,confidential ,chats with ,boys ,,books ,,by ,,wm4 ,,lee ,,howard1 ,m4,d4 ,,facts ,,for ,,the ,,married ,,plain ,,facts ,,on ,,sex ,,hygiene ,,confidential ,,chats ,,with ,,boys ,,confidential ,,chats ,,with ,,girls ,,confidential ,,chats ,,with ,,boys ,,by ,,william ,,lee ,,howard1 ,m4,d4 ,author of 8,plain ,facts on ,sex ,hygiene10 8,confidential ,chats with ,girls10 8,facts for the ,married0 ,illustration ,new ,york ,edward ,j4 ,clode ,publisher ,,copyright1 #aiaa1 ,,by ,,edward ,j4 ,,clode ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,,the ,,body ,,as ,a ,,machine #c ,,ii4 ,,the ,,outside ,,lungs,,the ,,skin #bf ,,iii4 ,,how ,,all ,,life ,,commences #de ,,iv4 ,,care ,,of ,,self ,,during ,,puberty #fg ,v4 ,,night ,,emissions ,,and ,,the ,,boy',s ,,worry #gi ,,vi4 ,,self-,,abuse,,how ,,to ,,stop ,,it,,the ,,quacks #ie ,,vii4 ,,your ,,vocation ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,fit ,,yourself ,,for ,,it #abd ,,viii4 ,,environments ,,and ,,diseases ,,which ,,rust ,,brain-,,tools #ach ,,foreword ,,the ,,reason ,these chats are the pleasurable results of the many little confidential ones ,i have given at boys' and young men's clubs and at preparatory schools4 ,it has been my fortunefor so ,i consider itto have been brought into intimate relations with men who are failures4 ,not the down and out men1 but those who are struggling along dissatisfied with what they are doingwhat false and wrong training has forced them to do4 ,many of these despondent and useless men have been guided into places where they fitwhere there is conservation of energy1 happiness and results4 ,these are the factors for a mentally and physically balanced manprovided he has had early instruction in some vital matters4 ,the impulse to have the future fathers in a position to guide and live in close confidential relations with their sons1 is the reason for this book4 ,professional experience has proven to my complete satisfaction that the many failures1 misfits1 despondents and diseased in our present generation were not fundamentally ill fitted to battle with life1 but that they had never been started right1 physically1 mentally1 vocationally4 ,physical instructors built muscle1 teachers forced much useful and also useless stuff into unwilling brain cells1 fathers furnished the moneyas a rule ,i find that this latter was about all the parents did furnish2 and thought this all-sufficient4 ,the results have been deplorable4 ,wasted energies1 disgust for study in lines that never appealed1 misdirected powers1 and exhausted vigor is what ,i have daily seen for twenty-five years4 ,and most of these conditions are avoidable4 ,how frequently have ,i heard the remark1 after explaining to a young man who came to me a complete failure3 8,why didn't my father see all this80 or 8,i wanted to do that1 ,doctor1 but they said that ,i didn't know my own mind2 so they made me study things that ,i hated40 ,then the vital facts which every boy should early have confidentially and chummily told him38,oh1 ,doctor1 if ,i had only known these things ten years ago6 ,what a different man ,i would be to-day60 ,yes1 and your sons can benefit from your experience1 for it has forced me to 8chat0 with them in these pages4 ,my plan as outlined is to give the boy and youth the information which will enable him to conserve his energies1 increase his vigor and learn just what his mental endowment and powers are4 ,then to concentrate upon these constantly1 allowing deviations only so far as they broaden the horizon surrounding his vocation4 ,there also is much to say upon physical conservationthe storing of physical vigor which in emergencies can be called upon without injury to the working capital4 ,this vital matter has seldom been touched in the training of our youths2 and as men we find them working up to the last degree of power and when the call comes for extra power there is nonethe man then goes to the human dump pile4 ,there is no excuse for this sad state of affairsthe cause is ignorance of man's vital resources and how to conserve them4 ,boys1 ,i have been a repairer of human machines all my life2 machines sent out on the road not properly adjusted1 they have been returned to my shop1 and with most of them ,i could only point out certain parts which were weak and let them go again1 taking care not to put too great a strain on these parts4 ,now ,i want you all to start out with every partbrain1 body and soulequally adjusted1 all of the same strong material1 well fitted to work in peace1 happiness and healththese factors working in harmony means successno matter what line you take up for life's work4 ,,william ,,lee ,,howard4 ,,confidential ,,chats ,,with ,,boys ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,body ,,as ,a ,,machine ,any young man who understands the simple facts concerning his body and the laws of human energy1 should be able to be as strong in body and nerves at fifty as he is at twenty-five years of age4 ,if he is strong in body and nerves at fifty he has the increased brain power of experience and work1 and only think of the force he has then to utilize for the next twenty years4 ,this is a practical idea and not a theory or a statement of exceptional cases4 ,but if this is so1 why have not our parents been able to be boys with us instead of old men at fifty8 ,because they did not understand2 never had the plain points shown them2 physicians have not always considered this side of boyhood development1 and because physiology as taught in the public schools was not that physiology needed by youths and boys4 ,we shall not here bother with the old style and schoolbook physiology4 ,i am going to present to you the simple1 common-sense facts about the body and how it must be handled to get the best out of it4 ,if you have an automobile1 the first thing you do is to understand it2 its different working parts1 how they are dependent upon each other1 how much fuel is needed and how applied1 what will make the engine run smoothly1 what will injure it and what kind of usage is necessary to keep it always in good running order1 what will cause it to break down and become an old rattling thing and send it to the scrap heap4 ,the finest built machine is of no value if any of the parts which have gone into it are faulty2 it will break down when a strain comes4 ,it is just so with man2 for when you really come to understand the machinery within you1 you will realize that you are the most delicate and at the same time toughest piece of mechanism ever produced4 ,muscular power1 brain force1 will1 mental ability1 all depend upon the ,,physical condition of manthe parts and condition of the machine in him4 ,the higher power in us that makes the human body a mere medium for development we shall not here say much about1 but so related is it to the body itself1 that a poorly adjusted or diseased body will affect this higher power1 the soul1 the conscience1 the morals of the man4 ,that is1 a diseased or weak bodynot merely muscular weakness1 but a general weakness due to neglect of nature's lawswill show a weak will1 a lack of determination and a further falling away from a high moral standardin other words make a failure of a man4 ,but why should this be so8 ,is man to be blamed for being physically weak1 to be punished because he has not that full strength of body that others have8 ,yes2 ,i think so4 ,but suppose he inherits a weak body1 inherits disease8 ,is he to be blamed for something over which he has no control8 ,not exactly that1 for there is only one disease you can inherit1 and that is a punishment for your parents' or grandparents' sinsor in most cases1 ignorance4 ,when you thoroughly understand your own body1 the little tendencies to weakness or predisposition to certain diseases can all be overcome4 ,the distressing effects of venereal diseases seen in children whose parents have been ignorant of the facts you will be given in this book1 have been a blessing to mankind1 insomuch as you can all avoid them after the knowledge concerning them and your body is yours4 ,you see1 what ,i mean is that you will possess knowledge your parents did not possess4 ,in such a grand position the future men and womenyour childrenwill be started right4 ,and so will you if you heed and absorb what ,i shall tell you4 ,big muscles do not necessarily mean strength1 but to be strong one must have well developed muscles4 ,seems an odd statement2 doesn't it8 ,a man may inherit big bones to which are attached big muscles4 ,the fibres of these muscles may be coarse1 inelastic and under control of a slow motora sluggish nervous system4 ,just as you may have a big motor car1 big frames and running gear1 but under-powered4 ,now remember that all real muscular power originates in the nervous system and brain4 ,if the nervous system and brain are not in perfect condition1 the full power of the muscles can never be utilized any more than you can get the full power out of your big car if the cylinders are too small or so weak in construction that you do not dare to run them at full speed4 ,this is one reason why men born with big frames and large muscles are not always the strong men4 ,frequently these men break down in the prime of life4 ,also during their active lives they really never get all their power in use4 ,i consider such men unfortunate in that they do not possess the knowledge of their condition1 so they neglect in early life the necessary rules and habits which1 if heeded would bring them to old age in full possession of their natural strength4 ,the weakling who realizes his failings and knows how to correct and care for them1 is more often the strong and healthy man in middle and later life4 ,this fact teaches us one of the great laws of nature2 that is that we cannot for a day neglect our body2 the born strong man does1 he never watches or cleans his big machineit goes to rust and wears out in parts4 ,these strong men as youths1 from the mere fact of having big1 hawser-like muscles controlled by a slow-moving force1 do not have the incentive to build up active muscles nor the energy to train the nervous mechanism controlling muscular activity4 ,the result is that such a man's muscles remain coarse fibered1 fatty1 bulky1 and respond slowly to the motor centers of the brain4 ,moreover1 they feel in such perfect health that they are careless about their habits and throw away a lot of energy that the man who is building up strength takes care ofsaves for future use and material4 ,a youth who desires to build muscular strength goes about it carefully and slowly4 ,remember that all staying powers1 brain or muscle1 must be built up slowly4 ,the tough and hardy oak does not grow like the weak poplarquickly4 ,its growth is steady1 regular and slow1 but in the end it is powerful1 long lived and richly reproductive4 ,make haste slowly is one of the fundamental laws of nature4 ,brain and nervous system always come first in starting to build muscular power that is to last and be always at your command4 ,the basis of power depends upon the rapidity with which the muscles respond to mental impulses4 ,properly developed muscles are finely-fibered1 and react instantly to the impulse of the motor cells of the brainthe cells which tell the muscles to shoot out at once4 ,now let anything such as alcohol1 tobacco1 loss of sleep or immoral habits1 fasten on the youth and all attempts to get the full strength out of muscles1 no matter how big they are1 will be useless4 ,the reason is that the brain cells have been affectedthey cannot act as they should and so the muscles cannot respond to the impulse4 ,this is the cause of so many first-class boxers taking the final count4 ,success has made them careless2 they neglect the rules of the physiologic game1 they drink a little1 smoke and indulge in other habits which affect their nervous system4 ,they go on the stage breathing the foul and poisonous atmosphere while exhibiting1 are necessarily late to bed and while still keeping up their ,,muscular training neglect the fact that every day they are injuring their nervous motility4 ,it is so little noticed that no attention is paid to the matter4 ,but when it comes to a battle after such a careereven if careful training has been done weeks before the contestthe effect is shown1 and down the champion goes before a less experienced boxer1 one not so strong in the muscles but one whose full brain and nervous force has remained uncontaminated4 ,then1 sad to relate1 ,,this champion goes the same way4 ,so you see that mere gross muscular structure is valuelessexcept it is needed for daily labor1 where it exists as mere animal automatismunless it is under the immediate control of a highly-organized nervous system free from disease and abuse4 ,so delicate is this nervous element of the body in getting the muscles to respond1 that ,i have tested hundreds of athletesincluding myselfby a very sensitive instrument which shows the response of the muscles to the condition of the brain cells4 ,a youth who has lived a perfect lifephysiologically speakingis kept from one half of his night's sleep4 ,the next day he is tested and there is a difference shown in the rapidity of muscular response4 ,the difference in a tenth of a second in a blow makes all the difference between a champion and a loser1 and this tenth of a second can be brought about by the loss of one night's rest4 ,how must it be then when the youth has lost several1 or been breathing foul air with heavily working lungs8 ,the extreme muscular development seen in those who pose on the stage and before the camera1 while marvelous to the sight1 is in reality of little practical use4 ,such muscles are not developed through normal exercises1 but gain their prominence by being contracted and expanded through mental concentration on the muscle itself1 not on any work that the muscle should be made to perform4 ,under this fad form of 8physical culture0 the levers which the muscles should lift and lower are kept immovable1 the muscles themselves do no work1 the fibers only being caused to swell and shrink4 ,take the 8development0 of the biceps1 for instance4 ,this muscle is intended to flex the forearm1 attachments being on the upper arm and shoulder and the insertions in the upper part of the lower arm1 making a perfect leverage4 ,now1 in this false 8physical culture0 system the arm is held semi-flexed and rigid and the muscle made to rise and fall1 no tension being put upon its attachments4 ,the result is a development of the center of the muscle1 but a development of a mere shape1 not the development of the power of lifting4 ,the attachments are not developed or strengthened2 they remain thin2 hence1 to the spectator in the audience1 the center of the bulking mass of biceps looms up as a powerful organ of forceit is simply an artificial lump4 ,this false method of 8physical culture0 also squeezes out the little amount of fat that the muscle should bed in for ease and nourishment1 and this further accentuates its size when illumined by a spot light against a black background4 ,big chests do not necessarily mean big lung power1 but one must have a capacious chest to have great lung power4 ,another odd statement8 ,not exactly4 ,the average man does not use in daily work much more than half his lung power-capacity4 ,there remain in the lower portion of his lungs thousands of little air cells1 which stay practically closed in ordinary breathing4 ,when a man is called upon to run a long distance he soon finds himself in distress1 has 8a stitch in his side40 ,this slight pain is caused by the effort made by the air to get into these closed cells4 ,it is the forcing open of these reserve cells that produces the 8stitch in the side40 ,when these cells become active and take up the extra air needed1 the distress ceases and the man gets his 8second wind40 ,now1 it can readily be seen that the greater the chest capacity the greater the reserve force4 ,as it is in the muscle of the 8physical culture0 man so it is in the chest development of the same classan unnatural condition4 ,these latter possess1 by constant deep breathing1 forcibly inhaling and exhaling1 a large chest4 ,but there is no reserve force2 all the cells are constantly filled4 ,the chest development is good to look upon1 but we must remember that the owner of such a chest has no reserve powerno extra breathing space to call upon when most needed4 ,he has reached his limit at the starta condition fatal to athletic work4 ,a condition injurious to the man's future health1 for there are many times in illness and in emergencies when he will need some reserve force to fall back upon4 ,it is like taking a journey and spending all your money at the startwhen you need some1 it is not there4 ,athletes are healthy1 not because they are athletes1 but because all healthy individuals are athletes2 not necessarily competitors in games or strivers after honors1 but persons who enjoy outdoor living and breathing the fresh red-blood giving air4 ,but there are so many mistakes made by youths and boys who strive to become athletes before their body machinery is properly adjusted1 that much harm has been done by overtraining and a misunderstanding of what really constitutes a healthy man4 ,americans have absorbed much of the energy in the world1 but not all its wisdom4 ,too many of our athletic instructors at the schools have tried to turn out athletes instead of strong men and women4 ,when we read in the daily papers of the collapse of a celebrated athlete1 or the breaking down during training of a young aspirant for honors on the cinder path1 we naturally surmise that fundamental knowledge of the physiology of the muscular mechanism of the human body is either submerged by the overpowering desire to make a record or is totally absent among certain trainers and their pupils4 ,the want of wisdom concerning man and his body is the cause of many sad conditions existing to-day among formerly strong and healthy young men4 ,a comprehensive idea of the physiology of growth1 of the physiologic and chemic relations of strength and endurance to age and condition1 would be of great value to a large number of old individualsnot old in years1 but old in vessels and tissueswho strive to put an unusual strain on their weak arteries1 as well as to the youth whose central nervous system is often permanently injured by over-exertion in attempting to make records placed by carefully trained and intelligent athletes4 ,let us take those ,marathon runs as an example4 ,two years ago ,i witnessed the real ,marathonthat is1 the great one in this countrythe ,boston event4 ,this run is a nerve-racking1 lung-pulling one of twenty-six miles up many steep and long hills4 ,among the large number of contestants were a boy of about sixteen and a man somewhere in the forties4#a ,to allow such starters was a great mistakeespecially in the boy's case4 ,there were physicians at the start to examine into the condition of the runners1 but what doctor could tell off-hand of the past habits1 inherited faults in the bodily mechanism or system of training these various contestants possessed8 ,there was only one reasonable course to takethat is1 to withhold their sanction to the starting of those whose years had not fully developed the bodily functions1 and of those whose habits had brought a strain on the valves of the heart4 #a ,since my criticism and explanation in the magazines1 the ,committee allow no youths under eighteen years to run in the event4 ,if we were all ,indians1 having been placed at birth out in the open and lived without clothes until puberty placed a loin cloth on us1 accustomed every day to run and tramp1 developing the different organs of the body harmoniously and gradually until they all reached their full power and held in reserve extra power1 then these runs of twenty and more miles would not injure us4 ,but1 as it is1 they are of no benefit and in many cases injurious4 ,young men who spend hours indoors1 who have worn clothing since birth1 been prevented from using the greatest breathing organ next to the lungs1the skin1who train for this event and then step back to our civilized life of houses1 furnaces1 trolleys and clothing1 are not fitted for these great strains on organs which have been unused to them4 ,the human body is a wonderful piece of mechanism1 which not only renews itself constantly1 but whose strength and endurance and capacity for more work increase with increased use up to the point at which use becomes abuse4 ,at what time and under what pressure this danger-line is reached depends upon the individual4 ,however1 the approach to the danger-line is governed in all cases by fixed and immutable laws4 ,the athlete must always bear in mind that the length of time a muscle cell can continue to work will depend upon the rapidity with which the energy-holding explosive compounds are formed by the cell protoplasm and the waste products are secreted4 ,in other words1 the capital must not be expended at a greater rate than it can be replaced4 ,if it is expended at a greater rate fatigue commences1 and a continuance of this expenditure results in physical bankruptcy4 ,it is simply the case of the automobile over again4 ,to run smoothly and continuously there must be fuel steadily supplied and the exhaustthe waste productscast off1 leaving no residue to clog up the engine4 ,but you watch your fuel tank and see that it is well supplied1 for you know the consequences if the fuel runs outif you run your engine up to the last drop4 ,to use up no more fuel in the body than the body will replace1 is the secret of athletic success4 ,to go beyond this point means injuryoften injury that a life time can never repair4 ,this is one reason why sprinters who have made records succumb early in life to disease or ill health4 ,they have over-heated their human machinery1 and the worn parts can never run completely smooth again4 ,how is this fuel that is being used up in the body replaced8 ,the muscle is continually undergoing change of material4 ,the minute substances which make up the muscle1 and whose very actions keep it alive1 are being constantly cast off1 fresh substances taking their place4 ,the cast-off material is the fatigue poison4 ,and it is a poison4 ,inject it into a dog and he will soon die4 ,without muscle rest1 this dead poisonous stuff cannot be replaced fast enough by the new products1 and the result is an impoverished capital of force elements4 ,this does not apply only to the muscle in active use up to this point1 but to all muscles of the body4 ,the energy products of the food are delivered up to the muscle by the blood1 and this fluid picks up and carries away the cast-off substances of the muscle4 ,these fatigue products are only gradually eliminated from the blood4 ,in the youth these poisonous products are cast off much more rapidly than in the full grown man4 ,also they are not so rapidly manufactured4 ,but right here lies a danger pointthe youth is not warned in time and often goes beyond the point where the off-castings are entirely eliminated and some remain stored up in his system4 ,then his nervous system suffers and the trouble goes on unrecognized until it is too late4 ,another thing may happen4 ,in the youth the fatigue poison may be thrown off quicker than the good material can take its place1 hence such an athletegenerally a runnerwill fall from sheer exhaustion of the muscular mechanismperhaps ruined for life4 ,to keep on the right side of the danger-line in exercise1 the muscle must have short intervals of rest4 ,nature so well understood the proneness of man not to heed advice that she placed the action of one muscle beyond his control4 ,this muscle is so constructed1 internally adjusted1 that it has its regular periods of rest1 and only in disorder of the body can its expenditure be raised beyond its means4 ,this great and wonderful muscle is the heart4 ,however1 there are certain conditions having their origin in the will and the excitement of mental forces1 where the heart is pushed beyond its self-control4 ,such cases sometimes occur in college boat racesthe four-mile races4 ,it is not so much the mere muscular efforts of the contestants as it is the intense mental excitement accompanying the effort4 ,no youth of a highly-strung1 nervous temperament should row in these racesno matter what his muscular strength is4 ,the heart1 though making contractions at the rate of seventy-two times a minute1 is able to continue its work without fatigue throughout the life of the individual4 ,each contraction of this wonderful muscle is followed by an interval of rest1 during which the cells recuperate4 ,push the heart-beats to a very rapid rate and we approach the danger-line at which fatigue products cannot be replaced by fresh cells2 the intervals of rest are not sufficient4 ,the same conditions exist in every muscle4 ,this is the reason why we often see immediate or ultimate collapse at the finish of a four-mile boat race or a quarter-mile run4 ,such a collapse may be followed by irremediable loss of health4 ,you should remember all through your life that each member of the body1 in the very act of living1 produces poison to itself4 ,when this poison accumulates faster than it can be thrown off1 which always occurs unless the muscle can have an interval of rest1 then will come fatigue1 which is only another expression for poisonous infectionreal1 genuine poison4 ,if the muscle is given an interval of rest1 so that the cell can give off its waste product to keep pace with the new productions1 the muscle will then liberate energy for a long time4 ,this latter condition is what we call endurance4 ,when you say a boy has long endurance it simply means that all his organs are in perfect working order2 that they repair as soon as they waste4 ,such a condition kept up means a long life and a healthy one4 ,and you can all obtain this state1 as ,i shall later on show you4 ,the power and endurance of the human machine are limited according to our understanding of the above facts4 ,but another important bit of knowledge is necessary to have if we wish to avoid ruining our physical energy3 that is1 to recognize the necessity of starting the human machine slowly4 ,like any other ponderous and intricate machine1 the body requires time to get in harmonious working order4 ,what would you think of an engineer who started his engine off with a jump at high speed8 ,what would happen to a big engine if the throttle were pulled wide open at the instant of starting8 ,the brain1 nerves1 heart and muscles must be given some warning of the work they are expected1 collectively1 to perform4 ,ignorance of this fact has broken down many a young man who aspired to honors on the cinder-path4 ,the necessity of getting all the parts of the body slowly in working order is well understood by trainers and jockeys on the racetrack1 as is evidenced by the preliminary 8warming up0 they give their horses1 although it is doubtful if the trainers could give any physiologic reason for the custom4 ,i once asked an old darky trainer in the ,south why he always ran his horses just before a race1 and he replied1 8,i's got ter ile 'em up2 jus' ile 'em up40 ,then he shouted to a little bow-legged coon on a big bay horse3 8,youse1 git a goin' dar1 ,sam2 git 'im iled up so ,i kaint heer 'im squeekgit de ile in 'is jints2 go dar60 ,and ,sam went on 8iling 'im up40 ,of the substances supplied to the muscles by the blood1 oxygen is one the want of which is soonest felt4 ,the muscle contains within itself a certain store of oxygen1 but one which is by no means equal to the oxidizable substances4 ,the muscle's activity is dependent1 to a great extent1 on the character and force of the blood-flow4 ,it must be clear of waste products1 and contain1 as well1 sufficient oxygen to keep up continually a renewal of energy4 ,from what has been said1 it will readily be seen that the result of a muscular task which an athlete wishes to perform1 will depend primarily on his muscular bulk and on the conditions of these muscles and the rate at which he expends his capital2 the test of his endurance will depend upon the condition of the other parts of his body and how rapidly they will carry off the quickly formed poisonous products and supply fresh ones4 ,a large number of the lesser pugilists have died in the ring the last ten years4 ,scarcely one of these deaths was directly due to the force or severity of the blows struck1 but because the fighters were 8out of condition40 ,the writer1 himself1 once had an opponent in the amateur ring whose condition was so plainly unfit that he refrained from exerting forceful energy1 but let the man poison himself1 when a gentle cross-counter laid him out4 ,he literally beat himself4 ,what ,i have said about self-poisoning refers also to the nerves and brain4 ,as the muscles work faster1 so do the central nerve cells which send the stimulating impulses to these muscles4 ,these latter cells become fatigued sooner than the muscles4 ,this is a grand feature of physiologic economy2 for1 did not this condition exist1 the muscles would work themselves to piecesrun wild1 like an uncontrolled engine4 ,the muscular differences noted in individuals are in reality the difference in the nerve cells1 the actions of the muscles indicating the activity of the central nervous system4 ,when the muscles are being exercised the nerve cells indirectly determine the muscular activity4 ,from the above statement it can be seen why one with exhausted nerve cells should avoid exercise4 ,the nervous system should be at rest4 ,for example2 if a youth is recovering from some severe illnesstyphoid fever1 let us sayhe should not at first try to get back his muscular strength by self-exercise4 ,the muscles need blood sent to them to grow and regain their former elasticity1 but the nerve cells required for all this must have a rest4 ,how is it to be done8 ,by the exercise of another person's nerve cells4 ,that is1 the muscles should be massaged by some strong man4 ,as the nerve cells gradually come to their full activity again1 then the youth may commence gradual exercises on his own account4 ,it is the general impression among athletes that exhaustion and 8loss of wind0 are due to the inability to consume sufficient oxygen and exhale rapidly enough carbon dioxide4 ,when the muscle is moving rapidly and forcibly1 it is true that it demands more oxygen and gives off to the blood more carbon dioxide than when at rest4 ,when a man is running as fast as he can make his limbs move1 he is able to keep up the pace but for a short distance1 unless1 like the hunted hare1 he runs to death4 ,on account of the forced and rapid muscular action in this case the poisonous materials are thrown into the blood1 to be carried to all parts of the bodymuscles1 nerves1 brain4 ,the heart is affected by this poison through the nerve cells controlling this organ2 the muscles of respiration are similarly disturbed4 ,the panting1 distressed efforts of breathing1 sidelong tumbling and final semi-unconsciousness of the hunted stag or hare are good examples of acute self-poisoning ending in death4 ,it is just as much a case of poisoning as would be a case of gas poisoning2 the only difference being that in the first case the gas is manufactured in your body1 in the other case1 outside and you breathe it in4 ,one of the main 8clearing houses0 of the body1 by which the blood is constantly cleared of much of its poisons1 is the liver4 ,the minute cells of this organ each have their individual work to perform in transforming the poisonous material into harmless substances4 ,the cells of this 8clearing house0 are delicate little organs1 and will not stand abuse4 ,all habits having a tendency to cause dyspepsiaeating rapidly1 eating indigestible food1 constant and intemperate use of alcohol or the use of tobacco in the youthdisturb the normal work of the liver4 ,hence1 one of the first aims of a boy who desires to be a strong manand what boy does not have this admirable aim8should be to keep the liver in the best possible condition4 ,any clogging or disturbance of the ordinary work of the liver prevents the blood from being in a pure state4 ,all parts of the body will show distressing symptoms of fatigue and exhaustion if the little cells of the liver have become diseased or useless through intemperate living and ignorance of the duties belonging to each separate organ of the human body4 ,in general terms ,i have given you some facts necessary to know if you wish to reach full manhood in perfect health and with all the organs so adjusted that the human machine in you will work the rest of your long life without squeaking and rattling4 ,but there are many little details for you to know in order to keep the adjustment perfect and to increase the power and energy in youmental and physical4 ,too many boys and youths have never been taught how to get the best that is in them to workto be a success because they are doing what is in them to do and are happy in doing itthis is what means success4 ,i shall try in the next chat to go into some of these details1 and so on up to the most important facts in life4 ,to give you a comprehensive knowledge of your sex organs1 how to care for them1 what ,life means1 and in all matters that go to make up the normal man4 ,to give you instruction that makes a man1 produces the character of the man of honor1 to give you the inward grace of a gentleman1 which cannot manifest itself outwardly save in good manners1 modesty of bearing and fearlessness4 ,and so many of these qualities depend inwardly upon a perfect adjustment of all your organs4 ,you shall be told all about differences of man and woman2 why you should be at all times kind and considerate to the girls and womenin fact what the world means in its development and what you can do to assist in its better development4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,outside ,,lungs,,the ,,skin ,i have told you that next to the lungs the greatest breathing organ of the body is the skin4 ,the great importance of this fact has been overlooked by many of your school teachers and parentsthat is1 from the boy's standpoint4 ,it is through the skin that much of the poison of the body is thrown off2 and it is because there are conditions in our methods of living which prevent its full activity that we have so much insanity of a certain form1 habits that are injurious to body and brain and are often the cause for the boy being inattentive to his studies and blamed by the teacher for being lazy or stupid4 ,he is not1 in fact1 anything of the kind2 he is indolent and unable to interest himself in his work because through his brain is flowing blood contaminated by poisons that the skin has not been able to cast off4 ,i think we all know about those ,saturday night's baths4 ,your mother was brought up with the impression that if you had a bath once a week that was sufficient4 ,you see the real facts were never given her4 ,she simply thinks of cleanliness1 and once a week is enough to get the ,,dirt off the ordinary boy4 ,but this is the ,,outside dirtwhat you must be careful to do is to get the inside dirtpoisonsout of your system4 ,many an unfortunate boy has been handicapped for life because these poisons accumulated in his system as he grew up and the real cause for his nervousness1 restlessness and inability to keep at one thing was never known4 ,here is an example of the powerful effects of not keeping the pores of the skin so open that every drop of the poisons being made in the body every minute can work out4 ,if a healthy boy should have his bodyup to his neckwrapped in tin foil1 or any similar substance which would completely close the pores of the skin1 he would soon have headache4 ,this would become very severe1 followed by loss of consciousness and finally convulsionsfits followed by death4 ,now this would occur even if he were in the open air4 ,you can see by this fact that the lungs cannot alone cast off the poisons in the body2 in fact their principal work is to supply the blood with oxygen and throw off carbonic acid gascarbon dioxide2 the skin must get rid of much of the other injurious material4 ,another important thing to remember is that when this poisonous stuff is allowed to remain in the body it causes a ready soil for disease germs to grow intyphoid fever1 malaria1 pneumonia1 etc4 ,if you keep the body free from all its poisons and have plenty of sleep1 exercise and proper food scarcely any disease can attack you1 for there are in the human body millions of little cells which roam around devouring all the germs of real diseases if they dare venture into a healthy body4 ,if this were not so1 not one of us would live out our infancy4 ,you have heard a great many stories about the endurance of the little ,japanese1 and a lot has been said about its being due to their custom of living on rice4 ,this has but little to do with their powers of endurance4 ,of course a diet of rice and vegetables do not leave in the body such an amount of poison as meat will leave2 but even when the ,japanese eat meat we witness their wonderful powers of endurance4 ,they can start on a run and keep it up all day4 ,but they will stop two or three times a day and take a hot bath4 ,here is the secretthat is1 the principal secret4 ,i have had one of these little1 but powerful chaps pull me in a 'rickshaw up hills and around mountain roads at a dog trot which tired me to watch him2 so fearful was ,i at first that he would break down4 ,but about every two hours he would stop at a bathhouse along the roadside and literally wash off the sweat containing the cast-off poisons from his body4 ,then fresh as when he started in the morning1 he would go on again4 ,he wore only a loin cloth1 hence his body was free from any covering which would keep the pores from working and performing their dutythe second secret of his endurance4 ,now1 if this man had been dressed in underwear and over this skin covering wore a pair of trousers and a jacket1 he would have become tired1 had a heavy feeling throughout his limbs1 and if forced onward1 succumbed to headachethat is he would have shown all the symptoms of self-poisoning4 ,especially so would this have happened had the baths been denied him4 ,similar habits and customs were the reason for the ,indian being able to run long distances and keep the pace up day after day4 ,but you ask2 how about the ,northmen2 the ,icelanders1 those hardy and enduring men of ,lapland8 ,surely they have to wear heavy clothing and have no hot baths along the roadside4 ,partly true2 but their endurance is of a different nature2 it is that of being able to put out great muscular power1 to withstand severe cold and long fasting4 ,this latter ability is simply because when they do eat it is a gorging of fatty food2 food which gives out heat4 ,the ,eskimo remains quiet and semi-asleep many months in the year4 ,when he makes a kill for food he and his familyeven the babieseat like wolves4 ,they stuff themselves like the animals1 then go to sleep in the winter and live off the fat on their body4 ,then their form of endurance is one of racea trait which has been passed down to them for generation after generation4 ,but ,i am doubtful if their contact with civilization does not injure this trait1 and then will come their extinction4 ,but contrary to the general impression those hardy ,northmen living in ,norway1 ,lapland and ,iceland take excellent care of their skin4 ,in traveling in ,iceland after a hard day's work over ice fields and lava deserts1 the natives would bring us to camp where there were either hot springs or little huts built of lava blocks which were primitive ,turkish baths4 ,in these huts were round stones2 upon these they would build a hot fire and after it had burnt to ashes these were brushed off and water poured upon the stones4 ,this produced a hot steam in which the natives would remain until the sweat poured down in streams4 ,then after rubbing each other they would put on their heavy homespun clothes and emerge fit for another day's hard work4 ,it is the same in ,norway and ,lapland4 ,these habits are what gives them the ability to endure physical work without exhaustion4 ,while upon this subject ,i would like to impress upon you the unnecessary custom of using any perfumes upon the body4 ,the sweetest odor is that coming from a clean1 healthy skin4 ,there is another feature of this skin cleanlinessthe help it gives the kidneys4 ,a lot of poisonous matter is cast off from the kidneys4 ,now1 if the pores of the skin are kept constantly open1 much of this material goes out through them1 thereby relieving the kidneys from extra work4 ,as you grow along in years this becomes a very important matter1 for many kidney diseases are due to the overwork they have had to do1 when it could have been better done by the skin4 ,when we come to dealing with vital matters in keeping good healththe care of the sex organsmore will be told you about these poisons4 ,as considerably more than ninety per cent4 of the body is made up of water1 you can realize how necessary it is that plenty of pure water should be supplied the body4 ,here again the sweating process aids man to replace waste water by returning to it pure water4 ,the loss of water containing poisonous stuff makes one thirsty1 and this is one way ,nature has of keeping man's body well balancedthe useless goes out and the useful goes in4 ,if we thoroughly understand what our body consists of and how to care for it1 there would be no necessity for doctors or medicines4 ,in fact1 drugs are far more harmful than useful4 ,four or five simple medicinesor rather correctivesare all man needs if he has the proper understanding of himself4 ,of course surgeons are necessary and doctors in accidentssuch as the great diseases like pneumonia or typhoid1 for these are really accidents1 accidental insomuch as you have taken poisonous germs into your stomach or lungs4 ,but even in this latter disease1 knowledge of how it is contracted is all that is necessary1 for then we can keep our sewerage from emptying into the drinking water2 flies from landing on refuse and then on the food we are to eat1 and if you carefully remember all ,i shall tell you1 those diseases which are breaking down so many of our fathers and mothers1 can be avoided4 ,kidney troubles1 as ,i informed you1 may be avoided by commencing to see that the kidneys do not do the work that the skin is intended to do4 ,and the liver8 ,just remember what ,i said about it being the 8clearing house0 of the body4 ,there are many boys and young men who have a sluggish or over-active liver4 ,these unfortunate chaps have always been misunderstood and often blamed for being slothful or willful1 when in reality they were suffering from poisons in their body which were not cast off4 ,if these conditions go on1 the result is sometimes very unfortunatedestructive to any attempt to make a success in lifeno matter how hard one tries4 ,here is a case that came under my observation1 only one of many2 oh1 so many misunderstood fellows4 ,he was twenty-seven years old when ,i saw him4 ,his father and mother were heart-broken over his habitsthat is what they called them4 ,everything they knew had been tried2 but he would drink at times4 ,these sprees came over him at certain times and nothing the doctors1 ministers or friends could do would stop him4 ,we know better now4 ,when he was a boy at school he would have severe headaches4 ,when they first came on he would try to keep up with his studies1 but day after day became more indolent and the teachers called his attitude 8pure cussedness40 ,at the end of the attacks he would become very sick2 vomit for hours1 and when the poison was thrown off through his stomach he was weak for days after4 ,the doctors who were called all said about the same thing3 8,only a bilious attack2 he will be all right after he has thrown the bile off40 ,but he never was all right4 ,each attack left some residue of the poison2 also left him less able to fight against another attack1 and so the poor chap went on suffering misery of the body and pain of soul because he was blamed for a state over which he had no control4 ,he became useless to himself1 and after he had reached full age could find nothing to do because he could not stick to anything4 ,one day when he was feeling so badly that he could hardly hold up his head1 some older man suggested a drink of whisky4 ,he took it2 it was the first and only thing which had given him relief4 ,of course this 8relief0 was only a blind one2 the alcohol gave him a false impression of his condition4 ,it also sent the poison running through his brain and this called for more whisky4 ,when the next attack came on he1 of course1 took whisky again and remained practically insane until the whisky drove the poison out through his stomach ,,and ,,skinit sweated it out4 ,but by this time he had been pronounced a drunkard4 ,he was nothing of the kind2 he would have given up his life for a cure of the awful demand for whisky when these attacks came over him4 ,these cases we call dipsomania2 and they are now understood to be cases of faulty work on the part of the liver and other organs which retain the poisons of the body4 ,turkish baths1 sweating and other methods soon put him in a position to understand himself4 ,he was shown just what to do to keep the poisons out of his body and hence keep off the attacks4 ,of course his liver had been injured1 and probably his kidneys1 by the absorption of so much alcohol2 but by care and watchfulness he became a useful citizen1 but could never for a moment forget his delicate condition4 ,now it is not necessary for you to understand what to do in these casesbut it is necessary for you to understand how to keep from getting into the same state4 ,if you have headaches due to some cause that you do not recognizeas you would from those following blows or breathing foul air in closed roomsjust remember that some organ of the bodyskin1 kidneys or liveris retaining poison4 ,you must get rid of that at once2 for every hour it remains it accumulates and if allowed to go on1 some of the organs will be affected4 ,then when you get to be forty and over you will wonder why your kidneys are not in perfect health or why you have become so nervous4 ,if the headaches are so distressing that you cannot exercise violently enough to sweatnot simply perspirethen get out in the air1 no matter what the weather is1 and take long1 deep breathing exercises4 ,keep this up until your chest muscles ache4 ,now you should commence to feel better4 ,put all the pure water in you you can hold4 ,after a while make a brave effort to exercise so that the water and its poisons run off your skin4 ,then wrap yourself in a thick blanket and go to bed4 ,before breakfast eat some fruit and drink plenty of water4 ,after your bowels have moved you should be feeling as fit as a trivet4 ,if this feeling of well-being possesses you1 then it is certain you had an overplus of the natural poisons in your body4 ,if this advice and knowledge had been the possession of boys and youths twenty years ago we should not have to build hospitals for dipsomaniacs as we are doing to-day4 ,all ,i am saying to you and shall say1 does not mean you should not consult a doctorquite the contrary4 ,what ,i want you all to understand is some of the important matters that have not been told boys by teachers or parentsthings which1 when you thoroughly grasp1 will make your growing life free from worry and misunderstanding4 ,oh6 there are so many moments in a boy's life when he needs to know things2 when he longs for that knowledge2 when he suffers inwardly1 is afraid of himself and when he only gets from his father or mother the advice3 8,you had better go and see the doctor40 ,and the doctor8 ,generally gives him a slip of paper and tells him to return in a day or so to see if the medicine works4 ,and the soul-suffering chap needed something more than a slip of paper4 ,he needs someone to help him unburden his mind2 to free him from his worry1 to confidentially overhaul his mind and put him to rights again4 ,some man who was and is a boy1 and who can say to him3 8,here is the trouble1 ,harry2 it amounts to nothing now2 so glad you came to me2 for we can show you how to rid yourself of the worry4 ,now be sure to come again when anything worries you2 or you want to know40 ,go to your old doctor and talk to him about what worries you4 ,most doctors will be pleased to chat with you4 ,the trouble is that you have not been instructed in the fact that what you want from a man of knowledge and kind and appreciative heart1 is a good talk1 not medicines4 ,go and have a plain talk with your father first2 if he is too busy to give you the time then seek a friend in the physicianthe right kind4 ,boys1 if you are healthy boys1 no matter if you haven't big muscles and strength1 all you need for a tonic is fresh air1 plenty of sleep and food1 and a clear understanding of your body4 ,not one single portion of it or its uses should be kept from your knowledge1 and it shall not in these chats4 ,boys often ask me3 8,doctor ,howard1 what shall ,i eat to make me big and strong8 ,is underdone meat good8 ,shall ,i chew1 so many times1 all my food80 and many other questions along the same lines4 ,eat what you like4 ,in this matter study the healthy animalsfor in our bodily living we are simply animals4 ,let all food fads alone4 ,the only rule to follow is that of common sense4 ,you should be certain that the food is fresh1 that you eat at regular intervals and only eat that which you relish4 ,man1 as an animal1 needs variety4 ,sometimes a boy will crave one kind of food1 at another time a totally different sort4 ,if he is not suffering from some disease1 nature tells him what chemical constituents his body needs and then gives him a craving for the foods containing these materials4 ,i know of some fathers who wrongly blame a boy because he will not eat fat with his meat4 ,the father likes fat and so unthinkingly1 believes that the son should not waste it1 but relish it4 ,the full grown and the elderly man needs fat to give him heat2 the boy has hot blood coursing in him and besides1 exercises2 his system does not need fat2 so his appetite rebels4 ,if he relishes fatty substances1 it shows that his system needs it4 ,and so on through all foodseat what you relish if it is fresh4 ,of course there are a few general principles to be followed4 ,chewing1 for instance4 ,every animal chews his food according to the nature of its food4 ,man has teeth to handle all sortsflesh and vegetable4 ,watch a good-sized dog eatnot the lap dog brought up on candy and cookies2 such is not a regular dog2 just an unfortunate1 wheezy1 overfat1 ill-smelling substitute for a little babysomething to fondle4 ,the boy's dog will bite1 grind and then chew his bone or meat4 ,he does not count the number of times his jaws work1 just gets the food ground up into small pieces so that the digestive fluids in the stomach can get it ready for further digestion in the intestines4 ,for in reality it is these latter organs which have more to do with digestion than the stomach4 ,this brings us to a very important subjectthe care of the teeth4 ,there is only one thing to say about the teeth,,always ,,keep ,,them ,,clean4 ,i know boys are naturally careless in this matterwe all are2 but if you commence the habit of always cleaning them after each mealor whenever they have had work to do1 you will be saved much future misery and chagrin4 ,foul teeth always means foul breath4 ,decayed teeth means that your muscles can never reach their full development because the food cannot be properly chewed and churned2 hence the blood and muscles do not get the benefit of the nourishing elements of the food4 ,you should not delay nor try to attend to your teeth aside from keeping them clean4 ,at the least sign of decay or the appearance of color on them1 go to a dentist4 ,there is no pain or distress in the dentist's chair if you attend to the matter at once4 ,drink plenty of water before breakfast1 then when possible1 fruit4 ,remember that there are about thirty-three feet or more of piping in your body4 ,through this pipingthe intestinesthere is a constant flow of food-stuff undergoing a chemical process4 ,it leaves a lot of dirtuseless stuffin the pipes4 ,now if you had a series of lead pipes through which flowed constantly some fluid which made a deposit on the sides1 you would naturally flush out the pipes1 every once in a whilewouldn't you8 ,of course you would4 ,well1 do the same with your system of piping4 ,in the morning there is a lot of useless matter containing germs left in your thirty-three feet of intestines4 ,flush them out by large drinks of water1 plenty of it4 ,this will also keep your bowels free2 the principal thing to observe if you wish a healthy body4 ,shall ,i drink water with my meals or afteror when8 ,again watch your dog2 he drinks when he is thirsty2 do the same4 ,it is better to drink some water just before meals1 and if your meal has been somewhat a dry meal1 drink water during that meal2 if you desire itjust do as your system demands4 ,do not attempt any training through a regular system of diet4 ,if you prefer a lot of meat and like it1 it is going to do you good2 if you force underdone meat down against your liking1 it is going to weaken your muscles instead of strengthening them4 ,is candy or other sweets harmful8 ,no2 not a bitthe normal boy often needs sugarhis system demands it4 ,but here is the trouble with all sweetsthey are too often eaten between or just before meals4 ,this destroys the edge of a good appetite and hence the habit is injuriousnot the candy itself4 ,after meals if you crave sweets they will do you good4 ,chocolate is beneficial to all boys if eaten only after the second or third meal of the day4 ,but there is so much adulteration of all candies and chocolate that in order not to injure yourself you should avoid all cheap stuff1 and especially that rotten mess sold on the street stands4 ,then think of the dirt and germs which have accumulated upon these adulterated sweets4 ,get the best or leave sweets alone4 ,now one little word about training for the boy and the youth4 ,never train to get off weight but to put it on4 ,remember that every tiny cell in your body is growing and developing to be of use when the great time in your life's struggle comes4 ,anything you do to stop this growth injures your future prospects4 ,the stoppage of one minute's growth of a cell can never be regained4 ,that little improvement that was about to be made has been interruptedstopped4 ,aid ,nature in her growth and developmentdon't interrupt her4 ,if you do1 later on in life she will punish youthis is as certain as is the rise of the sun4 ,if you have done some sprinting in the spring1 and when you return to school find that you are a little too heavy for running1 don't for a moment think of trying to reduce your weight4 ,just quit sprinting and be very thankful that you are in such excellent health that every organ in your body is growing big and strong4 ,any exercise that puts on weight in the boy or youth is good exerciseanything that takes off weight is harmful4 ,when you have reached middle life1 if you are in good health and busily occupied in doing your allotted work in this worldas every healthymentally and morallyman has to do1 you will have enough to do to keep off the extra and unhealthy fat that has accumulated around your organs4 ,i know of a very sad case of this trying to insult nature in a growing boy4 ,he was sixteen years of age2 big1 strong1 and a champion wrestler in his class4 ,he was entered to wrestle for the interstate championship#adj-lb4 class4 ,his instructor and the athletic club to which he belonged expected him to win for them4 ,but as the weeks went on he gained weight at a very rapid rate4 ,he was a straight1 wholesome1 moral boyof course he gained weighthe lived right4 ,two days before the contest he was seven pounds overweight4 ,his trainers took measures to bring him downto rob ,nature of that seven pounds of her good work4 ,they did it2 he lost the match and from that time onward he has never regained his full strength4 ,the process of building going on smoothly in all his organs was interfered with1 and the inevitable setback followed4 ,every boyevery personshould sleep alone4 ,think of what ,i have said about the skin and its emanations4 ,you do not want to be under the sheets with another boy who is throwing off from his skin poisons2 breathing some of them1 letting others be absorbed by your own pores4 ,try to get two dogs to sleep under the same blanketrespectable dogs1 such as you or ,i would own4 ,in about two minutes each will get from under cover with distended nostrils and deep breathing4 ,they'll sleep together without covering2 but never under it4 ,sleep alone under as light coverings as possible for comfort4 ,this will aid you in getting big and strong4 ,don't forget this advice4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,how ,,all ,,life ,,commences ,we have seen that the human body after it gets started is quite as much a physical apparatus as a chemical laboratory1 and the harmonious working of all its parts is to a considerable extent a matter of mechanics4 ,you will find that this is true for every disease or disturbance of the body4 ,for instance2 nervousness or headache from eyestrain4 ,this strain may come through insufficient light or light wrongly entering the pupil of the eye4 ,the nervousness may come because there is too much effort to adjust the lenses of the eyes by a constant pull on the tiny muscles4 ,even that peculiar nervousness that many unwise men and women are suffering from which makes them take ruinous drugs1 is due to a chemical disturbance of the nerve cells4 ,all the drugs in the world will not help themit only increases the chemical disturbance4 ,these sufferers need the poison out of their system2 not more put in4 ,and so it goes on throughout the whole system2 some of the physical or chemical elements are unevenly balanced or worn out for the time4 ,in diseases due to a particular germlike diphtheria or pneumoniait is the disturbance of the chemical elements in the body which brings about the disease4 ,but we have finished with the chemistry and machinery of the body and now enter upon the wonderful and interesting part of life which deals with reproductionthe continuance of species4 ,every living thingflowers1 fishes1 animals1 manis reproduced by laws all having the same principles4 ,the underlying facts in all these different forms of life are the same4 ,there is absolutely no exception to the law of reproduction4 ,every living thing is the result of the mating of the male element with that of the female4 ,we shall not have much to say about botany or zoology1 you can read all about these sciences in your books4 ,what ,i shall tell you in the rest of our chats are things which you do not get from your books or teachers4 ,it makes no difference what your religion is2 what you have been taught to believe1 how little or how much you already know about the laws of nature1 you will all have to come to one conclusion as you get along in the worldthat ,god1 ,nature1 or some great ,power controls and rules everything on this earth4 ,you cannot avoid this conclusion after knowing certain factspositive facts which are to be seen everywhere in all their glory4 ,as you grow older and reach full manhood many of you will become scoffers at all religion2 some of you will call yourselves atheists1 others agnosticsone who does not knowmore of you will have a blind faith in orthodox religion4 ,but if you have kept your brain power and moral health1 and ,i shall show you how to do this1 in the end you will all come to the right pointreverence and love for the great ,power which controls us all4 ,you cannot avoid this desired point in life2 it ,,will come in time4 ,worry and impatience in your youthful days2 self-questioning and a feeling that something is wrong with the world1 will be your portion of man's burden4 ,you will see what looks like injustice1 the apparent success of the evil-minded1 the accumulation of wealth by the man of shady methods1 and those who should be happy1 miserable1 and those who in your estimation should receive punishment1 living in luxury1 and highly esteemed4 ,but this vision will lose its distortion as you live on2 you will then see matters in their true light4 ,have you ever looked down through clear water and seen rocks1 even fishes1 appearing queer and out of shape8 ,when you dive down to the bottom and open your eyes1 how different the true outlines of these things look to you4 ,you first saw them through distorted rays2 a false vision4 ,it is just so with the truths of life3 you have to dive down into your heart and mind to see their real shape and meaning4 ,i believe that every man is better for going through all the phases of doubt1 irreligion1 and becoming worldly wise2 for when he does reach the point of seeing right he thinks right4 ,this state causes him to be a true man to himself and to the ,power which controls him4 ,get all sides of a question and then think for yourself4 ,and don't forget that every question has ,,four sides3 the right1 wrong1 inside and outside4 ,when you have decided1 be true to your convictions and at the same time keep looking around and ,,into yourself4 ,we can all see the marvels of nature around us1 but we can never understand until we also see the things ,,in us4 ,deep within ourselves lie our powers4 ,getting them out is what brings success4 ,these are the forces which every young man must study for himself4 ,there are no rules we know that can be laid down for the governing or control of that thing we call conscience1 soul1 or whatever you care to call it4 ,it is the vital principleit is the power within us to ,,do4 ,it varies in all men1 its force1 direction and application directed rightly will bring man up to marvelous deeds4 ,no matter what your impulses are1 if they are for good living and helping along the progress of man1 go at them and win out4 ,if they make for evil1 or the working of injurious suggestion2 go at them also1 but to give them the count4 ,put them down and out4 ,the first victory will be a hard one2 but as the pugilist gains confidence after winning his first fight1 and then goes on easily winning1 so you all can in this matter of fighting wrong impulses4 ,yes2 it is this vital principle in us to ,do1 that makes life worth fightingthat is1 knocking out the bad4 ,it is also from this wonderful source that comes the vital force in the seed of males and the eggs of females1 which1 when united1 brings forth lifeflowers or man4 ,it is with the laws governing this uniting of the two sexes we shall now1 in easily understood explanations and words1 chat about4 ,if ,i explain to you that the yellow or grey dust coming from flowers is the male seed1 and that by wind1 insects or birds it is deposited in the female flower's womb to grow into little flowers1 you certainly do not see anything to laugh at2 nothing wrong to talk about1 nothing in the wonderful arrangement of nature to sniggle over or to go behind the house or barn and whisper to other boys4 ,certainly not4 ,neither will you1 when you understand all those marvelous laws which enabled your good mother to give ,,you life4 ,i want you all to take a hammer-lock upon this factthe holiest1 most wonderful and everlasting laws of nature will bring you to a state of reverence and pure thoughts when you see them from the inside2 as you shall1 as every boy and girl ought to see them4 ,it is your birthright to know yourself and the living brothers and sisters around you2 to realize that a mother dog with her little puppies has gone through dog troubles and pain to be able to give birth to her babies and to nurse them just as your mother did for you4 ,that you owe to the mother dog the same kind words you always owe your mother and sister will be plain to you4 ,everything during the course of reproductionand this is the only way the world is kept alivesuffers pain1 trouble1 but in the end gains happiness4 ,we are bound1 if we are true boys and men1 to remember this fact and act accordingly4 ,you can no more bruise a flower in the spring without killing some little life than you can kick a mother dog without running the risk of killing her unborn puppies4 ,both of these mothers1 flower and dog1 are going to bring forth new lives from the same great cause2 the union of the male seed and the female's eggs4 ,all life comes from an egg4 ,this is the first law of nature4 ,every form of female has a method of protecting her eggs so as to bring them ready to receive the life germs of the male4 ,some flowers bury their ovariesthe organ that makes the eggsin the ground4 ,some form of water flowers show us how careful we boys and men should be to protect our powers from being wasted4 ,these flowers protect and keep their seed by closing their sackscorollasunder the water until the time comes for them to act as fathers4 ,if they kept their seed sacks above the water the wind would carry it away and then they would have none to place in the female flower when she was ready to receive it2 or the egg1 which is the same thing4 ,then this female flower would be childless1 and soon we should be without the beautiful flowers4 ,it is on account of this care of the life-giving germ that all nature1 including intelligent and strong men1 is able to keep the world populated and growing better4 ,for in spite of apparent signs of the non-improvement of the men and women to-day1 in reality we are getting to be better men and women4 ,and a plain understanding of life such as ,i am chatting to you about1 is one of the good signs2 for in your mother's and father's days these important matters were left for them to pick up at hazard and often from the wrong sources4 ,but it will not be so with you2 knowing the truth you will all be able to live right1 go to your little wife a healthy man1 strong in body1 clean morals and conscience and not suffer the horrible self-accusation later on in life when seeing your son or daughter a cripple1 helpless or incompetent4 ,no1 ,i believe that many of these awful conditions will cease to be2 for they can be entirely wiped out if you heed and act upon what ,i tell you4 ,boys and young men have not had the seriousness of this matter fully explained1 and through their ignorance have wasted life-energy1 ruined themselves and finally become broken down in morals and bodily health1 been sent to insane asylums1 or died in hospitals from diseases caught through evil habits4 ,ignorance has caused them to be fathers of weak boys1 sometimes idiots1 and of daughters who followed the unmoral life of their father4 ,now it may sound funny to you1 but the truth is1 that if the boys in the past had really known as much as the chipmunks1 we should have very few asylums for the insane or hospitals for the horrible diseases4 ,to be sure1 the chipmunk's habits of right living so as to have only healthy and sane children1 is due to instinct2 but we have the same instinct2 let us see that it is not suppressed by ignorance on the one hand and the upheaval of evil thoughts and acts on the other4 ,of course there are many diseases which are not due to wasting of life's energy or vicious habits1 but more than one-half of the degeneracy and insanity in our land is due to these awful mistakes4 ,we do not have crazy foxes or idiotic colts2 we seldom have any wild animal born unfit to live4 ,yet the method of reproduction1 the mating of the male with the female1 is just the same as with man4 ,the great difference is that animals mate when in ,,perfect condition4 ,neither the lion1 eagle1 nor the rose1 has wasted or poisoned the vital fluid or dust by bad habits1 or lost their power by ruinous indulgence4 ,all these facts are a wonderful and plain lesson to us2 and when we think it over carefully and recognize all it means1 the question rises3 why have we done as we have been doing all these long years of supposed intelligence8 ,because your parents and grandparents were not allowed to know the truth4 ,the pollen-dust of flowers is1 as ,i have said1 the seed of the male flower1 just as full of life-giving energy as is the seed being produced in youand which you must protect and save for future power and reproduction4 ,that is1 when married to be able to be the father of strong1 healthy children4 ,the ,bible distinctly calls your attention to this matter1 and lays down the law4 ,life is a long foot race2 a constant struggle to reach the tape4 ,now if you knew that you had this race to run and to win1 would you be so foolish as to dissipate your strength1 to lose sleep1 to run long distances until you were completely exhausted just before you were to start on the ,,real race8 ,of course not2 yet when a young man exhausts his energies and powers by wrong living and when tired out enters upon his ,,life',s racemarriage and fatherhoodhe comes to the tape wasted1 exhausted and way behind the man who has trained properly4 ,as a rule he will not finish the racejust be one of those 8also ran40 ,he will leave weaklings on the path1 poor unfortunate children who suffer all their lives because their father was ,,unfitunfit to be a father at any time4 ,i realize these are harsh and strong words1 but they tell you the truth1 and ,i warned you that you would hear the truth4 ,i believe with a very strong belief that you boys to-day will be in a position to give the world better men and women than the world has ever known4 ,you are being shown how to make yourselves fit to bring this about4 ,every day ,i hear the cry3 8,oh6 ,doctor ,howard1 if ,i only had known these things when ,i was a youth6 ,what a different man ,i would be to-day60 ,i have had men tell me that they would willingly have cut an arm off for such knowledge as you boys are getting1 and considered the fee cheap at that4 ,we will now leave the flowers and their forms of reproduction and get right into things that every boy sees1 yet had not had a thorough understanding of what relations they bear to his life and those dear to him4 ,to repeat3 ,all life comes from an egg4 ,you know how the eggs of fishes look as well as the fact that the shad roe you eat is a mass of eggs4 ,the male shad is called the buck shad or the milt shad4 ,the milt is the semen of the male shad4 ,it is a milky-white substance4 ,the little life-giving germs are hidden in this milk-like fluid4 ,they are so small that it takes a powerful microscope to see them4 ,the eggs of the female cannot produce life unless the life germs of the male pass into them4 ,this is true of all animals1 including man4 ,every form of living thing has a different method of doing this1 but the principle is the same for all4 ,let us first take the fishes4 ,springtime is the season for all life to bring forth its kind4 ,in the spring the fishes swim to their spawning or breeding places4 ,they seek warm and generally still waters4 ,the shad1 for instance1 swims up rivers until it finds the proper place4 ,by this time the eggs are ready to be expelled from her ovaries1 the sacks in which they have been forming all winter4 ,as she lies still in the warm waters these eggs drop out in large quantities4 ,then she swims away1 gradually making her trip down to the sea4 ,at the same time that her eggs are ready to be deposited in the waters the male shad is filled with milt-fish semen4 ,he is strong1 vigorous1 and never having wasted any of this seed he is able to give full life to the waiting eggs4 ,he slowly swims over the floating eggs and the semen in him pours out4 ,once over the eggs each little life-germ wiggles through the outer lining of an egg and meets the true egg4 ,at once these two1 the female and male germ1 are the beginning of a little fish4 ,it takes some time1 of course1 for even the little fish to burst from its covering1 for the growth from the two germ cells into a completely-formed1 though tiny fish1 occupies many days4 ,but just as soon as it is ready to swim1 out it comes4 ,the way the different kinds of fish protect their young until they can care for themselves1 is an interesting study1 but you can read all about such matters in your zoologies4 ,in breeding1 or propagating1 fish at the hatcheries1 the eggs are squeezed out of the female and immediately after this has been done the milt from the male is squeezed out over them4 ,this is never done except when both female and male fish are ready to deposit their eggs and sperm4 ,by this method the little fish can be kept in confined waters1 arranged according to their ages1 and when old enough1 be sent to replace fished-out streams4 ,it is wonderful that with all the hundreds of different kinds of fishes in the ocean and rivers1 the seed of the male will enter only the eggs of its own kind4 ,it is the same throughout all life on the world2 like can only reproduce like4 ,if it were not so1 we should have a sorry mess of mixtures and all life would die out4 ,when we leave the fishes and come to the higher scales of life1 we see the same method of development from the union of the female and male elementsthe egg vitalized by the male seed4 ,but there is a difference in the methods of protecting the growing life in the egg4 ,the fish simply drops her eggs and leaves them for the warm water to hatch4 ,the birds deposit them in a ready-made nest and keep them warm by their own bodies4 ,the 8frog spittle0 you see on ponds and along the banks of streams is the mass of eggs and sperm from the male and female frogs4 ,the bullfrog does not1 like the male fish1 throw his life germs over the eggs of his mate after she has deposited them in the water4 ,this is done before she lets them leave her body4 ,the frog's method of vitalizing the eggs is that of all the higher animals4 ,when the eggs in the female are ripe for the male seed they lie inside her near their outlet4 ,the bullfrog introduces his seed directly into her body at the spot where the eggs are waiting to receive it4 ,a short time after this takes place the eggs are cast upon the waters and left for the sun to develop the little pollywogs1 or tadpoles4 ,when ready1 those tiny fellows with their funny tails swim out and remain in large groups until their tails drop off and hind legs have grown4 ,if you have ever tried to stir up a large lot of 8frog spittle0 you have noticed how difficult it is to break up4 ,this is another wonderful provision of ,nature to protect her living and growing things4 ,the greenish mass you see is a mucilage-like substance made to hold the eggs together4 ,the real eggs are those tiny black spots4 ,if it were not for this sticky material1 the wind and waves would break up the whole mass and leave the eggs to be washed away and chilled4 ,in other words1 not one would send out a little pollywog1 the wiggling frog bodies would be chilled to death4 ,so remember that when you try to break up a lot of frog spittle you are really killing thousands of little pollywogsfrogs to be4 ,the same method of breeding takes place among the turtles and snakes4 ,only here the eggs are not cast off directly after receiving the male seed4 ,they stay in the female1 as they do in the birds and hens1 until they have received a protecting cover4 ,these reptiles have not reached the scale of the birds and hens2 they are between the frog and the bird4 ,as we have seen1 the frog has the mucilage-like substance holding together the eggs2 the hens and the birds the hard shell protecting each egg2 the turtle and his like have a soft shell4 ,the turtle1 alligator1 and those of the same kind of reptiles do not sit on their eggs4 ,the female makes a kind of a nest in the sand or dry mud1 lays the eggs1 covers them over with sand and leaves the sun to do the rest4 ,there are1 however1 many differences in the manner of ,,hatching1 the way the eggs are protected1 and how the little ones are left to shift for themselves4 ,but the manner of starting each different form of life is always the same4 ,in the bird1 as in all live creatures of the female sex1 are what we call ovaries1 from the ,latin word ovum1 meaning egg4 ,these ovaries are situated in the body in the region we call the groin4 ,these ovaries are little sacks which have the power of creating eggs4 ,as breeding time comes1 these eggs drop out from the ovaries and remain for a short time just outside the sacks1 but still in the bird's body4 ,now the birds commence to mate1 which is really nothing but the powerful instinct to reproduce their kind4 ,the male bird is ready to be a father4 ,he becomes vigorous1 proud and strutting4 ,his plumage is shining brilliant and he tries to show himself off before the females1 who soon pick out their mates4 ,the birds of the turkey or partridge type1 dance1 fight and sing in order to attract the attention of the females4 ,as soon as mating takes place1 off the couples go to build their nests1 both working together early and late to make a warm place for the little ones to be hatched4 ,the mating has taken place1 the eggs of the female have become vitalized4 ,the life germs have worked their way into the interior of the eggs2 the eggs now commence to take on a protective covering2 the shell4 ,this soon grows to a hard shell4 ,the eggs now being safely protected they drop out into the nest1 and when all have been laid1 the mother1 and at times1 the father bird1 sit upon them until the little ones are hatched4 ,if the female bird was kept in a cage and away from the male bird1 the eggs would come just the same4 ,but no amount of sitting upon them or putting them in an incubator would bring forth the young4 ,the reason you all readily understand2 the eggs have not been vitalized1 given the sperm1 by the male bird4 ,so if you want to breed chickens you must always have a cock in the yard4 ,all breeders of chickens first examine the eggs they are to put under a hen or in an incubator4 ,by the light of a candle in a dark room you can see a tiny spot in the egg if it has been vitalized4 ,this spot is the germinal spotthe evidence of the male element4 ,such an egg will hatch2 one without such a spot will simply rot4 ,when we reach the higher scale in animal life1 where the dog1 horse1 lion1 belong1 we have reached that point where all reproduction takes place in the same manner as in man4 ,i am referring now to details only1 for as ,i have told you1 the ,,principles of reproduction are the same for everything that lives4 ,all through nature1 if you carefully think over the strict laws governing the continuation of life1 you will be struck with wonder and reverence2 not curiosity nor evil thoughts4 ,at first it may sound a little harsh to have me tell you that you were developed from a single cell in your mother's womb which had been vitalized by the seed of your father4 ,but such is the undeniable truth1 and it is the truth concerning ourselves that ,i want you to understand4 ,of course we are different from the mere animals in having a something in us that they do not apparently possess4 ,this 8something0 may be called a soul1 the essence of a ,great ,will1 the evidence of ,god4 ,but it makes no matter what you have been taught to call itit is there2 and some day you will recognize it4 ,it is the great ,power back of us1 in us1 ahead of us4 ,it is the something we can feel1 but not see nor demonstrate4 ,as you study over what ,i tell you it will be plain that1 while we can and should understand the laws of nature1 this ,power1 the actual ,power itself must be studied in our hearts4 ,but no man has done justice to this great ,will1 or to ,god1 or to himself1 who has avoided trying to understand those laws which are indubitably for our benefit and future progress4 ,one of the plain duties which the law points out to us1 is that of so regulating our lives that we can give health and moral strength to those who come after us4 ,and this can never be done unless we know and obey those laws which we have plainly set before us4 ,before going further into the facts of reproduction1 let us see how strict ,nature is in some of her laws controlling this process4 ,remember what ,i said about the marvelous fact that fishes do not inter-breed2 that is1 that the seed from a male salmon will not enter the eggs of a female bass1 nor that of a 8shiner0 into a sunfish4 ,nature will not allow such a mixing of things4 ,a dog cannot impregnate a cat1 only a dog4 ,so you see that ,nature has so arranged matters that in spite of the running wild of all kinds of animals and species1 each egg is so chemically adjusted that only the male seed made for its particular eggs can vitalize them4 8,but10 you say1 8,i saw at the circus a half tiger and a half lion1 he rode a horse40 ,true1 but you have so long been accustomed to think that the lion and tiger were different species of animals that it did not enter your minds that in reality they were the same4 ,both belong to the cat tribefelines4 ,circus men call all these animals1 lion1 tiger1 cougar1 leopard1 etc41 8big cats40 ,in their natural state even these animals of the same species will not inbreed2 there is a social class among them2 and while man forced the lion to mate with the tiger1 it was a forced marriage and presumably a disagreeable one4 ,we have too many lion and tiger marriages in our own society4 ,from all this we should derive a lesson4 ,nature will not1 however1 give in altogether to man's foolish acts2 for even when we cross the species we get a thing that cannot reproduce4 ,the strict laws here step in and say3 8,so far shalt thou go1 but no farther40 ,the mule is an example of what ,i mean4 ,the mule is the result of breeding the ass to a mare4 ,it is hybrid2 it cannot reproduce its kind4 ,so in order to have mules we must always use an ass and mare4 ,the mule cannot reproduce its kind because it is a born eunuch4 ,that is1 it has no seed to give life to eggs4 ,now in some respects the mule is more useful to man than the horse4 ,again we see that the laws controlling our lives are often adjusted to our desires when these desires are for our benefit4 ,so we can breed from a mare and stallion ass2 but cannot go any farther with the species4 ,it is about the same with the inbreeding of zebras and horses1 although this has not yet been carried far enough to determine what the outcome will be4 ,but don't forget this fact3 ass and horse1 zebra and horse are all the same speciesequines4 ,you have seen how birds and hens lay their eggs in a nest1 and how1 if they have received the male germ1 the eggs bring forth their young4 ,in the higher forms of animalsthose who nurse their youngexactly the same ,,process takes place but under different details4 ,in these higher animals1 the dog1 for instance1 we have the ovaries making the eggs just as in the birds4 ,at certain intervals in the year these eggs slip from the ovaries into a nest lying just down beneath the two ovariesone on each side of the female dog4 ,this nest we call the uterusor1 in ordinary terms1 the womb4 ,when these eggs slide into their nest they produce an inflammation of the parts2 also a peculiar odor4 ,this is another wonderful law of nature1 for without these conditions life would soon cease to exist4 ,the inflammation gives the female dogbitch is the proper namea longing to be a mother4 ,it is nothing impure in her1 nothing to be ashamed of1 but a condition to be proud of and to cause reverence in those of pure minds4 ,the odor is to tell the male that now he must do his share in keeping dogs on the earth4 ,so they mate4 ,when each little egg is vitalized by the dog's sperm1 they remain in the wombthe bitch's nestfor nine weeks1 growing day by day until they are ready to come into the world4 ,then did you ever see such a beautiful sight as the watchful and happy mother8 ,never1 if you have all the real feelings of the genuine boy4 ,there must arise that in you which we all feel but cannot explain4 ,kind words come to you as you watch the happy dog mother2 gentle strokes as she cuddles to warm her little babies4 ,and yet there are boys who have so little understood the beauty and wonder of all this act of reproduction that they sniggle and make sport of the desires of the innocent want-to-be-mother dog4 ,exactly the same details happen throughout all the animal kingdom4 ,the larger the animal1 the longer it takes for the little one to grow and develop in the mother's womb4 ,this is the only difference1 except that in the larger animals we find one or two babies the general rule4 ,you see these big babies require so much milk that the mother could not supply enough for many hungry mouths1 so she gives birth to only that number she can well nourish and care for4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,care ,,of ,,self ,,during ,,puberty ,as the anxious mother bird watches day after day1 while keeping her eggs warm1 for the sound of the little tapping from the inside followed by the soft bill and wondering eyes of her little ones1 so did your mother anxiously watch and pray for the coming of her helpless baby4 ,in her warm nest1 the womb1 you lay from the meeting of the two cells until your tiny body was completely formed4 ,this was a period of nine months4 ,then you were born4 ,no boy or man can have a full appreciation of all he owes a mother until this wonderful work of nature is thoroughly implanted on his memory1 never to be effaced4 ,while the period of watching and waiting is only nine months1 to the mother it is a whole lifetime4 ,for to her it means ,,all her lifesometimes she gives her life for yours4 ,think what wondrous love there must be for a woman to run the risk with pleasure and happiness4 ,every moment of these nine months the mother has her mind upon one thing3 the tiny life growing in her womb1 nourished by her blood1 given oxygen through her breath1 brought into the world smiling and laughing because the mother is laughing and smiling4 ,and her one hope is that you will be able to go through your life smiling and laughing2 that you will so live and grow that both of you can show to the world the most powerful searchlight known to man3 the light which shines from a pure face and healthy mind4 ,and such a light is far more penetrating than you have ever realized4 ,it searches out truth1 it reflects your mother's face even after she has gone2 it makes others happy and brings hope to many worried homes4 ,and it is your mother who lights this bright ray of a pure mind2 but it is your duty to keep the flame and reflector ever active and shining4 ,thousands of boys and men have brought tears and dimmed the once bright eyes of their mothers4 ,they have not consciously done so4 ,it is against all nature for a boy to deliberately inflict pain and grief upon his mother4 ,when he does1 it is because he has been ignorant of all his mother has gone through for him4 ,he has never been told in plain talks just all his mother worried and suffered while waiting for him to make his appearance on this earth4 ,he never fully realized how she often dragged herself around weighted with his little body2 how her nights were sleepless on his account2 how she worked1 sacrificed and planned for him4 ,he never knew how careful she was about her food so he might grow strong while in her womb2 how she forced herself to walk when every step was an effort1 how she tried to keep her mind upon pleasant subjects and to read only such books as might send pleasant and beneficial impulses to his then unconscious mind4 ,when you have reached eight or ten years of age you have never been told how careful you should be to use kind words and be ever on the watch to help your mother in little things1 because there is a little sister or brother growing in your mother's womb who will soon be in the cradle4 ,no1 you have of course been told to be always kind to her2 to help her in little matters2 but ,,just why you should now be more careful than usual has been kept from you4 ,so if you have been cross and disobedient at times2 brought tears to your mother1 and who knows but unconscious tears to the little unborn one1 you are not wholly to blame4 ,you didn't know1 and nine times out of ten1 if you asked questions about how babies come1 you were put off with queer answers or else told not to ask such questions4 ,the fault has been in a wrong idea of instruction4 ,your mother was never allowed to know when she was a child2 your father picked up what knowledge he could from older boys1 which was generally wrong knowledge gathered from another generation of boys1 and your teachers and those of your parents were either criminally silent or themselves ignorant4 ,from all this false attitude of teachers has grown much of the misery and disease which is with us to-day4 ,it is my intention to have this misery and disease abolished1 and it can be done by giving you the information your parents and teachers did not possess until too late4 ,all information regarding right sex living and care should be in the possession of the boy and youth while they can utilize such information4 ,of what use is it to you after the harm has been done through ignorance8 ,no use2 moreit does much harm when it comes too late4 8,oh1 ,doctor2 if ,i had only known4 ,can ,i never be a well man again8 ,why didn't my teachers and parents tell me all this was wrong80 ,i am going to try to stop the cause for these pitiable cries so that in your and future generations they shall be no longer heard4 ,in the same manner you have been kept from knowing the absolute necessity of attending to the sex organs with the absence of any ideas except those of cleanliness4 ,it is as reasonable for you to clean the teeth and leave the wax to accumulate in the ears until deafness follows1 as it is to wash your hands and neglect the penis4 ,your sex organ needs attention at an early age4 ,if you have parents who understand this matter1 they have instructed you in the details2 but if you are like most boys1 these have been left to chance and possible wrong treatment4 ,the gland of the penis secretes a cheesy material4 ,this is constantly being poured out in small quantities and unless cleaned away will at first become offensive to the nostrils1 then irritating and in some cases proceed to an inflammation which will require the services of a surgeon4 ,but to begin with the small boy4 ,he should pull back the foreskin every morning as he washes1 and with a soft cloth soaked in warm water1 remove all the accumulation4 ,do it carefully2 but don't forget to do it1 even if you have to let the face go4 ,the reason for being so particular about this matter ,i shall explain further on in these ,chats4 ,if your foreskin is too long1 or if it hangs over so as to retain some drops of urine after you have relieved the bladder1 go first to your father2 and if you are so unfortunate as not to have a father or mother to whom you can go in these mattersand ,i know there are many suchgo to your doctor and explain to him4 ,many boys are far better off when circumcised4 ,this is a simple little operationjust the snipping off the overhanging foreskin4 ,if your parents have been wise and instructed in this necessary detail of the sex toilet1 you will have been circumcised when a baby4 ,but you cannot blame them if it has been neglected4 ,however1 your boy will have a right to blame you if he is allowed to be a victim of irritation and inflammation of the penis when he is a youth4 ,as you grow older this detail of the toilet becomes more and more necessary1 for at pubertyfourteen to sixteen years of ageall your glands become very active1 and those of the penis especially so4 ,i have told you in the first ,chat about the bad effects of allowing your bowels to retain matter that should always be kept out of the body4 ,the absorption of the poisons from this dead stuff left from food causes headaches1 laziness and in time affects the complexion4 ,it is a lot of natural filth left in the pocket of the lower bowel which ,nature intends should be thrown out daily4 ,there are muscles in this bowel or pocket especially for this purpose4 ,if you neglect to work the muscles placed for this purpose1 they soon become weak1 inactive and refuse to perform their duty unless irritated by some drug1 salts or castor oil4 ,in a healthy boyone who has taken any decent care of himselfthese medicines are never needed4 ,if such methods to make the muscles of the lower bowel work are constantly used1 the muscles lose their tone and of course usefulness4 ,then in later life the veins become full of black blood1 swell and often burst4 ,these swollen veins are generally called piles4 ,you see how you can avoid these disagreeable things1 which are only plain signs that the man or boy has kept in his lower bowel filthy stuff4 ,just think for a moment2 would you allow filthy stuff to remain in your pocket8 ,of course not2 yet if this stuff were kept there1 it would not do you physical harm4 ,it would be a little disagreeable1 ,i admit1 but not bring about the ill health it does when kept in the pocket of the bowel4 ,now1 when you have the gland of the penis inflamed from the gathering of the matter behind it1 you can readily see how it may be aggravated by any other dead material in the same region of the body4 ,and this region in the growing boy is very sensitive to all disturbances4 ,so here is another reason why you should empty your bowels ,,every day4 ,you will ask3 ,why is this secretion coming behind the gland of the penis harmful if it is natural8 ,it is there to keep the gland and its covering from growing together4 ,if it were not there the urine would irritate and inflame the parts4 ,whenever we have inflammation we have a tendency to growth4 ,under these circumstances the covering of the penis would adhere to the gland1 and then would come great trouble4 ,the secretion is a sort of oil for the sliding parts4 ,but this oil has to be renewed by fresh oilthis is the reason for washing the old1 rancid oil and letting fresh oil take its place4 ,again1 if this rancid secretion is allowed to remain it becomes absorbed and then you have another poison in your system4 ,it is useless for a boy to try to become a strong man unless his sex organs have the best of care4 ,i don't mean that you should keep your mind upon the subject2 quite the contrary4 ,if you have kept them clean and attended to the little matters ,i have mentioned1 your mind will not be upon the sex organs4 ,if you wash your teeth every day and have them always in good condition1 you do not think of them4 ,you chew your food thinking of the coming ball gamenot of your teeth4 ,but if you neglect them soon come pain and trouble2 then in spite of all the thinking of the next ball game1 your mind ,,will go to those awful teeth4 ,just so with your sex organs2 a decent regard for their care drives out all thoughts but what are necessary and decent4 ,the neglect or abuse of the sex organsthis latter subject we shall have a plain talk aboutaffects all the other portions of the body4 ,it causes stupidity and soft muscles4 ,sometimes big muscles will be seen in a youth who has neglected the toilet of his organs4 ,but these muscles are fatty muscles4 ,they do not contain strong1 blood-red fibres of true muscles4 ,moreover1 the ,,force behind these muscles1 the nerve cells1 are themselves weakened by the absorption of secretions and the whole general effect of the unclean and often abused parts4 ,remember this fact3 ,you cannot perform big deeds when a man if you have neglected the little ones belonging to the development of your body4 ,the foundation of every big structure1 brain or building1 is the essential part of the work4 ,unless this is built upon solid ground and of solid material1 ruin comes when pressure is brought to bear4 ,i have seen hundreds of men with powerful brains and intellects unable to utilize them because their foundations for withstanding pressure were weak4 ,and it was ever the same old cry3 8,no one ever told me1 ,doctor60 ,at an early age you will be faced by a great injury to all boys4 ,it is the appearance in the public schools of smutty pictures1 lecherous talk and nasty stories4 ,now all these go to make for a weak foundation4 ,if you have grasped the full sense of sex life1what it means to your future1 what it can do for a glorious life or a miserable end1you will shun such nasty things as you would a boy with the smallpox4 ,i want you all to know everything about sex life2 but smut and filth are not connected with this knowledge4 ,they have nothing to do with sex development4 ,nothing more to do with a full appreciation of the powers growing in you than the ulcers of a foul disease have to do with the growth of a healthful skin4 ,these nasty tales and pictures befoul a good mind4 ,in listening or looking you are simply allowing your growing brain to wallow in a pigsty of thought4 ,scientific books on sex life1 all the real knowledge you can obtain covering the real meaning of life1 are proper reading4 ,it is not necessary to roll in a manure heap to understand the care and diseases of cows4 ,it is not necessary1 but harmful1 to live in an atmosphere of vice and mental filth to understand man and woman4 ,so you can see that it is as important to keep the mind clean as it is any organ4 ,for one affects the other4 ,if you have an unclean mind1 poisons flowing through the brain from filthy talk1 you will find that the sex organs will feel the effect4 ,this is a dangerous state4 ,clean both at once and keep them clean as they grow4 ,why1 boys1 there is scarcely one of your waking dreams of big deeds that is not possible of being true if you keep a mind clean for big thoughts and work4 ,but this mind cannot work if it has to compete with foul matter working alongside4 ,if you were engaged upon some delicate work and had a chap working alongside of you who pulled down as fast as you built up1 what would you do8 ,throw that fellow out4 ,of course4 ,well1 if he gets along inside of your good thoughts1 throw ,,him out4 ,at this early age in your career ,i would not advise you to attempt any missionary work among those boys of evil thoughts and acts4 ,just let them alone2 have nothing to do with them4 ,this will appeal to such boys much more than any attempt at 8goody-goody0 talk4 ,i don't believe in this kind of education for the boys of vicious habits2 it doesn't appeal to them4 ,what you can do if they ask questions is to show them the ,,practical side of the whole matter3 ,that you want to be a strong man1 a man who can do things1 a man whose children will bless instead of curse him4 ,sometimes it is necessary to smash a boy who makes evil suggestions to you4 ,don't talk to him1 smash him in the face4 ,smash him good and hard4 ,remember that if you have followed my advice and directions you will have much more strength than a boy of evil thoughts and habits4 ,such a one will be a coward2 even if he ,,looks larger than you4 ,but beyond all1 don't blame such a boy2 don't unjustly blame him for what he is4 ,perhaps he had not had the chances you have had4 ,possibly he has had no parents to care for him and his associations have been such that he cannot see the good in life4 ,remember that such a boy has some good in him2 often he wants to be the right kind of a fellow but does not know how4 ,after you have licked himif he makes any really bad suggestionsthen he may become your good friend4 ,if so1 then you can tell him what you know4 ,but no preaching1 mind you4 ,don't try to make him think you are any better than he is4 ,just let him understand that you know what is necessary to make a strong and successful man4 ,then he will want to know4 ,,chapter ,v ,,night ,,emissions ,,and ,,the ,,boy',s ,,worry ,as you reach the age of puberty and for a few years thereafter1 you will have many little worries and hours of fear4 ,there is absolutely no reason why you should have these times of self-fear or any kind of worry4 ,the gradual change from boyhood to manhood should go on without mental worry or too much thinking of the changes in yourself4 ,nature never intended that this time should be any but a joyful and happy time4 ,and it can be made a period of full content and feeling that all is right with yourself and the good world4 ,but why have boys been so depressed during this time of sexual growth and development8 ,why is it that we see men whose whole careers have been handicapped and physical misery been their lot1 just because when they were youths they had some fright which has lasted throughout life8 ,because they were left the prey of their own thoughts2 because little matters that are natural to the growing boy were exaggerated into fearful diseases1 because they struggled through a fog of ignorance upon which were blown the lies of older boys and the advertisements of those beaststhe ,,quacks4 ,to sum it all up in a few words3 because the boys were never told the real truth4 ,truth is never vile1 nasty nor injurious4 ,to hide the truth is criminal1 cowardly and injurious4 ,but conditions which we will not bother ourselves about here have kept our parents and teachers from seeing the truth4 ,it is here where all the harm has been done to the boy and the girl4 ,you were not able to get the truth because it was hidden from you1 but the lies1 nasty lies1 were allowed to get to your ears and eyes4 ,if there were any false colors surrounding truth it certainly would not be the ,,truth2 would it8 ,if the laws of nature were untruthful in their significance1 if nature were all lies1 then the whole world and the power behind it is a ,,living ,,lie4 ,but it is not2 it is a beautiful revelation of powerful truths and when you know it as it is1 nothing more astounding or wonderful can possibly fill your mind4 ,and to know the truth these things should be plainly told you3 ,about fourteen years of age you may feel a gradual soreness in the nipples4 ,this will increase and sometimes be a little annoying4 ,now don't become frightened and try to recall some blow you have received there4 ,it is only a demonstration of how the growing sex instinct affects all the body4 ,there are little glands in the breast that for a short time become slightly inflamed and this produces the soreness and itching which bother you4 ,i knew a boy who was much affected with this soreness2 he had no idea what it meant4 ,he worried about it silently and ceaselessly4 ,he could not apply his mind to his studies2 he lost sleep and ceased to play with his companions4 ,one day when he was moping around the house his mother noticed how pale and listless he was4 ,she asked him what the trouble was4 ,he told her that his chest was very sore2 that the nipples pained him2 that he had suffered day after day4 ,now what did this mother do8 ,at once became frightened so that she frightened him4 ,he at once thought that something horrible was to happen to him4 ,poor boy6 ,the mother at once asked him if he had received a blow on the breast8 ,of course he remembered such a blow4 ,then this ignorant mother rushed to her family medical bookthe curse of many a homeand commenced to read up on cancer of the breast4 ,then she rushed off to the doctor1 leaving the book1 which was at once seized upon by the trembling and pale boy4 ,then he read his doomcancer of the breast2 he had all the symptoms6 ,at once he lost what little heart he had left1 and when the mother returned she made matters worse by her fear and sympathy4 ,the doctor8 ,he wasn't at his office2 would return the next day4 ,that boy spent the night in a fear which almost wrecked him4 ,he could not go to the doctor the next morning1 he was so weak from fear4 ,when the doctor did come1 instead of laughing at the whole matter1 taking the boy aside and telling him what the signs meant1 he hemmed and looked wise4 ,then he said he 8thought it would pass away40 ,but it did not1 neither did the fear4 ,the boy just escaped complete ruin of his health1 or perhaps a worse fate at his own hands1 by a stroke of luck4 ,in the small city where he resided there were a number of ,chinese youthssons of gentlemenbeing educated4 ,one of them1 a chum of the unfortunate boy1 called to see what was the matter4 ,tearfully the boy told him his pains and fear4 ,the ,chinese boy laughed loud and heartily4 ,then ,,he told the boy the truth4 ,you see these foreign boys had a real knowledge of the truth given them before being sent out into the world4 ,from that time onward this ,american boy never told his mother anything about himself or his thoughts2 he had to get what knowledge he wanted from other sources1 and as his ,chinese friends soon went off to a large prep4 school1 the later information came from older boys who only knew the lies and untruths4 ,so never worry about these little pains or uncomfortable feelings4 ,they belong to your natural growth and are signs that you are becoming a man4 ,at about the same time hair will appear on various parts of your body4 ,it will make its appearance there before it will be seen on the face4 ,new and strange feelings will now be part of your mental life4 ,you will wonder about everything around you4 ,what is life8 where shall ,i go to when dead8 what is religion8 am ,i fit to live8 and all sorts of new and queer ideas4 ,don't bother about them2 just go along doing your best with the knowledge that all is coming out right when you do your best4 ,of course you cannot be perfectyou will make many mistakes1 do things which you would be ashamed to repeat2 often tell an untruth when you wanted to be truthful4 ,but this does not make of you a sinful boyjust a natural boy4 ,time and forthrightness in ,,trying to correct these errors will make you a square man4 ,that is what you must aim at beinga square mansquare with yourself1 ,god and man4 ,a boy is a thing of many sides2 he is in the rough2 experience1 growth and determination cut away1 hammer out and finally polish the rough youth into a square man4 ,but he must have the proper tools for this work and these tools are knowledge of self1 determination and forthrightness4 ,one natural act of the glands in the body which now commence to secrete profusely1 is to empty themselves of an overload4 ,your testicles are secreting life fluid4 ,they do this constantly and will keep on doing so throughout a long life if you have cared for them as they should be cared for2 left alone until the time has arrived for you to be a father4 ,nights when the testicles are overloaded with seminal fluid1 they empty themselves4 ,but remember this fact3 they only let out the overflow1 they never ,,waste any4 ,it is something like that which goes on in a good spring of pure water4 ,this spring is always welling up with fresh water2 its overflow must be taken care of1 so off the excess water runs4 ,but you will notice that no more water runs away than is necessary2 the spring keeps up to the same level and always has fresh water4 ,dam it up and you all know what happensa muddy1 dead mass of useless water4 ,go to work and pump out the spring1 and what occurs8 ,it is emptied1 and if the pumping is kept up will disappear altogether4 ,it is now a useless1 dirty and moldy hole where once flowed pure1 sparkling1 live water4 ,just so with the life spring in you4 ,let it take care of itself4 ,it knows how4 ,but you must protect it1 as you would any good thing4 ,and this is done through the mind2 by keeping evil thoughts out of your mind the spring is not emptied or muddied4 ,when the testicles are overflowing with their fluid there comes a night for casting off this overflow4 ,now this overflow irritates certain nerves around the sex organ1 these send a message to the brain telling it to open the glands and let out this overflow4 ,this message is the dream you have4 ,it is nothing to be ashamed of1 nothing sinful or wrong1 just a sign that you are in good health and growing to be a strong man4 ,here is where the injury of evil thoughts1 smutty talk and reading comes in4 ,if you have been listening during the day to these injurious things1 when you sleep1 some memory of the things heard or seen remains on the memoryas everything does4 ,this brings about injurious dreams1 these dreams send a message to your sex organs and they return an order to open the valves of the testicles and pour out precious life fluid4 ,as you see1 in such a case it is not the overflow you are casting off1 but most valuable energy and muscle-giving power4 ,you have been drawing from the well1 and if you persist in this method you will soon be a ruined boy4 ,but the dreams which come naturally do no injury to you when they do not occur too often4 ,but how often should they come1 ,doctor8 ,just wait for a few moments2 we will soon come to all those questions and their answers4 ,let me first tell you1 boys1 that all the statements of the ,quacks1 and of too many doctors who are not known as ,quacks but in heart and method are worse than ,quacks1 are abominable ,,lies4 ,every one of their advertisements about 8,lost ,manhood0 is a mean falsehood4 ,they are founded upon what is natural for every boy to have occur to him1 but they confound in your minds the true and the false4 ,they try to scare you1 and they have scared millions of ,american youths and boys1 by telling you what happens is ,,always a symptom of 8,lost ,manhood40 ,nothing of the kind1 as ,i have shown you4 ,if you will all grasp and hold the facts ,i have and shall tell you1 we can drive these bloodhounds from the land4 ,when you realize that the advertisements you read in some papers and those booklets sent to boys are nothing but a pack of lies gotten up to bleed you and frighten you1 the ,quacks will fall away like leaves in an autumn gale4 ,we can raise such a wind1 you and ,i1 that every ,quack and his kind will have to go digging sewers for a livingwhere they belong4 8,lost ,manhood0 is such a rare condition in the boy and youth that many doctors go through a career of practice and never see a case4 ,of course we have boys born with weak brains1 idiots1 and those with a growth or disease of the sexual center in the brain4 ,this makes them constantly handle their organs2 they are thinking of vile things only1 they are really insane on this one subject and of course soon sink to the level ofno1 not beastsanimals are pure in their instinctsto the level of imbeciles4 ,i have shown you how you can bring yourselves to the point of not being the fathers of these unfortunate and horrid things4 ,the ,quack takes all those natural occurrences of boyhood and in his advertisements points them out to you4 ,he well knows that each and every symptom he describes will be found in all ,,healthy boys4 ,for instance he says that if you have dark rings under your eyes it is a dangerous symptom4 ,of course you will find dark rings under your eyes at times4 ,just after a night's natural emission4 ,this is the time to throw a scare into you4 ,you have never thought of those dark rings before1 but now you look into the mirror1 and 8,oh1 ,i'm lostthere they are60 ,rotten nonsense6 ,they have always been there1 but you didn't receive the suggestion before you read the advertisement or those criminal booklets4 ,and that picture3 8,before ,taking2 ,after ,taking40 ,you know them well4 ,i was acquainted with a fellow who had been quite an athlete4 ,somehow he never seemed to make good4 ,he tried almost everything but never stuck to one thing4 ,he passed out of my mind for some time4 ,one day ,i met him on ,broadway1 swinging along full of health and apparent contentment4 ,he told me that he had tried to be an actor1 but was now doing something better4 ,he smiled and answered that he was 8making good money0 when ,i asked him what he was doing4 ,a few days after this little conversation he came to my office4 ,at least a forlorn creature staggered in and sank down in a chair4 ,he was thin-looking1 pale and had pimples all over his face4 ,his clothes hung on himjust hung1 nothing else4 ,his arm was in a sling and he talked with effort4 8,you don't know me1 ,doctor80 ,then he straightened himself up and showed a magnificent figure even under the draggled clothes4 ,he was the athlete4 ,then he explained3 ,he had fallen downstairs in a photographer's shop and broken his arm1 and without waiting to wash and dress had rushed to me4 ,as he paid the fee out of a big roll of bills he said3 8,oh1 it's easy money1 ,doctor40 8,what is80 8,beating you simple men out of your rights4 ,why don't you all wake up8 ,these fakers ,i am working for have gotten you chaps beaten to a frazzle4 ,why1 the phony docs ,i work for just have a basket to shove their suckers' money in4 8,what do ,i do8 ,i am the #8,great and ,only ,before ,taking and ,after ,taking ,artist4' ,see8 ,no8 8,well ,i learned the make-up on the stage4 ,i sit before the camera with my chest out1 hair curled1 and in the best clothes this burg can turn out4 ,then ,i am mugged as a fine specimen of the doc's work4 ,this done1 ,i go and make up as you see menext scene with slow music3 #8,the ,lost ,manhood' act4 ,then the photos are placed side by side and off they go to the boys of this free and unwise land4 8,oh1 yes1 ,i have several other stunts4 ,i am the original #8,kidney ,cure' chap4 ,never seen me1 bent over1 holding on to one rotten kidney with an expression of ,death on my noble brow8 ,i'm ,it in the next photo1 fine girls hanging onto my brawny arms or sitting happy with my two hundred pound1 but happy1 wife while the fireside burns cheerfully4 ,but even the fire is a fake4 8,i have a partner1 too1 in all these stunts2 she stands for a photo with all the latest on her for the shapely woman1 then they put a rig on her and blow her up4 #8,how to ,reduce ,flesh4 ,why ,be ,fat ,when ,you ,can1 ,by ,using ,old ,doc's ,food1 ,look ,like ,,this8' 8,say1 honest1 ,doc1pardon1 ,i forgot1 ,doctor1how long did it take you to learn your professional duties8 ,look1 the fakers ,i work for can't even write their own adsit's all done for them by men who understand what's wrong with the boys and girls1 schools and parents4 ,wake up1 ,doctor1 wake up and get some of the ,mazulum that's flying around40 ,i think1 boys1 that this story of a faker's tool will explain the whole matter to you better than a talk in our own tongue4 99 99 99 99 99 ,how often may a boy have these night emissions without being injured by them8 ,like all other physiologic functions the answer depends upon the boy4 ,that is1 how he works and plays2 how well fed he is1 and how he lets off his steam4 ,the boy in good health and good surroundings1 after he is sixteen years of age1 need not think about the matter when they occur once a week4 ,should they be more frequent1 occurring two or three times a week for several weeks in succession1 then it means that something is wrong4 ,but nothing to worry about2 just some little fault to adjust4 ,and the youth can do this adjustment himself4 ,he will understand himself better than a physician can1 after he has seen the truth of these matters4 ,here is what ,i mean3 ,supposing you have these 8wet dreams0 two or three times a week and they keep up until you commence to feel their weakening effect4 ,now there is a cause for every effect4 ,find the cause for their increase of frequency4 ,look well into yourself4 ,have you been listening to nasty stories8 seen pictures which aroused your baser instincts1 or read books which you know you should not have read8 ,yes1 a little1 perhaps4 ,well1 remember what ,i said about the mind influencing the action of the sex organs4 ,you see that the remedy is in your own hands4 ,just stop such pictures and stories getting a place in your brain and the emissions will also stop4 ,but above all things don't get frightened1 don't take any medicines or drugs1 ,,don',t ,,believe ,a ,,thing ,,the ,,quacks ,,advertise4 ,be your own master in this as in all matters4 ,there are other causes which you must correct4 ,the irritation ,i spoke about which comes by letting matter remain in your lower bowel1 is sometimes a cause for too frequent emissions4 ,this material remaining so close to the sex organs causes a pressure and heat4 ,this excites the parts and then goes the message to the brain1 bringing dreams and the letting out of seminal fluid4 ,such a cause if continued will do harm1 but you can at once stop the cause and then the emissions cease4 ,too warm clothing will bring about the same state by overheating the organs1 hence always sleep with as little clothing as is consistent with comfort4 ,in this matter you can commence in the autumn to accustom yourself to light coverings1 so that when winter comes you will not want a lot of heavy blankets over you4 ,and this is much better also for the breathing process of the skin4 ,sleeping on the back will1 with some boys1 always bring on a night emission4 ,sleep on your side always4 ,if you are inclined to roll over in your sleep and remain on your back1 take a towel and tie a knot in it4 ,tie this towel around your back so that the knot comes in the middle of the back4 ,then go to sleep on your side4 ,should you roll over in the night1 the knot will wake you up4 ,after a few nights of this scheme you will break the habit of sleeping on your back and so correct the habit of emissions4 ,cold-water bathing of the sex organs every morning and night is an excellent way of keeping up their tone and preventing a laxity which has a tendency to bring on emissions4 ,if you hear a big1 strong boy say that he has an emission once a week and you have only one a month1 don't worry about it4 ,nature is taking care of you4 ,it simply means that the big boy secretes more seminal fluid than you do4 ,this by no means implies that he has more manhood2 it is just a difference in temperamentthe same difference as is shown by a fair-haired boy and a black-haired boy4 ,this stands true only if both boys are living a correct physical life4 ,i am not trying to preach to you1 boys1 but ,i cannot let this subject go without warning you about smoking4 ,now there is nothing wrong or wicked about smoking,i smoke a lot myself4 ,but there are reasons why you should not smoke before you have reached complete development4 ,smoking does affect the growth and vigor of the sex organs4 ,it does so through lowering the nervous system4 ,frequently ,i have seen boys whose night emissions were fast pulling them down1 and the whole cause of these losses was smoking4 ,in strong doses tobacco is a powerful depressant to the sexual activity4 ,it can be given in such doses as to completely stop all seminal secretion4 ,so don't forget this fact4 ,i don't think many boys would smoke if they knew these facts1 but the trouble is that you have been told that smoking was not nice1 that it injured you1 but just ,,how it injured you has not been told in plain language4 ,our next ,chat will be on self-abuse1 its causes1 how to stop the habit and what it means if you do not stop it4 ,we shall also have another shot at the ,quacks4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,self-,,abuse,,how ,,to ,,stop ,,it,,the ,,quacks ,this is a subject1 boys1 that has been much distorted in its facts and quite frequently put before you in a wrong light4 ,to try and frighten you1 to prevent you from making mistakes through ignorance1 is not the way to help a worrying boy4 ,if he makes mistakes and falls into injurious habits through lack of knowledge of a certain subject1 give him that knowledge4 ,but instead of placing knowledge and truths before you1 scarecrows and words to make you fear have been hung for you to see and hear4 ,it is this fear that has been put into you by those who have not fully explained the whole matter1 which the ,quacks use for extorting money from their victims4 ,of course the ,,habit of self-abuse means ruin to both brain and body4 ,it is degrading to your true self1 causes a loss of self-respect and makes a coward of every boy and man4 ,how can it do otherwise8 ,the mere loss of the bubbling spring of manly life1 the seminal fluid1 would bring about this cowardice in a bravely born boy4 ,self-abuse is a cowardly way to treat the growing man in you1 and it throws that cowardice right back in your face1 makes you a real1 can't-help-it coward4 ,all this is true of the ,,habit4 ,but this one fact ,i want to impress upon youdon't think because you have succumbed to the desire a few times1 that you are lost1 going to become insane1 or show upon your features the wrong acts of youthful ignorance4 ,no1 don't worry yourself ill1 don't become frightened at these misstatements1 at what the advertising doctors say in their lying circulars and daily papers4 ,all their statements are lies and used to get your money and ruin your health and happiness4 ,little slips now and then before you have reached full knowledge of what is right should be forgotten1 but the ,,habit kept up will1 of course1 bring you to uselessness and make for failure in life4 ,let us see how the practice is usually started4 ,i have told you all about the irritation which arises from an unclean penis and a secondary irritation from an unemptied bowel4 ,also about too warm bed-clothing4 ,in most boys these irritations call attention to the organ4 ,then there is an itching4 ,this the boy seeks to relieve by scratching or handling his penis4 ,all this sends blood to the organ4 ,the blood enters the spongy penis and causes an erection4 ,soon the boy finds a new and strange sensation and finally performs the act4 ,what should he do when this strange sensation comes over him8 ,he should immediately rise from the bed and pulling back the foreskinif he is not circumcisedplunge the organ and surrounding parts into cold water4 ,but you see he has never been told1 and so the 8first time0 happens4 ,this is his first attempt at self-abuse4 ,and it is rightly called self-abuse1 for it is an abuse of a boy's greatest powermanhood1 muscle-force1 brain-health4 ,i know that some of your teachers and parents will object to my telling you that a few mistakes in boyhood will not ,,always ruin you4 ,all the fakers and ,quacks will certainly object1 for the truth will drive them out of business4 ,but ,i intend giving you the truth in these matters4 ,it is the only way for you to start right and know how to keep right4 ,i have no patience with those who would build up a great scare for you when young to have you find out later that it was only a warning but not the real facts4 ,i am going to hit out from the shoulder in this matter2 no feints or ducking in going at the truth4 ,i have seen hundreds of men and youths complete nervous wrecks from fear that the few times they practiced self-abuse when boys1 meant that they were doomed to go to the asylum or death4 ,and all this misery and often a missing of good opportunities in life1 were due to the fact that they were told hobgoblin stories which remained with them and rose to frighten them at the most sensitive age in lifeearly manhood4 ,no more of this wrong treatment should be allowed4 ,if these boys of the past generation had been told how to care for their sex organs1 as you have1 more than one-half would never have succumbed even once to the temptation of self-abuse4 ,those of you who have not had proper instruction in the care of the sex organs and felt the irritation so much that you relieved yourselves1 don't think about the past2 don't worry1 don't read the scare-books and the advertisements of the ,quacks4 ,keep a clean body and a clean mind4 ,but you cannot keep a clean mind if you allow the accumulation of secretions to remain anywhere in your system4 ,the mind can be cleaned just as well as the bowels or penis4 ,you can flush the brain so that nothing but pure thoughts and right thinking flow through it4 ,this is done by good reading1 good desires and a constant study of yourself and what certain impulses mean4 ,evil impulses ,,will get into the brain2 flush them out4 ,look ahead1 never backward4 ,no man ever succeeded in life by looking behind himself4 ,look forward in all things4 ,don't worry and work yourself ill by remembering the time when you did give way to the desire2 just try to think of the times ahead that you will ,,not4 ,keep in your mind whatsoever things are upright1 just and manly4 ,this does not mean that you should be a 8goody-goody0 or a 8sissy40 ,no1 these two specimens of half-boys are detestable to all real men and women4 ,so are the other kindthe vulgar and vile4 ,proper thoughts and clean acts in boyhood all go to make a man of character1 of honor1 give you the inward grace of a gentleman which cannot manifest itself outwardly save in good manners1 modesty of bearing and fearlessness4 ,let your mind be stored with evil thoughts1 indecent pictures made up in your mind1 then act upon all these foul things1 and nothing can bring you to the point of being a man and gentleman4 ,never4 ,and the reason is this3 ,the memory is something like photographic films1 like millions of them1 some exposed1 some unused4 ,every thought is registered on your memory films4 ,every tiny brain cell is a film ready to take a picture the moment it is exposed to a thought4 ,you can have a pile of bright1 good1 inspiring ones so big and thick that they hide forever those films which have registered evil and wrong thoughts4 ,every debasing thought or waking dream of filth leaves its photographic negative somewhere in your brain4 ,every thought or mind picture remains there to come forward again and again1 if it is not darkly and deeply hidden by manly thoughts and ambitious dreams of what you want to do to make something of yourself and do something for the world4 ,it is in these facts that the great injury of self-abuse enters4 ,you cannot commit the vicious act without having in your mind some kind of nasty and unnatural pictures4 ,you first bring this picture to your consciousness which accompanies the act4 ,this picture you may think is only a passing one1 but it has left its negative in your brain4 ,it will stay there to some time reappear1 unless it is packed so far behind natural and manly thoughts that it cannot possibly throw itself before your consciousness4 ,from this explanation you can see that if the habit of self-abuse and all the pictures in your mind which accompany the habit are continued1 your brain cells will soon be occupied by these negatives1 and there will be a constantly decreasing space for right thoughts4 ,now comes the time when the youth finds it hard to apply himself to his work or studies4 ,his mind will wander2 he is called stupid1 he becomes discouraged and leaves school or work4 ,yet1 he can1 at this period in his life1 be brought back to be a normal youth4 ,he can start right by knowing that if he will at once put all evil thoughts away he can hide the brain pictures which have been holding him down4 ,you should remember it is not so much the ,,physical injury self-abuse does2 not the 8losing a pound of blood0 every time he abuses himself2 it is the brain power he is weakening1 the filling of brain cells with pictures which shut out proper thoughts4 ,of course it hurts your growing strength1 keeps you weak and finally affects your whole nervous system1 but the youth has wonderful powers of recovery from ,,physical injury1 and if he has not kept up the habit1 all this injury may be repaired4 ,but not so with the brain4 ,we cannot get rid of the negatives there1 but we can keep them suppressed4 ,and how well they may be hidden and not allowed to shut out good thinking1 depends entirely upon the length and frequency of the practice of self-abuse4 ,but one thing is certain3 if the boy will at once stop the habit1 get away from all those boys and things which bring out these injurious brain pictures1 he can forget the past and look only at the future4 ,this is the cure and the only cure4 ,but there are a lot of details which1 when understood1 help a boy to do all this4 ,first1 never sleep with another person1 man or boy4 ,in a former ,chat ,i told you that to sleep with another person was unhealthful2 that it prevented your skin from breathing fresh air and that you could absorb the poisons from another's skin4 ,sleeping with another person causes extra warmth under the clothing2 this affects the sex organssends blood to them and causes a feeling of attraction towards these delicate organs4 ,often this will end in an emissionan unnatural one1 due to the heat1 not to an effort to empty overloaded sacks4 ,again1 many boys will be tempted to talk and play with each other4 ,these boys may be ignorant and innocent at first1 but in the end it means self-abuse4 ,thousands of boys have been started on the habit through sleeping one with another4 ,one may have been innocent and ignorant1 one viciousno matter2 the result is the same4 ,never trust yourself in bed with a boy or man4 ,no matter if you are so situated that there is only one bed to be had4 ,sleep on the floor1 anywhere2 go without sleeping rather than have that 8first time0 happen to you4 ,and it is so easy to avoid all this danger when you know the facts4 ,the trouble has been that these matters have been withheld from your knowledge4 ,it was so easy to tell you to be good and then send you to bed with a vicious boy4 ,there are things in trousers called men1 so vile that they wait in hiding for the innocent boy4 ,these things are generally well dressed1 well manneredtoo well mannered in factand pass as gentlemen2 but they are really human skunks hatched from rattlesnakes' eggs4 ,they hang around fashionable summer hotels1 city boarding houses and hotels where families live4 ,they fool your mothers and sisters2 are always ready to play the gallant in parlor games1 croquet with the girls and often are much sought after as dancers4 ,look out for these vermin1 be suspicious of any man in trousers who avoids real men1 who never enters or takes interest in manly sports1 who tries to see you alone and prefers to go in bathing with boys instead of men4 ,don't go to drive or walk with these things1 for all the time they are only waiting to teach boys to help them in self-abuse or something far nastier4 ,so never sleep with a man1 except your father4 ,if you should be so situated that you find yourself in bed with a man1 keep awake with your eyes on something you can hit him with4 ,at the slightest word or act out of the way1 ,,hit him2 hit him so hard that he will carry the scar for life4 ,don't be afraid1 these skunks are all cowards4 ,it is to be hoped that you will never come in contact with or know such beastly men4 ,there are not many of them sneaking around1 nevertheless ,i feel ,i should warn you against everything that might be the commencement of your ruin4 ,almost all the deeds and thoughts which go to make up a career of success or failure1 have their beginnings in youth4 ,youth is the springtime of life4 ,it is the planting time1 the crop you sow is reaped in the summer and autumn of life4 ,just being good amounts to a useless life unless you can be good for something4 ,you cannot be good for anything unless you are good to yourself4 ,the time has passed when a youth or man can neglect his body and brain and1 when they are no longer working as they should work1 go to a doctor and have him repair the trouble with medicines4 ,the doctor of the future and those of the present who understand man and his powers1 study to show you how to keep in the best physical and moral health4 ,these two conditions cannot be separated2 neglect your body and evil thoughts and weak will are sure to follow4 ,both come from the ,great ,source and both must be equally cared for and respected4 ,you have been told that it is wonderful to look around and see ,god's work4 ,but this is not exactly the whole truth4 ,it is more wonderful to study self and recognize the spirit of ,god ,,in ,,you4 ,and this spirit in you will always respond to your appeals for help in these matters of taking care of the body and all that belongs to the body4 ,just say to yourself3 8,i have a lot of dirt in my body2 ,i know now how to get it out and keep it out4 ,i have some filthy thought germs in my brain1 ,i will wash them out and keep them out40 ,doing this until it becomes a silent habit1 you start as a youth whose foundations are such that1 as a man1 you can become what you will4 ,boys have been scared to death1 or to the point where they think death would be a relief1 by being told that pimples on the face were signs of self-abuse and the commencement of 8,lost ,manhood40 ,pimples on the face of a growing boy have no more to do with these conditions than a corn on the toe4 ,remember this truth3 ,self-abuse kept up will1 of course1 bring about a dirty complexion1 pale face1 trembling limbs and the general appearance of something wrong with the youth4 ,but the purest-minded and healthiest youth will have pimples on his face for two or three years4 ,when the age of puberty arrives1 every gland1 including the sweat glands of the face and others1 which exude a fatty material1 are pouring out an excess of their secretions1 like the sap in young trees during the springtime4 ,this state naturally leaves a complexion muddy-looking and helps also to make pimples4 ,but the pimples on the youth's face are mainly due to another cause4 ,when the beard commences to grow1 each hair1 in trying to push its way through the tender skin1 leaves a hole a little larger than the size of the hair4 ,consequently there are around the pushing hair of the beard little open spaces into which dirt and some of the acid secretions enter4 ,this sets up a slight inflammation and so1 of course1 makes pimples4 ,let these pimples alone4 ,all pinching1 opening and applications make them worse4 ,sometimes a boy becomes so worried and ashamed about them that he goes to a druggist1 who gives him an ointment or wash which closes up the opening spaces and thereby keeps the dirt and inflammation hidden for a time4 ,but this is an injurious thing to do2 for soon the inflammation increases downwards in the skin and unless at once relieved the boy will have one form of a real skin disease1 which1 even when treated by a doctor1 is liable to leave scars on the face2 deep pits which resemble those of smallpox4 ,if you are foolish enough to smoke cigarettes when growing1 your pimples will be irritated1 and then1 of course1 enlarged and more difficult for ,naturethe only genuine doctorto bring about a good complexion4 ,as a general rule1 the stronger the man you are to be1 the more numerous the pimples will be on your face and body4 ,this is because a full and heavy beard generally belongs to the strong man4 ,so if you have more hairs pushing through your skin than a less-powerful youth1 you will have more pimples4 ,temperament1 that is1 your racial traits1 color of hair and family complexion1 all these kinds of things1 of course1 make a difference in the way your beard grows and the quality of it2 but the principles are all the same for every growing youth4 ,frequently boys are frightened almost to helplessness because some of these pimples appear upon the parts surrounding the sex organs4 ,these pimples are generally from the same cause2 most often due to the curling of the young hairs which re-enter the skin near the point where they come out4 ,in all these matters you only need to keep your face and other hairy parts clean by simple washing with soap and water4 ,use only a plain1 pure soapcastile soap is excellent for this purpose4 ,don't use highly-scented soaps4 ,many of these are poisonous to such conditions1 as ,i have explained4 ,when you feel that it is about time to commence shaving1 do it yourself,,don',t 8let a barber do it40 ,it is an easy matter to learn to handle a razor1 and now the safety razors make it inexcusable to go to a barber4 ,then think of the nastiness involved in having a stranger's hands running all over your sensitive skin6 ,would you let any other kind of brush which had been used upon a thousand of all sorts of human skins1 be smeared over yours8 ,then the soaps1 towels1 all the things the barber uses6 ,ugh1 if you had seen all the diseases ,i have seen on men's faces1 you would allow no hands but your own to touch your face4 ,you know where your hands have been2 do you know where the barber's were a half-hour before he shaved you8 ,true1 all first-class barbers try to have everything they come in contact with kept clean and sterilized1 but we cannot get away from the fact that the razor1 brush1 soap and hand of your own are far1 far preferable to use on your tender face4 ,then traveling1 if you do not shave yourself1 you are liable to be obliged to enter some barber shop from which you come out diseased2 perhaps diseased for life4 ,and if you do not know all about these diseases they will get such a hold upon your system that your career is ended4 ,there are many other good reasons why you should shave yourself2 one will come to your mindthe fact that you save valuable time and can start out in the morning looking clean and neat1 as every gentleman should and does4 ,in traveling and other conditions which keep you away from your own toilets1 especially in the public schools1 the seats of the closets are often found to be covered with a form of lice8crabs0 they are vulgarly called4 ,when these get on to you they cause a terrible itching4 ,they will become so irritating that you cannot keep still4 ,many a boy has been sent home from school because he could not keep still or refrain from scratching himself4 ,this form of scratching has often been thought by his teacher to mean evil thoughts or habits4 ,poor fellows1 how many of you have been unjustly accused6 ,if you will examine yourself closely1 you will find the tiny lice4 ,little bits of things looking like a black pin-point4 ,the best thing under these circumstances is to go to the doctor4 ,he will give you an ointment to apply which will soon kill them4 ,so don't let some older boy1 through fun and the love of scaring you1 or perhaps through his own ignorance1 frighten you4 ,some boys and shameful men will tell you that the itching is a sure sign of self-abuse1 or that you have a bad disease which will soon rot your whole body4 ,and as many boys have once or more done things of which they are ashamedalways a good sign is this shamethese mean tales do much injury4 ,there is nothing in it1 boys2 just 8crabs40 ,it is every strange1 little symptom which comes to the developing youth that is seized upon by the ,quacks to exaggerate in their advertisements and try to make you believe that physical or mental ruin is right ahead of youunless you buy their drugs4 ,here is one way they work upon the youth's ignorance and fears4 ,you are just an ordinary boy2 full of fun1 play and no better nor worse than the rest of us4 ,one day you receive a circular or booklet through the mail4 ,there is no printing on the envelope4 ,just one of the catalogues or circulars you sent for1 as you wanted to see the prices of bats and mitts for next season's games4 ,so thinks your mother also4 ,and your father8 ,well1 he is too busy making money for you all to really know what his son needs and wants in the way of confidential talks4 ,but you will know when you have a boy,i am sure of this4 ,but let us get back to the circular4 ,you open it and at the first glance of the heading1 down it goes deep into your pocket while you sneak off to read it4 ,i say sneak off1 because that is about what you do4 ,then you read in the circular what your awful doom is to be4 ,as you read on you tremble1 and there comes over you the feeling that every bit of real life is leaving you4 ,once again you read those cursed lies and then commences the habit of looking in the mirror when no one is around1 to notice your pale face and those tell-tale pimples4 ,you feel your pulse1 which is1 of course1 now going at a rapid rate1 and get into exactly that fright the fakers knew you would get into and so send them money for their 8cure0 of 8,lost ,manhood40 ,if ,i could have my way1 ,i would send to prison for life every criminal who advertised or sold stuff for 8,lost ,manhood ,restored40 ,these vampires are criminals1 soul-murderers and body-destroyers1 and just as guilty as though they stuck a knife into every youth and boy4 ,then you read in the circular about the awful effects and signs of 8,seminal ,losses at ,night10 and know for certain that they are fast telling on your face4 8,surely10 you say to yourself1 8,i must show how rapidly ,i am failing1 for someone has noticed it and sent to these doctors to have them tell me what to do4 ,oh6 what shall ,i do2 can ,i ever be cured80 ,poor1 scared and suffering boy6 ,why have father1 mother and teacher left you to be the prey of these criminals8 ,ask them6 ,no1 these blood-suckers did not get your name from anyone who knew you2 that is1 in the way you think4 ,this is the way the names of boys and youths are procured3 ,all through the land1 especially in the weekly papers which circulate in the country towns1 are to be found advertisements saying that if you will send your name8only send your name2 no money is wanted0 is the general way they put ityou will receive the catalogue of the goods these advertisers have to sell4 ,sometimes it is some form of puzzle you are to solve and get a prize8,just send us your name10 that is the trick4 ,others will offer you 8,a gold watch1 #ah-;carat10 if you send a list of your young friends who would like to earn a little money selling soap1 or canvassing for books or journals4 ,rarely it is a fake sporting-goods house which advertises to send catalogues if you will send a list of names4 ,but you all know the real ones2 these are honest1 absolutely straight houses4 ,when you send these reputable houses your names they are safe from being bought by these quacks and criminals4 ,all these advertisers want is to obtain the name of every boy and girl between fourteen and eighteen years of age1 so as to mail them their circulars4 ,some of these advertisers are the firms selling the 8,lost ,manhood0 fakes and other nasty fakes2 some are in the disreputable business only to get the names and sell them to the blood-suckers1 and once they get your name1 they will follow you up to the last minute of your youth2 then1 if you have been easily bled1 they will follow you up into your married life4 ,they work the ,sunday ,school teachers by offering to send samples of mottoes or some other tempting bait to catch the unwary young woman who has a class of boysyes1 and girls4 ,all they want is the name of each scholar for some contestthe winning class to get a prize2 or else it is to introduce some new line of ,,church workand to introduce it in their city1 samples will be sent free to each pupil4 ,in the high schools1 they have their own agentspupilswho send a list of names and with these names other information that these scorpions want4 ,of course1 many of these pupil-agents do not really know just all the evil they are doing1 but ,i think they are generally those of bad and injurious habits4 ,so when you receive one of these circulars just tear the vile thing up and say to yourself3 8,nixy for me1 ,i don't bite at such bait,i'm no sucker40 ,i am pleased to say that all these nefarious schemes ,i have investigated are run by foreigners2 not one ,i know of is controlled by a genuine ,american or ,britisher4 8,but10 you say1 8some of these fakers and quacks must be honest4 ,there must be something in what they say in print1 because they offer your money back if you are not cured4 ,they give you a written guarantee and refer you to a bank40 ,true1 and you will find that the guarantee is legally correct and binding4 ,but ,this is the way they trap you3 ,in the guarantee they promise to return your moneyand sometimes more as a bait,,if ,,you ,,give ,,reasonable ,,proof ,,that ,,you ,,were ,a ,,victim ,,of ,,injurious ,,habits ,,before ,,treatment1 ,,and ,,that ,,the ,,treatment ,,has ,,not ,,cured ,,you4 ,when you demand your money back they will send you a blank to fill out and return4 ,they inform you that when this blank is properly filled out they will at once return the money4 ,i presume they will1 but ,i have never heard of such a case and ,i have investigated hundreds of these schemes4 ,the blank you are asked to fill out is such that no victim will return it4 ,it requires you to get the signatures of your minister1 one of the principal business men in your town and your father or next of kin1 certifying that you had the habit before taking treatment and that you have it now4 ,then this must be taken before a notary and witnessedthe blood-suckers6 ,if you have any reason to think that you may be in danger of falling into the habit of self-abuse1 do this3 ,every time the temptation comes to you go at once and bathe your sex organs in cold water4 ,if it is in one of those half-waking conditions in the morning1 ,,wake ,,up4 ,go at once and plunge the parts in cold water4 ,take a cold shower1 if possible2 if not1 have a big sponge always ready and let the cold water run down your back and all over the sex organstesticles and penis4 ,if the temptation comes at night before you have gone to sleep1 get out of bed at once1 no matter how cold it is1 the colder the better1 and apply the icy water4 ,take cold8 ,not a bit of it4 ,these are old women's tales2 what all boys need are the true facts of life from men4 ,you want to be stopped from being cuddled up in warm blankets and told not to get out of bed1 and all that nonsense4 ,while you are breaking up any impulses to do that which you know is injurious1 is the time for developing the will4 ,this can be done by all boys and bring you to a state of self-control that has been sadly lacking in the past generation4 ,if you want big muscles1 those always under your control and acting when and how you want them to1 you exercise them regularly4 ,those which have the least development and are not under ready command1 you pay much attention to strengthening and bringing under control4 ,by this way you soon get them under full control4 ,the will can be made to do as you desire1 by the same method4 ,when the temptation comes1 and as you are pouring over the cold water1 just say3 8,will1 do as ,i want,take my mind off these subjects4 ,will1 drive out that dirty picture,that's the way1 now1 once more40 ,if the thoughts still linger and try to throw down the struggling will1 stay up reading some interesting book4 ,some exciting book that you really like1 something about pirates1 ,indians1 detective stories or travelers' tales4 ,i think it is a good thing to have always on hand a book you want to read4 ,keep such a book for emergencies1 just as a soldier carries bandages for emergencies4 ,when a thought or impulse comes to you that may carry you to wrongful acts1 jump out of bed and get the book and read1 even if you stay up all night4 ,this helps to strengthen the will and takes you safely over the danger point4 ,you may call such a book3 8,the ,first ,aid to the ,u,ninjured40 ,by these many little methods you gradually develop the will to act your way4 ,you do more1 you strengthen it1 make it a ,,big power for you to move and direct and finally ,,do ,,big ,,things4 ,the will certainly can be brought to a high development1 and what a magnificent sight is the man with big muscles1 big brain and controlled will force4 ,of course you cannot do all this at once4 ,do not be discouraged if you fail time after time4 ,stick at it4 ,every ,,effort means an increase of power4 ,it is like the gradual development of the muscles1 as ,i have said4 ,you all know the story of the man who commenced to carry a calf and lifted it every day until it had grown to be a cow4 ,then he could lift and carry off the cow4 ,do you suppose he could at first have lifted a cow8 ,of course not4 ,neither can you carry off the first attempt of your will to get the better of you4 ,but by keeping at it and doing a little every day1 in time you can get a strangle-hold on it4 ,when you get this hold call to it to get up and ,,obey4 ,it will do your bidding4 ,you need no drugs1 medicines or 8electric belts0 to get you to full manhood4 ,just the power in you well brought out is the way to complete physical and mental development4 ,and again1 don't get discouraged4 ,man never succeeded in anything by remembering past failures4 ,it is just this constant fighting discouragement and mistakes that shows where the faults lie1 and knowing these faults1 we can in the next attempt avoid some of them1 finally all of them4 ,i have mentioned 8electric belts40 ,these are another great fake1 a monstrous fake1 and if the people were not ignorant of the facts ,i have been telling you1 such frauds could not live a day4 ,you have all seen those pictures in the papers of the big1 strong-looking man to whose arm clings a smiling young woman4 ,then there is the companion picture1 the picture of the 8down and out0 man looking as if he had one foot in the grave and one hand reaching out to the insane asylum4 ,of course the advertisement tells you that this is the way he looked before he used the 8electric belt40 ,if it were not for the curse of these pictures and the great injury they do to the ignorant people1 these advertisements of 8electric belts0 would seem roaringly funny to the doctor4 ,the fact is that all the statements in these advertisements and similar ones are nothing but bare-faced liesevery one of them4 ,again you say1 8,i know a man who was cured by one of these #8electric belts4'0 ,or a youth will state that he wore one for three months and was made into a well man again4 ,both these statements are probably true1 and will be given in writing to the advertisers who challenge the world to dispute the facts4 ,but how1 then1 if these advertisements are frauds8 ,let us take a part of the advertisements and discover3 ,after telling you that 8,weaknesses1 ,nervousness10 and all that kind of advertising rottenness1 will be removed by wearing the belt1 this advice follows3 ,i quote word for word8,no drugs to be taken1 ,,no ,,conditions ,,imposed ,,except ,,that ,,dissipation ,,must ,,cease40 ,now you see the nigger in the woodpile8,,dissipation ,,must ,,cease40 ,in other words1 stop your evil habits1 the ones which have caused a little or great weakness1 and you will be cured4 ,is this any different from what ,i have told you8 ,not at all1 only ,i say don't use the fake 8electric belt10 and you will be far better off4 ,using these belts or any kind of appliances1 is worse than useless because they give you a false idea of what really cures you1 and you may be foolish at some later period in your lifebut not if you have developed the willand resume your injurious habits1 thinking all you need to be well again is to resort to the 8belts40 ,you might just as well tie a piece of lead pipe between your legs4 ,some boys have been told they should wear suspensory bandages all the time they are growing4 ,no2 if ,nature intended the testicles should have greater support1 she would have given this support4 ,there are times in athletic sports1 such as wrestling1 jumping1 hurdling1 pole jumping1 when it may be advisable1 in order to save the organs from shock or strain1 to wear a 8jock strap0 or suspensory bandage4 ,but if you have taken decent care of yourself1 the muscles which suspend the bag should be strong and elastic enough to protect the testicles in it4 ,cold water1 again1 is the best and only way by which these muscles should be developed4 ,frequently the boy imagines he has varicose veins of the testiclesthat is1 another scare has been thrown into him by the advertisements of quacksand such a lad will worry himself to a state of uselessness4 ,he is constantly feeling the worm-like cords and attachments inside the bag4 ,he is sure now that it is all over with him1 he can play no more ball1 but must sit quietly and await the awful operation1 or else he goes to some drug store for a suspensory bandage4 ,if not warned and cared for in time1 he gets into the talons of the ,quacks who bleed him for all he can beg or get otherwise1 and when he can give them no more money he is cast off hopeless1 and we find him in the hospital clinic a trembling1 wasted youth4 ,and there was nothing the matter with him except a big scare4 ,such a fright lowers the whole tone of a boy1 moral as well as physical4 ,his muscles become weak and flabby4 ,now it is a scientific fact that whatever part of the body your mind dwells upon will show the effect1 evil or good1 according to the kind of thoughts4 ,such a boy as we have described1 has his mind fixed upon those worm-like cords in his bag4 ,now the muscles relax1 then he feels those 8worms0 so big that the fright increases to almost a mania4 ,and all this suffering of thousands of lads just because parents and teachers have been criminally silent6 ,but1 boys1 as ,i told you1 it is not fair to put all the blame upon our parents4 ,in their days they were not allowed to read such books as you are now directed to read2 and such ,chats as ,i am giving youwell1 ,i should be elsewhere than here1 had ,i lived in those days4 ,never worry about those 8varicose veins40 ,you can all feel worm-like cords if you try4 ,especially if you wait until some warm day or after some great fatigue when the tiny muscles of the testicles are relaxed4 ,that's all there is to the whole matter1 but if you do worry about these and the other matters1 the fakers 8will get your goat10 and when that has left your side1 like the horse1 you lose your race4 ,perhaps many of you do not know what ,i mean4 ,well1 let us close this ,chat by explaining3 ,it is the custom among racing stables in ,england to have some little pet kept in the box stalls with the horses4 ,these highly-bred horses are very sensitive and timid4 ,they have been accustomed to always have around them and in their stalls1 when sleeping1 boys and pets4 ,fox terriers and other small dogs of a sporty nature are generally found sleeping with the horses1 sometimes on the horses' backs1 or if it is cold1 between their legs4 ,take away for a night one of these pets and the sensitive horses will not sleep1 lose their appetite and generally get out of form4 ,now a few years ago there was a famous horse being made ready to win one of ,england's big races4 ,he had for a box-stall companion a billy goat4 ,the goat and horse had been together since both were youngsters4 ,it was well known that the horse was uncontrollable1 would neither eat nor sleep1 if the goat was away from the stall4 ,so some mean man who wanted the horse to lose the race1 made the stable boy drunk and then took away the goat4 ,all night that poor horse stamped and whinnied for his goat4 ,in the morning he was a nervous wreck and would not touch his food4 ,nevertheless1 he was sent to the race and1 of course1 lost it because he had 8lost his goat40 ,another fellow 8had his goat40 ,so you see what ,i meant by using this slang of the day4 ,the fakers first get your goatyour ,,will and ,,couragethen you are bound to lose the race of ,life4 ,keep your goat by and in you always4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,your ,,vocation ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,fit ,,yourself ,,for ,,it ,you will now see that a perfectly-balanced and well-cared-for body is necessary to produce a clear-thinking brain2 that it is impossible to bring out the best in you unless you have the best of tools with which to work4 ,no machinist would think of trying to do good work with dull1 rusty or weak tools1 and the most valuable tools of all are those which we are endowed withhands and brains4 ,the boys in the pastmany of the ,u,nsuccessful men of to-day1 though not by any means through their own faultwere brought up under a false idea of democracy4 ,matters were not as well understood as they are now1 and the progress made all goes to benefit the boys of to-day4 ,there is a fairly good reason why we have had so many dissatisfied youths in the past who are the failures to-day4 ,it is because these men as youths were never fitted for the work in the world they could best do4 ,the error was in the false idea of the teachers that all boys' brains were made of the same workable stuff1 and all that was necessary was to give to each and every boy the same teaching and then turn him loose to try to make a happy career4 ,of course in many1 too many cases1 there was nothing the boy could find to do that meant anything to him4 ,he could hang around corners1 smoke cigarettes and hear stories and words of injury to any healthy youth4 ,he could find some job in a store or perhaps office work1 but fitted for real work and happiness in that work1 he never was4 ,such a boy had really wasted valuable time in school1 and it was not strange that when he left school he had no sense of the value of time4 ,and such a boy often left school with an idea that he was not as bright as some other boys2 this was the commencement of a state of discouragement all through his lifethe reason he felt himself a failure4 ,yet all these unfortunate lads were the equal of those who had graduated with high honors in ,latin or history1 only the things they could do best had never been given them to do4 ,if a boy disliked ,latin or history and could not come up to the teacher's idea of the interest he should have in these studies1 he was too often considered lazy or stupid4 ,if that boy was interested in mechanical drawing and happy in such work1 no matter1 he ,,must do his ,latin1 and disliking it1 he1 of course1 neglected it4 ,this line of treatment went on throughout the boy's school-life if he attended a public school1 and generally he left disgusted and untrained for anything4 ,then he found there was really no place for him in the world1 nothing but some small clerkships or other uncongenial work1 and being continually dissatisfied1 of course1 never made a success in anythingjust a living4 ,as he grew older such a youth soon dropped into habits of drinking1 or worse habits1 worked like a machine day in and day out1 not much caring how things went1 so long as he received his weekly pay envelope4 ,the thousands of men of this kind with whom ,i have talked1 were discouraged from the start4 ,as boys they were always blamed for being useless1 when1 in fact no efforts had ever been made to make them useful4 ,with you boys of the present day all this is to be different4 ,every one of you can now find education and training in what you are fitted to do4 ,ideas are rapidly changing1 as are methods4 ,you are aware by this time that vocational schools are being rapidly established1 and ,i hope to soon see the day when all academic high schools are retained only for those who are going to college and from there to the professional schools4 ,of course you should all go to a high school1 but to a high school where the foundation for some practical vocation1 trade or business career is thoroughly taught4 ,i am frequently asked by young men1 8,do you advise me to go to college80 ,the answer is easily understood when ,i say3 8,never be ,,sent to college40 ,here is where much of the harm has been donethe boy has been sent to college when in reality he ,,wanted1 or needed1 to go to some institution where his particular talents could be trained4 ,for we each and every one are born with ,,some particular talent1 something in us which makes us able to do a certain thing better than the other man4 ,if we were all equal in the matters of thinking and doing1that is1 if we all did the same thing1how far would the world progress8 ,so this brings us down to the question1 what is the basis for success8 ,what is it the boy needs to progress every day in the trade or vocation he has chosen8 ,i have already told you1 but purposely repeat it1 ,,no ,,boy ,,or ,,man ,,can ,,be ,a ,,success ,,unless ,,his ,,heart ,,and ,,complete ,,interest ,,are ,,in ,,his ,,work4 ,the most difficult part of the problem is at the beginning4 ,your father or mother wants you to be a lawyer or minister1 your teacher says you have great talent for a medical career1 but you do not care for any one of these professions4 ,you find it hard to really know just what to do1 and ,i sympathize with you all4 ,i think that those who see you from the outside1 who look upon you just as a real boy and have no such relations to you as parents or teachers1 are in fact the best judge of what you are capable of being fitted for in a life's career4 ,go and advise with some successful man who knows you in your play and daily life1 but do not take his advice if it is something ,,he likes and you detest4 ,you will soon have to be your own master1 and now is a good time to commence4 ,but fit yourself for something1 you ,,must4 ,notice how everything around you is fitted by nature and then trained by man1 to do its work4 ,the bulldog is not taken out in the field to nose for game2 the draft horse is not taken to the trotting track2 the canary bird is not trained to catch eagles4 ,no1 each and every kind has its special work to do in making the world go around1 and each of us has to be trained according to our talents4 ,just because we all have two legs and arms does not indicate that we are all the samejust human beings all turned out from the same mold4 ,arms are made for one man to use them in a certain line of work that another man cannot1 with success1 use his4 ,and so on4 ,every man who has trained his particular talents to their highest point and then strives to widen them1 is an aristocrata prince1 whether he is a brick-layer or lawyer4 ,he only sinks to the level of a commoner who has neglected that working stuff which is in him4 ,and he does not neglect this if he is happy in his work1 or rather1 if it is pleasure instead of work4 ,this does not mean that all the preparatory work will be congenial or without real labor4 ,no1 much of the work that you have to do preliminary to that which is to bring you success1 will be ,,hard workplugging work1 full of disagreeable details1 but all necessary to build the foundations4 ,the dirty1 muddy work involved in digging for the foundation of some building that will be a pride to its architect1 is disagreeable1 but the architect must see that this work is properly done2 must get right into the mud and dirt himself to know that every detail he has worked out is being rigidly followed4 ,if the designer of the useful and beautiful building did not have constantly in his mind the results of all this digging1 he would be a failure1 he would never be a designer and builder of magnificent works for the future generations to admire4 ,it is just so with everything you start out to do4 ,start out with a high purpose and the common-sense idea that you ,,have to learn all the details firstto do the digging before that purpose can be fully carried out4 ,concentration1 constant concentration upon your goal is the only rule to follow4 ,like football1 you move toward the goal by punting1 touchdowns1 and penalties which put you back1 but you have ever one end in viewto reach the goal4 ,a willingness to take all the hard knocks and throw-downs with the mind's eye fixed on the goal1 is the kind of stuff which wins out4 ,never be a quitter4 ,concentration is absolutely necessary to get the power out of you and force it to do its work4 ,as someone has said1 if you will concentrate the rays of the sun by the means of a magnifying glass you can burn a hole in almost anything4 ,if you focus all your forces on one thing you can do wonders4 ,don't be a scatterer4 ,you do not all want to be mere office clerks1 bundle wrappers1 or what is far worse for your future1 mere political petitioners hanging on to your job by petty and ofttimes crooked work4 ,no1 be something1 do something that means a future for you4 8,but10 you say1 8how do ,i really know what ,i want to do1 how can ,i find out for myself what my future ,,should be8 ,you say not to always follow the advice of successful men if such advice does not agree with my ideas of what ,i should like to do40 ,yes1 here is a difficulty4 ,let us see if we cannot solve it4 ,don't make the mistake so many thousands of boys have made in the past1 of confusing what you would ,,like to ,,be with what you are ,,capable of ,,doing4 ,here is where so much of the trouble has arisen4 ,you have in your mind1 as an example1 the success a young man is making in writing for the magazines and papers4 ,you remember him when he was a youth and you were a small boy4 ,his success has stimulated you1 and you think that you will be a writer or reporter4 ,now the ambition is all very well1 you have made up your mind what you ,,want to be1 but1 and here comes the problem3 ,are you fitted by nature1 temperament and ,,talent for such work8 ,this is a matter you must solve for yourself1 at least at first4 ,if you have done any writing at school1 been connected with the school's paper1 or in any way found more pleasure in writing than you have in mathematics1 more fun in reading than in loafing1 real pleasure in putting together words and sentences so that they really sing to you1 then you probably have the talent for the hardest vocation or profession in the worldjournalism or literature4 ,if all this is well proven to youif you feel that you ,,must writethen all the hard work at first will be willingly accepted4 ,if the drudgery1 petty details of learning the art of writing1 is disagreeable1 then it shows that while you have perhaps a desire to see your work in print you really have not the inborn talent4 ,now we come again to that question1 8,shall ,i go to college80 ,if you are going to make a strenuous attempt to become a writer1 the answer is yes1 by all means4 ,even if after leaving college1 and after a year's trial at newspaper work1 you find the petty details disagreeable and determine to drop the work1 the college experience will be valuable to you1 for your tastes show that in some line of intellectual work1 you will be a success4 ,and you will finally drop into just the vocation you are intended for1 and finally make good4 ,if the inclinations of your tastes are towards mechanics1 or electrical engineering1 if every bit of your studies at the high school where language1 literature or logic was a disagreeable taskif you fairly hated such studiesdon't think of going to a classical college4 ,in such a case what you need is a technical education4 ,if you have the mechanical or scientific mind a course at a technical school puts you at once in the position to ,,do4 ,in art1 music1 literature1 however1 the situation is somewhat different4 ,take the case of one who desires to be a writer1 and the facts are the same for the other arts4 ,a college education will not make a writer out of anyone4 ,most men could spend their whole lives studying ,,how to write1 but in the end never be ,,able to write4 ,in other words1 a college education simply gives you the tools for writing and shows you how to use these tools4 ,the tools for writing are such lines of reading1 thinking and verbal construction as education gives you4 ,teaching you how to think clearly1 calmly and justly1 is what the college does for you4 ,but if you have no original thinking powers1 of what use are all these tools to you8 ,you may have exceptional brain power1 thinking qualities1 but not along those lines necessary to make a successful writer1 and so you are at a loss to know how to apply the tools given you4 ,if you still struggle along in this false position you soon sink to the hack writer1 the mind becomes clouded by failures and then comes the 8down and out0 state too often seen in those who have made the mistake of trying to be what they could never be4 ,let us take another case as an example of what ,i mean4 ,you really have talent for wood carving and finally decide that you will take up this vocationan admirable one4 ,you thoroughly understand that in order to become a good wood-carver you must first learn to use the tools1 to know how to take care of them4 ,after this you must learn all about the different kinds of woods1 how they are prepared and what effects the weather and climate have upon them4 ,when you have been through all this preliminary work1 there must come a study of designs and the history of your vocation or art4 ,this is ,,your college education in preparation for good work and the success good work brings4 ,you have been taught the use of every detail which goes to make up a good foundation for your career4 ,you know ,,how to use the tools and everything else is now up to you to make good4 ,if your heart is in the work you will surely win out4 ,you will be apt to hear a lot about the cultural advantages of a college education2 that it is never amiss in any calling4 ,but right here comes a fact generally overlookedyou can receive a cultural education along any line you take up1 and the better you apply yourself to your vocation1 the better will your culture be4 ,in wood carving1 for instance1 there is much along the lines of art1 painting and sculpture to be learned4 ,such progressive work may lead you to become a famous sculptor or decorator of the highest order4 ,if you have wasted your time along the cultural lines needed for a writer or doctor1 learned how to use their tools1 but do not possess their mental equipment1 failure is certain4 ,the failures come from mental dissatisfaction4 ,get out of your minds the idea that there are only three or four professions which bring position and respect4 ,this is a great mistake and is the cause for many poor doctors1 the hordes of unscrupulous lawyers and weak-kneed ministers4 ,many of these failures would have been successful as carpenters1 machinists1 draughtsmen or contractors4 ,but they all wanted to go or were pushed into holes they could not fit4 ,remember the old saying1 8,a round peg will not fit into a square hole40 ,a trained machinist1 one who takes delight in his trade1 can rise far higher in worldly goods and the respect of his fellow-men than ever can a half-contented doctor4 ,it is the same with an electrician1 bridge worker1 house painter1 any and all trades where the man has learned to use his brain-tools and keeps sharpening them on the grindstone of pleasure4 ,don't go into law or medicine unless you go into these professions for the love of the work4 ,you may not know it1 but the income of the average doctor or lawyer is not that of even the paper-hanger or bricklayer4 ,if you are determined to be a doctor for the love of the profession and the great good you can doand most of you will have to do it free for the needy and poorthen you will be happy and also probably poor4 ,in law1 medicine1 or the ministry1 a college education is absolutely necessary1 both cultural and preparatory4 ,if a doctor1 you must spend four years at the medical college1 a year or two in the hospitals1 then finish by visiting the clinics of ,europe4 ,by the time you are thirty years of age you are fitted to step into line with the best doctors4 ,and unless you can do all thisand it takes a lot of money,,keep ,,out4 ,the days are passing when the boy can go from the high school to some cheap commercial medical college and take any kind of a stand among the educated doctors and the now enlightened communities4 ,there is plenty of room in the world for the kind of a doctor ,i have first described1 but absolutely no places waiting for the latter kind4 ,these are not doctors1 just medical warts1 the sort of quacks we had a shot at in our last ,chat4 ,the boy who has business talents and tastes will1 of course1 be far better able to rise and command positions if he possesses an education4 ,but don't make the mistake of thinking that a college education1 just because it is a college education1 will make a business man of you from the start4 ,of two boys having equal business talents the one whose mind has been trained to think and who has mixed with all sorts of fellows at college1 will probably have advantages for getting along that the non-college boy does not possess4 ,but unless your father or someone back of you has money to spare1 ,i believe that the average boy with commercial instincts does better in the end by getting into business early in life4 ,he gets a better fitting for his career4 ,now ,i think you can readily understand the first rule for becoming a successful man4 ,find out what your talents are1 then fit yourself so that you can utilize all these talents4 ,there are schools now being established where every boy can have this done4 ,but he must work with pleasure4 ,if you find you have made a mistake in your choiceand you will know this by being constantly dissatisfiedget out and try something else4 ,keep trying until you find some vocation or trade which you go at with increased pleasure every day4 ,when this state of mind has arrived you have found yourself4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,environments ,,and ,,diseases ,,which ,,rust ,,brain-,,tools ,we now reach the most important details concerning the keeping of the brain in activity and vigor4 ,having brought you to an understanding of the body1 how to take care of it1 of all that belongs at the start to make up a successful man1 we must put ourselves in a position to know how to live and act so that throughout adult life and up to the age of many years1 but not old age1 we can get out of us all that is possible4 ,i speak of living many years1 but not getting old4 ,i mean exactly what ,i say4 ,there is no reason why a man should be old at sixty1 no1 not at seventy4 ,i do not imply that a man should be able to do the same amount of physical work at seventy that he can at thirty1 but ,i do mean to say that all his mental forces should be under his control at seventy years of age1 although he will naturally have to use them with care4 ,a man who has not injured his brain forces should retain them up to the last moment of his life1 but as he has not the repairing powers of the younger man1 he should be careful of the strain put upon them4 ,in this latter fact lies the only difference4 ,having started well in your vocation1 trade or profession1 with your fine brain-tools edged to their best1 you may now proceed to success or gradual failure4 ,for1 of course1 just having the training and education does not mean that everything else comes along your way4 ,not a bit of it4 ,in fact1 you will find at first that the care of the working instruments you now have will take a good lot of self-control and the formation of certain necessary habits4 ,it all depends upon how you keep your brain-tools what your future will be4 ,whether you neglect them once in a while so that they have to be sharpened again1 whether you leave them to rust and finally become useless1 whether you lay them aside in good condition and take them up again in perfect order1 all these matters go for success or failure4 ,if it is only occasionally you neglect the brain-tools1 you must remember that each new act of resharpening them leaves a less keen edge4 ,resting your brain1 taking time to recuperate tired cells and enjoying some kind of sport or pleasure that is a benefit instead of an injury to your thoughts1 is necessary for every man4 ,these brain-tools ,i have been speaking of are your powers of thinking correctly1 creating1 doing1 and the absolute integrity which must be retained between the impulses of the mind and the hands which respond to these impulses4 ,the engineer1 the auto driver1 the mechanic1 the draughtsman1 the airman1 the man who works in perilous heights while constructing tall buildings or bridges1 must have perfect harmony throughout all his bodybrain1 muscles1 eyes1 ears4 ,let any one of these senses become unconsciously dull through neglect of right living1 and the awful moment comes when an engineer sends a train to wreck with its innocent passengers1 a tender pulls a lever a tenth of a second too soon and lets down the derrick's load upon his fellow workers1 or a chauffeur misses the turn by a few inches and sends the auto crashing over a precipice4 ,it is because these little matters of keeping the brain in its best condition by attending to details of living have not been thoroughly understood1 that we have so many unaccountable accidents occurring every day4 ,the knowledge of man's forces and how they are controlled has not kept pace with his wonderful mechanical and electrical discoveries1 so we have gone along with brain1 instincts and training well enough for handling the plow and side-wheel steamboat1 but not for the safe control of the delicate and powerful machines of to-day4 ,for example3 a young man who runs an auto goes one night to a dance where he breathes foul air1 smokes and drinks a little beer4 ,he returns late to his bed and rises early in the morning to take out the auto for a speedy spin4 ,he knew the day before that he was to go with a party of children and women for an early drive4 ,but what he did not know was that the foul air1 tobacco and beer would surely make for less correct connection between his brain impulses and the response from his muscles1 hands and arms4 ,now all this little night's pleasure1 while harmless enough perhaps in its way and certainly harmless for a man who was to drive a hack the next morning1 was injurious for one who needed every tenth of action between brain and hand under absolute control4 ,there is coming a time when all these matters will be taught as well as the combustion parts of an engine4 ,in these details ,i am not referring to dissipation as it is generally considered4 ,we accept without argument the injury such habits dothe certain ruin which follows drink and all that goes with that state4 ,we take this auto driver whom we are using for an example1 as a temperate man4 ,and justly considered he is one1 but nevertheless he has by this apparently harmless pleasure of one night1 gone to work the next day with the fine edge off his brain-tools4 ,when the time comes for the most accurate judgment and an immediate response of hands to avoid the danger the brain sees1 there is a part of a second in delay1 and then the awful accident happens4 ,how did it happen8 ,those left alive cannot understand4 ,the right thing was done at the right moment1 so all think4 ,the driver was a careful young man1 of good habits1 temperate1 8never known to have been under the influence of drink1 and always trustworthy40 ,to-day is the day of the brain worker1 and the man who lets the edge of his brain become dulled is a danger to himself and whatever he controls4 ,and it is these little things which dull the brain2 matters of such little importance in a man's outward life that no one would suspect the direful results4 ,you can no longer do as your fathers used to do2 we are living in a distinctly different age2 we are daily dealing with powerful forces undreamed of in the past generation1 and we must make ourselves ever ready to handle these forces4 ,there has been such a tremendous move in mechanical devices the last twenty years that this necessity of adapting our methods of living so as to safely accomplish the things our brains are called upon to do1 has not been fully appreciated4 ,take the case of an engineer who has been on duty for twenty-four hours4 ,the old idea was that he simply became tired1 that if he could keep his eyes open1 everything would go all right4 ,now ,i have told you that fatigue produces a poison in the body2 so here we see that when an engineer meets with an accident it was not due to merely being tired1 but because his brain was being saturated with poisons1 and when the moment came to act there could not be the ready response of hands or arms to avoid the accident4 ,but one class of men and women have known the absolute necessity of keeping the brain clear of poison4 ,this class belongs to the professional circus peopletrapeze performers1 animal trainers1 riders4 ,these individuals live an ideally moral life4 ,not that they are any better than the rest of us1 but because they know they have so to live in order to do their work4 ,it is a very old profession1 perhaps the oldest in the world1 and experience1 tradition1 training and marrying into their own classa very important factorhas brought about their unconscious acceptance of the physically pure life4 ,undoubtedly after a generation or two in the use of our wonderful mechanical and electrical aids for easier living1 we shall all be brought to the same method of grading our habits4 ,those who have not the mental vision to see this necessity will cease to enjoy the world's improvements4 ,they will all become victims of their own stupidity or foolishness4 ,not only does all this danger in dulling our brain-tools apply to the engineer1 electrician1 airman1 auto driver and the hundreds of other active callings1 but it applies also to the writer1 painter1 musician4 ,in these latter professions the danger is to the individual1 but the result is the sameruin in the end4 ,the writer loses his force1 his biting words2 the painter shows a lack of his former color-tone1 the musician finds that his latest work is severely criticised4 ,all these conditions may occur and yet the creator of brain output still remain an average man1 not noticeably dissipated4 ,in fact1 he may live a strictly moral life1 yet show in his prime a deterioration which neither he nor his friends can explain4 ,this fact brings us to the point of explaining the little and big factors which produce these causes of failure4 ,it is some little break in the connection between brain-cells that brings about the inability to think and act without effort4 ,when a task is difficult to perform that is usually accomplished without difficulty1 you may know that there is a temporary interruption somewhere in the tiny fibers and cells of the brain4 ,something has disturbed their normal action4 ,it is either fatigue poison1 the poisons from overfeeding or underfeeding1 effects of alcohol1 tobacco1 or the foul air you have taken into your system4 ,look into the matter and see what is the cause4 ,it is the state brought about by some of these poisons which is at the bottom of all these lapses of full control of self and powers4 ,the most frequent cause for this condition is due to two factorsexternal surroundings and mental absorption of injurious suggestions and sights4 ,the external surroundings are most frequently those of which the individual is not fully cognizant4 ,that is1 they are constantly at work doing their little injury day by day until they have finally made an impression upon the activity of the braindulled its keenness4 ,first of all these is the breathing of unfresh air4 ,not the noticeably bad air found in tenements1 many shops and factories1 but the air into which are thrown the emanations of thousands of all kinds and conditions of human bodies4 ,no matter how well ventilated1 theoretically1 a big department store may be1 the air one breathes in it is certain to contain poisons from well and diseased bodies4 ,in most department and other large stores much attention is paid to ventilation1 the best possible methods are used4 ,but these stores cannot regulate the personal hygiene of those thousands who enter4 ,the man who is in the habit of daily and nightly taking into his system nothing but fresh air cannot remain a half hour amid the surroundings of a crowded store without having a headache and a general feeling of sluggishness4 ,always having his brain free of poisonous substances1 he rapidly becomes affected with the smallest amount4 ,living amid such atmospheric surroundings keeps the man and woman from doing their best4 ,it is the same with the thousands of men who work in shops among hundreds of their kind2 with the traveler who has to sleep in our microbe canisters1 the sleeping cars2 the theaters where continuous performances go on1 and worse than all the commuter who twice a day takes in the poisons swarming in the smoking cars4 ,it is not necessary for me to enumerate all these unhealthful conditions we have to face every day of our lives4 ,they are here and many of them cannot be changed as long as man and woman herd like sheep1 one after the other1 to the cities4 ,of course it would be an ideal state if before entering these large department stores1 factories1 etc41 every man1 woman and child was compelled to strip and have a hot bath and vigorous rub down4 ,and this idea is not such an impossible one as you might at first think4 ,these very same conditions existed in ,rome4 ,there every man and woman took a hot bath before and after being in a crowd1 whether it was shopping1 in the ,forum1 or the amphitheater4 ,there were baths for the poor1 for the children and nurses1 for the laborer as well as those magnificent ones for the rich and noble4 ,but you see they were all ,romans4 ,i don't think we should have much success in getting ,,all of our citizens to bathe4 ,in the hospitals1 we doctors sometimes have to use a hose to get any effect upon a certain class of patients4 ,i have seen thousands of men and women who wanted the doctor to give them 8something to make them feel well0 when plenty of soap and water was all they needed4 ,and they were not the poor1 the tramps and outcast1 by any means4 ,i would go farther than the bathing before entering a crowded place4 ,i would have them1 after the shopping or factory work is over1 pass through a system of breathing exercises in the open airskin exposedthen allowed to go their way4 ,but practically1 what can be done8 ,get out in the fresh air three or four times a day and take breathing exercises4 ,no matter what the weather is1 do this simple thing4 ,at noontime there is always opportunity for ten or fifteen minutes of new life4 ,get it4 ,no matter what the weather is1 always have your bedroom window open4 ,better let the snow and rain come in and spoil your carpet than allow the poisonous air expelled from your or other lungs to re-enter your system and dull your working capacity4 ,do not forget what ,i have already told you when speaking of athletic prowessthat the skin is1 next to the lungs1 our greatest breathing organ4 ,whenever possible1 take an air bathin your room when the sun shines1 when you go bathing in the sea or swimming 8in the ole swimmin' hole40 ,,never take 8headache powders40 ,the habit of taking any kind of 8nerve tonic10 digestive tablets1 8harmless bracers10 will in the end put your brain-tools in poor shape4 ,you have now the knowledge of what health means and how to keep it2 if you will apply that knowledge with judgment you will be taking the best and only medicine man needs unless a destructive disease attacks you4 ,and here is an important item2 the ordinary diseases man is afflicted with will not get a hold upon the ,,well youth4 ,i thoroughly appreciate the fact that all boys must have some kind of recreation4 ,the working-boy needs it more than the schoolboy4 ,you cease to be a healthy youth when you do not care for recreation1 and fun1 play and release at certain intervals from all kinds of work is your birthright4 ,but this recreation should be taken in fresh air and with proper companions4 ,while speaking of fresh air ,i am reminded of several letters from boys sent to me after our last ,chat4 ,they asked about the same question3 8,if my father or mother died from consumption1 is there any use of my fitting myself for a trade if ,i am to have consumption80 ,we can settle this question in a very few decided words4 ,no matter if your whole family died from consumption1 it does not mean you will have consumption4 ,consumption is not a disease you can inherit4 ,now don't forget this truth4 ,but if you are born of consumptive parents it generally means that your parents did not know the curative value of fresh air4 ,if you were kept in the same rooms where the germs of tuberculosis lived and thrived you ran big risks4 ,but if you got away from these conditions as soon as you knew the danger1 then1 even if you have slight symptoms of the disease1 you can be assured of a complete cure4 ,,fresh ,,air ,,day ,,and ,,night1 ,,with ,,nourishing ,,food ,,and ,,plenty ,,of ,,it1 ,,will ,,keep ,,you ,,free ,,from ,,consumption4 ,these conditions will cure you in the first stages4 ,it is very important1 however1 that the boy whose parents died from consumption should not follow any trade or vocation which keeps him indoors during the growing period of his life4 ,he never should take up any employment which means living in a dusty atmosphere1 where metal filings are floating in the air4 ,keep out of button factories4 ,the dust from the old bones used to make buttons and similar articles is apt to irritate the lungs1 and when this condition is brought about the germs of consumption find a ready soil to breed in1 and they do so4 ,you need have no fear of consumption if you follow the rule of keeping your lungs clean2 fresh air is the broom for this kind of cleaning4 ,the curse of the public dance halls is not known to you all4 ,i do not speak of the immoral conditions surrounding many of these places1 but of the physical conditions4 ,you cannot frequent these poorly-ventilated halls without having poisons circulated in your brains4 ,if you are studying to perfect yourself in some vocation which calls for a perfect adjustment between the brain and hands2 if your work calls for the keenest eyesight or acutest form of hearing2 the edge will be taken off these tools should you spend your nights where the air is foul1 where the skins of careless and ignorant persons are giving off their poisons1 where the dust brought in by skirts is swirled in the atmosphere by the dancing crowd4 ,there is no doubt in my mind that many a boy is started on a career of 8laziness10 incapacity and unhealth from the constant intake of poisonous matter always to be found up in the gods' gallery4 ,foul and hot air exhaled from the lungs always rises upward1 so a boy sitting in the gallery really has his lungs over a vast pit which sends up rank poisons for him to take into his system4 ,indirectly this leads to drink1 for with a headache1 a feeling of weakness and sometimes a dizziness he1 at first1 takes a little beer4 ,from this to ale and then liquor is the easy path4 ,what can we expect from the brain of such a youth8 ,nothingthat is1 nothing good4 ,so at the start of a useless boy and ofttimes criminal1 we see it was not vicious tendencies nor criminal instincts1 but vicious air which brought about a poisoned brain and this results in a wrong view of things1 so the youth takes to anything but real work4 ,what the hookworm is to the unfortunate troubled by this parasite1 the air in the top of the cheap theaters is to the boy and youth4 ,it is worse than the hookworm1 for along with the foul air he takes into his system go the fouler suggestions of the stage4 ,every evil suggestion1 spoken or acted1 works great harm to your brain-tools4 ,i do not intend to say anything to you about the moral side of evilthat is the ,sunday ,school sideand ,i want you to get this fact well in your minds4 ,i am trying to tell you what are the many causes for not getting along1 as well as about those conditions of brain that will put you toward success4 ,to do so ,i have to warn you about evil suggestions and companions4 ,the moral side of your life will be taken care of if you avoid all those conditions which go to make a weak brain and body4 ,if the girls who frequent the ,,public dance halls were your equals1 if they were fit to be your future wives1 ,i should have no objections to your going thereprovided the ventilation was of the best4 ,but you all know in your hearts that you would not want your sister to go to these ,,public dance halls1 and that a mother who brought up her daughters in the right way would not allow them to frequent such places and associate with strange men and youths4 ,there are a large number of girls who frequent these places unknown to their mothers1 others lie to their mothers about these matters4 ,now1 you can put this down as a fact1 a girl who will lie to her mother and disobey her will do the same to you if she becomes your wife4 ,you know all this1 ,i dare say1 but ,i want it deeply stamped upon your mind by one who has had a large experience with these kinds of girls and women4 ,they are not wholly to blame1 but we will not go into this subject here4 ,now if this is the solid truth1 do you not see that in these associations you are bound to see and hear things which fill your mind with thoughts and ideas which do not help your mental growth2 more1 they injure it4 ,it is the same fact over againthe brain is a sensitive photographic film4 ,when you go to dances see that the hall you go to is well ventilated1 that no smoking or drinking is allowed and that those you dance with are girls you can introduce to your mother and sisters4 ,for dances and fun you should have1 but see that they are of the sort that the next morning when you take up your work nothing evil enters your mind1 that remorse and shame do not crowd out the teaching of yesterday and that you feel more ambitious to work to-day than the day before4 ,if this state of mind is held day by day1 you are certain to achieve success4 ,if the contrary state of mind takes hold of you there is a going backwards1 and kept up1 this state means ,,failure4 ,then there are those nasty holes1 the public 8poolrooms40 ,there is no objection to playing pool1 billiards or any games1 but there is objection to hanging around in the foul airyou see ,i am at your health againthe dead cigarette smoke1 and listening to the animal language and ideas of the useless youths who make these places their 8hang-outs40 ,don't hang around with 8the gang0 unless you want later to hang with the gang4 ,the country boy needs this advice as much1 if not more1 than the city boy4 ,he more frequently becomes fascinated by the evil attractions which reach him than the boy who is surrounded by good gymnasiums1 teachers of manual labor and open-air playgrounds4 ,but at heart he is a good boy4 ,there was a time when the boy who lived on a farm was free from evil suggestions1 associations and shows4 ,it is not so now4 ,in fact ,i believe the country boy has more temptations thrust in his way than the city boy4 ,he has not been brought up to see the outside world as has the city boy2 hence1 when these evils reach his neighborhood1 all is new and fascinating to him4 ,the trolley has penetrated his district and established 8,white ,cities10 dance halls have been erected1 moving picture shows and other dubious attractions follow the trolleys and are not always under the control of these railways4 ,i have seen picture shows at these places which would not be allowed in the cities4 ,the country fairs have many side shows that cannot but injure every youth who witnesses them1 but to explain where the injury comes in is never the duty of school-teachers or parentsat least they will tell you so4 ,but we must not blame the country boys for flocking to these shows4 ,it is very tempting bait held out for their dimes and nickels4 ,the boy's life on the farm is devoid of many of the harmless pleasures given to the city boy4 ,there are no places where he and his companions may gatherno boys' clubs1 no gymnasiums4 ,but worse than all his parents seem to lack knowledge of what such a lad needs in the way of real instruction concerning life1 of the dangers of associating with the girls brought from the cities to fleece and disease them1 and to the dangers around the 8,white ,cities0 and other public places1 which the most innocent lad is liable to fall into4 ,these boys are to be pitied and not blamed for their sad ends1 for it is a fact that in the country towns1 especially in ,new ,england1 there are more useless youths than can be found anywhere else in the land4 ,the harvest of the quacks is gathered from the country boys and girls4 ,for the boy who is to stay on the land there is but one thing to do4 ,farming being his vocation1 he must fit himself to get the best out of his farm4 ,this he can do by attending an agricultural school4 ,no matter if your parents do scoff at scientific farming2 you must get out of the old rut and show them their error4 ,the boy must when he returns to the farm during his vacation1 realize that he is being given brain-tools1his education1and not to dull these delicate instruments he will have to avoid all evil companions and shows4 ,he can demonstrate by this attitude that his mental powers are developing and that he is ,,above those chaps who loaf around the store telling the latest stories and of what they saw at 8,the ,pavilion40 ,it is your duty1 as a growing man1 to set this example4 ,from a sense of duty it will become a pleasure4 ,it is only by such examples we can save the thousands of country boys1 for many of them1 perhaps most of them1 will see a new light and a future2 something that has not yet come into their vision4 ,you will find that taking a leading part in your community will be far beyond any sport you formerly found at the shows and dances1 that you are growing in mind1 spirit and power4 ,the boys who refuse to follow your example will be those whom you hire1 when they are sober1 to cut your wood or pitch your hay4 ,and all of them will have had your opportunities4 ,to the boy who has wealth or knows he will have it1 there is little to say4 ,if such a youth does not use his wealth to develop his powers to their highest degree and also assist in every possible way the progress of the world1 there is nothing but universal condemnation4 ,the world to-day has no place for the mere spendthrift and idler4 ,a man of wealth has the right to live as luxuriously and well as he likes1 but he has no right to allow his brain to sink to nothingness or by example lower the thinking powers of his fellow men4 ,it does not make much difference what kind of work a man of wealth does1 so long as ,,what he does aids instead of hinders his fellow men4 ,thousands of boys have been made into ,,men through the training they have received in the navy4 ,most of these youths went from homes where never a word of what should have been told them was uttered4 ,especially so is this true of the country boys4 ,their fathers took a colt as soon as it was old enough and commenced to train it1 give it good manners and see that it was kept from running wild and with the mares4 ,he took pride in daily making it step lively and surely4 ,he saw that its food was of the best1 and proudly drove it around the neighborhood4 ,but his ,,son was allowed his own way1 never taught to keep in the right road1 never controlled1 never confidentially considered4 ,if such a boy went into the navy1 he received the training needed1 but which his ,,parents would have neglected4 ,those who have received the fatherly instruction of the navy have been turned out well-mannered1 given the best of health and the knowledge of how to keep it4 ,and do not make the mistake too often made that the navy takes unruly boys1 those ,,sent away from home or the riff-raff from the cities4 ,the navy will not accept such useless stuff4 ,if for no other reason ,i am a believer in a bigger navy1 for it seems to me the only way we can control and bring to full and decent manhood the thousands of neglected youths throughout the land4 ,trained1 having a vocation1 worldly-wise1 but not evil or sneaking1 these youths are exerting a good example wherever they locate after leaving the service4 ,they bring their brain-tools ashore with them and use them1 take care of them and know the fearful results of an immoral life4 ,so ,i say to you boys who cannot decide upon just what you want to do1 yet know that you must do something1 try the navy4 ,there you will find several vocations from which to pick and be trained in4 ,you will obtain a knowledge of the world1 broaden your intellect and secure perfect health4 ,when you come out you will be fitted to do something4 ,if you remain home hanging around1 you will probably end in being a helpless manin more ways than one4 ,yes1 helpless in mind and perhaps limbs4 ,why8 ,because the boy who goes through the public schools and then out into the world runs imminent danger of being ruined for life through one fact,,he ,,has ,,never ,,been ,,told ,,the ,,whole ,,truth ,,about ,,life4 ,i have hinted in these ,chats that there is one factor that does more to injure man's brain and body than all the ordinary diseases in the world4 ,it is such a big factor in making or unmaking man that ,i shall only point out here the importance of knowing all about this disease and other troubles following the disease4 ,this disease is sexual in its origin4 ,of course you all know that venereal diseases exist4 ,you have heard about syphilis and gonorrhea4 ,i have classed them under one disease only because they arise from one cause4 ,besides these two there are many complications arising from both4 ,now what is the truth about these diseases8 ,why should a boy1 girl1 everyone1 know about these fearful things if they intend keeping away from the women who spread these vile troubles8 ,just because the danger does not lie altogether in those of evil habits and professions4 ,if the diseases were only caught by those who lived immoral lives1 and stayed with these people1 it would not be necessary to go into full details4 ,but these diseases do their great injury to the innocent and ignorantthose ignorant of these important matters4 ,the germs of these diseases are now everywherein the schools1 public drinking cups1 on hotel towels1 on the lips of girls who freely allow you to kiss them4 ,they can be left by the cook on the tasting spoon1 are found upon the seats of public toilets1 on soiled linen1 anywhere man and woman goes and works to-day4 ,you may have your eyesight completely destroyed by getting a few germs in your eyes by rubbing your face on some apparently clean towel4 ,in fact1 the ways you can contract these diseases are too numerous to mention2 you must know them all4 ,the greatest fact for you to know is how both syphilis and gonorrhea can ruin your brain2 gradually1 but surely4 ,if you have had some of the germs of syphilis enter your system through the lips by drinking from the shop cup1 or perhaps from kissing a good girl who has a syphilitic sore on her lips from a similar cause1 deep into your system goes the poison unknown to you until too late4 ,then1 if you don't know the whole truth about these matters1 nothing can help you4 ,remember it is ignorance of these subjects that does the harm4 ,if you know what a sore in the throat means2 if a pimple on the lips look suspicious to you1 then a full sense of what it ,,might be sends you to the reputable doctor and your disease may be stopped from going further4 ,these are the diseases the quacks thrive upon4 ,these are the 8,blood ,diseases10 8,kidney ,troubles10 sores on the scalp and body they advertise to cure4 ,they know you are ignorant of the real truths concerning these awful diseases and they play up to that ignorance and bleed you for all you are worth4 ,and when they get through with you there is a general ruin of both your brain and body4 ,not one of us can avoid the danger of contracting these diseases2 the germs are all around us to-day4 ,you must know all about them to make you safe1 your sister safe1 your mother from running the risk of giving it to the little baby4 ,what1 for pure1 moral persons8 ,yes2 these are just the people who should be armored against the plague4 ,knowledge will protect them2 ignorance will not4 ,then there is a lot you should know about the women who directly spread the plague4 ,you must know all these things if you are to start in a career amidst life as it is to-day4 ,so important is all this subject and everything relating to it that ,i could not1 in these ,chats1 go into the details4 ,but ,i have written them all down in plain language and have not omitted a single fact about which you should know4 ,the little book is entitled1 8,,plain ,,facts ,,on ,,sex ,,hygiene40 ,i cannot thank you1 boys1 too much for your interest in listening to me4 ,i have1 ,i know1 often repeated facts to you1 and frequently rambled and been somewhat discursive4 ,but remember these are ,,chats1 not studied speeches whose every word has been picked for its nicety4 ,my heart has been always in what ,i have said to you1 and you know sometimes when a fellow feels that way1 he lets literary style go hang4 ,in closing ,i want to repeat to you the oath of the knights of old4 ,i want you to take to your hearts3 8,whatsoever things are true1 whatsoever things are honest1 whatsoever things are just1 whatsoever things are pure1 whatsoever things are lovely1 whatsoever things are of good report2 if there be any virtue1 and if there be any praise1 think on these things1and do them1 and for them live and die40 ,sex ,knowledge judiciously imparted is the greatest insurance toward the development of sterling manhood and womanhood4 ,it is the duty of every man and woman to be informed upon the subject of sex and the care of the body4 ,it is a subject vitally important to every individual4 ,dr4 ,howard presents facts as they are1 and speaks from a knowledge gained through years of study and experience in the great hospitals of the world4 ,he shuns no details and presents a clear cut analysis of the wages of sin and ignorance4 ,a ,,full ,,list ,,of ,,dr4 ,,howard',s ,,books ,plain ,facts on ,sex ,hygiene ,confidential ,chats with ,boys ,confidential ,chats with ,girls 33 ,facts for the ,married 33 ,price #a4jj ,each1 ,descriptive ,leaflets ,free ,illustration ,the author says1 8,i want to make clear to the world through these books that right sex living is of as much1 if not more1 importance1 than right physical living2 that sex laws must be as well known and observed as those of eating1 sleeping1 and the general rules for bodily health40 ,,edward ,j4 ,,clode1 #aef ,fifth ,avenue1 ,new ,york 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,text in italics is enclosed by underscores 7italics74 ,punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected4 ,archaic and variable spelling has been preserved4 ,variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved4