their passions, there would be no fallen women. If men\nwould not visit them, they would reform or become Christians. Thus men\nare not only largely responsible for the fall of women, but they are\nlargely responsible for their remaining fallen.\n\n=Man\u2019s appreciation of pure women destroyed.=--Constant association with\nfallen women degrades or destroys a man\u2019s conception and appreciation of\npure womanhood. He may become so degraded as to believe that all women\nhave their \u201cprice.\u201d Such a man could not appreciate a pure sister,\ndaughter, wife or mother. Such men become sensualists and should they\nmarry, their excesses would wreck the health and happiness of their\nwives, and their children would receive an unfortunate heredity.\n\n=A great physical risk.=--For physical reasons a visit to the fallen women\nwould be a hazardous risk. These women are nearly always diseased. In\nthis way young men become diseased and they infect their wives and\ntransmit serious troubles to their children.\n\n=Self-respect lost.=--From a moral point of view a visit to the strange\nwoman is wholly inadmissible. You could never wholly recover your\nself-respect. A young man has no moral right to demand purity of his\nsweetheart at the marriage altar unless he can offer her a pure life.\n\n=Danger of becoming an illegitimate father.=--Finally, through illicit\nintercourse a young man is constantly in danger of becoming a father. An\nillegitimate father never loves, feeds, clothes, shelters, educates and\ntrains his own child. Every instinct of nature demands this much of him.\nThe child is blood of his blood, bone of his bone, life of his life; it\nis as truly his child as if it had been conceived in wedlock. Sin that\nwill so degrade a man as to leave him without sense of honor, justice\nand right in his relation to his own child certainly has no equal in the\ncatalogue of crime.\n\n=The pure man is worthy of a pure wife.=--The young man who keeps himself\nas pure as a virgin will be worthy of one of God\u2019s queenly women, he\nwill be capable of making her a kingly husband, and, conscious of their\ndignity, purity and virility, he and his wife will become the happy\nparents of a brood of fair girls and lusty boys.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVIII\n\nVENEREAL DISEASES\n\n\n=The bad cold \u201cfallacy.\u201d=--Most boys and young men are disposed to think\nof venereal diseases as a joke. They often compare them with a bad cold.\nThey are often heard to boast of having had one or more attacks from\nwhich they easily recovered. This is due to the fact that these young\nmen have no just conception of the grave consequence of these diseases.\n\n=Two principal diseases.=--There are two principal kinds of venereal\ndisease: gonorrhea, in street vernacular known as clap, and syphilis,\npopularly called pox. These diseases are due to specific disease germs\nand require a specific treatment. These diseases originate as a result\nof illicit intercourse, never originating in the married life where\nhusband and wife are true to each other. Sometimes a husband or wife may\nbe infected by accidentally coming in contact with the disease germs by\nkissing an infected person, the use of public towels, closets, etc.\n\n=As old as prostitution.=--Venereal diseases are as old as prostitution.\nThese diseases evidently originated as a result of prostitution.\nVenereal diseases are known to have been in existence more than 2000\nyears B.C. All venereal diseases were thought to be one until 1838.\n\nThese diseases may be acquired by the use of a closet, towel or bath tub\npreviously used by an infected person.\n\n=The immoral woman dangerous.=--All immoral women, whether they live in\npublic houses or in private homes, are diseased some of the time, and\nsome of them are diseased all the time. No young man can know, not even\na doctor, when a man may or may not be infected by having sexual\nrelations with either class of these women.\n\nFacts show that eighty per cent. of the young men of this country become\ninfected with gonorrhea between the ages of eighteen and thirty. This\nwould indicate that only a few who visit the immoral woman escape,\nbecause at least ten per cent. of our young men never visit fallen\nwomen. The ten per cent. of our young men is increasing.\n\n=Immediate medical attention.=--Should a young man be so thoughtless and\nunfortunate as to visit one of these women and become infected, he\nshould go at once to a competent physician and follow his advice and\ntake his treatment. He should not postpone treatment one hour, send off\nfor some remedy he sees advertised, or go and get some patent remedy to\nbe obtained at a drug store. Money, time, health and even life itself\nare too valuable to be hazarded in this way. If this advice were always\nfollowed the diseases could in many cases be cured in their first stage\nand most of the after evil results be prevented.\n\n=Discovery of the disease germs.=--In 1879, Dr. Neisser discovered the\nspecific germ of gonorrhea, called the Neisser gonococcus. In 1895, two\nGerman doctors discovered the germ of syphilis, spirochet\u00e6 pallida.\n\n=Gonorrhea.=--The disease appears from three to five days after exposure,\nand is heralded by the swelling of the urethra, and an itching, burning\nsensation during urination. These symptoms continue for a week or ten\ndays when a thick greenish yellow discharge begins. Under careful and\nprompt treatment the disease may be permanently cured. Even under prompt\nand skillful treatment some cases have a persistent tendency to run into\na chronic condition.\n\nComplicated chronic conditions often occur from poor treatment or\nneglect. When the disease reaches a chronic form it is likely to\ncontinue for years. Some of the complications of this disease are:\nchronic inflammation of the mucous membrane of the urethra, accompanied\nby a constant discharge.\n\n=Stricture.=--A tightening or narrowing of the urethra at some point. This\nis called stricture. Urinating becomes difficult and painful. A lengthy\nand difficult treatment may be required and sometimes a painful\noperation.\n\n=Inflammation of the prostate.=--If the prostate gland becomes the seat of\nthis disease, it will cause great inconvenience and may result in\npainful treatment, surgical operation, loss of health and mental vigor,\nwith possible loss of the power to become a father.\n\n=If both testes become inflamed=, the victim often becomes sterile. A\ndangerous and painful operation is sometimes required. He will never be\nwhat he once was, or might have been.\n\n=Gonorrheal rheumatism.=--If the gonorrheal germs get into the blood and\nfind their way to the joints of the bones, the result is gonorrheal\nrheumatism. This is one of the most painful and difficult diseases to be\ncured known to medical science.\n\n=Ophthalmia.=--Should some of this poisonous pus be transferred to his eye\nor the eye of another, it would cause gonorrheal ophthalmia, a disease\nof the eye that often results in blindness in a few hours or unsightly\nsore eyes for life.\n\n=Wife and children the greatest sufferers.=--If the guilty young man were\nthe only one to suffer, it would not be so serious. His future wife and\nchildren may be the greatest sufferers. It is now known that these\ndisease germs may remain for years in a young man\u2019s body in an inactive\nand weakened state; and that too, after he thinks he is perfectly cured.\nIn this condition he is likely to infect his wife. These weakened germs\nwill now take on new life in her body and produce gonorrheal conditions.\nShe will mistake the disease for leucorrhea and treat herself for a\ntime. During this loss of time, various complications have developed.\nOne or more of her sexual organs are now inflamed and ulcerated. One\norgan after another may have to be removed by a surgical operation to\nsave her life. Tumors, nodules, and ulcers must be removed by the knife.\nThe doctor feels that it is best to leave the husband, as well as the\nwife, to believe that the whole trouble is due to the weakness of woman.\nPerhaps the wife dies under the knife and leaves a husband and children.\nIn preaching her funeral, the pastor tries to console the bereaved by\nlaboring to reconcile Providence and the unfortunate death.\n\n=Blind children.=--If she becomes a mother before these operations are\nmade, as the child passes from her body it gets some of the gonorrheal\ngerms in its little eyes and in a few hours or days it is totally blind\nfrom gonorrheal ophthalmia. Or, if the doctor suspects this trouble and\nputs a drop or two of a solution of silver nitrate in the eyes of the\nnew-born baby, no serious trouble may come to the child because of the\nfather\u2019s sin. An eminent physician in Germany says that there are 30,000\nblind people in Germany because of gonorrheal ophthalmia. No statistics\nhave been kept in this country, but reliable physicians claim that there\nmust be as many as 15,000. What right has a young man to engage in a sin\nthat will cause his wife and child a lifetime of suffering?\n\n=Syphilis= is by no means as common as gonorrhea, there being only eight\nto eighteen per cent. of the young men who contract this disease as\ncompared with eighty per cent. who contract the other. The germs that\nproduce gonorrhea have only to come in contact with the mucous membrane\nfor infection to follow.\n\nThe germs of syphilis have to reach the blood by means of a sore or\nsmall crack in the skin or mucous membrane.\n\n=Three stages of syphilis.=--Syphilis develops by three stages, known as\nprimary, secondary and tertiary syphilis. If treated promptly and\nproperly during the first stage, it may be cured without great injury\nfollowing, or danger of return. In other stages a much longer treatment\nwill be required, with many possible complications and dangers. Before\nthe doctor can check the disease it may attack the bones, muscles,\narteries and the internal organs. This disease causes 90 per cent. of\nlocomotor ataxia, much of apoplexy, paralysis and sudden deaths long\nafter the disease is supposed to be cured. It is a prolific cause of\ninsanity. The descendants of a syphilitic father or mother are often\nstill-born, die prematurely, or become insane later in life. Syphilis\nshortens the lives of its victims one-third.\n\n=An innocent person can be infected.=--By using or handling something used\nby a diseased person an innocent person may be infected. A person\ninfected with one of these diseases is absolutely unclean and dangerous.\nThere are better reasons for putting such a man in the pesthouse than\none who has smallpox.\n\n=A certificate of good health should be required.=--It will not be long\nbefore a young man will have to present a certificate of freedom from\nthese diseases, obtained from a reputable physician, before he is\ngranted a license to be married.\n\n=An example.=--The President of a college Y. M. C. A. recently said to me,\n\u201cFive years ago I was in poor health due to a long and excessive\npractice of the secret vice. I went to a doctor for advice. He suggested\nthat I should occasionally visit the prostitute. I made but one visit.\nThat night I caught syphilis. For five years I have been under the\ntreatment of doctors. I have been to Hot Springs. Doctors tell me that I\ncannot be cured under two more years of this treatment. Even then, the\nrisk of its return will be so great they say, that I should never think\nof marrying.\u201d Then he added, \u201cThat is what one visit has cost me. Three\ntimes in these five years I have planned to commit suicide.\u201d\n\n=Another example.=--Only a few days since a young man called at my office\nfor an interview. His story was, \u201cThree years ago I was induced by other\nboys to visit the \u2018Red Light\u2019 district of this city. On my second visit\nI was infected with gonorrhea. My income was small. The doctor\u2019s fees\nwere beyond my reach. I tried patent remedies sold in drug stores\nguaranteed to cure the worst case in three to five days. Failing to cure\nmyself in this way I was compelled to go to doctors. At times I seem to\nbe cured. Then I make another visit and the old trouble comes back on\nme. This has been repeated three times in two years. I am now in a worse\nshape than I have ever been.\u201d He then asked my advice. I told him to\nselect the most reliable doctor he could find, and regardless of price\ntake his treatment until he was pronounced cured. Then twice a year for\nseveral years, to have a State Health Board to make a microscopic\nexamination. If they find no gonococci for two or three years, he might\nconsider himself well. But marriage will then be a risky proposition.\n\nThese two recent cases are selected from a thousand experiences related\nto me in the last five years, many of which were far worse than these.\nThe reader can judge for himself whether or not these diseases are no\nworse than a \u201cbad cold.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIX\n\nA YOUNG MAN\u2019S ETHICS\n\n\n=You have a social nature.=--This nature should be developed. Boys and\ngirls, men and women, are complements of each other. Every boy needs a\nsister and every girl needs a brother. It is a good thing for boys and\ngirls of different families to be schoolmates and occasionally to engage\ntogether in games. Where co-educational colleges are wisely managed,\nyoung men and women develop socially in a more normal way than when they\nare separated. The matured young man is never quite himself until he\nfinds his mate. The same can be said with equal force of the matured\nwoman.\n\n=Relation of the social and sex natures.=--The social nature of an eunuch\nhas been arrested in its development to such an extent that he appears\nto be without a social nature. He does not attract the opposite sex,\nadmires no woman, has no interest in children, and does not care to\nmingle with people in a social way. The secret sin often causes a young\nman to be exceedingly indifferent and to shun the company of young\nwomen.\n\nThese facts show clearly that there is a vital relation between the\nsexual nature and the social nature. If developed and kept normal, they\nwill contribute much to the enjoyment of life. Like all great blessings\nthey have their dangers. Whatever, in the social relations of young men\nand women, leads to the excitement of the sexual instinct means danger,\ntemptations and ofttimes social disaster. Almost all men have either\ninherited or acquired a strong tendency toward easy sexual excitement.\nMost young men are ignorant of their weakness and the laws of sexual\nexcitement. In these regards the birds and lower animals are much truer\nto nature than is, degenerate, man. Among them the sexual exciting\nrelations, preparatory to the reproductive act, are never indulged in by\nthe male except during the mating season. The lower animals never\nviolate these laws of normal sexual excitement.\n\n=A pernicious custom.=--Many young men, ignorant of these laws, prompted\nby an over-developed sexual condition, have the habit of pinching the\narms of girls, patting their cheeks and chins, squeezing their hands,\nplaying with the hair, hugging and kissing them, and other indiscreet\nand dangerous habits. These relations are known by modern society as\n\u201cspooning.\u201d It is seriously common. It is more dangerous to physical,\nsexual, mental and moral health than the secret sin or prostitution. It\nis the kindergarten for both. Few young people would ever fall were it\nnot for these pernicious and foolish customs.\n\nYou should treat every young lady as you would have other young men\ntreat your sister. You should have a correct knowledge of these laws and\nby an intelligent choice and a manly, strong purpose, refuse ever to\nengage with young women in any social relation that would endanger your\nhonor or their virtue.\n\n=Friendship and love.=--For a number of years you may for social reasons\nwish to call occasionally on one or more girls for whom you will\nentertain only thoughts of friendship. However, friendship occasionally\nassumes a more serious turn and is transformed mysteriously into love.\nIf this love is natural, prompted by your paternal nature, approved by\nyour reason and judgment, no mistake will be made. Love can be blinded\nby lust, paralyzed by wealth and hypnotized by beauty and in either\nevent, marriage would be a failure.\n\n=A good wife is a helpmate.=--If a young man has perfect control of his\nsex nature, I would not advise marriage before he is twenty-three or\nfour. If he has a few hundred dollars ahead, a good education, or a good\npaying position, has good health and has found the girl of his choice,\nhe should not postpone marriage until he has accumulated more. A good\nwife is a helpmate.\n\n=Long engagements.=--Such engagements are seldom necessary and rarely\nadvisable. Don\u2019t be in a hurry. The first chance may not be the best\none. Study her and her family well. Your children\u2019s rights should be\nrespected; choose for them a good mother. A young man should never\ntrifle with his affections or the affections of young women by numerous\nengagements. This is a serious matter. The affectional nature can be\ntrifled with until it cannot be relied upon.\n\n=Certain rights not yours.=--After you are satisfied with the choice you\nhave made, the important question been asked, a favorable answer\nreceived, and the engagement has been effected with the approval of both\nfamilies, remember that there are privileges that are not yours until\nthe legal phase of marriage has completed your oneness. Any violation of\nchastity before marriage is a sin against society, weakens self-respect,\ncauses a loss of confidence in each other, and often leads to domestic\ndiscord in the future.\n\n=When you call.=--After the engagement is made you will want to be with\nyour betrothed much of the time. When together have something sensible\nto talk about. It is a good thing for lovers to read interesting stories\nto each other. While sentiment and the occasional repetition of the\navowal of marriage will add interest to these calls yet this can be\nover-done and becomes very monotonous. Be frank, sincere, versatile and\nentertaining, but be discreet.\n\n=The nuptial night.=--In relation to the nuptial night there is some very\ndelicate and vital information every engaged young man should possess.\nThe primary purpose of marriage is reproduction. Marriage is said to be\n\u201cConsummated in the first act of cohabitation.\u201d In Greece it was a\ncustom for three days to intervene between the marriage ceremony and the\n\u201cconsummation of marriage.\u201d This was a very wise custom. The bride is\nusually nervous, exhausted and excited over the occasion. However much\nshe may love her husband, he is yet to her a stranger. This nuptial\nnight should be a night of sweetest, tenderest courtship. The bride\nshould be promptly assured that she will be protected by her lover and\nthat no sexual demand will be made until she extends the invitation. You\nhave often noticed reports in the daily papers of the young bride\ndeserting her husband a day or two after marriage, or committing\nsuicide. Their husbands were ignorant, low and brutal, in almost every\ncase. A young man should understand that his bride is not in a condition\nof body and mind to meet the sudden change which the marital relation\nbrings.\n\n=The considerate young husband.=--If a young husband is considerate,\nawaits his wife\u2019s invitation, practices self-control and moderation for\nthe first few weeks of marriage, his wife will be spared much anxiety,\nnervousness, and possibly diseases of the genital organs and an invalid\ncondition for life.\n\nIf an engaged young man is informed, sensible and pure, and his bride\npossesses these qualities, there would be nothing indiscreet, unmanly,\nor even unchristian for him to assure his betrothed that she need have\nno fear in approaching the nuptial night.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XL\n\nMANHOOD WRECKED AND REGAINED\n\n\n=Few perfect men.=--When we study man in his relation to the world about\nhim, in relation to his physical, mental and moral possibilities, we get\na glimpse of what nature and his Creator planned for him to be. In\nsacred and profane history, on the farm and in the shop, behind the\ncounter and at the bar; in Congress and in Senate, on the platform and\nin the pulpit; we find some splendid examples of ideal manhood. But look\nat humanity in the mass. How few perfect men do you find in a community!\nLook at the enervated and stunted fathers, the nervous and sickly\nmothers, the puny and weak children, the poorly developed babies and\ndwarfed minds, the crowded reformatories, penitentiaries and asylums.\nWhy are sixty-seven per cent. of the children defective at birth? Why\nthe aimless, shiftless, purposeless, ne\u2019er-do-well men? Why so much of\ndeteriorated manhood? The causes are many. Many people are ignorant of\nthe most common laws of health. Many live in unappeased hunger and some\nare improperly fed. Whisky, tobacco, opium and morphine are all doing\ntheir part in wrecking manhood. But the most prolific cause of blighted\nmanhood is the sin of sensuality. It is fully equal to all other causes\ncombined. One state health board asserts that if all men understood the\nlaws of sex and kept them, there would not be the need of one doctor in\nten that we now have. This indicates the injurious physical effects of\nthis sin.\n\n=Wrecked minds.=--An eminent doctor of France claims that the insanity of\neighty-two per cent. of all the females and seventy-eight per cent. of\nall the males in the asylums of that nation involves their sexual\nmechanism, function, or both, and that early sex instruction would have\nwholly precluded much of it and postponed the mental break much later in\nlife in many other cases. This indicates the mental effects of this sin.\n\n=Kept from Christ.=--More people are kept from Christ and more fail to\nlive the Christian life because of their sex problem than because of all\nother problems put together. This indicates the moral effects of this\nsin.\n\n=Regained--extent.=--The extent to which injured, impaired or wrecked\nmanhood due to dissipated sex life, may be regained, will be determined\nby the number of years he has indulged, the excessiveness of his vice,\nhis age when he reforms, the exercise of his will and the help he seeks\nfrom God. When nature is given a fair show, it is wonderful what she\nwill do in a few years. When God is given a fair chance in a man\u2019s life,\nit is equally wonderful what he can do for a man. God and nature work\ntogether in the restoration of manhood.\n\n=The diagnosis.=--A study of the causes and the conditions of wrecked\nmanhood will aid us to understand what must be done, if manhood is to be\nrestored. Nearly all cases of sexually injured or wrecked manhood first\noriginated in wrong mental relations to matters of sex. The mind has the\npower to excite to greater than normal activity many of the glands of\nthe body. In the presence of food, or fancying that one is in the\npresence of food, the mind so influences the salivary glands that they\nsecrete saliva much faster than at other times. In the same way, when\nthe mind is called to the sexual organs, and thought and desire for\nsexual gratification are aroused by handling these organs, or when\ngazing upon lewd pictures, reading obscene literature, telling or\nhearing a smutty joke, \u201cspooning\u201d with a girl, reveling in lascivious\ndesire, or when constipated these organs are stimulated to unusual\nactivity. Blood rushes to the genital organs, the capillaries are\ndilated and gorged with blood and many times as much semen is formed in\na given period, as would be formed, if the mind was otherwise engaged.\nThe body has its limit in absorbing the vital substance. Much of it\nthat should never have been taken from the blood must be thrown off from\nthe body by seminal emissions, the secret vice, prostitution or marital\nexcess. When improper mental relations are continued for months or\nyears, gradually there is established a tendency for too much blood to\nflow to the genitals, the capillaries become easily dilated, the organs\nare constantly excited and inflamed and the habit of generating too much\nsemen is formed. This leads to impaired manhood.\n\n=All causes of wrong mental thinking must be avoided.=--If constipated,\nthis must be corrected. If accustomed to handling the organs with the\nhands, this must be stopped. Learn instinctively to shun the vulgar\nstory teller, close your eyes to every lewd picture, burn every obscene\nbook in your possession, keep company with only the discreet, chaste\ngirls who wear a full dress, banish every lascivious thought, and keep\nyour mind engaged in other things. This desired mental control does not\ncome in a moment, an hour, a day or a month of effort. It will take a\nyear, it may take more to become master of the mind.\n\nA young man must quit the sin. It can be done at once, but not in every\ncase. It may take months or a year.\n\nIf a true conversion to Christ means anything, it means a purification\nof the mind from a willful choice to engage in impure thoughts. From my\npoint of view this is one of the most important steps for a young man to\ntake in the solution of his sex problem.\n\n=A pathological condition.=--It is vitally important for a young man to\nunderstand that, even when he has fully decided in his mind on reform\nand has accepted Christ, that this reformation of mind and regeneration\nin his moral nature do not change the pathological condition of the\ngenital organs, due to years of violating nature\u2019s laws. These steps are\nall important. Restoration to manhood would not be possible without one\nor both. The physiological facts are, years of wrong thinking, the\nsecret vice or prostitution has established a tendency for too much\nblood to flow to these parts and consequently too much semen is formed.\nThis will continue until nature has had time to restore normal\nconditions. This could never be done by nature without the causes being\nremoved. Nature\u2019s work of restoration is always gradual. She cannot be\nhurried. She always does her best. Her best is always measured by the\nopportunity given her. Start in time, be faithful in removing all\nhindrances and she will accomplish results.\n\n=Hindrances and helps.=--You cannot help nature in this trouble by using\ndrugs, stimulants or galvanic batteries. Marriage only substitutes one\nform of sexual waste for another. Prostitution is not a remedy; that\nsimply destroys two souls and bodies instead of one. The use of tobacco\nand alcoholic drinks tends to inflame the passions. These habits must be\nentirely quit if restored manhood is desired. Absolute cleanliness,\nbathing of parts with cold water, eating nature\u2019s foods, vegetables and\ncereals, meat sparingly, if at all, taking plenty of open air exercise,\nincluding deep breathing; these are the remedies nature delights in\nusing.\n\n=A fact that should be clearly understood.=--After one has fully decided\nupon a changed life, at certain periods he will be very severely tested\nby the constant recurrence of impure thoughts and a strong desire for\nsexual gratification. Many men doubt their conversion or decide that\nthere is no hope for them. If they yield and practice the secret vice,\nthey chide and condemn themselves, become despondent and decide there is\nno hope for them. They should understand that these thoughts and desires\nare not of moral choice, but they arise purely from a pathological\ncondition of the genital organs. The changed mind and heart did not stop\nthe usual flow of blood to these organs and the generation of too much\nsemen. The surplus could not be absorbed by the body. It caused the\nducts and vessels to become gorged. It was this condition that caused\nthe improper thoughts and desires. Nature has a relief for this while\nshe is gradually producing a cure. The relief is a seminal emission. If\nthese men would resist the temptation for a few more hours or a day,\nnature would come to their help with an emission. Then for several days\nthey would be free from impure thoughts and desires. The next period\nwould not be so severe. The will would be stronger and resistance\neasier. If this is kept up, less and less blood will go to the genital\norgans, less and less semen will be formed, and after one, two or three\nyears a normal condition will be established and manhood restored.\n\n=If venerealized, consult a good doctor.=--If wrecked manhood involves\nsome form of venereal complication, the sufferer should go to the most\nreliable home physician he can find, take his treatment and follow his\ndirections. Even in these cases, if the directions given are followed,\nthe remedies given by the doctor will be made more effective.\n\n=All out of the asylum can if they will.=--To the young man with seminal\nweakness, or loss of virility, we can offer no easy, short cuts to\nrecovery. For years you have violated nature\u2019s laws. The way back is not\neasy. Only the brave and the determined will make it. All out of the\nasylum can if they will. There is hope, there is help, there is\nrecovery. It is worth fighting a lifetime for.\n\nTo the great army of young men who are unchaste in minds, many in\nhabits, conscious of no serious results, as yet, we would wave the flag\nof warning.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLI\n\nPRACTICAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED\n\n\n=Are men naturally more passionate than women?=--The accumulated\nhereditary effects of the double standard for centuries and his acquired\ntendencies have made man more sensual than woman. Reasoning from the\nlower animals and from all natural conditions there is no reason why a\nwoman should be less passionate than man. Centuries of false training in\nimpure mental revelings, obscene language and vicious habits have had a\ngrowing tendency to establish lust in man. Most of man\u2019s lust is the\nchild of his own cultivation. If the double standard had never existed\nand men and women had been equally moral, men would be no more\npassionate than woman and both would be better sexed and far less\nsensual.\n\n=What are the causes of acquired sensuality in men?=--The chief cause is\nwrong mental relations to matters of sex and reproduction. The following\nare contributory causes: The false impressions made by parents on the\nchild; the half truths clothed in the most obscene language received\nfrom servants and playmates; obscene books, pictures, shows and the\ndance. All these lead to sexual excitement through the mind. The use of\ntobacco and alcoholic drinks tend to inflame the passions.\n\n=What are the principal causes of sterility in men?=--Some authorities\nclaim that twenty per cent. of childless homes are due to men having had\ncertain chronic forms of gonorrhea. Excessive use of tobacco and\nalcoholic drinks produces temporary sterility. The secret sin, when\ncontinued for many years, often results in temporary sterility. The\ninability to become a father, due to one of the last causes, may be\nregained on one or more years of abstinence from the cause. Loss of\nreproductive powers due to gonorrhea, in most cases cannot be restored.\n\nEighty per cent. of sterility among married women is due to gonorrheal\ninfection. In nearly every case they were infected by their husbands who\nthought themselves cured. From these facts we see that men, not women,\nare largely responsible for sterile homes.\n\n=Are occasional seminal emissions natural?=--If men inherited normal\nsexual conditions and never violated sexual laws, it is reasonable to\nsuppose that men would be as free from sexual losses as are the males of\nlower animals. But this ideal state does not exist with men. Nature has\nwisely provided for the escape of all surplus secretions from the\nvarious glands of the sexual system. This occurs without any special\nshock to the nervous system and the amount of loss is usually small.\nOften what is called an emission is but the loss of fluid from the\nseminal vessels and not from the testes. This does not contain true\nsemen. Practically no harm results from these last discharges.\n\n=When do these emissions begin on a young man?=--This depends upon the\nsexual development and the habits of the youth. In some it occurs much\nearlier than in others. If a young man has lived a continent life, he\nmay expect an occasional emission when he is eighteen or twenty. If he\nhas used narcotics, entertained impure thoughts, or practiced the secret\nsin, he may expect them sooner. All young men who practice the secret\nvice would have frequent emissions if they were not disposing of their\nsurplus energy in this way. The young man who thus voluntarily gratifies\nhis sexual desires is losing more energy than he would be doing if he\nwere to discontinue the habit.\n\nAmong many letters received recently are letters from two young men\nliving nearly a thousand miles apart. Their cases are very similar. Each\nbegan the secret sin when he was only six or seven years old; both were\ntaught the vice by companions older than they; neither ever received a\nword of warning from a parent or teacher. One got to practicing the vice\nas often as seven times a day before he was thirteen. He is now\neighteen and having emissions as often as four times a night. He has\nvaricocele on both sides. The other one is now twenty-two, has practiced\nthe secret sin as often as four times a day, and now has varicocele on\nthe left side. Of course these are extreme cases, but they are more\ncommon than most people think.\n\n=Are there some young men who never have emissions?=--It is no doubt true\nthat all normal young men who are living pure lives have an occasional\nemission. In a few young men it may occur during urination and therefore\nbe unobserved. A young man who willfully dissipates his energy as fast\nas it is formed, by means of masturbation or prostitution, may not have\nemissions. But let him stop his bad habits and he will experience them.\n\n=Are seminal emissions injurious?=--Unnatural emissions are injurious; the\nnatural emissions are not.\n\n=What is the difference between a natural and an unnatural emission?=--The\nnatural emission is a discharge from the seminal vessels; the unnatural\nemission is a discharge from the testes. The natural one contains no\nsperm cells; the unnatural one does. The first is wholly involuntary;\nthe second one is due to sexual excitement caused usually by impure\nthinking. If a young man keeps his mind pure and avoids all habits that\nexcite the sexual organs, practically all the sexual life formed by the\ntestes will be absorbed. Whenever he maintains a high state of passion\nfor several minutes, several hundred of the latent sperm cells in the\nepididymis will take on active life and be sent over to the ampull\u00e6, and\nemissions under this condition would contain many sperm cells. This is\nwhy the unnatural emission is injurious. Owing largely to our artificial\nmethods of living, when a boy is eighteen, the seminal vessels secrete\nmore than can be absorbed. The surplus is thrown off from one to four\ntimes a month. This is nature\u2019s plan of relieving the gorged condition.\n\n=How can one prevent too frequent emissions?=--Such dietetic measures as\neating non-stimulating foods, discontinuing the use of tobacco and\nalcoholic drinks, and such hygienic measures as emptying the bowels and\nbladder just before retiring, sleeping on the side, and preventing\nconstipation, will aid in the control of emissions. But the most\nimportant measure to be used is that of mental control. The cure in all\ncases will be gradual and the time required will depend on the condition\nof the victim and his determination to conquer the habit.\n\n=Can seminal weakness or loss of manhood be cured by the use of medicine\nof any kind?=--The idea that a young man suffering from this trouble, by\nopening his mouth and swallowing pills or drinking medicines, can cure\nhimself is an absolute false hope. No intelligent, conscientious doctor\nwill advise the use of drugs for seminal weakness. The only safe, sane\nand sound prescription that can be given one in this condition is a\nstrict continent life, aided by pure thinking, proper diet, and hygiene.\n\n=Would you advise the use of any drug or medicine in case of seminal\nweakness?=--Absolutely, No. I have no confidence in medicine for such\ncases. In no case place your trouble in the hands of a specialist who\nclaims to cure seminal weakness. Your home doctor is your best friend\nwhen you need medical advice. No well informed doctor will recommend the\nuse of drugs in such cases.\n\n=How may manhood be restored?=--One suffering from seminal weakness must\nabandon the secret sin, get control of his mind, have only pure\nthoughts, exercise the mind along other lines, take plenty of outdoor\nexercise and avoid all stimulating foods and drinks, especially\nnarcotics. If not a Christian, become one at once. A genuine conversion\nwill be the most helpful means of bringing his mind to a pure state of\nthinking. Remember that the creation and distribution of this energy is\nlargely under the control of the will.\n\n=How long will it take a young man to recover from the effects of\nmasturbation?=--There are so many things to be considered in each\nindividual case that this question cannot be answered in other than\ngeneral terms. The age when the habit was commenced, the age when the\nhabit was quit, the frequency and the number of years of indulgence, the\ninherited constitution, the extent of lascivious thinking and the use or\nnon-use of coffee, tea, tobacco and alcoholic drinks, all play a part in\nthe correct answer to the question. I recall one young man of a frail\nconstitution and a nervous temperament, who had practiced the vice two\nto four times a week for four years. He had nearly all the complications\nresulting from a greater excess and a much longer period of indulgence.\nHe used coffee, tobacco, and had been addicted to much impure thinking.\nHis will-power was weak. He had a long, hard struggle in breaking the\nhabit. It required four years for him to recover. Here is a remarkable\nexample. One of my correspondents, twenty-eight years old, began the\nhabit at the age of eight and practiced the habit two and three times a\nday for twenty years. He had very few of the troubles following the\nhabit of masturbation. Satisfactory recovery took place in a year\u2019s\ntime. He had everything to his advantage. He had inherited an ideal\nconstitution and moral tendencies. He had never used coffee, tea,\ntobacco or alcoholic drinks. He had never allowed himself to indulge in\nobscene language, to read immoral books, to associate with bad company\nor to have improper thought about women. He had cultivated studious and\nindustrious habits, and tried hard to live a Christian life. These ideal\nconditions had largely counteracted the injurious effects of the secret\nsin and made recovery possible in the brief period of one year. I regard\nthis as the most remarkable case that I have ever had under my\nadvisement.\n\nWhere one has practiced the secret sin from four to ten or more years\nand had the symptoms of greatly injured or lost manhood, it will require\nfrom one to four years for nature to restore his manly powers. Nature\ncannot counteract the loss of vitality and restore years of waste in a\nfew days or weeks of time. Where one has been a victim of this habit for\nyears he must be patient with nature. Years of practice have established\na stream of waste from his body. In most cases it will require six\nmonths to one year for nature to check this waste. Until this is done,\nthe patient cannot hope to be conscious of the delightful thrill of\nmanhood being restored. Just here, I find many of my correspondents\nbecome discouraged. Failing to realize results in a few weeks, they are\ntempted to feel that the advice found in this book will not bring relief\nwhen followed, or that their case is a helpless one. They need to be\npatient with nature in her slow but sure method of producing real\nresults.\n\n=What per cent. of children should be circumcised and when?=--The best\nphysicians are not agreed on this. Many would say one-fourth to\none-third. It is best to do this when the boy is only a few days or\nweeks old.\n\n=Should a young man be circumcised after he is grown?=--If the prepuce\npasses back freely and there is no irritation or soreness, I would not\nadvise circumcision. If there is, I would advise circumcision. In\nextreme cases of the secret sin, circumcision would help in breaking off\nthe habit.\n\n=Is there some method of dilating the prepuce and thus avoiding the\nnecessity for circumcision?=--Yes. In many cases doctors are able to\nbreak up the adhesions and dilate the prepuce as a substitute for\ncircumcision.\n\nIn this matter most parents neglect their boys. When the prepuce is not\npassed back every few days and the secretion removed, an adhesion takes\nplace between the prepuce and the head of the penis. A large number of\nboys labor for years, from the age of six to twelve trying to pass the\nprepuce back. They have not the right motive in doing this. It is\nimpossible for them to handle this organ in this way, several times a\nday for months or years, without discovering the secret sin. In this\nway they dilate the prepuce and break up the adhesions. It is strange\nthat this experience among boys has not suggested to parents the\nfollowing natural and practical method of solving this problem.\n\nWhere the prepuce passes back naturally in babyhood, the mother should\noccasionally take a damp cloth and remove the secretion. When the boy is\ntwo years old the mother should have the boy trained to do this every\ntwo or three days.\n\nWhere the prepuce is long and the opening small, if the mother, every\ntime she cares for the little fellow\u2019s body, would endeavor to pull the\nprepuce back, by the time the boy is one year old, nine times out of\nten, the problem would be solved. This should be done so gradually and\ncarefully as not to produce soreness. If this is done before the boy is\nthree years old sex consciousness and passion need not be awakened. I\nwould not advise the mother to begin this after the boy is two or three\nyears old.\n\n=Is there a safe method by which small organs, due to the secret sin, may\nbe enlarged?=--There are some methods advertised by \u201cquacks\u201d and certain\nfirms, but most of them are unreliable or injurious. The vacuum method\nis perhaps the most satisfactory. This consists of an appliance that\nremoves the external pressure from the organ and allows the blood to\nrush into the capillaries. This practice must be kept up for a\nconsiderable time to be effective. While this is the most natural\nmethod, I would not, in any case, advise the use of it. Any method used\ntends to call the attention to the organs and this leads to continual\nsexual weakness. A restored virility is of far more importance than the\nsize of the organ. Because this organ varies in size, many men who have\npracticed the secret vice to some extent, fear that this organ has\nbecome in a measure atrophied.\n\n=Would you advise marriage as a remedy for weak manhood?=--No. One would\nsimply substitute marital excess for excessive self-abuse or\nprostitution. If a man has impaired his manhood he should recover his\nmanhood by conserving sexual life, proper diet and physical exercise for\na few years before he marries.\n\n=What effect will a period of self-abuse have upon one\u2019s\noffspring?=--Perfect children are born of parents having a strong\nvitality. This vice weakens the vitality. Where a young man has\nnoticeably injured his nerves, his vitality, his health, he should seek\nto regain his manly powers before he thinks of becoming a father.\n\n=Should a young man marry who has for a number of years practiced\nmasturbation?=--It is always best for a young man who has practiced the\nsecret vice for five, ten or fifteen years to quit the habit and live a\ncontinent life for one or more years. During this time he becomes normal\nin his sexual life and sexual demands. If he has practiced the habit\nonly in a very limited way, so that he is not suffering from any bad\nconsequences, postponement of marriage is not necessary.\n\n=What should a young man do when he discovers that he has\nvaricocele?=--The approach of this disease is first noticed by a dilation\nof the cord leading to the epididymis of the left testis. When the veins\nbecome full of impure blood and feel like a handful of tangled\nearthworms and the left gland becomes painfully tender and begins to\nbecome much reduced in size, then the individual has a real case of\nvaricocele. If, when the veins are only moderately large and there is\nbut little soreness, the causes are abandoned, no serious results may\nfollow. This disease is caused chiefly by the secret sin and impure\nthinking. In some cases it is caused by a bruise or the \u201cfalling of the\nmumps.\u201d The patient must abandon the cause; if it be the secret sin,\nquit it; if impure thinking, quit that; if \u201cspooning\u201d with girls, a most\ncommon cause, be a gentleman and quit it.\n\nBuy two silken suspensories, so they can be kept clean. The suspensory\nholds the testes up close to the body and prevents much of the uneasy\ndragging feeling. If this advice is followed for several months a\nsurgical operation need never be necessary. Not one of several hundred\nyoung men who have carefully followed this advice have had to be\noperated on. If the patient fails to get relief and cure after several\nmonths of following this advice, he should consult a home physician.\n\n=Does varicocele caused by the \u201cfalling of mumps,\u201d lead to sterility?=--It\ndoes not. If neglected, varicocele, however caused, may lead slowly to\nsexual weakness and this finally to temporary sterility, or inability to\nbecome a father. Prompt attention should be given to the advice found in\nthe answer to the previous question.\n\n=When a testicle has become reduced in size can it be restored to normal\nsize?=--If in the earliest stage of varicocele, before the gland has\nbecome much reduced, the advice found elsewhere in this book is\nfollowed, the gland may become normal in size. When the gland has become\nmuch reduced in size, it will not be possible to restore it fully.\n\n=When a young man has become infected with venereal disease, should he\ntreat himself with a patent remedy purchased in a drug store or send\naway for a remedy?=--A young man\u2019s money, health and life are too\nvaluable to be jeopardized by resorting to either method. Most of these\ndrug store remedies advertised in gentlemen\u2019s closets are guaranteed to\nproduce a cure in one to five days, and, it is further guaranteed, that\nthe disease will never return. There should be a law prohibiting the\nsale of such drugs. They are an encouragement to uninformed men to visit\nthe prostitute. When the young man finds that the patent remedy has\nfailed to cure him, he is then perhaps in a chronic state of infection.\nNow the best medical talent may fail to produce a permanent cure.\n\n=Should a young man who has had a venereal disease in a chronic form ever\nmarry?=--Few questions are more important and few more difficult to\nanswer. The right of being a husband and father may be annulled by\ninherited defects or acquired conditions. The wife and child have\nincontrovertible rights. The specific disease germs producing gonorrhea\nhave been found in the genital vessels and ducts ten years after the\nvictim considered himself cured, and the germs producing syphilis have\nbeen found in a man\u2019s brain twenty-two years after he considered himself\ncured. Sixty-five per cent. of married women who are operated on in\ntheir pelvic and abdominal cavities, a very large per cent. of imbecile\nchildren, and eighty per cent. of blind infants are traceable to uncured\ninfection in their husbands and fathers. Where the diseases have been\nproperly treated and a cure has been effected in the first stage, no\nserious after effects will be experienced. Where the seeming cure has\nbeen effected several months or years after taking the disease, quite a\nlarge per cent. are never free from the effects. If such men marry at\nall, marriage should be delayed a few years after they consider\nthemselves cured. At intervals of once or twice a year they should be\ncarefully examined by the State Health Board. If no disease germs are\nfound after two, four or more years, the individual may marry with some\nmeasure of assurance that he will not infect his wife or child. Even\nwhen these necessary precautions have been taken, children to the third\nand fourth generations may have to suffer for life for the sins of their\nfathers.\n\n=Can gonorrhea and syphilis be permanently cured?=--If gonorrhea is\npromptly and properly treated, it can, in many cases, be cured without\ndanger of return or any serious effects being transmitted to the wife or\nchild. It is also a fact that in many cases of gonorrhea, even when\nproperly treated, there is a strong tendency to run into chronic\nconditions. When the disease has been neglected or poorly treated, or\nwhen a case by its own persistency runs into a chronic state, many such\ncases are never cured so that they may not return in some form.\nWeakened germs have been known to remain in a quiescent condition in the\ngenital ducts for years.\n\nIn recent years many prominent physicians have changed their views\nregarding venereal diseases, as they are now known to be more insidious\nand persistent than was formerly thought. Some physicians claim that\nsyphilis may sometimes be cured; but many eminent physicians claim that\nit is quite probable that when one has once been infected with syphilis\nthat his body is never entirely free from the disease germs. Some\nauthorities claim that the syphilitic germ has been found in the brain\ntwenty years after the disease was contracted. Many leading physicians\nnow consider gonorrhea worse than syphilis.\n\n=When a man experiences a sexual desire, does that not indicate that the\ndesire should be satisfied?=--Sexual desire results from the conscious\npossession of creative energy. This creative energy can be disposed of\nin any one of the following ways: (1) For procreation; (2) Built into\nthe body and converted into health, strength, labor and length of days;\n(3) Built into the brain and converted into mental attainments and\nachievements; (4) Built into the feelings, sentiment, emotions, and\nconverted into sympathy, love and service; (5) It can be selfishly\ndissipated and reveal its misuse in a blighted, wasted life. What\ndisposition shall be made of this creative energy is up to the\nindividual to decide.\n\n=How can a young man judge of his sweetheart\u2019s virtue?=--In the same way\nthat a sensible girl would decide upon the virtue of her best gentleman\nfriend. She would consider his reputation, the company he keeps, his\ngeneral demeanor and his facial indications of chastity. A modest\ndemeanor, absence of familiarity, a pure mind, innocent expressions on\nthe face, and look in the eye, are the only evidences of a young woman\u2019s\nvirtue by which a young man can be guided.\n\n=Would it be wise for a young man to test the virtue of his best girl by\nusing the methods of the seducer?=--How would he feel if he knew that\nsome young man was practicing the same test on his sister? Not very\ncomfortable, if he had a spark of manhood about him. There is no excuse\nfor or justice in such a test. Under the pressure of the seductive\nmethods used, promise of marriage oft repeated, a pure girl might be\ninduced to surrender her all to the one she loves and trusts. As a rule,\nsuch a young man would then refuse to marry the girl he has ruined. If\nhe does marry her, the mistake may mar their future happiness.\n\n=Would it be proper for a young man to ask his sweetheart if she has kept\nher virtue?=--Certainly, if he can first assure her that he has kept his\nown. If he cannot offer a square deal he should, at least, be willing to\ntake chances.\n\n=If a young woman is not a virgin should she be expected to confess this\nto her lover?=--If it were customary for men to make such confessions,\nthen it would be fair for a woman to do the same. Since men do not\nconsider it wise or necessary for them to confess their sins before or\nafter marriage, they should not expect this of women. If the question of\nvirtue is raised, let the innocent party introduce it.\n\n=If the arm is not exercised it becomes helpless, withered and weak. If a\nyoung man should remain single for five to ten years and live a\ncontinent life, will not his sexual organs lose their function, wither\nand atrophy?=--These questions appear to present a most perfect analogy.\nBased on the information the average young man is supposed to have, even\nif he be a college or university graduate, not one out of a hundred\ncould extricate himself from the conclusion, that he must reach, viz.,\ncontinence in the single life leads to a loss of the reproductive powers\nand to atrophy of parts. When we consider that this is the argument of\nthe immoral doctor, the ignorant and the vicious, the classes to whom\nyoung men of the past have been compelled to go for all their sex\ninformation, it is not surprising that almost all young men hold to the\n\u201csex necessity lie.\u201d In the past, ministers, teachers and parents have\nnot been in possession of facts with which to combat this sexual heresy.\n\nThe solution of this problem lies in the fact that the male and female\norgans of reproduction have two functions. One is a continuous and\nregular function, taking place day and night, asleep and awake. The\nother is a periodic and special function. To illustrate: The breasts of\na woman are a part of her reproductive system. A married woman becomes a\nmother for the first time at the age of twenty. She nurses her babe at\nher breasts. This function is called lactation. But, it would have been\npossible for her to become a mother at fifteen and to nurse her child.\nThen, there were five years during which she did not perform the\nfunction of lactation, and yet, she did not lose this function. Suppose\nshe does not become a mother the second time until she is forty. Again\nher breasts perform this special function as perfectly as they did the\nfirst time. But, remember, there were nineteen years during which she\ndid not perform this function, and yet, she did not lose this function.\nThe other sexual organs of a woman have special and periodic functions,\nsuch as, menstruation and ovulation. The normal performance of these\nspecial functions is determined by their general and continuous\nfunction.\n\nIf the female sexual glands, ovaries and breasts, were removed from a\ngirl in her infancy, she would never develop the indescribable physical,\nmental and social charms of ideal womanhood. If these glands were\nremoved at any other age under forty, she would lose in physical, mental\nand moral tone. This illustrates the nature of the general and\ncontinuous function of these organs. This function consists in these\norgans generating an internal secretion which, if not interfered with,\nwill build and maintain a perfect womanhood. This continuous function\ngives constant activity to these organs; keeps them healthy and strong\nand prevents the loss of their special function, that of motherhood.\n\nDay and night, asleep and awake, the male sexual glands are generating\nan internal secretion which, if retained in the body, will build and\nmaintain perfect manhood. It is this continuous function that gives\nconstant activity to these organs, keeps them healthy and strong and\nprevents the loss of their special function of reproduction.\n\n=What effect upon his sex problems has a young man\u2019s keeping company with\nyoung women?=--We have a social nature. It should be normally developed.\nThe sex nature and the social nature are vitally related. Improper\nsocial relations lead to sensuality and proper social relations lead to\npurity of manhood and womanhood.\n\nIf a young man would develop an ideal social nature, he should to a\nreasonable extent, associate with modest, discreet and chaste young\nwomen. This is natural and in every way helpful. If a young man who has\nsexual weakness, due to youthful indiscretions, purposes reform and\ndesires to regain his manhood, he will find association with young women\nof the above type to be very helpful. The normal young man, as well as\nthe sexually weak, should studiously avoid association with girls whose\nactions, conversation or dress suggests impure thought.\n\n=What is the relation of \u201cspooning\u201d to a young man\u2019s sex problems?=--A\nsingle example of \u201cspooning\u201d will answer this question. January 19,\n1912, a college young man, in a personal interview, explained that since\nApril 14th he had been completely impotent and wanted to know of me, if\nthere was any hope for him to have his manhood restored. I assured him\nthat there was. He then asked me what he must do. My reply was, \u201cThat\ndepends upon what you have been doing.\u201d I found that he had been guilty\nof the secret vice and prostitution to only a limited degree. Convinced\nthat these habits would not explain his condition, I said to him, \u201cThe\ntrouble is in your mind. You have in some way aroused and maintained a\nhigh state of sexual excitement for hours at a time and over a period of\nmonths or years. Can you explain?\u201d He confessed that for nearly two\nyears he had spent two or three hours, two or three times a week, in\ncompany with a girl friend who permitted him to hold her hands, play\nwith her hair, pat her cheeks and chin, kiss, caress and even fondle her\nbreasts, but absolutely refused to permit further advances. Then I\nexplained to him how this intense sexual excitement had brought on\nvaricocele, loss of sexual power and spermatorrhea.\n\nSpooning is a growing evil. It is more injurious than the secret sin.\nOur suggestive post cards, pictures on billboards, novels and serial\nstories, and the moving pictures in five and ten cent shows are all\ngiving young people the idea that spooning is natural and expected as a\npart of the entertainment, when a young man calls to see his \u201cbest\ngirl.\u201d\n\nThe girl who permits spooning will lose many of her personal physical\ncharms. The eyes that once sparkled with intelligence and glowed with\nluster become lusterless, stupid and sunken; the cheeks once rosy and\nplump become pale and poor; the handshake that was once warm and full of\nlife, is now cold and lifeless. Health is gone. She ends her days in\nheart trouble, wrecked nerves or consumption.\n\n=If cohabitation is not a physical and sexual necessity, or conducive to\nhealth, why do married people live longer and have better health than\nthose who remain single?=--As a rule married people are more temperate in\ntheir sexual lives than are the single. But this does not prove that\nsexual gratification is ever conducive to health and long life. All\nnature contradicts such a conclusion. The embodiment of life in seed is\na universal sacrifice. Many flowering plants wither, fade and die as\nsoon as they embody life in their seed. If young fruit trees bear fruit\ntoo early in life, they are stunted in their growth and die prematurely.\nThere is a suspension of growth in all the vegetable kingdom as soon as\nthe function of reproduction is completed. Among the lowest forms of\nanimal life, as soon as the eggs are fertilized, the animal dies. Among\nall the higher animals, including man, there is abundant evidence of\nsome bodily depression and nervous exhaustion after each act of\ncohabitation, showing the act to be one of sacrifice. The arrested\ngrowth, susceptibility to disease and premature decay among plants,\ntrees and animals, when premature or over-production occurs, are\nsignificant illustrations of the baneful effects of youthful dissipation\nof the sex principle and of marital excesses.\n\nAll nature teaches that the normal expression of sex is the unselfish\nact of embodying life in a new being and that means sacrifice. The story\nof the cross is typical of all nature. Christ sacrificed his life that\nhumanity might have redemptive life through a process of spiritual\nreproduction, regeneration.\n\nThrough centuries of bad heredity, a misunderstanding of the nature and\ntrue function of sex and years of violation of sex laws have combined to\ngive men an abnormal sex nature. It has remained for the people of this\ncountry to discover and apply the laws of heredity, to learn the true\nnature and function of sex and to restore to humanity a normal sex\nnature. The results of centuries cannot be corrected in one generation.\nFew men will be able to reach the ideal life, but it is the privilege of\nevery man to struggle toward the ideal.\n\nFor young people to regard sexual gratification as the one reason for\nmarriage is positively degrading and shows that our ideas of marriage\nshould be corrected. There are many reasons why the married life is the\nideal life. Man is a social being. He needs a companion. He is not\ncomplete in himself. He represents only one-half of a complete being. He\nis never quite satisfied until he finds the other half, the complement\nof himself. A demand for companionship is found in the very physical,\nmental and moral natures of man and woman. Their constant association,\ntheir mutual home interests and sacrifice for their children are very\nconducive to health, happiness and a long life.\n\n=What is the philosophy of the relation of sex to a happy courtship and\nmarriage?=--The sexual life forms the basis of these experiences. Without\nthe creative principle, these social relations would be impossible. The\nlove and magnetism that draw the sexes together in courtship and\nmarriage, that harmonize their differences and blend their personalities\nand make the husband and wife one are the expressions of the sexual\nlife. Young people who get the idea that marriage means unrestricted\nsexual privilege, will sooner or later land in the divorce court, or be\ncompelled to live miserably together. If they live in harmony with the\nlaws of sex, their honeymoon will be lifelong.\n\nMy subject is before you. While we may differ as to some minor\nparticulars, we are agreed that the violation of the laws of sex is the\nmost prolific source of wrecked manhood, and that a pure life is the\nonly possible road to perfect manhood. I have tried to lead you to\nloathe and abhor all forms of sexual impurity and to form a purpose as\nlasting as life and as strong as death, that you will never again\nviolate the laws of sexual purity. The attainment and maintenance of\nperfect manhood, the recovery of wrecked manhood, the transmission of\npotential perfect manhood to your offspring, all absolutely depend upon\nyour faithfulness to the principles of sexual purity enunciated in this\nbook. If the truths presented in this book keep one boy out of the pit\nof sensuality, or if they lead one poor faltering man to form an undying\npurpose to become pure, or if just one man finds help, strength and life\nthrough faith in Christ, the author is repaid a thousand-fold. It is a\nhigher honor to wear a crown of perfect manhood than to wear the crown\nof an angel.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLII\n\nPHYSICAL CULTURE\n\n The cuts illustrating the first eleven exercises with descriptive\n matter, are taken from \u201cFasting, Hydropathy and Exercise\u201d by\n permission of the authors Bernarr MacFadden and Felix Oswald, A.M.,\n M.D.--_The Author._\n\n\n=The importance of physical culture.=--This chapter is added for the\nreason that perfect health, perfect development, perfect virility,\nperfect manhood is not possible without physical culture. Physical\nculture includes bathing and exercise. The healthful functioning, of the\nentire digestive system, the kidneys, the liver, the lungs, the heart\nand the brain, are related, vitally, to physical culture. Likewise the\nretention, absorption, distribution and assimilation of the creative\nlife are also vitally related. Bathing and massaging the body and\nphysical exercise have a remedial effect upon almost all physical\ndisorders.\n\n=The functions of the skin.=-Stop the functions of the skin three minutes\nand death follows. The skin has two functions, one is to eliminate\npoisons from the body and the other is to conserve and regulate the heat\nof the body.\n\n=The wild tribes.=--In prehistoric times the people wore little or no\nclothing. In some of the coldest countries wild tribes go almost naked.\nUnder these conditions consumption and many modern diseases are unknown.\nClothing is not needed by these people. The skin is able to conserve\nsufficient heat.\n\n=Modern customs.=--The wearing of clothing and the neglect of physical\nculture has to a large extent destroyed the natural functions of the\nskin. The function of conserving heat is nearly lost by the skin. When\nthe skin is not kept clean and healthy it loses, to some degree, its\npower to eliminate poisons. When this occurs the kidneys are forced to\ndo overwork. This results in kidney disease.\n\n=Getting back to nature.=--For people to go naked again is out of the\nquestion. Modest, pure-minded, civilized people must wear clothing.\nClothing conceals defects, improves bodily appearance and protects the\nbody from heat and cold. Getting back to nature simply means that we are\nto restore to the skin its natural functions of conserving heat and\neliminating poisons.\n\n=The air bath.=--In athletic exercise the skin is incidentally exposed to\nthe air and sunshine. This largely accounts for the benefits derived.\n\nOn arising each morning fifteen minutes should be devoted to restoring\nand maintaining the natural functions of the skin. This is done by\nthrowing off the clothing in a fairly cool room, exposing the skin to\nthe air. The skin should be rubbed with the hands or a fairly rough\ntowel until it is stimulated into warmth. It is well to vary the\nrubbing, using the hands part of the time and the towel part of the\ntime. After the skin has become warm, one can take fifteen minutes of\nphysical exercise, attend to shaving and other features of his toilet,\nremaining, meantime, entirely or partly naked, to a very great\nadvantage. The open air bath can take place of much of the cold and hot\nwater bathing. Water baths should be taken twice or three times a week\nand those should be followed by ten or fifteen minutes\u2019 rubbing the body\nand exercising, in the open air.\n\n=Colds prevented.=--A person who is able to warm himself by friction\nduring an air bath, in a fairly cool room, renders himself practically\nimmune to colds. Colds cause catarrh, tonsilitis, bronchitis, pneumonia,\npleurisy. Pneumonia causes consumption. If one can prevent taking cold\nhe will escape many of the ills of life. In addition to this, when the\nskin performs its functions properly and the internal organs are doing\nthe same, the person is practically immune to acute contagious diseases.\n\nThe air bath should be taken in a room that is properly ventilated. If\nthe friction is performed vigorously, with the mouth closed, this will\nenforce deep, nasal breathing. This will prevent catarrh, enlarged\ntonsils and adenoids, and, if continued long enough, will cure mild\ncases and will assist in the cure of all cases.\n\n=Rules for physical exercise.=--Physical exercise should not be taken for\none hour after a hearty meal. The best time for exercising is\nimmediately after arising each morning.\n\nIf one desires to take a cold or warm bath, he should take the air bath\nfirst. Following the water bath, he should rub his body with his hands\nand a Turkish towel until a warm glow is felt all over his body. Then\nshould follow his physical exercise. The lightest dress compatible with\ndecency and comfort should be worn during the exercises described in\nthis chapter. He should not continue any exercise to the point of\nexcessive fatigue. Breathing pauses will frequently be required at\nfirst, but these intervals will be less frequent as the lungs develop.\n\n=Value of physical exercise.=--The beneficial effects of physical culture\ncannot be overestimated. It strengthens and develops the muscles. It\nrestores the natural functions of the skin. By exercising the muscles of\nthe external organs of the body, exercise is given to the muscles of the\ninternal organs. By restoring the natural functions of the skin and\ngiving normal exercise to the internal organs we correct the functional\ndisorders of the digestive system, the heart and the lungs, and restore\nto them their natural functions.\n\nThe good effects will be noticed, in some ways, from the start; in other\nways several months may be required.\n\n[Illustration: EXERCISE NO. 1.--Reclining on right side and raising left\narm, with dumb-bell in hand and elbow rigid from hips to high over head.\nSame exercise with right arm while reclining on left side. Inhale deep\nbreath as arm goes back.]\n\n=Exercise No. 1.=--Reclining on right side raising left arm, with\ndumb-bell in hand and elbow rigid from hips to high over head. Repeat\nthis some ten or fifteen times. Now turn on the right side and repeat\nthis exercise with the left hand. Inhale a deep breath each time as the\narm goes back. This exercise helps to expand the chest walls and to\ndevelop certain muscles of the arms and side. It is especially valuable\nfor one who feels debilitated, and is of value in several phases of\nheart disease.\n\n[Illustration: EXERCISE NO. 2.--Reclining on right side and raising left\nleg as high as possible and the same exercise taken with right leg while\nreclining on left side.]\n\n=Exercise No. 2.=--Reclining on right side, raising left leg as high as\npossible. Repeat this a number of times. Now recline on the left side\nand raise the right leg as high as possible. This exercise develops the\nmuscles of the legs, hips and abdomen. It strengthens the digestive\nsystem and will improve an injured spine.\n\n=Exercise No. 3.=--Recline on back and cross right leg over left as far as\npossible, and vice versa. This movement brings into activity some\nmuscles of the legs often neglected.\n\n[Illustration: EXERCISE NO. 3.--Reclining on back and crossing right leg\nover left, as far as possible, and vice versa.]\n\n=Exercise No. 4.=--Reclining on back, with dumb-bells, or any object\nweighing one to two pounds in hands, at sides, raising same with elbows\nrigid, and cross arms over chest. This brings into activity several\nmuscles of the arms, shoulders and walls of the body, stimulating the\naction of the lungs. This is especially valuable where one is unable to\nleave his bed.\n\n=Exercise No. 5.=--Reclining, bring right leg up, clasp hands over knee\nand pull leg up as far as possible and vice versa. This exercise brings\ninto play a large variety of muscles, especially the muscles of the\nabdomen. It is a constipation cure. With a little effort one can\nvoluntarily exercise the muscles of the\n\n[Illustration: EXERCISE NO. 4.--Reclining on back, with dumb-bells in\nhands at side, raising same with elbows rigid, and crossing arms over\nchest.]\n\n[Illustration: EXERCISE NO. 5.--Reclining, bring right leg up, clasping\nhands over knee and pulling leg up as far as possible.]\n\nabdomen in such a way as to cause the intestines to move in a circle,\nfirst to the right, then to the left, finally drawing them up and down.\nThis combined with the foregoing exercise, if practiced daily, will\nrelieve and cure many cases of constipation.\n\n[Illustration: EXERCISE NO. 6.--Reclining and bringing arms from far\nback straight upward with elbows rigid, to straight over chest, drawing\ndeep breath and retaining same during movement.]\n\n=Exercise No. 6.=--Reclining with dumb-bells in hands, bring arms from far\nback straight upward with elbows rigid, to straight over chest; draw a\ndeep breath and retain same during the movement. This is, in part, the\nexercise used in reviving half-drowned persons. In addition to the fine\nmuscular movements, it aids in deep breathing and is a fine lung tonic.\n\n[Illustration: EXERCISE NO. 7.--Reclining and raising left leg as high\nas possible, with knee straight, and repeat same with right leg.]\n\n=Exercise No. 7.=--Reclining on back, raise left leg as high as possible,\nwith knee straight. Repeat several times: also, repeat this exercise\nwith right leg. This is a modification of Number 2. A splendid exercise\nfor the hips and has a wholesome effect upon the spine.\n\n=Exercise No. 8.=--Stand, with hands on hips, sway the body in a circular\nmanner, to the right, left, backward and forward. It is a splendid\nexercise for stimulating the intestines.\n\n[Illustration: EXERCISE NO. 8.--Standing, hands on hips, circulatory\nbody exercise, swaying body in circular manner right, left, back and\nforward.]\n\n=Exercise No. 9.=--Reclining on back, with both hands, grasp some object\nback of head; now, holding the knees rigid, raise both feet to a\nvertical position. This exercise is rather severe at first. It should\nbe repeated several times. It exercises the abdominal and hip muscles.\n\n[Illustration: EXERCISE NO. 9.--Reclining, hands grasping something back\nof head, raising both feet to vertical position.]\n\n=Exercise No. 10.=--Reclining on stomach, raise left leg, with knee\nstraight, as high as possible; same with right. Repeat these exercises\nseveral times. This exercise is tiring at first. It limbers up the\njoints. For a person who has been accustomed to inactivity, as in the\ncase of bedridden invalids, this is a valuable exercise.\n\n[Illustration: EXERCISE NO. 10.--Reclining on stomach, raising left leg\nwith knee straight, as high as possible; same with right.]\n\n=Exercise No. 11.=--Recline on stomach, grasp dumb-bells in both hands,\nraise arms from hanging\n\n[Illustration: EXERCISE NO. 11.--Reclining on stomach, grasping\ndumb-bells in hand, raising arms from hanging position to position\nillustrated.]\n\n[Illustration: EXERCISE NO. 12.--Reclining arms hanging, raising bells\nupward and outward from the body, level with shoulders. Reversing that\nmotion by bringing bells from position illustrated in No. 11 to position\non level with the shoulders, as illustrated in No. 12.]\n\nposition to position illustrated. This exercise will strengthen the\nmuscles of the neck and shoulders. If one has sustained some injury that\nthreatens tetanus, or \u201clock-jaw\u201d complications, the application of this\nexercise would often break the spell. \u201cKeep moving your arms, keep\nmoving your arms,\u201d was Dr. Benjamin Rush\u2019s constant advice to persons\nthreatened with tetanic complications.\n\n=Exercise No. 12.=--Reclining with arm hanging, raise dumb-bells upward\nand outward from the body, level with shoulders. Reverse this motion by\nbringing bells, from position illustrated in No. 11, to position on\nlevel with shoulders, as illustrated in this exercise. In value and\nresults this exercise is very much like No. 11. Consumptive microbes\nwill have a poor chance to effect a lodging in a body getting the\nbenefit of these exercises.\n\n\n\n\nSEVENTH DIVISION\n\nHEREDITY, OR VITAL FACTS FOR THE MARRIED AND MARRIAGEABLE\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIII\n\nHEREDITY, A FACT\n\n\n=A critic answered.=--During a lecture in a western city the author gave\nhis audience an opportunity to ask questions and state their objections\nto his views on heredity. One of his auditors declared that he did not\nbelieve in heredity. He was then asked whether he believed in the\nimprovement of mankind.\n\n\u201cCertainly,\u201d was the objector\u2019s reply.\n\n\u201cHow do you suggest that this improvement may be accomplished?\u201d\n\n\u201cI believe in ideal environment.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo do I; but, I also believe in the agencies of ideal heredity and the\ngrace of God.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know anything about your last agency and I do not believe in\nyour first; but I do believe in ideal environment.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you understand farming?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a farmer.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery good; suppose you have a field you wish to plant in corn. You have\naccess to two cribs. One is filled with nubbins; the other with large,\nshapely, well-matured ears of corn. From which of the two cribs would\nyou select your seed corn?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would select from the one containing the better corn.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, you have just stated that you do not believe in heredity.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, Professor, you are talking about corn.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I am telling you how to improve corn by the intelligent control of\nheredity. Suppose you have no stock, but you wish to begin raising\nstock. Your father has some scrub stock and some pedigreed stock. He is\nwilling for you to select your breeding stock without cost. From which\nof the two grades would you select?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would certainly select from the pedigreed class.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut you have informed me that you do not believe in heredity.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow you are talking about hogs, cattle and horses.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I am trying to explain to you that in the improvement of our\ndomestic animals we are wise enough to use the agency of heredity.\nSuppose you had a daughter of marriageable age and she is entertaining a\nmarriage proposition from each of two\n\n[Illustration: A WILD ROSE.--Nature Gave us This.]\n\n[Illustration: AMERICAN BEAUTY ROSE.--Good Heredity and Environment\nProduced This.]\n\nyoung men. She comes to you for your fatherly advice and counsel. You\nknow the records of the two young men. One is rich and rotten, the son\nof a corrupt politician. The other young man has good parents, a clean\nrecord, all the physical, mental and moral qualities of a real man, but\nhe is poor. Nine times out of ten you would advise your daughter to take\nthe fellow that is rich and rotten. You have good corn sense, good hog\nsense, good cow sense and good horse sense; but you have mighty poor\nson-in-law sense.\u201d\n\nWhen my audience ceased applauding, I held a book up before them and\nallowed it to represent a ten-acre field to be planted in corn. I\nassumed that all parts of the field were to have the same quality and\nrichness of soil, uniform rain-fall and sunshine, and the corn to\nreceive uniform cultivation. In this event the corn in all parts of the\nfield would have the same environment. Then I said to my audience, \u201cIf\nthere is nothing in heredity and you plant one-half of this field in\ncorn selected from nubbins and the other in corn selected from large,\nshapely, full matured ears, the side of the field planted in nubbins\nwill produce as fine corn as the other side.\u201d\n\nIf there is nothing in heredity, and all in environment, the offspring\nfrom the vicious cow will be as docile and as safe as the offspring from\nthe gentle cow; the offspring from the scrub horse with a six-minute\nrecord can be trained to trot as fast as the colt whose parents had a\nrecord of a mile in less than two minutes; and the children of the\ndegenerate class will be as healthy and well developed, as intellectual\nand moral as the children of the normal parents.\n\n=Heredity in plant life.=--There is operative in every sprig of grass,\nweed, vegetable, shrub, and tree two agencies--heredity and environment.\nWhat they are and what they are to be are wholly determined by these two\nagencies. In the past fifty and seventy-five years we have doubled the\nsize, variety and quality of our vegetables and fruits. Nature gave us\nthe wild rose, bearing a small bloom with five petals; nature and man\nhave produced the large, shapely, fragrant, beautiful rose of the yard\nand garden, bearing from fifty to one hundred petals to the bloom.\nNature gave us the knotty wild strawberry; nature and man have produced\nthe large, luscious strawberry of the market and table. If our\ncultivated and highly developed vegetables and fruits had been left to\nthe careless farmer, or in their wild state, with their heredity and\nenvironment without intelligent control, a Keifer pear and an Alberta\npeach would not have been produced in a million years.\n\n=Heredity in animal life.=--In the last fifty and one hundred years\nintelligent man, through the wise control of heredity and environment,\nhas produced the\n\n[Illustration: A WILD STRAWBERRY.--Nature Gave us This.]\n\n[Illustration: CULTIVATED STRAWBERRY.--Good Heredity and Environment\nProduced This.]\n\npopular breeds of fine poultry; the Pointer and Setter dogs; the Poland\nChina, Berkshire and Duroc hogs; the Southdown and Merino sheep; the\nDurham, Jersey and Holstein cattle; Percheron, Coach and Hambletonian\nhorses. Nature gave us the long-horned, crooked-limbed, brindle-haired\nwild cow; nature and man have produced the Durham. Nature gave us the\nwild horse that could trot at best a mile in six minutes and, when well\nbroken, was worth twelve dollars and a half; nature and man have\nproduced the Hambletonian that makes a mile in less than two minutes and\nsells for twenty thousand. Nature gave us the razor-backed,\nlong-snouted, acorn-splitting Arkansas hog; nature and man have produced\nthe beautiful grunter of the barnyard and the performing pig of the\ncircus. The careless breeder or unaided nature could not have produced\nthese results in centuries of time. Man proudly claims the honor of\nmaking these improvements. He maintains great stock shows and stock\njournals, visits foreign countries and pays fabulous prices that he may\nconstantly improve his stock. He secures large appropriations from\ngovernment revenues with which to prevent the spread of hog cholera\namong his hogs and Texas fever among his cattle. So great is man\u2019s\ninterest in these improvements that nearly all men take one or more\nagricultural, bee, poultry and stock journals and their wives take\npoodle dog journals. Why this interest? Money and pleasure.\n\n=Money and pleasure more valuable than manhood.=--We have seen what man\nhas accomplished among the vegetables, fruits and domestic animals, now\nlet us study his wisdom in the application of these agencies in the\nhuman family. When we study man in relation to the world about him, his\nphysical, mental and moral possibilities, and from Revelation, we get a\nglimpse of what the human race ought to be. In both sacred and profane\nhistory we find some specimens of noble, ideal manhood. On the farm and\nin the shop, behind the counter and at the bar, in congress and in\nsenate, on the platform and in the pulpit, we find some, who, by\ninheritance, environment, personal effort and the grace of God, have\nbecome examples of ideal manhood. But look at men in the mass. How few\nexamples of perfect manhood do you find in a crowd of ten thousand men?\nLook at the enervated and stunted fathers; the nervous and sickly\nmothers; the puny and weakly children; the poorly developed bodies and\ndwarfed minds. Why should sixty-seven per cent. of our children be\nphysically or mentally defective at birth? Why should one hundred and\nsixty-five children out of every thousand born in country places and two\nhundred and twenty in the cities, die in their first year? Ninety-five\nper cent. of the well-cared-for lower animals are perfect at birth and\nninety per cent. grow to old age and are rarely sick. Why should crime,\ninsanity, feeble-mindedness and epilepsy have increased three hundred\nper cent. during the last twenty years? Why this remarkable improvement\namong vegetables, fruits and domestic animals, and this appalling\ndegeneracy among men? Love of money and pleasure explains the one; man\u2019s\nfallen condition explains the other. Dollars and pleasure in one;\nsacrifice, manhood and womanhood in the other.\n\n=Heredity versus environment.=--If there is nothing in heredity, and all\nin the environment, given the same environment, the offspring from the\nvicious horse will be as easily broken and be as safe as the offspring\nfrom the docile horse; the offspring from the horse that can make a mile\nat best in six minutes can be trained to trot as fast as the offspring\nwhose parents could make a mile in less than two minutes.\n\nMy contention is that the same intelligence that has produced the\nbeautiful fragrant rose, the splendid vegetables, the luscious fruits\nand our present improved varieties of domestic animals, can produce\nsimilar improvements in the human family.\n\n=Heredity applied by the early Romans.=--In the early history of Rome,\ncustom and law made it a special honor to be a Roman mother. She was\nsurrounded by examples of courage, bravery, strength, power, heroism\nand purity. Special homage was shown her on the streets, at the arena,\nand when viewing the marching victorious armies. Such treatment and such\nenvironment made it possible for the Roman mother to become a real help\nin making Rome the mistress of the world. Had this courtesy, gallantry,\nmanly attention, respect and reverence for girlhood, womanhood, wifehood\nand motherhood continued, Rome might never have fallen. Have we the\ngallantry, courtesy, respect and reverence for womanhood as in former\ndays? A quarter of a century ago it was indeed a rare thing that a man\nwould be so thoughtless as to smoke or swear in the presence of a woman;\nnow it is a very common occurrence.\n\n=Plato\u2019s views.=--Plato, a heathen philosopher, born more than two\nthousand years ago, who never heard of the Bible or the Savior, made a\ncareful study of the laws of heredity, and for the improvement of men\nsuggested laws that would do honor to our day. In his Republic he\nsuggested that parentageable married people be prohibited from the use\nof wine. Wine included all alcoholic drinks. He also suggested that the\ninferior classes should be restricted in marriage and that marriage\nshould be encouraged among the superior classes. Under the teaching of\nPlato, Lycurgus, in his reign, assuming that children were more the\nproperty of the nation than of their own parents, sought to have all\nchildren well born. In two hundred years that small nation is said to\nhave produced twenty-eight of the master minds of the world.\n\n=Genius is hereditary.=--Aristotle\u2019s father was a scholar and a\nphilosopher. Beecher\u2019s father was a scholarly preacher. William Pitt\u2019s\nfather at the age of twenty-seven was at the head of the English\ngovernment. Lord Bacon\u2019s father was a great scholar and statesman.\nDarwin was the product of several generations containing a number of\ngeniuses.\n\nThe Bach family of musicians in Germany is a fine example of musical\nheredity. Among them were nineteen musicians of eminence. Fifty-seven of\ntheir names are found in the Dictionary of Music. At family reunions\nthere were counted as many as two hundred and fifty church organists and\nchoir leaders. The genius for music appears to be as easily transmitted\nas that for art or militarism. There appears to be only a very few\nexceptions among the great musical geniuses.\n\nC\u00e6sar, Alexander, Wellington and Hannibal seem to have inherited a\ngenius for war. Napoleon Bonaparte\u2019s Corsican mother, before his birth,\naccompanied her husband to the field of war, exposing herself to\ndeprivation and danger, and being elated and thrilled by every victory.\nWhen a child, he showed the military spirit. As a man of eighteen and\ntwenty he was a failure and attempted suicide. When twenty-three he was\ngiven a chance to quell a raging mob in Paris, and crushed it in his\nfirst effort. From that time until England chained him he conquered\neverything before him.\n\nFrom the days of the Crusades to the war with Spain we find the Lees\nwere military leaders. Cromwell and Grant appear to be exceptions to the\nrule.\n\n=Max Jukes.=--Vice, as well as virtue, runs in families. Max Jukes was\nborn in 1703. Both he and his wife were born of inferior parents. He was\na drinking man and seemed to delight in breaking law. His wife was a\ncommon prostitute. We have identified and studied eleven hundred and\nthree of his descendants. One hundred and twenty-six were thieves and\nmurderers and spent several years in the penal institutions, ninety\nfemale prostitutes, one hundred and forty-five drunkards; two hundred\nand eighty-five were viciously diseased and four hundred had either\nconsumption, epilepsy, or were feeble-minded. Eleven hundred and three\nwere delinquents--not one a good citizen. They cost New York a million\nand a quarter dollars.\n\n=Jonathan Edwards.=--Jonathan Edwards was born in 1720. He and his wife\nhad splendid heredity. They were well educated. They were converted to\nChrist in childhood. We have identified and studied thirteen hundred\nand ninety-four of their descendants. We find thirteen university\npresidents; one hundred and twenty-three college and university\nprofessors; thirty-two eminent authors; ninety-six physicians; over two\nhundred ministers; four hundred successful business men; one vice\npresident; mayors of large cities, U. S. senators and congressmen;\nministers to foreign ports; only one left a stain on the family\nrecord--Aaron Burr who fought a duel with Alexander Hamilton.\n\n=The potency of heredity.=--Suppose that the environments of these two\nfamilies could have been reversed and their heredity left the same,\ncould you then have written the figures after Max Jukes that we have\nwritten after Edwards, or vice versa? No real student of sociological\nconditions believes that we could. Environment certainly had much to do\nwith both of these families; but all students of heredity believe that\nin these families heredity was as great as, or even a greater factor\nthan, environment. The dependent and delinquent descendants of Max Jukes\nwere the products of bad heredity, bad environment and the rejection of\nChrist; the great and good descendants of Edwards were the products of\ngood heredity, good environment and the grace of God.\n\n=Bible and heredity.=--In the Old and New Testament, the writers of nearly\nevery book appear to recognize the potency of heredity. We can refer to\nonly a few of them here as proof of the fact of heredity. God told\nSampson\u2019s mother that she must drink no strong wine and eat no impure\nfood.\n\nDavid gives a most excellent statement of the results of good heredity:\n\u201cBut the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them\nthat fear him and his righteousness unto children\u2019s children.\u201d The word\nfear, as applied in this case, means perfect obedience prompted by\nrespect, reverence and love for one in authority.\n\nThe Jews, who could trace their lineal descent to Abraham, often boasted\nof their inherited superiority over other Jews and people of other\nnations.\n\nPaul, writing to Timothy, said, \u201cWhen I call to remembrance the\nunfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother\nLois, and thy mother Eunice,\u201d etc. In this statement Paul accounts, in\npart at least, for the strong faith and beautiful Christian character of\nTimothy, on the basis of heredity.\n\nDavid explains the sins of his life as being due, in part at least, to a\nbad heredity. \u201cI was shapen in sin and in iniquity did my mother\nconceive me.\u201d\n\n=Iniquities of fathers visited upon their children.=--In Exodus 20:5, we\nfind a most remarkable statement of the hereditary results of obedience\nto law and of disobedience. \u201cI, the Lord thy God, am a jealous\n\n[Illustration: RESULTS OF \u201cPERSONAL LIBERTY.\u201d--The young man whose\npicture appears on this page was studied by the author. His sister who\ndied at the age of five months was afflicted like himself. The initial\nof their lives occurred during the drunken debauch of their father.]\n\n[Illustration: PROTECTED.--The above illustration of highly bred, highly\ntrained and highly protected animals, showing a cow valued at $13,000,\nhogs valued at over $4,000 each and a horse at $5,000, serves as a\nstriking contrast to the illustration on the opposite page.]\n\nGod, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the\nthird and fourth generations of them that hate me, and showing mercy to\nthousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.\u201d This is a much\nmisunderstood passage. God does not arbitrarily choose to force a\npunishment upon an innocent child whose father ignorantly or viciously\nviolated law any more than he breaks the leg or neck of a man who\naccidentally or with suicidal intent falls from the top of a building.\nGod has wisely placed all men under a variety of laws. The laws are all\nplanned for man\u2019s good. If we keep all law, we develop manhood and\nwomanhood. By the agency of heredity we transmit to our children the\npossibility of manhood and womanhood superior to that which we\ninherited. If we constantly violate law, we acquire physical, mental and\nmoral degeneracy and transmit to our posterity defective conditions. In\nthis way God has planned for each succeeding generation to become\nsuperior to the preceding one.\n\nThe statement is made that the iniquities of fathers are visited upon\ntheir children unto the third and fourth generations, and that\n\u201crighteousness\u201d is shown unto \u201cthousands of them\u201d (generations).\n\nWhy did God limit his first statement to the third and fourth\ngeneration? Because there is no fifth generation of continuous and\nunbroken iniquity. Here are two modern proofs of the truthfulness of\nthis ancient text.\n\n=A modern proof.=--Two thousand erring girls were interrogated with\nreference to the sobriety of their parents. Seventy per cent. had either\ndrunken fathers or drunken mothers, or both. In one state penitentiary\nthe author found seventy-two per cent. of the inmates had either drunken\nfathers or drunken mothers, or both. Recent investigations in one of the\nstate reformatories for women show eighty-five per cent, had either\ndrunken fathers or mothers, or both. Twenty-two per cent. of the\nfeeble-minded, the insane and the epileptic had the initials of their\nlives to take place during a drunken debauch.\n\nHere is a husband and wife; both are habitually under the influence of\nalcohol. Suppose their children follow their example and marry\ncompanions addicted to strong drink, and the children of the next\ngeneration follow the example of their parents and marry companions\naddicted to strong drink, and this is continued, what will be the\nresult? There will be no fifth generation. In the first generation might\nhave been found a daughter in the house of shame, a son in the chain\ngang of crime, a feeble-minded child, an epileptic, or one or more\nalcoholics. As a result of four generations of consecutive drunkenness,\ndegeneracy would become so great as to result in complete sterility.\n\n=Another proof.=--In every institution for the feeble-minded are to be\nfound inmates who have the \u201cHotchinson notched teeth,\u201d \u201ccrowfoot tracts\u201d\nin the palate and throat, certain marks on the body--scientific proofs\nthat such are congenital syphilitics. Some ancestor, two or three\ngenerations gone by, lived an immoral life, became infected with a\nvicious disease and transmitted the degenerative influences down the\nline to where it ended in complete degeneracy.\n\n=Who is responsible?=--Is this a punishment from God upon innocent,\nhelpless children? No. God is in no sense responsible for it. Is nature?\nNo. Who is responsible? Men who sow their wild oats and boast of their\n\u201cpersonal liberty\u201d to do as they please. Have God and nature any part in\nthis? Yes. God and nature in infinite interest, mercy and love for the\nunborn millions who would be blighted with inconceivable degeneracy and\nsuffering, should they be born of such degenerate parents, say, \u201cWe have\ngiven these descendants four generations in which to prevent further\ndegeneracy by marrying into pure and sober families, by reformation or\nby redemption,\u201d and since they have not availed themselves of these\nrestorative and redemptive means, reproduction must cease.\n\n=Morbid heredity and bad environment.=--Bad environment and bad heredity\nexplain the presence of every convict in our penal institutions and\nevery inmate in the asylums. Laws and political administration that\ntolerate, regulate and encourage strong drink and social immorality, the\ntwo chief causes of degeneracy, and the parents who indulged in these\niniquities, are largely responsible for these thousands of defective and\ndelinquent beings who are crowding our asylums and penal institutions to\na dangerous and unsanitary overflowing.\n\nFather, son and grand-son, uncles and cousins galore crowd these\ninstitutions. Much of their mail is from relatives and bears the\npostmark of a similar institution, showing that crime and insanity run\nin families.\n\n=Man\u2019s development originally under two agencies.=--It is evident that God\noriginally placed man\u2019s development under the intelligent control of\nheredity and environment. If man had as wisely applied these agencies to\nhis own improvement as he now does to the improvement of the vegetable\nand animal kingdoms, he would have developed to the highest possible\nphysical, mental and moral attainments.\n\n=His fall.=--Man\u2019s present condition of hereditary and acquired degeneracy\nclearly reveals that somewhere in human history he has thrown himself\nout of harmony with physical, mental and moral laws governing his\nwell-being. The record of man\u2019s fall as given in Genesis is at least the\nfigure of a great fact in human history. Man\u2019s fall involved the\nviolation of some law or laws vitally related to his physical, mental\nand moral natures.\n\n=Need of a third agency.=--The results of his fall were transmissible. In\nhis fallen state he was not able to use heredity and environment to\ntheir normal capacity. His fall resulted in abnormal heredity and\nenvironment. Without an additional agency fallen man was incapable of\nrecovery. Hence his need of redemption and the Redeemer. Now man has at\nhis command his intelligence, his will and the grace of God, by which he\nmay improve himself, improve his environment, and as a result of his\nimproved physical, mental and moral condition, he may transmit to his\nposterity the possibilities of manhood and womanhood superior to what he\nhimself inherited. Just to the extent that man has received a good or a\nbad heredity, keeps or violates law, accepts or rejects the grace of\nGod, just to that extent does he recover or degenerate, create a good or\na bad environment, and will transmit a good or a bad heredity to his\nposterity.\n\n=Greatest blessing of parents.=--What is the greatest blessing of\nparentage? \u201cRiches,\u201d is the answer. Lots of fools think that. The\ngreatest blessing of parents to their children is a good heredity. What\na child is at birth he has received largely from his parents. What he\nreceives at birth largely determines his future.\n\n=Greatest blessing of society.=--What is the greatest blessing of society\nto a child? It is a good environment. Parents can form only a part of\ntheir child\u2019s environment. Society as a whole furnishes the environment\nof a child. No individual, no class of men, no lawmaker, no\nmunicipality, county, state or nation has the shadow of a moral right to\nplace by vote or official act, or permit by passive toleration a\nlascivious picture, a vile book, a questionable resort, a place of vice,\na saloon or a gambling den that may lead a boy or girl to ruin. Whoever\nassumes that right is an enemy to the social and moral well-being of\nsociety. God\u2019s greatest gift to men is salvation through His Son. Bad\nheredity and environment are the only difficulties in the way of all\nmen\u2019s accepting Christ. The complete effects of any one or two of these\nagencies are impossible without the normal application of the other. No\none can wholly take the place of the other two, and no two can wholly\ntake the place of the other one. These three agencies should be ever\nactive in every life.\n\n=Three agencies necessary.=--You might as well try to make a triangle out\nof two sides as to try to produce physical, mental and moral perfection\nin man by the use of environment and the grace of God, when the\nindividual has inherited little or no physical, mental and moral basis\nfor development. If a child has received ideal heredity, but is left\nwithout educational opportunities and compelled to grow up in an immoral\natmosphere, never entering a Sunday school or church, it would be\nimpossible for him to develop scholarship or Christian character. If one\nhas good heredity and good environment and leaves the grace of God out\nof his life, he is not what a man should be and will fall short of the\ntrue object of life.\n\n=Is there a remedy?=--If man\u2019s present degeneracy had its origin in the\nviolation of law; if the evil physical, mental and moral effects have,\nin some measure, been transmitted from one generation to succeeding\nones, until all men are more or less hereditarily degenerate; is there a\nremedy, or are we the subjects of fate? Must each succeeding generation\ncontinue to inherit a possible increase of degeneracy as we have done in\nthe past?\n\n=Relation of the three agencies.=--Nature and man create environment. The\ntendency of nature is to furnish only good environment for man. Man has\nit in his power to help or to hinder nature. The more depraved man is\nthe more he hinders nature and produces for himself and others a bad\nenvironment. If hereditary degeneracy could be eliminated from the\nrace, there would be no immoral environment. Bad environment is produced\nby degenerate men. Degeneracy is both inherited and acquired. Inherited\ndegeneracy indulged, and acquired degeneracy are both transmissible. If\nit were possible, under present conditions, for one never to violate a\nlaw as a result of God\u2019s grace and his own volition he could not\ndirectly and personally transmit tendencies towards evil, and he would\ntransmit his inherited tendencies towards evil in a less degree than he\ninherited them. Even with ideal heredity, environment and the grace of\nGod, one or more generations could not entirely overcome the bad effects\nof all preceding generations.\n\n=The need of Christ.=--Each individual is the sum total of all the\ninfluences, good and bad, of all preceding lineal generations. The\ninherited good and bad antagonize each other and are modified by\nenvironment and the grace of God. If the good predominates, the bent of\nthat individual will be toward the good, and vice versa. His approach to\nperfection will be determined by his heredity, his environment and by\nhis relation to Christ. Since all men always will be the sum total of\nall the influences of the past, they will always need the Christ. There\nwill always be enough temptations in the world to develop the heroic in\nman.\n\n=The race can be improved.=--But it is reasonable that through the ideal\napplication of these three agencies one generation can to a very marked\ndegree overcome the evil effects of the past and transmit less\ndegeneracy than it received. If each individual would embrace the grace\nof God, create for himself and others an ideal environment, this process\ncontinued would ultimately give us a race free from the present serious\ncondition of physical, mental and moral degeneracy. If this conclusion\nis not practical, logical and correct, then science and revelation fail\nto give us a remedy for present race degeneracy. If this is the correct\nsolution of our physical, mental, social and moral problems, all\neducation, legislation, religious and personal efforts to bring about\nrace regeneration will continue to fail until the three-fold scientific\nand scriptural gospel of good heredity, =good environment and the grace\nof God for every child=, finds its proper place in all our personal\nefforts, teaching, administration, legislation, and preaching.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIV\n\nHEREDITY AND REPRODUCTION\n\n\n=Life is real.=--What is life? Many theories have been offered by the\nleading materialistic students of the past and present, but all have\nsignally failed to tell us what life is in its ultimate essence. All\nattempts to discover life by aid of the scalpel, microscope and chemical\nanalysis have likewise failed. This class of scientists has made several\nattempts to explain life as being the phenomena of matter undergoing\ncertain peculiar chemical changes, or due to molecular motion. They have\nfailed to recognize two great realms of existence, the material and the\nimmaterial, the visible and the invisible, the tangible and the\nintangible. Life, physical, mental and spiritual, though invisible and\nimmaterial, is none the less real in its essence.\n\nThe materialists have tried hard to explain reproduction and heredity on\na physical basis. By this method they have failed to explain many of the\nmost common facts.\n\n=The germ cell.=--The difference between the germ cells of the lower\nanimals and man is not in their structure, or their chemical elements,\nbut in their inherent life. Here are three germ cells. As fast as the\nscientist is capable of analyzing them they may be absolutely identical\nin their physical anatomy, yet one may contain the life of a rabbit,\nanother the life of a dog, and still another the soul of a man. The\nphysical anatomy does not determine whether the offspring is to be a\nrabbit, a dog, or a human being. It is the resident life that determines\nthis. Physical organs are the mediums through which life reproduces\nitself. The heredity of the offspring is determined by the many\ninfluences brought to bear upon it before birth and upon the lives of\nthe ancestors.\n\n=Masculine and feminine principal.=--The organic world is pregnant with\ntwo primary and vital principles, the masculine and the feminine. Every\nplant, lower animal, and man is reproduced by the union of these\nprinciples. In the lower forms of plant and animal life these two\nprinciples reside in the same organism. Reproduction takes place within\nthe parent organism by the union of these two natures. The parent\norganism divides and becomes two distinct organisms. This is\nreproduction by division.\n\n=Reproduction in the lower forms of life.=--In the next higher forms of\nplant and animal life these two principles reside in the same\nindividuals, but in separate organs. These organs possessing the female\nnature produce seeds or eggs. The organs possessing the male nature\nproduce a fertilizing substance called pollen or semen. Reproduction\ntakes place by the fusion of the male and female cells.\n\nIn the higher animals and man these principles reside in separate\nindividuals. In some mysterious way the procreative cells have residing\nwithin themselves, in rudimentary form, all the attributes of the\nparents.\n\n=Sex is in the life principle.=--Once sex was considered a part of the\nphysical organism. Now we are beginning to see that sex is vitally and\nsubstantially related to life. When a little plant comes into the world\nit is because the masculine and feminine sex principles have united on\nthe plane of physical life. Like begets like. The baby plant did not\npossess animal life, intellectual life, or moral life for the reason\nthat the parent plant could not transmit a form of life it did not\npossess in its masculine and feminine nature.\n\nWhen the little animal comes into this world it is because the masculine\nand feminine principles have united on the plane of instinctive animal\nlife and, among the higher classes of animals, rudimentary mental life.\n\n=Reproduction man.=--Man is organized on higher planes than the rest of\nthe organic world. Man possesses not only the highest form of physical\nlife, but also mental and spiritual life. Sex in man is primarily and\nsubstantially related to his physical, mental and spiritual life. The\nsperm cell of the father is formed from his blood and possesses the\nessence of his three-fold nature. The germ cell of the mother is formed\nfrom her blood and possesses the essence of her three-fold nature. When\nthese two cells, masculine and feminine, unite under proper conditions,\na human being having a physical, mental and moral nature, is started\nupon its endless voyage, nine months before it makes its visible\nappearance in the world. When God made the body of primitive man He\n\u201cbreathed into him the breath of life (Hebrew lives) and man became a\nliving soul,\u201d having power of self-propagation and the power to transmit\npotential procreative power from one generation to another.\n\n=Man\u2019s relation to the past.=--Each new being at the initial of life is\nthe sum total of all the influences, good and bad, of his ancestry back\nto Adam. The child is largely the product of his parents. He is not a\nduplicate of either, but the product of their blended personalities,\nbeing influenced much by his grand-parents, less and less as his\nancestry becomes more and more remote. During embryonic and fetal\ndevelopment the child will tend to unfold in all departments of its\nnature according to the pattern received from its ancestors, but this\nmay be more or less influenced by maternal impressions. After birth the\nchild has two agents that will ever be active, heredity and\nenvironment. These two agents at their best are never perfect. Hence\nthe child will ever need a third agent, the grace of God.\n\n=Why children in the same home differ.=--Here is a family of five\nchildren. They differ from each other quite as much as if they\nrepresented five families. Now, if heredity does not explain this\ndifference, then the children, having the same environment, would be\nalike. The children in the same home differ from each other for the\nreason that the parents, at the creative moment, did not sustain to each\nchild the same combination of physical, mental and moral relations. At\nthe creative moment of the second child the parents were not in the same\nphysical, mental and moral states they were at the creative moment of\nthe first. They had each changed in their physical states of health,\ntheir mental interests and in their moral and religious convictions and\nexperiences. For the same reason each child differs from all the others\nin the family. Though they had the same environments, no two were alike.\nSo great is the influence of heredity that no two people can be made\nalike by giving to them the same environment.\n\n=Twins.=--If two persons could receive the same heredity and environment,\nthey would be exactly alike. The nearest approach we have to this is in\nthe case of twins. Nearly one-half of twins are so much alike\n\n[Illustration: LOUISE AND MAY CARTER, TWINS.]\n\nthat it is difficult to tell them apart. Other twins resemble each other\nmore than children in the same home born months apart.\n\n=Why some are alike and others are not.=--If the creative moment of twins\nwere the same, or nearly the same, the parents sustained to each the\nsame combination of influences. If their creative moments occurred hours\nor even days apart, then there was time for one or both parents to\nsustain a different relation to one, from that they sustained to the\nother. This accounts for the difference between some twins. Not only do\ntwins resemble each other physically, but often their mental and moral\ntastes and tendencies are very much alike.\n\n=Twin brothers.=--I once met twin brothers sixty-seven years old. They had\nbeen lost to each other for fourteen years. They still resembled each\nother, dressed alike, wore their beards and hair alike, talked and\nlaughed alike. Sixty-seven years had not greatly modified their physical\nand mental resemblance. Twin children usually inherit similar\nperfections or imperfections. This I have noticed for a number of years.\nWhere I am now writing is a club-footed, rheumatic boy. His twin brother\nis feeble-minded. In an adjoining state a few days ago I studied a young\nman who was helpless from his arms down. His twin sister was helpless at\nbirth and died in childhood. These examples indicate that the\nbefore-birth influences being the same, were the causes of these defects\nin the offspring.\n\n=An objection answered.=--A man said to me, \u201cI don\u2019t believe in heredity.\u201d\nI asked him why he did not. He replied, \u201cI know of a drunken father who\nhad four sons; two were dissipated from their youth and two were\n\u2018teetotalers.\u2019 If the father had had anything to do with this, all would\nhave been drunkards.\u201d\n\nMy reply was, \u201cThe father through the laws of heredity may have\ntransmitted to two of his boys tendencies toward drunkenness and to the\nother two, tendencies toward sobriety. In the case of the first two, the\nfather might have, in his mental and moral natures, favored\nintemperance, longed for alcohol, or been on a drunken debauch at the\ninitial of their lives. With reference to the last two, the father might\nhave temporarily reformed, mentally and morally, he might have been\nstrongly opposed to the use of strong drink at the initial of their\nlives.\n\n\u201cAgain the mother might have had very light convictions on temperance\nprior to the birth of the first two and very strong mental and moral\nopposition prior to the birth of the last two. Again something in the\nform of environment may have led the last two to overcome their\ninherited tendencies toward drink.\u201d\n\n=Materialistic theory fails.=--Materialistic philosophers admit that\nheredity tends to reproduce the likeness of the parents in the child.\nThey try to explain this on a purely physical basis. Prof. Huxley, Mr.\nSpencer and the more modern Weismann, while they have each coined some\nnew technical terms with which to convey their materialistic ideas,\nsuppose that each procreative cell, masculine and feminine, contains a\nrepresentative material something from every atom of the respective body\nfrom which it was formed. In this way the child has a body with marked\nresemblance to its parents. Since, according to their theory, all mental\nand moral phenomena are due to chemical changes and molecular\ndisturbances in the brain, and since the child inherited a brain like\nits parents, the molecular movements of the child\u2019s brain will be like\nthe molecular movements in the brains of its parents; hence it will have\ninherited the mental and moral characteristics of the father and mother.\n\n=Life is a unit.=--It takes only a few days for the procreative cells to\nbe elaborated and matured. Here is a child. The initial of its life\noccurred twenty years after its parents had their right arms amputated.\nHow could the procreative cells that formed the initial of that child\u2019s\nlife have in them a material representation from the right arms of those\nparents that had been amputated twenty years before the birth of the\nchild? Suppose that the parents had undergone a much larger mutilation\nof the body, leaving them only the organs necessary to continued life\nand propagation, would the child have inherited the absent parts? Yes.\nWhy? For the reason that sex is in the life of the individual, and not\nsimply in the material substance of the body. A human body may have had\nsome of the members removed but the physical life remains a unit. The\nembryo formed by the union of a masculine and a feminine cell will have\na unit of physical life. During the nine months of gestation this unit\nof embryonic physical life will be incarnated in a unit of physical\norganism. Should a lobe of the brain of each parent, through which some\nmental or moral attribute functions, be removed, the child would inherit\na unit of brain organism, for the reason that it inherited from the\nparents a unit of mental and moral life.\n\n=Sex a resident part of life.=--These illustrations show that sex is\nvitally related to the physical, mental and moral life; that the\nphysical nature of the child is the product of the union of the\nmasculine and feminine principles of the physical life of the parents\nrepresented in the procreative cells; that the mental nature of the\nchild is the product of the union of the masculine and feminine\nprinciples of the mental life of the parents represented in the\nprocreative cells; that the spiritual nature of the child is the product\nof the union of the masculine and feminine principles of the spiritual\nlife of the parents represented in the procreative cells. The three-fold\nlife of a child is the product of the blending of the three-fold life of\nits parents.\n\n=Heredity explained.=--The Bible tells us that \u201cthe blood is the life.\u201d\nScience cannot express this truth better. The three-fold expressions of\nlife are not in the blood. The blood furnishes life for every cell.\nPhysical, mental and moral states are influenced by the conditions of\nthe blood. These three natures meet and influence each other in the\nblood. Jesus appealed to the will of the patient. \u201cWilt thou be made\nwhole?\u201d \u201cArise, take up thy bed and walk.\u201d \u201cStretch forth thy hand.\u201d\nJesus recognized the influence of the mind, expressed in will, as well\nas the spiritual expressed in faith, as a means of physical restoration.\nEvery successful doctor, whatever may be his medical views, recognizes\nthe value of a strong purpose to recover.\n\n=Effects of different mental states.=--Men and animals alike lick a fresh\nwound. Nature teaches them that the saliva alleviates pain and heals the\nwound. If an angry person bites you, or you lick a wound after an hour\nof intense anger, you have a wound with all the symptoms of poison and\nit will be difficult to cure. Hundreds of cases are on record where\nangry mothers nursing their babies have thereby thrown them into\nconvulsions or spasms. Jealousy will result in digestive disturbances.\nOne can grieve so much over the loss of property or some member of the\nhome by death as to injure the health. It is claimed that a great\nchemist took the various secretions from a subject that had been\nintensely angry for hours and succeeded in removing from the various\nsecretions more than a score of poisons. In the case of another subject\nswayed by holy impulses, the kindest of feelings, the purest of love, he\nremoved more than a score of wholesome, nutritious ingredients without a\nsingle poison.\n\n=Mental and moral states influence the offspring.=--If right mental and\nmoral states will give to the saliva, secreted from the blood, curative\nproperties; and wrong mental and moral states will give the saliva a\npoisonous nature; if right mental and moral states influence the milk\nsecreted by the breasts of a mother in a normal way; and wrong mental\nand moral states will so influence the mother\u2019s blood as to throw her\nfour-months-old nursing babe into spasms, cannot the father\u2019s mental and\nmoral states influence the creative secretions from his blood, and the\nmother\u2019s mental and moral states, at the creative moment and during the\nnine months of embryonic and fetal development, influence the creative\nand life sustaining and life-developing secretions from her blood?\n\n=Who was to blame?=--I once met a family during one of my lecture courses\nand was entertained in the home over night. Their children, five in\nnumber, all during my lecture picked at each other, scratched each\nother, fought each other, fussed, quarreled and cried. As we rode in the\ncarriage to their home and during our visit those youngsters kept up\nthis same line of entertainment. After I had retired the man stepped\ninto my room and whispered to me that he and his wife were in great\ntrouble, that they had been at the point of separation for ten years and\nasked me to teach them how to live happily together, and to be less\nmiserable. I asked him to tell me the cause of their inharmony. \u201cOh,\nthere is but one trouble between wife and me!\u201d He spoke as if that were\nquite insignificant. Finally he told me that the trouble in the home\nwas, \u201cneither of us can control our tempers.\u201d As he left my room I\nrealized that for once in life I had a government contract on my hands.\nThen I mused: \u201cTen years of quarreling, ten years of disagreement, ten\nyears of family feuds and family strife and these parents have\ntransmitted more of bad disposition to their children than the children\nwill be able to conquer in a lifetime, or these parents will be able to\nwhip out of them before they are of age, chasing them around over a\nthree-hundred-acre farm.\u201d Continuing my meditation I thought: \u201cIf I had\nthe power to make laws, I would make a law of mercy for such\nunfortunate children as these. That law would provide that where parents\ntransmit as much unnecessary devilment to their children as these\nparents have to theirs, that the children should have the legal right to\nwhip their daddies and mammies.\u201d\n\n=The child not an exact duplicate of either parent.=--These parents had\nproduced their mental and moral states in their children.\n\nThese illustrations will help you to understand the philosophy of\nheredity. The two cells that unite to form the initial of every new life\nare elaborated from the blood of their respective parents and each cell\nhas the physical, mental and moral natures of its parents in potential\nform. Were it possible for a child to inherit its size, form, features,\ndisposition, tendencies, etc., from only one of its parents, and to grow\nto maturity uninfluenced by environment and education, it would\nnecessarily be an exact duplicate of that parent. Because of its dual\nparentage, the maternal impressions received before birth, and the ever\nvarying influences of environment and education, the child will be\nunlike any other person that ever lived.\n\n=The child resembles both.=--These cells often remain in the bodies of the\nrespective parents for several days before the initial of a life takes\nplace. It follows that the mental and moral states, as well as the\nphysical condition of the parents, for many days before conception takes\nplace, will influence the child. There is no doubt but the remote\nconditions of the parents are transmitted, but not so certainly and so\nfully as the existing, or recently existing, states of the parents. At\nthe initial moment the three natures of each of the parents will be\ngreatly modified in the union of the cells. If the separate natures of\nthe parents did not blend in the child, the child would have two mental\nnatures, two moral natures and two physical natures. The modification of\nthe inherited tendencies from each parent will depend largely upon the\nrelative strength of these natures in the parents. Hence, where the same\ncharacteristic exists in each parent it will appear in the child in a\nreduced, duplicated or exaggerated form.\n\n=Prenatal opportunities.=--During prenatal life, the forming child in the\nmother\u2019s body is supplied with its physical, mental and moral building\nmaterial from the mother\u2019s blood. During the first twelve months of its\npostnatal life, or the period of lactation, the mother\u2019s blood,\nenvironment and education are the child\u2019s sources of physical\ndevelopment. During these periods the child is almost wholly pliable in\nthe hands of its physical sculptors and mental and moral teachers. The\nprenatal existence of a child affords the parents their greatest\nopportunity to train the child, \u201cin the way it should go.\u201d\n\n=Mother\u2019s advantage.=--From these facts we see that the mother has the\nadvantage of the father in influencing the forming body, the plastic\nbrain and the sensitive soul of the child. Owing to the double standard\nof morals it is certainly a blessing to the world that this is true.\nWhatever is undesirable in the father, especially in his moral life, in\na measure may be overcome by the mother. The story of Abraham\u2019s two\nsons, Isaac, the true son, and Ishmael, the son of the bond woman, is a\nfamiliar illustration of this truth. Isaac became a good man; Ishmael\nbecame a bad man, the founder of the Ishmaelites, \u201cwhose hand was\nagainst every man.\u201d Do you recall to memory a mother fallen in\ncharacter? What has become of her children? Daughters fallen and sons\nworthless, often without an exception.\n\nSuppose women all lived as men do, what would be the effect on the\ncoming generation? Suppose men and women were alike temperate, honest,\ntruthful and pure, our civilization would be as much superior to the\npresent as the present civilization is superior to heathenism.\n\n=The mother\u2019s larger hereditary influence proven.=--Do you recall a\ndrunken mother? How about the children? Dissipated and delinquent. A\nyoung lawyer, gifted, conceited, ambitious and eager for position and\npower had, according to his views, but one thing in his way to the goal\nof success--money. After thinking over the surest and best methods of\ngetting money he decided to marry it. His first opportunity was a\nwealthy feeble-minded heiress. He married her. To their marriage five\nchildren were born. Three were positively mentally weak. The other two\nwere noticeably so. Of these two, the first was a natural thief and the\nother a natural liar. Only one child resembled the young lawyer, the\nlast one.\n\n=When training should begin.=--It was a saying of a Yale president that \u201ca\nchild\u2019s training should begin with its grandparents.\u201d Another has said,\n\u201cA child\u2019s training should begin one hundred years before it is born.\u201d\nThere is more truth in those quaint sayings than many are willing to\naccept. Most parents give their children no premeditated and intelligent\nprenatal training, and many think that when the child has become\naccountable is soon enough for its training to begin.\n\n=Children products of blind chance.=--There is an idea among many that\nevery child comes straight from God and made to His order, and that\nparents are obediently to receive them when God sends them. Let the\nchild be beautiful or homely, blonde or brunette, girl or boy, strong or\nfeeble-minded, good or bad, no matter, God gave the child. Some think\nthese things are all accidents, fortunes or misfortunes, or they belong\nto \u201cthe unknowable.\u201d There are no accidents. Every effect has its cause.\nNothing comes by chance alone. Unalterable and invariable law governs\neverything. The law of heredity is as unerring as the law of\ngravitation. Our ignorance of the law does not prevent its operation.\n\n=Robbed of their birthright.=--The great mass of people are not well-born.\nAside from the degenerate criminal and the feeble-minded, universally\nrecognized products of heredity, most people are below what nature would\nteach us they should be. They were born with mediocre capacities for\nbusiness success and intellectual attainment. Give them the earliest and\nbest advantages and training that this country affords and marked\nimprovements will be made by them, but they will not make great men in\nany line of life work, for the simple reason that they cannot. It takes\nsome natural capacity for the highest success.\n\nOccasionally a child of unusual gifts is born of parents much below the\naverage. The parents and their friends are likely to believe the gift to\nbe a special divine bestowment. But, if the child\u2019s prenatal history\ncould be fully known this would be accounted for on the basis of\nhereditary law. The unscientific farmer may occasionally raise a fine\near of corn or a very large crop of potatoes. But the intelligent,\nscientific farmer raises only the best.\n\n=Sowing wild oats.=--If girls were addicted to loafing on the streets,\nswearing and telling vulgar stories, smoking and drinking, gambling and\ngoing to questionable places, we should not consider this good training\nfor wifehood and motherhood. No intelligent man would choose such a girl\nto be the wife of his bosom, the queen of his home, the mother of his\nchildren. He is an ardent believer in the training of girls before\nmarriage for wifehood and motherhood. Boys who engage in any of these\nsins are as much unfitting themselves for parentage as girls would be.\n\u201cOh, but a reformed rake makes the best husband.\u201d If he makes the shadow\nof one, it will be a miracle of grace that he does it. No \u201crake\u201d can in\nhis own strength make a good father. If by God\u2019s help he makes a good\nhusband and father, this will be done in spite of his former life, and,\nnot because he had been a \u201crake.\u201d Sowing wild oats in youth does not\nmake it easier to be good in after life, but more difficult. Boys and\nyoung men should live with a view to husbandhood and fatherhood.\n\n=Immature parents.=--Experienced stock raisers will not breed inferior or\nimmature stock. If one or both animals to be used for breeding purposes\nbe young, immature, the offspring will be inferior. All leading\nphysiologists place man\u2019s maturity at about twenty-four and a woman\u2019s at\nabout twenty. If continence in thought and life controlled our social\nrelations, it would be best for the human family if marriage did not\ntake place until maturity. Under existing social conditions, sexual\ndissipation, and its dangers, it is perhaps best, in some cases, that\nthey marry a few years younger. But for fifteen-and sixteen-year-old\ngirls and nineteen-and twenty-year-old boys to marry is a decided\nphysiological and psychological mistake. Children can no more parent\nnormal children than can pigs, colts, and kids parent normal young. A\ngreat sociologist says that four to six per cent. more children whose\nmothers married at sixteen will die in their first year than among\nchildren whose mothers married at twenty; and that six to ten per cent.\nmore children whose fathers married at twenty will die in their first\nyear than among children whose fathers married at twenty-four.\n\n=An ideal family.=--At the close of a lecture on heredity in a college\ntown, a gentleman invited me to take dinner at his home the next day. I\naccepted his invitation. From eleven o\u2019clock to twelve he and I sat in\nfront of his little cottage home chatting pleasantly. When the college\nbell announced the noon hour, he turned and said, \u201cWhen my two boys and\nmy girl return home for dinner I want you to study them as examples of\nintelligently applied laws of parental preparation, prenatal training,\ngood environment and the Grace of God.\u201d\n\nA few minutes later my attention was called to the rattling of the gate.\nTurning, I beheld two fine specimens of physical manhood and an equally\nfine specimen of physical womanhood. On closer acquaintance I found they\nwere leaders in all their classes, leaders in the best circles of\nsociety and leaders in church work.\n\nDinner over, the young people returned to college; dishes were cleared\naway, and father, mother and I sat in front of that same cottage home;\nthe conversation naturally drifted to heredity and to the young people.\nThe father humbly but proudly said, \u201cProfessor, if wife and I should\nsell all we have, including our wardrobe, we could not raise $1,500. We\nhave never been ambitious for broad acres of land, a palatial home or\nheavy deposits in the bank. We have had just one all-controlling purpose\nin our married life, and that has been to give to the world a family of\nchildren who will honor us after we are dead, be a blessing to the world\nand glorify God.\u201d My reply was, \u201cYou have certainly erected to your\nmemory three splendid monuments, monuments far grander than if you had\nworn out your muscle and brains in the production of sordid silver and\ngold and had left to your children a round million, and they, out of\ntheir gratitude, had erected to your memory a marble shaft piercing the\nvery sky.\u201d\n\nI said it then, I have repeated it many times since, \u201cI wish I had the\nmoney to pay the transportation and hotel bills of this family on my\nlecture trips and at the close of a lecture on heredity, could call this\nfamily to the platform as a living example of intelligently applied\nprinciples of eugenics.\u201d If the initial moment of every child born into\nthis world were intelligently planned for, its prenatal rights\nrespected, its advent warmly welcomed, its environments wisely chosen\nand it were early led to accept Christ, every family would be equal to\nthis family, and the next generation much superior to this. Will you,\ngentle reader, model your ideals after this home, teach these truths to\nothers, and teach them to teach these truths to still others? If you\nwill, then you will have done your part towards the world\u2019s redemption.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLV\n\nCHOOSING A COMPANION\n\n\n=Indications of constitutional degeneracy.=--Feeble-mindedness, epilepsy,\ninsanity, scrofula, cancer, rheumatism and gout are the outward\nindications of constitutional degeneracy and inherited tendencies which\nare often transmitted from one generation to another of a deteriorating\nfamily. These conditions in nearly every instance were due either to\nstrong drink or to sexual sin. In most cases consumption may be added to\nthe above list.\n\n=Choosing a degenerate companion.=--If you and your family have a clear\nrecord of physical, mental and moral health, you can form habits of vice\nor marry into a family addicted to vice or into a family\nconstitutionally degenerate and hand down to your posterity hereditary\nconditions and tendencies.\n\n=A clear bill of health to your children.=--If you and your family have a\nbad record of health, you can, by a virtuous and temperate life, strict\nobservance of the laws of health, and an intelligent choice of a\ncompanion, largely overcome the effects of bad heredity and environment\nin yourself and transmit a clean bill of health to your children.\n\n=Neurotics.=--Don\u2019t marry into a neurotic family. Your partner might\nbecome insane and your children be afflicted.\n\n=Drunkards.=--Don\u2019t marry into a family where there are several drunkards\nand don\u2019t marry a person addicted to strong drink. Remember that you are\nchoosing the father or the mother of your children; and that choice is\nfinal. If children could choose their parents, they would hesitate\nbefore making such a choice.\n\n=Consumptives.=--If you are suffering from any form of tubercular disease,\nyou should not marry. Neither should you marry one having consumption,\nnor into a family where consumption is common. It is possible to\novercome all tendencies to consumption and to effect a cure in the\nearliest stages.\n\n=Consumption and cancer.=--For a person having consumption to marry into a\nhome where cancer is common would be a combination fraught with great\ndanger to the offspring. The children would be handicapped from birth\nwith frail bodies, liable to similar diseases, and most of them would\ndie during adolescence, or before. The worst results follow where both\ncompanions have inherited the same disease.\n\n=A low vitality.=--A parent cannot transmit to the child what he does not\npossess himself. Children of immoral parents, invalid parents,\nfeeble-minded parents, sexually exhausted parents will necessarily\ninherit impoverished vitality.\n\n=The immature.=--In all countries where immature marriages are tolerated\nor encouraged the children are small, wretched, unhealthy and\nshortlived. This was observed in the days of Greece, in past generations\nin France, to-day in India and may be observed wherever encouraged in\nour country. From four to ten per cent, more children born of immature\nparents will die in the first year than among children of matured\nparents. Idiocy and physical imperfections; a lack of energy and courage\nwill be quite common among them. As a rule girls mature at twenty and\nboys at twenty-four. Marriage earlier than these ages should be\nconsidered immature.\n\n=Difference as to age.=--The young man, as a rule, should be four to six\nyears older than his bride. Unless a man\u2019s strength and vigor are\nexceptionally well maintained, he should not become a father after he is\nfifty. Sociologists claim that a larger per cent. of the children born\nafter their fathers were fifty become sexual offenders, dishonest and\ncriminals than among children whose fathers were younger.\n\n=Criminals.=--Don\u2019t marry into a family where there is a number of\ncriminals. Where crime is common in a family you will find many of the\noutward signs of constitutional degeneracy mentioned in the first\nparagraph of this chapter. Frequency of crime in a family indicates\ndeterioration.\n\n=Wealth should have no influence.=--The choice of a companion should not\nbe influenced by money interests, base desires, or any other unworthy\nmotive. If one\u2019s choice is influenced in one of these ways domestic\nharmony and well-born children will not be possible.\n\n=Masculine women and feminine men.=--Don\u2019t marry an effeminate man. Don\u2019t\nmarry a masculine woman. The masculine should predominate in man. The\nfeminine should predominate in woman. Where the feminine nature\npredominates in the wife and the masculine nature in the husband\nsoul-union will be possible, domestic harmony will prevail and the\nchildren will be well-born.\n\n=Marriage of cousins.=--Don\u2019t marry into a family where first and second\ncousins have married for several generations. This custom gradually\nleads to constitutional degeneracy. Should first cousins marry where\nthere have been no previous intermarriages, no serious defects will\nlikely be transmitted to the children.\n\n=Value of chastity.=--True marriage is based on genuine, pure love and the\nharmonious mental and temperamental adaptation. True love between the\nsexes is the child of the sex life. When lascivious thinking and habits\nchange sexuality into sensuality lust becomes a substitute for love. If\nthe real cause of divorce were known it would be found in most cases to\nbe due to the dissipation of the vital energy, which is the basis of\nlove. In nearly every case man is responsible for his home\u2019s being\nwrecked. In the choice of a companion, chastity is of vital importance.\n\n=Temperaments.=--Authorities recognize three distinct temperaments: the\nmotive, the vital and the nervous or mental. Where the motive organs,\nthe muscles and bones, predominate, the physical powers will be most\nprominent. Where the vital organs, indicated by a heavy-set body and a\nfull chest, predominate, the manifestations of life will be most\nprominent. Where the nervous system predominates, the mental powers will\nbe most prominent.\n\n=Motive temperament.=--The motive temperament is indicated by bones broad\nand large; muscles slim, firm and tough; the individual is tall,\nangular, brow prominent, cheek-bones high, shoulders broad, chest full,\neyes and hair usually dark. Such persons are usually very pronounced in\ntheir views; firm, ambitious, stern and severe. Two persons having very\npronounced motive temperaments should not marry. There would be two\nbosses in the home and the children would be willful and unsociable.\n\n=Nervous temperament.=--The nervous temperament is indicated by sharp\nfeatures, light frame, head rather large, face oval, forehead high, eyes\nexpressive, movements quick, neck slender and feelings usually intense.\nShould parties of this temperament marry disagreements would be frequent\nand the children would be delicate, weak and over precocious.\n\n=Vital temperament.=--The vital temperament is indicated by a rather low,\nheavy-set body, hands and feet small, neck short and thick, chest full,\nshoulders broad, face and head round, hair and eyes generally light.\nPersons of this temperament are, as a rule, not great students, inclined\nto be impulsive, very sociable, versatile, cheerful and ardent and\nliable to be fickle. Where these characteristics are very pronounced,\nmarriage with a person of another temperament would be advisable.\nHowever, most persons of the vital type have a harmonious, balanced\ntemperament. Here likes may marry like.\n\n=Like should not marry like.=--If one has a very pronounced motive\ntemperament he should choose a companion having a more plump and\nsymmetrical form, with a genial and yielding nature. This would be\nconducive to domestic harmony and would give the children a favorable\nheredity.\n\n=The law of compliments.=--One with a pronounced nervous temperament\nshould select a companion having a vital temperament or one having a\nmoderate motive temperament. If young people were prompted by unselfish\nmotives and a pure chaste love, mistakes in marriage would be extremely\nrare. Where choice of a companion is determined by financial interests,\nsensual desire, or other selfish motives, the soul is denied its\nprerogative in the selection of a mate. No man in a normal condition and\nprompted by unselfish motives would select for his companion a masculine\nwoman, a consumptive, a neurotic or one with an excessive motive or\nnervous temperament, and vice versa. The subjective minds of possible\nsoul-mates come naturally and easily to comprehend each other\u2019s joys and\nsorrows, longings and love. Most married people are fairly well-mated\nand comparatively happy. Their adaptation to each other and their soul\noneness grew out of a natural affinity to which they unselfishly yielded\nrather than from an intelligent choice based on a knowledge of the laws\nof adaptation.\n\n=Mismates.=--Perhaps one-half of the married are not well-mated, for\nreasons already stated. Owing to the fact that so many are mismated, a\ncondition growing out of artificial and unnatural social, economic and\nmoral conditions, the advice of this chapter should be carefully\nstudied by young people before they make the choice of a life companion.\n\n=Atavism.=--All students of natural history have occasionally observed\namong plants and animals the reappearance of something that belonged to\ntheir remote progenitors, but which did not belong to their immediate\nparents. This tendency for remote ancestral characteristics to reappear\nafter lying dormant for one or more generations, is called atavism. This\nfact is sometimes observed in the human family.\n\n=Examples.=--As a rule, when one child in the home possesses some marked\nmorbid tendency or special gift not possessed by other members of the\nfamily, it can be accounted for on the basis of some initial or maternal\nimpression. But this is not always true. A deaf mute may be born in a\nhome and the cause traced to some remote deaf mute ancestor.\nConsumption, insanity and other diseases may disappear for one or more\ngenerations and then reappear. This is a fact recognized by many\nphysicians.\n\nTwo first cousins from families remarkably free from intemperance were\nruined by intemperance. Both seemed powerless from the first indulgence\nto resist the habit. One was dissipated from childhood, the other did\nnot begin until he was twenty and was a wreck in six brief years. Their\ngrandfather was a periodic drinker. The appetite had slumbered in one\ngeneration but broke out in the next.\n\n=Love the basis of marriage.=--In the choice of a life companion one\nshould be absolutely sure that his choice is prompted by pure and\nunselfish love. If love in courtship and marriage is genuine it will\nhave but one idol. Selfish interests and base desires may lead one to\nadmire and worship more than one, but this is not love.\n\n=Chastity the basis of genuine love.=--This genuine love that draws young\npeople into beautiful courtship, happy marriage and makes them one is\nvitally related to the sex nature. Without sexuality this expression of\nthe affectional nature would not be possible. When this God-honored,\nlove-creating nature is converted into sensuality, lust, not love,\nreigns in courtship and marriage.\n\n=Love tested.=--The genuineness of love may be tested in several ways.\nWhenever the choice is largely determined by financial interests or\nsocial prestige the parties are drawn to each other for selfish reasons,\nand not by unmixed love. If a young woman wins a companion by wearing\nlow-necked dresses, permitting young men to hold her hands, play with\nher hair, kiss and caress her, by going with them to public dances, and\nlow theatrical entertainments, she makes her appeal on the plane of the\nsensual. Courtship and marriage on this plane are a travesty on love. It\nis not always easy for the vigorous and healthy to distinguish between\nselfish interest, base desire and love. A good test would be for lovers\nto cease their calls and correspondence for ten days; meanwhile they\nshould attend social functions and call on and accept calls from others.\nIf they find it impossible to admire and love some other person and\ntheir love for each other remains intense and warm under these\nconditions, they may safely conclude that their love is genuine.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVI\n\nPHYSICAL, MENTAL AND MORAL PREPARATION FOR PARENTAGE\n\n\n=The right of a child to receive good heredity.=--Every child has an\nabsolute right to be well-born. To receive a good inheritance is worth\ninfinitely more than to be born in a palace and inherit millions in\nmoney. The prenatal period of a child is more important than any other\nperiod in its earthly life. Parents are responsible to the child, to\nsociety and to God for what they bequeath to the child at birth. The\nchild well trained till its birth is fully half trained. If the child\ninherits a good basis for a strong and healthy body, mind and morals, it\ncan make a success in life. It is true that some parents prefer leaving\nthe physical, mental and moral possibilities of their children to\nprovidence or \u201cblind chance,\u201d to practicing a little self-denial. But it\nis certainly the desire of all thoughtful parents to have their children\nwell-born.\n\n=Planning for the initial of a life.=--The initial of every child should\nbe intelligently planned. Only parents who have their sexual nature\nunder control, or those who can and will bring it under control, can do\nthis. This can be done most easily by parents who in their youth were\ntrained to see that the primary use of the sexual energy and function is\nto build up and maintain perfect manhood and womanhood through life and\nfor procreative purposes in the married life, and not for unrestricted\nselfish pleasure.\n\n[Illustration: WELL BORN.--Mark Henry Woodward, age seven months; weight\neighteen pounds; clings on to a horizontal bar for a full minute; food,\nbreast-fed; health, never sick.]\n\n=Why few children are well-born.=--Where married people have been falsely\neducated in the idea that marriage means unrestricted indulgence, and\nunder this delusion have created unnatural demand, a horde of evils will\nfollow. If this unfortunate class care only for a selfish pleasure, the\nchildren will follow each other closely and will receive a poor\nheredity. If they use preventive means to restrict the size of the\nfamily, the few children born into the homes will be far more\nunfortunately born. Excess in the marriage relation impoverishes the\nbody, mind and soul and unfits for true parentage those who practice\nsuch excess. Every device used to prevent conception or to destroy\nunborn life will work untold injury to the parents, and the occasional,\naccidental and unwelcome child will receive a most unfortunate heredity.\nThe mental and moral states, as well as the physical condition, of the\nparents, for months before and at the initial moment and during\ngestation must necessarily become a part of the child.\n\nWhatever is received into our physical, mental and moral life becomes an\nessential part of ourselves and is transmissible to our offspring.\nProspective parents should not at any time engage in anything that would\nbe undesirable if reproduced in their children.\n\n=Intelligent preparation.=--A knowledge of the laws of heredity will\nenable parents largely to overcome in their children any undesirable\nqualities possessed by themselves or their parents and to transmit to\ntheir children desirable qualities in a larger degree than that\npossessed by themselves.\n\nIn planning for a child, the parents should carefully study each other\u2019s\ngood and bad qualities, weak and strong points, their active and latent\ntalents with a view to an intelligent cultivation of their good\nqualities and the restraining of the bad, strengthening their weak\npoints and calling into activity every valuable latent capacity. In this\nway they may transmit only the best to the child. Both parents should\nardently desire a child. Both should begin the preparation months before\nthe initial of the new life and both should continue the preparations\nuntil the child is born. While the father\u2019s direct hereditary influence\nupon the child ceases with the inception of life, his continued training\nwill encourage and inspire his wife to continue her training until the\nbirth of the child.\n\n=Physical preparation.=--Both husband and wife should be in a perfectly\nhealthy condition while planning for a child. The intelligent stock\nbreeder appreciates this statement. He knows that the offspring will be\ndefective if either of the parents is in a low state of vitality.\nSystematic treatment and feeding will be followed until the animal is\nbrought to a normal condition before the initial of reproduction is\nallowed. The healthy or unhealthy condition of the blood determines the\nhealth of the body. The blood is the creative source of new life. Every\nnew life is affected by the physical condition of its parents\u2019 blood. It\nis a sin and a crime for parents knowingly to inflict physical weakness\nupon their children. Is it not strange that men will take every\nprecaution to have their stock well-born and yet utterly ignore these\nessential precautions in relation to their children? There are some\nmarried people who have physical ailments that render them permanently\nunfit for parentage. Such should be wise enough to refrain from becoming\nparents.\n\n=An invalid mother.=--When a mere boy I overheard a man say, \u201cThis is our\ntwelfth child in a little over fourteen years and my wife has not been\nout of the bed since the birth of the first child.\u201d I think there were\ntwo other children born into this home. Only one of these children lived\nto reach middle life. There is not an intelligent stock raiser in the\nworld that would allow propagation among his swine under these\nconditions. This man was not brutal to his family. He was a kind husband\nand a loving father, but he was ignorant and thoughtless. He was\ncontrolled by the false teachings of \u201cPhysical necessity,\u201d and \u201cthe\nwife\u2019s body belongs to the husband.\u201d We must recognize that the unborn\nhave absolute and inalienable rights which we must not violate. No man\nhas a right to engage in the creative act when he or his wife is in a\nphysical, mental or moral condition that would, if transmitted, be\nundesirable in the possible offspring.\n\n=Morbid conditions transmissible.=--Since incompetency, thievishness,\ndrunkenness, tuberculosis, venereal poison, idiocy, insanity and\ncriminal degeneracy may all be transmitted from parents to children,\nand to children\u2019s children; young people before marriage should\nascertain whether any of these conditions exist in the families of the\nprospective union. The father who spends his time lounging on street\ncorners and telling questionable anecdotes cannot parent an industrious\nchild. No thoughtful girl will marry an idle young man.\n\n=The society mother.=--Mothers who lead in the dissipation of modern\nsocial life, such as balls, card parties, theaters, wine suppers, seldom\nhave children that are well-born either physically, mentally or morally.\nTheir children are strongly inclined to the same dissipations.\n\n=The need of rest.=--Both parents should be well rested in body for\nseveral days before the initial of a new life takes place. If the\nvitality in their blood has been much exhausted by overwork, the\ncreative cells will be lacking in vitality and the offspring will be\nweakened in its constitution.\n\nThoughtfully decide upon an ideal child in body, mind and character and\ntry to embody this ideal in your daily life and in this way you will\ntransmit these ideal conditions to your child.\n\n\u201c_Like begets like_\u201d is an invariable law. At the conception of life an\nimmortal being is started with a heritage of possibilities obtained from\nits parents. It is bone of their bone, flesh of their flesh, mind of\ntheir mind, soul of their soul. It cannot be otherwise than like the\nparents were at the time of the conception.\n\n=Practical dietetics.=--The increase in population among the very poor is\nfar greater than among the more prosperous classes. Their vitality is\noften very low, due to lack of proper nourishment. If the charity\nworkers in our churches would look after this class of prospective\nmothers and see that they are supplied during gestation and lactation\nwith wholesome and nutritious food, they would be engaged in the highest\nform of Christian service, and many of these mothers would give to their\ncountry better citizens than those which come from the homes of wealth.\nThe time will come when the governments will declare for international\npeace and will appropriate a few hundred millions each year for the\nprospective mothers whose income is not sufficient to meet their needs,\ninstead of appropriating their surplus funds to old soldiers. It is\nimportant that every mother be supplied during these periods with the\nbest quality of nutritious food.\n\n=Effects of narcotics.=--If the father is addicted to the use of tobacco\nor alcoholic drinks, he should abandon the habit, if for no other\nreason, because of its evil effects upon his offspring. One has only to\nstudy the children of a few men who are heavy drinkers or tobacco users\nto see the unmistakable effects of the narcotic habits of parents upon\ntheir children. In France there are annually twenty thousand more deaths\nthan births. Eminent French doctors attribute part of this to the\ninveterate tobacco users. They claim that this class of men are often\nsterile, or their children die prematurely.\n\n=Suppressing evil tendencies.=--\u201cLike begets like.\u201d Parents cannot\ntransmit to their children what they themselves do not possess in a\nlatent or active state. By awakening a slumbering talent and exercising\nit with zeal it may be reproduced in an intensified form in the child.\nBy refraining from a bad habit, or ceasing to use an undesirable trait\nand by cultivating a mental opposition to it, the parents may be able to\nprevent, partly or wholly, its reappearance in the child. This law will\napply to any case where tobacco or whisky habit, dishonesty, bad temper,\nidleness, licentiousness or any other bad trait has existed in the\nparents or their immediate ancestors.\n\n=Effects of culture.=--Prospective parents should read the best\nliterature, attend lecture courses, outline a course of study and follow\nit, and try to think beyond their usual meditations. Their affection for\neach other should be strong and pure. In relation to society, they\nshould pay especial attention to honesty, charity, friendliness and\nlove. Their \u00e6sthetic natures should be developed by the study and\nadmiration of nature and art. Bible reading, singing and prayer, good\nworks and spiritual devotion should form a part of their daily\nprogramme. It will do no good to practice these things in a half-hearted\nway. They must be made a part of our life if they are to influence\nfavorably the future child.\n\n=Primal purpose of marriage.=--The primary purpose of marriage is\nparentage. No greater early obligation rests upon married people than\ngrows out of the function of parentage. No greater early honor, reward,\nor happiness comes to the married than when this God-honored duty is\nfaithfully performed. No greater service can be rendered our children,\nsociety and God, than when we parent children whose bodies are sound and\nhealthy, minds vigorous and bright, dispositions sweet, lives grand,\nnoble and Christlike.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVII\n\nPRENATAL TRAINING\n\n\n=One-half trained before birth.=--This chapter will be devoted to the\ntraining of children before they are born. It is believed by some\nstudents of eugenics that heredity is fully as potent as environment and\nthat a child often receives one-half its training before it is born.\nOliver Wendell Holmes often said, \u201cA child\u2019s training should begin with\nhis grand-parents.\u201d The proverb, \u201cTrain up a child in the way he should\ngo and when he is old he will not depart from it,\u201d to be proven to be\nabsolutely true, must include both prenatal and postnatal training of a\nchild. In other chapters reference is made to what children may inherit\nfrom their grand-parents and parents. In this we shall refer to the\ninfluence of parental conditions at the creative moment, and the mental\nand moral influence of the mother during gestation.\n\n=Transmission of acquired characteristics possible.=--The transmission of\nfixed characteristics is accepted by all. The transmission of acquired\ncharacteristics is quite generally accepted. The materialistic student\ndoes not accept it, claiming that the only relation between the mother\nand the child is that of nutrition. We admit that the nervous system of\nthe mother is not connected with the nervous system of the child, but we\ninsist that \u201cthe blood is the life.\u201d The mother\u2019s physical, mental and\nmoral life is in her blood. Through her blood the mother furnishes the\nchild not only with air, water and food, but with life. In the chapter,\nReproduction and Heredity, we explained how the blood is affected by the\ntransient mental states. Love and anger, joy and fear, grief and\njealousy all change the character of the blood and influence the vital\nenergy. The new psychology is rapidly demonstrating that one mind may\ninfluence another independent of physical communication. By one or both\nof these methods, acquired characteristics of the father and mother are\ntransmitted to their children.\n\n=Drs. Fowler and Cowan.=--Fowler says, \u201cAll existing parental states are\nstamped on the offspring.\u201d Dr. John Cowan says, \u201cThe fundamental\nprinciples of genius in reproduction are that through the rightly\ndirected wills of the father and mother, preceding and during antenatal\nlife, the child\u2019s form of body, character of mind and purity of soul are\nformed and established. In its plastic state during antenatal life, like\nclay in the hands of the potter, it can be molded absolutely into any\nform of body and soul the parents may knowingly desire.\u201d\n\n=An example.=--The origin of the Setter, Pointer, Hound or Shepherd dog\nwill illustrate the transmission of acquired characteristics. The\npeculiar characteristics of all these dogs were once acquired. For\nexample, some hunter observed that his dog would \u201cset\u201d or \u201cpoint\u201d when\ngame was located by the sense of smell. This hunter encouraged his dog\nin the practice of this characteristic. He knew that some of the\noffspring of this dog would tend to do the same thing. By breeding with\na view of developing a variety of dogs with this characteristic we have\nthe Pointer dog.\n\n=The father should co-operate.=--While the father\u2019s direct hereditary\ninfluence over his child ceases at conception, his responsibility for\nwhat the child receives up to its birth is fully equal to the mother\u2019s\nresponsibility. He can help or hinder the mother in her work of prenatal\nculture. Where the husband fails to supply his wife with all that is\nnecessary to her health, strength, mental and moral activity, and\nhappiness, he becomes largely responsible for the bad effects on the\nchild.\n\n=The order of training.=--The prenatal culture received by a child grows\nout of the physical, mental and moral states and activities of the\nmother during gestation. The physical organism of the child forms\nfirst. The brain, in which the mental and moral natures are to reside,\ndevelops last. This would indicate the periods when greatest stress\nshould be placed upon the physical, mental and moral training of the\nchild. The physical outlines of the body first become organized during\nthe first four or five months, then the brains and nervous system.\n\n=The mother\u2019s preparation.=--The physical condition of the child at birth,\nwell formed or deformed, healthy or unhealthy, strong or weak, will in\nno small way be determined by the mother\u2019s being provided with plenty of\nnutritious food, pure air and water, pleasant exercise, and such\nclothing as will give the body perfect freedom and comfort. The mental\nand moral tendencies and capacities of the child will depend much on the\nmother\u2019s continuing the advice given in the chapter on Parental\nPreparation.\n\n=Inventive genius.=--During a lecture course in a western city, a young\nmachinist called me into his shop and showed me three inventions he had\npatented and a most intricate piece of machinery that he was then\nworking on. He was only twenty-two years old. He and his parents had\noften wondered why he was the only member of the family, on either side,\nas far back as they could trace, with an inventive turn of mind. Under\nmy lectures the parents had solved the mystery. Ten or twelve months\nprior to the birth of this young man, the father had worked on a\nprospect or invention for several weeks with all the enthusiasm of\nanticipated success. He laid the matter aside and the very fact of his\nonce being interested in an invention had seemed to fade from his\nmemory. The father\u2019s intense mental interest during those weeks so\ninfluenced his life-giving blood that he was able to transmit the\nhereditary gift of inventive genius to his son.\n\n=Two girls.=--I am intimately and personally acquainted with a family\nwhere there are two girls. Prior to the birth of the first the mother\nkept house, did light work, read the best literature and was systematic\nin her devotion. In case of the second girl, the professional life of\nthe father had changed and this made it necessary for the mother to be\nguest and hostess of many social functions. The parents had made a study\nof the laws of heredity and in both cases tried to apply these laws. The\nchildren are now thirteen and fifteen. They are obedient, intelligent,\nand religious, but the different environments of the mother are fully\nregistered in the children. The first has strong business tendencies, is\nan all-round student, but limited in her social gifts; the second one\ntakes to art, elocution, music, has a fine memory which enables her to\nadvance well in all her studies, and she can entertain anything from a\nbaby to an old man or woman.\n\n=Golden hair.=--In a Missouri town a mother invited me into her husband\u2019s\nstore and gave me her experience. From her early teens she had\nentertained a wish that should she ever become a mother, her child might\nhave golden hair. When she discovered that she was to be a mother she\nasked her husband to get her two pictures--one to be the picture of a\nperfect boy, the other, the picture of a perfect girl, each to have\ngolden hair. While in St. Louis purchasing a stock of goods, he secured\nthe pictures desired. She placed them in her room where she could\nfrequently see and admire them. She called my attention to the dark hair\nof her husband and self, then, proudly, to the golden hair of a\nfive-year-old son.\n\n=Testimony of a doctor.=--At D----, Mo., an old physician told me of a\nfamily in his practice where the wife had been married twice. She and\nher second husband have black hair. The first child born to the second\nmarriage had red hair. The doctor had a way of accounting for the red\nhair of the child to me that was not satisfactory. I said, \u201cDoctor,\nwhich of the two husbands was the superior?\u201d \u201cOh,\u201d he said, \u201cthere was\nno comparison, the contrast was so great. The first husband was in every\nsense a very superior man and the second one was very inferior.\u201d Then I\nreplied, \u201cPrior to the birth of the red-haired child the mental pictures\nof the two men were constantly in the stream of mental consciousness.\nThe mental picture most conspicuous and most admirable was the first\nhusband.\u201d\n\n=The effects of a mother\u2019s dishonesty.=--I have studied a number of\nkleptomaniacs. In almost all cases, where facts could be obtained,\ndishonesty was found in one or both of the parents. I studied a case in\na Kentucky town. The mother would sit up until her husband had retired.\nThen she would slip a small amount of change from his pockets. This was\ncontinued during gestation. When the girl, born under these conditions,\nwas eighteen years old, she could not keep from stealing money, jewelry,\nand other things she desired. She was never arrested. The parents would\npay for or return what she had stolen.\n\n=The effects of a mother\u2019s anger.=--While preparing this book for the\nprinters, I am in a Missouri city, where I have become personally\nacquainted with the following incidents: A wife, thinking she had passed\nthe \u201cchange of life,\u201d was much surprised and greatly disappointed when\nshe found she was again to become a mother. Her love for her husband\nturned to hate. The period of gestation was one of regret,\nunpleasantness and anger. From birth her child was uncontrollable.\nTeachers could not manage him. He was a source of danger on the\nplayground. Neighbors would not allow their children to visit him. When\nhe was fourteen he tried to kill his mother with a butcher knife. A\nyear later he assaulted a visiting pastor. When he was angry he would\nfroth at the mouth and scream as a madman.\n\n=A born criminal.=--At the close of a lecture on heredity, a reliable and\naged doctor told me the following incident: \u201cWhen I was a young doctor,\na father came for me to call to see a sick member of his family. His\nlittle girl met us at the front gate, threw her arms about her father\u2019s\nlegs and looked wistfully into his face. He picked her up in his arms,\ncarried her into the room and while I looked after the patient she\ncaressed and kissed her papa. The brother, some two years older, had\nfound his sister\u2019s paper dolls and was tearing off their heads with a\nvengeance. Looking up, he noticed the pet cat entering the room. Leaving\nthe mutilated and scattered dolls and seizing a long splinter from the\nwood box, he caught the cat, and holding it to the floor with his left\nhand, he tried to cut the cat\u2019s head off with the splinter. Soon the dog\nentered; releasing the cat, he stood by the side of the cringing dog and\nwas trying to cut his head off. When my services were finished, the\nfather followed me out to the front gate and asked me whether I had\nnoticed the difference in the children. I told him I had. Then he\nexplained that the little girl was wanted in the home and the boy was\nnot. I lived to see that boy sentenced for a term of years in the\npenitentiary for a crime he had committed.\u201d Many suicidal and homicidal\ntendencies are received in this way.\n\n=Lasciviousness transmissible.=--No morbid conditions are so fully and\ngenerally transmitted as are the results of uncontrolled sexual desire\namong married people. Most children are the result of uncontrolled\ndesire and their prenatal rights are not respected. This explains much\nof precocious sex awakening in childhood, the stormy period of\nadolescence and the fearful wreckage of virtue in youth and middle life.\nWe have inherited from our ancestors and are transmitting sensual\ntendencies to our children. We can never solve the problems of social\nvice until the initial of childhood is intelligently planned for,\nprenatal rights are respected and the child given proper sex\ninstruction.\n\n=We are slow to learn.=--\u201cYe shall know the truth and the truth shall make\nyou free.\u201d Even the wisest and best of the human family are slow to\nlearn this truth, and were it not for the consequences of long practiced\nerrors, we should perhaps never learn some truths. We are learning\nslowly that sexually exhausted fathers and mothers do not parent\nsuperior children. This is causing thousands of thinking people and\nconscientious parents to inquire for the truth that will bring freedom\nfrom sensual slavery.\n\n=Sexuality and sensuality.=--Sexuality, or the sexual instinct, is one\nthing, and sensuality, or sexual perversion, is another. One is\nGod-given and God-honored; the other is a human product resulting from\nbad heredity, a false education and a misuse of the sexual function. The\nfirst is to be appreciated, the second to be suppressed, and, as far as\npossible, eradicated.\n\n=Vitality determines results.=--Man has a three-fold nature; physical,\nmental and moral. In this life these natures are related and dependent.\nThe sexual instinct has its seat in the physical nature, but in its\nfunctions it is closely related to the mental and moral. Whenever the\nsexual life is misdirected the mental and moral natures suffer. The\nsexual nature produces life--physical, mental and moral. It is by\nrestraining this life force, this psychic force, this vital energy,\nwithin the body, and learning to direct it properly, that physical\nhealth and strength are attained and maintained; that intellectual vigor\nand brilliancy are realized; and that our emotional nature is developed\nin its expressions of tender feelings, purest love, truest sympathy, and\npassionate interest in the welfare of our fellow men. No one can have\nintellectual and moral development or enjoy a high degree of\nintellectual and spiritual life, if the sex function is abused. Parents\nwith strong, healthy sexual natures parent the most perfect children.\n\n=Young married people should understand sexology.=--Thousands of young\nmarried people have never received any instruction from books, parents\nor doctors regarding correct sexual relations in the married life. Many\nof these have learned from sad experience that marriage does not mean\nunrestricted sexual liberty. Many who have sought the needed information\nfrom friends and books have been confused by conflicting opinions.\n\nThe husband and wife who desire to be anything, physically, mentally or\nmorally, must retain in their bodies as much as possible their sexual\nenergy. In this is found the elasticity and strength of the muscles,\nversatility of the mind, strength and vigor of the constitution, which\nlend an indefinable charm to the masculine and feminine graces.\n\nAll sorts of drugs and contrivances have been used by many married\npeople to dodge the natural consequences of the sexual relations. Every\nattempt of this kind has resulted in some form of physical, mental or\nmoral injury to those who have tried it, and it has strewn their pathway\nwith a horde of physical weaklings and moral degenerates. All preventive\nand abortive methods, drugs and contrivances cannot be too severely\ncondemned. Legitimate indulgence in the marital relation is allowable\nonly when the act can be made a complete one; when, should conception\noccur, it would be a welcome result. An occasional union between husband\nand wife, if prompted by pure love, is not necessarily injurious or\nmorally wrong. But when indulged in, it creates an unnatural desire and\nsubstitutes lust for love.\n\n=G. Campbell Morgan= says, \u201cAnimalism has been for ages the curse of the\nmarriage relation.\u201d Seventy-five physicians of New York City signed the\nfollowing statement: \u201cIn view of the widespread suffering from physical\ndiseases and moral deterioration inseparable from unchaste living, the\nundersigned members of New York and vicinity unite in declaring it as\nour opinion that chastity, a pure and continent life for both sexes, is\nconsistent with the best conditions of mental, physical and moral\nhealth.\u201d\n\n=The Wesleyan Methodist= says, \u201cThe open and absolute assertion that every\nwife has the absolute right to determine her relationship to motherhood\nmay make trouble, but it is the kind of trouble which must come in some\nhomes before wifehood becomes anything more than a form of the basest\nkind of slavery.\u201d\n\n=Dr. Winfield Scott Hall=, in Reproduction and Sexual Hygiene, says,\n\u201cThere is another sacrifice, if it be so called, which the husband is\ncalled upon to make during the pregnancy of his wife; namely, to abstain\nabsolutely from sexual intercourse. All other animals observe this\nperiod of continence. Nature demands that man observe it. The author\nsubmits this question to all fair-minded men; is it not due the wife\nthat she be not asked to satisfy the recurring sexual desires of the\nhusband during the period when her life and its energies are so sacred\nto the race, to society and to the family? The author submits this\nquestion because some men are known to transgress this law of nature.\u201d\n\n=Prof. N. N. Riddell= says, \u201cThe present ethics of marriage licenses that\nwhich degrades the affections and destroys the possibilities of harmony.\nThe abuse of the generative function is the chief cause of domestic\ninharmony, divorce and shame, inherited lascivious tendencies and the\nvices and crime which follow. Three-fourths of the race have their\norigin in uncontrolled desire, while less than one-half of the remainder\nare as well-born as they might have been.\u201d\n\n=A suggestion.=--The author would suggest that the reader pause one moment\nbefore he criticises or rejects the opinions of the great and godly men.\nWhat right has a married man to preach, teach and demand continence\namong young people, his sons and daughters, if he cannot practice\nself-restraint on a level with the savage and the lower animals? The\nviolations of the laws of sex are the chief causes of human degeneracy.\nWhere married people have been falsely educated in the idea that\nmarriage means unrestricted indulgence and under this delusion have\ncreated unnatural demand, a horde of evils will follow. If this\nunfortunate class care only for a selfish pleasure, the children will\nfollow each other closely and will receive a poor heredity. If they use\npreventive means to restrict the size of the family, the few children\nborn into the home will receive an unfortunate heredity. Excess in\nmarriage impoverishes the body, mind and soul and unfits for true\nparentage. Every device used to prevent conception or to destroy\nunwelcome life will injure the parents and the occasional accidental and\nunwelcome child will receive a most unfortunate heredity.\n\nThe mental and moral states, as well as the physical condition of the\nparents, for months before and at the initial moment and during\ngestation, must necessarily become a part of the child.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVIII\n\nDELINQUENCY--CAUSES AND REMEDIES\n\n\n=Purity, a nation\u2019s strength.=--The strength and perpetuity of a nation\nconsist not in its standing army, mighty navy, millions of population,\nstrong fortifications, inexhaustible resources of wealth, but in the\npurity and strength of its manhood and womanhood. Babylon, Greece and\nRome did not fall because of a shortage of men, weakness of\nfortifications, exhausted resources or lack of warships, but because of\na degenerate manhood and womanhood.\n\n=The home threatened.=--Are there agencies of degeneracy operating in our\nsocial fabric that threaten our nation\u2019s strength and perpetuity? We\nshall see. The greatest social problems of the church and state must be\nsolved in the home. Whatever agencies destroy the home will ultimately\ndestroy society, the church and the nation.\n\n=The divorce problem.=--That God-ordained and God-honored institution, the\nhome--in its purity, strength, and influence, was never more in danger\nthan now. The home is an organized institution, consisting of husband,\nwife and one or more children, bound by the most sacred vows, the\npurest love and harmony. The home, the basis of society, the church and\nthe nation is in danger. Homes are being wrecked nearly as fast as they\nare being built. Divorce is on the increase; marriage and births are on\nthe decrease. In 1870, we had one divorce to every thirty-eight\nmarriages. In 1900, we had one divorce to every fourteen and one-quarter\nmarriages. Now we are having one to every eleven marriages. Last year\nCanada had only seventeen divorces. An Ohio daily gave one county in\nthat state the credit of one hundred and thirty-two divorces in twelve\nmonths. Canada has better social customs, better marriage and better\ndivorce laws than we have. There, a girl rarely keeps company with a\nyoung man before she is eighteen and rarely gets married until after she\nis twenty. Here, she is often teased about sweethearts when she is five,\ntaught to avoid being an old maid when she is seven, when ten she is\nmaking goo-goo eyes at the boys, when eleven she is passing notes to\nevery Tom, Dick and Harry in the schoolroom, when twelve she is\ndesperately in love, when thirteen she is engaged and goes buggy riding\nand roams the streets at late hours with boys, when fifteen she is in\nthe divorce court, and six months later she has her second husband.\n\n=Social dangers.=--A nation whose social customs encourage innocent,\nplayful, fourteen-and fifteen-year-old girls to enter society and meet\nthe temptations and dangers incident to matured womanhood need not be\nsurprised when she finds that one-half of her 300,000 erring women fell\nbefore they were seventeen and that one-half of her divorces are among\nwomen who married before they were seventeen. Our social customs should\nbe changed so as to safeguard the virtue of our boys and girls during\nthe stormy period of early adolescence.\n\n=New marriage laws needed.=--One of the best remedies for the present\ndivorce evil would be a campaign of education and legislation on\ncourtship and marriage. Marriage needs to be elevated in the public mind\nto a plane of dignity, honor and responsibility. To secure this we need\nuniform state laws requiring of all candidates for marriage a fair\nknowledge of heredity and prenatal culture, the duties and\nresponsibilities of marriage and parentage and of marital rights. For\nthis to be possible, all candidates for marriage should be required to\nregister their proposed marriage with the county clerk two months before\nthe license is issued, and their proposed marriage should be published\nin at least one paper during this time. This would prevent clandestine\nand bigamous marriages and would deprive the White Slave procurer of one\nof his chief methods of securing his victims. When a proposed marriage\nis registered, the state should furnish each with a book presenting in\nsimple language such information as is indicated above. They should be\nrequired to give evidence of having a fair knowledge of the facts\ncontained in the book and to present a certificate of good physical and\nmental health before the license is finally issued.\n\n=How enforced.=--These rules and laws should be taught, required and\nenforced in a spirit that would lead the public to see, and the\ncandidates for marriage to feel, that these young people are assuming\nresponsibilities and that the state is conferring an honor and trust\nupon them far greater than a governor-elect assumes and the state\nconfers on him when he takes the oath of office. The home builder is a\nnation builder. Such education and legislation would not only promote\ndomestic harmony, reduce the divorce evil, give to children a good\nheredity, but it would check the growth of all forms of human degeneracy\nand add to our nation\u2019s strength and life and make for greater domestic\nhappiness.\n\n=Effects of bad customs.=--I would not censure those who have married in\nchildhood. The mistake has been made. Bad customs have led many good\npeople to make mistakes. The custom of thrusting little girls into\nsociety, resulting in immature marriages, should be checked.\n\n=Chief cause of homicide and suicide.=--There are one and a half million\nchildren born in the United States annually. It is estimated that there\nare 250,000 abortions that come to medical attention. If this number\nrequire medical attention then there must be 100,000 who succeed without\nmedical attention. One thousand prenatal murders a day. Then there must\nbe 100,000 attempts to destroy unwelcome life which fail. Children born\nunder these conditions cannot receive a good heredity. Many will be born\nwith suicidal and homicidal tendencies. This is no doubt the chief cause\nof homicides and suicides. There were 172,000 illegal murders last year\nand nearly half that number of suicides. One homicide every thirty\nseconds and one suicide every seventy seconds is our criminal record.\nCrime has increased 300 per cent. above the normal increase of\npopulation in the last twenty years. Crime has increased two and\none-half times faster among children than among adults. This last is due\nin part to a lack of moral training in the home and school, to the vivid\nand attractive portrayal of crime in the cheap shows, and at the same\ntime it is largely due to the increase of abortion among mothers. The\ncauses of crime among adults are as follows: fifteen per cent. of our\nforeign born population commit thirty-five per cent. of our crime,\ndrunkenness, non-enforcement of law and criminal abortion. Some leading\nstudents of heredity believe that efforts to destroy unwelcome life is\nthe principal cause of crime.\n\n=A doctor\u2019s testimony.=--At the close of a lecture in St. Louis, one of\nthe doctors present told me of a lady in good standing in society and\nthe church, who came to his office and requested his services in\nproducing abortion. Her reason was that she had three children and her\nhusband\u2019s income was not sufficient to support four children. He\nsuggested that if the presence of four children in the home would lead\nto the death of the whole family by starvation, that she return home and\nkill one of the three. She was horrified at the doctor\u2019s suggestion that\nshe murder one of the children. The doctor explained that if she\nfollowed his suggestion her health would be protected and there would be\nbut one guilty of murder, while, if he followed her wish, her health\nwould be injured and there would be two responsible for the murder of\nher unborn child. \u201cBut, doctor,\u201d she replied, \u201cthat would not be murder,\nwould it? I have not felt its movements.\u201d The doctor explained to her\nhow life began at the moment of conception, how the little embryo was as\nmuch a living human being as when it had become strong enough to make\nits movements known. The true mother-love triumphed and she returned\nhome resolving to protect, love, welcome and toil for four instead of\nthree.\n\n=Men as guilty as women.=--Ignorance concerning sex, the rights of\nmarriage and the double standard of marriage are responsible for this\ncrime which exists in the church as well as on the outside. Men are\nfully as responsible for race suicide as women are.\n\nSocial and economic conditions are largely responsible for families\nshrinking from an average of eight children to two in less than a\ncentury. If these conditions were normal large families would be\ncommendable. A large family of fourteen children will always be more\nhonorable than an imitation consisting of a husband, wife and a poodle\ndog.\n\nSensible women are convinced that a family of from four to six children\nwell born and well environed is wiser than double this number poorly\nborn and poorly environed. They will, if necessary, prefer going through\nlife childless to bearing defective children.\n\n=Two kinds of race suicide.=--Criminal prevention and willful abortion.\nThis is the only form of race suicide the public recognizes. This cannot\nbe too severely condemned by the press, platform and pulpit. But there\nis another form of \u201crace suicide,\u201d equally great, but largely\noverlooked.\n\nDefective children born of enslaved motherhood. Sensual men are largely\nresponsible for this form. Which would be the greater crime, for a\nnation to pass out of existence because children are not born, or to\nhave a dense population of paupers, idiots, imbeciles, thieves, suicides\nand homicides--the children of drunken, feeble-minded, criminal and\notherwise defective parents, born of stupid ignorance and blind chance?\nMultiple child-bearing produces invalid wives and kills many loving\nmothers and fills our penitentiaries and asylums with delinquents.\n\n=The rights of motherhood.=--Let us instill into every heart a desire for\npure, perfect parenthood. Let the wife who must bear and rear the\nchildren decide when she can perform this sacred duty perfectly. Let\nevery child be well born and \u201crace suicide\u201d will become a thing of the\npast.\n\n=What shall be done?=--What shall we do with the dependent classes? This\nis one of the great problems to be solved. Taxpayers, philanthropists,\nlawmakers, doctors and Christian workers are all deeply interested in a\nwise adjustment of this problem because of their interest in these\nclasses and also because we have found our present methods inadequate.\nPaupers, idiots, imbeciles, the insane and criminals appeal to our pity,\ncharity and love. A practical demonstration of this is found in the\nmillions of dollars annually appropriated from our taxes and the gifts\nof charity, and from thousands of healthy, normal people whose lives are\ndevoted to ministering to the needs of these social unfortunates.\n\n=Many degenerates are diseased.=--The degenerate criminals, imbeciles and\ninsane are now understood to be diseased. A very large per cent. have\ninherited this condition. Some were even foredoomed to their fate.\nPerhaps twenty per cent. of the inmates of our penal institutions are\nserving their second, third and fourth terms. Son, father and\ngrandfather are to be found side by side in our prisons. The daily mail\nreceived by the inmates of the asylums, reform schools and\npenitentiaries, coming so largely from relatives in similar\ninstitutions, proves that these conditions run in families. There are\nnearly 350,000 imbeciles, insane and epileptic people in the United\nStates. Our asylums are overflowing with inmates. Many states have\ndoubled the capacity of these institutions in the last ten years and\nstill they are unable to accommodate all the worthy applicants.\n\n=Two causes of degeneracy.=--There are two chief agencies of degeneracy,\nstrong drink and the violation of the laws of sex. In one state\npenitentiary I found seventy-two per cent. of the inmates had a drunken\nfather, mother, or both. It was found in a certain reformatory for women\nthat seventy-five per cent. had a drunken father, mother, or both. In\none penitentiary I found that more than three out of four had venereal\ndisease requiring medical attention when they were admitted. Limited\ninvestigation indicates that twenty-two per cent. of the inmates of the\nasylums were conceived during a drunken debauch. Many of the inmates had\nthe Hotchinson notched teeth, crowfoot tracks in the palate and throat,\nconclusive proof of a syphilitic ancestor.\n\n=Spitzka= the great neurologist of New York, says, \u201cThe birth-rate of the\nhigh grade and low grade imbecile is double that of the normal\npopulation.\u201d Not only do these classes contribute more than double their\nproportion to the annual birth-rate, but they are a source of moral\ncorruption to society, as many of their offspring become paupers, insane\nand criminals.\n\n=The solution.=--With crime, imbecility and insanity increasing at the\nrate of 200 to 300 per cent. every twenty years, thinking people are\nbeginning to see that the only reasonable solution to the problem that\nconfronts us is to stop the production among all undesirable classes.\nThis can be done by the application of laws of heredity, the enactment\nof adequate laws regulating the marriage of certain classes and\ndepriving the hereditary degenerates of the creative function.\n\n=Protected, inspected, neglected.=--Our government is not slow in the\nenactment of suitable laws favorable to the protection of the forests\nand the inspection of the hog, cow and horse, and in making splendid\nappropriations for the improvement of different breeds, but it has made\nno law to prevent the\n\n[Illustration: NEGLECTED!\n\nThe above chart illustrates the attitude of our government and the\ncommercial spirit of our age toward forests, domestic animals, mothers\nand children. If our mothers and children could be given a commercial\nvalue, based on their beauty, perfection of form, health and character,\nrated in value on a par with a $2,600 chicken, a $4,600 hog, a $13,000\ncow, or a $20,000 horse, the initial of every child would be\nintelligently planned for, its prenatal rights would be respected, its\nnativity warmly welcomed and its environments would be wisely\nsafe-guarded.]\n\nconstantly increasing production of intellectual and moral degenerates.\nMillions are willingly appropriated to aid in the invention and purchase\nof deadly weapons with which the human family may be destroyed.\nThousands of the healthiest young men are called to the army and the\ncriminal and idiotic are left to keep up the work of propagation. All\nour states maintain a Health Board, the duty of which is to prevent the\nspread of smallpox, yellow fever, diphtheria, etc. We have state\nofficers to inspect cattle and to use measures to prevent Texas fever.\nOur state fairs give large premiums to the fastest trotter, the best\nDurhams, Southdowns and Poland Chinas. Mothers and children are\nneglected.\n\n=Marriage of the feeble-minded.=--Our laws are such that the county clerk\nmust grant marriage license to criminals, paupers, drunkards,\nprostitutes and the feeble-minded, if they are of the proper age, or\nhave their parents\u2019 consent. Where a couple of this class have secured\ntheir legal right to marry, they hunt up a preacher who, standing before\nthem with civil and ecclesiastical authority, says, \u201cWhom God hath\njoined together let no man put asunder.\u201d Such is a crime against\nsociety, an insult to the holy estate of marriage, a curse to future\ngenerations, and a libel on God. I don\u2019t believe that God ever sanctions\nsuch unions. When the states make laws prohibiting such marriages they\nwill hasten the millennium of marriage.\n\n=More dangerous than smallpox.=--If I carelessly expose others to\nsmallpox; if I refuse to remove filth from my premises, dangerous to the\ncommunity\u2019s health; if I knowingly sell diseased meat to my customers, I\nshall be arrested and punished. But a man may live a fast life, acquire\na disease that will poison his wife, also his children to the third and\nfourth generations; in this way he can worse than murder his wife and\nchildren and go unwhipped and unpunished.\n\n=Effects of alcoholic fathers.=--If statistics can be relied on, drunkards\nproduce one hundred per cent. more of the alcoholics, criminals, and\nmental defectives than do the sober men. In justice to overtaxed\ncitizens and the demands of the coming generation we should enact a law\npreventing the marriage of habitual drunkards. The periodic drunkard\nshould be required to remain sober for a considerable time before his\nmarriage and give reasonable evidence that his reformation is permanent.\n\n=Property qualification.=--A property qualification, or its equivalent in\nan established remunerative calling, profession or occupation, should be\nrequired as a condition for marriage license. It is a known fact that\npauper families furnish more than their proportion of criminals and\nother classes of dependents.\n\n=The victim of venereal disease.=--Persons having a venereal disease, in a\nmild form, should be allowed to marry only when a competent health\nboard, after careful examination, decides that they are entirely free\nfrom poison, then, and then only after a reasonable time has expired\nsince being treated. If the applicant for marriage license has at one\ntime had one of the worst forms of venereal disease, he should be\nforever debarred from the privilege of marriage. The need of these\nrestrictive and prohibitory marriage laws will be better understood and\nappreciated by you when I give a few statements from the best obtainable\nauthority. Eighty per cent, of the children born blind is due to\ngonorrh\u0153al infection. (Education with Med. Prof.) This is nearly\nalways due to the uncured condition of the father. Neiser tells us that\nthere are over 30,000 blind persons in Germany whose blindness is due to\ngonorrh\u0153al ophthalmia. Pinnard claims that sixty to seventy per cent.\nof hereditary syphilitics die at or before birth, and that those who\nsurvive are unfit to meet the battles of life; 20,000 children die every\nyear in France from syphilitic conditions. Dr. Fournier states that in\nhis practice seventy-five per cent. of the syphilis in married women\ncould be traced to their husbands. Dr. Morrow puts it at seventy per\ncent. A large per cent. of the surgical operations of a sexual nature\namong married women is due to venereal disease contracted from their\nhusbands.\n\n=Sterilization a remedy.=--To prevent unsuitable marriages, by law, would\nin a measure bring relief, yet, the degenerate, criminals and imbeciles\nwould, to a considerable extent, continue their propagation. This class\ncares but little for marriage. The ablest physicians of this country,\nthe leaders in the great purity movement, and many advanced thinkers in\nother professions, are rapidly committing themselves to the opinion that\nall the worst cases of hereditary degeneracy should be deprived of the\ncreative function. In females this operation is attended by only\none-sixth the fatalities of child-birth. In males it is attended by no\ndanger to life. The results would be absolutely effectual. The\nfeeble-minded class would be much more easily managed and the degenerate\ncriminal would settle down to the life of a peaceable citizen.\n\nAt first, one naturally opposes this measure as a solution to the\nproblem. Later, all opposition to it vanishes and it then appears to be\na most kind, benevolent and philanthropic solution of this vital\nproblem.\n\n=The drunkard\u2019s home.=--More of our delinquent and dependent children are\ntraceable to hereditary alcoholism than any other one cause save lust.\nThe conditions and environments of a drunkard\u2019s home are very\nunfavorable to normal hereditary influences. Seventy per cent. more of\nthe drunkard\u2019s children are defective from birth than those from sober\nparents.\n\nIn the average drunkard\u2019s home, the wife is deprived of much or all that\nwould be conducive to the best maternal conditions, such as plenty of\nnutritious food, good associations, wholesome recreation, good reading\nmatter, freedom, cheerfulness, and proper attention and courtesy on the\npart of her husband. Instead of these conditions, she is poorly fed,\nsurrounded by rough associations, lives in a rented shack without\nflowers or pictures, is overworked, timid, depressed and discouraged,\ndeprived of a thousand little comforts a maternal heart longs for, and\noften tyrannized over by a rum-embruted husband.\n\n=Defective offspring from alcoholics.=--Children born under these\nconditions cannot receive a good heredity. The children of drunken\nparents nearly always receive a bad heredity. This is especially true\nwhen the initial of a life takes place during or immediately following a\ndrunken debauch. If the wives of drunkards had better environments\nduring periods of gestation, they could more largely overcome the bad\ninfluences of their husbands upon their children. But, environed as\nthey are, they cannot prevent their own unfortunate influence over their\nchildren, much less that of their husbands.\n\n=Intemperance and crime, lust and idiocy.=--The mental and moral states of\nthe drunkard are not only expressed in a desire for more drink; but at\none time he is exceedingly lustful; at another time he is quite silly,\nidiotic and foolish; at still another time he is angry, cruel and\ndangerous. We often find all these morbid conditions strongly marked in\nhis children. Some inherit alcoholic, some lustful, some epileptic,\nfeeble-minded or insane criminal tendencies. His blood, being saturated\nwith alcohol, is in a low state of vitality. This is proven by the\ndrunkard\u2019s inability to resist disease. The low state of vitality in the\nblood of the drunkard accounts for the defectiveness of a large per\ncent. of his children. More of the children of drunkards die before they\nare two years old than of any other class except the venerealized.\nAuthorities from all civilized nations estimate that from forty to\neighty per cent. of all crime is traceable to the use of alcoholic\ndrink, and many of these criminals received a bad heredity from drunken\nparents; twenty-two per cent. of all insanity and eighty per cent. of\nepilepsy is traceable to drunken parents; seventy per cent. of all\nimmoral women had drunken parents.\n\n=Effects of personal liberty.=--One day while campaigning a county in\nMissouri for local option, I called at a home to get directions to my\nnext engagement to lecture. I rapped three times at the door. Three\ntimes a voice from within said, \u201cCome in.\u201d Finally, I opened the door\nand entered. A mother sat in a chair on the opposite side of the room\nholding in her arms a nine-year-old boy. I noticed that the boy was as\nhelpless as a twenty-four-hour-old baby. While giving me directions she\nwas feeding the boy with a spoon. I remarked, \u201cFriend, I observe that\nyou have in your arms an unfortunate child. I have studied many\nunfortunate cases, lectured a good deal on heredity and have written a\nbook on heredity. If you do not object, I would like to ask you some\nquestions about your child.\u201d In tones of anguish, such as only a\nbroken-hearted mother could utter, she said, \u201cI guess that no poor\nmother has ever had to bear a greater burden than I have. This is my\nfirst child, on the bed is my fifth child, only six weeks old. When this\nboy was four years old, during a spell of whooping cough, he got into\nthis condition. For five years I have cared for this boy as I would a\nhelpless baby. During these five years I have become a mother three\ntimes and have buried three children who became as helpless as this one.\nThe three that are dead were seemingly all right at birth, but became\nhelpless during attacks of hives and teething. I don\u2019t know whether we\nwill be able to raise the baby or not.\u201d No pen can portray, no tongue\ncan tell, no imagination can conceive the heartaches of this unfortunate\nmother. I asked whether she and her husband were related by blood, or\nwhether there had been intermarriage in the past on either side? She\nreplied in the negative. I asked other questions and failed to locate\nthe trouble. Finally, I asked, \u201cWere there any drunkards on either side\nof your family?\u201d \u201cOn my side of our family there were no drunkards; on\nthe father\u2019s side of my husband\u2019s family one-half of the men were\ndrunkards; on his mother\u2019s side most of the men were drunkards,\u201d was her\nreply. \u201cDoes your husband drink?\u201d I enquired. With some embarrassment,\nshe said, \u201cHe drinks, but never gets to where he can\u2019t attend to\nbusiness.\u201d From other sources I found him to be a very heavy drinker.\nSuch men often boast that they have a right to drink if they want to,\nget drunk if they want to, kill themselves if they want to. What right\ndid that drunken father and his drunken ancestry have to inflame their\nminds and brutalize their passions and thereby burden that innocent\nwoman with all that sacrifice, suffering and heartache and to bring\nthese helpless little children into this world foredoomed to such\ndefectiveness? I answer, they did not have the shadow of a right to\nindulge in a habit that would deprive their descendants from developing\non the earth plane.\n\n=Two more examples.=--In the town of M----, Illinois, is a young lady of\ntwenty-six winters unbroken by a joyful spring or summer. The initial of\nher life took place during the drunken debauch of her worse than\nworthless drunken father. Many times a day and often several times an\nhour she has spells. I have witnessed her go through many of them. The\napproach of one of these spells would be first noticed by the enlarged\neyes and the exposure of the white of the eye. Then the muscles in the\neye, face, neck and body would contract and pull her face into her lap.\nAfter remaining in that tortuous position for some minutes, the muscles\nwould relax and she would resume a normal one.\n\nIn that same town, just to the right of my tent, lived one of the\nwealthiest citizens. Three children had been born into his home. Each\nhad died of epileptic fits before it was two years old. The family\nphysician, who had made a life study of heredity, told me that to his\nown personal knowledge the initial of each child\u2019s life took place\nduring or immediately following a drunken debauch of the father.\n\n=A visit to an asylum.=--Not as a means of punishment, but as a means of\nenlightenment and conviction, I wish every drinking man and every man\nwho favors the maintenance of the saloon could spend a few days in the\ninsane asylums of this country. Let them be taken through the wards of\nthe feeble-minded and the insane and at the close of the day listen for\none hour to a discussion of the causes of insanity among the inmates. In\nthis lecture, let them learn that twenty-two out of every one hundred\ncases of insanity are due to drunkenness. Let them spend the next day in\nthe epileptic wards and witness from ten to twenty of those unfortunates\nhave epileptic fits, which usually last from thirty minutes to one hour.\nAt the close of this day have them attend a lecture given by an eminent\nauthority on epilepsy. After such an experience, I will guarantee that\nevery honest man, when he is convinced that twenty-two per cent. of the\ninsane and eighty-eight per cent. of the epileptics are the results of\ndrunkenness, would be converted to the prohibition of the liquor\ntraffic. You had just as well put the balance of that crowd in a reform\nschool or in some ward of the asylum without further delay or expense.\nThey are helpless cases.\n\n=Personal liberty versus the rights of others.=--I fully appreciate the\nvalue of personal liberty. One\u2019s personal liberty to do right should\nnever be infringed upon. One\u2019s personal liberty is circumscribed by the\nwelfare of others. His liberty to do as he pleases ends where the\nwelfare of someone else begins. You can get mad at me if you wish, grit\nyour teeth, clench your fist, swing your fist in a circle, vertically,\nhorizontally and off at a tangent; anywhere you wish, just so you don\u2019t\nstrike my nose. But if you do, your personal liberty ends where my nose\nbegins. You have the liberty to walk up and down these aisles,\nsidewalks, streets, public roads, up and down the railroad track, over\nthese hills and hollows, put your old number \u201cnines\u201d down wherever you\nwant to put them, but remember, when you put one of your number \u201cnines\u201d\ndown on one of my corns, your personal liberty ends where my corn\nbegins. Your personal liberty to drink, get drunk, inflame your mind,\nbrutalize your passions ends right where the welfare of your unborn\nposterity begins. You have not the shadow of a right to indulge in any\nbad habit that will cause your children to receive from you some form of\nbad heredity. Your unborn descendants have the individual, inalienable,\nabsolute right to inherit from you the best physical, mental and moral\npossibilities of manhood and womanhood. There is not a man but has the\npaternal instinct deeply impressed upon his very nature. God placed it\nthere. It is to that principle of fatherhood, prospective or real, that\nI make my final appeal. Boys, men, don\u2019t entertain thoughts, indulge in\nacts or form habits that you would not want to see reproduced in your\noffspring.\n\nOwing to the prevalent use of tobacco among all classes, including\ndoctors, teachers and ministers, many are inclined to doubt the\nhereditary influence of tobacco.\n\n=Dr. Pidduck= in the London _Lancet_ says, \u201cIn no instance is a sin of the\nfathers more strikingly visited on the children than in the sin of\ntobacco-smoking. The enervation, the hypochondriasis, the hysteria, the\ninsanity, the suffering lives and early deaths of the children of\ninveterate tobacco-smokers bear ample testimony to the feebleness and\nunsoundness of the constitution transmitted by the victims of this\npernicious habit.\u201d\n\n=Effects of tobacco.=--The most eminent physicians of France tell us that\nthe rapid decline in the birth-rate of that nation is due, in part, to\nthe inveterate tobacco users, as shown by such a large number of this\nclass being at the head of childless homes.\n\n=Children of tobacco users.=--Just as drunkenness may not always manifest\nitself in a desire for alcohol, but may manifest itself in the form of\ninsanity, idiocy, epilepsy, lasciviousness or criminal tendencies; so,\nin the children of the inveterate tobacco users the evil effects are\noften shown in one or more morbid conditions. One has but to study the\nchildren of a few excessive users of the weed to be convinced that they\ndo not possess the physical endurance and strength of the fathers. The\nchildren of this class of fathers are usually puny, weak and nervous. It\nis not an easy thing to convince a robust, healthy man that his habit is\nlaying the foundation for constitutional degeneracy in his children and\ngrandchildren.\n\n=Where both use tobacco.=--Where the husband and wife both use tobacco the\ninjurious effects on the immediate children are very noticeable. This is\nbecause the mother has more hereditary influence over the children than\ndoes the father.\n\n=Tobacco and degeneracy.=--You cannot always judge of the hereditary\neffects of bad habits in one generation. In the first generation the\neffects may not be noticeable. If the bad habits are continued for a few\ngenerations the defective descendants multiply. Suppose that a husband\nand wife are both heavy users of tobacco; that all their children follow\ntheir examples and marry companions addicted to the use of tobacco; that\ntheir grandchildren all follow the example of their ancestors and marry\ncompanions who are inveterate users; and suppose this continued until\nthe fourth generation, who can estimate the resulting degeneracy? It is\nprobable that in many cases degeneracy would be complete and there would\nbe no fifth generation.\n\n=Fathers transmit morbid tendencies more to their sons than to their\ndaughters.=--Objectors to acquired characteristics being transmitted\noften ask why girls as well as boys do not inherit appetites for tobacco\nand whisky. Many girls are just as conscious of an abnormal appetite for\nstimulants as their brothers are. More women are addicted to the use of\nwine and the cigarette than is generally supposed. But for the\ncompanionship and protection of mother and a social law that would\ndiscard them from society, more would form these habits than do.\n\nIt is a recognized fact that where one sex acquires a characteristic\nthat becomes fixed by continued custom, that this characteristic will be\ntransmitted mostly along the line of that sex. That relic of savagery,\nthe \u201cdouble standard of morals,\u201d temperance for woman and intemperance\nfor man, purity for woman and impurity for man, do right for woman and\ndo as you please for man, has, after centuries of practice, become to a\nconsiderable extent constitutional in the two sexes. Hence, girls\ninherit less of lasciviousness, less of tendency toward the use of\ntobacco and strong drink. This double standard of morals originated\namong the savage races who owned their wives and daughters. They sold,\nswapped, exchanged their daughters on the marriage markets as they would\ndispose of other property. A daughter\u2019s value was largely based on her\nvirtue. If she had forfeited this priceless gem of womanhood she was\nbrutally stoned to death or forced into the most cruel servitude.\n\n=A heroic struggle.=--There are thousands of brave, true men who advocate\nand live the white life. Thousands more are struggling heroically to win\nthe laurels of a white life. Others are getting the vision and are\nfalling into line. Gentle reader, if you are not one of us, we extend to\nyou a warm welcome; if you are, we are glad of your fellowship.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIX\n\nABNORMAL MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS, OR BIRTHMARKS\n\n\n=Extent of birthmarks.=--In other chapters I have discussed normal,\nprenatal influences. In this chapter, I will discuss abnormal mental\ninfluences of the mother, resulting in what are commonly called\nbirthmarks. The best statistics available on the subject indicate that\nbut one child in every 2,000 is marked. Personally, I am inclined to\nbelieve that birthmarks are about twice this frequent. The laity think\nthat the per cent. is even larger, as each individual has seen or heard\nof several cases.\n\n=Only the nervous mothers.=--Perhaps not one mother in twenty could mark\nher child. Only those mothers who are very susceptible to unusual mental\nimpressions mark their children. Nervous, gloomy, despondent, excitable\nmothers are liable to do this. Practically nineteen-twentieths of the\nmothers need not have a moment\u2019s fear of marking their child. If these\nfacts are true, then it follows that there are many children who in\ntheir prenatal state possessed a temperament not susceptible to abnormal\nmaternal impressions. Such a child, in all probability, could not be\nmarked, even if the mother had passed through mental states favorable to\nmarking her child.\n\n=The materialist puzzled.=--Birthmarks cannot be explained on a\nphysiological or materialistic basis. Only as we recognize the supremacy\nof the mental nature of man over his body can we understand these\nhereditary influences. Almost all Christian doctors and scientists\nrecognize the fact of birthmarks. Men of these professions, who are\nmaterialistic in their belief, treat the subject of birthmarks as a\nrelic of superstition. Not being able to explain them, they relegate all\nbirthmarks to the \u201cunknowables,\u201d calling them freaks or monstrosities.\n\n=A government pet.=--After one of the doctors in a state insane asylum,\nappointed to this position by the governor for some political favor he\nhad done and without any regard to his qualifications, had conducted me\nthrough all the wards, I said, \u201cDoctor, what emphasis do you put upon\nheredity in your study and treatment of the inmates of this\ninstitution?\u201d \u201cVery little,\u201d he replied. \u201cDo you believe that mental and\nmoral states of the mother have any influence over her child before it\nis born?\u201d To this question he replied, \u201cI believe nutrition and pelvic\nenvironment are the only prenatal relations between the child and its\nmother.\u201d I then asked him to explain some of the following cases of\nbirthmarks by his theory. He did not believe in birthmarks at all, and\nstated that as he did not have the opportunity to investigate the pelvic\nconditions of the mothers, he should not be expected to explain the\ncases I gave him. I will leave the reader to judge whether that little\npolitical pet could have explained the following cases with his theory.\n\n=Explanation.=--Birthmarks can be explained only by the influences of the\nmother\u2019s mental states upon the forming child in her body. No single\nmentation could possibly mark her child in a very perceptible way. It is\nthe constant repetition of the mental image in the mother\u2019s mind that\nfinally takes expression in the physical form of the child. To\nillustrate, the first conscious mentation, after an act of murder, does\nnot give the criminal the facial expression of a murderer. But after\ndays of thinking of his crime, even if there were no eye witnesses to\nhis crime and he were not even suspected of guilt, yet his face\ngradually takes on the features of a criminal. He cannot remove that\ncriminal look with soap and water, or by crying or laughing. That\nconscious thought of his crime oft repeated has finally taken expression\nin physical form. A genuine conversion to Christ alone can remove the\ncriminal look. The same is true of all classes of criminals. Harmony of\nmental states between husband and wife finally establishes a decided\nresemblance.\n\n=Mother and child vitally one.=--The physical organism of man is never\nmore susceptible to mental impression than during its plastic state\nbefore birth. The mother and her child are in continuous vital\ncommunication with each other. In a very vital sense the mother is the\narchitect of her child. If the mother keeps herself in a perfectly\nnormal state, the child will most likely be normal. Any abnormal state\nthe mother may pass through may have its abnormal influence upon her\nchild.\n\n=The effect of a constant mental repetition.=--The initial mentation,\nwhether it be a scare, anger, sympathy, grief, desire or disgust locates\nand starts the birthmarks. If this unusual initial mental image were\nnever repeated, the effect on the child would be hardly perceptible. If\nthe murderer could prevent the return of the mental picture of his\ncrime, the criminal look in his face would not become noticeable. It is\nthe constant repetition of the first mental state that finally takes\npermanent form in the child\u2019s body.\n\n=How to prevent marking a child.=--How can susceptible mothers prevent\nmarking their children? By refusing to repeat the mental image. They\nshould keep their minds engaged in other matters. Banish the mental\npicture every time it occurs in the stream of consciousness. In this way\nbirthmarks may be largely prevented.\n\nThe following cases are only a few that I have studied personally and\nknow to be true. I have had many friends tell me of cases known to them,\nmany of which would be very interesting to you, but I refrain from the\nuse of them in this lecture.\n\n=Frightened by a crawfish.=--Rev. T. of ----, had a right thumb that was\ndouble to the first joint. He told me that his mother, while washing\nclothes at a stream, turned over a flat rock and a crawfish caught her\nby the thumb with one of its big claws. In her fright she flung the\ncrawfish out on the bank. I studied another case that was very nearly a\nduplicate of this one. These are examples of fright.\n\n=Arkansas mother.=--While I was filling an engagement in the town of ----,\nArk., the pastor\u2019s wife became the mother of a little girl whose fingers\nwere quite long and the joints of the fingers, hands and arms, stiff.\nShe was quite nervous and despondent during gestation. She told me that\none day when she was alone at home and especially gloomy and nervous,\nshe heard some one rap at the door and looking up she saw a man standing\nat the door with deformed hands.\n\n=Frightened at a mole.=--I went out eleven miles from G. C., state of ----,\nto study a very sad case in the home of a cultured young couple. The\nchild was two years old. Its hands were turned with the palms backwards\nand its arms were not over six inches long. It preferred to crawl rather\nthan walk. On the floor it handled itself like a mole. The mother told\nme that in the early months of gestation she was greatly frightened at a\nmole.\n\n=Marked by anger.=--While giving a course of lectures in the city of C.,\nMissouri, one day while walking down a street I noticed a four-year-old\nwhite-headed boy with a big patch of jet-black hair on the right side of\nhis head. The contrast between the black and the white was very\nstriking. The father told me that he and his wife were undecided what\none of two possible causes was responsible for the birthmark. He said,\n\u201cOne day, while my wife stood on the back porch, a negro stabbed a man\nand when he saw an officer approaching he leaped over our yard fence and\nran across our back yard. Seeing that he was running into the arms of\nanother officer, he threw down his knife in the deep grass. The next day\nhe got out on bail and came to our home and asked for permission to look\nfor his knife. The other possible cause was, my wife and her neighbor\nhad fallen out. One day this lady called at our home and my wife\nconsidered her an intruder, the old trouble was renewed and my wife\npulled her hair. This lady had very black hair. Now we do not know which\nof those occurrences is responsible for the patch of black hair on the\nboy.\u201d I replied, \u201cI know with almost absolute certainty.\u201d He asked for\nmy opinion and reason. My reply was, \u201cHad it been caused by the negro,\nthe patch of black hair would have been kinky. Nature is always true to\nitself. I once knew a case where a mother was frightened by an angry dog\nand on her child was a patch of canine hair. The fact that the hair in\nthe mark on the child is straight black hair shows that it was due to\nyour wife\u2019s pulling the hair of her neighbor.\u201d This is a case due to\nunusual anger.\n\n=Marked by disgust.=--After giving a special lecture to ladies in the city\nof T----, Kan., an elderly lady, in company with a friend, sought an\ninterview with me. She told me the following sad personal experience:\n\u201cOne summer, husband persuaded me to go with him and the children to our\ncounty fair. Being quite nervous and easily fatigued, I requested that I\nbe permitted to spend the time in the carriage while he and the children\nenjoyed the fair. I had been sitting in the carriage but a short time\nwhen I noticed a crowd gathering around some object of attraction and I\ndecided to go and see what it was. On a table stood a four-year-old boy\nwearing the false head of an old man. There was nothing grotesque or\nunnatural about the head. But the contrast produced in me a feeling of\ndisgust. The thought was suggested to me, some one might be frightened\nat that boy and mark her child, but I will not, for I am disgusted. I\nwondered that others did not feel disgusted as I did. On returning to\nmy carriage the feeling of disgust and the mental picture of the child\nremained with me. When husband and children came I related to them what\nI had seen. For weeks after this event the mental picture of the child\nwith the head of an old man would appear in the stream of consciousness\naccompanied with a feeling of disgust. After two days of parturition, a\nseven-month child was removed from my body by an operation. Its head was\nabnormally large and had the appearance of an old man.\u201d Here was a case\ndue to disgust.\n\n=Marked by sympathy.=--Ten days ago I was entertained by a family having a\nvery nervous temperament. The son-in-law sat in a rocking chair on the\nfront veranda holding his three-year-old child in his arms. The child\nwas helpless, emaciated and in breathing made a wheezing noise. This\ncondition had obtained since her birth. During the period of gestation,\na sickly, poor, wheezing, half-grown hog was kept in the yard and cared\nfor by the nervous mother of the child. The condition of the hog\nconstantly enlisted the sympathy of the mother. This was the history of\nthe case as told me by the child\u2019s father. This birthmark was caused by\nunusual sympathy.\n\n=An amusing case.=--In most cases abnormal maternal impressions do not\nresult in serious injuries to children.\n\nWhile lecturing at M----, Ky., I was told by a mother how she had marked\none of her children. She had listened, a few days before, to some lady\ncallers explaining the cause of a woman\u2019s giving birth to twins. These\nuninformed women claimed that if a prospective mother should find and\nbecome interested in a number of twin objects in nature, such as eggs\nwith double yolks, twin apples, peaches, ears of corn, potatoes,\ntomatoes, etc., that she would most certainly be the mother of twins. A\nfew days after this conversation she was gathering cucumbers. The vines\nwere wet and the ground soaked by frequent showers. For this reason she\nwas barefooted. She stooped over to remove from between two toes a small\nobject that had lodged between them. The object proved to be a most\nperfect small twin cucumber. The mother recalled the conversation of her\nfriends, and this experience came up in her mind so often that she would\nnot have been surprised at twins. The child born later had the most\nperfect twin toes.\n\n=A sad case.=--While delivering a lecture on heredity in a leading Western\ncollege my attention was called to a very intelligent face in the\naudience. It was a young lady who appeared to have no hands or arms.\nLater I observed tiny undeveloped hands largely concealed by very short\nsleeves. At the close of the address I asked the president about her. He\ninformed me that she was unusually bright and that her affliction was\nfrom birth. He arranged for me to have an interview with her. I found\nthat she had two and three fingers to the hand and that her hands and\narms had not grown since birth. In every other particular she was a most\nattractive and perfect figure. Her mother\u2019s explanation was that before\nher birth she was one day holding her brother, then a baby, in her lap\nwhile operating the sewing machine. The little fellow put his hand where\nthe needle was forced through his finger. The mother fainted. The mental\npicture in the mother\u2019s mind was that some of the baby\u2019s fingers were\ncut off. The mental impression lingered in the mother\u2019s mind. The young\nlady\u2019s arms were about six inches long. On one hand there were two\nfingers, on the other there were three fingers. Her arms and hands had\nnot grown any since birth. Otherwise she was normally developed.\n\n=Marked her child twice.=--About the close of a lecture in one of the\nCentral Western states, a lady asked me to call at the Cash Store,\nexplaining that she wanted an hour\u2019s interview with me. I found her to\nbe a lady of extremely susceptible temperament, refined and cultured,\nbut a bundle of nerves. She was the mother of three little nervous\nchildren. Before calling in her oldest child, which she had marked\ntwice, she explained her experience. She said, \u201cIn our early marriage we\nowned a cow that we were very proud of. Husband and I had often wished\nthat she were dehorned. One morning my husband\u2019s brother secretly\ndehorned her. The servant boy finding it out ran to the house and urged\nme to go out to the barn and see what had occurred. When I rushed\nsuddenly upon the scene, I seized the fingers of the right hand with the\nleft and screamed. There were several large clear blisters on the cow\u2019s\nhead. When my little girl was born the index finger of the right hand\nwas off at the second joint, the other three fingers were entirely\nabsent and several blisters had to be removed by the physician.\n\n\u201cDuring the second or third month of gestation I was told that one of\nthe neighbors had given birth to a child with one foot turned entirely\naround. My curiosity led me to go over and see the child. When our girl\nwas born her left foot was turned completely around, the toes pointing\nbackwards. We have spent sixteen hundred dollars trying to have the foot\nturned back. We have succeeded only in a small measure.\u201d Then she said,\n\u201cI never heard of birthmarks until after my child was born. If I could\nhave heard your series of lectures, it would have been worth a fortune\nto me. I believe this misfortune could and would have been avoided.\u201d\n\nThe reader must not conclude that these pathetic cases are common. They\nare not. The cases cited here represent fully one-half of the extreme\ncases that I have personally studied during years of travel and\nlecturing. They forcefully illustrate the possibilities of maternal\nimpressions on the forming child.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER L\n\nHEREDITY, ENVIRONMENT AND REDEMPTION\n\n\n[Illustration: HEREDITY CHART OF EMMA W.]\n\n=The burden of the feeble-minded.=--The history of Emma W., at one time an\ninmate of Letchworth Village, a New York institution for the\nfeeble-minded, should be convincing that it is bad policy to let the\nfeeble-minded drift in and out of the almshouse; that it is but humanity\nand economy to segregate them, and to strike at the causes of mental\ndefect. Emma W. came to life in an almshouse, stamped with illegitimacy\nand feeble-mindedness. Her family\u2019s record reads: mother, two brothers,\nand a sister feeble-minded; mother\u2019s father feeble-minded and mother\u2019s\nmother tuberculous. When a second child was expected the mother was\ninduced by well-meaning people to marry the father, who was a drunken\nepileptic. Two children were born. Still later the same well-meaning\npeople aided her to get a divorce in order to marry the father of\nanother child about to be born. Since then four more have been born. All\nof these children are feeble-minded. Entire family, with exception of\nthe oldest child, is at large. The accompanying chart, taken from _The\nSurvey_, March 2, 1912, shows graphically her heredity.\n\nOur studies at Vineland have shown that 65 per cent. of feeble-minded\npeople are the children of feeble-minded people; in other words, that\nthe condition is strongly hereditary. Therefore, if these people are\nallowed to become parents, they will bring into the world another group\nof people like themselves who will thus perpetuate the social waste.\n\nThe following charts show the heredity of two families. We have two\nhundred like these--65 per cent. of all our inmates show such history.\n\nThe symbols used in the charts are the following: Square indicates male.\nCircle indicates female. A capital letter indicates disease, habit, or\ncondition, as follows: A, alcoholic (habitual drunkard); B, blind; C,\ncriminal; D, deaf; E, epileptic; F, feeble-minded, either black letter,\nor white letter on black ground (the former when sex is unknown); I,\ninsane; N, normal; Sx, grave sexual offender; Sy, syphilitic; T,\ntuberculosis. Any of these letters may be used with no square or circle\nwhen sex is unknown. When even the letter is omitted the vertical line\npoints to the fact that there was an individual of whom nothing is\nknown. Small black circle indicates miscarriage--time is given (in\nmonths) when known, also cause; stillbirth is shown as a miscarriage at\nnine months; b = born; d = died; m = married; inf = infancy; hand shows\nwhich child is in the institution for feeble-minded; illeg =\nillegitimate; heavy line under any symbol indicates that the person is\nin some institution at the expense of society.\n\n[Illustration: Chart I.]\n\nChart I shows the descendants of a feeble-minded woman who was married\ntwice. Her first husband was normal. There were four normal children,\none of whom is alcoholic. This alcoholic son married a normal woman and\nproduced two feeble-minded and three normal children. This is another\ninstance of the defect skipping a generation, being transmitted by the\ngrandmother through the father.\n\nThe second marriage of this feeble-minded woman was with an alcoholic\nand immoral man. The result was four feeble-minded children. One of\nthese became alcoholic and syphilitic and married a feeble-minded woman.\nShe was one of three imbecile children, born of two imbecile parents.\nThe result here could, of course, be nothing but defectives. There were\ntwo stillborn, and three that died in infancy. Six others lived to be\ndetermined feeble-minded. One of these was a criminal. Two are in the\ninstitution at Vineland. The mother\u2019s sister also has a feeble-minded\nson.\n\n[Illustration: CHART II _A_.]\n\nChart II (in two parts) is in some ways the most astonishing one we\nhave. There are in the institution at Vineland five children\nrepresenting, as we had always supposed, three entirely independent\nfamilies. We discovered, however, that they all belonged to one stock.\nIn Chart II, _A_, the central figure, the alcoholic father of three of\nthe children in the institution, married for his third wife a woman who\nwas a prostitute and a keeper of a house of ill fame, herself\nfeeble-minded, and with five feeble-minded brothers and sisters. One of\nthese sisters is the grandmother represented on Chart II, _B_.\n\nOn _A_ it will be seen that this alcoholic man was four times married.\nHe comes from a good family but was spoiled in his bringing up, became\nalcoholic and immoral--a degenerate man. His first wife, however, was a\nnormal woman and it is claimed that the two children were normal. For\nhis second wife, he took out of the poorhouse a feeble-minded woman. Her\nchildren were: two normal, one that died young, and one feeble-minded.\nHe married the third time. The woman was the prostitute above referred\nto. She had three illegitimate children, all feeble-minded. After their\nmarriage, they had three children, all of whom are feeble-minded. Two of\nthese are in this institution. The father then deserted this woman and\nmarried a fourth wife, who is alcoholic and a prostitute. Of this union,\nhowever, there are no children.\n\nThere is, moreover, very strong evidence that he is the father of the\nthird child in this institution by another woman, who is also\nfeeble-minded.\n\n[Illustration: Chart II _B_.]\n\nChart II, _B_, will be understood if we note that the mother\u2019s mother is\na sister of the third wife of the much-married man of Chart II, _A_.\nThis sister married a feeble-minded man, and the result of that union\nwas seven feeble-minded children, of whom one is a criminal and one an\nepileptic. Four are married. The feeble-minded epileptic woman married a\nnormal man, who is one of a fairly good family. His mother was insane,\nthe father died in an almshouse; however, we find no mental defect. As\nthe result of this marriage, we have seven feeble-minded children, four\nothers that died in infancy, and there were two miscarriages. This is\nthe fourth child of this strain that is in our institution. The fifth\none referred to is a half-sister of the other girl referred to on Chart\nII, _A_.\n\nThe foregoing charts and description were taken from the article of\nHenry H. Goddard, Ph.D., Director of Vineland, N. J., School for\nFeeble-minded, in the March 2nd, 1912, issue of the _Survey_.\n\n=The agencies of improvement.=--In all organic life, vegetable, animal and\nman, two agencies are ever operative; heredity and environment. In plant\nlife these two agencies operate entirely on the physical plain. This is\nperhaps true among the lower forms of animal life. But, among the higher\nforms of animal life, we find very distinct manifestations of\nrudimentary intelligence. Among the higher animals, experiments show\nthat these agencies are operative on the physical and mental plains. In\nman these agencies are operative on the physical, mental and moral\nplains. Among plants and animals, where these two agencies are under the\nintelligent control of man, improvements are marked and rapid. Where\nthey are not under the control of man, progress is scarcely perceptible.\n\nPlants and animals live in harmony with law, man appears to be largely\nout of harmony with law; plants and animals keep law, man violates law.\nThat man is fallen and needs additional help to heredity and environment\nis apparent to all who think. This help we call conversion, regeneration\nor redemption. It is not the province of this chapter to advocate any\ntheory of religion. The purpose of this chapter is to show the relation\nof these agencies in the improvement of the human race.\n\n=What one receives at birth constitutes his heredity.=--This consists of a\nnormal or defective physical constitution, the natural bent of mind and\nits rudimentary possibilities and the innate tendencies toward good or\nevil. The physical, mental and moral influences one receives after birth\nconstitute his environment. Ideal environment tends to direct, develop\nand to mature the results of good heredity and to correct the results of\nbad heredity. Bad environment tends to neutralize the effects of good\nheredity and to intensify the effects of bad heredity. If a child has\ninherited a frail constitution, this can be overcome largely or entirely\nby proper physical training, appropriate food and observing other health\nlaws. In such cases, heavy drugging will do but little good. If nature\nis aided by intelligent parents, who have inspired their unfortunate\nchild with an intense interest and purpose to out-grow every defect, he\nwill accomplish wonders. If a child has inherited a tendency toward\ntuberculosis, this can be entirely overcome by physical training, deep\nbreathing, nutritious food and ventilated bed rooms. The same is true of\nmany other physical defects.\n\n=Our mental possibilities are largely inherited.=--Schools and colleges do\nnot produce great minds. They direct, train and develop the inherited\nmental possibilities. Children of mediocrity should have every possible\nencouragement and opportunity for mental improvement. They cannot\nsucceed without it. Their offspring will inherit improved mental\npossibilities, if their parents are wisely trained in childhood.\nChildren who have inherited special genius will succeed in spite of\nlimited opportunities, but they will succeed better by having the\nadvantage of a good education. A practical study of the psychology of\nchildhood, in relation to mental heredity, would lead parents and\nteachers to be more patient, sympathetic and wise in the mental training\nof many children.\n\n=Heredity and moral tendencies.=--Heredity is just as potential in the\nmoral realm as in the physical and mental. Children inherit tendencies\ntoward good or evil, virtue or vice. What they inherit morally is\ndetermined by the relation of their ancestors to moral laws.\n\n=Parental responsibility.=--Parents are not only responsible for the\nnumber of children born in the home, whether few or many, close together\nor far apart, but they are also largely responsible for their children\u2019s\nbeing born with strong or weak constitutions, brilliant or stupid minds,\ngood or bad tendencies. When this responsibility is more fully\nunderstood by parents, their children will be better born. The greatest\nblessing parents can bequeath to their children is not wealth, but a\ngood heredity. A very large part of a child\u2019s training, good or bad, is\nprenatal. Right from birth, before environment has had time to\ninfluence the child, examples of children who are easily trained, and\ncases that are trained with the greatest difficulty, are perfectly\nfamiliar to all of us.\n\n=Environment is fully as potential in a child\u2019s life as is heredity.=--A\nchild may receive the most unfavorable heredity, and good environment\nmay lead the child to become much superior to his parents, brothers and\nsisters. Again, a child may receive the very best heredity, and a bad\nenvironment may lead him to mental neglect and moral disaster. Parents\ncan determine largely the heredity of the child; but they can furnish\nonly a small part of a child\u2019s environment. Unknown to the parents, a\nplaymate, a neighbor, a servant, in a few words or a single act, may\ngive a child an impulse toward vice that may lead the child into years\nof sin. The real cause of the child\u2019s going wrong may ever remain\nunknown to the parents.\n\n=Value of early environment.=--The total of a child\u2019s environment is\nfurnished by the whole of society. Fortunately, parents have largely the\ncontrol of the first years of a child\u2019s environment. Unfortunately, most\nparents have tried to safeguard the virtue of their children by keeping\nthem ignorant of everything pertaining to their sex natures. Just here\nparents have often failed because of their false idea of good\nenvironment. Ignorance of the sex nature is not a safeguard. Children\nare often engaging in sexual sins months or years before the parents\ndream of danger. Many servants employed in and about the home are impure\nin mind or practice or both; often they are sex perverts. They take a\nfiendish delight in teaching vice to even a small child. Parents cannot\nbe too careful in the selection of servants. They should have the most\npositive understanding that no profanity, obscenity or vice is to be\nengaged in by the servant. Sexual vice is the most common and dangerous\nvice of childhood. It always leads to other forms of wrong-doing. Proper\nsex instruction, given by the parents at the right time and in the right\nway, is the only sane safeguard to the virtue of childhood.\n\n=Heredity, environment, Christ.=--A bad environment may lead a child of\ngood heredity for a number of years into vice and sin; but the inherent\ngood tendencies often assert themselves and help the prodigal to return.\n\nA child with a bad heredity, made and kept good by an ideal environment,\nis never as strong or safe as a child of good heredity and good\nenvironment.\n\nEvery child at birth is the sum total of all the influences, good and\nbad, along the line of his lineage back to Adam. Every child has more or\nless of hereditary degeneracy. All children are exposed more or less to\nbad environment. All children need to accept Christ, to be transformed\nby His power and freed from the domination of inherited and acquired\nevil. Good heredity and good environment make it easy for children to\naccept Christ and live the Christ life. Bad heredity and bad environment\nmake it difficult for children to accept and live the Christ life.\n\nIt is the duty of parents to know and practice the laws of heredity and\nprenatal culture; to furnish the child as far as possible with a good\nenvironment and a sane knowledge of himself; and to influence him to\naccept Christ.\n\nEach child\u2019s duty to himself is to recognize his conscious personal\nobligation to himself and to society, of mastering every inherited and\nacquired weakness, of developing fully every inherent possibility, and\nof accepting Christ as a necessity to the fullest attainment of the\nloftiest ideals.\n\nGod\u2019s greatest blessing, offered to every individual, is personal\nredemption through faith in His Son.\n\nThese three agencies, good heredity, good environment, and redemption;\nor right generation, right education and regeneration, are essential to\na perfect life.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LI\n\nCOURTSHIP, MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE\n\n\n=The modern girl.=--A quarter of a century ago a community knew a year\nahead when one of its young women was going to be married. In this fast\nage, some parents don\u2019t find it out until after their daughter has been\nmarried six months or more. When the author was a boy, the engaged girl\nspent her spare time piecing quilts, making feather pillows and beds,\ndrying apples, peaches and pumpkins, making preserves, gathering garden\nseed and raising a flock of chickens. She had religious convictions. The\nBible idea of a woman is a \u201chelp meet.\u201d She was preparing to help meet\nthe expenses of a home. The modern girl too often helps spend her\ngentleman friend\u2019s hard-earned money at the soda fountain, on livery\nrigs and at the ten cent shows. Thousands of young men are not getting\nmarried to-day, because they are afraid of the expense of these modern\nhelp-eats, help-wears and help-spends.\n\n=Customs have changed.=--True, times and customs have changed and much of\nthe work of women a quarter of a century ago is no longer profitable.\nThe\n\n[Illustration]\n\nsame is true of the work of men. But these changes do not justify a\nlarge number of girls idling away a number of years waiting for men to\ncome along and marry them. Such girls make extravagant wives. They\ncannot know the value of a dollar.\n\n=The independent girl.=--Parents should furnish their daughter with\nremunerative labor, or they should see that she is fitted for some\nposition that will enable her to be independent. The independent girl is\nno more likely to fall than the idle girl at home. The independent girl\nwho gets out into the world with her brother, shoulders the same\nburdens, masters the same difficulties, fights the same battles,\nacquires a poise and dignity, a freedom of action and speech, a\nknowledge of business and economy that give her an attractiveness that\nthe idle fashion-plate girl on the bargain counter of the marriage\nmarket cannot compete with. This class of girls do not have to marry the\nfirst chance that comes around in order to have a home.\n\n=Parents too anxious to get their girls married.=--The financial burden of\nsupporting from two to four idle girls is no small item. Many parents\nare anxious to get them married as soon as possible. The girls soon find\nit out. When ten years old, such girls are making goo-goo eyes at the\nboys; when eleven, they are passing notes to every Tom, Dick and Harry\nin the schoolroom; when twelve, they are desperately in love; when\nthirteen and fourteen, they have their mother\u2019s consent to marry; when\nfifteen, they are in the divorce courts, and three months later they\nhave their second husbands.\n\nOne of the St. Louis dailies, over one year ago, had a notice of two\n\u201crunaways.\u201d One girl was twelve and the other thirteen. When overtaken\nby their fathers, brought back home and locked up in a room, to prevent\na second attempt, one admitted to a reporter that up to that time she\nhad not learned that Santa Claus was not a real being and the other sent\nfor her dolls to play with.\n\n=Another case.=--In one town in which I lectured I was told of a mother\nwho accompanied her thirteen-year-old-daughter and an eighteen-year-old\nboy to the county clerk\u2019s office and gave her consent to her daughter\u2019s\nmarriage. To the clerk\u2019s question, \u201cDon\u2019t you think your daughter rather\nyoung to be married?\u201d she replied. \u201cGee, I got married when I was\nthirteen and my oldest daughter got married when she was fourteen.\u201d\nDidn\u2019t she need the protection of an asylum?\n\n=A woman in Arkansas.=--In Arkansas, you know what does not happen\nanywhere else sometimes happens in that state. I found a woman who ran\naway to get married when she was thirteen, had been married three\ntimes, had three divorced husbands, three families of children,\naggregating twelve in number; was still a young woman and trying to get\nmarried the fourth time. That was courtship, marriage and divorce with a\nvengeance!\n\n=In this country anything can get married.=--A confirmed degenerate\ncriminal can marry, as soon as his term expires in a reformatory, or\npenitentiary. A feeble-minded person can improve a little, be returned\nhome, and get married. A few years later we are supporting them and\ntheir delinquent progeny. We can never empty the reformatories,\npenitentiaries and asylums until we quit producing these classes.\nImmature marriages can no more produce perfect offspring than can the\nmating of immature domestic animals. The girl is not mature until she is\nnineteen or twenty and a boy until he is twenty-two or twenty-four.\n\n=Better customs and laws needed.=--We are in need of social and legal\nreform in the social relations of young people, marriage and divorce. In\nEngland and Canada, rarely does a girl keep company with a young man as\na sweetheart before she is eighteen and rarely married before she is\nnineteen or twenty. She is usually chaperoned by an older woman when she\ngoes out to drive, attend a lecture or to take a stroll with a young\nman. In this country, little, innocent, undeveloped, irresponsible\ngirls are permitted to go buggy riding at night, attend cheap shows and\ngo on excursions unchaperoned, with young men whose reputations are not\nthe best. We are reaping the fearful harvest. One-half of our erring\ngirls fell before they were seventeen, and over one-half of our divorces\noccur among women who married before they were seventeen. Our social\ncustoms make it possible for one-half of our erring girls to fall before\nthey know the name of the act that involves their character and destiny.\nGirls sixteen years old have not had time to develop mentally to where\nthey can safely choose a companion for life. If a girl, one day younger\nthan eighteen, should buy a pig without her father\u2019s consent, the law\ngives him the right to compel the former owner to take the pig back and\nto return to him the money. The state reasons that a girl under eighteen\nis not sufficiently developed in judgment to be held responsible for\nbuying a pig. But, according to our customs and laws, a girl can\nintelligently tie herself up for life to the unfortunate appendix to the\nwet end of a cigarette, or a miserable old jug-handle, and be held\nresponsible for her choice. In other words, we think that it takes less\njudgment for a girl to choose a life partner than it does to buy a\nhalf-grown hog.\n\n=Divorce is on the increase.=--Births and marriages are on the decrease.\nIn 1870, we had one divorce to every thirty-eight marriages. In 1900,\nwe had one divorce to every fourteen and a half marriages. Now we are\nhaving one divorce to every eleven and a quarter marriages. I noticed in\none of the Ohio dailies a few days ago that one county had one hundred\nand thirty-two divorces in twelve months. All last year, Canada had only\nseventeen divorces. Several counties in the United States, each had ten\ntimes as many divorces last year, as did the entire Dominion of Canada.\nCanada has more stringent marriage and divorce laws than the United\nStates.\n\nIt is the maternal and paternal instincts that prompt the lower animals\nto pair off and mate. Their love for each other and their young is the\nchild of their sex nature. The desexed lower animals are devoid of the\ninstinct that prompts wooing and mating.\n\nIt is the promptings of the paternal and maternal natures, which are\ninseparable from the normal sex nature, that lead to a beautiful and\njoyful courtship, to a harmonious, happy marriage and to a family of\nfair daughters and lusty sons.\n\n=Causes of wrecked homes.=--\u201cIntemperance,\u201d \u201cabuse,\u201d \u201cnon-support,\u201d or\n\u201cdesertion,\u201d reply the jury in the court room and the judge on the\nbench. These are, usually, only indirect causes. The one main cause of\nwrecked homes, the abuse of marital rights, is rarely mentioned in the\ncourt room. If all married people were normal in their sex natures,\nunselfish love would reign in the homes and divorce courts would be\nlargely a thing of the past.\n\nThrough universal ignorance of the true nature and functions of the\nGod-given, God-honored and sacred sanctuary of reproduction, the youth,\nby mental and mechanical abuse of these functions, becomes more or less\nsensual. Sexuality is slowly transformed into sensuality and love into\nlust. Ignorant of the laws of life, the duties and responsibilities of\nmarriage and parentage, men are often prompted more by uncontrolled\ndesire than by unselfish love in their choice of a wife, they are\nlargely governed by physical attractions, or wealth. The present ethics\nof marriage makes the wife submit to the sensual demands of the husband.\nThis view of marriage converts love into lust, prevents the harmonizing\nof their differences, the proper blending of their personalities and the\ntwo never become one.\n\n=Divorce is not the cause of wrecked homes.=--Wrecked homes are the cause\nof divorce. The divorce problem will be solved in the solution of the\nhome problems. The home problems will be largely solved when children\nand youths receive proper sex instruction, when young people are\nproperly safeguarded in their social relations as friends and lovers,\nand when they are properly educated in home-building.\n\n=Marriage a civil and Divine institution.=--The sacred institution of\nmarriage is being trifled with. Easy to get married, and easy to get\ndivorced, are a nation\u2019s shame and will quickly bring a nation\u2019s fall.\nBy a system of sane education and legislation the paramount importance,\ndignity, responsibility and sacredness of marriage over other\ninstitutions would be impressed on the mind of the masses. Marriage is\nboth a civil and religious institution. Civil law should protect the\nrights of marriage and judiciously determine who shall and who shall not\nmarry. The marriage ceremony should be performed, when possible, in a\nchurch and a minister of recognized qualifications should officiate. The\nchurch should be decorated not only with flowers and foliage, but also\nthe nation\u2019s flag and colors should have prominent display. Not only\nshould some of the church officers be present, but also, some of the\ncivil officers should be present. The church and state should bear this\nexpense. No marriage fees should be charged or expected from rich or\npoor. The parties to be married and the community would see that the\nstate and church are substantially interested in home and nation\nbuilding. In this way marriage would be placed on a high and dignified\nbasis. When a man and woman take the marriage vows, they have assumed\nduties and responsibilities more vital and far greater than does a\ngovernor or president-elect assume, when he takes the oath of office.\nThe primary purpose of marriage is to increase the species. In this\nfunction they are to serve the nation by helping to furnish the next\ngeneration of citizens. The most illiterate and poverty-stricken couple,\nwho faithfully do their best to raise a family of children, are of far\nmore value to a nation\u2019s strength and perpetuity than a millionaire home\nconsisting of husband, wife and a poodle dog.\n\n=New marriage laws.=--We should have uniform state laws restricting the\nmarriage of men and women who are in advanced stages of consumption, of\nthe feeble-minded, the confirmed criminal, the degenerate and the\nvenereally diseased. We need uniform state laws requiring a reasonable\nknowledge of the laws of life, of marital rights, of heredity and\nprenatal culture and of the duties and responsibilities of marriage and\nparentage. To make such restrictions and education possible all\ncandidates for marriage should be required to register their proposed\nmarriage with the county clerk at least three months before the license\nis granted. At the expense of the state, this proposed marriage should\nbe announced through at least one paper during this period. This\npublicity would prevent all clandestine marriages and would rob the\nwhite slave procurer of one of his chief methods of securing his\nvictims. In recent years, in nearly every community, a stranger has won\nthe affections of an unsuspecting girl and the confidence of her family,\nmarried her, and in six months time it was whispered that he had another\nfamily somewhere that he ought to be supporting. The white slaver uses\nthe love method very effectively. The law suggested would prevent these\nimpositions and crimes against society.\n\nWhen the proposed marriage is registered, the state should furnish each\nwith a book presenting in simple language the information to which\nreference was made in a preceding paragraph. At the expiration of three\nmonths, let them give satisfactory evidence of a reasonable knowledge of\nthe teaching of the book.\n\nBefore the marriage license is finally granted, each should furnish the\nstate with a certificate of good health. This would prevent the marriage\nof the physically and mentally unfit.\n\nIf properly enforced, these new marriage laws would promote domestic\nharmony, prevent untold misery, stop the crime of feticide, reduce the\nannual birth of defective children and increase the birth-rate of normal\nchildren. The young man should have not less than five hundred dollars\nin money or property, or he should have a fair education and a position\nwith adequate income to support a wife.\n\n\n\n\nEIGHTH DIVISION\n\nVITAL FACTS FOR THE MARRIED OR UNMARRIED, OF MIDDLE LIFE AND OLD AGE\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LII\n\nVITAL FACTS CONCERNING THE CHANGE OF THE LIFE IN WOMAN AND THE YEARS TO\nFOLLOW\n\n\n=Similarity of changes in the sexes.=--Men and women are complements of\neach other. They have two correspondingly important and similar periods\nin life. In man, the first is when the genital glands begin to secrete\nprocreative life. This usually occurs when he is from fourteen to\nfifteen. This change indicates that nature has begun her work of\npreparing the male genital organs for their primal function--fatherhood.\nNature\u2019s processes work gradually. She is apparently in no hurry. If not\ninterfered with, she will accomplish a perfect work. Hence we find, that\nwhile nature is preparing the boy for fatherhood, this function is not\npossible for three or four years after the change begins; and that the\nfunction performed at this time would mean a defective child. Careful\ninvestigations show that among children whose fathers married at\n\n[Illustration: WELL PRESERVED AND CONTENTED IN OLD AGE]\n\ntwenty or younger, eight to ten per cent. more of these children die in\nthe first year than among children whose fathers married at twenty-four\nor later. This would indicate that the sexual life of the male has a\ndouble creative function. The first is to create a father, which\nrequires eight to ten years. This, however, is only preparatory to the\nsecond, the primal function of fatherhood. The second change in man\noccurs when he is from forty-five to fifty-five and the physical\nindications are that this period of procreation should close.\n\nIn woman, the first important period usually occurs from twelve to\nfourteen, when the functions of menstruation and ovulation begin. The\nchange indicates that nature has begun her work of fitting the female\ngenital organs for their primal function--motherhood. In woman as in\nman, nature takes her own time. As a rule motherhood would not be\npossible for a year or two after this change has begun. Even then the\nchild would reveal defects. Carefully gathered facts show that among\nchildren, whose mothers married at sixteen, four to five per cent. more\ndie in the first year than among children whose mothers married at or\nnear twenty. This would indicate that the sexual life of the female has\na double creative function. The first is to create a mother, which\nrequires a period of six to eight years. This, however, also is only\npreparatory to the primal functions of the sexual life--motherhood. The\nsecond change in a woman\u2019s life occurs when she is from forty to\nforty-nine and the physical changes which occur bring her procreative\nperiod of life to a close.\n\n=The primal purpose of marriage.=--If boys and girls were properly trained\nand safeguarded, if our customs and habits of life were natural instead\nof artificial; they would use up their sexual energy in their various\nactivities. Under such normal conditions the gradually developing\npaternal and maternal instincts, which are the products of maturing\nsexual life, would be under perfect control and lead them to marry for\nthe primal purpose of procreating the species and perpetuating the race.\nThis God-implanted paternal and maternal instinct, in their relation to\nthe normally developing sexual natures, are so strong that matured young\npeople are willing to assume every burden connected with maintaining a\nhome and every sacrifice incident to raising a family of children.\n\n=Maternity not an affliction.=--No normal wife, properly educated, who has\nthe right view of marriage, looks upon maternity as an affliction. No\nwoman, capable of normal motherhood should marry, who considers\nmaternity a great affliction. The woman who is willing to sell the use\nof her body to one man in marriage for the consideration of being\nmarried, for food, clothing and shelter, and who deliberately and\nwillfully avoids maternity, is but little better than the woman who\nprostitutes herself to a number of men for a price. The motives that\nlead a man and woman to commit prostitution outside of the bonds of\nmarriage cannot be made sacred and pure by the sanction of law and a\nmarriage ceremony. When husband and wife are mutually agreed, in this\ncrime, he is as guilty as she.\n\n=Procreative periods in the sexes.=--The possible procreative period of\nman extends from about seventeen to the close of life. His normal\nprocreative period extends from about twenty-four to the beginning of\nhis change of life. The possible procreative period of woman extends\nfrom puberty to the close of the change of life. Her normal procreative\nperiod extends from about twenty to the beginning of her change of life.\n\n=Function of menstruation.=--The function of menstruation is to prepare\nthe womb for the reception of embryonic life. Since the womb during\nmenstruation is not prepared for the reception of this beginning life,\nthe wife instinctively repels the sexual approaches of her husband.\n\n=Pregnancy a period of continence.=--When impregnation occurs and the womb\nbecomes the closed home of embryonic life, sexual desire largely or\nentirely ceases in the normal woman. She now enters a nine-month period\nof gestation. Again it is natural for her to repel sexual approaches of\nher husband. All the pregnant females among the lower animals and savage\nman faithfully repel the approach of their mates during gestation. This\nlaw is violated alone by semi-civilized and civilized man. The females\namong the lower animals and savage men do not dread maternity and the\nmales are normal and do not force their demands upon their mates during\ngestation.\n\n=Why maternity is regarded as an affliction.=--Among the civilized races,\nartificial customs, a false education and a selfish devotion to an\nunnatural social system, lead many women to dread maternity and to look\nupon this most sacred and glorious function of womanhood as a very great\nsocial affliction.\n\n=Enslaved motherhood the crowning curse of the age.=--The artificial life\nof civilization leads men to become sexually abnormal. Law, custom and a\nmisinterpretation of certain passages of the Bible have given men and\nwomen the erroneous idea that the wife must submit herself to the\nhusband\u2019s sexual demands, even during pregnancy. Hence the civilized\nwoman submits to her husband\u2019s demands. Another reason why she does not\nrepel his approaches is because she feels that the \u201cworst has already\nhappened.\u201d Enslaved motherhood is the crowning curse of an artificial\ncivilization. If Bible students had given more sincere thought and time\nto the study of the redemptive meaning of, \u201cAnd knew her not till she\nhad brought forth her firstborn son; and he (Joseph) called his name\nJesus,\u201d than they have to the doubtful meaning of a passage found in the\nwritings of Paul, past legislation, education and evangelization would\nhave accomplished more in the redemption of the race from the slavery\nand curse of lust.\n\n=Mysteries made clear.=--When we keep in mind the primal purpose of\nmarriage, the function of menstruation, the period of normal child\nbearing, it will not be difficult for us to understand why there should\ncome a change in middle-aged woman, when menstruation, ovulation and\nchild bearing should cease. Understanding that normal passion in woman\nis nature\u2019s call for maternity, the reason for her repelling the\napproaches of her husband, during the change of life, and why sexual\ndesire largely ceases with this change, will be clear to us. When the\nthoughtful husband, who loves his companion, understands the nature of\nthis experience in the wife, he will be more considerate, sympathetic\nand self-controlled. Continence during this change will not only be a\nblessing to his wife, but it will be of physical and mental benefit to\nhimself.\n\n=The age when the change of life occurs.=--In this country, as a rule, the\nchange of life occurs from forty to fifty. A few thousand miles south\nit occurs sooner. Climatic conditions hasten or retard both puberty and\nthe change of life. If the age at the dawning of puberty is multiplied\nby three, this will give the age when the change of life will usually\nbegin. There are other causes that may hasten or retard the approach of\nthis change. Women have been known to reach the age of sixty and one\nwoman to reach the age of seventy, before the change occurred. On the\nother hand there are cases where the change has occurred as early\nthirty-five and rare cases as early as twenty-eight and thirty.\n\n=Other names for the change of life.=--This change is sometimes known as\nthe \u201cmenopause,\u201d referring to the cessation of the function of\nmenstruation. It is also referred to as the \u201cclimacteric\u201d period,\nmeaning that a climax in life has been reached.\n\n=The nature of the change.=--As a result of this change the period of\nreproduction ceases. To affect this change ovulation must cease. As\nmenstruation is normally associated with ovulation, this must cease. The\novaries become reduced in size, the walls of the womb become thinner and\nthe whole sexual system is undergoing a change, adapting itself to the\nnew order of things, which will be a part of her life for years to come.\n\n=The duration of the change of life.=--No general rule can be stated as\nto the length of this period. The average time is from two to three\nyears. Occasionally it covers a period of six or seven and in rare cases\nten or twelve years. In rare cases the period has been known to be only\na few weeks or months in length. In some women the change causes but\nlittle inconvenience.\n\n=Evidences of the change.=--The approach of the change of life may be\nheralded by a variety of symptoms, which may in part be present in one\nwoman and absent in another. The menstrual change manifests itself in a\nnumber of ways. In one woman the flow may cease at the approach of the\nmenopause, never to return. In other cases the intervals of flow are\nirregular. In still others, menstruation may be frequent, almost\ncontinuous, or at times amount to flooding. In some cases the abdomen\nswells, a feeling of fullness is experienced and the woman may be\nconvinced that she is pregnant. Any one or more of the following\nsymptoms may be experienced: dizziness, trouble with the sight, voice,\nheart, lungs, constipation, diarrhea, neuralgia of the joints, limbs and\nhead. These symptoms can be greatly modified by exercise of the will. A\nwoman need not be alarmed at any one or more of these symptoms. They are\ndue to a readjustment of the body to the new conditions that are to\nfollow. While this is a real crisis in a woman\u2019s life, it does not\nfollow that there is any serious danger. Yet she should take every\nprecaution to keep herself in a good condition.\n\n=Some precautions.=--Fifteen or twenty minutes of time should be given, to\nlight exercise, each day.\n\nThere will be a tendency in most cases toward constipation. Drink one or\ntwo glasses of water on rising each morning and drink freely during the\nday, make a meal occasionally of fruits. If this does not correct the\ntrouble, flush the colon with tepid water.\n\nSpecial attention should be given to the diet. This should be wholesome\nand nutritious. She should never over-eat. If inclined to be nervous,\ncoffee and tea should not be used; if at all, with moderation. Other\nstimulating drinks should be avoided.\n\nShe should have some light occupation of interest to her. Idleness\nduring this period may lead to despondency, melancholy, or hysteria. Her\nmind should be engaged in something all the time.\n\nWe are learning more and more that the body is very much subject to the\nmind. A feeling of dejection and despondency and many other ailments\nassociated with this change can be greatly reduced by a strong will.\nThis is not saying that all of her discomforts are imaginary. They are\nlargely real, but they can be greatly reduced by self-control.\n\n=Some physical disorders.=--At the time of the change of life, any one of\na number of physical troubles may arise. In the event of any of these, a\nreliable physician should be consulted. Apparent flooding or small\nhemorrhages may occur. This usually gives rise to great alarm. Unless\nthe amount appears excessive, no serious concern need to be felt.\n\nFibroid tumors of the womb and cancer of the womb or breasts are more\nlikely to occur at this period of life than any other. These troubles\nare largely due to miscarriages, willful abortions, injuries done the\nwomb at birth or some bruise of the breasts. Where these troubles occur,\na physician should be consulted. They usually yield to proper treatment.\n\n=Changes in the reproductive system.=--About the close of the change of\nlife in a woman, the ovaries become reduced in size, the walls of the\nwomb thinner and smaller in size and the vagina undergoes a similar\nchange. Similar changes occur in the sexual organs of the male.\n\n=Sex problems explained.=--As already observed, sexual desire begins to\nabate with the approach of the change of life in both sexes. If this\ndoes not occur, it shows an abnormal sexual condition, or some\naggravating cause in some neighboring organ. Occasionally all desire\nceases in the woman at the beginning of the period. In other cases it\ndoes so gradually for a few years. If the husband has practiced\nreasonable self-control, the experience in his case is somewhat\nsimilar. He should have no sexual relations during the change of life in\nhis wife. If the husband wishes to protect the health of his wife and\nhimself, prolong their lives, increase their usefulness and happiness he\nmust bring himself to complete self-control.\n\n=The later half of life.=--When the reproductive system has been\nreadjusted, by the change of life processes, to the new conditions of\nthe closing period of this life, if both are considerate of each other\u2019s\ncomfort and happiness, they soon realize that they have entered into an\nexistence of a larger manhood and womanhood, with limitless\nopportunities of loving each other, of enjoying life, of being useful\nand a blessing to the world. The transient pleasures of passion are not\nto be compared by them with the abiding delights, pleasures and joys\nthat flow from intellectual and spiritual natures surrounded by a halo\nof glory that indicate a readiness for a golden sunset and a final\ntransition into another period of existence circumscribed by the\neternities and limited in progress and joy only by the inexhaustible\nresources of the Infinite.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIII\n\nVITAL FACTS CONCERNING THE \u201cCHANGE OF LIFE\u201d IN MAN, AND THE YEARS TO\nFOLLOW\n\n\nStrange as it may seem, middle-aged and old men are quite as ignorant of\ntheir sexual natures and the changes incident to their age, as is the\naverage youth. Very few men know that at the age of forty-five to\nfifty-five a gradual but distinct and vital change will occur in their\nlives.\n\n=Important periods of life.=--A boy of seven has a very distinct and\nintense interest in the origin of animals and man. When he is fourteen\npuberty dawns and he enters the \u201cstormy period of adolescence.\u201d When\ntwenty-two to twenty-four his sexual powers are matured and he enters a\nperiod of some twenty-five years during which his procreative powers are\nat their best. It is in this period of life that nature indicates he\nshould become the father of children. In this period his physical\nstrength is greatest and his mental and moral development are most\nactive. He is now capable of transmitting the largest endowments to his\nchildren. It is natural that at the close of this period, of largest\nreproductive possibilities, sexual\n\n[Illustration: THE CLIMAX OF A WELL SPENT LIFE]\n\ndesire should begin to subside. This is what occurs at this period in a\nman\u2019s life.\n\n=\u201cChange of life\u201d in man and woman.=--This occurs some six to ten years\nlater in the male than in the female. The change is more gradual and\nless marked in the man than in the woman. After the \u201cchange of life\u201d in\nwoman, she becomes entirely sterile. If man is well-preserved, sterility\nin him does not take place with this change and may not until years\nlater. In the female, the \u201cchange of life\u201d may embrace a period of one\nto three or four years, and longer in some cases. In the male, the\nperiod is usually longer. In both, it is a crisis. Good or bad health,\nhappiness or misery, a long or short life, success or failure, may be\nthe issues of this crucial period of life. The next ten, twenty or more\nyears of life will be largely determined by the previous life, the care\ntaken at this time and the sexual control in the future. Woman becomes\nsterile at the close of this period, man does not. Most men have known\nof one or more old worn-out libertines who make their regular visits to\nhouses of shame. They suppose these men to be as virile as in their\nyouth. Men do not generally understand that these old men, who have lead\na dissolute and vicious life, are often mental sex perverts even years\nafter they are sterile and, have become impotent through loss of\nerectile power.\n\n=A degrading form of ignorance.=--I have had scores of old men from\nforty-five to seventy-five, to seek personal interviews with me, whose\nreal motives were to ascertain some way of rejuvenating their flagging\nsexual powers. I recall one man, a nervous wreck, over sixty, who\nconfessed to me that each night he retired with a pad of ice about his\nloins for the purpose of restoring partial potency once a week. Another\nold man who had passed his three-quarter of a century milestone\ncomplained of his wife\u2019s indifference and refusals, she being nearly as\nold as himself. Such ignorance is far less excusable and far more\ndegrading than that of being unable to read, write or spell.\n\n=Sexual desire begins to wane.=--During the menses and the nine months of\ngestation, the wife has little or no sexual desire. In fact her\ninclination is to repel every approach of the husband. During that\nperiod, known as the \u201cchange of life,\u201d the wife has no sexual desire and\nnaturally tries to ward off every approach of her mate. During this\nperiod the menstrual flow is sometimes frequent, almost constant. She is\npassing through an experience of nervous stress and mental trial. The\nhusband should refrain from all sexual demands during this change. If\nthey are well mated as to age, he is four, six or ten years his wife\u2019s\nsenior. At this age his sexual desires should be weakening. A man of\nthis age, if normal, should experience no difficulty in living a\ncontinent life.\n\n=Not an unfortunate period.=--These should not be considered unfortunate\nperiods in life. Proper restraint at this time will bring compensations\nto those who understand and heed nature\u2019s laws. If men understood that\nthe waning of sexual desire was natural, they certainly would welcome\nthe change and would not use various methods of stimulating and\nawakening sexual desire.\n\n=Minor indications.=--There are several minor signs which when they occur\nat or near the same time indicate the presence of this change in man.\nThey are as follows: A notable loss of memory, loss of sight, streaks of\ngray appearing in the hair and beard and an ease of physical and mental\nfatigue. One or more of these conditions often exist and are due to\nother causes.\n\n=Positive indications.=--The most positive indications of the presence of\nthis change in man are: longer intervals between periods of sexual\ndesire; a less intensity of sexual desire; a greater fatigue following\nsexual congress; frequency of desire to urinate; slowness to begin\nurinating; and irritation about the neck of the bladder. If one has been\npure in thought, chaste in language and clean in life, this period will\nbe postponed to later years in life and the symptoms will be less\nmarked.\n\n=Two advantages.=--There are at least two reasons why men should welcome\nthe waning of sexual desire when the change of life occurs. One is that\nthe period of life, when they are capable of transmitting the best\npossibilities to their children has passed. The other is that they will\nneed to conserve their sex life, with a view to thirty years more of\nhealth, happiness, activity, usefulness, a glorious sunset and a\ntriumphant entrance into the next life.\n\n=A larger life.=--A continent single and a temperate married life will\nmake it easy for the middle-aged man to conserve his energy the balance\nof his days. While his bodily powers may gradually wane, the real man\nwithin will rise to a height, grandeur and majesty never before\npossible. We have all known and read of a few old men who never arrived\nat their climax of intellectual and moral greatness until they were\nsixty and seventy. Gladstone was greater at eighty than he was at fifty.\n\n=A sad old age.=--The indiscretions of youth and the excess of middle life\nplace many old men where they are physically helpless, great sufferers,\nmake no mental progress and often but little moral progress in old age.\n\n=A chance to conserve energy.=--It should not be understood that a decline\nin sexual desire means the cessation of creative energy, a decline in\ngeneral health, efficiency or happiness. Nature is giving man a chance\nto conserve his creative energy, to maintain his health, to increase his\nefficiency and to perfect his happiness.\n\n=Marriage of old men.=--There is no reason why an old bachelor or widower\nshould not marry provided they marry a woman near their age. But there\nare many reasons why he should not marry a gay young girl. He marries\nher for sensual reasons; she marries him for his money. He would not\nmarry her, if she were near his age; she would not marry him, if he were\npoor. Such marriages not only violate physical law, but the mental and\nmoral as well. As a rule there is but little love in such a union. For\nwant of physical harmony their differences are not harmonized and their\npersonalities do not blend into oneness.\n\n=The rights of his first children.=--If he has a family of children they\nare likely to be older than his young wife. It will be quite impossible\nfor her to be a real mother to the children. Family troubles will most\nlikely follow. He must take the part of his wife and mistreat his\nchildren or vice versa.\n\n=Children of senile men defective.=--If he marries a gay young girl for\nsensual reasons, he will indulge in the marital relations too\nfrequently. This will lead to great personal injury to himself. Should\nadditional children be born into his home, they would in most every case\nreceive an unfortunate heredity. All authorities are agreed that a very\nlarge per cent. of the children born to senile fathers will be\nprecocious of mind, frail of body and a disappointment in after life.\n\n=Physical ailments common.=--Men who have received a fair heredity, led\ncorrect sexual lives, guarded their diet, taken plenty of exercise and\nsleep, bathed freely, used but little, or no, tea, coffee, tobacco, or\nliquors, will be free from most all the ailments common to middle life\nand old age. Gout, vertigo, rheumatism, apoplexy, paralysis and piles\nare a few of the common physical ailments to be found among men of this\nage. Any or all these diseases may result from sexual excesses or\nvenereal diseases, still they are often due to other causes. While great\nsexual moderation, even complete continence, will be helpful in all\nthese diseases, a competent home physician should be consulted.\n\nParalysis and apoplexy are more likely to come in old age to men who\nhave been excessive than to men who have lived temperate or continent\nlives. Where one has had syphilis, these diseases are likely to occur\nat any time in life. If he has not had syphilis, these diseases are not\nlikely to occur until late in life, if at all.\n\n=Heart trouble.=--Where this exists in middle life the individuals should\nguard against sudden emotions or over-exercise. Occasionally an old man\nis found dead in his bed. The explanation given to the public is heart\nfailure or apoplexy. This was the general cause. In many cases, the\nimmediate occasion of the sudden death was the stress and strain of\nsexual excitement on the heart or the brain. Again, sometimes we read of\nan old man being found dead in a \u201cscarlet\u201d home. In such cases, we know\nthat while the real cause was apoplexy or heart failure, that the\nimmediate cause was sexual excitement.\n\n=Genito-uninary diseases.=--Many diseases connected with the urinary and\ngenital organs, due to gonorrhea contracted in youth, may appear in the\nman of middle life or old age. The disease regarded by the thoughtless\nyouth as a trifle, is now regarded by the old man as serious. Should\nkidney trouble, gravel in the bladder, inflammation or enlargement of\nthe prostate gland occur, a competent resident physician should be\nconsulted.\n\n=Final word.=--To the young man this chapter is a faithful flagman; to the\nman of middle age it demands an arrest of thought, serious reflection\nand a manly continence; to the old worn-out rou\u00e9, engulfed in the\nmaelstrom of lust, a last \u201clife-line\u201d is thrown; to the well-preserved\nold man it will inspire a pleasant reminiscence of a pure youth, a\ntemperate manhood, a conservative of energy in middle life, and it will\nadd a deep sense of gratitude to the many joys of a glorious old age.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIV\n\nPRACTICAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED\n\n\n=What is the primary purpose of marriage?=--While there are several\nsubordinate reasons for marriage, the one paramount reason is that of\nhaving and rearing a family. The only admissible reason for not having\nchildren is positive incapacity or mental and physical unfitness.\n\n=How many children should there be to a family?=--The number should vary\naccording to circumstances. Every child has an incontrovertible right to\nbe well born and to be well cared for after he is born. It is far better\nto have three to six children, who have good heredity and who are\nproperly cared for and trained, than to have ten or twelve unfortunately\nborn and largely neglected. Where the parents are both strong and\nhealthy and are able to support them, a large family is commendable.\n\n=Is it wrong purposely to limit the size of the family?=--If no laws are\nviolated and the limitation is made to safeguard the wife\u2019s health and\nthe best interests of the children, there can be no wrong done.\n\n=Does nature use any safeguards to the wife\u2019s health and the right of\nchildren?=--She does. The woman is sterile before puberty, after the\nchange of life, in most cases during the period while nursing a child,\nand a few days between the menses.\n\n=At what periods during the month is a wife most likely to become a\nmother?=--Just before or after the menses.\n\n=What would be a natural method of regulating the size of the\nfamily?=--Have sexual relations for procreation only, or for a few days\nonly, about midway between monthly periods.\n\n=Is the last always safe?=--No. Impregnation with this precaution might\noccur, but it would be rare. If a woman\u2019s menses are irregular, or if\nshe ovulates at one time and menstruates at another, she would be likely\nto become pregnant at any time. This last case is very rare among women.\n\n=Are there other methods used?=--Yes, but none of them can be recommended.\nThey are unnatural. They violate nature. Those who use them suffer\nsooner or later. One of the most common is that of withdrawal. This has\nall the bad effects of the secret sin on both husband and wife.\nInjections and the use of artificial contrivances, while in some cases\nappearing to violate the laws of health but slightly, lead to excess and\nthereby become morally and physically wrong. In this way tumors, ulcers\nand other physical ailments and poor health may be produced.\n\n=What are some of the evil effects of over child bearing?=--Among feeble\nwives, much of womb diseases can be traced to this. Puny, sickly and\nshort-lived children are other results. Then there are some women who\nsuffer greatly during pregnancy and each time their lives are\nendangered.\n\n=What is \u201crace suicide\u201d?=--There are three kinds of race suicide, all of\nwhich are very prevalent among American born people, (1) The various\nmethods of preventing conception. This is perhaps the most common. (2)\nWillful abortion, or prenatal murder. It is estimated that 250,000 cases\ncome to medical attention annually. If this is true, perhaps 100,000\nsucceed in destroying prenatal life without medical attention. This\nwould mean 1,000 prenatal murders daily in the United States. If these\nfigures are true, then it is reasonable to suppose that 100,000 attempts\nare made that fail. Many of these unwelcome children inherit a tendency\ntoward homicide or suicide. This is evidently one of the main causes of\nthe appalling increase of crime. As a rule, men who have not learned\nself-control are more responsible for this crime than are their wives.\nThis is a national sin, found in all grades of society. This sin cannot\nbe checked until people learn self-control and all youths are\nsafeguarded in their sexual development by being given a correct\nknowledge of sex. (3) The third form of \u201crace suicide\u201d is the\never-increasing production of degenerates. The chief causes of this form\nof \u201crace suicide\u201d are strong drink and lust.\n\n=How frequently should husband and wife have sexual relations?=--There are\nthree theories held by people. (1) For procreation only. Where both\nmutually agree and have perfect self-control, no harm can come from this\nplan. There is no more necessity for sex gratification in the married\nlife than in the single. Those who have this self-control will be able\nto avoid all dangers, sins, and diseases incident to a lack of control.\n\nThere are some difficulties connected with this theory. This\nself-control is not possessed by the mass of mankind. Where one\ncompanion tries to force this view the other may be driven to marital\ninfidelity, or family discord which may lead to the divorce court.\n\n(2) Some consider marital congress to be an act of love. Where this is\nconfined to once, twice or thrice a month and to a few days midway\nbetween the menses, except when a child is desired, no wrong will be\ndone; the sacred fire of love will be kept aglow in their hearts, health\nwill reign in their lives, the initial of each child can be\nintelligently planned for, his prenatal rights be respected, his\nnativity be warmly welcomed and he be given the best possible\nenvironment.\n\n(3) The other theory is that of physical necessity, especially for man.\nAmong the unmarried this theory leads to prostitution or the secret sin.\nAmong the married it means legal prostitution, leads to marital excess,\npoor health of parents, loss of vitality, puny, scrawny, short-lived\nchildren and to \u201crace suicide.\u201d\n\n=Should coition take place during pregnancy?=--Among the lower animals\nsexual indulgence never occurs during pregnancy. We are told that the\nsavage races observe this law. Doctors differ on this subject. All agree\nthat it should seldom occur. There is a growing conviction among some of\nthe most eminent physicians that man should observe the law that nature\ndemands of the lower animals and that savage man respects.\n\n=What injurious effects may follow sexual intercourse during\npregnancy?=--It robs the mother and child of the vitality that both of\nthem need. Sometimes it causes miscarriage. If the initial of a child\u2019s\nlife takes place as a result of uncontrolled sexual desire and its\nprenatal rights are not respected, it will inherit sensual tendencies.\nThe fact that it is recorded in the Gospels, with great clearness and\nemphasis, that \u201cJoseph knew not Mary until after Jesus was born,\u201d has a\nredemptive significance for the human family of which but few\ntheologians have ever caught a glimpse.\n\n=What is the difference between impotence and sterility in man?=--The\nfirst is an inability to perform the act of coition. A sterile man may\nbe able to perform the act of coition, but his semen contains no sperm\ncells, or at least, no healthy sperm cells. The first could become a\nfather, if he could perform the act of coition; the second can perform\nthe act, but cannot become a father.\n\n=What are the causes of impotency?=--The inability to consummate marriage\nis very rare. Venereal disease is the chief cause of impotency.\nMalformation of parts from birth or accident, self-abuse, obesity and\nthe use of opium are other causes. In many cases impotency can be cured.\nWhere a man knows himself to be impotent he should not marry. Wives have\na contempt and a most perfect aversion for impotent husbands.\n\n=What are the causes of sterility in man?=--Sterility is much more common\nthan impotency. Venereal disease is the most common cause. Excessive\nsecret sin may temporarily deprive the semen of its fecundating power.\nSome malformation of parts is sometimes responsible.\n\n=Is the wife ever incapable of coition?=--Very rarely. Excessive\nsensitiveness of the parts is the most common cause. In such cases,\nwhich are very rare, the sexual act would be so painful as to be wholly\nunbearable. Such cases require medical treatment. The sooner it is\nbegun, the better. A very rigid hymen, or the vagina being partly absent\nfrom birth, or grown together from an accident, may make coition\nimpossible. In the first and last case a surgical operation can remove\nthe difficulty. Eighty per cent. of sterile wives, are due to gonorrheal\ninfection received from their husbands who thought themselves cured.\n\n=Should husband and wife sleep together or in separate beds?=--In many\ncases, owing to lack of self-control, it would be better for them to\nsleep in separate beds. If there is no other reason why they should\nsleep apart, and they have self-control, it would be better to sleep in\nthe same bed.\n\n=Are women as passionate as men?=--Centuries, of the double standard of\nmorals, have established by heredity, more of passion in man than exists\nin the average woman. Among the lower animals, except where they have\nbeen forced into polygamy by man, the male controls himself fully as\neasily as does the female. Many women do not feel any sexual excitement\nwhatever, others only to a limited degree. This is doubly true of women\nduring pregnancy, and lactation. Most normal women seek sexual\ngratification to please their husbands or out of a desire for\nmotherhood. There are some women who have inherited or acquired strong\nsensual natures.\n\n=Should coition take place during the menses?=--Absolutely no. For\nsanitary and hygienic reasons, if no other.\n\n=What is the \u201cclimacteric\u201d period, or the \u201cchange of life\u201d in a\nwoman?=--This occurs between forty and forty-nine years of age. It\nusually covers a period of from two to five years. The menstrual flow\noften occurs every few days. This is often a critical period in a\nwoman\u2019s life. When this is completed they are sterile, or incapable of\nreproduction.\n\n=Should sexual relations take place during the \u201cchange of life\u201d?=--For\nsanitary reasons, it should not. For the hygienic reason, that it would\nmost likely cause flooding, it should not.\n\n=Is there a corresponding period in a man\u2019s life?=--Yes. It usually occurs\nsome five or ten years later and is more gradual. If he is well\npreserved he does not become impotent or sterile. The sexual appetite\nbegins to abate and they no longer experience perfect erection. There\nare also physical changes taking place that make this period a crisis in\nhis life. Certain brain affections, sometimes resulting in unexpected\ndeath, is due to sexual indulgence at this time. Many men do not know,\nthat if they are to have a beautiful sunset, they must conserve their\nsexual life.\n\n=Is there any way to determine the sex of a child?=--This is evidently\ngoverned by some definite law, which has not been discovered. Many\ntheories have been advanced, but none are generally accepted.\n\n=What is the best season of the year for conception to take place?=--In\nthe spring. A larger per cent. of the children are healthy and\nlong-lived than when the initial of their lives occur at other times.\n\n=What is the difference between an abortion and a miscarriage?=--- The\nfirst is where the expulsion of the fetus is willfully produced; the\nother where it is purely an accident.\n\n=Is abortion ever justifiable?=--Only when it is done to save the life of\nthe mother.\n\n=What are some of the causes of miscarriage?=--Intercourse during\npregnancy and nursing a child after conception are the chief causes. The\nchild should be weaned as soon as a mother suspects pregnancy. Venereal\ndiseases, straining at stool, over-exertion, physical accidents and ill\nhealth may sometimes cause miscarriage.\n\n=When does life begin in a child?=--At conception. It is as much a crime\nto destroy the life of a fetus one day old as it is after its movements\nare felt.\n\n=Is it possible to lessen the inconvenience of pregnancy and the pain of\nchild-birth?=--Yes. Avoid all tight lacing; eat chiefly a diet of\ncereals, fruit and vegetables; take light, regular open-air exercise, of\nwhich walking is best, and have little or no intercourse during the\ntime. Tight lacing has been the chief cause of the inconvenience and\npain experienced by civilized woman.\n\n\n\n\nNINTH DIVISION\n\nMORAL, SOCIAL AND REFORM TOPICS\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LV\n\nSCHOOL INSTRUCTION IN SEX HYGIENE\n\nBY CHARLES W. ELIOT\n\nPresident Emeritus of Harvard College.\n\n\nIn order to make head against the horrible evils which accompany men\u2019s\nprofligacy and women\u2019s prostitution, and to prevent the moral and\nphysical disasters which result from young men\u2019s and young women\u2019s\nignorance about the natural processes of reproduction in the human\nspecies and about the laws of health in those processes, it is\nindispensable that systematic instruction should be given to all young\nchildren and young people in the processes of reproduction and growth in\nplants and animals, in the general rules of hygiene, in the natural,\nwholesome processes of reproduction in the human species, and at last in\nthe diseases and social disorders which follow violations of nature\u2019s\nlaws concerning the relations of the sexes. The bitter experience of the\nChristian world in regard to the venereal diseases and their\nconsequences demonstrated this proposition.\n\n=Policy of silence a failure.=--Wherever anyone undertakes to discuss this\nsubject in public, he is met by two adverse opinions which are firmly\nheld by multitudes of well-meaning people. The first is the opinion that\nthese are unclean subjects, about which the less said the better. This\nis the policy of silence concerning all sexual relations and processes,\nnatural or unnatural, rightful or sinful, which has prevailed for\ncenturies in both barbarous and civilized countries. There is but one\nthing to be said about this policy of silence, namely, that it has\nfailed, everywhere and always. It has not prevented the spread and\nincrease of sexual wrong-doing and of the horrible resultant diseases,\ndegradations, and destructions. For the prevention and eradication of\nany great social or governmental wrong, publicity, discussion, and the\nawakening of a righteous public sentiment in the great mass of the\npeople concerned have always been, and always must be, necessary.\n\n=Parents as instructors.=--The second adverse opinion is that the\nnecessary instruction on these subjects should be given to children and\nyoung persons by their parents and by them alone. This opinion is sound\nto this extent, that in cultivated and refined families, in which the\nparents possess sufficient knowledge of the whole subject, the needed\ninstruction will best come to the children through the mother and the\nfather, beginning at a tender age. All children ask questions on this\nsubject. Their curiosity is roused early, and is usually very pointedly\nexpressed. The asking of questions should invariably be the mother\u2019s\nprecious opportunity to describe to the child, with delicacy and\nreserve, but truthfully, the mother\u2019s part in the production of the\nhuman infant. By so doing, the mother will establish a new bond between\nherself and child, and will acquire a strong claim on its abiding\naffection. Every father competent for the task should see that his boys\nunderstand the natural and wholesome process of reproduction, and the\ngreat physical dangers which accompany violations of the moral law in\nthis respect. He should see that they know that continence is absolutely\nhealthy, and, indeed, is indispensable to the highest attainment in\nbodily strength and endurance. He should make sure that his boys\nunderstand what honor requires of a man in his relation to women, and\nthat chastity is just as admirable and feasible in a man as in a woman,\nand just as necessary for the protection of family life and the\neradication of the very worst evils which now degrade and poison\ncivilized society. It is quite true that all this instruction will come\nbest, whenever possible, from loving fathers and mothers to their own\noffspring; because it will then be given intimately, privately, and\nwith tenderness and purity.\n\nInasmuch, however, as the great majority of parents do not now possess\nthe necessary knowledge, or the faculty of expression necessary for\nimparting it, and there are many families that have lost father, mother,\nor both, society must for the present rely in the main on the schools to\ngive this instruction, which is, indeed, indispensable for the salvation\nof civilization.\n\n=School can teach nature\u2019s sex laws.=--It is, however, a very serious\nproblem, how to give the needed instruction in sex hygiene in all the\nschools, public, private, and endowed. No one is competent to-day to lay\ndown a fixed and final program. The programs for this subject must be\nexperimental or tentative for many years to come. All that can be done\nat present is to indicate the general lines of the promising experiments\non this difficult subject. Innumerable experimenters must in time work\nout the details with insight, patience, and skill. The general lines\nmay, however, be laid down with a reasonable degree of confidence. They\nare as follows:\n\n1. It is through the ample and prolonged teaching of natural history\nthat the necessary knowledge is to be conveyed to the children,\nbeginning at tender years with the teaching of botany, and going on to\nthe elements of zo\u00f6logy, both subjects being taught in the most\nconcrete manner possible with incessant illustrations indoors and\nout-of-doors, not during the whole school year, but at those seasons\nwhen adequate illustrations and demonstrations are most feasible and\nconvenient. This instruction should be associated in all schools with\nthe teaching of pure and applied geography, and in rural schools with\nthe teaching of agriculture.\n\n2. Throughout this long course of natural history instruction\ndemonstrations of the various modes of transmitting life should\nfrequently occur, the transmission of life being the highest and\nultimate bodily function of every plant and every animal, including man.\nThere is a great body of fresh knowledge on this subject waiting to be\ngiven to children and youth, all of it capable of demonstration through\nthe senses, aided or unaided, and all supplying admirable training for\neye and hand. Thus, all the various processes of reproducing plant-life\nby the division of a cell, by the creation of new independent cells, by\nthe shooting or rooting of some part of a plant to create an independent\nplant, as by bulbs, tubers, or even parts of a stalk or leaf, by the\nunion of two cells, or the fertilization of one cell by another\ncell,--all these processes can be made intensely interesting to a child;\nand such instruction can be spread through several years at appropriate\nseasons without ever leaving the vegetable kingdom. In flowering plants\nthe fertilization of the embryo-sac by pollen may be illustrated in\noperations which the children themselves can perform. The carrying of\npollen from one flower to another by insects or by the wind emphasizes\nthe general fact that plants are fixed while animals have motion. The\nbi-sexual structure of plants is in itself a fascinating subject of\nstudy for children and youths; and through it all runs the thought that\nNature provides elaborately and beautifully for the precious\ntransmission of life. In later years of the school course the diverse\nmethods of reproduction in animals will afford a long course of\ninstruction, involving the structure and function of many different\nsorts of animals, and of many different kinds of reproductive organs.\nThe innumerable devices for effecting fecundation and for feeding the\nembryo, and the various arrangements for feeding the young and bringing\nup families, afford an endless variety of interesting subjects for\nobservation and discussion. The nesting habits of birds and their care\nof offspring are highly instructive and easy to exhibit. Here again the\nmain object of study should be infinite variety and elaboration of\nnature\u2019s processes for the transmission of life. These subjects, if\nproperly taught with collecting box, scalpel, microscope, and paper and\npencil, are just as pure and innocent for children under thirteen as\nchemistry and physics are. There is nothing sensual or unclean about\nthem, nothing which does not tell of order, purpose, inventiveness,\nadaptation, co\u00f6peration, and achievement. Through much of the botanical\ninstruction and more of the zo\u00f6logical runs the thought that the\ntransmission of life requires two individuals of different quality.\nChildren should be made thoroughly acquainted with this principle before\nany sexual emotions begin to stir in them.\n\n3. =Avoid venereal diseases by frankness.=--If strong foundations have\nbeen laid through these botanical and zo\u00f6logical studies before the age\nof puberty, it will not be difficult to take up in secondary schools the\nstudy of the normal functions of the human body in health, of the\nperturbations caused by some of the common diseases, of the sources or\ncauses of disease, including the recognized contagions and the modes of\ninfection, of the means of resisting disease and producing immunity, and\nfinally of the functions of government in regard to preventive medicine\nand the means of promoting the public health.\n\nAmong the contagions which ought to be described and illustrated should\nbe included the contagions of syphilis and gonorrhea, from which proceed\nsome of the most horrible evils which afflict modern society, evils not\nfully known except to physicians, and by many ordinary people,\nparticularly women, quite unsuspected. All young men and women should be\nwell informed on these subjects before they leave their secondary\nschools; but from the time of entrance to secondary schools all such\ninstruction should be given separately to girls by women and to boys by\nmen.\n\nSince the great majority of American children never enter the secondary\nschools, the general rules concerning cleanliness, diet, fresh air, and\nthe elementary facts on sex hygiene should be stated concisely and\nfrankly to all children just before they reach the age-limit of\ncompulsory education.\n\n4. =Emphasize bodily and mental purity.=--All schools should teach\nexplicitly in due season those elements of good manners and customs\nwhich have to do with health and the preservations of bodily and mental\npurity. They should teach habitual cleanliness of the body and\nparticularly of the hands and face, point out the importance of this\ncleanliness as regards clothes, furniture and utensils, and the reasons\nfor keeping the dwelling free from dust, dirt, insects and vermin. They\nshould show the reasons for avoiding contact with, or close approach to,\npersons who are unclean or who are suffering from colds, sores, coughs,\nfevers, or any other illness. They should point out the dangers of\nlosing self-control through the use, even the rare use, of alcohol or of\ndrugs which take strong effect on the nervous system. They should\ndiscountenance rough or boisterous play between boys and girls or young\nmen and young women, and teach each sex to avoid, in general, bodily\ncontact with persons of the opposite sex. Delicacy and reserve are parts\nof good manners; but they are also highly protective qualities. On the\nother hand, a coarse familiarity between the sexes is not only bad\nmanners, but a real provocation to wrong-doing, particularly when it is\naccompanied by an ignorance which leaves young people without protection\nagainst the love of excitement and reckless adventure. All these are\nelements of good manners and right habits which should be universally\ntaught in the schools of a democracy to promote morality as well as\ncourtesy. Some of them, but rarely all, are taught in many good homes,\nbut for the great mass of the people the public schools inculcate them\nby direct teaching, and by the indirect influence of good example. To a\nhigh degree, good manners spring from and express morals. Such\ninstruction would naturally be associated with the teaching of natural\nhistory and general hygiene.\n\nFinally, all young people should have been taught in home, school and\nSunday school, before they are liable to fall into sexual sins, that\nchastity in men is just as necessary as chastity in women for the\nsecurity, honor and happiness of family life, that continence is\nabsolutely healthy for both sexes, that men\u2019s profligacy is the cause or\nsource of women\u2019s prostitution with all its awful consequences to the\nguilty parties and to the innocent human beings who are infected by the\nguilty, and that the most precious joys and most durable satisfactions\nof life are put at fearful risk by sexual immorality. Does anyone\nprotest that this educational process will abolish innocence in young\nmanhood and womanhood, and make matter of common talk the tenderest and\nmost intimate concerns in human life, let him consider that virtue, not\ninnocence, is manifestly God\u2019s object and end for humanity, and that\nthe only alternative for education in sex hygiene is the prolongation\nof the present awful wrongs and woes in the very vitals of\ncivilization.--_Journal of Education._ Read before the American School\nHygiene Association, New York City.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LVI\n\nTHE WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC\n\nBY HON. STANLEY W. FINCH\n\nSpecial Commissioner for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic, of\nthe United States Department of Justice.\n\n\n=The white slave traffic!=--What is it? Whom and what does it involve? Is\nit possible to suppress it, and if so, how?\n\nThese are questions which are being asked by thousands of people in all\nparts of the country, and it is my purpose to attempt, to some extent,\nat least, to answer them.\n\nIt is a fact that there are now scattered throughout practically every\nsection of the United States a vast number of men and women whose sole\noccupation consists in enticing, tricking, or coercing young women and\ngirls into immoral lives, and then either living directly off of their\nillicit earnings or transferring them, for a consideration to others for\na similar purpose. In other words, these creatures make merchandise of\nwomanhood and do a big, thriving business. Moreover, they are no\nrespecters of persons. Their\n\n[Illustration: HON. STANLEY W. FINCH.--Special Commissioner for the\nSuppression of the White Slave Traffic, United States Department of\nJustice.]\n\none idea is to procure such persons to earn money for them, in order\nthat they, themselves, may live in idleness and luxury; and while they\nprefer very young girls, they frequently select, as their victims, young\nwomen who are wives and mothers. Moreover, their methods have been so\nfar developed and perfected that they seem to be able to ensnare almost\nany woman or girl whom they select for the purpose. This is indeed an\nextraordinary statement, and one almost passing belief, but that it is\nabsolutely true no one can honestly doubt who reviews any considerable\nportion of the mass of evidence which is already in the possession of\nthe Attorney General\u2019s Bureau of Investigation. The idea which\napparently prevails among many persons is that the victims of these\nfiends are simply girls who are naturally vicious. This is very far from\nthe real truth. It is no doubt true that there are, among those\nunfortunates, some women, who, like all of their male patrons, are\nactuated solely by wantonness. However, by far the majority of them\nconsist of young women and girls who have either been led to such lives\nby deception and trickery, or who have been driven by force and fraud.\n\n=Devices used.=--The devices to which these human fiends resort in\nprocuring and dealing with their victims are many and varied, and are\nsuch as are calculated to reach young women and girls in almost all of\nthe different walks of life, but particularly those who, either from\nchoice or by reason of economic conditions, go out into the business\nworld and attempt to earn money for a livelihood, or for the many\nenticing luxuries of our modern civilization.\n\n=The cleverly worded advertisement for help.=--This is perhaps one of the\nmost insidious and effective instruments which is or can be used. By\nthis means these traffickers are able to reach into every home and\nbusiness establishment in the country and to ensnare even the most\ncautious and innocent, and those who are most carefully guarded and\nprotected by their parents, husbands and other relatives and friends.\nHence, it is true that no man\u2019s daughter, sister, or wife--if she be\nyoung and attractive--is safe from the artifices and devices of these\ntraffickers. Of course, since these human beasts of prey are primarily\nseeking what they consider \u201ceasy money,\u201d their natural tendency is to\noperate along the lines of least resistance. They are generally shrewd,\ncareful observers of human nature, and they are quick to perceive and to\nsingle out girls, who--while as yet honorable and virtuous--are inclined\nto be somewhat careless, and those who, through lack of, or distaste\nfor, parental restraint, undertake to select their own companions,\namusements and occupations. Among such young women and girls the white\nslaver finds a limitless and fertile field for his awful trade.\n\n=Picture shows and dance halls.=--In this connection the theater, the\nmoving picture show, the caf\u00e9, the skating rink, and the dance\nhall--while in themselves often useful and beneficial for education,\nentertainment, and exercise--become instruments which enable these\nconscienceless fiends to accomplish the downfall and eternal ruin of\neven the most innocent and virtuous of our young women and girls.\n\nOnly a few months ago a young country girl, twenty years of age, while\nattending a moving picture show in this very city, met a woman whom she\nthought to be a friend, and who offered to secure domestic employment\nfor her in a distant Southern city. The young girl, herself innocent of\nany wrong, and unsuspicious, accepted the offer and, using the railroad\nticket furnished her by her false friend, went to the address given, and\nnot until she was imprisoned in that house and forcibly overpowered and\nravished in the infamous effort to reduce her to that most awful slavery\ndid this pure, brave-hearted girl realize that this woman here in\nLouisville was but the tool of a set of fiends to whom adequate\npunishment can never be administered by any of the processes of modern\nlaw. Through a fortunate chain of circumstances this young girl escaped\nthe dreadful pit which is devouring thousands of other girls all over\nour land, but the awful business remains, a crying disgrace to our great\ncountry.\n\nAmong the many other cases shown by our records is one involving a girl\nseventeen years of age, of good character, who lived in one of the\nsmaller cities on\n\n[Illustration:\n\n JOHN B. HAMMOND.--Who aided in Drafting and Passing the Famous\n Injunction Law of Iowa, which has driven the Public Houses of Shame\n from his State.]\n\nLake Michigan. This girl, while employed as a telephone operator,\nattended a dance, where she met a young man of good appearance and\napparently of good character. This young man was, however, a procurer\nfor a house of ill repute in one of our large cities and while\naccompanying this young girl along the country road to her home, he\nforcibly ravished and subsequently placed her in a house of ill fame.\nThis young man is now serving a term of five years in the penitentiary\nand the girl was rescued from the life of shame and returned to her\nparents.\n\nIn another instance, a girl of sixteen, while spending the afternoon at\na seaside resort of one of our largest cities, was approached by two\nwhite slave procurers, who exhibited bogus police badges and pretended\nto place her under arrest as a truant. Supposing that they were acting\nunder proper authority she made no outcry, but accompanied them to a\nstreet car going in the direction of her home. The facts as to the\nmanner in which this girl was subsequently intimidated by these fiends,\nand, under threats of death, compelled to go with them to a room, where\nshe was ravished and subsequently placed on board a coastwise vessel and\ntaken to a house of ill fame in another city and State, and there\nconfined and compelled to receive foreigners and turn the earnings over\nto the master to whom she was sold by her captors, are almost\nunbelievable. However, these facts were clearly established in court\nduring a trial, as a result of which the defendants are now serving\nterms in the penitentiary.\n\nAnother case which was recently prosecuted by our Bureau of\nInvestigation involves a young girl who answered an advertisement which\nappeared in a leading paper in one of our largest Southern cities. Under\na contract made pursuant to this advertisement this girl proceeded to a\ncity in another Southern State for the purpose of complying with the\nterms of her contract of employment. She found, however, upon entering\nher place of employment, that, instead of being a respectable house, it\nwas a house of ill fame. Upon attempting to leave the place she was\nforcibly detained and every effort was made to induce her to practice\nprostitution. However, she refused to do so, and, finally, with the aid\nof one of the patrons of the place, she secured assistance and was\nthereby enabled to leave. The defendant in this case was promptly\nconvicted and is now confined in the penitentiary.\n\n=Promises of marriage.=--In very many cases procurers endeavor, through\npromise of marriage or by actually going through the form of marriage,\nto obtain control of young women and girls, and finally force them into\nimmoral lives. A case of this kind recently arose in one of the larger\ncities of the Middle West. In that case a girl seventeen years of age,\nand of good character, became acquainted, in an apparently\nunobjectionable manner, with a man who, like many of his kind, appeared,\non the surface, to be of good character. After a brief courtship they\nwere duly married and left on a wedding trip to a neighboring city,\nwhere the husband--claiming that he had lost his money and was unable to\nsecure a position--attempted to persuade the young wife to engage in\nprostitution. She refused and was cruelly beaten by him. Apparently,\nhowever, even then she did not appreciate the nature of the creature to\nwhich she was married, and she went with him to one of our largest\nEastern cities. There again he attempted to force her to engage in\nimmoral practices, and upon her refusal she was beaten by him, food was\nwithheld for days, and, finally, when she had reached the point of\nexhaustion and was thoroughly intimidated, she was forced by her husband\nto receive the foreigners whom he brought to her. By this means the girl\nwas degraded to the point where her master was able to force her to\nsolicit on the streets and finally she was transferred by her procurer,\nthrough a white slave agency in New York City, to a house of ill repute\nin the city of Washington, where she was when the facts as to the matter\nwere developed by our Bureau. As\n\n[Illustration: AMERICAN PURITY CONFERENCE.--Touring Party at Los\nAngeles]\n\na result of the prosecution in this case, the defendant was sentenced to\nfive years in the penitentiary at Atlanta, Georgia, where the managers\nof the agency through which she was sold are also confined. The girl was\nrestored to her parents, and has since been living a respectable life.\n\n=Examples.=--In another notorious case which occurred in one of our\nSouthern cities, the defendant, who is now serving a term of three years\nin the Atlanta penitentiary, married a very young girl--a mere\nchild--and took her from place to place, where he arranged with cab\ndrivers and keepers of assignation houses for meetings between his wife\nand other men, he taking the proceeds. The investigation in this case\nshowed that he had previously married other girls and mistreated them in\na similar manner.\n\nIn another recent case, which arose in one of our Eastern cities, one of\nthese white slavers, as a result of carefully laid plans, covering a\nconsiderable period, succeeded in separating a very young woman from her\nhusband, and under the pretext of procuring a divorce and of marrying\nher, led her into an immoral life and finally succeeded in compelling\nher to practice prostitution and turn over her earnings to him.\n\nThere are a multitude of other cases in which young women and girls,\nfrom thirteen years of age and upwards, of good moral character, have,\nin a variety of ways, been led or driven, by deception, fraud and\nforce, into becoming victims of the white slave trade.\n\n=How these girls are retained.=--If there is one thing above another which\nit seems to be difficult for people to generally understand, with\nreference to the white slave traffic, it is with regard to the manner in\nwhich these girls are led to continue in their immoral lives and to\nsurrender their earnings to the white slavers after the physical\nrestraint, to which they are at first subjected, is removed, and they\nare placed in assignation houses or other houses of ill fame, or are\nforced to engage in street soliciting. While the facts as to this matter\nwill probably never be fully understood, there are many circumstances\nwhich throw light upon the situation. In the first place it should be\nremembered that when these girls fall into the hands of procurers an\nattempt is made to debauch them, as speedily as possible, to such an\nextent that they, themselves, as well as everyone else, will feel that\nthey are hopelessly lost and can never again be received by their\nfamilies and friends, and that there is absolutely no chance for them to\ngo back to their old modes of life. Many of these girls disappear in\nsuch a manner that their relatives and friends never know what has\nbecome of them. Their relatives sometimes fear the truth, but they hope\nagainst hope that they are mistaken, and when, after a time, they\nreceive from the girl a communication--written at the dictation of her\nmaster--to the effect that she is engaged in some legitimate occupation\nand is happily situated, they are only too ready to believe that such is\nthe case, and the girl, herself, no doubt takes comfort in the thought\nthat her relatives and friends know nothing of the depths of degradation\nto which she has been driven. These circumstances serve the procurer\nwell. He makes it his business to obtain full information as to the\nrelatives and friends of the girl, and knowing the real facts as to her\nlife, and knowing that she feels that it would be better to perish in\nthat life than to bring shame upon her mother or father, or her other\nrelatives or friends, he uses this knowledge as a club to force her to\ndo his bidding. If at any time he sees a disposition on her part to\nleave him and to return home or to engage in some legitimate occupation,\nhe threatens to tell her mother and her friends all about her, and to\nrepresent to them that she has voluntarily engaged in the nefarious\nbusiness into which he himself has driven her.\n\nThese creatures also frequently represent to their poor slaves (whether\ntruthfully or not it is not for me to say) that they \u201cstand in\u201d with the\npolice authorities, and are able and ready at all times to protect them\nfrom arrest, or to secure their release by furnishing bail, or\notherwise, in case of arrest,\n\n[Illustration: AMERICAN PURITY CONFERENCE.--Touring Party at\nChattanooga]\n\nprovided they do their bidding. They also threaten to cause their arrest\nand imprisonment if these poor victims fail to do their bidding.\n\nThese representations and others, which readily occur to these\nunscrupulous traffickers, who hesitate at nothing in order to hold their\nvictims, usually serve to induce girls to at least postpone the time\nwhen they will change their mode of living, and often enable these men\nto control them without physical restraint, other than an occasional\nbeating, after they have had possession of them for a few months. One of\nthe principal representations that is made by these men to the girls, in\norder to continue to hold them under their control, is that they are\nsaving the money for them, in order that both may, within a short time,\nquit their improper mode of life and take up some legitimate line of\nbusiness. The date when they are to take this step is, of course, put\noff from time to time, as necessity arises, in order to hold the\nservices of the girl, and many false representations are made as to the\nmanner in which the money is being saved, the whole purpose of the white\nslaver being to retain possession of the girl during the period of her\ngreatest earning capacity, and eventually to drop her, or turn her over\nto some other trafficker when he finds it to his advantage, and\nopportunity arises, to procure a younger or more attractive girl for his\nuse. Meanwhile the traffickers themselves take practically all of the\nearnings of their girl, or girls, as the case may be--except that\nportion which is appropriated by the madam of the house in which the\ngirl is located--and spend it for flashy clothes and in gambling and\ndrinking, they in some cases spending a portion of their time in\nsoliciting trade for their slaves.\n\nIn most of our cities of any considerable size there are numerous\nrestaurants and other places where these slavers congregate for the\npurpose of drinking, smoking and discussing their affairs. With them the\ngirls are merely chattels, and are lightly spoken of by them as their\n\u201cmeal tickets\u201d or their \u201cstock,\u201d and deals are made between them for the\nexchange of girls or for the turning of them over to other traffickers.\nAs for the girl herself--between the madam, who usually receives\none-half her earnings, and the man, to whom she is generally required to\nturn over all of the rest of her earnings, and by whom she is also held\nto a strict account, and is frequently beaten and otherwise abused if\nher earnings are not sufficient to satisfy him--the poor girl is indeed\nin a miserable plight. No other form of slavery which has ever been\ndevised can equal her condition.\n\n=A national disgrace.=--Hours and days might well be consumed in\nexplaining the facts and conditions involved by this white slave traffic\nin the different sections of the country, but if it has been made clear\nthat there is such a traffic, that it extends throughout our entire\ncountry, and that it involves conditions which are a disgrace to our\nnation, it would seem that little else need be said regarding this phase\nof the matter, unless it be to add that it is estimated that not less\nthan 25,000 young women and girls are annually procured for this\ntraffic, and that no less than 50,000 men and women are engaged in\nprocuring and living on the earnings of these women and girls, and that\nthe number of women and girls engaged in prostitution in this country at\nthe present time is estimated at not less than 250,000.\n\n=Power of the Federal Government to wipe out this awful traffic.=--These\nfigures will give some idea of the enormity of the evil which is\ninvolved. Moreover, it will be apparent that the white slave evil is one\nof a national character and one which cannot be successfully dealt with\nby local authorities. That it should be suppressed there can be no\nquestion, and this leads us to consider the facts as to the means\navailable for its suppression.\n\nBy the Constitution of the United States the Federal Government is given\nthree important powers, which have a direct bearing upon this traffic.\n\n(a) By Section 8 of Article I of the Constitution Congress is given\npower \u201cto regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several\nStates.\u201d\n\n(b) By the same article and section it is given authority \u201cto establish\npostoffices and post roads.\u201d\n\n(c) By Section 1 of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution it is\nprovided that \u201cNeither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a\npunishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted,\nshall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their\njurisdiction,\u201d and by Section 2 of the same amendment it is provided\nthat \u201cCongress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate\nlegislation.\u201d\n\nIt is believed that by these provisions sufficient authority has been\nvested in the Federal Government to enable it, by enacting and enforcing\nappropriate legislation, to absolutely wipe out every vestige of this\nawful traffic.\n\nAbout two years ago, having in mind its powers under the interstate\ncommerce clause of the Constitution, Congress enacted, under date of\nJune 25, 1910, what is known as the White Slave Traffic Law, by which\nthe transporting, or the persuading, enticing or coercing of women and\ngirls to travel in interstate or foreign commerce, for the purpose of\nprostitution, or for any other immoral purpose, is made a crime.\n\nThis provision of law seems fairly well to provide such legislation as\nis necessary and proper under the interstate commerce clause of the\nConstitution. It is believed, however, that the hands of the government\nwould be greatly strengthened in dealing with this traffic if the law\nwere extended so as to make it a crime for persons to communicate by\nmail, telegraph, or in any other manner from one State or territory to\nanother, or to any foreign country, for the purpose of inducing or\npersuading any woman or girl to travel in interstate or foreign commerce\nfor the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral\npurpose, and it would also be well if it were also made a crime to send\nany communication, by means of the telegraph, through the mails, by\nexpress, or by any other common carrier in interstate or foreign\ncommerce, for the purpose of soliciting money or other valuable\nthing--the avails of prostitution--except for a legal and adequate\nconsideration.\n\nA statute of this kind would be very useful in dealing with persons\nconnected with the white slave traffic who cannot be reached under the\npresent White Slave Traffic Act, but who are communicating with and\ndirecting the movements of their victims and are receiving their\nearnings through the various channels of interstate and foreign\ncommerce.\n\n=The use of the postoffice.=--As to the Constitutional provision with\nreference to postoffices it is of the highest importance that\nlegislation be immediately enacted which will absolutely prohibit the\nuse of the postoffice establishment of the United States as an agency\nfor the white slave traffickers in procuring women and girls and in\ndirecting their movements, not only from State to State, but also from\none place to another in the same State, and in soliciting and receiving\nearnings from victims of white slavers. Investigations already made show\nclearly that the postoffice establishment of the United States is being\nvery extensively and effectively used by white slave traffickers, not\nonly as a means of communicating by letter and of soliciting and\ndemanding and actually receiving the earnings of their victims, but also\nas a means of sending broadcast throughout the country cleverly-worded\nadvertisements which greatly aid them in the pursuit of their traffic.\nCarefully prepared statutes have long since been enacted, prohibiting\nthe sending through the United States mails of any obscene letters or\ncommunications, and also prohibiting the sending of any letters or other\ncommunications for the purpose of defrauding anyone. However, there is\nno prohibition whatever against the use of the mails for the purposes\nmentioned in connection with the white slave traffic.\n\n=Laws inadequate.=--With reference to the slavery clause of the\nConstitution, it will perhaps be somewhat surprising to learn that there\nis no Federal law which makes it a crime for one person to hold another\nin slavery or involuntary servitude, unless such person has been, in the\nfirst instance, kidnapped or carried away, or bought or sold, and\nalthough our investigations have, in numerous cases, developed the fact\nthat young women and girls have been actually deprived of their liberty\nand held in involuntary servitude of the vilest kind (in many cases they\nhaving had their street clothes taken away from them, having been\nconfined by barred windows and locked doors, and also having been\ndeprived of their liberty by drugs, threats of violence, and by actual\npersonal violence), there seems to be no statute under which persons so\nholding them in slavery can be punished by the Federal Government. It is\nbelieved that under the circumstances a most rigid law should be enacted\nunder this clause of the Constitution.\n\nThere are a number of other matters which it might also be well to cover\nin order to fully provide for the suppression of the white slave\ntraffic.\n\n=New laws needed.=--First. There should be an act of Congress authorizing\na woman to testify in such cases against her husband. This is\nparticularly essential for the reason that, as has already been stated,\nit is a common practice for procurers to marry their intended victims,\nand it is frequently impossible to secure a conviction without the use\nof the testimony of the woman or girl involved.\n\nSecond. Provision should be made by law for the issuance of search\nwarrants by any United States marshals and deputy marshals, and agents\nof the Department of Justice, specially designated by the Attorney\nGeneral for the purpose, to search any place where there is probable\ncause to believe that any person is detained or held in violation of\nlaw.\n\nThird. The law should also authorize the arrest, without warrant, by the\npersons heretofore mentioned, of anyone detected in the act of violating\nany such statute.\n\nFourth. In order to assure prompt trials and substantial, swift and\ncertain punishment in such cases, the law should also provide for the\nadvancement of such cases, and their trial without delay, upon request\nof the Attorney General. It should also fix, with exactness, the minimum\npenalty in such cases and require judges to promptly impose and cause\nthe execution of sentences and prohibit the suspension of sentences by\nthe courts.\n\nWhile, if the present White Slave Traffic Act were rigidly enforced,\nthere would undoubtedly be a very great decrease in the operations of\nwhite slave traffickers throughout the country, it is impossible to\nprevent, under that law, the use of the United States mails in the\nmanner which has been stated, and the thousands of instances where young\nwomen and girls are procured and held in this vile form of slavery\nwithin the confines of a State; and consequently the horrible fact of\nthe existence of this slavery will continue a disgrace to our nation,\nnotwithstanding the utmost that can be done by the agents of the Federal\nGovernment in enforcing the present White Slave Traffic Act.\n\n=Convictions and prosecutions.=--In this connection, the question may well\nbe raised as to why the present white slave law is not being more\nrigidly and effectively enforced throughout the country. With reference\nto this I desire to state that when this law was enacted no\nappropriation was made by Congress for its enforcement, and in view of\nthis fact, the question of its enforcement was a very serious one. The\ndepartment\u2019s general appropriation for the detection and prosecution of\ncrimes (which necessarily covers the expense of all investigations made\nby the Department of Justice for the purpose of collecting evidence as\nto crimes under the anti-trust laws, the bankruptcy statute, the\nnational bank act, and many other laws, for the enforcement of which no\nother appropriation is provided), was already taxed to its utmost\nlimit. Realizing, however, the great importance of determining promptly\nthe nature and extent of the white slave traffic, and doing everything\npossible to prosecute violators of this law, the Attorney General\npromptly after the enactment of the law, directed that every possible\neffort be made, within the limits of our appropriation, for its\nenforcement. This work was immediately commenced and was pushed with the\nutmost possible vigor with the funds available for the purpose, and\nduring the first year after the enactment of the white slave law about\none hundred and thirty prosecutions were instituted against persons\nengaged in the white slave traffic, a very large percentage of these\nprosecutions resulting in convictions and heavy jail and penitentiary\nsentences. During the first nine months of this, the second, year since\nthe enactment of this statute still greater efforts have been made for\nthe punishment of the multitude of persons who have been found to be\nengaged in the white slave traffic, and the department\u2019s appropriation\nhas been taxed for this purpose to such an extent that in October, 1911,\nthe point was reached where it was necessary for the Attorney General,\nin order to avoid violating the provision of the federal law prohibiting\nthe incurring of deficiencies in appropriations under his control, to\nsuspend operations temporarily, to a considerable extent, and to call\nupon Congress for an additional appropriation for the enforcement of the\nwhite slave law.\n\nHowever, notwithstanding the very limited funds available for the\npurpose, during this period of nine months ending on March 31st, last,\ntwo hundred and nineteen persons were indicted by the Federal Government\nfor violations of the white slave law, and in these cases there were one\nhundred and thirty-five convictions, and but nine acquittals, and about\none-third of the cases are still pending. Moreover, the penitentiary and\njail sentences which have been meted out to the persons who have been\nconvicted under the white slave law within this period of one year and\nnine months aggregate three hundred and ninety-seven years, two months\nand twenty-four days.\n\nWhile it was believed that steps should be taken for the absolute\nsuppression of the white slave traffic, in so far as it was possible to\ndo so under existing law, and while it was felt that the circumstances\njustified the appropriation of a very substantial sum for the purpose,\nin order to avoid the appearance of extravagance, and since it was\nthought that a comparatively small sum might be quickly secured, whereas\nthere might be considerable delay if a large appropriation were\nrequested, the Attorney General called upon Congress for an\nappropriation of $25,000, for the\n\n[Illustration: TRIAL OF A WHITE SLAVE.]\n\npurpose of defraying such expenses for the remainder of the present\nfiscal year, ending June 30, 1912, and also requested that his general\nappropriation for detection and prosecution of crimes for the fiscal\nyear, ending June 30, 1913, be increased in the sum of $50,000 over the\nappropriation for the present fiscal year, in order to provide funds for\nwork in white slave cases during the coming year. The urgency of this\nmatter has been called to the attention of the proper government\nofficials and committees of Congress, both by the Attorney General and\nby individuals and philanthropic societies in almost every part of the\ncountry, all of whom have urged the immediate appropriation of adequate\nfunds for this purpose. While--perhaps through some misunderstanding as\nto the real situation--there has been an unfortunate delay in securing\nadditional funds, and consequently the work of the department in\nattempting to suppress the white slave traffic has been temporarily\ncrippled, I am glad to be able to say that we now have reason to believe\nthat Congress will in due season appropriate the full amount which the\ndepartment has requested for this purpose for the coming fiscal year,\nand that there is also a disposition on the part of members of Congress,\nwith but few, if any exceptions, to provide whatever additional funds\nmay be necessary to expunge this disgraceful blot of white slavery from\nthe map of our beloved country, and to enable our country to take a\nstand before the nations of the world which will, at no very distant\nday, result in sweeping this monstrous evil from the face of the earth.\n\nIt is believed that when the people of this country begin to appreciate\nthe enormous extent and the terrible nature of this great evil there\nwill be no disposition on their part to temporize with it, but that they\nwill demand not only that funds be appropriated sufficient to adequately\nenforce the present law, but also that the law be so extended and\nstrengthened that it will enable the Federal Government to wipe out this\nevil for all time.\n\nThat it is within the power of the Federal Government to destroy this\ntraffic, there can be no doubt, and if this is not done it will be for\nthe sole reason that the law is incomplete, and that sufficient funds\nfor the purpose are not within the control of our Department of Justice.\nOur department is thoroughly advised as to the situation and has\nformulated plans under which, if properly supported by Congress, it can\nwipe out the disgraceful condition which now exists. It is for the\npeople of this country, and their representatives in Congress, to say\nwhether or not this shall be done.\n\n=Note.=--The foregoing address, the first ever given under sanction of our\nFederal Department of Justice, is the most authoritative utterance ever\npublished on the White Slave Traffic in the United States. The address\nwas read and approved by Attorney General Wickersham, and his assistant,\nMr. Harr. Coming from this source and not from one who is seeking a\ncareer or other personal advantage from exploiting white slavery, every\nstatement of fact can be accepted and the recommendations endorsed. Mr.\nFinch has been connected with the Department of Justice for nineteen\nyears. We are assured by the press associations that fully 5,000\npublications in North America noticed the address, most of them\npublishing a synopsis of 500 words, while a number published the address\nin full. In the opinion of some of our leading workers it introduces a\nnew and aggressive activity on the part of our Department which sounds\nthe death knell of this nefarious traffic in our country.--_Reproduced\nby permission of \u201cThe Light.\u201d_\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LVII\n\nTHE PURITY MOVEMENT\n\nBY B. S. STEADWELL\n\nPresident of the World\u2019s Purity Federation and Editor of \u201cThe Light.\u201d\n\n\n=The greatest evil.=--Wonder is often expressed these days at the very\nrapid growth and rise of the movement known as \u201cThe Social Purity\nMovement,\u201d or as stated from its negative side, as is done most\nfrequently, as the movement for the \u201cSuppression of the White Slave\nTraffic and Public Vice.\u201d The real wonder is that the world has not\nrisen long before this in one mighty, well-directed effort to stamp out\nforever and annihilate its one worst enemy; for impurity is and always\nhas been the greatest enemy and most relentless foe of mankind. In its\nmodern and commercialized aspects it embodies in itself every evil in\nthe category of sin and crime. It has brought more direct loss to the\nworld and more acute suffering to human hearts than all other evils\ncombined. Whether it is dealing with an individual, a community, a state\nor a nation, its finished product is always a wreck. It has literally\nfilled the world with disease, with despair and with death.\n\n=Its only excuse.=--Impurity or immorality finds expression in a public\nsense in the Social Evil or prostitution, the only known excuse for\nwhich is the plea that it has always existed, is a necessary evil and\nhence cannot be suppressed but must remain, under such regulatory\nmeasures as may be adopted. There are those of us, however, who believe\nthat this is a false theory, not well founded in fact, and that as other\ngreat evils, in favor of which the same suave arguments were made, have\nfrom time to time been wiped out, even so can this ogre of public vice\nbe suppressed. It is not claimed that all private or clandestine vice\ncan be entirely annihilated, but its public phase can be and must be\nup-rooted if civilization is to advance. There are those who even now\nprophesy that America in licentiousness and graft is going the way of\nancient nations long since dead, and that her days are numbered if these\nevils are not speedily checked.\n\n=Two colossal blunders.=--The scope of this article will not permit going\ninto the history of the Social Evil, or, indeed, taking up the history\nof the movement that has risen to combat it, but in order to form a\nfoundation for the discussion we must call attention to the two colossal\nblunders which have perpetuated this evil throughout past centuries and\nenabled it to\n\n[Illustration: B. S. STEADWELL.--President World\u2019s Federation of Purity,\nand Editor of \u201cThe Light.\u201d]\n\nattain to its present proportions. These questions may be discussed with\neven greater fullness in other pages of this book, but it is fitting\nthat attention be directed to them here.\n\n=False modesty.=--The first mistake which was made in dealing with this\nparticular evil was to place a ban of silence upon it, upon everything\nthat could refer to it, and upon our whole sexual relations, nature and\nlife. The results were not happy. Nothing could have been done more\nconducive to the growth of the evil. It brought in and developed the\nreign of false modesty, of prudery. Concealment is not cure. This evil\ncraves darkness rather than light, and thrives upon silence and secrecy.\nA Turkish missionary wrote me some years ago that in his country where\nwomen must appear with their faces completely covered, the grossest\nimmoralities were practiced by wives, undetected, in the very presence\nof their own husbands. Many of our present-day customs in pleasures and\ndress which form strong temptations for our young men and young women,\nare a direct result of this \u201cconspiracy of silence.\u201d Here is a\nfoundation stone upon which the whole miserable system of immorality\nrests.\n\n=The double standard of morals.=--The second great error which has\nfostered the evil is that known as the \u201cdouble standard of morals,\u201d\nmaking the world act as though it believed that what was very wrong and\nunforgivable in a woman, was not only permissible but a necessity in a\nman. Undoubtedly the originator of this very logical line of reasoning\nwas a man. Woman, if one false step is taken, one breath of scandal\nuttered against her, must forever wear the scarlet letter, or else she\nmust be sacrificed to perpetuate the very evil that has overtaken her;\nwhile man may live in lust and if this alone be his sin, retain his\nhighest social privileges and standing. Without question this double\nstandard of morals has been the most stupendous outrage ever foisted\nupon any part of the human race. It was accomplished at a time when \u201cman\nwas king\u201d and so slowly, and carefully and cunningly did he plan it,\nthat it has not only withstood the test of time and continued to thrive,\nbut it has not too infrequently gained woman as its advocate, until we\noften hear, and sometimes not without cause, that \u201cwoman is the worst\nenemy of \u2018fallen\u2019 girls.\u201d With these two weapons, the conspiracy of\nsilence and the double standard of morals, licentiousness has marched\nsteadily onward until it has conquered the civilized world so far as\nasserting its right to life is concerned.\n\n=The commercialization of the social evil.=--But to these two errors which\nhave formed so strong a fortress to the Social Evil, must be added in\nmore recent times a third support, one which many students of the\nquestion believe is the leading factor at present in the whole accursed\nbusiness,--_commercialization_. The Social Evil to-day is raised to the\nstandard of a business. It is conducted in all of its ramifications for\ngain. It has simply taken on the spirit of this money-getting age. Its\nreal motive is gain, greed, gold. It is very largely a man\u2019s business,\ntoo, run by men for the profit there is in it, and in our country those\nwho are directly connected with the traffic are in the main foreigners.\nThe White Slave Traffic, about which we hear so much these days, is a\ndirect result of this commercialization. Girls are actually sold into\ndens of vice. Only recently have these terrible facts been substantiated\nand the methods of the traffickers known, and until the past few years\nthe charges that there was a traffic in women and girls for immoral\npurposes, have not been credited or believed by the great majority of\npeople. During the past few weeks under the direction of the United\nStates Department for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic, more\nthan fifty men and women have been convicted and imprisoned for this\nvery crime, and scores of indictments have been found against others.\nThis scatters all doubt about there being such a trade. During the past\nfew years evidence of the traffic has been so complete through the\ninvestigations of individuals, grand juries, vice commissions, and\ncongressional investigating\n\n[Illustration: T. ALBERT MOORE, D.D.--Secretary Moral and Social Reform\nCouncil of Canada, and Second Vice-President, World\u2019s Federation of\nPurity.]\n\ncommittees, that there is no longer any question as to the traffic or\nits extent. The problem now is, how to suppress it the most effectively\nand speedily. It is asserted by a United States official that fully\n50,000 men in the United States are living off the earnings of women of\nshame and in selling girls into vice.\n\n=Others who profit from the traffic in virtue.=--But the buying and\nselling of women for immoral purposes is not the only way that financial\nprofit is made from it. It was discovered in a certain city recently\nthat an old house that would rent for ordinary purposes for $12.00 per\nmonth, was bringing $165.00 as a house of ill-fame. Landlords profit\nfrom the traffic. Liquor dealers profit from the traffic. In the same\nway but possibly to a lesser degree certain merchants, druggists,\nlawyers, doctors, professional bondsmen, gamblers and divers criminals\nprofit financially from the nefarious traffic in virtue.\n\n=The extent of the evil.=--The extent of the Social Evil in the United\nStates is not definitely known. Surveys of cities have been very\ncarefully made at times, and at the present time our Federal Department\nfor the suppression of the traffic is conducting a very careful census\nof the women in houses of shame throughout the United States. When this\nis completed we may know more certainly as to statistics. The writer\nafter a most careful and thorough investigation in 1898, estimated the\nnumber of girls and women in houses of shame in our country at 300,000.\nThis figure has been very generally accepted and used, and from recent\ninvestigations it is evident that the number has not decreased. The\nlives of women in houses of shame averages five years. They do not all\ndie within this time, though many of them do succumb to the horrors of\nthe life and accompanying disease, drugs and drink in much less time.\nSome leave the life for honorable work or return home, a few are\nmarried, some are rescued, but whatever the cause of their departure\nfrom the miserable life, this one thing is sure,--for every one that\ngets out a fresh victim is required to take her place. Accepting these\nestimates as correct, we see 60,000 girls and women are required each\nyear to provide for the constant demand of the public houses of shame.\nMore than 2,000,000 men and boys are the patrons and consorts of these\nwomen, ruining morals, health and happiness, and this is one of the most\ndeplorable phases of the whole system. The profits from vice in the\nUnited States are beyond estimate, but are known to run up into the\nbillions of dollars annually. The Chicago Vice Commission estimated the\nprofits from vice in Chicago alone as $15,000,000 yearly.\n\n=Why past movements have failed.=--This is the Social Evil as we have\nfound it in the past and as it is to-day, together with the fundamental\ncauses that are back of it. Movements have sprung up during past\ncenturies to stamp it out or at least to limit and control it. Rulers\nfrom Moses to Charlemagne have attempted to deal with the problems which\nit presents. These efforts in the past have failed largely because they\nsought reform through dealing with the women of shame only and thus was\nrecognized and fostered one of the principal causes of the evil itself.\n\n=Why the modern movement is more effective.=--During the past sixty years\nthere has developed the modern purity movement which has sought relief\nfrom the ravages of vice through a careful study of the evil and the\napplication of such principles and remedies as would meet the situation\neffectively. This movement has been very rapid in growth not only in\nEurope and America but in all civilized countries. Even Japan has its\nbook, \u201cThe Social Evil in Japan,\u201d which not only reveals conditions\nthere but also gives an account of the various organizations that are\nendeavoring to suppress public vice, and appeals for such legislation\nand education as will forever make the old r\u00e9gime impossible. While\nspace will not permit us to treat historically of the origin of this\nmovement or even to mention briefly those who founded it, we desire here\nto record our profound admiration for the early workers in this great\ncause. The \u201cconspiracy of silence\u201d was then in full operation. The\nfaithful men and women who first stepped out from the beaten paths and\nespoused the cause of the \u201cfallen\u201d girl, were far more brave than he who\nfaces midst the excitement of battle the cannon\u2019s mouth. These pioneer\nmen and women whose hearts had been wrung by the atrocities practiced\nupon the victims of vice, the utter despair in homes disrupted, and the\nagony of lives diseased and ruined, were socially ostracized, they were\nbrought before courts, churches were closed to them, friends deserted\nthem, mobs awaited them, all because they chose to set the slaves of\nvice free and to proclaim the truth. But still they were true, laboring\nfaithfully on until to-day no movement for the uplift of society has a\nmore general following and devoted leaders. All honor to the pioneers in\nthe purity movement!\n\n=Men are as guilty as women.=--The purposes of the present purity movement\nhave been strongly hinted at in the statement of the causes which have\nproduced the commercialized Social Evil of to-day. Workers now realize\nthat if the dangers and evils of prostitution and public vice are to be\nreduced to a minimum, that vicious men must be dealt with as well as the\nwomen and that spasmodic raids and clean-ups and sensational methods and\nliterature must have no part in the program. The methods employed must\nbe both safe and sane and systematically continued for an indefinite\ntime. The \u201cconspiracy of silence\u201d must be broken, but not by going to\nthe opposite extreme; the \u201cdouble standard of morals\u201d must be banished\nforever, not by lowering the standard for women, but by raising the\nstandard for men; and through legislation and the strict enforcement of\nlaw, the commercialization of the Social Evil must be made impossible.\nThis programme is sure to result in success if the movement can attract\nleaders who are sincere, religiously normal and sound, and who will\nfollow methods that are safe and sane. Great evils must be met with\ngreat movement if success is really desired, and therefore this movement\nmust not be exclusive but should be large enough to reach and influence\nthe great mass of our people. These remedies will effectively suppress\nthe Social Evil if systematically applied, not instantaneously, evils\nare not up-rooted in that way, but by a gradual process of elimination\nthat in the end will mean annihilation. The remedies proposed may be\nbriefly outlined under the following heads: Education, Legislation, and\nRescue Work.\n\n=Education.=--We believe that every child should receive all possible\nknowledge, imparted in a pure and wholesome manner at proper periods,\nconcerning the purposes, problems and perils of sex. The ideal place\n\n[Illustration: AMERICAN PURITY CONFERENCE.--Touring Party at New\nOrleans]\n\nto give this instruction being the home and the ideal instructor the\nparent, but where this is impracticable, as it is in most homes of\nto-day because most parents are ignorant of these subjects, the church,\nthe school, and special instructors should be utilized. Most\nhigh-charactered physicians are fully able to impart such knowledge\nwisely. Normal schools should prepare teachers generally for teaching\nthe subject of sexology. Through parents\u2019 meetings, fathers and mothers\ncan be prepared so they may at least answer the questions of their\nchildren pertaining to these subjects. The Church and Sunday School with\ntheir strong religious and spiritual atmosphere, furnish almost an ideal\nsetting for teaching this subject to best advantage to the young. The\ninstruction should fully set forth the dangers and perils in impurity\nand thus give the needed warnings, as well as portray the beauty,\nhealthfulness and happiness of the pure life. Falsehoods or deception as\nto where the baby came from, or any other fact pertaining to the sex\nnature or function, should never be tolerated for a moment. The public\nshould be made acquainted with the nature and dangers of the diseases of\nvice, venereal plagues, and told that much of our physical suffering is\ndue to these loathsome maladies. Ignorance is largely responsible in\npermitting the Social Evil to exist. It must be displaced with\nknowledge. The double standard of morals must be fought, and men who\nare impure given to know that they cannot continue in sin without losing\ntheir social standing.\n\n=Methods of education.=--There are hundreds of organizations in the world\nto-day, a part of this great purity movement, engaged in promoting sex\neducation. Some of them possibly may not be working in the wisest way,\nbut as the work is yet in its pioneer days the only way to learn is\nthrough trying, and as the public conscience is being thoroughly stirred\nand countless numbers of our best men and women are studying the\nproblem, we can rest assured that in time ideal methods will be evolved.\nPhysicians who but a few years back were almost a unit in teaching the\nnecessity doctrine for men, to-day are organizing and promoting the very\nhighest and best education. Many denominational churches are\nestablishing purity departments, while Sunday Schools are entering\nheartily into the great work. Many Normal schools and colleges and\nprivate institutions of learning are adopting special instruction in\nsexology. Parents\u2019 meetings are being held everywhere to promote the\ncause. Many who have felt a special call to the work are devoting their\nwhole time to lecturing and the preparations of books on these subjects.\nProf. T. W. Shannon, of Missouri, the author of this book, is one of the\nbest known of these specialists. Such societies as the White Cross for\nyoung men and the White Shield for young women, and departments in\nwomen\u2019s clubs, temperance organizations, Christian associations, and\nchurch federations, are aiding splendidly in the furthering of this\ncause.\n\n=Legislation.=--Much has been done and very much more can be done to\nlessen the evils of vice through the enactment of suitable laws and the\nstrict enforcement of law. Those who make a business of vice must be\nadequately punished whether they are engaged in buying and selling\ngirls, living off the blood-money of vicious women, renting property at\nexorbitant prices, or securing an income and support from the detestable\nbusiness in any other way. The stage, the press and the street must be\npurified. Amusements, excursions, and playgrounds should be properly\nsupervised. Immoral literature and obscene pictures must be banished.\nSocial and economic life must be improved. The hours of labor must be\nshortened, wages must be raised, a minimum wage insisted upon, sanitary\nconditions in factories and shops must be improved, employment must be\nassured to all. The Age of Consent should be at least eighteen years in\nevery State. Segregated and tolerated vice districts should be\nabolished. Those who decoy either girls or boys into disorderly houses,\nor seek to initiate them into lives of sin, should be severely punished.\nEvery possible protecting measure in law should be thrown about our\nboys and girls, our young men and young women to shield them from the\ntemptations of vice.\n\n=Law enactment and law enforcement.=--It is encouraging to note the many\ngood laws that have been passed by our several States and by our\nNational Government during the past few years in line with the above\nsuggestions. Our Federal White Slave Traffic Act, together with the\nDepartment that has been established for the suppression of the white\nslave traffic, is an exceedingly strong piece of legislation, and in\nconjunction with various State laws against pandering, will suppress in\ntime this awful trade in girls. Age of Consent legislation, ordinances\nagainst immoral shows, regulation of public dances and other amusements,\nand hundreds of other measures, are good laws. It is stated by many\nreformers that we now have sufficient law to suppress these evils\nentirely, but that our failure to do so is due to the fact that the laws\nare not enforced. To remedy this very serious defect law enforcement\ncampaigns are now on in many of the leading cities, and these efforts\nare rapidly spreading to smaller places. Such campaigns sincerely\nconducted, will in time lead to the strict enforcement of law in\nAmerica. It has recently been suggested that every State should organize\na bureau or commission for the suppression of public vice and the\nenforcement of laws against the crimes of vice. If this can be\naccomplished, it is quite certain to lead to a better enforcement of\nthese particular laws.\n\n=Rescue work.=--Purity work had its very inception in the rescue of girls\nand women from houses of shame. It was in connection with this work that\nthe facts pertaining to the methods of organized vice were first\nuncovered. There are in the United States at the present time probably\ntwo hundred and fifty rescue homes for erring girls and women. Unmarried\nmothers are cared for in many of these homes while the girl who has gone\nwrong may find shelter and protection in them if she is repentant and\nsincerely desires to return to a virtuous life. Where houses of shame\nare closed or segregated districts abolished, it is but humane that the\ninmates of these resorts be cared for until they can be taught some\ntrade or work that will give them support. Many workers believe that the\nState should erect model homes for the reception and care of all such\ngirls. Many of the rescue homes now running are under the direction of\nthe Church, or other Christian or religious society. We should remember\nthat in the redemption of every erring girl, we not only gain her but\naccomplish much in the prevention and destruction of public vice if we\ncan prevent another girl from taking her place in the underworld. It is\nthus largely a preventive work. Every purity worker who is sincere,\nbelieves heartily in rescue work that is wisely and carefully\nprosecuted.\n\n=A personal invitation--Come and battle with us.=--This in brief is the\npurity movement as it has developed and as we find it to-day battling\nfor all that makes for a higher standard of purity in the life of the\nindividual and in social and civic relations, creating a sentiment, a\npurity literature and an army of well-equipped workers that will make it\nforever impossible to return to the days of ignorance and prudery that\nhave always existed on matters of self and sex. It proclaims the right\nof every child to be well born and the right to be followed through life\nwith such an environment and training as will assure the very best\ndevelopment and highest attainment. This is all it asks. Is it too much\nto strive for? Surely we could not be content with less and be true to\nthe intelligence and soul-life that is ours! No cause since time began\nhas had more to offer to those who enter its ranks than this. It appeals\nto every true man and woman to help carry its standards to victory, and\nthen when ignorance shall have been abolished by knowledge, vice\neradicated by virtue, disease displaced by health, and _darkness_\ndispelled by _light_, there shall be ushered in that Day of Days when\nman shall be supremely happy because he is pure.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\n\n PAGE\n\nAbortion, a mother\u2019s testimony, 473\n\nAdolescence, early, 143\n\nAdolescent, period of boy, 204\n\nAge, a sad old, 45\n\nAir, effects of foul, 284\n\nAlcoholic, effects of fathers, 480\n\nAnimals, baby, 108\n\nAnt and Bee, devoid of love, 105\n\nAsylum, a visit to, 487\n\nAtavism, 442;\n examples of, 442\n\n\nB\n\nBABY animals, 108;\n birds, 105;\n fish, 100;\n oysters, 99;\n let alone, 55\n\nBATH, air, 285;\n air for men, 372;\n cold and warm, 279;\n cold, easy inure one\u2019s self to, 280;\n the friction, 281;\n effects on beauty, 279\n\nBEAUTY, architects of, 276;\n and sex nature, 162;\n building through bath, 279;\n hair, face and teeth, 289;\n relation of air to, 283;\n some musts and must nots, 164;\n substitute for physical, 164;\n two kinds of, 162\n\nBible and Heredity, 400\n\nBIRDS, baby, 105;\n beginning of love, 104\n\nBirth, 263\n\nBIRTH MARKS, 494;\n only nervous mothers, 494;\n materialistic puzzle, 495;\n an experience with government, 495;\n an explanation of, 496;\n effect of constant mental repetition, 497;\n how to prevent, 497;\n example of crawfish, 498;\n example of mole, 498;\n example of amusing case, 502;\n example of sympathy, 501;\n example of anger, 499;\n example of discussed, 500;\n a sad case, 502;\n child marked twice, 503\n\nBlind children, 326\n\nBooks, advice concerning, 230\n\nBOY, the problem of, 34;\n should be treated differently than sister, 34;\n should be taught to work, 34;\n enjoys making money, 34;\n future vocation, 36;\n moral training should be same as sister, 37;\n should play with girls, 38;\n companions of, 38;\n going to college, 40;\n how one tried to be a man, 174;\n adolescent period, 204;\n struck girl, 159\n\nBOYS, should protect girls, 214;\n may injure themselves, 195;\n can live pure, 205;\n who make men, 181;\n why tempted, 179;\n a class of dangerous, 161;\n true and pure, 161;\n need training, 173;\n want to be men, 174;\n do not know effects of secret sin, 198\n\nBOYS and GIRLS should play together, 157;\n social nature, 157;\n similar information needed, 122\n\nBOYS and MEN sap their life, 198\n\nBravery, the truest, 213\n\nBreasts, the, 135\n\n\nC\n\nCaponized male bird, 219\n\nChange in life, man or woman, 542\n\nChange in reproductive system, 538\n\nCHANGE of LIFE, age when occurs, 534;\n other names for, 535;\n duration of, 535;\n evidence of, 536;\n nature of, 535;\n some precautions, 537;\n some physical disorders, 537;\n minor indications of, 544;\n positive indications of, 544;\n two advantages of, 545;\n in man, not unfortunate, 544;\n in woman, mysteries made clear, 534\n\nCHASTITY, basis of genuine love, 443;\n value of in marriage, 438\n\nCHILD, first born, 20;\n the training of, 47;\n each must be studied, 48;\n give something to do, 56;\n first idea of wrongdoing, 56;\n vital parts of education neglected, 67;\n scolding and threatening, 59;\n praised for asking about self, 87;\n told gradually regarding self, 88;\n not exact duplicate of either parent, 426;\n resembles both parents, 426;\n when moral training should begin, 429;\n how to prevent marking, 497\n\nCHILDREN, study of disposition, 50;\n importance of early training, 49;\n one million adrift, 78;\n new way to instruct, 81;\n differ in the same home, 417;\n why some are alike and others differ, 419;\n products of blind chance, 429;\n robbed of birthright, 430;\n clear bill of health to, 435;\n inheriting low vitality, 436;\n few well born, 446;\n rights should come first, 546;\n of senile men defective, 546\n\nCHILDHOOD, importance of physical training in, 52;\n importance of mental training in, 53;\n importance of moral training in, 54;\n social conditions change, 63;\n knowledge of self important, 63;\n confidence of, 64;\n the inquisitiveness of, 65;\n the unsatisfied mind of, 66\n\nChrist, need of, 411\n\nCigarette, habit, 180\n\nColds, prevented, 373\n\nCompany, bad, 214\n\nConception, need of rest before, 450\n\nCondiments, use of, 53\n\nCONFIDENCE, of boys, destroyed by parents, 76;\n of girl, destroyed by mother, 76\n\nConfidential social advice, 160\n\nConsumption, 436\n\nConsumption and cancer, 436\n\nCONTINENCE, sexual necessity theory of, 314;\n biological law of, 315;\n views of unreliable doctors, 315;\n does not destroy virility, 315\n\nCousins, marriage of, 438\n\nCREATIVE LIFE, nature and value of, 189;\n how to direct and conserve, 238\n\nCriminal, a born, 461\n\nCuriosity, how to satisfy morbid, 122\n\n\nD\n\nDANCE, why attractive, 232;\n secret of hold on society, 233;\n a menace of society, 233;\n other objections, 235;\n right information needed regarding, 235\n\nDancing, in itself not sinful, 232\n\nDance halls and picture shows, 573\n\nDaughter, be companion to, 126\n\nDEGENERACY, is there a remedy, 410;\n indications of constitutional, 435;\n two causes of, 476\n\nDEGENERATES, what shall be done with, 475;\n many are diseased, 476;\n companion to, 435\n\nDiet, 288\n\nDIVORCE, problem of, 468;\n an Arkansas woman, 520;\n on increase, 522;\n not cause of wrecked homes, 524\n\nDiseases, genito urinary, 548\n\nDRUNKARDS, 436;\n home, 482\n\n\nE\n\nEdwards, Jonathan, family of, 399\n\nEMBRYO, relation between mother and, 261;\n maternal attention, 262\n\nENERGY, the creative, 135;\n a chance to conserve, 546\n\nENGAGEMENTS, long, 243;\n of young men, 334\n\nENVIRONMENT, good, greatest blessing, 407;\n as potential as heredity, 515;\n value of early, 515\n\nEthics of engaged young women, 242\n\nEUNUCHS, 193;\n sex energy of, 219\n\nEXERCISE, the elixir of youth, 286;\n in open air, 287\n\n\nF\n\nFamily, an ideal, 432\n\nFAMILY TROUBLES, how solved, 22;\n relation too, children, 26\n\nFATHER, how one failed in sex instructions, 70;\n son\u2019s natural teacher, 166;\n looks after son\u2019s education, 167;\n who holds to unethical ideals, 168;\n the model, 168;\n should not be suspicious but watchful, 172;\n transmit to sons more than to daughters, 491\n\nFathers, iniquities visited on children, 401\n\nFatherhood, the importance of, 166\n\nFEEBLE MINDED, marriage of, 479;\n burden of, 506\n\nFEMALE ORGANS, information concerning, 136;\n advice concerning, 137\n\nFISH, story of baby, 100;\n why lay so many eggs, 101;\n all are orphans, 102;\n do not pair off, 102\n\nFriendship and love, 333\n\n\nG\n\nGerm cell, the, 413\n\nGIRL and BOY, similar information needed, 122;\n social nature, 157;\n should play together, 157\n\nGIRL, and her father, 41;\n and her mother, 41;\n and her brother, 42;\n first and most valuable training, 44;\n the independent, 45, 519;\n wise instruction needed, 124;\n a confidential talk, 126;\n have been little all these years, 130;\n an interesting change, 138;\n new social desires, 143;\n why want a chum, 143;\n needs two chums, 144;\n choosing the right chum, 144;\n the wise, 145;\n boy struck, 159;\n vanity of, 162;\n in period of transition, 226;\n should consult mother, 247;\n if driven from home, 249;\n wronged, a real living incident, 250;\n blinded by double standard, 254;\n was she scarlet or white, 255;\n maternal instinct of, 264;\n the independent, 264;\n the modern, 518\n\nGIRLHOOD, 237;\n comes but once, 161\n\nGIRLS, sixty thousand lost annually, 80;\n should be treated as your sister, 213;\n association with young men, 237;\n should demand single standard of morals, 239;\n why they go wrong, 245;\n homes for unfortunate, 248\n\nGONORRHEA, 324;\n discovery of disease germs of, 324\n\nGonorrheal rheumatism, 325\n\n\nH\n\nHeart trouble caused by excess, 548\n\nHeaven, ante room to, 33\n\nHEREDITY, versus environment, 396;\n applied by the Romans, 396;\n Plato\u2019s views, 397;\n genius is, 398;\n Max Jukes, 399;\n Jonathan Edwards, 399;\n the potency of, 400;\n and Bible, 400;\n a modern proof, 405, 406;\n who is responsible, 406;\n morbid and bad environment, 406;\n relation of three agencies, 410;\n race can be improved by, 411;\n an objection answered, 420;\n materialistic theory fails, 421;\n explained, 423;\n who is to blame, 425;\n mothers advantage of, 428;\n right of child good, 445;\n and moral tendencies, 514;\n agencies of improvement, 512;\n received at birth, 512;\n parental responsibility, 514;\n environment and Christ, 516;\n a critic answered, 386;\n in plant life, 391\n\nHereditary, degeneracy, kinds of, 164\n\nHOME, the childless, 21;\n childless made happy, 21;\n father head of, 24;\n a good substitute for, 30;\n should come first, 33;\n unit of government, 47;\n function of, 51;\n punishment in, 57;\n threatened, 471;\n a drunkard\u2019s, 482\n\nHome and school defects in, 51\n\nHomeliness, how to correct some kinds of, 164\n\nHomicide and suicide, 482\n\nHouse keeper, a good, 31\n\nHUSBAND, relation to wife, 24;\n to furnish financial support, 25;\n to furnish moral support, 26;\n to love wife, 26;\n considerate young, 335\n\nHUSBAND and WIFE, equal partners, 29;\n how they differ, 29\n\n\nI\n\nIgnorance, a degrading form of, 543\n\nIllegitimate father, danger of becoming, 321\n\nImbecile, Spitzka\u2019s view, 477\n\nImbecile question, solution of, 477\n\nImmoral women dangerous, 323\n\nImmorality, who is to blame, 80\n\nIMPREGNATION, 258;\n symptoms of, 263\n\nImperfection of plants and animals, 195\n\nImpure thinking, effects of, 207\n\nImpure thoughts, what produces, 223\n\nINCONTINENCE, two forms of, 313;\n a false idea about, 313;\n effects of, on marriage, 317\n\nInfluence, the law of, 51\n\nInheritance, our mental possibilities, 513\n\nIntemperance and crime, 484\n\n\nJ\n\nJukes Max, family of, 399\n\n\nK\n\nKnight, the true young, 211\n\nKnighthood, will you enlist in new, 216\n\n\nL\n\nLasciviousness, transmissible, 462\n\nLetter writing, of young women, 241\n\nLIFE, why we do not talk about, 90;\n how a mother told story to boy of, 111;\n a vine robbed of, 196;\n begins with a cell, 259;\n the creative, 309;\n how to build creative, 310;\n creative, built into greater mind, 311;\n creative built into social and moral, 312;\n is real, 413;\n is a unit, 421;\n planning for ideal, 445;\n important periods of, 540;\n a large, 545;\n the latter half of, 539\n\nLOVE, and friendship, 333;\n tested, 443;\n tests of truth, 16\n\n\nM\n\nMAN, if you would be perfect, 194;\n original development under two agencies, 407;\n his fall, 407;\n need of third agency, 408;\n relation to the past, 416;\n change of life not unfortunate, 544\n\nMANHOOD, if venerealized consult a Dr., 343;\n money and pleasure, 395;\n agencies necessary to perfect, 409\n\nMANHOOD, regained, 338;\n pathological condition, 341;\n hinderances and helps, 341;\n facts to be understood, 342\n\nMANHOOD, wrecked, the diagnosis, 339;\n causes of wrong thinking, 340\n\nMARRIAGE, basis incentives for, 15;\n other incentive for, 16;\n means motherhood, 30;\n sometimes a farce, 30;\n hasty, 243;\n civil and divine institution, 525;\n of old men, 546;\n promises by white slavers, 577;\n effects of immature, 437;\n difference as to age in, 437;\n into criminal families, 437;\n wealth should have no influence, 438;\n of cousins, 438;\n basis of, 443;\n primal purpose of, 453, 531;\n new laws needed, 470;\n laws, how enforced, 471;\n effects of bad customs, 471;\n effects of feeble minded, 479;\n desired qualification of, 480;\n anxiety of girl\u2019s parents for, 519, 520;\n customs have changed, 518;\n lax laws in this country, 521;\n better customs and laws needed, 521\n\nMarried people should understand sexology, 464\n\nMASCULINE and feminine principles, 414;\n women and feminine men, 438\n\nMATERNITY, not an affliction, 531;\n why regarded as, 533\n\nMen and boys sap their life, 198\n\nMEN, many defective, 196;\n young, many indiscreet or immoral, 239;\n few perfect, 337;\n wrecked minds of, 338;\n kept from Christ, 338\n\nMedicine, 52\n\nMENSTRUATION, 139;\n how made regular and painless, 140;\n physical, mental and moral changes, 140;\n meaning of, 141;\n function of, 532\n\nMental states, 423\n\nMismated, 16, 441\n\nMind, relation to salivary glands, 221\n\nMISTAKE, of the past, 67;\n the minister, 253\n\nModesty--false, 602\n\nMorals, double standard of, 602\n\nMOTHER, important advice to, 128;\n should be true to child, 249;\n larger hereditary influence proven, 428;\n the society, 450;\n preparation for parental training, 457\n\nMOTHER and CHILD, moral right to father\u2019s name, 255;\n vitality one, 496\n\nMOTHERHOOD, may not expose her sin, 246;\n may expose her sin, 246;\n sublime miracle of, 258;\n ideal perfect body essential, 264;\n training for, 265;\n enslaved curse of age, 553;\n practical dietetics, 451;\n rights of, 475\n\n\nN\n\nNature, getting back to, 372\n\nNeurotics, 436\n\nNo one had told her--poetry, 128\n\nNOVEL, introduction, 225;\n why girls are fond of, 225;\n difference between good and bad, 226;\n effects of the vicious, 227\n\nNuptial night of young man, 335\n\n\nO\n\nOFFSPRING, mental and moral states, 424;\n effects of narcotics on, 451;\n from drunkards defective, 483\n\nOrgans of gestation, relation of, to mind, 222\n\nOrgans of sex, what you should not do, 147\n\nORIGIN, perverted ideas of--example, 73;\n questions of children regarding, 65\n\nOphthalmia, 325\n\nOvaries, location and function of, 133\n\nOvulation, 258\n\nOysters, story of baby, 99\n\n\nP\n\nPARENTS, the training of, 49;\n should agree, 56;\n the greatest blessing of, 408;\n immature, 431;\n effect of culture, 452;\n suppressing evil tendencies, 452\n\nPARENTHOOD, intellectual preparation for, 447;\n physical preparation for, 448;\n an invalid mother, 449;\n morbid conditions transmissible, 449\n\nPassion, meaning of, 210-310\n\nPERSONAL LIBERTY, effects of, 485;\n two more examples, 487;\n versus rights of others, 488\n\nPHYSICAL CULTURE, 291-303;\n for men, importance of, 371;\n for men, wild tribes, 372;\n for men modern customs, 372;\n Exercise--rules for, 374;\n Exercise--value of, 374;\n for men, exercises, 375-385\n\nPhysical ailments, common, 547\n\nPhysical disorder, 537\n\nPLANTS, story of, 92;\n the outer parts, 92;\n the papa parts, 93;\n the mamma parts, 93;\n how the two natures unite, 94;\n two natures not always in same flower, 95;\n three methods of uniting natures, 97;\n a wise plan regarding origin, 97\n\nPoetry--No One Had Told Her, 128\n\nPREGNANCY, first twenty-four hours, 259;\n first thirty days, 260;\n second thirty days, 261\n\nPrenatal opportunities, 427\n\nPRENATAL INFLUENCE, effects of mothers, 460;\n effects of dishonesty, 460;\n effects of anger, 460;\n we are slow to learn, 462\n\nPRENATAL TRAINING, one-half before birth, 454;\n transmission of acquired, 454;\n Dr. Fowler and Dr. Cowan on, 455:\n an example of, 456;\n mother\u2019s preparation, 457;\n father\u2019s co\u00f6peration, 456;\n order of, 456;\n Example--inventive genius, 457;\n Example--two girls, 458;\n Example--golden hair, 459;\n testimony of doctor, 459;\n vitality determines results, 463;\n G. Campbell Morgan on, 465;\n Wesleyan Methodist on, 465;\n Dr. Winfield Scott on, 465;\n Prof. Riddle on, 466;\n a suggestion, 468\n\nProblem, divorce, 468\n\nProcreative period in sexes, 532\n\nProfanity, use of, 175\n\nPROSTITUTION, men fallen as women, 318;\n no less sin because of price, 319;\n great physical risk, 320\n\nProstitution, its only excuse, 600\n\nProstate gland, information on, 325\n\nProtected, inspected, neglected, 471\n\nPUBERTY, 188;\n pimples, 163;\n treatment, 163\n\nPure man worthy of pure wife, 321\n\nPURITY, three good rules, 59;\n personal, 60;\n a nation\u2019s strength, 468\n\nPURITY MOVEMENT, 599;\n why past have failed, 607;\n why modern is effective, 608;\n Education in, 610;\n methods of education, 613;\n Legislation on, 614;\n law enactment and enforcement, 615;\n rescue work, 616;\n personal invitation to assist in battle, 617\n\nPUNISHMENT, in home, 57;\n study offense in, 58;\n corporal, 58\n\n\nQ\n\nQUESTIONS and ANSWERS on Sex for child, 117-122;\n on vital questions for young women, 266-275;\n on vital questions for young men, 345-370;\n on vital questions for married and unmarried, 550-559\n\n\nR\n\nRace suicide, two kinds, 474\n\nReproduction, lower forms of life, 414\n\nReproduction, in man, 415\n\nReproductive system changes during change of life, 538\n\nRight and wrong experiences, 89\n\n\nS\n\nSchool should teach bodily and mental purity, 567\n\nScolding and threatening, 59\n\nSECRET SIN, how learned, 146;\n moral effect of, 148;\n physical effect of, 149;\n letters concerning, 149;\n when should boy be told, 171;\n boys do not know injury, 198;\n often commences early, 199;\n how to keep from habit, 200;\n some effects of habit, 200;\n injures mind and morals, 201;\n injures sexual organs, 201;\n how to quit habit, 202\n\nSelf-respect lost, 321\n\nSeminal weakness, hope for all, 343\n\nSex organs of boys, two functions of, 206\n\nSEX, other purposes of, 305;\n life, principles of, 415;\n a resident part of life, 422;\n female organs of, 132\n\nSEXES, similar in change of, 528;\n creative periods in, 532\n\nSex and social nature of girls, 158\n\nSex problems explained, 538\n\nSEX ENERGY changes boy into man, 190;\n example--two full brother colts, 191;\n example--two full blooded chickens, 192;\n ways of using, 208;\n example--unsexed male horse, 218;\n caponized male bird, 219;\n eunuch, 219;\n unsexed girl, 219;\n for you to decide how used, 223\n\nSEX HYGIENE, school instruction in, 560;\n silence a failure, 561;\n parents as instructors, 561;\n school can teach laws, 563\n\nSEX IGNORANCE, parents not responsible for, 71;\n man as guilty as woman, 474\n\nSEX INSTRUCTIONS, how a father failed in, 70;\n how a teacher failed in, 70;\n results of old method, 74;\n how a child gets information, 74;\n result of faults, 75;\n how to introduce, 84;\n how this can be done in schools, 86;\n author\u2019s experience, 87;\n boy of ten, 123;\n girl of ten, 124;\n advantage of beginning early, 124;\n female form, 125;\n review of, 131;\n for boy, how to proceed, 169\n\nSex knowledge, views of past, 218\n\nSex life, relation of reading to disposition of, 229\n\nSexology, newly married should understand, 466\n\nSEXUAL desire begins to wane, 543;\n discharge condition of, in unwell man, 190\n\nSEXUAL GLANDS, two functions of, 220;\n the continuous function of, 220\n\nSexual necessity, unanswerable argument against, 315\n\nSex life, nature of, 304\n\nSexuality and sensuality, 463\n\nSEXUAL ORGANS, 185;\n can be abused, 146;\n why given, 182;\n are not sinful, 182\n\nSexual system, names are pure, 183\n\nSEX TRUTHS, two qualifications necessary to teach, 68;\n instruction of children in past, 71;\n desired by boys and girls, 77;\n how shall a child be told, 81;\n when shall a child be told, 82;\n the ideal way to tell, 84;\n teaching in public schools, 85\n\nSin, motherhood may not expose, 246\n\nSkin, functions of, 371\n\nSleep, 289\n\nSocial and sex nature, relation of, 331\n\nSocial danger, 469\n\nSOCIAL EVIL, two colossal blunders, 600;\n commercialization of, 603;\n why men are as guilty as women, 609\n\nSocial nature of young men, 331\n\nSowing wild oats, 431\n\nSpitzka\u2019s view of imbeciles, 477\n\nStricture, 324\n\nSyphilis, 327;\n three stages of 327;\n innocent may be effected, 328;\n examples, 328-329\n\nT\n\nTeacher, how he failed in sex instruction, 70\n\nTEMPERAMENTS, 439;\n motive, 439;\n nervous, 440;\n vital, 440;\n like should not marry like, 440;\n law of complements, 441\n\nTestes, inflammation of, 325\n\nTOBACCO, use of, 177;\n habit and enormous evil, 53;\n smoking by Dr. Pidduck, 490;\n effects of, 490;\n users, children of, 490;\n where both parents use it, 491;\n and degeneracy, 491\n\nTraining of perfect plant or animal, 173\n\nTroubles in family, how solved, 22\n\nTruest bravery, 213\n\nTRUE KNIGHT, 211;\n has one standard of morals, 215\n\nTwins, 417\n\nTwin brothers, 419\n\n\nU\n\nUNSEXED girl the, 219;\n unsexed male horse, 218\n\nUrinary organs, 184\n\n\nV\n\nVagina, location and function of, 134\n\nVENEREAL DISEASE, the bad cold fallacy, 322;\n two principles, 322;\n old as prostitution, 322;\n medical attention, 323;\n wife and children greatest sufferers, 325;\n health certificate regarding, 328;\n more dangerous than smallpox, 480;\n victims, 481;\n sterilization a remedy, 482;\n avoid by frankness, 566\n\nVirtue, men think less of than women, 318\n\nVirtue of boys sacrificed, 80\n\n\nW\n\nWarning, a word of, 548\n\nWHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC, 570;\n devices of, 572;\n cleverly worded advertisement, 573;\n examplesof, 580;\n greatest evil, 599\n\nWHITE SLAVERY, how girls are retained, 581;\n a national disgrace, 585;\n power of Government to wipe out, 586;\n use of mail in, 588;\n laws inadequate, 589;\n new laws needed, 590;\n convictions and prosecution, 592;\n others who profit by, 606;\n extent of evil, 606\n\nWIFE, should know value of dollar, 32;\n keep herself attractive, 32;\n be industrious, 32;\n take interest in husband\u2019s affairs, 32;\n the helpmate, 333\n\nWOMANHOOD, dawning of, 125;\n a real transition, 127;\n the charms of, 141\n\nWomb, location and function of, 134\n\nWOMEN, few go wrong by choice, 245-319;\n young should be sensible, 240\n\nWOMAN WRONGED, should she ever choose title of Mrs., 256;\n necessary to tell child, 256;\n should tell story to her\nlover, 257;\n when not necessary to confess wrong, 257;\n a man\u2019s appreciation of destroyed, 320\n\n\nY\n\nYOUNG MAN, ethics after engagement, 334;\nnuptial night of, 335\n\nYOUNG MEN, many indiscreet or immoral, 239;\n social nature of, 331;\n pernicious custom of, 232;\n engagements of, 334;\n certain rights not yours, 334\n\nYOUNG WOMEN, be sensible, 240;\n letter writing of, 241;\n \u201chands off\u201d policy, 241;\n ethics of engaged, 242;\n advice to, 243-244\n\n * * * * *\n\n\nTHE WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC AND PUBLIC VICE CAN AND MUST BE ANNIHILATED.\n\nTHE LIGHT\n\nOFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE WORLD\u2019S PURITY FEDERATION.\n\nB. S. STEADWELL, Editor\n\nThis wonderfully helpful magazine has been published for fifteen years\nat La Crosse, Wisconsin, and has for its purpose the eradication of the\ntraffic in women, (White Slave Traffic), the suppression of public vice;\na higher and single standard of morality, and the safe and sane\ninstruction of our young in sex hygiene and the laws of life. It is\nacknowledged everywhere to be the leading magazine of the world along\nsocial purity lines. It tells exactly what our parents, teachers,\neditors, doctors, pastors, evangelists, Sunday school workers, social,\ncivic and moral reformers, and our young men and young women ought to\nknow,--tells it in a pure, chaste way. It is a magazine that ought to be\nin every home, in every library, and in every office.\n\nI enclose my annual gift to =The Light= of $5.00. You are doing a glorious\nwork.--J. T. S. Williams, Iowa.\n\n=The Light= has been of greater value to me than any other magazine I have\never read.--Virgil L. Smith, Wisconsin.\n\nYour last issue is one of the very best Christian magazines that I have\never seen.--E. P. Miller, M. D., New York.\n\nI can hardly wait for =The Light= to come. I wish it was printed every\nweek. May God bless you.--Mrs. Simpkins, California.\n\nI wish I were able to put a copy of =The Light= in every home, especially\nwhere there are young people.--Mrs. Nareganz, South Dakota.\n\nIn my work as Provincial Superintendent of Purity in the W. C. T. U., I\ncould not do without =The Light=.--Annie K. Thompson, Victoria, B. C.,\nCanada.\n\nI certainly do not want to give up =The Light=. I look for it as I do a\ndear friend\u2019s visit. It is one of the very best magazines I ever\nsaw.--Mrs. Ferris, California.\n\nNothing has helped me so much to live down temptations in college as =The\nLight=. I can never be grateful and thankful enough to its editor.--J S.\nScriminger, Virginia.\n\nThe May number of =The Light= is one of the best, the most hopeful and\nencouraging of all the good issues you have sent out. May God bless and\nprosper you in this good work.--Sylvanus Stall, D. D., Philadelphia,\npublisher \u201cSelf and Sex Series.\u201d\n\nDear Mr. Steadwell: Enclosed find check for $1.00. Please continue =The\nLight= to my address. I can\u2019t get along without it--nothing is more\nhelpful in my work and there is not a copy that is not more than worth\nthe 50 cents.--Mrs. Lulu Loveland Shepard, President, Utah State W. C.\nT. U.\n\n=The Light=, so far as I know purity literature, is, beyond all\ncomparison, the best periodical on the varied phases of the broad\nsubject of the sex problem as it agitates the world today. It keeps\nabreast of the negative side, everything that is being done to reduce\nand eliminate vice is discussed in fullest detail; on the positive side,\neverything that is being tried to bring in a speedy development of pure\nmanhood, womanhood, childhood, home life, public life on these lines, is\ndealt with sanely and in due proportion by writers of unquestioned\ncompetence, arranged with the skill of a born journalist.\n\nI have a complete set, from No. 1, Vol. 1, and find it a perfect\nthesaurus of information on every conceivable phase of the question.\nThen each new number comes with new and most important matter, which\nkeeps one up-to-date with the world-campaign for a clean humanity, while\nold and new material throbs with a constant inspiration. God give it an\nimmense circulation until the World Federation for Purity shall have\naccomplished its work.--Rev. Dr. C. S. Eby, Toronto, Canada.\n\n\n=The Light= contains from 68 to 100 pages each issue. Publishes all the\nreform news of the world and portraits of the leading writers. A yearly\nsubscription is only 60 cents; single copy, 10 cents; foreign postage 15\ncents per year. Help scatter its needed messages by subscribing yourself\nand urging others to subscribe. Agents are wanted for this magazine\neverywhere.\n\nAddress all communications and send all remittances to\n\nTHE LIGHT\n\nB. S. Steadwell, Editor. La Crosse, Wisconsin.\n\n * * * * *\n\nTypographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:\n\nThere as so many things=> There are so many things {pg 89}\n\nas he can develope into a pure=> as he can develop into a pure {pg 168}\n\n\u201cHotchison notched teeth,\u201d=> \u201cHotchinson notched teeth,\u201d {pg 406}\n\ntempermental adaptation=> temperamental adaptation {pg 439}\n\nunnatural social, econnomic=> unnatural social, economic {pg 441}\n\nkidnaped or carried=> kidnapped or carried {pg 590}","title":"Self Knowledge and Guide to Sex Instruction: Vital Facts of Life for All Ages","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":131474}