[Illustration: The Sanitarium at Battle Creek, Mich. ]

[Frontispiece: Yours truly, J. H. Kellogg]

PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG. 

BY

J. H. KELLOGG, M. D. , MEMBER AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION, AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THEADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MICROSCOPY, MEMBER MICH. STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, MEDICAL SUPERINTENDENT OF THE BATTLE CREEKSANITARIUM, AUTHOR OF NUMEROUS WORKS ON HEALTH, ETC. 

PUBLISHED BYSEGNER & CONDIT, BURLINGTON, IOWA. 1881. 

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, byJ. H. KELLOGG, M. D. , In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PREFACE. 

The publishers of this work offer no apology for presenting it to thereading public, since the wide prevalence of the evils which it exposesis sufficient warrant for its publication. The subjects with which itdeals are of vital consequence to the human race; and it is of the utmostimportance that every effort should be made to dispel the grossignorance which almost universally prevails, by the wide diffusion, in a proper manner, of information of the character contained in thisvolume. 

This book has been written not for the young only, nor for any singleclass of persons, but for all who are old enough to be capable ofunderstanding and appreciating it. The prime object of its preparationhas been to call attention to the great prevalence of sexual excessesof all kinds, and the heinous crimes resulting from some forms of sexualtransgression, and to point out the terrible results which inevitablyfollow the violation of sexual law. 

In order to make more clear and comprehensible the teachings of naturerespecting the laws regulating the sexual function, and the evilsresulting from their violation, it has seemed necessary to preface thepractical part of the subject by a concise description of the anatomyof reproduction. In this portion of the work especial pains has beentaken to avoid anything like indelicacy of expression, yet it has notbeen deemed advisable to sacrifice perspicuity of ideas to any prudishnotions of modesty. It is hoped that the reader will bear in mind thatthe language of science is always chaste in itself, and that it is onlythrough a corrupt imagination that it becomes invested with impurity. The author has constantly endeavored to impart information in the moststraightforward, simple, and concise manner. 

The work should be judiciously circulated, and to secure this thepublishers will take care to place it in the hands of agents competentto introduce it with discretion; yet it may be read without injury byany one who is sufficiently mature to understand it. Great care hasbeen taken to exclude from its pages those accounts of the habits ofvicious persons, and descriptions of the mechanical accessories of vice, with which many works upon sexual subjects abound. 

The first editions of the work were issued with no little anxiety onthe part of both author and publishers as to how it would be receivedby the reading public. It was anticipated that no little adversecriticism, and perhaps severe condemnation, would be pronounced by manywhose education and general mode of thought had been such as to unfitthem to appreciate it; but it was hoped that persons of more thoughtfuland unbiased minds would receive the work kindly, and would readilyco-operate with the publishers in its circulation. This anticipationhas been more than realized. Wherever the book has been introduced, it has met with a warm reception; and of the several thousand personsinto whose hands the work has been placed, hundreds have gratefullyacknowledged the benefit which they have received from its perusal, and it is hoped that a large proportion have been greatly benefited. 

The cordial reception which the work has met from the press everywherehas undoubtedly contributed in great measure to its popularity. Thedemand for the work has exhausted several editions in rapid succession, and has seemed to require its preparation in the greatly enlarged andin every way improved form in which it now appears. The addition oftwo whole chapters for the purpose of bringing the subject directlybefore the minds of boys and girls in a proper manner, adds greatlyto the interest and value of the work, as there seemed to be a slightdeficiency in this particular in the former editions. 

J. H. K. BATTLE CREEK, MICH. , _October, 1879_. 

CONTENTS. 

 PAGE. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

_SEX IN LIVING FORMS_. 

Living beings--Animals and vegetables--Life force--Reproduction--Spontaneous generation--Simplest form of generation--Hermaphrodism--Sex in plants--Sex in animals--Other sexual differences--Men and womendiffer in form--Modern mania for female pedestrianism--3, 000 quartermiles in 3, 000 quarter hours--A female walking-match--The male andfemale brain--Vital organs of man and woman--Woman less muscular, more enduring--A pathological difference--Why a woman does notbreathe like a man--The reproductive elements--Sexual organs of plants--Polygamous flowers--The female organ of flowers--Sexual organs ofanimals--The spermatozoon--The ovum--Fecundation--Fecundation inflowers--Union of the ovum and zoosperm--Curious modes ofreproduction--Human beings are developed buds--Fecundation inhermaphrodites--Development--Unprotected development--Partialprotection of the ovum--Development in the higher animals and in man--The uterus--Uterine gestation--The primitive trace--Curious relations tolower animals--Simplicity of early structures--The stages of growth--Duration of gestation--Uterine life--How the unborn infant breathes--Parturition--Changes in the child at birth--Nursing--Anatomy of thereproductive organs--Male organs--The prostate gland--Female organs--Puberty--Influence of diet on puberty--Brunettes naturally precocious--Remarkable precocity--Premature development occasions early decay--Early puberty a cause for anxiety--Changes which occur at puberty--Menstruation--Nature of menstruation--A critical period--Importanthints--Menorrhagia--Dysmenorrhoea--Amenorrhoea and chlorosis--Hysteria--Prevention better than cure--Extra-uterine pregnancy--Twins--Monsters--Hybrids--Law of sex--Heredity--Ante-natal influences--Lawuniversal--A source of crime--Circumcision--Castration . . . . . . . 25

_THE SEXUAL RELATIONS_. 

Sexual precocity--Astonishing ignorance--Inherited passion--Variouscauses of sexual precocity--Senile sexuality--Marriage--Time tomarry--Application of the law of heredity--Early marriage--Mutualadaptation--Disparity of age--Courtship--Long Courtships--Flirtation--Youthful flirtations--Polygamy--Polyandry--Divorce--Who may not marry--Do not be in a hurry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

_CHASTITY_. 

Mental unchastity--Amativeness--Unchaste conversation--Causes ofunchastity--Early causes--Diet vs. Chastity--Clerical lapses--Tobaccoand vice--Bad books--Idleness--Dress and sensuality--How young womenfall--Fashion and vice--Reform in dress needed--Round dances--Physicalcauses of unchastity--Constipation--Intestinal worms--Localuncleanness--Irritation of the bladder--Modern modes of life . . . . 174

_CONTINENCE_. 

Continence not injurious--Does not produce impotence--Difficulty ofcontinence--Helps to continence--The will--Diet--Exercise--Bathing--Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

_MARITAL EXCESSES_. 

Object of the reproductive functions--Results of excesses--Effectsupon husbands--Testimony of a French physician--Continence oftrainers--A cause of throat disease--A cause of consumption--Effectson wives--The greatest cause of uterine disease--Legalized murder--Indulgence during menstruation--Effects upon offspring--Indulgenceduring pregnancy--Effect upon the character--A selfish objection--Brutes and savages more considerate--What may be done--Earlymoderation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

_PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION_: ITS EVILS AND DANGERS. 

Conjugal onanism--"Male continence"--Shaker views--Moral bearings ofthe question--Unconsidered murders--The charge disputed--Difficulties--Woman's rights--What to do--A compromise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

_INFANTICIDE AND ABORTION_. 

Not a modern crime--Causes of the crime--The nature of the crime--Instruments of crime--Results of this unnatural crime--An unwelcomechild--The remedy--Murder by proxy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

_THE SOCIAL EVIL_. 

Unchastity of the ancients--Causes of the "social evil"--Libidinousblood--Gluttony--Precocious sexuality--Man's lewdness--Fashion--Lack ofearly training--Sentimental literature--Poverty--Ignorance--Disease--Results of licentiousness--Thousands of victims--Effects of viceineradicable--The only hope--Hereditary effects of venereal disease--Man the only transgressor--Origin of the foul disease--Cure of the"social evil"--Prevention the only cure--Early training--Teachself-control--Mental culture--Early associations . . . . . . . . . . 284

_SOLITARY VICE_. 

Alarming prevalence of the vice--Testimony of eminent authors--Not amodern vice--Victims of all ages--Unsuspected rottenness--Causes ofthe habit--Evil associations--Corruption in schools--Wicked nurses--Notan uncommon case--The instructor in vice--Local disease--Anillustrative case--Other physical causes--Influence of stimulants--Signs of self-abuse--Suspicious signs--General debility--Early symptomsof consumption--Premature and defective development--Sudden change indisposition--Lassitude--Sleeplessness--Failure of mental capacity--Fickleness--Untrustworthiness--Love of solitude--Bashfulness--Unnaturalboldness--Mock piety--Confusion of ideas--Round shoulders--Weak backs--Pains in the limbs--Stiffness of the joints--Paralysis--Gait--Badpositions--Lack of development of the breasts--Capricious appetite--Eating clay--The use of tobacco--Unnatural paleness--Acne--Biting thefinger nails--Palpitation of the heart--Hysteria--Chlorosis--Epilepticfits--Wetting the bed--Unchastity of speech--Positive signs--Results ofsecret vice--Effects in males--Local effects--Urethral irritation--Stricture--Enlarged prostate--Urinary diseases--Priapism--Piles--Prolapsus of rectum--Extension of irritation--Atrophy--Varicocele--Nocturnal emissions--Exciting causes--Are occasional emissionsnecessary or harmless?--Emissions not necessary to health--Eminenttestimony--Diurnal emissions--Cause of diurnal emissions--Internalemissions--An important caution--Impotence--General effects--Generaldebility--Consumption--Dyspepsia--Heart-disease--Throat affections--Nervous diseases--Epilepsy--Failure of special senses--Spinalirritation--Insanity--A victim's mental condition pictured--Effects infemales--Local effects--Leucorrhoea--Uterine disease--Cancer of thewomb--Sterility--Atrophy of mammae--Pruritis--General effects--Acommon cause of hysteria--Effects upon offspring--Treatment ofself-abuse and its effects--Prevention of secret vice--Cultivatechastity--Timely warning--Curative treatment of the effects ofself-abuse--Cure of the habit--How may a person help himself?--Hopefulcourage--General regimen and treatment--Mental and moral treatment--Exercise--Never overeat--Eat but twice a day--Discard all stimulatingfood--Stimulating drinks--Sleeping--Dreams--Can dreams be controlled?--Bathing--Improvement of general health--Prostitution as a remedy--Marriage--Local treatment--Cool sitz bath--Ascending douche--Abdominalbandage--Wet compress--Hot and cold applications to the spine--Localfomentations--Local cold bathing--Enemata--Electricity--Internalapplications--Use of electricity--Circumcision--Impotence--Varicocele--Drugs--Rings--Quacks--Closing advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

_A CHAPTER FOR BOYS_. 

Who are boys?--What are boys for?--Boys the hope of the world--Man themasterpiece--How a noble character is ruined--The marvelous humanmachine--The two objects of human existence--The nutritive apparatus--The moving apparatus--The thinking and feeling apparatus--The purifyingapparatus--The reproductive apparatus--How a noble character and a soundbody must be formed--The downhill road--Self-abuse--A dreadful sin--Self-murderers--What makes boys dwarfs--Scrawny and hollow-eyed boys--Old boys--What makes idiots--Young dyspeptics--The race ruined by boys--Cases illustrating the effects of self-abuse--Two young wrecks--Aprodigal youth--Barely escaped--A lost soul--The results of onetransgression--A hospital case--An old offender--The sad end of a youngvictim--From bad to worse--An indignant father--Disgusted with life--Badcompany--Bad language--Bad books--Vile pictures--Evil thoughts--Influence of other bad habits--Closing advice to boys and young men. 419

_A CHAPTER FOR GIRLS_. 

Girlhood--How to develop beauty and loveliness--The human form divine--Awonderful process--Human buds--How beauty is marred--A beauty-destroyingvice--Terrible effects of secret vice--Remote effects--Causes which leadgirls astray--Vicious companions--Whom to avoid--Sentimental books--Various causes--Modesty woman's safeguard--A few sad cases--A pitifulcase--A mind dethroned--A penitent victim--A ruined girl--The danger ofboarding-schools--A desperate case--A last word--A few words to boys andgirls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

INTRODUCTION. 

Books almost without number have been written upon the subject treatedin this work. Unfortunately, most of these works are utterly unreliable, being filled with gross misrepresentations and exaggerations, andbeing designed as advertising mediums for ignorant and unscrupulouscharlatans, or worse than worthless patent nostrums. To add to theirpower for evil, many of them abound with pictorial illustrations whichare in no way conducive to virtue or morality, but rather stimulatethe animal propensities and excite lewd imaginations. Books of thischaracter are usually widely circulated; and their perniciousinfluence is fully as great as that of works of a more grossly obscenecharacter. In most of the few instances in which the evident motiveof the author is not of an unworthy character, the manner of presentingthe subject is unfortunately such that it more frequently thanotherwise has a strong tendency in a direction exactly the oppositeof that intended and desired. The writer of this work has endeavoredto avoid the latter evil by adopting a style of presentation quitedifferent from that generally pursued. Instead of restricting thereader's attention rigidly to the sexual function in man, his mind isdiverted by frequent references to corresponding functions in loweranimals and in the vegetable kingdom. By this means, not only is anadditional fund of information imparted, but the sexual function inman is divested of its sensuality. It is viewed as a fact of naturalhistory, and is associated with the innocence of animal life and thechaste loveliness of flowers. Thus the subject comes to be regardedfrom a purely physiological standpoint, and is liberated from the grossanimal instinct which is the active cause of sensuality. 

There are so many well-meaning individuals who object to the agitationof this subject in any manner whatever, that it may be profitable toconsider in this connection some of the principal objections which areurged against imparting information on sexual subjects, especiallyagainst giving knowledge to the young. 

I. _Sexual matters improper to be spoken of to the young. _

This objection is often raised, it being urged that these matters are_too delicate_ to be even suggested to children; that they ought tobe kept in total ignorance of all sexual matters and relations untilnature indicates that they are fit to receive them. It is doubtlesstrue that children raised in a perfectly natural way would have nosexual thoughts until puberty, at least, and it would be better if itmight be so; but from facts pointed out in succeeding portions of thiswork, it is certain that at the present time children nearly alwaysdo have some vague ideas of sexual relations long before puberty, andoften at a very early age. It is thus apparent that by speaking tochildren of sexual matters in a proper manner, a new subject is notintroduced to them, but it is merely presenting to them in a true lighta subject of which they already have vague ideas; and thus, bysatisfying a natural curiosity, they are saved from supplying by theirimaginations distorted images and exaggerated conceptions, and fromseeking to obtain the desired information from evil sources whence theywould derive untold injury. 

What reason is there that the subject of the sexual functions shouldbe treated with such maudlin secrecy? Why should the function ofgeneration be regarded as something low and beastly, unfit to be spokenof by decent people on decent occasions? We can conceive of no answerexcept the worse than beastly use to which the function has been sogenerally put by man. There is nothing about the sexual organism whichmakes it less pure than the lungs or the stomach. "Unto the pure allthings are pure, " may have been written especially for our times, whenthere is such a vast amount of mock modesty; when so much pretense ofvirtue covers such a world of iniquity and vice. The young lady whogoes into a spasm of virtuous hysterics upon hearing the word "leg, "is perhaps just the one who at home riots her imagination in voluptuousFrench novels, if she commits no grosser breach of chastity. The parentswho are the most opposed to imparting information to the young are oftenthose who have themselves indulged in sexual excesses. In the mindsof such persons the sexual organs and functions, and everything evenremotely connected with them, are associated only with ideas of lustand gross sensuality. No wonder that they wish to keep such topics inthe dark. With such thoughts they cannot well bear the scrutiny ofvirtue. 

Sexual subjects are not, of course, proper subjects for conversationat all times, or at any time in a spirit of levity and flippancy. 

II. _Knowledge is dangerous. _

Very true, knowledge is dangerous, but ignorance is more dangerousstill; or, rather, partial knowledge is more dangerous than a morecomplete understanding of facts. Children, young people, will not growup in innocent ignorance. If, in obedience to custom, they are notencouraged to inquire of their parents about the mysteries of life, they will seek to satisfy their curiosity by appealing to older orbetter informed companions. They will eagerly read any book whichpromises any hint on the mysterious subject, and will embrace everyopportunity, proper or improper--and most likely to be the latter--ofobtaining the coveted information. Knowledge obtained in thisuncertain and irregular way must of necessity be very unreliable. Manytimes--generally, in fact--it is of a most corrupting character, andthe clandestine manner in which it is obtained is itself corruptingand demoralizing. A child ought to be taught to expect all suchinformation from its parents, and it ought not to be disappointed. 

Again, while it is true that knowledge is dangerous, it is equally truethat this dangerous knowledge will be gained sometime, at any rate;and as it must come, better let it be imparted by the parent, who canadminister proper warnings and cautions along with it, than by any otherindividual. Thus may the child be shielded from injury to which he wouldotherwise be certainly exposed. 

III. _Young people should be left to find out these things forthemselves. _

If human beings received much of their knowledge through instinct, asanimals do, this might be a proper course; but man gets his knowledgelargely by instruction. Young people will get their first knowledgeof sexual matters mostly by instruction from some source. How muchbetter, then, as we have already shown, to let them obtain thisknowledge from the most natural and most reliable source!

The following paragraph from Dr. Ware is to the point:--

"But putting aside the question whether we ought to hide this subjectwholly from the young if we could, the truth, it is to be feared, isthat we cannot if we would. Admitting it to be desirable, every manof experience in life will pronounce it to be impracticable. If, then, we cannot prevent the minds of children from being engaged in some wayon this subject, may it not be better to forestall evil impressionsby implanting good ones, or at least to mingle such good ones with theevil as the nature of the case admits? Let us be at least as wise asthe crafty enemy of man, and cast in a little wheat with his tares;and among the most effectual methods of doing this is to impart to theyoung just and religious views of the nature and purposes of therelation which the Creator has established between the two sexes. "

_When Shall Information Be Given?_--It is a matter of some difficultyto decide the exact age at which information on sexual subjects shouldbe given to the young. It may be adopted as a safe rule, however, thata certain amount of knowledge should be imparted as soon as there ismanifested a curiosity in this direction. If there is reason to believethat the mind of the child is exercised in this direction, even thoughhe may have made no particular inquiries, information should not bewithheld. 

_How to Impart Proper Knowledge. _--No little skill may be displayedin introducing these subjects to the mind of the young person in sucha way as to avoid arousing his passions and creating sexual excitement. Perhaps the general plan followed in the first portion of this workwill be found a very pleasant and successful method if studiedthoroughly and well executed. 

All information should not be given at once. First obtain the child'sconfidence, and assure him by candor and unreserve that you will givehim all needed information; then, as he encounters difficulties, hewill resort for explanation where he knows he will receive satisfaction. When the little one questions, answer truthfully and carefully. 

The following paragraph by Dr. Wilkinson is suggestive:--

"When we are little boys and girls, our first inquiries about our_whence_ are answered by the authoritative dogma of the 'silver spade;'we were dug up with that implement. By degrees the fact comes forth. The public, however, remains for ages in the silver-spade conditionof mind with regard to the science of the fact; and the doctors fosterit by telling us that the whole subject is a medical property. .. . Thereis nothing wrong in the knowing; and, though the passions might bestimulated in the first moments by such information, yet in the secondinstance they will be calmed by it; and, ceasing to be inflamed by theadditional goad of curiosity and imagination, they will cool down underthe hydropathic influences of science. Well-stated knowledge did neveryet contribute to human inflammation; and we much question whether thewhole theory of the silver spade be not a mistake; and whether childrenshould not be told the truth from the first; that before desire andimagination are born, the young mind may receive, in its cool innocency, a knowledge of the future objects of powers and faculties which areto be subject afterward to such strong excitements. "

The experience of hundreds in the circulation of this work has provenbeyond all chance for question the truth of the foregoing remarks, andoften in a most striking manner. Scores of persons have written us, "I would give all I possess in this world could I have had a copy of'Plain Facts' placed in my hands when I was a lad, " or, "Words cannotexpress the gratitude I would now feel had some kind friend impartedto me the invaluable information which this book contains; it wouldhave saved me a life of wretchedness. "

We have had the satisfaction of knowing in numerous instances that thevirtue and happiness of whole families have been secured by the timelywarnings of danger which parents have obtained from this work. We areglad to be able to feel that it is now thoroughly demonstrated thatintelligent persons who have given this subject thought universallyapprove of the objects of the work and the manner of presenting thesubject adopted in it. Those who at first question the propriety ofdiscussing the subject so freely and thoroughly as is here done, losetheir prejudice entirely upon giving the work a careful perusal. Innumerous instances it has occurred that those who were most decidedin their denunciations have become the most zealous and efficientagents in its circulation after becoming more fully acquainted withit. 

SEX IN LIVING FORMS. 

Life, in its great diversity of forms, has ever been a subject of thedeepest interest to rational beings. Poets have sung of its joys andsorrows, its brilliant phantasies and harsh realities. Philosophershave spent their lives in vain attempts to solve its mysteries; andsome have held and thought that life was nothing more than a stupendousfarce, a delusion of the senses. Moralists have sought to impressmankind with the truth that "life is real, " and teeming with graveresponsibilities. Physiologists have busied themselves in observingthe phenomena of life, and learning, therefrom, its laws. The subjectis certainly an interesting one, and none could be more worthy of themost careful attention. 

Living Beings. --Man possesses life in common with other beings almostinfinite in number and variety. The hugest beast that roams the forestor plows the main is no more a living creature than the smallest insector microscopic animalculum. The "big tree" of California and the tinyblade of grass which waves at its foot are alike imbued with life. Allnature teems with life. The practiced eye detects multitudes of livingforms at every glance. 

The universe of life presents the most marvelous manifestations of theinfinite power and wisdom of the Creator to be found in all his works. The student of biology sees life in myriad forms which are unnoticedby the casual observer. The microscope reveals whole worlds of lifethat were unknown before the discovery of this wonderful aid to humanvision, --whole tribes of living organisms, each of which, thoughinsignificant in size, possesses organs as perfect and as useful toit in its sphere as do animals of greater magnitude. Under a powerfulmagnifying glass, a drop of water from a stagnant pool is found to bepeopled with curious animated forms; slime from a damp rock, or a speckof green scum from the surface of a pond, presents a museum of livingwonders. Through this instrument the student of nature learns that lifein its lowest form is represented by a mere atom of living matter, aninsignificant speck of trembling jelly, transparent and structureless, having no organs of locomotion, yet able to move in any direction; nonerves or organs of sense, yet possessing a high degree of sensibility;no mouth, teeth, nor organs of digestion, yet capable of taking food, growing, developing, producing other individuals like itself, becomingaged, infirm, and dying, --such is the life history of a living creatureat the lower extreme of the scale of animated being. As we rise higherin the scale, we find similar little atoms of life associated togetherin a single individual, each doing its proper share of the worknecessary to maintain the life of the individual as a whole, yetretaining at the same time its own individual life. 

As we ascend to still higher forms, we find this association of minuteliving creatures resulting in the production of forms of increasingcomplicity. As the structure of the individual becomes more complexand its functions more varied, the greater is the number of separate, yet associated, organisms to do the work. 

In man, at the very summit of the scale of animate existence, we findthe most delicate and wonderfully intricate living mechanism of all. In him, as in lower, intermediate forms of life, the life of theindividual is but a summary of the lives of all numberless minuteorganisms of which his body is composed. The individual life is butthe aggregate life of all the millions of distinct individuals whichare associated together in the human organism. 

Animals and Vegetables. --The first classification of living creaturesseparates them into two great kingdoms, animals and vegetables. Although it is very easy to define the general characteristics of eachof these classes, it is impossible to fix upon any single peculiaritywhich will be applicable in every case. Most vegetable organisms remainstationary, while some possess organs of locomotion, and swim aboutin the water in a manner much resembling the movements of certainanimals. Most vegetables obtain their nutriment from the earth and theair, while animals subsist on living matter. A few plants seem to takeorganic matter for food, some even catching and killing small insects. 

It is found impossible to draw the precise line between animals andvegetables, for the reason just mentioned. The two kingdoms blend sointimately that in some cases it is impossible to tell whether a certainmicroscopic speck of life is an animal or a vegetable. But since thesedoubtful creatures are usually so minute that several millions of themcan exist in a single drop of water, it is usually of no practicalimportance whether they are animal or vegetable, or sometimes one andsometimes the other, as they have been supposed to be by somebiologists. 

All living creatures are _organized_ beings. Most possess a structureand an organism more or less complicated; but some of the lowest formsare merely little masses of a transparent, homogeneous jelly, knownas protoplasm. Some of the smallest of these are so minute that onehundred millions of them could occupy the space of a cube one-thousandthof an inch on each side; yet each one runs its course of life as regularlyas man himself, performing its proper functions even more perfectly, perhaps. 

Life Force. --To every thinking mind the question often recurs, Whatmakes the fragrant flower so different from the dead soil from whichit grows? the trilling bird, so vastly superior to the inert atmospherein which it flies? What subtle power paints the rose, and tunes themerry songster's voice? To explain this mystery, philosophers of oldentime supposed the existence of a certain peculiar force which is calledlife, or vital force, or vitality. This supposition does nothing morethan furnish a name for a thing unknown, and the very existence of whichmay fairly be doubted. In fact, any attempt to find a place for sucha force, to understand its origin, or harmonize its existence with thatof other well-known forces, is unsuccessful; and the theory of apeculiar vital force, a presiding entity present in every living thing, vanishes into thin air to give place to the more rational view of themost advanced modern scientists, that vital force, so-called, is onlya manifestation of the ordinary forces of nature acting through apeculiar arrangement of matter. In other words, life depends, not upona peculiar force, but upon a peculiar arrangement of matter, ororganization. It is simply a peculiar manifestation of the forcepossessed by atoms exhibited through a peculiar arrangement of atomsand molecules. This arrangement is what is known as organization; andbodies which possess it are known as organized or living bodies. Theterm life may be understood as referring to the phenomena which resultfrom organization. 

That life results from organization, not organization from life, ismore consonant with the accepted and established facts of science thanthe contrary view. We might adduce numerous facts and arguments insupport of this view of the nature of life, but will not do so here, as we have considered the subject at some length elsewhere. [1]

[Footnote 1: See "Science and the Bible, " pp. 36-46. ]

_Nutrition_ and _reproduction_ are the two great functions of life, being common not only to all animals, but to both animals and plants, to all classes of living creatures. The object of the first, is thedevelopment and maintenance of the individual existence; the secondhas for its end the production of new individuals, or the preservationof the race. Nutrition is a purely selfish process; reproduction ispurely unselfish in its object; though the human species--unlike thelower animals, which, while less intelligent, are far more true tonature--too often pervert its functions to the most grossly selfishends. 

The subject of nutrition is an important one, and well worthy theattention of every person who values life. The general disregard ofthis subject is undoubtedly the cause of a very large share of the illsto which human flesh is heir; but our limited space forbids itsconsideration here, and we shall confine our attention to reproduction. 

REPRODUCTION. 

As before remarked, reproduction is a function common to all animalsand to all plants. Every organized being has the power to reproduceitself, or to produce, or aid in producing, other individuals likeitself. It is by means of this function that plants and animals increaseor multiply. 

When we consider the great diversity of characters illustrated inanimal and vegetable life, and the infinite variety of conditions andcircumstances under which organized creatures exist, it is notsurprising that modes of reproduction should also present greatdiversity both in general character and in detail. We shall find itboth interesting and instructive to consider some of the many differentmodes of reproduction, or generation, observed in different classesof living beings, previous to entering upon the specific study ofreproduction in man. Before doing thus, however, let us give briefattention to a theoretical form of generation, which cannot be calledreproduction, known as

Spontaneous Generation. --By this term is meant the supposed formationof living creatures directly from dead matter without the interventionof other living organisms. The theory is, in substance, an old one. The ancients supposed that the frogs and other small reptiles soabundant in the vicinity of slimy pools and stagnant marshes, weregenerated spontaneously from the mud and slime in which they lived. This theory was, of course, abandoned when the natural history ofreptiles became known. 

For several thousand years the belief was still held that maggots foundin decaying meat were produced spontaneously; but it was discovered, centuries ago, that maggots are not formed if the flesh is protectedfrom flies, since they are the larvae, or young, of a species of thisinsect. A relic of the ancient belief in spontaneous generation is stillfound in the supposition that horse-hair snakes, so-called, are reallyformed from the hairs of horses. This belief is quite common, butscience long ago exposed its falsity. 

When the microscope was discovered it revealed a whole new world ofinfinitesimal beings which were at first supposed to be of spontaneousorigin; but careful scientific investigation has shown that even thesemere specks of life are not independent of parentage. M. Pasteur and, more recently, Prof. Tyndall, with many other distinguished scientists, have demonstrated this fact beyond all reasonable chance for question. 

It is, then, an established law that _every living organism originateswith some previously existing living being or beings_. 

It may be queried, If it be true that life is but a manifestation ofthe ordinary forces of matter, --which are common to both dead and livingmatter, --being dependent upon arrangement, then why may it not be thatdead matter may, through the action of molecular laws, and without theintervention of any living existence, assume those peculiar forms ofarrangement necessary to constitute life, as supposed by the advocatesof the theory in question? It is true that some who recognize the factthat life is the result of organization maintain the doctrine of_spontaneous generation_; that is, the production of life without anyagency other than the recognized forces of nature being brought aboutsimply by a fortuitous combination of atoms. Although this doctrinecannot be said to be inconsistent with the theory of life presented, yet it is by no means a legitimate or necessary result of it; andobservation proves its falsity. 

The testimony of all nature, as almost universally admitted byscientific men, is that life originated through a creative act by thefirst Great Cause, who gave to certain bodies the requisite arrangementor organization to enable them to perform certain functions, anddelegated to them the power to transmit the same to other matter, andthus to perpetuate life. The Creator alone has the power to originatelife. Man, with all his wisdom and attainments, cannot discover thesecret of organization. He may become familiar with its phenomena, buthe cannot unravel, further, the mystery of life. The power of organizingis possessed only by the lower class of living or organized bodies, those known as vegetable organisms or plants. A grain of wheat, a kernelof corn, a potato, when placed under favorable conditions, takes theinert, lifeless particles of matter which lie about it in the earthand air, and organizes them into living substances like itself. 

To man and animals the Creator delegated the power to form their ownpeculiar structures from the vitalized tissues of plants. Thus, bothanimal and vegetable life is preserved without the necessity ofcontinued acts of creative power, each plant and each animal possessingthe power not only to preserve its own life, but also to aid, at least, in the perpetuation of the species. The record of creation in Genesisharmonizes perfectly with this view, it being represented that Godformed (organized or arranged) man, animals, and vegetable productionsfrom the earth. 

Simplest Form of Generation. --Deep down beneath the waters of the ocean, covering its bottom in certain localities, is found a curious slime, which, under the microscope, is seen to be composed of minute roundedmasses of gelatinous matter, or protoplasm. By watching these littlebodies intently for a few minutes, the observer will discover that eachis a living creature capable of moving, growing, and assuming a varietyof shapes. Continued observation will reveal the fact that these littlecreatures multiply; and a more careful scrutiny will enable him to see_how_ they increase. Each divides into two equal parts so nearly alikethat they cannot be distinguished apart. In this case the process ofgeneration is simply the production of two similar individuals fromone. 

A small quantity of slime taken from the surface of a stone near thebottom of an old well, or on the seaside, when placed under themicroscope, will sometimes be found to contain large numbers of small, round, living bodies. Careful watching will show that they alsomultiply by division; but before the division occurs, two cells uniteto form one by a process called _conjugation_. Then, by the divisionof this cell, instead of only two cells, a large number of small cellsare formed, each of which may be considered as a bud formed upon thebody of the parent cell and then separated from it to become by growthan individual like its parent, and, like it, to produce its kind. Inthis case, we have new individuals formed by the union of twoindividuals which are to all appearance entirely similar in everyparticular. 

Sex. --Rising higher in the scale of being, we find that, with rareexceptions, reproduction is the result of the union of two dissimilarelements. These elements do not, in higher organisms, as in lower formsof life, constitute the individuals, but are produced by them; and beingunlike, they are produced by special organs, each adapted to theformation of one kind of elements. The two classes of organs usuallyexist in separate individuals, thus giving rise to distinctions of_sex_; an individual possessing organs which form one kind of elementsbeing called a male, and one possessing organs for the formation ofthe other kind of elements, a female. The sexual differences betweenindividuals of the same species are not, however, confined to the sexualorgans. In most classes of plants and animals, other sexual differencesare very great. In some of the lower orders of animals, and in manyspecies of plants, the male and female individuals are so much unlikethat for a long time after they were well known, no sexual relationwas discovered. 

Hermaphrodism. --An individual possessing both male and female organsof reproduction is called an _hermaphrodite_. Such a combination isvery rare among higher animals; but it is by no means uncommon amongplants and the lower forms of animal life. The snail, the oyster, theearth-worm, and the common tape-worm, are examples of truehermaphrodites. So-called human hermaphrodites are usuallyindividuals in whom the sexual organs are abnormally developed so thatthey resemble those of the opposite sex, though they really have butone sex, which can usually be determined with certainty. Only a veryfew cases have been observed in which both male and female organs werepresent. 

There is now living in Germany an individual who bears the name of awoman; but learned physicians have decided that the person is as muchman as woman, having the organs of both sexes. What is still more curious, this person has the feelings of both sexes, having loved at first aman, and afterward a woman. There have been observed, also, a very fewinstances of individuals in whom the sexual organs of neither sex werepresent. It thus appears that a person may be of both sexes or of nosex at all. 

Sex in Plants. --To one unacquainted with the mysteries of plant lifeand growth, the idea of attaching sexuality to plants seems veryextraordinary; but the botanist recognizes the fact that thedistinctions of sex are as clearly maintained in the vegetable as inthe animal kingdom. The sexual organs of the higher orders of plantsare flowers. That part of the flower which produces seeds answers tothe female; another part, which is incapable of forming seeds, answersto the male. The fertile and sterile flowers are sometimes producedon separate plants. Very frequently, they are produced upon separateparts of the same plant, as in the oak, walnut, and many other foresttrees, and Indian corn. In the latter plant, so familiar to every one, the "tassel" contains the male flowers, and the part known as the"silk, " with the portion to which it is attached--which becomes theear--the female or fertile flowers. In a large number of species, themale and female organs are combined in a single flower, making a truehermaphrodite. 

Sex in Animals. --As previously remarked, individuals of opposite sexusually differ much more than in the character of their sexual organsonly. Among higher animals, the male is usually larger, stronger, andof coarser structure than the female. The same contrast is observedin their mental characters. With lower animals, especially insects, the opposite is often observed. The female spider is many times largerthan the male. The male ant is small in size when compared with thefemale. Nevertheless, in all classes of animals the difference in thestructure and the functions of the sexual organs is the chiefdistinguishing character. These differences are not so great, however, as they might at first appear. The male and female organs ofreproduction in man and other animals, which seem so dissimilar, whenstudied in the light shed upon this subject by the science of embryology, are found to be wonderfully alike in structure, differing far more inappearance than in reality, and being little more than modificationsof one general plan. Every organ to be found in the one sex has ananalogue in the other which is complete in every particular, corresponding in function, in structure, and usually in position. 

Other Sexual Differences. --In this country there is between five andsix inches difference in height and about twenty pounds difference inweight between the average man and the average woman, the average manbeing about five feet, eight inches in height, and weighing one hundredand forty-five pounds; while the average woman is five feet, two ortwo and one-half inches in height, and weighs one hundred andtwenty-five pounds. The relation of the sexes in height and weightvaries in degree in different countries, but is never changed. Theaverage height and weight of American men and women is considerablyabove that of the average human being. 

Men and Women Differ in Form. --The differences in form are so markedthat it is possible for the skilled anatomist to determine the sex ofa human being who has been dead for ages, by an examination of theskeleton alone. In man, the shoulders are broad, the hips narrow, andthe limbs nearly straight with the body. In woman, the shoulders arenarrow and usually rounded, and set farther back, the collar-bone beinglonger and less curved, giving the chest greater prominence; while thehips are broad. 

The consequence of these differences is that woman is generally lessgraceful and naturally less skillful in the use of the extremities thanman, and hence less fitted for athletic sports and feats requiring greatdexterity. A girl throws a stone awkwardly, less from want of practicethan from a natural peculiarity of physical structure. A woman walksless gracefully than a man, owing to the greater relative breadth ofher hips, requiring a motion of the body together with that of the limbs. In consequence of this peculiarity, a woman is less fitted for walkinglong distances. 

Modern Mania for Female Pedestrianism. --Nothing could be much moreinhuman than the exhibitions made in satisfying the mania for femalepedestrianism which has recently arisen. Not long since, in walkingdown one of the principal streets of Boston, we passed, in going adistance of thirty rods, three illuminated placards announcing to thepublic that in as many different public halls four female pedestrianswere exhibiting their walking talents for the gratification of thecrowds of bawdy loafers and jockeys who congregated to criticize theirseveral "points, " and bet on their walking capacity, as though theywere horses on a race-course or hounds on a fox hunt. 

3, 000 Quarter Miles in 3, 000 Quarter Hours. --We visited the halls andascertained that two of these misguided women were attempting the featof walking respectively 2, 700 and 3, 000 quarter miles in an equal numberof successive quarter hours. This would require almost incessantexertion for nearly twenty-eight days in one case, and for more thanthirty-one days in the other, without at any time a period of unbrokenrest longer than ten minutes. Such a procedure, in the light ofphysiology, is a greater inhumanity than the most merciless Bostonteamster would inflict upon his dumb brutes. Why does not Mr. Berghexercise his function in such cases? We did not wonder that the poorwomen looked pale and suffering, and trudged along with a limping gait. 

A Female Walking Match. --At another hall we found two women engagedin a "walking match. " The hall was so crowded with spectators--withvery few exceptions of the male sex--that it was with difficulty thenarrow track could be kept clear. 

The sixty hours for which the walk was to be continued had nearly expired, and the excitement grew more intense each moment. One of the walkers, who was a few miles in advance, strode on at a pace almost marvelous, constantly stimulated to greater efforts by the coarse shouts of themasculine audience, who evidently took the same sort of interest inthe proceeding that they would in a dog race or a cock fight. The otherwas pale and spiritless, and it seemed with difficulty that she draggedherself along to keep upon the track until the last. At times she seemedto be almost fainting, as the result of the long-continued excitementand fatigue; but she managed to keep going until nine minutes beforethe slow moving clock had measured off the sixty hours, when she becametoo ill to be longer able to stand, and was carried off the track. 

The cheers for the winner were as vigorous as though a rebel fort hadbeen captured, a million people emancipated from slavery, or some greatand noble deed of honor or daring had been done; but no one thoughtof the injury which had been done the contestant. We turned away indisgust. 

The ancient Greeks and Romans amused themselves with witnessing thegladiatorial contests of their male slaves; but it was left forcivilized America to introduce woman into the "ring" and make her showher paces on the race-course. An ungraceful figure she cuts, and arepulsive spectacle she presents; and worst of all is the havoc whichshe makes with her health. At the very time that these four femalepedestrians were making their disgraceful exhibit in Boston, in anotherpart of the same city lay a helpless invalid who was once as noted a"female walkist" as any of them, made hopelessly ill by the samedisregard of the plainest laws of nature. 

The Male and the Female Brain. --But there are other important physicaldifferences to which we must call attention. Man possesses a largerbrain than woman, but she makes up the deficiency in size by superiorfineness in quality. The female brain differs from the masculine organof mentality in other particulars so marked that one who has given thesubject attention can determine with perfect ease the probable sex ofthe owner of almost any skull which might be presented to him. Thisdifference in the conformation of the skull is undoubtedly due to adifference in mental character, which, in turn, depends upon adifference in cerebral development. Faculties which are generallylargely developed in one are usually smaller in the other, and thereverse. 

Vital Organs of Man and Woman. --The anatomist also observes aninteresting difference in the size of the various vital organs. Forexample, while a woman has a heart proportionally smaller than the sameorgan in man, she has a larger liver. Thus, while less well fitted forsevere physical exertion by less circulatory power, she has superiorexcretory powers. 

Woman Less Muscular, More Enduring. --This peculiarity of structure isperfectly harmonious with the fact which experience has establishedso often as to make the matter no longer a question, that woman is lessfitted for severe muscular exertion than man, but possesses in asuperior degree the quality known as endurance. With a less robust frame, a more delicately organized constitution, she will endure for monthswhat would kill a robust man in as many weeks. More perfect eliminationof the wastes of the body secures a higher grade of vitality. On noother hypothesis could we account for the marvelous endurance of thefeminine part of the civilized portion of the human race, ground downunder the heel of fashion for ages, "stayed, " "corseted, " "laced, " andthereby distorted and deformed in a manner that would be fatal to almostany member of the masculine sex. 

A Pathological Difference. --Most physiologists mention anotherparticular in which woman differs materially from man; viz, innaturally employing, in respiration, chiefly the upper part of thelungs, while man breathes chiefly with the lower part of the lungs. For several years we have carefully studied this question, and we havebeen unable to find any physiological or anatomical reason sufficientto account for this fact, if it be such. 

Why a Woman Does not Breathe Like a Man. --It is undoubtedly true thatmost women do breathe almost exclusively with the upper part of thechest; but whether this is a _natural_ peculiarity, or an acquired, unnatural, and depraved one, is a question which we are decidedlyinclined to answer in harmony with the latter supposition, basing ourconclusion on the following undeniable facts:--

1. In childhood, and until about the age of puberty, respiration inthe boy and the girl is exactly the same. 

2. Although there is a change in the mode of respiration in most females, usually soon after the period of puberty, marked by increasedintercostal respiration and diminished abdominal or deep respiration, this change can be accounted for on other than physiological grounds. 

3. We believe the cause of this modification of respiration is thechange in dress which is usually made about that time. The young girlis now becoming a woman, and must acquire the art of lacing, wearinga corset, "stays, " and sundry other contrivances by means of which toproduce a "fine form" by distorting and destroying all natural graceand beauty in the "form divine. "

4. We have met a number of ladies whose good fortune and good sensehad delivered them from the distorting influence of corset-wearing andtight-lacing, and we have invariably observed that they are as capableof deep respiration as men, and practice it as naturally. 

We are thoroughly convinced that this so-called physiologicaldifference between man and woman is really a pathological rather thana natural difference, and is due to the evils of fashionable dress, which we have exposed at some length in another work exclusively devotedto that subject. [2] In short, we believe that the only reason why womendo not, under ordinary circumstances, breathe as do men, is simply_because they can not_ breathe naturally. 

[Footnote 2: "Evils of Fashionable Dress, and How to DressHealthfully. "]

The Reproductive Elements. --As has been previously observed, in allexcept the very lowest forms of life, two elements are necessary tothe production of a new individual, or a reproduction of the species--amale element and a female element. The special organs by means of whichthese elements are produced, brought together, and developed into thenew individual in a more or less perfect state, are termed _sexualorgans_, as we have already seen. As an introduction to the specificstudy of the sexual organs in the human species, let us briefly considerthe

Sexual Organs of Plants. --As already remarked, flowers are the sexualorgans of plants. Nothing is more interesting in the natural world thanthe wonderful beauty, diversity, and perfect adaptability to variousconditions and functions, which we see in the sexual parts of plants. An exceedingly interesting line of study, which has occupied theattention of many naturalists, is the wonderful perfection displayedin the adaptability of the male and female parts of plants to each other. Without burdening the reader with unnecessary technicalities of detail, we will briefly notice the principal parts of vegetable sexual organsas illustrated in flowers. 

Complete flowers are made up of four parts, two of which, the _stamen_and _pistil_, are essential, while the other two, the calyx and corolla, are accessory. 

The _calyx_ is that part which surrounds the flower at its outer andlower part. It varies greatly in form and color, but is most frequentlyof a green or greenish color. 

Just within the calyx is the _corolla_, which usually forms the mostattractive, showy, and beautiful part of the flower. The beautifullycolored petals of the rose, geranium, dahlia, and other similar flowers, form their corollas. 

Vegetable Husbands. --Within the cup formed by the calyx and corollaare placed the _stamens_ and _pistils_ of the flower, the first beingthe male organs proper, and the second the female organs of the flower. 

The stamen is composed of a stem or filament, at the summit of whichare placed two little sacks called the _anther_, which contain a fine, microscopic dust, the _pollen_, which contains the male reproductiveelement of the flower. This part of the plant corresponds to the maleorgan of reproduction in animals. A stamen has been called, not inaptly, a vegetable husband. Some flowers have many stamens, or vegetablehusbands, which reminds us of the custom in Thibet and some otherEastern countries which allows a woman to have several husbands. 

Polygamous Flowers. --The great naturalist, Linnaeus, whose name wasimmortalized by his careful study and classification of organized life, made the number of stamens possessed by various flowers the basis ofa systematic classification. 

For example, a flower having but one stamen was classed as _monandria_, which means, literally, one husband; one having two stamens wasclassified as _diandria_; flowers having a large number of male organswere termed _polyandria_, or many husbands. 

The Female Organ of Flowers. --The _pistil_ occupies the very centerof the flower. It produces and contains in a cell, the female element, termed the _ovule_. It is surmounted by the _style_ and the _stigma_. 

A series of plants in which the sexual organs are not visible to theeye are termed _cryptogamia_, which means literally, hidden marriages. 

As we proceed to study the anatomy of the human sexual apparatus weshall be constantly struck with the remarkable correspondence betweenanimals and vegetables in the structure and functions of the sexualapparatus. 

Sexual Organs of Animals. --The male reproductive element is called a_spermatozoon_ or _zoosperm_. The female element is called an _ovum_, literally, an egg. 

The Spermatozoon. --The male reproductive element of animals is formedby an organ called the _testis_, or _testicle_, of which each malepossesses two. They are elastic, glandular bodies, and are formedwithin the cavity of the abdomen, near the kidneys, but usually passout of the abdominal cavity and descend to their permanent positionbefore birth. The opening in the abdominal wall is usually completelyclosed in a short time; but occasionally it remains open, giving riseto congenital hernia, an accident in which a loop of intestine followsthe testicle down into the scrotum, either completely or partially. In a few animals, as in the porcupine, the opening is never fully closed, and the testis remains in the cavity of the body most of the time, passing out only at certain periods. We also occasionally meet casesof human beings in which the testes have never descended from theirplace in the abdominal cavity, giving the individuals the appearanceof eunuchs. This condition, however, though an abnormal one, does notin any way interfere with the function of the organs, as those who happento possess it often imagine. We have also met with cases in which theorgans were movable, and could readily be pressed up into the abdominalcavity, through the unclosed inguinal cavity, which afforded them apassage downward in the process of development. 

As before remarked, these peculiarities do not affect the functionsof the organs in any appreciable degree, although they not infrequentlygive rise to some apprehension on the part of those subject to them. The left testicle is sometimes a little smaller than the right, anotherfact which is seized upon by quacks as a means of exciting the fearsof young men who have been addicted to bad habits, although thepeculiarity is generally without important significance. 

The testicles are connected with the urinary passage by means of twoducts which terminate near the base of the bladder, at which point theyconnect with the urethra. We need not dwell at further length upon thestructure of the testicles, as this subject receives fuller attentionelsewhere. 

Human spermatozoa are about 1/600 of an inch in length. Those ofreptiles are very much larger. One of the remarkable features of theseminute elements is their peculiar movements. While alive, thefilamentous tail is in constant action in a manner strongly resemblingthe movements of the caudal appendage of a tadpole. This wonderfulproperty led the earlier observers to believe that they were trueanimalcula. But they are not to be regarded as such, though one canscarcely make himself believe otherwise while watching their livelyevolutions, and apparent volitionary movement from one point toanother. 

Spermatozoa originate in the testis as cells, which are filled withgranules. After a time, each granule acquires a long appendage, andthen the cell has become converted into a bundle of small zoosperms. Development still continues, until finally the thin pellicle on theoutside of the bundle is ruptured, thus liberating the youngspermatozoa, which speedily complete their full development. Thespermatozoon is pure protoplasm, which is the basis of all life, andits power of spontaneous motion is due to this fact. 

In man, the formation of spermatozoa continues with greater or lessrapidity from puberty to old age, though at the two extremes ofexistence they are imperfectly developed. When not discharged from thebody, they are said to be absorbed. Some physiologists claim that theyare composed of a substance identical with nerve tissue, and that byabsorption they play a very important part in the development andmaintenance of the nervous system. 

It is asserted by good authorities that the reproductive element inman is not so well developed as to be really fit for the reproductionof the species before the age of twenty-four or twenty-five. After theage of forty-five or fifty, the reproductive elements deteriorate inquality, and become again unfitted for vigorous procreation. 

The fully developed zoosperms are suspended in a transparent, gelatinous fluid, which, mingled with the secretion of the prostategland and other fluids which it meets during its expulsion from thebody, constitutes the _semen_. 

The Ovum. --The female element of generation, the ovum, is produced byan organ called the _ovary_, of which there are two in each individual. In size and form, the ovary closely resembles the testicle. Like thelatter organ, also, it is formed within the body early in the processof development; but instead of passing outward and downward, as doesthe testicle, it remains within the abdominal cavity, suspended inplace by ligaments. It is connected with a duct which receives the ovumas it is discharged, and conveys it to the uterus. 

The human ovum varies in size from 1/240 to 1/120 of an inch in diameter, and consists of a single cell. Ova are not formed in such large numbersas zoosperms. As a general rule, in the human female, a single ovumis developed and discharged once in about four weeks, during the periodof sexual activity. 

Fecundation. --It is often asked, and the question has elicited somediscussion, Which is the principal reproductive element; the zoosperm, or the ovum? The ancients supposed the male element to be the essentialelement, being simply nourished and developed by the female; but modernresearch in biological science does not sustain this view. Probablyneither one enjoys especial preeminence; for neither can undergocomplete development without the other. In very rare cases, the ovumhas been observed to undergo a certain amount of development of itself;but a perfect individual can be produced only by the union of the twokinds of elements, which process is known as _fecundation_. The instantthis union occurs, the life of a new individual begins. All the changeswhich result between that moment and the birth of the individual arethose of development only. Indeed, the same existence continues fromthe instant of the union of the two elements, not only until birth, but through growth, the attainment of maturity, the decline of life, and even until death. 

It is interesting to observe the different methods by which fecundationis effected, both in plants and animals, for this is a process commonto both. 

Fecundation in Flowers. --The great naturalist, Linnaeus, was the firstto explain the reproductive process in plants. He tells us that "theflower forms the theater of their amours; the calyx is to be consideredas the nuptial bed; the corolla constitutes the curtains; the anthersare the testes; the pollen, the fecundating fluid; the stigma of thepistil, the external genital aperture; the style, the vagina, or theconductor of the prolific seed; the ovary of the plant, the womb; thereciprocal action of the stamens on the pistil, the accessory processof fecundation. "

Thus marvelous is the analogy between the reproductive organs and theirfunctions in plants and animals. Through this one vital process we maytrace a close relation between all the forms of life, from the humblestplant, or even the mere specks of life which form the green scum upona stagnant pool, to man, the masterpiece of creation, the highest ofall animated creatures. In all the realm of Nature there can be foundno more remarkable evidences of the infinite skill and wisdom of theCreator of all things. 

In many instances the action of plants seems almost to be prompted byintelligence. At the proper moment, the corolla contracts in such away as to bring the stamens nearer to the stigma, or in contact withit, so as to insure fecundation. In some aquatic plants the flowerselevate themselves above the surface of water while the process offecundation is effected; submerging themselves again immediatelyafterward. 

Other very curious changes occur in flowers of different species duringthe reproductive act. The stigma is observed to become moistened, andeven to become distinctly odorous. Often, too, it becomes intenselycongested with the juices of the plant, and sometimes even acquiresan uncommon and most remarkable degree of contractility. This is thecase with the stigma of the tulip and one variety of sensitive plant, and is in these plants observed to occur not only after the applicationof the pollen to the stigma, but when excited by any other means ofstimulation. The flowers of some plants, during and after fecundation, also show an increase of heat, in some cases so marked as to be readilydetected with the thermometer. This is said to be the case with the_arum_ of Italy. 

In some plants in which the pistil is longer than the stamens, thuselevating the stigma above the anthers, the female organ is oftenobserved to bend over and depress itself so as to come within reachof the anthers. 

In most instances the fecundation of flowers is chiefly effectedthrough a purely mechanical process, though in these cases also we seea wonderful adaptation of parts to conditions. 

When the male and female parts of flowers are situated on differentplants, as is the case in the willow, the poplar, the melon vine, andmany other species, the pollen of the male flower is wafted by the windor gentle breeze to the stigma of the female flower, which will usuallybe found at no very great distance, although fertilization may takeplace in this way at very considerable distances. Bees, moths, and manyother species of insects, serve a very important purpose in this work, transporting the fertilizing dust upon their wings, antennae, sucking-tubes, and feet. Small birds, and even the humble snail, whichwould scarcely be credited with any useful function, are also veryserviceable in the same direction. The part performed by insects inthe reproductive process of many plants is so great that they have beenvery poetically termed "the marriage priests of flowers. "

Nature provides for thorough fecundation in these cases by placing theplants which bear the male and the female flowers near each other. Thisfact accounts for the unproductiveness of certain varieties ofstrawberries unless mixed with plants of some other variety, it beingwell known to nursery-men that some varieties produce only the femaleparts of flowers. 

Modes of Fecundation in Animals. --The modes by which fecundation iseffected in animals are still more various and wonderful than in plants. In some of the lower animals, as in most fish and reptiles, both elementsare discharged from the bodies of the parents before coming in contact, there being no contact of the two individuals. In this class of animalsthe process is almost wholly analogous to fecundation in those plantsin which the male and female flowers are on different plants ordifferent parts of the same plant. In the female fish, a large numberof ova are developed at a certain season of the year known as thespawning season. Sometimes the number reaches many thousands. At thesame time, the testicles of the male fish, which are contained withinthe abdominal cavity, become distended with developed zoosperms. Whenthe female seeks a place to deposit her eggs, the male closely follows;and as she drops them upon the gravelly bottom, he discharges upon themthe zoosperms by which they are fecundated. The process is analogousto some species of frogs. When the female is about to deposit her eggs, the male mounts upon her back and rides about until the eggs are alldeposited, discharging upon them the fertilizing spermatozoa as theyare laid by the female. 

In higher orders of animals, fecundation takes place within thegenerative organs of the female by contact between the male and thefemale organs. To effect this, there are necessitated certain accessoryorgans, the _penis_ in the male and the _vagina_ in the female. 

Nothing in all the range of nature is more remarkable than theadaptation of the two varieties of sexual organs in each species. Thisnecessary provision is both a powerful means of securing theperpetuation of the species, and an almost impassable barrier againstamalgamation. 

The act of union, or sexual congress, is called _coitus_ or _copulation_. It is accompanied by a peculiar nervous spasm due to excitement ofspecial nerves principally located in the _penis_ in the male, and inan extremely sensitive organ, the _clitoris_, in the female. Thenervous action referred to is more exhausting to the system than anyother to which it is subject. 

Union of the Ovum and Zoosperm. --The zoosperms not only come in contactwith the ovum, but penetrate the thin membrane which incloses itscontents, and enter its interior, where they disappear, becoming unitedwith its substance. In the ova of certain fishes, small openings havebeen observed through which the spermatozoa find entrance. Whether suchopenings exist in human ova is an undecided question; but it is probablethat they do. 

Curious Modes of Reproduction. --A peculiar kind of reproduction isobserved in a variety of polyp, a curious animal which very muchresembles a shrub in appearance. It attaches itself to some solid object, and then, as it grows, sends out little protuberances resembling buds. Some of these separate and fall off, swimming about as separate animals. These never become like the parent polyp; but they lay eggs, which hatch, and become stationary polyps like their grandparent, and in their turnthrow off buds to form swimming polyps. In this case we have two kindsof generation combined, alternating with each other. 

Plant-lice afford a curious illustration of a similar generation. Malesand females unite and produce eggs. The creatures produced by thehatching of eggs are neither males nor perfect females. They are_imperfect females_. They are all alike, so that no sexual union occurs. Instead of laying eggs, they produce live young like themselves, whichappear to be developed from internal buds similar to the external budsof the polyp. After this method of reproduction has continued for eightor ten generations, a few perfect individuals appear, and the firstprocess is repeated. 

The common honey-bee affords another illustration like the last. Avirgin queen sometimes lays eggs, which always produce males, or drones. After union with a male, she lays eggs in the royal cells which becomeperfect females like herself. She also seems to have the power to lay, at will, unfecundated eggs, from which drones are produced. 

Human Beings Are Developed Buds. --It has been very aptly suggested byan eminent physiologist that the ovum and zoosperm may be correctlyconsidered as internal buds. Thus it would appear that generation isuniversally a process of budding. A child is but a compound bud, anoffshoot from its parents. This idea is not a mere fancy, but has ascientific basis. As all the exquisite details of the most beautifulflower are in essence contained within the tiny bud which first makesits appearance, so is the developed human being, the full-grown manor woman, virtually contained within the tiny cell called the ovum afterit has been impregnated or fecundated by the zoosperms. In short, menand women are blossoms in a strictly scientific sense. 

Fecundation in Hermaphrodites. --The process of fecundation inhermaphrodite animals is very peculiar. In some cases, as in the snail, the union of two individuals is usually necessary, though eachpossesses both kinds of organs. In other cases, as in the tape-worm, the oyster, and numerous other mollusks, a single individual has thepower to fertilize its own ova, thus being wholly independent. Humanhermaphrodites are usually so deformed that fecundation is not effected, which is a fortunate safeguard against the multiplication of suchmonstrosities. 

Development. --After the union of the two elements, known as fecundationor _conception_, if the conditions are favorable, development occurs, and the little germ is in due process of time developed into anindividual which is an exact counterpart of its parents. During thisdevelopmental process, the embryonic being is variously treated bydifferent classes of animals. 

Unprotected Development. --Most fishes and reptiles discharge their ovabefore fecundation, or soon after, and pay no further attention to them. The fish deposits its eggs in a little hollow scooped out in the gravellybed of a stream, or sows them broadcast upon the waters. The turtleburies its eggs in the sand, and leaves them to be hatched by the sun. The ostrich disposes of her eggs in the same way. Many other speciesof animals pay no regard to the protection of the germs which aredestined, if placed under favorable conditions, to become individualslike themselves. 

Partial Protection of the Ovum. --There are some exceptions, however, to this general rule among fishes and reptiles. Even fishes manifesta degree of parental solicitude in certain cases. The male of a speciesof South American fish gathers up the eggs after fecundation has takenplace, and carries them in his mouth until they are hatched. Anothermale fish carries the eggs of his mate in a little pouch upon the lowerand posterior part of his body. 

Certain species of frogs carry their eggs wound about their legs; otherssuspend them from the abdomen. Another variety carries its young uponits back. Prof. Wyman describes a "swamp toad" which patiently takesthe eggs of his mate, one by one, and fastens them upon her back, observing great regularity in arrangement. These several devices areevidently for the purpose of protecting, in some degree, the youngindividual during the helpless stage of its existence. 

Development in the Higher Animals and Man. --Higher animals are lessprolific, and their development is a more complicated process; hence, their young need greater protection, and, for this reason, the ova, instead of being discharged from the body of the female afterfecundation, are retained. [3] As we have seen that a suitablereceptacle is sometimes provided outside of the body, so now areceptacle is needed, and is provided in the interior of the body ofthe female. This receptacle is called

[Footnote 3: Curious examples of internal development sometimes occurin animals which usually deposit eggs. Snakes have been known to produceboth eggs and living young at the same time. At the annual meeting ofthe American Society for the Advancement of Science, at Detroit, Mich. , in August, 1875, we had the pleasure of examining a specimen, exhibitedby Prof. Wilder, of a chick which had undergone a considerable degreeof development within the ovary of the hen. It had a head, a rudimentarybrain, and internal viscera, but no feathers nor limbs. It was, in fact, an egg hatched before it had been laid. The anomaly excited muchinterest at that time and since among biologists. ]

The Uterus. --This is a hollow, pear-shaped organ, located in the medianline, just behind the bladder, between it and the rectum. It issupported in place by various ligaments and by the juxtaposition ofother organs. Its larger end is directed upward, and communicates uponeach side with a very narrow tube which is prolonged outward on eitherside until it nearly touches the ovary of the same side. Its lower andsmaller end fills the internal extremity of the passage previouslydescribed as the vagina. When an ovum is matured, it escapes from theovary into the narrow tube referred to, called the _Fallopian tube_, and passes down into the cavity of the uterus. If fecundation does notoccur, it is expelled or absorbed after six to twelve or fourteen days. If copulation occurs, however, zoosperms are brought into the cavityof the uterus, and, coming in contact with the ovum, fecundate it. Thisis _conception_. When the natural process is allowed to proceed, development occurs. 

Uterine Gestation. --This is the term applied to the process lastreferred to. We shall not attempt to describe in detail this mostwonderful and intricate of all living processes; but will sketch onlythe chief points, leaving the reader who would obtain a more completeknowledge of the subject to consult any one of the numerousphysiological and obstetrical works which deal with it in a veryexhaustive manner. 

As soon as the ovum is impregnated by the male element, it begins aprocess of symmetrical division. The first division produces two cellsout of the single one which first existed. By the next division, foursegments are produced; then eight, sixteen, etc. While this processis going on, the ovum becomes adherent to the internal wall of the uterus, and is soon enveloped by its mucous membrane, which grows up about andincloses it. 

The Primitive Trace. --When the process of segmentation has advancedto a certain point, the cells are aggregated together in a compact layerat the surface. Soon a straight line appears upon this layer, whichis called the _primitive trace_. This delicate line becomes the basisfor the spinal column; and upon and about it the whole individual isdeveloped by an intricate process of folding, dividing, andreduplication of the layer of cells. One end of the line becomes thehead, and the other becomes the tail. Even man has a caudal appendageat an early stage of his existence. After a further lapse of time, littleexcrescences, buds, or "pads, " appear in the proper positions torepresent the arms and legs. After further development the ends splitup into fingers and toes, and by the continued development of the parts, perfect arms and legs are formed. 

Curious Relation to Lower Animals. --It is a very remarkable fact thatin the lower animals we have numerous examples in which the permanentcondition of the individual is the same as some one of the stages throughwhich man passes in the process of development. The same authorpreviously quoted makes the following interesting statements:--

"The webbed feet of the seal and ornithorhynchus typify the period whenthe hands and feet of the human embryo are as yet only partly subdividedinto fingers and toes. Indeed, it is not uncommon for the 'web' topersist to some extent between the toes of adults; and occasionallychildren are born with two or more fingers or toes united to their tips. 

"With the seal and the walrus, the limbs are protruded but little beyondthe wrist and ankle. With the ordinary quadrupeds, the knee and elboware visible. The cats, the lemurs, and the monkeys form a series inwhich the limbs are successively freed from the trunk, and in thehighest apes they are capable of nearly the same movements as the humanarm and leg, which, in their development, passed through all thesestages. "

Simplicity of Early Structures. --The first structures formed areexceedingly simple in form. It is only by slow degrees that the greatcomplicity which characterizes many organs is finally attained. Forexample, the heart is at first only a straight tube. By enlargementand the formation of longitudinal and transverse partitions, the fullydeveloped organ is finally produced. The stomach and intestines arealso at first but a simple straight tube. The stomach and largeintestine are formed by dilatation; and by a growth of the tube in lengthwhile the ends are confined, the small intestines are formed. The otherinternal organs are successively developed by similar processes. 

The Stages of Growth. --At first insignificant in size--a simple cell, the embryonic human being steadily increases in size, graduallyapproximating more and more closely to the human form, until, at theend of about nine calendar months or ten lunar months, the newindividual is prepared to enter the world and begin a more independentcourse of life. The following condensation of a summary quoted by Dr. Austin Flint, Jr. , will give an idea of the size of the developing beingat different periods, and the rate of progress:--

At the end of the third week, the embryon is a little less thanone-fourth of an inch in length. 

At the end of the seventh week, it is three-fourths of an inch long. The liver, lungs, and other internal organs are partially formed. 

At the eighth week, it is about one inch in length. It begins to looksome like a human being, but it is impossible to determine the sex. 

At the third month, the embryon has attained the length of two to twoand one-half inches. Its weight is about one ounce. 

At the end of the fourth month, the embryon is called a fetus. It isfrom four to five inches long, and weighs five ounces. 

At the fifth month, the fetus is nearly a foot long, and weighs abouthalf a pound. 

At the sixth month, the average length of the fetus is about thirteeninches, and its weight one and a half to two pounds. If born, life couldcontinue a few minutes. 

At the seventh month, the fetus is from fourteen to fifteen inches long, and weighs two to three pounds. It is now viable (may live if born). 

At the eighth month, the length of the fetus is from fifteen to sixteeninches, and its weight from three to four pounds. 

At the ninth month, the fetus is about seventeen inches long, and weighsfrom five to six pounds. 

At birth, the infant weighs a little more than seven pounds, the usualrange being from four to ten pounds, though these limits are sometimesexceeded. 

Duration of Gestation. --The length of time required for the developmentof a human being is usually reckoned as about forty weeks. A more precisestatement places it at about two hundred and seventy-eight days. Thislimit is often varied from. Cases have occurred in which a much longertime has been required, and numberless cases have occurred in whichhuman beings have been born several weeks before the expiration of theusual time, as stated. There is some uncertainty respecting the exactlength of the period of gestation, which grows out of the difficultyof determining, in many cases, the exact time when conception takesplace. 

Uterine Life. --The uterine life of the new individual begins with theimpregnation of the ovum, which occurs the instant it is brought incontact with the zoosperms of the male. While in the uterus, the younglife is supported wholly by the mother. She is obliged to provide notonly for her own sustenance, but for the maintenance of her child. Andshe must not only eat for it, but breathe for it as well, since itrequires a constant and adequate supply of oxygen before birth as muchas afterward. 

How the Unborn Infant Breathes. --Oxygen and nutriment are both suppliedto it through the medium of an organ called the _placenta_, which isa spongy growth composed almost entirely of blood-vessels, and isdeveloped upon the inner wall of the uterus, at the point at which theovum attaches itself after fecundation. The growing fetus is connectedwith this vascular organ by means of a sort of cable, called the_umbilical cord_. The cord is almost entirely composed of blood-vesselswhich convey the blood of the fetus to the placenta and return it again. The fetal blood does not mix with that of the mother, but receives oxygenand nourishment from it by absorption through the thin walls which aloneseparate it from the mother's blood. 

The umbilical cord contains no nerves, as there is no nervous connectionbetween the mother and the child. The only way in which the child canbe influenced by the mother is through the medium of the blood, tochanges in which it is very susceptible, as we shall see more clearlyhereafter. 

The cord is attached to the body of the child at the point called the_navel_, being cut off at birth by the _accoucheur_. With the placenta, it is expelled soon after the birth of the child, and constitutes theshapeless mass familiarly known as the _after-birth_, by the retentionof which the most serious trouble is occasionally caused. 

Parturition. --At the end of the period of development, the young beingis forcibly expelled from the laboratory of nature in which it has beenformed. In other words, it is born; and this process is termed_parturition_. Though, at first thought, such an act would seem an utterimpossibility, yet it is a very admirable illustration of nature'sadaptation of means to ends. During the months of gestation, while theuterus has been enlarging to accommodate its daily increasing contents, the generative passages have also been increasing in size and becomingsoft and distensible, so that a seeming impossibility is in due timeaccomplished without physical damage, though possibly not withoutintense suffering. However, it is a most gratifying fact that modernmedical science may do much to mitigate the pains of childbirth. Itis possible, by a proper course of preparation for the expected event, to greatly lessen the suffering usually undergone; and some ladiesassert that they have thus avoided real pain altogether. Although thecurse pronounced upon the feminine part of the race, in consequenceof the sin of Eve, implies suffering in the parturient act, yet thereis no doubt that the greater share of the daughters of Eve are, throughthe perverting and degenerating influences of wrong habits andespecially of modern civilization, compelled to suffer many times morethan their maternal ancestor. We have sufficient evidence of this inthe fact that among barbarian women, who are generally less pervertedphysically than civilized women, childbirth is regarded with verylittle apprehension, since it occasions little pain or inconvenience. The same is true of many women among the lower laboring classes. Inshort, while it is true that more or less suffering must alwaysaccompany the parturient act, yet the excessive pain usually attendantupon the process is the result of causes which can in many cases beremoved by proper management beforehand and at the time of confinement. 

After being relieved of its contents, the uterus and other organsrapidly return to nearly their original size. 

Changes in the Child at Birth. --In the system of the child a wonderfulchange occurs at the moment of its expulsion into the outer world. Forthe first time, its lungs are filled with air. For the first time theyreceive the full tide of blood. The whole course of the circulationis changed, and an entirely new process begins. It is surprising inhow short a space of time changes so marvelous can be wrought. 

Nursing. --The process of development is not fully complete at birth. The young life is not yet prepared to support itself; hence, stillfurther provision is necessary for it. It requires prepared food suitedto its condition. This is provided by the _mammae_, or breasts, of thefemale, which are glands for secreting milk. The fully developed glandis peculiar to the female; but a few instances have been known in whichit has been sufficiently developed to become functionally active inmen, as well as in young girls, though it is usually inactive even inwomen until near the close of gestation. It is a curious fact that thebreasts of a new-born child occasionally contain milk. 

The first product of the mammae is not the proper milk secretion, butis a yellowish fluid called _colostrum _. The true milk secretion beginstwo or three days after delivery. 

The lacteal secretion is influenced in a very remarkable manner by themental conditions of the mother. By sudden emotions of grief or anger, it has been known to undergo such changes as to produce in the childa fit of indigestion, vomiting, diarrhea, and even convulsions anddeath. Any medicine taken by the mother finds its way into the milk, and often affects the delicate system of the infant more than herself. This fact should be a warning to those nursing mothers who usestimulants. Cases are not uncommon in which delicate infants are keptin a state of intoxication for weeks by the use of alcoholic drinksby the mother. The popular notion that lager-beer, ale, wine, or alcoholin any other form, is in any degree necessary or beneficial to a nursingwoman is a great error which cannot be too often noticed and condemned. Not only is the mother injured, instead of being benefited by such apractice, but great injury, sometimes life-long in its consequences, is inflicted upon the babe at her breast who takes the intoxicatingpoison at second hand, and is influenced in a fourfold degree from itsfeebleness and great susceptibility. 

ANATOMY OF THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 

Having now considered the functions and somewhat of the structures ofthe principal organs of reproduction, we may obtain a more definiteidea of the relation of the several organs of each class by a connectedreview of the anatomy of the parts. 

Male Organs. --As previously stated, the external organs of generationin the male are the _penis_ and the _testicles_, the latter beingcontained in a pouch called the _scrotum_. The penis is the organ ofurination as well as copulation. Its structure is cellular, and itcontains a vast number of minute coils of blood-vessels which becometurgid with blood under the influence of sexual excitement, producingdistention and erection of the organ. A canal passes through its entirelength, called the _urethra_, which conveys both the urine and theseminal fluid. The organ is protected by a loose covering of integumentwhich folds over the end. This fold is called the _foreskin_ or_prepuce_. 

The fluid formed by each testicle is conveyed by the _vas deferens_, a curved tube about two feet in length, to the base of the bladder. Here the vas deferens joins with another duct which communicates withan elongated pouch, the _vesicula seminalis_, which lies close uponthe under side of the bladder. The single tube thus formed, the_ejaculatory duct_, conveys the seminal fluid to the urethra, fromwhich it is discharged. 

As the production of seminal fluid is more or less constant in man andsome animals, while its discharge is intermittent, the vesiculaeseminales serve as reservoirs for the fluid, preserving it untilrequired, or allowing it to undergo absorption. Some claim that thezoosperms are matured in these organs. They always contain seminalfluid after the age of puberty. During coition, their contents areforcibly expelled by a spasmodic contraction of the muscles whichsurround them and the ducts leading from them. 

The Prostate Gland. --Surrounding the ejaculatory ducts and theiropenings into the urethra at the base of the bladder is the _prostategland_, which produces a peculiar secretion which forms a considerableportion of the seminal fluid, being mingled with the secretion of thetestes during its ejaculation. This gland sometimes becomes the seatof somewhat serious disease. In old age it usually becomes somewhatindurated, and often to such an extent as to seriously affect the healthand comfort of the individual by interference with urination and byoccasioning pain. 

Anterior to this organ, in the urethra, is a curious little pouch, the_utriculus_, which corresponds to the vagina and uterus in the female. Just in front of the prostate gland are two small bodies known asCowper's glands. They secrete a fluid which combines with the seminalsecretion. 

Female Organs. --The _ovaries_, _uterus_, or _womb_, _Fallopian tubes_, and _vagina_ have already been described in part. The external organsof the female are included in the term _vulva_ or _pudenda_. The mostsuperficial parts are the _labia_, two thick folds of integument. Justwithin these are two thinner folds, the _labia minora_ or _nymphae_. These, together with the _clitoris_, situated just above, are extremelysensitive organs, being the chief seat of sexual sense in the female. At the lower part is the opening to the vagina, which in the virginis usually partially guarded by a thin membrane, the _hymen_. This isnot always a reliable test of virginity, however, as commonly regarded, since it may be destroyed by disease or accident, and may exist evenafter the occurrence of pregnancy. 

The vagina extends from the vulva to the lower end of the uterus, whichit incloses, passing between the bladder and the rectum. The lowerextremity of the uterus presents a small opening which leads into itsinterior. Upon either side, at its upper and larger end, is a minuteopening, the mouth of the Fallopian tube. The latter organs extend fromthe uterus outward nearly to the ovaries, toward which they presenta number of small filaments, one of which is in contact with each ovary. These filaments, together with the interior of the tubes, are coveredwith a peculiar kind of cells, upon which are minute cilia, or hairs, in constant motion. Very curiously, they all move in the same direction, toward the cavity of the uterus. When an ovum escapes from the ovaryin connection with menstruation, it is by these delicate hairspropelled along a filament of tissue to the Fallopian tube, and thenceby the same means is conveyed to the uterus. It may come in contactwith the zoosperms at any point between the ovary and the lower orificeof the uterus, and thus undergo fecundation. 

Puberty. --For a certain period after birth, the sexual organs remainin a partially developed condition. This period varies in duration withdifferent animals; in some cases being very brief, in others, comprising several years. Upon the attainment of a certain age, theindividual becomes sexually perfect, and is then capable of thegenerative act. This period is called puberty. In man, puberty commonlyoccurs between the ages of ten and fifteen years, varying considerablyin different climates. In this country, and in other countries of aboutthe same latitude, puberty usually occurs at the age of fourteen orfourteen and one-half years in females, and a few months later in males. In cooler climates, as in Norway and Siberia, the change is delayedto the age of eighteen or nineteen years. In tropical climates it ishastened, occurring as early as nine or ten years. In warm climatesit is no uncommon thing for a girl to be a mother at twelve; and itis stated that one of the wives of Mahomet was a mother at ten. 

Other causes besides climate tend to hasten the occurrence of thischange, as habits, temperament, constitutional tendency, education, and idiosyncrasy. 

Habits of vigorous physical exercise tend to delay the access of puberty. For this reason, together with others, country boys and girls generallymature later than those living in the city by several months, and evena year or two. Anything that tends to excite the emotions hastenspuberty. The excitements of city life, parties, balls, theaters, eventhe competition of students in school, and the various causes ofexcitement to the nervous system which occur in city life, have atendency to hasten the occurrence of the change which awakens the sexualactivities of the system into life. Hence, these influences cannot butbe considered prejudicial to the best interests of the individual, mentally, morally, and physically, since it is in every way desirablethat a change which arouses the passions and gives to them greaterintensity should be delayed rather than hastened. 

Influence of Diet on Puberty. --The dietary has a not unimportantinfluence in this respect. Stimulating food, such as pepper, vinegar, mustard, spices, and condiments generally, together with tea and coffee, and an excess of animal food, have a clearly appreciable influence ininducing the premature occurrence of puberty. On this account, if onno other, should these articles be prohibited to children and youth, or used very sparingly. Those who advocate the large use of meat bychildren and youth have not studied this matter closely in all itsbearings. While it is true that children and growing youth require anabundance of the nitrogenous elements of food which are foundabundantly in beefsteak, mutton, fish, and other varieties of animalfood, it is also true that in taking those articles of food they takealong with the nutrient elements properties of a stimulating character, which exert a decidedly detrimental influence upon the susceptiblesystems of children and youth. At the same time, it is possible to obtainthe same desirable nitrogenous elements in oatmeal, unbolted wheatflour, peas, beans, and other vegetable productions, which are whollyfree from injurious properties. We are positive from numerousobservations on this subject, that a cool, unstimulating, vegetableor farinaceous diet would deter the development of the sexual organismfor several months, and perhaps for a year or two. 

While it might not be in all cases desirable to do this, it would atleast be wise to adopt such measures in cases in which the child isunavoidably exposed to influences which have a tendency to hasten thechange. 

It is important to add in this connection a word of caution againstthe adoption of a dietary too abstemious in character. It is necessarythat an abundance of good, wholesome food, rich in the elements ofnutrition, should be taken regularly. There is no doubt that many youngladies have induced conditions of serious disease by actual starvationof the system. A young woman who attempts to live on strong tea or coffee, fine-flour bread, and sweet cake, is as certainly starving herself asthough she were purposely attempting to commit suicide by means ofstarvation, and with as much certainty of the same result. 

Brunettes Naturally Precocious. --It has been observed that in girlsthe occurrence of puberty is earlier in brunettes than in blondes; andin general it makes its appearance earlier in persons of a nervous ornervo-bilious temperament than in persons of a lymphatic temperamentor phlegmatic nature. 

Certain nationalities and families are marked by the earlier occurrenceof puberty than in others. In Jews, the change is commonly a year ortwo in advance of other nationalities in this country. It also occurssomewhat sooner in negroes and creoles than in white persons, theAfrican race seeming to retain something of the precocity occasionedby the tropical influence of its native clime. 

Remarkable Precocity. --Cases occasionally occur in which puberty makesits appearance at the age of three or four years. Indeed, a case hasbeen reported in this country in which a female child possessed allthe characteristics which are usually developed at puberty, from birth. In this case the regular periodical changes began at birth. 

Premature Development Occasions Early Decay. --A fact which is of toogreat importance to allow to pass unnoticed, is that whatever occasionsearly or premature sexual development, also occasions premature decay. Females in whom puberty occurs at the age of ten or twelve, by the timetheir age is doubled, are shriveled and wrinkled with age. At the timewhen they should be in their prime of health and beauty, they areprematurely old and broken. Those women who mature late retain theirbeauty and their strength many years after their precocious sistershave become old, decrepit, and broken down. Thus, the matrons of thirtyand forty years in colder climates are much more attractive inappearance than the maidens of sixteen; while quite the reverse is truein this and other countries where sexual development is undulyhastened. 

Early Puberty a Cause for Anxiety. --The unnaturally early appearanceof puberty is a just cause for apprehension, since it usually indicatesan inherent weakness of the constitution. When there are reasons forfearing its occurrence, active measures should be taken to occasiondelay if possible. We call especial attention to this point, since thereare many who erroneously suppose the early occurrence of puberty tobe a sign of superior vigor. 

Changes which Occur at Puberty. --The changes which occur in the twosexes at this period have been thus described:--

"In both sexes, hair grows on the skin covering the _symphysis pubis_, around the sexual organs, and in the axillae (armpits). In man, thechest and shoulders broaden, the larynx enlarges, and the voice becomeslower in pitch from the elongation of the vocal cords; hair grows uponthe chin, upper lip, and cheeks, and often exists upon the generalsurface of the body more abundantly than in woman. " The sexual organsundergo enlargement, and are more frequently excited. The testiclesfirst begin the secretion of the seminal fluid. 

"In woman, the pelvis and abdomen enlarge, but the whole frame remainsmore slender, the muscles and joints less prominent, the limbs morerounded and tapering [than in the male]. Locally, both external andinternal organs undergo a considerable and rapid enlargement. Themammae enlarge, the ovarian vesicles become dilated, and there isestablished a periodical discharge of one or more ova, accompanied, in most cases, by a sanguineous fluid from the cavity of the uterus. "

These changes, so varied and extraordinary, often occur within a veryshort space of time; and as they are liable to serious derangement, especially in the female, great care should be taken to secure for theindividual the most favorable conditions until they are successfullyeffected. It is, however, a fact deserving of mention, that many ofthe ills which are developed at this particular period are quite asmuch the result of previous indiscretions and mismanagement as of anyimmediate cause. A few suggestions with regard to the proper treatmentof individuals at this age may be in place. 

1. Do not allow the boy or girl to be overworked, either mentally orphysically. Great and important changes are occurring within the body, and nature should not be overtaxed. 

2. Keep the mind occupied. While excessive labor should be avoided, idleness should be as carefully shunned. Some light, useful employmentor harmless amusement--better some kind of work--should keep the mindfully occupied with wholesome subjects. 

3. Abundant exercise out-of-doors is essential for both sexes. Sunshineand fresh air are as necessary to the development of a human being asfor the expanding of a flower bud. 

4. Watch carefully the associations of the youth. This should be doneat all times, but especially just at the critical period in question, when the general physical disturbances occurring in the system reactupon the mind and make it peculiarly susceptible to influences, especially those of an evil character. 

5. None too much care can be exercised at this important epoch of humanlife, provided it is properly applied; but nothing could be moredisastrous in its consequences than a weak solicitude which pandersto every whim and gratifies every perverted appetite. _Such_ care isa fatal error. 

Menstruation. --The functional changes which occur in the female aremuch more marked than those of the male. As already intimated, theperiodical development and discharge of an ovum by the female, whichoccurs after puberty, is accompanied by the discharge of a bloody fluid, which is known as the _flowers_, _menses_, or _catamenia_. Theaccompanying symptoms together are termed the process of_menstruation_, or _being unwell_. This usually occurs, in the humanfemale, once in about four weeks. In special cases, the interval maybe a week less or a week longer; or the variation may be even greater. Dalton describes the process as follows:--

"When the expected period is about to come on, the female is affectedby a certain degree of discomfort and lassitude, a sense of weight inthe pelvis, and more or less disinclination to society. These symptomsare in some cases slightly pronounced, in others more troublesome. Anunusual discharge of vaginal mucus then begins to take place, whichsoon becomes yellowish or rusty brown in color, from the admixture ofa certain proportion of blood; and by the second or third day, thedischarge has the appearance of nearly pure blood. The unpleasantsensations which were at first manifest, then usually subside; and thedischarge, after continuing for a certain period, begins to grow morescanty. Its color changes from a pure red to a brownish or rusty tinge, until it finally disappears altogether, and the female returns to herordinary condition. "

The menstrual function continues active from puberty to about theforty-fifth year, or during the period of fertility. When it finallydisappears, the woman is no longer capable of bearing children. Thetime of disappearance is termed the "change of life, " or _menopause_. Exceptional cases occur in which this period is greatly hastened, arriving as early as the thirty-fifth year, or even earlier. Instanceshave also been observed in which menstruation continued as late as thesixtieth year, and even later; but such cases are very rare; and ifprocreation occurs, the progeny is feeble and senile. 

With rare exceptions, the function is suspended during pregnancy, andusually, also, during the period of nursing. 

Nature of Menstruation. --There has been a great amount of speculationconcerning the cause and nature of the menstrual process. No entirelysatisfactory conclusions have been reached, however, except that itis usually accompanied by the maturation and expulsion from the ovaryof an ovum, which is termed ovulation. But menstruation may occurwithout ovulation, and, _vice versa_. 

Menstruation is not peculiar to the human female, being representedin the higher animals by what is familiarly termed the "rut. " This isnot usually a bloody discharge, however, as in the human female, thoughsuch a discharge has been observed in the monkey. 

It has been quite satisfactorily settled that the discharge of the ovumfrom the ovary generally takes place about the time of the cessationof the flow. Immediately after the discharge, the sexual desires ofthe female are more intense than at other times. This fact isparticularly manifest in lower animals. The following remark by Prof. Dalton is especially significant to those who care to appreciate itsbearing:--

"It is a remarkable fact, in this connection, that the female of these[domestic] animals will allow the approaches of the male only duringand immediately after the oestrual period [rut]; that is, just whenthe egg is recently discharged, and ready for impregnation. At othertimes, when sexual intercourse would be necessarily fruitless, theinstinct of the animal leads her to avoid it; and the concourse of thesexes is accordingly made to correspond in time with the maturity ofthe egg and its aptitude for fecundation. "

The amount of fluid lost during the menstrual flow varies greatly withdifferent individuals. It is estimated at from three ounces to halfa pint. In cases of deranged function, it may be much greater than this. It is not all blood, however, a considerable portion being mucus. Itis rather difficult to understand why the discharge of so considerablea quantity of blood is required. There is no benefit derived from avery copious discharge, as some suppose. Facts seem to indicate thatin general those enjoy the best health who lose but small quantitiesof blood in this manner. 

A Critical Period. --As the first occurrence of menstruation is a verycritical period in the life of a female, and as each recurrence of thefunction renders her especially susceptible to morbid influences, andliable to serious derangements, a few hints respecting the proper careof an individual at these periods may be acceptable. 

Important Hints. --1. Avoid taking cold. To do this, it is necessaryto avoid exposure; not that a person must be constantly confined ina warm room, for such a course would be the surest way in which toincrease the susceptibility to cold. Nothing will disturb the menstrualprocess more quickly than a sudden chilling of the body when in a stateof perspiration, or after confinement in a warm room, by exposure, without sufficient protection, to cold air. A daily bath and dailyexercise in the open air are the best known means of preventing colds. 

2. Intense mental excitement, as well as severe physical labor, is tobe sedulously avoided during this period. At the time of its firstoccurrence, special care should be observed in this direction. Intensestudy, a fit of anger, sudden grief, or even great merriment, willsometimes arrest the process prematurely. The feeling of _malaise_which usually accompanies the discharge is by nature intended as awarning that rest and quiet are required; and the hint should befollowed. Every endeavor should be made to keep the individualcomfortable, calm, and cheerful. Feelings of apprehension arising froma continual watching of symptoms are very depressing, and should beavoided by occupying the mind in some agreeable manner not demandingsevere effort, either mental or physical. 

There is no doubt that many young women have permanently injured theirconstitutions while at school by excessive mental taxation during thecatamenial period, to which they were prompted by ambition to excel, or were compelled by the "cramming" system too generally pursued inour schools, and particularly in young ladies' seminaries. It is notto be supposed, however, that the moderate amount of sound studyrequired by a correct system of teaching would be injurious to a healthyyoung woman at any time, and we have no doubt that a very large shareof the injury which has been attributed to over-study during thecatamenia has been induced by other causes, such as improper dress, exposure to taking cold, keeping late hours, and improper diet. 

If there is any class of persons deserving of pity it is that largeclass of girls and young women who are in every large city employedas clerks, seamstresses, flower makers, and in other taxing andconfining occupations. In order to keep their situations they arerequired to be on hand daily, being allowed no opportunity for restat the menstrual period. In many cases, too, they are compelled toremain upon their feet all day behind a counter, or at a work table, even at periods when a recumbent position is actually demanded by nature. There should be less delicacy in relation to this subject on the partof young women, and more consideration on the part of employers. Hereis a field for philanthropic effort which is well worthy of the bestefforts of any person of influence who will engage in it. 

Custom of Indian Women. --The ease with which Indian women perform theparturient act is proverbial. They suffer scarcely at all from the painsof childbirth; and without doubt one reason of this is the preservationof their sexual health by rest during the menstrual period. At thoseseasons they invariably absent themselves from the lodge, and enjoyabsolute rest. We may readily suppose, from the nature of some of theMosaic laws, that a custom somewhat similar prevailed among the ancientHebrew women. If the hardy women of the forest are benefited by rest, certainly our more delicate females may be thus benefited. All needa degree of rest; with some it should be absolute. 

The reckless manner in which some young women treat themselves at themenstrual period, is quite appalling to one who is acquainted with thepainful and inveterate character of the evils which arise from suchabuse. It is no uncommon thing for young ladies to attend balls, visitskating rinks, and otherwise expose themselves to the influences inevery way the best calculated to do them the most harm at this particularperiod, observing not the slightest precaution. Such recklessness isreally criminal; and the sad consequences of physical transgressionare sure to follow. A young lady who allows herself to get wet or chilled, or gets the feet wet, just prior to or during menstruation, runs therisk of imposing upon herself life-long injury. Mothers should lookcarefully after their daughters at these periods, and impress upon themthe importance of special care. 

3. A third hint, which is applicable to both sexes and at all times, is the necessity of attending promptly to the demands of nature forrelief of the bowels and bladder. School-girls are often very negligentin this respect; and we have seen the most distressing cases of diseasewhich were entirely attributable to this disregard of the promptingsof nature. Obstinate constipation and chronic irritation of the bladderare common effects. When constipation results, purgatives in the shapeof pills, salts, or "pleasant purgative pellets, " are resorted to withthe certain result of producing only temporary relief, and permanentdamage. 

To escape these evil consequences, do this: 1. Establish a regular habitof relieving the bowels daily at a certain hour; 2. Discard laxativeand cathartic drugs of every kind; 3. To aid in securing a regularmovement of the bowels, make a liberal use of oatmeal, wheat-meal, fruit, and vegetables, avoiding fine-flour bread, sweetmeats, and condiments;4. Take daily exercise, as much as possible short of fatigue; ifnecessarily confined indoors, counteract the constipating influenceof sedentary habits by kneading and percussing the bowels with the handsseveral minutes each day; 5. Never resist the calls of nature a singlemoment, if possible to avoid it. In this case, as in numerous others, "delay is dangerous. " Ladies who desire a sweet breath--and what ladydoes not--should remember that retained feces are one of the mostfrequent causes of foul breath. The foul odors which ought to pass outthrough the bowels find their way into the blood and escape at the lungs. A medical man whose sense of smell is delicate soon learns to know aconstipated person by the breath. As one says, "What is more offensivethan the breath of a costive child?"

Boerhaave, a famous old Dutch physician, left to his heirs an elegantlybound volume in which, he claimed, were written all the secrets of thescience of physic. After his death, the wonderful book was opened, whenit was found to contain only the following sentence:--

"Keep the head cool, the feet warm, and the bowels open. "

An old Scotch physician once gave the following advice to Sir AstleyCooper for the preservation of health:--

"Keep in the fear of the Lord, and your bowels open. "

4. Perhaps nothing tends more directly to the production of menstrualderangements--as well as uterine diseases of every sort--thanfashionable modes of dress. We have not space here to give to the subjectthe attention it deserves; it will be found treated of in works devotedto the subject of dress exclusively. Some of the most glaring evilsare, --

(1) Unequal distribution of clothing. The trunk, especially the abdomenand pelvis, is covered with numerous layers of clothing, an extra amountbeing caused by the overlapping of the upper and lower garments. Veryfrequently, the amount of clothing upon these, the most vital parts, is excessive. At the same time, the limbs are sometimes almost in astate of nudity. A single cotton garment, or at most one of thin flannel, is the only protection afforded to the limbs beneath the skirts, whichoften serve no better purpose than to collect cold air and retain itin contact with the limbs. A thin stocking is the only protection forthe ankles, and a thin shoe is the only additional covering affordedthe feet. Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that a woman catchescold if she only steps out-of-doors on a chilly or damp day. 

(2) Another glaring fault is in the manner of suspending the skirts. Instead of being fastened to a waist or suspended so as to give themsupport from the shoulders, they are hung upon the hips, being drawntight at the waist to secure support. By this means, the organs of thepelvis are pressed down out of place. The uterus becomes congested, and painful menstrual derangements ensue. 

(3) Tight lacing, or compressing the waist with a corset, is a barbarouspractice which produces the same results as the one last mentioned. Reform in all of these particulars is an imperative necessity for everywoman who desires to secure or retain sexual health. 

It is of the greatest importance that careful attention should be givento the proper establishment of the menstrual function at the outsetof a woman's life of sexual activity. The first two years will be quitelikely to have a deciding influence respecting her health during herwhole future life. If a woman can get through the first two years afterpuberty without acquiring any serious uterine or ovarian disease, shewill stand a good chance of enjoying a good degree of sexual healthduring the balance of her life. The foundation of a great share of themany thousands of cases of uterine disease is laid during this period. 

At this early period the daughter is usually too young to appreciatethe importance of observing slight deviations from the standard ofhealth, even if she were able to recognize them. Hence it is a dutywhich no mother should neglect, to inquire into the exact frequencyof the periods, the amount and character of the discharge, and otherpoints necessary to ascertain whether or not there is any deviationfrom the natural condition of health. If there is pain, it is a certainevidence of something seriously wrong. If there is irregularity in anyparticular, it is a matter well deserving of serious attention. 

Menorrhagia. --This condition is that in which there is a too profusedischarge of blood. The system is weakened by the loss, and, so muchso, in many cases, that the individual does not recover her accustomedstrength before the occurrence of the next period, when she becomesweakened still more. By a continuance of this periodical loss, theperson may be reduced to a state of almost utter helplessness. A deathlypallor of the countenance, extreme emaciation, loss of strength, andgeneral debility mark the effects of the constant drain upon the system. Thousands of young women continue to suffer in this way year after year, until their constitutions are almost hopelessly wrecked, beingdeterred by false notions of modesty or delicacy from consulting aproper medical adviser and finding relief. 

The observance of a few simple precautions, and the application ofproper remedies, will check the unnatural loss in most of these casesvery promptly. In the first place, absolute rest, chiefly in a supineposition, must be observed not only during the menstrual period, butfor a few days previous to its commencement. If this does not restrainthe flow, then cool and even cold compresses may be applied to the lowerpart of the abdomen and to the small of the back. In severe cases noharm will come from the use of an ice-compress, made by inclosingpounded ice between the folds of a towel. Great care must be taken tomake the hands, arms, feet, and limbs thoroughly warm by the applicationof warm bottles and woolen blankets. These measures will scarcely failto accomplish the desired end, if employed thoroughly and judiciously. It may be well to add just here that the popular fear of using coldin such cases is groundless. No harm can come so long as the extremitiesare kept warm, and the circulation well balanced. The patient must notbe made chilly, however. It is also of importance that the patient bekept mentally quiet as well as physically so. 

Much good will result from these simple measures at the time of theperiod; but a radical cure can only be effected by removing the causeof the difficulty. The patient's general health must be improved, andlocal congestion must be removed. This will be accomplished byattention to general hygiene, gentle exercise out-of-doors between theperiods, abundance of good food, tonic baths and other necessarytreatment if there is derangement of the digestive organs, and dailyhip baths with a local douche. The hip bath should be taken in waterof a temperature of 92 degrees at the beginning. After five minutesthe temperature may be lowered 5 degrees. After five minutes more, itmay be lowered a few degrees more. By taking a warm foot bath at 95degrees or 100 degrees at the same time, quite a cool bath may be enduredwithout chilling. The bath should be continued 15 minutes to 30 minutes, according to the strength of the patient. A shorter bath than this willdo little good, as the sedative effect will not be obtained. 

The douche may be taken at the same time with the bath, or before, asis most convenient. The fountain or syphon syringe should be employed, and the water used should range from 95 degrees to 105 degrees, as bestsuits the sensations of the patient, being cooled a little toward thelast. In general, the hot douche, of a temperature from 100 degreesto 115 degrees, or even 120 degrees, is not only more agreeable, butmuch more beneficial. 

By these simple remedies alone we have successfully treated scores ofcases of this sort. In some cases other remedies may be required, andin nearly all, accessory remedies can be employed to advantage; butthe measures described are the main features of the most successfulmode of treatment. 

Dysmenorrhoea. --This condition is that in which there is more or lesspain and difficulty in connection with the menstrual process. Thecauses are various, as congestion of the uterus, malformation, anddisplacement or distortion of the organ. Some of these conditionsrequire the attention of a skilled physician to remedy; but all willbe palliated more or less by a course of treatment similar to thatdescribed for the previous condition. A warm sitz or hip bath just atthe beginning of the period will often give almost magical relief. Theapplication of fomentations over the lower part of the abdomen, andthe corresponding portion of the spine, or of hot bags, bottles, etc. , in the same localities, is a measure of great utility. The patientshould be covered warm in bed, should keep quiet, and great care shouldbe used to keep the extremities well warmed. The use of electricityis a very valuable aid in numerous cases, but this requires the servicesof a physician, who should always be employed in severe cases whenwithin reach. 

In many cases of this form of disease the suffering is so great thatthe constant dread of its periodical repetition becomes a source ofgreat unhappiness, and casts a gloom over the life of an individualwho would otherwise be as happy as could be desired. 

Amenorrhoea and Chlorosis. --These are serious disorders which requireprompt and vigorous attention. They depend less frequently on disorderof the sexual organs themselves than upon some disorder of the generalsystem. They usually demand the attention of a competent physician, and require a more accurate description of their nature and of propermodes of treatment than we have space to give here. 

Hysteria. --From the most remote ages of medical history this diseasehas been regarded as intimately connected with morbid states of thefemale organs of generation, especially the uterus. That it is notexclusively produced by causes of this kind is evidenced by the factthat men also sometimes suffer from this curious malady. The phaseswhich it assumes are so numerous that we shall not attempt an accuratedescription of it; neither is this required, as there are few who arenot familiar with its peculiar manifestations. It simulates almostevery disease. Even consumption and other formidable maladies have beenso completely simulated by this disorder as to deceive physicians oflong experience. We have met cases in which young ladies were supposedto be in the last stages of pulmonary disease, were apparently gaspingalmost their last breath, panting, coughing, and experiencing the usualsymptoms which accompany tuberculous disease of the lungs, when, uponmaking a thorough physical examination of the chest, we could find noevidence of pulmonary disease. In one case we incurred the everlastingdispleasure of a young lady by disclosing the real state of affairs;but we were repaid in seeing an immediate disappearance of the symptoms, and complete recovery within six weeks, although the young woman hadbeen considered hopelessly ill by her friends and physicians for sixmonths, and was tenderly watched over, petted, and mourned by friendsas one who must soon fall a victim to fell disease. 

The foundation of this disease is almost always laid in someindiscretion by means of which disease of the uterus is induced, andthe most careful attention to this part of the organism is required. It should not be treated as a trivial matter which is wholly the resultof a diseased imagination, and requires only mental treatment, sinceit is a real malady, dependent upon morbid states of the system. Itrequires substantial and thorough treatment as much as rheumatism, dyspepsia, or any other of the numerous diseases to which humanity issubject. 

Prevention Better than Cure. --We might mention numerous other diseasedconditions which grow out of inattention to the laws of health relatingto the sexual organism; but to dwell longer upon this part of the subjectwould be to depart from the plan of this work, and we must forbear. This whole class of maladies is noted for obstinacy in great numbersof cases when the morbid conditions have existed for a long time. Inaddition it should be remarked that some of the most inveteratedisorders of the nervous system originate in this same manner. Thethousands of ladies who are suffering with spinal irritation, organicdisease of the spine and other nervous disorders, are witnesses to thisfact. It is apparent, then, that prevention of these serious maladiesby attention to sexual hygiene, especially to the hygiene ofmenstruation at the first establishment of that function, is a matterof gravest importance. In fact, attention to hygiene is about all thatis required. With this, drugs will be rarely required; without, theywill be utterly useless. 

Extra-Uterine Pregnancy. --Sometimes the ovum becomes fecundatedbefore reaching the uterus, and, instead of passing onward into thatorgan as usual, remains in its position in the Fallopian tube or evenon the surface of the ovary. Occasionally an ovum falls into the cavityof the abdomen instead of passing into the tube. Even in this situationit may be fecundated. Impregnated ova thus left in abnormal positions, undergo a greater or lesser degree of development. They commonly resultin the death of the mother. 

Twins. --The human female usually matures but one ovum at each menstrualperiod, the two ovaries acting alternately. Occasionally two ova arematured at once. If fecundation occurs, the result will be a developmentof two embryos at the same time. In rare cases, three or even four ovaare matured at once, and by fecundation produce a corresponding numberof embryos. As many as five children have been born alive at one birth, but have not lived more than a few minutes. 

The occurrence of multiple pregnancies may be explained by thesupposition that ova matured subsequent to the first fecundation arealso fecundated. 

In lower animals, the uterus is often divided into two long segmentswhich afford room for the development of a number of young at once. Some ancient writers make most absurd statements with regard to thefecundity of females. One declares that the simultaneous birth of sevenor eight infants by the same mother was an ordinary occurrence withEgyptian women! Other statements still more extravagant are made bywriters. For example: A traveler in the seventeenth century wrote thathe saw, in the year 1630, in a church near the Hague, a tablet on whichwas an inscription stating that a certain noted countess gave birthat once, in the year 1276, to 365 infants, who were all baptized andchristened, the males being all called John, and the females, Elizabeth. They all died on the day of their birth, with their mother, accordingto the account, and were buried in the church, where a tablet was erectedto their memory. 

Monsters. --Defects and abnormalities in the development of the embryonproduce all degrees of deviation from the typical human form. Excessivedevelopment may result in an extra finger or toe, or in the productionof some peculiar excrescence. Deficiency of development may produceall degrees of abnormality from the simple harelip to the most frightfuldeficiency, as the absence of a limb, or even of a head. It is in thismanner that those unfortunate individuals known as hermaphrodites areformed. An excessive development of some parts of the female generativeorgans gives them a great degree of similarity to the external organsof the male. A deficient development of the male organs renders themvery similar in form to those of the female. Redundant development ofthe sexual organism sometimes results in the development of both kindsof organs in the same individual in a state more or less complete. Caseshave occurred in which it has become necessary, for legal purposes, to decide respecting the sex of an individual suffering from defectivedevelopment, and it has sometimes been exceedingly difficult to decidein a given case whether the individual was male or female. 

Such curious cases as the Carolina twins and Chang and Eng were formerlysupposed to be the result of the union of two separate individuals. It is now believed that they are developed from a single ovum. It hasbeen observed that the primitive trace--described in a previoussection--sometimes undergoes partial division longitudinally. If itsplits a little at the anterior end, the individual will have a singlebody with two heads. If a partial division occurs at each end, theresulting being will possess two heads and two pairs of legs joinedto a single body. More complete division produces a single trunk withtwo heads, two pairs of arms, and two pairs of legs, as in the caseof the Carolina twins. Still more complete division may result in theformation of two perfect individuals almost entirely independent ofeach other, physiologically, but united by a narrow band, as in theremarkable Siamese twins, Chang and Eng. 

In a curious case reported not a great while ago, a partially developedinfant was amputated from the cheek of a child some time after birth. 

The precise cause of these strange modifications of development is asyet, in great degree, a mystery. 

Hybrids. --It is a well-known law of biology that no progeny result fromunion of animals of different species. Different varieties of the samespecies may in some cases form a fertile union, the result of whichis a cross between its two parents, possessing some of the qualitiesof each. The mule is the product of such a union between the horse andthe ass. A curious fact is that the offspring of such unions arethemselves sterile almost without exception. The reason of this is thatthey do not produce mature elements of generation. In the mule, thezoosperms are either entirely absent or else very imperfectlydeveloped; hence the fact that a colt having a mule for its sire isone of the rarest of curiosities, though a few instances have beenreported. This is a wise law of nature to preserve the purity of species. 

Law of Sex. --If there is a law by which the sex of the developing embryonis determined, it probably has not yet been discovered. The influenceof the will, the predominant vitality of one or the other of the parents, and the period at which conception occurs, have all been supposed tobe the determining cause. A German physician some time since advancedthe theory that the two testicles and ovaries produce elements ofdifferent sexual character, the right testicle forming zoospermscapable of producing only males, and the right ovary producing ova withthe same peculiarity. The left testis and the left ovary he supposedto form the female elements. He claimed to have proved his theory byexperiments upon animals. Even if true, this theory will not be madeof practical importance. It is, in fact, nothing more than a revivalof an old theory held by physicians who flourished more than twothousand years ago. 

More recently another German physician has advanced the theory thatthe sex may be controlled at will by observing the time of fecundation. He asserts that when fecundation occurs shortly after menstruation, the result will be a female; but if impregnation occurs later in themonth, and prior to the three or four days preceding the next menstrualperiod, a male will almost certainly be produced. This theory wasproposed by Prof. Thury of the academy of Geneva, who claims to havethoroughly tested it in a great variety of ways, and always with anaffirmative result. Dr. Heitzman, of New York, an instructor inpathological histology, and an eminent physiologist, informs us thathe has thoroughly tested this theory, and finds it to be entirelyreliable. There are numerous facts which seem to corroborate the truthof this theory, and future investigations may give to it the dignityof an established physiological fact. 

Heredity. --The phenomena of heredity are among the most interestingof biological studies. It is a matter of common observation that a childlooks like its parents. It even happens that a child resembles an uncleor a grandparent more nearly than either parent. The same peculiaritiesare often seen in animals. 

The cause of this resemblance of offspring to parents and ancestorshas been made a subject of careful study by scientific men. We shallpresent the most recent theory adopted, which, although it be but atheory, presents such an array of facts in its support, and explainsthe phenomena in question so admirably, that it must be regarded assomething more than a plausible hypothesis. It is the conception ofone of the most distinguished scientists of the age. The theory is knownas the doctrine of _pangenesis_, and is essentially as follows:--

It is a fact well known to physiologists that every part of the livingbody is made up of cellular elements which have the power to reproducethemselves in the individual, thus repairing the damage resulting fromwaste and injury. Each cell produces cells like itself. It is furtherknown that there are found in the body numerous central points of growth. In every group of cells is found a central cell from which the othersoriginated, and which determines the form of their growth. Every minutestructure possesses such a center. A simple proof of this fact is foundin the experiment in which the spur of a cock was grafted upon the earof an ox. It lived in this novel situation eight years, attaining thelength of nine inches, and nearly a pound in weight. A tooth has beenmade to grow upon the comb of a cock in a similar manner. The tail ofa pig survived the operation of transplanting from its proper positionto the back of the animal, and retained its sensibility. Numerous othersimilar illustrations might be given. 

The doctrine of pangenesis supposes that these centers of nutritionform and throw off not only cells like themselves, but very minutegranules, called gemmules, each of which is capable, under suitablecircumstances, of developing into a cell like its parent. 

These minute granules are scattered through the system in great numbers. The essential organs of generation, the testicles in the male and theovaries in the female, perform the task of collecting these gemmulesand forming them into sets, each of which constitutes a reproductiveelement, and contains, in rudimentary form, a representative of everypart of the individual, including the most minute peculiarities. Evenmore than this: It is supposed that each ovum and each zoosperm containsnot only the gemmules necessary to reproduce the individuals whoproduced them, but also a number of gemmules which have been transmittedfrom the individuals' ancestors. 

If this theory be true, --and we can see no sound objection to it, --itis easy to understand all the problems of heredity. The gemmules mustbe very small indeed, but it may be suggested that the molecules ofmatter are smaller still, so this fact is no objection to the theory. 

It will be seen, then, that each spermatozoon, or zoosperm, actuallycontains, in an embryonic condition, every organ and tissue of theindividual producing it. The same is true of the ovum. In other words, the reproductive elements are complete representatives, in miniature, of the parents, and contain all the elements for producing an offspringpossessing the same peculiarities as the parents. Various modifyingcircumstances sufficiently explain the dissimilarities betweenparents and children. 

This theory is strikingly confirmed by the fact, previously mentioned, that in certain cases the ovum alone, a single reproductive element, may undergo a degree of development approaching very near to completion. It is supposed that fecundation is chiefly necessary to give to thegemmules the requisite amount of nourishment to insure development. 

As we shall see hereafter, this matter has a very important bearingupon several practical questions. 

Ante-Natal Influences. --There can be no manner of doubt that manycircumstances which it is entirely within the power of the parents tosupply, exert a powerful influence in molding both the mental and thephysical characteristics of offspring. By carefully availing himselfof the controlling power given him by a knowledge of this fact, thestock-raiser is enabled to produce almost any required quality in hisyoung animals. Pigeon fanciers show wonderful skill in thus producingmost curious modifications in birds. The laws of heredity anddevelopment are carefully studied and applied in the production ofsuperior horses, cows, dogs, and pigeons; but an application of thesame principles to the improvement of the human race is rarely thoughtof. Human beings are generated in as haphazard and reckless a manneras weeds are sown by the wind. No account is taken of the possibleinfluence which may be exerted upon the future destiny of the new beingby the physical or mental condition of parents at the moment when thegerm of life is planted, or by the mental and physical conditions andsurroundings of the mother while the young life is developing. Indeed, the assertion of a modern writer that the poor of our great citiesvirtually "spawn children, " with as little thought of influences andconsequences as the fish that sow their eggs broadcast upon the waters, is not so great an exaggeration as it might at first sight appear tobe. 

Law Universal. --Men and women are constantly prone to forget that thedomain of law is universal. Nothing comes by chance. The revolutionsof the planets, studied by the aid of the telescope, and the gyrationsof the atoms, seen only by the eye of science, are alike examples ofthe controlling influence of law. Notwithstanding this sad ignoranceand disregard of this vitally important subject, the effects of laware only too clearly manifested in the crowds of wretched human beingswith which the world is thronged. An old writer sagely remarks, "Itis the greatest part of our felicity to be well born;" nevertheless, it is the sad misfortune of by far the greater portion of humanity tobe deprived of this inestimable "felicity. "

A Source of Crime. --Who can tell how many of the liars, thieves, drunkards, murderers, and prostitutes of our day are less responsiblefor their crimes against themselves, against society, and againstHeaven, than those who were instrumental in bringing them into theworld? Almost every village has its boy "who was born drunk, " astaggering, simpering, idiotic representative of a drunken father, beastly intoxicated at the very moment when he should have been mostsober. 

An interesting study of this question has recently been made by Mr. Dugdale, a member of the Prison Association of the State of New York. When visiting the various jails of the State, he found in one six personsdetained for crimes of various character, between all of whom therewas a family relation. Upon further inquiry, he found that of the samefamily there were twenty-nine relatives in the vicinity, seventeen ofwhom were criminals. Still further investigation developed thefollowing facts:--

Within seventy-five years, a family of 1200 persons have sprung fromfive sisters, several of whom were illegitimate, and three of whom wereknown to be unchaste, and who married men whose father was an idle, thriftless hunter, a hard drinker, and licentious. 

Of this family, the history of but 709 was traced. Of these, the factsset forth in the following incomplete summary were found to be true:--

 Paupers, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 Years of pauperism, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798 Criminals, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Years of infamy, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750 Thieves, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Murderers, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Prostitutes and adulteresses, . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Illegitimate children, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 No. Of persons contaminated by syphilitic disease, . 480 Cost to the State in various ways, . . . . . $1, 308, 000

Without doubt a complete summary would make this showing still moreappalling, since of the 709 whose histories were traced, it was in manyinstances impossible to determine whether the individuals were guiltyof crime or unchastity or not, even where there were grounds forsuspicion. Such cases were not included in the summary. 

No amount of argument on this question could be so conclusive as arethese simple facts concerning the "Juke" family. It is certainly hightime that our legislators began to awaken to this subject, and considerwhether it would be an unprofitable experiment to make some attemptto prevent the multiplication of criminals in this manner. We are notprepared to offer a plan for securing such an end; but it is very clearlyimportant that something should be done in this direction. 

It is an established physiological fact that the character of offspringis influenced by the mental as well as the physical conditions of theparents at the moment of the performance of the generative act. In viewof this fact, how many parents can regard the precocious--or evenmature--manifestations of sexual depravity in their children withoutpainful smitings of conscience at seeing the legitimate results oftheir own sensuality? By debasing the reproductive function to an actof selfish animal indulgence, they imprinted upon their children analmost irresistible tendency to vice. Viewing the matter from thisstand-point, what wonder that licentiousness is rife! that truechastity is among the rarest of virtues!

Prof. O. W. Holmes remarks on this subject: "There are people who thinkthat everything may be done if the doctor, be he educator or physician, be only called in season. No doubt; but _in season_ would often be ahundred or two years before the child was born, and people never sendso early as that. " "Each of us is only the footing up of a double columnof figures that goes back to the first pair. Every unit tells, and someof them are _plus_ and some _minus_. If the columns don't add up right, it is commonly because we can't make out all of the figures. "

It cannot be doubted that the throngs of deaf, blind, crippled, idioticunfortunates who were "born so, " together with a still larger classof dwarfed, diseased, and constitutionally weak individuals, are thelamentable results of the violation of some sexual law on the part oftheir progenitors. 

If parents would stop a moment to consider the momentousresponsibilities involved in the act of bringing into existence a humanbeing; if they would reflect that the qualities imparted to the newbeing will affect its character to all eternity; if they would recallthe fact that they are about to produce a mirror in which will bereflected their own characters divested of all the flimsy fabrics whichdeceive their fellow-men, revealing even the secret imaginings of theirhearts, --there would surely be far less of sin, disease, and miseryborn into the world than at the preset day; but we dare not hope forsuch a reform. To effect it, would require such a revolution in thecustoms of society, such a radical reform in the habits and charactersof individuals, as nothing short of a temporal millennium would be ableto effect. 

It is quite probable that some writers have greatly exaggerated thepossible results which may be attained by proper attention to the lawsunder consideration. All cannot be equally beautiful; every childcannot be a genius; the influence of six thousand years of transgressioncannot be effaced in a single generation; but persevering, conscientious efforts to comply with every requirement of health, purity, morality, and the laws of nature, will accomplish wonders insecuring healthy children with good dispositions, brilliant intellects, and beautiful bodies. 

This is not the proper place to describe in detail a plan to be pursued;but the few hints given, if rightly appreciated, may enable thoseinterested in the subject to plan for themselves a proper course. Inconcluding the subject, we may summarize its chief points as follows, for the purpose of impressing them more fully upon the mind:--

1. If a child is begotten in lust, its lower passions will as certainlybe abnormally developed as peas will produce peas, or potatoes producepotatoes. If the child does not become a rake or a prostitute, it willbe because of uncommonly fortunate surroundings, or a miracle of divinegrace. But even then, what terrible struggles with sin and vice, withfoul thoughts and lewd imaginations--the product of a naturallyabnormal mind--must such an individual suffer! If he is unsuccessfulin the conflict, is he alone to blame? Society, his fellow-men, willcensure him alone; but He who knoweth all the secrets of human lifewill pass a more lenient judgment on the erring one, and mete outpunishment where it most belongs. 

2. The same remarks apply with equal force to the transmission of otherqualities. If the interest of the parents is only for self, with nothought for the well-being of the one whose destiny is in their hands, they can expect naught but a selfish character, a sordid, greedydisposition, in the child. 

3. The influence of the father is, at the outset, as great as that ofthe mother. The unhappy or immoral thoughts of one alone at the criticalmoment when life is imparted, may fix for eternity a foul blot upona character yet unformed. 

4. If during gestation the mother is fretful, complaining, andexacting; if she requires to be petted and waited upon; if she gratifiesevery idle whim and indulges every depraved desire and pervertedappetite--as thousands of mothers do--the result will surely be apeevish, fretful child, that will develop into a morose and irritableman or woman, imperious, unthankful, disobedient, willful, gluttonous, and vicious. 

If such undesirable results would be avoided, the following suggestionsshould be regarded:--

1. For the beginning of a new life, select the most favorable time, which will be when the bodily health is at its height; when the mindis free from care and anxiety; when the heart is joyous, cheerful, andfilled with hope, love, high aspirations, pure and beautiful thoughts. If, as one writer says, it is the duty of every human pair engagingin the reproductive act to bring into existence the most perfectspecimen of the race of which they are capable, then it becomes amonstrous crime to enter into relations which may produce a contraryresult. This may be a truth hard to accept, but who is prepared todispute it on logical or moral grounds?

2. If a child has been properly conceived, the duty then devolves uponthe mother to secure its proper development. Is beauty desired, letthe mother be surrounded with beautiful objects; and let her mind dwellupon such objects. If an active mind and brilliant intellect arerequired, the mother should devote considerable time to study andmental labor of a pleasant nature. The moral nature should be carefullycultivated, to insure a lovely disposition. No angry words or unhappyfeelings should be tolerated. Purity of heart and life should bemaintained. The husband should do his part by supplying favorablesurroundings, suggesting cheerful thoughts, and aiding mental culture. 

3. After birth, the mother still possesses a molding influence uponthe development of her child through the lacteal secretion. Everymother knows how speedily the child will suffer if nursed when she isexhausted by physical labor or when suffering from nervous excitement, as anger or grief. These facts show the influence which the mentalstates of the mother exert upon the child even when the act of nursingis the only physical bond between them. 

It would be a happy day for the race which should witness the recognitionof the fact that infants, even human beings in embryo, possess rightswhich are as sacred as those of adult human beings. 

Circumcision. --The fold of integument called the prepuce, which hasbeen previously described, has upon its inner surface a large numberof glands which produce a peculiar secretion. Under certaincircumstances, and from inattention to personal cleanliness, thissecretion may accumulate, and then often becomes the cause ofirritation and serious disease. To prevent such disorders, and toinsure cleanliness, the Jewish law required the removal of the prepuce, which constituted the rite of circumcision. The same practice isfollowed by several modern nations dwelling in tropical climates; andit can scarcely be doubted that it is a very salutary one, and hascontributed very materially to the maintenance of that proverbialnational health for which the Jews are celebrated. Eminent physicianshave expressed the opinion that the practice would be a salutary onefor all men. The maintenance of scrupulous cleanliness, by dailycleansing, is at least an imperative duty. 

In some countries, females are also circumcised by removal of thenymphae. The object is the same as that of circumcision in the male. The same evils result from inattention to local cleanliness, and thesame measure of prevention, daily cleansing, is necessitated by asimilar secretion. Local cleanliness is greatly neglected by both sexes. Daily washing should begin with infancy and continue through life, andwill prevent much disease. 

Castration. --This operation consists in the removal of the testes ofthe male. It does not at once obliterate the sexual sense, especiallyif performed after puberty, but of course renders the individualimpotent, or incapable of reproduction. Persons upon whom it has beenperformed are called eunuchs. It was a very common custom in ancienttimes, being usually prompted by the jealousy of rulers, who allowedno males but eunuchs to associate with their wives and concubines. Theeffect upon the male is to render him effeminate in appearance and weakin mind. If performed before puberty, the growth of the beard is scanty, and the voice never acquires that deepness of tone natural to themasculine voice. 

An analogous operation, termed _spaying_, is performed upon females, consisting in the removal of the ovaries; effects similar to those inthe male, _sterility_ without entire immediate loss of sexual sense, being the usual result. Spaying is much more rarely performed thancastration. Both operations are now quite rare, seldom being resortedto except in surgical cases. Castration is still practiced in someEastern countries. 

THE SEXUAL RELATIONS. 

Just in proportion as the perpetuation of the race is more importantthan the existence of any single individual, the organs of reproductionmay in a certain sense be said to rank higher than any other organsof the human frame, since to them is intrusted the important duty ofperforming that most marvelous of all vital processes, the productionof human beings. That this high rank in the vital economy is recognizedby nature, is shown by the fact that she has attached to the abuse ofthe generative function the most terrible penalties which can beinflicted upon a living being. The power of abuse seems to be almostexclusively confined to man; hence, we find him the only one of allliving creatures subject to the awful penalties of sexualtransgression. 

The _use_ of the reproductive function is perhaps the highest physicalact of which man is capable; its _abuse_ is certainly one of the mostgrievous outrages against nature which it is possible for him toperpetrate. No observing person can doubt that the sexual relationsof men and women determine in a great degree their happiness or miseryin life. This subject, then, deserves due attention and carefulconsideration. It is of no use to scout it; for it will inevitablyobtrude itself upon us, no matter now sedulously we attempt to avoidit. It can be rightly considered only with the most perfect candor, with the mind unbiased by passion, and prayerfully anxious to know and_do_ what is right. 

In the following paragraphs of this section are considered some of theevils out of which grows much of the sexual suffering of men and women:--

Sexual Precocity. --There are two periods in human life when the sexualinstincts should be totally dormant; and they are so when nature isnot perverted. The first is the period reaching from infancy to puberty. The second is the period reached in advanced age. 

If raised strictly in accordance with natural law, children would haveno sexual notions or feelings before the occurrence of puberty. Noprurient speculation about sexual matters would enter their heads. Until that period, the reproductive system should lie dormant in itsundeveloped state. No other feeling should be exhibited between thesexes than that brotherly and sisterly affection which is so admirableand becoming. 

Fortunate, indeed, would it be for humanity if this natural state alwaysexisted; but it is a lamentable fact that it is rarely seen in modernhomes. Not infrequently, evidences of sexual passion are manifestedbefore the child has hardly learned to walk. It has been suggested thatthis precocity is nothing remarkable or unnatural, since it is oftenseen in little lambs and other young animals. To this it is onlynecessary to reply that the development of the sexual instinctsperfectly corresponds with the longevity of the animal; if short-lived, like the sheep, only a short period intervenes between birth and theattainment of the sexual appetite and virility. If the animal isintended for long life, as is the case with man, these manifestationsare delayed until a much later period, or should be. Certain insectsperform the sexual act as soon as they acquire their perfect form; butthey perish as soon as the act is completed. 

Astonishing Ignorance. --It is astonishing how ignorant and indifferentthe majority of people are upon this subject. A friend related to usan incident which fairly illustrates the terrible apathy which prevailsamong parents. While teaching a country school, he learned that a largenumber of children, boys and girls, of ages varying from eight to twelveand fourteen years, were in the habit of collecting together in barnsand other secluded places, and in a state of nudity imitating the "BlackCrook" with all possible additional nastiness. Horrified at such amonstrous evil, he hastened to inform the parents of the corruptionin their midst. Imagine his astonishment when he was met with anindifferent laugh and the response, "Pooh! it's only natural; perfectlyharmless; _just like little pigs!_" As though pigs were models for humanbeings!

It is not pleasant to consider what must have been the moral statusof parents who could hold such views; and it is no wonder that theyshould produce such children. Doubtless they learned, too late, thatthose "natural" manifestations were the outgrowth of incipient vices, planted and fostered by themselves, which in later years destroyedshame and gave loose rein to lust. 

Often the manifestation of sexual precocity is less gross, but almostequally fraught with danger, nevertheless. Dr. Acton, a distinguishedEnglish surgeon whom we shall frequently quote, makes the followingexcellent remarks upon this subject:--

"Slight signs are sufficient to indicate when a boy has this unfortunatetendency. He shows marked preferences. You will see him single out onegirl, and evidently derive an unusual pleasure (for a boy) in hersociety. His _penchant_ does not take the ordinary form of a boy's goodnature, but little attentions that are generally reserved for a laterperiod prove that his feeling is different, and sadly premature. Hemay be apparently healthy, and fond of playing with other boys; stillthere are slight, but ominous, indications of propensities fraught withdanger to himself. His play with the girl is different from his playwith his brothers. His kindness to her is a little too ardent. He followsher, he does not know why. He fondles her with a tenderness painfullysuggestive of a vague dawning of passion. No one can find fault withhim. He does nothing wrong. Parents and friends are delighted at hisgentleness and politeness, and not a little amused at the earlyflirtation. If they were wise, they would rather feel profound anxiety;and he would be an unfaithful or unwise medical friend who did not, if an opportunity occurred, warn them that such a boy, unsuspiciousand innocent as he is, ought to be carefully watched and removed fromevery influence calculated to foster his abnormal propensities. 

"The premature development of the sexual inclination is not alonerepugnant to all we associate with the term childhood, but is alsofraught with danger to dawning manhood. On the judicious treatment ofa case such as has been sketched, it probably depends whether thedangerous propensity shall be so kept in check as to preserve the boy'shealth and innocence, or whether one more shattered constitution andwounded conscience shall be added to the victims of sexual precocityand careless training. It ought not to be forgotten that in such casesa quasi-sexual power often accompanies these premature sexualinclinations. Few, perhaps, except medical men, know how early in lifea mere infant may experience erections. Frequently it may be noticedthat a little child, on being taken out of bed in the morning, cannotmake water at once. It would be well if it were recognized by parentsand nurses that this often depends upon a more or less completeerection. "

We have been not more disgusted than shocked to see parents, whoseintelligence ought to teach them better, not only winking at, butactually encouraging, these premature manifestations of passion intheir children. They may yet learn, by bitter experience, the follyof their course, unless they make the discovery in time to avert thecalamitous results which threaten the future of their children, bycareful reformatory training. 

Inherited Passion. --It is important to inquire the cause of thisprecocity. Said a father of our acquaintance, when remonstrated withfor encouraging his infant son in a ridiculous flirtation, "I did justso when I was of his age. " In this case the cause was evident. The childwas only acting out the disposition bequeathed him by his parent. Howoften do the secret follies of parents stand out in bold relief in theirchildren. Such a legacy is nothing to be proud of. 

We again quote from Dr. Acton some observations on the causes of thisdisorder, --for a grave disorder it is, --as follows:--

"I should specify _hereditary_ predisposition as by no means the leastcommon. .. . I believe that, as in body and mind, so also in the passions, the sins of the father are frequently visited on the children. No manor woman, I am sure, can have habitually indulged the sexual passions . .. Without, at least, running the risk of finding that a disposition tofollow a similar career has been inherited by the offspring. It is inthis way only that we can explain the early and apparently almostirresistible propensity in generation after generation indulgingsimilar habits and feelings. "

Various Causes of Sexual Precocity. --Another very powerfulpredisposing cause of sexual precocity will be alluded to under thehead of "Marital Excesses. " The irritation caused by worms in the rectum, by local irritation or uncleanliness, or by irritation of the bladder, are exciting causes which are not infrequent. The latter cause isindicated by another symptom, the frequent wetting of the bed at night. Such a symptom doubly demands immediate attention. 

The juvenile parties so common now-a-days, at which little ones of bothsexes, of ages varying from four or five years to ten or twelve, withwonderful precocity and truthfulness imitate the conduct of theirelders at fashionable dinners, cannot be too much deprecated. Suchassociations of the sexes have a strong tendency to develop prematurelythe distinctive peculiarities of the sexes. This is well evidenced bythe fact that on such occasions one of the most common and popularentertainments is sham marriages. Parents greatly err in encouragingor allowing their children to engage in amusements of so dangerous acharacter. They are productive of no good, and are almost withoutexception productive of positive and serious injury. 

Modern modes of life, improper clothing, the forcing system of crammingin schools, the immodest example of older persons, and especially theirritating, stimulating articles of diet which are daily set beforechildren, as well as older people, undoubtedly have a powerfulinfluence in stimulating the development of the sexual passions. Thissubject is again referred to under the heading, "Chastity. "

Obscene books and papers, lewd pictures, and evil communications aretelling causes which will be further noticed elsewhere. 

Senile Sexuality. --As with childhood, old age is a period in which thereproductive functions are quiescent unless unnaturally stimulated. Sexual life begins with puberty, and, in the female, ends at about theage of forty-five years, the period known as the _menopause_, or _turnof life_. At this period, according to the plainest indications ofnature, all functional activity should cease. If this law isdisregarded, disease, premature decay, possibly local degenerations, will be sure to result. Nature cannot be abused with impunity. 

The generative power of the male is retained somewhat longer than thatof the female, and by stimulation may be indulged at quite an advancedage, but only at the expense of shortening life, and running the riskof sudden death. Says Parise, "One of the most important pieces ofinformation which a man in years can attain is 'to learn to become oldbetimes, ' if he wishes to attain old age. Cicero, we are told, was askedif he still indulged in the pleasures of love. 'Heaven forbid, ' repliedhe, 'I have forsworn it as I would a savage and a furious master. '"

Some learned physicians place the proper limit of man's functionalactivity at fifty years, if he would not render himself guilty ofshortening his days by sensuality. Other reasons for this course willappear hereafter. 

When the passions have been indulged, and their diminishing vigorstimulated, a horrid disease, _satyriasis_, not infrequently seizesupon the imprudent individual, and drives him to the perpetration ofthe most loathsome crimes and excesses. Passions cultivated andencouraged by gratification through life will thus sometimes asserta total supremacy in old age. 

Marriage. --The scope and plan of this work will allow of but thebriefest possible consideration of this subject upon which volumes havebeen written, much to no purpose other than the multiplication of books. We shall devote no space to consideration of the origin of theinstitution, its expediency, or varied relations, as these topics areforeign to the character of this work. 

The primary object of marriage was, undoubtedly, the preservation ofthe race, though there are other objects which, under specialcircumstances, may become paramount even to this. These latter wecannot consider, as only the relations of the reproductive functionsin marriage come properly within our province. 

The first physiological question to be considered is concerning theproper age for marriage. 

Time to Marry. --Physiology fixes with accuracy the earliest period atwhich marriage is admissible. This period is that at which the bodyattains complete development, which is not before twenty in the female, and twenty-four in the male. Even though the growth may be completedbefore these ages, ossification of the bones is not fully effected, so that development is incomplete. 

Among most modern nations, the civil laws fixing the earliest date ofmarriage seem to have been made without any reference to physiology, or with the mistaken notion that puberty and nubility are identical. It is interesting to note the different ages established by differentnations for the entrance of the married state. The degenerating Romansfixed the ages of legal marriage at thirteen for females, and fifteenfor males. The Grecian legislator, Lycurgus, placed the ages atseventeen for the female, and thirty-seven for the male. Plato fixedthe ages at twenty and thirty years. In Prussia, the respective agesare fifteen and nineteen; in Austria, sixteen and twenty; in France, sixteen and eighteen, respectively. 

Says Mayer, "In general, it may be established that the normal epochfor marriage is the twentieth year for women, and the twenty-fourthfor men. "

Application of the Law of Heredity. --A moment's consideration of thephysiology of heredity will disclose a sufficient reason why marriageshould be deferred until the development of the body is wholly complete. The matrimonial relation implies reproduction. Reproduction iseffected through the union of the ovum with the zoosperm. These elements, as we have already seen, are complete representatives of theindividuals producing them, being composed--as supposed--of minutegemmules which are destined to be developed into cells and organs inthe new being, each preserving its resemblance to the cell within theparent which produced it. The perfection of the new being, then, mustbe largely dependent on the integrity and perfection of the sexualelements. If the body is still incomplete, the reproductive elementsmust also be incomplete; and, in consequence, the progeny must beequally immature. 

Early Marriage. --The preceding paragraph contains a sufficient reasonfor condemning early marriage; that is, marriage before the agesmentioned. It is probable that even the ages of twenty and twenty-fourare too early for those persons whose development is uncommonly slow. But there are other cogent reasons for discountenancing early marriages, also drawn from the physiology of reproduction, to say nothing of themany reasons which might be urged on other grounds. 

1. During the development of the body, all its energies are requiredin perfecting the various tissues and organs. There is no material tobe spared for any foreign purpose. 

2. The reproductive act is the most exhaustive of all vital acts. Itseffect upon an undeveloped person is to retard growth, weaken theconstitution, and dwarf the intellect. 

3. The effects upon the female are even worse than those upon the male;for, in addition to the exhaustion of nervous energy, she is compelledto endure the burdens and pains of child-bearing when utterlyunprepared for such a task, to say nothing of her unfitness for theother duties of a mother. With so many girl-mothers in the land, isit any wonder that there are so many thousands of unfortunateindividuals who never seem to get beyond childhood in theirdevelopment? Many a man at forty years is as childish in mind, and asimmature in judgment, as a well-developed lad of eighteen would be. They are like withered fruit plucked before it was ripe; they can neverbecome like the mellow and luscious fruit allowed to mature properly. They are unalterably molded; and the saddest fact of all is that theywill give to their children the same imperfections; and the childrenwill transmit them to another generation, and so the evil will go onincreasing, unless checked by extinction. 

Mutual Adaptation. --Another question of very great importance is thatof the mutual adaptation of the individuals. To this question we candevote but a very brief consideration, and that will be more of thenature of criticism than of a set of formal rules for governingmatrimonial alliances. 

A writer of some note, whose work on this and kindred subjects has hadquite an extensive circulation, advocates with great emphasis thetheory that parties contemplating marriage should in all cases selectfor partners individuals as nearly like themselves as possible. Exactduplicates would, in his opinion, make the most perfect unionattainable. To make his theory practicable, he is obliged to fall backupon phrenology; and directs that a man seeking a wife, or a womanseeking a husband, should obtain a phrenological chart of his head andthen send it around until a counterpart is found. If the circle of one'sacquaintance is so fortunate as to contain no one cursed with the samepropensities or idiosyncrasies as himself, the newspapers are to bebrought into requisition as a medium of advertising. 

If so strange a doctrine as this were advocated by an obscure individualin some secluded hamlet, or found only in the musty volumes of someforgotten author, it surely would be unworthy of notice; but comingas it does from a quite popular writer, and being coupled with a greatamount of really valuable truth, it is sufficiently important todeserve refutation. A brief glance at the practical working of thetheory will be a sufficient exposure of its falsity. 

According to this rule, a man or woman of large combativeness shouldselect a partner equally inclined to antagonism; then we shouldhave--what? the elements of a happy, contented, harmonious life? No;instead, either a speedy lawsuit for divorce, or a continual domesticbroil, the nearest approach to a mundane purgatory possible. Theselfish, close-fisted, miserly money-catcher must marry a womanequally sordid and stingy. Then together they could hoard up, for mothsand rust to destroy, or for interested relatives to quarrel over, thepictorial greenback and the glittering dollar, each scrimping the otherdown to the finest point above starvation and freezing, and finallydying, to be forgotten as soon as dead by their fellow-men, and sentamong the goats at the great assizes. A shiftless spendthrift mustchoose for a helpmeet (?) an equally slovenly, thriftless wife. A manwith a crotchet should select a partner with the same morbid fancy. A man whose whole mental composition gravitates behind his ears, mustfind a mate with the same animal disposition. An individual whose mentalorganization is sadly unbalanced, is advised to seek for a wife a womanwith the same deficiencies and abnormalities. 

Any one can see at a glance the domestic disasters which such a planof proceeding would entail. Men and women of unbalanced temperamentswould become more unbalanced. An individual of erroneous tendencies, instead of having the constant check of the example and admonitionsof a mate of opposite tendencies, would be, by constant example, hastened onward in his sinful ways. Thus, to all but a very smallproportion of humanity, the married state would be one of infelicityand degeneration. 

And what would be the progeny of such unions? The peculiarities andpropensities of the parents, instead of being modified and perhapsobliterated in the children by corresponding differences in character, would be doubly exaggerated. The children of selfish parents would bethieves; those of spendthrifts, beggars; those of crotchety parents, monomaniacs; those born of sensual parents, beastly debauchees. A fewgenerations of such a degenerating process would either exterminatethe race or drive it back to Darwin's ancestral ape. 

It must not be inferred, from our strictures upon the theory mentioned, that we would advocate the opposite course, that is, the contractionof marriage by individuals of wholly dissimilar tastes, aims, andtemperaments. Such alliances would doubtless be quite as wretched intheir results as those of an opposite character. It is with this aswith nearly all other subjects; the true course lies between the twoextremes. Parties who are negotiating a life partnership should becareful to assure themselves that there exists a sufficient degree ofcongeniality of temperament to make such close and continuedassociation agreeable. 

Disparity of Age. --Both nature and custom seem to indicate that thehusband should be a little older than the wife. Several reasons mightbe given for this; but we need not mention them. When, however, thedifference of ages reaches such an extreme as thirty, forty, even fiftyor more years, nature is abused, good taste is offended, and evenmorality is shocked. Such ill-sorted alliances are disastrous to bothparties, and scarcely more to one than the other. An old man who formsa union with a young girl scarce out of her teens--or even younger--canscarcely have any very elevated motive for his action, and he certainlyexposes himself to the greatest risk of sudden death, while insuringhis premature decay. A king once characterized such a course as "thepleasantest form of suicide. " It is doubtless suicidal, but we suspectthere are some phases of such an unnatural union which are not veryenjoyable. 

One reason of the great danger of such marriages to the old is theexhaustive effects of the sexual act. As previously noted, in someanimals it causes immediate death. Dr. Acton makes the followingpertinent remarks:--

"So serious, indeed, is the paroxysm of the nervous system producedby the sexual spasm, that its immediate effect is not always unattendedwith danger, and men with weak hearts have died in the act. Every nowand then we learn that men are found dead on the night of their wedding. "

"However exceptional these cases are, they are warnings, and shouldserve to show that an act which _may_ destroy the weak should not betampered with, even by the strong. "

"There are old men who marry young wives, and who pay the penalty bybecoming martyrs to paralysis, softening of the brain, and drivelingidiocy. "

Dr. Gardner quotes the Abbe Maury, as follows: "I hold as certain thatafter fifty years of age a man of sense ought to renounce the pleasuresof love. Each time that he allows himself this gratification is _apellet of earth thrown upon his coffin_. "

Dr. Gardner further says: "Alliances of this sort have taken place inevery epoch of humanity, from the time of the patriarchs to the presentday, --alliances repugnant to nature, --between men bordering ondecrepitude and poor young girls, who are sacrificed by their parentsfor position, or who sell themselves for gold. There is in thesemonstrous alliances something which we know not how to brandsufficiently energetically, in considering the reciprocal relationsof the pair thus wrongfully united, and the lot of the children whichmay result from them. Let us admit, for an instant, that the marriagehas been concluded with the full consent of the young girl, and thatno external pressure has been exerted upon her will--as is generallythe rule--it will none the less happen that reflection and experiencewill tardily bring regrets, and the sharper as the evil will be withoutremedy; but if compulsion, or what is often the same thing, _persuasion_, had been employed to obtain the consent which the law demands, theresult would have been more prompt and vehement. From this moment thecommon life becomes odious to the unhappy victim, and _culpable hopes_will arise in her desolate heart, so heavy is the chain she carries. In fact, the love of the old man becomes ridiculous and horrid to her, and we cannot sufficiently sympathize with the unfortunate person whoseduty [?] it is to submit to it. If we think of it an instant, we shallperceive a repulsion, such as is only inspired by the idea of incest. .. . So what do we oftenest observe? Either the woman violently breaks thecursed bands, or she resigns herself to them; and then she seeks tofill up the void in her soul by adulterous amours. Such is the somberperspective of the sacrilegious unions which set at defiance the mostrespectable instincts, the most noble desires, and the most legitimatehopes. Such, too, are the terrible chastisements reserved for thethoughtlessness or foolish pride of these dissolute gray-beards, whoprodigalize the last breath of their life in search of depravedvoluptuousness. "

The parents, the perpetrators of such an outrage against nature, arenot the only sufferers. Look at the children which they bring into theworld! Let Dr. Gardner speak again:--

"Children, the issue of old men, are habitually marked by a seriousand sad air spread over their countenances, which is manifestly veryopposite to the infantile expression which so delights one in the littlechildren of the same age engendered under other conditions. As theygrow up, their features take on more and more the senile character;so much so that every one remarks it, and the world regards it as anatural thing. The old mothers pretend that it is an old head on youngshoulders. They predict an early death to these children, and the eventfrequently justifies the horoscope. Our attention has for many yearsbeen fixed upon this point, and we can affirm that the greater partof the offspring of these connections are weak, torpid, lymphatic, ifnot scrofulous, and do not promise a long career. "

In old age the seminal fluid becomes greatly deteriorated. Even at thebest, its component elements could only represent decrepitude andinfirmity, degeneration and senility. In view of such facts, says Dr. Acton, --

"We are, therefore, forced to the conclusion that the children of oldmen have an inferior chance of life; and facts daily observed confirmour deductions. Look but at the progeny of such marriages; what is itsvalue? As far as I have seen, it is the worst kind--spoilt childhood, feeble and precocious youth, extravagant manhood, early and prematuredeath. "

Unions of an opposite character to those just considered, wherein ayoung man marries a woman much older than himself, are more rare thanthose of the other class. They are, perhaps, less deplorable in theirphysical effects, but still highly reprehensible. They are seldomprompted by pure motives, and can be productive of no good. Childrenresulting from such unions are notably weak, unbalanced, and sorryspecimens of humanity. 

We have scarcely referred to the domestic misery which may result fromthese disgraceful unions. If a young girl is brought home by a widowerto preside over his grown-up daughters, perhaps old enough to be hermother, all the elements are provided for such a domestic hell as couldonly be equaled by circumstances precisely similar. If children areborn, neither father nor mother is fit to act the part of a parent tothem. The father, by reason of his age, is fitful, uncertain, andchildish; to-day too lenient, to-morrow too exacting. The mother ispettish, childish, indulgent, impatient, and as unskilled ingovernment as unfit for motherhood. In the midst of all this misrule, the child grows up undisciplined, uncultivated, unsubdued; a miseryto his parents, a disgrace to his friends, a dishonor to himself. 

"What shall I do with him? and what will he do with me?" was the questionasked by a girl of eighteen whose parents were urging her to marry anold man; and every young woman would do well to propound it under similarcircumstances. 

Were we disposed to define more specifically the conditions necessaryto secure the most harmonious matrimonial unions, it would be uselessto do so; for unions of this sort never have been, and never willbe--with rare exceptions--formed in accordance with a prescribedmethod independent of any emotional bias. Nor is it probable that sucha plan would result in remedying, in any appreciable degree, existingevils. It is a fact too patent to be ignored that a very large shareof the unhappiness in the world arises from ill-mated marriages; butit is also true that nearly the whole of this unhappiness might beaverted if the parties themselves would endeavor to lessen thedifferences between them by mutual approximation. 

Courtship. --We cannot well avoid devoting a few paragraphs to a partof the subject so important as this, especially as it affords anopportunity for pointing out some evils too patent and too perilousto be ignored. 

Courting, in the sense in which we use the word, is distinctly anAmerican custom. The social laws of other civilized countries are suchas to preclude the possibility of the almost unrestrained associationof the sexes in youth which we see in this country. We do not offerthis fact as an argument in favor of foreign social customs, by anymeans, although in this one particular they often present greatadvantages, since in the majority of instances other evils as greator even greater are encouraged. We mention the fact simply for thepurpose of bringing into bold relief the evils of the characteristicAmerican looseness in this particular. 

A French matron would be horrified at the idea of a young man askingher daughter to accompany him alone on an evening ride, to a lecture, concert, or other place of amusement, and much more should he ask theprivilege of sitting up all night in the parlor with the light turneddown, after the rest of the family had retired. Among respectable peoplein France such liberties are not tolerated; and a young man who shouldpropose such things would be dismissed from the house instantly, andwould be regarded as unfit for association with virtuous people. Ifa young man calls upon a young lady for the purpose of making heracquaintance, he sees both her and her mother, or an aunt or older sister. He never sees her alone. If he invites her to ride, or to accompanyhim to an entertainment of any sort, he must always invite her ladyfriend also; she goes along at any rate. There is afforded no chancefor solitary moonlight strolls or rides, nor any other of the similaropportunities made so common by American courting customs. We are noadvocates of the formal modes of contracting matrimonial alliancescommon among many nations, and illustrations of which we find at allages of the world. For example, among the ancient Assyrians it was acustom to sell wives to the highest bidder, at auction, the sumsreceived for the handsomer one being given to the less favored onesas a dowry, to secure a husband for every woman. The same customprevailed in Babylon in ancient times, and has been practiced in moderntimes in Russia. At St. Petersburg, not many years ago, an annual saleof wives was held on Whit Sunday, after the same plan followed by theAssyrians. 

Among the early Jews it seems to have been the custom for parents toselect wives for their sons. In the case of Isaac, this important matterwas intrusted to an old and experienced servant, who was undoubtedlyconsidered much more competent to select a wife for the young man thanhe was himself. The same custom has been handed down even to the presenttime among some oriental nations. In many cases the parties are notallowed to see each other until after the wedding ceremony is completed. The Hungarians often betroth their children while they are yet in theircradles, as did the Mexicans and Brazilians of the last century. Insome countries it has even been customary to betroth girlsconditionally before they were born. The primitive Moravians seem tohave adhered to the ancient Jewish custom in some degree, though makingthe selection of a wife a matter of chance. The old people did all thecourting there was done, which was not much. When a young man desireda wife, a helpmeet was selected for him by casting lots among themarriageable young ladies of the community, and the young man wasobliged to abide by the decision, it being supposed that Providencecontrolled the selection. We are not prepared to say that the youngman ran any greater risk of getting an uncongenial or undesirable lifecompanion by this mode of selection than by the more modern modes invogue among us. 

As before remarked, we do not present these customs as illustrationsof what might be considered a proper mode of conducting the preliminarysteps of matrimonial alliances. On the contrary, we unhesitatinglypronounce them decidedly objectionable on moral grounds if not onothers, and we can readily see that such unions must have been in manycases exceedingly unsatisfactory. 

In various other countries, marriage customs quite the opposite fromthose described have been in vogue. In Irving's "Knickerbocker'sHistory of New York, " a somewhat humorous account is given of a customwhich has prevailed in some parts of this country as well as others, even within the memory of persons living at the present day, and is, indeed, said to be not yet altogether obsolete in Finland. The author, in dwelling upon the social customs of the early Dutch settlers of NewYork, describes "a singular custom prevalent among them, commonly knownby the name of _bundling_, --a superstitious rite observed by the youngpeople of both sexes, with which they usually terminated theirfestivities, and which was kept up with religious strictness by themore bigoted part of the community. This ceremony was likewise, in thoseprimitive times, considered as an indispensable preliminary tomatrimony, their courtships commencing where ours usually finish, --bywhich means they acquired that intimate acquaintance with each other'sgood qualities before marriage, which has been pronounced byphilosophers the sure basis of a happy union. Thus early did thiscunning and ingenious people display a shrewdness of making a bargain, which has ever since distinguished them. "

"To this sagacious custom, therefore, do I chiefly attribute theunparalleled increase of the Yanokie or Yankee race; for it is a certainfact, well authenticated by court records and parish registers, that, wherever the practice of bundling prevailed, there was an amazingnumber of sturdy brats annually born into the State, without the licenseof the law, or the benefit of clergy. "

Long Courtships. --Chiefly for the reasons presented in the precedingparagraphs, we are opposed to long courtships and long engagements. They are productive of no good, and are not infrequently the occasionof much evil. There may be circumstances which render a prolongedengagement necessary and advisable; but, in general, they are to beavoided. 

On the other hand, hasty marriages are still more to be deprecated, especially when, as is too commonly the case, the probability is sogreat that passion is the actuating motive far more than true love. Marriage is a matter of most serious consequences, and deserving ofthe most careful deliberation. Too often matrimony is entered uponwithout any more substantial assurance of happiness as the result thanthe individual has of securing a valuable prize who buys a ticket ina lottery scheme. In the majority of cases, young people learn moreof each other's real character within six weeks after marriage thanthey discovered during as many months of courting. To every young manand woman we say, Look well before you leap; consider well, carefully, and prayerfully. A leap in the dark is a fearful risk, and will be farmore likely to land you in a domestic purgatory than anywhere else. Do not be dazzled by a handsome face, an agreeable address, a brilliantor piquant manner. Choose, rather, modesty, simplicity, sincerity, morality, qualities of heart and mind, rather than exteriorembellishments. 

"It is folly, " suggests a friend, "to give advice on these subjects, for no one will follow advice on this point, no matter how sensibleand reasonable he may be on all other subjects. The emotions carry theindividual away, and the reason loses control. " This is all too true, in nearly all cases. We believe in affection. The emotions have theirpart to act. We have no sympathy with the theories of those who willhave all marriages made by rule. But reason must be allowed a voicein the matter; and although there may be a time when the overwhelmingforce of the emotions may force the reason and judgment into thebackground, there has been a time previous when the judgment might haveheld control. Let every young man and woman be most scrupulously carefulhow he allows emotional excitement to gain the ascendency. When oncereason is stifled, the individual is in a most precarious situation. It is far better and easier to prevent the danger than to escape fromit. 

Flirtation. --We cannot find language sufficiently emphatic to expressproper condemnation of one of the most popular forms of amusementindulged in at the present day in this country, under the guise ofinnocent association of the sexes. By the majority of people, flirtation is looked upon as harmless, if not useful, as some evenconsider, claiming that the experience gained by such associations isvaluable to young persons, by making them familiar with the customsof society and the ways of the world. We have not the slightesthesitation in pronouncing flirtation as pernicious in the extreme. Itexerts a malign influence alike upon the mental, the moral, and thephysical constitution of those who indulge it. The young lady who hasbecome infatuated with a passion for flirting, courting the societyof young men simply for the pleasure derived from their attentions, is educating herself in a school which will totally unfit her for theenjoyment of domestic peace and happiness should she have all theconditions necessary for such enjoyment other than those which sheherself must furnish. More than this, she is very likely laying thefoundation for lifelong disease by the dissipation, late hours, latesuppers, evening exposures, fashionable dressing, etc. , the almostcertain accompaniments of the vice we are considering. She is surelysacrificing a life of real true happiness for the transientfascinations of unreal enjoyment, pernicious excitement. 

It may be true, and undoubtedly is the case, that the greater shareof the guilt of flirtation lies at the door of the female sex; but theredo exist such detestable creatures as male flirts. In general, the maleflirt is a much less worthy character than the young lady who makesa pastime of flirtation. He is something more than a flirt. In ninecases out of ten, he is a rake as well. His object in flirting is togratify a mean propensity at the expense of those who are pure andunsophisticated. He is skilled in the arts of fascination and intrigue. Slowly he winds his coils about his victim, and before she is awareof his real character, she has lost her own. 

Such wretches ought to be punished in a purgatory by themselves, madeseven times hotter than for ordinary criminals. Society is full of theselecherous villains. They insinuate themselves into the drawing-roomsof the most respectable families; they are always on hand at socialgatherings of every sort. They haunt the ball-room, the theater, andthe church, when they can forward their infamous plans by seeming tobe pious. Not infrequently they are well supplied with a stock of piouscant, which they employ on occasion to make an impression. They arethe sharks of society, and often seize in their voracious maws thefairest and brightest ornaments of a community. The male flirt is amonster. Every man ought to despise him; and every woman ought to spurnhim as a loathsome social leper. 

Youthful Flirtations. --Flirting is not confined to young men and women. The contagion extends to little boys and girls, whose heads ought tobe as empty of all thoughts of sexual relations as the vacuum of anair-pump of air. The intimate association of young boys and girls inour common schools, and, indeed, in the majority of educationalinstitutions, gives abundant opportunity for the fostering of this kindof a spirit, so prejudicial to healthful mental and moral development. Every educator who is alive to the objects and interests of hisprofession knows too well the baneful influence of these premature andpernicious tendencies. Many times has the teacher watched with a sadheart the withering of all his hopes for the intellectual progress ofa naturally gifted scholar by this blighting influence. The mostdangerous period for boys and girls exposed to temptations of this sortis that just following puberty, or between the ages of twelve andeighteen or twenty. This period, a prominent educator in one of ourWestern States once denominated, not inappropriately, "the agonizingperiod of human puppyhood. " If this critical period is once safelypassed, the individual is comparatively safe; but how many fail to passthrough the ordeal unseared!

The most painful phase of this subject is the tacit--even, in many cases, active--encouragement which too many parents give their children inthis very direction, seemingly in utter ignorance of the enormity ofthe evil which they are winking at or fostering. Parents needenlightenment on this subject, and need to be aroused to the fact thatit is one of the most momentous questions that can arise in the rearingand training of children. 

Polygamy. --One hundred years ago the discussion of the public proprietyor impropriety of a plurality of wives would have been impossible. Polygamy had not obtained a foothold as an institution in any civilizedland. Being well known as not uncommon among certain heathenish andbarbarous tribes, it was looked upon as a heathenish and debasinginstitution, the outgrowth of ignorance and gross sensuality, and arelic of a sensual age. Now, this is no longer true. Even in this, themost enlightened of all lands, where there are most ample facilitiesfor culture, for moral and mental development, polygamy holds up itshideous head in defiance of all the laws of God and man. It is truethat the perpetrators of this foul crime against humanity and Heavenhave been driven by the indignation of outraged decency to seek alurking place in the far-off wilderness of the Western territories;yet the foul odors from this festering sore are daily becoming moreand more putrescent, and in spite of the distance, are contaminatingthe already not overstrict morals of the nation. 

No better evidence of the blighting, searing effect of this gross socialcrime could be found than the fact that not only is polygamy comingto be winked at as something not so very bad after all, but men fromwhom we have a right to expect something better are coming forward inits defense. 

We have just been perusing a work written for the express purpose ofjustifying and advocating polygamy, which was written by an evangelicalclergyman. He was evidently not willing to own his work, however, sincehis name is carefully excluded from the title-page, and his publisherput under an oath of secrecy. The arguments which he makes in favorof polygamy are chiefly the following:--

1. That it is approved by the Bible. 

2. That a robust man requires more than one woman to satisfy his sexualdemands. 

3. That there are more women than men; and since every woman has a rightto have a husband, the only way all can be supplied is to allow severalwomen, two or more, according to the capacity of the man, or as theycan agree, to form a marriage partnership with one man. 

4. That the great men of all ages have been polygamists in fact, ifnot by open profession. 

5. That monogamy is a relic of the paganism of the ancient Greeks andRomans, with whom it originated. 

6. That it is the only proper and effective cure for the "social evil, "and all its attendant vices and dire diseases. 

As this work has had quite a circulation, bearing the imprint of awell-known Boston publisher, and has not received any answer that weare aware of, we deem it worth while to give these arguments, whichare very strongly presented, at least a brief passing notice. We willconsider them in the order in which we have stated them. 

1. We deny most emphatically the assertion that polygamy is eithertaught or approved by the Bible. It was tolerated in a people who hadlong been in the darkness of Egyptian bondage, but never approved. Indeed, the inspired writers have evidently taken pains to givenumerous examples of the evils growing out of that violation of thelaw of God and Nature. 

2. The second argument is based upon the asserted fact that mannaturally possesses stronger sexual demands than woman; that thesedemands are imperative; and that it is not only impossible, but in thehighest degree injurious, to restrain them. 

While it is true as a fact affirmed by constant observation that menhave stronger passions than women, in general, and that many men demandof their wives a degree of sexual indulgence which is the cause ofserious injury to them, and even impossible for them to grant withoutdoing themselves the greatest wrong, it is by no means proven eitherthat these demands are imperative, that they are natural, or that theyare not injurious to the man as well as the woman, much less beneficialto either. On the contrary, there is as great a weight of evidence ascould be required that restraint, self-control, and moderation in theexercise of the sexual instinct is in the highest degree beneficialto man, as well as to woman, and necessary for his highest development. 

3. While it is true that there are a few more adult women than men, the difference is not sufficiently great to require the introductionof polygamy as a remedy for enforced celibacy. At any rate this wouldbe unnecessary until all bachelors had been provided with wives, whenthere would be found no necessity for further provision, since thereare large numbers of women who are utterly unfit to marry, who wouldbe injured by so doing, and would only serve to degenerate the race, besides making themselves more wretched than they already are. 

Again, it is a well-known fact that more males than females are born, the preponderance of adult females being caused by a greater mortalityamong male children, together with the losses from accidents and war. By a correct observance of the laws of health, together with theabolition of wars, the disparity in relative numbers of the sexes woulddisappear. Indeed, it might happen that men would be in thepreponderance. 

Still again, it is only in a few very populous and long-settledcommunities that there are more women than men, as in the States ofMassachusetts, Connecticut, and a few others of the Eastern States, and a few countries of Europe. In all newly settled countries thereverse is true. The inquiry naturally arises, What shall be done underthese circumstances? Shall a woman be allowed more than one husband, as is actually the case in some countries? "Oh! no;" our polygamistreplies, "A woman is not capable of loving more than one man, and isnot even able to satisfy the sexual demands of a single husband; so, of course, a plurality of husbands is out of the question. A man iscapable of loving any number of women, being differently constitutedfrom a woman; and so the same rule does not apply. "

The writer evidently confounds love with lust. He will grant unstintedreign to the lusts of man, but requires woman to be restrained, offeringas an apology for such a manifest unfair and unphilosophicaldiscrimination that "man is differently constituted from a woman, sexually, requiring more active exercise of the sexual functions, " aconclusion which could be warranted only by the selection, as a typicalspecimen of the male part of humanity, of a man with an abnormaldevelopment of the animal propensities. 

A correct understanding and application of the laws of sexual hygienewould effectually sweep away every vestige of argument based on thisfoundation. 

4. In proof of the propriety of polygamy, as well as of its necessity, the author referred to cites the well-known fact that Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon, Burns, Byron, Augustus, Webster, and numerous others of the noted men of all ages have been incontinentmen. The fact that these men were guilty of crime does not in the leastdegree detract from the enormity of the sin. It is equally true thatmany great men have been addicted to intemperance and other crimes. Alexander was a Sodomite as well as a lecherous rake. Does this factafford any proof that those crimes are virtues instead of vices? Suchargument is hardly worthy of serious refutal, since it stultifiesitself. 

5. The fact that monogamy was practiced among the ancient Greeks andRomans is in no way derogatory of it as an institution. Even if it couldbe shown that it originated with those nations, still this would inno way detract from its value or respectability. Do not we owe muchto those grand old pagans who laid the foundation for nearly all themodern sciences, and established better systems of political economy, and better schools for uniform culture of the whole individual, thanany the world has seen since? But monogamy did not originate with theGreeks, neither was it invented by the Romans, nor by any other nation. It originated with the great Originator of the human race. It is aninstitution which has come down to us, not from Greece or Rome, butfrom Paradise. 

If it was so important that man should have more than one woman to supplyhis sexual demands, why was the Creator so short-sighted as to makebut one Eve? It would have been as easy to remove two or three or halfa dozen ribs from Adam's side as one; and as the whole world had yetto be populated, a plurality of wives would certainly have acceleratedthe process. Surely, if polygamy was ever required or excusable, itought to have been allowed at the start. 

Again, when Noah went into the ark, taking with him an assortment ofall species of animals, he took some kinds by pairs and some by sevens, from which we might suspect, at least, that he observed the laws ofnature respecting polygamous and monogamous animals. But he took onlyone wife for himself, and only one for each of his sons. Why not twoor half a dozen instead? Polygamy would certainly have accelerated therepopulation of the earth most wonderfully; but Noah was monogamous. To say, in view of such facts, that monogamy originated with thepaganism of ancient Greece and Rome, is blasphemy. 

6. The argument that polygamy will cure the "social evil" is exactlyequivalent to the argument that the removal of all restraint from thesale and manufacture of intoxicating drinks, thus making them cheapand common, is the best remedy for intemperance. An equally goodargument might be made for the cure of theft, murder, and every othervice and crime, by a similar plan. Such reasoning is the veriestsophistry. None but a biased mind could produce such flimsy arguments. 

But we forbear. We have already given this subject more attention thanit is worthy of, though we have failed to characterize the vice ofpolygamy as it deserves. We leave this for the reader. 

Polyandry. --Perhaps we should add a word or two respecting this custom, which seems to be a still greater outrage against nature than that ofpolygamy, being the possession of a plurality of husbands by one woman. This practice is in vogue in several countries at the present time, being very common in Thibet, where it is not an unusual thing for awoman in marrying the eldest of a family of brothers to include in thecontract all of the other brothers as well. Polyandry was also commonamong the ancient Medes. Indeed, the Medes practiced both polygamy andpolyandry. A man was not considered respectable unless he had at leastseven wives; neither were women considered worthy of general esteemunless they had as many as five husbands. In that country, the factthat a woman was already married was in no degree a barrier to subsequentmarriages, even while the husband was living, and without the troubleof a divorce. Those who maintain the propriety of polygamy would dowell to consider the historic facts respecting the opposite practice. There appear to be as good grounds for believing one to have a basisin the human constitution as the other. 

Divorce. --Another of the crying evils of the day, and one which menacesin a most alarming manner the most sacred interests of society, is thefacility with which divorces may be obtained. In some States the lawsregulating divorce are so notoriously loose that scores and evenhundreds of people visit the States referred to every year with no otherobject than to obtain a dissolution of the bonds of matrimony. Theeffect of this looseness in the laws is to encourage hasty, inconsiderate marriages, and to make escape from an uncongenial partnerso easy that the obligation to cultivate forbearance and to acquiremutual adaptation which may not at first exist, is wholly overlooked. 

The Bible rule for divorce, laid down by the Great Teacher, is littleregarded in these degenerate days. He made adultery the only legitimatecause for divorce; yet we now see married people breaking asunder theirsolemn marriage ties on the occurrence of the most trivial difficulties. If a couple become tired of each other and desire a change, all theyhave to do is to forward the fee to a New York or Chicago lawyer, andthey will receive back in a short time the legal papers duly signed, granting them the desired annulment of their vows. 

Although countenanced by human laws, there can be no doubt that thisshameless trifling with a divine institution is regarded by High Heavenas the vilest abomination. In no direction is there greater need ofreformatory legislation than in this. The marriage contract should berecognized in our laws as one which cannot be made and broken so lightlyas it now is. It should be annulled only for the most serious offenses. The contrary course now pursued so frequently is most detrimental tomorals. Our divorce laws virtually offer a premium for unchastity. 

Not infrequently we see among the advertisements in the newspapersnotices like the following: "The undersigned is prepared to furnishdivorces to parties desiring the same at moderate rates, in short time, and without publicity. ---- ----. "

The animus of these advertisements is fraud. The parties so engagedare the vilest scoundrels; and that they are allowed to continue toply their nefarious vocation is a foul blot upon the enlightenedcivilization of a so-called Christian country. A publisher who willinsert such a notice in his journal, would advertise a brothel if hedared. While there is so much interest in the suppression of obsceneliterature, we would suggest that the proper authorities should directtheir attention to the suppression of unlawful divorces, and the properpunishment of the villains engaged in forwarding this nefariousbusiness. 

Who May not Marry. --Many writers devote much space in laying down ruleswhich are to be implicitly followed by those seeking life partners. We have attempted nothing of the sort, both from its impracticability, and from the fact that such rules are never followed; and if the attemptshould be made to follow the prescribed rules, we are not sure thatmore good than harm would be the result. Hence, we shall contentourselves with calling attention to a few facts of great importancerespecting the conditions which imperatively forbid marriage, andwhich cannot be violated without the certain entailment of greatsuffering. 

_1. Persons suffering with serious disease of a character communicableto others by contagion or by hereditary transmission. _

Many people wonder why it is that diseases are so much more numerousand varied in modern times than in the earlier ages of the race. Therehas been an evident increase within a few centuries. While there are, undoubtedly, numerous influencing causes, one which cannot beoverlooked is the hereditary transmission of disease, which preservesthose disorders which already exist, and adds new ones which originatefrom new exciting causes. By this means, the human race is undoubtedlybeing weakened, human life shortened, and diseases multiplied. Comparethe average age of human beings of the present day, less than fortyyears, with the longevity of the early members of the race, who livedmore than as many score of years. Some mighty deteriorating influencehas been at work; and we hazard nothing in the assertion that themarriage of diseased persons and kindred violations of the laws of humanhygiene have been not unimportant factors in producing this mostappalling diminution in the length of human life. 

Among the diseases which are most certain to be transmitted arepulmonary tuberculosis, or consumption, syphilis, cancer, leprosy, epilepsy, and some other nervous disorders, some forms of skin disease, and insanity. The list might be extended; but these are the more common. Persons suffering with these disorders have no right to marry, for atleast four reasons:--

(1) It is a sin against the offspring of such unions, who have a rightto be born well, but are forced to come into the world with weaklyconstitutions, diseased frames, and the certainty of premature death. The children of consumptive and syphilitic parents rarely surviveinfancy. If they do, it is only to suffer later on, as they surely will, and, perhaps, to communicate the same destructive diseases to otherhuman beings; but these diseases rarely extend beyond the thirdgeneration, the line becoming extinct. The most heart-rendingspectacles we have ever met have been the children of parents sufferingwith the diseases mentioned. Their appearance is characteristic; nophysician of experience can fail to detect the sins of a profligateparent in a syphilitic child. Every feature indicates the presence ofa blighting curse. 

There are those who assert that a man who has suffered with diseaseof the character last mentioned may marry after the lapse of two orthree years from the disappearance of the active symptoms of the malady. Such assertions we consider as most dangerous and pernicious. Theindividuals who make them are well acquainted with the fact that ofall diseases this is the most difficult to eradicate when once thesystem has become thoroughly infected by it. Not only three years butthirty years may elapse after active symptoms disappear, yet thedisease may break out again in a new and still more serious andcomplicated form. It may even lie entirely dormant or latent in thesystem of the parent during his lifetime, but break out in all itsterrible destructiveness in his children. A man or woman who has oncesuffered with this fell disease is contaminated for life; and it isa crime for such an one to entail upon innocent, unoffending humanbeings such a terrible legacy. Such a person has no right to marry;or if married, has no right to perpetuate the results of his sins inoffspring. It is _never safe_ to say to a man who has once been infectedthat he is cured. If a cure ever takes place, it is exceedingly rare. 

(2) It is a crime against the race. One of the primary objects ofmarriage is reproduction. As members of the human race, it is the dutyof parents to produce a high type of human beings, at least to do allin their power to produce healthy offspring. If they cannot do this, and are aware of the fact, they are guilty of abuse of the reproductivefunction in bringing sickly offspring into the world to suffer. 

(3) It is injurious to the contracting parties themselves. If a personhas a communicable disease, as syphilis, leprosy, and some bad formsof skin disease, the disease will certainly be communicated to the wifeor husband, and so a double amount of suffering will be entailed. Thedread disease, consumption, rightly called the scourge of civilization, is now well known to be communicable. A few years ago we were consultedby an old gentleman, a native of Canada, who was suffering withpulmonary disease. We inquired respecting the history of the malady. Said he, "Doctor, it may seem strange, but I believe I _inherited_consumption from my wife, who died of consumption a few years ago. "Excepting the wrong use of the term inherit, we were not prepared todispute the old gentleman's ideas respecting the origin of his disease. Living in close association for years with his wife, who was slowlydying with disease of the lungs, it was quite possible for him to havereceived the disease from her. So many cases of this kind have beenreported that it is now generally believed by medical men thatconsumption is communicable from one person to another by the receptioninto the system of the well person of the exhalations from the lungsof the person affected. 

Another point worthy of mention here is the well-known fact that theintimate association of married people modifies even the physical formof both. Almost every one has noticed how much alike in appearancemarried people who have lived many years together come to be. Thisphysical change undoubtedly extends further than to the features only. The whole constitution is modified. 

A remarkable illustration of this fact is found in the frequentobservation that the children of a woman by a second husband oftenresemble in appearance the first husband much more than their own father. It has been observed that the children of negro women, even by husbandsof pure negro blood, are much lighter in color than usual if she hashad a child by a white man previously. 

The same fact is observed in lower animals. In England, some years ago, a cross was effected between a male zebra and several young mares. Notonly the hybrid colts resulting from this union, but all the coltsafterward foaled by the same mares, from other horses, were stripedlike the zebra. 

In view of these facts, it is evident that the system of the woman, at least, may be profoundly affected in a similar manner byconstitutional weaknesses, as well as by other individualpeculiarities possessed by her husband. 

No person suffering with a contagious or infectious disease has anyright to communicate the same to another. Indeed, it is the moral dutyof every person so affected to do all in his power for the protectionof others from the same cause of suffering. 

_2. Persons having a marked hereditary tendency to disease must notmarry those having a similar tendency. _

Every physician knows only too well the powerful influence ofhereditary causes in determining the length of human life. Persons, one or both of whose parents have died of consumption, are very likelyto die of the same disease, and frequently at about the same age. Thechildren of such parents are commonly feeble and puny, and die earlyif they survive infancy. When both parents possess the consumptivetendency, the chance for life in the offspring is very poor indeed. The same may be said of those suffering with cancer, epilepsy, insanity, etc. Persons with a strong tendency to any one of the diseases mentionedshould in no case marry. If there is but a slight morbid tendency, marriage may be admissible, but only with a partner possessing robusthealth. 

_3. Should cousins marry?_

Writers have devoted a good deal of attention to this subject, and wehave been shown statistics, reports of imbecile asylums, etc. , for thepurpose of proving that the marriage of cousins results in theproduction of idiots, and other defectives; but the results of morecareful examinations of the subject invalidate the views heretoforeheld, and it must be acknowledged that when both parties are healthythere is no more liability of mental incompetency in the children ofcousins, than in the offspring of persons more remotely related. Itmust be added, however, that there are other reasons why the marriageof cousins is not to be generally recommended. Besides the fact thatthe feeling existing between cousins is often only that which is feltby brothers and sisters for each other, there is the still moreimportant fact that on account of the blood relation, unions of thiskind are more apt than others to bring together persons having similarmorbid tendencies. 

_4. Persons having serious congenital deformities should not marry. _

The reason for this rule is obvious. Persons suffering with seriouscongenital defects, as natural blindness, deafness, deformity of thelimbs, or defective development of any part, will be more or less likelyto transmit the same deformities or deficiencies to their children. There are, of course, cases of natural blindness, as well as ofdisability in other respects, to which this rule does not apply, thenatural process of development not being seriously defective. It haseven been observed that there is a slight tendency to the reproductionin the offspring, of deformity which has been artificially producedin the parents, and has existed for a long time. 

Many ancient nations observed this rule. Infants born cripples werestrangled at birth or left to die. A Spartan king was once requiredby his people to pay a heavy fine for taking a wife who was inferiorin size. 

_5. Criminals should not marry. _

It has been satisfactorily shown by thorough and scientificinvestigation that criminals often receive their evil proclivitiesfrom their parents. What are known as the criminal classes, which areresponsible for the greater part of the crime committed, are constantlyand greatly on the increase. There is no doubt but that inheritanceis largely responsible for the continued increase of crime andcriminals. A drunkard begets in his child a thirst for liquor, whichis augmented by the mother's use of ale or lager during gestation andnursing, and the child enters the world with a natural taste forintoxicants. A thief transmits to his offspring a secretive, dishonest, sneaking disposition; and the child comes into the world ticketed forthe State prison by the nearest route. So with other evil tendencies. By legislation or by some other means, measures should be speedilyadopted for the prevention of this rapid increase of criminals, if thereis any feasible plan which can be adopted. We offer no suggestion onthis point, but it is one well worthy of the consideration ofphilanthropic statesmen. 

_6. Persons who are greatly disproportionate in size should not marry. _

While good taste would suggest the propriety of this rule, there areimportant physiological reasons for its observance. While the lack ofphysical adaptitude may be the occasion of much suffering andunhappiness in such unions, especially on the part of the wife, beingeven productive of most serious local disease, and sometimes ofsterility, it is in childbirth that the greatest risk and sufferingis incurred. More might be said on this point, but this is sufficientfor those who are willing to profit by a useful hint. 

_7. Persons between whom there is great disparity of age should notmarry. _

The reasons for this have already been given at length, and we willnot repeat. In general, the husband should be older than the wife, fromtwo to five years. The husband may often be ten or twelve years thesenior of the wife; but when more than that, the union is not likelyto be a profitable or happy one, if it is not absolutely productiveof suffering and unhappiness. The ancient Greeks required that thehusband should be twenty years older than the wife; but this customwas no more reasonable than that of another nation which required thatonly old and young should marry, so that the sobriety of the old mightrestrain the frivolity of the young. 

_8. Persons who are extremely unlike in temperament should not marry. _

Persons who are so unlike in temperament and tastes as to have no mutualenjoyments, no congeniality of feeling, will be incompatible as husbandand wife, and the union of such persons will be anything but felicitous. No definite rule can be laid down; but those seeking a companion forlife would do well to bear this caution in mind, at the same timeremembering that too great similarity of character, especially whenthere are prominent defects, is equally undesirable. 

_9. Marriage between widely different races is unadvisable. _

While there is no moral precept directly involved in marriage betweenwidely different nations, as between whites and blacks or Indians, experience shows that such marriages are not only not conducive tohappiness, but are detrimental to the offspring. It has been provenbeyond room for question that mulattoes are not so long-lived as eitherblacks or whites. 

_10. Persons who are unable to sustain themselves or a family shouldnot marry. _

Both moral and social obligations--if the two obligations may existindependently--forbid marriage to a young man who is scarcely able toprovide for himself, much less to support a wife and a family. The theoryadvocated by some that two can live almost as cheaply as one, so thata saving will be made by a union of two in marriage, is a most fallaciousone. There may be occasional exceptions, but in general, young peoplewho marry with this idea in their heads find that they have reasonednot wisely. It will not be disputed that a married couple may live uponwhat is often spent foolishly by a young man; but a young man can beeconomical if he will; and if he does not learn economy before marriage, it is likely that he never will learn it. 

The marriage of paupers, to beget pauper children and foist them uponthe community for support, is an outrage against society. We believeit is not improper to speak out plainly upon this subject, and in nouncertain tone, notwithstanding the popular prejudice which cries, "Hush, be quiet; don't interfere with individual rights, don't disturbthe peace of society, " whenever anything is said which has a bearingon a regard for propriety in matters relating to one of the most ancient, the most sacred, and the most abused of all divinely appointed humaninstitutions. We have never been able to account for this strangeaverseness to the consideration of this phase of the matrimonialquestion, and the determined effort often made to ignore it wheneverit is broached. We purpose to speak out, notwithstanding the feelingreferred to, since we believe this to be a crying evil; and we haveno fears but that we shall have the hearty indorsement of everyindividual who can so far lay aside his prejudices as to allow his nativecommon sense a fair chance to influence his judgment. 

In the country of Iceland, a land which is scarcely more thansemi-civilized, if a young man wishes to marry, the first thing to beconsidered is his pecuniary situation. Before he can take to himselfa wife, he must appear before the proper authority and present evidencethat he is able to support a wife and family in addition to providingfor himself. Even the barbarous natives of Patagonia show an equaldegree of good sense, the chief of each tribe requiring that every youngman who wishes to marry shall first prove himself competent to providefor a family, having attained the requisite degree of proficiency inhunting and fishing, and having possessed himself of at least two horsesand the necessary equipments. 

In this country, --a civilized, so-called Christian country, blessedwith all the enlightenment of the nineteenth century, what do we see?Instead of any regulation of the sort, the utmost indifference to suchclearly important considerations. If young people profess to love eachother and wish to marry, no one of their friends thinks of asking, "Howare they going to live after they are married? Has the young man a trade?Has the young lady been so educated as to be self-sustaining ifnecessary? Has the young man a home or the wherewithal to obtain one?Has he a good situation, with prospects of being able to support hiswife comfortably and provide for a family?" These, or similar questionsare sometimes asked, but little respect is paid to them by any one, least of all by the young people themselves, who ought to be mostinterested. The minister never inquires respecting the propriety ofthe wedding at which he is to officiate, and invokes the blessings ofHeaven upon a union which, for aught he knows, may be the grossestviolation of immutable laws, Heaven-implanted in the constitution ofthe human race. The friends tender their congratulations and wishesof "much joy, " when in three cases out of four the conditions are suchthat a preponderance of grief is an inevitable certainty, and "muchjoy" an utter impossibility. 

There are exceptions to all general rules; but it is a fact of whichalmost any one may convince himself that a man or a woman seldom risesmuch higher than the level reached at marriage. If a young man has notrade then, it is more than probable that he will never be master ofone. If he has not fitted himself for a profession, he will most likelynever attain to such a rank in society. He will, in all probability, be a common laborer, living "from hand to mouth, " with nothing laidby for a rainy day. 

A wag says that a young couple just married, and for the first timeawakened to the full consciousness of the fact that they must providefor themselves or starve, held the following dialogue: Husband. "Well, wife, what are we going to do? How shall we live?" Wife. "Oh, my dear, we shall get along very well, I am sure; you love me, don't you?" H. "Certainly, dear, but we cannot live on love. " W. "We can live on breadand water; so long as we have each other, it doesn't matter much whatwe have to eat. " "That's so, my dear; well, you furnish the bread, andI will skirmish around after the water. " This exact dialogue may neverhave taken place; but the circumstances which might have called it outhave occurred thousands of times. How many times has a dependent womanwho had hastily married an improvident husband awakened at the end ofa short honeymoon to find that she had only a limber stick or a brokenreed to lean upon, instead of a self-reliant, independent, self-sustaining man, able to provide for her the comforts of a homeand to protect her from the rudeness and suffering of privation andwant. 

In our estimation it is as much a sin for a man to assume the obligationof caring for a wife and family when he has no reasonable grounds forbelieving himself able to do so, as for a man to go in debt a few hundredsor thousands of dollars, and agree to pay the same when required, thoughperfectly well aware that he will probably be unable to do so. Hencewe say again, with emphasis, the improvident should not marry; and weshall insist upon urging this truth, notwithstanding the fact that thevery class of persons referred to are usually of all classes the mostanxious to enter the matrimonial state at the earliest possible moment, and the most certain to bring into the world large families of childrenstill more improvident than themselves. 

_11. Do not marry a person whose moral character will not bear theclosest scrutiny. _

By this we do not mean that absolute perfection should be required, as this would interdict marriage altogether; but we wish to warn everyyoung man against marrying a young woman who treats lightly orcontemptuously matters which should be treated with profound respect;who uses the name of Deity flippantly or rudely; who treats her parentsdisrespectfully; who never cares to talk of subjects of a spiritualnature; who is giddy, gay, dressy, thoughtless, fickle. Such a youngwoman will never make a loving, patient, faithful, helpful wife. 

We wish also to warn every young woman against choosing for a husbanda man who has a strong leaning toward infidelity; who does not believein human responsibility; who makes a mock of religion; who is addictedto profanity; who is either grossly intemperate or given to moderatetippling, be it ever so little, so long as he does not believe in andpractice total abstinence; who uses tobacco; who is a jockey, a fop, a loafer, a scheming dreamer, or a speculator; who is known to beunchaste, or who has led a licentious life. 

The man who has no love for his Maker will be likely to have littlefor his wife and children. He who does not acknowledge hisresponsibility to a higher power will soon forget his obligations tothe wife he has promised to love and cherish. The man who is not willingto sacrifice the gratification afforded by such pernicious habits asdram-drinking and tobacco-using to insure the comfort and happinessof his wife and children, is too selfish to make any woman a kindhusband. 

There is no greater error abroad than that held by not a few that "areformed rake makes the best husband. " The man whose affections havebeen consumed in the fires of unhallowed lust is incapable of givingto a pure-minded woman the love that she expects and deserves. A personcannot pass through the fire unscathed. The scars burned into thecharacter by the flames of concupiscence are as deep and lasting asthose inflicted upon the body, and even more so. Only "in theregeneration" will the marks and scars of the reformed reprobate bewholly effaced. 

We willingly grant that there have been numerous instances in whichnoble women have by years of patient effort reformed their erringhusbands, restoring them to the paths of virtue and sobriety from whichthey had wandered. We do not deny that it can be done again; but wedo not hesitate to say that the experiment is a most perilous one forany woman to undertake, and one which not more than one woman in ahundred can bring to a successful termination. The hazard is terrible. Perhaps it is on this very account that many young women run the risk;but they rarely understand what they are doing. The woman who marriesa drunkard will, ten chances to one, die a heart-broken drunkard's wife, or follow her husband to a drunkard's grave. It is never safe for awoman to marry a man who has been for years an habitual drunkard, sincehe may relapse at any time; and the man who has only indulged moderatelyshould be thoroughly reformed and tested before the chances are taken"for better or worse. " Let him prove himself well first. A propositionto reform on condition of marriage should be dismissed with disdain. If a young man will not determine to do right because it is right, hismotives are sordid; and the probability is very great that so soon assome stronger incentive appeals to his selfishness, he will forget hisvows and promises and relapse into his former vices. 

Do Not Be in a Hurry. --In conclusion, perhaps we could give no moreimportant advice than this: _Do not be in a hurry to marry. _ There islittle danger that this advice will do harm, for ten illustrations ofthe evil results of hasty marriage are seen to one in which the oppositemistake is made. It rarely happens that a marriage made withoutconsideration and due deliberation on the part of both parties is ahappy one in its results. There are exceptional cases in which thiskind of matrimonial alliances result very satisfactorily; but thesecases are quite exceptional. The business of selecting a partner forlife, one who is expected to sustain the closest relation possiblebetween human beings, who must be prepared to share in another's sorrowsas well as joys, to sympathize with another's aspirations andappreciate another's motives and sentiments, --such a task is certainlyone of the most serious of an individual's life and ought to be enteredupon with calmness, deliberation, and unbiased judgment and entireself-control. When making a decision which must affect seriously anindividual's whole life-time, passion, caprice, and all motivescalculated to bias the judgment, should be laid aside. The happinessand usefulness of a whole life-time may be marred by a word. There istoo much pending to be in a hurry. 

A certain philosopher once "compared a man about to marry to one whowas about to put his hand into a sack in which were ninety-nine serpentsand one eel; the moral of which is that there are ninety-nine chancesto one against a fortunate selection. " If this is true of a man aboutto marry, it is probably equally true that a woman under the samecircumstances has nine hundred and ninety-nine chances against, forone in favor of, a fortunate selection. 

CHASTITY. 

"Thou shalt not commit adultery. " "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lustafter her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. "

In these two scriptures we have a complete definition of unchastity. The seventh commandment, with the Saviour's commentary upon it, placesclearly before us the fact that chastity requires purity of thoughtas well as of outward acts. Impure thoughts and unchaste acts are alikeviolations of the seventh commandment. As we shall see, also, unchastity of the mind is a violation of natural law as well as of morallaw, and is visited with physical punishment commensurate to thetransgression. 

Mental Unchastity. --It is vain for a man to suppose himself chaste whoallows his imagination to run riot amid scenes of amorous associations. The man whose lips delight in tales of licentiousness, whose eyes feastupon obscene pictures, who is ever ready to pervert the meaning of aharmless word or act into uncleanness, who finds delight in readingvivid portrayals of acts of lewdness, --such a one is not a virtuousman. Though he may never have committed an overt act of unchastity, if he cannot pass a handsome female in the street without, inimagination, approaching the secrets of her person, he is but one gradeabove the open libertine, and is as truly unchaste as the veriestdebauchee. 

Man may not see these mental adulteries, he may not perceive thesefilthy imaginings; but One sees and notes them. They leave their hideousscars upon the soul. They soil and mar the mind; and as the record ofeach day of life is photographed upon the books in Heaven, they eachappear in bold relief, in all their innate hideousness. 

O purity! how rare a virtue! How rare to find a face which shows notrace of sensuality! One turns with sadness from the thought that human"forms divine" have sunk so low. The standard of virtue is trailingin the dust. Men laugh at vice, and sneer at purity. The bawdy laugh, the ribald jest, the sensual glance, the obscene song, the filthy tale, salute the eyes and ears at every street corner, in the horse-car, onthe railroad train, in the bar-room, the lecture hall, the workshop. In short, the works and signs of vice are omnipresent. 

Foul thoughts, once allowed to enter the mind, stick like the leprosy. They corrode, contaminate, and infect like the pestilence; naught butAlmighty power can deliver from the bondage of concupiscence a soulonce infected by this foul blight, this moral contagium. 

Mental Uncleanness. --It is a wide-spread and deadly error, that onlyoutward acts are harmful; that only physical transgression of the lawsof chastity will produce disease. We have seen all the effects ofbeastly abuse result from mental sin alone. 

"I have traced serious affections and very great suffering to this cause. The cases may occur at any period of life. We meet with them frequentlyamong such as are usually called, or think themselves, continent youngmen. There are large classes of persons who seem to think that theymay, without moral guilt, excite their own feelings or those of othersby loose or libidinous conversation in society, provided such impurethoughts or acts are not followed by masturbation or fornication. Ihave almost daily to tell such persons that physically, and in asanitary point of view, they are ruining their constitutions. Thereare young men who almost pass their lives in making carnal acquaintancesin the street, but just stop short of seducing girls; there are otherswho haunt the lower classes of places of public amusement for thepurpose of sexual excitement, and live, in fact, a thoroughly immorallife in all respects except actually going home with prostitutes. Whenthese men come to me, laboring under the various forms of impotence, they are surprised at my suggesting to them the possibility of theimpairment of their powers being dependent upon these previous vicioushabits. "[4]

[Footnote 4: Acton. ]

"Those lascivious _day-dreams_ and amorous reveries, in which youngpeople--and especially the idle and the voluptuous, and the sedentaryand the nervous--are exceedingly apt to indulge, are often the sourcesof general debility, effeminacy, disordered functions, prematuredisease, and even premature death, without the actual exercise of thegenital organs! Indeed, this unchastity of thought--this adultery ofthe mind--is the beginning of immeasurable evil to the humanfamily. "[5]

[Footnote 5: Graham. ]

Amativeness. --Certain phrenologists contend that the controllingcenter of the sexual passion is the cerebellum, or little brain, whichis situated at the lower and back part of the head. They apparentlylove to dwell upon the theme, and ride their hobby upon all possibleoccasions, often in the most disgusting manner, and always leaving theimpression that they must be themselves suffering from perversion ofthe very function of which they speak. 

There may be some doubt whether the function called amativeness islocated in the cerebellum at all; at least, it is perfectly certainthat amativeness is not the exclusive function of the cerebellum. SaysCarpenter, the learned physiologist, "The seat of the sexual sensationis no longer supposed to be in the cerebellum generally; but probablyin its central portion, or some part of the medulla oblongata. "

The cerebellum is intimately connected with the principal vital organs;hence, if it is largely developed, the individual will possess awell-developed physical organism and a good degree of constitutionalvigor. He will have vigorous health, and probably strong sexual powers;not, however, as a special function, but for the same reason that hewill have a good digestion. 

To the majority of mankind, apparently, amativeness, or sexual love, means lust. The faculty has been lowered and debased until it mightalmost be considered practically synonymous with sensuality. The firststep toward reform must be a recognition of a higher and purer relationthan that which centers every thought upon the gratification of theanimal in human nature. If one may judge from the facts which now andthen come to the surface in society, it would appear that theopportunity for sensual gratification had come to be, in the world atlarge, the chief attraction between the sexes. If to these observationswe add the filthy disclosures constantly made in police courts andscandal suits, we have a powerful confirmation of the opinion. Evenministers, who ought to be "ensamples to the flock, " are rather "blindleaders of the blind, " and fall into the same ditch with the rest. 

This perversion of a natural instinct, and these sudden lapses fromvirtue which startle a small portion of community and afford a filthykind of pleasure to the other part, are but the outgrowths of mentalunchastity. "Filthy dreamers, " before they are aware, become filthyin action. The thoughts mold the brain, as certainly as the brain moldsthe thoughts. Rapidly down the current of sensuality is swept theindividual who yields his imagination to the contemplation oflascivious themes. Before he knows his danger, he finds himself deepin the mire of concupiscence. He may preserve a fair exterior; butdeception cannot cleanse the slime from his putrid soul. How many achurch-member carries under a garb of piety a soul filled withabominations, no human scrutiny can tell. How many pulpits are filledby "whited sepulchers, " only the Judgment will disclose. 

Unchaste Conversation. --"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouthspeaketh. " "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall giveaccount thereof in the day of Judgment. " "By thy words thou shalt becondemned. " Matt. 12: 34, 36, 37. In these three brief sentences, Christpresents the whole moral aspect of the subject of this paragraph. Toany one who will ponder well his weighty words, no further remark isnecessary. Let filthy talkers but consider for a moment what a multitudeof "idle, " unclean words are waiting for account in the final day; andthen let them consider what a load of condemnation must roll upon theirguilty souls when strict justice is meted out to every one before thebar of Omnipotence, and in the face of all the world--of all theuniverse. 

The almost universal habit among boys and young men of relating filthystories, indulging in foul jokes, making indecent allusions, andsubjecting to lewd criticism every passing female, is a most abominablesin. Such habits crush out pure thoughts; they annihilate respect forvirtue; they make the mind a quagmire of obscenity; they lead to overtacts of lewdness. 

But boys and youths are not alone in this. More often than otherwise, they gain from older ones the phraseology of vice. And if the sin isloathsome in such youthful transgressors, what detestable enormitymust characterize it in the old. 

And women, too, are not without their share in this accursed thing, this ghost of vice, which haunts the sewing-circle and the parlor aswell as the club-room. They do not, of course, often descend to thoseblack depths of vulgarity to which the coarser sex will go, but couchin finer terms the same foul thoughts, and hide in loose insinuationsmore smut than words could well express. Women who think themselvesrare paragons of virtue can find no greater pleasure than in thediscussion of the latest scandal, speculations about the chastity ofMrs. A. Or Mr. B. , and gossip about the "fall" of this man's daughteror the amorous adventures of that woman's son. 

Masculine purity loves to regard woman as chaste in mind as well asin body, to surround her with conceptions of purity and impregnablevirtue; but the conclusion is irresistible that those who can gloatover others' lapses from virtue, and find delight in such questionableentertainments as the most recent case of seduction, or the newestscandal, have need to purify their hearts and re-enforce their waningchastity. Nevertheless, a writer says, and perhaps truly, that "thewomen comprise about all the real virtue there is in the world. "Certainly if they were one-half as bad as the masculine portion ofhumanity, the world would be vastly worse than it is. 

Causes of Unchastity. --Travelers among the North American Indians havebeen struck with the almost entire absence of that abandonment to vicewhich might be expected in a race uninfluenced by the moral restraintsof Christianity. When first discovered in their native wilds, they werefree from both the vices and the consequent diseases of civilization. This fact points unmistakably to the conclusion that there must besomething in the refinements and perversions of civilized life whichis unfavorable to chastity, notwithstanding all the restraints whichreligion and the conventionalisms of society impose. Can we find suchinfluences? Yes; they abound on every hand and leave their blight inmost unwelcome places, oft unsuspected, even, till the work of ruinis complete. 

Early Causes. --The earliest of all causes is hereditary predisposition. As we have shown, a child conceived in lust can no more be chaste bynature than a negro can be a Caucasian. But back of this there is adeeper cause, as we shall see, one that affects parents as well asoffspring. Between infancy and puberty, are in operation, all thoseinfluences mentioned under "Sexual Precocity. "

The frequent custom of allowing children of the opposite sex to sleeptogether, even until eight or ten years of age, or longer, is a dangerousone. We have known of instances in which little boys of seven or eighthave been allowed to sleep with girls of fourteen or sixteen, in someof which most shameful lessons were taught, and by persons who wouldnot be suspected of such an impropriety. In one instance a little boyof eight, occupying the same bed with three girls several years older, was used for illustration by the older girl in instructing the youngerones in the _modus operandi_ of reproduction. The sexes should becarefully separated from each other at least as early as four or fiveyears of age, under all circumstances which could afford opportunityfor observing the physical differences of the sexes, or in any way serveto excite those passions which at this tender age should be whollydormant. 

Diet vs. Chastity. --From earliest infancy to impotent old age, underthe perverting influence of civilization, there is a constantantagonism between diet and purity. Sometimes--rarely we hope--thehelpless infant imbibes the essence of libidinous desires with itsmother's milk, and thence receives upon its forming brain the stampof vice. When old enough to take food in the ordinary way, the infant'stender organs of digestion are plied with highly seasoned viands, stimulating sauces, animal food, sweetmeats, and dainty tidbits inendless variety. Soon, tea and coffee are added to the list. Salt, pepper, ginger, mustard, condiments of every sort, deteriorate hisdaily food. If, perchance, he does not die at once of indigestion, orwith his weakened forces fall a speedy victim to the diseases incidentto infancy, he has his digestive organs impaired for life at the veryoutset of his existence. 

Exciting stimulants and condiments weaken and irritate his nerves andderange the circulation. Thus, indirectly, they affect the sexualsystem, which suffers through sympathy with the other organs. But amore direct injury is done. Flesh, condiments, eggs, tea, coffee, chocolate, and all stimulants, have a powerful influence directly uponthe reproductive organs. They increase the local supply of blood; andthrough nervous sympathy with the brain, the passions are aroused. 

Overeating, eating between meals, hasty eating, eating indigestiblearticles of food, late suppers, react upon the sexual organs with theutmost certainty. Any disturbance of the digestive functiondeteriorates the quality of the blood. Poor blood, filled with crude, poorly digested food, is irritating to the nervous system, andespecially to those extremely delicate nerves which govern thereproductive function. Irritation provokes congestion; congestionexcites sexual desires; excited passions increase the localdisturbance; and thus each reacts upon the other, ever increasing theinjury and the liability to future damage. 

Thus, these exciting causes continue their insidious work through youthand more mature years. Right under the eyes of fathers and mothers theywork the ruin of their children, exciting such storms of passion asare absolutely uncontrollable. 

Clerical Lapses. --Our most profound disgust is justly excited when wehear of laxity of morals in a clergyman. We naturally feel that onewhose calling is to teach his fellow-men the way of truth, and right, and purity, should himself be free from taint of immorality. But whenwe consider how these ministers are fed, we cannot suppress a momentarydisposition to excuse, in some degree, their fault. When the ministergoes out to tea, he is served with the richest cake, the choicest jellies, the most pungent sauces, and the finest of fine-flour bread-stuffs. Little does the indulgent hostess dream that she is ministering to theinflammation of passions which may imperil the virtue of her daughter, or even her own. Salacity once aroused, even in a minister, allows noroom for reason or for conscience. If women wish to preserve the virtueof their ministers, let them feed them more in accordance with the lawsof health. Ministers are not immaculate. 

The remedy for the dangers to chastity arising from this source, ispointed out in the article on "Continence. "

Tobacco and Vice. --Few are aware of the influence upon morals exertedby that filthy habit, tobacco-using. When acquired early, it excitesthe undeveloped organs, arouses the passions, and in a few yearsconverts the once chaste and pure youth into a veritable volcano oflust, belching out from its inner fires of passion torrents of obscenityand the sulphurous fumes of lasciviousness. If long-continued, thefinal effect of tobacco is emasculation; but this is only the necessaryconsequence of previous super-excitation. The lecherous day-dreams inwhich many smokers indulge, are a species of fornication for which evena brute ought to blush, if such a crime were possible for a brute. Themental libertine does not confine himself to bagnios and women of thetown. In the foulness of his imagination, he invades the sanctity ofvirtue wherever his erotic fancy leads him. 

We are aware that we have made a grave charge against tobacco, and wehave not hesitated to state the naked truth; yet we do not think wehave exaggerated, in the least, the pernicious influence of this fouldrug. As much, or nearly as much, might be said against the use of liquor, on the same grounds. 

Bad Books. --Another potent enemy of virtue is the obscene literaturewhich has flooded the land for many years. Circulated by secret agencies, these books have found their way into the most secluded districts. Nearly every large school contains one of these emissaries of evil menand their Satanic master. Some idea of the enormity and extent of thisevil may be gained from the following quotations from a published letterof Mr. Anthony Comstock, who has been for some time employed by theYoung Men's Christian Association in suppressing the traffic byarresting the publishers and destroying their goods:--

"I have succeeded in unearthing this hydra-headed monster in part, asyou will see by the following statement, which, in many respects, mightbe truthfully increased in quantity. These I have seized anddestroyed:--

"Obscene photographs, stereoscopic and other pictures, more than onehundred and eighty-two thousand; obscene books and pamphlets, more thanfive tons; obscene letter-press in sheets, more than two tons; sheetsof impure songs, catalogues, handbills, etc. , more than twenty-onethousand; obscene microscopic watch and knife charms, and finger-rings, more than five thousand; obscene negative plates for printingphotographs and stereoscopic views, about six hundred and twenty-five;obscene engraved steel and copper plates, three hundred and fifty;obscene lithographic stones destroyed, twenty; obscene wood-cutengravings, more than five hundred; stereotype plates for printingobscene books, more than five tons; obscene transparent playing-cards, nearly six thousand; obscene and immoral rubber articles, over thirtythousand; lead molds for manufacturing rubber goods, twelve sets, ormore than seven hundred pounds; newspapers seized, about four thousandsix hundred; letters from all parts of the country ordering these goods, about fifteen thousand; names of dealers in account-books seized, aboutsix thousand; lists of names in the hands of dealers, that are soldas merchandise to forward circulars or catalogues to, independent ofletters and account-books seized, more than seven thousand; arrest ofdealers since Oct. 9, 1871, more than fifty. "

"These abominations are disseminated by these men first obtaining thenames and addresses of scholars and students in our schools and colleges, and then forwarding circulars. They secure thousands of names in thisway, either by sending for a catalogue of schools, seminaries, andcolleges, under a pretense of sending a child to attend these places, or else by sending out a circular purporting to be getting up a directoryof all the scholars and students in schools and colleges in the UnitedStates, or of taking the census of all the unmarried people, andoffering to pay five cents per name for lists so sent. I need not saythat the money is seldom or never sent, but I do say that these names, together with those that come in reply to advertisements, are sold toother parties; so that when a man desires to engage in this nefariousbusiness, he has only to purchase a list of these names, and then yourchild, be it son or daughter, is liable to have thrust into its hands, all unknown to you, one of these devilish catalogues. "

"Since the destruction of the stereotype plates of old books, secretcirculars have been discovered of a notice to dealers that twelve newbooks are in course of preparation, and will soon be ready fordelivery. "

Says Hon. C. L. Merriam, as quoted by Dr. Lewis: "We find that thedealers in obscene literature have organized circulating libraries, which are under the charge of the most vicious boys in the schools, boys chosen and paid by the venders, and who circulate among thestudents, at ten cents a volume, any of the one hundred and forty-fourobscene books heretofore published in New York City. "

Largely through the influence of Mr. Comstock, laws have been enactedwhich promise to do much toward checking this extensive evil, or atleast causing it to make itself less prominent. Our newspapers stillabound with advertisements of various so-called medical works, "Marriage Guides, " etc. , which are fruits of the same "upas-tree" thatMr. Comstock has labored so faithfully to uproot. 

It is a painful fact, however, that the total annihilation of everyfoul book which the law can reach will not effect the cure of this evil, for our modern literature is full of the same virus. It is necessarilypresented in less grossly revolting forms, half concealed by beautifulimagery, or embellished by wit; but yet, there it is, and no law canreach it. The works of our standard authors in literature abound inlubricity. Popular novels have doubtless done more to arouse a prurientcuriosity in the young, and to excite and foster passion and immorality, than even the obscene literature for the suppression of which suchactive measures have recently been taken. The more exquisitely paintedthe scenes of vice, the more dangerously enticing. Novel-reading hasled thousands to lives of dissoluteness. 

Idleness. --This evil is usually combined with the preceding. Tomaintain purity, the mind must be occupied. If left without occupation, the vacuity is quickly filled with unchaste thoughts. Nothing can beworse for a child than to be reared in idleness. His morals will becertain to suffer. Incessant mental occupation is the only safeguardagainst unchastity. Those worthless fops who spend their lives in"killing time" by lounging about bar-rooms, loafing on street corners, or strutting up and down the boulevard, are anything but chaste. Thoseequally worthless young women who waste their lives on sofas or ineasy-chairs, occupied only with some silly novel, or idling away life'sprecious hours in reverie--such creatures are seldom the models ofpurity one would wish to think them. If born with a natural propensitytoward sin, such a life would soon engender a diseased, impureimagination, if nothing worse. 

Dress and Sensuality. --There are two ways in which fashionable dressleads to unchastity; viz. , 1. By its extravagance; 2. By its abuse ofthe body. 

How does extravagance lead to unchastity? By creating the temptationto sin. It affects not those gorgeously attired ladies who ride in finecarriages, and live in brown-stone fronts, who are surrounded with allthe luxuries that wealth can purchase--fine apparel is no temptationto such. But to less favored--though not less worthy--ones, thesemagnificent displays of millinery goods and fine trappings are mostpowerful temptations. The poor seamstress, who can earn by diligenttoil hardly enough to pay her board bill, has no legitimate way by whichto deck herself with the finery she admires. Plainly dressed as shemust be if she remains honest and retains her virtue, she is scornfullyignored by her proud sisters. Everywhere she finds it a generallyrecognized fact that "dress makes the lady. " On the street, no one stepsaside to let her pass, no one stoops to regain for her the package thatslips from her weary hands. Does she enter a crowded car, no one offersher a seat, though she is trembling with fatigue, while the showilydressed woman who follows her is accommodated at once. She marks thedifference; she does not pause to count the cost, but barters away herself-respect, to gain the respect, or deference, of strangers. 

How Young Women Fall. --It has been authoritatively stated that thereare, in our large cities, hundreds of young women who, being able toearn barely enough to buy food and fuel and pay the rent of a dismalattic, take the advice offered by their employers, "Get some gentlemanfriend to dress you for your company. " Others spend all their smallearnings to keep themselves "respectably" dressed, and share the boardand lodgings of some young _roue_ as heartless as incontinent. Personsunaccustomed to city life, and thousands of people in the very heartof our great metropolis, have no conception of the frightful prevalenceof this kind of prostitution. Young women go to our large cities aspure as snow. They find no lucrative employment. Daily contact withvice obtunds their first abhorrence of it. Gradually it becomesfamiliar. A fancied life of ease presents allurements to a hard-workedsewing-girl. Fine clothes and comfortable lodgings increase thetemptation. She yields, and barters her body for a home without thetrouble of a marriage ceremony. 

Wealthy women could do more to cure the "social evil" by adopting plainattire than all the civil authorities by passing license laws orregulating ordinances. Have not Christian women a duty here? A few yearsago, some Nashville ladies made a slight move in the right direction, as indicated in the following paragraph; but we have not heard thattheir example has been followed:--

"The lady members of the first Baptist Church, of Nashville, Tenn. , have agreed that they will dispense with all finery on Sunday, wearingno jewels but consistency, and hereafter appear at church in plaincalico dresses. "

A more radical reform would have been an extension of the salutarymeasure to all other days of the week as well as Sunday; though we seeno reason for restricting the material of clothing to calico, whichmight, indeed, be rather insufficient for some seasons of the year. 

Fashion and Vice. --Let us glance at the second manner in which dresslends its influence to vice, by obstructing the normal functions ofthe body. 1. Fashion requires a woman to compress her waist with bandsor corsets. In consequence, the circulation of the blood toward theheart is obstructed. The venous blood is crowded back into the delicateorgans of generation. Congestion ensues, and with it, through reflexaction, the unnatural excitement of the animal propensities. 2. Themanner of wearing the clothing, suspending several heavy garments fromthe hips, increases the same difficulty by bringing too large a shareof clothing where it is least needed, thus generating unnatural localheat. 3. The custom of clothing the feet and limbs so thinly that theyare exposed to constant chilling, by still further unbalancing thecirculation, adds another element to increase the local mischief. 

All of these causes combined, operating almost constantly, --withothers that might be mentioned, --produce permanent local congestions, with ovarian and uterine derangements. The latter affections have longbeen recognized as the chief pathological condition in hysteria, andespecially in that peculiar form of disease known as _nymphomania_, under the excitement of which a young woman, naturally chaste and modest, may be impelled to the commission of the most wanton acts. Thepernicious influence of fashionable dress in occasioning this disordercannot be doubted. 

Reform in Dress Needed. --The remedy for these evils, the only way toescape them, is reformation. The dress must be so adjusted to the bodythat every organ will be allowed free movement. No corset, band, belt, or other means of constriction, should impede the circulation. Garmentsshould be suspended from the shoulders by means of a waist, or propersuspenders. The limbs should be as warmly clad as any other portionof the body. How best to secure these requirements of health may belearned from several excellent works on dress reform, any of which canbe readily obtained of the publishers of this work or their agents. 

Fashionable Dissipation. --The influence of so important an agent forevil in this direction as fashionable dissipation, cannot be ignored. By fashionable dissipation we mean that class of excesses in theindulgence in which certain classes, usually the more wealthy oraristocratic, pride themselves. Among this class of persons a man whois known to be a common drunkard would not be recognized; such a personwould be carefully shunned; yet a total abstainer would be avoided withalmost equal care, and would be regarded as a fanatic or an extremistat least. With persons of this class, wine-drinking is considerednecessary as a matter of propriety. Along with wine are taken the greatvariety of highly seasoned foods, spices, and condiments in profusion, with rich meats and all sorts of delicacies, rich desserts, etc. , whichcan hardly be considered much less harmful than stimulants of a moregenerally recognized character. 

These indulgences excite that part of the system which generally needsrestraint rather than stimulation. A participant, an ex-governor, recently described to us a grand political dinner given in honor ofa noted American citizen, which began at 5 P. M. , and continued untilnearly midnight, continuous courses of foods, wines, etc. , being servedfor nearly six hours. Similar scenes have been enacted in a score ofour large cities for the same ostensible purpose. Knowing that publicmen are addicted to such gormandizing on numerous occasions, we do notwonder that so many of them are men of loose morals. 

The tendency of luxury is toward demoralization. Rome never becamedissipated and corrupt until her citizens became wealthy, and adoptedluxurious modes of living. Nothing is much more conducive to soundmorals than full occupation of the mind with useful labor. Fashionableidleness is a foe to virtue. The young man or the young woman who wastesthe precious hours of life in listless dreaming, or in that sort ofsenseless twaddle which forms the bulk of the conversation in somecircles, is in very great danger of demoralization. Many of the usagesand customs of fashionable society seem to open the door to vice, andto insidiously, and at first unconsciously, lead the young andinexperienced away from the paths of purity and virtue. There is goodevidence that the amount of immorality among what are known as thehigher classes is every year increasing. Every now and then a scandalin high life comes to the surface; but the great mass of corruptionis effectually hidden from the general public. Open profligacy is ofcourse frowned upon in all respectable circles; and yet wealth andaccomplishments will cover a multitude of sins. 

This freedom allowed to the vile and vicious is one of the worst featuresof fashionable society. Such persons carry about them a moralatmosphere more deadly than the dreaded upas-tree. 

Round Dances. --Whatever apologies may be offered for other forms ofthe dance as means of exercise under certain restrictions, employedas a form of calisthenics, no such excuse can be framed in defense of"round dances, " especially of the waltz. In addition to the associateddissipation, late hours, fashionable dressing, midnight feasting, exposures through excessive exertions and improper dress, etc. , it canbe shown most clearly that dancing has a direct influence in stimulatingthe passions and provoking unchaste desires, which too often lead tounchaste acts, and are in themselves violations of the requirementsof strict morality, and productive of injury to both mind and body. 

Said the renowned Petrarch, "The dance is the spur of lust--a circleof which the devil himself is the center. Many women that use it havecome dishonest home, most indifferent, none better. "

We cannot do better than to quote on this subject from a little workentitled, "The Dance of Death, " the author of which has given a greatamount of attention to this subject, and presents its evils in a veryforcible light, as follows:--

"A score of forms whirl swiftly before us under the softened gaslight. I say a score of _forms_--but each is double--they would have made twoscore before the dancing began. Twenty floating visions--each male andfemale. Twenty women, knit and growing to as many men, undulate, sway, and swirl giddily before us, keeping time with the delirious melodyof piano, harp, and violin. 

"But draw nearer--let us see how this miracle is accomplished. Do youmark yonder couple who seem to excel the rest in grace and ardor. Letus take this couple for a sample. He is stalwart, agile, mighty; sheis tall, supple, lithe, and how beautiful in form and feature! Her headrests upon his shoulder, her face is upturned to his; her naked armis almost around his neck; her swelling breast heaves tumultuouslyagainst his; face to face they whirl, his limbs interwoven with herlimbs; with strong right arm about her yielding waist, he presses herto him till every curve in the contour of her lovely body thrills withthe amorous contact. Her eyes look into his, but she sees nothing; thesoft music fills the room, but she hears nothing; swiftly he whirlsher from the floor or bends her frail body to and fro in his embrace. 

"With a last, low wail the music ceases. Her swooning senses come backto life. Ah, must it be! Yes; her companion releases her from his embrace. Leaning wearily upon his arm, the rapture faded from her eye, the flushdying from her cheek--enervated, limp, listless, worn out--she is ledto a seat, there to recover from her delirium and gather her energiesas best she may in the space of five minutes, after which she must yieldher body to a new embrace. "

"And now tell me, friend of mine, did you not recognize an oldacquaintance in the lady we have been watching so closely? No! Thenbelieve me; she is no other than the 'pure and lovely girl' you so muchadmired earlier in the evening, the so desirable wife, the angel whowas to 'haunt your dreams. '"

The author just quoted publishes in his little work a letter from awoman of great ability and strength of mind, of unblemished characterand national reputation, written in response to his request for heropinion of the dance. The statements made in this remarkable letterare so clear and convincing that every parent ought to read it. We quotethe chief portions as follows:--

"'I will venture to lay bare a young girl's heart and mind by givingyou my own experience in the days when I waltzed. 

"'In those times I cared little for Polka or Varsovienne, and stillless for the old-fashioned "Money Musk" or "Virginia Reel, " andwondered what people could find to admire in those "slow dances. " Butin the soft floating of the waltz I found a strange pleasure, ratherdifficult to intelligibly describe. The mere anticipation flutteredmy pulse, and when my partner approached to claim my promised hand forthe dance, I felt my cheeks glow a little sometimes, and I could notlook him in the eyes with the same frank gayety as heretofore. 

"'But the climax of my confusion was reached when, folded in his warmembrace, and giddy with the whirl, a strange, sweet thrill would shakeme from head to foot, leaving me weak and almost powerless, and reallyalmost obliged to depend for support upon the arm which encircled me. If my partner failed from ignorance, lack of skill, or innocence, toarouse these, to me, most pleasurable sensations, I did not dance withhim the second time. 

"'I am speaking openly and frankly, and when I say that I did notunderstand what I felt, or what were the real and greatest pleasuresI derived from this so-called dancing, I expect to be believed. Butif my cheeks grew red with uncomprehended pleasure then, they grow palewith shame to-day when I think of it all. It was the physical emotionsengendered by the contact of strong men that I was enamored of--notof the dance, nor even of the men themselves. 

"'Thus I became abnormally developed in my lowest nature. I grew bolder, and from being able to return shy glances at first, was soon able tomeet more daring ones, until the waltz became to me and whomsoeverdanced with me, one lingering, sweet, and purely sensual pleasure, where heart beat against heart, hand was held in hand, and eyes lookedburning words which lips dared not speak. 

"'All this while no one said to me, You do wrong; so I dreamed of sweetwords whispered during the dance, and often felt while alone a thrillof joy indescribable yet overpowering when my mind would turn from mystudies to remember a piece of temerity of unusual grandeur on the partof one or another of my cavaliers. 

"'Girls talk to each other. I was still a school girl, although mixingso much with the world. We talked together. We read romances that fedour romantic passions on seasoned food, and none but ourselves knewwhat subjects we discussed. Had our parents heard us, they would haveconsidered us on the high road to ruin. 

"'Yet we had been taught that it was right to dance; our parents didit, our friends did, and we were permitted. I will say also that allthe girls with whom I associated, with the exception of one, had muchthe same experience in dancing; felt the same strangely sweet emotions, and felt that almost imperative necessity for a closer communion thanthat which even the freedom of a waltz permits, without knowing exactlywhy, or even comprehending what. 

"'Married now, with home and children around me, I can at least thankGod for the experience which will assuredly be the means of preventingmy little daughters from indulging in any such dangerous pleasure. But, if a young girl, pure and innocent in the beginning, can be broughtto feel what I have confessed to have felt, what must be the experienceof a married woman? _She_ knows what every glance of the eye, everybend of the head, every close clasp means, and knowing that, reciprocates it, and is led by swifter steps and a surer path down thedangerous, dishonorable road. 

"'I doubt if my experience will be of much service, but it is the candidtruth, from a woman who, in the cause of all the young girls who maybe contaminated, desires to show just to what extent a young mind maybe defiled by the injurious effects of round dances. I have nothesitated to lay bare what are a young girl's most secret thoughts, in the hope that people will stop and consider, at least, before handingtheir lilies of purity over to the arms of any one who may choose toblow the frosty breath of dishonor on their petals. '"

Much more might be added on this important subject, would the limitsof this work allow; but this must suffice. We beg the reader to considercarefully and prayerfully the facts presented before deciding thatdancing is so harmless as many persons suppose. 

Physical Causes of Unchastity. --Some of the physical causes of impurityin women have been previously referred to, since it is through physicalinjuries that unhealthful clothing exerts its influence. Too littleis generally known of the intimate connection between physical andmental conditions. Doubtless, many vices originate in physicalimperfections. Indeed, when the full bearing of physical influencesupon the mind is allowed, it is difficult to avoid pleading extenuatingcircumstances in the cases of the greatest share of transgressors ofboth moral and civil laws. This principle is especially applicable tosexual relations. 

In males, one of the most general physical causes of sexual excitementis _constipation_. The vesicula seminalis, in which the seminal fluidis stored, is situated, as will be remembered, at the base of the bladder. It thus has the bladder in front, and the rectum behind. In constipation, the rectum becomes distended with feces, effete matter which shouldhave been promptly evacuated instead of being allowed to accumulate. This hardened mass presses upon the parts most intimately concernedin the sexual act, causing excessive local excitement. When thiscondition is chronic, as in habitual constipation, the unnaturalexcitement often leads to most serious results. One of these is theproduction of a horrible disease, _satyriasis_, the nature of whichhas been previously indicated. 

_Constipation_ in females has the same tendency, though the dangersare not quite so great. The irritation is sufficient, however, to leadto excitement of the passions. 

_Intestinal worms_ often produce the same result in children. 

_Local uncleanliness_ is another very frequent cause which is oftenoverlooked. The natural local secretions quickly become a source ofgreat irritation if not removed by daily washing. Certain anatomicalpeculiarities sometimes exist in the male which greatly aggravate thisdifficulty, and for which circumcision, or an equivalent operation, is the remedy. 

_Irritation of the bladder_, producing incontinence of urine, isanother enemy to chastity. It should receive prompt attention andtreatment. In children, this irritability is indicated by wetting ofthe bed at night. In cases of this kind, allow the child little drinkin the latter portion of the day. See that the bladder is emptied justbefore he goes to bed. Wake him once or twice during the night, andhave him urinate. Use all possible means to remove the cause ofirritation by giving him plenty of out-of-door exercise and a verysimple, though nutritious, diet. Avoid meat, eggs, and condiments. 

Modern Modes of Life. --Aside from all of the causes already enumerated, there are many other conditions and circumstances, the result of modernhabits of living, that tend directly toward the excitement ofsensuality. Superheated rooms, sedentary employments, the developmentof the mental and nervous organizations at the expense of the muscular, the cramming system in schools, too long confinement of school-childrenin a sitting position, the allowance of too great freedom between thesexes in the young, the demoralizing influence of most varieties ofpublic amusement, balls, church fairs, and other like influences toonumerous to mention, all tend in the one direction, that of abnormalexcitation and precocious development of the sexual functions. 

It is not an exaggeration to say that for one conforming to modern modesof living, eating, sleeping, and drinking, absolute chastity is nextto an absolute impossibility. This would certainly be true without aspecial interposition of Providence; but Providence never worksmiracles to obviate the results of voluntary sin. 

CONTINENCE. 

Continence differs from chastity in being entire restraint from sexualindulgence under all circumstances, while chastity is only restraintfrom unlawful indulgence. As we have both physical and mental chastity, so continence should be both mental and physical. Many of theobservations on the subject of "Chastity" apply with equal force tocontinence. The causes of incontinence are the same as those ofunchastity. The same relation also exists between mental and physicalcontinence as between mental and physical chastity. 

The subject of continence evidently has a somewhat wider scope thanthat of chastity, as generally understood; but as we have consideredthe latter subject so fully, we shall devote less space to this, leavingthe reader to make the application of such preceding remarks as reasonmay suggest to him are equally appropriate here. 

Without stopping to consider the various circumstances under whichabsolute continence is expedient, or desirable, or morally required, we will proceed at once to examine the question, Is continence harmful?

Continence not Injurious. --It has been claimed by many, even byphysicians, --and with considerable show of reason, --that absolutecontinence, after full development of the organs of reproduction, couldnot be maintained without great detriment to health. It is needlessto enumerate all the different arguments employed to support thisposition, since they are, with a few exceptions, too frivolous todeserve attention. We shall content ourselves chiefly with quotationsfrom acknowledged authorities, by which we shall show that the popularnotions upon this subject are wholly erroneous. Their generalacceptance has been due, without doubt, to the strong natural bias intheir favor. It is an easy matter to believe what agrees well with one'spredilections. A bare surmise, on the side of prejudice, is more tellingthan the most powerful logic on the other side. 

"We know that this opinion is held by men of the world, and that manyphysicians share it. This belief appears to us to be erroneous, withoutfoundation, and easily refuted. "[6]

[Footnote 6: Mayer. ]

The same writer claims "that no peculiar disease nor any abridgmentof the duration of life can be ascribed to such continence. " He proveshis position by appealing to statistics, and shows the fallacy ofarguments in support of the contrary view. He further says:--

"It is determined, in our opinion, that the commerce of the sexes hasno necessities that cannot be restrained without peril. "

"A part has been assigned to _spermatic plethora_ in the etiology ofvarious mental affections. Among others, priapism has been attributedto it. In our opinion, this malady originates in a disturbance of thecerebral nerve power; but it is due much less to the retention of spermthan to its exaggerated loss; much less to virtuous abstinence thanto moral depravity. "

There has evidently been a wide-spread deception upon this subject. "Health does not absolutely require that there should ever be anemission of semen, from puberty to death, though the individual livea hundred years; and the frequency of involuntary nocturnal emissionsis an indubitable proof that the parts, at least, are suffering undera debility and morbid irritability utterly incompatible with thegeneral welfare of the system. "

Does not Produce Impotence. --It has been declared that strictcontinence would result in impotency. The falsity of this argument isclearly shown by the following observations:--

"There exists no _greater error_ than this, nor one more opposed tophysiological truth. In the first place, I may state that I have, aftermany years' experience, never seen a single instance of atrophy of thegenerative organs from this cause. I have, it is true, met the complaint, but in what class of cases does it occur? It arises, in all instances, from the exactly opposite cause, abuse; the organs become worn out, and hence arises atrophy. Physiologically considered, it is not a factthat the power of secreting semen is annihilated in well-formed adultsleading a healthy life and yet remaining continent. No continent manneed be deterred by this apocryphal fear of atrophy of the testes, fromliving a chaste life. It is a device of the unchaste--a lame excusefor their own incontinence, unfounded on any physiological law. "[7]

[Footnote 7: Acton. ]

The truth of this statement has been amply confirmed by experimentsupon animals. 

The complaint is made by those whose lives have been far otherwise thancontinent, that abstinence occasions suffering, from which indulgencegives relief. The same writer further says that when such a patientconsults a medical man, "he should be told--and the result would soonprove the correctness of the advice--that attention to diet, gymnasticexercise, and self-control, will, most effectually relieve thesymptoms. "

Difficulty of Continence. --Some there are who urge that self-denialis difficult; that the natural promptings are imperious. From this theyargue that it cannot but be right to gratify so strong a passion. "Theadmitted fact that continence, even at the very beginning of manhood, is frequently productive of distress, is often a struggle hard to beborne--still harder to be completely victorious in--is not to be atall regarded as an argument that it is an _evil_. "[8]

[Footnote 8: Ibid. ]

But if rigid continence is maintained from the first, the struggle withthe passions will not be nearly so severe as after they have once beenallowed to gain the ascendency. On this point, the following remarksare very just:--

"At the outset, the sexual necessities are not so uncontrollable asis generally supposed, and they can be put down by the exercise of alittle energetic will. There is, therefore, as it appears to us, asmuch injustice in accusing nature of disorders which are dependent uponthe genital senses, badly directed, as there would be in attributingto it a sprain or a fracture accidentally produced. "[9]

[Footnote 9: Mayer. ]

Helps to Continence. --As already indicated, and as every individualwith strong passions knows, the warfare with passion is a serious oneif one determines to lead a continent life. He needs the help of everyaid that he can gain. Some of these may be named as follows:--

_The Will_. --A firm determination must be formed to lead a life ofpurity; to quickly quench the first suggestions of impurity; to harborno unchaste desire; to purge the mind of carnal thoughts; in short, to cleave fast to mental continence. Each triumph over vicious thoughtswill strengthen virtue; each victory won will make the next the easier. So strong a habit of continence may be formed that this alone will bea bulwark against vice. 

_Diet_. --He who would keep in subjection his animal nature mustcarefully guard the portal to his stomach. The blood is made of whatis eaten. Irritating food will produce irritating blood. Stimulatingfoods or drinks will surely produce a corresponding quality of blood. Irritating, stimulating blood will irritate and stimulate the nervoussystem, and especially the delicate nerves of the reproductive system, as previously explained. Only the most simple and wholesome food shouldbe eaten, and that only in such moderate quantities as are requiredto replenish the tissues. The custom of making the food pungent andstimulating with condiments is the great, almost the sole, cause ofgluttony. It is one of the greatest hindrances to virtue. Indeed, itmay with truth be said that the devices of modern cookery are mostpowerful allies of unchastity and licentiousness. This subject isparticularly deserving of careful, candid, and studious attention, andonly needs such investigation to demonstrate its soundness. 

_Exercise_. --Next to diet as an aid to continence, perhaps of equalimportance with it, is exercise, both physical and mental. It is a triteproverb, the truth of which every one acknowledges, that "Satan findssome mischief still for idle hands to do, " and it is equally true thathe always has an evil thought in readiness--speaking figuratively--toinstill into an unoccupied mind. A person who desires to be pure andcontinent in body and mind must flee idleness as he would the devilhimself; for the latter is always ready to improve upon the advantagesafforded by an idle moment, an hour given to reverie. 

We have the strongest testimony from the most eminent physicians inregard to the efficacy of exercise in overcoming abnormal sexualdesires. Mr. Acton relates the following statement made to him by agentleman who has become distinguished in his profession:--

"'You may be surprised, Mr. Acton, ' said he, 'by the statement I amabout to make to you, that before my marriage I lived a perfectlycontinent life. During my university career, my passions were verystrong, sometimes almost uncontrollable, but I have the satisfactionto think that I mastered them; it was, however, by great efforts. Iobliged myself to take violent physical exertion; I was the best oarof my year, and when I felt particularly strong sexual desire, I salliedout to take my exercise. I was victorious always, and I never committedfornication. You see in what vigorous health I am; it was exercise alonethat saved me. '"

Says Carpenter, on the same subject, in a textbook for medical students, "'Try the effect of close mental application to some of those ennoblingpursuits to which your profession introduces you, in combination withvigorous bodily exercise, before you assert that the appetite isunrestrainable, and act upon that assertion. '"

Walking, riding, rowing, and gymnastics are among the best modes ofphysical exercise for sedentary persons; but there is no better formof exercise than working in the garden. The cultivation of small fruits, flowers, and other occupations of like character, really excel allother modes of physical exercise for one who can engage in them withreal pleasure. Even though distasteful at first, they may become veryattractive and interesting if there is an honest, persevering desireto make them so. The advantages of exercises of this kind are evident. 1. They are useful as well as healthful. While they call into actiona very large number of muscles by the varied movements required, theexpenditure of vital force is remunerated by the actual value of theproducts of the labor; so that no force is wasted. 2. The tillage ofthe soil and the dressing of vines and plants bring one in constantcontact with nature in a manner that is elevating and refining, or atleast affords the most favorable opportunities for the cultivation ofnobility and purity of mind, and elevated principles. 

Exercise carried to such excess as to produce exhaustion is alwaysinjurious. The same is true of mental labor as of physical exercise. Plenty of sleep, and regular habits of retiring and rising, areimportant. Dozing is bad at any time; for it is a condition in whichthe will is nearly dormant, though consciousness still lingers, andthe imagination is allowed to run wild, and often enough it will runwhere it ought not. Late study, or late hours spent in any manner, isa sure means of producing general nervous irritability and sexualexcitement through reflex influence. 

_Bathing_. --A daily bath with cool or tepid water, followed by vigorousrubbing of the skin with a coarse towel and then with the dry hand, is a most valuable aid. The hour of first rising is generally the mostconvenient time. How to take different kinds of baths is explained inother works devoted to the subject. [10] General and local cleanlinessare indispensable to general and local health. 

[Footnote 10: See "Uses of Water" and "The Household Manual. "]

_Religion_. --After availing himself of all other aids to continence, if he wishes to maintain purity of mind as well as physicalchastity--and one cannot exist long without the other--the individualmust seek that most powerful and helpful of all aids, divine grace. If, in the conflict with his animal nature, man had only to contendwith the degrading influences of his own propensities, the battle wouldbe a serious one, and it is doubtful whether human nature alone--atleast in any but rare cases, --would be able to gain the victory; but, in addition to his own inherent tendencies to evil, man is assailedat every point by unseen agencies that seek to drag him down and spoilhis soul with lust. These fiendish influences are only felt, not seen, from which some argue that they do not exist. Such casuists must findenormous depths for human depravity. But who has not felt the cruelpower of these unseen foes? Against them, there is but one safe, successful weapon, "the blood of Christ which cleanseth from all sin. "

The struggling soul, beset with evil thoughts, will find in prayer asalvation which all his force of will, and dieting, and exercising, will not, alone, insure him. Yet prayer alone will not avail. Faithand works must always be associated. All that one can do to work outhis own salvation, he must do; then he can safely trust in God to dothe rest, even though the struggle seems almost a useless one; for whenthe soul has been long in bondage to concupiscence, the mind a holdof foul and lustful thoughts, a panorama of unchaste imagery, thesehateful phantoms will even intrude themselves upon the sanctity ofprayer and make their victim mentally unchaste upon his knees. ButChrist can pity even such; and even these degraded minds may yet bepure if with the psalmist they continue to cry, with a true purposeand unwavering trust, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renewa right spirit within me. " "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. "

At the first suggestion of an evil thought, send up a mental prayerto Him whose ear is always open. Prayer and impurity are as incompatibleas oil and water. The pure thoughts that sincere prayer will bring, displace the evil promptings of excited passion. But the desire foraid must be sincere. Prayer will be of no avail while the mind is halfconsenting to the evil thought. The evil must be loathed, spurned, detested. 

It would seem almost unnecessary to suggest the impropriety ofresorting to prayer alone when sexual excitability has arisen from aculpable neglect to remove the physical conditions of local excitementby the means already mentioned. Such physical causes must be well lookedafter, or every attempt to reform will be fruitless. God requires ofevery individual to do for himself all that he is capable of doing;to employ every available means for alleviating his sufferings. 

MARITAL EXCESSES. 

It seems to be a generally prevalent opinion that the marriage ceremonyremoves all restraint from the exercise of the sexual functions. Fewseem to even suspect that the seventh commandment has any bearing uponsexual conduct within the pale of matrimony. Yet if we may believe theconfessions and statements of men and women, legalized prostitutionis a more common crime than illicit commerce of the sexes. So commonis the popular error upon this subject, and so strongly fortified byprejudice is it, that it is absolutely dangerous for a writer or speakerto express the truth, if he knows it and has a disposition to do so. Any attempt to call attention to true principles is mocked at, decried, stigmatized, and, if possible, extinguished. The author is vilified, and his work is denounced, and relegated to the ragman. Extremist, fanatic, ascetic, are the mildest terms employed concerning him, andhe escapes with rare good fortune if his chastity or virility is notassailed. 

We are not going to run any such risks, and so shall not attempt toenunciate or maintain any theory. We shall content ourselves withplainly stating established physiological facts by quotations fromstandard medical authors, leaving each reader to draw conclusions andconstruct a practical formula for himself. 

Object of the Reproductive Functions. --Man, in whatever condition wefind him, is more or less depraved. This is true as well of the mostcultivated and refined ladies and gentlemen of the great centers ofcivilization, as of the misshapen denizens of African jungles, or thescarcely human natives of Australia and Terra del Fuego. His appetites, his tastes, his habits, even his bodily functions are perverted. Ofcourse, there are degrees of depravity, and varieties of perversion. In some respects, savages approach more nearly to the natural statethan civilized man, and in other particulars, the latter more nearlyrepresents man's natural condition; but in neither barbarism norcivilization do we find man in his primitive state. 

In consequence of this universal departure from his original normalcondition, --the causes of which we need not here trace, since they areimmaterial in the consideration of this question, --when we wish toascertain with certainty the functions of certain organs of the humanbody, we are obliged to compare them with the corresponding organs oflower animals, and study the functions of the latter. It is by thismethod of investigation that most of the important truths of physiologyhave been developed; and the plan is universally acknowledged to bea proper and logical one. 

Then if we wish to ascertain, with certainty, the true function of thereproductive organs in man, we must pursue the course above indicated;in other words, study the function of reproduction in lower animals. We say _lower animals_, because man is really an animal, a member ofthe great animal kingdom, though not a beast--at least he should notbe a beast, though some animals in human form approach very closelyto the line that separates humanity from brutes. We are brought, then, for a solution of this problem, to a consideration of the question, What is the object of the reproductive act in those members of the animalkingdom just below man in the scale of being? Let science tell us, forzoologists have made a careful study of this subject for centuries. 

We quote the following paragraphs from one of the most distinguishedand reliable of modern physiologists;[11] the facts which he statesbeing confirmed by all other physiologists:--

"Every living being has a definite term of life, through which it passesby the operation of an invariable law, and which, at some regularlyappointed time, comes to an end. .. . But while individual organisms arethus constantly perishing and disappearing from the stage, theparticular kind, or species, remains in existence. .. . This process, by which new organisms make their appearance, to take the place of thosewhich are destroyed, is known as the process of _reproduction_ or_generation_. 

"The ovaries, as well as the eggs which they contain, undergo, atparticular seasons, a periodical development, or increase in growth. .. . At the approach of the generative season, in all the lower animals, a certain number of the eggs, which were previously in an imperfectand inactive condition, begin to increase in size and become somewhataltered in structure. "

"In most fish and reptiles as well as in birds, this regular processof maturation and discharge of eggs takes place but once in a year. In different species of quadrupeds it may take place annually, semi-annually, bi-monthly, or even monthly; but in every instance itrecurs at regular intervals, and exhibits accordingly, in a markeddegree, the periodic character which we have seen to belong to mostof the other vital phenomena. "

"In most of the lower orders of animals there is a periodicaldevelopment of the testicles in the male, corresponding in time withthat of the ovaries in the female. As the ovaries enlarge and the eggsripen in the one sex, so in the other the testicles increase in size, as the season of reproduction approaches, and become turgid withspermatozoa. The accessory organs of generation, at the same time, share the unusual activity of the testicles, and become increased invascularity and ready to perform their part in the reproductivefunction. "

"Each of the two sexes is then at the same time under the influenceof a corresponding excitement. The unusual development of the genitalorgans reacts upon the entire system, and produces a state of peculiaractivity and excitability, known as the condition of 'erethism. '"

"It is a remarkable fact, in this connection, that the female of theseanimals will allow the approaches of the male only during andimmediately after the oestral period; that is, just when the egg isrecently discharged, and ready for impregnation. At other times, whensexual intercourse would be necessarily fruitless, the instinct of theanimal leads her to avoid it; and the concourse of the sexes isaccordingly made to correspond in time with the maturity of the eggand its aptitude for fecundation. "

"The egg, immediately upon its discharge from the ovary, is ready forimpregnation. If sexual intercourse happens to take place about thattime, the egg and the spermatic fluid meet in some part of the femalegenerative passages, and fecundation is accomplished. .. . If, on theother hand, coitus do not take place, the egg passes down to the uterusunimpregnated, loses its vitality after a short time, and is finallycarried away with the uterine secretions. "

"It is easily understood, therefore, why sexual intercourse should bemore liable to be followed by pregnancy when it occurs about themenstrual epoch than at other times. .. . Before its discharge, the eggis immature, and unprepared for impregnation; and after the menstrualperiod has passed, it gradually loses its freshness and vitality. "

[Footnote 11: Dalton. ]

The law of periodicity, as it affects the sexual activity of males ofthe human species, is indicated in the following remarks by the sameauthor:--

"The same correspondence between the periods of sexual excitement inthe male and female, is visible in many of the animals [higher mammals], as well as in fish and reptiles. This is the case in most species whichproduce young but once a year, and at a fixed period, as the deer andthe wild hog. In other species, on the contrary, such as the dog, therabbit, the guinea-pig, etc. , where several broods of young areproduced during the year, or where, as in the human subject, thegenerative epochs of the female recur at short intervals, so that theparticular period of impregnation is comparatively indefinite, thegenerative apparatus of the male is almost always in a state of fulldevelopment; and is excited to action at particular periods, apparentlyby some influence derived from the condition of the female. "

The facts presented in the foregoing quotations from Dr. Dalton maybe summarized as follows:--

1. The sexual function is for the purpose of producing new individualsto take the place of those who die, and thus preserve the species frombecoming extinct. 

2. In the animal kingdom generally, the reproductive function is_necessarily_ a periodical act, dependent upon the development of thereproductive organs of both the male and the female at stated periods. 

3. In those exceptional cases in which the organs of the male are ina state of constant development, sexual congress occurs, in loweranimals, only at those periods when the periodical development occursin the female. 

4. Fecundation of the female element can only take place about the timeof periodical development in the female. 

5. The desire for sexual congress naturally exists in the female onlyat or immediately after the time of periodical development. 

6. The constant development of the sexual organs in human males is acondition common to all animals in which development occurs in thefemale at short intervals, and is a provision of nature to secure afruitful union when the female is in readiness, but not an indicationfor constant or frequent use. 

7. The time of sexual congress is always determined by the conditionand desires of the female. 

An additional fact, as stated by physiologists, is that, under normalconditions, the human female experiences sexual desire immediatelyafter menstruation more than at any other time. It has, indeed, beenclaimed that at this period only does she experience the true sexualinstinct unless it is abnormally excited by disease or otherwise. 

From these facts the following conclusions must evidently be drawn:--

1. The fact that in all animals but the human species the act can beperformed only when reproduction is possible, proves that in the animalkingdom in general the sole object of the function is reproduction. Whether man is an exception, must be determined from otherconsiderations. 

2. The fact that the males of other animals besides man in which thesexual organs are in a state of constant development do not exercisethose organs except for the purpose of reproduction, is proof of theposition that the constant development in man is not a warrant for theirconstant use. 

3. The general law that the reproductive act is performed only whendesired by the female, is sufficient ground for supposing that suchshould be the case with the human species also. 

The opinions of writers of note are given in the following quotations:--

"The approach of the sexes is, in its purest condition, the result ofa natural instinct, the end of which is the reproduction of the species. Still, however, we are far from saying that this ultimate result is, in any proportion of cases, the actual thought in the minds of theparties engaged. "

"The very lively solicitations which spring from the genital sense, have no other end than to insure the perpetuity of the race. "[12]

[Footnote 12: Dr. Gardner. ]

"Observation fully confirms the views of inductive philosophy; for itproves to us that coitus, exercised otherwise than under theinspirations of honest instinct, is a cause of disease in both sexes, and of danger to the social order. "[13]

[Footnote 13: Mayer. ]

"It is incredible that the act of bringing men into life, that act ofhumanity, without contradiction of the most importance, should be theone of which there should have been the least supposed necessity forregulation, or which has been regulated the least beneficially. "[14]

[Footnote 14: Dunoyer. ]

"But it may be said that the demands of nature are, in the married state, not only legal, but should be physically right. So they are, when ourphysical life is right; but it must not be forgotten that few live ina truly physical rectitude. "[15]

[Footnote 15: Gardner. ]

"Among cattle, the sexes meet by common instinct and common will; itis reserved for the human animal to treat the female as a mere victimto his lust. "[16]

[Footnote 16: Quarterly Review. ]

"He is an ill husband that _uses his wife as a man treats a harlot_, having no other end but pleasure. Concerning which our best rule is, that although in this, as in eating and drinking, there is an appetiteto be satisfied, which cannot be done without pleasing that desire, yet since that desire and satisfaction were intended by nature for otherends, they should never be separated from those ends. "

"It is a sad truth that many married persons, thinking that theflood-gates of liberty are set wide open, without measures orrestraints (so they sail in the channel), have felt the final rewardsof intemperance and lust by their unlawful using of lawful permissions. Only let each of them be temperate, and both of them modest. "[17]

[Footnote 17: Jeremy Taylor. ]

Says another writer very emphatically, "It is a common belief that aman and woman, because they are legally united in marriage, areprivileged to the unbridled exercises of amativeness. This is wrong. Nature, in the exercise of her laws, recognizes no human enactments, and is as prompt to punish any infringement of her laws in those whoare legally married, as in those out of the bonds. Excessive indulgencebetween the married produces as great and lasting evil effects as inthe single man or woman, and is nothing more or less than legalizedprostitution. "

Results of Excesses. --The sad results of excessive indulgences are seenon every hand. Numerous ailments attributed to overwork, constitutional disease, or hereditary predisposition, know no othercause and need no other explanation. 

_Effects upon Husbands_. --No doubt the principal blame in this matterproperly falls upon the husband; but it cannot be said that he is thegreatest sufferer; however, his punishment is severe enough to clearlyindicate the enormity of the transgression, and to warn him to areformation of his habits. The following is a quotation from an eminentmedical authority:--

"But any warning against sexual dangers would be very incomplete ifit did not extend to the excesses so often committed by married personsin ignorance of their ill effects. Too frequent emissions of thelife-giving fluid, and too frequent excitement of the nervous systemare, as we have seen, in themselves most destructive. The result isthe same within the marriage bond as without it. The married man whothinks that because he is a married man he can commit no excess, howeveroften the act of sexual congress is repeated, will suffer as certainlyand as seriously as the unmarried debauchee who acts on the sameprinciple in his indulgences--perhaps more certainly from his veryignorance, and from his not taking those precautions and followingthose rules which a career of vice is apt to teach the sensualist. Manya man has, until his marriage, lived a most continent life; so has hiswife. As soon as they are wedded, intercourse is indulged in night afternight, neither party having any idea that these repeated sexual actsare excesses which the system of neither can bear, and which to theman, at least, are absolute ruin. The practice is continued till healthis impaired, sometimes permanently, and when a patient is at lastobliged to seek medical advice, he is thunderstruck at learning thathis sufferings arise from excesses unwittingly committed. Marriedpeople often appear to think that connection may be repeated asregularly and almost as often as their meals. Till they are told ofthe danger, the idea never enters their heads that they are guilty ofgreat and almost criminal excess; nor is this to be wondered at, sincethe possibility of such a cause of disease is seldom hinted at by themedical man they consult. "

"Some go so far as to believe that indulgence may increase these powers, just as gymnastic exercises augment the force of the muscles. This isa popular error; and requires correction. Such patients should be toldthat the shock on the system each time connection is indulged in, isvery powerful, and that the expenditure of seminal fluid must beparticularly injurious to organs previously debilitated. It is by thisand similar excesses that premature old age and complaints of thegenerative organs are brought on. "

"The length to which married people carry excesses is perfectlyastonishing. "

"Since my attention has been particularly called to this class ofailments, I feel confident that many of the forms of indigestion, general ill health, hypochondriasis, etc. , so often met with in adults, depend upon sexual excesses. .. . That this cause of illness is not moregenerally acknowledged and acted on, arises from the natural delicacywhich medical men must feel in putting such questions to their patientsas are necessary to elicit the facts. "

"It is not the body alone which suffers from excesses committed inmarried life. Experience every day convinces me that much of the languorof mind, confusion of ideas, and inability to control the thoughts, of which some married men complain, arise from this cause. "[18]

[Footnote 18: Acton. ]

The debilitating effects of excessive sexual indulgence arise from twocauses; viz. , the loss of the seminal fluid, and the nervous excitement. With reference to the value of the spermatic fluid, Dr. Gardnerremarks:--

"The sperm is the purest extract of the blood. .. . Nature, in creatingit, has intended it not only to communicate life, but also to nourishthe individual life. In fact, the re-absorption of the fecundatingliquid impresses upon the entire economy new energy, and a virilitywhich contributes to the prolongation of life. "

Testimony of a French Physician. --A French author of considerablenote, [19] remarks on the same subject:--

"Nothing costs the economy so much as the production of semen and itsforced ejaculation. It has been calculated that an ounce of semen wasequivalent to forty ounces of blood. .. . Semen is the essence of thewhole individual. Hence, Fernel has said, 'Totus homo semen est. ' Itis the balm of life. .. . That which gives life is intended for itspreservation. "

[Footnote 19: Parise. ]

It may be questioned, perhaps, whether physiology will sustain to thefullest extent all the statements made in the last quotation; butperhaps physiology does not appreciate so fully as does pathology theworth of the most vital of all fluids, and the fearful results whichfollow its useless expenditure. 

Continence of Trainers. --"The moderns who are training are well awarethat sexual indulgence wholly unfits them for great feats of strength, and the captain of a boat strictly forbids his crew anything of thesort just previous to a match. Some trainers have gone so far as toassure me that they can discover by a man's style of pulling whetherhe has committed such a breach of discipline over night, and have notscrupled to attribute the occasional loss of matches to thiscause. "[20]

[Footnote 20: Acton. ]

A Cause of Throat Disease. --The disease known as "_clergyman's sorethroat_" is believed by many eminent physicians to have its chief originin excessive venery. It is well known that sexual abuse is a very potentcause of throat diseases. This view is supported by the following fromthe pen of the learned Dr. X. Bourgeois:--

"We ought not, then, to be surprised that the physiological act, requiring so great an expenditure of vitality, must be injurious inthe highest degree, when it is reiterated abusively. To engender isto give a portion of one's life. Does not he who is prodigal of himselfprecipitate his own ruin? A peculiar character of the diseases whichhave their origin in venereal excesses and masturbation is chronicity. "

"Individual predispositions, acquired or hereditary, engender for eacha series of peculiar ills. In some, the debility bears upon thepulmonary organs. Hence results the dry cough, prolonged hoarseness, stitch in the side, spitting of blood, and finally phthisis. How manyexamples are there of young debauchees who have been devoured by thiscruel disease!. .. It is, of all the grave maladies, the one whichvenereal abuses provoke the most frequently. Portal, Bayle, Louis, saythis distinctly. "

A Cause of Consumption. --This fatal disease finds a large share of itsvictims among those addicted to sexual excesses, either of an illicitnature or within the marriage pale, for the physical effects areessentially identical. This cause is especially active and fatal withsedentary persons, but is sufficiently powerful to undermine theconstitution under the most favorable circumstances, as the followingcase illustrates:--

The patient was a young man of twenty-two, large, muscular, and welldeveloped, having uncommonly broad shoulders and a full chest. Hisoccupation had been healthful, that of a laborer. Had had cough forseveral months, and was spitting blood. Examination of lungs showedthat they were hopelessly diseased. There was no trace of consumptionin the family, and the only cause to which the disease could beattributed was excessive sexual indulgence, which he confessed to havepracticed for several years. 

Effects on Wives. --If husbands are great sufferers, as we have seen, wives suffer still more terribly, being of feebler constitution, andhence less able to bear the frequent shock which is suffered by thenervous system. Dr. Gardner places this evil prominent among the causes"the result of which we see deplored in the public press of the day, which warns us that the American race is fast dying out, and that itsplace is being filled by emigrants of different lineage, religion, political ideas, and education. "

The same author remarks further on the results of this with other causeswhich largely grow out of it:--

"It has been a matter of common observation that the physical statusof the women of Christendom has been gradually deteriorating; thattheir mental energies were uncertain and spasmodic; that they wereprematurely care-worn, wrinkled, and enervated; that they becamesubject to a host of diseases scarcely ever known to the professionalmen of past times, but now familiar to, and the common talk of, thematrons, and often, indeed, of the youngest females in the community. "

So prevalent are these maladies that Michelet says with truth that thepresent is the "age of womb diseases. "

Every physician of observation and experience has met many casesillustrative of the serious effects of the evil named. Some years ago, when acting as assistant physician in a large dispensary in an Easterncity, a young woman applied for examination and treatment. Shepresented a great variety of nervous symptoms, prominent among whichwere those of mild hysteria and nervous exhaustion, together withimpaired digestion and violent palpitation of the heart. In ourinquiries respecting the cause of these difficulties, we learned thatshe had been married but about six months. A little careful questioningelicited the fact that sexual indulgence was invariably practiced everynight, and often two or three times, occasionally as many as four timesa night. We had the key to her troubles at once, and ordered entirecontinence for a month. From her subsequent reports I learned that herhusband would not allow her to comply with the request, but thatindulgence was much less frequent than before. The result was not allthat could be desired, but there was marked improvement. If the husbandhad been willing to "do right, " entire recovery would have taken placewith rapidity. 

Another case came under our observation in which the patient, a man, confessed to having indulged every night for twenty years. We did notwonder that at forty he was a complete physical wreck. 

The Greatest Cause of Uterine Disease. --Dr. J. R. Black remarks asfollows on this subject:--

"Medical writers agree that one of the most common causes of the manyforms of derangement to which woman is subject consists in excessivecohabitation. The diseases known as menorrhagia, dysmenorrhoea, leucorrhoea, amenorrhoea, abortions, prolapsus, chronic inflammationsand ulcerations of the womb, with a yet greater variety of sympatheticnervous disorders, are some of the distressing forms of thesederangements. The popular way of accounting for many of these ills isthat they come from colds or from straining lifts. But if colds andgreat strain upon the parts in question develop such diseases, why arethey not seen among the inferior animals? The climatic alternationsthey endure, the severe labor some of them are obliged to perform, oughtto cause their ruin; or else in popular phrase, 'make them catch theirdeaths from cold. '"

Legalized Murder. --A medical writer of considerable ability presentsthe following picture, the counterpart of which almost any one canrecall as having occurred within the circle of his acquaintance;perhaps numerous cases will be recalled by one who has been especiallyobserving:--

"A man of great vital force is united to a woman of evenly-balancedorganization. The husband, in the exercise of what he is pleased toterm his 'marital rights, ' places his wife, in a short time, on thenervous, delicate, sickly list. In the blindness and ignorance of hisanimal nature, he requires prompt obedience to his desires; and, ignorant of the law of right in this direction, thinking that it isher duty to accede to his wishes, though fulfilling them with a soreand troubled heart, she allows him passively, never lovingly, toexercise daily and weekly, month in and month out, the low and beastlyof his nature, and eventually, slowly but surely, to kill her. And thisman, who has as surely committed murder as has the convicted assassin, lures to his net and takes unto him another wife, to repeat the sameprogramme of legalized prostitution on his part, and sickness andpremature death on her part. "

Prof. Gerrish, in a little work from which we take the liberty to quote, speaks as follows on this subject:--

"One man reckless of his duty to the community, marries young, withmeans and prospects inadequate to support the family which is so sureto come ere long. His ostensible excuse is love; his real reason thegratification of his carnal instincts. Another man, in exactly similarcircumstances, but too conscientious to assume responsibilities whichhe cannot carry, and in which failure must compromise the comfort andtax the purses of people from whom he has no right to extort luxuries, forbears to marry; but, feeling the passions of his sex, and beingimbued with the prevalent errors on such matters, resorts for reliefto unlawful coition. At the wedding of the former, pious friendsassemble with their presents and congratulations, and bid the legalizedprostitution Godspeed. Love shields the crime, all the more easilybecause so many of the rejoicing guests have sinned in precisely thesame way. The other man has no festival gathering. .. . Society applaudsthe first and frowns on the second; but, to my mind, the differencebetween them is not markedly in favor of the former. "

"We hear a good deal said about certain crimes against nature, suchas pederasty and sodomy, and they meet with the indignant condemnationof all right-minded persons. The statutes are especially severe onoffenders of this class, the penalty being imprisonment between oneand ten years, whereas fornication is punished by imprisonment for notmore than sixty days and a fine of less than one hundred dollars. Butthe query very pertinently arises just here as to whether the use ofthe condom and defertilizing injections is not equally a crime againstnature, and quite as worthy of our detestation and contempt. And, further, when we consider the brute creation, and see that they, guidedby instinct, copulate only when the female is in proper physiologicalcondition and yields a willing consent, it may be suggested thatcongress between men and women may, in certain circumstances, be a crimeagainst nature, and one far worse in its results than any other. Isit probable that a child born of a connection to which the woman objectswill possess that felicitous organization which every parent shouldearnestly desire and endeavor to bestow on his offspring? Can theunwelcome fruit of a rape be considered, what every child has a rightto be, a pledge of affection? Poor little Pip, in 'Great Expectations, 'spoke as the representative of a numerous class when he said, 'I wasalways treated as if I had insisted on being born, in opposition tothe dictates of reason, religion and morality, and against thedissuading arguments of my best friends. ' We enjoin the young to honorfather and mother, never thinking how undeserving of respect are thosewhose children suffer from inherited ills, the result of theselfishness and carelessness of their parents in begetting them. 

"These accidental pregnancies are the great immediate cause of theenormously common crime of abortion, concerning which the morals ofthe people are amazingly blunted. The extent of the practice may beroughly estimated by the number of standing advertisements in thefamily newspapers, in which feticide is warranted safe and secret. Itis not the poor only who take advantage of such nefarious opportunities;but the rich shamelessly patronize these professional and cowardlymurderers of defenseless infancy. Madame Restell, who recently diedby her own hand in New York, left a fortune of a million dollars, whichshe had accumulated by producing abortions. "

A husband who has not sunk in his carnality too far below the brutecreation will certainly pause a moment, in the face of such terriblefacts, before he continues his sensual, selfish, murderous course. 

Indulgence during Menstruation. --The following remarks which our ownprofessional experience has several times confirmed, reveal a stillmore heinous violation of nature's laws:--

"To many it may seem that it is unnecessary to caution againstcontracting relationships at the period of the monthly flow, thinkingthat the instinctive laws of cleanliness and delicacy were sufficientto refrain the indulgence of the appetites; but they are littlecognizant of the true condition of things in this world. Often haveI had husbands inform me that they had not missed having sexualrelations with their wives once or more times a day for several years;and scores of women with delicate frames and broken-down health haverevealed to me similar facts, and I have been compelled to make personalappeals to the husbands. "[21]

[Footnote 21: Gardner. ]

The following is an important testimony by an eminent physician[22]upon the same point:--

"Females whose health is in a weak state . .. Become liable, intransgressing this law, to an infectious disorder, which, it iscommonly supposed, can only originate or prevail among disreputablecharacters; but Dr. Bumstead and a number of other eminent authoritiesbelieve and teach that gonorrhoea may originate among women entirelyvirtuous in the ordinary sense of the term. That excessive venery isthe chief cause that originates this peculiar form of inflammation, has long been the settled opinion of medical men. "

[Footnote 22: Dr. J. R. Black. ]

It seems scarcely possible that such enormity could be committed byany human being, at least by civilized men, and in the face of theinjunctions of Moses to the Jews, to say nothing of the evidentindecency of the act. The Jews still maintain their integrity to theobservance of this command of their ancient lawgiver. 

"Reason and experience both show that sexual relations at the menstrualperiod are very dangerous to both man and woman, and perhaps also forthe offspring, should there chance to be conception. "[23]

[Footnote 23: Mayer. ]

The woman suffers from the congestion and nervous excitement whichoccur at the most inopportune moment possible. Man may suffer physicalinjury, though there are no grounds for the assertions of Pliny thatthe menstrual blood is so potent for evil that it will, by a mere touch, rust iron, render a tree sterile, make dogs mad, etc. , or that ofParacelsus that "of it the devil makes spiders, fleas, caterpillars, and all the other insects that people the air. "

Effects upon Offspring. --That those guilty of the transgression shouldsuffer, seems only just; but that an innocent being who had no partin the sin--no voice in the time or manner of its advent into theworld--that such a one should suffer equally, if not more bitterly, with the transgressors themselves, seems anything but just. But suchis nature's inexorable law, that the iniquities of the parents shallbe visited upon the children; and this fact should be a most powerfulinfluence to prevent parental transgression, especially in thisdirection, in which the dire consequences fall so heavily and soimmediately upon an innocent being. 

Says Acton, "The ill effects of marital excesses are not confined tooffending parties. No doubt can exist that many of the obscure casesof sickly children, born of apparently healthy parents, arise from thiscause; and this is borne out by investigations amongst animals. "

Breeders of stock who wish to secure sound progeny will not allow themost robust stallion to associate with mares as many times during thewhole season as some of these salacious human males perform a similaract within a month. One reason why the offspring suffer is that theseminal fluid deteriorates very rapidly by repeated indulgence. Thespermatozoa do not have time to become maturely developed. Progenyresulting from such immature elements will possess the same deficiency. Hence the hosts of deformed, scrofulous, weazen, and idiotic childrenwhich curse the race, and testify to the sensuality of their progenitors. Another reason is the physical and nervous exhaustion which the parentsbring upon themselves, and which totally unfits them to beget sound, healthy offspring. 

The effects of this evil may often be traced in a large family ofchildren, nearly all of whom show traces of the excesses of theirparents. It commonly happens, too, that such large families are on thehands of poor men who cannot earn enough to give them sufficient foodand comfortable clothing, with nothing whatever to provide for theireducation. The overburdened mother has her strength totally exhaustedby the excessive demands upon her system incident to child-bearing, so that she is unable to give her children that culture and trainingwhich all children need. More than as likely as not she feels that theywere forced upon her, and hence she cannot hold for them all that tendersympathy and affection a mother should feel. The little ones grow upignorant and often vicious; for want of home care drives them to thestreet. Thus does one evil create another. 

It is certainly a question which deserves some attention, whether itis not a sin for parents to bring into the world more children thanthey can properly care for. If they can rear and educate three childrenproperly, the same work would be only half done for six; and there arealready in the world a sufficiency of half-raised people. From thisclass of society the ranks of thieves, drunkards, beggars, vagabonds, and prostitutes, are recruited. Why should it be considered an improperor immoral thing to limit the number of children according to thecircumstances of the parents? Ought it not to be considered a crimeagainst childhood and against the race to do otherwise? It is seriouslymaintained by a number of distinguished persons that man "is in dutybound to limit the number of his children as well as the sheep on hisfarm; the number of each to be according to the adequacy of his meansfor their support. "

Indulgence during Pregnancy. --Transgressions of this sort are followedby the worst results of any form of marital excess. The mother suffersdoubly, because laden with the burden of supporting two lives insteadof one. But the results upon the child are especially disastrous. Duringthe time when it is receiving its stock of vitality, while its plasticform is being molded, and its various organs acquiring that integrityof structure which makes up what is called constitutionalvigor, --during this most critical of all periods in the life of thenew being, its resources are exhausted and its structure depraved--andthus constitutional tendencies to disease produced--by the unnaturaldemands made upon the mother. 

Effect upon the Character. --Still another terrible consequence resultsfrom this practice so contrary to nature. The delicate brain, whichis being molded, with the other organs of the body, receives its castlargely from those mental and nervous sensations and actions of themother which are the most intense. One of the most certain effects ofsexual indulgence at this time is to develop abnormally the sexualinstinct in the child. Here is the key to the origin of much of thesexual precocity and depravity which curse humanity. Sensuality is bornin the souls of a large share of the rising generation. What wonderthat prostitution flourishes in spite of Christianity and civil law?

It is scarcely necessary to say that all medical testimony concurs inforbidding indulgence during gestation. The same reasons require itsinterdiction during the nursing period. The fact that fecundation wouldbe impossible during pregnancy, and that during this period the female, normally, has no sexual desire, are other powerful arguments in favorof perfect continence at this time. 

We quote the following from a work on health by Dr. J. R. Black:--

"Coition during pregnancy is one of the ways in which the predispositionis laid for that terrible disease in children, epilepsy. The unnaturalexcitement of the nervous system in the mother by such a cause cannotoperate otherwise than by inflicting injury upon the tender germ inher womb. This germ, it must be remembered, derives every quality itpossesses from the parents, as well as every particle of matter of whichit is composed. The old notion of anything like spontaneity in thedevelopment of the qualities of a new being is at variance with allthe latest facts and inductions concerning reproduction. And so is thatof a creative fiat. The smallest organic cell, as well as the mostcomplicated organism, in form and quality, is wholly dependent uponthe laws of derivation. 

"These laws are competent to explain, however subtle the ultimateprocess may be, the great diversities of human organization andcharacter. Impressions from without, the emotions, conduct, and playof the organic processes within, are never alike from day to day, orfrom hour to hour; and it is from the aggregate of these in the parents, but especially of those in the mother immediately before and afterconception, that the quality of the offspring is determined. Suppose, then, that there is every now and then an unnatural, excited, andexhausted state of the nervous system produced in the mother byexcessive cohabitation, is it any wonder that the child's nervoussystem, which derives its qualities from those of its parents, shouldtake its peculiar stamp from that of the parent in whom it lives, moves, and has its being?

"In the adult, epilepsy is frequently developed by excessive venery;and the child born with such a predisposition will be exceedingly liableto the disease during its early years when the nervous system isnotoriously prone to deranged action from very slight disturbingcauses. 

"The infringement of this law regulating intercourse during pregnancyalso reacts injuriously upon the mental capacity of the child, tendingto give it a stupid, animalized look; and, there is also good reasonto believe, aids in developing the idiotic condition. "

A Selfish Objection. --The married man will raise the plea thatindulgence is to him a necessity. He has only to practice the principleslaid down for the maintenance of continence to entirely remove any suchnecessity should there be the slightest semblance of a real demand. Again, what many mistake for an indication of the necessity forindulgence, to relieve an accumulation of semen, is in fact, to statethe exact truth, but a call of nature for a movement of the bowels. How this may occur, has already been explained, as being due to thepressure of the distended rectum upon the internal organs of generationsituated at the base of the bladder. It is for this reason, chiefly, that a good share of sexual excesses occur in the morning. 

But, aside from all other considerations, is it not the most supremeselfishness for a man to consider only himself in his sexual relations, making his wife wholly subservient to his own desires? As a learnedprofessor remarks, in speaking of woman, "Who has a right to regardher as a therapeutic agent?"

Brutes and Savages More Considerate. --It is only the civilized, Christianized (?) male human being who complains of the restraintimposed upon him by the laws of nature. The untutored barbarian, evensome of the lowest of those who wear the human form, together with nearlyall of the various classes of lower animals, abstain from sexualindulgence during pregnancy. The natives of the Gold Coast and manyother African tribes regard it as a shameful offense to cohabit duringgestation. In the case of lower animals, even when the male desiresindulgence, the female resents any attempt of the sort by the mostvigorous resistance. 

Are not these wholesome lessons for that portion of the human race whichprofesses to represent the accumulated wisdom, intelligence, andrefinement of the world? Those who need reproof on this point mayreflect that by a continuance of the evil practice they are placingthemselves on a plane even below the uncouth negro who haunts thejungles of Southern Africa. 

We quote the following from the pen of a talented professor in awell-known medical college:--

"I believe we cannot too strenuously insist upon this point--thatsexual intercourse should never be undertaken with any other objectthan procreation, and never then unless the conditions are favorableto the production of a new being who will be likely to have cause tothankfully bless his parents for the gift of life. If this rule weregenerally observed, we should have no broken-nosed Tristram Shandyscomplaining of the carelessness of their fathers in begettingthem. "[24]

[Footnote 24: Dr. Gerrish. ]

What May Be Done?--But what is the practical conclusion to be drawnfrom all the foregoing? What _should_ people do? what _may_ they do?Dr. Gardner offers the following remarks, which partially answer thequestions:--

"We have shown that we can 'DO RIGHT' without prejudice to health bythe exercise of continence. Self-restraint, the ruling of the passions, is a virtue, and is within the power of all well-regulated minds. Noris this necessarily perpetual or absolute. The passions may berestrained within proper limitations. He who indulges in lasciviousthoughts may stimulate himself to frenzy; but if his mind were underproper control, he would find other employment for it, and his body, obedient to its potent sway, would not become the master of the man. "

What are the "proper limitations, " every person must decide for himselfin view of the facts which have been presented. If he find that theanimal in his nature is too strong to allow him to comply with whatseems to be the requirements of natural law, let him approximate asnearly to the truth as possible. "Let every man be fully persuaded inhis own mind, " and act accordingly, not forgetting that this is a matterwith serious moral bearings, and, hence, one in which conscience shouldbe on the alert. It is of no use to reject truth because it isunpalatable. There can be nothing worse for a man than to "know thetruth and do it not. "

It is but fair to say that there is a wide diversity of opinion amongmedical men on this subject. A very few hold that the sexual act shouldnever be indulged except for the purpose of reproduction, and then onlyat periods when reproduction will be possible. Others, while equallyopposed to the excesses, the effects of which have been described, limitindulgence to the number of months in the year. 

Read, reflect, weigh well the matter, then fix upon a plan of action, and, if it be in accordance with the dictates of better judgment, donot swerve from it. 

If the suggestion made near the outset of these remarks, in comparingthe reproductive function in man and animals--viz. , that the seasonsof sexual approach should be governed by the inclination of thefemale--were conscientiously followed, it would undoubtedly do awaywith at least three-fourths of the excesses which have been underconsideration. Before rejecting the hint so plainly offered by nature, let every man consider for a moment whether he has any other than purelyselfish arguments to produce against it. 

Early Moderation. --The time of all others when moderation is mostimperatively demanded, yet least likely to be practiced, is at thebeginning of matrimonial life. Many a woman dates the beginning of alife of suffering from the first night after marriage; and the mentalsuffering from the disgusting and even horrible recollections of thatnight, the events of which were scarred upon her mind as well as uponher body, have made her equally as wretched mentally as bodily. 

A learned French writer, in referring to this subject, says, "Thehusband who begins with his wife by a rape is a lost man. He will neverbe loved. "

We quote the following very sensible words from Dr. Napheys:--

"It sometimes happens that marriage is consummated with difficulty. To overcome this, care, management, and forbearance should always beemployed, and anything like precipitation and violence avoided. "

Cases have come under our care of young wives who have required monthsof careful treatment to repair the damage inflicted on their weddingnight. A medical writer has reported a case in which he was called uponto testify in a suit for divorce, which is an illustration of so grossa degree of sensuality that the perpetrator certainly deserved mostsevere punishment. The victim, a beautiful and accomplished young lady, to please her parents, was married to a man much older than herself, riches being the chief attraction. She at once began to pine, and ina very few months was a complete wreck. Emaciated, spiritless, haggard, she was scarcely a shadow of her former self. The physician who wascalled in, upon making a local examination, found those delicate organsin a state of most terrible laceration and inflammation. The bladder, rectum, and other adjacent organs, were highly inflamed, and sensitivein the highest degree. Upon inquiring respecting the cause, he foundthat from the initial night she had been subjected to the most excessivedemands by her husband, "day and night. " The tortures she had undergonehad been terrific; and her mind trembled upon the verge of insanity. She entered suit for divorce on the charge of cruelty, but was defeated, the judge ruling that the law has no jurisdiction in matters of thatsort. 

In another somewhat similar case which came to our knowledge, a youngwife was delivered from the lecherous assaults of her husband--for theywere no better--by the common sense of her neighbor friends, whogathered in force and insisted upon their discontinuance. It is onlynow and then that cases of this sort come to the surface. The majorityof them are hidden deep down in the heart of the poor, heart-brokenwife, and too often they are hidden along with the victim in an earlygrave. 

PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION:ITS EVILS AND DANGERS. 

The evil considered in the preceding section is by far the greatestcause of those which will be dwelt upon in this. Excesses are habituallypracticed through ignorance or carelessness of their direct results, and then to prevent the legitimate result of the reproductive act, innumerable devices are employed to render it fruitless. To evenmention all of these would be too great a breach of propriety, evenin this plain-spoken work; but accurate description is unnecessary, since those who need this warning are perfectly familiar with all thefoul accessories of evil thus employed. We cannot do better than toquote from the writings of several of the most eminent authors uponthis subject. The following paragraphs are from the distinguished Mayer, who has already been frequently quoted:--

"The numerous stratagems invented by debauch to annihilate the naturalconsequences of coition, have all the same end in view. "

Conjugal Onanism. --"The soiling of the conjugal bed by the shamefulmaneuvers to which we have made allusion, is mentioned for the firsttime in Gen. 38:6, and following verses: 'And it came to pass, whenhe [Onan] went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on theground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thingwhich he did displeased the Lord; wherefore he slew him. '

"Hence the name of _conjugal onanism_. 

"One cannot tell to what great extent this vice is practiced, exceptby observing its consequences, even among people who fear to committhe slightest sin, to such a degree is the public conscience pervertedupon this point. Still, many husbands know that nature often succeedsin rendering nugatory the most subtle calculations, and reconquers therights which they have striven to frustrate. No matter; they persevere, none the less, and by the force of habit they poison the most blissfulmoments of life, with no surety of averting the result that they fear. So, who knows if the infants, too often feeble and weazen, are not thefruit of these in themselves incomplete _procreations_, and disturbedby preoccupations foreign to the generic act? Is it not reasonable tosuppose that the creative power, not meeting in its disturbed functionsthe conditions necessary for the elaboration of a normal product, theconception might be from its origin imperfect, and the being whichproceeded therefrom, one of those monsters which are described intreatises on teratology?"

"Let us see, now, what are the consequences to those given to thispractice of conjugal onanism. 

"We have at our disposition numerous facts which rigorously prove thedisastrous influence of abnormal coitus to the woman, but we think ituseless to publish them. All practitioners have more or less observedthem, and it will only be necessary for them to call upon their memoriesto supply what our silence leaves. 'However, it is not difficult toconceive, ' says Dr. Francis Devay, 'the degree of perturbation thata like practice should exert upon the genital system of woman byprovoking desires which are not gratified. A profound stimulation isfelt through the entire apparatus; the uterus, fallopian tubes, andovaries enter into a state of orgasm, a storm which is not appeasedby the natural crisis; a nervous super-excitation persists. Thereoccurs, then, what would take place if, presenting food to a famishedman, one should snatch it from his mouth after having thus violentlyexcited his appetite. The sensibilities of the womb and the entirereproductive system are teased for no purpose. It is to this cause, too often repeated, that we should attribute the multiple neuroses, those strange affections which originate in the genital system of woman. Our conviction respecting them is based upon a great number ofobservations. Furthermore, the normal relations existing between themarried couple undergo unfortunate changes; this affection, foundedupon reciprocal esteem, is little by little effaced by the repetitionof an act which pollutes the marriage bed; from thence proceed certainhard feelings, certain deep impressions which, gradually growing, eventuate in the scandalous ruptures of which the community rarely knowthe real motive. '

"If the good harmony of families and their reciprocal relations areseriously menaced by the invasion of these detestable practices, thehealth of women, as we have already intimated, is fearfully injured. A great number of neuralgias appear to us to have no other cause. Manywomen that we have interrogated on this matter have fortified thisopinion. But that which to us has passed to the condition ofincontestable proof, is the prevalence of uterine troubles, ofenervation among the married, hysterical symptoms which are met within the conjugal relation as often as among young virgins, arising fromthe vicious habits of the husbands in their conjugal intercourse. .. . Still more, there is a graver affection, which is daily increasing, and which, if nothing arrests its invasion, will soon have attainedthe proportions of a scourge; we speak of the degeneration of the womb. We do not hesitate to place in the foremost rank, among the causes ofthis redoubtable disease, the refinements of civilization, andespecially the artifices introduced in our day in the generic act. Whenthere is no procreation, although the procreative faculties are excited, we see these pseudo-morphoses arise. Thus it is noticed that polypiand schirrus [cancer] of the womb are common among prostitutes. Andit is easy to account for the manner of action of this pathogeneticcause, if we consider how probable it is that the ejaculation andcontact of the sperm with the uterine neck, constitutes, for the woman, the crisis of the genital function, by appeasing the venereal orgasmand calming the voluptuous emotions under the action of which the entireeconomy is convulsed. "

"We may, we trust, be pardoned for remarking upon the artifices imaginedto prevent fecundation that there is in them an immense danger, ofincalculable limits. We do not fear to be contradicted or taxed withexaggeration in elevating them into the proportions of a truecalamity. "

The following is from an eminent physician[25] who for many yearsdevoted his whole attention to the diseases of women and lectured uponthe subject in a prominent medical college:--

"It is undeniable that all the methods employed to prevent pregnancyare physically injurious. Some of these have been characterized withsufficient explicitness, and the injury resulting from incompletecoitus to both parties has been made evident to all who are willingto be convinced. It should require but a moment's consideration toconvince any one of the harmfulness of the common use of cold ablutionsand astringent infusions and various medicated washes. Simple and oftenwonderfully salutary as is cold water to a diseased limb, festeringwith inflammation, yet few are rash enough to cover a gouty toe, rheumatic knee, or erysipelatous head with cold water. .. . Yet, whenin the general state of nervous and physical excitement attendant uponcoitus, when the organs principally engaged in this act are congestedand turgid with blood, do you think you can with impunity throw a floodof cold or even lukewarm water far into the vitals in a continual stream?Often, too, women add strong medicinal agents, intended to destroy bydissolution the spermatic germs, ere they have time to fulfill theirnatural destiny. These powerful astringents suddenly corrugate andclose the glandular structure of the parts, and this is followed, necessarily, by a corresponding reaction, and the final result isdebility and exhaustion, signalized by leucorrhoea, prolapsus, andother diseases. 

"Finally, of the use of intermediate tegumentary coverings, made ofthin rubber or gold-beater's skin, and so often relied upon as absolutepreventives, Madame de Stael is reputed to have said, 'They are cobwebsfor protection, and bulwarks against love. ' Their employment certainlymust produce a feeling of shame and disgust utterly destructive of thetrue delight of pure hearts and refined sensibilities. They aresuggestive of licentiousness and the brothel, and their employmentdegrades to bestiality the true feelings of manhood and the holy stateof matrimony. Neither do they give, except in a very limited degree, the protection desired. Furthermore, they produce (as alleged by thebest modern French writers, who are more familiar with the effect oftheir use than we are in the United States) certain physical lesionsfrom their irritating presence as foreign bodies, and also, from thechemicals employed in their fabrication, and other effects inseparablefrom their employment, ofttimes of a really serious nature. 

"I will not further enlarge upon these instrumentalities. Sufficienthas been said to convince any one that to trifle with the grand functionsof our organism, to attempt to deceive and thwart nature in her highlyordained prerogatives--no matter how simple seem to be the meansemployed--is to incur a heavy responsibility and run a fearful risk. It matters little whether a railroad train is thrown from the trackby a frozen drop of rain or a huge bowlder lying in the way, the resultis the same, the injuries as great. Moral degradation, physicaldisability, premature exhaustion and decrepitude are the result ofthese physical frauds, and force upon our conviction the adage, whichthe history of every day confirms, that 'honesty is the best policy. '"

[Footnote 25: Dr. Gardner. ]

Within the last ten years we have had under treatment many hundred casesof ladies suffering from ailments of a character peculiar to the sex;and in becoming acquainted with the history of individual cases we have, in many instances, found that the real cause of the disease which hadsapped the vitality and undermined the constitution slowly but surelyuntil cheerful health and freshness had given place to suffering, debility, and, in many cases, most deplorable melancholy, was the verycrime against nature mentioned in the preceding paragraphs. The effectsof these sins against nature are frequently not felt for years afterthe cause has been at work, and even then are seldom attributed to thetrue cause. In some instances we have known persons to suffer on formany years without having once suspected that the cause of theirsufferings was a palpable violation of nature's laws. Uterine diseasesthus induced are among the most obstinate of diseases of this class, being often of long standing, and hence of a very serious character. Dr. Wm. Goodell of Philadelphia has recently called attention to thefact that the prevention of conception is one of the most common causesof prolapsus of the ovaries, a very common and painful disease. Notinfrequently, too, other organs, particularly the bladder, becomeaffected, either through sympathy or in consequence of the congestedcondition of the contiguous parts. 

A difficulty which we have often met with has been the inability toconvince those who have been guilty of the practices referred to, ofthe enormity of the sin against both soul and body. In spite of allwarnings, perhaps supplemented by sufferings, the practice will oftenbe continued, producing in the end the most lamentable results. Toooften it is the case that this reluctance to obey the dictates ofNature's laws is the result of the unfeeling and unreasonable demandsof a selfish husband. 

Shaker Views. --The Shakers do not, as many suppose, believe wholly incelibacy. They believe in marriage and reproduction regulated by thenatural law. They, also, would limit population, but not by interferingwith nature; rather, by following nature's indications to the veryletter. They believe "that no animals should use their reproductivepowers and organs for any other than the simple purpose of procreation. "Recognizing the fact that this is the law among lower animals, theyinsist upon applying it to man. Thus they find no necessity for theemployment of those abominable contrivances so common among those whodisregard the laws of nature. Who will not respect the purity whichmust characterize sexual relations so governed? Such a method forregulating the number of offspring is in immense contrast with thatof the Oneida Community, which opens the door to the unstintedgratification of lust, separates the reproductive act entirely fromits original purpose, and makes it the means of mere selfish, sensual, beastly--worse than brutish--gratification. 

Those who are acquainted with the history of the founder of thiscommunity are obliged to look upon him as a scheming sensualist whowell knows the truth, but deliberately chooses a course of evil, andbeguiles into his snares others as sensual as himself. The abominationspracticed among the members of the community which he has founded arerepresented by those who have had an inside view of its workings astoo foul to mention. It seems almost wonderful that Providence doesnot lay upon this gigantic brothel his hand of vengeance as in ancienttimes he did upon Sodom, which could hardly have been more sunken ininfamy than is this den of licentiousness. It is, indeed, astonishingthat it should be tolerated in the midst of a country which professesto regard virtue and respect the marriage institution. We are glad tonote that popular opinion is calling loudly for the eradication of thisfoul ulcer. Only a short time ago a convention of more than fiftyministers met at Syracuse, N. Y. , for the express purpose of consideringways and means for the removal of this blot "by legal measures orotherwise. " We sincerely wish them success; and it appears to us thatthe people in that vicinity would be justified should they rise _enmasse_ and purge their community of an evil so heinous, in case no civilauthority can be induced to do the work of expurgation. [26]

[Footnote 26: Just as this edition is going to press we receive thegratifying information that the younger members of the Community havebecome disgusted with their sensual life and announced that theirformer vile practices will be discontinued. Mr. Noyes with a fewfollowers has sought refuge in Canada. --J. H. K. ]

Moral Bearings of the Question. --Most of the considerations presentedthus far have been of a physical character, though occasionalreferences to the moral aspect of the question have been made. In acertain sense--and a true one--the question is wholly a moral one; forwhat moral right have men or women to do that which will injure theintegrity of the physical organism given them, and for which they areaccountable to their Creator? Surely none; for the man who destroyshimself by degrees, is no less a murderer than he who cuts his throator puts a bullet through his brain. The crime is the same--being theshortening of human life--whether the injury is done to one's self orto another. In this matter, there are at least three sufferers; thehusband, the wife, and the offspring, though in most cases, doubtless, the husband is the one to whom the sin almost exclusively belongs. 

Unconsidered Murders. --But there is a more startling phase of thismoral question. It is not impossible to show that actual violence isdone to a human life. 

It has been previously shown that in the two elements, the ovum of thefemale, and the spermatozoon of the male, are, in rudimentary form, all the elements which go to make up the "human form divine. " Alone, neither of these elements can become anything more than it already is;but the instant that the two elements come in contact, fecundation takesplace, and the individual life begins. From that moment until maturityis reached, years subsequently, the whole process is only one ofdevelopment. Nothing absolutely new is added at any subsequent moment. In view of these facts, it is evident that at the very instant ofconception the embryonic human being possesses all the right to lifeit ever can possess. It is just as much an individual, a distinct humanbeing, possessed of soul and body, as it ever is, though in a veryimmature form. That conception may take place during the reproductiveact cannot be denied. If, then, means are employed with a view to preventconception immediately after the accomplishment of the act, or at anysubsequent time, if successful, it would be by destroying the delicateproduct of the conception which had already occurred, and which, asbefore observed, is as truly a distinct individual as it can everbecome--certainly as independent as at any time previous to birth. 

Is it immoral to take human life? Is it a sin to kill a child? Is ita crime to strangle an infant at birth? Is it a murderous act to destroya half-formed human being in its mother's womb? Who will dare to answer"No, " to one of these questions? Then, who can refuse assent to theplain truth that it is equally a murder to deprive of life the mostrecent product of the generative act?

Who can number the myriads of murders that have been perpetrated atthis early period of existence? Who can estimate the load of guilt thatweighs upon some human souls? and who knows how many brilliant lightshave been thus early extinguished? how many promising human plantletsthus ruthlessly destroyed in the very act of germinating? It is to behoped that in the final account the extenuating influence of ignorancemay weigh heavily in the scale of justice against the damning testimonyof these "unconsidered murders. "

The Charge Disputed. --It will be urged that these early destructionsare not murders. Murder is an awful word. The act itself is a terriblecrime. No wonder that its personal application should be studiouslyavoided; the human being who would not shrink from such a charge wouldbe unworthy of the name of human--a very brute. Nevertheless, it isnecessary to look the plain facts squarely in the face, and shrink notfrom the decision of an enlightened conscience. We quote the followingportions of an extract which we give in full elsewhere; it is from thesame distinguished authority[27] whom we have frequently quoted:--

"There is, in fact, no moment after conception when it can be said thatthe child has not life, and the crime of destroying human life is asheinous and as sure before the period of 'quickening' has been attained, as afterward. But you still defend your horrible deed by saying: 'Well, if there be, as you say, this mere animal life, equivalent at the mostto simple vitality, there is no mind, no soul destroyed, and, therefore, there is no crime committed. ' Just so surely as one would destroy androot out of existence all the fowls in the world by destroying all theeggs in existence, so certain is it that you do by your act destroythe animal man in the egg and the soul which animates it. .. . Murderis always sinful, and murder is the willful destruction of a human beingat any period of its existence, from its earliest germinal embryo toits final, simple, animal existence in aged decrepitude and completemental imbecility. "

[Footnote 27: Gardner. ]

Difficulties. --Married people will exclaim, "What shall we do?"Delicate mothers who have already more children on their hands thanthey can care for, whose health is insufficient to longer endure thepains and burdens of pregnancy, but whose sensual husbands continueto demand indulgence, will echo in despairing tones, whileacknowledging the truth, "What shall _we_ do?" We will answer thequestion for the latter first. 

Mr. Mill, the distinguished English logician, in his work on "TheSubjection of Woman, " thus represents the erroneous view which ispopularly held of the sexual relations of the wife to the husband: "Thewife, however brutal a tyrant she may be chained to--though she mayknow that he hates her, though it may be his daily pleasure to tortureher, and though she may feel it impossible not to loathe him--he canclaim from her and enforce the lowest degradation of a human being, that of being made the instrument of an animal function contrary toher inclinations. "

Woman's Rights. --A woman does not, upon the performance of the marriageceremony, surrender all her personal rights. The law recognizes thisfact if her husband beats her, or in any way injures her by physicalforce, or even by neglect. Why may she not claim protection from othermaltreatment as well? or, at least, why may she not refuse to lendherself to beastly lust? She remains the proprietor of her own body, though married; and who is so lost to all sense of justice, equity, and even morality, as to claim that she is under any moral obligationto allow her body to be abused?

Since the first edition of this work was published, we have many timesbeen appealed to by suffering wives in the most pathetic terms. In manyinstances the poor wife was suffering with local disease of a seriouscharacter, making sexual approaches in the highest degree painful aswell as repugnant; yet notwithstanding this, the demands of the husbandfor the gratification of his bestial passions were, in many instances, in no degree lessened by a knowledge of the facts in the case. 

In cases like these it is often a very delicate and exceedinglydifficult task to point out the duty of the suffering wife and mother. The duty of the husband is very plain, and to him the wise physicianwill appeal in a manner which cannot fail to arouse him to a sense ofhis duty if there is yet left unconsumed by the fires of lust even avestige of genuine manhood. 

What to Do. --Now to the question as asked by the first parties--marriedpeople who together seek for a solution of the difficulties arisingfrom an abandonment of all protectives against fecundation. The trueremedy, and the natural one, is doubtless to be found in the suggestionmade under the heads of "Continence" and "Marital Excesses. " By a courseof life in accordance with the principles there indicated, all of theseevils and a thousand more would be avoided. There would be less sensualenjoyment, but more elevated joy. There would be less animal love, butmore spiritual communion; less grossness, more purity; lessdevelopment of the animal, and a more fruitful soil for the cultureof virtue, holiness, and all the Christian graces. 

"But such a life would be impossible this side of Heaven. " A few whoclaim to have tried the experiment think not. The Shakers claim topractice, as well as teach, such principles; and with the potent aidsto continence previously specified, it might be found less difficultin realization than in thought. 

A Compromise. --There will be many, the vast majority, perhaps, who willnot bring their minds to accept the truth which nature seems to teach, which would confine sexual acts to reproduction wholly. Others, acknowledging the truth, declare "the spirit willing" though "the fleshis weak. " Such will inquire, "Is there not some compromise by meansof which we may escape the greater evils of our present mode of life?"Such may find in the following facts suggestions for a "better way, "if not the _best_ way, though it cannot be recommended as wholly freefrom dangers, and though it cannot be said of it that it is not an_unnatural_ way:--

"Menstruation in woman indicates an aptitude for impregnation, and thiscondition remains for a period of six or eight days after the entirecompletion of the flow. During this time only can most women conceive. Allow twelve days for the onset of the menses to pass by, and theprobabilities of impregnation are very slight. This act of continenceis healthful, moral, and irreproachable. "[28]

[Footnote 28: Gardner. ]

It should be added to the above that the plan suggested is not absolutelycertain to secure immunity from conception. The period of abstinenceshould certainly extend from the beginning of menstruation to thefourteenth day. To secure even reasonable safety, it is necessary topractice further abstinence for three or four days previous to thebeginning of the flow. 

Many writers make another suggestion which would certainly bebeneficial to individual health; viz. , that the husband and wife shouldhabitually occupy separate beds. Such a practice would undoubtedlyserve to keep the sexual instincts in abeyance. Separate apartments, or at least the separation of the beds by a curtain, are recommendedby some estimable physicians, who suggest that such a plan would enableboth parties to conduct their morning ablutions with properthoroughness and without sacrificing that natural modesty whichoperates so powerfully as a check upon the excessive indulgence of thepassions. Many will think the suggestion a good one and will make apractical application of it. Sleeping in single beds is reputed to bea European custom of long standing among the higher classes. 

This subject cannot be concluded better than by the followingquotations from an excellent and able work entitled, "The Ten Laws ofHealth"[29]:--

"The obvious design of the sexual desire is the reproduction of thespecies. .. . The gratification of this passion, or indeed of any other, beyond its legitimate end, is an undoubted violation of natural law, as may be determined by the light of nature, and by the resulting moraland physical evils. "

"Those creatures not gifted with erring reason, but with unerringinstinct, and that have not the liberty of choice between good and evil, cohabit only at stated periods, when pleasure and reproduction arealike possible. It is so ordered among them that the means and the endare never separated; and as it was the all-wise Being who endowed themwith this instinct, without the responsibility resulting from the powerto act otherwise, it follows that it is HIS LAW, and must, therefore, be the true copy for all beings to follow having the same functionsto perform, and for the same end. The mere fact that men and women havethe power and liberty of conforming or not conforming to this copy doesnot set them free from obedience to a right course, nor from theconsequences of disobedience. "

"The end of sexual pleasure being to reproduce the species, it follows, from the considerations just advanced, that when the sexual functionis diverted from its end, reproduction, or if the means be used whenthe end is impossible, harm or injury should ensue. "

"Perhaps the number is not small of those who think there is nothingwrong in an unlimited indulgence of the sexual propensity duringmarried life. The marriage vow seems to be taken as equivalent to thefreest license, about which there need be no restraint. Yet, if thereis any truth in the law in reference to the enjoyment of the means onlywhen the end is possible, the necessity of the limitation of thisindulgence during married life is clearly as great as for that of anyother sensual pleasure. 

"A great majority of those constituting the most highly civilizedcommunities, act upon the belief that anything not forbidden by sacredor civil law is neither sinful nor wrong. They have not foundcohabitation during pregnancy forbidden; nor have they ever had theirattention drawn to the injury to health and organic development, whichsuch a practice inflicts. Hence, a habitual yielding to inclinationin this matter has determined their life-long behavior. 

"The infringement of this law in the married state does not producein the husband any very serious disorder. Debility, aches, cramps, anda tendency to epileptic seizures, are sometimes seen as the effectsof great excess. An evil of no small account is the steady growth ofthe sexual passion by habitual unrestraint. It is in this way that whatis known as libidinous blood is nursed as well among those who arestrictly virtuous, in the ordinary meaning of the term, as among thosewho are promiscuous in their intercourse. 

"The wife and the offspring are the chief sufferers by the violationof this law among the married. Why this is so, may in part be accountedfor by the following consideration: Among the animal kind it is thefemale which decides when the approaches of the male are allowable. When these are untimely, her instinctive prompting leads her to resistand protect herself with ferocious zeal. No one at all acquainted withthe remarkable wisdom nature invariably displays in all her operations, will doubt that the prohibition of all sexual intercourse among animalsduring the period of pregnancy must be for a wise and good purpose. And, if it serves a wise and good purpose with them, why should anopposite course not serve an unwise and bad purpose with us? Our bodiesare very much like theirs in structure and in function; and in the modeand laws that govern reproduction there is absolutely no difference. The mere fact that we possess the power to act otherwise than they doduring that period, does not make it right. 

"Human beings having no instinctive prompting as to what is right andwhat is wrong, cohabitation, like many other points of the behavior, is left for reason or the will to determine; or, rather, as things noware to unreason; for reason is neither consulted nor enlightened asto what is proper and allowable in the matter. Nature's rule, byinstinct, makes it devolve upon the female to determine when theapproaches of the male are allowable. 

"But some may say that she is helpless in the matter. No one dare toapproach her without consent before marriage; and why should man notbe educated up to the point of doing the same after marriage? She isneither his slave, nor his property; nor does the tie of marriage bindher to carry out any unnatural requirement. "

[Footnote 29: J. R. Black, M. D. ]

INFANTICIDE AND ABORTION. 

Few but medical men are aware of the enormous proportions which havebeen assumed by these terrible crimes during the present century. Thatthey are increasing with fearful rapidity and have really reached sucha magnitude as to seriously affect the growth of civilized nations, and to threaten their very existence, has become a patent fact toobserving physicians. The crime itself differs little, in reality, fromthat considered in the last section, the prevention of conception. Itis, in fact, the same crime postponed till a later period. 

We quote the following eloquent words on this subject:--

"Of all the sins, physical and moral against man and God, I know ofnone so utterly to be condemned as the very common one of the destructionof the child while yet in the womb of the mother. So utterly repugnantis it that I can scarcely express the loathing with which I approachthe subject. Murder!--murder in cold blood, without cause, of anunknown child; one's nearest relative; in fact, part of one's verybeing; actually having, not only one's own blood in its being, but thatblood momentarily interchanging! Good God! Does it seem possible thatsuch depravity can exist in a parent's breast--in a mother's heart!

"'Tis for no wrong that it has committed that its sweet life is socruelly taken away. Its coming is no disgrace; its creation was notin sin, but--its mother 'don't want to be bothered with any more brats;can hardly take care of what she has got; is going to Europe in thespring. '

"We can forgive the poor deluded girl--seduced, betrayed, abandoned--who, in her wild frenzy, destroys the mute evidence of herguilt. We have only sympathy and sorrow for her. But for the marriedshirk who disregards her divinely-ordained duty, we have nothing butcontempt, even if she be the lordly woman of fashion, clothed in purpleand fine linen. If glittering gems adorn her person, within there isfoulness and squalor. "[30]

[Footnote 30: Gardner. ]

Not a Modern Crime. --Although this crime has attained remarkableproportions in modern times, it is not a new one by any means, as thefollowing paragraph will suffice to show:--

"Infanticide and exposure were also the custom among the Romans, Medes, Canaanites, Babylonians, and other Eastern nations, with the exceptionof the Israelites and Egyptians. The Scandinavians killed theiroffspring from pure fantasy. The Norwegians, after having carefullyswaddled their children, put some food into their mouths, placed themunder the roots of trees or under the rocks to preserve them fromferocious beasts. Infanticide was also permitted among the Chinese, and we saw, during the last century, vehicles going round the streetsof Pekin daily to collect the bodies of the dead infants. To-day thereexist foundling hospitals to receive children abandoned by theirparents. The same custom is also observed in Japan, in the isles ofthe Southern Ocean, at Otaheite, and among several savage nations ofNorth America. It is related of the Jaggers of Guinea, that they devourtheir own children. "[31]

[Footnote 31: Burdach. ]

The Greeks practiced infanticide systematically, their laws at one timerequiring the destruction of crippled or weakly children. Among allthe various nations, the general object of the crime seems to have beento avoid the trouble of rearing the children, or to avoid a surplus, objects not far different from those had in view by those who practicethe same crimes at the present time. 

The destruction of the child after the mother has felt its movementsis termed infanticide; before that time it is commonly known as abortion. It is a modern notion that the child possesses no soul or individuallife until the period of quickening, an error which we have alreadysufficiently exposed. The ancients, with just as much reason, contendedthat no distinct life was present until after birth. Hence it was thatthey could practice without scruple the crime of infanticide to preventtoo great increase of population. "Plato and Aristotle were advocatesof this practice, and these Stoics justified this monstrous practiceby alleging that the child only acquired a soul at the moment when itceased to have uterine life and commenced to respire. From hence itresulted that, the child not being animated, its destruction was nomurder. "

The prevalence of this crime will be indicated by the followingobservations from the most reliable sources:--

"We know that in certain countries abortion is practiced in a manneralmost public, without speaking of the East, where it has, so to speak, entered into the manners of the country. We see it in America, in agreat city like New York, constituting a regular business and notprevented, where it has enriched more than one midwife. "

"England does not yield to Germany or France in the frequency of thecrime of infanticide. "[32]

[Footnote 32: Jardien. ]

"Any statistics attainable are very incomplete. False certificates aredaily given by attending physicians. Men, if they are only rich enough, die of 'congestion of the brain, ' not 'delirium tremens;' and women, similarly situated, do not die from the effects of abortion, but of'inflammation of the bowels, ' etc. "

"Infanticide, as it is generally considered (destroying a child afterquickening), is of very rare occurrence in New York, whereas abortions(destroying the embryo before quickening) are of daily habit in thefamilies of the best informed and most religious; among those aboundingin wealth, as well as among the poor and needy. "[33]

[Footnote 33: Gardner. ]

"Perhaps only medical men will credit the assertion that the frequencyof this form of destroying human life exceeds all others by at leastfifty per cent, and that not more than one in a thousand of the guiltyparties receive any punishment by the hand of civil law. But there isa surer mode of punishment for the guilty mother in the self-executinglaws of nature. "[34]

[Footnote 34: Black. ]

"From a very large verbal and written correspondence in this and otherStates, I am satisfied that we have become _a nation of murderers_. "[35]

[Footnote 35: Reamy. ]

Said a distinguished clergyman of Brooklyn in a sermon, "Why sendmissionaries to India when child-murder is here of daily, almost hourly, occurrence; aye, when the hand that puts money into thecontribution-box to-day, yesterday or a month ago, or to-morrow, willmurder her own unborn offspring?

"The Hindoo mother, when she abandons her babe upon the sacred Ganges, is, contrary to her heart, obeying a supposed religious law, and youdesire to convert her to your own worship of the Moloch of Fashion andLaziness and love of Greed. Out upon such hypocrisy!"

Writers tell us that it has even become the boast of many women thatthey "know too much to have babies. "

Says the learned Dr. Storer, "Will the time come, think ye, whenhusbands can no longer, as they now frequently do, commit the crimeof rape upon their unwilling wives, and persuade them or compel themto allow a still more dreadful violence to be wreaked upon the childrennestling within them--children fully alive from the very moment ofconception, that have already been fully detached from all organicconnection with their parent, and only re-attached to her for thepurposes of nutriment and growth, and to destroy whom 'is a crime ofthe same nature, both against our Maker and society, as to destroy aninfant, a child, or a man?'"[36]

[Footnote 36: "Is It I?"]

Says another well-known author, "Ladies boast to each other of theimpunity with which they have aborted, as they do of their expenditures, of their dress, of their success in society. There is a fashion in this, as in all other female customs, good and bad. The wretch whose accountwith the Almighty is heaviest with guilt too often becomes aheroine. "[37]

[Footnote 37: A Woman's Thoughts about Women. ]

Causes of the Crime. --Many influences may combine to cause the motherruthlessly to destroy her helpless child: as, to conceal the resultsof sin; to avoid the burdens of maternity; to secure ease and freedomto travel, etc. , or even from a false idea that maternity is vulgar;but it is true, beyond all question, that the primary cause of the sinis far back of all these influences. The most unstinted and scathinginvectives are used in characterizing the criminality of a mother whotakes the life of her unborn babe; but a word is seldom said of theone who forced upon her the circumstances which gave the unfortunateone existence. Though doctors, ministers, and moralists have said muchon this subject, and written more, it is reasonable to suppose thatthey will never accomplish much of anything in the direction of reformuntil they recognize the part the man acts in all of these sad cases, and begin to demand reform where it is most needed, and where itsachievement will effect the most good. As was observed in the remarksupon the subject of "Prevention of Conception, " this evil has its originin "marital excesses, " and in a disregard of the natural law which makesthe female the sole proprietor of her own body, and gives to her theright to refuse the approaches of the male when unprepared to receivethem without doing violence to the laws of her being. 

The Nature of the Crime. --"The married and well-to-do, who by meansof medicines and operations produce abortions at early periods ofpregnancy, have no excuse except the pretense that they do not considerit murder until the child quickens. 

"No, not murder, you say, for 'there has not been any life in the child. 'Do not attempt to evade, even to man, a crime which cannot be hiddenfrom the All-seeing. The poor mother has not herself felt the life ofthe child perhaps, but that is a quibble only of the laws of man, foundedindeed upon the view, now universally recognized as incorrect, thatthe child's life began when its movements were first strong enough tobe perceptible. There is, in fact, no moment after conception when itcan be said that the child has not life, and the crime of destroyinghuman life is as heinous and as sure before the period of 'quickening'has been attained as afterward. But you still defend your horrible deedby saying, 'Well, if there be, as you say, this mere animal life, equivalent at the most to simple vitality, there is no mind, no souldestroyed, and therefore, there is no crime committed. ' Just so surelyas one would destroy and root out of existence all the fowl in the worldby destroying all the eggs in existence, so certain is it that you doby your act destroy the animal man in the egg, and the soul whichanimates it. When is the period that intelligence comes to the infant?Are its feeble first strugglings any evidence of its presence? Has itany appreciable quantity at birth? Has it any valuable, useful quantityeven when a year old? When, then, is it, that destruction is harmlessor comparatively sinless? While awaiting your metaphysical answer, Iwill tell you when it is sinful. Murder is always sinful, and murderis the willful destruction of a human being at any period of itsexistence, from its earliest germinal embryo to its final, simple, animal existence in aged decrepitude and complete mentalimbecility. "[38]

[Footnote 38: Gardner. ]

"There are those who would fain make light of this crime by attemptingto convince themselves and others that a child, while in embryo, hasonly a sort of vegetative life, not yet endowed with thought, and theability to maintain an independent existence. If such a monstrousphilosophy as this presents any justification for such an act, thenthe killing of a newly-born infant, or of an idiot, may be likewisejustified. The destruction of the life of an unborn human being, forthe reason that it is small, feeble, and innocently helpless, ratheraggravates than palliates the crime. Every act of this kind, with itsjustification, is obviously akin to that savage philosophy whichaccounts it a matter of no moment, or rather a duty, to destroy feebleinfants, or old, helpless fathers and mothers. "[39]

[Footnote 39: Black. ]

Instruments of Crime. --"The means through which abortions are effectedare various. Sometimes it is through potent drugs, extensivelyadvertised in newspapers claiming to be moral!--the advertisements soadroitly worded as to convey under a caution the precise informationrequired of the liability of the drug to produce miscarriages. Sometimes the information is conveyed through secret circulars; butmore commonly the deed is consummated by professed abortionists, whoadvertise themselves as such through innuendo, or through gaining thiskind of repute by the frequent commission of the act. Not a few women, deterred by lingering modesty or some sense of shame, attempt andexecute it upon themselves, and then volunteer to instruct andencourage others to go and do likewise. "[40]

[Footnote 40: Black. ]

Results of this Unnatural Crime. --It is the universal testimony ofphysicians that the effects of abortion are almost as deadly upon themother as upon the child. The amount of suffering is vastly greater;for that of the child, if it suffer at all, is only momentary, in general, while the mother is doomed to a life of suffering, of misery, if shesurvives the shock of the terrible outrage against her nature. It hasbeen proved by statistics that the danger of immediate death is _fifteentimes as great as in natural childbirth_. A medical author of noteasserts that a woman suffers more injury from one abortion than shewould from twenty normal births. Says Dr. Gardner on this point:--

"We know that the popular idea is that women are worn out by the toiland wear connected with the raising of large families, and we canwillingly concede something to this statement; but it is certainly farmore observable that the efforts at the present day, made to avoidpropagation, are ten thousand-fold more disastrous to the health andconstitution, to say nothing of the demoralization of mind and heart, which cannot be estimated by red cheeks or physical vigor. "

An Unwelcome Child. --But suppose the mother does not succeed in herattempts against the life of her child, as she may not; what fearfulresults may follow! Who can doubt that the murderous intent of themother will be stamped indelibly upon the character of the unwelcomechild, giving it a natural propensity for the commission of murderousdeeds?

Then again--sickening thought--suppose the attempts to destroy thechild are unsuccessful, resulting only in horrid mutilation of itstender form; when such a child is born, what terrible evidences mayit bear in its crippled and misshapen body of the cruel outrageperpetrated upon it! That such cases do occur is certain from thefollowing narrative, which we might confirm by others similar incharacter:--

"A lady, determined not to have any more children, went to a professedabortionist, and he attempted to effect the desired end by violence. With a pointed instrument the attempt was again and again made, butwithout the looked-for result. So vigorously was the effort made, that, astonished at no result being obtained, the individual stated thatthere must be some mistake, that the lady could not be pregnant, andrefused to perform any further operations. Partially from doubt andpartially from fear, nothing further was attempted; and in due processof time the woman was delivered of an infant, shockingly mutilated, with one eye entirely put out, and the brain so injured that thisotherwise robust child was entirely wanting in ordinary sense. Thispoor mother, it would seem, needs no future punishment for her sin. Ten years face to face with this poor idiot, whose imbecility was herdirect work--has it not punished her sufficiently?"

The Remedy. --Whether this gigantic evil can ever be eradicated, isexceedingly doubtful. To effect its cure would be to make refinedChristians out of brutal sensualists; to emancipate woman from theenticing, alluring slavery of fashion; to uproot false ideas of lifeand its duties, --in short, to revolutionize society. The crime isperpetrated in secret. Many times no one but the criminal herself iscognizant of the evil deed. Only occasionally do cases come near enoughto the surface to be dimly discernible; hence the evident inefficiencyof any civil legislation. But the evil is a desperate one, and isincreasing; shall no attempt be made to check the tide of crime andsave the sufferers from both physical and spiritual perdition? Aneffort should be made, at least. Let every Christian raise the noteof warning. From every Christian pulpit let the truth be spoken in termstoo plain for misapprehension. Let those who are known to be guiltyof this most revolting crime be looked upon as murderers, as they are;and let their real moral status be distinctly shown. 

All of these means will do something to effect a reform; but the radicalcure of the evil will only be found in the principles suggested in thesection devoted to the consideration of "Marital Excesses. " Theadoption of those principles and strict adherence to them wouldeffectually prevent the occurrence of circumstances which are theoccasion of abortions and infanticides. 

Murder by Proxy. --"There is, at the present time, a kind of infanticide, which, although it is not so well known, is even more dangerous, becausedone with impunity. There are parents who recoil with horror at theidea of destroying their offspring, although they would greatly desireto be disembarrassed of them, who yet place them without remorse withnurses who enjoy the sinister reputation of never returning thechildren to those who have intrusted them to their care. Theseunfortunate little beings are condemned to perish from inanition andbad treatment. 

"The number of these innocent victims is greater than would be imagined, and very certainly exceeds that of the marked infanticides sent by thepublic prosecutor to the Court of the Assizes. "

THE SOCIAL EVIL. 

Illicit intercourse has been a foul blot upon humanity from the earliestperiods of history. At the present moment, it is a loathsome ulcereating at the heart of civilization, a malignant leprosy which showsits hideous deformities among the fairest results of modern culture. Our large cities abound with dens of vice whose _habitues_ shamelesslypromenade the most public streets and flaunt their infamy in the faceof every passer-by. In many large cities, especially in those ofContinental Europe, these holds of vice are placed under thesupervision of the law by the requirement that every keeper of a houseof prostitution must pay for a license; in other words, must buy theright to lead his fellow-men "down to the depths of hell. "

In smaller cities, as well as in large ones, in fact, from the greatmetropolis down to the country village, the haunts of vice are found. Every army is flanked by bands of courtesans. Wherever men go, loosewomen follow, penetrating even to the wildness of the miner's camp, far beyond the verge of civilization. 

But brothels and traveling strumpets do not fully represent the vastextent of this monster evil. There is a class of immoral women--probablyexceeding in numbers the grosser class just referred to--who considerthemselves respectable; indeed, who are considered very respectable. Few are acquainted with their character. They live in elegant styleand mingle in genteel society. Privately, they prosecute the mostunbounded licentiousness, for the purpose of gain, or merely to gratifytheir lewdness. "Kept mistresses" are much more numerous than commonprostitutes. 

The numerous scandal and divorce suits which expose the infidelity ofhusbands and wives, are sufficient evidence that illicit commerce isnot confined to the unmarried; but so many are the facilities forcovering and preventing the results of sins of this description it isimpossible to form any just estimate of their frequency. Theincontinence of husbands and the unchastity of wives will only appearin their enormity at that awful day when every one shall "stand beforethe judgment-seat" and hear the penalty of his guilty deeds. 

Unchastity of the Ancients. --We are prone to believe that the presentis the most licentious age the world has ever known; that in thenineteenth century the climax of evil has been reached; that thelibidinous blood of all the ages has culminated to produce a race ofmen more carnal than all predecessors. It is a sickening thought thatany previous epoch could have been more vile than this; but historypresents facts which disclose in ancient times periods when lust waseven more uncontrolled than now; when vice was universal; and whenvirtue was a thing unknown. A few references to historical facts willestablish this point. We do not make these allusions in any way tojustify the present immorality, but to show the part which vice hasacted in the overthrow of nations. 

From the sacred record we may judge that before the flood a state ofcorruption prevailed which was even greater and more general than anythat has ever since been reached; only eight persons were fit to survivethe calamity which swept into eternity that lustful generation withtheir filthy deeds. 

But men soon fell into vice again, for we find among the early Assyriansa total disregard of chastity. Her kings reveled in the grossestsensuality. 

No excess of vice could surpass the licentiousness of the Ptolemies, who made of Alexandria a bagnio, and all Egypt a hot-bed of vice. Herodotus relates that "the pyramid of Cheops was built by the loversof the daughter of this king; and that she never would have raised thismonument to such a height except by multiplying her prostitutions. "History also relates the adventures of that queenly courtesan, Cleopatra, who captivated and seduced by her charms two masters of theworld, and whose lewdness surpassed even her beauty. 

Tyre and Sidon, Media, Phoenicia, Syria, and all the Orient, were sunkin sensuality. Fornication was made a part of their worship. Womencarried through the streets of the cities the most obscene and revoltingrepresentations. Among all these nations a virtuous woman was not tobe found; for, according to Herodotus, the young women were by the lawsof the land "obliged, once in their lives, to give themselves up tothe desires of strangers in the temple of Venus, and were not permittedto refuse anyone. "[41]

[Footnote 41: Bourgeois. ]

St. Augustine speaks of these religious debaucheries as still practicedin his day in Phoenicia. They were even continued until Constantinedestroyed the temples in which they were prosecuted, in the fourthcentury. 

Among the Greeks the same corruptions prevailed in the worship ofBacchus and Phallus, which was celebrated by processions of half-nudegirls "performing lascivious dances with men disguised as satyrs. " Infact, as X. Bourgeois says, "Prostitution was in repute in Greece. "The most distinguished women were courtesans, and the wise Socrateswould be justly called, in modern times, a libertine. 

The abandonment to lust was, if possible, still more complete in thetimes of the Roman emperors. Rome astonished the universe "by theboldness of its turpitudes, after having astonished it by the splendorof its triumphs. "

The great Caesar was such a rake that he has been said to have "meritedto be surnamed every woman's husband. " Antony and Augustus were equallynotorious. The same sensuality pervaded the masses as reigned in thecourts, and was stimulated by the erotic poems of Ovid, Catullus, andother poets of the time. 

Tiberius displayed such ingenuity in inventing refinements inimpudicity that it was necessary to coin new words to designate them. Caligula committed the horrid crime of incest with all his sisters, even in public. His palace was a brothel. The Roman empress, Messalina, disguised herself as a prostitute and excelled the most degradedcourtesans in her monstrous debaucheries. The Roman emperor Vitelliuswas accustomed to take an emetic after having eaten to repletion, toenable him to renew his gluttony. With still grosser sensuality hestimulated his satiated passions with philters and various aphrodisiacmixtures. 

Nero, the most infamous of the emperors, committed rapes on the stageof the public theaters of Rome, disguised as a wild beast. 

If this degraded voluptuousness had been confined to royalty, somerespect might yet be entertained for the virtue of the ancients; butthe foul infection was not restrained within such narrow bounds. Itinvaded whole empires until they fell in pieces from very rottenness. What must have been the condition of a nation that could tolerate sucha spectacle as its monarch riding through the streets of its metropolisin a state of nudity, drawn by women in the same condition? Such a deeddid Heliogabalus in Rome. 

In the thirteenth century, virtue was almost as scarce in France asin ancient Greece. Nobles held as mistresses all the young girls oftheir domains. About every fifth person was a bastard. Just before theRevolution, chastity was such a rarity that a woman was actually obligedto apologize for being virtuous!

In these disgusting facts we find one of the most potent agents ineffecting the downfall of the nations. Licentiousness sapped theirvitality and weakened their prowess. The men who conquered the worldwere led captive by their own beastly passions. Thus the Assyrians, the Medes, the Grecians, the Romans, successively fell victims to theirlusts, and gave way to more virtuous successors. Even the Jews, themost enlightened people of their age, fell more than once through thissame sin, which was coupled with idolatry, of which their seductionby the Midianites is an example. 

Surely, modern times present no worse spectacles of carnality thanthese; and will it be claimed that anything so vile is seen amongcivilized nations at the present day? But though there may be lessgrossness in the sensuality of to-day, the moral turpitude of men maybe even greater than that of ancient times. Enlightened Christianityhas raised the standard of morality. Christ's commentary upon theseventh commandment requires a more rigorous chastity than ancientstandards demanded, even among the Jews; for had not David, Solomon, and even the pious Jacob more wives than one? Consequently, a slightbreach of chastity now requires as great a fall from virtue as a greaterlapse in ages past, and must be attended with as severe a moral penalty. 

We have seen how universal is the "social evil, " that it is a vice almostas old as man himself, which shows how deeply rooted in his pervertednature it has become. The inquiry arises, What are the causes of somonstrous a vice? so gross an outrage upon nature's laws? so witheringa blight upon the race?

Causes of the "Social Evil. "--A vice that has become so great an evil, even in these enlightened times, as to defy the most skillfullegislation, which openly displays its gaudy filthiness and mocks atvirtue with a lecherous stare, must have its origin in causes toopowerful to be ignored. 

Libidinous Blood. --In no other direction are the effects of heredityto be more distinctly traced than in the transmission of sensualpropensities. The children of libertines are almost certain to be rakesand prostitutes. History affords numerous examples in illustration ofthis fact. The daughter of Augustus was as unchaste as her father, andher daughter was as immoral as herself. The sons of David showed evidenttraces of their father's failing. Witness the incest of Amnon, and thevoluptuousness of Solomon, who had seven hundred wives and threehundred concubines. Solomon's son was, likewise, a noted polygamist, of whom the record says, "He desired many wives. " His son's sonmanifested the same propensity in taking as many wives as thedebilitated state of his kingdom enabled him to support. But perhapswe may be allowed to trace the origin of this libidinous propensitystill further back. A glance at the genealogy of David will show thathe was descended from Judah through Pharez, who was the result of anincestuous union between Judah and his daughter-in-law. 

Is it unreasonable to suppose that the abnormal passion which led Davidto commit the most heinous sin of his life in his adultery withBath-sheba and subsequently procuring the death of her husband, wasreally an hereditary propensity which had come down to him through hisancestors, and which, under more favorable circumstances, was morefully developed in his sons? The trait may have been kept dormant bythe active and simple habits of his early years, but asserted itselfin full force under the fostering influence of royal idleness and luxury. In accordance with the known laws of heredity, such a tendency wouldbe the legitimate result of such a combination of circumstances. 

The influence of marital excesses, and especially sexual indulgenceduring pregnancy, in producing vicious tendencies in offspring, hasbeen fully dwelt upon elsewhere in this work, and will not bereconsidered here, it being only necessary to call attention to thesubject. Physiology shows conclusively that thousands of parents whosesons have become libertines and their daughters courtesans, havethemselves implanted in their characters the propensity which led totheir unchastity. 

Gluttony. --As a predisposing cause, the influence of dietetic habitsshould rank next to heredity. It is an observed fact that "alllibertines are great eaters or famous gastronomists. " The excitinginfluence upon the genital organs of such articles as pepper, mustard, ginger, spices, truffles, wine, and all alcoholic drinks, is well known. Tea and coffee directly excite the animal passions through theirinfluence upon the nerve centers controlling the sexual organs. Whenchildren are raised upon such articles, or upon food with which theyare thoroughly mingled, what wonder that they occasionally "turn outbad"? How many mothers, while teaching their children the principlesof virtue in the nursery, unwittingly stimulate their passions at thedinner table until vice becomes almost a physical necessity!

Nothing tends so powerfully to keep the passions in abeyance as a simplediet, free from condiments, especially when coupled with a generousamount of exercise. 

The influence of tobacco in leading to unchastity has been referredto in another connection. This is assuredly a not uncommon cause. Whena boy places the first cigar or quid of tobacco to his lips, he takes--ifhe has not previously done so--the first step in the road to infamy;and if he adds wine or beer, he takes a short cut to the degradationof his manhood by the loss of virtue. 

Precocious Sexuality. --The causes of a too early development of sexualpeculiarities, as manifested in infantile flirtations and early signsof sexual passion, were dwelt upon quite fully in a previous connection, and we need not repeat them here. Certain it is that few things canbe more dangerous to virtue than the premature development of thosesentiments which belong only to puberty and later years. It is a mostunnatural, but not uncommon, sight to see a girl of tender age evincingall those characters which mark the wanton of older years. 

Man's Lewdness. --It cannot be denied that men are in the greatest degreeresponsible for the "social evil. " The general principle holds truehere as elsewhere that the supply is regulated by the demand. If thepatrons of prostitution should withdraw their support by a suddenacquisition of virtue, how soon would this vilest of traffics cease!The inmates of brothels would themselves become continent, if notvirtuous, as the result of such a spasm of chastity in men. 

Again, the ranks of fallen women, which are rapidly thinned by loathsomediseases and horrid deaths, are largely recruited from that class ofunfortunates for whose fall faithless lovers or cunning, heartlesslibertines are chiefly responsible. The weak girl who, through too muchtrust, has been deceived and robbed of her dearest treasure, is disownedby relatives, shunned by her acquaintances, and turned out upon a coldworld without money, without friends, without a character. What canshe do? Respectable employment she cannot find, for rumor follows her. There seems to be but one door open, the one which she herself sounintentionally opened. In despair, she enters the "open road to hell, "and to her first sad error adds a life of shame. Meanwhile, the villainwho betrayed her still maintains his standing in society, and plieshis arts to win another victim. Is there not an unfair discriminationhere? Should not the seducer be blackened with an infamy at least asdeep as that which society casts on the one betrayed?

Fashion. --The temptation of dress, fine clothing, costly jewelry, andall the extravagances with which rich ladies array themselves, is inmany cases too powerful for the weakened virtue of poor seamstresses, operatives, and servant girls, who have seen so much of vice as to havelost that instinctive loathing for it which they may have onceexperienced. Thinking to gain a life of ease, with means to gratifytheir love of show, they barter away their peace of mind for this world, all hope for the next, and only gain a little worthless tinsel, thescorn of their fellow-creatures, and a host of loathsome diseases. 

Lack of Early Training. --It is needless to demonstrate a fact so wellestablished as that the future character of an individual depends verylargely upon his early training. If purity and modesty are taught fromearliest infancy, the mind is fortified against the assaults of vice. If, instead, the child is allowed to grow up untrained, if the seedsof vice which are sure to fall sooner or later in the most carefullykept ground are allowed to germinate, if the first buds of evil areallowed to grow and unfold instead of being promptly nipped, it mustnot be considered remarkable that in later years rank weeds of sinshould flourish in the soul and bear their hideous fruit in shamelesslives. 

Neglect to guard the avenues by which evil may approach the young mind, and to erect barriers against vice by careful instruction and a chasteexample, leaves many innocent souls open to the assaults of evil, andan easy prey to lust. If children are allowed to get their trainingin the street, at the corner grocery, or hovering around saloons, theywill be sure to develop a vigorous growth of the animal passions. Thefollowing extract is from the writings of one whose pen has been aninestimable blessing to American youth:--

"Among the first lessons which boys learn of their fellows areimpurities of language; and these are soon followed by impurities ofthought. .. . When this is the training of boyhood, it is not strangethat the predominating ideas among young men, in relation to the othersex, are too often those of impurity and sensuality. .. . We cannot besurprised, then, that the history of most young men is, that they yieldto temptation in a greater or less degree and in different ways. Withmany, no doubt, the indulgence is transient, accidental, and does notbecome habitual. It does not get to be regarded as venial. It is neveryielded to without remorse. The wish and the purpose are to resist;but the animal nature bears down the moral. Still, transgression isalways followed by grief and penitence. 

"With too many, however, it is to be feared, it is not so. The mindhas become debauched by dwelling on licentious images, and byindulgence in licentious conversation. There is no wish to resist. Theyare not overtaken by temptation, for they seek it. With them thetransgression becomes habitual, and the stain on the character is deepand lasting. "[42]

[Footnote 42: Ware. ]

Sentimental Literature. --In another connection, we have referredparticularly to the bawdy, obscene books and pictures which aresecretly circulated among the youth of both sexes, and to theircorrupting influence. The hope is not entirely a vain one that thisevil may be controlled; but there seems no possible practicable remedyfor another evil which ultimately leads to the same result, though byless gross and obscene methods. We refer to the sentimental literaturewhich floods the land. City and school libraries, circulating libraries, and even Sunday-school libraries, are full of books which, though theymay contain good moral teaching, contain, as well, an element asincompatible with purity of morals as is light with midnight darkness. Writers for children and youth seem to think a tale of "courtship, love, and matrimony" entirely indispensable as a medium for conveying theirmoral instruction. Some of these "religious novels" are actually morepernicious than the fictions of well-known novelists who make nopretense to having religious instruction a particular object in view. Sunday-school libraries are not often wholly composed of this classof works, but any one who takes the trouble to examine the books ofsuch a library will be able to select the most pernicious ones by theexternal appearance. The covers will be well worn and the edges begrimedwith dirt from much handling. Children soon tire of the shallow samenesswhich characterizes the "moral" parts of most of these books, and skimlightly over them, selecting and devouring with eagerness thoseportions which relate the silly narrative of some love adventure. Thiskind of literature arouses in children premature fancies and queries, and fosters a sentimentalism which too often occasions most unhappyresults. Through their influence, young girls are often led to begina life of shame long before their parents are aware that a thought ofevil has ever entered their minds. 

The following words from the pen of a forcible writer[43] present thismatter in none too strong a light:--

"You may tear your coat or break a vase, and repair them again; butthe point where the rip or fracture took place will always be evident. It takes less than an hour to do your heart a damage which no time canentirely repair. Look carefully over your child's library; see whatbook it is that he reads after he has gone to bed, with the gas turnedupon the pillow. Do not always take it for granted that a book is goodbecause it is a Sunday-school book. As far as possible, know _who_ wroteit, who illustrated it, who published it, who sold it. 

"It seems that in the literature of the day the ten plagues of Egypthave returned, and the frogs and lice have hopped and skipped over ourparlor tables. 

"Parents are delighted to have their children read, but they shouldbe sure as to what they read. You do not have to walk a day or two inan infested district to get the cholera or typhoid fever; and one waveof moral unhealth will fever and blast the soul forever. Perhaps, knowing not what you did, you read a bad book. Do you not remember italtogether? Yes! and perhaps you will never get over it. However strongand exalted your character, never read a bad book. By the time you getthrough the first chapter you will see the drift. If you find the marksof the hoofs of the devil in the pictures, or in the style, or in theplot, away with it. 

"But there is more danger, I think, from many of the family papers, published once a week, in those stories of vice and shame, full ofinfamous suggestions, going as far as they can without exposingthemselves to the clutch of the law. I name none of them; but say thaton some fashionable tables there lie 'family newspapers' that are thevery vomit of the pit. 

"The way to ruin is cheap. It costs three dollars to go to Philadelphia;six dollars to Boston; thirty-three dollars to Savannah; but, by thepurchase of a bad paper for ten cents you may get a through ticket tohell, by express, with few stopping places, and the final halting likethe tumbling of the lightning train down the draw-bridge atNorwalk--sudden, terrific, deathful, never to rise. "

[Footnote 43: T. De Witt Talmage. ]

Poverty. --The pressing influence of poverty has been urged as one causeof prostitution. It cannot be denied that in many cases, in large cities, this may be the immediate occasion of the entrance of a young girl upona life of shame; but it may still be insisted that there must have been, in such cases, a deficiency in previous training; for a young woman, educated with a proper regard for purity, would sooner sacrifice lifeitself than virtue. Again, poverty can be no excuse, for in every citythere are made provisions for the relief of the needy poor, and nonewho are really worthy need suffer. 

Ignorance. --Perhaps nothing fosters vice more than ignorance. Prostitutes come almost entirely from the more ignorant classes, thoughthere are, of course, many exceptions. Among the lowest classes, viceis seen in its grossest forms, and is carried to the greatest lengths. Intellectual culture is antagonistic to sensuality. As a general rule, in proportion as the intellect is developed, the animal passions arebrought into subjection. It is true that very intellectual men havebeen great libertines, and that the licentious Borgias and Medicis ofItaly encouraged art and literature; but these are only apparentexceptions, for who knows to what greater depths of vice theseindividuals might have sunk had it not been for the restraininginfluence of mental culture?

Says Deslandes, "In proportion as the intellect becomes enfeebled, thegenerative sensibility is augmented. " The animal passions seem tosurvive when all higher intelligence is lost. We once saw anillustration of this fact in an idiot who was brought before a medicalclass in a clinic at Bellevue Hospital, New York. The patient had beenan idiot from birth, and presented the most revolting appearance, seemingly possessing scarcely the intelligence of the average dog; buthis animal propensities were so great as to be almost uncontrollable. Indeed, he showed evidences of having been a gross debauchee, havingcontracted venereal disease of the worst form. The general prevalenceof extravagant sexual excitement among the insane is a well-known fact. 

Disease. --Various diseases which cause local irritation and congestionof the reproductive organs are the causes of unchastity in both sexes, as previously explained. It not unfrequently happens that by constantlydwelling upon unchaste subjects until a condition of habitualcongestion of the sexual organs is produced, young women become seizedwith a furor for libidinous commerce which nothing but the desiredobject will appease, unless active remedial measures are adopted underthe direction of a skillful physician. This disease, known as_nymphomania_, has been the occasion of the fall of many young womenof the better classes who have been bred in luxury and idleness, butwere never taught even the first lessons of purity or self-control. Constipation, piles, worms, pruritis of the genitals, and some otherless common diseases of the urinary and genital systems, have beencauses of sexual excitement which has resulted in moral degradation. 

Results of Licentiousness. --Apparently as a safeguard to virtue, nature has appended to the sin of illicit sexual indulgence, aspenalties, the most loathsome, deadly, and incurable diseases knownto man. Some of these, as _gonorrhea_ and _chancroid_, are purely localdiseases; and though they occasion the transgressor a vast amount ofsuffering, they may be cured and leave no trace of their presence exceptin the conscience of the individual. Such a result, however, is by nomeans the usual one. Most frequently, the injury done is more or lesspermanent; sometimes it amounts to loss of life or serious mutilation, as in cases we have seen. And one attack secures no immunity fromsubsequent ones, as a new disease may be contracted upon every exposure. 

By far the worst form of venereal disease is _syphilis_, a malady whichwas formerly confounded with the two forms of disease mentioned, butfrom which it is essentially different. At first, a very slight locallesion, of no more consequence--except from its significance--than asmall boil, it rapidly infects the general system, poisoning the wholebody, and liable forever after to develop itself in any one or moreof its protean forms. The most loathsome sight upon which a human eyecan rest is a victim of this disease who presents it well developedin its later stages. In the large Charity Hospital upon Blackwell'sIsland, near New York City, we have seen scores of these unfortunatesof both sexes, exhibiting the horrid disease in all its phases. Todescribe them would be to place before our readers a picture toorevolting for these pages. No pen can portray the woebegone faces, thehopeless air, of these degraded sufferers whose repentance has come, alas! too late. No words can convey an adequate idea of their sufferings. What remorse and useless regrets add to the misery of their wretchedexistence as they daily watch the progress of a malignant ulcerationwhich is destroying their organs of speech, or burrowing deep into therecesses of the skull, penetrating even to the brain itself! Even thebones become rottenness; foul running sores appear on differentportions of the body, and may even cover it entirely. Perhaps the nose, or the tongue, or the lips, or an eye, or some other prominent organ, is lost. Still the miserable sufferer lingers on, life serving onlyto prolong the torture. To many of them, death would be a gratefulrelease, even with the fires of retributive justice before their eyes;for hell itself could scarcely be more awful punishment than that whichthey daily endure. 

Thousands of Victims. --The venturesome youth need not attempt to calmhis fears by thinking that these are only exceptional cases, for thisis not the truth. In any city, one who has an experienced eye canscarcely walk a dozen blocks on busy streets without encountering thewoeful effects of sexual transgression. Neither do these results comeonly from long-continued violations of the laws of chastity. The veryfirst departure from virtue may occasion all the worst effectspossible. 

Effects of Vice Ineradicable. --Another fearful feature of thisterrible disease is that when once it invades the system its eradicationis impossible. No drug, no chemical, can antidote its virulent poisonor drive it from the system. Various means may smother it, possiblyfor a life-time; but yet it is not cured, and the patient is never safefrom a new outbreak. Prof. Bumstead, an acknowledged authority on thissubject, after observing the disease for many years, says that "he neverafter treatment, however prolonged, promises immunity for thefuture. "[44] Dr. Van Buren, professor of surgery at Bellevue HospitalMedical College, New York, bears the same testimony. 

[Footnote 44: Venereal Disease. ]

Prof. Van Buren also says that he has often seen the disease occur uponthe lips of young ladies who were entirely virtuous, but who wereengaged to men who had contracted the disease and had communicated itto them by the act of kissing. Virtuous wives have not infrequentlyhad their constitutions hopelessly ruined by contracting the diseasefrom husbands who had themselves been inoculated either before or aftermarriage, by illicit intercourse. Several such unfortunate cases havefallen under our observation, and there is reason to believe that theyare not infrequent. 

The Only Hope. --The only hope for one who has contracted this diseaseis to lead a life of perfect continence ever after, and by a most carefullife, by conforming strictly to the laws of health, by bathing anddieting, he may possibly avoid the horrid consequences of the laterstages of the malady. Mercury will not cure, nor will any other poison, as before remarked. 

The following strong testimony on this subject we quote from anadmirable pamphlet by Prof. Fred. H. Gerrish, M. D. :--

"The diseases dependent upon prostitution are appallingly frequent, a distinguished surgeon recently declaring that one person in twentyin the United States has syphilis, a malady so ineradicable that aprofound observer has remarked that 'a man who is once thus poisonedwill die a syphilitic, and, in the day of Judgment, he will be asyphilitic ghost. ' Prof. Gross says: 'What is called scrofula, struma, or tuberculosis, is, I have long been satisfied from carefulobservation of the sick and a profound study of the literature of thesubject, in a great majority of cases, if not invariably, merelysyphilis in its more remote stages. ' Though there are doubtless manyof us who believe that a not inconsiderable proportion of scrofulousand phthisical cases are clearly due to other causes than syphilis, we must admit that this statement contains a very large element oftruth. "

Hereditary Effects of Venereal Disease. --The transgressor is not theonly sufferer. If he marries, his children, if they survive infancy, will in later years show the effects of their father's sin, exhibitingthe forms of the disease seen in its later stages. Scrofula, consumption, cancer, rickets, diseases of the brain and nerves, decay of the bonesby caries or necrosis, and other diseases, arise in this way. 

But it generally happens that the child dies before birth, or lingersout a miserable existence of a few days or weeks thereafter. A mostpitiable sight these little ones are. Their faces look as old aschildren of ten or twelve. Often their bodies become reduced beforedeath to the most wretched skeletons. Their hollow, feeble cry sendsa shudder of horror through the listener, and impresses indelibly theterrible consequences of sexual sin. Plenty of these scrawny infantsmay be seen in the lying-in hospitals. 

No one can estimate how much of the excessive mortality of infants isowing to this cause. 

In children who survive infancy, its blighting influence may be seenin the notched, deformed teeth, and other defects; and very often itwill be found, upon looking into the mouth of the child, that the softpalate, and perhaps the hard palate as well, is in a state of ulceration. There is more than a suspicion that this disease may be transmittedfor several generations, perhaps remaining latent during the life-timeof one, and appearing in all its virulence in the next. 

Man the Only Transgressor. --Man is the only animal that abuses hissexual organization by making it subservient to other ends thanreproduction; hence he is the only sufferer from this foul disease, which is one of the penalties of such abuse. Attempts have been madeto communicate the disease to lower animals, but without success, eventhough inoculation was practiced. 

Origin of the Foul Disease. --Where or when the disease originated, isa mystery. It is said to have been introduced into France from Naplesby French soldiers. That it originated spontaneously at some time canscarcely be doubted, and that it might originate under circumstancesof excessive violation of the laws of chastity is rendered probableby the fact that gonorrhea, or an infectious disease exactly resemblingit, is often caused by excessive indulgence, from which cause it notinfrequently occurs in the newly married, giving rise to unjustsuspicion of infidelity on both sides. 

Read the following from a noted French physician:--

"The father, as well as the mother, communicates the syphilitic virusto the children. These poor little beings are attacked sometimes attheir birth; more often it is at the end of a month or two, before thesemorbid symptoms appear. 

"I recall the heart-rending anguish of a mother whom I assisted at herfifth confinement. She related to me her misfortune: 'I have alreadybrought into the world four children. Alas! they all died during thefirst months of their existence. A frightful eruption wasted them awayand killed them. Save me the one that is about to be born!' cried she, in tears. The child that I delivered was sickly and puny. A few daysafter its birth, it had purulent ophthalmia; then, crusted andulcerated pustules, a few at first, numerous afterward, covered theentire surface of the skin. Soon this miserable little being becameas meager as a skeleton, hideous to the sight, and died. Havingquestioned the husband, he acknowledged to me that he had hadsyphilis. "[45]

[Footnote 45: Bourgeois. ]

Cure of the "Social Evil. "--With rare exceptions, the efforts of civillegislation have been directed toward controlling or modifying thisvice, rather than extirpating it. 

Among other devices adopted with a view to effect this, and to mitigatein some degree the resulting evils, the issuing of licenses for brothelshas been practiced in several large cities. One of the conditions ofthe license makes it obligatory upon the keepers of houses of ill-reputeand their inmates to submit to medical examination at stated intervals. By this means, it is expected to detect the cases of foul disease atthe outset, and thus to protect others by placing the infectedindividuals under restraint and treatment. It will be seen that formany reasons such examinations could not be effective; but, even ifthey were, the propriety of this plan of dealing with the vice isexceedingly questionable, as will appear from the followingconsiderations:--

1. The moment that prostitution is placed under the protection of lawby means of a license, it at once loses half its disrepute, and becomesrespectable, as do gambling and liquor-selling under the samecircumstances. 

2. Why should so vile a crime as fornication be taken under legalprotection more than stealing or the lowest forms of gambling? Is itnot a lesser crime against human nature to rob a man of his money bytheft or by deceit and trickery than to snatch from him at one fellswoop his health, his virtue, and his peace of mind? Why not as wellhave laws to regulate burglary and assassination, allowing theperpetrators of those crimes to ply their chosen avocations withimpunity under certain prescribed restrictions; if robbery, forinstance, requiring the thief to leave his victim money enough to makehis escape to another country; or, if murder, directing the assassinto allow his intended victim time to repeat a sufficient number of _AveMarias_ to insure his safe transit through purgatory or to pay a priestfor doing the same? Such a course would not be inconsistent with thepolicy which legalizes that infamous traffic in human souls, prostitution. 

3. By the use of certain precautionary measures the fears of many willbe allayed, so that thousands whose fear of the consequences of sinwould otherwise have kept them physically virtuous, at least, erroneously supposing that the cause for fear has been removed, willrush madly into a career of vice, and will learn only too late the follyof their course. 

Prevention the Only Cure. --Those who have once entered upon a careerof sensuality are generally so completely lost to all sense of purityand right that there is little chance for reforming them. They haveno principle to which to appeal. The gratification of lust so degradesthe soul and benumbs the higher sensibilities that a votary ofvoluptuousness is a most unpromising subject for reformatory efforts. The old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure isstrikingly exemplified in this case. The remedy must be applied beforethe depths have been reached. It was well said by a celebrated physicianto a young man beginning a life of vice, "You are entering upon a careerfrom which you will never turn back. "

Early Training. --The remedy, to be effective, must be applied early, the earlier the better. Lessons on chastity may be given in earlyinfancy. The remedy may be applied even further back than this; childrenmust be virtuously generated. The bearing of this point will be fullyappreciated in connection with the principles established in thepreceding pages of this work, and which have already been sufficientlyelucidated. 

Children should be early taught to reverence virtue, to abhor lust;and boys should be so trained that they will associate with the nameof woman only pure, chaste, and noble thoughts. Few things are moredeeply injurious to the character of woman, and more conducive to theproduction of foul imaginations in children, than the free discussionof such subjects as the "Beecher scandal" and like topics. Theinquisitive minds and lively imaginations of childhood penetrate therotten mysteries of such foul subjects at a much earlier age than manypersons imagine. The inquiring minds of children will be occupied insome way, and it is of the utmost importance that they should be earlyfilled with thoughts that will lead them to noble and pure actions. 

Teach Self-Control. --One important part of early training is thecultivation of self-control, and a habit of self-denial, whenever rightdemands it. Another most essential part of a child's moral trainingis the cultivation of right motives. To present a child no highermotives for doing right than the hope of securing some pleasant reward, or the fear of suffering some terrible punishment, is the surest wayto make of him a supremely selfish man, with no higher aim than to securegood to himself, no matter what may become of other people. And if hecan convince himself that the pleasure he will secure by the commissionof a certain act will more than counterbalance the probable risk ofsuffering, he will not hesitate to commit it, leaving wholly out ofthe consideration the question, Is it right? or noble? or pure? A loveof right for its own sake is the only solid basis upon which to builda moral character. Children should not be taught to do right in orderto avoid a whipping, or imprisonment in a dark closet, --a horrid kindof punishment sometimes resorted to, --or even to escape "the lake offire and brimstone. " Neither should they be constantly coaxed toright-doing by promised rewards, --a new toy, a book, an excursion, noreven the pleasures of Heaven. All of these incentives are selfish, andinvariably narrow the character and belittle life when made the _chief_motives of action. But rather begin at the earliest possible momentto instill into the mind a love for right, and truth, and purity, andvirtue, and an abhorrence for their contraries; then will he have aworthy principle by which to square his life; then will he be safe fromthe assaults of passion, of vice, of lust. A mind so trained standsupon an eminence from which all evil men and devils combined cannotdisplace it so long as it adheres to its noble principles. 

Mental Culture. --The cultivation of the physical organization must notbe neglected. Healthful mental discipline should receive equalattention. By healthful mental discipline is not meant that kind ofsuperficial "cramming" and memorizing which constitute the trainingof the average school, but sound culture; a directing of the mind fromfacts to underlying principles; a development of the reasoning powersso as to bring the emotions and passions into subjection; theacquirement of the power to concentrate the mind, one of the bestmethods of cultivating self-control, --these are some of the objectsand results of sound culture of the mind. 

To supply the mind with food for pure thoughts, the child should beearly inspired with a love for nature. The perceptives should be trained, the child taught to observe closely and accurately. The study of thenatural sciences is a most valuable means of elevating the mind abovegrossness and sensuality. To be successful in this direction, parentsmust cultivate a love for the same objects themselves. Take the littleones into the country, if they are not so fortunate as to live there, and in the midst of nature's glories, point their impressible mindsupward to the Author of all the surrounding loveliness. Gather flowersand leaves and call attention to the peculiarities and special beautiesof each, and thus arouse curiosity and cultivate habits of closeobservation and attention. 

Early Associations. --As children grow older, watch their associations. Warn them of evil influences and evil practices. Make home so attractivethat they will enjoy it better than any other place. Cultivate music;its mellowing, harmonizing, refining influence is too great to beprudently withheld. Children naturally love music; and if they cannothear it at home, they will go where they can hear it. Supply attractivebooks of natural history, travels, interesting and instructivebiographies, and almost any other books but love-sick novels, andsentimental religious story-books. Guard against bad books and badassociates as carefully as though they were deadly serpents, for theyare, indeed, the artful emissaries of the "old serpent" himself. A tasteonce formed for reading light literature destroys the relish for solidreading; and usually the taste, once lost, is never regained. Thefascination of bad companionship once formed around a person is brokenwith the greatest difficulty. Hence the necessity for watching for thevery beginnings of evil and promptly checking them. 

The mind should be thus fortified against the trifles and follies offashionable life. It should be elevated into a sphere far above thatoccupied by those who pass their time in fashionable drawing-rooms insilly twaddle, with thrumming a piano, with listless day-dreaming, orin the gratification of perverted tastes and depraved instincts in anyother of the ways common to fashionable life. 

SOLITARY VICE. 

If illicit commerce of the sexes is a heinous sin, self-pollution, ormasturbation, is a crime doubly abominable. As a sin against nature, it has no parallel except in sodomy (see Gen. 19:5, Judges 19:22). Itis the most dangerous of all sexual abuses, because the most extensivelypracticed. The vice consists in any excitement of the genital organsproduced otherwise than in the natural way. It is known by the terms, self-pollution, self-abuse, masturbation, onanism, manustupration, voluntary pollution, solitary or secret vice, and other namessufficiently explanatory. The vice is the more extensive because thereare no bounds to its indulgence. Its frequent repetition fastens itupon the victim with a fascination almost irresistible. It may be begunin earliest infancy, and may continue through life. 

Even though no warning may have been given, the transgressor seems toknow, instinctively, that he is committing a great wrong, for hecarefully hides his practice from observation. In solitude he polluteshimself, and with his own hand blights all his prospects for both thisworld and the next. Even after being solemnly warned, he will oftencontinue this worse than beastly practice, deliberately forfeiting hisright to health and happiness for a moment's mad sensuality. 

Alarming Prevalence of the Vice. --The habit is by no means confinedto boys; girls also indulge in it, though, it is to be hoped, to a lessfearful extent than boys, at least in this country. A Russian physician, quoted by an eminent medical professor in New York, states that thehabit is universal among girls in Russia. It seems impossible that sucha statement should be credible; and yet we have not seen it contradicted. It is more than probable that the practice is far more nearly universaleverywhere than even medical men are willing to admit. Many young menwho have been addicted to the vice, have, in their confessions, declaredthat they found it universal in the schools in which they learned thepractice. 

Dr. Gardner speaks of it as "the secret cause of much that is pervertingthe energies and demoralizing the minds of many of our fairest andbest. " He further says:--

"Much of the worthlessness, lassitude, and physical and mentalfeebleness attributable to the modern woman are to be ascribed to thesehabits as their initial cause. " "Foreigners are especially struck withthis fact as the cause of much of the physical disease of our youngwomen. They recognize it in the physique, in the sodden, colorlesscountenance, the lack-luster eye, in the dreamy indolence, the generalcarriage, the constant demeanor indicative of distrust, mingledboldness and timidity, and a series of anomalous combinations whichmark this genus of physical and moral decay. "

The extent to which the vice is practiced by an individual is in somecases appalling. Three or four repetitions of the act daily are notuncommon; and the following from Dr. Copland is evidence of much deeperdepravity:--

"There can be no doubt that the individual who has once devoted himselfto this moloch of the species becomes but too frequently its slave toan almost incredible degree. A patient who was sent to London for myadvice confessed that he had practiced this vice seven or eight timesdaily from the age of thirteen until twenty-four; and he was thenreduced to the lowest state of mental weakness, associated with variousbodily infirmities; indeed, both mental power and physical existencewere nearly extinguished. "

Testimony of Eminent Authors. --Says a medical writer, "In my opinion, neither the plague, nor war, nor small-pox, nor similar diseases, haveproduced results so disastrous to humanity as the pernicious habit ofonanism; it is the destroying element of civilized societies, whichis constantly in action, and gradually undermines the health ofa nation. "

"The sin of self-pollution, which is generally considered to be thatof Onan, is one of the most destructive evils ever practiced by fallenman. In many respects it is several degrees worse than common whoredom, and has in its train more awful consequences, though practiced bynumbers who would shudder at the thought of criminal connection witha prostitute. "[46]

[Footnote 46: Dr. Adam Clarke. ]

"However revolting to the feelings it may be to enter upon such a subject, it cannot be passed over in silence without a great violation of duty. Unhappily, it has not been hitherto exhibited in the awful light inwhich it deserves to be shown. _The worst of it is that it is seldomsuspected. _ There are many pale faces and languid and nervous feelingsattributed to other causes, when all the mischief lies here. "[47]

[Footnote 47: Sir W. C. Ellis. ]

We scarcely need add further evidence of the fearful extent of thisevil, but will conclude with the following:--

"The pernicious and debasing practice of masturbation is a more commonand extensive evil with youth of both sexes than is usually supposed. ""A great number of the evils which come upon the youth at and afterthe age of puberty, arise from masturbation, persisted in, so as towaste the vital energies and enervate the physical and mental powersof man. " "Many of the weaknesses commonly attributed to growth and thechanges in the habit by the important transformation from adolescenceto manhood, are justly referable to this practice. "[48]

[Footnote 48: Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. ]

Not a Modern Vice. --That this vice is not entirely a modern one is provedby the fact that in many ancient writings directions are given fortreating its effects. Even Moses seems to have recognized disordersof this class. Hippocrates and others devoted considerable attentionto them. 

Victims of all Ages. --The ages at which the habit may be practicedinclude almost the whole extent of human life. We have seen it in infantsof only three or four years, and in old men scarcely less than sixty, in both extremes marked by the most unmistakable and lamentableconsequences. Cases have been noted in which the practice was begunas early as two years of age. It is common among African boys at nineand ten years of age, according to Dr. Copland. 

Unsuspected Rottenness. --Parents who have no suspicion of the evil, who think their children the embodiment of purity, will find by carefulobservation and inquiry, --though personal testimony cannot be reliedupon, --that in numerous instances their supposed virtuous children areold in corruption. Such a revelation has brought dismay into many afamily, only too late in some cases. 

Not long since a case came under our care which well illustrates theapathy and blindness of parents with respect to this subject. Theparents of a young man whose mind seemed to be somewhat disordered, sent word to us through a friend respecting his condition, asking advice. We suspected from the symptoms described the real cause of the disease, and urged prompt attention to the case. In a short time the young manwas placed under our immediate care without encouragement of a cure, and we gave the case still closer study. The characteristic symptomsof disease from self-abuse were marked, but the father was positivethat no influence of that kind could have been at work. He had watchedhis son narrowly from infancy, and did not believe it possible for himto have been guilty. In addition, the young man had long been remarkablefor his piety, and he did not believe there could be any possibilityof his being guilty of so gross a crime. 

A short time sufficed, however, to secure the indisputable evidenceof the fact by his being caught in the act by his nurse. 

This young man was a sad example of what havoc is made with the "humanform divine" by this debasing vice. Once a bright boy, kind, affectionate, active, intelligent, the pride of a loving mother andthe hope of a doting father, his mind had sunken to driveling idiocy. His vacant stare and expressionless countenance betokened almostcomplete imbecility. If allowed to do so, he would remain for hoursin whatever position his last movement left him. If his hand was raised, it remained extended until placed in a position of rest by his attendant. Only with the utmost difficulty could he be made to rise in the morning, to eat, drink, or walk. Only by great efforts could he be aroused fromhis lethargy sufficiently to answer the most simple question. Theinstinctive demands of decency in regarding the calls of nature werenot respected. In short, the distinguishing characteristics of a humanbeing were almost wholly obliterated, leaving but a physical semblanceof humanity; a mind completely wrecked, a body undergoing dissolutionwhile yet alive, a blasted life, no hope for this world, no prospectfor the next. In the insane asylums of the country may be seen hundredsof these poor victims in all stages of physical and mentaldemoralization. 

Causes of the Habit. --It is needless to recapitulate all the causesof unchastity which have previously been quite fully dwelt upon, nearlyall of which are predisposing or exciting causes of solitary as wellas of social vice. Sexual precocity, idleness, pernicious literature, abnormal sexual passions, exciting and irritating food, gluttony, sedentary employment, libidinous pictures, and many abnormalconditions of life, are potent causes in exciting the vile practice;but by far the most frequent causes are evil associations, wicked orignorant nurses, and local disease, or abnormality. These latter wewill consider more particularly, as they have not been so fully dweltupon elsewhere. 

Evil Associations. --A child may have been reared with the greatest care. From infancy he may have been carefully shielded from all perniciousinfluences, so that at the age of ten or twelve, when he is for thefirst time sent away to school, he may be free from vice; but when heassociates with his fellow-students, he soon finds them practicing ahabit new to him, and being unwarned, he speedily follows their filthyexample and quickly becomes fascinated with the vice. Thousands havetaken their first lessons in this debasing habit at school. Teachersand scholars testify that it is often practiced even in school hours, almost under the teacher's eyes; but where the infection most quicklyspreads is in the sleeping apartments, where more than one occupy thesame bed, or where several sleep in the same room. 

Nothing is more indispensable to purity of body and of morals than aprivate sleeping room and single bed for each student. Such anarrangement would protect the youth from the reception of much evil, and would allow an opportunity for privacy which every young man oryouth needs for his spiritual as well as physical benefit. Not the leastbenefit of the latter class is the opportunity for a thorough cleansingof the whole body every morning, which is almost as indispensable topurity of morals as cleanliness of body. The same suggestion is fullyas applicable to the sleeping arrangements of girls. The exceptionalcases in which this plan would not be the best are very few indeed. 

Corruption in Schools. --Says Dr. Acton, "I cannot venture to print theaccounts patients have given me of what they have seen or even beendrawn into at schools. I would fain hope that such abominations arethings of the past. " The entrance of a single corrupt boy into a schoolwhich may have been previously pure--though such schools must beextremely rare--will speedily corrupt almost the entire membership. The evil infection spreads more rapidly than the contagion of small-poxor yellow fever, and it is scarcely less fatal. 

This danger exists not in public or city schools alone, but in the mostselect and private schools. A father who had kept his two sons underthe care of a private governess for several years, and then placed themin a small school taught by a lady, and composed of a few small childrenfrom the most select families, was greatly astonished when informedby a physician that his sons showed symptoms of the effects ofself-abuse. He was totally incredulous; but an investigation showedthat they had already practiced the vile habit for several years, havinglearned it of an infantile school-mate. 

We were acquainted with one instance in which a primary school in asecluded and select community was nearly broken up by the introductionof this vile habit through a corrupt student. Many a watchful teacherhas seen the light of growing intelligence suddenly dim and wane inthe eye of his favorite student just when he was giving the most promiseof developing unusual talents in literature, mathematics, or some oneof the natural or physical sciences, and has been compelled to watchthe devastating influence of this deadly upas tree that often claimsthe best and fairest human flowers as its victims. 

Wicked Nurses. --In those cases in which the habit is acquired at a veryearly age, the work of evil is usually wrought by the nurse, perhapsthrough ignorance of the effects of the habit. Incredible as it seems, it is proved by numerous instances that it is not an uncommon habitfor nurses to quiet small children by handling or titillating theirgenital organs. They find this a speedy means of quieting them, andresort to it regardless or ignorant of the consequences. 

Not an Uncommon Case. --Prof. Lusk, of Bellevue Hospital College, NewYork, related to his medical class in our hearing a case which cameunder his observation in which all of the children in a large familyhad been taught the habit by a wicked nurse for the purpose of keepingthem quiet after they were put to bed. The vileness that would leada person to thus rob childhood of its innocence, and blast its prospectsfor this life and the next, is base enough for the commission of almostany crime. Indeed, the crime could hardly have been a worse one hadthe nurse referred to in the above case in cold blood cut the throatsof those innocent children; perhaps it might have been better for thechildren. 

A gentleman once declared that if he should detect a person teachingthis crime to his child he would shoot him on the spot; and if homicideis allowable under any circumstances, it seems to us it would beextenuated by such an aggravation. If occasional bad associations willwork an immense damage to the youthful character, what terrible injurymay be wrought by an agent of sin, an instructor in vice, who is withinthe household, who presides in the nursery, and exerts a constantinfluence! No one can estimate it. 

Acton remarks on this point, "I need hardly point out how very dangerousthis is. There seems hardly any limit to the age at which a young childcan be initiated into these abominations, or to the depth of degradationto which it may fall under such hideous teaching. Books treating ofthis subject are unfortunately too full of accounts of the habits ofsuch children. "

In not a few instances the "hired man" has been the means ofcommunicating to innocent little boys the infamous knowledge which, fortunately, they had not acquired in babyhood. With no knowledge ofthe evil they are committing, they begin the work of physical damnationwhich makes a hell of life and leads to endless death. 

The "hired girl" is often an equally efficient agent for evil in theinstruction of little girls in this debasing vice. Some time ago, thevery intelligent parents of a bright family of children were awakenedto the importance of this subject from the perusal of the first editionof this work, and upon investigation were horrified to find that theiroldest child a promising daughter of ten, was already a victim to thevile practice, having been initiated by a "hired girl. " After usingin vain every means he could bring to bear upon the case, the fatherbrought her to us, and with tears in his eyes gave his story. Aftertelling of his unsuccessful attempts to effect a reform, he declaredthat he would far prefer to place his daughter in the grave than tosee her grow up a wretched victim of this vice. We were most happy tobe able, after a few weeks' treatment, to restore her to her parents, as we hope, permanently reformed. Not a few such cases are constantlycoming to the attention of the medical profession. 

The Instructor in Vice. --Are these lines perused by any one who hasever taught another this vice so vile, and so certainly followed bypenalties so terrible--penalties not upon the instigator but upon thehapless victim? let such a person clothe himself in sackcloth and ashes, and do penance for the remainder of his life. The only way in whichhe can hope to atone even in some small degree for such a heinous crime, is by doing all in his power to warn those in danger against this sin. When all men receive their just deserts, what will be the punishmentof such a one who has not, by thorough repentance and a life spent intrying to undo the work of ruin so foully wrought, in some measuredisburdened himself of the consequences of his act!

Sending children very early to bed before they are weary, "to get themout of the way, " or for punishment, is a grave error, as this may giverise to the vice. Confining children alone in a room by themselves isan equally reprehensible practice, as it favors the commission of theact, at least, and may afford a favorable opportunity for its discovery. Allowing children to form a habit of seeking solitude is an evil ofthe same nature. 

Local Disease. --In the male, a tight or long foreskin is a frequentcause of the habit. The constant contact of the prepuce with the mostsensitive part of the organ increases its sensibility. The secretionis retained, and accumulates, often becoming hardened. In this mannerirritation is set up, which occasions uncomfortable feelings, andattracts the hands to the part. Owing to the great degree of excitementdue to irritation, but a slight provocation is necessary to arousevoluptuous sensations, and then the terrible secret is revealed. Thechild readily discovers how to reproduce the same, and is not slow tocommit a frequent repetition of the act; and thus the habit is formed. 

An Illustrative Case. --A case in which the vice originated in thismanner was recently under our observation. The patient was a man ofconsiderable intellectual power and some culture, but showedunmistakable signs of his early indiscretion. He stated that althoughhe mingled quite freely with other boys of his age, he obtained noknowledge of the habit from others. He often heard allusions which hedid not understand, and of which he did not, fortunately, discover themeaning. But he was afflicted with congenital _phimosis_, the prepucebeing so tight that retraction was impossible. This, together withurinal irritation, --which occasioned nocturnal incontinence ofurine, --constipation, and highly seasoned food, produced so much localirritation as to occasion frequent erections, and an increasedsecretion. He soon noticed that there was an accumulation of hardenedsecretion beneath the foreskin, and in attempting to remove this, heaccidentally provoked voluptuous sensations. He speedily abandonedhimself to the habit, often repeating it several times a day. Beginningat the age of twelve years, he continued it for three or four years. 

Soon after acquiring the habit, he became aware of its tendencies, through reading books upon the subject, but he found himself socompletely enslaved that abstinence seemed impossible. One resolutionto reform after another was formed, only to be speedily broken. Hisunwholesome diet, habitual constipation, and especially theunfortunate organic difficulty in his genital organs, produced analmost constant priapism, which was only relieved, and then buttemporarily, by the act of pollution. His sedentary habits increasedthe difficulty to an extreme degree. 

In the meantime, his constitution, naturally weak, was being graduallyundermined. He suffered from constant headache, heart-burn, pains inthe back and limbs, weakness, and lassitude. Yet he attributed noneof these ailments to the true cause. After the lapse of three or fouryears thus spent, and after repeated ineffectual attempts, by apowerful effort of the will, by the aid of prayer, and by adopting amore wholesome diet, he succeeded in getting the mastery of his vice. But the local difficulties still continued in a great degree, and underparticularly aggravating circumstances occasioned a relapse at longintervals. After a time, the local difficulties grew less and less, and enabled him to gain a complete victory over the habit, though theresults of previous sin still remained, for which he desired treatment. 

This case will serve as a fair illustration of many of similar character, in which the child accidentally makes the discovery which leads himto work his own ruin. 

Other Physical Causes. --Constipation, piles, irritable bladder, fissure of the anus, local uncleanliness, and pruritis of the genitalorgans, will produce the habit in both males and females in the mannerdescribed. Sleeping on feather beds increases the local congestion, and thus favors the exciting influences of any of the above-named causes. It may, perhaps, itself be the exciting cause. 

We once treated a patient who was affected with stone in the bladder, and who asserted that the constant irritation which he suffered in theend of the penis was only relieved by friction. This might readily bethe cause of masturbation, though in this case the vice had beenacquired many years before, and was still continued in spite of allefforts to reform. 

Lying upon the back or upon the abdomen frequently leads to self-abuseby provoking sexual excitement. Certain kinds of exercises, as climbing, in particular, have been attended by the same results. It is said thatchildren sometimes experience genital excitement amounting to pleasureas the result of whipping. 

Influence of Stimulants. --The use of stimulants of any kind is afruitful cause of the vice. Tea and coffee have led thousands toperdition in this way. The influence of tobacco is so strongly shownin this direction that it is doubtful if there can be found a boy whohas attained the age of puberty and has acquired the habit of usingtobacco, who is not also addicted to this vile practice. Candies, spices, cinnamon, cloves, peppermint, and all strong essences, powerfullyexcite the genital organs and lead to the same result. 

It should be further added that there is evidence that a powerfulpredisposition to this vice is transmitted to the children of thosewho have themselves been guilty of it. 

Signs of Self-Abuse. --The net which this vice weaves around its victimsis so strong, and its meshes are so elaborately interwoven with allhis thoughts, his habits, and his very being, when it has been longindulged, that it is important to be able to detect it when firstacquired, as it may then be much more easily overcome than at anysubsequent period. It is often no easy matter to do this, as the victimwill resort to all manner of cunning devices to hide his vice, and willnot scruple to falsify concerning it, when questioned. To be able toaccomplish this successfully, requires a careful study, first, of thesigns by which those who indulge in the practice may be known, and, secondly, of the habits of the individuals. 

In considering the subject it will be found that there are two classesof signs, as follows:--

1. Those which may arouse suspicion, but any one of which, taken singly, would not be an evidence of the practice. 

2. Those which may be regarded as positive. Several suspicious signstogether may constitute a positive sign. Under these two heads, we willconsider the signs of this vile habit. 

It is well to bear in mind the fact that one or two suspicious signsare not evidence of the disease. It is likewise well to remember thatthe habit may be found where least looked for, and where one would havea right to expect perfect purity. Prejudice must be allowed no voiceupon either side. A writer has said that every young person underpuberty ought to be suspected of the disease. We can hardly indorsethis remark, in full, but it would be at least wise for every guardianof children to criticize most carefully their habits and to quicklydetect the first indications of sinful practices. Parents must notthink that _their_ children, at least, are too good to engage in suchsinful abuses. It is most probable that their children are very likethose of their neighbors; and any amount of natural goodness is nota protection against this insidious vice when it presents itself asa harmless pleasure to the unwarned and ignorant child. 

Suspicious Signs. --The following symptoms, occurring in the mental andphysical character and habits of a child or young person, may well giverise to grave suspicions of evil, and should cause parents or guardiansto be on the alert to root it out if possible:--

1. _General debility_, coming upon a previously healthy child, markedby emaciation, weakness, an unnatural paleness, colorless lips and gums, and the general symptoms of exhaustion, when it cannot be traced toany other legitimate cause, as internal disease, worms, grief, overwork, poor air or poor food, and when it is not speedily removed by changeof air or appropriate remedial measures, may safely be attributed tosolitary vice, no matter how far above natural suspicion the individualmay be. Mistakes will be rare indeed when such a judgment is pronouncedunder the circumstances named. 

2. _Early symptoms of consumption_--or what are supposed to be such--ascough, and decrease in flesh, with short breathing and soreness of thelungs--or muscles of the chest--are not infrequently, solely the resultof this vice. That such is the case may be considered pretty surelydetermined if physical examination of the lungs reveals no organicdisease of those organs. But it should be remembered that solitary viceis one of the most frequent causes of early consumption. Several caseswhich strikingly prove this have fallen under our own observation. 

3. _Premature and defective development_ is a symptom closely alliedto the two preceding. When it cannot be traced to such natural causesas overstudy, overwork, lack of exercise, and other influences of asimilar nature, it should be charged to self-abuse. The early exerciseof the genital organs hastens the attainment of puberty, in many cases, especially when the habit is acquired early, but at the same time sapsthe vital energies so that the system is unable to manifest thatincreased energy in growth and development which usually occurs at thisperiod. In consequence, the body remains small, or does not attain thatdevelopment which it otherwise would. The mind is dwarfed as well asthe body. Sometimes the mind suffers more than the body in lack ofdevelopment, and sometimes the reverse is true. This defectivedevelopment is shown, in the physical organization of males, in thefailure of the voice to increase in volume and depth of tone as itshould; in deficient growth of the beard; in failure of the chest tobecome full and the shoulders broad. The mind and character show thedwarfing influence by failure to develop those qualities whichespecially distinguish a noble manhood. In the female, defectivedevelopment is shown by menstrual derangements, by defective growtheither in stature, or as shown in unnatural slimness, and in a failureto develop the graces and pleasing character which should distinguishearly womanhood. Such signs deserve careful investigation, for theycan only result from some powerfully blighting influence. 

4. _Sudden change in disposition_ is a sign which may well arousesuspicion. If a boy who has previously been cheerful, pleasant, dutiful, and gentle, suddenly becomes morose, cross, peevish, irritable, anddisobedient, be sure that some foul influence is at work with him. Whena girl, naturally joyous, happy, confiding, and amiable, becomesunaccountably gloomy, sad, fretful, dissatisfied, and unconfiding, becertain that a blight of no insignificant character is resting uponher. Make a careful study of the habits of such children; and if thereis no sudden illness to account for the change in their character, itneed not require long deliberation to arrive at the true cause, forit will rarely be found to be anything other than solitary indulgence. 

5. _Lassitude_ is as unnatural for a child as for a young kitten. Ahealthy child will be active, playful, full of life and animal spirits. If a young child manifests indisposition to activity, a dislike forplay, lifelessness and languor, suspect his habits, if there is no otherreasonable cause to which to attribute his unnatural want of childishsprightliness. 

6. In connection with the preceding symptom will generally be found, instead of that natural brilliance of expression in the eyes andcountenance, an unnatural dullness and vacantness altogether foreignto childhood. This is a just ground for suspicion. 

7. _Sleeplessness_ is another symptom of significance. Sound sleep isnatural for childhood; and if sleeplessness be not occasioned bydietetic errors, as eating indigestible food, eating between meals, or eating late suppers, it may justly be a cause for suspicion of evilhabits. 

8. _Failure of mental capacity_ without apparent cause should occasionsuspicion of evil practices. When a child who has previously learnedreadily, mastered his lessons easily, and possessed a retentive memory, shows a manifest decline in these directions, fails to get his lessons, becomes stupid, forgetful, and inattentive, he has probably become thevictim of a terrible vice, and is on the road to speedy mental as wellas physical ruin. Watch him. 

9. _Fickleness_ is another evidence of the working of somedeteriorating influence, for only a weak mind is fickle. 

10. _Untrustworthiness_ appearing in a child should attract attentionto his habits. If he has suddenly become heedless, listless, andforgetful, so that he cannot be depended upon, though previously notso, lay the blame upon solitary indulgence. This vice has a wonderfulinfluence in developing untruthfulness. A child previously honest, under its baneful influence will soon become an inveterate liar. 

11. _Love of solitude_ is a very suspicious sign. Children are naturallysociable, almost without exception. They have a natural dread of beingalone. When a child habitually seeks seclusion without a sufficientcause, there are good grounds for suspecting him of sinful habits. Thebarn, the garret, the water-closet, and sometimes secluded places inthe woods, are the favorite resorts of masturbators. They should becarefully followed and watched, unobserved. 

12. _Bashfulness_ is not infrequently dependent upon this cause. Itwould be far from right to say that every person who is excessivelymodest or timid is a masturbator; but there is a certain timorousnesswhich seems to arise from a sense of shame or fear of discovery thatmany victims of this vice exhibit, and which may be distinguished fromnatural modesty by a little experience. One very common mode ofmanifestation of this timidity is the inability to look a superior, or any person who is esteemed pure, in the eye. If spoken to, insteadof looking directly at the person to whom he addresses an answer, themasturbator looks to one side, or lets his eyes fall upon the ground, seemingly conscious that the eye is a wonderful tell-tale of the secretsof the mind. 

13. _Unnatural boldness_, in marked contrast with the preceding sign, is manifested by a certain class of victims. It can be as easilydistinguished, however, as unnatural timidity. The individual seemsto have not the slightest appreciation of propriety. He commits openlythe most uncouth acts, if he does not manifest the most indecentunchastity of manner. When spoken to, he stares rudely at the personaddressing him, often with a very unpleasant leer upon his countenance. In some few cases there seems to be a curious combination of conditions. While mentally fearful, timid, and hesitating, the individual findshimself, upon addressing a person, staring at him in the most ungainlymanner. He is conscious of his ill manners, but is powerless to controlhimself. This sign is one which could hardly be of use to any excepta very close observer, however, as few can read upon the countenancethe operations of the mind. 

14. _Mock piety_--or perhaps we should more properly designate it asmistaken piety--is another peculiar manifestation of the effects ofthis vicious practice. The victim is observed to become transformed, by degrees, from a romping, laughing child, full of hilarity and frolic, to a sober and very sedate little--Christian, the friends think, andthey are highly gratified with the piety of the child. Little do theysuspect the real cause of the solemn face; not the slightest suspicionhave they of the foul orgies practiced by the little sinner. By theaid of friends he may soon add hypocrisy to his other crimes, and findin assumed devotion a ready pretense for seeking solitude. Parents willdo well to investigate the origin of this kind of religion in theirchildren. 

15. _Easily frightened_ children are abundant among young masturbators, though all easily frightened persons are not vicious. It is certain, however, that the vice greatly exaggerates natural fear, and createsan unnatural apprehensiveness. The victim's mind is constantly filledwith vague forebodings of evil. He often looks behind him, looks intoall the closets, peeps under the bed, and is constantly expressing fearsof impending evil. Such movements are the result of a diseasedimagination, and they may justly give rise to suspicion. 

16. _Confusion of ideas_ is another characteristic of the devotee ofthis artful vice. If he attempts to argue, his points are not clearlymade. He may be superficially quick and cute, but is incapable of deepthought, or abstruse reasoning; is often very dull of apprehension. Ideas are not presented in logical order, but seem to fall outpromiscuously, and fairly represent the condition of a disordered brain. Attempts at joking are generally failures, as the jest is sure to beinappropriate or vulgar, and no one but himself sees any occasion forlaughter except at his stupidity. Such individuals are not scarce. 

17. Boys in whom the habit has become well developed sometimes manifesta decided aversion to the society of girls; but this is not nearly sooften the case as some authors seem to indicate. It would rather appearthat the opposite is more often true. Girls usually show an increasingfondness for the society of boys, and are very prone to exhibit markedevidences of real wantonness. 

18. _Round shoulders_ and a stooping posture in sitting arecharacteristics of young masturbators of both sexes. Whenever a childseats himself, the head and shoulders droop forward, giving to the spinea curved appearance. 

19. _Weak backs, pains in the limbs, and stiffness of the joints_, inchildren, are familiar signs of the habit. To the first of theseconditions is due the habitual stooping posture assumed by thesechildren. The habit referred to is not the only cause of theseconditions, but its causative occurrence is sufficiently frequent togive it no small importance as a suspicious indication. 

20. _Paralysis_ of the lower extremities, coming on without apparentcause, is not infrequently the result of solitary indulgence, even invery small children. We have seen several cases in which this conditionwas traced to the habit of masturbation, in children under six yearsof age. 

21. The _gait_ of a person addicted to this vice will usually betrayhim to one who has learned to distinguish the peculiarities which almostalways mark the walk of such persons. In a child, a dragging, shufflingwalk is to be suspected. Boys, in walking rapidly, show none of thatelasticity which characterizes a natural gait, but walk as if they hadbeen stiffened in the hips, and as though their legs were pegs attachedto the body by hinges. The girl wriggles along in a style quite ascharacteristic, though more difficult to detect with certainty, asfemales are often so "affected" in their walk. Unsteadiness of gaitis an evidence seen in both sexes, especially in advanced cases. 

22. _Bad positions_ in bed are evidences which should be noticed. Ifa child lies constantly upon its abdomen, or is often found with itshands about the genitals, it may be at least considered in a fair wayto acquire the habit if it has not already done so. 

23. _Lack of development of the breasts_ in females, after puberty, is a common result of self-pollution. Still it would be entirely unsafeto say that every female with small mammary glands had been addictedto this vice, especially at the present time when a fair naturaldevelopment is often destroyed by the constant pressure and heat of"pads. " But this sign may well be given a due bearing. 

24. _Capricious appetite_ particularly characterizes childrenaddicted to secret vice. At the commencement of the practice, theyalmost invariably manifest great voracity for food, gorging themselvesin the most gluttonous manner. As the habit becomes fixed, digestionbecomes impaired, and the appetite is sometimes almost wanting, andat other times almost unappeasable. 

25. One very constant peculiarity of such children is their extremefondness for unnatural, hurtful, and irritating articles. Nearly allare greatly attached to salt, pepper, spices, cinnamon, cloves, vinegar, mustard, horse-radish, and similar articles, and use them in mostinordinate quantities. A boy or girl who is constantly eating clovesor cinnamon, or who will eat salt in quantities without other food, gives good occasion for suspicion. 

26. _Eating clay, slate-pencils, plaster, chalk, _ and otherindigestible articles is a practice to which girls who abuse themselvesare especially addicted. The habit sometimes becomes developed to sucha wonderful extent that the victims almost rival the clay-eaters ofthe Amazon in gratifying their propensity. 

27. Disgust for simple food is one of the traits which a victim of thisvice is sure to possess. He seems to loathe any food which is notrendered hot and stimulating with spices and other condiments, andcannot be induced to eat it. 

28. _The use of tobacco_ is good presumptive evidence that a boy isalso addicted to a practice still more filthy. Exceptions to this ruleare very rare indeed, if they exist, which we somewhat doubt. The sameinfluences which would lead a boy to the use of tobacco would also leadhim to solitary vice, and each sin would serve to exaggerate the other. 

29. _Unnatural paleness_ and colorless lips, unless they can beotherwise accounted for, may be attributed to secret sin. The face isa great tell-tale against this class of sinners. Justice demands, however, that an individual should be given the benefit of a doubt solong as there is a chance for the production of these symptoms by anyother known cause, as overwork, mental anxiety, or dyspepsia. 

30. _Acne_, or _pimples_, on the face are also among the suspicioussigns, especially when they appear upon the forehead as well as uponother portions of the face. Occasional pimples upon the chin are verycommon in both sexes at puberty and for a few years afterward, but arewithout significance, except that the blood may be somewhat gross fromunwholesome diet or lack of exercise. 

31. _Biting the finger nails_ is a practice very common in girlsaddicted to this vice. In such persons there will also be found, notinfrequently, slight soreness or ulceration at the roots of the nails, and warts, one or more, upon one or both the first two fingers of thehand--usually the right. 

32. The eyes often betray much. If, in addition to want of luster andnatural brilliancy, they are sunken, present red edges, are somewhatsore, perhaps, and are surrounded by a dark ring, the patient, especially if a child, should be suspected and carefully watched. Itshould be observed, however, that dyspepsia, debility from any cause, and especially loss of sleep, will produce some or all of these signs, and no one should be accused of the vice upon the evidence of theseindications alone, neither could he be justly suspected so long as hissymptoms could be accounted for by legitimate causes. 

33. An habitually moist, cold hand, is a suspicious circumstance ina young person who is not known to be suffering from some constitutionaldisease. 

34. _Palpitation of the heart_, frequently occurring, denotes acondition of nervous disturbance which has some powerful cause, andwhich may often be found to be the vice in question. 

35. _Hysteria_ in females may be regarded as a suspicious circumstancewhen frequently occurring on very slight occasions, and especially ifthere is no hereditary tendency to the disease. 

36. _Chlorosis_, or _green sickness_, is very often caused by the unholypractice under consideration. It is very commonly attributed, whenoccurring in young women, to menstrual derangements; but it is onlynecessary to remember that these menstrual irregularities are in manycases the result of the same habit, as has been already pointed out. 

37. _Epileptic fits_ in children are not infrequently the result ofvicious habits. 

38. _Wetting the bed_ is an evidence of irritation which may beconnected with the practice; it should be looked after. 

39. _Unchastity of speech_ and fondness for obscene stories betray acondition of mind which does not exist in youth who are not addictedto this vice. 

As previously remarked, no single one of the above signs should beconsidered as conclusive evidence of the habit in any individual; butany one of them may, and should, arouse suspicion and watchfulness. If the habit really exists, but a short time will elapse before othersigns will be noticed, and when several point in the same direction, the evidence may be considered nearly, if not quite, conclusive. Butpersistent watching will enable the positive signs to be detectedsooner or later, and then there can no longer be doubt. It is, of course, necessary to give the individual no suspicion that he is being watched, as that would put him so effectually on his guard as, possibly, to defydetection. 

Positive Signs. --The absolutely positive signs of solitary vice arevery few. Of course the most certainly positive of all is detectionin the act. Sometimes this is difficult, with such consummate cunningdo the devotees of this Moloch pursue their debasing practice. If achild is noticed to seek a certain secluded spot with considerableregularity, he should be carefully followed and secretly watched, forseveral days in succession if need be. Many children pursue the practiceat night after retiring. If the suspected one is observed to becomevery quickly quiet after retiring, and when looked at appears to beasleep, the bedclothes should be quickly thrown off under some pretense. If, in the case of a boy, the penis is found in a state of erection, with the hands near the genitals, he may certainly be treated as amasturbator without any error. If he is found in a state of excitement, in connection with the other evidences, with a quickened circulationas indicated by the pulse, or in a state of perspiration, his guiltis certain, even though he may pretend to be asleep; no doubt he hasbeen addicted to the vice for a considerable time to have acquired somuch cunning. If the same course is pursued with girls, under the samecircumstances, the clitoris will be found congested, with the othergenital organs, which will also be moist from increased secretion. Other conditions will be as nearly as possible the same as those inthe boy. 

Stains upon the night shirt or sheets, occurring before puberty, arecertain evidences of the vice in boys, as they are subject, before thattime, to no discharge which will leave a stain resembling that fromthe seminal fluid, except the rare one from piles. In the very young, these stains do not occur; but when the habit is acquired before puberty, a discharge resembling semen takes place before the ordinary period. Of course, the stains from urine will be easily distinguished fromothers. The frequent occurrence of such stains after puberty is asuspicious circumstance. A discharge in some respects similar may occurin girls. 

Before puberty, the effect of the vice upon the genital organs is tocause an unnatural development, in both sexes, of the sensitiveportions. When this is marked, it is pretty conclusive evidence of thevice. In girls, the vagina often becomes unnaturally enlarged, andleucorrhoea is often present. After puberty, the organs usuallydiminish in size, and become unnaturally lax and shrunken. 

All of these signs should be thoroughly mastered by those who havechildren under their care, and if not continually watching for them, which would be an unpleasant task, such should be on the alert to detectthe signs at once when they appear, and then carefully seek for othersuntil there is no longer any doubt about the case. 

RESULTS OF SECRET VICE. 

The physician rarely meets more forlorn objects than the victims ofprolonged self-abuse. These unfortunate beings he meets every day ofhis life, and listens so often to the same story of shameful abuse andretributive suffering that he dreads to hear it repeated. In these cases, there is usually a horrid sameness--the same cause, the same inevitableresults. In most cases, the patient need not utter a word, for thephysician can read in his countenance his whole history, as can mostother people at all conversant with the subject. 

In order to secure the greatest completeness consistent with necessarybrevity, we will describe the effects observed in males and those infemales under separate heads, noticing the symptoms of each morbidcondition in connection with its description. 

EFFECTS IN MALES. 

We shall describe, first, the local effects, then the general effects, physical and mental. 

Local Effects. --Excitement of the genital organs produces the mostintense congestion. No other organs in the body are capable of suchrapid and enormous engorgement. When the act is frequently repeated, this condition becomes permanent in some of the tissues, particularlyin the mucous membrane lining the urethra. This same membrane continuesinto and lines throughout the bladder, kidneys, and all the urinaryorgans, together with the vesiculae seminales, the ejaculatory ducts, the vasa deferentia, and the testes. In consequence of this continuityof tissue, any irritation affecting one part is liable to extend toanother, or to all the rest. We mention this anatomical fact here asa help to the understanding of the different morbid conditions whichwill be noticed. 

_Urethral Irritation_. --The chronic congestion of the urethra aftera time becomes chronic irritability. The tissue is unusually sensitive, this condition being often indicated by a slight smarting in urination. It often extends throughout the whole length of the urethra, and becomesso intense that the passage of a sound, which would occasion littleif any sensation in a healthy organ, produces the most acute pain, aswe have observed in numerous instances, even when the greatest carewas used in the introduction of the instrument. 

Shooting pains are often felt in the organ, due to this irritation. Pain is in some cases most felt at the root, in others, at the head. It often darts from one point to another. Just before and just afterurination the pain is most severe. 

_Stricture_. --Long-continued irritation of the mucous membrane of theurethra produces, ultimately, inflammation and swelling of the samein some portion of its extent. This condition may become permanent, and then constitutes real stricture, a most serious disease. More oftenthe swelling is but transient, being due to some unusual excess, andwill subside. Sometimes, also, a temporary stricture is produced byspasmodic contraction of the muscular fibers surrounding the urethra, which is excited by the local irritation. This kind of stricture isoften met in the treatment of spermatorrhoea. 

Enlarged Prostate. --This painful affection is a frequent result of thechronic irritation in the urethra, which the gland surrounds, themorbid action being communicated to it by its proximity. A diseasedaction is set up which results in enlargement and hardening. It is feltas a hard body just anterior to the anus, and becomes by pressure thesource of much additional mischief. Sometimes the disease progressesto dangerous ulceration. It is attended by heat, pressure, and painbetween the anus and the root of the penis. 

Urinary Diseases. --The same congestion and irritability extend to thebladder and thence to the kidneys, producing irritation andinflammation of those organs. Mucus is often formed in largequantities; sometimes much is retained in the bladder. Earthy matteris deposited, which becomes entangled in the mucus, and thus aconcretion or stone is produced, occasioning much suffering, andperhaps death. 

We saw, not long since, a case of this kind. The patient was nearlysixty years of age, and had practiced masturbation from childhood. Inconsequence of his vice, a chronic irritation of the urethra had beenproduced, which was followed by enlargement of the prostate, then bychronic irritation of the bladder and the formation of stone. Hissufferings were most excruciating whenever he attempted to urinate, which was only accomplished with the greatest difficulty and suffering. 

One of the unpleasant results of irritation of the lining membrane ofthe bladder is inability to retain the urine long, which requiresfrequent urination and often causes incontinence of urine. 

_Priapism_. --This same morbid sensitiveness may produce priapism, orcontinuous and painful erection, one of the most "terrible andhumiliating conditions, " as Dr. Acton says, to which the human bodyis subject. The horrid desperation of patients suffering under thiscondition is almost inconceivable. It is, fortunately, rare, in itsmost severe forms; but hundreds suffer from it to a most painful degreeas one of the punishments of transgression of nature's laws; and a mostterrible punishment it is. 

_Piles, Prolapsus of Rectum, etc. _--As the result of the strainingcaused by stricture, piles, prolapsus of the rectum, and fissure ofthe anus are not infrequently induced, as the following case observedat Charity Hospital, New York, illustrates:--

The patient had a peculiar deformity of the genital organs, _hypospadias_, which prevented sexual intercourse, in consequence ofwhich he gave himself up to the practice of self-abuse. He had becomereduced to the most deplorable condition of both mind and body, andpresented a most woebegone countenance. In addition to his generalailments, he suffered from extreme prolapsus of the rectum and a mostpainful anal fissure. His condition was somewhat bettered by skillfulsurgical treatment. 

_Extension of Irritation_. --Serious and painful as are the affectionsalready noticed, those which arise from the extension of the congestionand irritation of the urethra to those other organs most intimatelyconnected with the function of generation are still more dreadful inthemselves, and far more serious in their consequences. The irritationextends into the ejaculatory ducts, thence backward into the seminalvesicles, and downward through the vasa deferentia to the testes. Theseorgans become unnaturally excited, and their activity is increased. The testicles form an abnormal amount of spermatozoa; the seminalvesicles secrete their peculiar fluid too freely. From these twosources combined, the vesicles become loaded with seminal fluid, andthis condition gives rise to a great increase of sexual excitement. 

In cases of long standing, the irritation of the urethra at the openingsof the ejaculatory ducts, a point just in front of the bladder, advancesto inflammation and ulceration. Here is now established a permanentsource of irritation, by which the morbid activity of the testes andseminal vesicles is kept up and continually increased. This conditionis indicated by frequent twitchings of the ejaculatory and compressormuscles in the perineum. It is also indicated by a burning sensationat the root of the penis after urination, which, in severe cases, amounts to very serious pain. 

_Atrophy, or Wasting of the Testes_. --The first result of theirritation communicated to the testes, is, as already remarked, increased activity; but this is attended by swelling in some cases, more or less pain, tenderness, and, after a time, diminution in size. 

This degenerative process likewise affects the seminal fluid, whichbecomes more or less deteriorated and incapable of producing healthyoffspring, even while it retains the power of fecundating the ovum, which it also ultimately loses if the disease is not checked by propertreatment, when the individual becomes hopelessly impotent, a happyresult for the race, for it prevents the possibility of his impartingto another being his debilitated constitution. 

_Varicocele_. --This morbid condition consists in a varicose state ofthe spermatic veins. It is almost always found upon the left side, owingto an anatomical peculiarity of the spermatic vein of that side. Ithas been supposed to be a result of masturbation and its effects, butis certainly caused otherwise in many cases. It is not infrequentlyfound in these patients; but Prof. Bartholow contends that even in suchcases we should "consider its presence, in general, as accidental. "Atrophy of the left testicle is often produced by the pressure of thedistended veins; but this does not produce impotence. It occasionallyoccurs simultaneously on both sides, and greatly aggravates the effectsof self-abuse, if it is not itself an effect of the vice. 

Nocturnal Emissions. --Seminal emissions during sleep, usuallyaccompanied by erotic dreams, are known as nocturnal pollutions oremissions, and are often called _spermatorrhoea_, though there is somedisagreement respecting the use of the latter term. Its most properuse is when applied to the entire group of symptoms which accompanyinvoluntary seminal losses. 

The masturbator knows nothing of this disease so long as he continueshis vile practice; but when he resolves to reform, and ceases to defilehimself voluntarily, he is astonished and disgusted to find that thesame filthy pollutions occur during his sleep without his voluntaryparticipation. He now begins to see something of the ruin he has wrought. The same nightly loss continues, sometimes being repeated several timesin a single night, to his infinite mortification and chagrin. He hopesthe difficulty will subside of itself, but his hope is vain; unlessproperly treated, it will probably continue until the ruin which hevoluntarily began is completed. 

This disease is the result of sexual excesses of any kind; it is commonin married men who have abused the marriage relation, when they areforced to temporary continence from any cause. It also occurs in thoseaddicted to mental unchastity, though they may be physically continent. It is not probable that it would ever occur in a person who had beenstrictly continent and had not allowed his mind to dwell upon libidinousimaginations. 

Exciting Causes. --The exciting causes which serve to perpetuate thisdifficulty are chiefly two; viz. , local irritation and lewd thoughts. 

The first cause is usually chiefly located in the urethra, andespecially at the mouths of the ejaculatory ducts. Distention of theseminal vesicles with a superabundance of seminal fluid also acts asa source of irritation. Constipation, worms, and piles have anirritative influence which is often very seriously felt. 

Unchaste thoughts act detrimentally in a two-fold way. They firststimulate the activity of the testes, thus increasing the overloadingof the seminal vesicles. Lascivious thoughts during wakefulness arethe chief cause of lascivious dreams. 

Emissions do not usually occur during the soundest sleep, but duringthat condition which may be characterized as dozing, which is most oftenindulged in early in the morning after the soundest sleep is passed. This fact has an important bearing upon treatment, as will be seenhereafter. 

At first, the emissions are always accompanied by dreams, the patientusually awaking immediately afterward; but after a time they take placewithout dreams and without awaking him, and are unaccompanied bysensation. This denotes a greatly increased gravity of the complaint. 

Certain circumstances greatly increase the frequency of the emissions, and thus hasten the injury which they are certain to accomplish if notchecked; as, neglect to relieve the bladder and bowels at night, latesuppers, stimulating foods and drinks, and anything that will excitethe genital organs. Of all causes, amorous or erotic thoughts are themost powerful. Tea and coffee, spices and other condiments, and animalfood have a special tendency in this direction. Certain positions inbed also serve as exciting or predisposing causes; as sleeping uponthe back or abdomen. Feather beds and pillows and too warm coveringin bed are also injurious for the same reason. 

In frequency, emissions will vary in different persons from anoccasional one at long and irregular intervals to two or three a week, or several--as many as four in one case we have met--in a single night. 

The immediate effect of an emission will depend somewhat upon thefrequency of occurrence and the condition of the individual. If veryinfrequent, and occurring in a comparatively robust person, after theseminal vesicles have become distended with seminal fluid, theimmediate effect of an emission may be a sensation of temporary relief. This circumstance has led certain persons to suppose that emissionsare natural and beneficial. This point will receive attention shortly. 

If the emissions are more frequent, or if they occur in a person ofa naturally feeble constitution, the immediate effect is lassitude, languor, indisposition and often inability to perform severe mentalor physical labor, melancholy, amounting often to despair and evenleading to suicide, and an exaggeration of local irritation, and ofall the morbid conditions to be noticed under the head of "GeneralEffects. " Headache, indigestion, weakness of the back and knees, disturbed circulation, dimness of vision, and loss of appetite, areonly a few of these. 

Are Occasional Emissions Necessary or Harmless?--That an individualmay suffer for years an involuntary seminal loss as frequently as oncea month without apparently suffering very great injury, seems to bea settled fact with physicians of extensive experience, and is wellconfirmed by observation; yet there are those who suffer severely fromlosses no more frequent than this. But when seminal losses occur morefrequently than once a month, they will certainly ultimate in greatinjury, even though immediate ill effects are not noticed, as inexceptional cases they may not be. If argument is necessary to sustainthis position, as it hardly seems to be, we would refer to the factthat seminal losses do not occur in those who are, and always have been, continent both mentally and physically, when such rare individuals canbe found. They occur the most rarely in those who the most nearlyapproach the standard of perfect chastity; so that whenever they occur, they may be taken as evidence of some form of sexual excess. This factclearly shows that losses of this kind are not natural. 

Emission not Necessary to Health. --If it be argued that an occasionalemission is necessary to relieve the overloaded seminal vesicles, wereply, the same argument has been used as an apology for unchastity;but it is equally worthless in both instances. It might be as well arguedthat vomiting is a necessary physiological and healthful act, andshould occur with regularity, because a person may so overload hisstomach as to make the act necessary as a remedial measure. Vomitingis a diseased action, a pathological process, and is occasioned by thevoluntary transgression of the individual. Hence, it is as unnecessaryas gluttony, and must be wasteful of vitality, even though renderednecessary under some circumstances. So with emissions. If a personallows his mind to dwell upon unchaste subjects, indulges in eroticdreams, and riots in mental lasciviousness, he may render an emissionalmost necessary as a remedial effort. Nevertheless, he will sufferfrom the loss of the vital fluid just the same as though he had not, by his own concupiscence, rendered it in some degree necessary. Andas it would have been infinitely better for him to have retained anddigested food in his stomach instead of ejecting it--provided it werewholesome food--so it would have been better for him to have retainedin his system the seminal fluid, which would have been disposed of bythe system and probably utilized to very great advantage in the repairof certain of the tissues. 

Eminent Testimony. --An eminent English physician, Dr. Milton, who hastreated many thousands of cases of this disease, remarks in a work uponthe subject as follows:--

"Anything beyond one emission a month requires attention. I know thisstatement has been impugned, but I am quite prepared to abide by it. I did not put it forward till I considered I had quite sufficientevidence in my hands to justify me in doing so. "

"An opinion prevails, as most of my readers are aware, among medicalmen, that a few emissions in youth do good instead of harm. It isdifficult to understand how an unnatural evacuation can do good, exceptin the case of unnatural congestion. I have, however, convinced myselfthat the principle is wrong. Lads never really feel better foremissions; they very often feel decidedly worse. Occasionally they mayfancy there is a sense of relief, but it is very much the same sortof relief that a drunkard feels from a dram. In early life the stomachmay be repeatedly overloaded with impunity, but I suppose few wouldcontend that overloading was therefore good. The fact is that emissionsare invariably more or less injurious; not always visibly so in youth, nor susceptible of being assessed as to the damage inflicted by anygiven number of them, but still contributing, each in its turn, a mitetoward the exhaustion and debility which the patient will one daycomplain of. "

Diurnal Emissions. --As the disease progresses, the irritation andweakness of the organs become so great that an erection and emissionoccur upon the slightest sexual excitement. Mere proximity to a female, or the thought of one, will be sufficient to produce a pollution, attended by voluptuous sensations. But after a time the organs becomeso diseased and irritable that the slightest mechanical irritation, as friction of the clothing, the sitting posture, or riding horseback, will produce a discharge which may or may not be attended by sensationof any kind. Frequently a burning or more or less painful sensationoccurs; erection does not take place. Even straining at stool willproduce the discharge, or violent efforts to retain the feces when thereis unnatural looseness. 

The amount of the discharge may vary from a few drops to one or twodrams, or even more. The character of the discharge is of considerableimportance. When it occurs under the circumstances last described, viz. , without erection or voluptuous sensations, it may be of a true seminalcharacter, or it may contain no spermatozoa. This point can bedetermined by the microscope alone. The discharge is the result ofsexual excitement or irritation, nevertheless, and indicates a mostdeplorable condition of the genital organs. The patient is sometimesunnecessarily frightened by it, and often exaggerates the amount ofthe losses, and the symptoms arising from them. However, when a singlenocturnal emission occasions such detrimental results, what must bethe effect of repeated discharges occurring several times a day, orevery time an individual relieves his bowels, urinates, or entertainsan unvirtuous thought! If the losses were always seminal, the work ofruin would soon be complete; fortunately, those discharges which arethe most frequent are only occasionally of a true seminal character. It is not true, however, as has been claimed by some writers, one atleast, that they are never seminal, as we have proved by repeatedmicroscopic examinations. 

Cause of Diurnal Emissions. --The causes of these discharges arespasmodic action of the muscles involved in ejaculation, which isoccasioned by local irritation, and pressure upon the seminal vesiclesby the distended rectum or bladder. They denote a condition of debilityand irritation which may well occasion grave alarm. 

In occasional instances, the internal irritation reaches such a heightthat blood is discharged with the seminal fluid. 

Internal Emissions. --As the disease progresses, external dischargesfinally cease, in some cases, or partially so, and the individual isencouraged by that circumstance to think that he is recovering. He soondiscovers his error, however, for he continues to droop even thoughthe discharges apparently cease altogether. This seems a mystery untilsome medical friend or a medical work calls his attention to the factthat the discharges now occur internally instead of externally, theseminal fluid passing back into the bladder and being voided with theurine. An examination of the urine reveals the presence of cloudy matterappearing much like mucus, or a whitish sediment. A microscopicexamination shows this matter to be composed largely of zoosperms, which decides its origin. 

An Important Caution. --It is necessary, however, to caution the readernot to pronounce every whitish sediment or flocculent matter found inthe urine to be a seminal discharge, for the great majority are of adifferent character. They are, most frequently, simply mucus orphosphates from the bladder. Seminal fluid cannot be distinguished frommucus by any other than a careful microscopic examination. A microscopeof good quality and capable of magnifying at least one hundred and fiftydiameters is required, together with considerable skill in the operator. Quacks have done an immense amount of harm by frightening patients intothe belief that they were suffering from discharges of this kind whenthere was, in fact, nothing more than a copious deposit of phosphates, which is not at all infrequent in nervous people, especially aftereating. 

When the condition described does really exist, however, the patientcannot make too much haste to put himself under the care of a competentphysician for treatment. If there is even a reasonable suspicion thatit may exist, he should have his urine carefully examined by onecompetent to criticize it intelligently. 

By many authors, the term spermatorrhoea is confined entirely to thisstage of the disease. 

It is said that the forcible interruption of ejaculation has been thecause of this unfortunate condition in many cases. Such a proceedingis certainly very hazardous. 

One more caution should be offered; viz. , that the occasional presenceof spermatozoa in the urine is not a proof of the existence of internalemissions, as a few zoosperms may be left in the urethra after avoluntary or nocturnal emission, and thus find their way into the urineas it is discharged from the bladder. 

Impotence. --In the progress of the disease a point is finally reachedwhen the victim not only loses all desire for the natural exercise ofthe sexual function, but when such an act becomes impossible. Thiscondition may have been reached even before all of the precedingsymptoms have been developed. Ultimately it becomes impossible tolonger practice the abominable vice itself, on account of the greatdegeneration and relaxation of the organs. The approach of thiscondition is indicated by increasing loss of erectile power, which isat first only temporary, but afterward becomes permanent. Still theinvoluntary discharges continue, and the victim sees himself graduallysinking lower and lower into the pit which his own hands have dug. Themisery of his condition is unimaginable; manhood lost, body a wreck, and death staring him in the face. 

This is a brief sketch of the local effects of the horrid vice ofself-abuse. The description has not been at all overdrawn. We have yetto consider the general effects, some of which have already beenincidentally touched upon in describing nocturnal emissions, withtheir immediate results. 

General Effects. --The many serious effects which follow the habit ofself-abuse, in addition to those terrible local maladies alreadydescribed, are the direct results of two causes in the male; viz. , 1. Nervous exhaustion;

2. Loss of the seminal fluid. 

There has been much discussion as to which one of these was the causeof the effects observed in these cases. Some have attributed all theevil to one cause, and some to the other. That the loss of semen isnot the only cause, nor, perhaps, the chief source of injury, is provedby the fact that most deplorable effects of the vice are seen in childrenbefore puberty, and also in females, in whom no seminal discharge noranything analogous to it occurs. In these cases, it is the nervous shockalone which works the evil. 

Again, that the seminal fluid is the most highly vitalized of all thefluids of the body, and that its rapid production is at the expenseof a most exhaustive effort on the part of the vital forces, is wellattested by all physiologists. It is further believed by some eminentphysicians that the seminal fluid is of great use in the body forbuilding up and replenishing certain tissues, especially those of thenerves and brain, being absorbed after secretion. Though this view isnot coincided in by all physiologists, it seems to be supported by thefollowing facts:--

1. The composition of the nerves and that of spermatozoa is nearlyidentical. 

2. Men from whom the testes have been removed before puberty, as inthe case of eunuchs, are never fully developed as they would otherwisehave been. 

The nervous shock accompanying the exercise of the sexualorgans--either natural or unnatural--is the most profound to which thesystem is subject. The whole nervous system is called into activity;and the effects are occasionally so strongly felt upon a weakenedorganism that death results in the very act. The subsequent exhaustionis necessarily proportionate to the excitement. 

It need not be surprising, then, that the effects of the frequentoperation of two such powerful influences combined should be soterrible as they are found to be. 

_General Debility_. --Nervous exhaustion and the loss of the vivifyinginfluence of the seminal fluid produce extreme mental and physicaldebility, which increases as the habit is practiced, and is continuedby involuntary emissions after the habit ceases. If the patient'shabits are sedentary, and if he had a delicate constitution at the start, his progress toward the grave will be fearfully rapid, especially ifthe habit were acquired young, as it most frequently is by such boys, they being generally precocious. Extreme emaciation, sallow orblotched skin, sunken eyes, surrounded by a dark or blue color, generalweakness, dullness, weak back, stupidity, laziness, or indispositionto activity of any kind, wandering and illy defined pains, obscure andoften terrible sensations, pain in back and limbs, sleeplessness, anda train of morbid symptoms too long to mention in detail, attend thesesufferers. 

_Consumption_. --It is well recognized by the medical profession thatthis vice is one of the most frequent causes of consumption. At leastsuch would seem to be the declaration of experience, and the followingstatistical fact adds weight to the conclusion:--

"Dr. Smith read a paper before a learned medical association a few yearssince in which he pointed out the startling fact that in one thousandcases of consumption five hundred and eighteen had suffered from someform of sexual abuse, and more than four hundred had been addicted tomasturbation or suffered from nocturnal emissions. "[49]

[Footnote 49: Acton. ]

"Most of those who early become addicted to self-pollution are soonafterward the subjects, not merely of one or more of the ailmentsalready noticed, but also of enlargements of the lymphatic and otherglands, ultimately of _tubercular deposits in the lungs_ and otherviscera, or of scrofulous disease of the vertebrae or bones, or of otherstructures, more especially of the joints. "[50]

[Footnote 50: Copland. ]

Many young men waste away and die of symptoms resembling consumptionwhich are solely the result of the loathsome practice of self-abuse. The real number of consumptives whose disease originates in this mannercan never be known. 

_Dyspepsia_. --Indigestion is frequently one of the first results. Nervous exhaustion is always felt by the stomach very promptly. Whendyspepsia is once really established, it reacts upon the genital organs, increasing their irritability as well as that of all the rest of thenervous system. Now there is no end to the ills which may be suffered;for an impaired digestion lays the system open to the inroads of almostany and every malady. 

_Heart Disease_. --Functional disease of the heart, indicated byexcessive palpitation on the slightest exertion, is a very frequentsymptom. Though it unfits the individual for labor, and causes him muchsuffering, he would be fortunate if he escaped with no disease of amore dangerous character. 

_Throat Affections_. --There is no doubt that many of the affectionsof the throat in young men and older ones which pass under the nameof "clergyman's sore throat" are the direct results of masturbationand emissions. 

Dr. Acton cites several cases in proof of this, and quotes the followingletter from a young clergyman:--

"When I began the practice of masturbation, at the age of sixteen, Iwas in the habit of exercising my voice regularly. The first part inwhich I felt the bad effects of that habit was in the organs ofarticulation. After the act, the voice wanted tone, and there was adisagreeable feeling about the throat which made speaking a source ofno pleasure to me as it had been. By-and-by, it became painful to speakafter the act. This arose from a feeling as if a morbid matter was beingsecreted in the throat, so acrid that it sent tears to the eyes whenspeaking, and would have taken away the breath if not swallowed. This, however, passed away in a day or two after the act. In the course ofyears, when involuntary emissions began to impair the constitution, this condition became permanent. The throat always feels very delicate, and there is often such irritability in it, along with this feelingof the secretion of morbid matter, as to make it impossible to speakwithout swallowing at every second or third word. This is felt evenin conversation, and there is a great disinclination to attempt to speakat all. In many instances in which the throat has been supposed to giveway from other causes, I have known this to be the real one. May itnot be that the general irritation always produced by the habit referredto, shows itself also in this organ, and more fully in those who arerequired habitually to exercise it?"

_Nervous Diseases_. --There is no end to the nervous affections to whichthe sufferer from this vice is subject. Headaches, neuralgias, symptomsresembling hysteria, sudden alternations of heat and cold, irregularflushing of the face, and many other affections, some of the moreimportant of which we will mention in detail, are his constantcompanions. 

_Epilepsy_. --This disease has been traced to the vile habit underconsideration in so many cases that it is now very certain that in manyinstances this is its origin. It is of frequent occurrence in thosewho have indulged in solitary vice or any other form of sexual excess. We have seen several cases of this kind. 

Failure of Special Senses. --Dimness of vision, amaurosis, spots beforethe eyes, with other forms of ocular weakness, are common results ofthis vice. The same degeneration and premature failure occur in theorgans of hearing. In fact, sensibility of all the senses becomes insome measure diminished in old cases. 

Spinal Irritation. --Irritation of the spinal cord, with its resultantevils, is one of the most common of the nervous affections originatingin this cause. Tenderness of the spine, numerous pains in the limbs, and spasmodic twitching of the muscles, are some of its results. Paralysis, partial or complete, of the lower limbs, and even of thewhole body, is not a rare occurrence. We have seen two cases in whichthis was well marked. Both patients were small boys and began to excitethe genital organs at a very early age. In one, the paralytic conditionwas complete when he was held erect. The head fell forward, the armsand limbs hung down helpless, the eyes rolled upward, and the salivadribbled from his mouth. When lying flat upon his back, he hadconsiderable control of his limbs. In this case, a condition of priapismseems to have existed almost from birth, owing to congenital phimosis. His condition was somewhat improved by circumcision. In the other case, in which phimosis also existed, there was paralysis of a few of themuscles of the leg, which produced club-foot. Circumcision was alsoperformed in this case and the child returned in a few weeks completelycured, without any other application, though it had previously beentreated in a great variety of ways without success, all the usualremedies for club-foot proving ineffectual. Both of these casesappeared in the clinic of Dr. Sayre at Bellevue Hospital, and wereoperated upon by him. 

We have recently observed several cases of spinal disease which couldbe traced to no origin but masturbation. Two patients were small boys, naturally quite intelligent. They manifested all the peculiarities ofloco-motor ataxia in older persons, walking with the characteristicgait. The disease was steadily progressing in spite of all attemptsto stay it. An older brother had died of the same malady, paralysisextending over the whole body, and finally preventing deglutition, sothat he really starved to death. 

Insanity. --That solitary vice is one of the most common causes ofinsanity, is a fact too well established to need demonstration here. Every lunatic asylum furnishes numerous illustrations of the fact. "Authors are universally agreed, from Galen down to the present day, about the pernicious influence of this enervating indulgence, and itsstrong propensity to generate the very worst and most formidable kindsof insanity. It has frequently been known to occasion speedy, and eveninstant, insanity. "[51]

[Footnote 51: Arnold. ]

"Religious insanity, " so-called, may justly be attributed to this causein a great proportion of cases. The individual is conscience-smittenin view of his horrid sins, and a view of his terrible condition--ruinedfor both worlds, he fears--goads him to despair, and his weakenedintellect fails; reason is dethroned, and he becomes a hopeless lunatic. His friends, knowing nothing of the real cause of his mysteriousconfessions of terrible sin, think him over-conscientious, and lay theblame of his insanity upon religion, when it is solely the result ofhis vicious habits, of which they are ignorant. 

In other cases, the victim falls into a profound melancholy from whichnothing can divert him. He never laughs, does not even smile. He becomesmore and more reserved and taciturn, and perhaps ends the scene bycommitting suicide. This crime is not at all uncommon with those whohave gone the whole length of the road of evil. They find their manhoodgone, the vice in which they have so long delighted is no longer possible, and, in desperation, they put an end to the miserable life which naturemight lengthen out a few months if not thus violently superseded. 

If the practice is continued uninterruptedly from boyhood to manhood, imbecility and idiocy are the results. Demented individuals are metin no small numbers inside of hospitals and asylums, and outside aswell, who owe to this vice their awful condition. Plenty of half-wittedmen whom one meets in the every-day walks of life have destroyed thebetter half of their understanding by this wretched practice. 

A Victim's Mental Condition Pictured. --The mental condition of a victimof this vice cannot be better described than is done in the followingparagraphs by one himself a victim, though few of these unfortunateindividuals would be able to produce so accurate and critical a portraitof themselves as is here drawn by M. Rousseau, as quoted by Mr. Acton:--

"One might say that my heart and my mind do not belong to the same person. My feelings, quicker than lightning, fill my soul; but instead ofilluminating, they burn and dazzle me. I feel everything. I see nothing. I am excited, but stupid; I cannot think except in cold blood. Thewonderful thing is that I have sound enough tact, penetration, even_finesse_, if people will wait for me. I make excellent impromptus atleisure; but at the moment I have nothing ready to say or do. I shouldconverse brilliantly by post, as they say the Spaniards play at chess. When I read of a Duke of Savoy who turned back after starting on hisjourney to say, 'In your teeth! you Paris shop-keeper!' I said, 'Thatis like me!'"

"But not only is it a labor to me to express, but also to receive, ideas. I have studied men, and I think I am a tolerably good observer; yetI can see nothing of what I do see. I can hardly say that I see anythingexcept what I recall; I have no power of mind but in my recollection. Of all that is said, of all that is done, of all that passes in mypresence, I feel nothing, I appreciate nothing. The external sign isall that strikes me. But after a while it all comes back to me. "

EFFECTS IN FEMALES. 

Local Effects. --The local diseases produced by the vice in females are, of course, of a different nature from those seen in males, on accountof the difference in organization. They arise, however, in the sameway, congestions at first temporary ultimately becoming permanent andresulting in irritation and various disorders. 

Leucorrhoea. --The results of congestion first appear in the mucousmembrane lining the vagina, which is also injured by mechanicalirritation, and consists of a catarrhal discharge which enervates thesystem. By degrees the discharge increases in quantity and virulence, extending backward until it reaches the sensitive womb. 

Contact with the acrid, irritating secretions of the vagina producessoreness of the fingers at the roots of the nails, and also frequentlycauses warts upon the fingers. Hence the value of these signs, aspreviously mentioned. 

Uterine Disease. --Congestion of the womb is also produced by the actof abuse; and as the habit is continued, it also becomes permanent. This congestion, together with the contact of the acrid vaginaldischarge, finally produces ulceration upon the neck, together withother diseases. 

Another result of congestion is all kinds of menstrual derangementsafter puberty, the occurrence of which epoch is hastened by the habit. Prolapsus and various displacements are produced in addition tomenstrual irregularities. 

Cancer of the Womb. --Degeneration of this delicate organ also occursas the result of the constant irritation and congestion, and is oftenof a malignant nature, occasioning a most painful death. 

Sterility. --Sterility, dependent on a total loss of sexual desire andinability to participate in the sexual act, is another condition whichis declared by medical authors to be most commonly due to previoushabits of self-abuse. In consequence of overexcitement the organsbecome relaxed. 

Atrophy of Mammae. --Closely connected with other local results is thedeficient development of the breasts when the vice is begun before orat puberty, and atrophy if it is begun or continued after developmenthas occurred. As previously remarked, this is not the sole cause ofsmall mammae, but it is one of the great causes. 

Pruritis. --This is an affection not infrequent in these subjects. Continued congestion produces a terrible itching of the genitals, whichincreases until the individual is in a state of actual frenzy, and thedisposition to manipulate the genitals becomes irresistible, and isindulged even in the presence of friends or strangers, and though thepatient be at other times a young woman of unexceptionable modesty. In cases of this kind, great hypertrophy of the organ of greatestsensibility has been observed, and in some cases amputation of the parthas been found the only cure. 

General Effects. --The general effects in the female are much the sameas those in the male. Although women suffer no seminal loss, they sufferthe debilitating effects of leucorrhoea, which is in some degreeinjurious in the same manner as seminal losses in the male. But infemales the greatest injury results from the nervous exhaustion whichfollows the unnatural excitement. Nervous diseases of every varietyare developed. Emaciation and debility become more marked even thanin the male, and the worst results are produced sooner, being hastenedby the sedentary habits of these females, generally. Insanity is morefrequently developed than in males. Spinal irritation is so frequenta result that a recent surgical author has said that "spinal irritationin girls and women is, in a majority of cases, due to self-abuse. "[52]

[Footnote 52: Davis. ]

A Common Cause of Hysteria. --This, too, is one of the most frequentcauses of hysteria, chorea, and epilepsy among young women, though notoften recognized. 

A writer, quoted several times before in this work, remarks asfollows:--

"This is not a matter within the scope of general investigation; truthis not to be expected from its _habitues_; parents are deceivedrespecting it, believing rather what they wish than what they fear. Even the physician can but suspect, till time develops more fully byhysterias, epilepsies, spinal irritations, and a train of symptomsunmistakable even if the finally extorted confession of the poor victimdid not render the matter clear. Marriage does, indeed, often arrestthis final catastrophe, and thus apparently shifts the responsibilityupon other shoulders, and to the 'injurious effects of earlymarriages, ' to the 'ills of maternity, ' are ascribed the results ofprevious personal abuse. 

"For statistics and further information on this all-important subject, we must refer the reader to the opinions of physicians who have thecharge of our retreats for the insane, lunatic asylums, and the like;to the discriminating physicians of the families of the upperclasses--stimulated alike by food, drinks, scenes where ease ispredominant, where indolence is the habit and novel-reading is theoccupation--for further particulars on a subject here but barelyalluded to. "[53]

[Footnote 53: Gardner. ]

EFFECTS UPON OFFSPRING. 

If sterility does not result, children are liable to be "delicate, puny, decrepit, or subject to various congenital maladies, especially of thenervous system, to idiocy from deficient development of the brain, tohydrocephalus, to epilepsy, convulsions, palsy. The scrofulousdiathesis, tubercular and glandular maladies, diseases of thevertebrae and of the joints, softening of the central portions of thebrain, and tuberculous formations in the membranes, palsy andconvulsions, chorea, inflammations of the membranes or substance ofthe brain or spinal cord, and numerous other affections to which infantsand children are liable, very commonly result from the practice ofself-pollution by either of the parents previous to marriage. But theevil does not always stop at this epoch of existence, it often extendsthroughout the life of the offspring, or it appears only with pubertyand mature age. "

Too frequently, the victim of self-abuse, when he finds himselfsuffering from the first results of his sin, neglects to adopt anymeasures for the cure of the disease. Not understanding its inveteratecharacter, he labors under the delusion that it will cure itself intime. This is a fatal mistake. The diseased conditions induced by thisvice never improve themselves. Their constant tendency is to increasein virulence and inveteracy. The necessity of taking prompt measuresfor relief is too apparent to need especial emphasis. 

TREATMENT OF SELF-ABUSE AND ITS EFFECTS. 

After having duly considered the causes and effects of this terribleevil, the question next in order for consideration is, How shall itbe cured? When a person has, through ignorance or weakness, broughtupon himself the terrible effects described, how shall he find relieffrom his ills, if restoration is possible? To the answer of theseinquiries, most of the remaining pages of this work will be devoted. But before entering upon a description of methods of _cure_, a briefconsideration of the subject of _prevention_ of the habit will be inorder. 

PREVENTION OF SECRET VICE. 

For the rising generation, those yet innocent of the evil practicesso abundant in this age of sensuality, how the evil habit may beprevented is the most important of all questions connected with thissubject. This topic should be especially interesting to parents, foreven those who are themselves sensual have seen enough of the evilsof such a life to wish that their children may remain pure. There are, indeed, rare exceptions to this rule, for we sometimes learn of parentswho have deliberately led their own children into vice, as though theydesired to make them share their shame and damnation. 

Cultivate Chastity. --From earliest infancy all of those influences andagencies which cultivate chastity should be brought into activeexercise. These we need not repeat here, having previously dwelt uponthem so fully. The reader is recommended to re-peruse the portion ofthe work devoted to this subject, in connection with the present section. If parents have themselves indulged in this vice, they should usespecial care that all of the generative and gestative influencesbrought to bear upon their children are the purest possible, so thatthey may not inherit a predisposition to sin in this direction. 

Special care should be exercised to avoid corrupt servants andassociates. Every servant not known to be pure should be suspected untilproof of innocence has been established. They should be especiallyinstructed of the evil arising from manipulation of the genitals evenin infants, as they may do immense harm through simple ignorance. 

Timely Warning. --But, in spite of chaste surroundings and all otherfavorable circumstances, if the child is left in ignorance of his danger, he may yet fall a victim to the devices of servants or corrupt playmates, or may himself make a fatal discovery. Hence arises the duty of warningchildren of the evil before the habit has been formed. This is a dutythat parents seldom perform even when they are not unaware of the danger. They in some way convince themselves that their children are pure, atleast, even if others are corrupt. It is often the most difficult thingin the world for parents to comprehend the fact that _their_ childrenare not the best children in the world, perfect paragons of purity andinnocence. There is an unaccountable and unreasonable delicacy on thepart of parents about speaking of sexual subjects to their children. In consequence, their young, inquisitive minds are left wholly inignorance unless, perchance, they gain information from some vilesource. 

Objections are raised against talking to children or young personsabout matters in any degree pertaining to the sexual organs or functions. Some of the more important of them are considered in the introductionto this work, and we need not repeat here. 

The little one should be taught from earliest infancy to abstain fromhandling the genitals, being made to regard it as a very improper act. When the child becomes old enough to understand and reason, he may befurther informed of the evil consequences; then, as he becomes older, the functions of the organs may be explained with sufficient fullnessto satisfy his natural craving for knowledge. 

If this course were pursued, how many might be saved from ruin! It is, of course, necessary that the parents shall themselves be acquaintedwith the true functions of the organs before they attempt to teach anyone else, especially children. Many parents might receive benefit frombeing obliged to "study up;" for it is a lamentable fact, the ill effectsof which are every day seen, that a great many people have spent a verylarge portion of their lives without ever ascertaining the truefunction of the reproductive organs, though living in matrimony formany years. Some of the consequences of this ignorance have beenportrayed in previous pages. 

"Oh! why did not some kind friend tell me of the harm I was doing myself?"has been the exclamation of many an unfortunate sufferer from this vice. A warning voice should be raised to save those who are ignorantlyworking their own destruction. Parents, teachers, ministers, all whohave access to the youth, should sound the note of alarm in their ears, that if possible they may be saved from the terrible thralldom picturedby a writer in the following lines:--

"The waters have gone over me. But out of the black depths, could Ibe heard, I would cry to all those who have set a foot in the perilousflood. Could the youth look into my desolation, and be made tounderstand what a dreary thing it is when a man shall feel himself goingdown a precipice with open eyes and passive will--to see his destructionand have no power to stop it, and yet to feel it all the way emanatingfrom himself; to perceive all goodness emptied out of him, and yet notbe able to forget a time when it was otherwise; to bear about with himthe spectacle of his own self-ruin; could he feel the body of deathout of which I cry hourly with feebler and feebler outcry to bedelivered. "

CURATIVE TREATMENT OF THE EFFECTS OF SELF-ABUSE. 

When the habit and its effects are of very short duration, a cure isvery readily accomplished, especially in the cases of children andfemales, as in them the evils begun are not continued in the form ofinvoluntary pollutions. In cases of longer standing in males, the taskis more difficult, but still the prospect of recovery is very favorable, provided the cooperation of the patient can be secured; without this, little can be done. But in these cases the patient may as well be toldat the outset that the task of undoing the evil work of years of sinis no easy matter. It can only be accomplished by determined effort, by steady perseverance in right doing, and in the application ofnecessary remedies. Those who have long practiced the vice, or longsuffered severely from its effects, have received an injury which willinevitably be life-long to a greater or lesser extent in spite of allthat can be done for them. Yet such need not despair, for they mayreceive inestimable benefit by the prevention of greater damage, whichthey are sure to suffer if the disease is allowed to go unchecked. 

Cure of the Habit. --The preliminary step in treatment is always to curethe vice itself if it still exists. The methods adopted for this purposemust differ according to the age of the individual patient. 

_In children_, especially those who have recently acquired the habit, it can be broken up by admonishing them of its sinfulness, andportraying in vivid colors its terrible results, if the child is oldenough to comprehend such admonitions. In addition to faithful warnings, the attention of the child should be fully occupied by work, study, or pleasant recreation. He should not be left alone at any time, lesthe yield to temptation. Work is an excellent remedy; work that willreally make him very tired, so that when he goes to bed he will haveno disposition to defile himself. It is best to place such a child underthe care of a faithful person of older years, whose special duty itshall be to watch him night and day until the habit is thoroughlyovercome. 

In younger children, with whom moral considerations will have noparticular weight, other devices may be used. Bandaging the parts hasbeen practiced with success. Tying the hands is also successful in somecases; but this will not always succeed, for they will often contriveto continue the habit in other ways, as by working the limbs, or lyingupon the abdomen. Covering the organs with a cage has been practicedwith entire success. A remedy which is almost always successful in smallboys is circumcision, especially when there is any degree of phimosis. The operation should be performed by a surgeon without administeringan anaesthetic, as the brief pain attending the operation will havea salutary effect upon the mind, especially if it be connected withthe idea of punishment, as it may well be in some cases. The sorenesswhich continues for several weeks interrupts the practice, and if ithad not previously become too firmly fixed, it may be forgotten andnot resumed. If any attempt is made to watch the child, he should beso carefully surrounded by vigilance that he cannot possibly transgresswithout detection. If he is only partially watched, he soon learns toelude observation, and thus the effect is only to make him cunning inhis vice. 

_In adults_, or youths, a different plan must be pursued. In these cases, moral considerations, and the inevitable consequences to health of bodyand mind, are the chief influences by which a reform is to be effected, if at all. These considerations may be urged with all possible eloquenceand earnestness, but should not be exaggerated. The truth is terribleenough. If there are any special influences which may be brought tobear upon a particular individual, --and there always will be somethingof this sort owing to peculiarities of temperament orcircumstances, --these should be promptly employed and applied in sucha manner as to secure for them their full bearing. 

But after all, the most must be done by the individual himself. Allthat others can do for him is to surround him with favoringcircumstances and arouse him to a proper sense of his real conditionand danger. If this can be thoroughly accomplished, there is much reasonto hope; but if the individual has become so lost to all sense of purity, all aspirations toward good and noble objects, that he cannot be madeto feel the need of reformation, his case is hopeless. 

_How May a Person Help Himself?_--The following suggestions will befound useful in fighting the battle with vice and habit:--

1. Begin by a resolution to reform, strengthened by the most solemnvows. 

2. Resolve to reform _now_; not to-morrow or next week, but this veryminute. Thousands have sunk to perdition while resolving to indulge"only this once. "

3. Begin the work of reform by purging the mind. If a lewd thought entersthe mind, dispel it at once. Cultivate a loathing for concupiscence. Never harbor such ideas for an instant, for they will surely lead tothe overt act. If, perchance, the physical sin should not be committed, the thought itself is sin, and it leaves a physical as well as a moralscar almost as deep and hideous as that inflicted by the grosser crime. 

4. As a help to purity of mind, whenever impure thoughts enter, immediately direct the mind upon the purest object with which you areacquainted. Flee from the special exciting cause, if there is one, andengage in some active labor or other exercise that will divert the mindinto another channel. 

5. Avoid solitude, for then it is that temptation comes, and you aremost likely to fail. Avoid equally all other causes which may lead tothe act. 

6. Strictly comply with all the rules laid down for the cultivationof chastity and the maintenance of continence. 

7. Above all, seek for grace and help from the Source of all spiritualstrength in every time of temptation, relying upon the promise, "Seek, and ye shall find. "

Hopeful Courage. --An individual who will earnestly set himself aboutthe work of purifying his mind and redeeming his body, if he willconscientiously adopt, and perseveringly apply, the remedies pointedout, _may be sure of success_. There can be no possible chance forfailure. Triumph is certain. Patience may be tried and faith tested, but unwavering trust in God and nature, and an executed determinationto do all on his part, will bring to every such one certain recovery. There may be some scars left, a few traces of the injury wrought; butthe deliverance will be none the less triumphant. Faith andperseverance will work wonders. 

General Regimen and Treatment. --After long abuse of the sexual organs, and in many cases after a short course of sin, the whole system becomesdeteriorated; digestion is impaired, the muscles are weakened, thecirculation is unbalanced, the nerves are irritable, thebrain--especially the back and lower portion of it--is congested, theskin is torpid, the bowels are inactive, the general health is derangedin almost every particular. All of these morbid conditions serve tokeep up the very difficulty which has produced and is increasing them. Any curative effort, to be effective, then, must be directed to theseas well as to local conditions; and it is pretty certainly establishedthat local remedies or applications alone will rarely accomplish anyappreciable good, at least of a permanent character. 

Many of the observations on treatment are equally applicable to bothsexes; but particular directions have been especially adapted to males, and chiefly with the cure of seminal emissions as the object in view. This remark will explain any seeming lack of completeness. 

Mental and Moral Treatment. --The greatest impediment to recovery isusually found in the mind of the patient. His hopeless despair, melancholy, sullen apathy in many cases, want of energy, and ficklenessof mind, thwart all attempts that are made for him. In other cases, the want of willpower, or neglect to exercise the will in controllingthe thoughts, completely counteracts all that can be done for him. Hemust be made to understand this well, and then all possible means mustbe employed to attract his attention from himself, from brooding overhis ills. Occupy him, interest him, or teach him to occupy and interesthimself. The enthusiastic study of some one of the natural sciencesis a most excellent auxiliary in effecting this. 

The thing of first importance is that the patient should obtain commandof his thoughts; by this means, he can do more for himself than allthe doctors can do for him. "But I cannot control my thoughts, " saysthe patient. A young man said to me, "O doctor, you don't know how Ifeel. I despise myself; I hate myself; I often feel inclined to killmyself. My mind is always full of abominable images; my thoughts runaway with me and I cannot help myself. " The tears ran down his facein streams as he told me of his slavery. He solemnly affirmed that hehad never performed the act of self-pollution but once in his life:and yet for years he had been a constant sufferer from nocturnalemissions until his manhood was nearly lost, evidently the result ofthe mental onanism which he had practiced without imagining thepossibility of harm. 

But it is not true that control of the thoughts is impossible. Thoughtsare the result of the action of the brain; and the action of the brainmay be controlled as well as the movements of a voluntary muscle. Itmay be more difficult, especially when the resolution is weakened, asit is by this vice; but so long as there are left any remnants of willand reason, control is possible. To strengthen the will must be oneof the objects of mental treatment, and exercise is the method by whichit may be accomplished. The thing for a sufferer to say, is not, "Ican't, " but, "I can and I will control my thoughts. " Suggestions whichwill aid in accomplishing this have already been given under the heading, "Cure of the Habit. "

We cannot forbear to add a word further respecting the worth of religionin aiding these sufferers. If there is any living creature who needsthe help of true religion, of faith in God, in Christ, and in theefficacy of prayer, it is one of these. If there is any poor mortalwho can not afford to be deprived of the aid of a sympathizing Saviour, it is one who has enervated his will, degraded his soul, and depravedhis body by the vile habit of self-abuse. A compassionate Redeemer willsuccor even these defiled ones, if they truly "hunger and thirst" afterpurity, and if they set about the work of reforming themselves in goodearnest, and with right motives. 

Exercise. --Physical exercise is a most powerful aid to pure thoughts. When unchaste ideas intrude, engage at once in something which willdemand energetic muscular exercise. Pursue the effort until fatigued, if necessary, making, all the while, a powerful mental effort to controlthe mind. Of course, evil thoughts will not be expelled by thinkingof them, but by displacing them by pure thoughts. Exercise aids thisgreatly. 

Exercise is also essential to balance the circulation, and thus relievecongestion of internal organs. Sedentary persons especially needsystematic exercise. No single form of exercise is so excellent aswalking. Four or five miles a day are none too many to secure a properamount of muscular exercise. Gymnastics, the "health-lift, " "Indianclubs, " "dumb-bells, " rowing, and other forms of exercise are all good;but none of them should be carried to excess. Ball-playing is likelyto be made a source of injury by exciting, in vigorous competition, too violent and spasmodic action. 

Daily exercise should be taken to the extent of fatigue. It is betterthat those who are still strong enough should have some regularemployment which will secure exercise. Those who prefer may secureexercise and recreation in the pursuit of some study that involvesnecessary physical exertion; as, botany, geology, or entomology. Thecollection of natural-history specimens is one of the most pleasantdiversions, and may be made very useful as well. 

Pleasant companionship is essential to the best progress of thesepatients, especially in their walks, as much more exercise may be takenwithout an unpleasant sense of fatigue with a cheerful companion thanwhen alone. Solitude should be avoided at all times as much as possible. 

Diet. --So much has already been said upon the relation of diet tochastity and its influence upon the sexual organs that it is unnecessaryto add many remarks here. Nothing could be more untrue than thestatement made by some authors that the nature of the diet is of noconsequence. 

The science of physiology teaches that our very thoughts are born ofwhat we eat. A man that lives on pork, fine-flour bread, rich pies andcakes, and condiments, drinks tea and coffee and uses tobacco, mightas well try to fly as to be chaste in thought. He will accomplish wondersif he remains physically chaste; but to be mentally virtuous would beimpossible for him without a miracle of grace. 

One whose thoughts have been so long trained in the filthy ruts of vicethat they run there automatically, and naturally gravitatedownward--such a one must exercise especial care to secure the mostsimple, pure, and unstimulating diet. 

The following precautions are necessary to be observed in relation todiet:--

1. _Never overeat_. If too much food is taken at one meal, fast thenext meal to give the system a chance to recover itself and to serveas a barrier against future transgressions of the same kind. Gluttonyis fatal to chastity; and overeating will be certain to cause emissions, with other evils, in one whose organs are weakened by abuse. 

2. _Eat but twice a day_, or, if supper is eaten, let it be very light, and of the most simple food, as fruit, or fruit and bread. Nothing shouldbe eaten within four or five hours of bed-time, and it is much betterto eat nothing after three o'clock. The ancients ate but two meals aday; why should moderns eat three or four? If the stomach containsundigested food, the sleep will be disturbed, dreams will be moreabundant, and emissions will be frequent. A most imperative rule oflife should be, "Never go to bed with a loaded stomach. " The violationof this rule is the great cause of horrid dreams and nightmare. 

3. _Discard all stimulating food_. Under this head must be included, spices, pepper, ginger, mustard, cinnamon, cloves, essences, allcondiments, salt, pickles, etc. , together with animal food of all kinds, not excepting fish, fowl, oysters, eggs, and milk. It is hardly to beexpected that all who have been accustomed to use these articles alltheir lives will discard them wholly at once, nor, perhaps, that manywill ever discard them entirely; but it would be better for them todo so, nevertheless. The only ones which should be tolerated under anycircumstances should be lean beef or mutton, salt in very moderatequantities, and a moderate use of milk. Use as little of these aspossible--_the less the better_. 

4. _Stimulating drinks_ should be abstained from with still greaterstrictness. Wine, beer, tea, and coffee should be taken under nocircumstances. The influence of coffee in stimulating the genitalorgans is notorious. Chocolate should be discarded also. It isrecommended by some who suppose it to be harmless, being ignorant ofthe fact that it contains a poison practically identical with that oftea and coffee. 

Hot drinks of all kinds should be avoided. 

Tobacco, another stimulant, though not a drink, should be totallyabandoned at once. 

5. In place of such articles as have been condemned, eat fruits, grains, and vegetables. There is a rich variety of these kinds of food, andthey are wholesome and unstimulating. Graham flour, oatmeal, and ripefruit are the indispensables of a dietary for those who are sufferingfrom sexual excesses. 

Further remarks upon diet, with a few useful recipes for preparinghealthful food, will be found in works devoted to the subject ofdiet. [54] The patient must carefully comply with all the rules of ahealthy diet if he would be sure of recovery. 

[Footnote 54: See "Healthful Cookery, " _Good Health_ PublishingCompany, Battle Creek, Mich. ]

Sleeping. --It is from accidents which happen during sleep that thegreat majority of sufferers complain; hence there is no littleimportance attaching to this subject. The following suggestionspresent in a very brief manner some of the more practical ideasconnected with this part of the subject:--

1. From seven to nine hours' sleep are required by all persons. Therule should be, Retire early and sleep until rested; Early rising isnot beneficial unless it has been preceded by abundant sleep. 

2. Arise immediately upon waking in the morning if it is after fouro'clock. A second nap is generally unrefreshing and is dangerous, foremissions most frequently occur at this time. 

3. If insufficient sleep is taken at night, sleep a few minutes justbefore dinner. Half an hour's rest at this time is remarkablyrefreshing; and even fifteen minutes spent in sleep will be found veryreviving. Do not sleep after dinner, as a pollution will be very likelyto occur, and, as a rule, after-dinner naps are unrefreshing andproductive of indigestion. 

4. Never go to bed with the bowels or bladder loaded. The bladder shouldbe emptied just before retiring. It is also a good plan to form thehabit of rising once or twice during the night to urinate. 

5. The position in sleeping is of some importance. Sleeping upon theback or upon the abdomen favors the occurrence of emissions; hence, it is preferable to sleep on one side. If supper has been taken, theright side is preferable, as that position will favor the passage offood from the stomach into the intestines in undergoing digestion. 

Various devices are employed, sometimes with advantage, to prevent thepatient from turning upon his back while asleep. The most simple isthat recommended by Acton, and consists in tying a knot in the middleof a towel and then fastening the towel about the body in such a waythat the knot will come upon the small of the back. The unpleasantsensations arising from pressure of the knot, if the sleeper turn uponhis back, will often serve as a complete preventive. Others fasten apiece of wood upon the back for a similar purpose. Still others practicetying one hand to the bedpost. None of these remedies should be dependedupon, but they may be tried in connection with other means of treatment. 

6. Soft beds and pillows must be carefully avoided. Feather-beds shouldnot be employed when possible to find a harder bed; the floor, witha single folded blanket beneath the sleeper, would be preferable. Softpillows heat the head, as soft beds produce heat in other parts. A hairmattress, or a bed of corn husks, oat straw, or excelsior--covered withtwo or three blankets or a quilted cotton mattress--makes a very healthyand comfortable bed. 

7. Too many covers should be avoided with equal care. The thinnestpossible covering in summer, and the lightest consistent with comfortin winter, should be the rule. Sleeping too warm is a frequent excitingcause of nocturnal losses. 

8. Thorough ventilation of the sleeping-room, both while occupied andduring the day-time, must not be neglected. It should be located ina position to admit the sunshine during the morning hours. It is a goodplan to keep in it a number of house plants, as they will help to purifythe air, besides adding to its cheerfulness. 

9. If wakeful at night, instead of lying in bed trying to go to sleep, get up at once, open the bed, air the sheets, remove the night clothingand walk about the room for a few minutes, rubbing the body brisklywith the bare hand at the same time. A tepid sponge bath, followed bya vigorous rubbing kept up until really tired, will conduce to sleepin many cases. Sometimes a change of bed, or pulling the bed to piecesand arranging it again, is just the thing needed to bring sleep. 

10. One of the most effectual panaceas for certain varieties ofsleeplessness is going to bed at peace with all the world, and witha conscience void of offense toward God as well as man. 

Dreams. --This is a subject of much interest to those suffering fromnocturnal pollutions, for these occurrences are almost alwaysconnected with dreams of a lascivious nature. 

In perfectly natural sleep, there are no dreams; consciousness isentirely suspended. In the ordinary stage of dreaming, there is apeculiar sort of consciousness, many of the faculties of the mind beingmore or less active while the power of volition is wholly dormant. Carpenter describes another stage of consciousness between that ofordinary dreaming and wakefulness, a condition "in which the dreamerhas a consciousness that he is dreaming, being aware of theunreliability of the images which present themselves before his mind. He may even make a voluntary and successful effort to prolong them ifagreeable, or to dissipate them if unpleasing; thus evincing a certaindegree of that directing power, the entire want of which ischaracteristic of the true state of dreams. "

Can Dreams Be Controlled?--Facts prove that they can be, and to aremarkable extent. A large share of emissions occur in the statedescribed by Dr. Carpenter, in which a certain amount of control bythe will is possible. This is the usual condition of the mind duringmorning naps; and if a person resolutely determines to combat unchastethoughts whenever they come to him, whether asleep or awake, he willfind it possible to control himself not only during this semi-consciousstate, but even during more profound sleep. 

The following case, related by an eminent London surgeon, [55]illustrates what may be done by strong resolution; the patient was anItalian gentleman of very great respectability. 

[Footnote 55: Acton. ]

"He had been inconvenienced five years before with frequent emissions, which totally unnerved him. He determined resolutely that the veryinstant the image of a woman or any libidinous idea presented itselfto his imagination, _he would wake_; and to insure his doing so, dweltin his thoughts on his resolution for a long time before going to sleep. The remedy, applied by a vigorous will, had the most happy results. The idea, the remembrance of its being a _danger_, and the determinationto wake, closely united the evening before, were never dissociated evenin sleep, and he awoke in time; and this reiterated precaution, repeatedduring some evenings, absolutely cured the complaint. "

Several other cases of the same kind have been recorded. Doubtless theplan would be found successful in many cases when coupled with a properregimen. 

A still greater control is exerted over the thoughts during sleep bytheir character during hours of wakefulness. By controlling the mindduring entire consciousness, it will also be controlled duringunconsciousness or semi-consciousness. 

Dr. Acton makes the following very appropriate remarks on thissubject:--

"Patients will tell you that they _cannot_ control their dreams. Thisis not true. Those who have studied the connection between thoughtsduring waking hours and dreams during sleep know that they are closelyconnected. The _character_ is the same sleeping or waking. It is notsurprising that, if a man has allowed his thoughts during the day torest upon libidinous subjects, he should find his mind at night fullof lascivious dreams--the one is a consequence of the other, and thenocturnal pollution is a natural consequence, particularly whendiurnal indulgence has produced an irritability of the generativeorgans. A will which in our waking hours we have not exercised inrepressing sexual desires, will not, when we fall asleep, preserve usfrom carrying the sleeping echo of our waking thought farther than wedared to do in the day-time. "

Bathing. --A daily bath is indispensable to health under almost allcircumstances; for patients of this class, it is especially necessary. A general bath should be taken every morning immediately upon rising. General _cold bathing_ is not good for any person, especially in themorning, though some may tolerate it remarkably well, being ofexceptionally hardy constitutions; but the advice to try "cold bathing"often given to sufferers from seminal weakness, is very pernicious, for most of them have been reduced so low in vitality by their diseasethat they cannot endure such violent treatment. 

Sun baths, electric baths, spray, plunge, and other forms of bath, areof greatest value to those suffering from the effects of indiscretions. These are described, with additional observations concerningtemperature of baths, etc. , etc. , in works devoted to this subject. 

Improvement of General Health. --Patients suffering from emissions andother forms of seminal weakness are almost always dyspeptic, and mostof them present other constitutional affections which require carefuland thorough treatment according to the particular indications of thecase. The wise physician will not neglect these if he desires to curehis patient and make his recovery as complete as possible. 

Prostitution as a Remedy. --Said a leading physician in New York to uswhen interrogated as to his special treatment of spermatorrhoea, "Whena young man comes to me suffering from nocturnal emissions, I give himtonics and _send him to a woman_. " That this is not an unusual methodof treatment, even among regular physicians, is a fact as true as itis deplorable. There are hundreds of young men whose morals have beenruined by such advice. Having been educated to virtuous habits, at leastso far as illicit intercourse is concerned, they resist all temptationsin this direction, even though their inclinations are very strong; butwhen advised by a physician to commit fornication as a remedial measure, they yield their virtue, far too readily sometimes, and begin a lifeof sin from which they might have been prevented. There are good groundsfor believing that many young men purposely seek advice from physicianswhom they know are in the habit of prescribing this kind of remedy. 

Few know how commonly this course is recommended, and not by quacks, but by members of the regular profession. A medical friend informedus that he knew a case in which a country physician advised a youngman of continent habits to go to a neighboring large city and spenda year or so with prostitutes, which advice he followed. Of hissubsequent history we know nothing; but it is most probable that, likemost other young men who adopt this remedy, he soon contracted diseaseswhich rendered his condition ten times worse than at first, withoutat all improving his former state. In pursuing this course, one formof emission is only substituted for another, at the best; but more thanthis, an involuntary result of disease is converted into a voluntarysin of the blackest character, a crime in which two participate, andwhich is not only an outrage upon nature, but against morality as well. 

A final argument against this course is that it is not a remedy anddoes not effect a cure of the evil, as will be shown by the followingmedical testimonies:--

"The vexed question of connection is one which may be decided out ofhand. .. . _It has no power of curing bad spermatorrhoea_; it may causea diminution in the number of emissions, but this is only a delusion;the semen is still thrown off; the frame still continues to beexhausted; the genital organs and nervous system generally are stillharassed by the incessant tax, and the patient is all the while layingthe foundation of impotence. "[56]

[Footnote 56: Milton. ]

"In all solemn earnestness I protest against such false treatment. Itis better for a youth to live a continent life. " "There is a terriblesignificance in the wise man's words, 'None that go to her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. '"[57] This hazardous andimmoral mode of treatment is the result of the common opinion thatemissions are necessary and natural, which we have previously shownto be a falsity. 

[Footnote 57: Acton. ]

Marriage. --Another class of practitioners, with more apparent regardfor morality, recommend matrimony as the sure panacea for all the illsof which the sufferers from self-abuse complain, with the possibleexception of actual impotence. Against this course several objectionsmay be urged; we offer the following:--

1. It is not a remedy, since, as in the case of illicit intercourse, "legalized prostitution" is only a substitution of one form ofemissions for another, the ill effects of which do not differappreciably. 

2. If it were a remedy, it would not be a justifiable one, for its usewould necessitate an abuse of the marriage relation, as elsewhereshown. 

3. As another reason why the remedy would not be a _proper_, even ifa _good_, one, it may well be asked, What right has a man to treat awife as a vial of medicine? Well does Mr. Acton inquire, "What has theyoung girl, who is thus sacrificed to an egotistical calculation, donethat she should be condemned to the existence that awaits her? Who hasthe right to regard her as a therapeutic agent, and to risk thus lightlyher future prospects, her repose, and the happiness of the remainderof her life?"

In cases in which seminal emissions occur frequently, the most reliablewriters upon this subject, Copland, Acton, Milton, and others, advise, with reference to marriage, "that the complaint should be removedbefore the married life is commenced. " Independent of theconsiderations already presented, the individual affected in thismanner and contemplating marriage should carefully consider thepossible and probable effects upon offspring, the legitimate resultof marriage; these have been already described, and need not berecapitulated. 

Local Treatment. --While it is true that general treatment alone isoccasionally successful in curing the diseases under consideration, and that local treatment alone is very rarely efficient, it is alsotrue that in many cases skillful local treatment is required tosupplement the general remedies employed. While there has been atendency on the part of the profession generally to depend wholly upongeneral treatment, on the part of a less numerous body of specialiststhere has been an opposite tendency to depend wholly, or nearly so, upon local measures. Both extremes are evidently wrong. 

The object of local treatment for the relief of emissions, especially, is to remove the local cause of irritation, which, as previously shown, is one of the most active exciting causes of seminal losses. To effectthis, both internal and external applications are useful. We will nowconsider some of these agents. 

_Cool Sitz Bath_. --The cool or cold sitz bath is one of the mostefficacious of all remedies. It should be taken daily, and may oftenbe repeated, with benefit, several times a day. Its effect is to relievethe local congestion, and thus allay the irritability of the affectedparts. When but one bath is taken daily, it should be just beforeretiring at night. Full directions for this and other baths are givenin works devoted to the subject of bathing. 

_Ascending Douche_. --This is also a very useful means of allayingirritation, especially the reflex excitability which is often presentin the muscles in the vicinity of the perineum and prostate gland, andwhen there is pain and fullness in these parts. 

_Abdominal Bandage_. --This may be worn nights to very great advantageby most patients. It not only allays the irritability of the nervecenters which are closely connected with the genital apparatus, butserves to keep the bowels in a healthy condition. It should not beapplied so continuously as to produce a very profuse eruption on theskin. If such a symptom should appear, discontinue the bandage for atime. When worn during the day-time, it should be changed once in threeor four hours. It is generally best to wear it only nights. 

_Wet Compress_. --This is an application to be made to the lower partof the spine for the purpose of allaying the excessive heat andirritation which often exist there. It may also be worn nights, as itin some degree prevents the danger arising from sleeping upon the back. 

_Hot and Cold Applications to the Spine_. --These are powerful remediesunder appropriate conditions. Hot applications relieve congestion ofthe genital organs and allay irritation. Cold applications are usefulwhen a condition of debility and relaxation is present. Alternateapplications of heat and cold are very valuable, when skillfullyapplied, as a means of allaying reflex excitability and promotinghealthy action. These applications are especially useful in cases inwhich there is heat and pain in the lower portion of the back. Theireffects are greatly enhanced by administering a foot or leg bath atthe same time. 

_Local Fomentations_. --When great local irritation exists, withconsiderable pain and spasmodic muscular action, the application ofhot fomentations to the perineum will be found the most effectual meansof giving relief. The hot douche and hot sitz bath are useful underthe same circumstances. 

In some cases, alternate hot and cold applications are more effectualin allaying local irritation than hot fomentations alone. 

_Local Cold Bathing_. --The genital organs should be daily bathed incold water just before retiring. Simply dashing water upon the partsfor two or three minutes is insufficient; more prolonged bathing isnecessary. A short application of cold occasions a strong and suddenreaction which increases local congestion; hence, the bath should becontinued until the sedative effect is fully produced, which willrequire at least fifteen minutes. The water must be cold; about 60degrees is the best temperature. Ice should be used to cool the waterin warm weather. It should be applied thoroughly, being squeezed froma sponge upon the lower part of the abdomen and allowed to run down. 

_Enemata_. --The use of the enema is an important means of aidingrecovery, but it has been much abused, and must be employed with caution. When the bowels are very costive, relieve them before retiring by acopious injection of tepid water. The "fountain syringe" is the bestinstrument to employ. 

Useful as is the syringe when needed, nothing could be much worse thanbecoming dependent upon it. The bowels must be made to act forthemselves without such artificial assistance, by the use of properfood, especially graham flour and oatmeal, and the avoidance of hotdrinks, milk, sugar, and other clogging and constipating articles; bywearing the abdominal bandage; by thorough kneading and percussion ofthe abdomen several times daily for five minutes at a time; by takingone or two glasses of cold water half an hour before breakfast everymorning; and by plenty of muscular exercise daily. The enema shouldbe used occasionally, however, rather than allow the bowels to continuecostive, and to avoid severe straining at stool. 

A small, cold enema taken just before retiring, and retained, will oftendo much to allay local irritation. 

_Electricity_. --Probably no single agent will accomplish more thanthis remedy when skillfully applied. It needs to be carefully used, and cannot be trusted in the hands of those not acquainted with thephysical properties of the remedy and scientific methods of applyingit. 

_Internal Applications_. --Complete and rapid success greatly dependsupon skillful internal treatment, in a large number of cases. We areaware that there is considerable prejudice, in certain quarters, against internal treatment; but having had the opportunity of observingthe effects of careful treatment applied in this way, and having putto the test of practical experience this method, we feel justified inrecommending that which is approved on both theoretical and practicalgrounds; for it is rational to suppose that proper treatment applieddirectly to the seat of disease must be at least equally efficaciouswith methods less direct. 

As heretofore explained, in the more severe cases the urethra is foundin a very irritable condition. It is hyper-sensitive, especially inthat portion just in front of the bladder, where the ejaculatory ductsopen into it. We have also seen how this condition is one of the chiefexciting causes of emissions. The remedies described for allaying thisirritation are all excellent and indispensable; but there is anothermethod of great value. This consists in the passage of a suitableinstrument, a sound or bougie of proper size, two or three times a week. By the aid of this means, the abnormal irritation will often diminishwith magical rapidity. The passage of the instrument of course needsto be done with great delicacy, so as to avoid increasing theirritation; hence it should not be attempted by a novice. Lack of skillin catheterism is doubtless the reason why some have seemed to produceinjury rather than benefit by this method of treatment, they notrecognizing the fact asserted by Prof. Gross in his treatise on surgery, that skillful catheterism is one of the most delicate operations insurgery. 

_Use of Electricity_. --The use of electricity in connection with thatof the sound adds greatly to its utility. By means of the metallicinstrument, also, electricity may be applied directly to the point ofgreatest irritation; and its soothing effect is sometimes reallywonderful, as the following case will show:--

The patient, a man of unusual physical development, was suffering fromnocturnal emissions and diminished sexual power, the result of earlyindiscretions and marital excesses. One of his most unpleasant symptomswas severe pain in the portion of the urethra near the openings of theejaculatory ducts. After he had been suffering more than usual for afew days, we applied the faradaic electric current in the mannerindicated above, for about fifteen minutes. At the end of that timethe pain was entirely removed, though considerable suffering had beencaused by the passage of the instrument, so sensitive was the congestedmembrane. The pain did not return again for two or three weeks, thoughtreatment was necessarily suspended on account of absence. 

In another case, that of a young man, a student, at the beginning oftreatment emissions occurred nightly, and sometimes as many as fourin a single night, according to his statement, which we had no reasonto doubt. Under the influence of these local applications, combinedwith other measures of treatment and a measurably correct regimen, thenumber of emissions was in a few weeks reduced to one in two or threeweeks. 

Numerous other cases nearly as remarkable might be detailed if it werenecessary to do so. In quite a considerable number of cases in whichwe have employed this plan of treatment, the results have been uniformlyexcellent. A very slight increase of irritation sometimes occurs atfirst, but this quickly subsides. 

The galvanic as well as the faradaic current is to be used under propercircumstances. The application of electricity to the nerve centers bymeans of central galvanization, and also general and local externalfaradization, are necessary methods to be employed in electricaltreatment. 

_Circumcision_. --In cases of phimosis, in which irritation is producedby retained secretions, division of the prepuce, or circumcision, isthe proper remedy. These cases are not infrequent, but the excitingcause of much of the difficulty is often overlooked. The same remedyis often useful in cases of long prepuce. 

When the glans penis is unusually tender and sensitive, this conditionwill usually be removed by the daily washing with soap and waternecessary for cleanliness. If this does not suffice, or if there areslight excoriations caused by acrid secretions, apply, in addition, a weak solution of tannin in glycerine once a day. 

_Impotence_. --Loss of sexual power arising from any form of sexualexcess, should be treated on the same general plan laid down for thetreatment of emissions and other weaknesses. Cold to the spine, andshort, but frequent, local cold applications, are among the most usefulremedies; but, probably, electricity, discreetly used, is by far themost valuable of all remedies. It should be applied both internallyand externally. 

The use of cantharides and other aphrodisiac remedies to stimulate thesexual organs is a most pernicious practice. The inevitable result isstill greater weakness. They should never be used under anycircumstances whatever. On the contrary, everything of a stimulatingcharacter must be carefully avoided, even in diet. 

_Varicocele_. --Patients suffering from this difficulty should wear aproper suspensory bag, as the continued pressure of the distended veinsupon the testes, if unsupported, will ultimately cause degenerativechanges and atrophy. A surgical operation, consisting of the removalof a portion of the skin of the scrotum, is proper if the patient desiresan operation; no other operation is advisable. 

The wearing of a suspensory bag is also advisable for those whosetesticles are unusually pendulous. 

Drugs, Rings, etc. --If drugs, _per se_, will cure invalids of any class, they are certainly worthless in this class of patients. The wholemateria medica affords no root, herb, extract, or compound that alonewill cure a person suffering from emissions. Thousands of unfortunateshave been ruined by long-continued drugging. One physician will purgeand salivate the patient. Another will dose him with phosphorus, quinine, or ergot. Another feeds him with iron. Another plies him withlupuline, camphor, and digitaline. Still another narcotizes him withopium, belladonna, and chloral. Purgatives and diuretics are given byanother, and some will be found ready to empty the whole pharmacopoeiainto the poor sufferer's stomach if he can be got to open his mouthwide enough. 

The way that some of these poor fellows are blistered, and burned, andcauterized, and tortured in sundry other ways, is almost too horribleto think of; yet they endure it, often willingly, thinking it but justpunishment for their sins, and perhaps hoping to expiate them by thiscruel penance. By these procedures, the emissions are sometimestemporarily checked, but the patient is not cured, nevertheless, andthe malady soon returns. 

The employment of rings, pessaries, and numerous other mechanicaldevices for preventing emissions, is entirely futile. No dependencecan be placed upon them. Some of these contrivances are very ingenious, but they are all worthless, and time and money spent upon them are thrownaway. 

Quacks. --The victims of self-abuse fall an easy prey to the hordes ofharpies, fiends in human shape, who are ready at every turn to makecapital out of their misfortunes. From no other class of persons doquacks and charlatans derive so rich a harvest as from these erringones. It is not uncommon to find a man suffering from seminal weaknesswho has paid to sundry parties hundreds of dollars for "specifics" whichthey advertised as "sure cures. " We have seen and treated scores ofthese patients, but never yet met a single case that had receivedbenefit from patent medicines. 

The newspapers are full of the advertisements of these heartlessvillains. They advertise under the guise of "clergymen, " charitableinstitutions, "cured invalids, " and similar pretenses. Usually theyoffer for sale some pill or mixture which will be a _sure cure_, inproof of which they cite the testimonials of numerous individuals whonever lived, or, at least, never saw either them or their filthycompounds; or, they promise to send free a recipe which will be a certaincure. Here is a specimen recipe which was sent by a "reverend" gentlemanwho claims to be a returned missionary from South America so intenton doing good that he charges nothing for his invaluable information:--

 Extract of Corrossa apimis, " " Selarmo umbelifera, Powdered Alkermes latifolia, Extract of Carsadoc herbalis. 

This remarkable recipe is warranted to cure all the evils arising fromself-abuse, with no attention to diet and no inconvenience of any kind, to prevent consumption and insanity, and to cure venereal diseases. It is also declared to be a perfectly "_safe_" remedy for all femaledifficulties, which means that it will aid nefarious purposes. 

Along with the recipe comes the suggestion that the druggist may notbe able to furnish all the ingredients in a perfectly pure state, andso, for the accommodation of suffering humanity, this noblephilanthropist has taken infinite pains to secure them direct fromSouth America, and has them put up in neat little packages which hewill send, post-paid, for the trifle of $3. 50, just one cent _less_than actual cost. Then he tells what purports to be the history of hisown nastiness, with a generous spicing of pious cant, and closes witha benediction on all who have fallen into the same slough, andespecially those who will send for his fabulous foreign weeds to helpthem out. 

A young man sees the advertisement of a book which will be sent free, postage paid, if he will only send his address. The title of the bookbeing of some such character as "Manhood Regained, " or "NervousDebility, " he imagines it may suit his case, and sends his name. Returnmail brings the book, which is a wretched jargon of confused terms andappalling descriptions of the effects of self-abuse, with the mostshameful exaggerations of the significance of the most trivial symptoms. The ignorant youth reads what he supposes to be a description of hisown case, and is frightened nearly to death. He is most happily relieved, however, to find that the generous publishers of the book have a remedywhich is just adapted to his case, but which is so precious that itcannot be afforded at less than $50. 00 for a sufficient quantity toeffect a cure. He willingly parts with his hard-earned dollars, andgets, in return, some filthy mixture that did not cost a shilling. 

Another trap set is called an "Anatomical Museum. " The anatomical partof the exhibition consists chiefly of models and figures calculatedto excite the passions to the highest pitch. At stated intervals theproprietor, who is always a "doctor, " and by preference a German, delivers lectures on the effects of masturbation, in which he resortsto every device to excite the fears and exaggerate the symptoms of hishearers, who are mostly young men and boys. Thus he prepares his victim, and when he once gets him within his clutches, he does not let him gountil he has robbed him of his last dollar. 

We might present almost any number of illustrations of the ways in whichthese human sharks pursue their villainy. If there were a dungeon deep, dark, and dismal enough for the punishment of such rascals, we shouldfeel strongly inclined to petition to have them incarcerated in it. They defy all laws, civil as well as moral, but are cunning enough tokeep outside of prison bars; and thus they wax rich by robbery, andthrive by deceit. A terrible recompense awaits them at the finalsettlement, though they escape so easily now. 

Closing Advice. --We cannot finish this chapter without a few closingwords of advice to those who are suffering in any way from the resultsof sexual transgression. We are especially anxious to call attentionto a few points of practical and vital interest to all who are sufferingin the manner indicated. 

1. Give the matter prompt attention. Do not delay to adopt curativemeasures under the delusive idea that the difficulty will disappearof itself. Thousands have procrastinated in this way until theirconstitutions have been so hopelessly undermined as to make treatmentof little value. The intrinsic tendency of this disease is to continueto increase. It progresses only in one direction. It never "gets wellof itself, " as some have imagined that it may do. Something must bedone to effect a cure; and the longer treatment is delayed, the moredifficult the case will become. 

2. Set about the work of getting well with a fixed determination topersevere, and never to give over the struggle until success is attained, no matter how difficult may be the obstacles to be surmounted. Suchan effort will rarely be unsuccessful. One of the greatest impedimentsto recovery from diseases of this class is the vacillating dispositionsof nearly all patients suffering from disorders of this character. Makeup your mind what course of treatment to pursue, then adhere to itrigidly until it has received a thorough trial. Do not despair if novery marked results are seen in a week, a month, or even a longer period. The best remedies are among those which operate the most slowly. 

3. Avoid watching for symptoms. Ills are greatly exaggerated bydwelling upon them. One can easily imagine himself getting worse whenhe is really getting better. Indeed, one can make himself sick bydwelling upon insignificant symptoms. Fix upon a course to pursue forrecovery, firmly resolve to comply with every requirement necessaryto insure success, and then let the mind be entirely at rest respectingthe result. 

4. Never consult a quack. The newspapers abound with lyingadvertisements of remedies for diseases of this character. Do not wastetime and money in corresponding with the ignorant, unprincipledcharlatans who make such false pretensions. Do not consult travelingdoctors. Physicians of real merit have plenty of business at home. Theyare not obliged to go abroad in order to secure practice. Persons whoresort to this course are, without exception, pretentious quacks. Consult only some well-known and reliable physician in whom you haveconfidence. If your physician treats the matter lightly, and advisesmarriage as a means of cure, you will not judge him harshly if you decidethat although he may be thoroughly competent to treat other diseases, he is ignorant of the nature and proper treatment of this. It is anunfortunate fact that there are many physicians who are not thoroughlyacquainted with the nature of spermatorrhoea and the proper mode oftreating the disease; hence the importance of making a judiciousselection in choosing a medical adviser. If possible, employ one whomyou know to have treated successfully numerous similar cases, and givehim your entire confidence. It is far better to consult your familyphysician than to trust yourself in the hands of some one whom you donot know, and especially one who makes great pretensions to knowledge. 

5. Do not despair of ever recovering from the effects of pasttransgression, and plunge into greater depths of sin. Persevering, skillful treatment will cure almost every case. Even the worst casescan be greatly benefited if the earnest co-operation of the patientcan be secured. This is indispensable, and the patient should be soinstructed at the outset of a course of treatment. 

6. Every sufferer from sexual disease must make up his mind to live, during the remainder of his life, as closely in accord with the lawsof life and health as circumstances under his control will allow himto do. One who pursues this course, with a genuine regard for principleand a love for right, may confidently expect to receive the reward ofobedience for his faithfulness. We would recommend such to obtain andstudy the best works upon hygiene, put in practice every new truth assoon as learned, and become missionaries of the saving truths of hygieneto others who are suffering from the same cause as themselves, or whomay be in danger of falling into the same evil. 

A CHAPTER FOR BOYS. 

Boys, this chapter is for you. It is written and printed purposely foryou. If you do not read another word in the book, read these few pagesif you are old enough to do so. Read each line carefully and thoughtfully. You may not find anything to make you laugh--possibly you may: but youwill be certain to find something of almost inestimable value to youin every line. 

Who are Boys?--Boys are scarce now-a-days. In the days of Methuselah, male human beings were still boys when nearly a century old; twenty-fiveyears ago boys were still such until well out of their "teens"; nowthe interval between infancy and the age at which the boy becomes ayoung man is so brief that boyhood is almost a thing of the past. Thehappy period of care-free, joyous innocence which formerly intervenedbetween childhood and early manhood is now almost unobservable. Boysgrow old too fast. They learn to imitate the vices and the manners oftheir seniors before they reach their teens, and are impatient to becounted as men, no matter how great may be their deficiencies, theirunfitness for the important duties and responsibilities of life. Theconsequence of this inordinate haste and impatience to be old, ispremature decay. Unfortunately the general tendency of the youngmembers of the rising generation is to copy the vices of their elders, rather than the virtues of true manliness. A strong evidence of thisfact, if there were no other, is the unnaturally old-looking faces whichso many of our boys present. At the present time the average boy oftwelve knows more of vice and sin than the youth of twenty of the pastgeneration. 

It is not so much for these human mushrooms, which may be not inaptlycompared to toadstools which grow up in a single night and almost asspeedily decay, that we write, but for the old-fashioned boys, the fewsuch there may be, those who have not yet learned to love sin, thosewhose minds are still pure and uncontaminated. Those who have alreadybegun a course of vice and wickedness we have little hope of reforming;but we are anxious to offer a few words of counsel and warning whichmay possibly help to save as brands plucked from a blazing fire, thosewhose moral sense is yet alive, who have quick and tender consciences, who aspire to be truly noble and good. 

What are Boys for?--This question was answered with exact truthfulnessby a little boy, who, when contemptuously accosted by a man with theremark, "What are you good for?" replied, "Men are made of such as we. "Boys are the beginnings of men. They sustain the same relation to menthat the buds do to full-blown flowers. They are still more like thesmall green apples which first appear when the blossoms drop from thebranches, compared with the ripe, luscious fruit which in autumn bendsthe heavy-laden boughs almost to breaking. Often, like the young apples, boys are green; but this is only natural, and should be considered nodisgrace to the boys. If they grow up naturally they will ripen withage, like the fruit, developing at each successive stage of lifeadditional attractions and excellent qualities. 

Boys the Hope of the World. --A nation's most valuable property is itsboys. A nation which has poor, weakly, vicious boys will have stillweaker, more vicious and untrustworthy men. A country with noble, virtuous, vigorous boys, is equally sure of having noble, pious, brave, and energetic men. Whatever debases, contaminates, or in any wayinjures the boys of a country, saps and undermines the very foundationof the nation's strength and greatness. Save the boys from vice andcrime, give them good training, physically, mentally, and morally, andthe prosperity of the nation is assured. 

Man the Masterpiece. --When a skillful artist perfects a work of art, a painting, a drawing, a statue, or some other work requiring greattalent and exceeding all his other efforts, it is called his masterpiece. So man is the noblest work of God, the masterpiece of the Almighty. Numerous anecdotes are told of the sagacity of dogs, horses, elephantsand other animals, of their intelligence and ingenious devices inovercoming obstacles, avoiding difficulties, etc. Our admiration andwonder are often excited by the scarcely less than human wisdom shownby these lowly brothers of the human race. We call them noble animals;but they are only noble brutes, at best. Compared with man, even inhis most humble form, as seen in the wild savage that hunts and devourshis prey like a wild beast, a lion or a tiger, they are immeasurablyinferior. And in his highest development, man civilized, cultivated, Christianized, learned, generous, pious, certainly stands at the headof all created things. 

Boys, do you love what is noble, what is pure, what is grand, what isgood? You may each, if you will, become such yourselves. Let us considerfor a moment

How a Noble Character is Ruined. --A noble character is formed by thedevelopment of the good qualities of an individual. A bad characteris formed by the development of bad traits, or evil propensities. Inother words, sin is the cause of the demoralization of character, thedebasing of the mind, the loss of nobility of which we see so much aroundus in the world. Sin is the transgression of some law. There are twokinds of sins: those which are transgressions of the moral law, andthose which are transgressions of physical laws. Both classes of sinsare followed by penalties. If a person violates the laws of health, he is just as certain to suffer as though he tells a falsehood, steals, murders, or commits any other crime. Perfect obedience to all ofnature's laws, including of course all moral laws, is necessary toperfect health and perfect nobleness of character. The nature of theselaws and the results of transgression will be understood after we havetaken a hasty glance at

The Marvelous Human Machine which we call the body. All the inventionsand devices ever constructed by the human hand or conceived by the humanmind, no matter how delicate, how intricate and complicated, are simple, childish toys compared with that most marvelously wrought mechanism, the human body. Let us proceed to take this wonderful machine in piecesand study its various parts and the manner in which they are puttogether. 

The Two Objects of Human Existence. --The objects of this wonderfullyformed mechanism are two: 1. The maintenance of an individual life;2. The production of similar individuals which shall also have the powerof maintaining individual lives. The same may be said of every plantthat grows, and every animal. Each tree, plant, and shrub has someuseful service to perform while it lives, in addition to the productionof seed from which other plants may grow. For example, the object ofthe majestic oak which towers high and broadly spreads its leafybranches is not to produce acorns merely, but to give place for birdsto build their nests, to present an inviting shade for cattle, and toafford protection in a variety of ways to numerous living creatureswhich need such aid. The same may be said of all vegetable growths, each particular plant having its peculiar purposes to fulfill, and alltogether acting as purifiers of the air for the benefit of man and loweranimals. 

The principle is equally true as applied to lower animals, as isevidenced by the numerous ways in which domestic animals are utilized. Indeed, it seems that the prime purpose of life, not only with all lowlyliving creatures, as plants and animals, but with man as well, is tolive and act as individuals. But the important function of reproduction, or producing other similar individuals, though incidental, isnecessary to the perpetuation of the race or species. 

In order that an individual human being may live and develop, it isnecessary that he should eat, drink, digest, and assimilate, and thathe should be able to move about, to perceive, --that is, to hear, see, feel, smell, taste, determine weight and distinguish temperature, --tothink, and to express ideas in language. In order to keep his vitalmachinery in order, it is necessary that the body should also be ableto repair injuries which may occur in consequence of wear or accident, and to remove out of the way wornout material which would otherwiseobstruct the working of the delicate machinery of which his body isconstructed. Each of these functions requires special organs andapparatuses to carry on the work; and these we will now brieflyconsider:--

The Nutritive Apparatus. --This consists of organs for the purpose oftaking in food or nourishment, digesting it, and distributing itthroughout the body wherever it is needed. These are chiefly the mouthand teeth for receiving and chewing the food, the stomach and intestinesfor digesting and absorbing it, and the heart and blood-vessels fordistributing it to the body. 

The Moving Apparatus. --For the purpose of producing motion, we havethe muscles and the bones, by which the food is received, masticated, and swallowed, the blood circulated, the body moved about from placeto place, and speech, expression, respiration, and many other importantfunctions performed. 

The Thinking and Feeling Apparatus. --The brain and nerves afford themeans of thinking and feeling, also giving rise to all the activitiesof the body by the production of nerve force. To aid the brain and nerves, we have special organs provided, termed the organs of special sense;as the eye for sight, the ear for hearing, the nose for the detectionof odors, the tongue for tasting, the skin and the mucous membrane forthe sense of touch. 

The Purifying Apparatus. --Waste matter accumulates in the body sorapidly that it is necessary to have abundant and efficient means toremove the same, and prevent death by obstruction. This work isperformed by the lungs, liver, kidneys, skin, and mucous membrane. 

Each organ and tissue possesses the power to repair itself. Animal heat, which is also necessary to life, is not produced by any special setof organs, but results incidentally from the various other processesnamed. 

The Reproductive Apparatus. --As there is a stomach to digest, a brainto think, a pair of lungs to breathe, etc. , so there are special organsfor reproducing the species or producing new individuals. These organshave been carefully described in the preceding portion of this volume, so that we do not need to repeat the description here. Unlike all theother organs of the body, they are intended for use only after fulldevelopment or manhood has been attained; consequently, they are onlypartially developed in childhood, becoming perfected as the personbecomes older, especially after about the age of fourteen to eighteen, when puberty occurs. The lungs, the stomach, the muscles, and otherorgans must be used constantly from the earliest period of infancy, hence they are developed sufficiently for efficient use at birth. Thefact that the sexual or reproductive organs are only fully developedlater on in life, is sufficient evidence that they are intended foruse only when the body has become fully mature and well developed. 

How a Noble Character and a Sound Body Must Be Formed. --By obeying allthe laws which relate to the healthy action of the body and the mind, a noble character and a healthy body may be formed. Any deviation fromright will be sure to be followed by suffering. A boy who carefullyheeds the advice of good and wise parents, who avoids bad company, whonever indulges in bad habits of any sort, who cultivates purity, honesty, and manliness, is certain to grow up into a noble, lovely youth, andto become an intelligent, respected, virtuous man. 

The Down-Hill Road. --In every large city, and in small ones too, evenin little villages, we can scarcely step upon the street without beingpained at meeting little boys who have perhaps scarcely learned to speakdistinctly, but whose faces show very plainly that they have alreadytaken several steps down the steep hillside of vice. All degrees ofwickedness are pictured on the faces of a large proportion of the boyswe meet upon the streets, loitering about the corners, loafing in hotels, groceries, and about bar-room doors. Everywhere we meet small facesupon which sin and vice are as clearly written as though the words wereactually spelled out. Lying, swearing, smoking, petty stealing, andbrazen impudence are among the vices which contaminate thousands andthousands of the boys who are by-and-by to become the _men_ of thiscountry, to constitute its legislators, its educators, its supporters, and its protectors. Is it possible that such boys can become good, useful, noble, trustworthy men? Scarcely. If the seeds of noxious weedscan be made to produce useful plants or beautiful flowers, or if a barren, worthless shrub can be made to bear luscious fruit, then may we expectto see these vicious boys grow up into virtuous, useful men. 

But the vices mentioned are not the worst, the traces of which we seestamped upon the faces of hundreds of boys, some of whom, too, wouldscorn to commit any one of the sins named. There is another vice, stillmore terrible, more blighting in its effects, a vice which defiles, diseases, and destroys the body, enervates, degrades, and finallydethrones the mind, debases and ruins the soul. It is to this vice thatwe wish especially to call attention. It is known as

Self-Abuse. --Secret vice, masturbation, and self-pollution are othernames applied to this same awful sin against nature and against God. We shall not explain here the exact nature of the sin, as very few boysare so ignorant or so innocent as to be unacquainted with it. To thissin and its awful consequences we now wish to call the attention ofall who may read these lines. 

A Dreadful Sin. --The sin of self-pollution is one of the vilest, thebasest, and the most degrading that a human being can commit. It isworse than beastly. Those who commit it place themselves far below themeanest brute that breathes. The most loathsome reptile, rolling inthe slush and slime of its stagnant pool, would not bemean itself thus. It is true that monkeys sometimes have the habit, but only when theyhave been taught it by vile men or boys. A boy who is thus guilty oughtto be ashamed to look into the eyes of an honest dog. Such a boy naturallyshuns the company of those who are pure and innocent. He cannot lookwith assurance into his mother's face. It is difficult for any one tocatch his eye, even for a few seconds. He feels his guilt and acts itout, thus making it known to every one. Let such a boy think how hemust appear in the eyes of the Almighty. Let him only think of the angels, pure, innocent, and holy, who are eye-witnesses of his shamefulpractices. Is not the thought appalling? Would he dare commit such asin in the presence of his father, his mother, or his sisters? No, indeed. How, then, will he dare to defile himself in the presence of Him fromwhose all-seeing eye nothing is hid?

The Bible utters the most solemn warnings against sexual sins. Theinhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and brimstonefor such transgressions. Onan was struck dead in the act of committinga vileness of this sort. For similar vices the wicked inhabitants ofPalestine were destroyed, and their lands given to the Hebrews. Fora single violation of the seventh commandment, one of the most notableBible characters, David, suffered to the day of his death. Those whoimagine that this sin is not a transgression of the seventh commandmentmay be assured that this most heinous, revolting, and unnatural viceis in every respect more pernicious, more debasing, and more immoralthan what is generally considered as violation of the commandment whichsays, "Thou shalt not commit adultery, " and is itself a most flagrantviolation of the same commandment. 

Those who imagine that they "have a right to do as they please withthemselves, " so long as no one else is immediately affected, must learnthat we are not our own masters; we belong to our Creator, and areaccountable to God not only for the manner in which we treat ourfellow-men, but for how we treat ourselves, for the manner in whichwe use the bodies which he has given us. The man who commits suicide, who takes his own life, is a murderer as much as he who kills afellow-man. So, also, he who pollutes himself in the manner we areconsidering, violates the seventh commandment, although the crime is inboth cases committed against himself. Think of this, ye youth who defileyourselves in secret and seek to escape the punishment of sin. In Heavena faithful record of your vile commandment-breaking is kept, and youmust meet it by-and-by. You are fixing your fate for eternity; and eachdaily act in some degree determines what it shall be. Are you a victimof this fascinating vice, stop, repent, reform, before you are foreverruined, a mental, moral, and physical wreck. 

Self-Murderers. --Of all the vices to which human beings are addicted, no other so rapidly undermines the constitution and so certainly makesa complete wreck of an individual as this, especially when the habitis begun at an early age. It wastes the most precious part of the blood, uses up the vital forces, and finally leaves the poor victim a mostutterly ruined and loathsome object. If a boy should be deprived ofboth hands and feet and should lose his eyesight, he would still beinfinitely better off than the boy who for years gives himself up tothe gratification of lust in secret vice. For such a boy to become astrong, vigorous man is just as impossible as it would be to make amammoth tree out of a currant bush. Such a man will necessarily beshort-lived. He will always suffer from the effects of his folly, eventhough he shall marry. If he has children--he may becomeincapable--they will be quite certain to be puny, weak, scrofulous, consumptive, rickety, nervous, depraved in body and mind, or otherwisedeprived of the happiness which grows out of the possession of "a soundmind in a sound body. "

Let us notice a little more closely the terrible effects resulting fromthis most unnatural and abominable vice. 

What Makes Boys Dwarfs. --How many times have we seen boys who were bornwith good constitutions, with force and stamina sufficient to developthem into large, vigorous men, become puny dwarfs. At the time whenthey ought to begin to grow and develop more rapidly than ever before, their growth is checked and they cease to develop. They are, in fact, stunted, dwarfed, like a plant which has a canker-worm eating away atits roots. Indeed, there is a veritable canker-worm sapping theirvitality, undermining their constitutions, and destroying theirprospects for time and for eternity. Anxious friends may attribute theunhappy change to overwork, overstudy, or some similar cause; but froma somewhat extended observation we are thoroughly convinced that thevery vice which we are considering is the viper which blights theprospects and poisons the existence of many of these promising boys. 

A boy who gives himself up to the practice of secret vice at an earlyage, say as early as seven to ten years of age, is certain to make himselfa wreck. Instead of having a healthy, vigorous body, with strong musclesand a hardy constitution, he will be weak, scrawny, sickly, alwayscomplaining, never well, and will never know anything about that joyousexuberance of life and animal spirits which the young antelope feelsas it bounds over the plain, or the vigorous young colt as it frisksabout its pasture, and which every youth ought to feel. 

Scrawny, Hollow-Eyed Boys. --Boys ought to be fresh and vigorous aslittle lambs. They ought to be plump, rosy, bright-eyed, and sprightly. A boy who is pale, scrawny, hollow-eyed, dull, listless, has somethingthe matter with him. Self-abuse makes thousands of just such boys everyyear; and it is just such boys that make vicious, shiftless, haggard, unhappy men. This horrible vice steals away the health and vitalitywhich are needed to develop the body and the mind; and the lad thatought to make his mark in the world, that ought to become a distinguishedstatesman, orator, clergyman, physician, or author, becomes littlemore than a living animal, a mere shadow of what he ought to have been. 

Old Boys. --Often have we felt sad when we have heard fond mothersspeaking in glowing terms of the old ways of their sons, and ratherglorying that they looked so much older than they were. In nine casesout of ten these old-looking boys owe their appearance to this vilehabit; for it is exceedingly common, and its dreadful effects inshriveling and dwarfing and destroying the human form are too plainlyperceptible, when present, to be mistaken. Oh! this dreadful curse!Why will so many of our bright, innocent boys pollute themselves withit!

What Makes Idiots. --Reader, have you ever seen an idiot? If you have, the hideous picture will never be dissipated from your memory. Thevacant stare, the drooping, drooling mouth, the unsteady gait, thesensual look, the emptiness of mind, --all these you will well remember. Did you ever stop to think how idiots are made? It is by this very vicethat the ranks of these poor daft mortals are being recruited everyday. Every visitor to an insane asylum sees scores of them; ruined inmind and body, only the semblance of a human being, bereft of sense, lower than a beast in many respects, a human being hopelessly lost tohimself and to the world!--oh, most terrible thought!--yet once pure, intelligent, active, perhaps the hope of a fond mother, the pride ofa doting father, and possibly possessed of natural ability to becomegreatly distinguished in some of the many noble and useful walks oflife; now sunk below the brute through the degrading, destroyinginfluence of a lustful gratification. 

Boys, are you guilty of this terrible sin? have you even once in thisway yielded to the tempter's voice? Stop, consider, think of the awfulresults, repent, confess to God, reform. Another step in that directionand you may be lost, soul and body. You cannot dally with the tempter. You must escape now or never. Don't delay. 

Young Dyspeptics. --If we leave out of the consideration the effectsof bad food and worse cookery, there is in our estimation no other causeso active in occasioning the early breaking down of the digestive organsof our American boys. A boy of ten or twelve years of age ought to havea stomach capable of digesting anything not absolutely indigestible;but there are to-day thousands and thousands of boys of that age whosestomachs are so impaired as to be incapable of digesting any but themost simple food. The digestion being ruined, the teeth soon followsuit. Hardly one boy in a dozen has perfectly sound teeth. With a badstomach and bad teeth, a foundation for disease is laid which is sureto result in early decay of the whole body. 

In this awful vice do we find a cause, too, for the thousands of casesof consumption in young men. At the very time when they ought to bein their prime, they break down in health and become helpless invalidsfor life, or speedily sink into an early grave. 

Upon their tombstones might justly be graven, "Here lies aself-murderer. " Providence is not to blame; nor is climate, weather, overwork, overstudy, or any other even seemingly plausible cause, tobe blamed. Their own sins have sunk them in mental, moral, and physicalperdition. Such a victim literally dies by his own hand, a veritablesuicide. Appalling thought! It is a grand thing to die for one'sprinciples, a martyr to his love of right and truth. One may dieblameless who is the victim of some dire contagious malady which hecould not avoid; even the poor, downcast misanthrope whose hopes areblighted and whose sorrows multiplied, may possibly be in some degreeexcused for wishing to end his misery with his life; but the wretchedbeing who sheds his life-blood by the disgusting maneuvers ofself-pollution--what can be said to extenuate _his_ guilt? His is adouble crime. Let him pass from the memory of his fellow-men. He willperish, overwhelmed with his own vileness. Let him die, and return tothe dust from which he sprang. 

The Race Ruined by Boys. --The human race is growing steadily weakeryear by year. The boys of to-day would be no match in physical strengthfor the sturdy youths of a century ago who are now their grandparents. An immense amount of skillful training enables now and then one toaccomplish some wonderful feat of walking, rowing, or swimming, butwe hear very little of remarkable feats of labor accomplished by ourmodern boys. Even the country boys of to-day cannot endure the hardwork which their fathers accomplished at the same age; and we doubtnot that this growing physical weakness is one of the reasons why solarge a share of the boys whose fathers are farmers, and who have beenreared on farms, are unwilling to follow the occupation of their fathersfor a livelihood. They are too weakly to do the work required by anagricultural life, even by the aid of the numerous labor-savinginventions of the age. 

What is it that is undermining the health of the race and sapping theconstitutions of our American men? No doubt much may be attributed tothe unnatural refinements of civilization in several directions; butthere can be no doubt that vice is the most active cause of all. Secretsin and its kindred vices yearly ruin more constitutions than hard work, severe study, hunger, cold, privation, and disease combined. 

Boys, the destiny of the race is in your hands. You can do more thanall the doctors, all the scientists and most eminent political men inthe world, to secure the prosperity and future greatness of the nation, by taking care of yourselves, by being pure, noble, true to yourselvesand to the demands of high moral principle. 

Cases Illustrating the Effects of Self-Abuse. --The land is full of poorhuman wrecks who have dashed in pieces their hopes for this world, andtoo often for the next also, against this hideous rock which lies hiddenin the pathway of every young man who starts out upon life's stormyvoyage. Gladly would we draw the veil and cover them with all theirdreadful deformities with the mantle of charity from the gaze of theirfellow-beings; but their number is so great that this could scarcelybe done, and the lesson to be learned from their sad fate is such agrave one, and so needful for the good of the generation of young menwho are just encountering the same dangers, that we cannot resist thepromptings of duty to present a few examples of the effects of vicein men and boys that have fallen under our own observation. We haveseen hundreds of cases of this sort; have treated many scores of personsfor the effects of the terrible crime which we are seeking to sounda warning against, and the number of cases we might describe would filla volume; but we will select only a very few. 

Two Young Wrecks. --Charles and Oscar B---- were the sons of a farmerin a Western State, aged respectively ten and twelve years. Theypossessed well-formed heads, and once had beautiful faces, and wereas bright and sprightly as any little boys of their age to be foundanywhere. Their father was proud of them, and their fond mother tookgreat pleasure in building bright prospects for her darling sons whenthey should attain maturity and become competent to fill useful andhonorable positions in the world. Living in a rapidly-growing Westerncommunity, they had every prospect of growing up to honorableusefulness, a comfort to their parents, a blessing to the world, andcapable of enjoying life in the highest degree. 

But suddenly certain manifestations appeared which gave rise to graveapprehensions on the part of the parents. It was observed that the elderof the little boys no longer played about with that nimbleness whichhe had formerly shown, but seemed slow and stiff in his movements. Sometimes, indeed, he would stagger a little when he walked. Soon, also, his speech became affected in some degree; he mumbled his words andcould not speak distinctly. In spite of all that could be done, thedisease continued, increasing slowly in all its symptoms from week toweek. Soon the hands, also, became affected, so that the little boycould not feed himself. The mind now began to fail. The bright eyesbecame vacant and expressionless. Instead of the merry light which usedto shine in them, there was a blank, idiotic stare. 

Imagine the grief and anguish of the poor mother! No one but a motherwho has been called to pass through a similar trial could know how tosympathize with such a one. Her darling son she saw daily becoming aprey to a strange, incurable malady, with no power even to stay theprogress of the terrible disease. 

But there was still greater grief in store for her. Within a year ortwo the younger son began to show symptoms of the same character, andin spite of all that was done, rapidly sank into the same helpless stateas his brother. As a last resort, the mother took her boys and camea long journey to place her sons under our care. At that time they wereboth nearly helpless. Neither could walk but a few steps. They reeledand staggered about like drunken men, falling down upon each other andgoing through the most agonizing contortions in their attempts to worktheir way from one chair to another and thus about the room. Their headswere no longer erect, but drooped like wilted flowers. On their faceswas a blank, imbecile expression, with a few traces of formerintelligence still left. The mouth was open, from the drooping of thelower jaw, and the saliva constantly dribbled upon the clothing. Altogether, it was a spectacle which one does not care to meet everyday; the impression made was too harrowing to be pleasant even fromits interest from a scientific point of view. 

We at once set to work to discover the cause of this dreadful condition, saying to ourselves that such an awful punishment should certainly bethe result of some gross violation of nature's laws somewhere. The mostcareful scrutiny of the history of the parents of the unfortunate ladsgave us no clue to anything of an hereditary character, both parentshaving come of good families, and having been always of sober, temperatehabits. The father had used neither liquor nor tobacco in any form. The mother could give no light on the matter, and we were obliged torest for the time being upon the conviction which fastened itself uponus that the cases before us were most marked illustrations of theresults of self-abuse begun at a very early age. The mother thoughtit impossible that our suspicions could be correct, saying that shehad watched her sons with jealous care from earliest infancy and hadseen no indications of any error of the sort. But we had not long towait for confirmation of our view of the case, as they were soon caughtin the act, to which it was found that they were greatly addicted, andthe mystery was wholly solved. 

Every possible remedy was used to check the terrible disease which waspreying upon the unfortunate boys, but in vain. At times the symptomswould be somewhat mitigated, and the most sanguine hopes of the fond, watching mother would be excited, but in vain. The improvement alwaysproved to be but temporary, and the poor sufferers would speedilyrelapse into the same dreadful condition again, and gradually grewworse. At last, the poor mother was obliged to give up all hope, inutter despair watching the daily advances of the awful malady whichinch by inch destroyed the life, the humanity, the very mind and soulof her once promising sons. Sadly she took them back to her Westernhome, there to see them suffer, perhaps for years before death shouldkindly release them, the terrible penalty of sin committed almostbefore they had arrived at years of responsibility. 

How these mere infants learned the vice we were never able to determine. We have no doubt that opportunities sufficient were presented them, as the parents seemed to have very little appreciation of danger fromthis source. Had greater vigilance been exercised, we doubt not thatthe discovery of the vice at the beginning would have resulted in thesalvation of these two beautiful boys, who were sacrificed upon thealtar of concupiscence. Two or three years after we first saw the cases, we heard from them, and though still alive, their condition was almosttoo horrible for description. Three or four similar cases have cometo our knowledge. 

Boys, are you guilty? Think of the fearful fate of these boys, onceas joyous and healthy as you. When you are tempted to sin, think ofthe fearful picture of the effects of sin which they present. Have youever once dared to commit this awful sin? Stop, never dare to do thething again. Take a solemn vow before God to be pure. Your fate maybe as sad, your punishment as terrible. No one can tell what the resultsmay be. Absolute purity is the only safe course. 

A Prodigal Youth. --A. M. , son of a gentleman of wealth in Ohio, earlyacquired the evil practice which has ruined so many bright lads. Hewas naturally an intelligent and prepossessing lad, and his father gavehim as good an education as he could be induced to acquire, affordinghim most excellent opportunities for study and improvement. But thevile habit which had been acquired at an early age speedily began itsblighting influence. It destroyed his taste for study and culture. Hismind dwelt upon low and vile subjects. He grew restless of homerestraint and surroundings, and finally left the parental roof. Wandering from city to city he grew rapidly worse, sinking into deeperdepths of vice, until finally he became a base, besotted, wretchedcreature. Broken down in health by his sins, he could no longer enjoyeven the worst sensual pleasures, and with no taste for or capabilityof appreciating anything higher he was most wretched indeed. The poorfellow now fell into the hands of quacks. His kind father sent him moneyin answer to his pitiful appeals for help, and he went anxiously fromone to another of the wretched villains who promise relief to suchsufferers but only rob them of their money and leave them worse thanbefore. 

At last, in total despair of everything else, the poor fellow came tous. He seemed quite broken-hearted and penitent for his sins, and reallyappeared to want to lead a better life if he could only be made wellagain. We faithfully pointed out to him the dreadful wickedness of hiscourse, and the fact that a cure could only be effected by the mostimplicit obedience to all of nature's laws during his whole future life. Indeed, we were obliged to inform him of the sad fact that he couldnever be as well as before, that he must always suffer in consequenceof his dreadful course of transgression. We gave him a most earnestexhortation to begin the work of reform where alone it could beeffectual, by reforming his heart, and the tears which coursed downhis sin-scarred cheeks seemed to indicate true penitence and a realdesire to return to the paths of purity and peace. 

Earnestly we labored for this young man, for months, employing everymeans in our power to lift him from the slough of sin and vice uponthe solid pathway of virtue and purity again. Gradually the hard lineson his face seemed to lessen in intensity. The traces of vice and crimeseemed to be fading out by degrees. We began to entertain hopes of hisultimate recovery. But alas! in an evil moment, through the influenceof bad companions, he fell, and for some time we lost sight of him. A long time afterward we caught a glimpse of his bloated, sin-stainedface, just as he was turning to skulk away to avoid recognition. Wherethis poor human wreck is now leading his miserable existence we cannotsay, but have no doubt he is haunting the dens of iniquity and sin inthe cities, seeking to find a little momentary pleasure in thegratification of his appetites and passions. A hopeless wreck, withthe lines of vice and crime drawn all over his tell-tale countenance, he dares not go home, for he fears to meet the reproachful glance ofhis doting mother, and the scornful looks of his brothers and sisters. We never saw a more thoroughly unhappy creature. He is fully consciousof his condition; he sees himself to be a wreck, in mind, in body, andknows that he is doomed to suffer still more in consequence of his vices. He has no hope for this world or the next. His mother gave him earnest, pious instructions, which he has never forgotten, though he has longtried to smother them. He now looks forward with terror to the fatewhich he well knows awaits all evil-doers, and shudders at the thought, but seems powerless to enter the only avenue which affords a chanceof escape. He is so tormented with the pains and diseased conditionswhich he has brought upon himself by vice that he often looks toself-destruction as a grateful means of escape; but then comes the awfulforeboding of future punishment, and his hand is stayed. Ashamed tomeet his friends, afraid to meet his Maker, he wanders about, an exile, an outcast, a hopeless wreck. 

Young man, youth, have you taken the first step on this evil road? Ifso, take warning by the fate of this young man. At once "cease to doevil and learn to do well, " before, like him, you lose the power todo right, before your will is paralyzed by sin so that when you desireto do right, to reform, your will and power to execute your gooddeterminations will fail to support your effort. 

Barely Escaped. --L. R. Of H----, a young man of about twenty-five yearsof age, presented himself for treatment, a few years ago, for theconsequence of self-abuse. Having been taught the habit by evilcompanions when just emerging into manhood, he had indulged hispassions without restraint for several years, not knowing the evilconsequences until he began to suffer the effects of sin. Then, beingwarned by his own experience and by the fortunate thoughtfulness ofan intelligent friend who surmised his condition and told himfaithfully of the terrible results of the vile habit, he made a manlyeffort to reform and claimed to have wholly broken the habit. To hisgreat grief he found, however, that the years in which he had devotedhimself to sin had wrought sad havoc in his system. In many ways hishealth was greatly deranged and his once powerful constitution wasbroken down. The sexual organs themselves were greatly diseased, somuch so that a serious and painful surgical operation was necessary. With shame and mortification he looked upon his past life and saw whata hideous work of evil he had wrought. His vileness stood out beforehim in a vivid light, and he felt ashamed to meet the gaze of his fellows. 

After performing the necessary surgical operation upon this poorunfortunate, we dealt faithfully with him, pointing out to him the wayby which he might with proper effort in some degree redeem himself bya life-long struggle against every form of impurity. He felt, andrightly, that the task was a most severe one. He well knew that thestamp of sin was on his countenance, and in his mind. Thoughts longallowed to run upon vile subjects, forming filthy pictures in theimagination, are not easily brought back to the channel of purity andvirtue. The mind that has learned to love to riot in impure dreams, does not readily acquire a love for the opposite. But he determinedto make a brave and earnest effort, and we have every reason to believethat he has, in a measure at least, succeeded. But, if so, he has madea narrow escape. A few more years of sin, and his rescue would havebeen impossible; both mind and body would have been sunk so deep inthe mire of concupiscence that none but Almighty power could have savedhim from utter destruction. Thousands of boys and young men are to-daystanding on the slippery brink of that awful precipice from which butvery few are snatched away. Soon they will plunge headlong over intothe abyss of debasement and corruption from whence they will neverescape. Oh that we had the power to reach each one of these unfortunateyouth before it is too late, and to utter in their ears such warnings, to portray before them such pictures of the sure results of a courseof sin, that they might be turned back to the paths of chastity andvirtue before they have become such mental, moral, and physical wrecksas we every day encounter in the walks of life. But not one in a thousandcan be reached when they have gone so far in sin. When they have venturedonce, they can rarely be checked in their downward course until greatharm has been wrought which it will require the work of years to undo. The young man we have referred to made indeed a narrow escape, but noone can safely run such a risk. Even he must suffer all his life theconsequences of a few years of sin. 

A Lost Soul. --M. M. , of ----, was the son of a mechanic in humblecircumstances. He was an only child, and his parents spared no painsto do all in their power to insure his becoming a good and useful man. Good school advantages were given him, and at a proper age he was putto learn a trade. He succeeded fairly, and their hopes of his becomingall that they could desire were great, when he suddenly began tomanifest peculiar symptoms. He had attended a religious revival andseemed much affected, professing religion and becoming a member of achurch. To the exercises of his mind on the subject of religion hisfriends attributed his peculiar actions, which soon became so strangeas to excite grave fears that his mind was seriously affected. At timeshe was wild, showing such unmistakable evidences of insanity that evenhis poor mother, who was loth to believe the sad truth, was forced toadmit that he was deranged. 

After a few months a change came over him which encouraged his friendsto think that he was recovering. He became quiet and tractable, nevermanifesting the furious symptoms before observed. But the deceptionwas only temporary, for it was soon evident that the change was simplythe result of the progress of the disease and denoted the failure ofthe mental powers and the approach of imbecility. In this conditionwas the young man when he came under our care. We felt strongly impressedfrom our first examination of the case that it was one of sexual abuse;but we were assured by his friends in the most emphatic manner thatsuch was an impossibility. It was claimed that the most scrupulous carehad been bestowed upon him, and that he had been so closely watchedthat it was impossible that he should have been guilty of so gross avice. His friends were disposed to attribute his sad condition toexcessive exercise of mind upon religious subjects. 

Not satisfied with this view of the case, we set a close watch uponhim, and within a week his nurse reported that he had detected him inthe act of self-pollution, when he confessed the truth, not yet beingso utterly devoid of sense as to have lost his appreciation of thesinfulness of the act. When discovered, he exclaimed, "I know I havemade myself a fool, " which was the exact truth. At this time the oncebright and intelligent youth had become so obtuse and stupid that heappeared almost senseless. His face wore an idiotic expression whichwas rarely lighted up by a look of intelligence. It was only by thegreatest exertion that he could be made to understand or to respondwhen spoken to. In whatever position he was placed, whether lying, sitting, or standing, no matter how constrained or painful, he wouldremain for hours, staring vacantly, and fixed and immovable as a statue. His countenance was blank and expressionless except at rare intervals. His lips were always parted, and the saliva ran from the corners ofhis mouth down upon his clothing. The calls of nature were respondedto involuntarily, soiling constantly his clothing and bedding in a mostdisgusting manner, and requiring the constant attention of a nurse tokeep him in anything like a wholesome condition. 

We did what we could to relieve this poor victim of unhallowed lust, but soon became convinced that no human arm could save from utter ruinthis self-destroyed soul. At our suggestion the young man was removedto be placed in an institution devoted to the care of imbeciles andlunatics. The last we heard of the poor fellow he was still sinkinginto lower depths of physical and mental degradation, --a soul utterlylost and ruined. How many thousands of young men who might have beenuseful members of society, lawyers, clergymen, statesmen, scientists, have thus sunk into the foul depths of the quagmire of vice, to riseno more forever! Oh, awful fate! The human eye never rests upon a saddersight than a ruined soul, a mind shattered and debased by vice. 

The Results of One Transgression. --The following case is a goodillustration of the fact that a long course of transgression is notnecessary to occasion the most serious results. A young man from anEastern State who visited us for treatment was suffering with the usualconsequences of self-abuse, but he asserted in the most emphatic mannerthat he had never committed the act of self-pollution but once in hislife. He had, however, after that one vile act, allowed his mind torun upon vile thoughts, giving loose rein to his imagination, and inconsequence he found himself as badly off, suffering with the very samedisorders, as those who had practiced the vice for some time. 

Not the slightest dallying with sin is safe. The maintenance of perfectpurity and chastity of body and mind is the only right and safe course. By a few months' treatment the young man recovered his health in a greatmeasure, and, marrying an estimable young lady, settled down happilyin life. Many tears of remorse and repentance did he shed over thatone sinful act, and bitterly did he reproach the evil companion whotaught him to sin; but he was fortunate enough to escape withoutsuffering the worst effects of sin, and is now living happily. 

A Hospital Case. --One of the most wretched creatures we ever saw amongthe many sufferers from sexual excesses whom we have met, was a manof about thirty years of age whom we found in the large Charity Hospitalon Blackwell's Island, New York City. In consequence of long indulgencein the soul-and-body destroying habit, he had brought upon himself notonly the most serious and painful disease of the sexual organsthemselves, but disease of the bladder and other adjacent organs. Hewas under severe and painful treatment for a long time without benefit, and finally a surgical operation was performed, but with the resultof affording only partial relief. 

An Old Offender. --Never were we more astonished than at the depth ofdepravity revealed to us by the confessions of a patient from a distantcountry who was upwards of sixty years of age and was yet a victim ofthe vile habit to which he had become addicted when a youth. The stampof vice was on his face, and was not hidden by the lines made by advancingage. The sufferings which this ancient sinner endured daily inconsequence of his long course of sin were sometimes fearful to behold;and yet he continued the habit in spite of all warnings, advice, andevery influence which could be brought to bear upon him. So long hadhe transgressed, he had lost his sense of shame and his appreciationof the vileness of sin, and it was impossible to reform him by any meanswhich could be brought to bear upon him. He left us still a sufferer, though somewhat relieved, and, we have every reason to believe, as vilea sinner as ever. Undoubtedly, before this time his worthless life isended, and he has gone down into a sinner's grave, hoary with vice. A terrible end. 

The Sad End of a Young Victim. --C. L. , a young man residing in a largeSouthern city, was the youngest son of parents who were in moderatecircumstances, but appreciated the value of education, and were anxiousto give their children every advantage possible for them to receive. With this end in view, the young man was sent to college, where he didwell for a time, being naturally studious and intelligent; but aftera brief period he began to drop behind his classes. He seemed moodyand obtuse. He could not complete his tasks even by the most severeapplication. It seemed impossible for him to apply himself. The powerof concentration appeared to be lost. Soon he was seized by fits ofgloominess from which he did not seem to have power to free himself. His strength began to fail to such a degree that he could hardly draghimself to his meals, and at last he was almost confined to his room. He became greatly emaciated. The failure of his mental powers seemedto keep pace with the wasting of his body, so that it was soon evidentthat he must abandon all hope of pursuing his studies for some timeat least. His case being brought to our notice, we gave him everyattention possible, and spared no effort to rescue him from hiscondition. We readily perceived the cause of his troubles, but for along time he did not acknowledge the truth. At last he confessed thathe had sinned for years in the manner suspected, and was suffering theconsequences. A knowledge of his guilt weighed upon him and hauntedhim day and night. He promised to reform; but if he did, it was toolate, for the wasting disease which was fastened upon him continued. At his mother's request he returned to his home, and a few weeks laterwe received the awful intelligence that he had ended his miserable lifeby blowing out his brains with a pistol. Thus tragically ended thecareer of this young man, who might, with the advantages afforded him, have become a useful member of society. In total despair of this lifeor the next, he rashly ended his probation, and with his own handfinished the work of destruction which he had himself begun. No wordscan tell the grief of his stricken mother; but, fortunately, she wasspared the knowledge of the whole truth, else would her sorrow havebeen too great to bear. 

From Bad to Worse. --C. E. , a young man from the West, was sent to usby his father with the request that we would do what we could to savehim. His father's letter intimated that the son had been a source ofgrief to him, but he hoped that he had repented of his prodigal course, and was really determined to reform. Though scarcely more than twentyyears of age, the young man's face wore an aspect of hardness, fromfamiliarity with vice, that we have rarely seen. He was reduced to amere skeleton by the vice which he made no secret of, and was so weakthat he could scarcely walk a rod. It seemed as if every organ in hisbody was diseased, and that he had so squandered his vital resourcesthat he had no power to rally from his wretched condition even shouldhe carry out the determination to reform which he announced. However, we gave him the best counsel and advice within our power, and placedhim under treatment. After a few weeks it was evident that nature wasstill willing to respond to his endeavors to reform, by vigorous effortsto restore him to a condition of comparative health. Thus he wassnatched, as it appeared, from the very jaws of death. Under thesecircumstances it would seem that the most hardened criminal wouldreform, at least for a season, and lead a life of rectitude; but soutterly depraved was this poor wretch that no sooner did he find thathe was not liable to die immediately than he began at once again hiscareer of sin. By long indulgence his moral sense had become, apparently, obliterated. He seemed to be utterly without the restraint imposed byconscience. In less than a month he was detected in the crime of theft, having stolen a watch from a fellow-patient. Upon his arrest, stimulated by the hope of in some degree mitigating his punishment, he confessed to have been carrying on a series of petty thieving forweeks before he was finally detected, having scores of stolen articlesin his possession. The last time we saw the wretched fellow he was beingled away in irons to prison. We have since heard that he continues inhis downward career, having served out his time in prison, and willundoubtedly end his life in a felon's cell unless he is shrewd enoughto escape his just deserts. Having lost all desire to do right, to benoble, pure, and good, all efforts to reform and restore him to thepath of rectitude were fruitless. It was only the fear of impendingdeath that caused him to pause for a few days in his criminal course. Young man, take warning by this sad case; enter not the pathway of vice. A course of vice once entered upon is not easily left. A youth who oncegives himself up to sin, rarely escapes from going headlong todestruction. 

An Indignant Father. --A case came to our knowledge through a gentlemanwho brought his daughter to us for treatment for the effects ofself-abuse, of a father who adopted a summary method of curing his sonof the evil practice. Having discovered that the lad was a victim ofthe vile habit, and having done all in his power by punishment, threats, and representations of its terrible effects, but without inducing himto reform, the father, in a fit of desperation, seized the sinful boyand with his own hand performed upon him the operation of castrationas he would have done upon a colt. The boy recovered from the operation, and was of course effectually cured of his vile habit. The remedy wasefficient, though scarcely justifiable. Even a father has no right thusto mutilate his own son, though we must confess that the lad's chancesfor becoming a useful man are fully as good as they would have beenhad he continued his course of sin. 

Disgusted with Life. --T. A. Was a young man of promise, the son ofambitious parents, proud-spirited, and without respect for religion. While still quite young he enlisted in the service of the government, and after a time rose to the position of an officer in the U. S. Army. Having in boyhood acquired the habit of self-abuse, he had stimulatedhis passions without restraint, and was readily led still fartherastray by the evil companions with whom he was surrounded. He indulgedhis passions in every way and on every occasion when he foundopportunity, and speedily began to feel the effects of his vices. Beforehe was fully aware of his condition, he found himself being literallydevoured by the vilest of all diseases, which only those who transgressin this manner suffer. The disease made rapid advances and speedilyreduced him to a condition of almost absolute helplessness. He wasobliged to obtain a furlough; but his vital forces were so nearlyexhausted that he did not rally even under skillful treatment; and whenhis furlough expired, he was still in the same pitiable condition. Getting it extended for a time, he by accident came under our care, and by the aid of very thorough treatment he was in a measure improved, though the progress of the disease was simply stayed. When apprizedof his real condition, he exhibited much agitation, walking nervouslyabout his room, and finally exclaimed that he was utterly disgustedwith life anyway, and after a few weeks or months more of sufferinghe should blow his brains out and end his misery. He had no fears ofdeath, he said, and we presume that he could not imagine it possiblethat there was any greater suffering in store for him than he alreadyendured. We pitied the poor fellow from the bottom of our heart. Hehad natural qualities which ought to have made him distinguished. Hemight have risen high in the world of usefulness. Now he was compelledto look back upon a short life of squandered opportunities, a pathwaystained with vice, memories of vile debaucheries which had wasted hisyouth and broken his constitution. Wretched was he indeed. Notwithstanding his vileness he was not lost to shame, for his greatestfear was that his friends might ascertain the real cause of hissufferings, to conceal which he was obliged to resort to all sorts ofsubterfuges. As soon as he was able to travel he left us, being obligedto report to his superior officers, and we have heard nothing of himsince. 

Scores of similar cases we might recount in detail, but we have nothere the space. These will suffice to give to the young reader an ideaof the terrible results of this awful vice which are suffered by itsvictims. We have not dared to portray on these pages one-half the miseryand wretchedness which we have seen as the results of self-abuse andthe vices to which it leads. The picture is too terrible for young eyesto behold. We most sincerely hope that none of our readers will everhave to suffer as we have seen boys and young men do, languishing inmisery as the result of their own transgressions of the laws of chastity. We will now devote the remaining pages of this chapter to theconsideration of some of the causes of the vice, the avenues that leadto the awful sin which we are considering, and the terrible consequenceswhich attend it. 

Bad Company. --The influence of evil companionship is one of the mostpowerful agents for evil against which those who love purity and areseeking to elevate and benefit their fellow-men have to contend. A badboy can do more harm in a community than can be counteracted by allthe clergymen, Sabbath-school teachers, tract-distributers, and otherChristian workers combined. An evil boy is a pest compared with whichthe cholera, small-pox, and even the plague, are nothing. The damagewhich would be done by a terrific hurricane sweeping with destructiveforce through a thickly settled district is insignificant compared withthe evil work which may be accomplished by one vicious lad. 

No community is free from these vipers, these agents of the arch-fiend. Every school, no matter how select it may be, contains a greater orless number of these young moral lepers. Often they pursue their workunsuspected by the good and pure, who do not dream of the vileness pentup in the young brains which have not yet learned the multiplicationtable and scarcely learned to read. We have known instances in whicha boy of seven or eight years of age has implanted the venom of vicein the hearts and minds of half a score of pure-minded lads within afew days of his first association with them. This vice spreads likewild-fire. It is more "catching" than the most contagious disease, andmore tenacious, when once implanted, than the leprosy. 

Boys are easily influenced either for right or for wrong, but especiallyfor the wrong; hence it is the duty of parents to select good companionsfor their children, and it is the duty of children to avoid bad companyas they would avoid carrion or the most loathsome object. A boy witha match box in a powder magazine would be in no greater danger thanin the company of most of the lads who attend our public schools andplay upon the streets. It is astonishing how early children, especiallyboys, will sometimes learn the hideous, shameless tricks of vice whichyearly lead thousands down to everlasting death. Often children begintheir course of sin while yet cradled in their mother's arms, thus earlytaught by some vile nurse. Boys that fight and swear, that play uponthe streets and disobey their parents, may be wisely shunned as unfitfor associates. In many instances, too, boys whose conduct is in otherrespects wholly faultless sometimes indulge in vice, ignorant of itsreal nature and consequences. At the first intimation of evil on thepart of a companion, a boy who is yet pure should flee away as froma deadly serpent or a voracious beast. Do not let the desire to gratifya craving curiosity deter you from fleeing at once from the source ofcontamination. Under such circumstances do not hesitate a moment toescape from danger. If an evil word is spoken or an indecent act ofany sort indulged in by a companion, cut the acquaintance of such aboy at once. Never allow yourself to be alone with him a moment. Onno account be induced to associate with him. He will as surely soiland besmear with sin your moral garments as would contact with the mostfilthy object imaginable your outer garments. 

It were better for a boy never to see or associate with a lad of hisown age than to run any risk of being corrupted before he is old enoughto appreciate the terrible enormity of sin and the awful consequencesof transgression. It should be recollected also that not only youngboys but vicious youths and young men are frequently the instructorsin vice. It is unsafe to trust any but those who are known to be pure. 

Bad Language. --We have often been astonished at the facility with whichchildren acquire the language of vice. Often we have been astoundedto hear little boys scarcely out of their cradles, lisping the mosthorrible oaths and the vilest epithets. The streets and alleys in ourlarge cities, and in smaller ones too in a less degree, are nurseriesof vice, in which are reared the criminals that fill our jails, prisons, work-houses, school-ships, and houses of correction. Many a lad beginshis criminal education by learning the language of vice and sin. Atfirst he simply imitates the evil utterances of others; but soon helearns the full significance of the obscene and filthy language whichhe hears and repeats, and then he rapidly progresses in the downwardroad. 

A boy that indulges in the use of foul language will not long be chastein acts. It is a safe rule to be followed by those who wish to growup pure and unsullied by sin, untainted by vice, that those who usebad language are persons to avoid, to keep away from. Even those whoare well fortified against vice, who have been faithfully warned ofits consequences and fully appreciate its dangers, cannot be safelytrusted to associate with vile talkers. The use of bad language by oldand young is an evil which is of the very greatest moment. It is toooften ignored; too little is said about it; far too often it isdisregarded as of little consequence, and persons who are really notbad at heart thoughtlessly encourage the evil by listening to andlaughing at obscene and ribald jokes, and impure language which oughtto make a virtuous man blush with shame to hear. 

Boys, if you want to be pure, if you wish to be loved by a pure mother, an innocent sister, and when you are grown to manhood to be worthy ofthe confidence of a pure, virtuous wife, keep your lips pure; neverlet a vile word or an indecent allusion pass them. Never, under anycircumstances, give utterance to language that you would blush to haveyour mother overhear. If you find yourself in the company of personswhose language will not bear this test, escape as soon as possible, for you are in danger; your sense of what is right and proper in speechis being vitiated; you are being damaged in a variety of ways. 

Bad Books. --A bad book is as bad as an evil companion. In some respectsit is even worse than a living teacher of vice, since it may cling toan individual at all times. It may follow him to the secrecy of hisbed-chamber, and there poison his mind with the venom of evil. Theinfluence of bad books in making bad boys and men is little appreciated. Few are aware how much evil seed is being sown among the young everywherethrough the medium of vile books. It is not only the wretched volumesof obscenity of which so many thousands have been seized and destroyedby Mr. Comstock which are included under the head of bad books, andwhich corrupt the morals of the young and lead them to enter the roadto infamy, but the evil literature which is sold in "dime and nickelnovels, " and which constitutes the principal part of the contents ofsuch papers as the _Police Gazette_, the _Police News_, and a largeproportion of the sensational story books which flood the land, andtoo many of which find their way into town and circulating librariesand even Sunday-school libraries, which are rarely selected with thecare that ought to be exercised in the selection of reading matter forthe young. 

Bad books often find their way even where evil companions would notintrude; and undoubtedly effect a work of evil almost as great as iswrought by bad associations. 

Look out, boys, for the tempter in this guise. If a companion offersyou a book the character of which is suspicious, take it home to yourfather, your mother, or some reliable older friend, for examination. If it is handed you with an air of secrecy, or if a promise to keepit hidden from others is required, have nothing to do with it. You mightbetter place a coal of fire or a live viper in your bosom than to allowyourself to read such a book. The thoughts that are implanted in themind in youth will stick there through life, in spite of all effortsto dislodge them. Hundreds of men who have been thus injured when young, but have by some providence escaped a life of vice and shame, look backwith most intense regret to the early days of childhood, and earnestlywish that the pictures then made in the mind by bad books might beeffaced. Evil impressions thus formed often torture minds during awhole lifetime. In the most inopportune moments they will intrudethemselves. When the individual desires to place his mind undividedlyupon sacred and elevated themes, even at the most solemn moments oflife, these lewd pictures will sometimes intrude themselves in spiteof his efforts to avoid them. It is an awful thing to allow the mindto be thus contaminated; and many a man would give the world, if hepossessed it, to be free from the horrible incubus of a defiledimagination. 

Vile Pictures. --Obscene and lascivious pictures are influences whichlead boys astray too important to be unnoticed. Evil men, agents ofthe arch-fiend, have adopted all sorts of devices for putting into thehands of the boys and youths of the rising generation picturescalculated to excite the passions, to lead to vice. Thousands of thesevile pictures are in circulation throughout the country in spite ofthe worthy efforts of such philanthropists as Mr. Anthony Comstock andhis co-laborers. In almost every large school there are boys who havea supply of these infamous designs and act as agents in scattering theevil contagion among all who come under their influence. 

Under the guise of art, the genius of some of our finest artists isturned to pandering to this base desire for sensuous gratification. The pictures which hang in many of our art galleries that are visitedby old and young of both sexes often number in the list views whichto those whose thoughts are not well trained to rigid chastity can beonly means of evil. A plea may be made for these paintings in the nameof art; but we see no necessity for the development of art in thisparticular direction, when nature presents so many and such variedscenes of loveliness in landscapes, flowers, beautiful birds, andgraceful animals, to say nothing of the human form protected bysufficient covering to satisfy the demands of modesty. 

Many of the papers and magazines sold at our news-stands and eagerlysought after by young men and boys are better suited for the parlorsof a house of ill-repute than for the eyes of pure-minded youth. Anews-dealer who will distribute such vile sheets ought to be dealt withas an educator in vice and crime, an agent of evil, and a recruitingofficer for hell and perdition. 

Evil Thoughts. --No one can succeed long in keeping himself from viciousacts whose thoughts dwell upon unchaste subjects. Only those who arepure in heart will be pure and chaste in action. The mind must beeducated to love and dwell upon pure subjects in early life, as by thismeans only can the foundation be laid for that purity of character whichalone will insure purity of life. When the mind once becomescontaminated with evil thoughts, it requires the work of years ofearnest effort to purge it from uncleanness. Vile thoughts leave scarswhich even time will not always efface. They soil and deprave the soul, as vile acts do the body. God knows them, if no human being does, andif harbored and cherished they will tell against the character in theday of Judgment as surely as will evil words and deeds. 

Influence of Other Bad Habits. --Evil practices of any sort which lowerthe moral tone of an individual, which lessen his appreciation of andlove for right and purity and true nobility of soul, encourage thedevelopment of vice. A boy who loves purity, who has a keen sense ofwhat is true and right, can never become a vicious man. Profanity, falsehood, and deception of every sort, have a tendency in the directionof vice. 

The use of highly seasoned food, of rich sauces, spices and condiments, sweetmeats, and in fact all kinds of stimulating foods, has an undoubtedinfluence upon the sexual nature of boys, stimulating those organs intotoo early activity, and occasioning temptations to sin which otherwisewould not occur. The use of mustard, pepper, pepper-sauce, spices, richgravies, and all similar kinds of food, should be carefully avoidedby young persons. They are not wholesome for either old or young; butfor the young they are absolutely dangerous. 

The use of beer, wine, hard cider, and tobacco, is especially damagingto boys on this account. These stimulants excite the passions andproduce a clamoring for sensual gratification which few boys or youngmen have the will power or moral courage to resist. Tobacco is anespecially detrimental agent. The early age at which boys now beginthe use of tobacco may be one of the reasons why the practice of secretvice is becoming so terribly common among boys and young men. We neverthink a boy or young man who uses tobacco safe from the commission ofsome vile act. 

The use of tea and coffee by boys is also a practice which should beinterdicted. All wise physicians forbid the use of these narcoticdrinks, together with that of tobacco, and always with benefit to thosewho abstain. In France the government has made a law forbidding theuse of tobacco by students in the public schools. In Germany a stillmore stringent law has been made, which forbids the use of tobacco byboys and young men. These laws have been made on account of the seriousinjury which was evidently resulting from the use of the filthy weedto both the health and the morals of the young men of those countries. There is certainly an equal need for such a law in this country. 

Closing Advice to Boys and Young Men. --One word more and we must closethis chapter, which we hope has been read with care by those for whomit is especially written. Let every boy who peruses these pages rememberthat the facts here stated are true. Every word we have verified, andwe have not written one-half that might be said upon this subject. Letthe boy who is still pure, who has never defiled himself with vice, firmly resolve that with the help of God he will maintain a pure andvirtuous character. It is much easier to preserve purity than to getfree from the taint of sin after having been once defiled. Let the boywho has already fallen into evil ways, who has been taught the vilepractice the consequences of which we have endeavored to describe, andwho is already in the downward road, --let him resolve now to break thechain of sin, to reform at once, and to renounce his evil practiceforever. The least hesitancy, the slightest dalliance with the demonvice, and the poor victim will be lost. Now, this moment, is the timeto reform. Seek purity of mind and heart. Banish evil thoughts and shunevil companions; then with earnest prayer to God wage a determinedbattle for purity and chastity until the victory is wholly won. 

One of the greatest safeguards for a boy is implicit trust andconfidence in his parents. Let him go to them with all his queriesinstead of to some older boyish friend. If all boys would do this, animmense amount of evil would be prevented. When tempted to sin, boys, think first of the vileness and wickedness of the act; think that Godand pure angels behold every act, and even know every thought. Nothingis hid from their eyes. Think then of the awful results of this terriblesin, and fly from temptation as from a burning house. Send up a prayerto God to deliver you from temptation, and you will not fall. Everybattle manfully and successfully fought will add new strength to yourresolution and force to your character. Gaining such victories fromday to day you will grow up to be a pure, noble, useful man, the grandestwork of God, and will live a happy, virtuous life yourself, and addto the happiness of those around you. 

A CHAPTER FOR GIRLS. 

We have written this chapter especially for girls, and we sincerelyhope that many will read it with an earnest desire to be benefited byso doing. The subject of which we have to write is a delicate one, andone which, we regret exceedingly, needs to be written about. But ourexperience as a physician has proven to us again and again that it isof the utmost importance that something be said, that words of warningshould be addressed particularly to the girls and maidens just emerginginto womanhood, on a subject which vitally concerns not only their ownfuture health and happiness, but the prosperity and destiny of the race. Probably no one can be better fitted to speak on this subject than thephysician. A physician who has given careful attention to the healthand the causes of ill-health of ladies, and who has had opportunitiesfor observing the baneful influence exerted upon the bodies and mindsof girls and young women by the evil practices of which it is our purposehere to speak, can better appreciate than can others the magnitude ofthe evil, and is better prepared to speak upon the subjectunderstandingly and authoritatively. Gladly would we shun the taskwhich has been pressed upon us, but which we have long avoided, wereit not for the sense of the urgent need of its performance of whichour professional experience has thoroughly convinced us. We cannot keepour lips closed when our eyes are witnesses to the fact that thousandsof the fairest and best of our girls and maidens are being beguiledinto everlasting ruin by a soul-destroying vice which works unseen, and often so insidiously that its results are unperceived until thework of ruin is complete. 

The nature of our subject necessitates that we should speak plainly, though delicately, and we shall endeavor to make our languagecomprehensible by any one old enough to be benefited by the perusalof this chapter. We desire that all who read these pages may receivelasting benefit by so doing. The subject is one upon which every girlought to be informed, and to which she should give serious attention, at least sufficiently long to become intelligent concerning the evilsand dangers to which girls are exposed from this source. 

Girlhood. --Nothing is so suggestive of innocence and purity as thesimple beauty of girlhood when seen in its natural freshness, thoughtoo seldom, now-a-days, is it possible to find in our young girls thenatural grace and healthy beauty which were common among the littlemaidens of a quarter of a century ago. The ruddy cheeks and bright eyesand red lips which are indicative of a high degree of healthy vigorare not so often seen to-day among the small girls in our public schoolsand passing to and fro upon the streets. The pale cheeks, languid eyes, and almost colorless lips which we more often see, indicate weaklyconstitutions and delicate health, and prophesy a short and sufferinglife to many. Various causes are at work to produce this unfortunatedecline; and while we hope that in the larger share of cases, bad diet, improper clothing, confinement in poorly ventilated rooms with toolittle exercise, and similar causes, are the active agents, we areobliged to recognize the fact that there is in far too many cases anothercause, the very mention of which makes us blush with shame that itsexistence should be possible. But of this we shall speak againpresently. 

Real girls are like the just opening buds of beautiful flowers. Thebeauty and fragrance of the full-blossomed rose scarcely exceed thedelicate loveliness of the swelling bud which shows between thesections of its bursting calyx the crimson petals tightly foldedbeneath. So the true girl possesses in her sphere as high a degree ofattractive beauty as she can hope to attain in after-years, though ofa different character. But genuine girls are scarce. Really naturallittle girls are almost as scarce as real boys. Too many girls beginat a very early age to attempt to imitate the pride and vanity manifestedby older girls and young ladies. It is by many supposed that to beladylike should be the height of the ambition of girls as soon as theyare old enough to be taught respecting propriety of behavior, whichis understood to mean that they must appear as unnatural as possiblein attempting to act like grown-up ladies. Many mothers who wish theirdaughters to be models of perfection, but whose ideas of perfectdeportment are exceedingly superficial in character, dress up theirlittle daughters in fine clothing, beautiful to look at, but very farfrom what is required for health and comfort, and then continuallyadmonish the little ones that they must keep very quiet and "act likelittle ladies. " Such a course is a most pernicious one. It fosters prideand vanity, and inculcates an entirely wrong idea of what it is to beladylike, --to be a true lady, to be true to nature as a girl. Suchartificial training is damaging alike to mind and body; and it inducesa condition of mind and of the physical system which is very conduciveto the encouragement of dangerous tendencies. 

How to Develop Beauty and Loveliness. --All little girls want to bebeautiful. Girls in general care much more for their appearance thando boys. They have finer tastes, and greater love for whatever is lovelyand beautiful. It is a natural desire, and should be encouraged. A pure, innocent, beautiful little girl is the most lovely of all God'screatures. All are not equally beautiful, however, and cannot be; butall may be beautiful to a degree that will render them attractive. Letall little girls who want to be pretty, handsome, or good-looking, giveattention and we will tell them how. Those who are homely should listenespecially, for all may become good-looking, though all cannot becomeremarkably beautiful. First of all, it is necessary that the girl whowishes to be handsome, to be admired, should be good. She must learnto love what is right and true. She must be pure in mind and act. Shemust be simple in her manners, modest in her deportment, and kind inher ways. 

Second in importance, though scarcely so, is the necessity of health. No girl can long be beautiful without health; and no girl who enjoysperfect health can be really ugly in appearance. A healthy countenanceis always attractive. Disease wastes the rounded features, bleachesout the roses from the cheeks and the vermilion from the lips. Itdestroys the luster of the eye and the elasticity of the step. Healthis essential to beauty. In fact, if we consider goodness as a stateof moral health, then health is the one great requisite of beauty. 

Health is obtained and preserved by the observance of those naturallaws which the Creator has appointed for the government of our bodies. The structure of these bodies we may do well to study for a few moments. 

The Human Form Divine. --Go with us to one of the large cities, and wewill show you one of the most marvelous pieces of mechanism everinvented, a triumph of ingenuity, skill, and patient, persevering laborfor many years. This wonderful device is a clock which will run morethan one hundred years. It is so constructed that it indicates not onlythe time of day, the day of the month and year, itself making all thenecessary changes for leap year, but shows the motions of the eartharound the sun, together with the movements and positions of all theother planets, and many other marvelous things. When it strikes at theend of each hour, groups of figures go through a variety of curiousmovements most closely resembling the appearance and actions of humanbeings. 

The maker of this remarkable clock well deserves the almost endlesspraise which he receives for his skill and patience; for his work iscertainly wonderful; but the great clock, with its curious andcomplicated mechanism, is a coarse and bungling affair when comparedwith the human body. The clock doubtless contains thousands of delicatewheels and springs, and is constructed with all the skill imaginable;and yet the structure of the human body is infinitely more delicate. The clock has no intelligence; but a human being can hear, see, feel, taste, touch, and think. The clock does only what its maker designedto have it do, and can do nothing else. The human machine is a livingmechanism; it can control its own movements, can do as it will, withincertain limits. What is very curious indeed, the human machine has thepower to mend itself, so that when it needs repairs it is not necessaryto send it to a shop for the purpose, but all that is required is togive nature an opportunity and the system repairs itself. 

A Wonderful Process. --We have not space to describe all the wonderfulmechanism of this human machine, but must notice particularly one ofits most curious features, a provision by which other human beings, living machines like itself, are produced. All living creatures possessthis power. A single potato placed in the ground becomes a dozen ormore, by a process of multiplying. A little seed planted in the earthgrows up to be a plant, produces flowers, and from the flowers comeother seeds, not one, but often a great many, sometimes hundreds froma single seed. Insects, fishes, birds, and all other animals, thusmultiply. So do human beings, and in a similar manner. The organs bywhich this most marvelous process is carried on in plants and animals, including also human beings, are called sexual organs. Flowers are thesexual organs of plants. And flowers are always the most fragrant andthe most beautiful when they are engaged in this wonderful and curiouswork. 

Human Buds. --A curious animal which lives near the seashore, in shallowwater, attached to a rock like a water plant, puts out little buds whichgrow awhile and then drop off, and after a time become large individualslike the parent, each in turn producing buds like the one from whichit grew. Human beings are formed by a similar process. Human buds areformed by an organ for the purpose possessed only by the female sex, and these, under proper circumstances, develop into infant human beings. The process, though so simply stated, is a marvelously complicated one, which cannot be fully explained here; indeed, it is one of the mysterieswhich it is beyond the power of human wisdom fully to explain. 

The production of these human buds is one of the most important andsacred duties of woman. It is through this means that she becomes amother, which is one of the grandest and noblest functions of womanhood. It is the motherly instinct that causes little girls to show such afondness for dolls, a perfectly natural feeling which may be encouragedto a moderate degree without injury. 

How Beauty is Marred. --As already remarked, mental, moral, and physicalhealth are the requisites for true beauty, and to secure these, obedience to all the laws of health is required. The most beautifulface is soon marred when disease begins its ravages in the body. Themost beautiful character is as speedily spoiled by the touch of moraldisease, or sin. The face is a mirror of the mind, the character; anda mind full of evil, impure thoughts is certain to show itself in theface in spite of rosy cheeks and dimples, ruby lips and bewitchingsmiles. The character is written on the face as plainly as the facemay be pictured by an artist on canvas. 

To be more explicit, the girl who disregards the laws of health, whoeats bad food, eats at all hours or at unseasonable hours, sits up lateat night, attends fashionable parties and indulges in the usual meansof dissipation there afforded, dancing, wine, rich suppers, etc. , whocarefully follows the fashions in her dress, lacing her waist to attainthe fashionable degree of slenderness, wearing thin, narrow-toedgaiters with French heels, and insufficiently clothing the limbs incold weather, and who in like manner neglects to comply with therequirements of health in other important particulars, may be certainthat sooner or later, certainly at no distant day, she will become asunattractive and homely as she can wish not to be. Girls and young ladieswho eat largely of fat meat, rich cakes and pies, confectionery, icedcreams, and other dietetic abominations, cannot avoid becoming sallowand hollow-eyed. The cheeks may be ever so plump and rosy, they willcertainly lose their freshness and become hollow and thin. Chalk androuge will not hide the defect, for everybody will discover the fraud, and will of course know the reason why it is practiced. 

A Beauty-Destroying Vice. --But by far the worst enemy of beauty andhealth of body, mind, and soul, we have not yet mentioned. It is a sinconcerning which we would gladly keep silence; but we cannot see somany of our most beautiful and promising girls and young ladies annuallybeing ruined, often for this world and the next alike, without utteringthe word of warning needed. 

As before remarked, the function of maternity, which is the object ofthe sexual system in woman, when rightly exercised is the most sacredand elevated office which a woman can perform for the world. The womanwho is a true mother has an opportunity of doing for the race more thanall other human agencies combined. The mother's influence is thecontrolling influence in the world. The mother molds the character ofher children. She can make of their plastic minds almost what she willif she is herself prepared for the work. On the other hand, misuse orabuse of the sexual organism is visited in girls and women, as in boysand men, with the most fearful penalties. Nothing will sooner deprivea girl or young lady of the maidenly grace and freshness with whichnature blesses woman in her early years than secret vice. We have thegreatest difficulty in making ourself believe that it is possible forbeings designed by nature to be pure and innocent, in all respects freefrom impurity of any sort, to become so depraved by sin as to be willingto devote themselves to so vile and filthy a practice. Yet the frequencywith which cases have come under our observation which clearly indicatethe alarming prevalence of the practice, even among girls and youngwomen who would naturally be least suspected, compels us to recognizethe fact. The testimony of many eminent physicians whose opportunitiesfor observation have been very extensive shows that the evil isenormously greater than people generally are aware. Instructors of theyouth, of large experience, assert the same. Nor is the evil greaterin America than in some other countries. One writer declares that thevice is almost universal among the girls of Russia, which may be dueto the low condition in which the women of that country are kept. 

Terrible Effects of Secret Vice. --The awful effects of this sin againstGod and nature, this soul-and-body-destroying vice, become speedilyvisible in those who are guilty of it. The experienced eye needs noconfession on the part of the victim to read the whole story of sinfulindulgence and consequent disease. The vice stamps its insignia uponthe countenance; it shows itself in the walk, in the changed dispositionand the loss of healthy vigor. It is not only impossible for a victimof this sinful practice to hide from the all-seeing eye of God thevileness perpetrated in secret, but it is also useless to attempt tohide from human eyes the awful truth. 

Headache, side-ache, back-ache, pains in the chest, and wandering painsin various parts of the body, --these are but a few of the painfulailments from which girls who are guilty of this sin suffer. Many ofthe tender spines which cause great solicitude on the part of parentsand physicians, who fear that disease of the spine is threatening thelife of a loved daughter, not infrequently originate in this way. Muchof the hysteria which renders wretched the lives of thousands of youngladies and the fond friends who are obliged to care for and attend them, arises from sexual transgression of the kind of which we are speaking. The blanched cheeks, hollow, expressionless eyes, and rough, pimplyskins of many school-girls are due to this cause alone. We do not meanby this to intimate that every girl who has pimples upon her face isguilty of secret vice; but this sin is undoubtedly a very frequent causeof the unpleasant eruption which so often appears upon the foreheadsof both sexes. It would be very unjust, however, to charge a personwith the sin unless some further evidence than that of an eruption onthe face was afforded. 

The inability to study, to apply themselves in any way except whenstimulated by something of a very exciting character, which many girlsexhibit, is in a large proportion of cases due to the practice of whichwe are writing. Often enough the effects which are attributed tooverstudy are properly due to this debasing habit. We have little faithin the great outcry made in certain quarters about the damaging effectsof study upon the health of young ladies. A far less worthy cause isin many cases the true one, to which is attributable the decline inhealth at a critical period when all the vital forces of the systemare necessarily called into action to introduce the activity of a newfunction. 

Hundreds of girls break down in health just as they are enteringwomanhood. At from twelve to eighteen years of age the change naturallyoccurs which transforms the girl into a woman by the development offunctions previously latent. This critical period is one through whichevery girl in health ought to pass with scarcely any noticeabledisturbance; and if during the previous years of life the laws of healthwere observed, there would seldom be any unusual degree of sufferingat this time. Those who have before this period been addicted to thevile habit of which we are writing, will almost invariably show at thistime evidences of the injury which has been wrought. The unnaturalexcitement of the organs before the period of puberty, lays thefoundation for life-long disease. When that critical epoch arrives, the organs are found in a state of congestion often bordering oninflammation. The increased congestion which naturally occurs at thistime in many cases is sufficient to excite most serious disease. Hereis the beginning of a great many of the special diseases which are thebane and shame of the sex. Displacements of various sorts, congestions, neuralgia of the ovaries, leucorrhoea, or whites, and a great varietyof kindred maladies, are certain to make their appearance at this periodor soon after in those who have previously been guilty of self-abuse. If the evil influences already at work are augmented by tight lacing, improper dressing of the extremities, hanging heavy skirts upon thehips, and fashionable dissipation generally, the worst results are sureto follow, and the individual is certain to be a subject for the doctorsfor a good portion of her life. 

A talented writer some time since contributed to a popular magazinean article entitled, "The Little Health of Women, " which contained manyexcellent hints respecting the influences at work to undermine thehealth and destroy the constitutions of American women; but he did noteven hint at this potent cause, which, we firmly believe, is responsiblefor a far greater share of the local disease and general poor healthof girls, young women, and married ladies, than has been generallyrecognized. These are startling facts, but we are prepared tosubstantiate them. 

Remote Effects. --Not all of the effects of the vice appear in girlhood, nor even during early life. Not infrequently it is not until the girlhas grown up to be a wife and mother that she begins to appreciate fullythe harm that has been wrought. At this time, when new demands are madeupon the sexual organism, when its proper duties are to be performed, there is a sudden failure; new weaknesses and diseases make theirappearance, new pains and sufferings are felt, which no woman who hasnot in some way seriously transgressed the laws of health will suffer. In not a few instances it is discovered that the individual is whollyunfitted for the duties of maternity. Often, indeed, maternity isimpossible, the injury resulting from the sins committed being so greatas to render the diseased organism incapable of the functions required. 

In the great majority of cases these peculiar difficulties, morbidconditions, and incapacities are attributed to overwork, overstudy, "taking cold, " "getting the feet wet, " or some other cause whollyinadequate to account for the diseased conditions present, althoughin many instances it may be true that some such unfortunate circumstancemay be the means of precipitating the effects of previous sin uponorgans already relaxed, debilitated, and thus prepared readily to takeon disease. 

Causes which Lead Girls Astray. --The predisposing causes of sexualvices have already been dwelt upon so fully in this volume that we shalldevote little space to the subject here. We may, however, mention afew of the causes which seem to be most active in leading to theformation of evil habits among girls. 

Vicious Companions. --Girls are remarkably susceptible to influence bythose of their own age. A vicious girl who makes herself agreeable tothose with whom she associates can exert more influence over many ofher companions than can any number of older persons. Even a motherrarely has that influence over her daughter that is maintained by thegirl whom she holds as her bosom friend. The close friendships whichare often formed between girls of the same age are often highlydetrimental in character. Each makes a confidant of the other, and thusbecomes estranged from the only one competent to give counsel and advice, and the one who of all others is worthy of a young girl'sconfidence, --her mother. 

From these unfortunate alliances often arise most deplorable evils. Vicious companions not infrequently sow the seeds of evil habits farand wide, contaminating all who come within their influence. 

Whom to Avoid. --A girl will always do well to avoid a companion whois vain, idle, silly, or frivolous. Girls who have these evilcharacteristics are very likely to have others also which are worse. A girl who is rude in her manners, careless in her habits, irreverentand disobedient to parents and teachers, is always an unsafe companion. No matter how pretty, witty, stylish, or aristocratic she may be, sheshould be shunned. Her influence will be withering, debasing, whereverfelt. A girl may be gay and thoughtless without being vicious; but thechances are ten to one that she will become sinful unless she changesher ways. 

Sentimental Books. --The majority of girls love to read, but, unfortunately, the kind of literature of which they are chiefly fondis not of a character which will elevate, refine, or in any way benefitthem. Story books, romances, love tales, and religious novelsconstitute the chief part of the reading matter which American youngladies greedily devour. We have known young ladies still in their teenswho had read whole libraries of the most exciting novels. 

The taste for novel-reading is like that for liquor or opium. It isnever satiated. It grows with gratification. A confirmed novel-readeris almost as difficult to reform as a confirmed inebriate or opium-eater. The influence upon the mind is most damaging and pernicious. It notonly destroys the love for solid, useful reading, but excites theemotions, and in many cases keeps the passions in a perfect fever ofexcitement. The confessions of young women who were to all appearancethe most circumspect in every particular, and whom no one mistrustedto be capable of vile thoughts, have convinced us that this evil ismore prevalent than many, even of those who are quite well informed, would be willing to admit. 

By reading of this kind, many are led to resort to self-abuse for thegratification of passions which over-stimulation has made almostuncontrollable. Some have thus been induced to sin who had never beeninjured by other influences, but discovered the fatal secret themselves. Mothers cannot be too careful of the character of the books which theirdaughters read. Every book, magazine, and paper should be carefullyscrutinized, unless its character is already well known, before it isallowed to be read. In our opinion, some of the literature which passesas standard, which is often found on parlor center-tables and in familyand school libraries, such as Chaucer's poems, and other writings ofa kindred character, is unfit for perusal by inexperienced andunsophisticated young ladies. Some of this literature is actually toovile for any one to read, and if written to-day by any poet of notewould cause his works to be committed to the stove and the rag-bag inspite of his reputation. 

Various Causes. --Bad diet, the use of stimulating and exciting articlesof food, late suppers, confectionery and dainties, --all these have avery powerful influence in the wrong direction by exciting functionswhich ought to be kept as nearly latent as possible. The use of teaand coffee by young ladies cannot be too strongly condemned. Improperdress, by causing local congestion, often predisposes to secret viceby occasioning local excitement. Probably a greater cause than any ofthose last mentioned is too great familiarity with the opposite sex. The silly letters which girls sometimes allow themselves to receivefrom the boys and young men of their acquaintance, and which theyencourage by letters of a similar character, must be condemned in themost thorough manner. Upon receiving such a letter a pure-minded girlwill consider herself insulted; and has just reason for so doing. Thechildish flirtations which girls and boys sometimes indulge in oftenlead to evils of a most revolting character. 

Modesty Woman's Safeguard. --True modesty and maidenly reserve are thebest guardians of virtue. The girl who is truly modest, who encouragesand allows no improper advances, need have no fear of annoyance fromthis source. She is equally safe from temptation to sin which may cometo her in secret, when no human eye can behold. Maidenly modesty isone of the best qualities which any young lady can possess. A youngwoman who lacks modesty, who manifests boldness of manner andcarelessness in deportment, is not only liable to have her virtueassailed by designing and unscrupulous men, but is herself likely tofall before the temptation to indulge in secret sin, which is certainto present itself in some way sooner or later. 

This invaluable protection is speedily lost by the girl who abandonsherself to secret vice. The chances are very great, also, that bydegrees her respect for and love of virtue and chastity will diminishuntil she is open to temptations to indulge in less secret sin; andthus she travels down the road of vice until she finds herself at lastan inmate of a brothel or an outcast wanderer, rejected by friends, and lost to virtue, purity, and all that a true woman holds most dear. 

A Few Sad Cases. --Although we do not believe it right to harrow thefeelings of those who have sinned and suffered with a rehearsal of sadcases when no good can be accomplished by such accounts, we deem itbut just that those who are not yet entangled in the meshes of viceshould have an opportunity of knowing the actual results of sin, andprofiting by the sad experience of others. It is for this purpose thatwe shall mention a few cases which have come under our observation, taking care to avoid mentioning any facts which might lead toidentification, as the facts we shall use were, many of them, receivedin strict confidence from those who were glad to unburden their heartsto some one, but had never dared to do so, even to their friends. 

A Pitiful Case. --Several years ago we received a letter from a youngwoman in an Eastern State in which she described her case as that ofan individual who had early become addicted to secret vice and hadcontinued the vile habit until that time, when she was about thirty-twoyears of age. In spite of the most solemn vows to reform, she stillcontinued the habit, and had become reduced to such a miserablecondition that she would almost rather die than live. She sent withher letter photographs representing herself at twenty and at that time, so that we might see the contrast. It was indeed appalling to see whatchanges sin had wrought. Her face, once fair and comely, had becomeactually haggard with vice. Purity, innocence, grace, and modesty wereno longer visible there. The hard lines of sin had obliterated everytrace of beauty, and produced a most repulsive countenance. Thoughgreatly depraved and shattered by sin and consequent disease in bodyand mind, she still had some desire to be cured, if possible, and madea most pitiful appeal for help to escape from her loathsome condition. We gave her the best counsel we could under the circumstances, and didall in our power to rescue her from her living death; but whether inany degree successful we cannot tell, as we have never heard from thepoor creature since. 

We have often wished since that we might but show those two picturesto every girl who has been tempted to sin in this way, to all who haveever yielded to this awful vice. The terrible contrast would certainlyproduce an impression which no words can do. We sent them back to theirwretched original, however, by her request, and so cannot show theactual pictures; but when any who read these lines are tempted thusto sin we beg them to think of these two pictures, and by forming avivid image of them in the mind drive away the disposition to do wrong. 

A Mind Dethroned. --A young lady who had received every advantage whichcould be given her by indulgent parents, and who naturally possessedmost excellent talents, being a fine musician, and naturally so brightand witty as to be the life of every company in which she moved, suddenlybegan to show strange symptoms of mental unsoundness. She wouldsometimes be seized with fits of violence during which it was with greatdifficulty that she could be controlled. Several times she threatenedthe lives of her nurses, and even on one occasion attempted to executeher threat, the person's life being saved by mere accident. Everythingwas done for her that could be done, but the mania increased to sucha degree of violence that she was sent to an asylum for the insane. Here she remained for months before she became sufficiently tractableto be taken to her home and cared for by friends. Too close applicationto study was the cause at first assigned for her mental disorder, buta careful investigation of the case revealed the fact that the terriblesin which has ruined the minds of so many promising young men andbrilliant young women was the cause that led to the sad result in thiscase also. The punishment of sin, especially of sexual sins, is indeedterrible; but the sin is a fearful one, and the penalty must be equalto the enormity of the crime. Not all young women who indulge thus willbecome insane, but any one who thus transgresses may be thus punished. There is no safety but in absolute purity. 

A Penitent Victim. --A young woman who had been ill for years, and whosephysicians had sought in vain to cure her various ailments, until herparents almost despaired of her ever being anything but a helplessinvalid, came to us for treatment, resolved upon making a last effortfor health. She had grown up in utter ignorance of the laws of healthand of the results of the vice of which we are writing; and having beenearly taught the sin, she had indulged it for a number of years withthe result of producing a most terribly diseased condition of the sexualorgans, which had baffled the skill of all the physicians who hadattended her, none of whom had ever been made acquainted with the truecause of the difficulties. When apprized of the real facts in the case, that she was alone responsible for the sad condition into which shehad fallen, her eyes were opened to see the wickedness and vilenessof her course. She bitterly bemoaned her past life, and heartilyrepented of her sins. Of the sincerity of her repentance she gaveevidence in the earnest efforts which she put forth to help herself. She spared no pains to do well all required on her part, and was soonrewarded by feeling that her diseases were being removed and healthwas returning. Still, she was constantly reminded of her former sins. When the will was off its guard, during sleep, the mind, long indulgedin sin, would revert to the old channels and riot in vileness. Unchastedreams made her often dread to sleep, as she awoke from theseunconscious lapses enervated, weak, and prostrated as though she hadactually transgressed. But though often thus almost disheartened shecontinued the struggle, and was finally rewarded by gaining a perfectvictory over her mind, sleeping as well as waking, and recovering herhealth sufficiently to enable her to enjoy life and make herself veryuseful. 

Not a few similar cases have come under our observation; and it seemsto us that the pain, anguish, and remorse suffered by these poor victims, ought to be a warning to those who have never entered the sinful road. What a terrible thing it is for a pure and lovely being, designed byGod to fulfill a high, holy, and sacred mission in the world, to becomea victim to such a filthy vice! No girl of sense would in her rightmind raise her hand to dash in pieces a beautiful vase, to destroy alovely painting, or a beautiful piece of statuary. A girl who woulddo such a thing would be considered insane and a fit subject for amad-house. Yet is not the human body, a girl's own beautiful, symmetrical form, infinitely better, more valuable and more sacred, than any object produced by human art? There can be but one answer. How, then, is it possible for her thus to defile and destroy herself?Is it not a fearful thing? a terrible vice?

A Ruined Girl. --One of the most remarkable cases of disease resultingfrom self-abuse which ever came under our observation was that of ayoung lady from a distant Western State whose adopted parents, afterconsulting many different physicians for a peculiar disease of thebreast, placed her under our care. We found her a good-looking youngwoman about seventeen years of age, rather pale and considerablyemaciated, very nervous and hysterical, and suffering with severe painin the left breast, which was swollen to nearly double the natural size, hot, tense, pulsating, and extremely tender to the touch. Occasionallyshe would experience paroxysms in which she apparently sufferedextremely, being sometimes semi-conscious, and scarcely breathing forhours. We suspected the cause of these peculiar manifestations at theoutset, but every suggestion of the possibility of the suspected causewas met with a stout denial and a very deceptive appearance of innocentignorance on the subject. All treatment was unavailing to check thedisease. Though sometimes the symptoms seemed to be controlled, aspeedy relapse occurred, so that no progress toward a cure was made. Finally our conviction that our first impression respecting the casewas correct became so strong that we hesitated no longer to treat itas such. By most vigilant observation we detected evidences of thesoul-corrupting vice which we considered unmistakable, and then theyoung woman who had pretended such profound ignorance of the matterconfessed to an extent of wickedness which was perfectly appalling. Every paroxysm was traced to an unusual excess of sinful indulgence. So hardened was she by her evil practices that she seemed to feel noremorse, and only promised to reform when threatened with exposure toher parents unless she immediately ceased the vile practice. In lessthan ten days the mysterious symptoms which had puzzled many physiciansdisappeared altogether. The swollen, tender breast was no larger thanthe other, and was so entirely restored that she was able to strikeit a full blow without pain. 

So great was the depravity of this girl, however, that she had no notionof making a permanent reform. She even boasted of her wickedness toa companion, and announced her intention to continue the practice. Wesent her home, and apprized her parents of the full facts in the case, for which we received their deepest gratitude, though their hearts werenearly broken with grief at the sad revelation made to them. Notwithstanding their most earnest efforts in her behalf, the wretchedgirl continued her downward career, and a year or two after we learnedthat she had sunk to the very lowest depths of shame. 

Once this now wretched, disgraced creature was an attractive, pure, innocent little girl. Her adopted father lavished upon her numerouspresents, and spent hundreds of dollars to obtain her recovery to health. Yet through this awful vice she was ruined utterly, and rendered sowholly perverse and bad that she had no desire to be better, nodisposition to reform. God only knows what will be her sad end. Maynone who read these lines ever follow in her footsteps. 

The Danger of Boarding-Schools. --Some years ago a young lady came underour medical care who had suffered for some time from a serious nervousdifficulty which had baffled the skill of all the physicians who hadhad charge of her case, and which occasioned her a great amount ofsuffering, making it necessary that she should be confined to her bedmost of the time, the disease being aggravated by exercise, and thepatient having been much weakened by its long continuance. 

All the remedies usually successful in such cases were employed withlittle or no effect, and we were feeling somewhat perplexed concerningthe case, when the young lady sent for us one day and upon our goingto her room in answer to her call she immediately burst into tears andacknowledged that she had been addicted to the habit of self-abuse andthat she was still suffering from involuntary excitement during sleep. Having been placed in a boarding-school when quite young, she had therelearned the vile habit, and had practiced it without knowing anythingof the ill effects or really appreciating its sinfulness. When shelearned, some years after, that the habit was a most pernicious viceand of a character to bring destruction to both soul and body of oneaddicted to it, she endeavored to free herself from its shackles; butshe found herself too securely bound for escape. It seemed, indeed, an utter impossibility. Her thoughts had long been allowed to run insentimental channels, and now they would do so in spite of the mostearnest efforts to the contrary, during her waking hours; and in sleep, while the will power was not active, the imagination would run riotuncontrolled, leaving her, upon awaking, exhausted, enervated, andalmost desperate with chagrin. Knowing that she was daily sufferingfor her transgressions, she was filled with remorse and regret, andwould have given all to undo the past; but, alas! she could not, andcould only suffer with patience until relief could be secured. Her lovefor sentimental literature occasioned another battle for her to fight;for she could scarcely resist the temptation daily offered her to whileaway some of the weary hours with such stories of love and sentimentas she had been accustomed to enjoy. But she fought the battle earnestly, and finally succeeded in conquering the evil tendencies of her mindboth while awake and when asleep; and from that time she began to makeslow progress toward recovery. The last we saw of her she was doingwell, and hoped in time to arrive at a very comfortable state of health. 

A Desperate Case. --A little girl about ten years of age was broughtto us by her father, who came with his daughter to have her broken ofthe vile habit of self-abuse into which she had fallen, having beentaught it by a German servant girl. Having read an early copy of thiswork, the father had speedily detected the habit, and had adopted everymeasure which he could devise to break his child of the destructivevice which she had acquired, but in vain. After applying various othermeasures without success, it finally became necessary to resort to asurgical operation, by which it is hoped that she was permanently cured, as we have heard nothing to the contrary since, and as the remedy seemedto be effectual. It was a severe remedy, and may seem a harsh one, butevery other means utterly failed, and the father insisted upon theperformance of the operation as a trial. This little girl, naturallytruthful and honest, had, through the influence of this blighting vice, been made crafty and deceptive. She would tell the most astonishingfalsehoods to free herself from the charge of guilt or to avoidpunishment. The gentleman, her father, felt so deeply upon the subjectand was so thoroughly awake to the consequences of the sin, that hedeclared he would take his daughter away into the wilderness and leaveher to die, if need be, rather than allow her to grow up to womanhoodwith this vile blight upon her, and run the risk of her contaminatingwith the same vice his other, younger children. He felt so deeply thatthe tears coursed down his cheeks as he talked, and we were most happyto be of service to him in aiding his daughter to overcome thefascinating vice. She seemed willing to try to help herself, but wasunable to break the bonds of sin without the extraordinary help whichshe received. 

We might continue this rehearsal of cases to an almost indefinite length, but we must soon bring this chapter to a close. Those described areonly a few examples of the many we are constantly meeting. None havebeen overdrawn; much has been omitted for the sake of delicacy whichthe exposure of the whole truth would have required us to present. Wesincerely hope that these examples may be a warning to those who havenever marred their purity of character by an unchaste act. To thosewho may have already sinned in this manner let the words come with doubleforce and meaning. Do you value life, health, beauty, honor, virtue, purity? Then for the sake of all these, abandon the evil practice atonce. Do not hesitate for a moment to decide, and do not turn back afterdeciding to reform. 

A Last Word. --Girls, as one who has only your best interests in view, and who would do you good, we beg of you to give heed one moment tothe important matter which we have been presenting before you. It isof no frivolous character. It is one of the most important subjectsto which your attention can be called. Only those who are utterlyignorant of the dangers which surround them in the world, or who arealready hardened in sin, will treat this matter lightly or scornfully. If you are still pure and possess a character unsoiled by sin, thankGod that you have been preserved until now, and humbly petition himto enable you to remain as pure and unsullied as you now are. Cultivateall of the heavenly graces. Make your dear mother your confidant inall your perplexities and trials. Go to her for information on allsubjects upon which you find yourself ignorant. Let no foreigninfluence beguile away your confidence from her who is most worthy ofyour love and respect, and who is best prepared to instruct you on allsubjects, no matter how delicate. Trust in God for help to resist evilunder every guise. Flee from temptation under whatever form it mayappear. Thus may you escape the suffering, the sorrow, and the remorse, which is endured sooner or later by all who enter the road of sin, nomatter how short a time they may travel therein. 

To those who have already fallen, who have been led astray eitherignorantly or through weakness in yielding to temptation, we will say, Turn from your evil way at once. Misery, sorrow, anguish, andeverlasting ruin stare you in the face. Perdition is before you. Youneed not think to escape the punishment that others suffer, for thereis no way of escape. The penalty will surely come. Make haste to returnto the paths of purity before it is too late to mend the past. It maytake years of pure and upright living to repair the evil already done;but do not hesitate to begin at once. With the help of God, resolveto become pure again. God can cleanse you from all unrighteousness. He can enable you to chase from your mind and heart every impure thoughtand unclean desire. Through his grace you can successfully battle withtemptation and redeem the black record of the past. 

A FEW WORDS TO BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Of the last two preceding chapters one was devoted exclusively to adviceand instruction to boys, the other being written expressly for girls. Now we have a few words in conclusion for boys and girls together. Itis of the greatest importance that our boys and girls should be in everyway improved as much as possible. They are to become the men and womenof the next generation, when their fathers and mothers have retiredfrom active life. Twenty years from to-day the world will be just whatthe present boys and girls shall make it. Boys who are chaste, honest, obedient, and industrious, will become useful and noble men, husbands, and fathers. Girls who are pure, innocent, and dutiful, will becomehonored and lovely women, wives, and mothers. 

Boys and girls are placed in families together, and thus are evidentlydesigned by nature to associate together, to obtain their educationand preparation for life together. When secluded wholly from eachother's society, both suffer a loss. But while this is true, it is alsotrue that certain evils may and often do grow out of the associationof the two sexes of young people, so serious in character that manywise and good men and women have felt that the sexes should be rearedand educated apart as much as possible. These evils are the result oftoo intimate and improper associations of boys and girls. Associationsof this sort must be most sedulously avoided. Boys and girls who arein school together must be extremely careful to avoid too closeassociations. On all occasions a modest reserve should be maintainedin the deportment of the young of both sexes toward each other. Tooearly friendships formed often lead to hasty marriages, before eitherparty is prepared to enter into the married state, and before thejudgment has been sufficiently developed to make either capable ofselecting a suitable partner for life. These facts are usually learnedwhen it is too late for the information to be of any value. 

Parents and teachers are especially responsible for guarding theseearly associations and giving timely warning when needed. The youthshould always be ready to take advice on this subject, for with theirinexperience they cannot know their wants so well as do their elders. Nothing is more disgusting to persons of sound sense than youthfulflirtations. Those misguided persons who encourage these indiscretionsin young people do an immense amount of injury to those whom they oughtto be prepared to benefit by wise counsel. We have seen promising youngpeople made wretched for life through the influence of one of thesemischief-makers, being most unhappily mated, and repenting too lateof a hasty marriage for which they were utterly unprepared. 

Young persons often labor under the erroneous impression that in orderto be agreeable they must talk "small talk;" this literally means, "silly twaddle, " which disgusts everybody, and yet which all seek toimitate. Whenever the two sexes meet in society or elsewhere, as atall other times, the conversation should be turned upon subjects ofreal interest, which admit of the exercise of sound sense and will bea means of culture. Such associations do not result in injury to anyone, and may be the means of much profit; but nothing is more execrablethan the frivolous, silly, often absolutely senseless observationswhich make up the great bulk of the conversation of young people infashionable society. 

The most ready means of disclosing the superficial character of theminds of a large share of the young persons who move in fashionablecircles is to introduce some topic requiring depth of thought and soundjudgment. Such a subject will usually produce either an instant lullin the conversation or a display of ignorance which cannot fail toreveal the shallowness of the speaker's intellect. It is thissuperficial class of minds that most easily fall victims to a sicklysentimentalism, which readily leads to digressions from the pathwayof rigid virtue. 

A boy who has the elements of true manliness in him will carry agentlemanly bearing wherever he goes. In all his deportment, andespecially in his conduct toward the opposite sex, he will act thegentleman; and the boy whose gentility is genuine will manifest thesame kind deference toward his mother and sisters as toward other ladiesand girls. So also the young lady who is a lady at heart, will neverallow herself to forget the rules of propriety, whether she is in thecompany of her father and brothers, or that of other gentlemen. 

All the rules of etiquette are worth little compared with the one simplerule which is applicable to both sexes and all ages, --"Have the heartright, and then act natural. " One so governed will not go very far astrayunder any circumstances; but it is of the greatest importance that theheart be right. To make it such is, indeed, the great business of life. 

"BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART. "

INDEX. 

 PAGE. 

Abortion, 271

 " results of, 280

Accidental pregnancy, 236

Adaptation to marriage, 127

Advice to boys, 468

Advice to girls, 499

Advice to boys and girls, 501

Afterbirth, 68

Amativeness, 177

Amaurosis, 369

Amenorrhoea, 95

Animalcula, 26

Ante-natal influences, 105

Antediluvian wickedness, 286

Bad language, 461

Bad company, 458

Bad books, 462

 " " influence of, 463

 " " effects of, 486

Balls, demoralizing effect of, 204

Beauty, how to develop, 473

Beer-drinking by nursing mothers, 71

Beer, evil effects of, 467

Betrothal of infants, 138

Birth, changes at, 69

Bladder, irritation of, 203

Boarding-schools, danger of, 495

Books, bad, 186

 " obscene, 187

Brain, male and female, 42

Breasts, 70

 " atrophy of the, 374

Breath, causes of foul, 89

"Bundling, " 140

Cancer, cause of, 253

 " of the womb, 374

Castration, 114

Catamenia, 81

Causes of unchastity, 181

Cells, development of, 104

Chastity, 174

Chlorosis, 95, 343

Cider, evil effects of, 467

Circumcision, 113, 410

Civilization, perverting influence of, 181

Classification of living creatures, 27

Clitoris, 57, 73

Coitus, 57

Colds, how to prevent, 84

Colostrum, 70

Conception, prevention of, 250

Condiments, 210, 292

Conjugal onanism, 250

Constipation, 202

Consumption, 365

 " cause of, 230, 435

Continence, 205

 " male, 256

 " not injurious, 205

 " difficulty of, 208

 " helps to, 209

Conversation, trifling, 503

Copulation, 57

Courtship, 136

 " evils of, 137

Courtships, long, 140

Crime, source of, 107

 " cause of, 454

Criminality hereditary, 107

Critical period, a, 482

Dancing, 196

Day-dreams, 177

Desirable qualities, how to produce, 113

Development, 59, 477

 " premature, 78

Development in higher animals, 61

Diet, 390

 " influence on chastity, 182

Disease, 301

 " obscure causes of, 376

Diurnal emissions, 359

Divorce, loose laws of, 153

Dozing, danger of, 212

Dreams, 396

 " how to control, 397

Dress and sensuality, 190

Dressing unhealthfully, 89

Dress reform, 193

Drinks, stimulating, 392

Drugs, 411

Dwarfs, 431

Dysmenorrhoea, 94

Dyspepsia, 366

 " cause of, 434

Early associations, 314

 " marriage, 126

 " training, 310

 " " lack of, 295

 " decline, cause of, 481

Egypt a hot-bed of vice, 286

Electricity, 407

Embryo, 63

 " simple structure of, 64

 " stages of growth of, 65

Emissions, effect of, 356

 " internal, 361

 " nocturnal, 353

Endurance of women, 43

Epilepsy, 344

 " cause of, 244

Evil habits, 427

Excesses, marital, 216

 " results of, 225

 " effects of on wives, 231

 " effects of on husbands, 226

Extra-uterine pregnancy, 97

Eyes, weakness of, 369

Fallopian tube, 74

False delicacy, 92

 " training, 473

Fashion, 294

 " and vice, 192

Fashionable dissipation, 478

Fecundation, 52

 " in flowers, 53

 " modes of, 55

 " in fishes, 56

 " in reptiles, 56

 " in higher animals, 56

 " in hermaphrodites, 59

Feeling apparatus, 425

Females, imperfect, 58

Female organs, 73

 " organs of flowers, 48

Fetus, respiration of, 67

 " influenced through the blood, 67

Fishes, development in, 60

 " fecundation in, 56

Filthy dreams, 179

 " talkers, 180

Flirtation, evils of, 143

 " youthful, 144

 " childish, 487

Flowers, polygamous, 47

 " female organs of, 48

 " fecundation in, 53

Fomentations, 405

Foods, stimulating, 392

Force, life, 29

Functions of life, 30

General debility, 365

Generation, laws of, 219

 " physiological, 112

 " spontaneous, 31

 " ancient theory of, 32

Gestation, duration of, 66

Girlhood, 471

Girls, a chapter for, 470

 " causes which lead astray, 484

 " how ruined, 493

Gluttony, 292

Habit, power of, 496

Health essential to beauty, 474

Health hints, 88, 93

Heart disease, 367

Heredity, 102

 " laws of, 243

 " of disease, 109

 " of crime, 107

Hermaphrodism, 36

Hermaphrodites, fecundation in, 59

Hip bath, 93

Human machine, the, 423

Human wrecks, 437

Human form, 474

Human buds, 476

Husbands, improvident, 170

Hybrids, 100

Hymen, 73

Hysteria, 95, 343

 " causes of, 96, 375

Idiocy, 371

 " cause of, 433

Idleness, 189

Ignorance, 300

Ill-health of girls, causes of, 472

Illustrative cases, 437

Imbecility, 371

Impotence, 363, 410

 " not produced by continence, 207

Infanticide, 271

 " among various nations, 273

Infant intoxication, 70

Infants, betrothal of, 138

Insanity, 370

 " cause of, 447, 490

Instinct, lessons from, 220

 " a safe guide, 224

Internal emissions, 361

Intestinal worms, 202

Juke family, the, 108

Labia, the, 73

Labor, 68

Lacing, 90

Law of heredity applied, 126

 " of sex, 101

Legalized murder, 233

 " vice, 309

Leucorrhoea, 346

Libidinous blood, 290

Licentious worship, 287

Licentiousness, results of, 302

Life, 25

 " beginning of, 52

 " force, 29

 " origin of, 33

 " modern modes of, 203

 " when it begins, 262

 " uterine, 66

Literature, poisonous, 189

Living beings, 25

Love, perverted, 178

Lust, effect upon child, 111

Male organs, 71

 " continence, 256

Mammary glands, 70

Marriage, 124, 402

 " evils of ill-mated, 131

 " effect of late, 132

 " experimental, 141

 " forbidden, 155

 " of cousins, 163

 " of criminals, 164

 " of paupers, 167

 " but not love, 235

 " customs of different nations, 125

Marital excesses, 216

 " rights, 234

Masturbation, 315, 428

 " treatment of, 378

 " prevention of, 378

 " effects in females, 373

 " effects on offspring, 376

 " self-helps to cure, 385

Menopause, the, 82

Menorrhagia, 91

Menses, 81

Menstrual period, duration of, 82

Menstruation, 81

 " nature of, 83

Mental unchastity, 174

 " culture, 313

Milk, influence of upon children, 70

Mind, cause of unbalanced, 129

Mormonism, 148

Monsters, 99

Mock piety, 338

Moderation, 248

Modesty, 488

Mothers, a warning to, 201

 " their work, 479

Moral contagion, 459

Moving apparatus, 425

Multiple births, 98

Navel, the, 68

Nervous diseases, 368

 " debility, treatment of, 378

Nocturnal emissions, 353

Novel-reading, 486

Nursing, 70

Nutrition, 30

Nutritive apparatus, 425

Nymphae, the, 73

Nymphomania, 301

Objects of life, 423

Obscene books, 187

Obscenity, 462

Oneida community, the, 258

Organized beings, 28

Organization, 28

Ovary, 51

Ovum, 51

 " discharge of, 83

 " size of, 52

 " expulsion of from ovary, 74

 " union of the, with the zoosperm, 57

Pangenesis, doctrine of, 103

Paralysis, 369

Parturition, 68

 " painless, 68

Passion, inherited, 121

Passions, how excited, 183

Pedestrianism, 40

Pernicious books, influence of, 297

Penis, the, 56, 71

Physical differences in sex, 39

Piles, 350

Pimples, 342

Placenta, 67

Plants, sex of, 37

Pictures, vile, 464

Poisonous literature, 189

Polyandry, 152

Polygamous flowers, 47

Polygamy, 145

 " defense of, 148

 " exposed, 149

 " of great men, 152

Precocity, 77

 " sexual, 117

 " indications of, 119

Pregnancy, 62

 " duration of, 66

 " extra-uterine, 97

 " indulgence during, 241

Premature development, 78

 " decay, 419

Prevention of conception, 250

Priapism, 350

Prostate gland, 72

 " " enlargement of the, 349

Prostitution, 400

 " in Greece, 287

Pruritis, 374

Puberty, 74

 " premature, 75

 " influence of diet on, 76

 " changes at, 79

 " influence of climate on, 75

Pudenda, the, 73

Purifying apparatus, 425

Quacks, 362, 412

Race degeneration, cause of, 436

Religion, help of, 213

Religious novels, 297

 " insanity, 371

Reproduction, 31, 424, 476

 " elements of, 45

 " in polyps, 58

 " anatomy of, 71

 " curious modes of, 57

 " in the honey bee, 58

 " in lower animals, 218

Reproductive organs, 71

 " functions, 217

 " apparatus, 426

 " elements, union of, 57

Reptiles, fecundation in, 56

 " development in, 60

Respiration in woman, 44

 " of the fetus, 67

Results of abortion, 280

Roman emperors, licentiousness of, 288

Satyriasis, 124

Scrotum, the, 71

Secret vice, 428

 " " evidences of, 481

 " " prevalence of, 480

 " " terrible effects of, 480

Self-abuse, 315, 428

 " causes of, 321, 487

 " effects of, 437

 " the signs of, 331

 " results of, 347

 " treatment of, 378

 " not a modern vice, 319

 " physical causes of, 329

 " how to cure the habit of, 382

Self-control, 311

Self-pollution, 428

Self-murder, 431

Seminal fluid, the, 51, 72

Senility, 420

Senile children, 134

 " sexuality, 123

Sentimental books, 485

 " young women, 190

 " literature, influence of, 296

Sex, 35

 " in plants, 37

 " in animals, 38

 " law of, 101

 " of fetus, 102

Sexual differences, 38

 " organs of plants, 46

 " " of animals, 48

 " relations, the, 116

 " precocity, 117

 " " causes of, 122

 " activity, the limit of, 124

Shaker views, 258

Sitz-baths, 404

Sleeping, 393

Social lepers, 146

 " evil, the, 284

 " " causes of the, 290

 " " cure of the, 308

Solitary vice, 315

 " " alarming prevalence of, 316

 " " unsuspected cause of, 318

Spaying, 115

Spermatozoa, 48

 " size of, 50

Spermatorrhoea, 353

Spinal irritation, 369

Sterility, 374

Stimulants the cause of self-abuse, 330

Stricture, 348

Suicide, cause of, 453

"Tarrying, " 140

Tea and coffee, 292

 " " " bad effects of, 467

Testicles, position of, 48

 " wasting of, 352

Temperaments, 166

Thinking apparatus, 425

Thoughts, evil, 465

Throat disease, cause of, 229

Time to marry, 125

Tobacco, 292

 " evil effects of, 467

 " grave charges against, 185

Twins, 98

Umbilical cord, 67

Unchaste conversation, 179

Unchastity, causes of, 181

 " of the ancients, 274

 " physical causes of, 201

Unconsidered murders, 260

Uterus, 61

Uterine life, 66

 " douche, 93

 " disease, 233, 373

 " gestation, 62

Urinary diseases, 349

Urethra, the, 72

Vagina, the, 56, 74

Varicocele, 352

Vegetable husbands, 47

Vice legalized, 309

Vicious companions, 484

Vital force, definition of, 29

 " organs of man and woman, 43

Vision, dimness of, 369

Vulva, the, 73

Waltz, the, its sensuality, 199

Weak backs, 339

Wine, evil effects of, 467

Wives, on trial, 139

 " sale of, among the Russians, 138

Woman, servitude of, 263

 " her responsibility, 270

Woman's rights, 264

Women, Indian, 86

 " Hebrew, 87

Womb, cancer of the, 374

WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 

THE HOME HAND-BOOK OF DOMESTIC HYGIENE AND RATIONAL MEDICINE. --Thiswork has met with a most cordial reception everywhere, from bothphysicians and the common people. Over 6000 copies were sold withinsix weeks of the announcement of the work, and 8000 while the firstedition was in press. Nearly 1600 royal octavo pages, over 500 cuts, 22 colored plates. Muslin, $6. 50; library, $7. 50. Send for circular. 

PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG. --A book for the times, treating uponall subjects pertaining to the anatomy and physiology of reproduction. A special chapter for boys and girls. Thousands who have read the bookpronounce it invaluable. Hundreds of physicians and clergymen havegiven it most unqualified commendation. 20, 000 sold last year. Octavo, 512 pp. Muslin, $3. 25; sheep, $3. 75; half morocco, gilt, $4. 50. Goodagents wanted. 

DIGESTION AND DYSPEPSIA. --This work embodies the results of theauthor's extensive experience in dealing with a large number ofpatients suffering from all forms of the disease, in all of its stages, and is a most thoroughly rational, practical, and practical, andpopular treatise on this prevalent malady. It has an illuminatedfrontispiece, in five tints. Muslin, 75 cts. 

THE HOUSEHOLD MANUAL. --A book that everybody wants. It is brim fullof information on a hundred useful topics. Tells how to treat mostcommon diseases successfully with simple remedies, how to disinfectand ventilate, what to do in case of accidents, how to resuscitate thedrowned, and gives much other equally important information. 20, 000have been sold in two years. Bound, 172 pp. , 60 cts. 

USES OF WATER IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. --A book for every physician andevery family. Careful explanations and instructions are givenrespecting the uses of water as a preventive of disease, and as avaluable remedy in nearly all classes of maladies. In cloth, 166 pp. , 60 cts. 

ALCOHOLIC POISON. --OR, THE PHYSICAL, MORAL, AND SOCIAL EFFECTS OFALCOHOL AS A BEVERAGE, AND AS A MEDICINE. --This pamphlet is the bestcompendium of the temperance question published. The scientific partof the argument is particularly full. Its statements are brief, concise, and to the point. Every temperance worker ought to have it. Paper covers, 128 pp. , 25 cts. 

DIPHTHERIA. --A concise description of the nature, causes, modes ofprevention, and most successful mode of treatment of this now prevalentand fatal malady. The most carefully written and reliable populartreatise on the subject. Every family should have it. Three coloredplates. This book has saved many lives. 64 pp. , 25 cts. 

EVILS OF FASHIONABLE DRESS, AND HOW TO DRESS HEALTHFULLY. --This littlework considers the subject of fashionable dress from a medicalstandpoint, and thoroughly exposes its evils. It does not stop here, but points out an easy and acceptable remedy. 40 pp. , 10 cts. 

PROPER DIET FOR MAN. --A scientific discussion of the question ofvegetable versus animal food. Ultra notions are avoided, and thesubjects treated are handled with candor. Paper covers, 15 cts. 

A TEXT-BOOK OF ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, AND HYGIENE. --Especially adaptedto families. Untechnical, concise, interesting, and practical. 350 pp. , 150 cuts, 15 colored plates, muslin bound, leather back, $1. 50. 

WINE AND THE BIBLE. --A demonstration that the Bible in no degreesustains the habitual use of alcoholic drinks of any sort. Just thething for temperance work. (In press). 

ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES. --A complete answer to the question "whatto do in cases of accidents of all sorts. " The most complete andpractical popular treatise on the subject. Profusely illustrated. (Inpress). 

DISEASES OF WOMEN. --A work which should be in the hands of every woman. It gives a concise account of the nature, causes, and proper treatmentof all the diseases to which the female sex is subject. Numerousillustrations. (In press). 

PLAIN FACTS FOR GIRLS. --A work which ought to be in the hands of everygirl and young woman in the land. The information it contains will saveyears of suffering. (In press). 

PLAIN FACTS FOR BOYS. --Every boy and young man cannot but be made betterby the perusal of this work. Every parent or teacher having boys underhis charge should put this book into their hands. (In press). 

CONSUMPTION: HOW TO PREVENT AND HOW TO CURE. --The author believes thatconsumption is a preventable disease, even when hereditary, and iscurable, even when considerably advanced. He proves his views byillustrative cases, and points out the road to health. He also believesthat consumption is a contagious malady, and adduces proof of thisstartling fact. Illustrated. (In press). 

NASAL CATARRH. --The causes of this common malady are thoroughlydiscussed, and successful methods of treatment clearly pointed out. Illustrated. (In press). 

DYSPEPSIA. --A popular treatise on the symptoms and home treatment ofthis disease. Paper covers, 25 cts. 

TRACTS. 

BIBLE TEMPERANCE. --(In press). 

THE DRUNKARD'S ARGUMENTS ANSWERED. --Leaves no excuse for tipplers, either moderate drinkers or habitual drunkards. 16 pp. , 2 cts. 

ALCOHOLIC MEDICATION. --A protest against the wholesale employment ofalcoholic compounds in the form of bitters, tonics, blood purifiers, etc. 16 pp. , 3 cts. 

PORK. --This tract exposes the filthy scavenger in all his uncleanliness. It destroys all appetite for ham and sausage. Republished in England. 16 pp. , 2 cts. 

MORAL AND SOCIAL EFFECTS OF INTEMPERANCE. --A forcible statement offacts and statistics. 8 pp. , 1 ct. 

CAUSE AND CURE OF INTEMPERANCE. --A very valuable tract. Especiallydesigned for wide circulation. 8 pp. , 1 ct. 

ALCOHOL; WHAT IS IT?--An explanation of the nature of alcohol, and themode of its production. 4 pp. , 1/2 ct. 

TRUE TEMPERANCE. --This tract views intemperance as a far-reaching evilwhich includes every form of artificial stimulation, as well asalcoholic intoxication. 4 pp. , 1/2 ct. 

EVIL EFFECTS OF THE USE OF TEA AND COFFEE. 8 pp. , 1 ct. 

TEN ARGUMENTS FOR THE USE OF TEA AND COFFEE BRIEFLY ANSWERED. 8 pp. , 1 ct. 

TOBACCO-POISONING. 8 pp. , 1 ct. 

TOBACCO-USING A CAUSE OF DISEASE. 8 pp. , 1 ct. 

TOBACCO-USING A RELIC OF BARBARISM. 4 pp. , 1/2 ct. 

Any of the above publications will be sent free of postage to anyaddress upon receipt of retail price. A liberal discount to Health andTemperance Associations, and others who buy in large quantities. 

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Address, _GOOD HEALTH_, _Battle Creek, Michigan_. 

GOOD HEALTH, J. H. KELLOGG, M. D. , Editor. MONTHLY, 32 PAGES, $1. 00 A YEAR. THE BEST HEALTH JOURNAL IN THE WORLD. 

This Journal has long enjoyed the LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY HEALTHJOURNAL in this or any other country. This eminent popularity isdoubtless attributable to the fact that this journal, now (1881) justbeginning its sixteenth volume, has always been A PRACTICAL JOURNALFOR THE PEOPLE. 

Each number contains an illustrated article on some practical healthtopic, and a practical article on the home treatment of some commonmalady. Send stamp for specimen copy. 

Address, _GOOD HEALTH_, _Battle Creek, Michigan_. 

HOME HAND-BOOKOFDomestic Hygiene and Rational Medicine. By J. H. KELLOGG, M. D. 

This new work is the most complete of any popular treatise on thesubjects of ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY, HYGIENE, and RATIONAL DOMESTICMEDICAL PRACTICE. The work is illustrated with OVER FIVE HUNDREDENGRAVINGS, INCLUDING TWENTY-TWO FULL-PAGE COLORED PLATES, ANDCONTAINS NEARLY 1600 PAGES, ROYAL OCTAVO SIZE. 

The work is printed on fine, tinted paper, and is bound in a substantialas well as attractive manner. 

PRICES. --Muslin, Embossed in Gold and Jet, $6. 50. Library, Embossed in Gold and Jet, $7. 50. 

Address, PUBLISHERS HOME HAND-BOOK, Battle Creek, Michigan.