,,essays ,,in ,,medical ,,sociology ,,essays ,,in ,,medical ,,sociology ,,by ,,elizabeth ,,blackwell1 ,m4,d4 ,,volume ,i4 ,,london ,,ernest ,,bell1 ,,york ,,street ,,covent ,,garden #aijb ,,preface4 ,at the request of friends ,i have willingly consented to the republication of my writings of past years in a uniform edition4 ,truth never grows old1 though re-adaptation to different phases of life may be necessary4 ,i shall rejoice if anything ,i have written in the past may prove helpful to the younger generation of workers1 with whom ,i am in hearty sympathy4 ,,elizabeth ,,blackwell1 ,m4,d4 ,,hastings1 ,may1 #aijb4 ,,contents ,,of ,,vol4 ,i4 ,,essay ,,page ,i4 ,,the ,,human ,,element ,,in ,,sex #a ,,ii4 ,,medical ,,responsibility ,,in ,,relation ,,to ,,the ,,contagious ,,diseases ,,acts #hc ,,iii4 ,,rescue ,,work ,,in ,,relation ,,to ,,prostitution ,,and ,,disease #aac ,,iv4 ,,purchase ,,of ,,women3 ,,the ,,great ,,economic ,,blunder #acc ,v4 ,,the ,,moral ,,education ,,of ,,the ,,young ,,in ,,relation ,,to ,,sex #age ,,the ,,human ,,element ,,in ,,sex ,,contents ,,page ,,introduction #c ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,distinctive ,,character ,,of ,,human ,,sex #i ,,chapter ,,ii ,,equivalent ,,functions ,,in ,,the ,,male ,,and ,,female #ah ,,chapter ,,iii ,,on ,,the ,,abuses ,,of ,,sex--,i4 ,,masturbation #cd ,,chapter ,,iv ,,on ,,the ,,abuses ,,of ,,sex--,,ii4 ,,fornication #dd ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,development ,,of ,,the ,,idea ,,of ,,chastity #fj ,,chapter ,,vi ,,medical ,,guidance ,,in ,,legislation #gj ,,appendix ,i #ge ,,appendix ,,ii #gi ,,introduction ,this work is written from the standpoint of the ,christian physiologist4 ,the essence of all religions is the recognition of an ,authority higher1 more comprehensive1 more permanent than the human being4 ,the characteristic of ,christian teaching is the faith that this ,supreme ,authority is beneficent as well as powerful4 ,the ,christian believes that the ,creative ,force is a moral force1 of more comprehensive morality than the human being that it creates4 ,under the symbol of a wise and loving parent--the most just1 efficient1 and attractive image that we know of--we are encouraged to regard this unseen ,authority as being in direct relation with every atom of creation1 and as desirous of drawing each atom into progressively higher forms of existence4 ,the ,christian physiologist1 therefore1 knowing that there is a wise and beneficent purpose in the human structure1 seeks to find out the laws and methods of action by means of which human function may accomplish its highest use4 ,the task can only be carried out gradually4 ,ultimate function is not revealed by structure1 nor ultimate use by function4 ,the empty arteries did not suggest the circulation of the blood to ancient physiologists1 nor did the curious arrangements of the intestinal canal explain the complicated function of digestion4 ,ignorance of facts1 preconceived notions1 or fanciful theories as to #8vital spirits1' #8cold and hot humours1' etc41 long delayed the attainment of correct knowledge of physiological facts4 ,neither does physical knowledge of individual function reveal the developed use of which it is capable4 ,the new life that may be given through touch to the blind1 or the destruction of a nation through its vices1 is not revealed by the minutest examination of the mechanism of touch1 or the physical structure of the nervous system4 ,function and use are only proved by observation1 reflection1 and rational experiment patiently carried on age after age1 with generalization based upon accurate and accumulated facts4 ,structure1 function1 and extended use1 although closely connected1 are1 nevertheless1 separate branches of inquiry4 ,applied physiology comprehends them all4 ,function is the arrangement by means of which the independent life of the sentient being is carried on and maintained4 ,developed function or use includes the growth and improvement of the individual in relation to his fellows1 and to existence outside his own personality4 ,no physiological truth is more firmly established than the fact that we can modify the action of our physical organs towards the special objects related to them1 by the way in which we use our organs4 ,by long-continued and careful study of the apparatus and processes of digestion1 the physiologist has discovered the general plan by means of which food is converted into the substance of the body1 and the part which each portion of the complicated digestive system takes in the maintenance of daily life4 ,he does not stop1 however1 with this discovery of the general plan by which food is converted into flesh4 ,he studies the way in which our habits of eating and drinking may destroy or improve the power of digestion1 and recognises the effects which various kinds of food and drink may exercise upon the character of the individual and the race4 ,the physiologist1 therefore1 proceeds to investigate1 as a direct branch of necessary human physiological inquiry1 the influence which the consumption of flesh or fruit1 of alcohol or water1 of warm or cold articles1 of quantity or quality1 etc41 exerts upon the unique organization of the human being1 in producing health or disease in mankind2 or upon the power of self-control or endurance1 with the promotion of ferocious or genial tendencies in ,man4 ,both human strength and human character can be affected by enlarged knowledge and control of the uses which belong to the digestive system4 ,what is true of the effects of food is equally true of the effect of every other physical condition of human life4 ,it is1 therefore1 a special work of the rational physiologist to discover the higher uses of our varied human faculties4 ,we only see at present the beginning of this great work of applied physiology in enabling us to comprehend the full effects of food1 air1 exercise1 climate1 etc41 upon human character4 ,we possess only vague knowledge of the great facts of the hereditary transmission of diseased or healthy tendencies2 and we give1 as yet1 no due consideration to the important results which follow from such transmission4 ,we only faintly realize the transforming power of habit or mind in healthy growth and in morbid degeneration4 ,these investigations form a distinct branch of applied physiology2 and such investigation and application of physiology is the especial duty of the rational or ,christian physiologist who sees clearly that creative force is a beneficent power2 and this perception cheers and guides him in the perplexed paths which lead towards human growth and perfection4 ,medicine and morality being related to function and use are1 therefore1 inseparable in a ,progressive ,state4 ,the union between the physical1 moral1 and intellectual elements of our nature cannot be dissolved during lifetime4 ,to speak of the #8,physician of ,nature' and #8,physician of ,grace1' as two entirely distinct classes is an untenable position or a misleading sophism4 ,sound education1 ,state medicine1 healthy society1 must all be based upon the inseparable union of the various elements of the human constitution4 ,this is the only rational system in a ,progressive ,state2 any other practice leads to empirical medicine and hypocritical morality4 ,the unity of human nature gives immense importance to the influences which surround the beginning of life and the education of the young4 ,the greatest present obstacle to progress is the ignorance of parents1 and above all of mothers1 of many facts of physiology1 and particularly of the facts of sexual physiology4 ,for want of this knowledge our nurseries and schools are not wisely guarded1 young people lack guidance1 and marriages are too often the mischievous union of two unsuitable partners4 ,by the present lamentable ignorance of sound physiology1 men and women lack the elements necessary for forming correct judgment on the most important relations of life4 ,parents are thus unequal to their first duty1 viz41 the guiding of domestic and social life1 as helpmeets to one another4 ,in all the excellent treatises on physiology1 domestic economy and education1 prepared for the special instruction and help of parents and teachers1 all knowledge is generally omitted which refers to the sexual functions2 yet to the parent or educator this is an essential branch of knowledge4 ,a woman attempts to carry on her work blindfold1 who tries to educate her children1 guide her household1 or take her proper part in society without this knowledge4 ,she understands nothing that is going on around her2 she sees nothing but the surface of things2 her influence is either stupid1 mischievous1 or negative1 if she is not truthfully instructed in relation to the central force of human emotion and action4 ,mothers1 requiring this knowledge for their special duties which commence with infant life1 can with propriety1 purity1 and reverence study the action and uses of our sexual powers4 ,their intense interest in the family and self-sacrificing devotion to its welfare1 their insight into its needs1 and their sensitive consciousness of the approach of danger to their offspring1 make them the providentially appointed guardians of the young4 ,the profound depth of the passion of maternity in women extends not only to the relations of marriage1 but to all the weak or suffering wherever found4 ,it gives a sacredness to the woman's appreciation of sex1 which has not yet been utilized for the improvement of the social life of the nation4 ,the ignorance of parents in relation to essential facts is deplorable4 ,i believe it to be the source of our gravest social evils4 ,in the present work1 therefore1 which ,i offer to my profession as an aid in the instruction of parents and guardians of the young1 ,i shall speak with the frankness of profound respect in relation to our ,god-created faculties4 ,as a ,christian physiologist1 ,i shall endeavour to show the true and noble use involved in the highest of our human functions4 ,,chapter ,i ,the ,distinctive ,character of ,human ,sex ,a fundamental error as to the nature of human sex too generally exists amongst us1 from failure to recognise that in the human race the mind tends to rule the body1 and that sex in the human being is even more a mental passion than a physical instinct4 ,this superficial view dims our perception of the causes which produce the facts around us2 it also prevents our recognising the essential difference which exists between human and brute sex1 and it blinds us to the imperative necessity of giving human education to this part of our nature4 ,as the study of the human body is carried on from its simpler to its more complex parts1 it is perceived that the physiology of the more complex functions takes in a wider range of relations4 ,the wise guidance of these more complex powers by parent or physician in health1 and disease1 demands a careful consideration of this extended range of relations4 ,thus the proper nourishment and exercise of the brain require more extended knowledge than the hygienic treatment of the skin1 and diseases of the brain cause more serious danger to the individual4 ,so all the faculties which belong to the life of relation--viz41 the faculties which1 like the senses1 link us to our fellows--involve a broader range of study than those which appertain solely to those functions of the body which concern only the individual4 ,the portion of our organization most difficult of study1 but also requiring the widest range of knowledge for its healthy guidance1 is the faculty of sex4 ,this faculty has a very complex aspect from its three-fold relation to the race1 to men1 and to women4 ,sex is not essential to individual existence1 but it is indispensable to the continuance of the race2 and the progressive or retrograde character of the race largely depends upon the wisdom with which this faculty is guided in youth1 and the character of the parental relations which are established4 ,a serious difficulty in understanding how to educate and regulate the relations of sex arises from the fact that it is the relation of two equal but distinct halves of the human race1 and exists in the dual form--male and female4 ,unless the distinctive characteristics and requirements of each of these equal halves are fully understood1 the relation between them cannot be satisfactory4 ,the physiological meaning of the differences in organization between the sexes is at present very imperfectly understood4 ,the most striking distinction1 however1 in the manifestation of the sexual faculties exists between man and the brute creation1 and is found in the mental or moral aspects which it assumes in man4 ,the general structural resemblance between man and the lower animals affords no guidance to the education of this human faculty1 for the differences between man and the lower animals are radically greater than the resemblance between them4 ,the most evident form of this mental difference shows itself as a sentiment of self-consciousness which is not observed in the brute4 ,if an animal is not frightened by human beings it never hesitates in carrying on sexual congress in their presence1 and neither before nor after the special act does it exhibit the smallest approach to shame in relation to it4 ,in man1 however1 from the earliest dawn of the approaching faculty1 self-consciousness is intense4 ,this is not only observed in well brought-up boys and girls1 who shrink from indecency of word or action1 but it is never entirely extinguished in the most corrupt man or woman2 and even the poor little waifs of our streets1 blighted from earliest infancy1 exhibit marked consciousness in their infantile depravity4 ,all the vast difference between the gregariousness of the lower animals and the highest human civilization indicates the mental difference which moulds the human form of the sexual relations4 ,permanent parental care of offspring1 mutual respect between the sexes1 reverence for these faculties as typifying the mighty ,creative ,power of the universe1 are stages of social progress based upon this mental difference in human and brute sex4 ,it is the mental or moral aspect of our sexual powers which1 as society grows1 shapes so much of the literature of every civilized country4 ,in the popular ballads of a people1 songs of love are even more abundant than patriotic songs2 and as education spreads amongst the masses1 romances and novels form the bulk of popular reading4 ,the subject of love is always of the most absorbing interest to the younger and more active portion of a people2 sexual passion1 in its ennobling or debasing form1 exercises irresistible attraction4 ,our amusements and our customs are largely moulded by the same powerful attraction1 viz41 the mental and moral quality of the relations which are formed between the sexes4 ,as civilization advances1 and dense masses of human beings are crowded together in heterogeneous selfish strife1 the destructive extremes of luxury and pauperism appear4 ,from this state of society1 where misery will do anything for money1 and the satiety of luxury seeks fresh stimulus1 speculation in this strongest part of our nature--sex--arises4 ,its creative use disappears1 and it becomes a subject of merchandise4 ,every variety of effort is made to stimulate and debase the mental quality or sentiment of sex1 and the strength of human passion furnishes an exhaustless field for corrupt speculation4 ,it is therefore not the simple physical aspect of the reproductive powers which is remarkable in humanity4 ,the physical instinct is shared with the rest of the animal creation4 ,it is the unique and powerful mental and moral element1 the principle that moulds and governs human sex1 which produces such striking results in the life of our race4 ,the mental or emotional element in these powers1 both in relation to the action and reaction of mind and body1 and the hereditary transmission of tendencies1 will1 therefore1 largely engage the attention of the physiologist who truly studies our human nature4 ,the distinctive moral character of human sex renders the exclusive study of physical phenomena in man as useless and unscientific a method of investigation as would be the study of music on dumb instruments4 ,the distinctively mental character of human sex must therefore always be recognised as a guide in any physiological inquiry into the structure and functions of the physical organs especially appropriated to the use of sex4 ,the clue to a true knowledge of sexual functions in man and woman is found in this striking peculiarity of the human race1 viz41 that these functions are largely dominated by mental action1 and that sex in the human being does not mean simply the action of the physical organs1 but also the conjoined mental principle directing those organs4 ,sex1 therefore1 in the human race alone1 resting upon that broad1 well-marked mental foundation1 is capable of great development towards good or towards evil4 ,as simply material satisfaction soon reaches the limit which bounds matter1 so mental or spiritual enjoyment is capable of indefinite growth4 ,it is this mental sentiment peculiar to human sex which is capable of a twofold development4 ,it may grow into a noble sympathy1 self-sacrifice1 reverence1 and joy1 which enlarge and intensify the nature through the gradual expansion of the inborn moral elements of sex4 ,it is also this same intensity of the mental form and power of sex1 possessed by mankind alone1 which allows of the perversion and extreme degradation of sex which is observable only in the human race4 ,it is the degradation of this mental power when running riot in unchecked license that converts men and women into selfish and cruel devils--monsters1 quite without parallel in the brute creation4 ,these facts are strikingly illustrated by the anatomical and physiological constitution of the human being4 ,the structure and functions of the generative system in our race are contrived in such a way as to support two great leading principles of existence4 ,these fundamental principles are--,first1 the independence1 freedom1 and perfection of the individual4 ,second1 the preservation of the race4 ,these two objects are secured to a certain extent in all highly organized creatures2 but in the human race provision is made for individual freedom in a much more marked and perfect manner1 in accordance with the superior rank of man in creation4 ,the brute1 both male and female1 is at certain times blindly dominated by the physical impulse of sex4 ,this impulse in the lower animal is a simple imperative instinct1 unhesitatingly yielded to1 with no preparation or after-thought1 with no calculation1 shame1 triumph1 or regret4 ,but it is very different with the human race1 as it grows from lower to higher states of society4 ,thoughts and feelings1 social ties and conscience1 religious training and the objects of life1 all act upon the distinctive mental character of sex2 and it is seen that the welfare of a third factor1 viz41 the child1 is inseparably connected with these relations4 ,its character is thus changed to a very complex faculty4 ,the young man or woman blindly yielding to this power of sexual attraction1 against the remonstrance of a high sense of duty1 is torn by remorse1 and is consciously self-degraded4 ,the influence of the moral element is also strikingly shown by an evil peculiar to the human race1 viz41 suicide or insanity as the result of unhappy love4 ,the growing power of the mental element over sex in all the higher races of mankind is demonstrated by the ennobling friendships between men and women which increasingly brighten life in our own ,anglo-,saxon civilization4 ,the free and friendly intercourse of self-respecting youth of both sexes satisfies the complex wants of early man and womanhood2 there is physical as well as mental refreshment in such honourable and natural human intercourse4 ,in the young man or woman1 just entered into the full possession of all the human faculties1 where the special attraction of two tends towards marriage1 this moral or mental predominance is still remarkable4 ,the attraction towards the other sex is rich in mental delights4 ,the passing sight of the object beloved1 a word1 a look1 a smile1 will make sunshine in the gloomiest day4 ,the consciousness of spiritual attraction will sustain and guard through long waiting for more complete union4 ,the physical pleasure which attends the caresses of love is a rich endowment of humanity1 granted by a beneficent ,creative ,power4 ,there is nothing necessarily evil in physical pleasure4 ,though inferior in rank to mental pleasure1 it is a legitimate part of our nature1 involving always some degree of mental action4 ,the satisfaction which our senses1 sight1 hearing1 touch1 etc41 derive from all lovely objects adapted to the special sense1 indicates that beneficence latent in the #8cosmic process' which enters into the physical manifestation of our present earthly life4 ,the sexual act itself1 rightly understood in its compound character1 so far from being a necessarily evil thing1 is really a ,divinely created and altogether righteous fulfilment of the conditions of present life4 ,this act1 like all human acts1 is subjected to the inexorable rule of moral law4 ,righteous use brings renewed and increasing satisfaction to the two made one in harmonious union4 ,unrighteous use produces satiety1 coldness1 repulsion1 and misery to the two remaining apart1 through the abuse of a ,divine gift4 ,at a public table in the ,tyrol ,i once heard an ,austrian officer1 a most repulsive spectacle1 dying of his vices1 boast of his ruined life1 and declare that he would take the consequences and live it over again had he the power to do so4 ,this is the insanity of lust4 ,but it illustrates the inseparable union of soul and body in human sex4 ,it is the mental element dominating the physical impulse in man1 for evil1 which produces that monstrous creation1 cold1 selfish1 and cruel1 which is seen only in the man or woman abusing the creative powers of sex4 ,it will thus be seen that in the varieties of degradation of our sexual powers1 as well as in their use and ennoblement1 it is the predominance of the mental or spiritual element in our nature which is the characteristic fact of human sex4 ,the inventions and abuses of lust1 as well as the use and guidance of love1 alike prove the striking and important distinction which exists between the sexual organization of man and that of the lower animals4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,equivalent ,functions in the ,male and ,female ,in examining the characteristics of sex in ,man under its dual aspect1 male and female1 ,nature's primary or rudimentary aim in establishing sex must be clearly recognised4 ,this aim is the reproduction of the species4 ,pleasure in sexual congress is an incident depending largely on mental constitution4 ,in the varying ranks of the animal creation it may or may not exist in connection with reproduction2 for it is not essential to the one all-important dominating fact in nature1 viz41 parentage4 ,reproduction is accomplished in various ways in the widely differing ranks of living creatures4 ,man1 owing to certain general resemblances of physical structure1 belongs to the higher class of animals1 the ,mammalia4 ,in this class the two factors necessary to reproduction1 viz41 ova and semen or sperm1 exist in separate individuals4 ,the ova or seed are formed in the ovaries1 two small bodies placed within the pelvis of the female2 whilst the sperm or vitalizing fluid is formed in the testes1 two small bodies placed outside the pelvis of the male4 ,the organs or parts which produce the ova and semen are strictly analogous in the two sexes4 ,each part in the female corresponds to a similar part in the male2 and at an early period of existence before birth it is impossible to determine whether the sex of the embryo is male or female4 ,whilst the male and female organs concerned in the production of semen and of ova are parallel and in strict correspondence1 there is one striking deficiency in the male structure4 ,the organ essential to the development of the human being1 the organ into which the fertilized ovum 7or human seed7 must be brought for growth1 is wanting in the male structure4 ,this deficiency or difference between the sexes produces important physiological results4 ,the special part which the male has to perform physically in the all-important reproductive function of sex finishes with the act of sexual congress1 but it continues in the female4 ,if conception has taken place1 the results of this act become increasingly important4 ,the life of sex1 or all that belongs to the life of the race1 as distinguished from the existence of the individual1 becomes continuously and for a long time inseparable from the woman's personal existence4 ,thus1 all the relations of sex form a more important part of the woman's than of the man's life4 ,another important fact in sexual construction must be noted--viz41 the nervous connections of the sexual organs4 ,all the parts concerned in reproduction are in close communication with the brain by means of the nervous system and that enlargement of the spinal cord at the base of the brain1 the medulla oblongata4 ,if the nervous connection between the generative organs and the brain be severed1 no consciousness of those parts will remain4 ,but whilst the natural nervous connection exists1 the influence of the brain upon those organs is continually felt1 and information as to their changes is sent to the brain4 ,this nerve connection exists from birth1 although the formation of ova and semen 7on which the power of reproduction depends7 does not take place until a later date4 ,keen nervous sensation may1 therefore1 be perceived at any time after birth1 although offspring cannot be produced until the more or less perfect establishment of reproductive power at puberty4 ,it is of great importance to recognise this fact in the education of children4 ,the above general statements respecting the division and correspondence of the sexual organs in the male and female1 and their connection with the brain through the nervous system1 are true of all the ,mammalia1 where1 as in man1 the reproductive power exists in two separate individuals4 ,when1 however1 we consider the way in which these functions act in the work of reproduction1 an important difference is observed between their action in man and in the lower animals4 ,this difference places man physically in a different and superior category from the brute creation4 ,the physiological arrangement of physical sex in man corresponds to the demands made by the increasing complexity of the sentiment of mental sex4 ,as already stated1 the two essential features of physical sex are ovulation and sperm-formation4 ,these two important factors in the joint work of reproduction are governed by a different rule in human and in brute life4 ,in man they exist under the rule of continuity and of self-adjustment--i4e41 these functions are always existent--but at the same time they adapt themselves to the higher needs of the individual4 ,these two laws under which the functions exist--viz41 #ast1 continuity of action2 #bnd1 power of self-adjustment--are distinctive marks of superior human sexual function4 ,both are necessitated by the growth of reason--i4e41 by a progressive civilization4 ,this will be understood clearly by dwelling more in detail on the way in which these two essential parts of reproduction--viz41 sperm-formation and ovulation--are established in the human race4 ,in reproduction1 the ova which are constantly produced in the female require to be fertilized by contact with the semen1 which is constantly produced by the male1 before they can commence the remarkable series of changes and transformations which result in the formation of the embryo1 the rudimentary human being4 ,semen is a highly vitalized fluid1 slowly but constantly secreted or formed by the male4 ,as is the case with all organized living fluids1 it is filled with rapidly-moving particles 7spermatozoa71 and its vitality appears to be in direct ratio to the quantity and activity of such movement4 ,motion seems to be inseparably connected with life1 and is distinctive of any highly vitalized fluid4 ,thus1 in the important and highly organized fluid1 the blood1 we observe constant motion and change in the active little bodies with which it is filled4 ,this quality of great and active vitality appears to be indispensable to the spermatozoon which in the work of procreation is obliged to traverse long and winding passages in order to come in contact with the ovum which is advancing to meet it4 ,an intense energy in the special act of procreation is needed to overcome the difficulties which may prevent conception4 ,it is here necessary to note a common but mischievous fallacy4 ,this necessary energy on the part of the male1 in order to overcome anatomical difference of structure in sexual congress1 is commonly considered an indication or measurement of the superior force of sexual attraction or passion in the male4 ,this superficial judgment is not unnatural1 as facts which are patent to the senses suggest the first crude thought4 ,the chief structures of the male are external1 but they are internal in the female4 ,this difference of structure first suggests to the boy the meaning of actions of the lower animals1 whilst the girl may grow up to full womanhood in complete unconsciousness of their signification4 ,this failure to recognise the equivalent value of internal with external structure has led to such crude fallacy as a comparison of the penis with such a vestige as the clitoris1 whilst failing to recognise that vast amount of erectile tissue1 mostly internal1 in the female1 which is the direct seat of special sexual spasm2 such superficial observation also fails to realize that sexual attraction is not limited by any isolated physical act4 ,the true nature of semen remained unknown during ages of physiological ignorance4 ,it was regarded as the one essential element in reproduction1 planted for growth in the uterus1 where it was simply nourished by the female4 ,the moving particles contained in it were regarded as animalcul1 and fanciful theories as to these particles forming the brain and nervous system1 etc41 of the embryo were entertained4 ,but all these theories have been swept away by modern investigation4 ,it is now proved that when the substances of spermatozoa and ova mingle a new action is set up1 and an entirely new substance created4 ,life1 in the true sense of separate individuality1 only begins with the mingling of the male and female elements1 the commencement of a new existence then taking place when the living ovum fixes itself in the uterus1 and remains there for full growth and final birth4 ,the substance of spermatozoa and the substance of ova possess no sanctity of life apart from their union4 ,they are both produced in lavish abundance1 and thrown off from the body in the same way as other unused secretions are thrown off4 ,at the periods of menstruation unused ova are discharged4 ,in a similar manner unused semen is thrown off from time to time1 in an entirely healthy and beneficent way1 by spontaneous natural action4 ,as ovulation in the female and sperm-formation in the male are equivalent productions1 so menstruation in the female and natural sperm-emission in the male are analogous and beneficial functions4 ,it is in the arrangement of these two functions in man that the physical sexual superiority of mankind to the brute creation lies4 ,the reason of the two distinctive laws which govern human sex is evident4 ,thus3 #ast4 ,continuity of action4 ,procreation in man is not limited to any special season4#a ,men and women can be governed by reason as to the time and circumstances when they select one another and commence the important work of founding a family4 ,the physical organs are maintained in fit condition for reproduction by these functions of ovulation and spermation1 as servants ready to obey at any time the superior intelligence of the master ,will4 #bnd4 ,the power of self-adjustment4 ,these two functions1 whilst maintaining aptitude for procreation in the activities of ovaries and testes1 by occasional spontaneous action secure also the independence of the individual by such natural action4 ,in the exercise of a faculty which requires the concurrence of two intelligent beings endowed with free will and reason1 individual independence must be secured4 ,it would strike at the root of human progress1 and convert society into slavery1 if the life and health of an adult could not be maintained by the self-guidance and independence of the individual4 ,the natural occasional spontaneous action of the structures concerned in reproduction secures individual independence whilst awaiting the beneficial ordinance of marriage4 ,thus in the female the constant formation of ova is subordinated to the needs of individual freedom and to the power of mental self-government by the function of menstruation1 which only in exhausting excess becomes menorrha4 ,in the male the slower secretion of semen is adapted to the same individual freedom and power of self-control by the natural function of sperm-emission1 which only in exhausting excess becomes spermatorrha4 ,as menstruation in the female is the means adopted by our organization for securing both the permanent integrity of the various essential generative structures and their relief from any excess of vitality1 so sperm-emission is the natural relief and independent outlet of that steady action of the generative organs in the male1 which secures through adult life the constant aptitude for reproduction distinctive of the human race4 ,the parallel in the two sexes is exact4 ,menstruation and sperm-emission are the natural healthy actions of self-balance1 established by the economy for preserving the mastership of each individual over her or his own nature4 ,at the same time the integrity of the structure is maintained by the steady action of these two functions of ovulation and spermation4 ,these natural functions only degenerate into states of disease through ignorance of physiological law and faulty hygienic conditions on the one hand1 or through impure thoughts and bad habits acting through the nervous system on the other4 ,when these natural functions are either injured or unduly stimulated through the brain and nervous system1 then only do they become diseased1 producing menorrha or leucorrha in the female1 and spermatorrha in the male4 ,it is impossible to overrate the wide importance of this law of self-adjustment1 under which human function is carried on4 ,the abuses of sex and the misunderstanding of actual facts1 which have led to widespread error on this subject1 will be dwelt on later4 ,every parent1 however1 who has been able to fulfil the true parental relationship to the child will realize the beneficence of this law4 ,the obligatory and premature marriage of daughters1 so largely the custom abroad1 is one result of error on this subject4 ,a still more dangerous error is the cruel advice sometimes given to a young man to degrade a woman1 and sin against his own higher nature by taking a mistress or resorting to harlots4 ,i have often been consulted by anxious mothers who have observed or been told by their boys of fourteen or fifteen that an unusual discharge had taken place4 ,it is of vital importance to the parent to know that such action is as natural and healthy in the growing lad as in the growing girl1 but that in both it is a time requiring guidance1 both moral and physical4 ,respectful1 earnest words of hygienic counsel1 including mind and body1 are indispensable at this critical time of youth4 ,parents1 particularly mothers1 live too often in fatal ignorance of the conditions of sexual health and disease in their children4 ,my advice is constantly asked in such cases as the following3 ,a careful mother1 who had brought up her son1 a strong and healthy young man1 to the age of twenty1 learned from him of this natural sign of vitality1 which both supposed to indicate disease6 ,it was with pain and dismay that she replied to his confidence1 #8,alas6 then1 my son1 ,i fear you must consult a doctor4' ,the joyful light of gratitude and renewed hope with which she learned the truth on this important subject--viz41 that the occasional spontaneous action of the organs 7not voluntarily forced by corrupt thought and action7 is natural and beneficial--will not be easily forgotten4 ,it was like the gleam of transcendent joy which ,i have seen illuminate the face of a young mother at the shrill cry of her first-born infant4 ,the measureless evil caused1 not only by their ignorance1 but by the false information given to mothers1 is illustrated by the inquiry made of a friend of mine1 a clergyman1 by an intelligent ,french mother about to move to ,paris with her son4 ,this lady1 sensible and even pious1 wrote to the clergyman to inquire #8if providing a mistress for her son would be very costly in ,paris4' ,she had accepted as a fact what she had been taught1 viz41 that no young man who could not marry early could remain healthy without resorting to vice4 ,from lack of true knowledge of the natural facts of their own physical organization1 young men are often terrified into a resort to quacks1 who impose on their ignorance4 ,the young also of both sexes may be tempted into bad habits of self-abuse at the outset of this new life1 from being unacquainted with the evils and dangers of vicious indulgence4 ,it is the grave parental duty of both father and mother to be able to direct a child at its first entrance into adult life4 ,at an age varying with climate1 race1 and temperament1 the young man as well as the young woman will experience the healthy discharge1 which is a sign that the gradual development of the reproductive organs has attained its final stage4 ,in both its sudden appearance often produces fright2 in both it may appear once1 with long intervals of recurrence4 ,in the girl it tends gradually 7for important natural reasons7 to the establishment of a frequent and regularly returning function4 ,in the young man and in the continent unmarried adult1 the natural action of these organs is of far less frequent recurrence2 it may be of slow and uncertain return1 dependent greatly upon the occupation of the mind and general physical state of the individual4 ,in the natural healthy young man1 the occasional return of this function1 even with a certain degree of periodicity1 is a valuable aid to adult self-government4 ,it is impossible to reprobate too strongly the false views of physiology held by those who make no distinction between the natural healthy growth of these functions and their abuse4 ,no ,christian physiologist whose observation of facts is enlightened by a knowledge of the possibility of moral growth can commit so fatal an error4 ,it is an insult to the male nature to infer that it is inferior to the female nature because it does not fully possess the power of individual self-balance4 ,the assertion that one human being is dependent on the degradation of another human being for the maintenance of personal health is contradicted by physiological facts as well as social experience4 ,the greater complication and elaboration of sexual structure and function belonging to the female nature is due to the more important share given to woman in the work of parentage4 ,the constant production in the female of living germs 7ova71 which require only a passing act of stimulation by the male to enter into a state of active and astonishingly rapid growth2 the unique change of the small uterus into an enormous and powerful structure1 capable of containing a perfect child1 and sending it forth by tremendous efforts into the outer world2 the changes in all the surrounding organs and tissues necessitated by the accomplishment of such a remarkable work in the short space of nine months2 and the subjection of this great physical work to the law of individual freedom and perfection1 are facts which show the superior complication and importance of the female sexual organization4 ,the more elaborate processes of menstruation1 as compared with the lesser work of sperm-emission1 show the greater complication of the organs to be kept in good working order in the female than in the male4 ,so extensive and important are the physical structures that must be kept in readiness for use in the mothers of the race1 that their action is more withdrawn from the dominion of the will than is the case with men4 ,in relation to the male1 it is well known that the secretion of semen is very much controlled by the mental condition of the individual4 ,thus many a young man during keen nervous excitement 7or during the strain of examinations7 becomes alarmed by the appearance of unusual action never before noticed4 ,it is a fact to be carefully noted that sufficient healthy action to insure reproductive aptitude is always maintained in the secreting organs throughout adult life1 quite independently of the will4 ,nature never allows the male1 any more than the female1 to become impotent through abeyance of function4 ,no such fear need ever disturb the mind4 ,the utmost devotion to intellectual life1 to lofty thought1 to beneficent action1 never injures the procreative power1 which always remains intact1 capable of its special faculty throughout the virile age4 ,but the active exercise of the intellectual and moral faculties has remarkable power of diminishing the formation of semen1 and limiting the necessity of its natural removal1 the demand for such relief becoming rarer under ennobling and healthy influences4 ,as ,dr4 ,acton remarks1 #8sexual distress affects particularly the semi-continent--those who indeed see the better course and approve of it1 but follow the worse2 who1 without the recklessness of the hardened or the strength of the pure1 endure at once the sufferings of self-denial and the remorse of self-indulgence4'#b ,the healthy limitation of sexual secretion in men sets free a vast store of nervous force for employment in intellectual and active practical pursuits4 ,the amount of nervous energy expended by the male in the temporary act of sexual congress is very great1 out of all apparent proportion to its physical results1 and is an act not to be too often repeated4 ,in the fully matured and strong adult the nature is adapted to such occasional expenditure1 but it is a serious evil to the growing or unconsolidated nature4 ,even in strong adult life there is a great loss of social power through the squandering of adult energy1 which results from any unnatural stimulus given to the appetite of sex in the male4 ,the barbarous custom of polygamy1 the degrading habit of promiscuous intercourse1 selfish license in marriage1 and all artificial excitements which give undue stimulus to the passion of sex1 divert an immeasurable amount of mental and moral force from the great work of human advancement4 ,the control possessed so largely by the male over the physical function of sperm-formation is not possessed by the female over the corresponding function of ovulation4 ,in the female1 ,nature apparently cannot venture to subordinate the simple physical functions of sex to the will1 to as great an extent as in the male4 ,a more unyielding rule is needed in these physical activities1 because the work to be accomplished for the race by the female is so much more elaborate and long continued4 ,a greater amount of varied action in the complicated organs is necessitated in order to maintain their adult aptitude4 ,the function of ovulation 7formation of ova7 is not increased or diminished by the will1 or by the dwelling of the mind upon sexual objects1 at all to the same extent that spermation 7formation of sperm7 may be affected by the same mental action4 ,ovulation1 and its natural accompaniment1 menstruation1 is much more of a necessary fixed quantity than spermation and its natural accompaniment1 sperm-emission4#c ,it is thus seen that the laws guiding the human sexual functions as established by ,creative ,power are as conducive to health1 and as consistent with the freedom and perfection of human growth1 in one sex as in the other4 ,each sex1 obeying the ,governing ,law1 is created to help1 not destroy the other4 ,the general outline of arrangement is the same in each1 viz41 power of mental and physical self-balance1 strictly guarded potency1 and a certain degree of periodicity4 ,i repeat that parents1 and especially mothers1 should be acquainted with the truths of physiology4 ,there is in the pure sentiment of maternity a special ,divine gift of unselfishness and profound devotion to the well-being of husband and children4 ,this ,god-given power enables a wife and mother to comprehend and apply this knowledge with the impersonality of wisdom4 ,the awful aberrations of our sexual nature excite a deep pity which inevitably seeks for a remedy4 ,when this special aptitude given to women by the power of maternity is fully realized1 the enlarged intelligence of mothers will be welcomed as the brightest harbinger of sexual regeneration4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,on the ,abuses of ,sex--,i4 ,masturbation ,of the various forms of abuse which spring from ignorance or corruption in the exercise of the most important of our human faculties1 two only will be dwelt on--viz41 masturbation and fornication4 ,these are the two radical vices from which all forms of unnatural vice spring4 ,the first is the especial temptation of the child1 the last the temptation or corruption of the adult4 ,it will be seen how the one prepares for the other1 and how both1 unchecked and unguided into rightful channels by judicious sexual education1 lead inevitably to those horrors of unnatural vice which belong to disease1 not nature4 ,abnormal vice abounds on the ,continent1 where the virtue of ,christianity has fallen into contempt4 ,but although it is increasing amongst ourselves as we blindly follow in the path of foreign error1 yet1 happily for parental guidance of childhood and youth1 the darkest phases of human corruption need not be exhibited here4 ,of ,self-abuse 7called also ,masturbation1 ,onanism1 etc47 it is necessary to speak fully4 ,this vice may infect the nursery as well as the school1 and in innumerable cases it induces precocity of physical sensation1 and prepares the way for every variety of sexual evil4 ,that much contradiction of thought exists on this subject even in the medical profession1 the following facts will show4 ,one of the most distinguished members of the profession1 a man noted for sound judgment and large experience1 made the following noteworthy statement to me in speaking of #8,the ,moral ,education of the ,young in ,relation to ,sex4' ,he said3 #8,you are all wrong in what you say about masturbation4 ,medically speaking1 it is of no consequence whatever4 ,mind1 ,i say medically1 not morally speaking4 ,i know a man1 the father of a family1 who was taught by his nurse to masturbate at three years old1 and it has done him no harm whatever4' ,on the other hand1 distinguished physicians1 as ,tissot and others1 have drawn frightful pictures of the mental and physical ruin which always result from habits of self-abuse1 and they refer to the records of insane asylums to confirm these statements4 ,there is error and confusion of thought in both these extreme views4 ,self-abuse or ,solitary ,vice is the voluntary purposed excitement of the genital organs1 produced by pressure or friction of those parts1 or by the indulgence of licentious thoughts4 ,the term #8masturbation' does not apply to that involuntary and beneficent action of the organs in the adult of both sexes1 with which nature from time to time relieves necessary secretion4 ,this radical distinction between the independent and benign action of nature1 and the dangerous practice of voluntarily stimulated physical sensation1 has not been pointed out by physiological investigators with necessary clearness1 nor has the extreme importance of this distinction in the guidance of practical life been dwelt on as a distinction vital to the growth of a ,christian nation4 ,the dangerous habit of voluntarily produced excitement1 to which alone the term #8masturbation' is due1 may be formed by both the male and the female1 and it is found even in the child as well as the adult4 ,in the child1 however 7it being immature in body71 it is the dependencies of the brain1 the nervous system1 which come more exclusively into play in this evil habit4 ,the production of ova or semen1 which mark the adult age1 has not taken place2 in the child there are none of those periodic or occasional congestions of the organs which mark the growth or effects of reproductive substance in the adult4 ,in the little ignorant child this habit springs from a nervous sensation yielded to because1 as it says1 #8it feels nice4' ,the portion of the brain which takes cognizance of these sensations has been excited1 and the child1 in innocent absence of impure thought1 yields to the mental suggestion supplied from the physical organs4 ,this mental suggestion may be produced by the irritation of worms1 by some local eruption1 by the wickedness of the nurse1 occasionally by malformation or unnatural development of the parts themselves4 ,there is grave reason also for believing that transmitted tendency to sensuality may blight the innocent offspring4 ,a serious warning against the unnatural practice of circumcision must here be given4 ,a book of #8,advice to ,mothers1' by a ,philadelphia doctor1 was lately sent me4 ,this treatise began by informing the mother that her first duty to her infant boy was to cause it to be circumcised6 ,her fears were worked upon by an elaborate but false statement of the evils which would result to the child were this mutilation not performed4 ,i should have considered this mischievous instruction unworthy of serious consideration did ,i not observe that it has lately become common among certain short-sighted but reputable physicians to laud this unnatural practice1 and endeavour to introduce it into a ,christian nation4 ,circumcision is based upon the erroneous principle that boys--i4e41 one-half the human race--are so badly fashioned by ,creative ,power that they must be reformed by the surgeon2 consequently1 that every male child must be mutilated by removing the natural covering with which ,nature has protected one of the most sensitive portions of the human body4 ,the erroneous nature of such a practice is shown by the fact that1 although this custom 7which originated amongst licentious nations in hot climates7 has been carried on for many hundred generations1 yet ,nature continues to protect her children by reproducing the valuable protection in man and all the higher animals1 regardless of impotent surgical interference4 ,appeals to the fears of uninstructed parents on the grounds of cleanliness or of hardening the part are entirely fallacious and unsupported by evidence4 ,it is a physiological fact that the natural lubricating secretion of every healthy part is beneficial1 not injurious1 to the part thus protected1 and that no attempt to render a sensitive part insensitive is either practicable or justifiable4 ,the protection which ,nature affords to these parts is an aid to physical purity1 by affording necessary protection against constant external contact of a part which necessarily remains keenly sensitive2 and bad habits in boys and girls cannot be prevented by surgical operations4 ,where no malformation exists1 bad habits can only be forestalled by healthy moral and physical education4 ,the plea that this unnatural practice will lessen the risk of infection to the sensualist in promiscuous intercourse is not one that our honourable profession will support4 ,parents1 therefore1 should be warned that this ugly mutilation of their children involves serious danger1 both to their physical and moral health4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is a fact which deserves serious consideration that many ignorant women purposely resort to vicious sexual manipulation to soothe their fractious infants4 ,the superintendent of a large prison for women informed me that this was a common practice1 and one most difficult1 even impossible entirely to break up4 ,medical observation proves that such injury to infancy is not confined to the lower or to the criminal classes4 ,the habits formed by unrefined or exposed women are brought by servants into our homes4 ,the ignorance or viciousness of nurses1 often veiled by a respectable demeanour1 has injured and even destroyed the children of many a well-to-do nursery4 ,that this habit of self-abuse existing in early childhood is a danger capable of undermining the health from its tendency to increase is a very serious fact4 ,a little girl of six years old was lately brought to me whose physical and mental strength were both failing from the nervous exhaustion of a habit so inveterate that she fell into convulsions if physically restrained from its exercise4 ,in this case an evil hereditary tendency from both parents was discovered1 and malformation existed in the child4 ,indeed1 cases of injury to childhood from self-abuse are so common in the physician's experience that warning to parents should be given on this subject4 ,the cause should be carefully sought for wherever this vicious practice is discovered1 and the trusted family physician consulted if necessary4 ,now1 it is quite true that this habit1 when observed in children1 may often1 and ,i believe generally1 be broken up4 ,it is the mother who must do this by sympathy and wise oversight4 ,when a child is known in any way to be producing pressure or excitement in these parts1 the watchful observation of the mother must be at once aroused4 ,if no physical cause of irritation1 such as worms or some malformation1 appears to be present1 the dangerous habit may be broken up entirely2 but no punishment must ever be resorted to4 ,the little innocent child1 to whom the sentiment of sex is an unknown thing1 will confide in its mother if encouraged to do so4 ,if kindly but seriously told that it may make little children ill to do this thing1 and the reply being given 7as in cases ,i have known7 that #8the little feeling comes of itself1' the child should be encouraged to come to its mother1 and she #8will help him drive the feeling away4' ,this providential guardianship of the portals of life is a special endowment of maternity1 and it is the potential motherhood of all experienced women which fits them to understand and to guide the growth and development of the sexual powers of our human nature4 ,the tact of a mother will never suggest evil to her child1 but her quick perception of danger will enable her to detect its signs1 and avert it4 ,the frequent practice of self-abuse occurring in little children from the age of two years old1 clearly illustrates the fallacy of endeavouring to separate mind and body in educational arrangements or systems of medical treatment4 ,in the very young child those essential elements of reproduction1 semen and ova1 which give such mighty stimulus to passion in the adult1 are entirely latent4 ,yet we observe a distinct mental impression possible1 leading to unnatural excitement of the genital organs4 ,this mental impression1 growing with the growth of the child1 produces an undue sensitiveness to all surrounding circumstances which tend to excite this cerebral action4 ,touch1 sight1 and hearing become avenues to the brain1 prematurely opened to this kind of stimulus4 ,the acts of the lower animals1 pictures1 indecent talk1 which glide over the surface of the mind in a naturally healthy child1 excite self-conscious attention when habits of self-abuse have grown up unchecked4 ,the mind is thus rendered impure1 and the growing lad or girl develops into a precocious sexual consciousness4 ,at school a new danger arises to children from corrupt communication of companions1 or in the boy from an intense desire to become a man1 with a false idea of what manliness means4 ,the brain1 precociously stimulated in one direction1 receives fresh impulse from evil companionship and evil literature1 and even hitherto innocent children of ten and twelve are often drawn into the temptation4 ,from the age when the organs of reproduction are beginning slowly to unfold themselves for their future work1 the temptation to yield to physical sensation or mental impression increases4 ,the inseparable relation of our moral and physical structure is seen in full force at the age of twelve or fourteen4 ,confirmed habits of mental impurity may at any age destroy the body from the physical results of such habits4 ,my attention was painfully drawn to the dangers of self-abuse more than forty years ago by an agonized letter received from an intelligent and pious lady1 dying from the effects of this inveterate habit4 ,she had been a teacher in a ,sunday-school1 and the delight of a refined and intelligent circle of friends4 ,but this habit1 begun in childhood in ignorance of any moral or physical wrong which might result to her nature1 had become so rooted that her brain was giving way under the effects of nervous derangement thus produced1 whilst her will had lost the power of self-control4 ,it will thus be seen that there are two grave dangers attending the practice of masturbation4 ,the first evil is the effect upon the mind through the brain and nervous system from evil communications or evil literature4 ,the mind is thus prematurely awakened to take in and dwell upon a series of impressions which awaken precocious sexual instinct4 ,this precocity gives an undue and even dominating power to this instinct over the other human faculties4 ,coming into play before reason is strengthened or the sense of responsibility awakened1 there is no counterpoise or principle of guidance to the rapidly developing powers of procreation4 ,thus the precocious stimulus of childhood1 even if it has not undermined the individual health1 becomes a direct preparation for the selfishness of lust in the adult4 ,the other grave danger incurred by the practice of masturbation is the risk of its becoming an over-mastering habit1 from the ease with which it can be indulged2 also from the insidious and increasing power of the temptation when yielded to1 and from its association with the times when the individual is alone1 and particularly the quiet hours of the night4 ,in the adult who yields to solitary vice1 ,nature's marked distinction between the beneficent effect of spontaneous healthy relief and the injurious action of self-induced irritation is destroyed4 ,individual self-control1 the highest distinctive mark of the human being1 is abandoned4 ,in this way the evil habit may become a real obsession1 leading to destruction of mental and physical health1 to insanity1 or to suicide4 ,it will thus be seen that this first abuse of the sexual faculty given to us by our ,creator--viz41 the practice of masturbation--is a special danger to the very young as well as a temptation of the adult1 and that it is an injury to mind as well as body1 through the inseparable union of the moral and physical elements of our human constitution4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,on the ,abuses of ,sex--,,ii4 ,fornication ,the second abuse of sex to be dwelt on by the ,christian physiologist is the practice of fornication4 ,one broad distinction separates this form of vice from masturbation--viz41 that it necessarily affects two persons instead of only one4 ,its effects upon the mental and physical development of both the male and female must therefore engage the attention of the physiologist4 ,this necessity of considering the effects produced by a joint act upon two separate individualities greatly complicates the inquiry4 ,it is so much easier for the popular mind to regard any act performed by an individual or by one sex as exclusively affecting one particular individual or sex engaged in its performance that it is extremely difficult for most persons to fix their minds steadily upon the inseparable double character of this exceptional human act4 ,it requires a certain amount of generalizing power to do this2 and the power of generalization1 which leads to the recognition of abstract truth and to the perception that a true principle is of far higher value than any number of phenomena1 is an advanced attainment of human beings4 ,abstract truth commonly seems vague as compared with a material fact4 ,we are also so accustomed in using all our other senses1 sight1 hearing1 etc41 to regard them as individual possessions1 that it is difficult to separate the sexual sense from all others4 ,yet it distinctly belongs to a different class from all our other senses1 because its ultimate expression is not a simple individual performance1 but is a social act of vital importance to the race4 ,the imperfection of our intelligence1 which makes it easier to consider a joint act in its diversity than in its unity1 has led to very imperfect observation of physiological facts and many false deductions from such imperfect observation4 ,very grave social errors1 leading even to the general debasement and ultimate destruction of national life1 flow from the hitherto rudimentary condition of our human intelligence in relation to the sexual powers4 ,fornication is the promiscuous intercourse of the sexes4 ,it is the yielding to the domination of the simple physical impulse of sex1 with no perception or acceptance of the mutual responsibility involved in the relation1 and with no regard to a fundamental aspect of this relation--viz41 the well-being of offspring4 ,fornication is the attempt to divorce the moral and physical elements of human nature1 and to ignore the inseparable results of joint action4 ,in considering this subject from a medical point of view1 we are at once brought face to face with a conflict nineteen hundred years old4 ,christianity1 springing up when the ,roman ,empire was perishing through its vices1 stamped fornication as the gravest of social crimes4 ,there is nothing more strongly marked in the earlier records of this religion than the stern1 even awful1 condemnation of whore-mongers4 ,the sin of sexual impurity is denounced as the essence of hatred and fraud4 ,we observe that wherever the ,christian ,church becomes hypocritical and cowardly1 and fails to reprobate this sin alike in men and women1 in high and low1 in the ,state and in the family1 or fails to be the leader of the people against organized evil1 there the ,christian ,church begins to fall into contempt1 and the vox populi condemns it4 ,the ,christian physiologist1 pondering the inexorable law of purity as shown by history1 is compelled to re-examine the physical and moral facts of the human constitution1 on which the rise and fall of races depend4 ,the question distinctly arises1 ,is ,christianity a superstition1 dying out in the nineteenth century of science and material development2 or does it contain within itself a principle whose transforming power has been hitherto unrecognised1 but which will now come into play1 and lead the nations into renewed and more permanent vigour of life8 ,one of the first subjects to be investigated by the ,christian physiologist is the truth or error of the assertion so widely made1 that sexual passion is a much stronger force in men than in women4 ,very remarkable results have flowed from the attempts to mould society upon this assertion4 ,a simple ,christian might reply1 #8,our religion makes no such distinction2 male and female are as one under guidance and judgment of the ,divine law4' ,but the physiologist must go farther1 and use the light of principles underlying physical truth in order to understand the meaning of facts which arraign and would destroy ,christianity4 ,it is necessary1 therefore1 to determine what is meant by strength and what is meant by passion4 ,in one sense a bull is stronger than a man1 and many of the inferior animals are superior in muscular force or keenness of special sense to human beings1 yet man is more powerful than the animal world which he dominates to his will4 ,any assertion that the animal is stronger than the human being fails to recognise the very essence of humanity--viz41 mental or moral strength4 ,again1 in one sense1 the whirlwind or the earthquake is stronger than the creative action of ,nature2 their rapid devastation strikes the terrified imagination1 yet at the very moment of their ravage reparative and creative force is being exerted all over the world with immeasurably more power than any sudden outbreak of destruction4 ,in determining the strength of races and the strength of individuals1 the various elements which constitute vital power must be considered4 ,endurance1 longevity1 special aptitudes with the proportionate amount of vital force given to their fulfilment--these are all elements of relative strength4 ,in any attempt to settle the comparative strength of man and woman1 therefore1 all these elements must be weighed4 ,thus the powers of endurance which are demanded by each kind of life must be accurately measured2 the care of a sick child must be balanced against the anxiety of business1 the ceaseless cares of indoor life against the changes of outdoor life1 etc4 ,the impossibility of so weighing the burden which each sex bears in the various trials and difficulties of practical life shows the futility of attempting to measure the amount of vital power possessed by men or by women separately4 ,any attempt at a comparison of absolute sexual power between men and women will be found to be equally futile4 ,the varying manifestations of the sexual faculties1 as exhibited in their male and female phases1 make the relative measurement of this vital force in men and women quite impossible4 ,considering1 however1 the enormous practical edifice of law and custom which has been built up on the very sandy foundation of the supposed stronger character of male sexual passion1 it is necessary to examine closely the facts of human nature1 and challenge many erroneous conclusions4 ,any theory which proposes two methods of judgment or two measures of law1 in consequence of a supposed difference of vital power1 is emphatically uncertain1 and lays itself open to just suspicion of dangerous error4 ,the equal numbers of men and women1 their equal longevity1 and consequently equal power of enduring the wear and tear of life1 prove the equal general vital power of the sexes4 ,in considering further the special sexual manifestations of the two sexes1 we observe that the power of reproduction commences at an earlier age in women than in men4 ,the physical life of the sexual faculties at the same early age is more vigorous in the female than in the male1 and all those social interests which centre round sex in the human race are in the young woman stronger2 whilst at the same age the experience and intellectual development which should give dignity and profundity to the noble object of sex--parentage--are not yet attained4 ,the #8eagerness for a romance' and the unconscious impulse towards parentage are developed earlier1 and absorb a larger proportion of vital force in the girl than in the boy4 ,at a later age1 when physical sex is fully developed in the young adult1 we are still struck by the greater proportion of vital force demanded from or given by women to all that is involved in sexual life4 ,the physical functions of sex weigh more imperiously upon the woman than the man1 compel more thought and care1 and necessitate more enlightened intelligence in the general arrangements of life4 ,physical sex is a larger factor in the life of the woman1 unmarried or married1 than in the life of the man1 and this is the case at every period of the full vigour of life4 ,in order to secure the perfect health and independent freedom which is the birthright of every rational human being1 larger wisdom is required for the maintenance of perfect physical health in the woman than in the man1 this function being a more important element in the one than in the other4 ,if this be true of the physical element of sex1 it is equally true of the mental element4 ,no careful observer can fail to remark the larger proportionate amount of thought and feeling1 as compared with the total vital force of the individual1 which we find given by women to all that concerns the subject of sex4 ,words spoken1 slight courtesies rendered1 excite a more permanent interest in women4 ,that which may be the mere passing thought or action of the man1 at once forgotten by him1 obliterated by a thousand other intellectual or practical interests in his life1 often make a quite undue impression upon the woman4 ,incidents are thought of over and over again1 and are supposed to mean much more than they do mean4 ,a romance or a scandal1 a tale of true or false love1 will always excite interest1 where business1 politics1 science1 or philosophy will fall upon deaf ears4 ,all that concerns the mental aspect of sex1 the special attraction which draws one sex towards the other1 is exhibited in greater proportionate force by women1 is more steady and enduring1 and occupies a larger amount of their thought and interest4 ,the frivolity and ephemeral character of the seducer's impulses1 as compared with the earnestness of the seduced1 illustrates the profounder character of sexual passion in woman4 ,wide-spread unhappiness1 social disturbance1 and degradation continually arise from the vital force of human sex in woman1 unguarded1 unguided1 and unemployed4 ,passion and appetite are not identical4 ,the term #8passion1' it should always be remembered1 necessarily implies a mental element4 ,for this reason it is employed exclusively in relation to the powers of the human being1 not to those of the brute4 ,passion rises into a higher rank than instinct or physical impulse1 because it involves the soul of man4 ,in sexual passion this mental1 moral1 or emotional principle is as emphatically sex as any physical instinct1 and it grows with the proportional development of the nervous system4 ,this mental element of human sex exists in major proportion in the vital force of women1 and justifies the statement that the compound faculty of sex is as strong in woman as in man4 ,those who deny sexual feeling to women1 or consider it so light a thing as hardly to be taken into account in social arrangements1 confound appetite and passion2 they quite lose sight of this immense spiritual force of attraction1 which is distinctly human sexual power1 and which exists in so very large a proportion in the womanly nature4 ,the impulse towards maternity is an inexorable but beneficent law of woman's nature1 and it is a law of sex4 ,the different form which physical sensation necessarily takes in the two sexes1 and its intimate connection with and development through the mind 7love7 in women's nature1 serve often to blind even thoughtful and painstaking persons as to the immense power of sexual attraction felt by women4 ,such one-sided views show a misconception of the meaning of human sex in its entirety4 ,the affectionate husbands of refined women often remark that their wives do not regard the distinctively sexual act with the same intoxicating physical enjoyment that they themselves feel1 and they draw the conclusion that the wife possesses no sexual passion4 ,a delicate wife will often confide to her medical adviser 7who may be treating her for some special suffering7 that at the very time when marriage love seems to unite them most closely1 when her husband's welcome kisses and caresses seem to bring them into profound union1 comes an act which mentally separates them1 and which may be either indifferent or repugnant to her4 ,but it must be understood that it is not the special act necessary for parentage which is the measure of the compound moral and physical power of sexual passion2 it is the profound attraction of one nature to the other which marks passion1 and delight in kiss and caress--the love-touch--is physical sexual expression as much as the special act of the male4 ,it is well known that terror or pain in either sex will temporarily destroy all physical pleasure4 ,in married life1 injury from childbirth1 or brutal or awkward conjugal approaches1 may cause unavoidable shrinking from sexual congress1 often wrongly attributed to absence of sexual passion4 ,but the severe and compound suffering experienced by many widows who were strongly attached to their lost partners is also well known to the physician1 and this is not simply a mental loss that they feel1 but an immense physical deprivation4 ,it is a loss which all the senses suffer by the physical as well as moral void which death has created4 ,although physical sexual pleasure is not attached exclusively1 or in woman chiefly1 to the act of coition1 it is also a well-established fact that in healthy1 loving women1 uninjured by the too frequent lesions which result from childbirth1 increasing physical satisfaction attaches to the ultimate physical expression of love4 ,a repose and general well-being results from this natural occasional intercourse1 whilst the total deprivation of it produces irritability4 ,on the other hand1 the growth in men of the mental element in sexual passion1 from mighty wifely love1 often comes like a revelation to the husband4 ,the dying words of a man to the wife who1 sending away children1 friends1 every distraction1 had bent the whole force of her passionate nature to holding the beloved object in life--#8,i never knew before what love meant'--indicates the revelation which the higher element of sexual passion should bring to the lower phase4 ,it is an illustration of the parallelism and natural harmony between the sexes4 ,the prevalent fallacy that sexual passion is the almost exclusive attribute of men1 and attached exclusively to the act of coition--a fallacy which exercises so disastrous an effect upon our social arrangements--arises from ignorance of the distinctive character of human sex--viz41 its powerful mental element4 ,a tortured girl1 done to death by brutal soldiers1 may possess a stronger power of human sexual passion than her destroyers4 ,the comparison so often drawn between the physical development of the comparatively small class of refined and guarded women1 and the men of worldly experience whom they marry1 is a false comparison4 ,these women have been taught to regard sexual passion as lust and as sin--a sin which it would be a shame for a pure woman to feel1 and which she would die rather than confess4 ,she has not been taught that sexual passion is love1 even more than lust1 and that its ennobling work in humanity is to educate and transfigure the lower by the higher element4 ,the growth and indications of her own nature she is taught to condemn1 instead of to respect them as foreshadowing that mighty impulse towards maternity which will place her nearest to the ,creator if reverently accepted4 ,but if the comparison be made between men and women of loose lives--not women who are allowed and encouraged by money to carry on a trade in vice1 but men and women of similar unrestrained and loose life--the unbridled impulse of physical lust is as remarkable in the latter as in the former4 ,the astounding lust and cruelty of women uncontrolled by spiritual principle is a historical fact4 ,the most destructive phase of fornication is promiscuous intercourse4 ,this riotous debauchery introduced the devastating scourge of syphilis into ,western ,europe in the fourteenth century4 ,promiscuous intercourse can never be made #8safe4' ,the resort of many men to one woman1 with its results1 is against nature4 ,the special structures of the female body1 which are endowed with the elasticity necessary for the passage of a child1 rich in secreting glands1 in folds1 in power of absorption1 cannot be treated as a plane surface1 to be washed out and labelled #8safe4' ,physical danger will always be connected with unnatural use of the body2 neither party engaged in promiscuous intercourse can be pronounced clean4 ,this is not the place to speak of the moral danger inseparable from a corrupt bargain which debases the highest function1 the creative1 to the low status of trade competition1 but the ,christian physician is bound to consider this4 ,some medical writers have considered that women are more tyrannically governed than men by the impulses of physical sex4 ,they have dwelt upon the greater proportion of work laid upon women in the reproduction of the race1 the prolonged changes and burden of maternity1 and the fixed and marked periodical action needed to maintain the aptitude of the physical frame for maternity4 ,they have drawn the conclusion that sex dominates the life of women1 and limits them in the power of perfect human growth4 ,this would undoubtedly be the case were sex simply a physical function4 ,the fact in human nature which explains1 guides1 and should elevate the sexual nature of woman1 and mark the beneficence of ,creative ,force1 is this very mental element which distinguishes human from brute sex4 ,this element1 gradually expanding under religious teaching and the development of true religious sentiment1 becomes the ennobling power of love4 ,love between the sexes is the highest and mightiest form of human sexual passion4 ,the mental element in human sex1 although as distinctly a part of sexual passion as the physical element1 does not necessarily imply good use4 ,the woman who employs the arts of dress to bring the physical peculiarities of sex into prominence1 and uses every method of coquetry and flirtation to excite the attention and awaken the physical impulses of men1 is abusing her sexual power4 ,the degree in which she employs these arts1 measures the extent to which her own nature is dominated by brute sexual instinct1 and the unworthiness of the use to which she puts this instinct4 ,this power of sex in women is strikingly shown in the enormous influence which they exert upon men for evil4 ,it is not the cold beauty of a statue which enthrals and holds so many men in terrible fascination2 it is the living1 active power of sexual life embodied in its separate overpowering female phase4 ,the immeasurable depth of degradation into which those women fall1 whose sex is thoroughly debased1 who have intensified the physical instincts of the brute by the mental power for evil possessed by the human being1 indicates the mighty character of sexual power over the nature of woman for corruption4 ,it is also a measure of what the ennobling power of passion may be4 ,happily1 in all civilized countries there is a natural reserve in relation to sexual matters which indicates the reverence with which this high social power of our human nature should be regarded4 ,it is a sign of something wrong in education1 or in the social state1 when matters which concern the subject of sex are discussed with the same freedom and boldness as other matters4 ,this subject should neither be a topic of idle gossip1 of unreserved publicity1 nor of cynical display4 ,this natural and beneficial instinct of reserve1 springing from unconscious reverence1 renders it difficult for one sex to measure and judge the vital power of the other4 ,the independent thought and large observation of each sex is needed in order to arrive at truth4 ,unhappily1 however1 women are often falsely instructed by men1 for a licentious husband inevitably depraves the sentiment of his wife1 because vicious habits have falsified his nature and blinded his perception of the moral law which dominates sexual growth4 ,each sex has its own stern battle to fight in resisting temptation1 in walking resolutely towards the higher aim of life4 ,it is equally foolish and misleading to attempt to weigh the vital qualities of the sexes1 and measure justice and mercy1 law and custom1 by the supposed results4 ,it is difficult for the child to comprehend that a pound of feathers can weigh as much as a pound of lead4 ,much of our thought concerning men and women is as rudimentary as the child's4 ,vast errors of law and custom have arisen in the slow unfolding of human nature from failure to realize the extent of the injury produced by that abuse of sex--fornication4 ,we have not hitherto perceived that1 on account of the moral degradation and physical disease which it inevitably produces1 lustful trade in the human body is a grave social crime4 ,in forming a wiser judgment for future guidance1 it must be distinctly recognised that the assertion that sexual passion commands more of the vital force of men than of women is a false assertion1 based upon a perverted or superficial view of the facts of human nature4 ,any custom1 law1 or religious teaching based upon this superficial and essentially false assertion1 must necessarily be swept away with the prevalence of sounder physiological views4 ,it is a fact that the brain and nervous system are the media of sensation1 and that pleasure1 physical or mental1 in whatever way it may be aroused1 must be measured by the keenness of nervous life in both sexes1 not by any special act of one sex4 ,it has also been shown that the secretion of semen does not necessitate a resort to sexual congress1 but that there is a distinct and healthy provision for the removal of unneeded secretions in each sex which leaves the individual the power of self-guidance4 ,physiology condemns fornication by showing the physical arrangements which support the moral law4 ,there is no justification in the physiological structure of humanity for the destructive practice of fornication4 ,we thus see by the light of sound physiology1 and the advanced thought of the nineteenth century1 the profound insight of the founders of ,christianity1 who denounced in one equal and awful condemnation the whoremonger and the whore4 ,,chapter ,v ,the ,development of the ,idea of ,chastity ,the most fundamental work which rests upon the medical profession is the spread of physiological truth in its practical application to the education of both boys and girls4 ,the sexual instinct1 being a primitive elementary instinct1 exists alike in men and women4 ,it is the necessary impulse leading to parentage1 an impulse which the great ,creative ,force has laid down as a law of our present human life4 ,but chastity and continence are not primitive instincts in either sex2 they are the higher growth of reason1 and of the religious and legal guidance by which in every age it has been found indispensable to direct the impulse of sex4 ,the way in which this instinct may be exercised to the permanent advantage of a progressive community is a gradual discovery of the human race4 ,it is a development or differentiation of the primitive instinct2 but the instinct and the wise method of educating or of exercising it are separate facts4 ,in the savage stage1 in semi-barbarous countries1 and in the slums of all great towns1 both men and women are grossly unchaste4 ,it is by the growth and expansion of human nature under a knowledge of providential law1 that the necessity of guiding the exercise of the original instinct is perceived4 ,thus1 varying institutions gradually arise out of the varied methods employed to guide the sexual impulse4 ,different circumstances1 different systems of education1 law1 and religion1 produce varying results4 ,but all these results spring from a perception that the sexual instinct requires guidance1 and cannot1 without danger to society1 be left in its primitive ignorance4 ,in the gradual growth of thought which leads to ever higher forms of society1 the physiologist has very important aid to render4 ,it is his part to show how the two great forces of ,habit and ,heredity are the powerful physiological factors in the growth or degeneracy of the human race4 ,in these two great facts--viz41 the ability to form habits and the power of transmitting the tendencies produced by habits--the mind and body are inseparably blended1 and through them a nation becomes chaste or unchaste4 ,habit can so change the nature as to make what was difficult easy2 it can so strengthen the tendencies in directly opposite directions as to both govern1 and to a great extent change1 the action of the physical organization itself1 and the fact of heredity will transmit these changed tendencies to succeeding generations4 ,it is impossible in the long-run to ignore these two facts which so powerfully govern sexual passion1 because ,nature has established them4 ,short-sighted views may exist as to the trivial character of the relations prevailing between the sexes4 ,it may be considered of slight importance whether lust or love rule these relations4 ,the slow or remote nature of the evils produced by the violation of ,nature's laws1 and the apparent escape of some offenders from immediate penalty1 confuse the short sight of the irreligious4 ,but ,nature disregards our short-sightedness1 sweeps away our theories and self-indulgence1 and inexorably avenges the violation of law by gradual but inevitable degeneration of the race4 ,the power which habit exercises over human nature depends upon the physiological character of the nervous system itself1 through which our will and thought act4 ,it has been well said by ,michel ,lvy that periodicity is the law of the nervous system4#d ,it is a law which both regulates its physiological action and controls the course of its diseases4 ,impressions made upon the brain by external objects or by internal sensations modify the condition of the brain4 ,this modification is slight at first1 but increases by repetition4 ,when an impression is first made upon the brain1 it has to overcome the inertia or unaccustomed state of the organization to receive that kind of impression4 ,but with each repetition this resistance diminishes and a habit is formed4 ,owing to the rule of periodicity which governs the nervous system1 the brain tends to repeat the change which it has once experienced1 to recall sensations1 and solicit a repetition of changes which have been frequently impressed upon it4 ,passing impressions may produce little effect in changing the condition of the brain1 but when such impressions are often repeated and prolonged1 when the attention is fixed upon them and the will engaged in recalling them1 then the nervous system itself undergoes modification1 and a new disposition of the organization itself is acquired from the continuation and frequent repetition of the same impressions4 ,it is in this way1 through a change in the nervous system itself1 that habit becomes literally a second nature2 and in this way habits most opposite to the natural or rudimentary state are introduced into our human organization1 and #8nature is dominated by or absorbed in habit4' ,the power of habit is seen even in the action of organs withdrawn from the will1 as in the powers of adaptation to all kinds of food1 to various kinds of atmosphere and climate4 ,it is1 however1 in that portion of our nature directly connected with and governed by the brain that the remarkable transforming power of habit is seen1 and in the sexual system this enormous power is most signally displayed4 ,habits may become so much a part of our nature that they are exercised unconsciously1 the impression which first excited the brain being no longer noticed1 though still exerting its modifying influence4 ,but when the attention is constantly aroused1 the brain acts with sustained and increasing energy2 the senses are thus strengthened or perfected1 and new and higher powers are developed in the individual1 which through inheritance may be transmitted to a succeeding generation4 ,it is in this way that the practice of continence or of incontinence gradually forms a distinctive characteristic of social and national life4 ,this distinctive faculty possessed by the nervous system of modifying its own sensations1 and even acquiring new aptitudes1 is the physiological basis of human progress4 #8,it is the foundation of education1 of the power of law1 of the influence of custom1 and the necessary condition of hygienic improvement4' ,habits1 when formed in accordance with physiological law1 do not tend to indifference4 ,by the constant repetition of impressions a new relation is gradually established between the organs or faculties affected and the cause which produces the effect4 ,as the keenness of first sensations producing transitory pleasure diminishes1 habit strengthens the important relation which grows up between faculties and the objects which modify them4 ,it is the superior power of the new relation thus established by habit between the individual and the objects that have modified his nature1 that have even caused the ,swiss mountaineer to die of home-sickness1 or the bereaved partner in a lifelong union to follow the beloved object to the grave4 ,it will thus be seen how the idea and the practice of chastity have grown up from a physiological basis1 and may be inseparably interwoven with the essential structure of our physical organization4 ,chastity is the government of the sexual instinct by the higher reason or wisdom--i4e41 by our perception of the providential law which governs our human nature4 ,customs1 and the laws concerning marriage and the relations of the sexes which represent them1 are checks or guides imposed upon the blind sexual impulse by the enlightened common-sense of mankind4 ,these customs and laws1 acting slowly but persistently upon society1 generation after generation1 modify the habits of thought in the adult1 and the methods of education in the child4 ,it is thus that the idea of chastity arises1 and its practice becomes possible and easy4 ,it springs as a physiological habit from the effects for good and evil which are produced by the modifications of our nervous system through education and custom4 ,the universal experience of the world has proved that directly human beings join in societies1 they are compelled to impose guides upon the exercise of the sexual powers1 in the interest of society itself4 ,this check upon the blind1 unrestrained use of the sexual impulse is a necessity imposed by our physiological structure for the well-being and continuance of the race4 ,the most important practical results flow from obedience to the physiological law of chastity thus imposed upon our sexual nature4 ,the necessary mutual aid and respect of the sexes1 procreative vigour and the production of a fine race1 and the extirpation of the loathsome disease caused by promiscuous intercourse1 are all subject to the guidance of chastity4 ,the tremendous power of creative law1 which is quite beyond our reach1 demands that the blind instinct of sex be governed and enlightened by this inevitable higher control1 and that human law be moulded upon ,divine law4 ,the mighty and transforming physiological power of habit1 with its tendencies transmitted by both men and women to their offspring1 shows the method by which the law of chastity must gradually extend its sway over the human race4 ,the choice between inevitable degeneracy and sure improvement is left to our relatively free will1 but the law which governs results is beyond our reach4 ,race after race has perished from blind or wilful ignorance1 or neglect of the inexorable moral law bound up with our physiological structure4 ,the importance of the truths now insisted on can be more fully realized in their wide bearings by experienced and religious physicians than by any other class in the community4 ,if they will learn to trust to the sacredness of the maternal instinct1 and instruct mothers1 as well as fathers1 in these vital truths concerning our sexual structures1 they will exercise a mighty influence in the elevation of our race4 ,to the younger members of the profession ,i wish to offer some farther hints on the direct practical bearing of the foregoing truths4 ,the facts of our human organization should not only guide the medical advice given in the consultation-room1 but caution us respecting the methods to be adopted in dealing with the poor1 and suggest the direction in which national sanitary measures should proceed4 ,the immense power of this passion of sex in the human race must never be ignored in relation to either men or women4 ,the beneficent control which the human mind can exercise over the passion points out that item in the human materia medica1 which more than any other the physician must strive to secure for the benefit of his patient1 viz4--force of will4 ,he is bound to declare the sovereign efficacy of this natural specific1 and enforce the methods of securing it4 ,all physical and hygienic means must be called upon to develop and support that power of will and that mental purity which alone can govern wisely the human sexual nature4 ,there is another point which cannot be too strongly insisted on4 ,the personal modesty of patients--that elementary virtue in ,christian civilization--must be carefully cherished by the physician1 who1 more than any other1 is acquainted with its influence on the sexual nature4 ,the common resort to sexual examination is an evil grown up in medical practice of comparatively modern date4 ,the use of the speculum should be strictly limited by absolute necessity4 ,its reckless use amongst the poor is a serious national injury4 ,i know from fifty years' medical experience amongst the poor1 as well as the rich1 that this custom is a real and growing evil4 ,it should be a last resort of medical necessity1 and it is so regarded by thoughtful physicians4 ,that it is sometimes necessary is unhappily true2 and when a poor sufferer learns from her trusted adviser that such investigation is quite unavoidable1 acceptance of such judgment is the part of wisdom and true modesty4 ,but it is essential that the medical judgment thus rendered should be final--the result of age and special experience4 ,the wise custom of many physicians to decline practice in which a very special training has not given them the positive knowledge of an expert should be a universal rule4 ,it is a social wrong when the serious character of this branch of medicine is not conscientiously acknowledged4 ,the natural sentiment of personal modesty is seriously injured amongst respectable people by the resort to a succession of incompetent advisers4 ,a really serious and national evil results from the thoughtless treatment of the poor4 ,in dispensary and hospital1 and wherever medical assistance is rendered to the exposed and helpless classes1 the first duty of the physician is to respect personal modesty1 or to instil it if the habit has been lost4 ,every physician1 man or woman1 is bound to cherish with reverence the great conservative principle of society1 personal modesty and self-respect4 ,this is a point on which the medical practitioner cannot avoid a moral responsibility4 ,physicians are the special guardians of health from infancy onward4 ,they possess the means of acquiring the fullest knowledge of the double elements of human nature--the interaction of mind and body4 ,from their culture1 their social position1 and the authority which they legitimately exercise1 the weighty responsibility of rightly guarding the human faculties rests chiefly upon them4 ,in all those points where the physical health of a nation is inseparably connected with its moral health1 they are more responsible than any other class of the community for the moral condition of their country4 ,all medical advice and all medical measures must1 therefore1 be guided by the positive fact that human sex differs from brute sex in the possession of a mental element which is capable of elevating and controlling it1 and which must never be lost sight of in dealing with human beings4 ,to the rising members of our noble profession ,i earnestly present the foregoing facts for their ,christian and patriotic consideration1 believing that when they fully realize these great truths they will embrace them with the generous enthusiasm of youth4 ,thus1 while guiding their future practice by sound principles in relation to the care of our human organization1 they will enforce these truths by the strongest of all arguments--the true manliness of their own lives4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,medical ,guidance in ,legislation ,all thoughtful members of the medical profession will appreciate the power of education exercised by law1 particularly on the rising generation4 ,as students of human physiology1 knowing the inseparable connection of mind and body1 they can more fully understand how the laws of a country mould social customs1 and recognise the gradual but widespread deterioration of social morality resulting from unjust laws4 ,in all legislation which endeavours to protect and improve national health the medical profession is necessarily consulted4 ,the advice of experts is indispensable in framing measures which affect such important subjects as wholesome food-supply1 the healthy housing of a people1 the prevention and spread of epidemic diseases1 etc4 ,indeed1 so important is the connection of a sound body with a sound mind1 and so linked together are all classes of society1 that common-sense and rational foresight will more and more recognise that health regulations are a subject of national concern as well as of individual instruction1 and the advice of the medical profession will be increasingly needed4 ,it is1 however1 equally certain that with the advance of intelligence1 of education1 and of political power amongst all members of a community1 the great principle of ,justice must become the foundation on which all legislation1 which is to prove of permanent benefit to a nation1 will rest4 ,expediency1 regardless of justice1 may sometimes seem to offer an easy solution of difficult practical problems1 but it is a delusive seeming4 ,the temporary adoption of such expedients1 when contrary to the inexorable requirements of far-seeing or sympathetic justice1 will always degrade1 and in the end destroy1 the society which persists in resting upon expediency instead of principle4 ,for this reason slavery and polygamy are always found to hinder the progress of any nation that is founded upon them4 ,in our own country the unjust condonation of adultery1 by law1 in #aheg1 against the strenuous opposition of far-seeing statesmen1 has educated more than one generation in a false and degrading idea of physiology4 ,in all sanitary legislation1 where the authority of the medical profession is recognised by an appeal to any of its members for guidance in respect to practical regulations1 the counsel given affects the honour of the whole profession1 and it is vital to the authoritative status of the profession that the advice rendered shall be based upon a sound knowledge of the creative laws which govern our complex human nature4 ,superficial or one-sided statements1 made on so momentous an occasion as an appeal by legislation to medicine1 degrade the profession2 and practical measures founded upon unsound knowledge may debase legislation and intensify the evils they are intended to diminish4 ,the most serious of all the subjects on which the advice of the medical profession is required concerns the legislative enactments or municipal regulations which affect the relations of the sexes4 ,the importance of these relations cannot be overrated4 ,they deal with the very source of society4 ,they may affect the soundness of both body and mind4 ,if legislation fosters immoral customs which spread disease and death1 then such legislation1 corrupting a nation's life1 is treachery to human nature1 and the false counsel that has been given is defiance of ,divine law4 ,a great physiological fact which requires now to be faced is that promiscuous intercourse cannot be made physically healthy4 ,the reasons for this have already been stated4#e ,but no practical measures are sound which do not steadily repress this dangerous and debasing practice in men and women4 ,this great problem of sexual evil has never hitherto been studied from the two sides which ,nature presents to us4 ,but sound physiology requires that the parallel functions and equal attraction in the two halves of humanity be considered4 ,a ,christian nation must recognise that the purchase of the weaker by the stronger is a cruel and debasing trade which must be checked1 and that the substitution of promiscuous intercourse for ,christian marriage is a physical and moral degradation to each half of the human race4 ,when the facts are fully grasped--#ast1 that men are not made dependent upon women for the maintenance of individual health and vigour2 #bnd1 that women violate a law of nature when they fail to reverence their potential motherhood--the great principle which should guide sex legislation will be established4 ,in all practical measures required to check sex disorders in our midst1 the co-operation of experienced men and women is essential4 ,whether it be for the maintenance of good order in the streets1 for purification of the slums1 for reduction of brothels1 for reform of marriage laws1 or for the extirpation of venereal disease1 no regulations will unite expediency with justice1 which do not proceed from the united wisdom of earnest men and women4 ,there are encouraging signs in the present day that such a source of hopeful practical reform will become possible1 and that men and women of large experience are rising into that reverential recognition of the ,creative ,power entrusted to the human race1 which will enable them to consult together1 and thus gain the wisdom necessary for practical action4 ,the awful aberrations of our sexual nature1 which produce such profound social disorder and exercise such degrading influence on the relations of men and women1 result from ignorance of physiological laws and the adaptation of human physical structure to the maintenance of those laws4 ,it is through the recognition of these facts by the medical profession1 and their instruction of parents in the truths of physiology1 that the most powerful impetus to human growth may now be given4 ,the medical profession can prove1 through its knowledge of the physical and mental structure of the human race1 that the great ,christian doctrine of one equal standard of morality for our race is true doctrine based upon our human constitution4 ,our noble profession is summoned to a mighty warfare in the present deadly strife between good and evil4 ,if as ,christian physicians1 believing in a beneficent ,creative ,power1 and imbued with the spirit of the ,master1 they recognise the ,divine unity manifested through the compound nature of all life1 they will become the vanguard of that growing army of truth which seeks to know and obey ,divine law4 ,,appendix ,i4 7,,page #bd7 ,human procreation possesses a double relation--viz41 first1 a relation to the race2 and1 second1 a relation to the individual4 ,in the former character1 as the inevitable method of continuing the race1 it is a great providential law whose mysteries we by no means comprehend1 and which is placed quite beyond the control of the human will2 but in the latter1 the exercise of this great power of procreation possesses the distinctive mark of self-control1 and as an individual act our power and responsibility are great4 ,in this important subject of procreation1 no one can speak with scientific precision and lay down absolute rules respecting its complete method of action4 ,it has been wisely said by one of the most skilful and experienced ,french physicians3#f #8,no opinions put forth reconcile all facts4 ,we are obliged to confess that there is a mystery in this subject1 that our most ingenious theories fail to enlighten4' ,in considering this subject in its relation to the individual1 the beneficent educational uses of parentage to the individual must be realized1 and the irreparable loss that human society would sustain from the absence or serious diminution of the parental relation4 ,parentage is the most potent and persistent civilizer and educator of our race4 ,there is no other influence that will compare with the deep-seated and unique power of parentage in breaking down the narrow1 unsocial barrier of exclusive individual selfishness4 ,much has always been said and written about maternal love1 but there is a very deep significance in the persistence with which the ,hebrew ,scriptures exalt the power1 the supreme beneficence of fatherhood2 and there is a profound reason why universal ,christendom is taught to address1 #8,our ,father1 who art in heaven4' ,it is a special lesson to men4 ,the mother1 by the inevitable facts of her nature1 when that nature is not corrupted1 is moulded into tenderness and providential watchfulness over the weak and helpless2 her nature is a harmonious whole1 and1 as a beneficent general rule1 all women are potential mothers4 ,but ,nature does not so inevitably educate men4 ,it is only when his first-born child is laid in his arms that the man awakens fully to the wonder and infinite tenderness of paternity4 ,the character of the childless woman does not suffer from the absence of that beneficent discipline and development which come from parentage as does the character of the man4 ,it is very instructive to observe how unmarried or childless women replace by adoptions or by pets their unexercised natural affections4 ,any failure to realize the ,divine purpose in this joining together of cause and effect amongst the mass of mankind1 any efforts which tend to diminish respect for the parental relation and destroy the perception of its essential sacredness1 must be disastrous to the welfare of a nation4 ,the educational influence of parentage as a fundamental fact in human progress must be borne in mind with all the reverence which is due to it1 when we seek to remedy the hideous perversions of natural sentiment1 which we find in our unhuman slums4 ,it is not by destroying parentage1 but by teaching its responsibilities and by restoring its educational influence upon the adult1 that we must hope for progress4 ,in seeking to bring into the freedom of humanity1 not only the swarms of poor fellow-creatures sweltering in city slums1 but all classes of human beings struggling in the slough of unrestrained lust1 we must reverently study ,nature's laws as they are gradually discovered in relation to parentage1 by which the ,creator gradually develops even the lowest forms of mankind through parentage4 ,the fact established by ,raciborsky1 the famous ,german physician1 in a former generation is that #8the period when conception is most likely to take place is near the time of menstruation1 either just before it or during a few days after the time4' ,it is not asserted that conception in the human race is necessarily limited to this interval of time1 for it is true that great stimulus of the organs produced at any period of the month may bring about a similar congestion or special aptitude for conception4 ,but the periodic character of the woman's constitution regulates the probability of conception to so great an extent that by this law higher and lower sentient beings are brought into harmony1 and woman assumes her due place as the regulator of sexual intercourse4 ,throughout the animal world procreation is governed by the will of the female4 ,not violence1 but gentleness1 is shown by the male to the female4 ,her refusal or desire guides sexual intercourse amongst the lower animals4 ,to raise the human race to this higher animal level from which it has fallen is a special task of advanced physiology1 which can show the physical method and reason of this redemption4 ,human marriage must be regarded as a life companionship1 in which the satisfaction of physical desires forms a secondary1 not a primary1 part4 ,when so entered upon1 love will direct its relations for the good of the two joined together in this unique union4 ,the man joins himself to the woman in loving companionship1 and her constitution henceforward must determine the times of the special act of physical union4 ,the foregoing physiological law is a truth full of hope and promise of infinite progress1 for nations have hitherto perished in large measure through the abuse and degradation of women4 ,the regulation of sexual intercourse in the best interests of womanhood is the hitherto unrecognised truth of ,christianity1 towards which we are slowly groping4 ,when it is fully accepted1 a fresh spring of vigour will have been discovered for the human race4 ,,appendix ,,ii4 7,,page #cb7 ,the following sound advice on sexual physiology from the ,lancet should be widely known3 #8,young men in their conflict with temptation to sexual advice often suffer under the disadvantage of receiving but little help from those to whom they ought to look for it with confidence4 ,few parents have the knowledge and the wisdom to tell their sons the most important truths about the sexual passion just at the time when it is becoming developed in them1 and the latter are therefore left an easy prey to their strange desires1 and to those 8lewd fellows of the baser sort0 who are always at hand to corrupt innocent youth4 #8,if it is true that to a very large extent parents are unmindful of one of their gravest responsibilities1 it is no less true that the medical profession has often failed in its duty in connection with this subject4 ,medical writers and medical men generally are too often silent on this matter1 and unfortunately1 when the silence has been broken1 it has not always been with words of truth and soberness4 ,we are constantly hearing and saying that 8knowledge is power10 yet we find that little effort is made to impart the knowledge which would largely aid in preserving the virtue of the young1 and the most pernicious teaching of those who for the lowest of reasons propagate error is left unnoticed4 #8,knowledge alone will never make a people virtuous1 but it is an invaluable aid to those who are striving to control their passions4 ,seeing1 on all sides1 the terrible physical1 mental1 and social havoc wrought by sexual vice1 we feel that the medical profession should do its utmost to stem the evil1 and1 at any rate1 should give utterance to the truth with no uncertain sound4 ,what are the physiological facts that ought to be proclaimed by the medical profession8 ,mainly these4 ,in the first place1 that occasional involuntary emissions of semen during sleep1 and often in association with libidinous dreams1 are natural occurrences in unmarried continent men1 and are neither the cause nor the consequence of disease4 ,the emissions are most frequent between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five2 they vary in frequency in different men1 but are favoured by sedentary occupations and by lewd thoughts4 ,the subjects of these emissions sometimes complain of various sensations of malaise1 which they attribute to the depressing influence of these losses2 but it is a striking fact that such symptoms are only met with in those who have an exaggerated or erroneous conception of the significance of the discharge1 and that they quickly disappear when their real meaning and causation are understood4 ,to regard such a physiological occurrence as a disease and name it 8spermatorrha0 is a very serious error4 #8,the second fact we wish to insist upon is that sexual continence does not beget impotence1 and that the all-prevailing cause of impotence is prolonged sexual excess4 ,in support of the opposite conclusion appeal has been made to analogy4 ,it has been pointed out that unused muscles and bones waste1 and therefore1 it is urged1 it must be true that continence will lead to impotence4 ,such argument is utterly fallacious1 as are most arguments from analogy4 ,facts in abundance prove the contrary4 ,common as is sexual vice1 continence is not unknown among us1 and the truth of our statement is not difficult to verify4 ,the real argument from analogy is drawn from the breast4 ,this gland is generally inactive for many years after puberty1 and yet1 whenever the call for its activity arrives1 it is more or less perfectly responded to4 ,as a matter of fact1 impotence does not depend upon the testicle1 but upon the spinal cord2 the sexual act is a physiological nerve-storm1 and not simply an act of secretion4 ,loss of sexual potency is due to some fault in the nerves of the parts1 or more commonly in the centre1 in the spinal cord1 which presides over this function4 ,it is often a solitary nervous phenomenon1 and by itself is not of grave import4 #8,the third physiological fact we ought to teach is that no function of the body is so influenced and controlled by the higher nerve-centres as the sexual4 ,it is excited by lewd imaginings1 loose talk1 and sensuous scenes4 ,it is set in motion by even accidental stimulus of any part of the nervous system affected by the sexual organism4 ,hence the difficulty of continence4 ,on all sides are sights and sounds that may become the stimulus of sexual excitement4 ,the other side of the picture is equally true4 ,by the exercise of watchfulness and self-control the occasions of such excitement may be reduced to a minimum1 and the passion may be subdued4 #8,medical men are sometimes asked to formulate rules of diet and exercise--hygienic rules--by which immorality is to be banished4 ,the task is altogether impracticable4 ,vice is voluntary1 and it is only by the exercise of a resolute self-will that virtue is maintained4 #8,we cannot but believe that were these three very elementary but fundamental physiological truths properly presented and enforced upon young men very much misery would be avoided4 ,ignorance of them drives men into the clutches of ruthless charlatans1 leaves them a prey to groundless fears1 and often leads them into vicious habits from which they are unable to free themselves4 ,to withhold such knowledge is in many cases to leave youths in ignorance of the one power by which they can successfully contend against the evil4 ,we feel strongly the urgent importance of this matter1 and hence we speak plainly1 and hope that others1 as they have opportunity1 will do their best to help young men in their struggle against vice4' ,,footnotes3 #a ,see ,appendix ,i41 p4 #ge4 #b ,see ,acton's ,functions and ,disorders of the ,reproductive ,organs1 sixth edition1 p4 #ag4 #c ,see ,appendix ,,ii41 p4 #gi4 #d ,see ,michel ,lvy1 ,trait d',hygine #eth ed41 vol4 i41 pp4 #bid-bii4 #e ,ante1 p4 #ec4 ,see also pp4 #abh1 #abi4 #f ,see ,cazeaux1 ,des ,accouchements4 ,,medical ,,responsibility ,,in ,,relation ,,to ,,the ,,contagious ,,diseases ,,act ,an ,address given to a ,meeting of ,medical ,women in ,london1 ,april #bgth1 #ahig4 ,,address ,,to ,,medical ,,women ,having been invited to speak to you on #8,the ,responsibility of ,women ,physicians in relation to the ,contagious ,diseases ,act1' ,i have considered it a duty to accept this invitation for several reasons4 ,it is twenty-seven years since my attention was first imperatively called by our philanthropist1 ,miss ,mary ,carpenter1 to the subject of regulating or organizing the immorality of women4 ,since that time ,i have necessarily given much thought to this subject4 ,i have always felt that the ,national ,repeal ,societies made a mistake in relaxing effort after the first check which the ,contagious ,diseases ,acts suffered in #ahhf4 ,the fact that1 in a ,house of #fgj members1 only #bde voted on the side of a great moral question1 and that #bhi absented themselves1 was worthy of note4 ,it showed that the great campaign against perverted sex was then only beginning4 ,after that first defeat the mighty forces of evil1 of selfishness1 of ignorance1 of timidity1 of hypocrisy1 and of lust were sure to rally1 and many genuine but short-sighted philanthropists1 seeing the shocking results of unrestrained evil1 would grope about for a remedy1 and probably again be misled by a plausible but impossible method of cure4 ,on studying carefully the important ,government ,reports just published--viz41 ,representations from the ,royal ,college of ,physicians1 from the ,secretary of ,state for ,india1 from the ,departmental ,committee1 from the ,army ,sanitary ,commission1 and from ,lord ,george ,hamilton's despatch--,i recognised more fully than ever before the great and growing danger which is arising from sexual vice4 ,that danger exists1 not only through our army in ,india1 but also through the present condition of all standing armies4 ,thus1 by the systematic perversion of the sexual instinct1 the gradual destruction of so-called ,christian civilization is taking place4 ,i felt1 moreover1 that the reference made in these ,reports to the employment and training of women in ,india to examine and treat ,indian prostitutes in the military hospitals under the medical officer demanded the notice of women physicians4 ,since #ahgj a body of highly educated and reliable women physicians has grown up in ,great ,britain and ,ireland--a body recognised by the ,state as of equal standing with their professional brethren4 ,during that period also a most important and beneficent medical movement for the help of our ,indian sisters has been established in ,india1 known as the ,dufferin ,fund1 and promoted by our ,european women physicians4 ,all women physicians willingly help the most degraded persons who voluntarily seek their help4 ,but any proposition that women should be medically trained in order to prepare the most helpless class of ,her ,majesty's subjects--poor ,indian women--for the use of vicious soldiers would be so gross an insult1 as well as extreme folly1 that ,i felt sure that the responsible gentlemen who authorized the ,government ,reports could not realize the meaning of their suggestion4 ,but it laid upon disciplined and far-seeing medical women1 who must carefully consider any practical measures which concern the relation of the sexes1 the imperative duty of helping in the solution of an urgent and most difficult problem4 ,it is for these reasons that1 as the oldest woman physician1 ,i have thought it right to accept this invitation1 and ,i earnestly desire to be aided in what ,i may suggest by the serious thought of every experienced physician4 ,i propose to say a few words under the three following heads3 #ast4 ,on the growing and dangerous character of this sexual evil1 which produces venereal disease4 #bnd4 ,on the error of ,governments in their endeavours to cope with disease4 #crd4 ,on the right principle which must guide all practical methods of dealing with it4 ,i4 ,on the ,gravity of the ,evil of ,venereal ,disease4 ,the ,royal ,college of ,physicians--our highest medical authority--makes the following statement3 #8,the increase of venereal disease appears to us to be a matter of serious moment1 and to call for the gravest consideration4 ,the constitutional form of the disease is one of the most serious1 insidious1 and lasting of all the contagious diseases that afflict humanity4 ,other contagious complaints--e4g41 smallpox or scarlatina--are transmissible only for a limited time1 and not by inheritance4 ,with syphilitic disease it is far otherwise3 it is the most lasting in its effects1 and most varied in the character of its specific manifestations2 it frequently gives rise to consequences far removed from its initial symptoms1 most seriously implicating and affecting various organs of the body2 it complicates other diseases2 its contagious properties extend over lengthened periods of time1 during which the sufferers are often a source of danger to innocent people1 while they may be1 and frequently are as parents1 the source whence specific infection is transmitted to their children4444 #8,about #ac1jjj soldiers return to ,england from ,india ever year1 and of these1 in #ahid1 over #fj per cent4 had suffered from some form of venereal disease4'#g ,lord ,george ,hamilton's despatch quotes from a ,war ,office ,report3 #8,of the fatal character of this form of disease' 7syphilis7 #8the committee1 after a visit to the military hospital at ,netley1 where invalids from ,india are sent for treatment1 have drawn a dreadful picture4 ,during their short term of military service a great part 7in some cases more than half7 of their time has been spent in hospital1 either in ,india or at home4 ,before reaching the age of twenty-five years these young men have come home presenting a most shocking appearance3 some lay there having obviously but a short time to live2 others were unrecognisable from disfigurement by reason of the destruction of their features1 or had lost their palates1 their eyesight1 or their sense of hearing2 others1 again1 were in a state of extreme emaciation1 their joints distorted and diseased4 ,not a few are time-expired1 but cannot be discharged in their present condition1 incapacitated as they are to earn their livelihood1 and in a condition so repulsive they could not mix with their fellow-men4 ,their friends and relatives refuse to receive them1 and it is inexpedient to discharge them only to seek the asylum of the poor-house1 so they remain at ,netley in increasing numbers4' ,the ,government ,departmental ,committee 7p4 #aa7 uses almost the very words of the ,french surgeon ,diday1 who1 in writing some years ago of the dangerous prevalence of venereal disease1 so widespread in ,paris1 warns his readers how this most insidious disease may be spread by ordinary contact1 by wet-nurses to infants1 or by infants to nurses1 by public conveniences1 by unsuspected touch1 and even by the kiss of relations4 ,these reports show that wherever a standing army exists1 either in ,europe or ,america1 whether in temperate or tropical climates1 at home or abroad1 there exists a focus of the most insidious and dangerous diseases that afflict human beings--diseases which specially injure the procreative power1 and which are annually spread in varying amounts amongst the civil population1 notwithstanding the most rigorous measures which the wit of the military mind has been able to devise--measures which often trample under foot every principle of justice and mercy4 ,when we consider also that not only are the standing armies of every civilized country nurseries of the various forms of venereal disease1 but that the same dangerous diseases prevail in all our large towns1 the gravity of this scourge1 which is sapping the vitality of ,christendom1 is evident4 ,the more careful study of venereal disease in its two forms of gonorrha and syphilis is especially incumbent upon women physicians1 on account of the result of important modern researches4 ,these show that many of the female complaints which have so largely increased1 and which we are naturally called upon to treat1 are now considered by experienced and clear-headed physicians to be often due to gonorrhal infection derived from husbands of former loose life--infection conveyed either directly or from recrudescent and insidious forms of trouble hitherto unsuspected4#h ,,ii4 ,the ,errors of ,official ,bodies in dealing with this ,subject4 ,before ,i venture to criticise any procedure or suggestion of the ,government1 ,i ask your consideration of certain scientific axioms which must be laid down as necessary data before any wise course of practical action can be initiated with rational hope of success4 ,the first refers to the causes of disease4 ,axiom #a4 #8,in combating serious disease it is essential to ascertain the chief cause of the disease1 which must be directly attacked and steadily removed1 or no cure is possible4' ,we may as well expect to cure typhoid fever whilst allowing sewer gas to permeate the house1 or cholera whilst bad drinking-water is being taken1 as try to cure venereal disease whilst its chief cause remains unchecked4 ,i shall show later that ,promiscuous ,intercourse1 or the resort of many men to one woman1 is a prolific source of venereal disease4 ,the second axiom refers to the physiological rank and scope of our human faculties4 ,axiom #b4 #8,the sexual organs are not essential to individual life1 although they are essential to the continuance of the race4 ,neither is their full exercise by sexual congress indispensable to individual health4' ,the blind obstinacy with which these scientific facts are ignored in education1 in social sentiment1 and in ,government organizations1 is a potent cause of national degeneracy1 of impaired procreative power1 and enfeebled offspring4 ,hunger is the primary instinct and indispensable condition of human life4 ,it is that which insures the continuance of the individual4 ,the sexual instinct1 with all its grand power to perpetuate the race1 is only a later development1 growing with the unfolding of the intellectual and moral nature4 ,it is shared equally under varying aspects by each of the two necessary factors in procreation1 woman as well as man4 ,this fact of the powerful sexual attraction necessarily existent and dominating in woman1 as mother of the race1 seems to be quite overlooked4 ,in any true meaning of the word #8strength1' this potent social force in women demands far more serious study than it has yet received1 although it may exhibit itself in less spasmodic form than in men4#i ,there are two branches of the medical art which urgently require fuller consideration4 ,these are3 #ast4 ,the physiological life of the organs of generation in both men and women4 #bnd4 ,the immense influence which the mind can exercise over the body in controlling disease4 ,the susceptibility of our sexual nature to mental control and direction to noble ends is a great and encouraging scientific truth4 ,from these data of true physiology the possibility of continence is evident4 ,with further physiological study1 its great advantage1 up to the full consolidated adult age1 can be proved4 ,by scientific study of the biological facts that underlie these data1 it can be shown from positive medical experience that promiscuous intercourse between the sexes1 or the resort of many men to the same woman1 cannot be made physically safe4 ,the gradual elimination of this destructive practice is essential to the progress of the race4 ,these statements are supported both by historical experience and sound medical knowledge4 ,the human race1 in advancing through lower stages of development1 passes from polygamy and concubinage to the higher state of ,christian marriage4 ,the scientific basis which underlies this advance has not yet been realized4 ,polygamy1 although morally degrading to both parties from its injustice1 tyranny1 and impairment of vigour1 does not produce the special physical curse of syphilitic disease4 ,but promiscuous intercourse inevitably tends to give rise to varying forms of venereal disease1 no matter what precautions may be taken4 ,in the female subject1 irritation1 congestion1 or inflammation of the parts are the result of unnatural repetition of the sexual act4 ,by such irritation the natural and healthy secretions of those organs are rendered morbid4 ,the natural secretions of the male organs also become morbid in licentious men1 developing into blennorrhagia1 or purulent gonorrha1 and thus the danger of promiscuity is intensified4 ,neither is it possible1 when such injurious practices are allowed1 to cleanse or disinfect the female parts as if they were a plane surface4 ,the woman's structure is designed for the passage of a child's head4 ,it is consequently composed of immensely distensible or elastic tissue1 forming folds or rug1 which may retain diseased products4 ,it is also abundantly supplied with active secretory and absorbent glands1 whose action may become unhealthy4 ,the special danger of specific disease also arising from the congress of different races is a well-known fact4 ,the alarming epidemic of venereal disease1 which spread like the plague through ,europe in the fifteenth century1 was brought from ,america by the licentious conquerors of ,peru4 ,this gravest form of racial injury is now being emphasized by the contrast between the condition of our white and coloured troops in ,india4 ,although medical investigation has failed to determine precisely the originating cause of the specific virus which produces the form of venereal disease named syphilis1 yet it is always connected more or less directly with promiscuous intercourse1 especially with the advance of armies4#aj ,we know1 however1 that morbid changes may take place in the natural secretions of the male and female organs under impure sexual intercourse1 leading to advanced forms of degeneration in the various results of gonorrha1 producing1 particularly when the epidermis is abraded1 sores1 ulcers1 etc4 ,and the poison of diseased secretion is thus conveyed from one to the other partner in vice4 ,nor can the presence of infectivity1 once acquired1 be detected by inspection2 and no infected immoral person1 still carrying on impure sexual relations1 can ever be pronounced healthy or #8sound' by means of examination or ocular investigation4 ,neither can the absence of the so-called venereal germ gonococcus be relied on as proving health4 ,its specific significance is denied by many competent investigators1 and it is absent in some of the worst forms of disease4 #8,mediate contagion' is also an important and well-established medical fact4 ,thus a famous ,french harlot1 called #8,casse-noix1' presented none of the grosser signs of venereal disease1 yet continued to infect the men who resorted to her4 ,when to the difficulty of pronouncing the parts with their secretions healthy1 is added the existence of uncleanliness1 of drunkenness1 etc41 in either party1 the danger of these promiscuous relations is evident4 ,now1 these positive medical facts appear to be unknown in their full significance to our ,government advisers1 judging from the latest reports and proposals with regard to disease in the ,indian army1 which seemed designed to allay national panic rather than to reach the source of the evil4 ,a mistake was certainly made by ,government in withdrawing a subject of such vital importance to the nation1 from full consideration by our ,parliamentary representatives1 on account of its painful character4 ,the consequence is that an active but irresponsible ,press has thrown a mass of unsifted and shocking statistics broadcast amongst the people1 creating widespread alarm4 ,the army statistics imperatively demand a far more searching examination1 both into facts and their causes1 than has yet been given1 before rational or permanent legislation can be adopted4 ,any thoughtful person examining the reports referred to1 will see that such facts as the following require elucidation3 the actual number of individuals affected 7not the repeated return of the same soldier7 and the varying category of their complaints2 the variations in different cantonments1 with the causes of such difference2 the effect produced by the introduction of the short-service system and by increased restrictions on marriage2 the closure of voluntary hospitals and dispensaries2 the influence of malaria and tropical climate on the constitution2 the mixture of different races2 and the causes which have produced the improved health results which are obtained in the army in ,england4 ,these points have not been sufficiently investigated by unprejudiced inquiry4 ,the well-meaning effort of ,government to meet a very serious state of things must inevitably fail1 because the necessary bases for legislation are not yet established4 ,it is clear that1 until all these essential facts have been carefully looked into by a competent ,commission and the results presented to ,parliament1 no legislation--which apparently destroys the foundations of morality1 which perverts and weakens our youth1 and which1 under the misleading phrase #8voluntary submission1' reduces our helpless ,indian sisters to virtual slavery of the most destructive character--can be permanently accepted by the ,british nation4 ,we must look forward1 therefore1 to a longer and more arduous struggle than the one that was prematurely quieted in #ahhh4 ,neither can the struggle between right and wrong methods of practical action be confined to our ,indian army4 ,it concerns our work in ,great ,britain as well as in ,india and in ,africa4 ,the dire diseases in question are connected with all large towns as well as with every military station1 and as physicians we must study them in these two relations4 ,,iii4 ,on the ,principle which must guide all ,practical ,methods of dealing with ,venereal ,diseases in the ,army4 ,on this vast subject ,i can only refer to-day to two practical methods of gradually extirpating venereal disease from our army in ,india4 ,the first is the steady discouragement by ,government of promiscuous intercourse4 ,the second is the removal of the idleness which curses our soldiery in an army of occupation4 ,the first indispensable condition in the prevention of disease is the steady discouragement of promiscuous intercourse4 ,now1 ,i assert positively that such discouragement has never been seriously and steadily tried in the army by ,government1 but only by unofficial efforts--efforts which are most valuable1 but which are entirely lacking in the force of organization and in the important recognition and help which ,government alone can afford4 ,in the #8,memorandum of the ,army ,sanitary ,commission1' ,no4 #b1 published this year1 on the first page appears the following noteworthy statement--so utterly misleading as to amount to virtual falsehood3 #8,the efforts to teach the soldiers habits of self-control having so signally failed1 those responsible for the maintenance of the efficiency of the army in ,india may well be excused if they look about for some effective means of arresting the progress of the disease and preserving their battalions fit for service4' ,now1 what are the ,government efforts here referred to which are said to have failed8 ,in examining the circulars issued from the ,quartermaster-,general's ,department from #ahgj to #ahhd for the adoption of stringent measures #8to reduce the chances of venereal disease1' it is found that the recommendation consists in instructing the soldiers how to cleanse themselves after dangerous sexual indulgence6 ,no circular is issued from the ,quartermaster's ,department requiring that the soldier shall be taught how to control his ignorant instincts and honouring such control 7that is left to scattered individual effort71 but official instruction is confined to the vain endeavour of teaching him how to satisfy lust without extreme risk6 ,surely this is adding hypocrisy to culpable disregard of the national welfare4 ,it is encouragement to continence which the young soldier needs2 and remember that numbers of these soldiers are enlisted between eighteen and twenty-five years of age--an age when every physician knows that the male organization is being consolidated1 and when continence is invaluable in helping the physical forces to build up a fine strong manhood4 ,encouragement to self-control1 therefore1 must be afforded from the soldier's first introduction to ,her ,majesty's service4 ,it must begin with the recruiting sergeants1 who should be moral men1 and understand that continence in the soldiers will be regarded with the highest honour1 as preservative of physical efficiency and moral bravery4 ,the inspectors of recruits1 and especially the medical staff1 must give the important instructions needed by soldiers of how to restrain their passions4 ,the sexual organs are not a permissible subject of trade1 and purchase of the female body should be discouraged in all the manifestations that official influence or human law can legitimately reach4 ,the army surgeons must themselves know the physical reasons why the practice of immorality can never be rendered safe1 and by object-lessons taken from the military hospitals they can teach ignorant soldiers that no death is to be feared in comparison with the shocking results of incontinence4 ,they can indicate the rational means of physical exercise and mental discipline by which the eager passions of youth can be controlled1 whilst at the same time they insist upon the necessity of a non-stimulating diet in tropical climates4 ,the chaplains of the army have the next and still higher duty to perform towards each undisciplined youth who is given up body and soul to the absolute direction of the army authorities4 ,no chaplain should be appointed to our ,indian army who is not only himself a moral man1 but who has also learned the physical possibility and immense advantage of self-control1 and is thus able from the basis of physiological knowledge to rise to the higher plane of religious instruction4 ,without such physiological knowledge1 as a sound support of well-grounded spiritual faith1 his sacred calling may seem a badge of hypocrisy1 more deadly and destructive from the profound responsibility of the position which he has ventured to fill4 ,the immense influence which commanding officers may exert by their own example and sympathy cannot be enlarged on here4 ,but until such influences are brought to bear on the recruits by the ,government1 it is not true to state that efforts to teach self-control have signally failed1 for they have not been made4#aa ,our responsibilities to the people of ,india1 where ,england has become the paramount ,power1 are very weighty4 ,these responsibilities are due to its women as well as to its men4 ,it is stated that1 according to the last census1 there were the enormous number of #ch1jdg1ced girls under fifteen years of age in our ,indian ,empire4 ,what is the duty of a ,christian ,government to this helpless mass of human beings8 ,the formation of poor young ,indian women into a class purchasable by white soldiers--a class despised by their own people1 with no refuge before them1 but when used up turned out to die--is a dire and dastardly disgrace to any ,government calling itself civilized4 ,the removal of temptation by forbidding our soldiers to purchase our young ,indian sisters1 and1 if necessary1 excluding them entirely from the cantonment1 is a distinct duty on the part of any ,government that seriously means to banish venereal disease from our army4 ,the second urgent preventive measure which should engage our military authorities is the removal of that dangerous idleness which is a constant temptation to the soldiers through so many weary hours of every day4 ,this subject can only be referred to here1 for1 although of extreme importance1 its practicability and adaptations must first of all be thoroughly discussed by military men intimately acquainted with the exigencies of army life4 ,but it is a paramount duty to provide constant useful employment and healthy recreation for our soldiers in every army of occupation1 during the cooler hours of the evening in tropical climates1 when such employment becomes possible as well as imperative4 ,the remarkable organization of an army is the most powerful training-school1 in good or evil1 for the poorer classes of men1 that we possess4 ,the conversion of an army of occupation into a school of the industrial arts needed in its maintenance--with rewards for industry1 sobriety1 and self-control--must surely be in the power of any ,government that resolutely determines to accomplish such a noble transformation4 ,the saving in health and even in money would be a great economic gain4 ,the ,government that carried out such a grand result would be a mighty benefactor to our race4 ,it is impossible now to go fully into the various branches of this vital subject1 but ,i would say to my younger medical sisters1 who will carry on here the grand work of medicine when ,i have entered upon another sphere of life1 that ,i most earnestly counsel them to recognise that the redemption of our sexual relations from evil to good1 rests more imperatively upon them than upon any other single class of society4 ,it will be a cowardly dereliction of duty to refuse any longer to study this grave subject of venereal disease now again forced upon our attention1 because the subject--which concerns both sexes equally--is a repulsive one4 ,to us medical women1 the special guardians of home life1 has been opened the path of scientific medical knowledge1 which1 as science1 embraces both mind and body2 and it is by our advance1 independently but reverently1 in that path1 guided by our ,god-given womanly conscience1 that we shall be able to detect clearly the errors in relation to sex1 which lie at the root of our present degeneracy4 ,it is not conspicuous public action that is required from us1 but the thorough realization of true physiology4 ,we must ourselves recognise the truth1 and instruct parents1 that it is a physiological untruth to suppose that sexual congress is indispensable to male health4 ,we must warn our young men that no loose woman picked up in the streets1 or in a brothel1 or in her own house1 can be pronounced physically safe1 no matter how attractive she may seem to be4 ,we must warn our poor young women patients that yielding to the solicitations of a supposed lover may unfit them to become healthy wives and mothers4 ,we must persistently arouse the conscience of parents to the very grave risks that their daughters run in uniting themselves to men of former loose life4 ,this is the confidential but imperative duty of true physicians4 ,it is by quiet but never-ceasing effort to spread the true view of scientific medicine amongst our patients1 and wherever the opportunity occurs1 that our influence as ,christian physicians will gradually permeate society1 and cause truth to prevail over error4 ,if you perceive that the principles ,i have laid down are sound1 then hold to them firmly as the most precious truth4 ,meet together to mature practical applications of those principles by intercommunication of experience and mutual encouragement1 feeling sure that where two or three meet together in the everlasting ,spirit of ,,the ,,christ1 you will find1 as ,i have found during a long life1 that light and strength will be given you1 and as earnest followers of the ,great ,physician you will take part in that mighty work of regeneration1 which from our present small beginnings will1 ,i fully believe1 grow and transfigure the twentieth century4 ,,appendix ,i4 7,,page #ia7 ,the following testimony is by ,dr4 ,t4 ,,gaillard ,,thomas1 a recognised gyncological authority of ,new ,york4 #8,until the last twenty years specific urethritis was regarded1 in the male1 as an affection of the most trivial import1 as rapidly passing off1 leaving few serious sequel1 and offering itself as an excellent subject for jest and good-natured badinage4 ,about two decades ago1 ,dr4 ,emil ,noeggerath published a dissertation upon this affection1 which will for ever preserve his name in the list of those who have accomplished good for mankind1 and give him claim to the title of benefactor of his race4 ,this observer declared1 first1 that out of growing young men a very large proportion prior to marriage have specific urethritis2 second1 that this affection very generally causes urethral stricture1 behind which a 8latent0 or low-grade urethritis is for many years prolonged2 third1 that even as late as a decade after the original disease had apparently passed away the man may transmit it to a wife whom he takes to himself at that time2 and fourth1 that the disorder affects1 under these circumstances1 the ostium vagin and urethra1 and thence passes up the vagina into the uterus1 through the ,fallopian tubes1 where it creates specific catarrh1 and by this disease produces ophoritis and peritonitis1 which becomes chronic1 and often ends in invalidism1 and sometimes even in death4 ,for this essay ,dr4 ,noeggerath was assailed by ridicule and by contradiction4 ,the matter has now been weighed in the balance1 and admitted to its place among the valuable facts of medicine4 #8,my estimate of specific urethritis as a factor in the diseases of women--and ,i take no peculiar or exaggerated views concerning the matter--will be vouched for by all progressive practitioners of gyncology to-day4 ,specific vaginitis1 transmitted to virtuous women by men who are utterly ignorant of the fact that the sins of their youthful days are at this late period bringing them to judgment1 is one of the most frequent1 most active1 and most direful of all the causes of serious pelvic trouble in women--one which meets the gyncologist at every turn1 and one which commonly proves incurable except by the dangerous procedure of cliotomy4 #8,think for a moment of the terrible position in which a high-minded1 upright1 and pure man finds himself placed without any very grave or unpardonable fault on his part4 ,at the age of nineteen or twenty1 while at college1 excited by stimulants1 urged on by the example of gay companions1 and brought under the influence of that fatal trio lauded by the ,german poet--8,wein1 ,weib1 und ,gesang0--the poor lad unthinkingly crosses the ,rubicon of virtue6 ,that is all6 ,on the morrow he may put up the prayer1 8,oh1 give me back yesterday60 ,but yesterday1 with its deeds and its history1 is as far beyond our reach as a century ago1 and returns at no man's prayer4 #8,four or five years afterward this youth goes to the marriage bed suffering1 unknowingly1 from a low grade of very slight latent urethritis1 the sorrowful memento of that fatal night1 which has existed behind an old stricture1 and a result is effected for the avoidance of which he would most gladly have given all his earthly possessions4 #8,all this sounds like poetry1 not prose2 like romance1 not cold reality4 ,but there is not a physician in this room who does not know1 and who will not at once admit1 that every word that ,i have uttered is beyond all question true1 and even free from exaggeration4 #8,i mentioned1 in speaking of the grave duties demanded by puberty1 that one of the important functions of the physician in regard to the development of the girl during the thirteen years which precede it1 is to instruct her and her guardians how to prepare her for the approaching issue4 ,in language no less strong ,i would here insist upon the physician's duty to instruct men in all stations of life as to the importance of a 8clean bill of health0 in reference to gonorrha1 both acute and chronic1 before the marriage contract be entered upon4 #8,until a very late period the plan universally followed has been this3 ,the man about to be married went to his physician1 told him the history of a gonorrha1 and asked if1 now that all discharge appeared to have ceased1 any danger would attend his consummating the tie4 ,the physician would ask a few questions1 examine the virile organ carefully as to discharge1 and1 if the 8outside of the platter0 appeared clean1 give his consent to the union4 ,the evil which has resulted from this superficial and perfunctory course has been as great as it has been widespread4 ,to-day the question of stricture1 a slight1 scarcely perceptible 8latent gonorrha10 with its characteristic 8gonococcus10 is looked into1 and not until all trace of disease is eradicated is permission given for the union4 ,a marital quarantine is as necessary to-day in social life as a national quarantine is for contagious diseases in general4 #8,few men1 however eager for matrimony they may be1 would run the great risks attendant upon precipitancy if they only knew of them clearly and positively4 ,in no field of medicine is the old adage1 8,prevention is better than cure10 more important than in this one4 ,if physicians would do their duty fully in the matter1 how many unfortunate women now languishing from 8pyosalpinx0 would in the next generation be saved6' ,,appendix ,,ii4 7,,page #aja7 ,the following important ,memorandum lately issued is full of promise of a noble future in the ,british army4 ,,memorandum ,,by ,,the ,,commander-,,in-,,chief4 #8,it will be the duty of company officers to point out to the men under their control1 and particularly to young soldiers1 the disastrous effects of giving way to habits of intemperance and immorality2 the excessive use of intoxicating liquors unfits the soldier for active work1 blunts his intelligence1 and is a fruitful source of military crime4 #8,the man who leads a vicious life enfeebles his constitution1 and exposes himself to the risk of contracting disease of a kind which has of late made terrible ravages in the ,british army4 #8,many men spend a great deal of their short term of service in the military hospitals1 the wards of which are crowded with patients1 a large number of whom are permanently disfigured and incapacitated from earning a livelihood in or out of the army4 #8,men tainted with this disease are useless to the ,state while in the army1 and a burden to their friends after they have left it4 #8,even those who do not altogether break down are unfit for service in the field1 and would certainly be a source of weakness to their regiments and discredit to their comrades if employed in war4 #8,it should not be beyond the power of company officers to exercise a salutary influence in these matters1 more particularly over the younger men4 ,many of these join the army as mere lads1 and are taken away early in life from the restraints and influences of home4 ,they should be encouraged to look to their superiors1 both officers and non-commissioned officers1 but more especially to the officers commanding their troops1 batteries1 and companies1 for example and guidance amid the temptations which surround them4 #8,the ,commander-in-,chief expects officers and non-commissioned officers to be always ready and willing to afford them sympathy and counsel1 and to spare no effort in watching over their physical and moral welfare4 #8,officers should do their utmost to promote a cleanly and moral tone amongst the men1 and to insure that all rowdyism and obscenity in word or action is kept in check4 ,in no circumstances should public acts or expressions of indecency be tolerated1 and if in any case there is reason to suspect that immorality is carried on in barracks or other buildings which are under the control of the military authorities1 vigorous steps should be taken by surprise visits or otherwise to put a stop to such practices4 ,all persons implicated in them1 whatever may be their rank or position in the ,service1 should be punished with the utmost severity4 #8,nothing has probably done more to deter young men who have been respectably brought up from entering the army than the belief1 entertained by them and by their families1 that barrack-room life is such that no decent lad can submit to it without loss of character or self-respect4 #8,the ,commander-in-,chief desires that in making recommendations for selection for promotion regard should be had to the example set to the soldier4 ,no man1 however efficient in other respects1 should be considered fit to exercise authority over his comrades if he is of notoriously vicious and intemperate habits4 #8,the ,commander-in-,chief is confident that officers1 non-commissioned officers1 and men in the ,queen's service will spare no pains to remove from the army the reproach which is due to a want of self-restraint on the part of a comparatively small number of soldiers1 and that officers of all ranks will do their utmost to impress on their men that1 in the important considerations of morality and temperance1 soldiers of ,her ,majesty's army should1 as befits their honourable calling1 compare favourably with other classes of the civil population4 #8,,war ,,office1 #8,april #bh1 #ahih4' ,,footnotes3 #g ,in the alarming statistics of disease circulated by the ,press no distinction was drawn between gonorrha and syphilis1 yet the larger part of the ,government returns of ,army ,venereal ,disease refer to gonorrhal affections4--,see ,report of ,departmental ,committee1 #ahig1 p4 #bg4 #h ,see ,appendix 7p4 #aje74 ,see also ,dr4 ,t4 ,more ,madden in ,medical ,annual1 #ahig2 ,dr4 ,w4 ,j4 ,sinclair's ,gonorrhal ,infection in ,women2 ,researches of ,sanger and other ,german ,investigators2 ,dr4 ,lawson ,tait on ,diseases of ,women2 and ,the ,pathology and ,treatment of ,diseases of the ,ovaries1 #ahgg and #ahhc1 etc4 #i ,see ,the ,human ,element in ,sex1 pp4 #bb1 #bc1 and pp4 #dg-eh4 #aj ,see ,hirsch1 ,handbook of ,geographical and ,historical ,pathology1 vol4 ii41 chap4 ii4 7,the ,new ,sydenham ,society74 #aa ,since the above was written an event has occurred full of hope for the future4 ,see ,appendix ,,ii4 7p4 #aji74 ,,rescue ,,work ,,in ,,relation ,,to ,,prostitution ,,and ,,disease ,an ,address given at the ,conference of ,rescue ,workers held in ,london1 ,june1 #ahha ,,rescue ,,work ,the letter inviting me to take part in your deliberations proposed many important subjects for discussion1 and1 amongst others1 the subject of venereal disease amongst the fallen4 ,on this point ,i was asked more especially to give information4 ,i esteem it a privilege to aid in any way your very important work4 ,i will begin by stating certain propositions which are fundamental in rescue work1 and which are susceptible of ample proof4 ,first4 ,by prostitution is meant mercenary and promiscuous sexual intercourse1 without affection and without mutual responsibility4 ,second4 ,its object is on one side pecuniary gain1 on the other side the exercise of physical lust4 ,it is the conversion of men into brutes and of women into machines4 ,third4 ,so far from its being necessary to humanity1 it is the destruction of humanity4 ,it is the production of disease1 of gross physical cruelty1 of moral death4 ,lastly4 ,it should be checked by legislative enactment1 and destroyed by social opinion4 ,now1 to amplify and enforce the foregoing propositions would require a longer space than it would be right for one person to claim in a general conference1 and would prevent the special consideration of the subject of disease4 ,i will1 therefore1 simply offer them for consideration as fundamental propositions4 ,i will only beg you to observe the distinct statement in the above1 that it is the sexual intercourse without affection and without responsibility that ,i have spoken of4 ,i say nothing about the exercise of the sexual faculties in legitimate or illegitimate single unions1 where affection and responsibility may enter as elements4 ,however injurious1 therefore1 illegitimate but single unions may be to the welfare of society1 ,i leave them entirely aside in these remarks1 as not coming under the head of prostitution4 ,i speak of the conversion of soulless lust into a business traffic--of the system of brothels1 procurers1 and so-called ,contagious ,diseases ,acts--the system which provides for1 not checks1 vice4 ,i solemnly declare that so far from this system being a necessary part of society1 it is the greatest crime that can be committed against our common humanity4 ,let me now lay bare to you the root of the whole evil system1 because1 as a physician acquainted with the physiological and pathological laws of the human frame1 and as one who has lived through a generation of medical practice amongst all classes of the community1 ,i can speak to you with a positive and practical knowledge rarely possessed by women4 ,the central point of all this monstrous evil is an audacious insult to the nature of men1 a slander upon their human constitution4 ,it is the assertion that men are not capable of self-control1 that they are so inevitably dominated by overwhelming physical instincts1 that they can neither resist nor control the animal nature1 and that they would destroy their mental or physical health by the practice of self-control4 ,now1 it is extremely important that you should understand exactly the nature of this dangerous falsehood4 ,it is that most dangerous of all kinds of falsehood--the perversion of truth4 ,i think it was ,swedenborg who said3 #8,i saw a truth let down into hell1 and forthwith it became a lie4' ,i have often thought of this bold image when observing in the present day the audacious lie which is announced as truth1 in relation to that grand and universal force of humanity1 the sexual power4 ,when you see a poor drunkard reeling about the streets1 when you recognise the crimes and misery produced by intemperance1 you do not say that drunkenness is necessary to men1 and that it is our duty to provide clean and attractive gin-shops and any amount of unadulterated alcohol to meet the craving appetites of old and young4 ,on the contrary1 you form a mighty crusade against intemperance4 ,and how do you go to work8 ,you recognise the absolute necessity which exists in human nature for amusement1 social stimulus1 refreshment1 change1 and cheerful hilarity2 and so you provide bright entertainments1 bands of hope and excursions for the young1 attractive coffee palaces and clubs for the adults4 ,in your entertainments you substitute wholesome drinks for #8fire-water'2 you repress the sale of alcohol by legislative enactments1 you arrest drunken men and women1 and you establish inebriate asylums for their voluntary cure4 ,you recognise that drunkenness is a monstrous perversion of legitimate human necessities1 and you set to work to reform public opinion and social customs4 ,whilst on the one hand you legislate1 on the other hand you educate4 ,you perceive that the distinctive feature of humanity is its power of intellectually guiding life1 and you train boys and girls in the exercise of this specially human faculty1 moral self-control4 ,now1 my friends1 lust1 unchecked1 untransfigured by affection1 is like fiery alcoholic poison to the human constitution4 ,it constantly grows by indulgence2 the more it is yielded to1 the fiercer it becomes2 an instinct which at first was governable1 and susceptible of elevation and enlightened direction and control1 becomes through constant indulgence a vicious domination1 ungovernable and unrestrainable4 ,when unsubdued it injures the health1 produces disease1 and grows into an irresistible tyrannical possession1 which converts human beings into selfish1 cruel1 and inhuman devils4 ,this is what the great universal force of sexual passion becomes when we resolutely ignore it in childhood and youth1 refuse to guide it1 but subject it to accumulated vicious influences in manhood2 and when even our churches and religious organizations are afraid or ashamed to deal with this most powerful force of our ,god-created human nature1 we suffer lust to grow into a rampant evil1 a real drunkenness1 and then we have the audacity to say in this nineteenth century1 #8,this is the nature of men2 they have not the human power of intelligent self-control2 women must recognise this fact1 and unbridled lust must be accepted and provided for4' ,now1 ,i say deliberately1 speaking as a ,christian woman1 that such a statement and such a belief is blasphemy4 ,it is blasphemy on our ,creator who has brought our human nature into being1 and it is the most deadly insult that has ever been offered to men4 ,do not accept this falsehood4 ,i state to you as a physician1 that there is no fact in physiology more clearly known than the constantly increasing power which the mind can exercise over the body either for good or evil4 ,if you let corrupt servants injure your little children1 if you allow your boys and youths to practise self-abuse and fornication at school and college1 if you establish one law of divorce for a man and another for a woman1 if you refuse to protect the chastity of minors1 if you establish brothels1 prostitutes1 and procurers1 you are using the power of the mind over the body for evil4 ,you are1 indeed1 educating the sexual faculty1 but educating it in evil4 ,our youth thus grows up under the powerful influence of direct education of the sexual instincts in vice2 but so far1 even in our so-called ,christian civilization1 we are ashamed to attempt direct education of those faculties for good4 ,i have made the above remarks as bearing directly on the subject of disease1 as well as to call your attention to the proper place which #8rescue work' must occupy in humanitarian work4 ,as prostitution is the direct result of unbridled licentiousness1 you may as well attempt to #8mop up the ocean' as attempt to check prostitution1 unless at the same time the root of the evil--viz41 licentiousness--is being attacked4 ,let it be distinctly understood1 however1 that ,i would encourage1 not discourage1 rescue work4 ,i honour the self-denial and beneficence even of those who cannot see the source of the evil they are trying to mitigate2 but ,i would much more strongly encourage those who1 being engaged in this work1 do at the same time clearly recognise that the warfare against licentiousness is the more fundamental work1 and who1 whilst themselves engaged in rescue work1 bid ,god-speed and give substantial encouragement to all others who are directly engaged in the great struggle against every form of licentiousness--against every custom1 institution1 or law that promotes sexual vice4 ,such earnest rescue workers are not simply mopping up the ocean1 they are also helping by their encouragement of other fundamental work to build up a strong dyke which will resist the ravages of destructive evil forces4 ,thus1 any efforts that can be made to teach personal modesty to the little boys and girls in our ,board schools all over the country form a powerful influence to prevent prostitution4 ,attention to sexual morality in educational establishments everywhere1 in public and private schools and colleges1 amongst young men and young women1 is of fundamental importance4 ,also efforts to secure decency in the streets1 in literature1 in public amusements1 form another series of efforts which make a direct attack upon licentiousness1 and cut away another cause of prostitution4 ,again1 the abolition of unjust laws and the establishment of moral legislation form another series of effort1 and a vital attack upon the roots of prostitution4 ,always remember that the laws of a country possess a really terrible responsibility through the way in which they influence the rising generation4 ,inequality between the sexes in the law of divorce1 tolerance of seduction of minors1 the attempt to check sexual disease by the inspection of vicious women1 whilst equally vicious men are untouched--all these striking examples of the unjust and immoral attitude of legislation will serve to show how law may become a powerful agent in producing prostitution through its direct attitude towards licentiousness4 ,now1 every encouragement afforded by those engaged in rescue work to fundamental efforts to check licentiousness1 either through subscription of money1 through expressed sympathy1 or through active work1 is also aid to rescue work1 because such fundamental efforts attack the causes of prostitution4 ,having thus stated distinctly the aspect under which rescue work must always be regarded--as a precious outgrowth of ,christian charity1 but not as a fundamental reform--,i will speak more fully on those points upon which my opinion has been particularly asked for--viz41 the question of venereal disease as affecting individuals and posterity1 and the effect of late legislation on prostitution4 ,this subject of venereal disease is a very painful one to the non-professional mind1 and ,i would not bring it before an ordinary audience4 ,but this is an assembly of experienced women dealing directly with the vicious classes of society4 ,i think such persons are bound to inform themselves on this subject4 ,it is needed to their effective work1 and ,i consider it an honourable duty to furnish what necessary medical knowledge ,i can4 ,venereal diseases1 syphilis1 gonorrha1 are all names distinctively used for the diseases of vice1 which exist in various forms4 ,all forms of these diseases are injurious to the health of the diseased individuals4 ,all forms also are injurious to the health of the partner in sexual intercourse4 ,but only one form of such disease is transmissible to offspring4 ,i shall not enter upon the question of the extent to which these diseases endanger the health of the community4 ,my long public and private medical observation leads me entirely to concur in the opinion of ,sir ,john ,simon 7formerly ,medical ,officer of the ,privy ,council71 as to the exaggerated statements that have been made respecting the extent of these diseases4 ,i fully recognise1 however1 the very grave character of venereal disease1 and as a hygienist ,i consider that any danger from such a cause should be checked4 ,these diseases are called the diseases of vice because they spring directly from the promiscuous intercourse of men and women4 ,syphilis never arises from the single union of a healthy man and woman4 ,we do not know the exact conditions under which promiscuity produces these diseases4 ,dirt and excess of all kinds favour their production2 but we also know that1 however apparently healthy the individuals may be who give themselves up to indiscriminate debauch1 yet these diseases will speedily arise amongst them4 ,now1 ,i wish to point out with emphasis 7to you who are engaged with the criminal classes7 this chief originating cause of disease--viz41 promiscuity4 ,it is a cardinal fact to notice in studying this subject1 for it furnishes a solid basis of observation from which you may judge legislation and all proposed remedial measures4 ,if you will bear in mind that unchecked licentiousness or promiscuity contains in itself the faculty of originating venereal disease1 you will possess a test by which you may judge of the good or evil effects of any proposed measure4 ,ask yourself whether any particular legislative ,act tends to check licentiousness in both men and women2 if not1 it is either useless or injurious to the nation1 because it does not check that source of constantly increasing danger--viz41 promiscuity4 ,the effect of brothels and ,contagious ,diseases ,acts1 of establishments and laws which do not tend to check promiscuous intercourse1 is to facilitate1 not stop1 such vice1 and cannot eradicate the diseases of vice which spring from such intercourse4 ,the futility of any system which leaves the causes of disease unchecked1 and only tries to palliate its effects1 is evident4 ,the futility of such a false method would remain1 even if it compelled the inspection of vicious men as well as women4 ,but when a system attempts only to establish an examination of women1 leaving men uninspected1 and allowing free scope to the licentiousness of all1 it becomes a direct encouragement to vice4 ,it tends to facilitate that brutal custom of promiscuous intercourse without affection and without responsibilities which is the disgrace of humanity--the direct source of physical disease as well as of measureless moral evil4 ,but ,i do not advocate letting disease and vice alone4 ,there is a right way as well as a wrong way of dealing with venereal disease4 ,i consider that legislation is needed on this subject4 ,it is unwise to propose to do nothing because legislation has unhappily done wrong4 ,it is out of the question to suppose that in this age1 when we justly boast of the progress of hygiene or preventive medicine1 so great an evil as the unchecked spread of venereal disease should be allowed to continue4 ,it was the necessity of providing some check to the spread of disease which operated a few years ago1 when the unjust and immoral ,contagious ,diseases ,acts were so unhappily introduced into ,england by those who certainly could not have realized their injustice and immorality4 ,all legislation upon the diseases of vice which can be durable--i4e41 which will approve itself to the conscience of a ,christian people--must be based upon two fundamental principles--the principles1 viz41 of equal justice and respect for individual rights4 ,these principles are both overturned in the ,contagious ,diseases ,acts--,acts which are1 therefore1 sure to be abolished in a country which1 however many blunders it makes1 is equally distinguished for its love of justice and its love of liberty4 ,respect for individual rights will not allow compulsory medical examination and treatment4 ,the right of an adult over his or her own body is a natural fundamental right4 ,we should uproot our whole national life1 and destroy the characteristics of the ,anglo-,saxon race1 if we gave up this natural right of sovereignty over our own bodies4 ,society1 however1 has undoubtedly the right to prevent any individual from injuring his neighbour4 ,interference to prevent such injury is just4 ,the same sacredness which attaches to individual right over one's own person exists for one's neighbour over his or her own person4 ,therefore1 no individual suffering from venereal disease has a right to hold sexual intercourse with any other person4 ,in doing so he goes outside his individual right and injures his neighbour4 ,the wise principle on which legislation should act in dealing with venereal disease is therefore perfectly clear4 ,society has a right to stop any person who is spreading venereal disease2 but it has no right to compel such a person to submit to medical treatment4 ,it is of vital importance to recognise the broad distinction between these two fundamental points--viz41 the just protection which society must exercise over its members1 and the inherent right of self-possession in each of its members4 ,accepting1 therefore1 one essential legislative principle so strongly emphasized by the ,contagious ,diseases ,acts--viz41 that the ,state has a right to interfere with sexual intercourse when its vicious action injures society--what we must strive for is an enlightenment of public opinion which will insist upon a just1 practical law upon this subject4 ,the contagious diseases legislation indicates that the time has arrived when the intervention of law is needed to place greater restraint upon the brutal lust which tramples on the plainest social obligations4 ,a law wisely enforced1 making the communication of venereal disease by man or woman a legal offence1 would place a necessary check on brutal appetite4 ,such a law would not be the introduction of a new principle into legislation4 ,the principle of considering sexual intercourse for the good of society has always been recognised1 and must necessarily be developed with the growth of society4 ,it was reaffirmed1 but in an injurious manner1 a few years ago4 ,it is the just and moral application of this principle that must be insisted on1 instead of an unjust1 immoral1 and tyrannical perversion of the principle4 ,the necessary safeguards in the working of such a law1 the special inquiry1 the protection of innocence1 the avoidance of public scandal1 etc41 must be sought for with care4 ,but the people have a right to require that legislators shall seek for and find the right method of enforcing any law which is just in principle and necessary for the welfare of society4 ,it is not only a duty1 it is the greatest privilege of enlightened statesmen to embody the broad common-sense and righteous instinct of a ,christian people in the institutions of a nation4 ,a law which makes it a legal offence for an individual suffering from venereal disease to hold sexual intercourse with another person1 and a ground for separation1 is positively required in order to establish a true principle of legislation1 a principle of just equality and responsibility which will educate the moral sense of the rising generation and protect the innocent4 ,any temporary inconveniences which might arise before the wisest methods of administering the law had been established by experience1 would be as nothing compared with the elevating national influence of substituting a right method of dealing with the diseases of vice for the present unjust and evil method4 ,the first direct means1 therefore1 for checking venereal disease is to make the spreading of this disease a legal offence4 ,secondly1 a necessary regulation to be established in combating the spread of this disease is its free treatment in all general dispensaries and hospitals supported by public or charitable funds4 ,such institutions have hitherto refused to receive persons suffering from disgraceful diseases1 or have made quite insufficient provision for them4 ,this refusal or neglect has left venereal diseases more uncared for than ordinary diseases4 ,it was a perception of this neglect which induced the establishment of special institutions for the cure of such disease4 ,but no general hospitals1 supported by charitable funds given to cure the sick1 have a right to refuse to make adequate provision for any class of curable suffering which is not infectious--i4e41 dangerous to the health of the other inmates4 ,the rigid exclusion in the past of venereal diseases from our general medical charities1 on the ground of their disgraceful nature1 has done great mischief by producing concealment or neglect of disease4 ,this mischief cannot be repaired in the present day by establishing special or so-called ,lock hospitals4 ,a strong social stigma will always rest on the inmates of special venereal hospitals1 a stigma we ought not to insist upon inflicting1 but no such stigma rests on the inmates of a general hospital4 ,these hospitals are established for the purpose of relieving human suffering1 and such suffering constitutes a rightful claim to admission not to be set aside4 ,while thus advocating the careful framing of a law to make communication of venereal disease by man or woman a recognised legal offence1 and whilst insisting upon the claim of this form of physical suffering to free treatment in all general medical charities1 ,i would most earnestly caution you against the dangerous sophism of attempting to treat women as prostitutes4 ,never do so4 ,never fit women for a wicked and dangerous trade--a trade which is utterly demoralizing to both men and women and an insult to every class of women4 ,the time is coming when ,christian men and women will see clearly that this hideous traffic in female bodies1 this frightful danger of promiscuous intercourse1 must be stopped4 ,men themselves will see that they are bound to put a check upon lust1 and forbid the exercise of physical sex to the injury of another individual4 ,serious consideration will then be given to the ways in which sexual power may be rightfully exercised1 and preserve its distinctly human features of affection and mutual responsibility4 ,whilst social sentiment is growing towards such recognition1 it is our duty as women unflinchingly to oppose prostitution--i4e41 mercenary indiscriminate sexual intercourse--and to refuse utterly to countenance it4 ,the tenderest compassion may be shown to the poor creature who ceases to be a prostitute2 the most beneficent efforts may be exerted1 and sympathy for the individual human soul shown in the merciful endeavour to help every woman to leave this vile traffic1 but never fit her for it4 ,let no one countenance this human trade in any way by assisting to make vice itself attractive and triumphant over our human nature4 ,i therefore earnestly counsel all those engaged in rescue work to keep this rule clearly in mind4 ,plead earnestly and affectionately with the female prostitute to leave her vile trade4 ,offer her remunerative occupation--every rescue worker should be able to do this4#ab ,if she has children whom society may justly remove from her deadly influence1 work upon her maternal feeling to induce her to become worthy of the care of the innocent and regain her children2 but do nothing to raise the condition of prostitutes as such1 any more than you would try to improve the condition of thieves as thieves4 ,there is1 however1 another suggestion which ,i will present to you1 because it bears directly upon your way of dealing with the vicious and enforcing law1 and ,i believe that its acceptance is only a question of time4 ,i refer to the introduction of a certain number of superior women into the police organization1 to act1 amongst other duties1 as heads of stations where women offenders are brought4 ,i know the scenes which station-houses witness4 ,i know that policemen themselves often dread more to arrest a half-drunken woman than a man1 and that it requires more than one man to overpower the maniac who1 with tooth and nail and the fury of drink1 fights more like a demon than a human being4 ,i know that such wretched outcasts rage in their cells like wild beasts1 filling the air with shrieks and blasphemy that make the blood run cold4 ,nevertheless1 wherever a wretched woman must be brought1 there a true woman's influence should also be brought4 ,when the drink is gone1 and only the bruised1 disfigured womanhood remains1 then the higher influence may exert itself by its respect for the womanhood which still is there4 ,there are many special advantages to be derived from the introduction of a few superior women into the police-force4 ,i think that the services of a lady like the late ,miss ,merryweather1 for instance1 would be invaluable1 both for the actual service such a woman would render in the management of female offenders1 and also for the higher tone that such appointments would infuse into the police force itself4 ,it is only the appointment of a few superior women that ,i should recommend1 and these must be solely responsible to the highest head of the organization4 ,the introduction of ordinary women corresponding to the common policeman1 or in any way subordinate to lower officials1 would be out of the question and extremely mischievous4 ,but to secure the insight and influence of superior and proved women in dealing with female offenders1 by placing them in positions of authority and responsibility1 would be a great step made towards the solution of some of the most difficult problems of society4 ,the problems which grow out of the relations of the sexes have hitherto proved insoluble1 the despair of legislation4 ,with the most conscientious endeavour to act wisely1 even our ablest statesmen do not know how to deal with them4 ,it is impossible that men alone can solve these sexual problems1 because there are two human elements to be considered in such questions1 which need the mutual enlightenment which can only result from the intelligent comparison of those two elements4 ,the necessary contribution of wise practical suggestion which is needed from the intelligence of women1 can only come through the enlarging experience gained by upright women4 ,the reform now suggested is one of the steps by which this necessary experience may be reached--viz41 the placing of some superior women in very responsible positions in the police organization--positions where their actual practical acquaintance with great social difficulties may enlighten as well as stimulate their intelligent devotion in the search for remedies4#ac ,let me1 in conclusion1 heartily bid ,god-speed to the noble efforts of your rescue societies1 and to all those engaged in reinstating our fallen womanhood4 ,i hail with deep satisfaction the meeting of this ,conference4 ,it is a brave and sincere action on the part of ,christian women to meet together and hold serious counsel upon the wisest methods of overcoming the deep practical heathenism of our society--the heathenism of tolerating and protecting mercenary promiscuous sexual intercourse4 ,,footnotes3 #ab ,the power of being able to offer fair remunerative occupation is becoming more and more evidently a necessary condition of rescue work4 ,the pitiful response1 #8,it is my bread1' is now often addressed to those many noble-hearted young men who1 instead of yielding to1 remonstrate with1 the street-walkers4 #ac ,i cannot now enter upon a subject most difficult and important1 a most prolific source of prostitution--viz41 a standing army4 ,i will only state to you for a special reason that my observations on the ,continent of ,europe have convinced me that the prevalence there of the system of universal military conscription--i4e41 the compulsory enrolment of the entire male youth of the nation in the military service of a great standing army1 where purity of life is not encouraged--is the greatest barrier that can exist to the gradual humanizing of sexual life4 ,let us1 therefore1 most gratefully recognise that in our own country we have not the gigantic evil of military conscription to overthrow1 and let us ever hold in honour the memory of our ancestors1 who have preserved us from that measureless curse4 ,,purchase ,,of ,,women3 ,,the ,,great ,,economic ,,blunder ,,contents ,,page ,,preface #ace ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,foundations ,,of ,,trade #adb ,,chapter ,,ii ,,trade ,,in ,,women #aee ,,preface ,the object of this work is to show the real meaning of those relations of the sexes1 which are commonly known under the term of #8ordinary immorality4' ,customs in the midst of which we are brought up often befog the vision4 ,nations1 like individuals1 may journey on unsuspicious of danger1 if no fresh wind lift the veil which hides the fatal precipice towards which they are rapidly moving4 ,much has been heard of late respecting criminal immorality--i4e41 the abuse of the sexual powers1 which human law recognises as crime4 ,the boundary of criminal immorality has of late been extended in the hope of protecting young girls4 ,when fathers and mothers begin to realize what the destruction of their children by lust really means1 natural horror is felt at the corruption or torture of young children of either sex1 and a storm of righteous indignation compels an attempt to provide a remedy4 ,but at the same time the very causes which directly lead to and produce the monstrous crimes1 are not clearly seen4 ,horror at effects1 diverts attention from vicious customs which lie at the root of evil1 and which inevitably produce crime4 ,many of those who are most actively engaged in devising safeguards for the very young1 draw at the same time a radical distinction between so-called ordinary immorality and what1 at that particular epoch1 has been labelled criminal by process of law4 ,it is a fatal imperfection of human laws that1 being only an endeavour to enforce fragments of ,divine ,law1 they carry the evil of such disruption with them1 and whilst checking wrong in one direction strengthen it in another4 ,this evil is shown in the broad distinction now drawn between different kinds of sexual immorality1 and the results which follow such distinction4 ,some persons who would shrink from the guilt of being the authors of a first seduction1 or of running the risks of legal prosecution1 will not hesitate to engage in #8ordinary immorality'--that is1 they will without scruple purchase the temporary use of a consenting woman for a little money2 they will justify the transaction by the plea that what women will sell men may buy2 they may even consider that they show a little contemptuous kindness to women in such buying1 as industrial conditions press most heavily on women4 ,women also accept false theories of human nature that blaspheme their ,creator1 and degrade their exalted rank of motherhood by welcoming profligates and sacrificing their daughters in mercenary marriages4 ,until the higher law of human relations is more clearly understood1 great confusion of thought will necessarily exist as the result of ignorance and selfishness4 ,but as old errors are gradually proved1 an inevitable and growing discussion will arise in the present age as to the natural relations of the sexes4 ,the most contradictory theories are even now brought forward and actively spread abroad1 and in the course of this unavoidable growth of the mental faculties1 the necessity or expediency1 the wisdom or the guilt1 of what is called ordinary immorality must finally be brought before the highest court of public opinion--i4e41 the enlightened conscience of men and women4 ,although1 however1 the widest diversity of opinion may still exist on abstract questions1 there is one practical point on which all persons are compelled to agree4 ,it is this--viz41 if temporary bargains are made1 either expressly or tacitly1 by which one party gives money to another for a certain return1 such a bargain is trade4 ,if few such bargains are made it is a limited trade1 if many it is an extensive trade1 but in each case the transactions are equally trade1 and are necessarily subject to the laws which govern trade4 ,if1 therefore1 women are made the subjects of temporary purchase they become the subjects of trade4 ,now1 trade is always directed by the rules and customs prevailing at the time1 and the economic aspect requires to be studied2 for the laws which govern trade are not fanciful theories1 but very real practical facts1 which lie at the foundation of our social institutions and silently mould our every-day life4 ,this is seen clearly by the effects which trade in land produces1 for the methods by which land is held and treated will alter the character of a people as well as change the face of a country4 ,the thrifty farms of ,new ,england help to create a sturdy1 self-respecting people1 whilst the ,bonanza machine-managed land monopolies of the ,west create luxurious absentees and permanent paupers or tramps4 ,extensive enclosure of hills and commons will destroy the country tastes and habits of generations1 whose walks are confined to dusty high roads1 and the destruction of a hamlet fills the slums of a city4 ,so the ,custom-houses and protective tariffs which municipalities create within their limits1 hamper productive industry and help to produce paupers4 ,even such a modern practice as bicycling has created an extensive trade1 with dress and habits and various arrangements1 all acting and reacting on the life of the younger generation4 ,whatever becomes an article of trade1 will become at once subject to the methods and regulations of trade1 with the ever-widening circle of effects which belong to all industrial action4 ,every civilized nation is compelled to cope with the most difficult of all social problems--viz41 sexual evil--and the great modern development of benevolence and reform has created a new force endeavouring to solve the same problem4 ,the most varied methods of action have been called forth4 ,religion and morality1 physiology and expediency1 pity and severity1 have all been invoked in turn to rescue the fallen and to restrain the vicious4 ,but the subject of ordinary immorality as a trade necessity1 governed by the economic laws which regulate trade1 has not been seriously examined in the light of political economy1 nor has the inevitable effect which trade in women must exercise on the character of a nation1 been clearly shown4 ,there is widespread mental evasion or unconscious hypocrisy on this subject4 ,so many wrongs in our social state require to be dealt with1 that reformers willingly avoid the painful consideration of sexual evil4 ,hope is felt that some of the great reforms of the day1 in which all thoughtful individuals take a special interest1 will prove fundamental in their curative effects1 and heal this gravest of our diseases4 ,thus free access to land1 co-operation and abolition of interest1 total abstinence1 universal suffrage1 emigration1 arbitration1 ,state-socialism1 etc41 are all amongst the popular panaceas of the present day1 each important reform or theory being chiefly relied on by its special advocates1 to change all social relations and eradicate any serious social disorder4 ,favourable1 however1 as improved material or legislative conditions may undoubtedly be to the extension of health and morality amongst a people1 these reforms can only be palliative1 not curative1 if the fundamental conditions of growth and freedom to use them be not guaranteed to all portions of a people4 ,every really curative measure which will insure the healthy growth of society presupposes a recognition of the needs of our human constitution and an adaptation of our social methods to those needs4 ,it is only by such recognition and such adaptation that any human measure becomes an embodiment of ,divine law4 ,our conscience must recognise this law1 and our ,will must render it obedience1 in both individual and collective life1 for there is no other possible method of securing durable and progressive growth4 ,no human effort can change the supremacy of law written on the human constitution4 ,human perversity is free to thwart it temporarily1 with delusive results which serve to bewilder our short vision2 but the law is rewritten with wonderful persistency on each fresh generation of men1 and it remains inexorable in its demand for obedience4 ,if trade in women be contrary to the ,divine law written on the human constitution1 it will destroy society4 ,insignificant as the needs of women's lives may seem to superficial politicians or self-worshipping wordlings1 yet these apparently weak lives1 because ,god-created1 will prove stronger than all their unstable laws and customs4 ,no arrogant rebellion against the methods of moral progress1 however splendid in its material force and its money-worship1 can change the awful reality of ,divine law4 ,is the trade in women such a violation8 ,does it destroy the freedom1 and therefore the necessary conditions of growth1 in one-half the human race8 ,the time has certainly come when earnest reformers should consider to what extent trade in the human body exists in this civilized and ,christian nation1 and what its effect upon the nation is4 ,in a subject so vital to human welfare as the social relations which are established between men and women1 it is pusillanimous to refuse to examine them4 ,if the human conscience1 slowly awakening1 discovers that the necessary laws of progress have been ignorantly violated during the gradual development of humanity1 none but pessimists will fold their hands in despair1 none but the partially blind will continue to rebel against the ,divine law of growth4 ,,chapter ,i ,the ,foundations of ,trade ,the wealth of a nation is that which contributes to its real and lasting well-being1 which makes it powerful in the present1 and durable and progressive in the future4 ,a happy and intelligent people1 with just and far-seeing rulers or guides amongst them1 is a rich nation1 and one that is fulfilling its duty by carrying on the gradual growth and ever higher development of the human race4 ,political economy is the study of wealth1 and particularly of those results of human activity1 which spring from the necessary physical relation of human beings to their surroundings4 ,it is this relation which makes the firm foundation on which political economy rests4 ,the subject leads to three great branches of inquiry--viz41 the things which constitute wealth1 the method of their production1 and the way in which they are distributed4 ,the study of wealth must always take in this large scope in any lasting system of political economy1 because the many special branches which the subject includes are all connected together4 ,every part is built up on the sure foundation of the relation of human needs to their surroundings4 ,if our knowledge of this relation is unsound1 the edifice will in time fall down4 ,in seeking truth in any branch of political economy1 whether it be the relations of labour and capital1 land tenure1 or free trade1 etc41 examination must be made of this foundation of knowledge4 ,artificial arrangements which do not recognise the primitive needs of human nature can only lead at last to misery4 ,reason shows us that physical needs are imperative in a material world where mind works through matter4 ,they come first in order of growth as the primary condition of life1 through which and out of which the higher moral and intellectual forces grow4 ,they are like the first gasping inspiration of the infant1 which sets in motion the astonishing mechanism of conscious human life4 ,trade and commerce are a necessary first outcome of a nation's physical needs2 the nature of its trade and commerce and the methods by which they are carried on are inextricably woven in with social life1 and stamp the character of a nation4 ,trade and commerce being the direct result of human needs in relation to the material world will be governed by fixed laws respecting the production and distribution of wealth4 ,the term #8law1' however1 is often erroneously applied to temporary phases in the arrangements of human industry1 which vary with age and country4 ,but a fixed law in political economy can only become such when1 and because1 it expresses the necessary relation between human growth or nature1 and the conditions which promote it4 ,it is only the result of this necessary relation that can claim the name of ,law4 ,political economy must1 therefore1 necessarily be a progressive study1 because1 although human desires are unlimited1 human power or ability to discover law is much more limited4 ,this power grows with intelligence1 and intelligence is of slower development than the motive-spring of human life1 which is desire1 emotion1 will4 ,the methods of producing and distributing wealth must1 therefore1 necessarily vary4 ,the interval of growth between the ,esquimaux bartering his skins1 and the ,englishman exporting machinery is great4 ,even the objects and definition of wealth change with race and epoch4 ,there can be no such thing as finality in the applications of human knowledge1 because the law of progress--progress of individuals and of races--is stamped on our nature4 ,political economy1 as every other subject of knowledge1 must be revised1 extended1 and re-adapted from age to age4 ,although the methods of producing and distributing wealth may vary1 the creative ,divine laws which determine the welfare of the human race cannot vary4 ,below the changing phenomenon of epoch1 country1 and race are fixed principles on which trade 7which may be designated human7 must be based4 ,the search for these necessary or fixed laws1 and their discrimination from temporary arrangements or adaptations1 is not only a legitimate but an indispensable subject of inquiry4 ,it affects not only the foundation1 but also the whole edifice of life1 which is built upon it in every stage of its construction1 helping or injuring each individual of the community1 as well as that collective mass of individuals which we vaguely style the nation4 ,no religious teacher1 any more than the 7technically styled7 social reformer1 can afford to ignore this great subject of political economy4 ,a knowledge of its objects1 and of the laws which must govern industry1 in its march to the promised land of human welfare1 constitute a ,divine revelation4 ,it is a revelation gradually made through the honest use of our intellectual faculties1 and constantly grows from imperfect beginnings1 to clearer guidance under an earnest search for truth4 ,a distinct recognition of the different kinds of wealth must precede any wise or efficient regulation of trade and commerce2 for the same method of production and distribution cannot be applied to all4 ,we can neither produce air nor sunshine1 nor legitimately attempt to make them the subject of trade1 as1 being essential to life1 they are necessarily supplied free to all4 ,neither can we produce earth1 which 7as far as it is essential to life7 cannot be made a subject of trade on exactly the same methods1 as products which can be indefinitely multiplied4 ,neither can strength1 energy1 or character1 which constitute a valuable part of a nation's wealth1 be grown in a similar way to corn1 or thrown off by machinery like calico4 ,education is a different process from printing1 and if reduced to the mechanism of manufacture1 or converted into a system of money-getting1 is self-destructive1 frustrating the object of education--viz41 the drawing out of the infinitely varied human faculties4 ,the growth of reason and conscience in the leading nations of the world1 is more and more differentiating the various kinds of wealth2 data are thus being collected from which the progressive laws of political economy can be deduced4 ,by the leading nations1 of course is here meant those communities where a large number of unselfish and thoughtful men1 inspired by truth1 find their teaching accepted by the uncorrupted though crude intelligence of a patient multitude4 ,unfortunately1 the so-called ruling classes in these nations1 are now too often the creators or the creatures of the barbarous and savage hordes which false methods of political economy have produced in our midst4 ,but the possession of a band of honest truth-seekers with earnest listeners eager to be guided1 marks the really progressive nation4 ,it will be found that a true system of political economy must rest upon a moral basis4 ,trust1 freedom1 and gradually evolved sympathy are the foundations on which all systems of industry are built up that permanently civilize races4 ,trust4--,trust is the beginning of exchange4 ,nordenfeld1 in his record of observation round the ,arctic circle1 relates how money or articles were left in perfect safety1 and faithfully replaced by equivalent articles in exchange4 ,a striking instance of the necessity of re-creating trust as the foundation of industry where it has been lost by long-continued oppression1 is related by a gentleman who many years ago went as mineral viewer to the ,nerbudda ,valley4 ,almost alone1 and far removed from the possibility of obtaining white labour1 the natives refused to dig for him4 ,he felt compelled to capture a few men and enforce a day's work1 which he at once honestly paid for with the copper currency of the region4 ,but it seemed to the natives the grossest folly on his part that1 having gained the labour1 he should pay for what he had already obtained1 and feeling sure that he would not repeat such folly1 they hid away on the following day4 ,the capture had to be repeated during many successive days1 and the heavy coin brought at great inconvenience for the daily payment1 before the habit of trust could be fairly established2 then an oversupply of willing workers crowded round the encampment4 ,freedom4--,a great advance was made in the onward march of humanity1 when the reasons for abolishing slavery became clear to the conscience of the minority1 those nations who lead the van of human progress4 ,the production and sale of human beings as articles of merchandise can be made extremely profitable as a money-making trade4 ,it has been truly said that #8if the reproduction of capital is the one great means of a nation's wealth'2 if demand and supply1 the employment of labour by capital1 and profits limited only by the wages of maintenance1 are laws of political economy and the right guides of industry1 #8why should sentimental notions about justice and abstract rights of freedom interfere with the national good8 ,why not grow corn on the sweating system8 ,why not buy slaves8 ,there is no reason1 on so-called economic grounds1 why slaves should not be bred like cattle--bred to the exact wants of the agriculturist1 and when no more wanted melted down in the sulphuric acid tank and drilled in with the root crops4 ,any farmer who would have courage to carry on the economy of labour and the reproduction of capital in that way1 would farm at a splendid profit4' ,for long ages the trade in human beings has been1 and is still1 carried on4 ,it has only very gradually dawned upon human intelligence1 that short-sighted trading customs which destroy the conditions of human development1 injure equally the sellers and the sold1 and gradually degrade and destroy the societies that practise them4 ,this second foundation of political economy--freedom--still remains unrecognised by the large majority of the human race4 ,but when the destructive character or essential wrong of human slavery was once thoroughly understood by a portion of our nation1 they never rested from the fight until it was abolished4 ,the abolition of slavery was the revolt of conscience and intelligence against a false mercantile system which converts everything into money value4 ,the wisdom of ,wilberforce and his heroic band made a great step in advance by laying down a permanent law for the guidance of human industry4 ,they saw that the human being belongs to a different category of creation from the subjects of his industry1 and that he may not be made a thing of trade1 that he owes duties to himself and to his neighbours1 and that he can neither sell another adult1 nor his child1 nor himself2 that the purpose of human life and the methods of attaining it1 are both destroyed when the condition of human freedom is violated by converting human bodies into chattels4 ,the abolition of slavery forbade henceforward the purchase or sale of any individual1 whether adult or child4 ,the same uprisings against injustice in the kindred nation of the ,united ,states1 has produced a similar advance in intelligent conscientiousness4 ,however much the ,american ,revolution may be misunderstood1 the facts remain which prove the great moral movement which preceded it--two generations of united and resolute lovers of freedom1 although a minority1 had fought to the death for the cause of justice1 and prepared the way for the great ,emancipation ,act of #ahfc4 ,it could not be denied that temporary phases of political economy were being set at nought by the abolitionists4 ,there was no flaw in the logic of maintaining slavery as a money-making machine4 ,vast tracts of land were to be cultivated1 useful products raised1 craving desires satisfied1 great profits realized1 and a clever1 energetic race was able to abuse a weak1 childish one4 ,but the abolition of slavery united the two leading branches of the ,anglo-,saxon race in setting a limit to trade4 ,they established the law that no human being may be bought or sold4 ,they recognised the fundamental conditions of human industry1 trust1 and freedom1 and thus established that higher law that removes human beings from the operations of a mercantile system which measures all things by the standard of money4 ,sympathy4--,another great step in advance has been made by the dawn of the ,co-operative movement amongst us4 ,as ,abolition set a limit to the subjects of trade1 so ,co-operation is setting a limit to its methods4 ,true co-operators clearly see that to arrest the slave-owner and the slave-dealer by the strong arm of the law1 is but a first step to human progress2 it is only compelling a necessary condition1 not insuring a good end4 ,but co-operation will secure gradually the third necessary basis of progressive and durable human industry--viz41 sympathy4 ,doubtless this statement will at once bring to mind not only the selfish combinations of ,civil ,service supply1 but the multifarious quarrels and departure from principle1 in the great body of working people distinctively called co-operators4 ,nevertheless1 the statement is true that co-operation is a new development of practical ,christianity1 which can introduce that essential element of true political economy1 sympathy1 the hitherto missing guide of human industry4 ,the few friends who met in a small chamber in #ahbh and initiated the ,manchester and ,salford ,co-operative ,schools were fired by enthusiasm4 ,the poor weavers of ,toad ,lane1 who saved their hard-earned pence and divided their first chest of tea1 were filled with pity for their suffering brethren1 and eagerly gave the poor room1 the precious time1 the exhausting thought--all they had to give--to establish the brotherly principle of mutual help4 ,and the large-hearted leaders of the movement1 who changed the name of ,christian ,socialist to ,co-operator--,maurice1 ,kingsley1 ,ludlow1 ,hughes1 and many another of the first noble little band--laid down a spiritual basis as the essential foundation of durable material success4 ,it has been said of the labouring classes #8that they are unfit for any order of things which would make any considerable demand on either their intellect or their virtue4' ,the enlightened co-operator perceives that this is true of all classes of men1 rich or poor1 in a state of things where industry is ruled by unlimited competition1 and trade subjects everything to the domination of money4 ,where all restrictions are removed1 but no sympathy developed1 new forms of oppression and revenge arise4 ,co-operation1 therefore1 announces a fundamental law of durable political economy4 ,it adopts mutual aid instead of antagonism in industry1 extends a share of the results of labour in equitable proportion to all who produce them1 and replaces competition in money-getting by emulation in superiority of production4 ,thus sympathy1 the first necessary foundation of industry and social union1 is being slowly evolved by the trials1 the failures1 but the ultimately assured success of the ,co-operative movement4 ,this gradual recognition of the necessary basis of progressive political economy--trust1 freedom1 and sympathy 7here slightly hinted at7--is itself founded upon a rock--viz41 the immutability of the ,creator's law of ,moral ,government1 the adaptation of the human constitution to its surroundings1 the only method by which steady growth can be secured4 ,the waves of selfishness and false theories dash themselves vainly against this rock1 and race after race perishes in the foolish attempt to set aside the ,moral ,law4 ,the hopeful light thrown upon the future by the revelation of freedom and co-operative sympathy1 as fundamental laws of true political economy1 can only be fully perceived by those who have measured the evils of slavery and sounded the fearful depths of misery produced by unlimited competition4 ,the revelations of the results of this phase of competition in which we are living are all around us1 in every class of society1 in every quarter of the globe4 ,the mercantile system1 which makes wealth and money synonymous1 and reduces every interest to a subject of trade1 spares no relation of life1 and desecrates every rank of society4 ,we need not go back to the crimes which ,warren ,hastings committed to fill his treasury4 ,the same methods of crushing the weak for money1 of bartering honour and conscience in the lust of gain1 are going on at this moment in ,asia and ,africa1 in the islands of the ,pacific1 in uncontrolled ,america1 and enchained ,russia4 ,its effects are seen in the ,legislature and the courts of law1 in all professions and trades1 in the mansion and the lodging-house4 ,corruption and cruelty inevitably resulting from a false system of political economy1 are barring the progress of the human race4 ,in the present day we prostitute the superior strength gained by us from the principles of ,christianity1 to the debasement of human beings4 ,money being considered identical with wealth1 sensuality reigns supreme4 ,money having under this system become the great means of gratifying material desires1 the strife to obtain it becomes ever fiercer4 ,the statesman regards it as a highest duty to open new channels of commerce for national activity1 quite regardless of the conditions of mutual freedom and sympathy which make commerce legitimate4 ,whisky1 opium1 and gunpowder bring rich returns from the ignorant peoples to whom their use was hitherto unknown1 and this wicked abuse of our superior intelligence is in strict accord with the short-sighted teaching of the political economy accepted by trade4#ad ,this species of trade1 carried on without limitation1 without the large intelligence of religious insight1 must produce a fall of any race equal to the height of its development2 for although #8religion without science is a purblind angel1 science without religion is a full-blown devil4' ,it is into the last possible phase of limitless competition in buying and selling1 that our nineteenth century has entered1 by permitting one-half the race to become the merchandise of the other half4 ,under a specious hypocrisy1 falsely styled freedom of contract1 a modern phase of slavery is still exercising its influence in our midst2 for the slave-holding principle that the human body may be an article of merchandise is still applied to women1 and conscience is still dead to the essential principle of freedom--viz41 the sacredness of the human body1 through which the soul must grow4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,trade in ,women ,it is necessary to define clearly the practical form of evil which is now under consideration1 and to the effects of which the consciences of men and women must be roused4 ,ordinary immorality is not the demoralization of the slums--that horrible result of monopoly and speculation in land1 where human beings are herded together like pigs--a condition into which the bargains of trade hardly enter4 ,neither is it the practice of free lust--a practice where unlimited liberty is claimed by both men and women to indulge the impulses of sexual caprice4 ,ordinary immorality is the distinct1 deliberate application to women of the trading system of money values governed by unlimited competition4 ,in this system activity1 opportunity1 and cleverness carry the day2 conscientiousness and spiritual aspiration are out of place2 innocence and ignorance constitute weakness1 and1 of course1 go to the wall4 ,ordinary immorality or fornication1 assuming the female body to be an article of merchandise1 necessarily subjects this merchandise to those fluctuations of the market1 those variations in demand and supply1 and that tyranny of capital over labour which destroy freedom of contract4 ,it may be urged that women #8consent' to be purchased1 and that therefore there is a radical difference between the purchase of the bodies of men and women1 which the anti-slavery movement has pronounced illegal1 and the purchase of women by men which we are now considering4 ,the sophistry of such evasion will be apparent if the question of #8consent' and the specious hypocrisy generally involved in freedom of contract be closely examined4 ,freedom of contract can only take place between those who in certain essential particulars are equals4 ,the parties to any contract must be so far equals in intelligence1 that they can equally understand any risks that may be run1 and clearly foresee the probable results of the bargain2 and they must be so far equals in social position1 that neither party is compelled by the pressure of circumstances or the fear of want1 to accept conditions which are unjust or unwise4 ,no freedom of contract is possible where this degree of intellectual and practical equality does not exist4 ,freedom implies responsibility4 ,there is no freedom if both parties are not free4 ,any insistence upon consent to a bargain ignorantly or forcibly made is fraud4 ,it is fraud darkened by varying degrees of cruelty1 proportioned to the superiority of intelligence and independence possessed by the stronger party in the bargain4 ,the grave error of excusing purchase by the plea of consent1 is fully shown when the relations of capital to labour in the present system of competitive industry are understood4 ,we are now so far removed from the primitive trade of barter1 where values were determined by necessities1 that first principles are commonly lost sight of4 ,generations have passed1 during which ideas about wealth have become confused through complicated exchanges1 stored-up labour inherited by those who no longer labour1 violent seizures in the past or cunning ones in the present1 with constantly changing standards or ideals4 ,the quite new standard of converting everything into a money value1 and measuring its value by money1 has taken the place of older methods4 ,as a result1 money has become the autocrat of industry4 ,character1 talent1 activity still possess their uses1 but only as the servants of money or capital1 which have practically become interchangeable terms4 ,the weaker portions of the human race are ever more and more deeply crushed down by the misery of a limitless competitive system1 which is not based on the legitimate foundations of trust1 freedom1 and sympathy1 and which consequently1 by placing money as the irresponsible governor of the industrial world1 makes the hypocrisy of so-called #8freedom of contract' the most bitter mockery4 ,it is necessary to realize the overwhelming and illegitimate power of money in the present day1 if the condition of any grade is to be justly judged1 and the responsibilities for the evils of a vicious trade rightly apportioned4 ,in the terrible trade which converts the human body into a marketable commodity1 it is no figure of speech1 but a very weighty fact1 that vicious men are the capitalists4 ,the responsibility of that position must be recognised4 ,in judging either of the parties concerned in the trade1 the question1 #8,who are the capitalists or paymasters8' is the point to be insisted on4 ,this is the fundamental fact to be steadily borne in mind--whether we consider the demoralized women who consent to the conversion of their bodies into merchandise2 or the wholesale traders who organize to meet a demand increasing beyond the power of individuals to supply2 or the ,state which connives at the trade2 or society which condones it--the capital on which this nefarious traffic rests is supplied by licentious men4 ,this is the great economic fact on which the whole system rests4 ,all legislation and all benevolent effort that do not recognise this fundamental fact1 will hopelessly wander in the labyrinth of evil trade1 with no clue to direct their energies aright4 ,from this unnatural employment of capital1 two other economic evils directly arise--viz41 first1 the discouragement of honest industry2 second1 an unfair competition with male labour4 ,the discouragement of honest industry is a very serious economic evil4 ,any discouragement to patient industry1 thrift1 and self-control is direct encouragement to reckless improvidence1 vicious indulgence1 and the creation of a dangerously increasing predatory horde4 ,through obstacles to honest labour1 our prisons are now filled with criminals1 our streets with the vicious1 and our work-houses with paupers4 ,the industrious workers are taxed beyond endurance to support the institutions rendered necessary by the suicidal policy of degrading labour4 ,the discouraging difficulties which now surround all honest industry press with increased force upon women's labour1 and compel a moral heroism to resist the special temptation which crowds upon them4 ,it is now a fact that in every large city1 no woman with any pretension to natural attractiveness can fail to meet a purchaser4 ,there are men who think it neither shame nor wrong to purchase for shillings or pounds1 as the case may be1 a temporary physical gratification1 without reflection upon the inevitable results1 individual and social1 of their temporary action4 ,the knowledge that money may be gained so easily1 spreads from woman to woman4 ,the contrast between the ease with which the wages of sin may be gained1 and the laborious1 even crushing methods of honest industry1 becomes an ever present and burning temptation to working women4 ,it is undoubtedly true that the numerical excess of women in ,great ,britain1 with other economic facts1 intensifies most heavily upon woman the grinding pressure of our present industrial system4 ,all rescue workers seeking to help their fallen sisters are constantly confronted with the appalling answer1 #8,give me work2 ,i cannot starve4' ,the awful extent of woman's industrial misery would now be more fully realized1 had not well-meant benevolent efforts called in the harsh hand of the police to suppress begging1 and thus crush it out of sight4 ,the increasing and perplexing flood of women in the streets1 begging to be bought1 is a strange commentary on the effect of the stern repression of begging for alms4 ,if in the future1 in addition to the suppression of ordinary begging by men and women1 another edict goes forth forbidding women to present themselves for sale1 but not forbidding men to purchase them1 gross injustice to women will be added to a cruel abuse of power1 and fresh impulse given to male vice4 ,certainly1 if it were in the nature of women to become murderous criminals1 any increasingly harsh and unjust attempts to crush their misery and degradation out of sight1 would drive them into violent crime4 ,but it is not the seamstress slowly starving in her garret1 nor the mass of struggling poverty that is alone1 or even chiefly1 beset by the fiery temptations of gain1 and the enticing pleasures which money can provide4 ,the deterioration of character1 which is the gravest result of a false system of political economy1 extends to much wider circles of society4 ,this serious fact is sufficient to prove the error of those who look to the industrial independence of women1 as the chief means of destroying licentiousness4 ,although freedom to obtain decent remunerative employment will secure an important condition for checking social evil1 it will be a means only1 it can never attain the end4 ,the great army of domestic servants1 whether in public or private dwellings1 are surrounded by constant temptations to supplement their wages or relieve their monotonous labour by selling themselves4 ,when we remember the conditions under which the vast mass of servants have grown up1 the exposures and privations of their homes1 their undeveloped mental state in relation to social duties1 the exhausting work upon which the majority of them enter in hotels1 lodging-houses1 struggling households1 or the special danger of rich1 careless establishments1 and realize both the condition under which their service drags on and the natural instincts of the human being1 then it is easy to understand why to a frightfully increasing extent they yield to the solicitations to which they are exposed4 ,the five shillings secretly gained at night becomes an important addition to scanty wages1 the stolen pleasures an intoxicating relief to drudgery4 ,the economic effect of thus bringing the lightly-earned wages of vice into competition with the hard-earned wages of honest industry is to discredit the latter1 and to produce discontent and careless1 unwilling service in industries for which women are naturally better fitted than men2 for the same state of things that is injuring domestic service1 exists in dress-making1 millinery1 and all peculiarly feminine industries4 ,if we take the wider range of labour in which women compete more directly with men in the labour market1 it will be found that this practice of purchasing women introduces an unfair element in remuneration of labour4 ,the introduction of the slave principle 7the purchase of the human body7 in cheapening women's labour1 has a formidable effect in depressing the wages of working-men4 ,in all systems of industry carried on by slaves the cost of maintenance is1 as a rule1 the limit of expenditure1 the equivalent of wages4 ,also in the industrial systems of so-called free industry1 the maintenance of the labourer again forms a limit beyond which profit cannot be extracted1 for no man will consent to labour for less wages than will keep him alive4 ,but this is not the case in regard to women's labour4 ,as was proved a generation ago in ,france1 and can be amply verified in other civilized countries1 women's wages are forced down below subsistence point4 ,this important fact1 with its cause1 has evidently not been fully realized even by so close and impartial an observer as ,mill4 ,he says3 #8,the wages at least of single women must be equal to their support1 but need not be more than equal to it2 the minimum in their case is the pittance absolutely requisite for the sustenance of one human being4 ,now1 the lowest point to which the most superabundant competition can permanently depress the wages of a man is always somewhat more than this4 ,the ne plus ultra of low wages can hardly occur in any occupation which the person employed has to live by1 except the occupation of a woman4' ,mill is evidently uncertain as to the causes of the under-payment of women in cases of equal efficiency with men1 and is inclined to attribute it to injustice and to overcrowding in a few employments4 ,he remarks3 #8,when the efficiency is equal but the pay unequal1 the only explanation that can be given is custom1 which1 making almost every woman an appendage of some man1 enables men to take the lion's share of whatever belongs to both4' ,but in this generation1 which has thrown open the broad gates of education to women1 and which has enormously extended the range of employments into which they are invited to enter1 the causes which ,mill suggests 7overcrowding1 injustice1 etc47 do not seem to give a sufficient economic reason4 ,one powerful and growing cause of derangement in the natural rewards of labour has been overlooked--viz41 the unequal competition with male labour which must result1 when the wages given by vice are allowed to supplement the under-payment for honest work1 and the street-door key makes up for the deficient salary4 ,whilst this phase of human slavery exists1 and the female body remains an article of merchandise1 the increasing competition with male labour will make itself more severely felt as wider fields of industry are extended to women and they develop increasing ability to enter them4 ,the wages of women can never permanently rise to a just scale of labour value1 until this slavish principle is eliminated1 because this purchase introduces an uneconomical element into the remuneration of labour which destroys any legitimate effect of demand and supply4 ,it enables competitive employers solely intent on profit to beat down the price of male as well as female labour indefinitely4 ,indeed1 we have by no means reached the limits of this injustice4 ,the practice of purchase is still more dangerous in an economic point of view1 because whilst the labour of all women tends to sink to the lowest point of remuneration1 this lowest point can be reached in the labour of the young and strong1 who are most eagerly sought for as merchandise4 ,the increasing employment of less remunerated female labour while male labour stands idle1 is an alarming fact4 ,the family is barely held together by the earnings1 of a daughter1 whilst father and brother lounge about the pot-house4 ,the results of any sudden stoppage of a factory where large amounts of this cheap labour has been employed 7as in the ,barking jute factory1 where #hjj girls were suddenly thrown out of employment7 is an object-lesson in the suicidal policy of degrading women4 ,the natural order of industry by which the man is the chief material support of the family1 is disturbed and destroyed by this unnatural practice4 ,the purchase of young women adds cruelty to fraud4 ,youth must always fail to realize results which are only known through the experience of age4 ,no amount of cautious or theoretic teaching given to the young can ever place them on an equality with the experienced adult4 ,moreover1 it is ,nature's law for youth that sexual attraction is quite out of proportion to intellectual development4 ,the fact of this great natural law of slower mental growth is the ,creator's imperative command laid upon the older generation1 to protect and guide the youth of both sexes4 ,the corruption of the young by the adult is not only fraud1 it is dastardly cruelty4 ,moreover1 ,nature has laid upon woman the more important share in the great work of continuing the race4 ,it is not therefore pity1 but justice which requires that reverent and grateful aid should be rendered by men1 in the grand duty of creating an ever nobler race4 ,trust1 freedom1 and sympathy form the bases of true relations between men and women1 as they are also the moral foundations of political economy4 ,the depth of that sin against human nature--fornication or purchase--is seen in the results which follow from tempting women away from the paths of honest industry4 ,these effects necessarily extend to the whole position and character of one-half the race1 when any portion of women are turned into human merchandise4 ,they are seen1 by a careful study of those reckless or hardened ones who have become so direful a problem in all our large towns4 ,how is that growing army of shameless women created who1 with their companions1 so fearfully avenge all social injustice on our boys and girls and our young men and maidens8 ,it is well known that there are thousands of #8fallen women' in ,london4 ,what does this general statement in relation to women mean in detail8 ,what is involved in living by the sale of the human body8 ,the woman1 however #8fallen1' is still a human being with its desperate clinging to life4 ,let it be realized what is involved in thousands of women living to the age of three-score years and ten1 who must feed themselves three times a day1 and provide lodging1 clothing1 and the satisfaction of all human needs by the repeated sale of their bodies--thousands of women1 with all the craving and ever active necessities of the human being1 bodies and souls to be kept alive by the money of their buyers1 and who are compelled to use every art of corruption to find the fresh purchasers through whom they have learned to live--women to whom lust and drink rapidly become a second nature1 and sloth and falsehood habitual2 women driven on by ceaseless material needs to lower and lower phases of misery and vice1 in whom a bitterness is engendered that revenges itself on the weakness and innocence of youth1 tempting the lad when the adult ceases to purchase2 women who--terrible fact--finally losing their own marketable value1 and scourged by their own daily recurring needs1 throw away the last remnants of womanly instinct1 and drag down young girls into their hell of life4 ,the grave fact must be borne in mind that each one of these thousands of marketable women--although once an innocent infant--now forms a centre of ever-widening corrupt influence in the varied relations of life4 ,each one1 with father and mother1 brothers and sisters1 friends and acquaintances1 servants and tradespeople1 is exercising a fatal influence1 desecrating the sanctity of sexual relations1 proving the ease with which the rewards of vice are gained1 bewildering the conscience of the innocent1 and transmitting sensual tendencies to their descendants4 ,from these bought women come those enemies of social progress1 who enslave our young men of the higher classes1 our future statesmen1 those who should be the leaders of the nation4 ,from ,skittles to ,cora ,pearl1 our generation has witnessed the enslaving power of these tyrants of lust4 ,they have dried up the generous enthusiasm of our youth1 and destroyed those principles of trust1 freedom1 and sympathy which should guide our domestic and foreign policy4 ,who is guilty of this appalling conversion of women into demons1 this contagion of evil which in ever-widening circles is destroying our moral health1 and injuring the modesty1 freedom1 and dignity of all womanhood8 ,the immediate cause is the man1 whether prince or peasant1 who purchases a woman for the gratification of lust4 ,it is this purchase which draws women into the clutches of a godless1 money-making machine1 which never loosens its hold of the feeble creature until the essential features of womanhood are crushed out of recognition4 ,the irresponsible polyandry of prostitution1 with its logical acceptance and regulation of brothels1 has replaced in the ,west the polygamy of the ,east4 ,in both1 degradation1 discouragement of marriage1 and injustice to women create a fatal barrier to permanent national progress4 ,but there is a more insidious source of evil than the direct purchaser4 ,the conversion of women into merchandise1 whilst it produces a dangerous deterioration of female character1 unavoidably reacts upon male character4 ,this evil tends in women to produce the vices of the slave--deceit1 falsehood1 and servility2 in men it tends to foster the vices of the slave-holder--arrogance1 selfishness1 and cruelty4 ,in both it engenders that deadly sin--hypocrisy4 ,hypocrisy is the vice which1 above all others1 our ,lord denounces with the most awful condemnation1 raising the drunkard and the harlot1 with ,his far-seeing1 merciful purity1 and thrusting the ,scribe and ,pharisee--secret fornicators--into their place4 #8,he that is without sin1 let him cast the first stone4' ,hypocrisy is the vice which distinguishes in the most marked degree those nations which dare to call themselves ,christian1 but who practically deny every principle of ,christ's teaching in the conduct of public and1 to a great extent1 private affairs4 ,it is under this reign of hypocrisy that a more dangerous condition of sexual evil has grown up amongst us than has ever existed amongst heathen nations4 ,when a savage tribe enslaves its enemies and trades in human flesh it does not trade against its conscience4 ,in its rudimentary condition of slow emergence from brutish ignorance it knows no higher standard than a savage display of muscular force4 ,when a polygamous nation buys both men and women1 or endeavours to enforce the physical chastity of women by harem imprisonment1 it obeys the highest authority it knows of1 its religion1 believed in1 although erroneous in its teaching4 ,the bitterest hatred and undying hostility felt by ,mohammedan as well as savage communities to their ,western invaders is due to the violation of their women1 and the treatment of those women according to the hypocritical customs of their lustful conquerors4 ,however false the standard of the savage or semi-barbarous peoples may be1 they possess one1 and strive to realize it4 ,but the corruption which the latest and intensest phase of competitive money values has introduced into the most enlightened nations1 is unexampled in the history of the race4 ,the deliberate reasoning out and justification of the conversion of women into things is the abuse of our highest faculties1 our power of reason and conscience4 ,the cruel vice of fornication1 protected by hypocrisy1 is sowing moral scrofula broadcast1 and1 like an insidious poison1 producing generations of feeble1 rickety wills and maniacal monsters4 ,it is the degeneracy of the race4 ,the palliation of this vice is shaking the foundation of our civilization1 by destroying the moral basis on which alone progressive society can rest4 ,the purchaser of a woman is directly guilty1 but a deeper source of evil influence is the man or the woman who excuses and sanctions the purchase of women1 by upholding a double standard of morality for the sexes4 ,in the present age1 while the actively licentious are following evil customs like sheep1 some of their intellectual and spiritual leaders are throwing a veil of hypocrisy over these customs4 ,the ,god-given faculties for creating literature1 investigating science1 and promoting religion are being perverted to the justification or palliation of lust4 ,our brothers have hitherto been the rough and active pioneers of human progress1 first moulding the material framework of society1 then becoming its leaders and teachers--teachers of those fundamental moral relations on which human society rests4 ,but a time has come in the development of the race1 when much of the teaching and judgment formed by one-half the race alone1 is seen to be liable to error1 and requires to be weighed and approved by the other half of mankind4 ,the women half is necessarily slower in development1 from being appointed to bear that great altruistic burden1 maternity4 ,but the very shackles or sufferings thus undergone for the sake of the race tend gradually to produce in women special adaptations to the higher spiritual ends of creation4 ,when we now inquire into and weigh the value of the teachings offered to women as the guide of their human relationship to men1 we are struck with its amazing contradictions4 ,all classes and sections bring forth their varying opinions4 ,the scientist and the theologian1 the physician1 the lawyer and the journalist1 the literary and the business man1 the official and the man of leisure1 are all seen carrying their load of heterogeneous materials to help build up the ,babel of advice to women4 ,all assert their knowledge of #8,nature and ,instinct1' of #8,science and ,history1' or #8the tragical plea of material necessity1' to justify opinions founded on misunderstood data4 ,but the sectional opinions of a portion of the race must necessarily be either imperfect1 arrogant1 or sentimental1 and ,god confounds the ,tower which foolish mortals strive to raise to heaven4 ,all those1 both men and women1 who retain their reverence for sex1 turn away from this unseemly ,babel of conceit and short-sightedness1 and ponder these things in hearts earnestly seeking truth4 ,the great question now at issue is the ,unity of the ,moral ,law4 ,this unity is being attacked by the intellectual short-sightedness or unconscious intellectual dishonesty of those who should be its most enlightened upholders4 ,one of our leading family journals has lately stated that #8the modern notion of equality impairs the responsibility of special classes for special virtues4' ,there is a sense in which special classes may be said to hold special responsibility4 ,women who are so vitally affected by the relations of the sexes are especially called on to strengthen and guide the sexual virtue of a people4 ,they must consider the conditions essential to such virtue1 and when they clearly see the truth1 an army of noble men will zealously help in shaping truth in practice4 ,the great truth which women are now learning is the necessity that every man should be chaste4 ,this is the truth so long unrecognised1 but at last discovered as the solution of the great social problem4 ,without male chastity1 female chastity is impossible4 ,virtue is not self-righteousness4 ,it is unconscious of self1 because it has become a mode of individual existence1 and it maintains its vitality by care for others4 ,a chaste woman does not think of her own purity2 she thinks of the poor girl drudging in cellars1 or hurrying at night1 waylaid by tempters1 to her poor home1 or #8drilled' in the rich man's shop2 she thinks of her cherished sons with their noble and innocent young manhood exposed to the influence of the corrupt adult4 ,women's responsibility for the purity of society commands her to announce the conditions of purity1 and unmask with a relentless justice--which is now the truest mercy--those destroyers of national purity1 the upholders of a double standard of sexual morality4 ,the fact that so many cultivated intellects resort to fallacy or metaphysical abstraction to palliate the destructive abuse of our sexual powers1 is a direct call on women to help in spreading truth4 ,there cannot be one moral law for human beings1 which is at the same time of unequal application to them4 ,moral law is not the creation of medival art1 which1 substituting a symbol for entity1 represents the ,great ,creator as an aged man with long gray beard seated upon clouds4 ,the moral law is not the arbitrary dictum of a man4 ,the authority of the moral law springs from its adaptation by the ,creator1 to the nature of the beings subjected to it4 ,it is the guide to the highest end of that nature1 the necessary method by which its welfare is secured4 ,its authority is absolute1 not relative1 because it is the method of highest growth4 ,divine law admits of no exception1 it cannot contradict itself4 ,it is equally binding on the weakest as on the strongest1 on the man as on the woman1 or it is not law4 ,if men are so constituted that they can grow to the full stature of manhood without obedience to the law of purity1 then the moral law of purity does not exist for them1 because it is not a necessary method of growth to their highest human development2 their nature is not adapted by the ,creator to the moral law2 its influence over them is thus weakened1 its absolute authority destroyed4 ,to profess to accept the unity of the moral law1 but at the same time seek to avoid its consequences1 is hypocrisy4 ,the moral law cannot be evaded by any metaphysical creation of #8noble moral paradoxes4'#ae ,any attempt to define purity as unequally binding on the sexes by being #8more for women1 but not less for men1' is worse than nonsense1 it is dangerous sophistry4 ,it is a confusion of right and wrong1 placing men and women on diverging paths which will lead them ever farther apart4 ,it is a strange spectacle1 the nineteenth-century ,adam cowering under the overpowering justice of the moral law1 seeking refuge behind a paradox6 ,but the weak and erring children of one ,great ,creator1 bound to live together and help or injure one another1 must not be turned away from each other by the arrogance or ignorance of any portion of the race4 ,what mortal can determine the varying kind and quality of temptations which assail another mortal life8 ,who shall dare to say to another1 ,you are not tempted as ,i am8 ,who can measure the weakness or the strength of another soul1 and measure out judgment by shifting standards of right and wrong8 ,only by humility can we gain wisdom4 ,only by doing the will of the ,creator shall we learn the doctrine of truth4 ,,footnotes3 #ad #8,at a meeting of the ,british ,association1 held ,september #g1 #ahhf1 the eminent ,african explorer1 ,mr4 ,joseph ,thompson1 spoke boldly of the evil influence of ,europeans in ,africa1 remarking that it has been terrible1 and that for one negro influenced for good by missionaries there were a thousand who had been driven to deeper degradation4 ,we supplied them still with an incredible quantity of gin1 rum1 gunpowder1 and guns4' #ae ,see the ,spectator1 ,july #ca1 #ahhf4 ,,the ,,moral ,,education ,,of ,,the ,,young ,,in ,,relation ,,to ,,sex ,,contents ,,page ,,introduction #agg ,,chapter ,i ,,physiological ,,laws ,,which ,,influence ,,the ,,physical ,,and ,,mental ,,growth ,,of ,,sex #ahj ,,chapter ,,ii ,,social ,,results ,,of ,,neglecting ,,these ,,physiological ,,laws #bjf ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,hygienic ,,advantage ,,of ,,sexual ,,morality #bdj ,,chapter ,,iv ,,methods ,,by ,,which ,,sexual ,,morality ,,may ,,be ,,promoted #bei ,,appendix ,i #cjf ,,appendix ,,ii #cjh ,,introduction ,age after age brings forward varying phases of thought1 when some particular facts of life are thrown into unusual prominence1 such special development of thought serving to mould the society of that generation1 giving it a special stamp1 and thus advancing the progress of humanity one step forward4 ,of all the ideas gradually worked out and gained as the permanent possession of human society1 the slowest in growth is the idea of the true relations of the sexes4 ,the instinct of sex always exists as the indispensable condition of life and the foundation of society4 ,it is the strongest force in human nature4 ,whatever else disappears1 this continues4 ,undeveloped1 no subject of thought1 but nevertheless as the central fire of life1 ,nature guards this inevitable instinct from all possibility of destruction4 ,but as an idea1 thought out in all its wide relations1 shaped in human practice in all its ennobling influences1 it is the latest growth of civilization4 ,in whatever concerns the subject of sex1 customs are blindly considered sacred1 and evils deemed inevitable4 ,the mass of mankind seems moved with anger1 fear1 or shame1 by any effort made to consider seriously this fundamental idea4 ,it must necessarily come forward1 however1 in the progress of events1 as the subject of primary importance4 ,as society advances1 as principles of justice and humanity become firmly established1 as science and industry prepare the way for the more perfect command of the material world1 it will be found that the time has come for the serious consideration of this first and last question in human welfare1 for the subject of sex will then present itself as the great aid or obstacle to further progress4 ,the gradually growing conviction will be felt that1 as it is the fundamental principle of all society1 so it is its crowning glory4 ,in the relations of men and women will be found the chief cause of past national decline1 or the promise of indefinite future progress4 ,the family1 being the first simple element of society--the first natural product of the principle of sex--the whole structure of society must depend upon the character of that element1 and the powers that can be unfolded from it4 ,morality in sex will be found to be the essence of all morality1 securing principles of justice1 honour1 and uprightness in the most influential of all human relations1 and as it is all-important in life1 so it is all-important in the education which prepares for life4 ,a great social question lies1 therefore1 at the foundation of the moral education of youth1 and influences more or less directly each step of education4 ,it becomes indispensable to consider the relation of this subject to the various stages of education1 and the methods by means of which education may guide and strengthen youth in their entrance into wider social life4 ,the principles which should guide the moral education of our children--our boys and girls--must necessarily depend upon the views which we hold in relation to their adult life1 as men and women2 these views will unavoidably determine the course of practical education4 ,two great questions1 therefore1 naturally present themselves at the outset of every careful consideration of moral sexual education-- #a4 ,what is the true standard for the relations of men and women--the type which contains within itself the germ of progress or continual development8 #b4 ,how can this standard be attained by human beings8 ,the endeavour to ascertain the true answer in its bearing upon the growth of the young and the welfare of family life is the object of this essay4 ,,chapter ,i ,physiological ,laws which ,influence the ,physical and ,mental ,growth of ,sex ,the very gradual growth of mankind from lower to higher forms of social life1 makes the study of the relation of the sexes a very complicated one2 but a sure guide may be found in the great truths of physiology1 viewed in their broad relation to human progress1 and it is on the solid foundation of these truths that correct principles of education must be based4 ,the tendency of our age1 in seeking truth1 is to reject theories and study facts--facts1 however1 on the largest and most comprehensive scale4 ,every physician knows that nothing is more stupid than routine practice2 nothing more unreliable than theories unsupported by well-observed facts2 and1 at the same time1 nothing more misleading than partial facts4 ,the laws of the human constitution itself1 as taught by the most comprehensive investigations of science1 must be carefully studied4 ,we must learn what reason1 observing the facts of physiology1 lays down as the true laws which should govern the relations of men and women--laws whose observance will secure the finest development of our race1 and serve as a guide in directing the education of our children4 ,the relations of human beings to each other1 depend upon the nature and requirements of individuals4 ,it is1 therefore1 essential to know what the nature of the individual human being really is2 how it grows and how it degenerates4 ,such knowledge must necessarily form the basis of all true methods of education4 ,we find throughout ,nature1 that every creature possesses its peculiar type1 towards which it must tend1 if it is to accomplish the purpose of its creation4 ,there is a capacity belonging to the original germ1 which1 if the necessary conditions are presented1 will lead it through the various stages of growth and of development1 to the complete attainment of this type4 ,this type or pattern is the true aim of the individual4 ,with the process by which it is reached1 it constitutes its nature4 ,in order to determine the nature of any creature1 both the type it should attain and the steps by which alone that type can be attained1 must be taken into consideration1 or we are led astray in our judgment of the nature of the individual4 ,thought is often confused by a vague use of the term #8nature4' ,the educated man is more natural than the savage1 because he approaches more nearly to the true type of man1 and has acquired the power of transmitting increased capacities to his children4 ,what is popularly called a state of nature1 is really a state of rudimentary life1 which does not display the real nature of man1 but only its imperfect condition4 ,striking instances of unusual imperfection may often be observed in the physical structure of the individual1 for there are blind as well as intelligent forces at work1 in the long and elaborate process of forming the complete human being4 ,thus1 sometimes we find that the developmental process of the body goes wrong1 and produces six fingers instead of five through successive generations1 or the formative power of some organ runs blindly into excess1 producing the diseased condition of hypertrophy4 ,arrest of development1 also1 may take place at any stage of youthful life as well as before birth1 the consequence being deficiency of organic power1 or even defective organs1 although in such cases growth and repair continue1 and even long life may be attained4 ,these conditions are not natural1 because1 although they exist1 they are contrary to the type of man4 ,for the same reason the cannibal must be regarded as unnatural4 ,in studying the individual human type1 we find some points in which it resembles the lower animals1 some points in which it differs from all others1 and some temporary phases during which it passes from the brute type to the human4 ,if it stop short at any stage of the regular sequence or development1 it fails in its essential object1 and1 although living1 it is unnatural4 ,when we seek for the distinguishing type of the human being--the type for which the slow and careful elaboration of parts is necessary--we find it in the mental1 not in the physical1 capacity of man4 ,physical power and the perfection of physical instincts are attained by the lower animals in a higher degree than by man4 ,it is only when we observe the uses and education of which the physical powers are susceptible1 and the development of which the mental powers are capable1 that we perceive the immense superiority of the human race1 and recognise the type--viz41 the true nature of man1 towards the attainment of which all the elaborate processes of growth are directed4 ,the more carefully we examine the intellectual growth of the lower animals1 tracing the reflex movements and instinctive actions of the invertebrata1 through the intelligent mental operations of the dog or the elephant1 the more clearly we perceive the distinguishing type of ,man4 ,this type is that union of truth and good which we name ,reason4 ,reason is the clear perception of the true relation of things1 and the love of their harmonious relations4 ,it includes judgment1 conscience--all the higher intellectual and moral qualities4 ,reason1 with the ,will to execute its dictates1 is the distinguishing type of man4 ,it is towards this end that his faculties tend2 in this consists his peculiarity1 his charter of existence4 ,any failure to reach this end1 is as much an arrest of development as is a case of spina bifida1 or the imperfect closure of the heart's ventricles4 ,we cannot judge of the ,nature of man1 without the clear recognition of this distinctive type1 and it is impossible to establish sound methods of education1 without constantly keeping in view1 both the true nature of man and the steps by which it must be reached4 ,these steps--i4e41 the method by which man grows towards his distinctive type in creation--constitute the fundamental question in the present inquiry4 ,one distinguishing feature of human growth is its comparative slowness4 ,no animal is so helpless during its infancy1 none remains so long in a state of complete dependence on its parents4 ,during the first few years1 the child is quite unable either to procure its own food1 or to keep itself from accidents1 and it attains neither its complete bodily nor mental development1 until it is over twenty years of age4 ,we find this slow growth of faculties to be an essential condition of their excellence4 ,it is observed to be a law of organized existence that the higher the degree of development to be reached1 the slower are the processes through which it is attained1 and the longer is its period of dependence on parental aid4 ,the forces employed in the elaboration of the human being1 differ in their manifestation at various stages of its growth4 ,there are two marked forces to be noted1 often confounded together1 but important to distinguish--viz41 the power of growth and the power of development1 the former possessed throughout life1 the latter at certain epochs only4 ,the capacity for growth and nutrition1 by means of which the human frame is built up and maintained out of the forces derived from food and other agents1 is shown until the last breath of life1 by the power of repair1 which continues as long as the human being lives4 ,all action of the organism1 every employment of muscular or nervous tissue1 uses up such tissue4 ,the body is wasted by its own activities1 and it is only by the exact counterpoise of these two forces--disintegration and repair--that health and life itself are maintained4 ,in youth1 in connection with very rapid waste of tissue1 exists a great excess of formative power1 which excess enables each complete organ to enlarge and consolidate itself4 ,the reduction of this excess of formative power to a balance with the waste of tissue1 marks the strength of adult life4 ,its diminution below the power of repair marks the decline of life4 ,the force of development1 however1 is shown1 not in the enlargement and maintenance of existing parts1 but in the creation of new tissues or organs or parts of organs1 so that quite new powers are added to the individual4 ,after birth these remarkable efforts of creative force belong exclusively to the youth of the individual4 ,they are chiefly marked by dentition1 by growth of the skeleton and the brain1 and still more by the addition of the generative powers4 ,with this work of development the adult has nothing to do2 it is a burden laid especially upon the young3 it is a work as important and exclusively theirs1 as child-bearing is the exclusive work of the mother4 ,one of the first lessons1 then1 that ,physiology teaches us in relation to the healthy growth of the human being1 is the slow and successive development of the various faculties4 ,although the complete type of the future man exists potentially in the infant1 long time and varying conditions are essential to its establishment1 and the type will never be attained1 if the necessary time and conditions are not provided4 ,the second physiological fact to be noted is the order observed in human development4 ,the faculties grow in a certain determined order4 ,first1 those which are needed for simple physical existence2 next1 those which place the child in fuller relations with ,nature2 and1 lastly1 those which link him to his fellows4 ,as digestion is perfected before locomotion1 so muscular mobility and activity exist before strength1 perception before observation1 affection and friendship before love4 ,the latest work of ,nature in forming the perfect being is the gift of sexual power4 ,this is a work of development1 not simply of growth4 ,there are new organs coming into existence1 and the same necessary conditions of gradual consolidation and long preparation for special work exist as in the growth of all the organs of animal life4 ,at the age of puberty1 when the special life of sex commences1 the other organs of relation--skeleton1 muscles1 brain--are still carrying on their slow process of consolidation4 #8,at eighteen the bones and muscles are very immature4 ,portions of the vertebr hardly commence to ossify before the sixteenth year4 ,after twenty1 the two thin plates on the body of the vertebr form1 completing themselves near the thirtieth year4 ,consolidation of the sacrum commences in the eighteenth year1 completing after the twenty-fifth4 ,the processes of the ribs and of the scapula are completed by the twenty-fifth year2 those of the clavicle begin to form between eighteen and twenty2 those of the radius and ulna1 of the femur1 tibia1 and fibula1 are all unjoined at eighteen1 and not completed until twenty-five4 ,the muscles are equally immature2 they grow in size and strength in proportion to the bones1 and it is not until twenty-five years of age1 or even later1 that all epiphyses of the bones have united1 and that the muscles have attained their full growth4'#af ,as a necessary consequence of this slow order of natural growth1 the individual is injured when sufficient time for growth is not allowed1 or when faculties which should remain latent1 slowly storing up strength for the proper time of unfolding1 are unduly stimulated or brought forward too soon4 ,the writer above quoted remarks3 #8,it is not only a waste of material1 but a positive cruelty1 to send lads of eighteen or twenty into the field4'#ag ,the evil effect of undue stimulation to a new function is twofold4 ,the first effect is to divert ,nature's force from the consolidation of faculties already fully formed1 and1 second1 to injure the substantial growth of the later faculty1 which is thus prematurely brought forward4 ,thus the child compelled to carry heavy burdens will be deformed or stunted2 the youth weighed down by intellectual labour will destroy his digestion or injure his brain4 ,so1 if the faculty which is bestowed as the last work of development1 that which requires the longest time and the most careful preparation for its advent--the sexual power--be brought forward prematurely1 a permanent injury is done to the individual1 which can never be completely repaired4 ,the marked distinction which exists between puberty and nubility should here be noted4 ,it is a distinction based upon the important fact that a work of long-continued preparation takes place in the physical and mental nature1 before a new faculty enters upon its complete life4 ,puberty is the age when those changes have taken place in the child's constitution1 which make it physically possible for it to become a parent1 but when the actual exercise of such faculty is highly injurious4 ,this change takes place1 as a general rule1 from fourteen to sixteen years of age4 ,nubility1 on the other hand1 is that period of life when marriage may take place1 without disadvantage to the individual and to the race4 ,this period is generally reckoned1 in temperate climates1 in the man at from twenty-three to twenty-five years of age4 ,about the age of twenty-five commences that period of perfect manly vigour1 that union of freshness and strength1 which enables the individual to become the progenitor of vigorous offspring4 ,the strong constitution transmitted by healthy parents between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five indicates the order of ,nature in the growth of the human race4 ,the interval between these two epochs of puberty and confirmed virility1 is a most important period of rapid growth and slow consolidation4 ,not only is the lifelong work of the body going on at this time1 with much greater activity than belongs to adult life--i4e41 the work of calorification1 nutrition1 and all that concerns the maintenance of the body during its unceasing expenditure of mechanical and mental force--but the still more powerful actions of development and growth are being carried on to their last and greatest perfection4 ,although1 as will be shown later1 the influences brought to bear upon the very young child strongly affect its later growth in good or evil1 yet this period between fourteen and twenty-five is the most critical time of preparation for the work of adult life4 ,another important fact announced by physiological observation1 is the absolute necessity of establishing a proper government of the human faculties1 by the growth of intelligent self-control4 ,reason1 not ,instinct1 is the final guide of our race4 ,we cannot grow1 as do the lower animals1 by following out the blind promptings of physical nature4 ,from the earliest moment of existence1 intelligence must guide the infant4 ,at first this guiding intelligence is that of the mother1 and through all the earlier stages of life1 a higher outside intelligence must continue to provide the necessary conditions of growth1 until the gradual mental development of the child fits it for independent individual guidance4 ,the great difficulty of education lies in the adjustment of intelligence1 for there are antagonisms to be encountered4 ,there is first of all to be considered the adaptation of parental intelligence to the large proportion of indispensable physical instinct1 with which each child is endowed by ,nature4 ,there is next the adjustment of the two intelligences1 the parental and filial4 ,these relations are constantly changing1 and the true wisdom of education consists in meeting these changes rightly4 ,it is very important to observe that each new phase of life1 each new faculty1 begins in the child-like way--that is to say1 there is always a large proportion of the blind1 instinctive element which absolutely needs a higher guidance4 ,the instinctive life of the body always necessarily exists1 and1 therefore1 constantly strives to make itself felt4 ,this life of sensation will 7in many different ways7 obtain a complete mastery over the individual1 if ,reason does not exist1 and grow into a controlling force4 ,this danger of an undue predominance of the instinctive force is emphatically true of the life of sex4 ,it begins1 child-like1 in a tumult of overpowering sensations--sensations and emotions which need as wisely-arranged conditions and as high a guiding influence as does the early life of the child4 ,at this period of life1 an adjustment of the parental and filial intelligence is required1 quite as wisely planned as in childhood1 in order to secure the gradual growth of intelligent self-control in the young life of sex4 ,if we do not recognise this necessity1 or fail to exercise this directing influence1 we do not perceive the crowning obligation of the older to the younger generation4 ,however much parents may now shrink from this obligation1 and1 owing to incorrect views of sex1 be really unable to exercise the kind of influence required1 the necessity for such influence1 nevertheless1 exists as a law of human nature1 unchangeable1 rooted in the human constitution4 ,it is ,nature's method1 that every new faculty requires intelligent control from the outset1 but only gradually can this guidance become self-control4 ,this necessity is seen more clearly as we continue our physiological inquiry4 ,the preceding considerations refer chiefly to the slow processes by which the various parts of the body must be built up step by step1 under the guidance of outside intelligence1 which furnishes the proper conditions of physical growth4 ,equally certain1 and within the legitimate scope of true physiology1 is the influence which the mind of the individual exercises upon the growth of the body4 ,this difficult half of the subject presents itself in increasing importance as science advances4 ,the particular theory of mind held by individuals does not affect our inquiry4 ,everyone understands the term1 and gives to its influence a certain importance4 ,our perception of the degree of power exercised by the mind over the body1 and the importance of that power1 will continually grow as we observe the facts around us4 ,it is a fact of every-day experience1 that fright will make the heart beat1 that anxiety will disturb digestion1 that sorrow will depress all the vital functions1 whilst happiness will strengthen them4 ,how often does the physician see the languid1 ailing invalid converted from mental causes--through happiness--into a bright1 active being6 ,medical records are full of accumulated facts showing the extent to which such mental or emotional influence may go2 how the infant has been killed when the mother has nursed it during a fit of passion1 or the hair turned gray in a single night1 through grief or fright4 ,we find that the mind1 acting through the nervous system1 affects not only the senses and muscles--the organs of animal life1 under the direct influence of the cerebro-spinal axis--but that it may also extend its influence to those processes of nutrition and secretion which belong to the vegetative life of the body4 ,emotion can act where ,will is powerless1 but a strong ,will also can acquire a remarkable power over the body4 ,it has been remarked #8that men who know that there is any hereditary disease in their family1 can contribute to the development of that disease1 by closely directing their attention to it1 and so throwing their nervous energy in that direction4' ,it was a remark of ,john ,hunter #8that he could direct a sensation to any part of his body4' #8,as in the case of other sensations1 the sexual1 when moderately excited1 may give rise to ideas1 emotions1 and desires of which the brain is the seat1 and these may react on the muscular system through the intelligence and ,will4 ,but when inordinately excited1 or when not kept in restraint by the ,will1 they will at once call into play respondent movements1 which are then to be regarded as purely automatic4 ,this is the case in some forms of disease in the human subject1 and is probably also the ordinary mode of operation in some of the lower animals4444 ,in cases1 however1 in which this sensation is excited in unusual strength1 it may completely over-master all motives to the repression of the propensity1 and may even entirely remove the actions from volitional control4 ,a state of a very similar kind exists in many idiots1 in whom the sexual propensity exerts a dominant power1 not because it is in itself peculiarly strong1 but because the intelligence being undeveloped it acts without restraint or direction from the ,will4'#ah ,the mental power exercised by the ,will over the body is strikingly shown in the control exerted by human beings over the strongest of all individual cravings--the craving of hunger4 ,the exigencies of human society have caused this tremendous power of hunger to be kept so completely in check1 that the gratification of it1 except in accordance with the established laws 7of property1 etc471 is considered as a crime4 ,in spite of the terrible temptation which the sight of food offers to a starving man1 society punishes him if he yield to it4 ,still stronger than the established laws are those unwritten laws which are enforced by #8public opinion1' in obedience to which1 countless people in all civilized countries suffer constant deprivation--even starving more or less slowly to death--rather than transgress universally accepted principles1 and subject themselves to social condemnation by taking the food which does not belong to them4 ,another curious and important illustration of mental action is shown in the accumulating instances of self-deception1 of contagious hallucination1 and of emotional influence acting upon the physical and mental organizations1 so strikingly depicted by ,hammond and other writers in the accounts of pretended miracles1 ecstasies1 visions1 etc4 ,of all the organic functions1 that of secretion is the one most strongly and frequently influenced by the mind4 ,the secretion of tears1 of bile1 of milk1 of saliva1 may all be powerfully excited by mental stimuli1 or lessened by promoting antagonistic secretions4 ,this influence is felt in full force by those of the generative system1 #8which1' writes a distinguished author1 #8are strongly influenced by the condition of the mind4 ,when it is frequently and strongly directed towards objects of passion1 these secretions are increased in amount to a degree which may cause them to be a very injurious drain on the powers of the system4 ,on the other hand1 the active employment of the mental and bodily powers on other objects1 has a tendency to render less active1 or even to check altogether1 the processes by which they are elaborated4'#ai ,that the mind must possess the power of ruling this highest of the animal functions1 is evident1 from its uses1 and from the nature of man4 ,the faculty of sex comes to perfection when the mind is in full activity1 and when all the senses are in their freshest youthful vigour4 ,its object is no longer confined to the individual1 it is the source of social life1 it is the creator of the race4 ,inevitably1 then1 the human mind 7the ,emotions1 the ,will7 must control this function more than any other function4 ,it assumes a different aspect from all other functions1 through its objective character4 ,the individual may exist without it--the race not4 ,every object which addresses itself to the senses or the mind acts with peculiar force upon this function4 ,either for right or for wrong1 the mind is the controlling power4 ,the right education of the mind is the central point from which all our efforts to help the younger generation must arise4 ,it will thus be seen that the standpoint of education changes in childhood and in youth1 the first period being specially concerned with the childhood of the body or of the individual1 the second period representing more particularly the childhood of sex or of the race4 ,in neither childhood nor youth must either of the double elements of our nature--mind and body--be neglected1 but in childhood the body comes first in order1 in youth the mind4 ,the higher the character of a function and the wider its relations1 the more serious and the more numerous are the dangers to which it is exposed4 ,a physiologist remarks1 #8,in youth the affinity of the tissues for vital stimuli seems to be greater when the development is less complete4' ,that which the strong adult may endure with comparative impunity destroys the growing youth1 whose nature1 from the very necessities of development1 possesses a keener sensitiveness to all vital stimuli4 ,this important remark is true of mental as well as physical youth1 and applies with especial force to the prevention of the dangers of premature sexual development4 ,more care is needed to secure healthy1 strengthening influences for the early life of sex than for any other more simply physical function4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the preceding considerations1 the faculty of sex has been regarded chiefly in its individual aspect1 and the principles laid down by means of which the largest amount of health and strength can be secured for each individual4 ,but this half-view is entirely insufficient in considering those physiological peculiarities of the function of sex1 which must determine the true aim of education4 ,there are two other physiological facts to be considered--viz41 the ,duality of ,sex1 and its ,results4 ,the power we are now considering enters into a different category from all other physical functions1 as being1 first1 the faculty of two1 not of one only1 and1 second1 as resulting in parentage4 ,directly a physical function is the property of two1 it belongs to a different class from those faculties which regard solely the individual4 ,that very fact gives it a stamp1 which requires that the relations of the two factors should be considered4 ,no faculty can be regarded in the light of simple self-indulgence1 which requires two for its proper exercise4 ,the consideration of such faculty in its imperfect condition as belonging to one-half only is an essentially false view4 ,it is unscientific1 therefore1 to regard this exceptional faculty simply as a limited individual function1 as we regard the other powers of the human body4 ,its inevitable relations to man1 to woman1 and to the race must always stand forth as a prominent fact in determining the aim of education4 ,if this be so1 the moral education of youth1 with the necessary physiological guidance given to their sexual powers1 must always be influenced by a consideration of these two inevitable physiological facts--viz41 duality and parentage1 and the training of young men and women1 should mould them into true relations towards each other and towards offspring4 ,the question of the hereditary transmission of qualities1 of the influence of both mind and body in determining the character of offspring1 is a question of such vital importance that it cannot be disregarded even in the narrowest view of family welfare1 and still less in any rational view of education1 which lies at the base of national progress4 ,this great question is still in its infancy1 collected facts comparatively few1 and the immense power of future development contained in it1 hardly suspected by parents and philanthropists4 ,we know already that various forms of disease1 physical peculiarities1 and mental qualities may all become hereditary2 also that the tendency to drunkenness and to sensuality may be transmitted as surely as the tendency to insanity or to consumption4 ,if we compare the mental and moral status of women in a ,mahommedan country with the corresponding class of women in our own country1 we perceive the effect which generations of simply sensual unions have produced on the character of the female population4 ,the ,christian idea of womanly characteristics is entirely reversed4 ,the term #8woman' has become a by-word for untruth1 irreligion1 unchastity1 and folly4#bj ,the same observation may be made in so-called ,christian countries under ,mahommedan rule1 in independent countries in close proximity to this degrading influence1 and wherever the influence of unions whose key-note is sensuality1 prevails4 ,the woman is considered morally inferior4 #8,she is man's help1 but not his helpmate4 ,he guards and protects her1 but it is as a man guards and protects a valuable horse or dog1 getting all the service he can out of her1 and rendering her in turn his half-contemptuous protection4 ,he uncovers her face and lets her chat with her fellows in the courtyard1 but he watches over her conduct with a jealous conviction that she is unable to guard herself4 ,it is a modification1 yet a development1 of the ,mussulman idea1 and he seems to think if she has a soul to be saved he must manage to save it for her4'#ba ,everyone who has observed society in ,eastern ,europe must be aware of the constant relation existing between the prevalence of sensuality and this moral degeneration of female character4 ,this influence on the character is due1 not only to the customs1 religion1 and circumstances which form the nation1 but also to the accumulating influence of inherited qualities4 ,the hereditary action produces tendencies in a particular direction in the offspring1 which renders its development easier in that direction4 ,it is only gradually1 through education and the influence of heredity in a different direction1 that the original tendency can be removed4 ,but if all the circumstances of life favour its development1 the individual1 the family1 and the nation will certainly display the result of these tendencies in full force4 ,a striking illustration of this subject has been published in the report of the ,new ,york ,prison ,association for #ahgf4 ,an inquiry was undertaken by one of the members of the association1 to ascertain the causes of crime and pauperism1 as exhibited in a particular family or tribe of offenders called #8,the ,jukes1' which for nearly a century has inhabited one of the central counties of the ,state4 ,the investigation is carried back for some five or six generations1 the descendants numbering at least #a1bjj1 and the number of persons whose biographies are condensed and collated is not less than #gji4 ,the facts in these criminal lives1 which have grown in a century from one family into hundreds1 are arranged in the order of their occurrence and the age given at which they took place1 so that the relative importance of inherited tendencies and of immediate influences may be measured4 ,the study of this family shows that the most general and potent cause1 both of crime and pauperism1 is the habit of licentiousness1 with its result of bastardy and neglected and miseducated childhood4 ,this tribe was traced back on the male side to two sons of a hard drinker named ,max1 living between #agbj and #agdj1 who became blind in his old age1 transmitting blindness to some of his legitimate and illegitimate children4 ,on the female side the race goes back to five sisters of bad character1 two of whom intermarried with the two sons of ,max1 the lineage of three other sisters being also traced4 ,in the course of the century1 this family has remained an almost purely ,american family1 inhabiting the same region of country in one of the finest ,states of the ,union1 largely intermarrying1 and presenting an almost unbroken record of harlotry and crime4 #8,the ,jukes1' says the report1 #8are not an exceptional race2 analogous families may be found in every county of the ,state4'#bb ,conspicuous facts such as these1 display in a striking manner the indubitable influence of mind in the exercise of the highest--the parental--function4 ,we see as a positive fact that mental or moral qualities quite as much as physical peculiarities1 tend to reproduce themselves in children4 ,the mental quality or character of the parent must then be considered physiologically1 as a positive element in the parental relation2 thought1 emotion1 sensation1 are all mental qualities4 ,in human unions this great fact must be borne in mind4 ,any sneer at #8sentiment' proceeds from ignorance of facts4 ,happiness is as vivifying as sunshine1 and is a potent element in the formation of a child4 ,hence arises the necessity of love between parents--love1 the mental element1 as distinguished from the simple physical instinct4 ,to understand the true relations of men and women in their bearing upon the race 7relations which must determine the moral aim of education7 the duality of sex and the peculiarity of the womanly organization must be recognised4 ,woman1 having a special work to perform in family life1 has special requirements and sharpened perceptions in relation to this work4 ,she demands the constant presence of affection1 an affection which alone can draw forth full response1 and she possesses a perception which is almost a special instinct for detecting coldness or untruthfulness in the husband's mental attitude towards her4 ,the presence of unvarying affection has a real1 material1 as well as a moral power on the body and soul of a woman4 ,indifference or neglect is instantly felt4 ,sorrow1 loneliness1 jealousy1 all constantly depressing emotions1 exercise a powerful and injurious effect upon the sources of vital action4 ,this physiological truth and the necessity of securing the full assent of the mother in the joint creation of superior offspring1 are important facts bearing on the character and happiness of one-half of the human race1 and influencing through that half the quality of offspring4 ,these facts have not yet received the attention which so weighty a subject demands4 ,in pursuing the physiological inquiry1 we are met by one remarkable fact which it is impossible to ignore1 and which remains from age to age as a guide to the human race4 ,this guide is found in the physiological fact of the equality in the birth of the sexes4 ,this is a clear indication of the intention of ,providence in relation to sexual union1 a proof of the fundamental nature of the family group4 ,boys and girls are born in equal numbers all over the world1 wherever our means of observation have extended1 a slight excess of boys alone existing4 ,sadler writes3 #8,the near equality in the birth of the sexes is an undoubted fact2 it extends throughout ,europe and wherever we have the means of accurate observation1 the birth-rate being in the proportion of twenty-five boys to twenty-four girls4'#bc ,the injurious inequality which we so often find in a population is not ,nature's law1 but is evidence of our social stupidity4 ,it proves our sin against ,god's design in the existence of brutal wars and our careless squandering of human life4 ,all rational efforts for the improvement of society must be based upon ,nature's true intention--viz41 the equality of the sexes in birth and in duration of life1 not upon the false condition of inequality produced by our own ignorance4 ,it is essential always to bear in mind this distinction between the permanent fact and the temporary phenomenon4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the foregoing facts illustrate fundamental physiological truths4 ,they show the ,type of creation towards which the human constitution tends and the distinctive methods of growth by which that type must be reached4 ,in brief recapitulation1 these truths are the following--viz41 the slowness of human growth2 the successive development of the human faculties2 the injury caused by subverting the natural order of growth2 the necessity of governing this order of growth by the control of ,reason2 the influence of ,mind--i4e41 ,thought1 ,emotion1 ,will--on the development or condition of our organization2 the necessity of considering the dual character of sex2 the transmission of qualities by parents to their children2 the natural equality in the creation of the sexes4 ,these truths1 which are of universal application to human beings1 furnish a ,physiological ,guide1 showing the true laws of sex1 in relation to human progress4 ,we find that the laws of physiology point in one practical direction--viz41 to the family--as the only institution which secures their observance2 they show the necessity of the self-control of chastity in the young man and the young woman1 as the only way to secure the strong mental and physical qualities requisite in the parental relation1 whilst they also prove the special influence exerted by mutual love in the great work of ,maternity4 ,the preparation1 therefore1 of youth for family life should be the great aim of their sexual education4 ,experience as well as ,reason confirms the direct and indirect teaching of ,physiology2 they both point to the natural family group as the element out of which a healthy society grows4 ,it is only in the family that the necessary conditions for this growth exist4 ,the healthy and constantly varying development of children naturally constitutes the warmest interest of parents4 ,brothers and sisters are invaluable educators of one another2 they are unique associates1 creating a species of companionship that no other relation can supply4 ,to enjoy this interest1 to create this young companionship1 to form this healthy germ of society1 marriage must be unitary and permanent4 ,a constantly deepening satisfaction should exist1 arising from the steady growth together through life1 from the identity of interest and from the strength of habit4 ,still farther we learn that such union should take place in the early period of complete adult life4 ,children should be the product of the first fresh vigour of parents4 ,everything that exhausts force or defers its freshest exercise is injurious to the ,race4 ,customs of society or incorrect opinions which obstruct the union of men and women in their early vigour1 which impair the happiness of either partner1 or prevent the strong and steady growth of their union1 impair their efficacy as parents1 and are fatal to the highest welfare of our ,race4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,social ,results of ,neglecting these ,physiological ,laws ,the wide bearing and importance of the truths derived from physiology will become more and more apparent1 as we examine another branch of the subject1 and ascertain from an observation of facts around us1 how far the present relations of men and women in civilized countries1 are based upon sound principles of physiology4 ,it is necessary to know how far these principles are understood and carried out from infancy onward1 whether efforts for the improvement of the race are moulded by physiological methods of human growth1 and what are the inevitable consequences which result from departure from these principles4 ,according to a rational and physiological view of life1 the family should be cherished as the precious centre of national welfare2 every custom1 therefore1 which tends to support the dignity of the family and which prepares our youth for this life1 is of vital importance to a nation4 ,thus the slow development of the sexual faculties by hygienic regime1 by the absence of all unnatural stimulus to these propensities1 by the constant association of boys and girls together1 under adult influence1 in habitual and unconscious companionship1 the cultivation in the child's mind of a true idea of manliness and the perception that self-command is the distinctive peculiarity of the human being1 are the ordinary and natural conditions which rational physiology requires4 ,on the contrary1 every custom which insults the family and unfits for its establishment1 which degrades the natural nobility of human sex1 which sneers at it and treats this great principle with flippancy1 which tends to kill its ,divine essence1 all such influences and such customs are a great crime against society1 and directly opposed to the teaching of rational physiology4 ,an extended view of social facts1 not only in different classes of our own society1 but also in those countries with which we are nearly related1 is of the utmost value to the parent4 ,physiological knowledge would be valueless to the mass of mankind1 if its direct bearing upon the character and happiness of a nation could not be shown4 ,so in considering the sexual education of youth according to the light of sound physiology1 the social influences which affect the natural growth of the human being are an important part of applied physiology4 ,the tendencies of civilization must be studied in our chief cities4 ,the rapid growth of large towns during the last half-century and the comparatively stationary condition of the country population show where the full and complete results of those principles which are most active in our civilization must be sought for4 ,london1 ,paris1 ,vienna1 ,berlin1 ,new ,york1 are not exceptions1 but examples4 ,they show the mature results towards which smaller towns are tending4 ,those who live in quiet country districts often flatter themselves that the rampant vice of large towns has nothing to do with villages1 small communities1 and the country at large4 ,this is a delusion4 ,the condition of large towns has a direct relation to the country4 ,in these focal points of civilization we observe1 as examples of sexual relationship1 two great institutions existing side by side--two institutions in direct antagonism--viz41 ,marriage and ,prostitution1 the latter steadily gaining ground over the former4 ,in examining these two institutions1 the larger signification of licentiousness must be given to prostitution1 applicable to men and women4 ,marriage is the recognised union of two1 sharing responsibilities1 providing for and educating a family4 ,prostitution is the indiscriminate union of many1 with no object but physical gratification1 with no responsibilities1 and no care for offspring4 ,it is essential to study the effects1 both upon men and women and upon mankind at large1 of this great fact of licentiousness1 if we are to appreciate the true laws of sexual union in their full force1 and the aims1 importance1 and wide bearing of ,moral ,education4 ,we shall only here refer to its effects upon the young4 ,we may justly speak of licentiousness as an institution4 ,it is considered by a large portion of society as an essential part of itself4 ,it possesses its code of written and unwritten laws1 its sources of supply1 its various resorts1 from the poorest hovel to the gaudiest mansion1 its endless grade1 from the coarsest and most ignorant to the refined and cultivated4 ,it has its special amusements and places of public resort4 ,it has its police1 its hospitals1 its prisons1 and it has its literature4 ,the organized manner in which portions of the press are engaged in promoting licentiousness1 reaching1 not thousands1 but millions of readers1 is a fact of weighty importance4 ,the one item of vicious advertisements falls into distinct categories of corruption4 ,growing1 therefore1 as it does1 constantly and rapidly1 licentiousness becomes a fact of primary importance in society4 ,its character and origin must be studied by all who take an interest in the growth of the human race1 and who believe in the maintenance of marriage1 and the family1 as the foundation of human progress4 ,everyone who has studied life in many civilized countries1 and the literature reflecting that life1 will observe the antagonism of these two institutions3 the recognition of the greater influence of the mistress than the wife1 the constant triumph of passion over duty and deep1 steady affection4 ,we see the neglect of the home for the caf1 the theatre1 the public amusement2 the consequent degradation of the home into a place indispensable as a nursery for children1 and for the transaction of common1 every-day matters1 a place of resort for the accidents of life1 for growing old in1 for continuing the family name1 but too tedious a place to be in much1 to spend the evening and really live in4 ,enjoyments are sought for elsewhere4 ,the charm of society1 the keener interests of life1 no longer centre in the household4 ,it is a domestic place1 more or less quiet1 but no home in the true sense of the word4 ,the true home can only be formed by father and mother1 by their joint influence on one another1 on their children1 and on their friends4 ,the narrow1 one-sided1 diminishing influence of ,continental homes amongst great masses of the population1 from absence of due paternal care1 is a painful fact to witness4 ,that there are beautiful examples of domestic life to be found in every civilized country--homes where father and mother are one in the indispensable unity of family life--no one will deny who has closely observed foreign society4 ,indeed1 any nation is in the stage of rapid dissolution where the institution of the family is completely and universally degraded2 but the preceding statement is a faithful representation of the general tone and tendencies of social life in many parts of the ,continent4 ,that the same fatal principles1 leading to the like results1 are at work both in ,england and ,america will be seen as we proceed4 ,licentiousness may be considered as still in its infancy with us1 when compared with its universal prevalence in many parts of the ,continent2 but it is growing in our own country with a rapidity which threatens fatal injury to our most cherished institution1 the pure ,christian home1 with its far-reaching influences1 an institution which has been the foundation of our national greatness4 ,the results of licentiousness should be especially considered in their effects upon the youth of both sexes1 of both the richer and poorer classes2 also in their bearing upon the institution of marriage and upon the race4 ,in all these aspects it enters into direct relation with the family1 and no one who values the family1 with the education which it should secure1 can any longer afford to ignore what so intimately affects its best interests4 ,it is to the first branch of the subject that reference will here be chiefly made4 ,the first consideration is the influence exerted by social arrangements and tone of thought upon our boys and young men as they pass out of the family circle into the wider circles of the world1 into school1 college1 business1 society4 ,what are the ideas about women that have been gradually formed in the mind of the lad of sixteen1 by all that he has seen1 heard1 and read during his short but most important period of life8 ,what opinions and habits1 in relation to his own physical and moral nature1 have been impressed upon him8 ,how have our poorer classes of boys been trained in respect to their own well-being1 and to association with girls of their own class8 ,what has been the influence of the habits and companionships of that great middle-class multitude1 clerks1 shopkeepers1 mechanics1 farmers1 soldiers1 etc48 ,what books and newspapers do these boys read1 what talk do they hear1 what interests or amusements do they find in the theatre1 the tavern1 the streets1 the home1 and the church8 ,what has been the training of the lad of the upper class--that class1 small in number but great in influence1 which1 being lifted above any sordid pressure of material care1 should be the spiritual leader of the classes below them--a class which has ten talents committed to it1 and which inherits the grand old maxim1 ,noblesse oblige8 ,how have all these lads been taught to regard womanhood and manhood8 ,what is their standard of manliness8 ,what habits of self-respect and of the noble uses of sex have been impressed upon their minds8 ,throughout all classes1 abundant temptation to the abuse of sex exists4 ,increasing activity is displayed in the exercise of human ingenuity for the extension and refinement of vice4 ,shrewdness1 large capital1 business enterprise1 are all enlisted in the lawless stimulation of this mighty instinct of sex4 ,immense provision is made for facilitating fornication2 what direct efforts are made for encouraging chastity8 ,it is of vital importance to realize how small at present is the formative influence of the individual home and of the weekly discourse of the preacher1 compared with the mighty social influences which spread with corrupting force around the great bulk of our youth4 ,we find1 as a matter of fact1 that complete moral confusion too often meets the young man at the outset of life4 ,society presents him with no fixed standard of right or wrong in relation to sex1 no clear ideal to be held steadily before him and striven for4 ,religious teaching points in one direction1 but practical life points in quite a different way4 ,the youth who has grown up from childhood under the guardianship of really wise parents1 in a true home1 with all its ennobling influences1 and has been strengthened by enlightened religious instruction1 has gradually grown towards the natural human type4 ,he may have met the evils of life as they came to him from boyhood onwards1 first of all with the blindness of innocence1 which does not realize evil1 and then with the repulsion of virtue1 which is clear-sighted to the hideous results of vice4 ,such a one will either pass with healthy strength through life1 or he may prove himself the grandest of heroes if beset with tremendous temptations2 or1 again1 he may fall1 after long and terrible struggles with his early virtue4 ,but in the vast majority of cases the early training through innocence into virtue is wanting4 ,evil influences are at work unknown to or disregarded by the family1 and a gradual process of moral and physical deterioration in the natural growth of sex corrupts the very young4 ,in by far the larger ranks of life1 before the lad has grown into the young man1 his notions of right and wrong are too often obscured4 ,he retains a vague notion that virtue is right1 but as he perceives that his friends1 his relations1 his widening circle of acquaintance1 live according to a different standard1 his idea of virtue recedes into a vague abstraction1 and he begins to think that vice is also right--in a certain way6 ,he is too young to understand consequences1 to realize the fearful chain of events in the ever-widening influence of evil acts--results which1 if clearly seen1 would frighten the innocent mind by the hideousness of evil1 and make the first step towards it a crime4 ,no one ventures to lift up a warning voice4 ,the parent dares not1 or knows not how to enter upon this subject of vital importance4 ,there are no safeguards to his natural modesty2 there is no wise help to strengthen his innocence into virtue4 ,here is the testimony in relation to one important class1 drawn from experience by our great ,english satirist3 #8,and by the way1 ye tender mothers and sober fathers of ,christian families1 a prodigious thing that theory of life is as orally learned at a great public school4 ,why1 if you could hear those boys of fourteen1 who blush before mothers and sneak off in silence in the presence of their daughters1 talking among each other1 it would be the woman's turn to blush then4 ,before he was twelve years old1 and while his mother fancied him an angel of candour1 little ,pen had heard talk enough to make him quite awfully wise upon certain points2 and so1 madam1 has your pretty little rosy-cheeked son1 who is coming home from school for the ensuing ,christmas holidays4 ,i don't say that the boy is lost1 so that the innocence has left him which he had from 8,heaven which is our home10 but the shades of the prison-house are closing very fast over him1 and that we are helping as much as possible to corrupt him4' #8,few boys1' says the ,headmaster of a large school1 #8ever remain a month in any school1 public or private1 without learning all the salient points in the physical relation of the sexes4 ,there are two grave evils in this unlicensed instruction3 first1 the lessons are learned surreptitiously2 second1 the knowledge is gained from the vicious experiences of the corrupted older boys1 and the traditions handed down by them4' ,temptations meet the lad at every step4 ,from childhood onward1 an unnatural forcing process is at work1 and he is too often mentally corrupted1 whilst physically unformed4 ,this mental condition tends to hasten the functions of adult life into premature activity4 ,as already stated1 an important period exists between the establishment of puberty and confirmed virility4 ,in the unperverted youth1 this space of time1 marked by the rush of new life1 is invaluable as a period for storing up the new forces needed to confirm young manhood and fit it for the healthy exercise of its important social functions4 ,the very indications of ,nature's abundant forces at the outset of life1 are warnings that this new force must not be stimulated1 that there is danger of excessive and hasty growth in one direction1 danger of hindering that gradual development which alone insures strength4 ,if at an early age1 thought and feeling have been set in the right direction1 and aids to virtue and to health surround the young man1 then this period of time1 before his twenty-fifth year1 will lead him into a strong and vigorous manhood4 ,but where the mind is corrupted1 the imagination heated1 and no strong love of virtue planted in the soul1 the individual loses the power of self-control1 and becomes the victim of physical sensation and suggestion4 ,when this condition of mental and physical deterioration has been produced1 it is no longer possible for him to resist surrounding temptations4 ,there are dangers within and without1 but he does not recognise the danger4 ,he is young1 eager1 filled with that excess of activity in blood and nerve1 with which ,nature always nourishes her fresh creative efforts4 ,at this important stage of life1 when self-control1 hygiene1 mental and moral influence1 are of vital importance1 the fatal results of his weakened will and a corrupt society1 ensue4 ,opportunity tempts his wavering innocence1 thoughtless or vicious companions undertake to #8form' him1 laugh at his scruples1 sneer at his conscience1 excite him with allurements4 ,or a deadly counsel meets him--meets him from those he is bound to respect4 ,the most powerful morbid stimulant that exists--a stimulant to every drop of his seething young blood--is advised viz41 the resort to prostitutes4 ,when this fatal step has been taken1 when the natural modesty of youth and the respect for womanhood is broken down1 when he has broken with the restraints of family life1 with the voice of ,conscience1 with the dictates of religion1 a return to virtue is indeed difficult--nay1 often impossible4 ,he has tasted the physical delights of sex1 separated from its more exquisite spiritual joys4 ,this unnatural divorce degrades whilst it intoxicates him4 ,having tasted these physical pleasures1 often he can no more do without them than the drunkard without his dram4 ,he ignorantly tramples under foot his birthright of rich1 compound1 infinite human love1 enthralled by the simple limited animal passion4 ,his ,will is no longer free4 ,he has destroyed that grand endowment of ,man1 that freedom of the youthful ,will1 which is the priceless possession of innocence and of virtue1 and has subjected himself to the slavery of lust4 ,he is no longer his own master2 he is the servant of his passions4 ,those whose interest it is to retain their victim employ every art of drink1 of dress1 of excess1 to urge him on4 ,the youthful eagerness of his own nature lends itself to these arts4 ,the power of resistance is gradually lost1 until one glance of a prostitute's eye passing in the street1 one token of allurement1 will often overturn his best resolutions and outweigh the wisest counsel of friends6 ,the physiological ignorance and moral blindness which actually lead some parents to provide a mistress for their sons1 in the hope of keeping them from houses of public debauchery1 is an effort as unavailing as it is corrupt4 ,place a youth on the wrong course instead of on the right one1 lead him into the career of sensual indulgence and selfish disregard for womanhood instead of into manly self-control1 and the parent has1 by his own act1 launched his child into the current of vice1 which rapidly hurries him beyond his control4 ,the evils resulting from a violation of ,nature's method of growth by a life of early dissipation are both physical and mental or moral4 ,in some organizations the former1 in some the latter1 are observable in the most marked degree2 but no one can escape either the physical deterioration or the mental degradation which results from the irrational and unhuman exercise of the great endowment of sex4 ,amongst the physical evils the following may be particularly noted4 ,the loss of self-control1 reacting upon the body1 produces a morbid irritability 7always a sign of weakness7 which is a real disease1 subjecting the individual to constant excitement and exhaustion from slight causes4 ,the resulting physical evils may be slow in revealing themselves1 because they only gradually undermine the constitution4 ,they do not herald themselves in the alarming manner of a fever or a convulsion1 but they are not to be less dreaded from their masked approach4 ,the chief forms of physical deterioration are nervous exhaustion1 impaired power of resistance to epidemics or other injurious influences1 and the development of those germs of disease1 or tendencies to some particular form of disease1 which exist in the majority of constitutions4 ,the brain and spinal marrow and the lungs are the vital organs most frequently injured by loose life4 ,but whatever be the weak point of the constitution1 from inherited or acquired morbid tendencies1 that will probably be the point through which disease or death will enter4 ,one of the most distinguished hygienists of our age writes thus3 #8,the pathological results of venereal excess are now well known4 ,the gradual derangements of health experienced by its victims are not at first recognised by them1 and physicians may take the symptoms to be the beginning of very different diseases4 ,how often symptoms are considered as cases of hypochondria or chronic gastritis1 or the commencement of heart disease1 which are really the results of generative abuse6 ,a general exhaustion of the whole physical force1 symptoms of cerebral congestion1 or paralysis1 attributed to some cerebrospinal lesion1 are often due to the same causes4 ,the same may be said of some of the severest forms of insanity4 ,many cases of consumption appearing in young men who suffer from no hereditary tendency to the disease enter into the same category4 ,so many diseases are vainly treated by medicine or regime which are really caused by abuse of these important functions4'#bd ,another of our oldest surgeons writes3 #8,among the passions of the future man which at this period should be strictly restrained is that of physical love1 for none wars so completely against the principles which have been already laid down as the most conducive to long life2 no excess so thoroughly lessens the sum of the vital power1 none so much weakens and softens the organs of life1 none is more active in hastening vital consumption1 and none so totally prohibits restoration4 ,i might1 if it were necessary1 draw a painful--nay1 a frightful--picture of the results of these melancholy excesses1 etc4'#be ,volumes might be filled with similar medical testimony on the destructive character of early licentiousness4 ,striking testimony to the destructive effects of vice in early manhood is derived from a very different source--viz41 the strictly business calculation of the chances of life1 furnished by ,life ,insurance ,companies4 ,these tables show the rapid fall in viability during the earlier years of adult life4 ,dr4 ,carpenter has reproduced a striking diagram#bf from the well-known statistician ,quetelet1 showing the comparative viability of men and women at different ages1 and its rapid diminution in the male from the age of eighteen to twenty-five4 ,he remarks3 #8,the mortality is much greater in males from about the age of eighteen to twenty-eight1 being at its maximum at twenty-five1 when the viability is only half what it is at puberty4 ,this fact is a very striking one1 and shows most forcibly that the indulgence of the passions not only weakens the health1 but in a great number of instances is the cause of a very premature death4'#bg ,dr4 ,bertillon 7a well-known ,french statistician7 has shown by the statistics of several ,european countries that the irregularities of unmarried life produce disease1 crime1 and suicide2 that the rate of mortality in bachelors of twenty-five is equal to that of married men at forty-five2 that the immoral life of the unmarried and the widowed1 whether male or female1 ages them by twenty years and more4 ,many of the foreign health resorts are filled with young men of the richer classes of society1 seeking to restore the health destroyed by dissipation4 ,could the simple truth be recorded on the tombstones of multitudes of precious youth1 from imperial families downward1 who are mourned as victims of consumption1 softening of the brain1 etc41 all lovers of the race would stand appalled at the endless record of these wasted lives4 #8,died from the effects of fornication' would be the true warning voice from these premature graves4 ,the moral results of early dissipation are quite as marked as the physical evils4 ,the lower animal nature gains ever-increasing dominion over the moral life of the individual4 ,the limited nature of all animal enjoyments produces its natural effects4 ,first there is the eager search after fresh stimulants1 and as the boundaries of physical enjoyment are necessarily reached1 come in common sequence1 disappointment1 disgust1 restlessness1 dreariness1 or bitterness4 ,the character of the mental deterioration differs with the difference of original character in the individual1 as in the nation4 ,in some we observe an increasing hardness of character1 growing contempt for women1 with low material views of life4 ,in others there is a frivolity of mind induced1 a constant restlessness and search for new pleasures4 ,the frankness1 heartiness1 and truthfulness of youth gradually disappear under the withering influence4#bh ,the moral influence of vice upon social character has very wide ramifications4 ,this is illustrated by the immense difficulties which women encountered in the rational endeavour to obtain a complete medical education4 ,licentiousness1 with all its attendant results1 is the great social cause of these difficulties4 ,the dominion of lust is necessarily short-sighted1 selfish1 or cruel4 ,its action is directly opposed to the qualities of truth1 trust1 self-command1 and sympathy1 thus sapping the foundations of personal morality4 ,but apart from the individual evils above referred to1 licentiousness inevitably degrades society1 firstly1 from the disproportion of vital force which is thus thrown into one direction1 and1 secondly1 from the essentially selfish and ungenerous tendency of vice1 which1 seeking its own limited gratification at the expense of others1 is incapable of embracing large views of life or feeling enthusiasm for progress4 ,the direction into which this disproportionate vital force is thrown is a degrading one1 always tending to evil results4 ,thus the noble enthusiasm of youth1 its precious tide of fresh life1 without which no nation can grow--life whose leisure hours should be given to science and art1 to social good1 to ennobling recreation--is squandered and worse than wasted in degrading dissipation4 ,this dissipation1 which is ruin to man1 is also a curse to woman1 for1 in judging the effects of licentiousness upon society1 it must never be forgotten that this is a vice of two1 not a vice of one4 ,injurious as is its influence upon the young man1 that is only one-half of its effect4 ,what is its influence upon the young woman8 ,this question has a direct bearing on the ,moral ,aim of ,education4 ,the preceding details of physical and moral evils resulting to young men from licentiousness will apply with equal force to young women subjected to similar influences4 ,one sex may experience more physical evil1 the other more mental degradation1 from similar vicious habits2 but the evil1 if not identical1 is entirely parallel1 and a loss of truthfulness1 honour1 and generosity accompanies the loss of purity4 ,the women more directly involved in this widespread evil of licentiousness are the women of the poorer classes of society4 ,the poorer classes constitute in every country the great majority of the people2 they form its solid strength and determine its character4 ,the extreme danger of moral degradation in those classes of young women who constitute such an immense preponderance of the female population is at once evident4 ,these women are everywhere1 interlinked with every class of society4 ,they form an important part 7often the larger female portion7 of every well-to-do household4 ,they are the companions and inevitable teachers of infancy and childhood4 ,they often form the chief or only female influence which meets the young man in early professional1 business1 or even college life4 ,they meet him in every place of public amusement1 in his walks at night1 in his travels at home and abroad4 ,by day and by night the young man away from home is brought into free intercourse1 not with women of his own class1 but with poor working girls and women1 who form the numerical bulk of the female population1 who are found in every place and ready for every service4 ,educated girls are watched and guarded4 ,the young man meets them in rare moments only1 under supervision1 and generally under unnatural restraint2 but the poor girl he meets constantly1 freely1 at any time and place4 ,any clear-sighted person who will quietly observe the way in which female servants1 for instance1 regard very young men who are their superiors in station1 can easily comprehend the dangers of such association4 ,the injustice of the common practical view of life is only equalled by its folly4 ,this practical view utterly ignores the fact of the social influence and value of this portion of society4 ,the customs of civilized nations practically consider poor women as subjects for a life so dishonourable1 that a rich man feels justified in ostracizing wife1 sister1 or daughter who is guilty of the slightest approach to such life4 ,it is the great mass of poor women who are regarded as 7and sometimes brutally stated to be7 the subjects to be used for the benefit of the upper classes4 ,young and innocent men1 it is true1 fall into vice1 or are led into it1 or are tempted into it by older women1 and are not deliberate betrayers4 ,but the rubicon of chastity once passed1 the moral descent is rapid1 and the preying upon the poor soon commences4 ,the miserable slaves in houses of prostitution are the outcasts of the poor4 ,the young girls followed at night in the streets are the honest working girl1 the young servant seeking a short outdoor relief to her dreary life1 as well as the unhappy fallen girl1 who has become in her turn the seducer4 ,if fearful of health1 the individual leaves the licensed slaves of sin and the chance associations of the streets1 it is amongst the poor and unprotected that he seeks his mistress3--the young seamstress1 the pretty shop girl1 the girl with some honest employment1 but poor1 undefended1 needing relief in her hard-working life4 ,it is always the poor girl that he seeks4 ,she has no pleasures1 he offers them2 her virtue is weak1 he undermines it2 he gains her affection and betrays it1 changes her for another and another1 leaving each mistress worse than he found her1 farther on in the downward road1 with the guilt of fresh injury from the strong to the weak on his soul4 ,any reproach of conscience--conscience which will speak when an innocent girl has been betrayed1 or one not yet fully corrupted has been led farther on in evil life--is quieted by the frivolous answer3 #8,they will soon marry in their own class4' ,if1 however1 this sin be regarded in its inevitable consequences1 its effects upon the life of both man and woman in relation to society1 the nature of this sophistry will appear in its hideous reality4 ,is chastity really a virtue1 something precious in womanhood8 ,then1 the poor man's home should be blessed by the presence of a pure woman4 ,does it improve a woman's character to be virtuous8 ,has she more self-respect in consequence8 ,does she care more for her children1 for their respectability and welfare1 when she is conscious of her own honest past life8 ,does she love her husband more1 and will she strive to make his home brighter and more attractive to him1 exercising patience in the trials of her humble life1 being industrious1 frugal1 sober1 with tastes that centre in her home8 ,these are vital questions for the welfare of the great mass of the people1 and consequently of society and of the nation4 ,we know1 on the contrary1 as a fundamental truth1 that unchastity unfits a woman for these natural duties4 ,it fosters her vanity1 it makes her slothful or reckless1 it gives her tastes at variance with home life1 it makes her see nothing in men but their baser passions1 and it converts her into a constant tempter of those passions--a corrupter of the young4 ,we know that drunkenness1 quarrels1 and crimes have their origin in the wretched homes of the poor1 and the centre of those unhappy homes is the unchaste woman1 who has lost the restraining influence of her own self-respect1 her respect for others1 and her love of home4 ,when a pretty1 vain girl is tempted to sin1 a wife and mother is being ruined1 discord and misery are being prepared for a poor man's home1 and the circumstances created out of which criminals grow4 ,nor does the evil stop there4 ,it returns to the upper classes4 ,nurses1 servants1 bring back to the respectable home the evil associations of their own lives4 ,the children of the upper classes are thus corrupted1 and the path of youth is surrounded at every step with coarse temptations4 ,these consequences may not be foreseen when the individual follows the course of evil customs1 but the sequence of events is inevitable1 and every man gives birth to a fresh series of vice and misery when he takes a mistress instead of a wife4#bi ,the deterioration of character amongst the women of the working classes is known to all employers of labour1 to all who visit amongst the poor1 to every housekeeper4 ,the increasing difficulty of obtaining trustworthy domestic servants is now the common experience of civilized countries4 ,in ,england1 ,france1 ,germany1 and the larger towns of ,america1 it is a fact of widespread observation1 and has become a source of serious difficulty in the management of family life4 ,the deepest source of this evil lies in the deterioration of womanly character produced by the increasing spread of habits of licentiousness4 ,the action of sex1 though taking different directions1 is as powerful in the young woman as in the young man2 it needs as careful education1 direction1 and restraint4 ,this important physiological truth1 at present quite overlooked1 must nevertheless be distinctly recognised4 ,this strong mental instinct1 if yielded to in a degrading way 7as is so commonly the case in the poorer classes of society71 becomes an absorbing influence4 ,pride and pleasure in work1 the desire to excel1 loyalty to duty1 and the love of truth in its wide significance1 are all subordinated1 and gradually weakened1 by the irresistible mastery of this new faculty4 ,in all large towns the lax tone of companions1 the difficulty in finding employment1 the horrible cupidity of those who pander to corrupt social sentiment and ensnare the young--all these circumstances combined render vice much easier than virtue--a state of society in which vice must necessarily extend and virtue diminish4 ,we thus find an immense mass of young women gradually corrupted from childhood1 rendered coarse and reckless1 the modesty of girlhood destroyed1 the reserve of maidenhood changed to bold1 often indecent1 behaviour4 ,no one accustomed to walk freely about our streets1 to watch children at play1 to observe the amusements and free gatherings of the poorer classes1 can fail to see the signs of degraded sex4 ,the testimony of home missionaries1 of those experienced in ,benevolent ,societies and long engaged in various ways in helping women1 as well as the ,reports of ,rescue ,societies1 all testify to the dangerous increase and lamentable results of unchastity amongst the female population4 ,we observe in all countries a constant relation also between the prevalence of licentiousness and degradation of female labour2 the action and reaction of these two evil facts is invariable4 ,in ,paris we see the complete result of these tendencies of modern civilization in relation to the condition of working women--tendencies which are seen in ,london and ,berlin1 in ,liverpool1 ,glasgow--i4e41 in all large towns4 ,the revelations made by writers and speakers in relation to the condition of the working women of ,paris1 are of very serious import to ,england4 ,such terrible facts as the following1 brought to light by those who have carefully investigated the state of this portion of the population1 must arrest attention4 ,in relation to vast numbers of women it is stated#cj3 #8,in ,paris a woman can no longer live by the work of her own hands2 the returns of her labour are so small that prostitution is the only resource against slow starvation4 ,the population is bastardized to such an extent that thousands of poor girls know not of any relation that they ever possessed4 ,orphans and outcasts1 their life1 if virtuous1 is one terrible struggle from the cradle to the grave2 but by far the greater number of them are drilled1 whilst yet children1 in the public service of debauchery4' ,the great mass of working women are placed by the present state of society in a position in which there are the strongest temptations to vice1 when to lead a virtuous life often requires the possession of moral heroism4 ,of the multitude of those who fall into vice1 many ultimately marry1 and1 with injured moral qualities and corrupted tastes1 become the creators of poor men's homes4 ,the rest drift into a permanent life of vice4 ,the injurious effects of unchastity upon womanly character already noted1 can be studied step by step1 to their complete development in that great class of the population--the recognised prostitutes4 ,their marked characteristics are recklessness1 sloth1 and drunkenness4 ,this recklessness and utter disregard of consequences and appearances1 a quarrelsome1 violent disposition1 the dislike to all labour and all regular occupation and life1 the necessity for stimulants and drink1 with a bold address to the lower passions of men--such are the effects of this life upon the character of women4 ,unchaste women become a most dangerous class of the community4 ,to these bad qualities is added another1 wherever1 as in ,france1 this evil life is accepted as a part of society1 provided for1 organized1 or legalized2 this last result of confirmed licentiousness is a hardness of character so complete1 so resistant of all improving influences1 that the wisest and gentlest efforts to restore are often utterly hopeless before the confirmed and hardened prostitute4#ca ,the growth of habits of licentiousness amongst us exerts the most direct and injurious influence on the lives of virtuous young women of the middle and upper classes of society4 ,the mode of this influence demands very serious consideration on the part of parents4 ,it is natural that young women should wish to please4 ,they possess the true instinct which would guide them to their noble position in society1 as the centres of pure and happy homes4 ,how do our social customs meet this want8 ,all the young women of the middle and upper classes of society1 no matter how pure and innocent their natures1 are brought by these customs of society into direct competition with prostitutes6 ,the modest grace of pure young womanhood1 its simple1 refined tastes1 its love of home pleasures1 its instinctive admiration of true and noble sentiments and actions1 although refreshing as a contrast1 will not compare for a moment with the force of attraction which sensual indulgence and the excitement of debauch exert upon the youth who is habituated to such intoxications4 ,the virtuous girl exercises a certain amount of attraction for a passing moment1 but the intense craving awakened in the youth for something far more exciting than she can offer1 leads him ever farther from her1 in the direction where this morbid craving can be freely indulged4 ,this result is inevitable if licentiousness is to be accepted as a necessary part of society4 ,physical passion is not in itself evil2 on the contrary1 it is an essential part of our nature4 ,it is an endowment which1 like every other human faculty1 has the power of high growth4 ,it possesses that distinctive human characteristic--receptivity to mental impressions4 ,these impressions blend so completely with itself as to change its whole character and effect1 and it thus becomes an ennobling or a degrading agent in our lives4 ,in either case1 for good or for evil1 sex takes a first place as a motive power in human education4 ,the young man inexperienced in life and necessarily crude in thought1 but fallen into vice1 is mastered by this downward force1 and the good girl loses more and more her power over the strong natural attraction of sex which would otherwise draw him to her4 ,the influence which corrupt young men1 on the other hand1 exercise upon the young women of their own standing in society1 is both strong and often injurious4 ,it being natural that young women should seek to attract and retain them1 they unconsciously endeavour to adapt themselves to their taste4 ,these tastes are formed by uneducated girls and by society of which the respectable young woman feels the effects1 and of which she has a vague suspicion1 although1 happily1 she cannot measure the depth of the evil4 ,the tastes and desires of her young male acquaintance1 moulded by coarse material enjoyments1 act directly upon the respectable girl1 who gives herself up with natural impulse to the influence of her male companion4 ,we thus witness a widespread and inevitable deterioration in manners1 dress1 thought1 and habits amongst the respectable classes of young women4 ,this result leads eventually1 as on the ,continent1 to the entire separation of young men and women in the middle and upper ranks of life1 to the arrangement of marriage as a business affair1 and to the union of the young with the old4 ,the faults now so often charged upon young women1 their love of dress1 luxury1 and pleasure1 their neglect of economy and dislike of steady home duties1 may be traced directly to the injurious influence which habits of licentiousness are exercising directly and indirectly upon marriage1 the home1 and society4 ,the subject of dress is one of serious importance1 for it is a source of extravagance in all classes1 and one of the strongest temptations to vice among poor girls4 ,the creation of this morbid excess in dress by licentiousness is evident4 ,if physical attraction is the sole or chief force which draws young men to young women1 then everything which either enhances physical charms1 which brings them more prominently forward1 or which supplies the lack of physical beauty1 must necessarily be resorted to by women1 whose nature it is to draw men to them4 ,the stronger the general domination of physical sensation--over character1 sympathy1 companionship1 mutual help1 and social growth--becomes amongst men1 the more exclusive1 intense1 and competitive must grow this morbid devotion to dress on the part of women4 ,did young men seriously long for a virtuous wife and happy home1 and fit themselves to secure those blessings1 young women would naturally cultivate the domestic qualities which insure a bright1 attractive home4 ,the young man1 however1 is now discouraged from early marriage2 the question soon presents itself to him3 #8,why should ,i marry and burden myself with a wife and family8 ,i am very well off as ,i am2 ,i can spend my money as ,i like on personal pleasures2 ,i can get all that ,i want from women without losing my liberty or assuming responsibilities6' ,the respectable girl is thus forced into a most degrading and utterly unavailing competition with the prostitute or the mistress4 ,marriage is indefinitely postponed by the young man2 at first it may be from necessity1 later from choice4 ,the young woman1 unable to obtain the husband suited to her in age1 must either lead a single life or accept the unnatural union with a rich elderly man4 ,the grave physiological error of promoting marriage between the young and the old cannot be dwelt on here4 ,it is productive of very grave evils1 both to the health and happiness of the individual and to the growth of the ,race4 ,the steady decrease of marriage1 and at the same time the late date at which it is contracted as licentiousness increases1 is shown by a comparison of the statistics of ,belgium and ,france with those of ,england4 ,we find also that the character of the population deteriorates with the spread of vice--the standard of recruiting for the army is lowered1 an ever-increasing mass of fatherless children die or become criminals1 and1 finally1 the natural growth of the population of the country constantly decreases4 ,the records of ,history confirm the teaching of ,physiology and ,observation in relation to the fundamental character of sexual virtue1 as the secret of durable national greatness4 ,the decline of all the great nations of antiquity is marked by the prevalence of gross social corruption4 ,the complex effects of the same cause are strikingly observed in the condition of the ,mohammedan and other ,eastern races and in all the tribes subject to them4 ,we find amongst these races1 as the result of their sexual customs1 a want of human charity4 ,this is shown in the absence of benevolent institutions and other modes of expressing sympathy4 ,a great gulf separates the rich and poor1 bridged over by no offices of kindness1 no sense of the sacred oneness of humanity1 which is deeper than all separations of caste or condition4 ,there is no respect shown for human life1 which is lightly and remorselessly sacrificed1 and punishment degenerates into torture4 ,there is also an incapacity for understanding the fundamental value of truth and honesty1 and a consequent impossibility of creating a good government4 ,we observe that bravery degenerates into fierceness and cruelty1 and that the apathy of the masses keeps them victims of oppression4 ,it is the exhibition of a race where there is no development of the ,moral ,element in human nature4 ,these general characteristics and their cause were well described by the celebrated surgeon ,lallemand1 who says3 #8,the contrast between the polygamous and sensual ,east and the monogamous and intellectual ,west displays on a large scale the different results produced by the different exercise of the sexual powers4 ,on one side1 ,polygamy1 harems1 seraglios--the source of venereal excesses--barbarous mutilations1 revolting and unnatural vice1 with the population scanty1 inactive1 indolent1 sunk in ignorance1 and consequently the victim of misery and of every kind of despotism4 ,on the other side1 ,monogamy1 ,christian austerity1 more equal distribution of domestic happiness1 increase of intelligence1 liberty1 and general well-being2 rapid increase of an active1 laborious1 and enterprising population1 necessarily spreading and dominating4' ,the great moral element of society1 which contains the power of self-renewal and continual growth1 must necessarily be wanting in all nations where one-half of the people--the centre of the family1 out of which society must grow--remains in a stunted or perverted condition4 ,women1 as well as men1 create society4 ,their share is a silent one4 ,it has not the glitter of gold and purple1 the noise of drums and marching armies1 the smoke and clank of furnaces and machinery4 ,all the splendid din of external life is wanting in the quiet realm of distinctive woman's work2 therefore it is often overlooked1 misunderstood1 or despised4 ,nevertheless1 it is of vital importance4 ,it preserves the only germ of society which is capable of permanent growth--the germ of unselfish human love and innate righteousness--in distinction to which all dazzling material splendour and intellectual ability1 divorced from the love of ,right1 is but sounding brass and tinkling cymbal4 ,it is for this reason that no polygamous or licentious customs1 which destroy the woman's nature and dry up the deepest source of human sympathy1 can possibly produce a durable or a noble and happy nation4 ,the value of a nation1 its position in the scale of humanity1 its durability1 must always be judged by the condition of its masses1 and the test of that condition is the strength and purity of home virtues--the character of the women of the nation4 ,no reference to the lessons of ,history1 however brief1 should omit the effect produced by religious teaching4 ,the influence exercised by the ,christian religion in relation to sex is of the most striking character4 ,christian teaching is distinguished from other religious teaching by its justice to women1 its tender reverence for childhood1 and by the laying down of that great corner-stone1 ,inward ,holiness1 as the indispensable foundation of true life4 ,this is all summed up in its establishment of unitary marriage1 through the emphatic adoption of the original ,law1 #8,therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother1 and cleave unto his wife1 and they twain shall be one flesh4' ,the development of this ,law by ,jesus ,christ into its high significance of spiritual purity1 whilst it has been a principle of growth in the past1 is the great hope of the future4 ,the study of this ,christian type1 in its radical effect upon national life1 is full of interest and instruction1 but is also a study of great difficulty4 ,this teaching of our ,lord has never been adopted as the universal rule of practical life by any nation4 ,the results of this law of union can only be judged on a large scale by comparing the condition of so-called ,christian countries--where a certain amount of this high teaching has been diffused through the community--with the condition of nations where no such teaching has existed4 ,the great battle between ,christianity and ,paganism still continues in our midst4 ,the actual practical type prevailing in all civilized nations is not ,christian4 ,in these nations the ,christian idea of unitary sexual relations is accepted theoretically1 as conducive to the best interests of the family and binding upon the higher classes of women2 but it is entirely set aside as a practical life for the majority of the community4 ,christ's ,law is considered either as a vague command1 applicable only to some indefinite future1 or as a theory which it would be positively unwise to put into practice in daily life4 ,the statement is distinctly made1 and widely believed1 that the nature of men and women differs so radically that the same moral law is not applicable to the two sexes4 ,the great lesson derived from ,history1 however1 is always this--viz41 that moral development must keep pace with the intellectual1 or the race degenerates4 ,this moral element is especially embodied by woman1 and purity in woman cannot exist without purity in man1 this weighty fact being shown by the facts already stated--viz41 the action of licentiousness upon the great mass of unprotected women1 its reaction upon other classes1 and the accumulating influence of hereditary sensuality4 ,in the indisputable principles brought forward in the preceding pages1 and the mass of facts and daily observation which support them1 is found the answer to the first question proposed as a guide to the moral education of youth--viz43 ,what is the true standard for the relations of men and women1 the type which contains within itself the germ of progress and indefinite development8 ,we see that the early and faithful union of one man with one woman is the true ,ideal of ,society4 ,it secures the health and purity of the family relation1 and is the foundation of social and national welfare4 ,it is supported by sound principles of ,physiology1 by the history of the rise and fall of nations1 and by a consideration of the evils of our present age4 ,the lessons of the past and present1 our clearer knowledge of cause and effect1 alike prove the wisdom of the highest religious teaching--viz41 that the faithful union of strong and pure young manhood and womanhood is the only element out of which a strong and durable nation can grow4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,the ,hygienic ,advantage of ,sexual ,morality ,the present subject may be summed up in two great questions--viz41 ,first1 is ,virtue desirable8 ,secondly1 is ,virtue practicable8 ,we have shown in the preceding investigation that the control of the sexual passion and its guidance by ,reason--which we name ,virtue--is of fundamental importance2 that it is essential to individual health1 to the happiness of the family1 to the purity of ,society1 and the growth of a strong nation4 ,virtue1 therefore1 is desirable4 ,it remains to consider whether it be practicable4 ,no vagueness or doubt should exist in relation to fundamental principles of education4 ,methods may change2 no inflexible rule can be laid down4 ,enlarging experience1 enlightened by love1 will vary infinitely the adaptations needed in the education of infinitely varied children1 but the aim of education should not vary4 ,sound knowledge1 as well as a steadfast faith and hope1 must guide every intelligent parent from the beginning of family life1 or confusion1 perplexity1 and endless difficulties will be added to the inevitable difficulties of education4 ,one of the most serious questions to be understood and practically answered by parents in the education of their sons is this3 ,if in relation to sex ,chastity be the true moral aim of a young man's education1 can it be secured without injury to his health8 ,is morality an advantage to the health of young men8#cb ,it is impossible to over-estimate the importance of this question1 both to men and women4 ,it touches the most vital interests of both4 ,the family1 the relations of husband and wife1 the education of children1 the rules and customs of society1 and the arrangements of practical life will directly depend upon1 or be affected by1 the answer which we give to the question1 ,is virtue an advantage to all human beings8 ,can one moral law exist for all8 ,truth must always be accepted4 ,no personal prejudice1 no habit of education1 must stand in the way of clearly established truth4 ,it is the greatest sin we can commit to try to believe a lie because the truth seems unpleasant1 difficult1 or contrary to prejudices4 ,if it be true that chastity is a right thing for women1 but a wrong thing for men1 then the truth1 with all its consequences1 must be accepted4 ,if1 however1 this statement be false--if it be a prejudice of education1 a result of evil customs1 the most fruitful source of misery to the human race--then the truth1 with all its consequences1 must equally be accepted4 ,in seeking truth on this subject it is indispensable to examine its practical aspect closely1 to study the facts on which existing customs are based1 and disentangle the confused web of truth and falsehood1 out of which has grown the present widespread belief that a young man cannot lead a chaste life to the age of twenty-five without injury to his health4 ,that some limit to the indulgence of natural instinct is necessary in both sexes will be evident from the early age at which the sexual movement commences1 as well as from the length of time required for its completion4 ,it is not only in children of twelve and fourteen that this instinct is already strongly marked1 it may be observed at a much earlier age4 ,numberless instances of juvenile depravity come under the observation of the physician1 and such gross cases are only exaggerations of the refined instincts veiled by modesty and self-respect1 which are gradually growing in all healthy children4 ,that this mental instinct tends to express itself in the unformed bodies of children corrupted by evil example1 we have only too abundant proof4 ,a chronic evil of boarding-schools1 of asylums1 and of all places where masses of children are thrown together without wise moral supervision1 is the early habit of self-abuse4 ,long before the boy or girl is capable of becoming a parent1 this dangerous habit may be formed4 ,it is not necessarily the indication of a coarse nature4 ,it is observable in refined1 intellectual1 and even pious persons1 as a habit carried on from childhood1 when it was begun in ignorance1 or taught1 perhaps1 by servants1 or caught from companions4 ,many a fine nature in both man and woman has been wrecked1 by the insidious growth of this natural temptation1 into an inveterate habit4 ,the more common result1 however1 of this vicious practice is a premature stimulation of the sexual nature1 which throws youth of both sexes either into habits of early licentiousness or into a morbid condition of mental impurity4 ,an experienced physician#cc writes3 #8,the earliest and most frequent cause of disorder of the generative apparatus is the practice of self-abuse1 the tendency to which is strongest about the age of puberty4444 ,excitement is increased by the conversation and thoughts which are indulged in1 and it is apt to be unchecked by the moral control which has not yet acquired its proper influence4 ,moreover1 lads are often induced to the pernicious practice by their companions1 who may be as ignorant as themselves of the wrong and mischief they are doing4 ,it would be a very good thing if those who have the charge of boys were less scrupulous in giving warning upon this matter4 ,much trouble and anxiety might be spared by timely advice seriously and kindly given4444 ,an extensive acquaintance1 through years with those who have just come from our schools1 has impressed the importance of this matter upon me4' ,dangers thus existing which may threaten the youngest child1 the necessity of guidance1 the formation of good habits1 and the inculcation of self-respect even in childhood is evident4 ,at an early age self-control can be taught4 ,it is a principle which grows by exercise4 ,the more the brain asserts its power of ,will over the automatic actions of the body1 the stronger may become the control of reason over sensations and instincts4 ,the neglect of children at this early age is a direct cause of the corruption of the next stage of life4 ,the lad of sixteen or seventeen is in the first flush of early manhood4 ,he is physically capable of becoming a father1 although entirely unfit to be so4 ,some years are required to strengthen his physical powers4 ,the advantage of the self-control of absolute chastity at this period of life is unquestionable2 every physiologist will confirm this statement4 ,but chastity is of the mind as well as of the body4 ,the corruption of the mind at this early age is the most fruitful source of social evil in later life4 ,the years from sixteen to twenty-one are critical years for youth4 ,if purity of life and the strength of complete self-control can then be secured1 there is every hope for the future4 ,every additional year will enlarge the mental capacity1 and may confirm the power of ,will4 ,the strong man is able to take the large views of sex1 its uses1 aims1 and duties1 which are considerations too abstract for the child-man1 impelled by bewildering sensations4 ,if at this early age he falls1 he is too often lost4 ,physical passion1 which reaches its maximum 7roughly speaking7 at twenty-seven1 can only be controlled and exalted if1 at the age when chastity is a positive physical benefit1 the great mental principle of self-control has gained mastery over the nature4 ,if at this period the power of ,will has been gained to retain self-respect and resist temptation1 such habit of self-government is the safeguard of youth4 ,it is the only foundation on which the early years of life can be safely based1 the only way by which those habits of virtue can be established which strengthen the constitution and enable it to grow into the fullest vigour of manhood4 ,if1 however1 the child has been injured by habits or associations which produce precocity and irritability of function1 he will inevitably fall into vice in the earliest years of manhood2 his power of resistance is gone1 and every temptation drags him down4 ,one of our ablest surgeons has left on record the following weighty advice3#cd #8,the boy has to learn that to his immature frame every sexual indulgence is unmitigated evil4 ,every illicit pleasure is a degradation to be bitterly regretted hereafter4444 ,if a boy is once fully impressed that all such indulgences are dirty and mean1 and1 with the whole force of his unimpaired energy1 determines he will not disgrace himself by yielding1 a very bright and happy future is before him4444 ,where1 as is the case with a very large number1 a young man's education has been properly watched1 and his mind has not been debased by vile practices1 it is usually a comparatively easy task to be continent1 and requires no great or extraordinary effort1 and every year of voluntary chastity renders the task easier by the mere force of habit4444 ,it is of vital importance that boys and young men should know1 not only the guilt of an illicit indulgence of their dawning passions1 but also the danger of straining an immature power1 and the solemn truth that the want will be an irresistible tyrant only to those who have lent it strength by yielding2 that the only true safety lies in keeping even the thoughts pure4444 ,it is easier to abstain altogether than to be occasionally incontinent1 and then continent for a period4444 ,if a young man wished to undergo the acutest sexual suffering he could adopt no more certain method than to propose to be incontinent1 with the avowed intention of becoming continent again when he had 8sown his wild oats40 ,the agony of breaking off a habit which so rapidly entwines itself with every fibre of the human frame is such that it would not be too much to say to any youth commencing a career of vice3 8,you are going a road on which you will never turn back4 ,however much you may wish it the struggle will be too much for you4 ,you had better stop now4 ,it is your last chance40' ,our early neglect of youth is1 then1 one of the great causes of social immorality4 ,the most earnest thought of parents should be given to the means of securing influences which will strengthen and purify their children in the early years of life4 ,evil outward temptations abound1 but they must not be allowed to exercise their effects unchecked2 they must be counteracted by more powerful influences for good4 ,the physical growth of youth1 the new powers1 the various symptoms which mark the transition from childhood into young manhood and womanhood1 are often alarming to the individual4 ,yet this important period of life is entered upon1 strange to say1 as a general rule1 without parental guidance4 ,parents shrink from their duty4 ,they have failed to become their children's confidential friends4 ,in every other respect the physical and mental wants of their children are attended to4 ,suitable food is provided1 and the various functions of digestion and assimilation carefully watched2 the healthy condition of the skin1 of the muscles1 of all the various functions of the body provided for1 and intellectual education carried on1 but the highest physical and mental function committed to the human being1 whose guidance requires the wisest foresight1 the most delicate supervision1 is left to the chances of accident or the counsels of a stranger4 ,measureless evil results from the neglect of parents to fortify their children at this age4 ,although direct and impressive instruction and guidance in relation to sex is not only required by the young1 but is indispensable to their physical and moral welfare1 yet the utmost caution is necessary in giving such guidance1 in order that the natural susceptibilities of the nature be not wounded4 ,it is a point on which youth of both sexes are keenly sensitive1 and any want of tact in addressing the individual1 or any forcible introduction of the subject where the previous relations of parent and child have not produced the trust and affectionate mutual respect which would render communication on all serious subjects of life a rational sequence in their relations1 may do harm instead of good4 ,where the conscience of the parent has only been awakened late in life to this high duty to the child1 the attempt to approach the subject with the young adult is often deeply resented by both boy and girl4 ,in such cases the necessary counsel may be better given by a stranger--by the physician1 who will speak with acknowledged authority1 or by some book of impressive character1 when such a one 7much needed7 shall have been prepared4 ,that this is a very imperfect fulfilment of parental duty is true1 but it is often all that the parent can attempt where the high and important character of sex has not been understood at the outset of family life1 and thus not guided the past education of the children4 ,it is important to recognise the parallelism which exists throughout the physical organization of the two sexes1 making them equal parts of complete human nature--a parallelism which is too often lost sight of1 at this period of a young man's life4 ,in each of the two halves of humanity1 the sexual functions are adapted to the higher nature of the human being4 ,provision is made in each sex for their control by reason1 this provision being made with greater or lesser elaborate preparation in proportion to the relative importance of these functions in each sex4 ,this provision secures their conversion into a human social force1 instead of allowing them to remain a blind instinct1 as in the lower animals2 for everything in humanity is subject to the law of progress and higher growth4 ,the generative function in both sexes must be kept in a state of readiness for use4 ,it has1 therefore1 its special activity of production1 maintaining its tissues in healthy vigour throughout adult life4 ,it is also marked with a certain periodicity1 which is stamped on all the more important vital functions4 ,it must1 however1 at the same time be subjected to reason and converted into a human faculty4 ,to secure this end1 it contains within itself natural provisions for its own independent well-being1 ,nature having established the power of physical self-balance in this important function by the natural1 gradual1 and healthy removal of unemployed secretions in each individual4 ,it thus becomes the subject of reason1 adapted to the higher aims of life1 instead of a blind force enslaving the human being4 ,an important illustration of this subjection of these functions to reason1 is referred to by the experienced surgeon1 ,mr4 ,acton1 who writes3 #8,there exists no greater error1 or one more opposed to physiological truth1 than the fear that atrophy or impotence might be the result of chastity4 ,i have never1 after many years' experience1 seen a single instance of atrophy from this cause4 ,it is not a fact that power is annihilated in well-formed adults leading a healthy life and yet remaining continent4 ,the function goes on to old age1 sometimes slowly1 sometimes quickly1 but very frequently only under the influence of the will4 ,no person need be deterred by this apocryphal fear from living a chaste life4 ,it is a device of the unchaste--a lame excuse for their own incontinence1 not founded on any physiological law4 ,the organs will take care that their action is not interfered with4'#ce ,the very signs1 however1 of ,nature's provision for raising the lower instinct into a human faculty1 often create great uneasiness in the young mind4 ,it is at this important crisis that the delicate and respectful counsel of the wise parent or physician is indispensable to both boys and girls4 ,the youth should be told that ,nature will help1 not injure him at this important crisis of life1 if he will be true to his own higher nature4 ,the young of both sexes should realize that self-control of thought and action is essential4 ,every means of hygienic1 intellectual1 and religious influence should be used to direct and strengthen both mind and body4 ,for both young men and young women it is hygiene in its largest sense that should be prescribed and enforced--viz41 the guidance of the early vital forces1 both physical and mental1 into natural beneficial directions4 ,the youth who has been saved from habits of self-abuse in childhood can now be saved from habits of vice in manhood1 and helped forward in that life of virtue which alone will strengthen all his powers and make him worthy of marriage4 ,that this view of the sexual function as a human force1 to be governed by reason1 is the truth1 and the modern theory of its being a blind instinct enslaving the individual a falsehood1 is proved in many ways4 ,we have the medical opinion of physicians in large practice1 the private and public testimony of individuals1 the observation of well-managed schools and colleges1 of prisons1 of communities1 and the social customs of various classes and different races4 ,let us glance at some of these facts4 ,in rigid training for athletic sports1 for boat-racing1 prize-fighting1 etc41 chastity is enforced as one of the means for attaining the greatest possible amount of physical vigour and endurance4 ,this fact1 observed in ancient times1 is confirmed by modern experience4 ,when the health is seriously impaired1 the same rule of sexual abstinence is laid down4 ,in a large proportion of these cases the power of sex is not lost2 the physical craving may even be increased1 from the irritability which often accompanies disturbed health4 ,but the fear of death acts as a counter force on the young mind1 and rouses it to unwonted efforts at self-command4 ,no sacrifice is too great to escape death1 to regain health1 and take part once more in ordinary life4 ,temptations are avoided1 healthy regime adopted1 and the young man1 taking a great deal of outdoor exercise1 leads for months an absolutely chaste life1 with the greatest possible advantage to his health4 ,such cases may be constantly noted in foreign health resorts1 and amongst a class of cases the most difficult to reform--viz41 dissipated young men who have been perverted from childhood by a state of society so universally corrupt that it cannot happily be paralleled yet1 in ,england or ,america4 ,it is well known that the early ancestors of our vigorous ,german race guarded the chastity of their youth until the age of twenty-five1 as the true method of increasing their strength1 enlarging their stature1 and enabling them to become the progenitors of a vigorous race4 ,the opportunity of wide observation enjoyed by the headmasters of public schools1 and all engaged in education1 lends great weight to their testimony4 ,the master of over #hjj boys and young men states3 #8,the result of my personal observation1 extending over a great many years1 is1 that hard exercise in the open air is1 in most cases1 an efficient remedy against vicious propensities4 ,a large number of our young men thus make a law unto themselves1 and pass the period of their youth in temperance and purity till they have realized a position that enables them to marry4' ,dr4 ,arnold1 of ,rugby1 has given similar testimony4#cf ,in primitive ,christian communities1 and many country and village populations uncorrupted by the stimulants of luxury1 we observe the advantage of chastity to the health of youth4 ,in these simple1 healthy societies the strong public sentiment of the village1 combined with outdoor life1 preserves the honesty of the young men until the time of early marriage4 ,the result is the growth of a vigorous1 healthy race4 ,our recognition of the possibility1 as well as advantage1 of chastity to the young is further strengthened by a knowledge of the healthy self-control exercised by men in the prime of life4 ,after the age of thirty1 the unnatural life of celibacy is a difficult exercise of mind and body1 far more difficult than it is to uncorrupted youth4 ,the intimate experience1 however1 of every observant man and woman can recall constant instances of the honourable fidelity of husbands to their marriage vow during the protracted illness of their wives2 and the majority of our countrymen would consider it an insult to suppose that when a new-born child is laid in their arms1 and the wife leans for support during her period of weakness upon her husband's love1 that he betrays her love and trust during those solemn epochs of family life4 ,to private knowledge is added the weight of solemn public testimony from men of ardent temperament who have reached the full vigour of life in the practice of entire chastity4 ,every one who listened to the weighty words of ,pre ,hyacinthe1 spoken in ,st4 ,james's ,hall before a crowded audience a few years ago1 received the proof of the co-existence of vigorous health with stainless virtue4 ,similar testimony1 called forth by the false teaching and dangerous tendencies of the present time1 has been given by many others1 proving the principle that the human sexual passion when uncorrupted1 does not enslave the man2 that the possibility of perfect health and perfect virtue is the natural endowment of every human being4 ,a modern writer of unsurpassed genius1 ,honor de ,balzac 7whose writings are injurious because they are such wonderfully vivid representations of horrible social disease7 was himself a man of singularly chaste life1 and attributes his power to that fact4 ,brought up by his father in strict self-control1 his power of ,will was not destroyed2 he preserved his respect for women1 his belief in noble love4 ,his intimate friend thus writes of him3 #8,above all he insisted on the necessity of absolute purity of life1 such as the ,church prescribes for monks4 8,that10 said he1 8develops the powers of the mind to the highest degree1 and imparts to those who practise it unknown faculties4 ,for myself1 ,i accepted all the monastic conditions necessary for workers4 ,one only passion carried me out of my studious habits--it was a passion for outdoor observation of the manners and morals of the faubourg where ,i lived40' ,strong testimony as to the compatibility of chastity and health is furnished by the ,catholic priesthood4 ,although it is well known that there are large numbers of men who break their vow1 and men who should never have entered the priesthood1 it is also well known as a positive fact that vast numbers of men are found in every age and country who honestly maintain their vow1 and who1 by avoidance of temptation1 by direction of the mind to intellectual pursuits and devotion to great humanitarian objects1 pass long lives in health and vigour4 ,the effect on the world of enforced celibacy is1 of course1 disastrous2 but the power that has been gained by the institution of the priesthood is indubitable1 and the one object here insisted on--viz41 the compatibility of physical health with the observance of chastity--is proved by it on a large scale4 ,the ,shaker communities of ,new ,lebanon and other settlements contain a large number of middle-aged as well as elderly men1 who live an absolutely celibate life and enjoy excellent health4#cg ,the same is true of ,moravians1 etc4 ,the possibility of controlling this great human instinct is further shown by the experience of women4 ,we see that under the effect of training to a moral life and the action of public opinion a great body of women in our own country constantly lead a virtuous life1 frequently in spite of physical instincts as strong as those of men1 and always in spite of mental instincts still more powerful4 ,that the feeling of sex regarded as a mental passion is even stronger in women than in men must be evident to all who give to the word #8strength' its true signification--the signification of mental as well as physical phenomena in proportion to the powers of the individual4 ,the demands of women are greater than those of men2 they desire more and more the thought and devotion of those they love4 ,they often display a persistent fidelity1 terrible in its earnestness1 when they have had the misfortune to become attached to an unworthy object4 ,the weak virtue of the mass of women1 exposed to constant temptation1 indicates the insatiable craving of the woman's heart for love4 ,it is never at rest2 it always needs its objects1 and when these affections are degraded from their high purpose and defrauded of their legitimate objects1 they become the greatest obstacle to human progress4 ,no solution of the difficult problem of sexual relationships is possible1 until the complete parallelism 7not identity7 of the sexual nature in the two sexes is recognised1 and the significance of woman's mental necessities understood4 ,women themselves must learn the meaning of the high nature that ,god has given them1 and perceive how great a responsibility rests upon them in the mighty work of raising the human race out of the old thraldom of lust into the reign of love4 ,that large numbers of women1 so richly endowed with the high principle of sex1 retain their health whilst leading celibate lives1 is one more proof of that adaptation of this principle to the higher character of our nature1 which transforms a simple brute instinct into a grand human force4 ,the foregoing facts distinctly prove that the exercise of the sexual powers is not indispensable to the health of human beings2 that men of all ages can live in full vigorous health without such exercise2 and that to the young it is an immense physical advantage that they should so live4 ,this is the important principle to be first established4 ,the subjects of temptation1 of customs1 of artificial wants1 etc41 are other questions1 to be considered by themselves4 ,thought will be inevitably confused1 and the important practical arrangements of the future hopelessly perplexed1 if all sorts of questions are jumbled together2 if practical difficulties1 social phases1 temporary phenomena1 are allowed to obscure or completely hide the great guide of humanity--,eternal ,truth4 ,a principle clearly established is that portion of truth needed for present guidance4 ,it must be thoroughly understood and resolutely held to1 as the only clue which can guide us slowly through the dark labyrinth of error1 vice1 and misery4 ,such a guiding principle is found in the essential nature of the human sexual faculty--its distinctive power of self-control4 ,the more this principle is considered1 understood1 and valued1 the more it will be found that it contains the power of purifying society1 enlightening legislation1 and raising our status as a nation4 ,the aim1 therefore1 of all wise parents should be to secure those influences which will preserve the purity of their sons until the age of twenty-five1 when marriage1 as a rule1 should be made possible and encouraged4 ,this is the wise practice1 derived from experience1 applicable to all nations living in temperate climes4 ,earlier marriage may sometimes be wise1 but it is not the broad rule4 ,that the individual may remain in health until a later period and throughout life has been proved1 but it is a national loss that the best years of vigorous manhood should not stamp themselves upon the future generation4 ,the unmarried life after thirty years of age is often injured in mind or body4 ,the exceptions arising from character or occupation1 from religious enthusiasm or devotion to some great work1 do not refute the general statement4 ,it must necessarily be so4 ,as sex is a natural and most powerful human force1 there is risk of injury in permanently stifling it4 ,marriage being its true method of expression and education1 the character is injured through want of this development4 ,it is only through honourable marriage that the beneficial growth of manly character of mind and body can be attained4 ,the illegitimate exercise of the sexual powers is a source of direful social and national evil1 and requires those strong restraints of both law and custom which help to educate a nation4 ,no fear that some individuals1 unable to marry1 may suffer in their private lives1 can for one moment justify the establishment of practices or the sanctioning of customs which are destructive to the general welfare4 ,far more evil1 mental and physical1 arises to the race from the effects of licentiousness than from any effects of abstinence4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,methods by which ,sexual ,morality may be ,promoted ,the important question will present itself to everyone who realizes the gravity of the dangers which we have now exposed3 ,what practical steps can be taken to secure the truer standard of morality which will remodel the education of youth8 ,this weighty question can only gradually receive a complete answer1 as the intelligence of our age awakens to the fact that the attainment of true sexual morality is the fundamental principle of national growth4 ,the first indispensable basis of all efforts for practical reform is the acceptance of a true principle of action4 ,the great guiding principle now laid down is this3 that ,vice--that is1 the illegitimate exercise of the sexual faculty1 regardless of religious conscience and the welfare of others--is not essential to the constitution of the human being1 but is the result of removable conditions4 ,the importance of this truth is immense4 ,its acceptance or denial produces two diametrically opposite courses of action--action in education1 in society1 and in legislation4 ,it is one of those abstract truths which are stronger than all facts1 being eternal instead of temporary1 moulding practical action instead of depending on it4 ,the belief or denial of this truth may express itself in varying forms1 according to the age or country1 according to the more or less logical workings of a nation's mind2 but whether clearly recognised in all its bearings1 or blindly acted on in a confused and near-sighted way1 the results will always follow in the same direction4 ,the acceptance of this truth will always tend to diminish and gradually destroy evil2 its denial must inevitably intensify and extend evil4 ,it is the essential nature of truth or falsehood to express itself in practical action4 ,this tendency is overlooked by the majority of human beings engaged in the eager pursuits of daily life1 in business1 in household duties1 in amusements1 and the logical results of false theories are1 in practical life1 often modified by the happy instincts which blindly turn aside the inevitable tendencies of logical error2 but the truth or falsehood always remains as a great permanent force at work from age to age4 ,in considering the means of attaining to a truer practice of morality1 therefore1 the spread of truth is a first indispensable necessity and condition of future improvement4 ,the great truth to be recognised is the fact that male as well as female purity is a necessary foundation of progressive human society4 ,this important subject must no longer be ignored4 ,the time has come for its acceptance by all experienced men and women4 ,the necessity of upholding one moral standard as the aim to be striven for1 must become a fundamental article of religious faith4 ,above all1 ,parents must realize the tremendous responsibility which rests upon them to provide for the healthy growth of the principles of sex in their children4 ,it will be seen1 the more closely this subject is investigated1 that the thought and action of women as well as men1 is indispensable to social regeneration4 ,on women of all classes rests a full measure of responsibility for the present evil condition of sexual relations4 ,no class can throw off this responsibility4 ,women are equally responsible with men for the deep corruptions of society4 ,this is pre-eminently a parents' question1 affecting the vital interests of the family and the future of children in every relation of life2 woman1 from her central position in the family as wife and mother1 must know how to use her immense influence wisely4 ,to be wise1 knowledge of truth is essential1 and the adult woman1 the centre of home influence1 must acquire correct knowledge on every subject that concerns family life4 ,the nature and requirements of men and women is a subject on which a woman needs correct knowledge1 not only as a guide to the education of the young child1 but as a guide in the various duties of life4 ,a woman is mother always1 not only of the infant1 but of the growing and grown man4 ,a mother who has been able to secure the friendship of her son as well as her daughter1 can exercise a beneficial influence from youth onwards which will be recognised with ceaseless gratitude in later life4#ch ,the higher influence which women are intended to infuse into sex makes the subject a holy one to the wise mother4 ,she can approach it in moments of sacred confidence with her children with a delicacy and tender earnestness that wounds no natural reserve1 but excites a grateful reverence in the youth's mind4 ,the first falsehood1 therefore1 that must disappear is the belief that the higher classes of women--the cultivated1 the refined1 the virtuous--have nothing to do with sexual vice2 that they must remain ignorant of facts1 and see nothing but what it is pleasant to see4 ,it is on this class of women1 perhaps1 more than on any other one class of society that its future welfare depends4#ci ,they are capable of broad views of truth1 of insight1 of ceaseless devotion to the highest welfare of the race1 to ,god1 when once they have learned to know what truth is2 when they have realized the actual facts of every-day life and observed the effects of prevalent customs upon women as well as upon men4 ,the task of regenerating society by securing the healthy growth of the faculty of sex in their children being1 therefore1 laid upon both parents1 the indispensable co-operation of the mother in this work is seen more clearly1 as the causes of sexual precocity and the triumph of the material nature over love are studied more deeply4 ,the fact being established that the human being is not designed by ,providence to be the slave of passion1 what are the causes which produce that disease of licentiousness--as truly disease as drunkenness or opium-eating--which we find to be more completely organized and more audaciously justifying itself than at any previous time1 the dangerous peculiarity of the present age being that customs and habits1 formerly blindly followed1 are now defended or legalized8 ,we shall find1 on considering the influence at work on the human being from childhood upward 7laying aside for the moment the question of heredity71 obvious sources of corruption that help us to the solution of this difficult problem4 #8,the temptations of life' to which our youth succumb are no fixed things essential to human nature4 ,they vary in every age and country4 ,they are changeable facts1 removable evils1 perversions of natural tastes4 ,the human race can grow out of license into order1 out of prostitution into marriage1 out of lust into love1 as certainly as typhoid fever can be exterminated by pure water and pure air4 ,it is from childhood that the strong man is moulded gradually into the hero--or the criminal4 ,if the superior standard of morality which is still to be found amongst us1 be compared with the customs widely diffused in many other countries1 it will be seen how variable the standard of morality is1 and how dependent it is on social circumstance--i4e41 on removable conditions4#dj ,these corrupting circumstances of life surround the individual at every stage of growth from youth onwards4 ,they are found in early habits and influences2 in mischievous school companions and studies2 in vile literature1 books1 advertisements1 pictures2 in indecent theatre1 ballet1 public amusements2 in opportunity and temptation2 in drink and dissipated companions2 in perverted social sentiment1 false medical advice1 delayed or unhappy marriage--these are the snares which meet the human being1 and which may gradually pervert the nature4 ,now1 there is not one of these facts that is an essential part of human nature4 ,there is not one that cannot be changed to good4 ,each one of the evils above named is an evil to be attacked and vanquished1 and the wise method of doing this1 is a distinct command and work of practical religion4 ,the following points bearing on the moral education of childhood and youth must be considered by all parents who are convinced of the saving value of sexual morality--viz41 observation of the child during infancy1 acquirement of the child's confidence1 selection of young companions1 care in the choice of a school and of studies which will not injure the mind1 the formation of tastes1 outdoor exercise1 companionship of brothers and sisters1 the choice of physician1 social intercourse1 and amusements4 ,these various points require careful consideration4 ,the earliest duty of the parent is to watch over the infant child4 ,few parents are aware how very early evil habits may be formed1 nor how injurious the influence of the nurse often is to the child4#da ,the mother's eye1 full of tenderness and respect1 must always watch over her children4 ,self-respect cannot be too early inculcated4 ,the keynote of moral education is respect for the human body4 ,the mother should caution the child plainly not to touch or meddle with himself more than is necessary2 that his body is a wonderful and sacred thing1 intended for important and noble ends2 that it must not be played or trifled with1 or in any way injured4 ,every thoughtless breach of delicacy should be checked with a gentle gravity which will not repel or abash1 but impress the child4 ,this watchfulness over the young child1 by day and night1 is the first duty to be universally inculcated4 ,two things are necessary in order to fulfil it--viz41 a clear knowledge of the evils to which the child may be exposed1 and tact to interpret the faintest indication of danger and to guard from it without allowing the child to be aware of the danger4 ,evils should never be presented to the young child's mind4 ,habits must be formed from earliest infancy1 but reasons for those habits should only be given much later4 ,it is the parent's intelligence which must act for the child during very early life4 ,this unavoidable necessity is1 at the same time1 a cause of frequent failure in education1 for the reason that parents1 through ignorance or egotism1 fail to see that they must study the nature of the child4 ,the strong adult too often fails in insight1 and imposes its own methods and conclusions upon a nature not susceptible of those methods and often not adapted to those conclusions4 ,this is really spiritual tyranny1 and destroys the providential relation which should exist between child and adult4 ,the parent should become the first and truest friend of the child4 ,this possibility and duty is a great parents' privilege1 too often unknown1 and yet it affects the whole future of the child4 ,it is through the love and confidence that exist between them that durable influence is exerted4 ,if the child naturally confides its little joys and sorrows to the ever-ready and intelligent sympathy of the mother1 if it grows up in the habit of turning to this warm and helpful influence1 the youth will come as naturally with his experiences and plans to the parent as did the little child2 the evils of life1 which must be gradually known1 will then be encountered with the aid of experience4 ,the form of the relation between parent and child changes1 not its essence4 ,the essence of the relationship is trust3 the fact that the parent's presence will always be welcomed by the child2 that in work or in play1 in infancy or youth1 the parent shall be the first natural friend4 ,it is only then that wise1 permanent influence can be exerted4 ,it is not dogmatism1 nor rigid laws1 nor formal instruction1 that is needed1 but the formative power of loving insight and sympathy4 ,it is only when this providential relation exists that the parent can understand the life of the child and exercise influence without harshness4 ,with every step in life the child's horizon enlarges1 and opportunities of good or temptations to evil increase4 ,the experiences of school-life1 the companions selected1 the studies pursued1 and the books read1 introduce the child into the wide world of practical life in miniature4 ,all the circumstances of school-life are of serious importance--an importance not sufficiently realized in their bearing upon character1 and in the responsibility which rests with parents themselves1 to mould those circumstances4 ,the child's entrance upon school-life is his first plunge into the great world beyond the family circle1 his first serious contact with new thoughts1 customs1 and standards--with a new code of morality2 not the formal morality of his professors1 but the confused practical morality of his school companions4 ,here he may meet with every kind of evil1 of which he had previously no conception1 carried on in a crude1 practical form by those whom he naturally looks up to--his elder companions1 who are perhaps rich and clever1 and whom he regards as #8men4' ,how is the child strengthened to meet this grand new life1 as it seems to him1 which entrances him with its novelty1 its variety1 and its vigour1 and which very often produces a feeling of kindly contempt for the narrow home life8 ,full confidence between parent and child is necessary in order that all the child is learning may be known4 ,this school world1 unlike the larger world1 is directly under the possibility of parental control4 ,what parents1 as a body1 require1 the teacher will endeavour to provide4 ,the material arrangements and regulations1 as well as the moral tone of any school to which a child is sent1 must be considered4 ,it being remembered that the great vices of self-abuse and fornication are the curse of our schools and colleges1 all the direct and indirect means must be sought for by which these vices can be as rigidly excluded from our educational establishments as the vice of thieving4 ,school and college sentiment should be trained to regard them as equally dishonourable and unmanly4 ,they must be overcome chiefly by moral means in connection with hygienic arrangements4 ,the views of the principal on the subject of sexual training1 the character of assistant-teachers1 the water-closet and sleeping arrangements1 the amount of outdoor exercise secured1 should all be studied by the conscientious parent4 ,some direct hygienic instruction and warning1 suited to the age of the child1 should be given4 ,it is a false and cruel delicacy which ignores the great danger of schools1 and sends an innocent child utterly unprepared into a school society where corruption exists4 #8,i believe1' writes an experienced teacher of lads1 #8that ninety-nine hundredths of the immorality that prevails amongst young men originates primarily in ignorance and perverted curiosity4' ,he therefore lays down the following practical rules for the hygienic instruction which he deems indispensable3 ,first1 that the physiology of sex should be carefully subordinated to general physiology and hygiene1 and that it should always be treated comparatively4 ,secondly1 that all instruction and examination should be oral and in class1 no text-books being given to the pupils1 the utmost simplicity and plainness of speech being employed1 and only outline diagrams used as pictorial illustrations4#db ,the rational view of education--viz41 the formation of character and the establishment of well-balanced health1 as fundamental objects to which other things should be added--require such a revision of our school system as will secure correct physical habits1 and1 above all1 mental purity4 ,this sound basis of education must be insured in all places where children congregate together4 ,careful arrangements to promote these ends are equally necessary in boys' and girls' schools4 ,they promote alike true manliness and true womanliness4 ,the nature of the studies given to the young and the way in which classical literature is taught require to be considered by parents4 ,the corrupt literature of antiquity tends to corrupt the youthful mind as unavoidably as licentious modern literature4 ,its bearing on the healthy growth of youth must be considered4 ,the advantages of classical education should be secured without employing works whose tendency is to degrade the young mind4 ,the contrary opinion is the prejudice of custom4 ,our ,catholic brethren have fully recognised the suicidal policy of imbuing unformed minds with licentious literature1 and the ,church has held more than one ,general ,conference on the subject4 ,no one can doubt the excellence of their scholarship1 and it is much to be desired that a careful study of their methods in this respect should be required from all instructors of youth4 ,the impulse to such a change should come from parents4 ,the dangers arising from vicious literature of any kind cannot be overestimated by parents4 ,whether sensuality be taught by police reports1 or by ,greek and ,latin literature1 by novels1 plays1 songs1 penny papers1 or any species of the corrupt literature now sent forth broadcast1 and which finds its way into the hands of the young of all classes and both sexes1 the danger is equally real4 ,it is storing the susceptible mind of youth with words1 images1 and suggestions of vice which remain permanently in the mind1 springing up day and night in unguarded moments1 weakening the power of resistance1 and accustoming the thoughts to an atmosphere of vice4 ,no amount of simple caution given by parents or instructors suffices to guard the young mind from the influence of evil literature4 ,it must be remembered that hatred of evil will never be learned by intellectual warning4 ,the permanent and incalculable injury which is done to the young mind by vicious reading is proved by all that we now know about the structure and methods of growth of the human mind4 ,physiological inquiry is constantly throwing more light upon our mental as well as physical organization4 ,we learn that nutritive changes take place in the human brain by the effect of objects which produce ideas2 that permanent traces of these changes continue through life1 so that states or changes connected with certain ideas remain stored up in the brain1 capable of recall1 or presenting themselves in the most unexpected way4 ,we see the importance of the last impressions made on the brain at night1 indicating the activity and fixity of the cerebral changes of nutrition during the quiescence of sleep4 ,all that we observe of these processes shows us that different physical changes are produced in the brain by different classes of ideas1 and that the moral sense itself may be affected by the constant exercise of the brain in one direction or another1 so that the actual individual standard of what is right or what is wrong will be quite changed1 according to whether low or high ideas have been constantly recorded in the retentive substance of the brain4 ,these important facts have a wide and constant bearing on education1 showing the really poisonous character of all licentious literature1 whether ancient or modern1 and its destructive effect on the quality of the brain4 ,it is necessary1 therefore1 to prepare the young mind to shrink repelled from the debasing literature with which society is flooded1 and which is one of the greatest dangers to be encountered4 ,the great help towards this object is the cultivation of strong intellectual and moral tastes in children1 the preoccupation of the mind with what is good4 ,truth should be in the field before falsehood4 ,all children and youth are fascinated by narratives of adventure1 endurance1 heroism1 and noble deeds4 ,the home library should be selected in order to brace the mind and character1 and enlist the interest of the child or youth in what is manly and true4 ,every child also has some special taste or tendency which can be found out1 if carefully looked for4 ,it may be for art1 for science1 for construction1 for investigation1 adventure1 or beneficence2 but whatever it be1 it may be made the means of intellectual and moral growth4 ,the special youthful tendency is of extreme value1 as indicating the direction in which a taste1 even if slightly marked1 may be cultivated into a serious interest and become a powerful help in the formation of character4 ,the study of natural science and of all pursuits which develop a love and observation of ,nature are of great value in education4 ,such pursuits have the additional advantage of promoting life in the open air4 ,the weighty testimony in favour of the beneficial influence of outdoor exercises and amusements has already been noted4 ,all experience shows us that the calling of the great muscular apparatus of the human body into constant vigorous life is an indispensable means for securing the healthy1 well-balanced growth of the frame1 and for preventing the premature development of the sexual faculty4 ,it is a subject worthy of the especial study of parents in relation to the education of both sexes4 ,abundant exercise in the fresh air1 with total abstinence from alcoholic drink1 may be considered the two great physical aids to morality in youth4 ,the companions chosen by the child at school or the youth at college are of extreme importance to the growth of character1 and the exercise of influence over this choice1 without interfering with the freedom of the child1 is one of the greatest aids that a parent can render it4 ,the intimacy between those who are entering upon life together1 and who have the same future before them1 must necessarily increase and become a great fact in the young life2 but it is essential that the parent should know who these companions are1 and the character of the influence that will be exerted4 ,if the parent be the friend of his child1 he can also be the friend of his friend4 ,tact and sympathy are of the utmost value in welcoming and attracting the youthful friends1 and the wise parental care thus exercised towards offspring1 extends necessarily beyond the individual home4 ,the attention of the parent must always be ready to observe the signs of growing sex in sons as well as daughters4 ,numberless indications1 which none but the mother can note1 warn her of that approaching crisis of early manhood1 now so fatal to our youth4 ,no wise mother observes this change without a deepening of respect and tenderness1 and of infinite maternal yearning to strengthen1 guide1 and ennoble her man-child4 ,at this epoch is often thrown upon her an immense responsibility--a responsibility so grave that it may involve the ruin or salvation of her son--viz41 the choice of his physician4 ,the importance of this choice cannot be over-estimated by the parent4 ,the young are easily alarmed about their health2 they are at the same time utterly unable to judge of their own condition2 they have no knowledge to guide them1 no experience by which to measure their symptoms4 ,they place absolute confidence in their medical adviser2 his opinion and advice outweigh all other considerations and supersede all other counsel4 ,the parent must therefore realize that when a physician is selected for the growing lad1 an authority is placed over him which may become stronger than the parental influence1 and be henceforth the most powerful support or antagonist in the moral as well as physical guidance of the son4 ,if medical science were a positive science1 as is mathematics1 and its professors able to apply its principles to daily life with the certainty of geometrical propositions1 it would be folly to do otherwise than accept any medical opinion of established authority with entire confidence4 ,this1 however1 is not the case1 and the members of the medical profession would themselves be the last persons to lay claim to the possession of absolute truth4 ,as centuries roll on1 one medical school of opinion succeeds another1 and theory after theory is exploded by accumulating facts4 ,it is therefore no new thing and no subject of reproach to the self-sacrificing members of a noble profession1 that different opinions should exist amongst them1 in relation to subjects which affect that complex problem--human life4 ,indeed1 it would be an exception to a general rule did not such difference exist4 ,but we are now considering a subject so fundamental in human welfare1 so much wider than any class interest1 that any variety of opinion respecting it1 is of vital importance to be noted1 and must be recognised by all intelligent persons4 ,it must therefore be thoroughly understood by all parents that there are now two distinct classes of medical opinion existing amongst physicians4 ,each class embraces men of high medical repute1 but men who hold diametrically opposite views in relation to the guidance of the sexual powers1 the one class considering ,virtue1 the other ,vice1 a necessity4 ,each class of physicians is honest in opinion1 clear-sighted1 wishing well to society2 but the one class is far-sighted1 the other near-sighted2 the one knows the omnipotence of ,good1 the other sees the triumph of ,evil4 ,this diversity of opinion cannot remain as an abstract proposition1 but1 like all opinion1 it expresses itself in action4 ,in medical advice given to a youth1 the slightest bias in one or another direction at the starting-point of life will set him on one of two paths constantly diverging to the right or wrong4 ,one path leads to self-control1 enlarged mental and physical hygiene1 chastity2 the other to doubt1 yielding1 fornication4 ,at this period of life1 no uncertain advice should be given by the physician4 ,support and guidance are required from him1 and his counsel must be strong1 positive1 and clear4 ,the patient must be taught that chastity1 properly understood1 is health4 ,he must learn that the indications of sex in early manhood are a notice that the new faculties must be restrained--not exercised2 that they give a warning to guard against self-abuse and abuse of the other sex2 that the great danger to be dreaded is stimulation2 that everything that can excite1 whether external or internal1 must be studiously avoided4 ,the vital fact must be announced and powerfully brought home to him--that if he will keep the mind pure1 ,nature will keep the body healthy4 ,this mental strength is his one great concern1 to be secured in every possible way4 ,there must be no doubt in medical advice2 it must ring like the words of true science spoken by our distinguished surgeon to his students3#dc #8,many of your patients will ask you about sexual intercourse1 and some will expect you to prescribe fornication4 ,i would just as soon prescribe theft or lying or anything else that ,god has forbidden4444 ,chastity does no harm to mind or body2 its discipline is excellent2 marriage can be safely waited for1 and among the many nervous and hypochondriacal patients who have talked to me about fornication1 ,i have never heard one say that he was better or happier for it4'#dd ,the radical importance of the medical advice given to youth will therefore be evident to all parents who perceive the full bearing of the truths contained in the preceding pages4 ,no lesser consideration1 no false feeling of reserve1 should ever prevent the parent from knowing to which class of physicians the medical guidance of his son be intrusted4 ,an invaluable provision for the education of the principle of sex1 exists in the companionship of brothers and sisters4 ,this companionship1 established by ,nature1 should be carefully promoted1 not thwarted4 ,it is one of those provisions which make family life the type of wider relationships1 the true germ of society from which national purity and strength should grow4 ,indeed1 the more we study the capabilities of the family in each of its varied aspects1 the more potent we perceive its influence to be1 the greater the national importance of maintaining the family in its proper power and dignity4 ,this natural grouping of boys and girls is ,nature's indication of the right method of education1 and the time will undoubtedly come when the present monastic system of general education may be given up without incurring grave disadvantages4 ,that the familiar intercourse of boys and girls in the kindly presence of their elders is of very great advantage is an observation based upon wide experience4 ,isolation1 mystery1 obstacles1 produce craving curiosity1 excitement--in fact1 morbid stimulus--instead of matter-of-fact acquaintance and natural familiarity4 ,two opposite extremes tend to produce the precocity and morbid condition of sentiment which now prevail--viz41 either throwing youth into the companionship of the vicious or rigidly separating the sexes4 ,each extreme is against ,nature1 each is injurious to the individual4 ,the former practice is based upon the theory that sex is an uncontrollable instinct which must run riot4 ,the latter practice proceeds from the theory that sex is a great evil1 a temptation of the devil1 and as far as possible to be destroyed4 ,the true principle1 however1 consists in a recognition of the nobility of sex1 and the necessity--#ast1 of its slow development2 #bnd1 of its honourable satisfaction4 ,now1 in the young and growing nature1 sex may be richly satisfied by spiritual refreshment and refined companionship4 ,conjugal relations are not necessary to the very young in attaining true delight in sex4 ,on the contrary1 false relations are an outrage4 ,they violently destroy the gradual unfolding of mental and physical joys1 which alone produces exquisite and lasting delight4 ,a large amount of honourable companionship between young men and women is of the utmost advantage in strengthening and ennobling young manhood and womanhood4 ,this valuable result is only possible1 however1 as springing from the practice of chastity2 in connection with fornication it is impossible4 ,parents are now justly afraid of the influences that may be brought to bear on their children4 ,nevertheless1 abundant honourable companionship between the sexes is an important principle of future reform4 ,provide the necessary condition of adult sympathy and influence1 and the wider the range of acquaintance can be made between boys and girls1 between uncorrupted young men and women1 the better1 the more valuable1 will be the results of such acquaintance4 ,the possibility and practice of natural familiar acquaintance between unmarried young men and women in any society may be considered a test of the healthy human condition of such society4 ,any society where it is considered necessary to keep young people rigidly apart is a corrupt society1 based upon principles of national degeneracy instead of natural development4 ,the companionship of brothers and sisters is now early falsified by the failure of parents to perceive its inestimable value1 by separation in studies and amusements1 by false theories or corrupt habits1 through the influence of which the tie is weakened or perverted4 ,the friendship and affection1 however1 of these natural associates should be sedulously promoted by companionship in studies1 in music1 in outdoor pursuits and amusements4 ,into a family circle where brothers and sisters were friends and companions1 other boys and girls1 other young men and women1 would naturally enter1 the ennobling educational influence would extend indefinitely1 and those genuine sympathies which should lead to marriage union1 would gradually display themselves4 ,there is peculiar value in the influence of sisters4 ,it is a special mission of young women to make virtue lovely4 ,as the mother realizes all that such a high calling implies1 as she fully understands the meaning of ,virtue--as distinguished from ,innocence--and the methods of clothing it in loveliness1 the more she will perceive the noble character of a daughter's influence and its vital importance4 ,in this aspect small things become great through their uses4 ,the principles of dress become worthy of study2 health1 grace1 liveliness and serenity1 sympathy1 intelligence1 conversational ability1 accomplishments1 receive a new meaning--a consecration to the welfare of the human race4 ,to make brothers love virtue1 to make all men love purity1 through its incarnation in virtuous daughters1 is a grand work to accomplish6 ,the failure of young women in any country1 to embody the beauty and strength of virtue is one of the most serious evils that can befall a ,state4 ,the necessity of cultivating mental purity and respect for the principle of sex exists as strongly in relation to girls as to boys1 and it is only by securing this mental purity that young women will unconsciously address themselves to the higher rather than to the lower instincts of their male companions4 ,the family home1 carrying on its proper work1 is no narrow circle of selfish exclusiveness1 but a living centre1 attracting to itself and widely radiating healthy social life4 ,the moral influence of parents1 and particularly of the mother1 as the centre of the household1 extends itself in two opposite directions--viz41 in intercourse with the poorer classes1 through servants1 tradespeople1 benevolence1 etc42 with the richer1 through social intercourse with equals4 ,in both directions1 her influence will exert a direct bearing upon the moral education of the young4 ,the first and most important connection with the poorer classes is through domestic servants4 ,it is essential1 from the outset of family life1 to select servants who will not injure the atmosphere of home4 ,the difficulty of doing this should be a warning voice to every parent1 and compel a careful search into the cause of this great and growing difficulty4 ,what does it mean--a widespread corruption through the foundation of society1 through the ranks of working women1 so that virtue1 truth1 fidelity1 are hard to find8 ,if so1 what are the causes1 and what will be the influence exerted on the children of the family1 both at home and when they go out into the world1 and are thrown into unavoidable intercourse with this class of women8 ,the more carefully this problem is considered1 the more intimate will the relations of rich and poor be seen to be1 the more vital their relations in respect to the great question of morality1 the more imperative the duty of every mother to take a personal interest in her servants1 to exert an ennobling influence upon them1 and to consider the children of her poorer neighbours as well as her own1 if only for the sake of her own children4 ,the family is a centre of affection1 and every servant should share in this life4 ,it is wrong to retain a young servant in a household without entering into her joys and sorrows1 being acquainted with her family and friends1 providing her with honourable amusements1 and helping her to grow4 ,in connection with this branch of our subject there are two important principles that should be acted on by intelligent women4 ,the first is the necessity of educating the sentiment of sex in girls into a self-controlling force1 conscious of the weighty responsibility which its great influence involves4 ,the second principle is the resolute abolition of an outcast class of women4 ,christian civilization can acknowledge no pariah class1 but only erring individuals of either sex to be helped to a nobler life4 ,equally important is the influence exerted by parents as members of society on their own class1 thus helping to form public opinion1 which is the foundation of law as well as custom4 ,the moral tone of general society at present is a source of great injury to the young4 ,the wilful ignoring of right and wrong in sex2 the theory that it is a subject not to be considered2 the custom of allowing riches1 talents1 agreeable manners1 to atone for any amount of moral corruption2 the arrangement of marriage on a commercial basis1 material1 not spiritual1 considerations being of chief importance2 and the deplorable delay of marriage in men until the period of maximum physical vigour is past--all contribute inevitably to the formation of a corrupt social atmosphere1 equally injurious to the moral health of men and women4 ,the purest family influence contends with difficulty against this general corruption4 ,after the period of childhood1 society becomes a powerful educator of young men and women4 ,the seductions exercised by women and by men bear upon our youth of both sexes in various ways1 under widely different aspects1 but always with the same degrading tendencies1 with the same unequal contest between inexperienced innocence and practised vice4 ,seeing how the highest aims of parental education are constantly shipwrecked by the influence of society1 it becomes a necessity on the part of parents to change the tone of society4 ,in this great work women quite as much as men must think and act4 ,two fundamental principles must be steadily held in view in this great aim3 ,first1 the discouragement of licentiousness2 second1 the promotion of early marriage4 ,the methods of discouraging licentiousness in society require the gravest consideration of all parents1 and emphatically of all married women4 ,it is a subject so delicate1 and yet so vital1 that it must be treated with equal care and firmness1 and the problem can only be solved by combined action4 ,to admit men or women of licentious lives or impure inclinations to the home circle1 or to receive them with welcome honour or cordiality in society1 is a direct encouragement to vice and an equal discouragement to virtue4#de ,confirmed ,vice must not be brought into intimate relations with young ,virtue4 ,it is a crime1 a stupidity1 to do so4 ,on the other hand1 no inquisitorial investigation of private life is desirable or permissible4 ,a great duty also exists towards the erring and the vicious1 towards all those who have oftentimes fallen into vice rather than voluntarily chosen it1 who are the victims of circumstances1 of gradual unforeseen deterioration4 ,these fellow-beings demand the tenderest pity1 the strongest sympathy1 the wisest help4 ,clever or frivolous1 unstable or hardened1 charming or repellent1 they are still precious human creatures1 and the insight of large sympathy--that most powerful influence which ,providence has intrusted to us--should be extended to all2 but such sympathy can only be exerted by the experienced1 the strong1 and the right way of doing this must be sought for4 ,one duty is perfectly clear3 ,no persons of acknowledged licentious life should be admitted to the intimacy of home2 no such persons should be welcomed with honour in society1 no matter what lower material or intellectual advantages may be possessed4 ,their acquaintance is even more to be dreaded for sons than for daughters4 ,the corrupt conversation so general amongst immoral men is a source of great evil to the young4 ,as the perusal of licentious books marks the first step in mental degradation1 vicious talk is often the second decided advance downward4 ,the moral meanness of enslavement to passion1 of selfish disregard to one's weaker fellow-creatures exhibited by the profligate1 should always be recognised by the parent4 ,consent should never be given to the union of an innocent child with a profligate4 ,this plain dictate of parental love1 this evident duty of the experienced and virtuous to the young and innocent1 is strangely disregarded4 ,material advantages in such cases are allowed to outweigh all other considerations4 ,parents fail to recognise that the only source of permanent happiness must arise from within1 from spiritual qualifications2 they fail to recognise the inevitable effect of a corrupt nature upon a fresh young creature linked to it in the closest companionship4 ,thus1 in the most solemn crisis of human life1 the parent may betray the child4 ,it is not only the individual child that is betrayed1 but the rising generation also4 ,on a previous page1 the numerous external corrupting circumstances have been mentioned which gradually degrade the individual1 but the subject of inherited qualities1 of the inherited tendency to sensuality1 was not then dwelt upon4 ,the transmission of this tendency in a race is1 however1 a weighty fact1 which must be distinctly noted in this connection4 ,change in the tendencies of a race can only be slowly wrought out in the course of generations4 ,a most important step in this direction is the union of virtuous daughters with men of upright--or in the present day1 it may be said1 of heroic--moral life4 ,the effect upon offspring produced by the noble and intense love of one man for one woman1 with resulting circumstances1 would in the course of generations produce an hereditary tendency to virtue instead of to sensuality4 ,the known resolve of parents never to consent to the union of their children with men of licentious habits would of itself prove a valuable aid in regenerating society4 ,honour to virtue1 expressed in this sacred and at the same time most practical manner1 would be an encouragement1 a reward1 an incitement to all that is noblest in human nature2 it would be a standard to guide youth1 a real disinfectant of corrupt society4 ,the second principle to be kept steadily in view is the encouragement of early marriage4 ,a statesman1 writing a generation ago on the causes in the past1 which have contributed to the prosperity of ,england1 says3 #8,the lower and working classes are an early and universally marrying people2 this sacred habit is one which1 while it has secured the virtue and promoted the happiness of the country1 has multiplied its means and extended its power1 and constituted ,britain the most powerful and prosperous ,empire of the world4'#df ,a quaint old writer has said3 #8,the forbidding to marry is the doctrine of devils4' ,the universal testimony of experience may be summed up in the words of ,montesquieu3 #8,who can be silent when the sexes1 corrupting each other even by the natural sensations themselves1 fly from a union that ought to make them better1 to live in that that always renders them worse8 ,it is a rule drawn from nature1 that the more the number of marriages is diminished1 the more corrupt are those who have entered into that state2 the fewer married men1 the less fidelity is there in marriage4' ,all short-sighted ,governments that impose unnatural restrictions upon marriage are compelled1 by the increase of bastardy and its attendant evils1 to repeal such restrictions4 ,grohman1 speaking of the causes of the present immorality of the ,tyrolese1 says3 #8,very lately only has the ,austrian ,government annulled the law which compelled a man desirous of marriage to prove a certain income1 and1 further1 to be the owner of a house or homestead of some kind1 before the license was granted4 ,next in importance is the lax way in which the ,church deals with licentious misconduct1 it being in her eyes a minor iniquity expiated by confession4' ,the obstacles to marriage in the military ,german ,empire must be regarded as one of the causes of that moral corruption which we now observe in a country once so distinguished for home virtues--a corruption which threatens to shake the foundations of the great ,german race4 ,early marriage1 however1 without previous habits of self-control1 is unavailing to raise the tone of society4 ,marriage is no cure for diseased sex1 and early licentiousness is really 7as has been shown7 disease4 ,in those parts of the ,continent where the lowest sexual morality exists1 marriage is regarded as the opportunity for constant and unlimited license4 ,the young man1 therefore1 is not allowed to marry 7by the law of social custom7 until he is over thirty years of age4 ,if his health has been impaired by licentiousness1 he is enjoined to resort less frequently to prostitutes1 or to take a mistress2 but marriage is positively forbidden by his medical advisers and discouraged by his relations4 ,by the age of thirty his health is either completely broken down1 and marriage1 therefore1 out of the question1 or1 having passed the most dangerous age of passion without breaking down1 it is judged that his physical health will hold out under the opportunities of married life4 ,the result of this system is inevitable4 ,marriage1 being regarded as the legalization of uncontrolled passion1 is so exercised until satiety ensues4 ,satiety is the inevitable boundary of all simply material enjoyments4 ,self-control being entirely wanting1 the spiritual possibilities of marriage are unknown2 social duty in respect to sex is a vague dream1 not a reality4 ,physical satiety can only be met by variety2 hence universal infidelity--destruction of the highest ends of marriage1 the dethronement of the mother1 the deterioration of the father1 and the failure of the family influence as the first element in the growth of the nation4 ,the same important truth is exemplified in the social condition of our great ,indian ,empire4 ,there the custom of early1 even infantine1 marriage co-exists with a licentiousness truly appalling in its strength and character4#dg ,lads of sixteen1 thoroughly corrupted in childhood1 become the fathers of a degenerate race1 the girl-mothers being the hopeless slaves of simple physical instincts4 ,early marriage is the safeguard of society only when the self-control of chastity exists1 a self-government which is essential to the formation of manly character as well as conducive to vigorous health4 ,with the acceptance of this essential condition1 the aim of all wise parents will be to secure for their children the great blessing of early marriage1 to provide for them opportunities of choice1 and to promote the design of ,providence that the young man and young woman suited to each other shall together gain the wider experience of life4 ,this proposition is always met by a host of social difficulties which perplex the inquirer1 and finally quiet the conscience of society into a passive acquiescence in evil customs4 ,these difficulties1 however1 must be met and overcome4 ,it is cowardly not to face them1 and weak not to vanquish them4 ,wise early marriage is the natural and true way out of disorder and license into the providential order of human existence4 ,the first condition of improvement is to accept this plan as a living faith1 not an abstract ideal2 to consider how difficulties can be removed1 not be cowed by them2 and to study the possibilities1 not the impossibilities4 ,it leads to diametrically opposite practical action1 whether we dwell upon the advantages of a certain course of life and strive in every way to attain it1 or whether we lose ourselves in doubts and discouragements4 #8,put your shoulder to the wheel1 and call upon ,hercules to help1' is the only true plan now1 as in the days of sop4 ,it is a matter of every-day experience that if we resolutely determine to do a thing1 and steadily apply the common-sense and intelligence 7the germs of which exist in every human being7 to its accomplishment1 success will follow4 ,the difficulties urged are the foolishness of first love2 the impossibility of providing for a family2 the craving for wild adventure1 excitement1 change4 ,these are the spectres which bar the entrance to the right way of life4 ,but such arguments are all false4 ,they are founded on the sandy basis of removable conditions--on false methods of education1 narrow family exclusiveness1 on lack of self-control1 vicious customs1 and perverted tastes4 ,all sound argument1 based on the permanent facts of human nature1 enjoins us to provide for early marriage as the basis of social good4 ,the young man accustomed from boyhood to mix freely with young women under honourable conditions1 is no longer bewildered by the first woman he meets1 whilst the free1 friendly companionship1 secured by the family circle with its wide connections1 has supplied a want that his growing nature craves2 his taste and judgment have grown and strengthened1 and he is no longer the victim of baseless fantasies4 ,accustomed to free association with young women of his own class1 he is able at an early age to know his own mind and make a wise selection of his future partner4 ,to the young woman an early marriage is the natural course of life2 to this end she tends1 and1 consciously or unconsciously1 prepares herself to secure it according to the requirements of society4 ,her unperverted taste is for the young man a little older than herself--a companion she can admire1 respect1 and1 love--but still a companion1 not a father4 ,if taught by the silent though still powerful voice of society that harmony of character1 of aims1 of temperament--i4e41 mental attraction--is the indispensable foundation of great and lasting happiness in marriage2 that material advantages are secondary to this unspeakable blessing2 that thrift1 knowledge of household economy1 power of creating an attractive home1 are essential to the attainment of this great good1 then her instincts1 by an inevitable law of nature1 will tend to the acquirement of these qualifications4 ,if1 on the contrary1 she feels1 through the influence of society 7still unexpressed71 that physical effects are the things chiefly sought for1 that physical charm or the power exercised by corporeal sex is the chief or only possession that draws attention to her1 then1 by the same inevitable law1 she will strive to exercise this physical power1 and the means of doing so will become the all-absorbing occupation of an ever-increasing number of young women4 ,as already stated1 the direct result of the mastery of young men by irresistible physical instinct will be to create a necessity in young women for dress which will bring physical attractions into prominence or supply their deficiency4 ,the craving for riches and luxury1 the ignorance of economy1 so often urged as an obstacle to marriage1 are the inevitable results of licentiousness1 which strengthens and cultivates exclusively material desires and necessities4 ,children should look forward to beginning life as simply as their parents began it1 but with the added advantages of education4 ,it is a totally false principle that they should expect to begin where their parents left off4 ,filial honour for their parents' lives and inherited vigour would alike lead them to commence life with extreme simplicity4 ,the power of rendering such simplicity attractive would prove that they had acquired the refinement and breadth of view which is the result of true culture instead of being enervated by luxury4 ,they would thus1 whilst beginning life as did their parents1 begin it1 nevertheless1 from a vantage-ground1 the result of their parents' labours4 ,each generation would thus make a solid gain in life instead of encountering the destructive results which always attend the strife for material luxury4 ,there are many important points bearing on this vital question of early marriage--such as the exercise of self-control in married life and the teaching of sound physiology1 which is needed to reconcile marriage with foresight--whose discussion would be out of place in the present essay4 ,but that the topic must be thoroughly and wisely considered by parents resolved to aid one another in securing this inevitable reform1 is certain4 ,the increasing tendency to delay marriage is so serious an evil1 that methods for checking this tendency must be found if our worth as a nation is to continue4 ,the early and solemn betrothal of young people is an old custom now fallen into disuse4 ,the possibility of its readoption as a beneficial social practice1 with its duration1 duties1 and privileges1 is worthy of serious consideration4 ,we have seen that the careful guidance of youth in relation to the faculty of sex1 an improvement in the tone of society1 and provision for early marriage1 are fundamental points which should engage the earnest thought of every mother4 ,it would be1 however1 a most serious mistake to suppose that the methods of carrying out these principles devolve upon the mother only4 ,it is too frequently the case that the father1 absorbed in outdoor pursuits1 regards the indoor life as exclusively the business of his wife1 and takes little or no part in the education of his children2 but no true home can ever be formed without the mutual aid of father and mother4 ,the division of labour may be different1 but the joint influence should ever be felt in this closest of partnerships4 ,as the wise wife is the most trusty confidant of the general business life of the husband1 so he is the natural counsellor and support in all that concerns the occupations1 amusements1 society1 and influence of his home4 ,no home can be a happy one1 if the father's keenest interest and enjoyment do not centre in his family life4 ,there are1 however1 special duties to the family required from the father1 owing to his position as a citizen1 and these hold an intimate relation to the future of his children4 ,a large view of home duty must necessarily lead to a fulfilment of citizen duty4 ,there are few men who1 in their special business or occupation1 do not possess large opportunities for encouraging a nobler idea respecting the relations of men and women than now prevails2 few who cannot show their respect for virtue and in some way discourage vice4 ,men1 not only as fathers1 but as educators of youth--clergymen1 physicians1 employers of labour--hold an immense power in their hands for raising the tone of a community into which their sons and daughters must soon enter1 and through the ceaseless temptations of which the effects of the most careful family education may be destroyed4 ,no occupation can stand isolated from the rest of life2 the interlinkings are innumerable4 ,the man who throws a temptation in the way of a weaker neighbour1 or ignores the struggles of his dependents1 or fails to speak the encouraging word to those whom he influences1 may be placing a pitfall in the way of his own son and daughter4 ,a mighty power which fathers hold in trust for the future of their children1 is the character of the legislation which they establish or sanction4 ,it is almost inconceivable how intelligent and well-meaning individuals1 knowing the weakness of human nature and its inevitable growth towards good or evil through circumstances1 can fail to see the immense moral bearing of legislation4 ,the laws of a country are powerful educators of the rising generation4 ,they reach all classes2 their influence is a national one1 silently exercising a never-ceasing effect on the community4 ,every new act of legislation is a power which will work much more strongly upon the young than the old4 ,the adult who makes the law has grown up to complete manhood under other influences2 he is moulded by the laws of a previous generation1 and no new legislative action can change his fixed character4 ,it is the young and unformed who will grow in the direction made easiest to them by our laws4 ,whether the subject of legislation be the increase of standing armies1 the promotion of the liquor traffic1 the regulation of factory labour1 the arrangement of national education1 or the establishment of railways--these subjects affect the moral condition of a people4 ,it would be difficult to find a subject of legislation which has not some moral issue1 more or less directly connected with it1 and which will not influence the rising generation more powerfully than the generation that establishes the law4 ,legislation1 therefore1 has an inevitable and most important bearing upon the welfare of the family1 and must be considered in relation to its effect upon the youth of the nation4 ,every mother has a right to ask this from the legislators of a country4 ,no parental legislator should ever lose sight of the central family point of view in legislation--viz41 ,how can good conquer evil8 ,how can it be made easier for children to grow up virtuous than vicious8 ,the power of the human race to place itself under any restrictions which its welfare requires1 has already been shown in the control which society exercises over the intense craving of hunger4 ,strong as the faculty of sex is1 its abnegation does not destroy the individual as does starvation from lack of food4 ,this instinct1 therefore1 cannot be considered more imperative than that of hunger2 it must be as susceptible of restraint4 ,indeed1 the relations of sex have already been placed under a certain amount of restriction by both law and custom1 only these restrictions are not nearly of such severity or universal application as those which govern the instinct of hunger1 showing that the human race1 in their present stage of development1 have not felt that it was such a pressing question4 ,society has not hitherto recognised such restraint as essential to its own existence and welfare4 ,this conviction1 however1 is now awakened1 and when once established1 it will be found that the dominion of law is as powerful in one direction as in the other4 ,every great question of society is a necessary subject of legislation4 ,the necessity of protecting property and the ability to do so1 even against the terrible power of slow starvation1 is shown by every civilized nation4 ,this experience conclusively proves that chastity also may be protected by legislation1 as soon as the growing common-sense of a community awakes to the fact that it also is a property--the most valuable property that a great nation can possess--and that licentiousness is a growing evil that may be checked by legislation4 ,the true principle to be held to1 in legislating for the evils that afflict society1 cannot be too often insisted on4 ,in legislating for any evil1 it is necessary to seek out the deepest source of the evil1 and check that source4 ,attention must not be limited to the effects of the evil4 ,this is eminently true of all legislation which deals with the evils caused by licentiousness--a branch of legislation which1 more than any other1 has a direct and powerful bearing upon the welfare of the family4 ,the subject of licentiousness is justly attracting the attention of legislators of the present day to an extent which has never been witnessed before4 ,this is a sign of dawning promise1 for the worst condition of a nation is that where gross evils remain uncared for4 ,this great evil has crept on uncared for1 or referred to with hushed breath1 until it bids fair to ruin our most valued institutions4 ,legislation has broken the spell1 and will continue its work until it has aroused the conscience of the nation4 ,the execution of wise measures can only be secured by the support of an enlightened1 conscientious community4 ,no legislation can be efficient which does not represent the best average sentiment of the country4 ,in regard to this great question1 no wise legislation is possible for any evil of licentiousness until the subject has been thoroughly considered by those who are most keenly interested in it--viz41 the fathers and mothers of the nation4 ,no specialists1 of whatever class1 can suggest wise measures1 as specialists1 in a matter which so intimately concerns the family4 ,only a large view of what is needed for the purity and dignity of the family1 for the good of its children1 for its influence in society1 can secure wise laws4 ,anything which tends to encourage the lowest passions of human nature1 either by the acceptance of base customs1 by the legalization of vice1 or by fostering in any other way the animal tendencies of men1 must produce hereditary as well as social effects on daughters as well as sons4 ,customs and institutions which injure the character of women1 which weaken their virtue and crush out the germs of higher life1 must be the source of deadliest evil to any nation4 ,it behoves the legislators of the present generation to be careful in their social and legal sanction of vice amongst males1 lest they be blindly undermining the whole social fabric1 amongst women as well as men1 in a way which they would least wish to do1 if they knew what they were doing4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the first step towards the moral education of the youth of a nation is a clear perception on the part of parents of the true aim of education1 with the individual action to which such perception leads4 ,the second step is combination--i4e41 the determination to secure this end by the strength of union4 ,it is true that individual efforts are the foundation on which any power must rest that wishes to lift society to a higher level1 and we find at present innumerable individuals keenly alive to the evils in which we are involved1 and earnest in seeking a remedy4 ,there are very many families where father and mother work together with unwearied effort to ennoble home life1 but these individual efforts1 these aspirations and patient endeavours1 although indispensable as a foundation1 are isolated and scattered2 they are continually overpowered by the evil influences existing outside the family4 ,organized effort is needed--resolute and united action--to meet the organized dangers of the present age4 ,the condensed review in the preceding pages of the causes which produce the present low or diseased condition of the humanizing principle of sex1 indicates the immense range of subjects which its consideration and guidance involve4 ,no isolated individual1 no single family1 can work out for itself a solution of the present problem1 or command the means for securing the moral welfare of the most cherished child4 ,change in the conditions of life may be wrought by united effort2 it cannot be attained by isolated effort4 ,when we consider the innumerable objects for which strength is gained by association1 and that this rational principle is constantly extending its operation in the present age1 it is evident that any strong leading principle capable of enlisting devotion and steady enthusiasm affords sound basis for combination and organization4 ,such a leading principle is found in the clear conviction of the nobility of the spiritual principle of sex in the human being1 the binding obligation of one moral law for all1 and the regenerating power of this law upon the human race4 ,it is a principle capable of enlisting religious devotion and embodying itself in the most valuable practical action4 ,methods of combination inspired by this principle are clearly conceivable which would be susceptible of the widest application4 ,indications of such combination are already visible1 and these must constantly extend themselves as this great idea of the present age--the true view of ,sex--grows into complete development4 ,all existing efforts which tend to destroy the causes of licentiousness--such as temperance1 increase of occupation and wages for women1 improvement of poor dwellings1 facilities for rational amusement1 the abolition of enforced celibacy1 and the regeneration of the army--demand and should receive the special recognition and aid of parents4 ,these movements are all invaluable and cannot be too actively supported1 being founded on true principles of growth2 but something more is needed--viz41 distinct open acknowledgment of the fundamental principle here laid down1 and organization growing out of it4 ,in this work the natural leader of a nation is the ,church--i4e41 that great body of all religious teachers and persons who believe that man cannot live by bread alone1 but that the ,divine instinct that urges him onwards and upwards must be expressed in the forms of our daily life4 ,when the ,church recognises that one of its difficult but glorious duties is to teach men how to carry out religious principles in practical life1 it will perceive that the foundation of all righteous life is reverence for the noble human principle of sex4 ,it will no longer shrink from enforcing this regenerating principle4 ,the undue proportion of thought and effort now given to forms and ceremonies1 to metaphysical disquisitions and subtle distinctions1 will then give place to earnest united efforts to enable men to lead righteous lives4 ,no ,church performs its duty to the young that fails to raise this fundamental subject of sex into its proper human level4 ,it is bound to rouse every young man and woman of its congregation to the perception that respect for the principle of sex1 with fidelity to purity1 is a fundamental condition of religious life4 ,the truths which have been set forth in the preceding pages may be briefly summed up in the following propositions--viz3 ,early chastity strengthens the physical nature1 creates force of ,will1 and concentrates the intellectual powers on the nobler ends of human life4 ,continence is indispensable to the physical welfare of a young man until the age of twenty-one2 it is advantageous until twenty-five2 it is possible without physical injury throughout life4 ,the passion of sex can only be safely and healthily gratified by marriage2 illegal relations produce physical danger1 mental degradation1 and social misery4 ,the family is the indispensable foundation of a progressive nation1 and the permanent union of one man with one woman is essential to the welfare of the family4 ,marriage during matured early vigour is essential to the production of a strong race4 ,individual morality can only be secured by the prevalence of early purity1 and national morality by the cumulative effects of heredity4 ,in ,moral ,education the first step to secure is the slow development of sex2 the second1 its legitimate satisfaction through honourable companionship1 followed by marriage4 ,there are special duties which devolve upon women as mother1 sister1 ruler of a household1 and member of society for securing the conditions necessary for the attainment of early purity in sons and daughters4 ,there are special duties laid upon men1 not only as parents1 but as citizens1 for the attainment of national morality4 ,the fact must be clearly perceived and accepted1 that male purity is a fundamental virtue in a ,state2 that it secures the purity of women1 on which the moral qualities of fidelity1 humanity1 and trustworthiness depend2 and that it secures the strength and truth of men1 on which the intellectual vigour and wise government of a ,state depend4 ,whether it be regarded in relation to the physical and mental status of ,man1 or the position and welfare of ,woman1 there is no social evil so great as the substitution of ,fornication and ,celibacy for ,chastity and ,marriage4 ,these are fundamental truths4 ,but in those grown old in watching the spread of evil1 despair often takes possession of the mind1 and the question arises1 ,can evil ever be overcome with good8 ,can we hope to change this widespread perversion of human faculties8 ,when we observe the raging lust of invading armies1 more cruel than the ferocity of the most savage beasts2 when we study the tumultuous passions of early youth1 the rush for excitement1 for every kind of gratification that the impulse of the moment demands1 can we believe that there are forces at our command strong enough to quell the tumult1 to guide the multitude1 to sustain the weak1 to change the fierce brutishness into noble manhood and womanhood8 ,there is a force more powerful than tempest or whirlwind1 more irresistible than the fiercest brutal passion1 a power which works in nature unseen but ceaselessly1 repairing all destruction1 accomplishing a mighty plan2 a power which works in the human soul1 enabling it to learn truth1 to understand principles1 to love justice and humanity1 and to reach steadily onward to the attainment of the highest ideal4 ,it is the creative and regenerating force of ,wisdom1 gradually but irresistibly penetrating the mind of ,humanity4 ,this mighty governing ,power1 call it by what name we may--,religion1 ,truth1 ,spiritual ,christianity1 ,jehovah--uses human means1 and works through the changing phenomena of daily life4 ,it is our part to make the forms of human life exponents of this ,divine force4 ,the principles here laid down are true4 ,they rest upon the firm foundation of physiological law1 and are confirmed by facts of universal experience4 ,let the younger generation of parents accept them in their great significance1 making them the guiding influence in all social relations4 ,then will human life at once begin to shape itself according to ,god's ,truth2 the law of inheritance will strengthen each generation into nobler tendencies2 and our nation1 renewing its strength1 will grow into a humble but glorious exponent of the ,divine ,idea4 ,,appendix ,i4 7,,page #bfb7 ,christian ,duty in regard to ,vice ,cruelty and ,lust are the twin evils that now most seriously afflict our race1 and which women--the mothers of the race--are especially called on to fight4 ,women must act4 ,no one not partially blind can fail to see that the onward movement of events is carrying women forward into positions of active influence in social life that they have not hitherto occupied4 ,whether we welcome or dread this change1 it goes on irresistibly1 based upon industrial activity1 and extending into every other department of life4 ,the command of wisdom is to accept this advance1 recognise its responsibilities1 and bravely rise to meet them4 ,women1 by the endowment of ,motherhood1 are created with special powers4 ,this endowment1 which is a mighty spiritual as well as a physical force1 indicates their distinctive line of active influence1 and will show why they are especially called on to combat cruelty and lust1 which kill motherhood4 ,in this special subject1 women must initiate their own lines of action1 for they are called on by the constitution of ,humanity to lead in this moral warfare1 not be led4 ,equal justice to all1 with protection for the most defenceless1 is the only foundation on which both custom and legislation can safely rest in any attempt to improve the relations of the sexes or to remedy the direful evils which these relations at present engender4 ,,appendix ,,ii4 7,,page #bfe7 ,terrible instances of this may be seen in ,trlat's medical work1 ,la ,folie ,lucide1 etc4 ,lallemand and other ,french surgeons report numerous cases of fatal injury done even to nursing infants by the wicked actions of unprincipled nurses4 ,i have myself traced the ill-health of children in wealthy families to the habits practised by confidential nurses1 apparently quiet1 respectable women6 ,abundant medical testimony confirms these observations4 ,it is not the plan of the present essay to enter into minute details and suggestions relative to every step of family life which bears upon our subject2 such details are more suited to the private and familiar conferences of those who are resolved to ennoble the life of sex4 ,when this high resolve has become a guiding principle1 it will throw light upon every practical arrangement from infancy onward4 ,it will then be seen that no details are insignificant to the watchful mother2 that the shape of the child's nightdress1 made in the form of loose drawers2 the manner of washing and of attending to its natural wants2 the nightly prayer2 simple and respectful answers to the questions of awakening curiosity--all endless applications will flow from a perception of the necessity of securing the slow and healthy development of sex4 ,dr4 ,acton has called attention to the necessity of securing local cleanliness1 and to the evil arising from worms and from the habit of wetting the bed4 ,,footnotes3 #af ,parkes' ,manual of ,practical ,hygiene1 #dth edition1 p4 #dic4 #ag ,ibid41 p4 #dic4 #ah ,w4 ,b4 ,carpenter's ,principles of ,human ,physiology1 #gth edition1 p4 #fca4 #ai ,w4 ,b4 ,carpenter's ,principles of ,human ,physiology1 #gth edition1 p4 #hab4 #bj ,the unhealthiness and indecency of harem life1 with its effect upon the boys and girls1 its encouragement of abortion1 and the unhappy and degraded condition of the women1 are sketched with the painful truth of close observation in ,the ,people of ,turkey1 edited by ,s4 ,lane ,poole--a book worthy of careful consideration4 ,see also ,lane's ,egyptians1 etc4 #ba ,bulgaria and the ,bulgarians4 #bb ,abstract from the ,sun4 ,see ,thirtieth ,annual ,report of the ,prison ,association of ,new ,york4 #bc ,see ,sadler on ,population for many curious facts tending to show how strictly ,nature guards this equality4 #bd ,see ,michel ,lvy's ,trait d',hygine1 #eth edition1 vol4 i41 p4 #ade4 #be ,hufeland's ,art of ,prolonging ,life1 edited by ,erasmus ,wilson4 #bnd edition1 ,part ,,ii41 p4 #ach4 #bf ,see ,w4 ,b4 ,carpenter's ,principles of ,human ,physiology1 #gth edition1 p4 #iji4 #bg ,ibid41 p4 #iji4 #bh ,one of the most powerful causes of the growth of pessimism in ,germany is the increasing licentiousness of a race created with a high ideal of virtue and cherishing a love of home4 #bi ,the frequent opinion that a limited amount of fornication is a very trivial matter1 that the individual may become an excellent father of a family and good citizen in spite of such indulgence1 is based on the grave error of regarding sexual relations as the act of one instead of two individuals1 and limited in their effects to the moment of occurrence4 ,the moral character of such indulgence is1 however1 determined by its effects upon the after-life of two human beings--viz41 its effect on the citizen1 whose judgment becomes injured in relation to this great subject of national welfare1 through early experience1 and on the partner in vice whose life is one of growing degradation4 ,these two inevitable facts remain through life4 #cj ,see ,debates of ,working ,men's ,congress1 ,paris1 ,october1 #ahgf4 ,also ,la ,femme ,pauvre1 a work crowned by the ,french ,academy some years ago4 ,also the writings of ,le ,clerc1 ,guizot1 etc4 #ca ,see ,reports of ,rescue ,society1 ,london4 #cb ,this question is now anxiously asked by intelligent mothers1 who1 resolved to do what is right for their children1 are yet bewildered by the contradiction of authorities and the customs of society4 ,it is the necessity in my own medical practice of answering this question truthfully1 which is one of the reasons that has compelled me to write these pages4 #cc ,g4 ,m4 ,humphrey1 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,s41 in ,holme's ,system of ,surgery1 #crd edition1 vol4 iii41 p4 #eej4 #cd ,see ,acton's ,functions and ,disorders of the ,reproductive ,organs1 #fth edition1 p4 #ab et seq4 #ce ,acton's ,functions and ,disorders of the ,reproductive ,organs1 #fth ,ed41 pp4 #cg1 #ch4 #cf ,see also a very interesting account of schools in ,thackeray's ,irish ,sketch-,book4 #cg ,i can speak from personal observation of these upright communities1 where the health of the men was far better than that of the women2 the former leading an outdoor1 the latter an indoor life4 #ch ,numerous instances of wise maternal influence over sons have come under my own observation1 where in mature life they have thanked these true friends1 their mothers1 for the wise counsels given at the right time4 #ci ,see ,appendix ,i41 p4 #cjf4 #dj ,in earnest conversation with a gentleman of wide connections1 resident in ,vienna1 he stated that he did not know a single young man who led a virtuous life4 ,so completely was the idea of sexual control lost1 that he said frankly he should consider any man a hypocrite who pretended to be virtuous4 ,a ,protestant pastor in a small ,university town in the ,south of ,france told me that the public sentiment of both men and women in that town was so false that a man who had no inclination to vice would be ashamed to acknowledge a virtuous life4 #da ,see ,appendix ,,ii41 p4 #cjh4 #db ,see a valuable article in the ,westminster ,review1 ,july1 #ahgi1 #8,an ,unrecognised ,element in our ,educational ,systems4' #dc ,sir ,james ,paget1 ,clinical ,lectures and ,essays1 second edition1 p4 #bic4 #dd ,there is a class of persons1 the illogical1 whose conscience will not allow them to counsel vice1 who state that it is a habit that can be avoided as the use of opium can be avoided1 but who in the same breath declare prostitution to be a necessity1 and that the greater part of young men away from home will resort to it4 ,now1 if prostitution be a necessity1 it must be because fornication is a necessity4 ,what is a necessity8 ,it is something inevitable1 because it is rooted in the constitution2 it is an unavoidable development of human nature itself4 ,if so1 fornication is not a habit like opium-eating1 but the form in which human nature is shaped--,god's work4 ,in that case fornication would not be wrong2 it should not be condemned1 and neither the man nor the woman who practises it should be blamed4 ,there is no avoiding this direct conclusion1 and everyone who asserts that prostitution is a necessity must be prepared to accept it4 ,this grave error and the confusion of thought and practice which arises from it proceed from a wrong use of the word #8,necessity4' ,it is the existence of the sexual passion which is a necessary part of nature1 not prostitution4 ,this necessary passion may either be controlled or it may be satisfied in two ways--by marriage1 or by fornication4 ,it is only the passion which is a necessity1 not the way in which it is gratified4 ,it is thus a positive falsehood to state that prostitution is a necessity1 and1 considered in all its bearings1 a most dangerous falsehood4 #de ,whilst travelling in ,italy ,i met a very intelligent ,austrian gentleman1 who1 as a citizen of the ,united ,states1 had brought up his family in ,new ,york4 ,conversing on the various customs of society1 he said to me3 #8,i have always endeavoured to respect women1 and to live an upright1 moral life1 but ,i have never met with any appreciation of this fact by the families of my acquaintance4 ,on the contrary1 no mother that ,i have known has banished a man of position from her society1 no matter how notoriously immoral his life may be4 ,i have known respectable mothers1 moving in what is called the best society1 allowing a man of wealth to continue visiting the family after gross impropriety of behaviour to a daughter4 ,my own little ,rosa there 7and he pointed to a charming little creature of sixteen who was travelling with the party7 will not give the slightest discouragement to a clever or amusing man1 although ,i may warn her against the notorious character of the man4 ,i go to ,paris1 and observe the night assemblies after the theatres close4 ,i find brilliant salons filled with young girls as lovely as my own daughter1 often gentle in manner1 elegant in dress1 refined1 accomplished2 ,i should not know from observation merely that they were fallen women4 8,what does it all mean80 ,i ask myself again and again4 ,surely women in society have much to do in this matter4' #df ,sadler on ,population1 who states the average age of marriage amongst the labouring population at twenty-three years4 #dg ,see ,professor ,monier ,williams' ,indian ,travels4 ,,billing ,,and ,,sons1 ,,ltd41 ,,printers1 ,,guildford ,transcriber's ,notes ,errors in punctuation have been fixed4 ,page #abj3 8sexual moralty0 changed to 8sexual morality0 ,page #afh3 8deady sin0 changed to 8deadly sin0