diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/69939-0.txt | 7927 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/69939-0.zip | bin | 165164 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/69939-h.zip | bin | 361528 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/69939-h/69939-h.htm | 8502 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/69939-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 200588 -> 0 bytes |
8 files changed, 17 insertions, 16429 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..45498c2 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69939 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69939) diff --git a/old/69939-0.txt b/old/69939-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7b21521..0000000 --- a/old/69939-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7927 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Essays in medical sociology, Volume I -(of 2), by Elizabeth Blackwell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Essays in medical sociology, Volume I (of 2) - -Author: Elizabeth Blackwell - -Release Date: February 3, 2023 [eBook #69939] - -Language: English - -Produced by: MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian - Libraries) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSAYS IN MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY, -VOLUME I (OF 2) *** - - - - - - ESSAYS IN MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY - - - - - ESSAYS - - IN - - MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY - - BY - - ELIZABETH BLACKWELL, M.D. - - _VOLUME I._ - - LONDON - ERNEST BELL, YORK STREET - COVENT GARDEN - 1902 - - - - - PREFACE. - - -At the request of friends I have willingly consented to the -republication of my writings of past years in a uniform edition. - -Truth never grows old, though re-adaptation to different phases of life -may be necessary. I shall rejoice if anything I have written in the -past may prove helpful to the younger generation of workers, with whom -I am in hearty sympathy. - - ELIZABETH BLACKWELL, M.D. - - HASTINGS, - _May, 1902_. - - - - - CONTENTS OF VOL. I. - - - ESSAY PAGE - - I. THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN SEX 1 - - II. MEDICAL RESPONSIBILITY IN RELATION TO THE CONTAGIOUS - DISEASES ACTS 83 - - III. RESCUE WORK IN RELATION TO PROSTITUTION AND DISEASE 113 - - IV. PURCHASE OF WOMEN: THE GREAT ECONOMIC BLUNDER 133 - - V. THE MORAL EDUCATION OF THE YOUNG IN RELATION TO SEX 175 - - - - - THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN SEX - - - CONTENTS - - PAGE - - INTRODUCTION 3 - - CHAPTER I - - THE DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER OF HUMAN SEX 9 - - CHAPTER II - - EQUIVALENT FUNCTIONS IN THE MALE AND FEMALE 18 - - CHAPTER III - - ON THE ABUSES OF SEX--I. MASTURBATION 34 - - CHAPTER IV - - ON THE ABUSES OF SEX--II. FORNICATION 44 - - CHAPTER V - - THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IDEA OF CHASTITY 60 - - CHAPTER VI - - MEDICAL GUIDANCE IN LEGISLATION 70 - - APPENDIX I 75 - - APPENDIX II 79 - - - - - INTRODUCTION - -This work is written from the standpoint of the Christian physiologist. - -The essence of all religions is the recognition of an Authority -higher, more comprehensive, more permanent than the human being. The -characteristic of Christian teaching is the faith that this Supreme -Authority is beneficent as well as powerful. The Christian believes -that the Creative Force is a moral force, of more comprehensive -morality than the human being that it creates. Under the symbol of a -wise and loving parent--the most just, efficient, and attractive image -that we know of--we are encouraged to regard this unseen Authority as -being in direct relation with every atom of creation, and as desirous -of drawing each atom into progressively higher forms of existence. - -The Christian physiologist, therefore, knowing that there is a wise and -beneficent purpose in the human structure, seeks to find out the laws -and methods of action by means of which human function may accomplish -its highest use. - -The task can only be carried out gradually. Ultimate function is not -revealed by structure, nor ultimate use by function. - -The empty arteries did not suggest the circulation of the blood -to ancient physiologists, nor did the curious arrangements of the -intestinal canal explain the complicated function of digestion. -Ignorance of facts, preconceived notions, or fanciful theories as -to ‘vital spirits,’ ‘cold and hot humours,’ etc., long delayed the -attainment of correct knowledge of physiological facts. - -Neither does physical knowledge of individual function reveal the -developed use of which it is capable. The new life that may be given -through touch to the blind, or the destruction of a nation through its -vices, is not revealed by the minutest examination of the mechanism of -touch, or the physical structure of the nervous system. Function and -use are only proved by observation, reflection, and rational experiment -patiently carried on age after age, with generalization based upon -accurate and accumulated facts. - -Structure, function, and extended use, although closely connected, -are, nevertheless, separate branches of inquiry. Applied physiology -comprehends them all. Function is the arrangement by means of which the -independent life of the sentient being is carried on and maintained. -Developed function or use includes the growth and improvement of the -individual in relation to his fellows, and to existence outside his own -personality. - -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 them, by the way in which we use our organs. By -long-continued and careful study of the apparatus and processes of -digestion, the physiologist has discovered the general plan by means -of which food is converted into the substance of the body, and the -part which each portion of the complicated digestive system takes -in the maintenance of daily life. He does not stop, however, with -this discovery of the general plan by which food is converted into -flesh. He studies the way in which our habits of eating and drinking -may destroy or improve the power of digestion, and recognises the -effects which various kinds of food and drink may exercise upon the -character of the individual and the race. The physiologist, therefore, -proceeds to investigate, as a direct branch of necessary human -physiological inquiry, the influence which the consumption of flesh -or fruit, of alcohol or water, of warm or cold articles, of quantity -or quality, etc., exerts upon the unique organization of the human -being, in producing health or disease in mankind; or upon the power of -self-control or endurance, with the promotion of ferocious or genial -tendencies in Man. Both human strength and human character can be -affected by enlarged knowledge and control of the uses which belong to -the digestive system. - -What is true of the effects of food is equally true of the effect of -every other physical condition of human life. It is, therefore, a -special work of the rational physiologist to discover the higher uses -of our varied human faculties. We only see at present the beginning -of this great work of applied physiology in enabling us to comprehend -the full effects of food, air, exercise, climate, etc., upon human -character. We possess only vague knowledge of the great facts of the -hereditary transmission of diseased or healthy tendencies; and we give, -as yet, no due consideration to the important results which follow from -such transmission. We only faintly realize the transforming power of -habit or mind in healthy growth and in morbid degeneration. - -These investigations form a distinct branch of applied physiology; -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 power; and this perception cheers and -guides him in the perplexed paths which lead towards human growth and -perfection. - -Medicine and morality being related to function and use are, therefore, -inseparable in a Progressive State. The union between the physical, -moral, and intellectual elements of our nature cannot be dissolved -during lifetime. To speak of the ‘Physician of Nature’ and ‘Physician -of Grace,’ as two entirely distinct classes is an untenable position or -a misleading sophism. Sound education, State medicine, healthy society, -must all be based upon the inseparable union of the various elements -of the human constitution. This is the only rational system in a -Progressive State; any other practice leads to empirical medicine and -hypocritical morality. - -The unity of human nature gives immense importance to the influences -which surround the beginning of life and the education of the young. -The greatest present obstacle to progress is the ignorance of parents, -and above all of mothers, of many facts of physiology, and particularly -of the facts of sexual physiology. For want of this knowledge our -nurseries and schools are not wisely guarded, young people lack -guidance, and marriages are too often the mischievous union of two -unsuitable partners. - -By the present lamentable ignorance of sound physiology, men and women -lack the elements necessary for forming correct judgment on the most -important relations of life. Parents are thus unequal to their first -duty, viz., the guiding of domestic and social life, as helpmeets to -one another. - -In all the excellent treatises on physiology, domestic economy and -education, prepared for the special instruction and help of parents and -teachers, all knowledge is generally omitted which refers to the sexual -functions; yet to the parent or educator this is an essential branch -of knowledge. A woman attempts to carry on her work blindfold, who -tries to educate her children, guide her household, or take her proper -part in society without this knowledge. She understands nothing that -is going on around her; she sees nothing but the surface of things; -her influence is either stupid, mischievous, or negative, if she is -not truthfully instructed in relation to the central force of human -emotion and action. - -Mothers, requiring this knowledge for their special duties which -commence with infant life, can with propriety, purity, and reverence -study the action and uses of our sexual powers. Their intense interest -in the family and self-sacrificing devotion to its welfare, their -insight into its needs, and their sensitive consciousness of the -approach of danger to their offspring, make them the providentially -appointed guardians of the young. The profound depth of the passion of -maternity in women extends not only to the relations of marriage, but -to all the weak or suffering wherever found. It gives a sacredness to -the woman’s appreciation of sex, which has not yet been utilized for -the improvement of the social life of the nation. - -The ignorance of parents in relation to essential facts is deplorable. -I believe it to be the source of our gravest social evils. In the -present work, therefore, which I offer to my profession as an aid in -the instruction of parents and guardians of the young, I shall speak -with the frankness of profound respect in relation to our God-created -faculties. As a Christian physiologist, I shall endeavour to show the -true and noble use involved in the highest of our human functions. - - - - - CHAPTER I - - _The Distinctive Character of Human Sex_ - -A fundamental error as to the nature of human sex too generally exists -amongst us, from failure to recognise that in the human race the mind -tends to rule the body, and that sex in the human being is even more -a mental passion than a physical instinct. This superficial view dims -our perception of the causes which produce the facts around us; it also -prevents our recognising the essential difference which exists between -human and brute sex, and it blinds us to the imperative necessity of -giving human education to this part of our nature. - -As the study of the human body is carried on from its simpler to -its more complex parts, it is perceived that the physiology of the -more complex functions takes in a wider range of relations. The wise -guidance of these more complex powers by parent or physician in -health, and disease, demands a careful consideration of this extended -range of relations. Thus the proper nourishment and exercise of the -brain require more extended knowledge than the hygienic treatment -of the skin, and diseases of the brain cause more serious danger to -the individual. So all the faculties which belong to the life of -relation--viz., the faculties which, like the senses, 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 individual. - -The portion of our organization most difficult of study, but also -requiring the widest range of knowledge for its healthy guidance, is -the faculty of sex. This faculty has a very complex aspect from its -three-fold relation to the race, to men, and to women. - -Sex is not essential to individual existence, but it is indispensable -to the continuance of the race; and the progressive or retrograde -character of the race largely depends upon the wisdom with which this -faculty is guided in youth, and the character of the parental relations -which are established. - -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 race, and exists in the dual -form--male and female. Unless the distinctive characteristics and -requirements of each of these equal halves are fully understood, the -relation between them cannot be satisfactory. The physiological meaning -of the differences in organization between the sexes is at present very -imperfectly understood. - -The most striking distinction, however, in the manifestation of the -sexual faculties exists between man and the brute creation, and is -found in the mental or moral aspects which it assumes in man. The -general structural resemblance between man and the lower animals -affords no guidance to the education of this human faculty, for the -differences between man and the lower animals are radically greater -than the resemblance between them. - -The most evident form of this mental difference shows itself as a -sentiment of self-consciousness which is not observed in the brute. -If an animal is not frightened by human beings it never hesitates in -carrying on sexual congress in their presence, and neither before nor -after the special act does it exhibit the smallest approach to shame -in relation to it. In man, however, from the earliest dawn of the -approaching faculty, self-consciousness is intense. This is not only -observed in well brought-up boys and girls, who shrink from indecency -of word or action, but it is never entirely extinguished in the most -corrupt man or woman; and even the poor little waifs of our streets, -blighted from earliest infancy, exhibit marked consciousness in their -infantile depravity. 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 relations. -Permanent parental care of offspring, mutual respect between the sexes, -reverence for these faculties as typifying the mighty Creative Power -of the universe, are stages of social progress based upon this mental -difference in human and brute sex. - -It is the mental or moral aspect of our sexual powers which, as -society grows, shapes so much of the literature of every civilized -country. In the popular ballads of a people, songs of love are even -more abundant than patriotic songs; and as education spreads amongst -the masses, romances and novels form the bulk of popular reading. - -The subject of love is always of the most absorbing interest to the -younger and more active portion of a people; sexual passion, in its -ennobling or debasing form, exercises irresistible attraction. - -Our amusements and our customs are largely moulded by the same powerful -attraction, viz., the mental and moral quality of the relations which -are formed between the sexes. As civilization advances, and dense -masses of human beings are crowded together in heterogeneous selfish -strife, the destructive extremes of luxury and pauperism appear. From -this state of society, where misery will do anything for money, and the -satiety of luxury seeks fresh stimulus, speculation in this strongest -part of our nature--sex--arises. Its creative use disappears, and it -becomes a subject of merchandise. Every variety of effort is made to -stimulate and debase the mental quality or sentiment of sex, and the -strength of human passion furnishes an exhaustless field for corrupt -speculation. - -It is therefore not the simple physical aspect of the reproductive -powers which is remarkable in humanity. The physical instinct is shared -with the rest of the animal creation. It is the unique and powerful -mental and moral element, the principle that moulds and governs human -sex, which produces such striking results in the life of our race. - -The mental or emotional element in these powers, both in relation -to the action and reaction of mind and body, and the hereditary -transmission of tendencies, will, therefore, largely engage the -attention of the physiologist who truly studies our human nature. 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 instruments. 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 sex. - -The clue to a true knowledge of sexual functions in man and woman is -found in this striking peculiarity of the human race, viz., that these -functions are largely dominated by mental action, and that sex in the -human being does not mean simply the action of the physical organs, but -also the conjoined mental principle directing those organs. - -Sex, therefore, in the human race alone, resting upon that broad, -well-marked mental foundation, is capable of great development towards -good or towards evil. As simply material satisfaction soon reaches -the limit which bounds matter, so mental or spiritual enjoyment is -capable of indefinite growth. It is this mental sentiment peculiar to -human sex which is capable of a twofold development. It may grow into -a noble sympathy, self-sacrifice, reverence, and joy, which enlarge -and intensify the nature through the gradual expansion of the inborn -moral elements of sex. It is also this same intensity of the mental -form and power of sex, possessed by mankind alone, which allows of the -perversion and extreme degradation of sex which is observable only in -the human race. It is the degradation of this mental power when running -riot in unchecked license that converts men and women into selfish and -cruel devils--monsters, quite without parallel in the brute creation. - -These facts are strikingly illustrated by the anatomical and -physiological constitution of the human being. 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 existence. - -These fundamental principles are--First, the independence, freedom, -and perfection of the individual. Second, the preservation of the -race. These two objects are secured to a certain extent in all -highly organized creatures; but in the human race provision is made -for individual freedom in a much more marked and perfect manner, in -accordance with the superior rank of man in creation. - -The brute, both male and female, is at certain times blindly dominated -by the physical impulse of sex. This impulse in the lower animal is -a simple imperative instinct, unhesitatingly yielded to, with no -preparation or after-thought, with no calculation, shame, triumph, or -regret. But it is very different with the human race, as it grows from -lower to higher states of society. Thoughts and feelings, social ties -and conscience, religious training and the objects of life, all act -upon the distinctive mental character of sex; and it is seen that the -welfare of a third factor, viz., the child, is inseparably connected -with these relations. - -Its character is thus changed to a very complex faculty. The young man -or woman blindly yielding to this power of sexual attraction, against -the remonstrance of a high sense of duty, is torn by remorse, and is -consciously self-degraded. - -The influence of the moral element is also strikingly shown by an evil -peculiar to the human race, viz., suicide or insanity as the result of -unhappy love. - -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 -civilization. The free and friendly intercourse of self-respecting -youth of both sexes satisfies the complex wants of early man and -womanhood; there is physical as well as mental refreshment in such -honourable and natural human intercourse. - -In the young man or woman, just entered into the full possession of all -the human faculties, where the special attraction of two tends towards -marriage, this moral or mental predominance is still remarkable. The -attraction towards the other sex is rich in mental delights. The -passing sight of the object beloved, a word, a look, a smile, will -make sunshine in the gloomiest day. The consciousness of spiritual -attraction will sustain and guard through long waiting for more -complete union. - -The physical pleasure which attends the caresses of love is a rich -endowment of humanity, granted by a beneficent Creative Power. There -is nothing necessarily evil in physical pleasure. Though inferior -in rank to mental pleasure, it is a legitimate part of our nature, -involving always some degree of mental action. The satisfaction which -our senses, sight, hearing, touch, etc., derive from all lovely objects -adapted to the special sense, indicates that beneficence latent in the -‘cosmic process’ which enters into the physical manifestation of our -present earthly life. The sexual act itself, rightly understood in its -compound character, so far from being a necessarily evil thing, is -really a Divinely created and altogether righteous fulfilment of the -conditions of present life. This act, like all human acts, is subjected -to the inexorable rule of moral law. Righteous use brings renewed -and increasing satisfaction to the two made one in harmonious union. -Unrighteous use produces satiety, coldness, repulsion, and misery to -the two remaining apart, through the abuse of a Divine gift. - -At a public table in the Tyrol I once heard an Austrian officer, a most -repulsive spectacle, dying of his vices, boast of his ruined life, and -declare that he would take the consequences and live it over again had -he the power to do so. This is the insanity of lust. But it illustrates -the inseparable union of soul and body in human sex. - -It is the mental element dominating the physical impulse in man, for -evil, which produces that monstrous creation, cold, selfish, and cruel, -which is seen only in the man or woman abusing the creative powers of -sex. - -It will thus be seen that in the varieties of degradation of our -sexual powers, as well as in their use and ennoblement, it is the -predominance of the mental or spiritual element in our nature which -is the characteristic fact of human sex. The inventions and abuses of -lust, as well as the use and guidance of love, alike prove the striking -and important distinction which exists between the sexual organization -of man and that of the lower animals. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - _Equivalent Functions in the Male and Female_ - -In examining the characteristics of sex in Man under its dual aspect, -male and female, Nature’s primary or rudimentary aim in establishing -sex must be clearly recognised. This aim is the reproduction of the -species. - -Pleasure in sexual congress is an incident depending largely on mental -constitution. In the varying ranks of the animal creation it may or may -not exist in connection with reproduction; for it is not essential to -the one all-important dominating fact in nature, viz., parentage. - -Reproduction is accomplished in various ways in the widely differing -ranks of living creatures. Man, owing to certain general resemblances -of physical structure, belongs to the higher class of animals, the -Mammalia. In this class the two factors necessary to reproduction, -viz., ova and semen or sperm, exist in separate individuals. The ova -or seed are formed in the ovaries, two small bodies placed within the -pelvis of the female; whilst the sperm or vitalizing fluid is formed -in the testes, two small bodies placed outside the pelvis of the male. - -The organs or parts which produce the ova and semen are strictly -analogous in the two sexes. Each part in the female corresponds to a -similar part in the male; and at an early period of existence before -birth it is impossible to determine whether the sex of the embryo is -male or female. - -Whilst the male and female organs concerned in the production of semen -and of ova are parallel and in strict correspondence, there is one -striking deficiency in the male structure. The organ essential to the -development of the human being, the organ into which the fertilized -ovum (or human seed) must be brought for growth, is wanting in the male -structure. This deficiency or difference between the sexes produces -important physiological results. The special part which the male has -to perform physically in the all-important reproductive function of -sex finishes with the act of sexual congress, but it continues in -the female. If conception has taken place, the results of this act -become increasingly important. The life of sex, or all that belongs -to the life of the race, as distinguished from the existence of the -individual, becomes continuously and for a long time inseparable -from the woman’s personal existence. Thus, all the relations of sex -form a more important part of the woman’s than of the man’s life. -Another important fact in sexual construction must be noted--viz., the -nervous connections of the sexual organs. 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 brain, the medulla oblongata. If the nervous connection between the -generative organs and the brain be severed, no consciousness of those -parts will remain. But whilst the natural nervous connection exists, -the influence of the brain upon those organs is continually felt, -and information as to their changes is sent to the brain. This nerve -connection exists from birth, although the formation of ova and semen -(on which the power of reproduction depends) does not take place until -a later date. Keen nervous sensation may, therefore, be perceived at -any time after birth, although offspring cannot be produced until the -more or less perfect establishment of reproductive power at puberty. - -It is of great importance to recognise this fact in the education of -children. - -The above general statements respecting the division and correspondence -of the sexual organs in the male and female, and their connection with -the brain through the nervous system, are true of all the Mammalia, -where, as in man, the reproductive power exists in two separate -individuals. When, however, we consider the way in which these -functions act in the work of reproduction, an important difference is -observed between their action in man and in the lower animals. This -difference places man physically in a different and superior category -from the brute creation. - -The physiological arrangement of physical sex in man corresponds to the -demands made by the increasing complexity of the sentiment of mental -sex. - -As already stated, the two essential features of physical sex are -ovulation and sperm-formation. These two important factors in the -joint work of reproduction are governed by a different rule in human -and in brute life. In man they exist under the rule of continuity and -of self-adjustment--_i.e._, these functions are always existent--but -at the same time they adapt themselves to the higher needs of the -individual. These two laws under which the functions exist--viz., 1st, -continuity of action; 2nd, power of self-adjustment--are distinctive -marks of superior human sexual function. Both are necessitated by the -growth of reason--_i.e._, by a progressive civilization. - -This will be understood clearly by dwelling more in detail on the -way in which these two essential parts of reproduction--viz., -sperm-formation and ovulation--are established in the human race. In -reproduction, the ova which are constantly produced in the female -require to be fertilized by contact with the semen, which is constantly -produced by the male, before they can commence the remarkable series -of changes and transformations which result in the formation of the -embryo, the rudimentary human being. - -Semen is a highly vitalized fluid, slowly but constantly secreted or -formed by the male. As is the case with all organized living fluids, -it is filled with rapidly-moving particles (spermatozoa), and its -vitality appears to be in direct ratio to the quantity and activity of -such movement. Motion seems to be inseparably connected with life, and -is distinctive of any highly vitalized fluid. Thus, in the important -and highly organized fluid, the blood, we observe constant motion and -change in the active little bodies with which it is filled. - -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 it. An intense energy in the special -act of procreation is needed to overcome the difficulties which may -prevent conception. - -It is here necessary to note a common but mischievous fallacy. This -necessary energy on the part of the male, in order to overcome -anatomical difference of structure in sexual congress, is commonly -considered an indication or measurement of the superior force of sexual -attraction or passion in the male. - -This superficial judgment is not unnatural, as facts which are patent -to the senses suggest the first crude thought. The chief structures -of the male are external, but they are internal in the female. This -difference of structure first suggests to the boy the meaning of -actions of the lower animals, whilst the girl may grow up to full -womanhood in complete unconsciousness of their signification. - -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 clitoris, whilst failing to recognise -that vast amount of erectile tissue, mostly internal, in the female, -which is the direct seat of special sexual spasm; such superficial -observation also fails to realize that sexual attraction is not limited -by any isolated physical act. - -The true nature of semen remained unknown during ages of physiological -ignorance. It was regarded as the one essential element in -reproduction, planted for growth in the uterus, where it was simply -nourished by the female. The moving particles contained in it were -regarded as animalculæ, and fanciful theories as to these particles -forming the brain and nervous system, etc., of the embryo were -entertained. But all these theories have been swept away by modern -investigation. It is now proved that when the substances of spermatozoa -and ova mingle a new action is set up, and an entirely new substance -created. Life, in the true sense of separate individuality, only begins -with the mingling of the male and female elements, the commencement of -a new existence then taking place when the living ovum fixes itself -in the uterus, and remains there for full growth and final birth. The -substance of spermatozoa and the substance of ova possess no sanctity -of life apart from their union. They are both produced in lavish -abundance, and thrown off from the body in the same way as other unused -secretions are thrown off. - -At the periods of menstruation unused ova are discharged. In a similar -manner unused semen is thrown off from time to time, in an entirely -healthy and beneficent way, by spontaneous natural action. - -As ovulation in the female and sperm-formation in the male are -equivalent productions, so menstruation in the female and natural -sperm-emission in the male are analogous and beneficial functions. - -It is in the arrangement of these two functions in man that the -physical sexual superiority of mankind to the brute creation lies. The -reason of the two distinctive laws which govern human sex is evident. -Thus: - -1st. Continuity of action. Procreation in man is not limited to any -special season.[1] 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 family. The physical organs are maintained -in fit condition for reproduction by these functions of ovulation -and spermation, as servants ready to obey at any time the superior -intelligence of the master Will. - -2nd. The power of self-adjustment. These two functions, whilst -maintaining aptitude for procreation in the activities of ovaries and -testes, by occasional spontaneous action secure also the independence -of the individual by such natural action. In the exercise of a -faculty which requires the concurrence of two intelligent beings -endowed with free will and reason, individual independence must be -secured. It would strike at the root of human progress, and convert -society into slavery, if the life and health of an adult could not be -maintained by the self-guidance and independence of the individual. -The natural occasional spontaneous action of the structures concerned -in reproduction secures individual independence whilst awaiting the -beneficial ordinance of marriage. - -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 menstruation, which only in exhausting excess -becomes menorrhœa. 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-emission, which only in exhausting excess becomes -spermatorrhœa. - -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 vitality, so -sperm-emission is the natural relief and independent outlet of that -steady action of the generative organs in the male, which secures -through adult life the constant aptitude for reproduction distinctive -of the human race. The parallel in the two sexes is exact. Menstruation -and sperm-emission are the natural healthy actions of self-balance, -established by the economy for preserving the mastership of each -individual over her or his own nature. At the same time the integrity -of the structure is maintained by the steady action of these two -functions of ovulation and spermation. These natural functions only -degenerate into states of disease through ignorance of physiological -law and faulty hygienic conditions on the one hand, or through impure -thoughts and bad habits acting through the nervous system on the -other. When these natural functions are either injured or unduly -stimulated through the brain and nervous system, then only do they -become diseased, producing menorrhœa or leucorrhœa in the female, and -spermatorrhœa in the male. - -It is impossible to overrate the wide importance of this law of -self-adjustment, under which human function is carried on. The abuses -of sex and the misunderstanding of actual facts, which have led to -widespread error on this subject, will be dwelt on later. Every parent, -however, who has been able to fulfil the true parental relationship to -the child will realize the beneficence of this law. The obligatory and -premature marriage of daughters, so largely the custom abroad, is one -result of error on this subject. A still more dangerous error is the -cruel advice sometimes given to a young man to degrade a woman, and -sin against his own higher nature by taking a mistress or resorting to -harlots. - -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 place. 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 girl, but that in both it is a time requiring guidance, -both moral and physical. Respectful, earnest words of hygienic counsel, -including mind and body, are indispensable at this critical time of -youth. Parents, particularly mothers, live too often in fatal ignorance -of the conditions of sexual health and disease in their children. My -advice is constantly asked in such cases as the following: A careful -mother, who had brought up her son, a strong and healthy young man, to -the age of twenty, learned from him of this natural sign of vitality, -which both supposed to indicate disease! It was with pain and dismay -that she replied to his confidence, ‘Alas! then, my son, I fear you -must consult a doctor.’ The joyful light of gratitude and renewed hope -with which she learned the truth on this important subject--viz., that -the occasional spontaneous action of the organs (not voluntarily forced -by corrupt thought and action) is natural and beneficial--will not be -easily forgotten. 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 infant. - -The measureless evil caused, not only by their ignorance, but by the -false information given to mothers, is illustrated by the inquiry made -of a friend of mine, a clergyman, by an intelligent French mother about -to move to Paris with her son. This lady, sensible and even pious, -wrote to the clergyman to inquire ‘if providing a mistress for her son -would be very costly in Paris.’ She had accepted as a fact what she had -been taught, viz., that no young man who could not marry early could -remain healthy without resorting to vice. - -From lack of true knowledge of the natural facts of their own physical -organization, young men are often terrified into a resort to quacks, -who impose on their ignorance. The young also of both sexes may be -tempted into bad habits of self-abuse at the outset of this new -life, from being unacquainted with the evils and dangers of vicious -indulgence. - -It is the grave parental duty of both father and mother to be able to -direct a child at its first entrance into adult life. At an age varying -with climate, race, and temperament, the young man as well as the young -woman will experience the healthy discharge, which is a sign that the -gradual development of the reproductive organs has attained its final -stage. In both its sudden appearance often produces fright; in both -it may appear once, with long intervals of recurrence. In the girl it -tends gradually (for important natural reasons) to the establishment -of a frequent and regularly returning function. In the young man and -in the continent unmarried adult, the natural action of these organs -is of far less frequent recurrence; it may be of slow and uncertain -return, dependent greatly upon the occupation of the mind and general -physical state of the individual. In the natural healthy young man, -the occasional return of this function, even with a certain degree of -periodicity, is a valuable aid to adult self-government. - -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 abuse. No Christian -physiologist whose observation of facts is enlightened by a knowledge -of the possibility of moral growth can commit so fatal an error. 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-balance. 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 -experience. - -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 parentage. The constant production -in the female of living germs (ova), which require only a passing -act of stimulation by the male to enter into a state of active and -astonishingly rapid growth; the unique change of the small uterus into -an enormous and powerful structure, capable of containing a perfect -child, and sending it forth by tremendous efforts into the outer world; -the changes in all the surrounding organs and tissues necessitated by -the accomplishment of such a remarkable work in the short space of nine -months; and the subjection of this great physical work to the law of -individual freedom and perfection, are facts which show the superior -complication and importance of the female sexual organization. The more -elaborate processes of menstruation, as compared with the lesser work -of sperm-emission, show the greater complication of the organs to be -kept in good working order in the female than in the male. - -So extensive and important are the physical structures that must be -kept in readiness for use in the mothers of the race, that their action -is more withdrawn from the dominion of the will than is the case with -men. In relation to the male, it is well known that the secretion -of semen is very much controlled by the mental condition of the -individual. Thus many a young man during keen nervous excitement (or -during the strain of examinations) becomes alarmed by the appearance of -unusual action never before noticed. - -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 life, quite independently of the will. Nature -never allows the male, any more than the female, to become impotent -through abeyance of function. No such fear need ever disturb the -mind. The utmost devotion to intellectual life, to lofty thought, -to beneficent action, never injures the procreative power, which -always remains intact, capable of its special faculty throughout the -virile age. But the active exercise of the intellectual and moral -faculties has remarkable power of diminishing the formation of semen, -and limiting the necessity of its natural removal, the demand for -such relief becoming rarer under ennobling and healthy influences. -As Dr. Acton remarks, ‘sexual distress affects particularly the -_semi-continent_--those who indeed see the better course and approve -of it, but follow the worse; who, without the recklessness of the -hardened or the strength of the pure, endure at once the sufferings of -self-denial and the remorse of self-indulgence.’[2] - -The healthy limitation of sexual secretion in men sets free a vast -store of nervous force for employment in intellectual and active -practical pursuits. The amount of nervous energy expended by the male -in the temporary act of sexual congress is very great, out of all -apparent proportion to its physical results, and is an act not to be -too often repeated. In the fully matured and strong adult the nature -is adapted to such occasional expenditure, but it is a serious evil -to the growing or unconsolidated nature. Even in strong adult life -there is a great loss of social power through the squandering of adult -energy, which results from any unnatural stimulus given to the appetite -of sex in the male. The barbarous custom of polygamy, the degrading -habit of promiscuous intercourse, selfish license in marriage, and all -artificial excitements which give undue stimulus to the passion of sex, -divert an immeasurable amount of mental and moral force from the great -work of human advancement. - -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 ovulation. In the female, Nature apparently -cannot venture to subordinate the simple physical functions of sex -to the will, to as great an extent as in the male. A more unyielding -rule is needed in these physical activities, because the work to be -accomplished for the race by the female is so much more elaborate and -long continued. A greater amount of varied action in the complicated -organs is necessitated in order to maintain their adult aptitude. The -function of ovulation (formation of ova) is not increased or diminished -by the will, or by the dwelling of the mind upon sexual objects, at all -to the same extent that spermation (formation of sperm) may be affected -by the same mental action. Ovulation, and its natural accompaniment, -menstruation, is much more of a necessary fixed quantity than -spermation and its natural accompaniment, sperm-emission.[3] - -It is thus seen that the laws guiding the human sexual functions as -established by Creative Power are as conducive to health, and as -consistent with the freedom and perfection of human growth, in one sex -as in the other. Each sex, obeying the Governing Law, is created to -help, not destroy the other. The general outline of arrangement is the -same in each, viz., power of mental and physical self-balance, strictly -guarded potency, and a certain degree of periodicity. - -I repeat that parents, and especially mothers, should be acquainted -with the truths of physiology. There is in the pure sentiment of -maternity a special Divine gift of unselfishness and profound devotion -to the well-being of husband and children. This God-given power enables -a wife and mother to comprehend and apply this knowledge with the -impersonality of wisdom. The awful aberrations of our sexual nature -excite a deep pity which inevitably seeks for a remedy. When this -special aptitude given to women by the power of maternity is fully -realized, the enlarged intelligence of mothers will be welcomed as the -brightest harbinger of sexual regeneration. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - _On the Abuses of Sex_--I. _Masturbation_ - -Of the various forms of abuse which spring from ignorance or corruption -in the exercise of the most important of our human faculties, two only -will be dwelt on--viz., masturbation and fornication. These are the -two radical vices from which all forms of unnatural vice spring. The -first is the especial temptation of the child, the last the temptation -or corruption of the adult. It will be seen how the one prepares for -the other, and how both, unchecked and unguided into rightful channels -by judicious sexual education, lead inevitably to those horrors of -unnatural vice which belong to disease, not nature. Abnormal vice -abounds on the Continent, where the virtue of Christianity has fallen -into contempt. But although it is increasing amongst ourselves as we -blindly follow in the path of foreign error, yet, happily for parental -guidance of childhood and youth, the darkest phases of human corruption -need not be exhibited here. - -Of Self-abuse (called also Masturbation, Onanism, etc.) it is -necessary to speak fully. This vice may infect the nursery as well as -the school, and in innumerable cases it induces precocity of physical -sensation, and prepares the way for every variety of sexual evil. - -That much contradiction of thought exists on this subject even in the -medical profession, the following facts will show. One of the most -distinguished members of the profession, a man noted for sound judgment -and large experience, made the following noteworthy statement to me in -speaking of ‘The Moral Education of the Young in Relation to Sex.’ He -said: ‘You are all wrong in what you say about masturbation. Medically -speaking, it is of no consequence whatever. Mind, I say _medically_, -not morally speaking. I know a man, the father of a family, who was -taught by his nurse to masturbate at three years old, and it has done -him no harm whatever.’ - -On the other hand, distinguished physicians, as Tissot and others, have -drawn frightful pictures of the mental and physical ruin which always -result from habits of self-abuse, and they refer to the records of -insane asylums to confirm these statements. - -There is error and confusion of thought in both these extreme views. - -Self-abuse or Solitary Vice is the voluntary purposed excitement of the -genital organs, produced by pressure or friction of those parts, or by -the indulgence of licentious thoughts. - -The term ‘masturbation’ does not apply to that involuntary and -beneficent action of the organs in the adult of both sexes, with which -nature from time to time relieves necessary secretion. - -This radical distinction between the independent and benign action of -nature, and the dangerous practice of voluntarily stimulated physical -sensation, has not been pointed out by physiological investigators with -necessary clearness, 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 nation. - -The dangerous habit of voluntarily produced excitement, to which alone -the term ‘masturbation’ is due, may be formed by both the male and the -female, and it is found even in the child as well as the adult. - -In the child, however (it being immature in body), it is the -dependencies of the brain, the nervous system, which come more -exclusively into play in this evil habit. The production of ova or -semen, which mark the adult age, has not taken place; 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 adult. In the little ignorant child this habit springs from a -nervous sensation yielded to because, as it says, ‘it feels nice.’ The -portion of the brain which takes cognizance of these sensations has -been excited, and the child, in innocent absence of impure thought, -yields to the mental suggestion supplied from the physical organs. -This mental suggestion may be produced by the irritation of worms, by -some local eruption, by the wickedness of the nurse, occasionally by -malformation or unnatural development of the parts themselves. There is -grave reason also for believing that transmitted tendency to sensuality -may blight the innocent offspring. - -A serious warning against the unnatural practice of circumcision must -here be given. A book of ‘Advice to Mothers,’ by a Philadelphia doctor, -was lately sent me. This treatise began by informing the mother that -her first duty to her infant boy was to cause it to be circumcised! Her -fears were worked upon by an elaborate but false statement of the evils -which would result to the child were this mutilation not performed. 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 -practice, and endeavour to introduce it into a Christian nation. - -Circumcision is based upon the erroneous principle that boys--_i.e._, -one-half the human race--are so badly fashioned by Creative Power that -they must be reformed by the surgeon; consequently, 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 -body. - -The erroneous nature of such a practice is shown by the fact that, -although this custom (which originated amongst licentious nations in -hot climates) has been carried on for many hundred generations, yet -Nature continues to protect her children by reproducing the valuable -protection in man and all the higher animals, regardless of impotent -surgical interference. - -Appeals to the fears of uninstructed parents on the grounds of -cleanliness or of hardening the part are entirely fallacious and -unsupported by evidence. - -It is a physiological fact that the natural lubricating secretion of -every healthy part is beneficial, not injurious, to the part thus -protected, and that no attempt to render a sensitive part insensitive -is either practicable or justifiable. The protection which Nature -affords to these parts is an aid to physical purity, by affording -necessary protection against constant external contact of a part which -necessarily remains keenly sensitive; and bad habits in boys and girls -cannot be prevented by surgical operations. Where no malformation -exists, bad habits can only be forestalled by healthy moral and -physical education. - -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 support. - -Parents, therefore, should be warned that this ugly mutilation of their -children involves serious danger, both to their physical and moral -health. - - * * * * * - -It is a fact which deserves serious consideration that many ignorant -women purposely resort to vicious sexual manipulation to soothe their -fractious infants. The superintendent of a large prison for women -informed me that this was a common practice, and one most difficult, -even impossible entirely to break up. - -Medical observation proves that such injury to infancy is not confined -to the lower or to the criminal classes. The habits formed by unrefined -or exposed women are brought by servants into our homes. The ignorance -or viciousness of nurses, often veiled by a respectable demeanour, has -injured and even destroyed the children of many a well-to-do nursery. - -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 fact. 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 exercise. In this case -an evil hereditary tendency from both parents was discovered, and -malformation existed in the child. Indeed, 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 subject. The cause should be -carefully sought for wherever this vicious practice is discovered, and -the trusted family physician consulted if necessary. - -Now, it is quite true that this habit, when observed in children, may -often, and I believe generally, be broken up. It is the mother who must -do this by sympathy and wise oversight. When a child is known in any -way to be producing pressure or excitement in these parts, the watchful -observation of the mother must be at once aroused. If no physical -cause of irritation, such as worms or some malformation, appears to -be present, the dangerous habit may be broken up entirely; but no -punishment must ever be resorted to. The little innocent child, to whom -the sentiment of sex is an unknown thing, will confide in its mother -if encouraged to do so. If kindly but seriously told that it may make -little children ill to do this thing, and the reply being given (as -in cases I have known) that ‘the little feeling comes of itself,’ the -child should be encouraged to come to its mother, and she ‘will help -him drive the feeling away.’ - -This providential guardianship of the portals of life is a special -endowment of maternity, 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 nature. The tact of a -mother will never suggest evil to her child, but her quick perception -of danger will enable her to detect its signs, and avert it. - -The frequent practice of self-abuse occurring in little children -from the age of two years old, clearly illustrates the fallacy of -endeavouring to separate mind and body in educational arrangements or -systems of medical treatment. In the very young child those essential -elements of reproduction, semen and ova, which give such mighty -stimulus to passion in the adult, are entirely latent. Yet we observe -a distinct mental impression possible, leading to unnatural excitement -of the genital organs. This mental impression, growing with the growth -of the child, produces an undue sensitiveness to all surrounding -circumstances which tend to excite this cerebral action. Touch, sight, -and hearing become avenues to the brain, prematurely opened to this -kind of stimulus. The acts of the lower animals, pictures, indecent -talk, which glide over the surface of the mind in a naturally healthy -child, excite self-conscious attention when habits of self-abuse have -grown up unchecked. The mind is thus rendered impure, and the growing -lad or girl develops into a precocious sexual consciousness. - -At school a new danger arises to children from corrupt communication -of companions, or in the boy from an intense desire to become a man, -with a false idea of what manliness means. The brain, precociously -stimulated in one direction, receives fresh impulse from evil -companionship and evil literature, and even hitherto innocent children -of ten and twelve are often drawn into the temptation. - -From the age when the organs of reproduction are beginning slowly to -unfold themselves for their future work, the temptation to yield to -physical sensation or mental impression increases. - -The inseparable relation of our moral and physical structure is seen -in full force at the age of twelve or fourteen. Confirmed habits of -mental impurity may at any age destroy the body from the physical -results of such habits. 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 lady, dying from the effects of -this inveterate habit. She had been a teacher in a Sunday-school, and -the delight of a refined and intelligent circle of friends. But this -habit, begun in childhood in ignorance of any moral or physical wrong -which might result to her nature, had become so rooted that her brain -was giving way under the effects of nervous derangement thus produced, -whilst her will had lost the power of self-control. - -It will thus be seen that there are two grave dangers attending the -practice of masturbation. - -The first evil is the effect upon the mind through the brain and -nervous system from evil communications or evil literature. The mind -is thus prematurely awakened to take in and dwell upon a series of -impressions which awaken precocious sexual instinct. This precocity -gives an undue and even dominating power to this instinct over the -other human faculties. Coming into play before reason is strengthened -or the sense of responsibility awakened, there is no counterpoise or -principle of guidance to the rapidly developing powers of procreation. -Thus the precocious stimulus of childhood, even if it has not -undermined the individual health, becomes a direct preparation for the -selfishness of lust in the adult. - -The other grave danger incurred by the practice of masturbation is the -risk of its becoming an over-mastering habit, from the ease with which -it can be indulged; also from the insidious and increasing power of the -temptation when yielded to, and from its association with the times -when the individual is alone, and particularly the quiet hours of the -night. - -In the adult who yields to solitary vice, Nature’s marked distinction -between the beneficent effect of spontaneous healthy relief and the -injurious action of self-induced irritation is destroyed. Individual -self-control, the highest distinctive mark of the human being, is -abandoned. In this way the evil habit may become a real obsession, -leading to destruction of mental and physical health, to insanity, or -to suicide. - -It will thus be seen that this first abuse of the sexual faculty given -to us by our Creator--viz., the practice of masturbation--is a special -danger to the very young as well as a temptation of the adult, and that -it is an injury to mind as well as body, through the inseparable union -of the moral and physical elements of our human constitution. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - _On the Abuses of Sex_--II. _Fornication_ - -The second abuse of sex to be dwelt on by the Christian physiologist -is the practice of fornication. One broad distinction separates this -form of vice from masturbation--viz., that it necessarily affects two -persons instead of only one. Its effects upon the mental and physical -development of both the male and female must therefore engage the -attention of the physiologist. This necessity of considering the -effects produced by a joint act upon two separate individualities -greatly complicates the inquiry. - -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 act. It requires -a certain amount of generalizing power to do this; and the power of -generalization, 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 phenomena, is an advanced attainment of human beings. -Abstract truth commonly seems vague as compared with a material fact. - -We are also so accustomed in using all our other senses, sight, -hearing, etc., to regard them as individual possessions, that it -is difficult to separate the sexual sense from all others. Yet it -distinctly belongs to a different class from all our other senses, -because its ultimate expression is not a simple individual performance, -but is a social act of vital importance to the race. The imperfection -of our intelligence, which makes it easier to consider a joint act in -its diversity than in its unity, has led to very imperfect observation -of physiological facts and many false deductions from such imperfect -observation. Very grave social errors, leading even to the general -debasement and ultimate destruction of national life, flow from the -hitherto rudimentary condition of our human intelligence in relation to -the sexual powers. - -Fornication is the promiscuous intercourse of the sexes. It is the -yielding to the domination of the simple physical impulse of sex, with -no perception or acceptance of the mutual responsibility involved -in the relation, and with no regard to a fundamental aspect of this -relation--viz., the well-being of offspring. Fornication is the attempt -to divorce the moral and physical elements of human nature, and to -ignore the inseparable results of joint action. - -In considering this subject from a medical point of view, we are at -once brought face to face with a conflict nineteen hundred years old. -Christianity, springing up when the Roman Empire was perishing through -its vices, stamped fornication as the gravest of social crimes. There -is nothing more strongly marked in the earlier records of this religion -than the stern, even awful, condemnation of whore-mongers. The sin of -sexual impurity is denounced as the essence of hatred and fraud. We -observe that wherever the Christian Church becomes hypocritical and -cowardly, and fails to reprobate this sin alike in men and women, in -high and low, in the State and in the family, or fails to be the leader -of the people against organized evil, there the Christian Church begins -to fall into contempt, and the _vox populi_ condemns it. - -The Christian physiologist, pondering the inexorable law of purity -as shown by history, is compelled to re-examine the physical and -moral facts of the human constitution, on which the rise and fall -of races depend. The question distinctly arises, Is Christianity a -superstition, dying out in the nineteenth century of science and -material development; or does it contain within itself a principle -whose transforming power has been hitherto unrecognised, but which -will now come into play, and lead the nations into renewed and more -permanent vigour of life? - -One of the first subjects to be investigated by the Christian -physiologist is the truth or error of the assertion so widely made, -that sexual passion is a much stronger force in men than in women. -Very remarkable results have flowed from the attempts to mould society -upon this assertion. A simple Christian might reply, ‘Our religion -makes no such distinction; male and female are as one under guidance -and judgment of the Divine law.’ But the physiologist must go farther, -and use the light of principles underlying physical truth in order -to understand the meaning of facts which arraign and would destroy -Christianity. - -It is necessary, therefore, to determine what is meant by strength -and what is meant by passion. In one sense a bull is stronger than a -man, and many of the inferior animals are superior in muscular force -or keenness of special sense to human beings, yet man is more powerful -than the animal world which he dominates to his will. Any assertion -that the animal is stronger than the human being fails to recognise the -very essence of humanity--viz., mental or moral strength. - -Again, in one sense, the whirlwind or the earthquake is stronger -than the creative action of Nature; their rapid devastation strikes -the terrified imagination, 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 destruction. - -In determining the strength of races and the strength of individuals, -the various elements which constitute vital power must be considered. -Endurance, longevity, special aptitudes with the proportionate amount -of vital force given to their fulfilment--these are all elements of -relative strength. - -In any attempt to settle the comparative strength of man and woman, -therefore, all these elements must be weighed. Thus the powers of -endurance which are demanded by each kind of life must be accurately -measured; the care of a sick child must be balanced against the anxiety -of business, the ceaseless cares of indoor life against the changes of -outdoor life, etc. 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 separately. - -Any attempt at a comparison of absolute sexual power between men and -women will be found to be equally futile. The varying manifestations -of the sexual faculties, as exhibited in their male and female phases, -make the relative measurement of this vital force in men and women -quite impossible. Considering, however, 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 passion, it is -necessary to examine closely the facts of human nature, and challenge -many erroneous conclusions. Any theory which proposes two methods -of judgment or two measures of law, in consequence of a supposed -difference of vital power, is emphatically uncertain, and lays itself -open to just suspicion of dangerous error. - -The equal numbers of men and women, their equal longevity, and -consequently equal power of enduring the wear and tear of life, prove -the equal general vital power of the sexes. - -In considering further the special sexual manifestations of the two -sexes, we observe that the power of reproduction commences at an -earlier age in women than in men. The physical life of the sexual -faculties at the same early age is more vigorous in the female than in -the male, and all those social interests which centre round sex in the -human race are in the young woman stronger; 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 attained. -The ‘eagerness for a romance’ and the unconscious impulse towards -parentage are developed earlier, and absorb a larger proportion of -vital force in the girl than in the boy. - -At a later age, when physical sex is fully developed in the young -adult, we are still struck by the greater proportion of vital force -demanded from or given by women to all that is involved in sexual -life. The physical functions of sex weigh more imperiously upon the -woman than the man, compel more thought and care, and necessitate more -enlightened intelligence in the general arrangements of life. Physical -sex is a larger factor in the life of the woman, unmarried or married, -than in the life of the man, and this is the case at every period of -the full vigour of life. In order to secure the perfect health and -independent freedom which is the birthright of every rational human -being, larger wisdom is required for the maintenance of perfect -physical health in the woman than in the man, this function being a -more important element in the one than in the other. - -If this be true of the physical element of sex, it is equally true of -the mental element. No careful observer can fail to remark the larger -proportionate amount of thought and feeling, as compared with the total -vital force of the individual, which we find given by women to all that -concerns the subject of sex. Words spoken, slight courtesies rendered, -excite a more permanent interest in women. That which may be the -mere passing thought or action of the man, at once forgotten by him, -obliterated by a thousand other intellectual or practical interests in -his life, often make a quite undue impression upon the woman. Incidents -are thought of over and over again, and are supposed to mean much more -than they do mean. A romance or a scandal, a tale of true or false -love, will always excite interest, where business, politics, science, -or philosophy will fall upon deaf ears. All that concerns the mental -aspect of sex, the special attraction which draws one sex towards the -other, is exhibited in greater proportionate force by women, is more -steady and enduring, and occupies a larger amount of their thought and -interest. - -The frivolity and ephemeral character of the seducer’s impulses, -as compared with the earnestness of the seduced, illustrates the -profounder character of sexual passion in woman. - -Wide-spread unhappiness, social disturbance, and degradation -continually arise from the vital force of human sex in woman, -unguarded, unguided, and unemployed. - -Passion and appetite are not identical. The term ‘passion,’ it should -always be remembered, necessarily implies a mental element. For this -reason it is employed exclusively in relation to the powers of the -human being, not to those of the brute. Passion rises into a higher -rank than instinct or physical impulse, because it involves the soul -of man. In sexual passion this mental, moral, or emotional principle -is as emphatically sex as any physical instinct, and it grows with the -proportional development of the nervous system. - -This mental element of human sex exists in major proportion in the -vital force of women, and justifies the statement that the compound -faculty of sex is as strong in woman as in man. Those who deny sexual -feeling to women, or consider it so light a thing as hardly to be taken -into account in social arrangements, confound appetite and passion; -they quite lose sight of this immense spiritual force of attraction, -which is distinctly human sexual power, and which exists in so very -large a proportion in the womanly nature. The impulse towards maternity -is an inexorable but beneficent law of woman’s nature, and it is a law -of sex. - -The different form which physical sensation necessarily takes in the -two sexes, and its intimate connection with and development through the -mind (love) in women’s nature, serve often to blind even thoughtful -and painstaking persons as to the immense power of sexual attraction -felt by women. Such one-sided views show a misconception of the meaning -of human sex in its entirety. - -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 feel, and they -draw the conclusion that the wife possesses no sexual passion. A -delicate wife will often confide to her medical adviser (who may be -treating her for some special suffering) that at the very time when -marriage love seems to unite them most closely, when her husband’s -welcome kisses and caresses seem to bring them into profound union, -comes an act which mentally separates them, and which may be either -indifferent or repugnant to her. 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 passion; it is the profound -attraction of one nature to the other which marks passion, and delight -in kiss and caress--the love-touch--is physical sexual expression as -much as the special act of the male. - -It is well known that terror or pain in either sex will temporarily -destroy all physical pleasure. In married life, injury from childbirth, -or brutal or awkward conjugal approaches, may cause unavoidable -shrinking from sexual congress, often wrongly attributed to absence of -sexual passion. But the severe and compound suffering experienced by -many widows who were strongly attached to their lost partners is also -well known to the physician, and this is not simply a mental loss that -they feel, but an immense physical deprivation. It is a loss which all -the senses suffer by the physical as well as moral void which death has -created. - -Although physical sexual pleasure is not attached exclusively, or in -woman chiefly, to the act of coition, it is also a well-established -fact that in healthy, loving women, uninjured by the too frequent -lesions which result from childbirth, increasing physical satisfaction -attaches to the ultimate physical expression of love. A repose and -general well-being results from this natural occasional intercourse, -whilst the total deprivation of it produces irritability. - -On the other hand, the growth in men of the mental element in sexual -passion, from mighty wifely love, often comes like a revelation to -the husband. The dying words of a man to the wife who, sending away -children, friends, every distraction, had bent the whole force of her -passionate nature to holding the beloved object in life--‘I never knew -before what love meant’--indicates the revelation which the higher -element of sexual passion should bring to the lower phase. It is an -illustration of the parallelism and natural harmony between the sexes. -The prevalent fallacy that sexual passion is the almost exclusive -attribute of men, 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--viz., its powerful mental element. A tortured girl, done to -death by brutal soldiers, may possess a stronger power of human sexual -passion than her destroyers. - -The comparison so often drawn between the physical development of the -comparatively small class of refined and guarded women, and the men of -worldly experience whom they marry, is a false comparison. 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 feel, and which she would -die rather than confess. She has not been taught that sexual passion is -love, even more than lust, and that its ennobling work in humanity is -to educate and transfigure the lower by the higher element. The growth -and indications of her own nature she is taught to condemn, instead of -to respect them as foreshadowing that mighty impulse towards maternity -which will place her nearest to the Creator if reverently accepted. - -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 -vice, 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 former. The astounding lust and cruelty of women uncontrolled by -spiritual principle is a historical fact. - -The most destructive phase of fornication is promiscuous intercourse. -This riotous debauchery introduced the devastating scourge of syphilis -into Western Europe in the fourteenth century. Promiscuous intercourse -can never be made ‘safe.’ The resort of many men to one woman, with its -results, is against nature. - -The special structures of the female body, which are endowed with the -elasticity necessary for the passage of a child, rich in secreting -glands, in folds, in power of absorption, cannot be treated as a plane -surface, to be washed out and labelled ‘safe.’ Physical danger will -always be connected with unnatural use of the body; neither party -engaged in promiscuous intercourse can be pronounced clean. - -This is not the place to speak of the moral danger inseparable from a -corrupt bargain which debases the highest function, the creative, to -the low status of trade competition, but the Christian physician is -bound to consider this. - -Some medical writers have considered that women are more tyrannically -governed than men by the impulses of physical sex. They have dwelt upon -the greater proportion of work laid upon women in the reproduction of -the race, the prolonged changes and burden of maternity, and the fixed -and marked periodical action needed to maintain the aptitude of the -physical frame for maternity. They have drawn the conclusion that sex -dominates the life of women, and limits them in the power of perfect -human growth. This would undoubtedly be the case were sex simply a -physical function. - -The fact in human nature which explains, guides, and should elevate the -sexual nature of woman, and mark the beneficence of Creative Force, -is this very mental element which distinguishes human from brute sex. -This element, gradually expanding under religious teaching and the -development of true religious sentiment, becomes the ennobling power of -love. Love between the sexes is the highest and mightiest form of human -sexual passion. - -The mental element in human sex, although as distinctly a part of -sexual passion as the physical element, does not necessarily imply good -use. The woman who employs the arts of dress to bring the physical -peculiarities of sex into prominence, and uses every method of coquetry -and flirtation to excite the attention and awaken the physical impulses -of men, is abusing her sexual power. The degree in which she employs -these arts, measures the extent to which her own nature is dominated -by brute sexual instinct, and the unworthiness of the use to which she -puts this instinct. - -This power of sex in women is strikingly shown in the enormous -influence which they exert upon men for evil. It is not the cold -beauty of a statue which enthrals and holds so many men in terrible -fascination; it is the living, active power of sexual life embodied -in its separate overpowering female phase. The immeasurable depth -of degradation into which those women fall, whose sex is thoroughly -debased, who have intensified the physical instincts of the brute by -the mental power for evil possessed by the human being, indicates -the mighty character of sexual power over the nature of woman for -corruption. It is also a measure of what the ennobling power of -passion may be. - -Happily, 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 regarded. It is -a sign of something wrong in education, or in the social state, when -matters which concern the subject of sex are discussed with the same -freedom and boldness as other matters. This subject should neither -be a topic of idle gossip, of unreserved publicity, nor of cynical -display. This natural and beneficial instinct of reserve, springing -from unconscious reverence, renders it difficult for one sex to measure -and judge the vital power of the other. The independent thought and -large observation of each sex is needed in order to arrive at truth. -Unhappily, however, women are often falsely instructed by men, for -a licentious husband inevitably depraves the sentiment of his wife, -because vicious habits have falsified his nature and blinded his -perception of the moral law which dominates sexual growth. - -Each sex has its own stern battle to fight in resisting temptation, -in walking resolutely towards the higher aim of life. It is equally -foolish and misleading to attempt to weigh the vital qualities of the -sexes, and measure justice and mercy, law and custom, by the supposed -results. It is difficult for the child to comprehend that a pound of -feathers can weigh as much as a pound of lead. Much of our thought -concerning men and women is as rudimentary as the child’s. 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--fornication. We have not hitherto perceived that, on account -of the moral degradation and physical disease which it inevitably -produces, lustful trade in the human body is a grave social crime. - -In forming a wiser judgment for future guidance, 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 assertion, based upon a -perverted or superficial view of the facts of human nature. Any custom, -law, or religious teaching based upon this superficial and essentially -false assertion, must necessarily be swept away with the prevalence of -sounder physiological views. - -It is a fact that the brain and nervous system are the media of -sensation, and that pleasure, physical or mental, in whatever way it -may be aroused, must be measured by the keenness of nervous life in -both sexes, not by any special act of one sex. - -It has also been shown that the secretion of semen does not necessitate -a resort to sexual congress, 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-guidance. Physiology condemns -fornication by showing the physical arrangements which support the -moral law. There is no justification in the physiological structure -of humanity for the destructive practice of fornication. We thus -see by the light of sound physiology, and the advanced thought of -the nineteenth century, the profound insight of the founders of -Christianity, who denounced in one equal and awful condemnation the -whoremonger and the whore. - - - - - 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 girls. The sexual instinct, being a -primitive elementary instinct, exists alike in men and women. It is -the necessary impulse leading to parentage, an impulse which the great -Creative Force has laid down as a law of our present human life. But -chastity and continence are not primitive instincts in either sex; -they are the higher growth of reason, and of the religious and legal -guidance by which in every age it has been found indispensable to -direct the impulse of sex. - -The way in which this instinct may be exercised to the permanent -advantage of a progressive community is a gradual discovery of the -human race. It is a development or differentiation of the primitive -instinct; but the instinct and the wise method of educating or of -exercising it are separate facts. - -In the savage stage, in semi-barbarous countries, and in the slums of -all great towns, both men and women are grossly unchaste. - -It is by the growth and expansion of human nature under a knowledge of -providential law, that the necessity of guiding the exercise of the -original instinct is perceived. Thus, varying institutions gradually -arise out of the varied methods employed to guide the sexual impulse. -Different circumstances, different systems of education, law, and -religion, produce varying results. But all these results spring from -a perception that the sexual instinct requires guidance, and cannot, -without danger to society, be left in its primitive ignorance. - -In the gradual growth of thought which leads to ever higher forms -of society, the physiologist has very important aid to render. 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 race. In these two great facts--viz., the ability to -form habits and the power of transmitting the tendencies produced by -habits--the mind and body are inseparably blended, and through them a -nation becomes chaste or unchaste. Habit can so change the nature as -to make what was difficult easy; it can so strengthen the tendencies -in directly opposite directions as to both govern, and to a great -extent change, the action of the physical organization itself, and the -fact of heredity will transmit these changed tendencies to succeeding -generations. - -It is impossible in the long-run to ignore these two facts which -so powerfully govern sexual passion, because Nature has established -them. Short-sighted views may exist as to the trivial character of -the relations prevailing between the sexes. It may be considered of -slight importance whether lust or love rule these relations. The slow -or remote nature of the evils produced by the violation of Nature’s -laws, and the apparent escape of some offenders from immediate penalty, -confuse the short sight of the irreligious. But Nature disregards our -short-sightedness, sweeps away our theories and self-indulgence, and -inexorably avenges the violation of law by gradual but inevitable -degeneration of the race. - -The power which habit exercises over human nature depends upon the -physiological character of the nervous system itself, through which our -will and thought act. - -It has been well said by Michel Lévy that periodicity is the law of the -nervous system.[4] It is a law which both regulates its physiological -action and controls the course of its diseases. - -Impressions made upon the brain by external objects or by internal -sensations modify the condition of the brain. This modification is -slight at first, but increases by repetition. When an impression -is first made upon the brain, it has to overcome the inertia or -unaccustomed state of the organization to receive that kind of -impression. But with each repetition this resistance diminishes and a -habit is formed. Owing to the rule of periodicity which governs the -nervous system, the brain tends to repeat the change which it has once -experienced, to recall sensations, and solicit a repetition of changes -which have been frequently impressed upon it. - -Passing impressions may produce little effect in changing the -condition of the brain, but when such impressions are often repeated -and prolonged, when the attention is fixed upon them and the will -engaged in recalling them, then the nervous system itself undergoes -modification, and a new disposition of the organization itself is -acquired from the continuation and frequent repetition of the same -impressions. - -It is in this way, through a change in the nervous system itself, that -habit becomes literally a second nature; and in this way habits most -opposite to the natural or rudimentary state are introduced into our -human organization, and ‘nature is dominated by or absorbed in habit.’ - -The power of habit is seen even in the action of organs withdrawn -from the will, as in the powers of adaptation to all kinds of food, -to various kinds of atmosphere and climate. It is, however, in that -portion of our nature directly connected with and governed by the brain -that the remarkable transforming power of habit is seen, and in the -sexual system this enormous power is most signally displayed. - -Habits may become so much a part of our nature that they are exercised -unconsciously, the impression which first excited the brain being no -longer noticed, though still exerting its modifying influence. - -But when the attention is constantly aroused, the brain acts with -sustained and increasing energy; the senses are thus strengthened or -perfected, and new and higher powers are developed in the individual, -which through inheritance may be transmitted to a succeeding generation. - -It is in this way that the practice of continence or of incontinence -gradually forms a distinctive characteristic of social and national -life. - -This distinctive faculty possessed by the nervous system of -modifying its own sensations, and even acquiring new aptitudes, is -the physiological basis of human progress. ‘It is the foundation of -education, of the power of law, of the influence of custom, and the -necessary condition of hygienic improvement.’ - -Habits, when formed in accordance with physiological law, do not tend -to indifference. By the constant repetition of impressions a new -relation is gradually established between the organs or faculties -affected and the cause which produces the effect. As the keenness -of first sensations producing transitory pleasure diminishes, habit -strengthens the important relation which grows up between faculties -and the objects which modify them. It is the superior power of the -new relation thus established by habit between the individual and the -objects that have modified his nature, that have even caused the Swiss -mountaineer to die of home-sickness, or the bereaved partner in a -lifelong union to follow the beloved object to the grave. - -It will thus be seen how the idea and the practice of chastity have -grown up from a physiological basis, and may be inseparably interwoven -with the essential structure of our physical organization. Chastity -is the government of the sexual instinct by the higher reason or -wisdom--_i.e._, by our perception of the providential law which governs -our human nature. Customs, and the laws concerning marriage and the -relations of the sexes which represent them, are checks or guides -imposed upon the blind sexual impulse by the enlightened common-sense -of mankind. These customs and laws, acting slowly but persistently upon -society, generation after generation, modify the habits of thought in -the adult, and the methods of education in the child. It is thus that -the idea of chastity arises, and its practice becomes possible and -easy. 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 custom. - -The universal experience of the world has proved that directly human -beings join in societies, they are compelled to impose guides upon -the exercise of the sexual powers, in the interest of society itself. -This check upon the blind, unrestrained use of the sexual impulse is a -necessity imposed by our physiological structure for the well-being and -continuance of the race. - -The most important practical results flow from obedience to the -physiological law of chastity thus imposed upon our sexual nature. The -necessary mutual aid and respect of the sexes, procreative vigour and -the production of a fine race, and the extirpation of the loathsome -disease caused by promiscuous intercourse, are all subject to the -guidance of chastity. - -The tremendous power of creative law, which is quite beyond our reach, -demands that the blind instinct of sex be governed and enlightened by -this inevitable higher control, and that human law be moulded upon -Divine law. - -The mighty and transforming physiological power of habit, with its -tendencies transmitted by both men and women to their offspring, shows -the method by which the law of chastity must gradually extend its sway -over the human race. The choice between inevitable degeneracy and sure -improvement is left to our relatively free will, but the law which -governs results is beyond our reach. Race after race has perished from -blind or wilful ignorance, or neglect of the inexorable moral law bound -up with our physiological structure. - -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 community. If they will learn to trust to the -sacredness of the maternal instinct, and instruct mothers, as well as -fathers, in these vital truths concerning our sexual structures, they -will exercise a mighty influence in the elevation of our race. - -To the younger members of the profession I wish to offer some farther -hints on the direct practical bearing of the foregoing truths. The -facts of our human organization should not only guide the medical -advice given in the consultation-room, but caution us respecting -the methods to be adopted in dealing with the poor, and suggest the -direction in which national sanitary measures should proceed. - -The immense power of this passion of sex in the human race must never -be ignored in relation to either men or women. The beneficent control -which the human mind can exercise over the passion points out that item -in the human _materia medica_, which more than any other the physician -must strive to secure for the benefit of his patient, viz.--force of -will. He is bound to declare the sovereign efficacy of this natural -specific, and enforce the methods of securing it. 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 nature. - -There is another point which cannot be too strongly insisted on. The -personal modesty of patients--that elementary virtue in Christian -civilization--must be carefully cherished by the physician, who, more -than any other, is acquainted with its influence on the sexual nature. -The common resort to sexual examination is an evil grown up in medical -practice of comparatively modern date. The use of the speculum should -be strictly limited by absolute necessity. Its reckless use amongst the -poor is a serious national injury. I know from fifty years’ medical -experience amongst the poor, as well as the rich, that this custom -is a real and growing evil. It should be a last resort of medical -necessity, and it is so regarded by thoughtful physicians. That it is -sometimes necessary is unhappily true; and when a poor sufferer learns -from her trusted adviser that such investigation is quite unavoidable, -acceptance of such judgment is the part of wisdom and true modesty. -But it is essential that the medical judgment thus rendered should be -final--the result of age and special experience. 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 rule. It is a social wrong when the serious character of this -branch of medicine is not conscientiously acknowledged. The natural -sentiment of personal modesty is seriously injured amongst respectable -people by the resort to a succession of incompetent advisers. - -A really serious and national evil results from the thoughtless -treatment of the poor. In dispensary and hospital, and wherever medical -assistance is rendered to the exposed and helpless classes, the first -duty of the physician is to respect personal modesty, or to instil it -if the habit has been lost. Every physician, man or woman, is bound to -cherish with reverence the great conservative principle of society, -personal modesty and self-respect. This is a point on which the medical -practitioner cannot avoid a moral responsibility. Physicians are the -special guardians of health from infancy onward. They possess the means -of acquiring the fullest knowledge of the double elements of human -nature--the interaction of mind and body. From their culture, their -social position, and the authority which they legitimately exercise, -the weighty responsibility of rightly guarding the human faculties -rests chiefly upon them. In all those points where the physical health -of a nation is inseparably connected with its moral health, they are -more responsible than any other class of the community for the moral -condition of their country. - -All medical advice and all medical measures must, therefore, 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 it, and which must never be lost sight of in dealing with -human beings. - -To the rising members of our noble profession I earnestly present -the foregoing facts for their Christian and patriotic consideration, -believing that when they fully realize these great truths they will -embrace them with the generous enthusiasm of youth. Thus, while guiding -their future practice by sound principles in relation to the care of -our human organization, they will enforce these truths by the strongest -of all arguments--the true manliness of their own lives. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - _Medical Guidance in Legislation_ - -All thoughtful members of the medical profession will appreciate -the power of education exercised by law, particularly on the rising -generation. As students of human physiology, knowing the inseparable -connection of mind and body, they can more fully understand how the -laws of a country mould social customs, and recognise the gradual but -widespread deterioration of social morality resulting from unjust laws. - -In all legislation which endeavours to protect and improve national -health the medical profession is necessarily consulted. The advice -of experts is indispensable in framing measures which affect such -important subjects as wholesome food-supply, the healthy housing of a -people, the prevention and spread of epidemic diseases, etc. Indeed, -so important is the connection of a sound body with a sound mind, -and so linked together are all classes of society, 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 -instruction, and the advice of the medical profession will be -increasingly needed. - -It is, however, equally certain that with the advance of intelligence, -of education, and of political power amongst all members of a -community, the great principle of Justice must become the foundation -on which all legislation, which is to prove of permanent benefit to a -nation, will rest. Expediency, regardless of justice, may sometimes -seem to offer an easy solution of difficult practical problems, but it -is a delusive seeming. The temporary adoption of such expedients, when -contrary to the inexorable requirements of far-seeing or sympathetic -justice, will always degrade, and in the end destroy, the society which -persists in resting upon expediency instead of principle. - -For this reason slavery and polygamy are always found to hinder the -progress of any nation that is founded upon them. In our own country -the unjust condonation of adultery, by law, in 1857, against the -strenuous opposition of far-seeing statesmen, has educated more than -one generation in a false and degrading idea of physiology. - -In all sanitary legislation, where the authority of the medical -profession is recognised by an appeal to any of its members for -guidance in respect to practical regulations, the counsel given -affects the honour of the whole profession, 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 nature. Superficial or one-sided statements, made on so -momentous an occasion as an appeal by legislation to medicine, degrade -the profession; and practical measures founded upon unsound knowledge -may debase legislation and intensify the evils they are intended to -diminish. - -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 sexes. - -The importance of these relations cannot be overrated. They deal with -the very source of society. They may affect the soundness of both body -and mind. If legislation fosters immoral customs which spread disease -and death, then such legislation, corrupting a nation’s life, is -treachery to human nature, and the false counsel that has been given is -defiance of Divine law. - -A great physiological fact which requires now to be faced is that -promiscuous intercourse cannot be made physically healthy. The reasons -for this have already been stated.[5] But no practical measures are -sound which do not steadily repress this dangerous and debasing -practice in men and women. - -This great problem of sexual evil has never hitherto been studied -from the two sides which Nature presents to us. But sound physiology -requires that the parallel functions and equal attraction in the two -halves of humanity be considered. A Christian nation must recognise -that the purchase of the weaker by the stronger is a cruel and debasing -trade which must be checked, and that the substitution of promiscuous -intercourse for Christian marriage is a physical and moral degradation -to each half of the human race. - -When the facts are fully grasped--1st, that men are not made dependent -upon women for the maintenance of individual health and vigour; 2nd, -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 established. - -In all practical measures required to check sex disorders in our midst, -the co-operation of experienced men and women is essential. - -Whether it be for the maintenance of good order in the streets, for -purification of the slums, for reduction of brothels, for reform -of marriage laws, or for the extirpation of venereal disease, no -regulations will unite expediency with justice, which do not proceed -from the united wisdom of earnest men and women. - -There are encouraging signs in the present day that such a source of -hopeful practical reform will become possible, and that men and women -of large experience are rising into that reverential recognition of -the Creative Power entrusted to the human race, which will enable them -to consult together, and thus gain the wisdom necessary for practical -action. - -The awful aberrations of our sexual nature, which produce such -profound social disorder and exercise such degrading influence on the -relations of men and women, result from ignorance of physiological laws -and the adaptation of human physical structure to the maintenance of -those laws. - -It is through the recognition of these facts by the medical profession, -and their instruction of parents in the truths of physiology, that the -most powerful impetus to human growth may now be given. The medical -profession can prove, through its knowledge of the physical and mental -structure of the human race, that the great Christian doctrine of one -equal standard of morality for our race is true doctrine based upon our -human constitution. - -Our noble profession is summoned to a mighty warfare in the present -deadly strife between good and evil. If as Christian physicians, -believing in a beneficent Creative Power, and imbued with the spirit -of the Master, they recognise the Divine unity manifested through the -compound nature of all life, they will become the vanguard of that -growing army of truth which seeks to know and obey Divine law. - - - APPENDIX I. (PAGE 24) - -Human procreation possesses a double relation--viz., _first_, a -relation to the race; and, _second_, a relation to the individual. -In the former character, as the inevitable method of continuing the -race, it is a great providential law whose mysteries we by no means -comprehend, and which is placed quite beyond the control of the -human will; but in the latter, the exercise of this great power of -procreation possesses the distinctive mark of self-control, and as -an individual act our power and responsibility are great. In this -important subject of procreation, no one can speak with scientific -precision and lay down absolute rules respecting its complete method -of action. It has been wisely said by one of the most skilful and -experienced French physicians:[6] ‘No opinions put forth reconcile -all facts. We are obliged to confess that there is a mystery in this -subject, that our most ingenious theories fail to enlighten.’ - -In considering this subject in its relation to the individual, the -beneficent educational uses of parentage to the individual must be -realized, and the irreparable loss that human society would sustain -from the absence or serious diminution of the parental relation. -Parentage is the most potent and persistent civilizer and educator -of our race. There is no other influence that will compare with the -deep-seated and unique power of parentage in breaking down the narrow, -unsocial barrier of exclusive individual selfishness. Much has always -been said and written about maternal love, but there is a very deep -significance in the persistence with which the Hebrew Scriptures -exalt the power, the supreme beneficence of fatherhood; and there is -a profound reason why universal Christendom is taught to address, -‘Our Father, who art in heaven.’ It is a special lesson to men. The -mother, by the inevitable facts of her nature, when that nature is not -corrupted, is moulded into tenderness and providential watchfulness -over the weak and helpless; her nature is a harmonious whole, and, as -a beneficent general rule, all women are potential mothers. But Nature -does not so inevitably educate men. 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 paternity. 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 -man. It is very instructive to observe how unmarried or childless women -replace by adoptions or by pets their unexercised natural affections. - -Any failure to realize the Divine purpose in this joining together of -cause and effect amongst the mass of mankind, any efforts which tend to -diminish respect for the parental relation and destroy the perception -of its essential sacredness, must be disastrous to the welfare of a -nation. - -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 it, when we seek to remedy the hideous perversions of natural -sentiment, which we find in our unhuman slums. It is not by destroying -parentage, but by teaching its responsibilities and by restoring its -educational influence upon the adult, that we must hope for progress. - -In seeking to bring into the freedom of humanity, not only the swarms -of poor fellow-creatures sweltering in city slums, but all classes of -human beings struggling in the slough of unrestrained lust, we must -reverently study Nature’s laws as they are gradually discovered in -relation to parentage, by which the Creator gradually develops even the -lowest forms of mankind through parentage. - -The fact established by Raciborsky, the famous German physician, in a -former generation is that ‘the period when conception is most likely to -take place is near the time of menstruation, either just before it or -during a few days after the time.’ It is not asserted that conception -in the human race is necessarily limited to this interval of time, 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 -conception. 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 harmony, and -woman assumes her due place as the regulator of sexual intercourse. -Throughout the animal world procreation is governed by the will of -the female. Not violence, but gentleness, is shown by the male to the -female. Her refusal or desire guides sexual intercourse amongst the -lower animals. To raise the human race to this higher animal level from -which it has fallen is a special task of advanced physiology, which can -show the physical method and reason of this redemption. - -Human marriage must be regarded as a life companionship, in which the -satisfaction of physical desires forms a secondary, not a primary, -part. When so entered upon, love will direct its relations for the good -of the two joined together in this unique union. The man joins himself -to the woman in loving companionship, and her constitution henceforward -must determine the times of the special act of physical union. - -The foregoing physiological law is a truth full of hope and promise -of infinite progress, for nations have hitherto perished in large -measure through the abuse and degradation of women. The regulation of -sexual intercourse in the best interests of womanhood is the hitherto -unrecognised truth of Christianity, towards which we are slowly -groping. When it is fully accepted, a fresh spring of vigour will have -been discovered for the human race. - - - APPENDIX II. (PAGE 32) - -The following sound advice on sexual physiology from the _Lancet_ -should be widely known: - - ‘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 confidence. 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 them, and the latter are therefore left an easy prey to - their strange desires, and to those “lewd fellows of the baser sort” - who are always at hand to corrupt innocent youth. - - ‘If it is true that to a very large extent parents are unmindful of - one of their gravest responsibilities, it is no less true that the - medical profession has often failed in its duty in connection with - this subject. Medical writers and medical men generally are too often - silent on this matter, and unfortunately, when the silence has been - broken, it has not always been with words of truth and soberness. - We are constantly hearing and saying that “knowledge is power,” yet - we find that little effort is made to impart the knowledge which - would largely aid in preserving the virtue of the young, and the most - pernicious teaching of those who for the lowest of reasons propagate - error is left unnoticed. - - ‘Knowledge alone will never make a people virtuous, but it is an - invaluable aid to those who are striving to control their passions. - Seeing, on all sides, the terrible physical, mental, and social havoc - wrought by sexual vice, we feel that the medical profession should do - its utmost to stem the evil, and, at any rate, should give utterance - to the truth with no uncertain sound. What are the physiological - facts that ought to be proclaimed by the medical profession? Mainly - these. In the first place, that occasional involuntary emissions of - semen during sleep, and often in association with libidinous dreams, - are natural occurrences in unmarried continent men, and are neither - the cause nor the consequence of disease. The emissions are most - frequent between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five; they vary in - frequency in different men, but are favoured by sedentary occupations - and by lewd thoughts. The subjects of these emissions sometimes - complain of various sensations of malaise, which they attribute to the - depressing influence of these losses; 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 discharge, and that - they quickly disappear when their real meaning and causation are - understood. To regard such a physiological occurrence as a disease and - name it “spermatorrhœa” is a very serious error. - - ‘The second fact we wish to insist upon is that sexual continence does - not beget impotence, and that the all-prevailing cause of impotence - is prolonged sexual excess. In support of the opposite conclusion - appeal has been made to analogy. It has been pointed out that unused - muscles and bones waste, and therefore, it is urged, it must be true - that continence will lead to impotence. Such argument is utterly - fallacious, as are most arguments from analogy. Facts in abundance - prove the contrary. Common as is sexual vice, continence is not - unknown among us, and the truth of our statement is not difficult - to verify. The real argument from analogy is drawn from the breast. - This gland is generally inactive for many years after puberty, and - yet, whenever the call for its activity arrives, it is more or less - perfectly responded to. As a matter of fact, impotence does not depend - upon the testicle, but upon the spinal cord; the sexual act is a - physiological nerve-storm, and not simply an act of secretion. Loss - of sexual potency is due to some fault in the nerves of the parts, - or more commonly in the centre, in the spinal cord, which presides - over this function. It is often a solitary nervous phenomenon, and by - itself is not of grave import. - - ‘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 sexual. It is excited by lewd imaginings, loose talk, and - sensuous scenes. It is set in motion by even accidental stimulus of - any part of the nervous system affected by the sexual organism. Hence - the difficulty of continence. On all sides are sights and sounds - that may become the stimulus of sexual excitement. The other side - of the picture is equally true. By the exercise of watchfulness and - self-control the occasions of such excitement may be reduced to a - minimum, and the passion may be subdued. - - ‘Medical men are sometimes asked to formulate rules of diet and - exercise--hygienic rules--by which immorality is to be banished. The - task is altogether impracticable. Vice is voluntary, and it is only by - the exercise of a resolute self-will that virtue is maintained. - - ‘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 avoided. Ignorance of them drives - men into the clutches of ruthless charlatans, leaves them a prey to - groundless fears, and often leads them into vicious habits from which - they are unable to free themselves. 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 evil. We feel strongly the urgent - importance of this matter, and hence we speak plainly, and hope that - others, as they have opportunity, will do their best to help young men - in their struggle against vice.’ - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] See Appendix I., p. 75. - -[2] See Acton’s _Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive Organs_, -sixth edition, p. 17. - -[3] See Appendix II., p. 79. - -[4] See Michel Lévy, _Traité d’Hygiène_ 5th ed., vol. i., pp. 294-299. - -[5] _Ante_, p. 53. See also pp. 128, 129. - -[6] See Cazeaux, _Des Accouchements_. - - - - - MEDICAL RESPONSIBILITY IN RELATION - - TO THE - - CONTAGIOUS DISEASES ACT - - _An Address given to a Meeting of Medical Women in London, - April 27th, 1897._ - - - ADDRESS TO MEDICAL WOMEN - -Having been invited to speak to you on ‘The Responsibility of Women -Physicians in relation to the Contagious Diseases Act,’ I have -considered it a duty to accept this invitation for several reasons. - -It is twenty-seven years since my attention was first imperatively -called by our philanthropist, Miss Mary Carpenter, to the subject of -regulating or organizing the immorality of women. Since that time I -have necessarily given much thought to this subject. - -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 1886. The fact that, in a House of 670 members, only -245 voted on the side of a great moral question, and that 289 absented -themselves, was worthy of note. It showed that the great campaign -against perverted sex was then only beginning. After that first defeat -the mighty forces of evil, of selfishness, of ignorance, of timidity, -of hypocrisy, and of lust were sure to rally, and many genuine -but short-sighted philanthropists, seeing the shocking results of -unrestrained evil, would grope about for a remedy, and probably again -be misled by a plausible but impossible method of cure. - -On studying carefully the important Government Reports just -published--viz., Representations from the Royal College of Physicians, -from the Secretary of State for India, from the Departmental Committee, -from the Army Sanitary Commission, and from Lord George Hamilton’s -despatch--I recognised more fully than ever before the great and -growing danger which is arising from sexual vice. That danger exists, -not only through our army in India, but also through the present -condition of all standing armies. Thus, by the systematic perversion -of the sexual instinct, the gradual destruction of so-called Christian -civilization is taking place. - -I felt, moreover, 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 physicians. - -Since 1870 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 brethren. During that -period also a most important and beneficent medical movement for the -help of our Indian sisters has been established in India, known as the -Dufferin Fund, and promoted by our European women physicians. All women -physicians willingly help the most degraded persons who voluntarily -seek their help. 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 insult, as well as extreme folly, that I felt sure that the -responsible gentlemen who authorized the Government Reports could not -realize the meaning of their suggestion. But it laid upon disciplined -and far-seeing medical women, who must carefully consider any practical -measures which concern the relation of the sexes, the imperative duty -of helping in the solution of an urgent and most difficult problem. - -It is for these reasons that, as the oldest woman physician, I have -thought it right to accept this invitation, and I earnestly desire -to be aided in what I may suggest by the serious thought of every -experienced physician. - -I propose to say a few words under the three following heads: - - 1st. On the growing and dangerous character of this sexual evil, which - produces venereal disease. - - 2nd. On the error of Governments in their endeavours to cope with - disease. - - 3rd. On the right principle which must guide all practical methods of - dealing with it. - - - I. - - _On the Gravity of the Evil of Venereal Disease._ - -The Royal College of Physicians--our highest medical authority--makes -the following statement: - -‘The increase of venereal disease appears to us to be a matter of -serious moment, and to call for the gravest consideration. The -constitutional form of the disease is one of the most serious, -insidious, and lasting of all the contagious diseases that afflict -humanity. Other contagious complaints--_e.g._, smallpox or -scarlatina--are transmissible only for a limited time, and not by -inheritance. With syphilitic disease it is far otherwise: it is the -most lasting in its effects, and most varied in the character of its -specific manifestations; it frequently gives rise to consequences far -removed from its initial symptoms, most seriously implicating and -affecting various organs of the body; it complicates other diseases; -its contagious properties extend over lengthened periods of time, -during which the sufferers are often a source of danger to innocent -people, while they may be, and frequently are as parents, the source -whence specific infection is transmitted to their children.... - -‘About 13,000 soldiers return to England from India ever year, and -of these, in 1894, over 60 per cent. had suffered from some form of -venereal disease.’[7] - -Lord George Hamilton’s despatch quotes from a War Office Report: - -‘Of the fatal character of this form of disease’ (syphilis) ‘the -committee, after a visit to the military hospital at Netley, where -invalids from India are sent for treatment, have drawn a dreadful -picture. During their short term of military service a great part -(in some cases more than half) of their time has been spent in -hospital, either in India or at home. Before reaching the age of -twenty-five years these young men have come home presenting a most -shocking appearance: some lay there having obviously but a short time -to live; others were unrecognisable from disfigurement by reason of -the destruction of their features, or had lost their palates, their -eyesight, or their sense of hearing; others, again, were in a state -of extreme emaciation, their joints distorted and diseased. Not a -few are time-expired, but cannot be discharged in their present -condition, incapacitated as they are to earn their livelihood, and in a -condition so repulsive they could not mix with their fellow-men. Their -friends and relatives refuse to receive them, and it is inexpedient -to discharge them only to seek the asylum of the poor-house, so they -remain at Netley in increasing numbers.’ - -The Government Departmental Committee (p. 11) uses almost the very -words of the French surgeon Diday, who, in writing some years ago of -the dangerous prevalence of venereal disease, so widespread in Paris, -warns his readers how this most insidious disease may be spread by -ordinary contact, by wet-nurses to infants, or by infants to nurses, -by public conveniences, by unsuspected touch, and even by the kiss of -relations. - -These reports show that wherever a standing army exists, either in -Europe or America, whether in temperate or tropical climates, at home -or abroad, there exists a focus of the most insidious and dangerous -diseases that afflict human beings--diseases which specially injure -the procreative power, and which are annually spread in varying -amounts amongst the civil population, 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 mercy. - -When we consider also that not only are the standing armies of -every civilized country nurseries of the various forms of venereal -disease, but that the same dangerous diseases prevail in all our large -towns, the gravity of this scourge, which is sapping the vitality of -Christendom, is evident. - -The more careful study of venereal disease in its two forms of -gonorrhœa and syphilis is especially incumbent upon women physicians, -on account of the result of important modern researches. These show -that many of the female complaints which have so largely increased, -and which we are naturally called upon to treat, are now considered by -experienced and clear-headed physicians to be often due to gonorrhœal -infection derived from husbands of former loose life--infection -conveyed either directly or from recrudescent and insidious forms of -trouble hitherto unsuspected.[8] - - - II. - - _The Errors of Official Bodies in dealing with this Subject._ - -Before I venture to criticise any procedure or suggestion of the -Government, 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 success. The first refers -to the causes of disease. - - - _Axiom 1._ - -‘In combating serious disease it is essential to ascertain the chief -cause of the disease, which must be directly attacked and steadily -removed, or no cure is possible.’ - -We may as well expect to cure typhoid fever whilst allowing sewer gas -to permeate the house, or cholera whilst bad drinking-water is being -taken, as try to cure venereal disease whilst its chief cause remains -unchecked. - -I shall show later that Promiscuous Intercourse, or the resort of many -men to one woman, is a prolific source of venereal disease. - -The second axiom refers to the physiological rank and scope of our -human faculties. - - -_Axiom 2._ - -‘The sexual organs are not essential to individual life, although they -are essential to the continuance of the race. Neither is their full -exercise by sexual congress indispensable to individual health.’ - -The blind obstinacy with which these scientific facts are ignored in -education, in social sentiment, and in Government organizations, is a -potent cause of national degeneracy, of impaired procreative power, and -enfeebled offspring. - -_Hunger_ is the primary instinct and indispensable condition of human -life. It is that which insures the continuance of the individual. -The sexual instinct, with all its grand power to perpetuate the -race, is only a later development, growing with the unfolding of the -intellectual and moral nature. It is shared equally under varying -aspects by each of the two necessary factors in procreation, woman as -well as man. - -This fact of the powerful sexual attraction necessarily existent -and dominating in woman, as mother of the race, seems to be quite -overlooked. In any true meaning of the word ‘strength,’ this potent -social force in women demands far more serious study than it has yet -received, although it may exhibit itself in less spasmodic form than in -men.[9] - -There are two branches of the medical art which urgently require fuller -consideration. These are: - - 1st. The physiological life of the organs of generation in both men - and women. - - 2nd. The immense influence which the mind can exercise over the body - in controlling disease. - -The susceptibility of our sexual nature to mental control and direction -to noble ends is a great and encouraging scientific truth. - -From these data of true physiology the possibility of continence is -evident. With further physiological study, its great advantage, up to -the full consolidated adult age, can be proved. By scientific study of -the biological facts that underlie these data, it can be shown from -positive medical experience that promiscuous intercourse between the -sexes, or the resort of many men to the same woman, cannot be made -physically safe. The gradual elimination of this destructive practice -is essential to the progress of the race. - -These statements are supported both by historical experience and sound -medical knowledge. - -The human race, in advancing through lower stages of development, -passes from polygamy and concubinage to the higher state of Christian -marriage. The scientific basis which underlies this advance has not yet -been realized. - -Polygamy, although morally degrading to both parties from its -injustice, tyranny, and impairment of vigour, does not produce the -special physical curse of syphilitic disease. - -But promiscuous intercourse inevitably tends to give rise to varying -forms of venereal disease, no matter what precautions may be taken. - -In the female subject, irritation, congestion, or inflammation of the -parts are the result of unnatural repetition of the sexual act. By -such irritation the natural and healthy secretions of those organs are -rendered morbid. - -The natural secretions of the male organs also become morbid in -licentious men, developing into blennorrhagia, or purulent gonorrhœa, -and thus the danger of promiscuity is intensified. - -Neither is it possible, when such injurious practices are allowed, to -cleanse or disinfect the female parts as if they were a plane surface. -The woman’s structure is designed for the passage of a child’s head. It -is consequently composed of immensely distensible or elastic tissue, -forming folds or rugæ, which may retain diseased products. It is also -abundantly supplied with active secretory and absorbent glands, whose -action may become unhealthy. - -The special danger of specific disease also arising from the congress -of different races is a well-known fact. The alarming epidemic of -venereal disease, which spread like the plague through Europe in -the fifteenth century, was brought from America by the licentious -conquerors of Peru. This gravest form of racial injury is now being -emphasized by the contrast between the condition of our white and -coloured troops in India. - -Although medical investigation has failed to determine precisely the -originating cause of the specific virus which produces the form of -venereal disease named syphilis, yet it is always connected more or -less directly with promiscuous intercourse, especially with the advance -of armies.[10] - -We know, however, that morbid changes may take place in the natural -secretions of the male and female organs under impure sexual -intercourse, leading to advanced forms of degeneration in the various -results of gonorrhœa, producing, particularly when the epidermis is -abraded, sores, ulcers, etc. And the poison of diseased secretion is -thus conveyed from one to the other partner in vice. - -Nor can the presence of infectivity, once acquired, be detected by -inspection; and no infected immoral person, still carrying on impure -sexual relations, can ever be pronounced healthy or ‘sound’ by means -of examination or ocular investigation. Neither can the absence of the -so-called venereal germ gonococcus be relied on as proving health. Its -specific significance is denied by many competent investigators, and -it is absent in some of the worst forms of disease. - -‘Mediate contagion’ is also an important and well-established medical -fact. Thus a famous French harlot, called ‘Casse-noix,’ presented none -of the grosser signs of venereal disease, yet continued to infect the -men who resorted to her. - -When to the difficulty of pronouncing the parts with their secretions -healthy, is added the existence of uncleanliness, of drunkenness, etc., -in either party, the danger of these promiscuous relations is evident. - -Now, these positive medical facts appear to be unknown in their full -significance to our Government advisers, judging from the latest -reports and proposals with regard to disease in the Indian army, -which seemed designed to allay national panic rather than to reach -the source of the evil. A mistake was certainly made by Government in -withdrawing a subject of such vital importance to the nation, from full -consideration by our Parliamentary representatives, on account of its -painful character. The consequence is that an active but irresponsible -Press has thrown a mass of unsifted and shocking statistics broadcast -amongst the people, creating widespread alarm. - -The army statistics imperatively demand a far more searching -examination, both into facts and their causes, than has yet been given, -before rational or permanent legislation can be adopted. Any thoughtful -person examining the reports referred to, will see that such facts as -the following require elucidation: the actual number of individuals -affected (not the repeated return of the same soldier) and the varying -category of their complaints; the variations in different cantonments, -with the causes of such difference; the effect produced by the -introduction of the short-service system and by increased restrictions -on marriage; the closure of voluntary hospitals and dispensaries; the -influence of malaria and tropical climate on the constitution; the -mixture of different races; and the causes which have produced the -improved health results which are obtained in the army in England. - -These points have not been sufficiently investigated by unprejudiced -inquiry. The well-meaning effort of Government to meet a very serious -state of things must inevitably fail, because the necessary bases for -legislation are not yet established. - -It is clear that, until all these essential facts have been carefully -looked into by a competent Commission and the results presented to -Parliament, no legislation--which apparently destroys the foundations -of morality, which perverts and weakens our youth, and which, under the -misleading phrase ‘voluntary submission,’ reduces our helpless Indian -sisters to virtual slavery of the most destructive character--can be -permanently accepted by the British nation. We must look forward, -therefore, to a longer and more arduous struggle than the one that was -prematurely quieted in 1888. Neither can the struggle between right and -wrong methods of practical action be confined to our Indian army. It -concerns our work in Great Britain as well as in India and in Africa. -The dire diseases in question are connected with all large towns as -well as with every military station, and as physicians we must study -them in these two relations. - - - III. - - _On the Principle which must guide all Practical Methods of dealing - with Venereal Diseases in the Army._ - -On this vast subject I can only refer to-day to two practical methods -of gradually extirpating venereal disease from our army in India. - -_The first_ is the steady discouragement by Government of promiscuous -intercourse. - -_The second_ is the removal of the idleness which curses our soldiery -in an army of occupation. - -The first indispensable condition in the prevention of disease is the -steady discouragement of promiscuous intercourse. - -Now, I assert positively that such discouragement has never been -seriously and steadily tried in the army by Government, but only by -unofficial efforts--efforts which are most valuable, but which are -entirely lacking in the force of organization and in the important -recognition and help which Government alone can afford. - -In the ‘Memorandum of the Army Sanitary Commission,’ No. 2, published -this year, on the first page appears the following noteworthy -statement--so utterly misleading as to amount to virtual falsehood: - -‘The efforts to teach the soldiers habits of self-control having -so signally failed, 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 service.’ - -Now, what are the _Government_ efforts here referred to which are said -to have failed? - -In examining the circulars issued from the Quartermaster-General’s -Department from 1870 to 1884 for the adoption of stringent measures -‘to reduce the chances of venereal disease,’ it is found that the -recommendation consists in instructing the soldiers how to cleanse -themselves after dangerous sexual indulgence! 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 (_that_ is left to scattered individual effort), but official -instruction is confined to the vain endeavour of teaching him how to -satisfy lust without extreme risk! Surely this is adding hypocrisy to -culpable disregard of the national welfare. - -It is encouragement to continence which the young soldier needs; 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 consolidated, and when continence is -invaluable in helping the physical forces to build up a fine strong -manhood. Encouragement to self-control, therefore, must be afforded -from the soldier’s first introduction to Her Majesty’s service. - -It must begin with the recruiting sergeants, who should be moral men, -and understand that continence in the soldiers will be regarded with -the highest honour, as preservative of physical efficiency and moral -bravery. - -The inspectors of recruits, and especially the medical staff, must give -the important instructions needed by soldiers of how to restrain their -passions. - -The sexual organs are not a permissible subject of trade, and purchase -of the female body should be discouraged in all the manifestations -that official influence or human law can legitimately reach. The army -surgeons must _themselves_ know the physical reasons why the practice -of immorality can never be rendered safe, 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 -incontinence. They can indicate the rational means of physical exercise -and mental discipline by which the eager passions of youth can be -controlled, whilst at the same time they insist upon the necessity of a -non-stimulating diet in tropical climates. - -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 authorities. No chaplain should -be appointed to our Indian army who is not only himself a moral man, -but who has also learned the physical possibility and immense advantage -of self-control, and is thus able from the basis of physiological -knowledge to rise to the higher plane of religious instruction. Without -such physiological knowledge, as a sound support of well-grounded -spiritual faith, his sacred calling may seem a badge of hypocrisy, more -deadly and destructive from the profound responsibility of the position -which he has ventured to fill. - -The immense influence which commanding officers may exert by their -own example and sympathy cannot be enlarged on here. But until such -influences are brought to bear on the recruits by the _Government_, it -is not true to state that efforts to teach self-control have signally -failed, for they have not been made.[11] - -Our responsibilities to the people of India, where England has become -the paramount Power, are very weighty. These responsibilities are due -to its women as well as to its men. It is stated that, according to -the last census, there were the enormous number of 38,047,354 girls -under fifteen years of age in our Indian Empire. What is the duty -of a Christian Government to this helpless mass of human beings? -The formation of poor young Indian women into a class purchasable -by white soldiers--a class despised by their own people, with no -refuge before them, but when used up turned out to die--is a dire -and dastardly disgrace to any Government calling itself civilized. -The removal of temptation by forbidding our soldiers to purchase our -young Indian sisters, and, if necessary, excluding them entirely from -the cantonment, is a distinct duty on the part of any Government that -seriously means to banish venereal disease from our army. - -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 day. This subject can only be referred to here, for, although -of extreme importance, its practicability and adaptations must first -of all be thoroughly discussed by military men intimately acquainted -with the exigencies of army life. But it is a paramount duty to provide -constant useful employment and healthy recreation for our soldiers in -every army of occupation, during the cooler hours of the evening in -tropical climates, when such employment becomes possible as well as -imperative. - -The remarkable organization of an army is the most powerful -training-school, in good or evil, for the poorer classes of men, that -we possess. The conversion of an army of occupation into a school -of the industrial arts needed in its maintenance--with rewards for -industry, sobriety, and self-control--must surely be in the power of -any Government that resolutely determines to accomplish such a noble -transformation. The saving in health and even in money would be a -great economic gain. The Government that carried out such a grand -result would be a mighty benefactor to our race. - -It is impossible now to go fully into the various branches of this -vital subject, but I would say to my younger medical sisters, who -will carry on here the grand work of medicine when I have entered -upon another sphere of life, that I most earnestly counsel them to -recognise that the redemption of our sexual relations from evil to -good, rests more imperatively upon them than upon any other single -class of society. 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 attention, because the subject--which concerns both -sexes equally--is a repulsive one. - -To us medical women, the special guardians of home life, has been -opened the path of scientific medical knowledge, which, as science, -embraces both mind and body; and it is by our advance, independently -but reverently, in that path, guided by our God-given womanly -conscience, that we shall be able to detect clearly the errors in -relation to sex, which lie at the root of our present degeneracy. - -It is not conspicuous public action that is required from us, but the -thorough realization of true physiology. - -We must ourselves recognise the truth, and instruct parents, that -it is a physiological untruth to suppose that sexual congress is -indispensable to male health. We must warn our young men that no loose -woman picked up in the streets, or in a brothel, or in her own house, -can be pronounced physically safe, no matter how attractive she may -seem to be. 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 mothers. 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 life. - -This is the confidential but imperative duty of true physicians. It is -by quiet but never-ceasing effort to spread the true view of scientific -medicine amongst our patients, and wherever the opportunity occurs, -that our influence as Christian physicians will gradually permeate -society, and cause truth to prevail over error. - -If you perceive that the principles I have laid down are sound, then -hold to them firmly as the most precious truth. - -Meet together to mature practical applications of those principles by -intercommunication of experience and mutual encouragement, feeling -sure that where two or three meet together in the everlasting Spirit -of THE CHRIST, you will find, as I have found during a long life, that -light and strength will be given you, and as earnest followers of the -Great Physician you will take part in that mighty work of regeneration, -which from our present small beginnings will, I fully believe, grow and -transfigure the twentieth century. - - - APPENDIX I. (PAGE 91) - - The following testimony is by Dr. T. GAILLARD THOMAS, a recognised - gynæcological authority of New York. - -‘Until the last twenty years specific urethritis was regarded, in the -male, as an affection of the most trivial import, as rapidly passing -off, leaving few serious sequelæ, and offering itself as an excellent -subject for jest and good-natured badinage. About two decades ago, -Dr. Emil Noeggerath published a dissertation upon this affection, -which will for ever preserve his name in the list of those who have -accomplished good for mankind, and give him claim to the title of -benefactor of his race. This observer declared, first, that out of -growing young men a very large proportion prior to marriage have -specific urethritis; second, that this affection very generally causes -urethral stricture, behind which a “latent” or low-grade urethritis is -for many years prolonged; third, 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 time; and fourth, that -the disorder affects, under these circumstances, the ostium vaginæ and -urethra, and thence passes up the vagina into the uterus, through the -Fallopian tubes, where it creates specific catarrh, and by this disease -produces oöphoritis and peritonitis, which becomes chronic, and often -ends in invalidism, and sometimes even in death. For this essay Dr. -Noeggerath was assailed by ridicule and by contradiction. The matter -has now been weighed in the balance, and admitted to its place among -the valuable facts of medicine. - -‘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 -gynæcology to-day. Specific vaginitis, 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 judgment, is one -of the most frequent, most active, and most direful of all the causes -of serious pelvic trouble in women--one which meets the gynæcologist -at every turn, and one which commonly proves incurable except by the -dangerous procedure of cœliotomy. - -‘Think for a moment of the terrible position in which a high-minded, -upright, and pure man finds himself placed without any very grave or -unpardonable fault on his part. At the age of nineteen or twenty, -while at college, excited by stimulants, urged on by the example of -gay companions, and brought under the influence of that fatal trio -lauded by the German poet--“Wein, Weib, und Gesang”--the poor lad -unthinkingly crosses the Rubicon of virtue! That is all! On the morrow -he may put up the prayer, “Oh, give me back yesterday!” But yesterday, -with its deeds and its history, is as far beyond our reach as a century -ago, and returns at no man’s prayer. - -‘Four or five years afterward this youth goes to the marriage bed -suffering, unknowingly, from a low grade of very slight latent -urethritis, the sorrowful memento of that fatal night, which has -existed behind an old stricture, and a result is effected for the -avoidance of which he would most gladly have given all his earthly -possessions. - -‘All this sounds like poetry, not prose; like romance, not cold -reality. But there is not a physician in this room who does not know, -and who will not at once admit, that every word that I have uttered is -beyond all question true, and even free from exaggeration. - -‘I mentioned, in speaking of the grave duties demanded by puberty, -that one of the important functions of the physician in regard to -the development of the girl during the thirteen years which precede -it, is to instruct her and her guardians how to prepare her for the -approaching issue. 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 “clean bill of health” in reference to gonorrhœa, both -acute and chronic, before the marriage contract be entered upon. - -‘Until a very late period the plan universally followed has been -this: The man about to be married went to his physician, told him the -history of a gonorrhœa, and asked if, now that all discharge appeared -to have ceased, any danger would attend his consummating the tie. The -physician would ask a few questions, examine the virile organ carefully -as to discharge, and, if the “outside of the platter” appeared clean, -give his consent to the union. The evil which has resulted from this -superficial and perfunctory course has been as great as it has been -widespread. To-day the question of stricture, a slight, scarcely -perceptible “latent gonorrhœa,” with its characteristic “gonococcus,” -is looked into, and not until all trace of disease is eradicated is -permission given for the union. A marital quarantine is as necessary -to-day in social life as a national quarantine is for contagious -diseases in general. - -‘Few men, however eager for matrimony they may be, would run the great -risks attendant upon precipitancy if they only knew of them clearly -and positively. In no field of medicine is the old adage, “Prevention -is better than cure,” more important than in this one. If physicians -would do their duty fully in the matter, how many unfortunate women now -languishing from “pyosalpinx” would in the next generation be saved!’ - - - APPENDIX II. (PAGE 101) - -_The following important Memorandum lately issued is full of promise of - a noble future in the British army._ - - MEMORANDUM BY THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. - -‘It will be the duty of company officers to point out to the men under -their control, and particularly to young soldiers, the disastrous -effects of giving way to habits of intemperance and immorality; the -excessive use of intoxicating liquors unfits the soldier for active -work, blunts his intelligence, and is a fruitful source of military -crime. - -‘The man who leads a vicious life enfeebles his constitution, and -exposes himself to the risk of contracting disease of a kind which has -of late made terrible ravages in the British army. - -‘Many men spend a great deal of their short term of service in the -military hospitals, the wards of which are crowded with patients, a -large number of whom are permanently disfigured and incapacitated from -earning a livelihood in or out of the army. - -‘Men tainted with this disease are useless to the State while in the -army, and a burden to their friends after they have left it. - -‘Even those who do not altogether break down are unfit for service -in the field, and would certainly be a source of weakness to their -regiments and discredit to their comrades if employed in war. - -‘It should not be beyond the power of company officers to exercise -a salutary influence in these matters, more particularly over the -younger men. Many of these join the army as mere lads, and are taken -away early in life from the restraints and influences of home. They -should be encouraged to look to their superiors, both officers and -non-commissioned officers, but more especially to the officers -commanding their troops, batteries, and companies, for example and -guidance amid the temptations which surround them. - -‘The Commander-in-Chief expects officers and non-commissioned officers -to be always ready and willing to afford them sympathy and counsel, and -to spare no effort in watching over their physical and moral welfare. - -‘Officers should do their utmost to promote a cleanly and moral tone -amongst the men, and to insure that all rowdyism and obscenity in word -or action is kept in check. In no circumstances should public acts or -expressions of indecency be tolerated, 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 authorities, -vigorous steps should be taken by surprise visits or otherwise to put -a stop to such practices. All persons implicated in them, whatever may -be their rank or position in the Service, should be punished with the -utmost severity. - -‘Nothing has probably done more to deter young men who have been -respectably brought up from entering the army than the belief, -entertained by them and by their families, that barrack-room life is -such that no decent lad can submit to it without loss of character or -self-respect. - -‘The Commander-in-Chief desires that in making recommendations for -selection for promotion regard should be had to the example set to -the soldier. No man, however efficient in other respects, should be -considered fit to exercise authority over his comrades if he is of -notoriously vicious and intemperate habits. - -‘The Commander-in-Chief is confident that officers, non-commissioned -officers, 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 soldiers, and that officers -of all ranks will do their utmost to impress on their men that, in the -important considerations of morality and temperance, soldiers of Her -Majesty’s army should, as befits their honourable calling, compare -favourably with other classes of the civil population. - - ‘WAR OFFICE, - ‘_April 28, 1898_.’ - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[7] In the alarming statistics of disease circulated by the Press no -distinction was drawn between gonorrhœa and syphilis, yet the larger -part of the Government returns of Army Venereal Disease refer to -gonorrhœal affections.--See _Report of Departmental Committee_, 1897, -p. 27. - -[8] See Appendix (p. 105). See also Dr. T. More Madden in _Medical -Annual_, 1897; Dr. W. J. Sinclair’s _Gonorrhœal Infection in Women_; -Researches of _Sanger_ and other German Investigators; Dr. Lawson Tait -on _Diseases of Women_; and _The Pathology and Treatment of Diseases of -the Ovaries_, 1877 and 1883, etc. - -[9] See _The Human Element in Sex_, pp. 22, 23, and pp. 47-58. - -[10] See Hirsch, _Handbook of Geographical and Historical Pathology_, -vol. ii., chap. ii. (The New Sydenham Society). - -[11] Since the above was written an event has occurred full of hope for -the future. See Appendix II. (p. 109). - - - - - RESCUE WORK IN RELATION TO PROSTITUTION AND DISEASE - - _An Address given at the Conference of Rescue Workers held in London, - June, 1881_ - - - RESCUE WORK - -The letter inviting me to take part in your deliberations proposed many -important subjects for discussion, and, amongst others, the subject -of venereal disease amongst the fallen. On this point I was asked -more especially to give information. I esteem it a privilege to aid -in any way your very important work. I will begin by stating certain -propositions which are fundamental in rescue work, and which are -susceptible of ample proof. - -First. By prostitution is meant mercenary and promiscuous sexual -intercourse, without affection and without mutual responsibility. - -Second. Its object is on one side pecuniary gain, on the other side the -exercise of physical lust. It is the conversion of men into brutes and -of women into machines. - -Third. So far from its being necessary to humanity, it is the -destruction of humanity. It is the production of disease, of gross -physical cruelty, of moral death. - -Lastly. It should be checked by legislative enactment, and destroyed by -social opinion. - -Now, 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 conference, and would prevent the special consideration of -the subject of disease. I will, therefore, simply offer them for -consideration as fundamental propositions. I will only beg you to -observe the distinct statement in the above, that it is the sexual -intercourse without affection and without responsibility that I have -spoken of. I say nothing about the exercise of the sexual faculties -in legitimate or illegitimate single unions, where affection and -responsibility may enter as elements. However injurious, therefore, -illegitimate but single unions may be to the welfare of society, I -leave them entirely aside in these remarks, as not coming under the -head of prostitution. I speak of the conversion of soulless lust into a -business traffic--of the system of brothels, procurers, and so-called -Contagious Diseases Acts--the system which provides for, not checks, -vice. I solemnly declare that so far from this system being a necessary -part of society, it is the greatest crime that can be committed against -our common humanity. - -Let me now lay bare to you the root of the whole evil system, because, -as a physician acquainted with the physiological and pathological laws -of the human frame, and as one who has lived through a generation of -medical practice amongst all classes of the community, I can speak -to you with a positive and practical knowledge rarely possessed by -women. The central point of all this monstrous evil is an audacious -insult to the nature of men, a slander upon their human constitution. -It is the assertion that men are not capable of self-control, that -they are so inevitably dominated by overwhelming physical instincts, -that they can neither resist nor control the animal nature, and that -they would destroy their mental or physical health by the practice -of self-control. Now, it is extremely important that you should -understand exactly the nature of this dangerous falsehood. It is that -most dangerous of all kinds of falsehood--the perversion of truth. I -think it was Swedenborg who said: ‘I saw a truth let down into hell, -and forthwith it became a lie.’ I have often thought of this bold -image when observing in the present day the audacious _lie_ which is -announced as truth, in relation to that grand and universal force of -humanity, the sexual power. - -When you see a poor drunkard reeling about the streets, when you -recognise the crimes and misery produced by intemperance, you do not -say that drunkenness is necessary to men, 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 young. On the -contrary, you form a mighty crusade against intemperance. And how do -you go to work? You recognise the absolute necessity which exists in -human nature for amusement, social stimulus, refreshment, change, and -cheerful hilarity; and so you provide bright entertainments, bands -of hope and excursions for the young, attractive coffee palaces and -clubs for the adults. In your entertainments you substitute wholesome -drinks for ‘fire-water’; you repress the sale of alcohol by legislative -enactments, you arrest drunken men and women, and you establish -inebriate asylums for their voluntary cure. You recognise that -drunkenness is a monstrous perversion of legitimate human necessities, -and you set to work to reform public opinion and social customs. -Whilst on the one hand you legislate, on the other hand you educate. -You perceive that the distinctive feature of humanity is its power -of intellectually guiding life, and you train boys and girls in the -exercise of this specially human faculty, moral self-control. - -Now, my friends, lust, unchecked, untransfigured by affection, is like -fiery alcoholic poison to the human constitution. It constantly grows -by indulgence; the more it is yielded to, the fiercer it becomes; an -instinct which at first was governable, and susceptible of elevation -and enlightened direction and control, becomes through constant -indulgence a vicious domination, ungovernable and unrestrainable. When -unsubdued it injures the health, produces disease, and grows into an -irresistible tyrannical possession, which converts human beings into -selfish, cruel, and inhuman devils. This is what the great universal -force of sexual passion becomes when we resolutely ignore it in -childhood and youth, refuse to guide it, but subject it to accumulated -vicious influences in manhood; and when even our churches and religious -organizations are afraid or ashamed to deal with this most powerful -force of our God-created human nature, we suffer lust to grow into a -rampant evil, a real drunkenness, and then we have the audacity to say -in this nineteenth century, ‘This is the nature of men; they have not -the human power of intelligent self-control; women must recognise this -fact, and unbridled lust must be accepted and provided for.’ - -Now, I say deliberately, speaking as a Christian woman, that such -a statement and such a belief is blasphemy. It is blasphemy on our -Creator who has brought our human nature into being, and it is the -most deadly insult that has ever been offered to men. Do not accept -this falsehood. I state to you as a physician, 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 evil. If -you let corrupt servants injure your little children, if you allow -your boys and youths to practise self-abuse and fornication at school -and college, if you establish one law of divorce for a man and another -for a woman, if you refuse to protect the chastity of minors, if you -establish brothels, prostitutes, and procurers, you are using the power -of the mind over the body for evil. You are, indeed, educating the -sexual faculty, but educating it in evil. Our youth thus grows up under -the powerful influence of direct education of the sexual instincts in -vice; but so far, even in our so-called Christian civilization, we are -ashamed to attempt direct education of those faculties for good. - -I have made the above remarks as bearing directly on the subject of -disease, as well as to call your attention to the proper place which -‘rescue work’ must occupy in humanitarian work. As prostitution is the -direct result of unbridled licentiousness, you may as well attempt -to ‘mop up the ocean’ as attempt to check prostitution, unless at -the same time the root of the evil--viz., licentiousness--is being -attacked. Let it be distinctly understood, however, that I would -encourage, not discourage, rescue work. I honour the self-denial and -beneficence even of those who cannot see the source of the evil they -are trying to mitigate; but I would much more strongly encourage those -who, being engaged in this work, do at the same time clearly recognise -that the warfare against licentiousness is the more fundamental work, -and who, whilst themselves engaged in rescue work, 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 custom, institution, or law that promotes sexual vice. Such -earnest rescue workers are not simply mopping up the ocean, 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 -forces. Thus, 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 prostitution. Attention to sexual -morality in educational establishments everywhere, in public and -private schools and colleges, amongst young men and young women, is of -fundamental importance. Also efforts to secure decency in the streets, -in literature, in public amusements, form another series of efforts -which make a direct attack upon licentiousness, and cut away another -cause of prostitution. Again, the abolition of unjust laws and the -establishment of _moral_ legislation form another series of effort, and -a vital attack upon the roots of prostitution. Always remember that the -laws of a country possess a really terrible responsibility through the -way in which they influence the rising generation. Inequality between -the sexes in the law of divorce, tolerance of seduction of minors, the -attempt to check sexual disease by the inspection of vicious women, -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 licentiousness. Now, every encouragement -afforded by those engaged in rescue work to fundamental efforts to -check licentiousness, either through subscription of money, through -expressed sympathy, or through active work, is also aid to rescue work, -because such fundamental efforts attack the causes of prostitution. -Having thus stated distinctly the aspect under which rescue work must -always be regarded--as a precious outgrowth of Christian charity, but -not as a fundamental reform--I will speak more fully on those points -upon which my opinion has been particularly asked for--viz., the -question of venereal disease as affecting individuals and posterity, -and the effect of late legislation on prostitution. - -This subject of venereal disease is a very painful one to the -non-professional mind, and I would not bring it before an ordinary -audience. But this is an assembly of experienced women dealing directly -with the vicious classes of society. I think such persons are bound -to inform themselves on this subject. It is needed to their effective -work, and I consider it an honourable duty to furnish what necessary -medical knowledge I can. - -Venereal diseases, syphilis, gonorrhœa, are all names distinctively -used for the diseases of vice, which exist in various forms. All -forms of these diseases are injurious to the health of the diseased -individuals. All forms also are injurious to the health of the -partner in sexual intercourse. But only one form of such disease is -transmissible to offspring. I shall not enter upon the question of the -extent to which these diseases endanger the health of the community. My -long public and private medical observation leads me entirely to concur -in the opinion of Sir John Simon (formerly Medical Officer of the -Privy Council), as to the exaggerated statements that have been made -respecting the extent of these diseases. I fully recognise, however, -the very grave character of venereal disease, and as a hygienist I -consider that _any_ danger from such a cause should be checked. - -These diseases are called the diseases of vice because they spring -directly from the promiscuous intercourse of men and women. Syphilis -never arises from the single union of a healthy man and woman. We -do not know the exact conditions under which promiscuity produces -these diseases. Dirt and excess of all kinds favour their production; -but we also know that, however apparently healthy the individuals -may be who give themselves up to indiscriminate debauch, yet these -diseases will speedily arise amongst them. Now, I wish to point out -with emphasis (to you who are engaged with the criminal classes) -this chief originating cause of disease--viz., promiscuity. It is a -cardinal fact to notice in studying this subject, for it furnishes -a solid basis of observation from which you may judge legislation -and all proposed remedial measures. If you will bear in mind that -unchecked licentiousness or promiscuity contains in itself the faculty -of _originating_ venereal disease, you will possess a test by which -you may judge of the good or evil effects of any proposed measure. -Ask yourself whether any particular legislative Act tends to check -licentiousness in both men and women; if not, it is either useless -or injurious to the nation, because it does not check that source of -constantly increasing danger--viz., promiscuity. The effect of brothels -and Contagious Diseases Acts, of establishments and laws which do not -tend to check promiscuous intercourse, is to facilitate, not stop, -such vice, and cannot eradicate the diseases of vice which spring from -such intercourse. The futility of any system which leaves the causes -of disease unchecked, and only tries to palliate its effects, is -evident. The futility of such a false method would remain, even if it -compelled the inspection of vicious men as well as women. But when a -system attempts only to establish an examination of women, leaving men -uninspected, and allowing free scope to the licentiousness of all, it -becomes a direct encouragement to vice. 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 evil. - -But I do not advocate letting disease and vice alone. There is a right -way as well as a wrong way of dealing with venereal disease. I consider -that legislation is needed on this subject. It is unwise to propose to -do nothing because legislation has unhappily done wrong. It is out of -the question to suppose that in this age, when we justly boast of the -progress of hygiene or preventive medicine, so great an evil as the -unchecked spread of venereal disease should be allowed to continue. -It was the necessity of providing some check to the spread of disease -which operated a few years ago, 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 immorality. All -legislation upon the diseases of vice which can be durable--_i.e._, -which will approve itself to the conscience of a Christian people--must -be based upon two fundamental principles--the principles, viz., of -equal justice and respect for individual rights. These principles -are both overturned in the Contagious Diseases Acts--Acts which are, -therefore, sure to be abolished in a country which, however many -blunders it makes, is equally distinguished for its love of justice -and its love of liberty. Respect for individual rights will not allow -compulsory medical examination and treatment. The right of an adult -over his or her own body is a natural fundamental right. We should -uproot our whole national life, and destroy the characteristics of the -Anglo-Saxon race, if we gave up this natural right of sovereignty over -our own bodies. - -Society, however, has undoubtedly the right to prevent any individual -from injuring his neighbour. Interference to prevent such injury is -just. The same sacredness which attaches to individual right over one’s -own person exists for one’s neighbour over his or her own person. -Therefore, no individual suffering from venereal disease has a right -to hold sexual intercourse with any other person. In doing so he goes -outside his individual right and injures his neighbour. The wise -principle on which legislation should act in dealing with venereal -disease is therefore perfectly clear. Society has a right to stop any -person who is spreading venereal disease; but it has no right to compel -such a person to submit to medical treatment. It is of vital importance -to recognise the broad distinction between these two fundamental -points--viz., the just protection which society must exercise over its -members, and the inherent right of self-possession _in_ each of its -members. - -Accepting, therefore, one essential legislative principle so strongly -emphasized by the Contagious Diseases Acts--viz., 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 _just_, practical law upon -this subject. 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 obligations. A law wisely enforced, making the communication -of venereal disease by man or woman a legal offence, would place -a necessary check on brutal appetite. Such a law would not be the -introduction of a new principle into legislation. The principle of -considering sexual intercourse for the good of society has always -been recognised, and must necessarily be developed with the growth of -society. It was reaffirmed, but in an injurious manner, a few years ago. - -It is the just and moral application of this principle that must be -insisted on, instead of an unjust, immoral, and tyrannical perversion -of the principle. The necessary safeguards in the working of such a -law, the special inquiry, the protection of innocence, the avoidance of -public scandal, etc., must be sought for with care. 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 society. It is not only a duty, 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 -nation. - -A law which makes it a legal offence for an individual suffering from -venereal disease to hold sexual intercourse with another person, and -a ground for separation, is positively required in order to establish -a true principle of legislation, a principle of just equality and -responsibility which will educate the moral sense of the rising -generation and protect the innocent. Any temporary inconveniences which -might arise before the wisest methods of administering the law had -been established by experience, 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 method. The -first direct means, therefore, for checking venereal disease is to make -the spreading of this disease a legal offence. - -Secondly, 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 funds. -Such institutions have hitherto refused to receive persons suffering -from disgraceful diseases, or have made quite insufficient provision -for them. This refusal or neglect has left venereal diseases more -uncared for than ordinary diseases. It was a perception of this -neglect which induced the establishment of special institutions for -the cure of such disease. But no general hospitals, supported by -charitable funds given to cure the sick, have a right to refuse to -make adequate provision for any class of curable suffering which is -not infectious--_i.e._, dangerous to the health of the other inmates. -The rigid exclusion in the past of venereal diseases from our general -medical charities, on the ground of their disgraceful nature, has done -great mischief by producing concealment or neglect of disease. This -mischief cannot be repaired in the present day by establishing special -or so-called Lock hospitals. A strong social stigma will always rest -on the inmates of special venereal hospitals, a stigma we ought not to -insist upon inflicting, but no such stigma rests on the inmates of a -general hospital. These hospitals are established for the purpose of -relieving human suffering, and such suffering constitutes a rightful -claim to admission not to be set aside. - -While thus advocating the careful framing of a law to make -communication of venereal disease by man or woman a recognised legal -offence, and whilst insisting upon the claim of this form of physical -suffering to free treatment in all general medical charities, I would -most earnestly caution you against the dangerous sophism of attempting -to treat women as prostitutes. Never do so. 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 women. The time -is coming when Christian men and women will see clearly that this -hideous traffic in female bodies, this frightful danger of promiscuous -intercourse, must be stopped. Men themselves will see that they are -bound to put a check upon lust, and forbid the exercise of physical -sex to the injury of another individual. Serious consideration will -then be given to the ways in which sexual power may be rightfully -exercised, and preserve its distinctly human features of affection -and mutual responsibility. Whilst social sentiment is growing towards -such recognition, it is our duty as women unflinchingly to oppose -prostitution--_i.e._, mercenary indiscriminate sexual intercourse--and -to refuse utterly to countenance it. The tenderest compassion may be -shown to the poor creature who _ceases_ to be a prostitute; the most -beneficent efforts may be exerted, and sympathy for the individual -human soul shown in the merciful endeavour to help every woman to leave -this vile traffic, but never fit her for it. - -Let no one countenance this human trade in any way by assisting to -make vice itself attractive and triumphant over our human nature. I -therefore earnestly counsel all those engaged in rescue work to keep -this rule clearly in mind. Plead earnestly and affectionately with -the female prostitute to leave her vile trade. Offer her remunerative -occupation--every rescue worker should be able to do this.[12] If she -has children whom society may justly remove from her deadly influence, -work upon her maternal feeling to induce her to become worthy of the -care of the innocent and regain her children; but do nothing to raise -the condition of prostitutes as such, any more than you would try to -improve the condition of thieves as thieves. - -There is, however, another suggestion which I will present to you, -because it bears directly upon your way of dealing with the vicious and -enforcing law, and I believe that its acceptance is only a question of -time. I refer to the introduction of a certain number of superior women -into the police organization, to act, amongst other duties, as heads -of stations where women offenders are brought. I know the scenes which -station-houses witness. I know that policemen themselves often dread -more to arrest a half-drunken woman than a man, and that it requires -more than one man to overpower the maniac who, with tooth and nail -and the fury of drink, fights more like a demon than a human being. I -know that such wretched outcasts rage in their cells like wild beasts, -filling the air with shrieks and blasphemy that make the blood run -cold. Nevertheless, wherever a wretched woman must be brought, there a -true woman’s influence should also be brought. When the drink is gone, -and only the bruised, disfigured womanhood remains, then the higher -influence may exert itself by its respect for the womanhood which still -is there. - -There are many special advantages to be derived from the introduction -of a few superior women into the police-force. I think that the -services of a lady like the late Miss Merryweather, for instance, -would be invaluable, both for the actual service such a woman would -render in the management of female offenders, and also for the higher -tone that such appointments would infuse into the police force itself. -It is only the appointment of a few superior women that I should -recommend, and these must be solely responsible to the highest head of -the organization. The introduction of ordinary women corresponding to -the common policeman, or in any way subordinate to lower officials, -would be out of the question and extremely mischievous. But to secure -the insight and influence of superior and proved women in dealing -with female offenders, by placing them in positions of authority and -responsibility, would be a great step made towards the solution of -some of the most difficult problems of society. The problems which -grow out of the relations of the sexes have hitherto proved insoluble, -the despair of legislation. With the most conscientious endeavour -to act wisely, even our ablest statesmen do not know how to deal -with them. It is impossible that men alone can solve these sexual -problems, because there are two human elements to be considered in such -questions, which need the mutual enlightenment which can only result -from the intelligent comparison of those two elements. The necessary -contribution of wise practical suggestion which is needed from the -intelligence of women, can only come through the enlarging experience -gained by upright women. The reform now suggested is one of the steps -by which this necessary experience may be reached--viz., 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 remedies.[13] - -Let me, in conclusion, heartily bid God-speed to the noble efforts of -your rescue societies, and to all those engaged in reinstating our -fallen womanhood. I hail with deep satisfaction the meeting of this -Conference. 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 -intercourse. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[12] The power of being able to offer fair remunerative occupation is -becoming more and more evidently a necessary condition of rescue work. -The pitiful response, ‘It is my bread,’ is now often addressed to those -many noble-hearted young men who, instead of yielding to, remonstrate -with, the street-walkers. - -[13] I cannot now enter upon a subject most difficult and important, -a most prolific source of prostitution--viz., a standing army. 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--_i.e._, the -compulsory enrolment of the entire male youth of the nation in the -military service of a great standing army, where purity of life is -not encouraged--is the greatest barrier that can exist to the gradual -humanizing of sexual life. Let us, therefore, most gratefully recognise -that in our own country we have not the gigantic evil of military -conscription to overthrow, and let us ever hold in honour the memory of -our ancestors, who have preserved us from that measureless curse. - - - - - PURCHASE OF WOMEN: - - THE GREAT ECONOMIC BLUNDER - - - CONTENTS - - PAGE - PREFACE 135 - - CHAPTER I - - THE FOUNDATIONS OF TRADE 142 - - CHAPTER II - - TRADE IN WOMEN 155 - - - - - PREFACE - -The object of this work is to show the real meaning of those relations -of the sexes, which are commonly known under the term of ‘ordinary -immorality.’ - -Customs in the midst of which we are brought up often befog the vision. -Nations, like individuals, may journey on unsuspicious of danger, if no -fresh wind lift the veil which hides the fatal precipice towards which -they are rapidly moving. - -Much has been heard of late respecting criminal immorality--_i.e._, the -abuse of the sexual powers, which human law recognises as crime. The -boundary of criminal immorality has of late been extended in the hope -of protecting young girls. When fathers and mothers begin to realize -what the destruction of their children by lust really means, natural -horror is felt at the corruption or torture of young children of -either sex, and a storm of righteous indignation compels an attempt to -provide a remedy. But at the same time the very causes which directly -lead to and produce the monstrous crimes, are not clearly seen. Horror -at effects, diverts attention from vicious customs which lie at the -root of evil, and which inevitably produce crime. Many of those who -are most actively engaged in devising safeguards for the very young, -draw at the same time a radical distinction between so-called ordinary -immorality and what, at that particular epoch, has been labelled -criminal by process of law. - -It is a fatal imperfection of human laws that, being only an endeavour -to enforce fragments of Divine Law, they carry the evil of such -disruption with them, and whilst checking wrong in one direction -strengthen it in another. - -This evil is shown in the broad distinction now drawn between different -kinds of sexual immorality, and the results which follow such -distinction. - -Some persons who would shrink from the guilt of being the authors of a -first seduction, or of running the risks of legal prosecution, will not -hesitate to engage in ‘ordinary immorality’--that is, they will without -scruple purchase the temporary use of a consenting woman for a little -money; they will justify the transaction by the plea that what women -will sell men may buy; they may even consider that they show a little -contemptuous kindness to women in such buying, as industrial conditions -press most heavily on women. Women also accept false theories of human -nature that blaspheme their Creator, and degrade their exalted rank of -motherhood by welcoming profligates and sacrificing their daughters in -mercenary marriages. - -Until the higher law of human relations is more clearly understood, -great confusion of thought will necessarily exist as the result of -ignorance and selfishness. But as old errors are gradually proved, an -inevitable and growing discussion will arise in the present age as to -the natural relations of the sexes. The most contradictory theories are -even now brought forward and actively spread abroad, and in the course -of this unavoidable growth of the mental faculties, the necessity -or expediency, the wisdom or the guilt, of what is called ordinary -immorality must finally be brought before the highest court of public -opinion--_i.e._, the enlightened conscience of men and women. - -Although, however, the widest diversity of opinion may still exist on -abstract questions, there is one practical point on which all persons -are compelled to agree. It is this--viz., if temporary bargains are -made, either expressly or tacitly, by which one party gives money to -another for a certain return, such a bargain is trade. If few such -bargains are made it is a limited trade, if many it is an extensive -trade, but in each case the transactions are equally trade, and are -necessarily subject to the laws which govern trade. If, therefore, -women are made the subjects of temporary purchase they become the -subjects of trade. Now, trade is always directed by the rules and -customs prevailing at the time, and the economic aspect requires to be -studied; for the laws which govern trade are not fanciful theories, but -very real practical facts, which lie at the foundation of our social -institutions and silently mould our every-day life. - -This is seen clearly by the effects which trade in land produces, -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 country. The -thrifty farms of New England help to create a sturdy, self-respecting -people, whilst the Bonanza machine-managed land monopolies of the West -create luxurious absentees and permanent paupers or tramps. Extensive -enclosure of hills and commons will destroy the country tastes and -habits of generations, whose walks are confined to dusty high roads, -and the destruction of a hamlet fills the slums of a city. So the -Custom-houses and protective tariffs which municipalities create within -their limits, hamper productive industry and help to produce paupers. -Even such a modern practice as bicycling has created an extensive -trade, with dress and habits and various arrangements, all acting -and reacting on the life of the younger generation. Whatever becomes -an article of trade, will become at once subject to the methods and -regulations of trade, with the ever-widening circle of effects which -belong to all industrial action. - -Every civilized nation is compelled to cope with the most difficult -of all social problems--viz., sexual evil--and the great modern -development of benevolence and reform has created a new force -endeavouring to solve the same problem. The most varied methods of -action have been called forth. Religion and morality, physiology and -expediency, pity and severity, have all been invoked in turn to rescue -the fallen and to restrain the vicious. - -But the subject of ordinary immorality as a trade necessity, governed -by the economic laws which regulate trade, has not been seriously -examined in the light of political economy, nor has the inevitable -effect which trade in women must exercise on the character of a nation, -been clearly shown. - -There is widespread mental evasion or unconscious hypocrisy on this -subject. So many wrongs in our social state require to be dealt -with, that reformers willingly avoid the painful consideration of -sexual evil. Hope is felt that some of the great reforms of the day, -in which all thoughtful individuals take a special interest, will -prove fundamental in their curative effects, and heal this gravest of -our diseases. Thus free access to land, co-operation and abolition -of interest, total abstinence, universal suffrage, emigration, -arbitration, State-socialism, etc., are all amongst the popular -panaceas of the present day, each important reform or theory being -chiefly relied on by its special advocates, to change all social -relations and eradicate any serious social disorder. - -Favourable, however, as improved material or legislative conditions -may undoubtedly be to the extension of health and morality amongst -a people, these reforms can only be palliative, not curative, if -the fundamental conditions of growth and freedom to use them be -not guaranteed to all portions of a people. 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 needs. It is only by such recognition -and such adaptation that any human measure becomes an embodiment of -Divine law. Our conscience must recognise this law, and our Will must -render it obedience, in both individual and collective life, for there -is no other possible method of securing durable and progressive growth. -No human effort can change the supremacy of law written on the human -constitution. Human perversity is free to thwart it temporarily, with -delusive results which serve to bewilder our short vision; but the law -is rewritten with wonderful persistency on each fresh generation of -men, and it remains inexorable in its demand for obedience. - -If trade in women be contrary to the Divine law written on the human -constitution, it will destroy society. Insignificant as the needs of -women’s lives may seem to superficial politicians or self-worshipping -wordlings, yet these apparently weak lives, because God-created, will -prove stronger than _all_ their unstable laws and customs. No arrogant -rebellion against the methods of moral progress, however splendid in -its material force and its money-worship, can change the awful reality -of Divine law. - -Is the trade in women such a violation? Does it destroy the freedom, -and therefore the necessary conditions of growth, in one-half the human -race? - -The time has certainly come when earnest reformers should consider -to what extent trade in the human body exists in this civilized and -Christian nation, and what its effect upon the nation is. - -In a subject so vital to human welfare as the social relations which -are established between men and women, it is pusillanimous to refuse to -examine them. If the human conscience, slowly awakening, discovers that -the necessary laws of progress have been ignorantly violated during the -gradual development of humanity, none but pessimists will fold their -hands in despair, none but the partially blind will continue to rebel -against the Divine law of growth. - - - - - CHAPTER I - - _The Foundations of Trade_ - -The wealth of a nation is that which contributes to its real and -lasting well-being, which makes it powerful in the present, and durable -and progressive in the future. A happy and intelligent people, with -just and far-seeing rulers or guides amongst them, is a rich nation, -and one that is fulfilling its duty by carrying on the gradual growth -and ever higher development of the human race. - -Political economy is the study of wealth, and particularly of those -results of human activity, which spring from the necessary physical -relation of human beings to their surroundings. It is this relation -which makes the firm foundation on which political economy rests. - -The subject leads to three great branches of inquiry--viz., the things -which constitute wealth, the method of their production, and the way in -which they are distributed. - -The study of wealth must always take in this large scope in any lasting -system of political economy, because the many special branches which -the subject includes are all connected together. Every part is built -up on the sure foundation of the relation of human needs to their -surroundings. If our knowledge of this relation is unsound, the edifice -will in time fall down. - -In seeking truth in any branch of political economy, whether it be the -relations of labour and capital, land tenure, or free trade, etc., -examination must be made of this foundation of knowledge. Artificial -arrangements which do not recognise the primitive needs of human nature -can only lead at last to misery. - -Reason shows us that physical needs are imperative in a material world -where mind works through matter. They come first in order of growth -as the primary condition of life, through which and out of which the -higher moral and intellectual forces grow. They are like the first -gasping inspiration of the infant, which sets in motion the astonishing -mechanism of conscious human life. Trade and commerce are a necessary -first outcome of a nation’s physical needs; the nature of its trade and -commerce and the methods by which they are carried on are inextricably -woven in with social life, and stamp the character of a nation. - -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 wealth. - -The term ‘law,’ however, is often erroneously applied to temporary -phases in the arrangements of human industry, which vary with age and -country. But a fixed law in political economy can only become such -when, and because, it expresses the necessary relation between human -growth or nature, and the conditions which promote it. It is only the -result of this necessary relation that can claim the name of Law. - -Political economy must, therefore, necessarily be a progressive -study, because, although human desires are unlimited, human power or -ability to discover law is much more limited. This power grows with -intelligence, and intelligence is of slower development than the -motive-spring of human life, which is desire, emotion, will. - -The methods of producing and distributing wealth must, therefore, -necessarily vary. The interval of growth between the Esquimaux -bartering his skins, and the Englishman exporting machinery is great. -Even the objects and definition of wealth change with race and epoch. -There can be no such thing as finality in the applications of human -knowledge, because the law of progress--progress of individuals and -of races--is stamped on our nature. Political economy, as every other -subject of knowledge, must be revised, extended, and re-adapted from -age to age. - -Although the methods of producing and distributing wealth may vary, -the creative Divine laws which determine the welfare of the human race -cannot vary. Below the changing phenomenon of epoch, country, and race -are fixed principles on which trade (which may be designated human) -must be based. The search for these necessary or fixed laws, and their -discrimination from temporary arrangements or adaptations, is not -only a legitimate but an indispensable subject of inquiry. It affects -not only the foundation, but also the whole edifice of life, which is -built upon it in every stage of its construction, helping or injuring -each individual of the community, as well as that collective mass of -individuals which we vaguely style the nation. - -No religious teacher, any more than the (technically styled) social -reformer, can afford to ignore this great subject of political economy. -A knowledge of its objects, and of the laws which must govern industry, -in its march to the promised land of human welfare, constitute a Divine -revelation. It is a revelation gradually made through the honest use -of our intellectual faculties, and constantly grows from imperfect -beginnings, to clearer guidance under an earnest search for truth. - -A distinct recognition of the different kinds of wealth must precede -any wise or efficient regulation of trade and commerce; for the same -method of production and distribution cannot be applied to all. We can -neither produce air nor sunshine, nor legitimately attempt to make them -the subject of trade, as, being essential to life, they are necessarily -supplied free to all. Neither can we produce earth, which (as far as -it is essential to life) cannot be made a subject of trade on exactly -the same methods, as products which can be indefinitely multiplied. -Neither can strength, energy, or character, which constitute a valuable -part of a nation’s wealth, be grown in a similar way to corn, or thrown -off by machinery like calico. Education is a different process from -printing, and if reduced to the mechanism of manufacture, or converted -into a system of money-getting, is self-destructive, frustrating the -object of education--viz., the drawing out of the infinitely varied -human faculties. - -The growth of reason and conscience in the leading nations of the -world, is more and more differentiating the various kinds of wealth; -data are thus being collected from which the progressive laws of -political economy can be deduced. By the leading nations, of course -is here meant those communities where a large number of unselfish -and thoughtful men, inspired by truth, find their teaching accepted -by the uncorrupted though crude intelligence of a patient multitude. -Unfortunately, the so-called ruling classes in these nations, 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 -midst. But the possession of a band of honest truth-seekers with -earnest listeners eager to be guided, marks the really progressive -nation. - -It will be found that a true system of political economy must rest -upon a moral basis. Trust, freedom, and gradually evolved sympathy are -the foundations on which all systems of industry are built up that -permanently civilize races. - -_Trust._--Trust is the beginning of exchange. Nordenfeld, in his -record of observation round the Arctic circle, relates how money or -articles were left in perfect safety, and faithfully replaced by -equivalent articles in exchange. A striking instance of the necessity -of re-creating trust as the foundation of industry where it has been -lost by long-continued oppression, is related by a gentleman who many -years ago went as mineral viewer to the Nerbudda Valley. Almost alone, -and far removed from the possibility of obtaining white labour, the -natives refused to dig for him. He felt compelled to capture a few -men and enforce a day’s work, which he at once honestly paid for with -the copper currency of the region. But it seemed to the natives the -grossest folly on his part that, having gained the labour, he should -pay for what he had already obtained, and feeling sure that he would -not repeat such folly, they hid away on the following day. The capture -had to be repeated during many successive days, and the heavy coin -brought at great inconvenience for the daily payment, before the habit -of trust could be fairly established; then an oversupply of willing -workers crowded round the encampment. - -_Freedom._--A great advance was made in the onward march of humanity, -when the reasons for abolishing slavery became clear to the conscience -of the minority, those nations who lead the van of human progress. The -production and sale of human beings as articles of merchandise can be -made extremely profitable as a money-making trade. It has been truly -said that ‘if the reproduction of capital is the one great means of -a nation’s wealth’; if demand and supply, the employment of labour -by capital, and profits limited only by the wages of maintenance, -are laws of political economy and the right guides of industry, ‘why -should sentimental notions about justice and abstract rights of freedom -interfere with the national good? Why not grow corn on the sweating -system? Why not buy slaves? There is no reason, on so-called economic -grounds, why slaves should not be bred like cattle--bred to the exact -wants of the agriculturist, and when no more wanted melted down in the -sulphuric acid tank and drilled in with the root crops. Any farmer -who would have courage to carry on the economy of labour and the -reproduction of capital in that way, would farm at a splendid profit.’ - -For long ages the trade in human beings has been, and is still, carried -on. It has only very gradually dawned upon human intelligence, that -short-sighted trading customs which destroy the conditions of human -development, injure equally the sellers and the sold, and gradually -degrade and destroy the societies that practise them. This second -foundation of political economy--freedom--still remains unrecognised -by the large majority of the human race. But when the destructive -character or essential wrong of human slavery was once thoroughly -understood by a portion of our nation, they never rested from the fight -until it was abolished. The abolition of slavery was the revolt of -conscience and intelligence against a false mercantile system which -converts everything into money value. - -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 -industry. They saw that the human being belongs to a different category -of creation from the subjects of his industry, and that he may not -be made a thing of trade, that he owes duties to himself and to his -neighbours, and that he can neither sell another adult, nor his -child, nor himself; that the purpose of human life and the methods of -attaining it, are both destroyed when the condition of human freedom -is violated by converting human bodies into chattels. The abolition of -slavery forbade henceforward the purchase or sale of any individual, -whether adult or child. - -The same uprisings against injustice in the kindred nation of -the United States, has produced a similar advance in intelligent -conscientiousness. However much the American Revolution may be -misunderstood, the facts remain which prove the great moral movement -which preceded it--two generations of united and resolute lovers of -freedom, although a minority, had fought to the death for the cause of -justice, and prepared the way for the great Emancipation Act of 1863. - -It could not be denied that temporary phases of political economy were -being set at nought by the abolitionists. There was no flaw in the -logic of maintaining slavery as a money-making machine. Vast tracts of -land were to be cultivated, useful products raised, craving desires -satisfied, great profits realized, and a clever, energetic race was -able to abuse a weak, childish one. But the abolition of slavery united -the two leading branches of the Anglo-Saxon race in setting a limit to -trade. They established the law that no human being may be bought or -sold. They recognised the fundamental conditions of human industry, -trust, and freedom, 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 money. - -_Sympathy._--Another great step in advance has been made by the dawn of -the Co-operative movement amongst us. As Abolition set a limit to the -subjects of trade, so Co-operation is setting a limit to its methods. -True co-operators clearly see that to arrest the slave-owner and the -slave-dealer by the strong arm of the law, is but a first step to human -progress; it is only compelling a necessary condition, not insuring a -good end. - -But co-operation will secure gradually the third necessary basis of -progressive and durable human industry--viz., sympathy. - -Doubtless this statement will at once bring to mind not only the -selfish combinations of Civil Service supply, but the multifarious -quarrels and departure from principle, in the great body of working -people distinctively called co-operators. - -Nevertheless, the statement is true that co-operation is a new -development of practical Christianity, which can introduce that -essential element of true political economy, sympathy, the hitherto -missing guide of human industry. - -The few friends who met in a small chamber in 1828 and initiated the -Manchester and Salford Co-operative Schools were fired by enthusiasm. -The poor weavers of Toad Lane, who saved their hard-earned pence and -divided their first chest of tea, were filled with pity for their -suffering brethren, and eagerly gave the poor room, the precious -time, the exhausting thought--all they had to give--to establish the -brotherly principle of mutual help. And the large-hearted leaders -of the movement, who changed the name of Christian Socialist to -Co-operator--Maurice, Kingsley, Ludlow, Hughes, and many another of the -first noble little band--laid down a spiritual basis as the essential -foundation of durable material success. - -It has been said of the labouring classes ‘that they are unfit for any -order of things which would make any considerable demand on either -their intellect or their virtue.’ The enlightened co-operator perceives -that this is true of all classes of men, rich or poor, in a state of -things where industry is ruled by unlimited competition, and trade -subjects everything to the domination of money. Where all restrictions -are removed, but no sympathy developed, new forms of oppression and -revenge arise. - -Co-operation, therefore, announces a fundamental law of durable -political economy. It adopts mutual aid instead of antagonism in -industry, extends a share of the results of labour in equitable -proportion to all who produce them, and replaces competition in -money-getting by emulation in superiority of production. - -Thus sympathy, the first necessary foundation of industry and social -union, is being slowly evolved by the trials, the failures, but the -ultimately assured success of the Co-operative movement. - -This gradual recognition of the necessary basis of progressive -political economy--trust, freedom, and sympathy (here slightly -hinted at)--is itself founded upon a rock--viz., the immutability of -the Creator’s law of Moral Government, the adaptation of the human -constitution to its surroundings, the only method by which steady -growth can be secured. The waves of selfishness and false theories dash -themselves vainly against this rock, and race after race perishes in -the foolish attempt to set aside the Moral Law. - -The hopeful light thrown upon the future by the revelation of freedom -and co-operative sympathy, as fundamental laws of true political -economy, can only be fully perceived by those who have measured the -evils of slavery and sounded the fearful depths of misery produced by -unlimited competition. The revelations of the results of this phase of -competition in which we are living are all around us, in every class of -society, in every quarter of the globe. The mercantile system, which -makes wealth and money synonymous, and reduces every interest to a -subject of trade, spares no relation of life, and desecrates every rank -of society. We need not go back to the crimes which Warren Hastings -committed to fill his treasury. The same methods of crushing the weak -for money, of bartering honour and conscience in the lust of gain, -are going on at this moment in Asia and Africa, in the islands of the -Pacific, in uncontrolled America, and enchained Russia. Its effects are -seen in the Legislature and the courts of law, in all professions and -trades, in the mansion and the lodging-house. Corruption and cruelty -inevitably resulting from a false system of political economy, are -barring the progress of the human race. - -In the present day we prostitute the superior strength gained by -us from the principles of Christianity, to the debasement of human -beings. Money being considered identical with wealth, sensuality -reigns supreme. Money having under this system become the great means -of gratifying material desires, the strife to obtain it becomes -ever fiercer. The statesman regards it as a highest duty to open -new channels of commerce for national activity, quite regardless of -the conditions of mutual freedom and sympathy which make commerce -legitimate. Whisky, opium, and gunpowder bring rich returns from the -ignorant peoples to whom their use was hitherto unknown, and this -wicked abuse of our superior intelligence is in strict accord with the -short-sighted teaching of the political economy accepted by trade.[14] -This species of trade, carried on without limitation, without the -large intelligence of religious insight, must produce a fall of any -race equal to the height of its development; for although ‘religion -without science is a purblind angel, science without religion is a -full-blown devil.’ - -It is into the last possible phase of limitless competition in buying -and selling, that our nineteenth century has entered, by permitting -one-half the race to become the merchandise of the other half. - -Under a specious hypocrisy, falsely styled freedom of contract, a -modern phase of slavery is still exercising its influence in our midst; -for the slave-holding principle that the human body may be an article -of merchandise is still applied to women, and conscience is still dead -to the essential principle of freedom--viz., the sacredness of the -human body, through which the soul must grow. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - _Trade in Women_ - -It is necessary to define clearly the practical form of evil which is -now under consideration, and to the effects of which the consciences -of men and women must be roused. Ordinary immorality is not the -demoralization of the slums--that horrible result of monopoly and -speculation in land, where human beings are herded together like -pigs--a condition into which the bargains of trade hardly enter. -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 caprice. Ordinary immorality is the distinct, deliberate -application to women of the trading system of money values governed -by unlimited competition. In this system activity, opportunity, and -cleverness carry the day; conscientiousness and spiritual aspiration -are out of place; innocence and ignorance constitute weakness, and, of -course, go to the wall. - -Ordinary immorality or fornication, assuming the female body to be an -article of merchandise, necessarily subjects this merchandise to those -fluctuations of the market, those variations in demand and supply, and -that tyranny of capital over labour which destroy freedom of contract. - -It may be urged that women ‘consent’ to be purchased, and that -therefore there is a radical difference between the purchase of the -bodies of men and women, which the anti-slavery movement has pronounced -illegal, and the purchase of women by men which we are now considering. -The sophistry of such evasion will be apparent if the question of -‘consent’ and the specious hypocrisy generally involved in freedom of -contract be closely examined. Freedom of contract can only take place -between those who in certain essential particulars are equals. The -parties to any contract must be so far equals in intelligence, that -they can equally understand any risks that may be run, and clearly -foresee the probable results of the bargain; and they must be so far -equals in social position, that neither party is compelled by the -pressure of circumstances or the fear of want, to accept conditions -which are unjust or unwise. No freedom of contract is possible where -this degree of intellectual and practical equality does not exist. -Freedom implies responsibility. There is no freedom if both parties -are not free. Any insistence upon consent to a bargain ignorantly -or forcibly made is fraud. It is fraud darkened by varying degrees -of cruelty, proportioned to the superiority of intelligence and -independence possessed by the stronger party in the bargain. - -The grave error of excusing purchase by the plea of consent, is fully -shown when the relations of capital to labour in the present system -of competitive industry are understood. We are now so far removed -from the primitive trade of barter, where values were determined -by necessities, that first principles are commonly lost sight of. -Generations have passed, during which ideas about wealth have become -confused through complicated exchanges, stored-up labour inherited by -those who no longer labour, violent seizures in the past or cunning -ones in the present, with constantly changing standards or ideals. The -quite new standard of converting everything into a money value, and -measuring its value by money, has taken the place of older methods. As -a result, money has become the autocrat of industry. Character, talent, -activity still possess their uses, but only as the servants of money -or capital, which have practically become interchangeable terms. The -weaker portions of the human race are ever more and more deeply crushed -down by the misery of a limitless competitive system, which is not -based on the legitimate foundations of trust, freedom, and sympathy, -and which consequently, by placing money as the irresponsible governor -of the industrial world, makes the hypocrisy of so-called ‘freedom of -contract’ the most bitter mockery. - -It is necessary to realize the overwhelming and illegitimate power of -money in the present day, if the condition of any grade is to be justly -judged, and the responsibilities for the evils of a vicious trade -rightly apportioned. In the terrible trade which converts the human -body into a marketable commodity, it is no figure of speech, but a very -weighty fact, that vicious men are the capitalists. The responsibility -of that position must be recognised. - -In judging either of the parties concerned in the trade, the question, -‘Who are the capitalists or paymasters?’ is the point to be insisted -on. 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 merchandise; or the wholesale traders who organize -to meet a demand increasing beyond the power of individuals to supply; -or the State which connives at the trade; or society which condones -it--the capital on which this nefarious traffic rests is supplied by -licentious men. This is the great economic fact on which the whole -system rests. All legislation and all benevolent effort that do -not recognise this fundamental fact, will hopelessly wander in the -labyrinth of evil trade, with no clue to direct their energies aright. -From this unnatural employment of capital, two other economic evils -directly arise--viz., first, the discouragement of honest industry; -second, an unfair competition with male labour. - -The discouragement of honest industry is a very serious economic evil. -Any discouragement to patient industry, thrift, and self-control is -direct encouragement to reckless improvidence, vicious indulgence, and -the creation of a dangerously increasing predatory horde. Through -obstacles to honest labour, our prisons are now filled with criminals, -our streets with the vicious, and our work-houses with paupers. -The industrious workers are taxed beyond endurance to support the -institutions rendered necessary by the suicidal policy of degrading -labour. - -The discouraging difficulties which now surround all honest industry -press with increased force upon women’s labour, and compel a moral -heroism to resist the special temptation which crowds upon them. - -It is now a fact that in every large city, no woman with any pretension -to natural attractiveness can fail to meet a purchaser. There are -men who think it neither shame nor wrong to purchase for shillings -or pounds, as the case may be, a temporary physical gratification, -without reflection upon the inevitable results, individual and social, -of their temporary action. The knowledge that money may be gained so -easily, spreads from woman to woman. The contrast between the ease with -which the wages of sin may be gained, and the laborious, even crushing -methods of honest industry, becomes an ever present and burning -temptation to working women. - -It is undoubtedly true that the numerical excess of women in Great -Britain, with other economic facts, intensifies most heavily upon woman -the grinding pressure of our present industrial system. All rescue -workers seeking to help their fallen sisters are constantly confronted -with the appalling answer, ‘Give me work; I cannot starve.’ The awful -extent of woman’s industrial misery would now be more fully realized, -had not well-meant benevolent efforts called in the harsh hand of the -police to suppress begging, and thus crush it out of sight. - -The increasing and perplexing flood of women in the streets, begging -to be bought, is a strange commentary on the effect of the stern -repression of begging for alms. If in the future, in addition to -the suppression of ordinary begging by men and women, another edict -goes forth forbidding women to present themselves for sale, but not -forbidding men to purchase them, gross injustice to women will be -added to a cruel abuse of power, and fresh impulse given to male vice. -Certainly, if it were in the nature of women to become murderous -criminals, any increasingly harsh and unjust attempts to crush their -misery and degradation out of sight, would drive them into violent -crime. - -But it is not the seamstress slowly starving in her garret, nor the -mass of struggling poverty that is alone, or even chiefly, beset by -the fiery temptations of gain, and the enticing pleasures which money -can provide. The deterioration of character, which is the gravest -result of a false system of political economy, extends to much wider -circles of society. This serious fact is sufficient to prove the error -of those who look to the industrial independence of women, as the -chief means of destroying licentiousness. Although freedom to obtain -decent remunerative employment will secure an important condition for -checking social evil, it will be a means only, it can never attain the -end. - -The great army of domestic servants, whether in public or private -dwellings, are surrounded by constant temptations to supplement their -wages or relieve their monotonous labour by selling themselves. When -we remember the conditions under which the vast mass of servants -have grown up, the exposures and privations of their homes, their -undeveloped mental state in relation to social duties, the exhausting -work upon which the majority of them enter in hotels, lodging-houses, -struggling households, or the special danger of rich, careless -establishments, and realize both the condition under which their -service drags on and the natural instincts of the human being, then -it is easy to understand why to a frightfully increasing extent -they yield to the solicitations to which they are exposed. The five -shillings secretly gained at night becomes an important addition to -scanty wages, the stolen pleasures an intoxicating relief to drudgery. -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 latter, and to produce discontent and careless, -unwilling service in industries for which women are naturally better -fitted than men; for the same state of things that is injuring domestic -service, exists in dress-making, millinery, and all peculiarly feminine -industries. - -If we take the wider range of labour in which women compete more -directly with men in the labour market, it will be found that -this practice of purchasing women introduces an unfair element in -remuneration of labour. The introduction of the slave principle -(the purchase of the human body) in cheapening women’s labour, has -a formidable effect in depressing the wages of working-men. In all -systems of industry carried on by slaves the cost of maintenance is, as -a rule, the limit of expenditure, the equivalent of wages. Also in the -industrial systems of so-called free industry, the maintenance of the -labourer again forms a limit beyond which profit cannot be extracted, -for no man will consent to labour for less wages than will keep him -alive. But this is not the case in regard to women’s labour. As was -proved a generation ago in France, and can be amply verified in other -civilized countries, women’s wages are forced down below subsistence -point. - -This important fact, with its cause, has evidently not been fully -realized even by so close and impartial an observer as Mill. He says: -‘The wages at least of single women must be equal to their support, but -need not be more than equal to it; the minimum in their case is the -pittance absolutely requisite for the sustenance of one human being. -Now, the lowest point to which the most superabundant competition -can permanently depress the wages of a man is always somewhat more -than this. The _ne plus ultra_ of low wages can hardly occur in any -occupation which the person employed has to live by, except the -occupation of a woman.’ Mill is evidently uncertain as to the causes -of the under-payment of women in cases of equal efficiency with men, -and is inclined to attribute it to injustice and to overcrowding in -a few employments. He remarks: ‘When the efficiency is equal but the -pay unequal, the only explanation that can be given is custom, which, -making almost every woman an appendage of some man, enables men to take -the lion’s share of whatever belongs to both.’ - -But in this generation, which has thrown open the broad gates of -education to women, and which has enormously extended the range of -employments into which they are invited to enter, the causes which -Mill suggests (overcrowding, injustice, etc.) do not seem to give -a sufficient economic reason. One powerful and growing cause of -derangement in the natural rewards of labour has been overlooked--viz., -the unequal competition with male labour which must result, when the -wages given by vice are allowed to supplement the under-payment for -honest work, and the street-door key makes up for the deficient salary. -Whilst this phase of human slavery exists, and the female body remains -an article of merchandise, 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 them. -The wages of women can never permanently rise to a just scale of -labour value, until this slavish principle is eliminated, because this -purchase introduces an uneconomical element into the remuneration of -labour which destroys any legitimate effect of demand and supply. It -enables competitive employers solely intent on profit to beat down -the price of male as well as female labour indefinitely. Indeed, we -have by no means reached the limits of this injustice. The practice of -purchase is still more dangerous in an economic point of view, because -whilst the labour of all women tends to sink to the lowest point of -remuneration, this lowest point can be reached in the labour of the -young and strong, who are most eagerly sought for as merchandise. - -The increasing employment of less remunerated female labour while male -labour stands idle, is an alarming fact. The family is barely held -together by the earnings, of a daughter, whilst father and brother -lounge about the pot-house. The results of any sudden stoppage of a -factory where large amounts of this cheap labour has been employed (as -in the Barking jute factory, where 800 girls were suddenly thrown out -of employment) is an object-lesson in the suicidal policy of degrading -women. - -The natural order of industry by which the man is the chief material -support of the family, is disturbed and destroyed by this unnatural -practice. - -The purchase of young women adds cruelty to fraud. Youth must always -fail to realize results which are only known through the experience of -age. No amount of cautious or theoretic teaching given to the young can -ever place them on an equality with the experienced adult. Moreover, -it is Nature’s law for youth that sexual attraction is quite out of -proportion to intellectual development. The fact of this great natural -law of slower mental growth is the Creator’s imperative command laid -upon the older generation, to protect and guide the youth of both -sexes. The corruption of the young by the adult is not only fraud, it -is dastardly cruelty. - -Moreover, Nature has laid upon woman the more important share in -the great work of continuing the race. It is not therefore pity, -but justice which requires that reverent and grateful aid should be -rendered by men, in the grand duty of creating an ever nobler race. - -Trust, freedom, and sympathy form the bases of true relations between -men and women, as they are also the moral foundations of political -economy. - -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 industry. These effects necessarily extend to the whole -position and character of one-half the race, when any portion of women -are turned into human merchandise. They are seen, by a careful study of -those reckless or hardened ones who have become so direful a problem -in all our large towns. How is that growing army of shameless women -created who, with their companions, so fearfully avenge all social -injustice on our boys and girls and our young men and maidens? - -It is well known that there are thousands of ‘fallen women’ in London. -What does this general statement in relation to women mean in detail? -What is involved in living by the sale of the human body? The woman, -however ‘fallen,’ is still a human being with its desperate clinging to -life. Let it be realized what is involved in thousands of women living -to the age of three-score years and ten, who must feed themselves -three times a day, and provide lodging, clothing, and the satisfaction -of all human needs by the repeated sale of their bodies--thousands -of women, with all the craving and ever active necessities of the -human being, bodies and souls to be kept alive by the money of their -buyers, 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 nature, and sloth and -falsehood habitual; women driven on by ceaseless material needs to -lower and lower phases of misery and vice, in whom a bitterness is -engendered that revenges itself on the weakness and innocence of youth, -tempting the lad when the adult ceases to purchase; women who--terrible -fact--finally losing their own marketable value, and scourged by their -own daily recurring needs, throw away the last remnants of womanly -instinct, and drag down young girls into their hell of life. - -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 -life. Each one, with father and mother, brothers and sisters, friends -and acquaintances, servants and tradespeople, is exercising a fatal -influence, desecrating the sanctity of sexual relations, proving -the ease with which the rewards of vice are gained, bewildering the -conscience of the innocent, and transmitting sensual tendencies to -their descendants. - -From these bought women come those enemies of social progress, who -enslave our young men of the higher classes, our future statesmen, -those who should be the leaders of the nation. From Skittles to Cora -Pearl, our generation has witnessed the enslaving power of these -tyrants of lust. They have dried up the generous enthusiasm of our -youth, and destroyed those principles of trust, freedom, and sympathy -which should guide our domestic and foreign policy. - -Who is guilty of this appalling conversion of women into demons, this -contagion of evil which in ever-widening circles is destroying our -moral health, and injuring the modesty, freedom, and dignity of all -womanhood? The immediate cause is the man, whether prince or peasant, -who purchases a woman for the gratification of lust. It is this -purchase which draws women into the clutches of a godless, money-making -machine, which never loosens its hold of the feeble creature until the -essential features of womanhood are crushed out of recognition. The -irresponsible polyandry of prostitution, with its logical acceptance -and regulation of brothels, has replaced in the West the polygamy -of the East. In both, degradation, discouragement of marriage, and -injustice to women create a fatal barrier to permanent national -progress. But there is a more insidious source of evil than the direct -purchaser. The conversion of women into merchandise, whilst it produces -a dangerous deterioration of female character, unavoidably reacts upon -male character. This evil tends in women to produce the vices of the -slave--deceit, falsehood, and servility; in men it tends to foster the -vices of the slave-holder--arrogance, selfishness, and cruelty. In both -it engenders that deadly sin--hypocrisy. - -Hypocrisy is the vice which, above all others, our Lord denounces with -the most awful condemnation, raising the drunkard and the harlot, -with His far-seeing, merciful purity, and thrusting the Scribe and -Pharisee--secret fornicators--into their place. ‘He that is without -sin, let him cast the first stone.’ Hypocrisy is the vice which -distinguishes in the most marked degree those nations which dare to -call themselves Christian, but who practically deny every principle -of Christ’s teaching in the conduct of public and, to a great extent, -private affairs. 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 nations. When a savage tribe enslaves -its enemies and trades in human flesh it does not trade against its -conscience. In its rudimentary condition of slow emergence from brutish -ignorance it knows no higher standard than a savage display of muscular -force. When a polygamous nation buys both men and women, or endeavours -to enforce the physical chastity of women by harem imprisonment, it -obeys the highest authority it knows of, its religion, believed in, -although erroneous in its teaching. 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 women, and the -treatment of those women according to the hypocritical customs of -their lustful conquerors. However false the standard of the savage -or semi-barbarous peoples may be, they possess one, and strive to -realize it. But the corruption which the latest and intensest phase -of competitive money values has introduced into the most enlightened -nations, is unexampled in the history of the race. The deliberate -reasoning out and justification of the conversion of women into -things is the abuse of our highest faculties, our power of reason and -conscience. - -The cruel vice of fornication, protected by hypocrisy, is sowing -moral scrofula broadcast, and, like an insidious poison, producing -generations of feeble, rickety wills and maniacal monsters. It is -the degeneracy of the race. The palliation of this vice is shaking -the foundation of our civilization, by destroying the moral basis on -which alone progressive society can rest. The purchaser of a woman -is directly guilty, but a deeper source of evil influence is the man -or the woman who excuses and sanctions the purchase of women, by -upholding a double standard of morality for the sexes. In the present -age, while the actively licentious are following evil customs like -sheep, some of their intellectual and spiritual leaders are throwing -a veil of hypocrisy over these customs. The God-given faculties for -creating literature, investigating science, and promoting religion are -being perverted to the justification or palliation of lust. - -Our brothers have hitherto been the rough and active pioneers of human -progress, first moulding the material framework of society, then -becoming its leaders and teachers--teachers of those fundamental moral -relations on which human society rests. - -But a time has come in the development of the race, when much of the -teaching and judgment formed by one-half the race alone, is seen to be -liable to error, and requires to be weighed and approved by the other -half of mankind. - -The women half is necessarily slower in development, from being -appointed to bear that great altruistic burden, maternity. 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 creation. - -When we now inquire into and weigh the value of the teachings offered -to women as the guide of their human relationship to men, we are -struck with its amazing contradictions. All classes and sections -bring forth their varying opinions. The scientist and the theologian, -the physician, the lawyer and the journalist, the literary and the -business man, the official and the man of leisure, are all seen -carrying their load of heterogeneous materials to help build up the -Babel of advice to women. All assert their knowledge of ‘Nature and -Instinct,’ of ‘Science and History,’ or ‘the tragical plea of material -necessity,’ to justify opinions founded on misunderstood data. But the -sectional opinions of a portion of the race must necessarily be either -imperfect, arrogant, or sentimental, and God confounds the Tower which -foolish mortals strive to raise to heaven. All those, both men and -women, who retain their reverence for sex, turn away from this unseemly -Babel of conceit and short-sightedness, and ponder these things in -hearts earnestly seeking truth. - -The great question now at issue is the Unity of the Moral Law. This -unity is being attacked by the intellectual short-sightedness or -unconscious intellectual dishonesty of those who should be its most -enlightened upholders. - -One of our leading family journals has lately stated that ‘the modern -notion of equality impairs the responsibility of special classes for -special virtues.’ There is a sense in which special classes may be said -to hold special responsibility. 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 people. They must consider the conditions -essential to such virtue, and when they clearly see the truth, an army -of noble men will zealously help in shaping truth in practice. The -great truth which women are now learning is the necessity that every -man should be chaste. This is the truth so long unrecognised, but at -last discovered as the solution of the great social problem. Without -male chastity, female chastity is impossible. - -Virtue is not self-righteousness. It is unconscious of self, because -it has become a mode of individual existence, and it maintains its -vitality by care for others. A chaste woman does not think of her own -purity; she thinks of the poor girl drudging in cellars, or hurrying -at night, waylaid by tempters, to her poor home, or ‘drilled’ in the -rich man’s shop; she thinks of her cherished sons with their noble -and innocent young manhood exposed to the influence of the corrupt -adult. Women’s responsibility for the purity of society commands her -to announce the conditions of purity, and unmask with a relentless -justice--which is now the truest mercy--those destroyers of national -purity, the upholders of a double standard of sexual morality. The fact -that so many cultivated intellects resort to fallacy or metaphysical -abstraction to palliate the destructive abuse of our sexual powers, is -a direct call on women to help in spreading truth. - -There cannot be one moral law for human beings, which is at the same -time of unequal application to them. Moral law is not the creation of -mediæval art, which, substituting a symbol for entity, represents the -Great Creator as an aged man with long gray beard seated upon clouds. -The moral law is not the arbitrary dictum of a man. The authority of -the moral law springs from its adaptation by the Creator, to the nature -of the beings subjected to it. It is the guide to the highest end of -that nature, the necessary method by which its welfare is secured. -Its authority is absolute, not relative, because it is the method of -highest growth. Divine law admits of no exception, it cannot contradict -itself. It is equally binding on the weakest as on the strongest, on -the man as on the woman, or it is not law. If men are so constituted -that they can grow to the full stature of manhood without obedience -to the law of purity, then the moral law of purity does not exist for -them, because it is not a necessary method of growth to their highest -human development; their nature is not adapted by the Creator to the -moral law; its influence over them is thus weakened, its absolute -authority destroyed. - -To profess to accept the unity of the moral law, but at the same time -seek to avoid its consequences, is hypocrisy. The moral law cannot be -evaded by any metaphysical creation of ‘noble moral paradoxes.’[15] Any -attempt to define purity as unequally binding on the sexes by being -‘more for women, but not less for men,’ is worse than nonsense, it is -dangerous sophistry. It is a confusion of right and wrong, placing men -and women on diverging paths which will lead them ever farther apart. -It is a strange spectacle, the nineteenth-century Adam cowering under -the overpowering justice of the moral law, seeking refuge behind a -paradox! But the weak and erring children of one Great Creator, bound -to live together and help or injure one another, must not be turned -away from each other by the arrogance or ignorance of any portion of -the race. What mortal can determine the varying kind and quality of -temptations which assail another mortal life? Who shall dare to say -to another, You are not tempted as I am? Who can measure the weakness -or the strength of another soul, and measure out judgment by shifting -standards of right and wrong? Only by humility can we gain wisdom. Only -by doing the will of the Creator shall we learn the doctrine of truth. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[14] ‘At a meeting of the British Association, held September 7, 1886, -the eminent African explorer, Mr. Joseph Thompson, spoke boldly of -the evil influence of Europeans in Africa, remarking that it has been -terrible, and that for one negro influenced for good by missionaries -there were a thousand who had been driven to deeper degradation. We -supplied them still with an incredible quantity of gin, rum, gunpowder, -and guns.’ - -[15] See the _Spectator_, July 31, 1886. - - - - - THE MORAL EDUCATION OF THE YOUNG IN RELATION TO SEX - - - CONTENTS - - PAGE - - INTRODUCTION 177 - - CHAPTER I - - PHYSIOLOGICAL LAWS WHICH INFLUENCE THE PHYSICAL AND - MENTAL GROWTH OF SEX 180 - - CHAPTER II - - SOCIAL RESULTS OF NEGLECTING THESE PHYSIOLOGICAL LAWS 206 - - CHAPTER III - - THE HYGIENIC ADVANTAGE OF SEXUAL MORALITY 240 - - CHAPTER IV - - METHODS BY WHICH SEXUAL MORALITY MAY BE PROMOTED 259 - - APPENDIX I 306 - - APPENDIX II 308 - - - - - INTRODUCTION - -Age after age brings forward varying phases of thought, when some -particular facts of life are thrown into unusual prominence, such -special development of thought serving to mould the society of that -generation, giving it a special stamp, and thus advancing the progress -of humanity one step forward. Of all the ideas gradually worked out -and gained as the permanent possession of human society, the slowest -in growth is the idea of the true relations of the sexes. The instinct -of sex always exists as the indispensable condition of life and the -foundation of society. It is the strongest force in human nature. -Whatever else disappears, this continues. Undeveloped, no subject of -thought, but nevertheless as the central fire of life, Nature guards -this inevitable instinct from all possibility of destruction. But -as an idea, thought out in all its wide relations, shaped in human -practice in all its ennobling influences, it is the latest growth of -civilization. In whatever concerns the subject of sex, customs are -blindly considered sacred, and evils deemed inevitable. The mass of -mankind seems moved with anger, fear, or shame, by any effort made -to consider seriously this fundamental idea. It must necessarily come -forward, however, in the progress of events, as the subject of primary -importance. As society advances, as principles of justice and humanity -become firmly established, as science and industry prepare the way for -the more perfect command of the material world, it will be found that -the time has come for the serious consideration of this first and last -question in human welfare, for the subject of sex will then present -itself as the great aid or obstacle to further progress. The gradually -growing conviction will be felt that, as it is the fundamental -principle of all society, so it is its crowning glory. In the relations -of men and women will be found the chief cause of past national -decline, or the promise of indefinite future progress. - -The family, 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 element, and the powers that -can be unfolded from it. Morality in sex will be found to be the -essence of all morality, securing principles of justice, honour, and -uprightness in the most influential of all human relations, and as it -is all-important in life, so it is all-important in the education which -prepares for life. A great social question lies, therefore, at the -foundation of the moral education of youth, and influences more or less -directly each step of education. It becomes indispensable to consider -the relation of this subject to the various stages of education, and -the methods by means of which education may guide and strengthen youth -in their entrance into wider social life. - -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 life, as men and women; these -views will unavoidably determine the course of practical education. Two -great questions, therefore, naturally present themselves at the outset -of every careful consideration of moral sexual education-- - -1. What is the true standard for the relations of men and women--the -type which contains within itself the germ of progress or continual -development? - -2. How can this standard be attained by human beings? - -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 essay. - - - - - 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 -life, makes the study of the relation of the sexes a very complicated -one; but a sure guide may be found in the great truths of physiology, -viewed in their broad relation to human progress, and it is on the -solid foundation of these truths that correct principles of education -must be based. The tendency of our age, in seeking truth, is to -reject theories and study facts--facts, however, on the largest and -most comprehensive scale. Every physician knows that nothing is more -stupid than routine practice; nothing more unreliable than theories -unsupported by well-observed facts; and, at the same time, nothing -more misleading than partial facts. The laws of the human constitution -itself, as taught by the most comprehensive investigations of science, -must be carefully studied. We must learn what reason, observing the -facts of physiology, 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 race, and serve as a guide in directing the -education of our children. - -The relations of human beings to each other, depend upon the nature and -requirements of individuals. It is, therefore, essential to know what -the nature of the individual human being really is; how it grows and -how it degenerates. Such knowledge must necessarily form the basis of -all true methods of education. - -We find throughout Nature, that every creature possesses its peculiar -type, towards which it must tend, if it is to accomplish the purpose -of its creation. There is a capacity belonging to the original germ, -which, if the necessary conditions are presented, will lead it through -the various stages of growth and of development, to the complete -attainment of this type. - -This type or pattern is the true aim of the individual. With the -process by which it is reached, it constitutes its nature. - -In order to determine the nature of any creature, both the type it -should attain and the steps by which alone that type can be attained, -must be taken into consideration, or we are led astray in our judgment -of the nature of the individual. Thought is often confused by a vague -use of the term ‘nature.’ The educated man is more natural than the -savage, because he approaches more nearly to the true type of man, and -has acquired the power of transmitting increased capacities to his -children. What is popularly called a state of nature, is really a -state of rudimentary life, which does not display the real nature of -man, but only its imperfect condition. - -Striking instances of unusual imperfection may often be observed in -the physical structure of the individual, for there are blind as well -as intelligent forces at work, in the long and elaborate process of -forming the complete human being. Thus, sometimes we find that the -developmental process of the body goes wrong, and produces six fingers -instead of five through successive generations, or the formative -power of some organ runs blindly into excess, producing the diseased -condition of hypertrophy. Arrest of development, also, may take place -at any stage of youthful life as well as before birth, the consequence -being deficiency of organic power, or even defective organs, although -in such cases growth and repair continue, and even long life may be -attained. These conditions are not natural, because, although they -exist, they are contrary to the type of man. For the same reason the -cannibal must be regarded as unnatural. - -In studying the individual human type, we find some points in which -it resembles the lower animals, some points in which it differs from -all others, and some temporary phases during which it passes from the -brute type to the human. If it stop short at any stage of the regular -sequence or development, it fails in its essential object, and, -although living, it is unnatural. - -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 mental, not in the physical, capacity of man. Physical -power and the perfection of physical instincts are attained by the -lower animals in a higher degree than by man. It is only when we -observe the uses and education of which the physical powers are -susceptible, and the development of which the mental powers are -capable, that we perceive the immense superiority of the human race, -and recognise the type--viz., the true nature of man, towards the -attainment of which all the elaborate processes of growth are directed. -The more carefully we examine the intellectual growth of the lower -animals, tracing the reflex movements and instinctive actions of the -invertebrata, through the intelligent mental operations of the dog -or the elephant, the more clearly we perceive the distinguishing -type of Man. This type is that union of truth and good which we name -Reason. Reason is the clear perception of the true relation of things, -and the love of their harmonious relations. It includes judgment, -conscience--all the higher intellectual and moral qualities. - -Reason, with the Will to execute its dictates, is the distinguishing -type of man. It is towards this end that his faculties tend; in this -consists his peculiarity, his charter of existence. Any failure to -reach this end, is as much an arrest of development as is a case of -spina bifida, or the imperfect closure of the heart’s ventricles. We -cannot judge of the Nature of man, without the clear recognition of -this distinctive type, and it is impossible to establish sound methods -of education, without constantly keeping in view, both the true nature -of man and the steps by which it must be reached. These steps--_i.e._, -the method by which man grows towards his distinctive type in -creation--constitute the fundamental question in the present inquiry. - -One distinguishing feature of human growth is its comparative slowness. -No animal is so helpless during its infancy, none remains so long in -a state of complete dependence on its parents. During the first few -years, the child is quite unable either to procure its own food, or to -keep itself from accidents, and it attains neither its complete bodily -nor mental development, until it is over twenty years of age. We find -this slow growth of faculties to be an essential condition of their -excellence. It is observed to be a law of organized existence that the -higher the degree of development to be reached, the slower are the -processes through which it is attained, and the longer is its period of -dependence on parental aid. - -The forces employed in the elaboration of the human being, differ in -their manifestation at various stages of its growth. There are two -marked forces to be noted, often confounded together, but important to -distinguish--viz., the power of growth and the power of development, -the former possessed throughout life, the latter at certain epochs -only. The capacity for _growth_ and nutrition, by means of which the -human frame is built up and maintained out of the forces derived from -food and other agents, is shown until the last breath of life, by the -power of repair, which continues as long as the human being lives. All -action of the organism, every employment of muscular or nervous tissue, -uses up such tissue. The body is wasted by its own activities, and it -is only by the exact counterpoise of these two forces--disintegration -and repair--that health and life itself are maintained. In youth, in -connection with very rapid waste of tissue, exists a great excess of -formative power, which excess enables each complete organ to enlarge -and consolidate itself. The reduction of this excess of formative power -to a balance with the waste of tissue, marks the strength of adult -life. Its diminution below the power of repair marks the decline of -life. - -The force of _development_, however, is shown, not in the enlargement -and maintenance of existing parts, but in the creation of new tissues -or organs or parts of organs, so that quite new powers are added to -the individual. After birth these remarkable efforts of creative force -belong exclusively to the youth of the individual. They are chiefly -marked by dentition, by growth of the skeleton and the brain, and -still more by the addition of the generative powers. With this work of -development the adult has nothing to do; it is a burden laid especially -upon the young: it is a work as important and exclusively theirs, as -child-bearing is the exclusive work of the mother. - -One of the first lessons, then, that Physiology teaches us in relation -to the healthy growth of the human being, is the slow and successive -development of the various faculties. Although the complete type of -the future man exists potentially in the infant, long time and varying -conditions are essential to its establishment, and the type will never -be attained, if the necessary time and conditions are not provided. - -The second physiological fact to be noted is the order observed in -human development. The faculties grow in a certain determined order. -First, those which are needed for simple physical existence; next, -those which place the child in fuller relations with Nature; and, -lastly, those which link him to his fellows. As digestion is perfected -before locomotion, so muscular mobility and activity exist before -strength, perception before observation, affection and friendship -before love. The latest work of Nature in forming the perfect being is -the gift of sexual power. This is a work of development, not simply -of growth. There are new organs coming into existence, 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 life. -At the age of puberty, when the special life of sex commences, the -other organs of relation--skeleton, muscles, brain--are still carrying -on their slow process of consolidation. ‘At eighteen the bones and -muscles are very immature. Portions of the vertebræ hardly commence to -ossify before the sixteenth year. After twenty, the two thin plates on -the body of the vertebræ form, completing themselves near the thirtieth -year. Consolidation of the sacrum commences in the eighteenth year, -completing after the twenty-fifth. The processes of the ribs and of the -scapula are completed by the twenty-fifth year; those of the clavicle -begin to form between eighteen and twenty; those of the radius and -ulna, of the femur, tibia, and fibula, are all unjoined at eighteen, -and not completed until twenty-five. The muscles are equally immature; -they grow in size and strength in proportion to the bones, and it is -not until twenty-five years of age, or even later, that all epiphyses -of the bones have united, and that the muscles have attained their full -growth.’[16] - -As a necessary consequence of this slow order of natural growth, -the individual is injured when sufficient time for growth is not -allowed, or when faculties which should remain latent, slowly storing -up strength for the proper time of unfolding, are unduly stimulated -or brought forward too soon. The writer above quoted remarks: ‘It is -not only a waste of material, but a positive cruelty, to send lads -of eighteen or twenty into the field.’[17] The evil effect of undue -stimulation to a new function is twofold. The first effect is to divert -Nature’s force from the consolidation of faculties already fully -formed, and, second, to injure the substantial growth of the later -faculty, which is thus prematurely brought forward. Thus the child -compelled to carry heavy burdens will be deformed or stunted; the -youth weighed down by intellectual labour will destroy his digestion -or injure his brain. So, if the faculty which is bestowed as the last -work of development, that which requires the longest time and the -most careful preparation for its advent--the sexual power--be brought -forward prematurely, a permanent injury is done to the individual, -which can never be completely repaired. - -The marked distinction which exists between puberty and nubility -should here be noted. It is a distinction based upon the important -fact that a work of long-continued preparation takes place in the -physical and mental nature, before a new faculty enters upon its -complete life. Puberty is the age when those changes have taken place -in the child’s constitution, which make it physically possible for it -to become a parent, but when the actual exercise of such faculty is -highly injurious. This change takes place, as a general rule, from -fourteen to sixteen years of age. Nubility, on the other hand, is that -period of life when marriage may take place, without disadvantage to -the individual and to the race. This period is generally reckoned, in -temperate climates, in the man at from twenty-three to twenty-five -years of age. About the age of twenty-five commences that period of -perfect manly vigour, that union of freshness and strength, which -enables the individual to become the progenitor of vigorous offspring. -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 race. The interval between these two epochs of -puberty and confirmed virility, is a most important period of rapid -growth and slow consolidation. Not only is the lifelong work of the -body going on at this time, with much greater activity than belongs to -adult life--_i.e._, the work of calorification, nutrition, 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 -perfection. Although, as will be shown later, the influences brought to -bear upon the very young child strongly affect its later growth in good -or evil, yet this period between fourteen and twenty-five is the most -critical time of preparation for the work of adult life. - -Another important fact announced by physiological observation, is -the absolute necessity of establishing a proper government of the -human faculties, by the growth of intelligent self-control. Reason, -not Instinct, is the final guide of our race. We cannot grow, as do -the lower animals, by following out the blind promptings of physical -nature. From the earliest moment of existence, intelligence must -guide the infant. At first this guiding intelligence is that of the -mother, and through all the earlier stages of life, a higher outside -intelligence must continue to provide the necessary conditions of -growth, until the gradual mental development of the child fits it for -independent individual guidance. The great difficulty of education -lies in the adjustment of intelligence, for there are antagonisms to be -encountered. There is first of all to be considered the adaptation of -parental intelligence to the large proportion of indispensable physical -instinct, with which each child is endowed by Nature. There is next the -adjustment of the two intelligences, the parental and filial. These -relations are constantly changing, and the true wisdom of education -consists in meeting these changes rightly. - -It is very important to observe that each new phase of life, each new -faculty, begins in the child-like way--that is to say, there is always -a large proportion of the blind, instinctive element which absolutely -needs a higher guidance. The instinctive life of the body always -necessarily exists, and, therefore, constantly strives to make itself -felt. This life of sensation will (in many different ways) obtain a -complete mastery over the individual, if Reason does not exist, and -grow into a controlling force. This danger of an undue predominance -of the instinctive force is emphatically true of the life of sex. It -begins, child-like, 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 child. At this period -of life, an adjustment of the parental and filial intelligence is -required, quite as wisely planned as in childhood, in order to secure -the gradual growth of intelligent self-control in the young life of -sex. If we do not recognise this necessity, or fail to exercise this -directing influence, we do not perceive the crowning obligation of the -older to the younger generation. However much parents may now shrink -from this obligation, and, owing to incorrect views of sex, be really -unable to exercise the kind of influence required, the necessity -for such influence, nevertheless, exists as a law of human nature, -unchangeable, rooted in the human constitution. It is Nature’s method, -that every new faculty requires intelligent control from the outset, -but only gradually can this guidance become self-control. - -This necessity is seen more clearly as we continue our physiological -inquiry. The preceding considerations refer chiefly to the slow -processes by which the various parts of the body must be built up step -by step, under the guidance of outside intelligence, which furnishes -the proper conditions of physical growth. Equally certain, and within -the legitimate scope of true physiology, is the influence which the -mind of the individual exercises upon the growth of the body. This -difficult half of the subject presents itself in increasing importance -as science advances. The particular theory of mind held by individuals -does not affect our inquiry. Everyone understands the term, and gives -to its influence a certain importance. Our perception of the degree of -power exercised by the mind over the body, and the importance of that -power, will continually grow as we observe the facts around us. It is -a fact of every-day experience, that fright will make the heart beat, -that anxiety will disturb digestion, that sorrow will depress all the -vital functions, whilst happiness will strengthen them. How often does -the physician see the languid, ailing invalid converted from mental -causes--through happiness--into a bright, active being! Medical records -are full of accumulated facts showing the extent to which such mental -or emotional influence may go; how the infant has been killed when the -mother has nursed it during a fit of passion, or the hair turned gray -in a single night, through grief or fright. - -We find that the mind, acting through the nervous system, affects not -only the senses and muscles--the organs of animal life, 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 body. Emotion can act where -Will is powerless, but a strong Will also can acquire a remarkable -power over the body. It has been remarked ‘that men who know that -there is any hereditary disease in their family, can contribute to the -development of that disease, by closely directing their attention to -it, and so throwing their nervous energy in that direction.’ It was a -remark of John Hunter ‘that he could direct a sensation to any part of -his body.’ - -‘As in the case of other sensations, the sexual, when moderately -excited, may give rise to ideas, emotions, and desires of which -the brain is the seat, and these may react on the muscular system -through the intelligence and Will. But when inordinately excited, or -when not kept in restraint by the Will, they will at once call into -play respondent movements, which are then to be regarded as purely -automatic. This is the case in some forms of disease in the human -subject, and is probably also the ordinary mode of operation in some -of the lower animals.... In cases, however, in which this sensation is -excited in unusual strength, it may completely over-master all motives -to the repression of the propensity, and may even entirely remove -the actions from volitional control. A state of a very similar kind -exists in many idiots, in whom the sexual propensity exerts a dominant -power, not because it is in itself peculiarly strong, but because the -intelligence being undeveloped it acts without restraint or direction -from the Will.’[18] - -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 hunger. The exigencies of human -society have caused this tremendous power of hunger to be kept so -completely in check, that the gratification of it, except in accordance -with the established laws (of property, etc.), is considered as a -crime. In spite of the terrible temptation which the sight of food -offers to a starving man, society punishes him if he yield to it. Still -stronger than the established laws are those unwritten laws which are -enforced by ‘public opinion,’ in obedience to which, countless people -in all civilized countries suffer constant deprivation--even starving -more or less slowly to death--rather than transgress universally -accepted principles, and subject themselves to social condemnation by -taking the food which does not belong to them. Another curious and -important illustration of mental action is shown in the accumulating -instances of self-deception, of contagious hallucination, and of -emotional influence acting upon the physical and mental organizations, -so strikingly depicted by Hammond and other writers in the accounts of -pretended miracles, ecstasies, visions, etc. - -Of all the organic functions, that of secretion is the one most -strongly and frequently influenced by the mind. The secretion of -tears, of bile, of milk, of saliva, may all be powerfully excited by -mental stimuli, or lessened by promoting antagonistic secretions. This -influence is felt in full force by those of the generative system, -‘which,’ writes a distinguished author, ‘are strongly influenced by -the condition of the mind. When it is frequently and strongly directed -towards objects of passion, these secretions are increased in amount -to a degree which may cause them to be a very injurious drain on the -powers of the system. On the other hand, the active employment of the -mental and bodily powers on other objects, has a tendency to render -less active, or even to check altogether, the processes by which they -are elaborated.’[19] - -That the mind must possess the power of ruling this highest of the -animal functions, is evident, from its uses, and from the nature of -man. The faculty of sex comes to perfection when the mind is in full -activity, and when all the senses are in their freshest youthful -vigour. Its object is no longer confined to the individual, it is the -source of social life, it is the creator of the race. Inevitably, then, -the human mind (the Emotions, the Will) must control this function more -than any other function. It assumes a different aspect from all other -functions, through its objective character. The individual may exist -without it--the race not. Every object which addresses itself to the -senses or the mind acts with peculiar force upon this function. Either -for right or for wrong, the mind is the controlling power. The right -education of the mind is the central point from which all our efforts -to help the younger generation must arise. It will thus be seen that -the standpoint of education changes in childhood and in youth, the -first period being specially concerned with the childhood of the body -or of the individual, the second period representing more particularly -the childhood of sex or of the race. In neither childhood nor youth -must either of the double elements of our nature--mind and body--be -neglected, but in childhood the body comes first in order, in youth the -mind. - -The higher the character of a function and the wider its relations, -the more serious and the more numerous are the dangers to which it is -exposed. A physiologist remarks, ‘In youth the affinity of the tissues -for vital stimuli seems to be greater when the development is less -complete.’ That which the strong adult may endure with comparative -impunity destroys the growing youth, whose nature, from the very -necessities of development, possesses a keener sensitiveness to all -vital stimuli. This important remark is true of mental as well as -physical youth, and applies with especial force to the prevention of -the dangers of premature sexual development. More care is needed to -secure healthy, strengthening influences for the early life of sex than -for any other more simply physical function. - - * * * * * - -In the preceding considerations, the faculty of sex has been regarded -chiefly in its individual aspect, and the principles laid down by means -of which the largest amount of health and strength can be secured -for each individual. But this half-view is entirely insufficient in -considering those physiological peculiarities of the function of sex, -which must determine the true aim of education. There are two other -physiological facts to be considered--viz., the Duality of Sex, and its -Results. - -The power we are now considering enters into a different category from -all other physical functions, as being, _first_, the faculty of two, -not of one only, and, _second_, as resulting in parentage. Directly a -physical function is the property of two, it belongs to a different -class from those faculties which regard solely the individual. That -very fact gives it a stamp, which requires that the relations of the -two factors should be considered. No faculty can be regarded in the -light of simple self-indulgence, which requires two for its proper -exercise. The consideration of such faculty in its imperfect condition -as belonging to one-half only is an essentially false view. It is -unscientific, therefore, to regard this exceptional faculty simply -as a limited individual function, as we regard the other powers of -the human body. Its inevitable relations to man, to woman, and to the -race must always stand forth as a prominent fact in determining the -aim of education. If this be so, the moral education of youth, with -the necessary physiological guidance given to their sexual powers, -must always be influenced by a consideration of these two inevitable -physiological facts--viz., duality and parentage, and the training of -young men and women, should mould them into true relations towards each -other and towards offspring. - -The question of the hereditary transmission of qualities, of the -influence of both mind and body in determining the character of -offspring, is a question of such vital importance that it cannot -be disregarded even in the narrowest view of family welfare, and -still less in any rational view of education, which lies at the -base of national progress. This great question is still in its -infancy, collected facts comparatively few, and the immense power -of future development contained in it, hardly suspected by parents -and philanthropists. We know already that various forms of disease, -physical peculiarities, and mental qualities may all become hereditary; -also that the tendency to drunkenness and to sensuality may be -transmitted as surely as the tendency to insanity or to consumption. If -we compare the mental and moral status of women in a Mahommedan country -with the corresponding class of women in our own country, we perceive -the effect which generations of simply sensual unions have produced on -the character of the female population. The Christian idea of womanly -characteristics is entirely reversed. The term ‘woman’ has become a -by-word for untruth, irreligion, unchastity, and folly.[20] - -The same observation may be made in so-called Christian countries -under Mahommedan rule, in independent countries in close proximity to -this degrading influence, and wherever the influence of unions whose -key-note is sensuality, prevails. The woman is considered morally -inferior. ‘She is man’s help, but not his helpmate. He guards and -protects her, but it is as a man guards and protects a valuable horse -or dog, getting all the service he can out of her, and rendering her in -turn his half-contemptuous protection. He uncovers her face and lets -her chat with her fellows in the courtyard, but he watches over her -conduct with a jealous conviction that she is unable to guard herself. -It is a modification, yet a development, of the Mussulman idea, and he -seems to think if she has a soul to be saved he must manage to save -it for her.’[21] 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 character. This -influence on the character is due, not only to the customs, religion, -and circumstances which form the nation, but also to the accumulating -influence of inherited qualities. The hereditary action produces -tendencies in a particular direction in the offspring, which renders -its development easier in that direction. It is only gradually, through -education and the influence of heredity in a different direction, that -the original tendency can be removed. But if all the circumstances of -life favour its development, the individual, the family, and the nation -will certainly display the result of these tendencies in full force. - -A striking illustration of this subject has been published in the -report of the New York Prison Association for 1876. An inquiry was -undertaken by one of the members of the association, to ascertain the -causes of crime and pauperism, as exhibited in a particular family or -tribe of offenders called ‘The Jukes,’ which for nearly a century has -inhabited one of the central counties of the State. The investigation -is carried back for some five or six generations, the descendants -numbering at least 1,200, and the number of persons whose biographies -are condensed and collated is not less than 709. The facts in these -criminal lives, which have grown in a century from one family into -hundreds, are arranged in the order of their occurrence and the age -given at which they took place, so that the relative importance of -inherited tendencies and of immediate influences may be measured. The -study of this family shows that the most general and potent cause, -both of crime and pauperism, is the habit of licentiousness, with -its result of bastardy and neglected and miseducated childhood. This -tribe was traced back on the male side to two sons of a hard drinker -named Max, living between 1720 and 1740, who became blind in his old -age, transmitting blindness to some of his legitimate and illegitimate -children. On the female side the race goes back to five sisters of -bad character, two of whom intermarried with the two sons of Max, the -lineage of three other sisters being also traced. In the course of the -century, this family has remained an almost purely American family, -inhabiting the same region of country in one of the finest States of -the Union, largely intermarrying, and presenting an almost unbroken -record of harlotry and crime. ‘The Jukes,’ says the report, ‘are not an -exceptional race; analogous families may be found in every county of -the State.’[22] - -Conspicuous facts such as these, display in a striking manner the -indubitable influence of mind in the exercise of the highest--the -parental--function. We see as a positive fact that mental or moral -qualities quite as much as physical peculiarities, tend to reproduce -themselves in children. The mental quality or character of the parent -must then be considered physiologically, as a positive element in -the parental relation; thought, emotion, sensation, are all mental -qualities. In human unions this great fact must be borne in mind. Any -sneer at ‘sentiment’ proceeds from ignorance of facts. Happiness is as -vivifying as sunshine, and is a potent element in the formation of a -child. Hence arises the necessity of love between parents--love, the -mental element, as distinguished from the simple physical instinct. - -To understand the true relations of men and women in their bearing upon -the race (relations which must determine the moral aim of education) -the duality of sex and the peculiarity of the womanly organization -must be recognised. Woman, having a special work to perform in family -life, has special requirements and sharpened perceptions in relation -to this work. She demands the constant presence of affection, an -affection which alone can draw forth full response, and she possesses -a perception which is almost a special instinct for detecting coldness -or untruthfulness in the husband’s mental attitude towards her. The -presence of unvarying affection has a real, material, as well as a -moral power on the body and soul of a woman. Indifference or neglect -is instantly felt. Sorrow, loneliness, jealousy, all constantly -depressing emotions, exercise a powerful and injurious effect upon the -sources of vital action. This physiological truth and the necessity -of securing the full assent of the mother in the joint creation of -superior offspring, are important facts bearing on the character and -happiness of one-half of the human race, and influencing through that -half the quality of offspring. These facts have not yet received the -attention which so weighty a subject demands. - -In pursuing the physiological inquiry, we are met by one remarkable -fact which it is impossible to ignore, and which remains from age -to age as a guide to the human race. This guide is found in the -physiological fact of the equality in the birth of the sexes. This is a -clear indication of the intention of Providence in relation to sexual -union, a proof of the fundamental nature of the family group. Boys and -girls are born in equal numbers all over the world, wherever our means -of observation have extended, a slight excess of boys alone existing. -Sadler writes: ‘The near equality in the birth of the sexes is an -undoubted fact; it extends throughout Europe and wherever we have the -means of accurate observation, the birth-rate being in the proportion -of twenty-five boys to twenty-four girls.’[23] The injurious inequality -which we so often find in a population is not Nature’s law, but is -evidence of our social stupidity. It proves our sin against God’s -design in the existence of brutal wars and our careless squandering -of human life. All rational efforts for the improvement of society -must be based upon Nature’s true intention--viz., the equality of the -sexes in birth and in duration of life, not upon the false condition -of inequality produced by our own ignorance. It is essential always -to bear in mind this distinction between the permanent fact and the -temporary phenomenon. - - * * * * * - -The foregoing facts illustrate fundamental physiological truths. They -show the Type of creation towards which the human constitution tends -and the distinctive methods of growth by which that type must be -reached. In brief recapitulation, these truths are the following--viz., -the slowness of human growth; the successive development of the human -faculties; the injury caused by subverting the natural order of growth; -the necessity of governing this order of growth by the control of -Reason; the influence of Mind--_i.e._, Thought, Emotion, Will--on -the development or condition of our organization; the necessity of -considering the dual character of sex; the transmission of qualities by -parents to their children; the natural equality in the creation of the -sexes. - -These truths, which are of universal application to human beings, -furnish a Physiological Guide, showing the true laws of sex, in -relation to human progress. We find that the laws of physiology -point in one practical direction--viz., to the family--as the only -institution which secures their observance; they show the necessity -of the self-control of chastity in the young man and the young woman, -as the only way to secure the strong mental and physical qualities -requisite in the parental relation, whilst they also prove the special -influence exerted by mutual love in the great work of Maternity. The -preparation, therefore, of youth for family life should be the great -aim of their sexual education. - -Experience as well as Reason confirms the direct and indirect teaching -of Physiology; they both point to the natural family group as the -element out of which a healthy society grows. It is only in the family -that the necessary conditions for this growth exist. The healthy and -constantly varying development of children naturally constitutes the -warmest interest of parents. Brothers and sisters are invaluable -educators of one another; they are unique associates, creating a -species of companionship that no other relation can supply. To enjoy -this interest, to create this young companionship, to form this healthy -germ of society, marriage must be unitary and permanent. A constantly -deepening satisfaction should exist, arising from the steady growth -together through life, from the identity of interest and from the -strength of habit. Still farther we learn that such union should take -place in the early period of complete adult life. Children should be -the product of the first fresh vigour of parents. Everything that -exhausts force or defers its freshest exercise is injurious to the -Race. Customs of society or incorrect opinions which obstruct the union -of men and women in their early vigour, which impair the happiness of -either partner, or prevent the strong and steady growth of their union, -impair their efficacy as parents, and are fatal to the highest welfare -of our Race. - - - - - 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 apparent, as we examine another branch of -the subject, and ascertain from an observation of facts around us, how -far the present relations of men and women in civilized countries, are -based upon sound principles of physiology. It is necessary to know -how far these principles are understood and carried out from infancy -onward, whether efforts for the improvement of the race are moulded -by physiological methods of human growth, and what are the inevitable -consequences which result from departure from these principles. - -According to a rational and physiological view of life, the family -should be cherished as the precious centre of national welfare; every -custom, therefore, which tends to support the dignity of the family -and which prepares our youth for this life, is of vital importance -to a nation. Thus the slow development of the sexual faculties by -hygienic regime, by the absence of all unnatural stimulus to these -propensities, by the constant association of boys and girls together, -under adult influence, in habitual and unconscious companionship, 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 being, are the ordinary and natural conditions which rational -physiology requires. On the contrary, every custom which insults the -family and unfits for its establishment, which degrades the natural -nobility of human sex, which sneers at it and treats this great -principle with flippancy, which tends to kill its Divine essence, all -such influences and such customs are a great crime against society, and -directly opposed to the teaching of rational physiology. - -An extended view of social facts, not only in different classes of -our own society, but also in those countries with which we are nearly -related, is of the utmost value to the parent. Physiological knowledge -would be valueless to the mass of mankind, if its direct bearing upon -the character and happiness of a nation could not be shown. So in -considering the sexual education of youth according to the light of -sound physiology, the social influences which affect the natural growth -of the human being are an important part of applied physiology. - -The tendencies of civilization must be studied in our chief cities. -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 for. London, Paris, Vienna, -Berlin, New York, are not exceptions, but examples. They show the -mature results towards which smaller towns are tending. Those who live -in quiet country districts often flatter themselves that the rampant -vice of large towns has nothing to do with villages, small communities, -and the country at large. This is a delusion. The condition of large -towns has a direct relation to the country. - -In these focal points of civilization we observe, as examples of -sexual relationship, two great institutions existing side by side--two -institutions in direct antagonism--viz., Marriage and Prostitution, the -latter steadily gaining ground over the former. - -In examining these two institutions, the larger signification -of licentiousness must be given to prostitution, applicable to -men and women. Marriage is the recognised union of two, sharing -responsibilities, providing for and educating a family. Prostitution -is the indiscriminate union of many, with no object but physical -gratification, with no responsibilities, and no care for offspring. It -is essential to study the effects, both upon men and women and upon -mankind at large, of this great fact of licentiousness, if we are to -appreciate the true laws of sexual union in their full force, and the -aims, importance, and wide bearing of Moral Education. We shall only -here refer to its effects upon the young. - -We may justly speak of licentiousness as an institution. It is -considered by a large portion of society as an essential part of -itself. It possesses its code of written and unwritten laws, its -sources of supply, its various resorts, from the poorest hovel to -the gaudiest mansion, its endless grade, from the coarsest and most -ignorant to the refined and cultivated. It has its special amusements -and places of public resort. It has its police, its hospitals, its -prisons, and it has its literature. The organized manner in which -portions of the press are engaged in promoting licentiousness, -reaching, not thousands, but millions of readers, is a fact of weighty -importance. The one item of vicious advertisements falls into distinct -categories of corruption. Growing, therefore, as it does, constantly -and rapidly, licentiousness becomes a fact of primary importance in -society. Its character and origin must be studied by all who take -an interest in the growth of the human race, and who believe in the -maintenance of marriage, and the family, as the foundation of human -progress. - -Everyone who has studied life in many civilized countries, and the -literature reflecting that life, will observe the antagonism of these -two institutions: the recognition of the greater influence of the -mistress than the wife, the constant triumph of passion over duty and -deep, steady affection. We see the neglect of the home for the café, -the theatre, the public amusement; the consequent degradation of the -home into a place indispensable as a nursery for children, and for the -transaction of common, every-day matters, a place of resort for the -accidents of life, for growing old in, for continuing the family name, -but too tedious a place to be in much, to spend the evening and really -live in. Enjoyments are sought for elsewhere. The charm of society, the -keener interests of life, no longer centre in the household. It is a -domestic place, more or less quiet, but no home in the true sense of -the word. The true home can only be formed by father and mother, by -their joint influence on one another, on their children, and on their -friends. The narrow, one-sided, diminishing influence of Continental -homes amongst great masses of the population, from absence of due -paternal care, is a painful fact to witness. 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 society. -Indeed, any nation is in the stage of rapid dissolution where the -institution of the family is completely and universally degraded; but -the preceding statement is a faithful representation of the general -tone and tendencies of social life in many parts of the Continent. That -the same fatal principles, leading to the like results, are at work -both in England and America will be seen as we proceed. Licentiousness -may be considered as still in its infancy with us, when compared with -its universal prevalence in many parts of the Continent; but it is -growing in our own country with a rapidity which threatens fatal -injury to our most cherished institution, the pure Christian home, -with its far-reaching influences, an institution which has been the -foundation of our national greatness. - -The results of licentiousness should be especially considered in their -effects upon the youth of both sexes, of both the richer and poorer -classes; also in their bearing upon the institution of marriage and -upon the race. In all these aspects it enters into direct relation with -the family, and no one who values the family, with the education which -it should secure, can any longer afford to ignore what so intimately -affects its best interests. It is to the first branch of the subject -that reference will here be chiefly made. - -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 world, into school, -college, business, society. What are the ideas about women that have -been gradually formed in the mind of the lad of sixteen, by all that he -has seen, heard, and read during his short but most important period -of life? What opinions and habits, in relation to his own physical -and moral nature, have been impressed upon him? How have our poorer -classes of boys been trained in respect to their own well-being, -and to association with girls of their own class? What has been the -influence of the habits and companionships of that great middle-class -multitude, clerks, shopkeepers, mechanics, farmers, soldiers, etc.? -What books and newspapers do these boys read, what talk do they hear, -what interests or amusements do they find in the theatre, the tavern, -the streets, the home, and the church? What has been the training of -the lad of the upper class--that class, small in number but great in -influence, which, being lifted above any sordid pressure of material -care, should be the spiritual leader of the classes below them--a class -which has ten talents committed to it, and which inherits the grand -old maxim, _Noblesse oblige_? How have all these lads been taught to -regard womanhood and manhood? What is their standard of manliness? -What habits of self-respect and of the noble uses of sex have been -impressed upon their minds? Throughout all classes, abundant temptation -to the abuse of sex exists. Increasing activity is displayed in the -exercise of human ingenuity for the extension and refinement of vice. -Shrewdness, large capital, business enterprise, are all enlisted in the -lawless stimulation of this mighty instinct of sex. Immense provision -is made for facilitating fornication; what direct efforts are made for -encouraging chastity? - -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 preacher, compared with the mighty social influences which -spread with corrupting force around the great bulk of our youth. We -find, as a matter of fact, that complete moral confusion too often -meets the young man at the outset of life. Society presents him with -no fixed standard of right or wrong in relation to sex, no clear -ideal to be held steadily before him and striven for. Religious -teaching points in one direction, but practical life points in quite -a different way. The youth who has grown up from childhood under -the guardianship of really wise parents, in a true home, with all -its ennobling influences, and has been strengthened by enlightened -religious instruction, has gradually grown towards the natural human -type. He may have met the evils of life as they came to him from -boyhood onwards, first of all with the blindness of innocence, which -does not realize evil, and then with the repulsion of virtue, which is -clear-sighted to the hideous results of vice. Such a one will either -pass with healthy strength through life, or he may prove himself the -grandest of heroes if beset with tremendous temptations; or, again, -he may fall, after long and terrible struggles with his early virtue. -But in the vast majority of cases the early training through innocence -into virtue is wanting. Evil influences are at work unknown to or -disregarded by the family, and a gradual process of moral and physical -deterioration in the natural growth of sex corrupts the very young. -In by far the larger ranks of life, before the lad has grown into the -young man, his notions of right and wrong are too often obscured. He -retains a vague notion that virtue is right, but as he perceives that -his friends, his relations, his widening circle of acquaintance, live -according to a different standard, his idea of virtue recedes into a -vague abstraction, and he begins to think that vice is also right--in -a certain way! He is too young to understand consequences, to realize -the fearful chain of events in the ever-widening influence of evil -acts--results which, if clearly seen, would frighten the innocent mind -by the hideousness of evil, and make the first step towards it a crime. -No one ventures to lift up a warning voice. The parent dares not, or -knows not how to enter upon this subject of vital importance. There -are no safeguards to his natural modesty; there is no wise help to -strengthen his innocence into virtue. - -Here is the testimony in relation to one important class, drawn from -experience by our great English satirist: ‘And by the way, ye tender -mothers and sober fathers of Christian families, a prodigious thing -that theory of life is as orally learned at a great public school. Why, -if you could hear those boys of fourteen, who blush before mothers and -sneak off in silence in the presence of their daughters, talking among -each other, it would be the woman’s turn to blush then. Before he was -twelve years old, and while his mother fancied him an angel of candour, -little Pen had heard talk enough to make him quite awfully wise upon -certain points; and so, madam, has your pretty little rosy-cheeked son, -who is coming home from school for the ensuing Christmas holidays. I -don’t say that the boy is lost, so that the innocence has left him -which he had from “Heaven which is our home,” but the shades of the -prison-house are closing very fast over him, and that we are helping as -much as possible to corrupt him.’ ‘Few boys,’ says the Headmaster of a -large school, ‘ever remain a month in any school, public or private, -without learning all the salient points in the physical relation of -the sexes. There are two grave evils in this unlicensed instruction: -first, the lessons are learned surreptitiously; second, the knowledge -is gained from the vicious experiences of the corrupted older boys, and -the traditions handed down by them.’ - -Temptations meet the lad at every step. From childhood onward, an -unnatural forcing process is at work, and he is too often mentally -corrupted, whilst physically unformed. This mental condition tends -to hasten the functions of adult life into premature activity. As -already stated, an important period exists between the establishment of -puberty and confirmed virility. In the unperverted youth, this space -of time, marked by the rush of new life, 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 functions. The -very indications of Nature’s abundant forces at the outset of life, -are warnings that this new force must not be stimulated, that there -is danger of excessive and hasty growth in one direction, danger of -hindering that gradual development which alone insures strength. If at -an early age, thought and feeling have been set in the right direction, -and aids to virtue and to health surround the young man, then this -period of time, before his twenty-fifth year, will lead him into a -strong and vigorous manhood. But where the mind is corrupted, the -imagination heated, and no strong love of virtue planted in the soul, -the individual loses the power of self-control, and becomes the victim -of physical sensation and suggestion. When this condition of mental -and physical deterioration has been produced, it is no longer possible -for him to resist surrounding temptations. There are dangers within -and without, but he does not recognise the danger. He is young, eager, -filled with that excess of activity in blood and nerve, with which -Nature always nourishes her fresh creative efforts. - -At this important stage of life, when self-control, hygiene, mental -and moral influence, are of vital importance, the fatal results of -his weakened will and a corrupt society, ensue. Opportunity tempts -his wavering innocence, thoughtless or vicious companions undertake -to ‘form’ him, laugh at his scruples, sneer at his conscience, excite -him with allurements. Or a deadly counsel meets him--meets him from -those he is bound to respect. The most powerful morbid stimulant that -exists--a stimulant to every drop of his seething young blood--is -advised viz., the resort to prostitutes. When this fatal step has been -taken, when the natural modesty of youth and the respect for womanhood -is broken down, when he has broken with the restraints of family life, -with the voice of Conscience, with the dictates of religion, a return -to virtue is indeed difficult--nay, often impossible. He has tasted the -physical delights of sex, separated from its more exquisite spiritual -joys. This unnatural divorce degrades whilst it intoxicates him. Having -tasted these physical pleasures, often he can no more do without them -than the drunkard without his dram. He ignorantly tramples under foot -his birthright of rich, compound, infinite human love, enthralled by -the simple limited animal passion. His Will is no longer free. He has -destroyed that grand endowment of Man, that freedom of the youthful -Will, which is the priceless possession of innocence and of virtue, -and has subjected himself to the slavery of lust. He is no longer his -own master; he is the servant of his passions. Those whose interest -it is to retain their victim employ every art of drink, of dress, -of excess, to urge him on. The youthful eagerness of his own nature -lends itself to these arts. The power of resistance is gradually -lost, until one glance of a prostitute’s eye passing in the street, -one token of allurement, will often overturn his best resolutions and -outweigh the wisest counsel of friends! The physiological ignorance -and moral blindness which actually lead some parents to provide a -mistress for their sons, in the hope of keeping them from houses of -public debauchery, is an effort as unavailing as it is corrupt. Place -a youth on the wrong course instead of on the right one, lead him into -the career of sensual indulgence and selfish disregard for womanhood -instead of into manly self-control, and the parent has, by his own act, -launched his child into the current of vice, which rapidly hurries him -beyond his control. - -The evils resulting from a violation of Nature’s method of growth by -a life of early dissipation are both physical and mental or moral. -In some organizations the former, in some the latter, are observable -in the most marked degree; 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 sex. - -Amongst the physical evils the following may be particularly noted. -The loss of self-control, reacting upon the body, produces a morbid -irritability (always a sign of weakness) which is a real disease, -subjecting the individual to constant excitement and exhaustion from -slight causes. The resulting physical evils may be slow in revealing -themselves, because they only gradually undermine the constitution. -They do not herald themselves in the alarming manner of a fever or -a convulsion, but they are not to be less dreaded from their masked -approach. The chief forms of physical deterioration are nervous -exhaustion, impaired power of resistance to epidemics or other -injurious influences, and the development of those germs of disease, -or tendencies to some particular form of disease, which exist in -the majority of constitutions. The brain and spinal marrow and the -lungs are the vital organs most frequently injured by loose life. But -whatever be the weak point of the constitution, from inherited or -acquired morbid tendencies, that will probably be the point through -which disease or death will enter. - -One of the most distinguished hygienists of our age writes thus: ‘The -pathological results of venereal excess are now well known. The gradual -derangements of health experienced by its victims are not at first -recognised by them, and physicians may take the symptoms to be the -beginning of very different diseases. How often symptoms are considered -as cases of hypochondria or chronic gastritis, or the commencement of -heart disease, which are really the results of generative abuse! A -general exhaustion of the whole physical force, symptoms of cerebral -congestion, or paralysis, attributed to some cerebrospinal lesion, -are often due to the same causes. The same may be said of some of -the severest forms of insanity. Many cases of consumption appearing -in young men who suffer from no hereditary tendency to the disease -enter into the same category. So many diseases are vainly treated by -medicine or regime which are really caused by abuse of these important -functions.’[24] Another of our oldest surgeons writes: ‘Among the -passions of the future man which at this period should be strictly -restrained is that of physical love, for none wars so completely -against the principles which have been already laid down as the most -conducive to long life; no excess so thoroughly lessens the sum of -the vital power, none so much weakens and softens the organs of life, -none is more active in hastening vital consumption, and none so -totally prohibits restoration. I might, if it were necessary, draw a -painful--nay, a frightful--picture of the results of these melancholy -excesses, etc.’[25] Volumes might be filled with similar medical -testimony on the destructive character of early licentiousness. - -Striking testimony to the destructive effects of vice in early manhood -is derived from a very different source--viz., the strictly business -calculation of the chances of life, furnished by Life Insurance -Companies. These tables show the rapid fall in viability during the -earlier years of adult life. Dr. Carpenter has reproduced a striking -diagram[26] from the well-known statistician Quetelet, showing the -comparative viability of men and women at different ages, and its -rapid diminution in the male from the age of eighteen to twenty-five. -He remarks: ‘The mortality is much greater in males from about the -age of eighteen to twenty-eight, being at its maximum at twenty-five, -when the viability is only half what it is at puberty. This fact is -a very striking one, and shows most forcibly that the indulgence of -the passions not only weakens the health, but in a great number of -instances is the cause of a very premature death.’[27] Dr. Bertillon (a -well-known French statistician) has shown by the statistics of several -European countries that the irregularities of unmarried life produce -disease, crime, and suicide; that the rate of mortality in bachelors -of twenty-five is equal to that of married men at forty-five; that the -immoral life of the unmarried and the widowed, whether male or female, -ages them by twenty years and more. - -Many of the foreign health resorts are filled with young men of the -richer classes of society, seeking to restore the health destroyed by -dissipation. Could the simple truth be recorded on the tombstones of -multitudes of precious youth, from imperial families downward, who are -mourned as victims of consumption, softening of the brain, etc., all -lovers of the race would stand appalled at the endless record of these -wasted lives. ‘Died from the effects of fornication’ would be the true -warning voice from these premature graves. - -The moral results of early dissipation are quite as marked as the -physical evils. The lower animal nature gains ever-increasing -dominion over the moral life of the individual. The limited nature -of all animal enjoyments produces its natural effects. First there -is the eager search after fresh stimulants, and as the boundaries of -physical enjoyment are necessarily reached, come in common sequence, -disappointment, disgust, restlessness, dreariness, or bitterness. The -character of the mental deterioration differs with the difference of -original character in the individual, as in the nation. In some we -observe an increasing hardness of character, growing contempt for -women, with low material views of life. In others there is a frivolity -of mind induced, a constant restlessness and search for new pleasures. -The frankness, heartiness, and truthfulness of youth gradually -disappear under the withering influence.[28] - -The moral influence of vice upon social character has very wide -ramifications. This is illustrated by the immense difficulties which -women encountered in the rational endeavour to obtain a complete -medical education. Licentiousness, with all its attendant results, is -the great social cause of these difficulties. - -The dominion of lust is necessarily short-sighted, selfish, or -cruel. Its action is directly opposed to the qualities of truth, -trust, self-command, and sympathy, thus sapping the foundations of -personal morality. But apart from the individual evils above referred -to, licentiousness inevitably degrades society, firstly, from the -disproportion of vital force which is thus thrown into one direction, -and, secondly, from the essentially selfish and ungenerous tendency -of vice, which, seeking its own limited gratification at the expense -of others, is incapable of embracing large views of life or feeling -enthusiasm for progress. The direction into which this disproportionate -vital force is thrown is a degrading one, always tending to evil -results. Thus the noble enthusiasm of youth, its precious tide of -fresh life, without which no nation can grow--life whose leisure hours -should be given to science and art, to social good, to ennobling -recreation--is squandered and worse than wasted in degrading -dissipation. - -This dissipation, which is ruin to man, is also a curse to woman, for, -in judging the effects of licentiousness upon society, it must never -be forgotten that this is a vice of two, not a vice of one. Injurious -as is its influence upon the young man, that is only one-half of its -effect. What is its influence upon the young woman? This question has -a direct bearing on the Moral Aim of Education. 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 -influences. One sex may experience more physical evil, the other more -mental degradation, from similar vicious habits; but the evil, if not -identical, is entirely parallel, and a loss of truthfulness, honour, -and generosity accompanies the loss of purity. - -The women more directly involved in this widespread evil of -licentiousness are the women of the poorer classes of society. The -poorer classes constitute in every country the great majority of the -people; they form its solid strength and determine its character. 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 evident. These women are everywhere, interlinked with every -class of society. They form an important part (often the larger female -portion) of every well-to-do household. They are the companions and -inevitable teachers of infancy and childhood. They often form the -chief or only female influence which meets the young man in early -professional, business, or even college life. They meet him in every -place of public amusement, in his walks at night, in his travels at -home and abroad. By day and by night the young man away from home is -brought into free intercourse, not with women of his own class, but -with poor working girls and women, who form the numerical bulk of the -female population, who are found in every place and ready for every -service. Educated girls are watched and guarded. The young man meets -them in rare moments only, under supervision, and generally under -unnatural restraint; but the poor girl he meets constantly, freely, -at any time and place. Any clear-sighted person who will quietly -observe the way in which female servants, for instance, regard very -young men who are their superiors in station, can easily comprehend -the dangers of such association. The injustice of the common practical -view of life is only equalled by its folly. This practical view utterly -ignores the fact of the social influence and value of this portion of -society. The customs of civilized nations practically consider poor -women as subjects for a life so dishonourable, that a rich man feels -justified in ostracizing wife, sister, or daughter who is guilty of -the slightest approach to such life. It is the great mass of poor -women who are regarded as (and sometimes brutally stated to be) the -subjects to be used for the benefit of the upper classes. Young and -innocent men, it is true, fall into vice, or are led into it, or are -tempted into it by older women, and are not deliberate betrayers. But -the rubicon of chastity once passed, the moral descent is rapid, and -the preying upon the poor soon commences. The miserable slaves in -houses of prostitution are the outcasts of the poor. The young girls -followed at night in the streets are the honest working girl, the young -servant seeking a short outdoor relief to her dreary life, as well as -the unhappy fallen girl, who has become in her turn the seducer. If -fearful of health, the individual leaves the licensed slaves of sin -and the chance associations of the streets, it is amongst the poor -and unprotected that he seeks his mistress:--the young seamstress, -the pretty shop girl, the girl with some honest employment, but poor, -undefended, needing relief in her hard-working life. It is always the -poor girl that he seeks. She has no pleasures, he offers them; her -virtue is weak, he undermines it; he gains her affection and betrays -it, changes her for another and another, leaving each mistress worse -than he found her, farther on in the downward road, with the guilt of -fresh injury from the strong to the weak on his soul. Any reproach -of conscience--conscience which will speak when an innocent girl has -been betrayed, or one not yet fully corrupted has been led farther -on in evil life--is quieted by the frivolous answer: ‘They will soon -marry in their own class.’ If, however, this sin be regarded in its -inevitable consequences, its effects upon the life of both man and -woman in relation to society, the nature of this sophistry will appear -in its hideous reality. Is chastity really a virtue, something -precious in womanhood? Then, the poor man’s home should be blessed by -the presence of a pure woman. Does it improve a woman’s character to -be virtuous? Has she more self-respect in consequence? Does she care -more for her children, for their respectability and welfare, when she -is conscious of her own honest past life? Does she love her husband -more, and will she strive to make his home brighter and more attractive -to him, exercising patience in the trials of her humble life, being -industrious, frugal, sober, with tastes that centre in her home? These -are vital questions for the welfare of the great mass of the people, -and consequently of society and of the nation. - -We know, on the contrary, as a fundamental truth, that unchastity -unfits a woman for these natural duties. It fosters her vanity, it -makes her slothful or reckless, it gives her tastes at variance with -home life, it makes her see nothing in men but their baser passions, -and it converts her into a constant tempter of those passions--a -corrupter of the young. We know that drunkenness, quarrels, and -crimes have their origin in the wretched homes of the poor, and the -centre of those unhappy homes is the unchaste woman, who has lost the -restraining influence of her own self-respect, her respect for others, -and her love of home. When a pretty, vain girl is tempted to sin, a -wife and mother is being ruined, discord and misery are being prepared -for a poor man’s home, and the circumstances created out of which -criminals grow. Nor does the evil stop there. It returns to the upper -classes. Nurses, servants, bring back to the respectable home the evil -associations of their own lives. The children of the upper classes -are thus corrupted, and the path of youth is surrounded at every step -with coarse temptations. These consequences may not be foreseen when -the individual follows the course of evil customs, but the sequence of -events is inevitable, and every man gives birth to a fresh series of -vice and misery when he takes a mistress instead of a wife.[29] - -The deterioration of character amongst the women of the working -classes is known to all employers of labour, to all who visit -amongst the poor, to every housekeeper. The increasing difficulty of -obtaining trustworthy domestic servants is now the common experience -of civilized countries. In England, France, Germany, and the larger -towns of America, it is a fact of widespread observation, and has -become a source of serious difficulty in the management of family -life. The deepest source of this evil lies in the deterioration of -womanly character produced by the increasing spread of habits of -licentiousness. The action of sex, though taking different directions, -is as powerful in the young woman as in the young man; it needs -as careful education, direction, and restraint. This important -physiological truth, at present quite overlooked, must nevertheless -be distinctly recognised. This strong mental instinct, if yielded to -in a degrading way (as is so commonly the case in the poorer classes -of society), becomes an absorbing influence. Pride and pleasure in -work, the desire to excel, loyalty to duty, and the love of truth in -its wide significance, are all subordinated, and gradually weakened, -by the irresistible mastery of this new faculty. In all large towns -the lax tone of companions, the difficulty in finding employment, 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 diminish. We thus find an immense mass of young women -gradually corrupted from childhood, rendered coarse and reckless, the -modesty of girlhood destroyed, the reserve of maidenhood changed to -bold, often indecent, behaviour. No one accustomed to walk freely about -our streets, to watch children at play, to observe the amusements and -free gatherings of the poorer classes, can fail to see the signs of -degraded sex. The testimony of home missionaries, of those experienced -in Benevolent Societies and long engaged in various ways in helping -women, as well as the Reports of Rescue Societies, all testify to the -dangerous increase and lamentable results of unchastity amongst the -female population. - -We observe in all countries a constant relation also between the -prevalence of licentiousness and degradation of female labour; the -action and reaction of these two evil facts is invariable. 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 Berlin, in Liverpool, Glasgow--_i.e._, in all large -towns. The revelations made by writers and speakers in relation to the -condition of the working women of Paris, are of very serious import -to England. Such terrible facts as the following, brought to light by -those who have carefully investigated the state of this portion of the -population, must arrest attention. In relation to vast numbers of women -it is stated[30]: ‘In Paris a woman can no longer live by the work of -her own hands; the returns of her labour are so small that prostitution -is the only resource against slow starvation. The population is -bastardized to such an extent that thousands of poor girls know not of -any relation that they ever possessed. Orphans and outcasts, their -life, if virtuous, is one terrible struggle from the cradle to the -grave; but by far the greater number of them are drilled, whilst yet -children, in the public service of debauchery.’ 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 vice, when to lead a -virtuous life often requires the possession of moral heroism. - -Of the multitude of those who fall into vice, many ultimately marry, -and, with injured moral qualities and corrupted tastes, become the -creators of poor men’s homes. The rest drift into a permanent life -of vice. The injurious effects of unchastity upon womanly character -already noted, can be studied step by step, to their complete -development in that great class of the population--the recognised -prostitutes. Their marked characteristics are recklessness, sloth, and -drunkenness. This recklessness and utter disregard of consequences -and appearances, a quarrelsome, violent disposition, the dislike to -all labour and all regular occupation and life, the necessity for -stimulants and drink, with a bold address to the lower passions of -men--such are the effects of this life upon the character of women. -Unchaste women become a most dangerous class of the community. To these -bad qualities is added another, wherever, as in France, this evil -life is accepted as a part of society, provided for, organized, or -legalized; this last result of confirmed licentiousness is a hardness -of character so complete, so resistant of all improving influences, -that the wisest and gentlest efforts to restore are often utterly -hopeless before the confirmed and hardened prostitute.[31] - -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 society. The mode of this influence -demands very serious consideration on the part of parents. It is -natural that young women should wish to please. They possess the true -instinct which would guide them to their noble position in society, as -the centres of pure and happy homes. How do our social customs meet -this want? All the young women of the middle and upper classes of -society, no matter how pure and innocent their natures, are brought -by these customs of society into direct competition with prostitutes! -The modest grace of pure young womanhood, its simple, refined tastes, -its love of home pleasures, its instinctive admiration of true and -noble sentiments and actions, although refreshing as a contrast, 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 intoxications. The virtuous girl exercises a -certain amount of attraction for a passing moment, but the intense -craving awakened in the youth for something far more exciting than she -can offer, leads him ever farther from her, in the direction where -this morbid craving can be freely indulged. This result is inevitable -if licentiousness is to be accepted as a necessary part of society. -Physical passion is not in itself evil; on the contrary, it is an -essential part of our nature. It is an endowment which, like every -other _human_ faculty, has the power of high growth. It possesses that -distinctive human characteristic--receptivity to mental impressions. -These impressions blend so completely with itself as to change its -whole character and effect, and it thus becomes an ennobling or a -degrading agent in our lives. In either case, for good or for evil, sex -takes a first place as a motive power in human education. The young -man inexperienced in life and necessarily crude in thought, but fallen -into vice, is mastered by this downward force, and the good girl loses -more and more her power over the strong natural attraction of sex which -would otherwise draw him to her. The influence which corrupt young men, -on the other hand, exercise upon the young women of their own standing -in society, is both strong and often injurious. It being natural that -young women should seek to attract and retain them, they unconsciously -endeavour to adapt themselves to their taste. These tastes are formed -by uneducated girls and by society of which the respectable young woman -feels the effects, and of which she has a vague suspicion, although, -happily, she cannot measure the depth of the evil. The tastes and -desires of her young male acquaintance, moulded by coarse material -enjoyments, act directly upon the respectable girl, who gives herself -up with natural impulse to the influence of her male companion. We -thus witness a widespread and inevitable deterioration in manners, -dress, thought, and habits amongst the respectable classes of young -women. This result leads eventually, as on the Continent, to the entire -separation of young men and women in the middle and upper ranks of -life, to the arrangement of marriage as a business affair, and to the -union of the young with the old. - -The faults now so often charged upon young women, their love of dress, -luxury, and pleasure, their neglect of economy and dislike of steady -home duties, may be traced directly to the injurious influence which -habits of licentiousness are exercising directly and indirectly upon -marriage, the home, and society. The subject of dress is one of serious -importance, for it is a source of extravagance in all classes, and one -of the strongest temptations to vice among poor girls. The creation of -this morbid excess in dress by licentiousness is evident. If physical -attraction is the sole or chief force which draws young men to young -women, then everything which either enhances physical charms, which -brings them more prominently forward, or which supplies the lack of -physical beauty, must necessarily be resorted to by women, whose nature -it is to draw men to them. The stronger the general domination of -physical sensation--over character, sympathy, companionship, mutual -help, and social growth--becomes amongst men, the more exclusive, -intense, and competitive must grow this morbid devotion to dress on the -part of women. Did young men seriously long for a virtuous wife and -happy home, and fit themselves to secure those blessings, young women -would naturally cultivate the domestic qualities which insure a bright, -attractive home. The young man, however, is now discouraged from early -marriage; the question soon presents itself to him: ‘Why should I -marry and burden myself with a wife and family? I am very well off -as I am; I can spend my money as I like on personal pleasures; I can -get all that I want from women without losing my liberty or assuming -responsibilities!’ The respectable girl is thus forced into a most -degrading and utterly unavailing competition with the prostitute or the -mistress. Marriage is indefinitely postponed by the young man; at first -it may be from necessity, later from choice. The young woman, unable to -obtain the husband suited to her in age, must either lead a single life -or accept the unnatural union with a rich elderly man. - -The grave physiological error of promoting marriage between the young -and the old cannot be dwelt on here. It is productive of very grave -evils, both to the health and happiness of the individual and to -the growth of the Race. The steady decrease of marriage, and at the -same time the late date at which it is contracted as licentiousness -increases, is shown by a comparison of the statistics of Belgium and -France with those of England. We find also that the character of -the population deteriorates with the spread of vice--the standard -of recruiting for the army is lowered, an ever-increasing mass of -fatherless children die or become criminals, and, finally, the natural -growth of the population of the country constantly decreases. - -The records of History confirm the teaching of Physiology and -Observation in relation to the fundamental character of sexual virtue, -as the secret of durable national greatness. The decline of all the -great nations of antiquity is marked by the prevalence of gross social -corruption. 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 them. We find amongst these races, as the -result of their sexual customs, a want of human charity. This is shown -in the absence of benevolent institutions and other modes of expressing -sympathy. A great gulf separates the rich and poor, bridged over by -no offices of kindness, no sense of the sacred oneness of humanity, -which is deeper than all separations of caste or condition. There is -no respect shown for human life, which is lightly and remorselessly -sacrificed, and punishment degenerates into torture. There is also -an incapacity for understanding the fundamental value of truth and -honesty, and a consequent impossibility of creating a good government. -We observe that bravery degenerates into fierceness and cruelty, and -that the apathy of the masses keeps them victims of oppression. It is -the exhibition of a race where there is no development of the Moral -Element in human nature. These general characteristics and their cause -were well described by the celebrated surgeon Lallemand, who says: ‘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 powers. On one side, -Polygamy, harems, seraglios--the source of venereal excesses--barbarous -mutilations, revolting and unnatural vice, with the population -scanty, inactive, indolent, sunk in ignorance, and consequently the -victim of misery and of every kind of despotism. On the other side, -Monogamy, Christian austerity, more equal distribution of domestic -happiness, increase of intelligence, liberty, and general well-being; -rapid increase of an active, laborious, and enterprising population, -necessarily spreading and dominating.’ - -The great moral element of society, which contains the power of -self-renewal and continual growth, must necessarily be wanting in all -nations where one-half of the people--the centre of the family, out of -which society must grow--remains in a stunted or perverted condition. -Women, as well as men, create society. Their share is a silent one. It -has not the glitter of gold and purple, the noise of drums and marching -armies, the smoke and clank of furnaces and machinery. All the splendid -din of external life is wanting in the quiet realm of distinctive -woman’s work; therefore it is often overlooked, misunderstood, or -despised. Nevertheless, it is of vital importance. 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 ability, divorced from -the love of Right, is but sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. It is for -this reason that no polygamous or licentious customs, which destroy the -woman’s nature and dry up the deepest source of human sympathy, can -possibly produce a durable or a noble and happy nation. The value of -a nation, its position in the scale of humanity, its durability, must -always be judged by the condition of its masses, and the test of that -condition is the strength and purity of home virtues--the character of -the women of the nation. - -No reference to the lessons of History, however brief, should omit -the effect produced by religious teaching. The influence exercised -by the Christian religion in relation to sex is of the most striking -character. Christian teaching is distinguished from other religious -teaching by its justice to women, its tender reverence for childhood, -and by the laying down of that great corner-stone, Inward Holiness, as -the indispensable foundation of true life. This is all summed up in -its establishment of unitary marriage, through the emphatic adoption -of the original Law, ‘Therefore shall a man leave his father and his -mother, and cleave unto his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh.’ -The development of this Law by Jesus Christ into its high significance -of spiritual purity, whilst it has been a principle of growth in the -past, is the great hope of the future. The study of this Christian -type, in its radical effect upon national life, is full of interest -and instruction, but is also a study of great difficulty. This teaching -of our Lord has never been adopted as the universal rule of practical -life by any nation. 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 existed. The great battle between Christianity -and Paganism still continues in our midst. The actual practical -type prevailing in all civilized nations is not Christian. In these -nations the Christian idea of unitary sexual relations is accepted -theoretically, as conducive to the best interests of the family and -binding upon the higher classes of women; but it is entirely set -aside as a practical life for the majority of the community. Christ’s -Law is considered either as a vague command, applicable only to some -indefinite future, or as a theory which it would be positively unwise -to put into practice in daily life. The statement is distinctly made, -and widely believed, that the nature of men and women differs so -radically that the same moral law is not applicable to the two sexes. - -The great lesson derived from History, however, is always this--viz., -that moral development must keep pace with the intellectual, or the -race degenerates. This moral element is especially embodied by woman, -and purity in woman cannot exist without purity in man, this weighty -fact being shown by the facts already stated--viz., the action of -licentiousness upon the great mass of unprotected women, its reaction -upon other classes, and the accumulating influence of hereditary -sensuality. - -In the indisputable principles brought forward in the preceding pages, -and the mass of facts and daily observation which support them, is -found the answer to the first question proposed as a guide to the moral -education of youth--viz.: What is the true standard for the relations -of men and women, the type which contains within itself the germ of -progress and indefinite development? - -We see that the early and faithful union of one man with one woman is -the true Ideal of Society. It secures the health and purity of the -family relation, and is the foundation of social and national welfare. -It is supported by sound principles of Physiology, by the history of -the rise and fall of nations, and by a consideration of the evils of -our present age. The lessons of the past and present, our clearer -knowledge of cause and effect, alike prove the wisdom of the highest -religious teaching--viz., 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 grow. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - _The Hygienic Advantage of Sexual Morality_ - -The present subject may be summed up in two great questions--viz., -First, is Virtue desirable? Secondly, is Virtue practicable? - -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 importance; that it is essential to individual health, to -the happiness of the family, to the purity of Society, and the growth -of a strong nation. Virtue, therefore, is desirable. It remains to -consider whether it be practicable. No vagueness or doubt should exist -in relation to fundamental principles of education. Methods may change; -no inflexible rule can be laid down. Enlarging experience, enlightened -by love, will vary infinitely the adaptations needed in the education -of infinitely varied children, but the aim of education should not -vary. Sound knowledge, as well as a steadfast faith and hope, must -guide every intelligent parent from the beginning of family life, or -confusion, perplexity, and endless difficulties will be added to the -inevitable difficulties of education. - -One of the most serious questions to be understood and practically -answered by parents in the education of their sons is this: If in -relation to sex Chastity be the true moral aim of a young man’s -education, can it be secured without injury to his health? Is morality -an advantage to the health of young men?[32] It is impossible to -over-estimate the importance of this question, both to men and women. -It touches the most vital interests of both. The family, the relations -of husband and wife, the education of children, the rules and customs -of society, and the arrangements of practical life will directly depend -upon, or be affected by, the answer which we give to the question, Is -virtue an advantage to all human beings? Can one moral law exist for -all? - -Truth must always be accepted. No personal prejudice, no habit of -education, must stand in the way of clearly established truth. It is -the greatest sin we can commit to try to believe a lie because the -truth seems unpleasant, difficult, or contrary to prejudices. If it be -true that chastity is a right thing for women, but a wrong thing for -men, then the truth, with all its consequences, must be accepted. If, -however, this statement be false--if it be a prejudice of education, -a result of evil customs, the most fruitful source of misery to the -human race--then the truth, with all its consequences, must equally -be accepted. In seeking truth on this subject it is indispensable to -examine its practical aspect closely, to study the facts on which -existing customs are based, and disentangle the confused web of truth -and falsehood, 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 health. - -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 commences, as well as from the length of time required for -its completion. It is not only in children of twelve and fourteen -that this instinct is already strongly marked, it may be observed at -a much earlier age. Numberless instances of juvenile depravity come -under the observation of the physician, and such gross cases are -only exaggerations of the refined instincts veiled by modesty and -self-respect, which are gradually growing in all healthy children. -That this mental instinct tends to express itself in the unformed -bodies of children corrupted by evil example, we have only too abundant -proof. A chronic evil of boarding-schools, of asylums, and of all -places where masses of children are thrown together without wise moral -supervision, is the early habit of self-abuse. Long before the boy or -girl is capable of becoming a parent, this dangerous habit may be -formed. It is not necessarily the indication of a coarse nature. It is -observable in refined, intellectual, and even pious persons, as a habit -carried on from childhood, when it was begun in ignorance, or taught, -perhaps, by servants, or caught from companions. Many a fine nature in -both man and woman has been wrecked, by the insidious growth of this -natural temptation, into an inveterate habit. The more common result, -however, of this vicious practice is a premature stimulation of the -sexual nature, which throws youth of both sexes either into habits of -early licentiousness or into a morbid condition of mental impurity. An -experienced physician[33] writes: ‘The earliest and most frequent cause -of disorder of the generative apparatus is the practice of self-abuse, -the tendency to which is strongest about the age of puberty.... -Excitement is increased by the conversation and thoughts which are -indulged in, and it is apt to be unchecked by the moral control which -has not yet acquired its proper influence. Moreover, lads are often -induced to the pernicious practice by their companions, who may be as -ignorant as themselves of the wrong and mischief they are doing. It -would be a very good thing if those who have the charge of boys were -less scrupulous in giving warning upon this matter. Much trouble and -anxiety might be spared by timely advice seriously and kindly given.... -An extensive acquaintance, through years with those who have just come -from our schools, has impressed the importance of this matter upon me.’ - -Dangers thus existing which may threaten the youngest child, the -necessity of guidance, the formation of good habits, and the -inculcation of self-respect even in childhood is evident. At an -early age self-control can be taught. It is a principle which grows -by exercise. The more the brain asserts its power of Will over the -automatic actions of the body, the stronger may become the control of -reason over sensations and instincts. - -The neglect of children at this early age is a direct cause of the -corruption of the next stage of life. The lad of sixteen or seventeen -is in the first flush of early manhood. He is physically capable -of becoming a father, although entirely unfit to be so. Some years -are required to strengthen his physical powers. The advantage of -the self-control of absolute chastity at this period of life is -unquestionable; every physiologist will confirm this statement. But -chastity is of the mind as well as of the body. The corruption of the -mind at this early age is the most fruitful source of social evil in -later life. The years from sixteen to twenty-one are critical years for -youth. If purity of life and the strength of complete self-control can -then be secured, there is every hope for the future. Every additional -year will enlarge the mental capacity, and may confirm the power of -Will. The strong man is able to take the large views of sex, its uses, -aims, and duties, which are considerations too abstract for the -child-man, impelled by bewildering sensations. If at this early age -he falls, he is too often lost. Physical passion, which reaches its -maximum (roughly speaking) at twenty-seven, can only be controlled and -exalted if, at the age when chastity is a positive physical benefit, -the great mental principle of self-control has gained mastery over the -nature. If at this period the power of Will has been gained to retain -self-respect and resist temptation, such habit of self-government is -the safeguard of youth. It is the only foundation on which the early -years of life can be safely based, 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 manhood. If, however, -the child has been injured by habits or associations which produce -precocity and irritability of function, he will inevitably fall into -vice in the earliest years of manhood; his power of resistance is gone, -and every temptation drags him down. - -One of our ablest surgeons has left on record the following weighty -advice:[34] ‘The boy has to learn that to his immature frame every -sexual indulgence is unmitigated evil. Every illicit pleasure is a -degradation to be bitterly regretted hereafter.... If a boy is once -fully impressed that _all_ such indulgences are dirty and mean, and, -with the whole force of his unimpaired energy, determines he _will_ -not disgrace himself by yielding, a very bright and happy future is -before him.... Where, as is the case with a very large number, a young -man’s education has been properly watched, and his mind has not been -debased by vile practices, it is usually a comparatively easy task to -be continent, and requires no great or extraordinary effort, and every -year of voluntary chastity renders the task easier by the mere force -of habit.... It is of vital importance that boys and young men should -know, not only the guilt of an illicit indulgence of their dawning -passions, but also the _danger_ of straining an immature power, and the -solemn truth that the _want_ will be an irresistible tyrant only to -those who have lent it strength by yielding; that _the only true safety -lies in keeping even the thoughts pure_.... It is easier to abstain -altogether than to be occasionally incontinent, and then continent -for a period.... If a young man wished to undergo the acutest sexual -suffering he could adopt no more certain method than to propose to be -incontinent, with the avowed intention of becoming continent again when -he had “sown his wild oats.” 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 vice: “You are going a road on which you will _never_ turn back. -However much you may wish it the struggle will be too much for you. You -had better stop now. It is your last chance.”’ - -Our early neglect of youth is, then, one of the great causes of social -immorality. 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 life. Evil outward temptations abound, -but they must not be allowed to exercise their effects unchecked; they -must be counteracted by more powerful influences for good. - -The physical growth of youth, the new powers, the various symptoms -which mark the transition from childhood into young manhood and -womanhood, are often alarming to the individual. Yet this important -period of life is entered upon, strange to say, as a general rule, -without parental guidance. Parents shrink from their duty. They have -failed to become their children’s confidential friends. In every other -respect the physical and mental wants of their children are attended -to. Suitable food is provided, and the various functions of digestion -and assimilation carefully watched; the healthy condition of the skin, -of the muscles, of all the various functions of the body provided for, -and intellectual education carried on, but the highest physical and -mental function committed to the human being, whose guidance requires -the wisest foresight, the most delicate supervision, is left to the -chances of accident or the counsels of a stranger. Measureless evil -results from the neglect of parents to fortify their children at this -age. - -Although direct and impressive instruction and guidance in relation to -sex is not only required by the young, but is indispensable to their -physical and moral welfare, yet the utmost caution is necessary in -giving such guidance, in order that the natural susceptibilities of the -nature be not wounded. It is a point on which youth of both sexes are -keenly sensitive, and any want of tact in addressing the individual, 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 relations, may do harm instead of -good. Where the conscience of the parent has only been awakened late -in life to this high duty to the child, the attempt to approach the -subject with the young adult is often deeply resented by both boy and -girl. In such cases the necessary counsel may be better given by a -stranger--by the physician, who will speak with acknowledged authority, -or by some book of impressive character, when such a one (much needed) -shall have been prepared. That this is a very imperfect fulfilment of -parental duty is true, 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 life, and thus not guided the past education of -the children. - -It is important to recognise the parallelism which exists throughout -the physical organization of the two sexes, making them equal parts -of complete human nature--a parallelism which is too often lost sight -of, at this period of a young man’s life. In each of the two halves -of humanity, the sexual functions are adapted to the higher nature of -the human being. Provision is made in each sex for their control by -reason, this provision being made with greater or lesser elaborate -preparation in proportion to the relative importance of these functions -in each sex. This provision secures their conversion into a human -social force, instead of allowing them to remain a blind instinct, -as in the lower animals; for everything in humanity is subject to -the law of progress and higher growth. The generative function in -both sexes must be kept in a state of readiness for use. It has, -therefore, its special activity of production, maintaining its tissues -in healthy vigour throughout adult life. It is also marked with a -certain periodicity, which is stamped on all the more important vital -functions. It must, however, at the same time be subjected to reason -and converted into a human faculty. To secure this end, it contains -within itself natural provisions for its own independent well-being, -Nature having established the power of physical self-balance in this -important function by the natural, gradual, and healthy removal of -unemployed secretions in each individual. It thus becomes the subject -of reason, adapted to the higher aims of life, instead of a blind force -enslaving the human being. - -An important illustration of this subjection of these functions to -reason, is referred to by the experienced surgeon, Mr. Acton, who -writes: ‘There exists no _greater error_, or one more opposed to -physiological truth, than the fear that atrophy or impotence might be -the result of chastity. I have never, after many years’ experience, -seen a single instance of atrophy from this cause. It is not a fact -that power is annihilated in well-formed adults leading a healthy life -and yet remaining continent. The function goes on to old age, sometimes -slowly, sometimes quickly, but very frequently only under the influence -of the will. No person need be deterred by this apocryphal fear from -living a chaste life. It is a device of the unchaste--a lame excuse -for their own incontinence, not founded on any physiological law. The -organs will take care that their action is not interfered with.’[35] - -The very signs, however, of Nature’s provision for raising the lower -instinct into a human faculty, often create great uneasiness in the -young mind. It is at this important crisis that the delicate and -respectful counsel of the wise parent or physician is indispensable -to both boys and girls. The youth should be told that Nature will -help, not injure him at this important crisis of life, if he will be -true to his own higher nature. The young of both sexes should realize -that self-control of thought and action is essential. Every means of -hygienic, intellectual, and religious influence should be used to -direct and strengthen both mind and body. For both young men and young -women it is hygiene in its largest sense that should be prescribed and -enforced--viz., the guidance of the early vital forces, both physical -and mental, into natural beneficial directions. The youth who has been -saved from habits of self-abuse in childhood can now be saved from -habits of vice in manhood, and helped forward in that life of virtue -which alone will strengthen all his powers and make him worthy of -marriage. - -That this view of the sexual function as a human force, to be governed -by reason, is the truth, and the modern theory of its being a blind -instinct enslaving the individual a falsehood, is proved in many -ways. We have the medical opinion of physicians in large practice, -the private and public testimony of individuals, the observation of -well-managed schools and colleges, of prisons, of communities, and the -social customs of various classes and different races. Let us glance at -some of these facts. - -In rigid training for athletic sports, for boat-racing, prize-fighting, -etc., chastity is enforced as one of the means for attaining the -greatest possible amount of physical vigour and endurance. This fact, -observed in ancient times, is confirmed by modern experience. - -When the health is seriously impaired, the same rule of sexual -abstinence is laid down. In a large proportion of these cases the power -of sex is not lost; the physical craving may even be increased, from -the irritability which often accompanies disturbed health. But the -fear of death acts as a counter force on the young mind, and rouses -it to unwonted efforts at self-command. No sacrifice is too great to -escape death, to regain health, and take part once more in ordinary -life. Temptations are avoided, healthy regime adopted, and the young -man, taking a great deal of outdoor exercise, leads for months an -absolutely chaste life, with the greatest possible advantage to his -health. Such cases may be constantly noted in foreign health resorts, -and amongst a class of cases the most difficult to reform--viz., -dissipated young men who have been perverted from childhood by a state -of society so universally corrupt that it cannot happily be paralleled -yet, in England or America. - -It is well known that the early ancestors of our vigorous German race -guarded the chastity of their youth until the age of twenty-five, as -the true method of increasing their strength, enlarging their stature, -and enabling them to become the progenitors of a vigorous race. - -The opportunity of wide observation enjoyed by the headmasters of -public schools, and all engaged in education, lends great weight to -their testimony. The master of over 800 boys and young men states: ‘The -result of my personal observation, extending over a great many years, -is, that hard exercise in the open air is, in most cases, an efficient -remedy against vicious propensities. A large number of our young men -thus make a law unto themselves, and pass the period of their youth in -temperance and purity till they have realized a position that enables -them to marry.’ Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, has given similar testimony.[36] - -In primitive Christian communities, and many country and village -populations uncorrupted by the stimulants of luxury, we observe the -advantage of chastity to the health of youth. In these simple, healthy -societies the strong public sentiment of the village, combined with -outdoor life, preserves the honesty of the young men until the time of -early marriage. The result is the growth of a vigorous, healthy race. - -Our recognition of the possibility, as well as advantage, of chastity -to the young is further strengthened by a knowledge of the healthy -self-control exercised by men in the prime of life. After the age of -thirty, the unnatural life of celibacy is a difficult exercise of mind -and body, far more difficult than it is to uncorrupted youth. The -intimate experience, however, 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 wives; and -the majority of our countrymen would consider it an insult to suppose -that when a new-born child is laid in their arms, and the wife leans -for support during her period of weakness upon her husband’s love, that -he betrays her love and trust during those solemn epochs of family life. - -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 chastity. Every one who listened to -the weighty words of Père Hyacinthe, spoken in St. James’s Hall -before a crowded audience a few years ago, received the proof of -the co-existence of vigorous health with stainless virtue. Similar -testimony, called forth by the false teaching and dangerous tendencies -of the present time, has been given by many others, proving the -principle that the human sexual passion when uncorrupted, does not -enslave the man; that the possibility of perfect health and perfect -virtue is the natural endowment of every human being. - -A modern writer of unsurpassed genius, Honoré de Balzac (whose writings -are injurious because they are such wonderfully vivid representations -of horrible social disease) was himself a man of singularly chaste -life, and attributes his power to that fact. Brought up by his father -in strict self-control, his power of Will was not destroyed; he -preserved his respect for women, his belief in noble love. His intimate -friend thus writes of him: ‘Above all he insisted on the necessity -of absolute purity of life, such as the Church prescribes for monks. -“That,” said he, “develops the powers of the mind to the highest -degree, and imparts to those who practise it unknown faculties. For -myself, I accepted all the monastic conditions necessary for workers. -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 lived.”’ - -Strong testimony as to the compatibility of chastity and health is -furnished by the Catholic priesthood. Although it is well known that -there are large numbers of men who break their vow, and men who should -never have entered the priesthood, 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 vow, and who, by avoidance of temptation, by -direction of the mind to intellectual pursuits and devotion to great -humanitarian objects, pass long lives in health and vigour. The effect -on the world of enforced celibacy is, of course, disastrous; but -the power that has been gained by the institution of the priesthood -is indubitable, and the one object here insisted on--viz., the -compatibility of physical health with the observance of chastity--is -proved by it on a large scale. - -The Shaker communities of New Lebanon and other settlements contain -a large number of middle-aged as well as elderly men, who live an -absolutely celibate life and enjoy excellent health.[37] The same is -true of Moravians, etc. - -The possibility of controlling this great human instinct is further -shown by the experience of women. 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 life, -frequently in spite of physical instincts as strong as those of men, -and always in spite of mental instincts still more powerful. 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 ‘strength’ its -true signification--the signification of mental as well as physical -phenomena in proportion to the powers of the individual. The demands -of women are greater than those of men; they desire more and more -the thought and devotion of those they love. They often display a -persistent fidelity, terrible in its earnestness, when they have had -the misfortune to become attached to an unworthy object. The weak -virtue of the mass of women, exposed to constant temptation, indicates -the insatiable craving of the woman’s heart for love. It is never -at rest; it always needs its objects, and when these affections are -degraded from their high purpose and defrauded of their legitimate -objects, they become the greatest obstacle to human progress. No -solution of the difficult problem of sexual relationships is possible, -until the complete parallelism (not identity) of the sexual nature in -the two sexes is recognised, and the significance of woman’s mental -necessities understood. Women themselves must learn the meaning of -the high nature that God has given them, 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 love. That large -numbers of women, so richly endowed with the high principle of sex, -retain their health whilst leading celibate lives, is one more proof -of that adaptation of this principle to the higher character of our -nature, which transforms a simple brute instinct into a grand human -force. - -The foregoing facts distinctly prove that the exercise of the sexual -powers is not indispensable to the health of human beings; that men of -all ages can live in full vigorous health without such exercise; and -that to the young it is an immense physical advantage that they should -so live. This is the important principle to be first established. -The subjects of temptation, of customs, of artificial wants, etc., -are other questions, to be considered by themselves. Thought will -be inevitably confused, and the important practical arrangements -of the future hopelessly perplexed, if all sorts of questions are -jumbled together; if practical difficulties, social phases, temporary -phenomena, are allowed to obscure or completely hide the great guide -of humanity--Eternal Truth. A principle clearly established is that -portion of truth needed for present guidance. It must be thoroughly -understood and resolutely held to, as the only clue which can guide us -slowly through the dark labyrinth of error, vice, and misery. Such a -guiding principle is found in the essential nature of the human sexual -faculty--its distinctive power of self-control. The more this principle -is considered, understood, and valued, the more it will be found that -it contains the power of purifying society, enlightening legislation, -and raising our status as a nation. - -The aim, therefore, of all wise parents should be to secure those -influences which will preserve the purity of their sons until the age -of twenty-five, when marriage, as a rule, should be made possible -and encouraged. This is the wise practice, derived from experience, -applicable to all nations living in temperate climes. Earlier marriage -may sometimes be wise, but it is not the broad rule. That the -individual may remain in health until a later period and throughout -life has been proved, but it is a national loss that the best years of -vigorous manhood should not stamp themselves upon the future generation. - -The unmarried life after thirty years of age is often injured in mind -or body. The exceptions arising from character or occupation, from -religious enthusiasm or devotion to some great work, do not refute -the general statement. It must necessarily be so. As sex is a natural -and most powerful human force, there is risk of injury in permanently -stifling it. Marriage being its true method of expression and -education, the character is injured through want of this development. -It is only through honourable marriage that the beneficial growth of -manly character of mind and body can be attained. The illegitimate -exercise of the sexual powers is a source of direful social and -national evil, and requires those strong restraints of both law and -custom which help to educate a nation. No fear that some individuals, -unable to marry, may suffer in their private lives, can for one moment -justify the establishment of practices or the sanctioning of customs -which are destructive to the general welfare. Far more evil, mental and -physical, arises to the race from the effects of licentiousness than -from any effects of abstinence. - - - - - 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 exposed: What practical -steps can be taken to secure the truer standard of morality which -will remodel the education of youth? This weighty question can only -gradually receive a complete answer, as the intelligence of our age -awakens to the fact that the attainment of true sexual morality is -the fundamental principle of national growth. The first indispensable -basis of all efforts for practical reform is the acceptance of a true -principle of action. The great guiding principle now laid down is this: -that Vice--that is, the illegitimate exercise of the sexual faculty, -regardless of religious conscience and the welfare of others--is not -essential to the constitution of the human being, but is the result -of removable conditions. The importance of this truth is immense. Its -acceptance or denial produces two diametrically opposite courses of -action--action in education, in society, and in legislation. It is -one of those abstract truths which are stronger than all facts, being -eternal instead of temporary, moulding practical action instead of -depending on it. The belief or denial of this truth may express itself -in varying forms, according to the age or country, according to the -more or less logical workings of a nation’s mind; but whether clearly -recognised in all its bearings, or blindly acted on in a confused and -near-sighted way, the results will always follow in the same direction. -The acceptance of this truth will always tend to diminish and gradually -destroy evil; its denial must inevitably intensify and extend evil. - -It is the essential nature of truth or falsehood to express itself -in practical action. This tendency is overlooked by the majority of -human beings engaged in the eager pursuits of daily life, in business, -in household duties, in amusements, and the logical results of false -theories are, in practical life, often modified by the happy instincts -which blindly turn aside the inevitable tendencies of logical error; -but the truth or falsehood always remains as a great permanent force -at work from age to age. In considering the means of attaining to a -truer practice of morality, therefore, the spread of truth is a first -indispensable necessity and condition of future improvement. The great -truth to be recognised is the fact that male as well as female purity -is a necessary foundation of progressive human society. This important -subject must no longer be ignored. The time has come for its acceptance -by all experienced men and women. The necessity of upholding one -moral standard as the aim to be striven for, must become a fundamental -article of religious faith. Above all, Parents must realize the -tremendous responsibility which rests upon them to provide for the -healthy growth of the principles of sex in their children. - -It will be seen, the more closely this subject is investigated, that -the thought and action of women as well as men, is indispensable to -social regeneration. On women of all classes rests a full measure of -responsibility for the present evil condition of sexual relations. No -class can throw off this responsibility. Women are equally responsible -with men for the deep corruptions of society. This is pre-eminently -a parents’ question, affecting the vital interests of the family and -the future of children in every relation of life; woman, from her -central position in the family as wife and mother, must know how to -use her immense influence wisely. To be wise, knowledge of truth is -essential, and the adult woman, the centre of home influence, must -acquire correct knowledge on every subject that concerns family life. -The nature and requirements of men and women is a subject on which a -woman needs correct knowledge, not only as a guide to the education of -the young child, but as a guide in the various duties of life. A woman -is mother always, not only of the infant, but of the growing and grown -man. A mother who has been able to secure the friendship of her son as -well as her daughter, can exercise a beneficial influence from youth -onwards which will be recognised with ceaseless gratitude in later -life.[38] The higher influence which women are intended to infuse into -sex makes the subject a holy one to the wise mother. She can approach -it in moments of sacred confidence with her children with a delicacy -and tender earnestness that wounds no natural reserve, but excites a -grateful reverence in the youth’s mind. The first falsehood, therefore, -that must disappear is the belief that the higher classes of women--the -cultivated, the refined, the virtuous--have nothing to do with sexual -vice; that they must remain ignorant of facts, and see nothing but what -it is pleasant to see. It is on this class of women, perhaps, more than -on any other one class of society that its future welfare depends.[39] -They are capable of broad views of truth, of insight, of ceaseless -devotion to the highest welfare of the race, to God, when once they -have learned to know what truth is; when they have realized the -actual facts of every-day life and observed the effects of prevalent -customs upon women as well as upon men. The task of regenerating -society by securing the healthy growth of the faculty of sex in their -children being, therefore, laid upon both parents, the indispensable -co-operation of the mother in this work is seen more clearly, as the -causes of sexual precocity and the triumph of the material nature over -love are studied more deeply. - -The fact being established that the human being is not designed by -Providence to be the slave of passion, 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 time, the dangerous -peculiarity of the present age being that customs and habits, formerly -blindly followed, are now defended or legalized? - -We shall find, on considering the influence at work on the human being -from childhood upward (laying aside for the moment the question of -heredity), obvious sources of corruption that help us to the solution -of this difficult problem. ‘The temptations of life’ to which our youth -succumb are no fixed things essential to human nature. They vary in -every age and country. They are changeable facts, removable evils, -perversions of natural tastes. The human race can grow out of license -into order, out of prostitution into marriage, out of lust into love, -as certainly as typhoid fever can be exterminated by pure water and -pure air. It is from childhood that the strong man is moulded gradually -into the hero--or the criminal. If the superior standard of morality -which is still to be found amongst us, be compared with the customs -widely diffused in many other countries, it will be seen how variable -the standard of morality is, and how dependent it is on social -circumstance--_i.e._, on removable conditions.[40] These corrupting -circumstances of life surround the individual at every stage of growth -from youth onwards. They are found in early habits and influences; -in mischievous school companions and studies; in vile literature, -books, advertisements, pictures; in indecent theatre, ballet, public -amusements; in opportunity and temptation; in drink and dissipated -companions; in perverted social sentiment, false medical advice, -delayed or unhappy marriage--these are the snares which meet the human -being, and which may gradually pervert the nature. Now, there is not -one of these facts that is an essential part of human nature. There is -not one that cannot be changed to good. Each one of the evils above -named is an evil to be attacked and vanquished, and the wise method of -doing this, is a distinct command and work of practical religion. - -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--viz., observation of the child -during infancy, acquirement of the child’s confidence, selection of -young companions, care in the choice of a school and of studies which -will not injure the mind, the formation of tastes, outdoor exercise, -companionship of brothers and sisters, the choice of physician, social -intercourse, and amusements. These various points require careful -consideration. - -The earliest duty of the parent is to watch over the infant child. Few -parents are aware how very early evil habits may be formed, nor how -injurious the influence of the nurse often is to the child.[41] The -mother’s eye, full of tenderness and respect, must always watch over -her children. Self-respect cannot be too early inculcated. The keynote -of moral education is respect for the human body. The mother should -caution the child plainly not to touch or meddle with himself more than -is necessary; that his body is a wonderful and sacred thing, intended -for important and noble ends; that it must not be played or trifled -with, or in any way injured. Every thoughtless breach of delicacy -should be checked with a gentle gravity which will not repel or abash, -but impress the child. - -This watchfulness over the young child, by day and night, is the first -duty to be universally inculcated. Two things are necessary in order to -fulfil it--viz., a clear knowledge of the evils to which the child may -be exposed, and tact to interpret the faintest indication of danger and -to guard from it without allowing the child to be aware of the danger. -Evils should never be presented to the young child’s mind. Habits must -be formed from earliest infancy, but reasons for those habits should -only be given much later. It is the parent’s intelligence which must -act for the child during very early life. This unavoidable necessity -is, at the same time, a cause of frequent failure in education, for -the reason that parents, through ignorance or egotism, fail to see -that they must study the nature of the child. The strong adult too -often fails in insight, and imposes its own methods and conclusions -upon a nature not susceptible of those methods and often not adapted -to those conclusions. This is really spiritual tyranny, and destroys -the providential relation which should exist between child and adult. -The parent should become the first and truest friend of the child. This -possibility and duty is a great parents’ privilege, too often unknown, -and yet it affects the whole future of the child. It is through the -love and confidence that exist between them that durable influence is -exerted. If the child naturally confides its little joys and sorrows to -the ever-ready and intelligent sympathy of the mother, if it grows up -in the habit of turning to this warm and helpful influence, the youth -will come as naturally with his experiences and plans to the parent as -did the little child; the evils of life, which must be gradually known, -will then be encountered with the aid of experience. The form of the -relation between parent and child changes, not its essence. The essence -of the relationship is trust: the fact that the parent’s presence will -always be welcomed by the child; that in work or in play, in infancy or -youth, the parent shall be the first natural friend. It is only then -that wise, permanent influence can be exerted. It is not dogmatism, nor -rigid laws, nor formal instruction, that is needed, but the formative -power of loving insight and sympathy. It is only when this providential -relation exists that the parent can understand the life of the child -and exercise influence without harshness. With every step in life the -child’s horizon enlarges, and opportunities of good or temptations to -evil increase. The experiences of school-life, the companions selected, -the studies pursued, and the books read, introduce the child into the -wide world of practical life in miniature. All the circumstances of -school-life are of serious importance--an importance not sufficiently -realized in their bearing upon character, and in the responsibility -which rests with parents themselves, to mould those circumstances. The -child’s entrance upon school-life is his first plunge into the great -world beyond the family circle, his first serious contact with new -thoughts, customs, and standards--with a new code of morality; not the -formal morality of his professors, but the confused practical morality -of his school companions. Here he may meet with every kind of evil, of -which he had previously no conception, carried on in a crude, practical -form by those whom he naturally looks up to--his elder companions, who -are perhaps rich and clever, and whom he regards as ‘men.’ How is the -child strengthened to meet this grand new life, as it seems to him, -which entrances him with its novelty, its variety, and its vigour, and -which very often produces a feeling of kindly contempt for the narrow -home life? - -Full confidence between parent and child is necessary in order that -all the child is learning may be known. This school world, unlike -the larger world, is directly under the possibility of parental -control. What parents, as a body, require, the teacher will endeavour -to provide. The material arrangements and regulations, as well as -the moral tone of any school to which a child is sent, must be -considered. It being remembered that the great vices of self-abuse and -fornication are the curse of our schools and colleges, 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 -thieving. School and college sentiment should be trained to regard them -as equally dishonourable and unmanly. They must be overcome chiefly -by moral means in connection with hygienic arrangements. The views -of the principal on the subject of sexual training, the character -of assistant-teachers, the water-closet and sleeping arrangements, -the amount of outdoor exercise secured, should all be studied by the -conscientious parent. - -Some direct hygienic instruction and warning, suited to the age of -the child, should be given. It is a false and cruel delicacy which -ignores the great danger of schools, and sends an innocent child -utterly unprepared into a school society where corruption exists. ‘I -believe,’ writes an experienced teacher of lads, ‘that ninety-nine -hundredths of the immorality that prevails amongst young men originates -primarily in ignorance and perverted curiosity.’ He therefore lays -down the following practical rules for the hygienic instruction which -he deems indispensable: First, that the physiology of sex should be -carefully subordinated to general physiology and hygiene, and that it -should always be treated comparatively. Secondly, that all instruction -and examination should be oral and in class, no text-books being given -to the pupils, the utmost simplicity and plainness of speech being -employed, and only outline diagrams used as pictorial illustrations.[42] - -The rational view of education--viz., the formation of character and -the establishment of well-balanced health, as fundamental objects to -which other things should be added--require such a revision of our -school system as will secure correct physical habits, and, above all, -mental purity. This sound basis of education must be insured in all -places where children congregate together. Careful arrangements to -promote these ends are equally necessary in boys’ and girls’ schools. -They promote alike true manliness and true womanliness. - -The nature of the studies given to the young and the way in which -classical literature is taught require to be considered by parents. The -corrupt literature of antiquity tends to corrupt the youthful mind -as unavoidably as licentious modern literature. Its bearing on the -healthy growth of youth must be considered. The advantages of classical -education should be secured without employing works whose tendency -is to degrade the young mind. The contrary opinion is the prejudice -of custom. Our Catholic brethren have fully recognised the suicidal -policy of imbuing unformed minds with licentious literature, and the -Church has held more than one General Conference on the subject. No one -can doubt the excellence of their scholarship, and it is much to be -desired that a careful study of their methods in this respect should be -required from all instructors of youth. The impulse to such a change -should come from parents. - -The dangers arising from vicious literature of any kind cannot be -overestimated by parents. Whether sensuality be taught by police -reports, or by Greek and Latin literature, by novels, plays, songs, -penny papers, or any species of the corrupt literature now sent forth -broadcast, and which finds its way into the hands of the young of all -classes and both sexes, the danger is equally real. It is storing the -susceptible mind of youth with words, images, and suggestions of vice -which remain permanently in the mind, springing up day and night in -unguarded moments, weakening the power of resistance, and accustoming -the thoughts to an atmosphere of vice. No amount of simple caution -given by parents or instructors suffices to guard the young mind from -the influence of evil literature. It must be remembered that hatred of -evil will never be learned by intellectual warning. 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 mind. Physiological inquiry is constantly throwing -more light upon our mental as well as physical organization. We learn -that nutritive changes take place in the human brain by the effect of -objects which produce ideas; that permanent traces of these changes -continue through life, so that states or changes connected with -certain ideas remain stored up in the brain, capable of recall, or -presenting themselves in the most unexpected way. We see the importance -of the last impressions made on the brain at night, indicating the -activity and fixity of the cerebral changes of nutrition during the -quiescence of sleep. All that we observe of these processes shows us -that different physical changes are produced in the brain by different -classes of ideas, and that the moral sense itself may be affected by -the constant exercise of the brain in one direction or another, so that -the actual individual standard of what is right or what is wrong will -be quite changed, according to whether low or high ideas have been -constantly recorded in the retentive substance of the brain. - -These important facts have a wide and constant bearing on education, -showing the really poisonous character of all licentious literature, -whether ancient or modern, and its destructive effect on the quality -of the brain. It is necessary, therefore, to prepare the young -mind to shrink repelled from the debasing literature with which -society is flooded, and which is one of the greatest dangers to be -encountered. The great help towards this object is the cultivation of -strong intellectual and moral tastes in children, the preoccupation -of the mind with what is good. Truth should be in the field before -falsehood. All children and youth are fascinated by narratives of -adventure, endurance, heroism, and noble deeds. The home library -should be selected in order to brace the mind and character, and -enlist the interest of the child or youth in what is manly and true. -Every child also has some special taste or tendency which can be -found out, if carefully looked for. It may be for art, for science, -for construction, for investigation, adventure, or beneficence; -but whatever it be, it may be made the means of intellectual and -moral growth. The special youthful tendency is of extreme value, as -indicating the direction in which a taste, even if slightly marked, -may be cultivated into a serious interest and become a powerful help -in the formation of character. The study of natural science and of all -pursuits which develop a love and observation of Nature are of great -value in education. Such pursuits have the additional advantage of -promoting life in the open air. The weighty testimony in favour of the -beneficial influence of outdoor exercises and amusements has already -been noted. 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 healthy, well-balanced growth of -the frame, and for preventing the premature development of the sexual -faculty. It is a subject worthy of the especial study of parents in -relation to the education of both sexes. Abundant exercise in the fresh -air, with total abstinence from alcoholic drink, may be considered the -two great physical aids to morality in youth. - -The companions chosen by the child at school or the youth at college -are of extreme importance to the growth of character, and the exercise -of influence over this choice, without interfering with the freedom of -the child, is one of the greatest aids that a parent can render it. -The intimacy between those who are entering upon life together, and -who have the same future before them, must necessarily increase and -become a great fact in the young life; but it is essential that the -parent should know who these companions are, and the character of the -influence that will be exerted. If the parent be the friend of his -child, he can also be the friend of his friend. Tact and sympathy are -of the utmost value in welcoming and attracting the youthful friends, -and the wise parental care thus exercised towards offspring, extends -necessarily beyond the individual home. - -The attention of the parent must always be ready to observe the signs -of growing sex in sons as well as daughters. Numberless indications, -which none but the mother can note, warn her of that approaching -crisis of early manhood, now so fatal to our youth. No wise mother -observes this change without a deepening of respect and tenderness, -and of infinite maternal yearning to strengthen, guide, and ennoble -her man-child. 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--viz., the choice of his physician. The -importance of this choice cannot be over-estimated by the parent. The -young are easily alarmed about their health; they are at the same time -utterly unable to judge of their own condition; they have no knowledge -to guide them, no experience by which to measure their symptoms. -They place absolute confidence in their medical adviser; his opinion -and advice outweigh all other considerations and supersede all other -counsel. The parent must therefore realize that when a physician is -selected for the growing lad, an authority is placed over him which -may become stronger than the parental influence, and be henceforth the -most powerful support or antagonist in the moral as well as physical -guidance of the son. - -If medical science were a positive science, as is mathematics, and -its professors able to apply its principles to daily life with the -certainty of geometrical propositions, it would be folly to do -otherwise than accept any medical opinion of established authority with -entire confidence. This, however, is not the case, and the members of -the medical profession would themselves be the last persons to lay -claim to the possession of absolute truth. As centuries roll on, one -medical school of opinion succeeds another, and theory after theory -is exploded by accumulating facts. It is therefore no new thing and -no subject of reproach to the self-sacrificing members of a noble -profession, that different opinions should exist amongst them, in -relation to subjects which affect that complex problem--human life. -Indeed, it would be an exception to a general rule did not such -difference exist. But we are now considering a subject so fundamental -in human welfare, so much wider than any class interest, that any -variety of opinion respecting it, is of vital importance to be noted, -and must be recognised by all intelligent persons. It must therefore be -thoroughly understood by all parents that there are now two distinct -classes of medical opinion existing amongst physicians. Each class -embraces men of high medical repute, but men who hold diametrically -opposite views in relation to the guidance of the sexual powers, the -one class considering Virtue, the other Vice, a necessity. Each class -of physicians is honest in opinion, clear-sighted, wishing well to -society; but the one class is far-sighted, the other near-sighted; the -one knows the omnipotence of Good, the other sees the triumph of Evil. -This diversity of opinion cannot remain as an abstract proposition, -but, like all opinion, it expresses itself in action. In medical advice -given to a youth, 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 wrong. One path leads to self-control, -enlarged mental and physical hygiene, chastity; the other to doubt, -yielding, fornication. - -At this period of life, no uncertain advice should be given by the -physician. Support and guidance are required from him, and his counsel -must be strong, positive, and clear. The patient must be taught that -chastity, properly understood, is health. He must learn that the -indications of sex in early manhood are a notice that the new faculties -must be restrained--not exercised; that they give a warning to guard -against self-abuse and abuse of the other sex; that the great danger -to be dreaded is stimulation; that everything that can excite, whether -external or internal, must be studiously avoided. The vital fact must -be announced and powerfully brought home to him--that if he will keep -the mind pure, Nature will keep the body healthy. This mental strength -is his one great concern, to be secured in every possible way. There -must be no doubt in medical advice; it must ring like the words of -true science spoken by our distinguished surgeon to his students:[43] -‘Many of your patients will ask you about sexual intercourse, and -some will expect you to prescribe fornication. I would just as soon -prescribe theft or lying or anything else that God has forbidden.... -Chastity does no harm to mind or body; its discipline is excellent; -marriage can be safely waited for, and among the many nervous and -hypochondriacal patients who have talked to me about fornication, I -have never heard one say that he was better or happier for it.’[44] 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 pages. No lesser consideration, no false -feeling of reserve, should ever prevent the parent from knowing to -which class of physicians the medical guidance of his son be intrusted. - -An invaluable provision for the education of the principle of -sex, exists in the companionship of brothers and sisters. This -companionship, established by Nature, should be carefully promoted, -not thwarted. It is one of those provisions which make family life -the type of wider relationships, the true germ of society from which -national purity and strength should grow. Indeed, the more we study -the capabilities of the family in each of its varied aspects, the -more potent we perceive its influence to be, the greater the national -importance of maintaining the family in its proper power and dignity. -This natural grouping of boys and girls is Nature’s indication of the -right method of education, and the time will undoubtedly come when the -present monastic system of general education may be given up without -incurring grave disadvantages. 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 experience. Isolation, -mystery, obstacles, produce craving curiosity, excitement--in fact, -morbid stimulus--instead of matter-of-fact acquaintance and natural -familiarity. Two opposite extremes tend to produce the precocity and -morbid condition of sentiment which now prevail--viz., either throwing -youth into the companionship of the vicious or rigidly separating -the sexes. Each extreme is against Nature, each is injurious to the -individual. The former practice is based upon the theory that sex is -an uncontrollable instinct which must run riot. The latter practice -proceeds from the theory that sex is a great evil, a temptation of -the devil, and as far as possible to be destroyed. The true principle, -however, consists in a recognition of the nobility of sex, and the -necessity--1st, of its slow development; 2nd, of its honourable -satisfaction. - -Now, in the young and growing nature, sex may be richly satisfied by -spiritual refreshment and refined companionship. Conjugal relations -are not necessary to the very young in attaining true delight in -sex. On the contrary, false relations are an outrage. They violently -destroy the gradual unfolding of mental and physical joys, which alone -produces exquisite and lasting delight. A large amount of honourable -companionship between young men and women is of the utmost advantage in -strengthening and ennobling young manhood and womanhood. This valuable -result is only possible, however, as springing from the practice of -chastity; in connection with fornication it is impossible. Parents -are now justly afraid of the influences that may be brought to bear -on their children. Nevertheless, abundant honourable companionship -between the sexes is an important principle of future reform. Provide -the necessary condition of adult sympathy and influence, and the wider -the range of acquaintance can be made between boys and girls, between -uncorrupted young men and women, the better, the more valuable, will -be the results of such acquaintance. 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 society. Any society where it is considered necessary to keep -young people rigidly apart is a corrupt society, based upon principles -of national degeneracy instead of natural development. - -The companionship of brothers and sisters is now early falsified by the -failure of parents to perceive its inestimable value, by separation -in studies and amusements, by false theories or corrupt habits, -through the influence of which the tie is weakened or perverted. The -friendship and affection, however, of these natural associates should -be sedulously promoted by companionship in studies, in music, in -outdoor pursuits and amusements. Into a family circle where brothers -and sisters were friends and companions, other boys and girls, other -young men and women, would naturally enter, the ennobling educational -influence would extend indefinitely, and those genuine sympathies which -should lead to marriage union, would gradually display themselves. - -There is peculiar value in the influence of sisters. It is a special -mission of young women to make virtue lovely. As the mother realizes -all that such a high calling implies, as she fully understands the -meaning of Virtue--as distinguished from Innocence--and the methods -of clothing it in loveliness, the more she will perceive the noble -character of a daughter’s influence and its vital importance. In this -aspect small things become great through their uses. The principles of -dress become worthy of study; health, grace, liveliness and serenity, -sympathy, intelligence, conversational ability, accomplishments, -receive a new meaning--a consecration to the welfare of the human race. -To make brothers love virtue, to make all men love purity, through -its incarnation in virtuous daughters, is a grand work to accomplish! -The failure of young women in any country, to embody the beauty and -strength of virtue is one of the most serious evils that can befall a -State. The necessity of cultivating mental purity and respect for the -principle of sex exists as strongly in relation to girls as to boys, -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 companions. - -The family home, carrying on its proper work, is no narrow circle of -selfish exclusiveness, but a living centre, attracting to itself and -widely radiating healthy social life. The moral influence of parents, -and particularly of the mother, as the centre of the household, extends -itself in two opposite directions--viz., in intercourse with the poorer -classes, through servants, tradespeople, benevolence, etc.; with the -richer, through social intercourse with equals. In both directions, her -influence will exert a direct bearing upon the moral education of the -young. The first and most important connection with the poorer classes -is through domestic servants. It is essential, from the outset of -family life, to select servants who will not injure the atmosphere of -home. The difficulty of doing this should be a warning voice to every -parent, and compel a careful search into the cause of this great and -growing difficulty. What does it mean--a widespread corruption through -the foundation of society, through the ranks of working women, so that -virtue, truth, fidelity, are hard to find? If so, what are the causes, -and what will be the influence exerted on the children of the family, -both at home and when they go out into the world, and are thrown into -unavoidable intercourse with this class of women? The more carefully -this problem is considered, the more intimate will the relations of -rich and poor be seen to be, the more vital their relations in respect -to the great question of morality, the more imperative the duty of -every mother to take a personal interest in her servants, to exert an -ennobling influence upon them, and to consider the children of her -poorer neighbours as well as her own, if only for the sake of her -own children. The family is a centre of affection, and every servant -should share in this life. It is wrong to retain a young servant -in a household without entering into her joys and sorrows, being -acquainted with her family and friends, providing her with honourable -amusements, and helping her to grow. In connection with this branch of -our subject there are two important principles that should be acted -on by intelligent women. The first is the necessity of educating the -sentiment of sex in girls into a self-controlling force, conscious of -the weighty responsibility which its great influence involves. The -second principle is the resolute abolition of an outcast class of -women. Christian civilization can acknowledge no pariah class, but -only erring individuals of either sex to be helped to a nobler life. - -Equally important is the influence exerted by parents as members of -society on their own class, thus helping to form public opinion, -which is the foundation of law as well as custom. The moral tone of -general society at present is a source of great injury to the young. -The wilful ignoring of right and wrong in sex; the theory that it is a -subject not to be considered; the custom of allowing riches, talents, -agreeable manners, to atone for any amount of moral corruption; the -arrangement of marriage on a commercial basis, material, not spiritual, -considerations being of chief importance; 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 -atmosphere, equally injurious to the moral health of men and women. The -purest family influence contends with difficulty against this general -corruption. After the period of childhood, society becomes a powerful -educator of young men and women. The seductions exercised by women and -by men bear upon our youth of both sexes in various ways, under widely -different aspects, but always with the same degrading tendencies, -with the same unequal contest between inexperienced innocence and -practised vice. Seeing how the highest aims of parental education -are constantly shipwrecked by the influence of society, it becomes a -necessity on the part of parents to change the tone of society. In -this great work women quite as much as men must think and act. Two -fundamental principles must be steadily held in view in this great aim: -First, the discouragement of licentiousness; second, the promotion of -early marriage. The methods of discouraging licentiousness in society -require the gravest consideration of all parents, and emphatically of -all married women. It is a subject so delicate, and yet so vital, that -it must be treated with equal care and firmness, and the problem can -only be solved by combined action. To admit men or women of licentious -lives or impure inclinations to the home circle, or to receive them -with welcome honour or cordiality in society, is a direct encouragement -to vice and an equal discouragement to virtue.[45] Confirmed Vice -must not be brought into intimate relations with young Virtue. It is -a crime, a stupidity, to do so. On the other hand, no inquisitorial -investigation of private life is desirable or permissible. A great duty -also exists towards the erring and the vicious, towards all those who -have oftentimes fallen into vice rather than voluntarily chosen it, who -are the victims of circumstances, of gradual unforeseen deterioration. -These fellow-beings demand the tenderest pity, the strongest sympathy, -the wisest help. Clever or frivolous, unstable or hardened, charming -or repellent, they are still precious human creatures, and the insight -of large sympathy--that most powerful influence which Providence has -intrusted to us--should be extended to all; but such sympathy can only -be exerted by the experienced, the strong, and the right way of doing -this must be sought for. One duty is perfectly clear: No persons of -acknowledged licentious life should be admitted to the intimacy of -home; no such persons should be welcomed with honour in society, no -matter what lower material or intellectual advantages may be possessed. -Their acquaintance is even more to be dreaded for sons than for -daughters. The corrupt conversation so general amongst immoral men is a -source of great evil to the young. As the perusal of licentious books -marks the first step in mental degradation, vicious talk is often the -second decided advance downward. - -The moral meanness of enslavement to passion, of selfish disregard -to one’s weaker fellow-creatures exhibited by the profligate, should -always be recognised by the parent. Consent should never be given to -the union of an innocent child with a profligate. This plain dictate -of parental love, this evident duty of the experienced and virtuous to -the young and innocent, is strangely disregarded. Material advantages -in such cases are allowed to outweigh all other considerations. -Parents fail to recognise that the only source of permanent happiness -must arise from within, from spiritual qualifications; they fail to -recognise the inevitable effect of a corrupt nature upon a fresh young -creature linked to it in the closest companionship. Thus, in the -most solemn crisis of human life, the parent may betray the child. -It is not only the individual child that is betrayed, but the rising -generation also. On a previous page, the numerous external corrupting -circumstances have been mentioned which gradually degrade the -individual, but the subject of inherited qualities, of the inherited -tendency to sensuality, was not then dwelt upon. The transmission of -this tendency in a race is, however, a weighty fact, which must be -distinctly noted in this connection. Change in the tendencies of a race -can only be slowly wrought out in the course of generations. A most -important step in this direction is the union of virtuous daughters -with men of upright--or in the present day, it may be said, of -heroic--moral life. The effect upon offspring produced by the noble and -intense love of one man for one woman, with resulting circumstances, -would in the course of generations produce an hereditary tendency to -virtue instead of to sensuality. 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 society. Honour to -virtue, expressed in this sacred and at the same time most practical -manner, would be an encouragement, a reward, an incitement to all that -is noblest in human nature; it would be a standard to guide youth, a -real disinfectant of corrupt society. - -The second principle to be kept steadily in view is the encouragement -of early marriage. A statesman, writing a generation ago on the causes -in the past, which have contributed to the prosperity of England, -says: ‘The lower and working classes are an early and universally -marrying people; this sacred habit is one which, while it has secured -the virtue and promoted the happiness of the country, has multiplied -its means and extended its power, and constituted Britain the most -powerful and prosperous Empire of the world.’[46] A quaint old writer -has said: ‘The forbidding to marry is the doctrine of devils.’ The -universal testimony of experience may be summed up in the words of -Montesquieu: ‘Who can be silent when the sexes, corrupting each other -even by the natural sensations themselves, fly from a union that ought -to make them better, to live in that that always renders them worse? -It is a rule drawn from nature, that the more the number of marriages -is diminished, the more corrupt are those who have entered into that -state; the fewer married men, the less fidelity is there in marriage.’ -All short-sighted Governments that impose unnatural restrictions upon -marriage are compelled, by the increase of bastardy and its attendant -evils, to repeal such restrictions. Grohman, speaking of the causes of -the present immorality of the Tyrolese, says: ‘Very lately only has the -Austrian Government annulled the law which compelled a man desirous -of marriage to prove a certain income, and, further, to be the owner -of a house or homestead of some kind, before the license was granted. -Next in importance is the lax way in which the Church deals with -licentious misconduct, it being in her eyes a minor iniquity expiated -by confession.’ 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 -race. - -Early marriage, however, without previous habits of self-control, -is unavailing to raise the tone of society. Marriage is no cure -for diseased sex, and early licentiousness is really (as has been -shown) disease. In those parts of the Continent where the lowest -sexual morality exists, marriage is regarded as the opportunity for -constant and unlimited license. The young man, therefore, is not -allowed to marry (by the law of social custom) until he is over thirty -years of age. If his health has been impaired by licentiousness, he -is enjoined to resort less frequently to prostitutes, or to take a -mistress; but marriage is positively forbidden by his medical advisers -and discouraged by his relations. By the age of thirty his health -is either completely broken down, and marriage, therefore, out of -the question, or, having passed the most dangerous age of passion -without breaking down, it is judged that his physical health will -hold out under the opportunities of married life. The result of this -system is inevitable. Marriage, being regarded as the legalization -of uncontrolled passion, is so exercised until satiety ensues. -Satiety is the inevitable boundary of all simply material enjoyments. -Self-control being entirely wanting, the spiritual possibilities of -marriage are unknown; social duty in respect to sex is a vague dream, -not a reality. Physical satiety can only be met by variety; hence -universal infidelity--destruction of the highest ends of marriage, the -dethronement of the mother, the deterioration of the father, and the -failure of the family influence as the first element in the growth of -the nation. - -The same important truth is exemplified in the social condition of -our great Indian Empire. There the custom of early, even infantine, -marriage co-exists with a licentiousness truly appalling in its -strength and character.[47] Lads of sixteen, thoroughly corrupted in -childhood, become the fathers of a degenerate race, the girl-mothers -being the hopeless slaves of simple physical instincts. Early marriage -is the safeguard of society only when the self-control of chastity -exists, a self-government which is essential to the formation of manly -character as well as conducive to vigorous health. With the acceptance -of this essential condition, the aim of all wise parents will be to -secure for their children the great blessing of early marriage, to -provide for them opportunities of choice, 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 life. - -This proposition is always met by a host of social difficulties which -perplex the inquirer, and finally quiet the conscience of society into -a passive acquiescence in evil customs. These difficulties, however, -must be met and overcome. It is cowardly not to face them, and weak not -to vanquish them. Wise early marriage is the natural and true way out -of disorder and license into the providential order of human existence. -The first condition of improvement is to accept this plan as a living -faith, not an abstract ideal; to consider how difficulties can be -removed, not be cowed by them; and to study the possibilities, not the -impossibilities. It leads to diametrically opposite practical action, -whether we dwell upon the advantages of a certain course of life and -strive in every way to attain it, or whether we lose ourselves in -doubts and discouragements. ‘Put your shoulder to the wheel, and call -upon Hercules to help,’ is the only true plan now, as in the days of -Æsop. It is a matter of every-day experience that if we resolutely -determine to do a thing, and steadily apply the common-sense and -intelligence (the germs of which exist in every human being) to its -accomplishment, success will follow. - -The difficulties urged are the foolishness of first love; the -impossibility of providing for a family; the craving for wild -adventure, excitement, change. These are the spectres which bar the -entrance to the right way of life. But such arguments are all false. -They are founded on the sandy basis of removable conditions--on -false methods of education, narrow family exclusiveness, on lack -of self-control, vicious customs, and perverted tastes. All sound -argument, based on the permanent facts of human nature, enjoins us to -provide for early marriage as the basis of social good. The young man -accustomed from boyhood to mix freely with young women under honourable -conditions, is no longer bewildered by the first woman he meets, whilst -the free, friendly companionship, secured by the family circle with its -wide connections, has supplied a want that his growing nature craves; -his taste and judgment have grown and strengthened, and he is no longer -the victim of baseless fantasies. Accustomed to free association with -young women of his own class, he is able at an early age to know his -own mind and make a wise selection of his future partner. To the young -woman an early marriage is the natural course of life; to this end she -tends, and, consciously or unconsciously, prepares herself to secure it -according to the requirements of society. Her unperverted taste is for -the young man a little older than herself--a companion she can admire, -respect, and, love--but still a companion, not a father. If taught -by the silent though still powerful voice of society that harmony of -character, of aims, of temperament--_i.e._, mental attraction--is the -indispensable foundation of great and lasting happiness in marriage; -that material advantages are secondary to this unspeakable blessing; -that thrift, knowledge of household economy, power of creating an -attractive home, are essential to the attainment of this great good, -then her instincts, by an inevitable law of nature, will tend to the -acquirement of these qualifications. If, on the contrary, she feels, -through the influence of society (still unexpressed), that physical -effects are the things chiefly sought for, that physical charm or -the power exercised by corporeal sex is the chief or only possession -that draws attention to her, then, by the same inevitable law, she -will strive to exercise this physical power, and the means of doing -so will become the all-absorbing occupation of an ever-increasing -number of young women. As already stated, 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 deficiency. The craving -for riches and luxury, the ignorance of economy, so often urged as an -obstacle to marriage, are the inevitable results of licentiousness, -which strengthens and cultivates exclusively material desires and -necessities. Children should look forward to beginning life as simply -as their parents began it, but with the added advantages of education. -It is a totally false principle that they should expect to begin where -their parents left off. Filial honour for their parents’ lives and -inherited vigour would alike lead them to commence life with extreme -simplicity. 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 luxury. -They would thus, whilst beginning life as did their parents, begin -it, nevertheless, from a vantage-ground, the result of their parents’ -labours. Each generation would thus make a solid gain in life instead -of encountering the destructive results which always attend the strife -for material luxury. - -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 physiology, which is needed to reconcile marriage -with foresight--whose discussion would be out of place in the present -essay. But that the topic must be thoroughly and wisely considered by -parents resolved to aid one another in securing this inevitable reform, -is certain. The increasing tendency to delay marriage is so serious -an evil, that methods for checking this tendency must be found if our -worth as a nation is to continue. The early and solemn betrothal of -young people is an old custom now fallen into disuse. The possibility -of its readoption as a beneficial social practice, with its duration, -duties, and privileges, is worthy of serious consideration. - -We have seen that the careful guidance of youth in relation to the -faculty of sex, an improvement in the tone of society, and provision -for early marriage, are fundamental points which should engage the -earnest thought of every mother. It would be, however, a most serious -mistake to suppose that the methods of carrying out these principles -devolve upon the mother only. It is too frequently the case that the -father, absorbed in outdoor pursuits, regards the indoor life as -exclusively the business of his wife, and takes little or no part in -the education of his children; but no true home can ever be formed -without the mutual aid of father and mother. The division of labour -may be different, but the joint influence should ever be felt in -this closest of partnerships. As the wise wife is the most trusty -confidant of the general business life of the husband, so he is the -natural counsellor and support in all that concerns the occupations, -amusements, society, and influence of his home. No home can be a happy -one, if the father’s keenest interest and enjoyment do not centre in -his family life. There are, however, special duties to the family -required from the father, owing to his position as a citizen, and -these hold an intimate relation to the future of his children. A large -view of home duty must necessarily lead to a fulfilment of citizen -duty. There are few men who, in their special business or occupation, -do not possess large opportunities for encouraging a nobler idea -respecting the relations of men and women than now prevails; few -who cannot show their respect for virtue and in some way discourage -vice. Men, not only as fathers, but as educators of youth--clergymen, -physicians, 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 enter, and through the ceaseless temptations of which the -effects of the most careful family education may be destroyed. No -occupation can stand isolated from the rest of life; the interlinkings -are innumerable. The man who throws a temptation in the way of a weaker -neighbour, or ignores the struggles of his dependents, or fails to -speak the encouraging word to those whom he influences, may be placing -a pitfall in the way of his own son and daughter. - -A mighty power which fathers hold in trust for the future of their -children, is the character of the legislation which they establish or -sanction. It is almost inconceivable how intelligent and well-meaning -individuals, knowing the weakness of human nature and its inevitable -growth towards good or evil through circumstances, can fail to see -the immense moral bearing of legislation. The laws of a country are -powerful educators of the rising generation. They reach all classes; -their influence is a national one, silently exercising a never-ceasing -effect on the community. Every new act of legislation is a power -which will work much more strongly upon the young than the old. The -adult who makes the law has grown up to complete manhood under other -influences; he is moulded by the laws of a previous generation, and no -new legislative action can change his fixed character. It is the young -and unformed who will grow in the direction made easiest to them by our -laws. Whether the subject of legislation be the increase of standing -armies, the promotion of the liquor traffic, the regulation of factory -labour, the arrangement of national education, or the establishment of -railways--these subjects affect the moral condition of a people. It -would be difficult to find a subject of legislation which has not some -moral issue, more or less directly connected with it, and which will -not influence the rising generation more powerfully than the generation -that establishes the law. Legislation, therefore, has an inevitable -and most important bearing upon the welfare of the family, and must -be considered in relation to its effect upon the youth of the nation. -Every mother has a right to ask this from the legislators of a country. -No parental legislator should ever lose sight of the central family -point of view in legislation--viz., How can good conquer evil? How can -it be made easier for children to grow up virtuous than vicious? - -The power of the human race to place itself under any restrictions -which its welfare requires, has already been shown in the control which -society exercises over the intense craving of hunger. Strong as the -faculty of sex is, its abnegation does not destroy the individual as -does starvation from lack of food. This instinct, therefore, cannot -be considered more imperative than that of hunger; it must be as -susceptible of restraint. Indeed, the relations of sex have already -been placed under a certain amount of restriction by both law and -custom, only these restrictions are not nearly of such severity or -universal application as those which govern the instinct of hunger, -showing that the human race, in their present stage of development, -have not felt that it was such a pressing question. Society has not -hitherto recognised such restraint as essential to its own existence -and welfare. This conviction, however, is now awakened, and when once -established, it will be found that the dominion of law is as powerful -in one direction as in the other. Every great question of society -is a necessary subject of legislation. The necessity of protecting -property and the ability to do so, even against the terrible power of -slow starvation, is shown by every civilized nation. This experience -conclusively proves that chastity also may be protected by legislation, -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 legislation. The true principle to be held to, in -legislating for the evils that afflict society, cannot be too often -insisted on. In legislating for any evil, it is necessary to seek out -the deepest source of the evil, and check that source. Attention must -not be limited to the effects of the evil. This is eminently true of -all legislation which deals with the evils caused by licentiousness--a -branch of legislation which, more than any other, has a direct and -powerful bearing upon the welfare of the family. - -The subject of licentiousness is justly attracting the attention of -legislators of the present day to an extent which has never been -witnessed before. This is a sign of dawning promise, for the worst -condition of a nation is that where gross evils remain uncared for. -This great evil has crept on uncared for, or referred to with hushed -breath, until it bids fair to ruin our most valued institutions. -Legislation has broken the spell, and will continue its work until -it has aroused the conscience of the nation. The execution of wise -measures can only be secured by the support of an enlightened, -conscientious community. No legislation can be efficient which does -not represent the best average sentiment of the country. In regard -to this great question, 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--viz., the fathers -and mothers of the nation. No specialists, of whatever class, can -suggest wise measures, as specialists, in a matter which so intimately -concerns the family. Only a large view of what is needed for the -purity and dignity of the family, for the good of its children, for its -influence in society, can secure wise laws. Anything which tends to -encourage the lowest passions of human nature, either by the acceptance -of base customs, by the legalization of vice, or by fostering in -any other way the animal tendencies of men, must produce hereditary -as well as social effects on daughters as well as sons. Customs and -institutions which injure the character of women, which weaken their -virtue and crush out the germs of higher life, must be the source -of deadliest evil to any nation. It behoves the legislators of the -present generation to be careful in their social and legal sanction of -vice amongst males, lest they be blindly undermining the whole social -fabric, amongst women as well as men, in a way which they would least -wish to do, if they knew what they were doing. - - * * * * * - -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 education, -with the individual action to which such perception leads. The second -step is combination--_i.e._, the determination to secure this end by -the strength of union. It is true that individual efforts are the -foundation on which any power must rest that wishes to lift society -to a higher level, and we find at present innumerable individuals -keenly alive to the evils in which we are involved, and earnest in -seeking a remedy. There are very many families where father and mother -work together with unwearied effort to ennoble home life, but these -individual efforts, these aspirations and patient endeavours, although -indispensable as a foundation, are isolated and scattered; they are -continually overpowered by the evil influences existing outside the -family. Organized effort is needed--resolute and united action--to -meet the organized dangers of the present age. The condensed review -in the preceding pages of the causes which produce the present low or -diseased condition of the humanizing principle of sex, indicates the -immense range of subjects which its consideration and guidance involve. -No isolated individual, no single family, can work out for itself a -solution of the present problem, or command the means for securing the -moral welfare of the most cherished child. Change in the conditions of -life may be wrought by united effort; it cannot be attained by isolated -effort. When we consider the innumerable objects for which strength is -gained by association, and that this rational principle is constantly -extending its operation in the present age, it is evident that any -strong leading principle capable of enlisting devotion and steady -enthusiasm affords sound basis for combination and organization. Such -a leading principle is found in the clear conviction of the nobility -of the spiritual principle of sex in the human being, the binding -obligation of one moral law for all, and the regenerating power of -this law upon the human race. It is a principle capable of enlisting -religious devotion and embodying itself in the most valuable practical -action. Methods of combination inspired by this principle are clearly -conceivable which would be susceptible of the widest application. -Indications of such combination are already visible, and these must -constantly extend themselves as this great idea of the present -age--_the true view of Sex_--grows into complete development. - -All existing efforts which tend to destroy the causes of -licentiousness--such as temperance, increase of occupation and wages -for women, improvement of poor dwellings, facilities for rational -amusement, the abolition of enforced celibacy, and the regeneration -of the army--demand and should receive the special recognition and -aid of parents. These movements are all invaluable and cannot be too -actively supported, being founded on true principles of growth; but -something more is needed--viz., distinct open acknowledgment of the -fundamental principle here laid down, and organization growing out of -it. In this work the natural leader of a nation is the Church--_i.e._, -that great body of all religious teachers and persons who believe that -man cannot live by bread alone, but that the Divine instinct that urges -him onwards and upwards must be expressed in the forms of our daily -life. When the Church recognises that one of its difficult but glorious -duties is to teach men how to carry out religious principles in -practical life, it will perceive that the foundation of all righteous -life is reverence for the noble human principle of sex. It will no -longer shrink from enforcing this regenerating principle. The undue -proportion of thought and effort now given to forms and ceremonies, -to metaphysical disquisitions and subtle distinctions, will then give -place to earnest united efforts to enable men to lead righteous lives. -No Church performs its duty to the young that fails to raise this -fundamental subject of sex into its proper human level. It is bound to -rouse every young man and woman of its congregation to the perception -that respect for the principle of sex, with fidelity to purity, is a -fundamental condition of religious life. - -The truths which have been set forth in the preceding pages may be -briefly summed up in the following propositions--viz: - - Early chastity strengthens the physical nature, creates force of Will, - and concentrates the intellectual powers on the nobler ends of human - life. - - Continence is indispensable to the physical welfare of a young man - until the age of twenty-one; it is advantageous until twenty-five; it - is possible without physical injury throughout life. - - The passion of sex can only be safely and healthily gratified - by marriage; illegal relations produce physical danger, mental - degradation, and social misery. - - The family is the indispensable foundation of a progressive nation, - and the permanent union of one man with one woman is essential to the - welfare of the family. - - Marriage during matured early vigour is essential to the production of - a strong race. - - Individual morality can only be secured by the prevalence of early - purity, and national morality by the cumulative effects of heredity. - - In Moral Education the first step to secure is the slow development - of sex; the second, its legitimate satisfaction through honourable - companionship, followed by marriage. - - There are special duties which devolve upon women as mother, sister, - ruler of a household, and member of society for securing the - conditions necessary for the attainment of early purity in sons and - daughters. - - There are special duties laid upon men, not only as parents, but as - citizens, for the attainment of national morality. - - The fact must be clearly perceived and accepted, that male purity is a - fundamental virtue in a State; that it secures the purity of women, on - which the moral qualities of fidelity, humanity, and trustworthiness - depend; and that it secures the strength and truth of men, on which - the intellectual vigour and wise government of a State depend. - - Whether it be regarded in relation to the physical and mental status - of Man, or the position and welfare of Woman, there is no social evil - so great as the substitution of Fornication and Celibacy for Chastity - and Marriage. - -These are fundamental truths. But in those grown old in watching the -spread of evil, despair often takes possession of the mind, and the -question arises, Can evil ever be overcome with good? Can we hope to -change this widespread perversion of human faculties? When we observe -the raging lust of invading armies, more cruel than the ferocity of -the most savage beasts; when we study the tumultuous passions of -early youth, the rush for excitement, for every kind of gratification -that the impulse of the moment demands, can we believe that there are -forces at our command strong enough to quell the tumult, to guide the -multitude, to sustain the weak, to change the fierce brutishness into -noble manhood and womanhood? - -There is a force more powerful than tempest or whirlwind, more -irresistible than the fiercest brutal passion, a power which works in -nature unseen but ceaselessly, repairing all destruction, accomplishing -a mighty plan; a power which works in the human soul, enabling it to -learn truth, to understand principles, to love justice and humanity, -and to reach steadily onward to the attainment of the highest ideal. -It is the creative and regenerating force of Wisdom, gradually but -irresistibly penetrating the mind of Humanity. This mighty governing -Power, call it by what name we may--Religion, Truth, Spiritual -Christianity, Jehovah--uses human means, and works through the changing -phenomena of daily life. It is our part to make the forms of human life -exponents of this Divine force. - -The principles here laid down are true. They rest upon the firm -foundation of physiological law, and are confirmed by facts of -universal experience. Let the younger generation of parents accept -them in their great significance, making them the guiding influence -in all social relations. Then will human life at once begin to shape -itself according to God’s Truth; the law of inheritance will strengthen -each generation into nobler tendencies; and our nation, renewing its -strength, will grow into a humble but glorious exponent of the Divine -Idea. - - - APPENDIX I. (PAGE 262) - -_Christian Duty in regard to Vice_ - -Cruelty and Lust are the twin evils that now most seriously afflict -our race, and which women--the mothers of the race--are especially -called on to fight. Women must act. 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 occupied. Whether we welcome or dread this change, it goes -on irresistibly, based upon industrial activity, and extending into -every other department of life. The command of wisdom is to accept this -advance, recognise its responsibilities, and bravely rise to meet them. -Women, by the endowment of Motherhood, are created with special powers. -This endowment, which is a mighty spiritual as well as a physical -force, indicates their distinctive line of active influence, and will -show why they are especially called on to combat cruelty and lust, -which kill motherhood. - -In this special subject, women must initiate their own lines of -action, for they are called on by the constitution of Humanity to -lead in this moral warfare, not be led. Equal justice to all, with -protection for the most defenceless, 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 engender. - - - APPENDIX II. (PAGE 265) - -Terrible instances of this may be seen in Trélat’s medical work, _La -Folie Lucide_, etc. Lallemand and other French surgeons report numerous -cases of fatal injury done even to nursing infants by the wicked -actions of unprincipled nurses. I have myself traced the ill-health of -children in wealthy families to the habits practised by confidential -nurses, apparently quiet, respectable women! Abundant medical testimony -confirms these observations. - -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 subject; such details are more suited to the private and familiar -conferences of those who are resolved to ennoble the life of sex. When -this high resolve has become a guiding principle, it will throw light -upon every practical arrangement from infancy onward. It will then be -seen that no details are insignificant to the watchful mother; that the -shape of the child’s nightdress, made in the form of loose drawers; the -manner of washing and of attending to its natural wants; the nightly -prayer; 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 sex. - -Dr. Acton has called attention to the necessity of securing local -cleanliness, and to the evil arising from worms and from the habit of -wetting the bed. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[16] Parkes’ _Manual of Practical Hygiene_, 4th edition, p. 493. - -[17] _Ibid._, p. 493. - -[18] W. B. Carpenter’s _Principles of Human Physiology_, 7th edition, -p. 631. - -[19] W. B. Carpenter’s _Principles of Human Physiology_, 7th edition, -p. 812. - -[20] The unhealthiness and indecency of harem life, with its effect -upon the boys and girls, its encouragement of abortion, and the unhappy -and degraded condition of the women, are sketched with the painful -truth of close observation in _The People of Turkey_, edited by S. -Lane Poole--a book worthy of careful consideration. See also Lane’s -_Egyptians_, etc. - -[21] _Bulgaria and the Bulgarians._ - -[22] Abstract from the _Sun_. See _Thirtieth Annual Report of the -Prison Association of New York_. - -[23] See Sadler on _Population_ for many curious facts tending to show -how strictly Nature guards this equality. - -[24] See Michel Lévy’s _Traité d’Hygiène_, 5th edition, vol. i., p. 145. - -[25] Hufeland’s _Art of Prolonging Life_, edited by Erasmus Wilson. 2nd -edition, Part II., p. 138. - -[26] See W. B. Carpenter’s _Principles of Human Physiology_, 7th -edition, p. 909. - -[27] _Ibid._, p. 909. - -[28] 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 home. - -[29] The frequent opinion that a limited amount of fornication is -a very trivial matter, that the individual may become an excellent -father of a family and good citizen in spite of such indulgence, is -based on the grave error of regarding sexual relations as the act -of one instead of two individuals, and limited in their effects to -the moment of occurrence. The moral character of such indulgence is, -however, determined by its effects upon the after-life of two human -beings--viz., its effect on the citizen, whose judgment becomes injured -in relation to this great subject of national welfare, through early -experience, and on the partner in vice whose life is one of growing -degradation. These two inevitable facts remain through life. - -[30] See Debates of Working Men’s Congress, Paris, October, 1876. Also -_La Femme Pauvre_, a work crowned by the French Academy some years ago. -Also the writings of Le Clerc, Guizot, etc. - -[31] See Reports of Rescue Society, London. - -[32] This question is now anxiously asked by intelligent mothers, who, -resolved to do what is right for their children, are yet bewildered -by the contradiction of authorities and the customs of society. It is -the necessity in my own medical practice of answering this question -truthfully, which is one of the reasons that has compelled me to write -these pages. - -[33] G. M. Humphrey, M.D., F.R.S., in Holme’s _System of Surgery_, 3rd -edition, vol. iii., p. 550. - -[34] See Acton’s _Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive Organs_, -6th edition, p. 12 _et seq._ - -[35] Acton’s _Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive Organs_, 6th -Ed., pp. 37, 38. - -[36] See also a very interesting account of schools in Thackeray’s -_Irish Sketch-Book_. - -[37] I can speak from personal observation of these upright -communities, where the health of the men was far better than that of -the women; the former leading an outdoor, the latter an indoor life. - -[38] Numerous instances of wise maternal influence over sons have come -under my own observation, where in mature life they have thanked these -true friends, their mothers, for the wise counsels given at the right -time. - -[39] See Appendix I., p. 306. - -[40] In earnest conversation with a gentleman of wide connections, -resident in Vienna, he stated that he did not know a single young man -who led a virtuous life. So completely was the idea of sexual control -lost, that he said frankly he should consider any man a hypocrite who -pretended to be virtuous. 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 life. - -[41] See Appendix II., p. 308. - -[42] See a valuable article in the _Westminster Review_, July, 1879, -‘An Unrecognised Element in our Educational Systems.’ - -[43] Sir James Paget, _Clinical Lectures and Essays_, second edition, -p. 293. - -[44] There is a class of persons, the illogical, whose conscience -will not allow them to counsel vice, who state that it is a habit -that can be avoided as the use of opium can be avoided, but who in -the same breath declare prostitution to be a necessity, and that the -greater part of young men away from home will resort to it. Now, if -prostitution be a necessity, it must be because fornication is a -necessity. What is a necessity? It is something inevitable, because -it is rooted in the constitution; it is an unavoidable development -of human nature itself. If so, fornication is not a habit like -opium-eating, but the form in which human nature is shaped--God’s -work. In that case fornication would not be wrong; it should not be -condemned, and neither the man nor the woman who practises it should be -blamed. There is no avoiding this direct conclusion, and everyone who -asserts that prostitution is a necessity must be prepared to accept it. -This grave error and the confusion of thought and practice which arises -from it proceed from a wrong use of the word ‘Necessity.’ It is the -existence of the sexual passion which is a necessary part of nature, -not prostitution. This necessary passion may either be controlled or -it may be satisfied in two ways--by marriage, or by fornication. It -is only the passion which is a necessity, not the way in which it is -gratified. It is thus a positive falsehood to state that prostitution -is a necessity, and, considered in all its bearings, a most dangerous -falsehood. - -[45] Whilst travelling in Italy I met a very intelligent Austrian -gentleman, who, as a citizen of the United States, had brought up his -family in New York. Conversing on the various customs of society, he -said to me: ‘I have always endeavoured to respect women, and to live -an upright, moral life, but I have never met with any appreciation -of this fact by the families of my acquaintance. On the contrary, -no mother that I have known has banished a man of position from her -society, no matter how notoriously immoral his life may be. I have -known respectable mothers, moving in what is called the best society, -allowing a man of wealth to continue visiting the family after gross -impropriety of behaviour to a daughter. My own little Rosa there (and -he pointed to a charming little creature of sixteen who was travelling -with the party) will not give the slightest discouragement to a clever -or amusing man, although I may warn her against the notorious character -of the man. I go to Paris, and observe the night assemblies after the -theatres close. I find brilliant salons filled with young girls as -lovely as my own daughter, often gentle in manner, elegant in dress, -refined, accomplished; I should not know from observation merely that -they were fallen women. “What does it all mean?” I ask myself again and -again. Surely women in society have much to do in this matter.’ - -[46] Sadler on _Population_, who states the average age of marriage -amongst the labouring population at twenty-three years. - -[47] See Professor Monier Williams’ _Indian Travels_. - - - BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - -Errors in punctuation have been fixed. - -Page 120: “sexual moralty” changed to “sexual morality” - -Page 168: “deady sin” changed to “deadly sin” - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSAYS IN MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY, -VOLUME I (OF 2) *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the -Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work -on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the -phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where - you are located before using this eBook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg™ License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format -other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain -Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -provided that: - -• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation.” - -• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ - works. - -• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right -of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you “AS-IS”, WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ - -Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™'s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/69939-0.zip b/old/69939-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1d255c8..0000000 --- a/old/69939-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/69939-h.zip b/old/69939-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3b3479d..0000000 --- a/old/69939-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/69939-h/69939-h.htm b/old/69939-h/69939-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 6f4a2b9..0000000 --- a/old/69939-h/69939-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8502 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="UTF-8"> - <title> - Essays in Medical Sociology, by Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D.—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> - <style> /* <![CDATA[ */ - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; - text-indent: 1em; -} - -.p2 {margin-top: 2em;} -.p4 {margin-top: 4em;} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} -table.autotable { border-collapse: collapse; width: 60%;} -table.autotable td, -table.autotable th { padding: 4px; } -.x-ebookmaker table {width: 95%;} - -.tdl {text-align: left;} -.tdr {text-align: right;} -.tdc {text-align: center;} -.page {width: 3em; vertical-align: top;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; - text-indent: 0; -} - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 5%; -} - -.center {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em;} - -.right {text-align: right; text-indent: 0em;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Footnotes */ -.footnotes {border: 1px dashed; margin-top: 1em;} - -.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} - -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: - none; -} -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - -.xbig {font-size: 2em;} -.big {font-size: 1.2em;} -.small {font-size: 0.8em;} - -abbr[title] { - text-decoration: none; -} - - /* ]]> */ </style> -</head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Essays in medical sociology, Volume I (of 2), by Elizabeth Blackwell</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Essays in medical sociology, Volume I (of 2)</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Elizabeth Blackwell</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 3, 2023 [eBook #69939]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSAYS IN MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY, VOLUME I (OF 2) ***</div> - - - - -<h1>ESSAYS IN MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY</h1> - - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center"> -<span class="big">ESSAYS</span><br> -<br> -IN<br> -<br> -<span class="xbig">MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY</span><br> -</p> -<p class="center p4"> -BY<br> -<br> -<span class="big">ELIZABETH BLACKWELL, M.D.</span><br> -<p class="center p4"> -<i>VOLUME I.</i><br> -</p> -<p class="center p4"> -<span class="big">LONDON<br> -ERNEST BELL, YORK STREET<br> -COVENT GARDEN</span><br> -1902<br> -</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>At the request of friends I have willingly consented to the -republication of my writings of past years in a uniform edition.</p> - -<p>Truth never grows old, though re-adaptation to different phases of life -may be necessary. I shall rejoice if anything I have written in the -past may prove helpful to the younger generation of workers, with whom -I am in hearty sympathy.</p> - -<p class="right"> -ELIZABETH BLACKWELL, M.D.<br> -<br> -<span style="margin-right: 3.5em;"><span class="smcap">Hastings</span>,</span><br> -<span style="margin-right: 4em;"><i>May, 1902</i>.</span><br> -</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS_OF_VOL_I">CONTENTS OF VOL. I.</h2> -</div> - - - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr><th></th><th class="tdl"> -ESSAY</th><th class="tdr">PAGE</th></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"> -<a href="#THE_HUMAN_ELEMENT_IN_SEX">I.</a></td><td><a href="#THE_HUMAN_ELEMENT_IN_SEX"><span class="smcap">The Human Element in Sex</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"> -<a href="#medical">II.</a></td> -<td><a href="#medical"><span class="smcap">Medical Responsibility in Relation to the Contagious Diseases Acts</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"> -<a href="#RESCUE_WORK_IN_RELATION_TO_PROSTITUTION_AND_DISEASE">III.</a></td> -<td><a href="#RESCUE_WORK_IN_RELATION_TO_PROSTITUTION_AND_DISEASE"><span class="smcap">Rescue Work in Relation to Prostitution and Disease</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"> -<a href="#PURCHASE_OF_WOMEN">IV.</a></td> -<td><a href="#PURCHASE_OF_WOMEN"><span class="smcap">Purchase of Women: the Great Economic Blunder</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"> -<a href="#THE_MORAL_EDUCATION_OF_THE_YOUNG_IN_RELATION_TO_SEX">V.</a></td> -<td><a href="#THE_MORAL_EDUCATION_OF_THE_YOUNG_IN_RELATION_TO_SEX"><span class="smcap">The Moral Education of the Young in Relation to Sex</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_175">175</a></td></tr> -</table> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_HUMAN_ELEMENT_IN_SEX">THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN SEX<br></h2> - -<h3><span class="small">CONTENTS</span></h3> -</div> - - <table class="autotable"> -<tr><th></th><th class="tdr">PAGE</th></tr> -<tr><td> -<a href="#intro"><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></a></td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_3">3</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></td></tr> -<tr><td> - <span class="smcap">The Distinctive Character of Human Sex</span></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></td></tr> -<tr><td> - <span class="smcap">Equivalent Functions in the Male and Female</span></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></td></tr> -<tr><td> - <span class="smcap">On the Abuses of Sex—I. Masturbation</span></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></td></tr> -<tr><td> - <span class="smcap">On the Abuses of Sex—II. Fornication</span></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></td></tr> -<tr><td> - <span class="smcap">The Development of the Idea of Chastity</span></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></td></tr> -<tr><td> -<span class="smcap">Medical Guidance in Legislation</span></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td></tr> -<tr><td> -<a href="#APPENDIX_I"><span class="smcap">Appendix I</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_75">75</a></td></tr> -<tr><td> -<a href="#APPENDIX_II"><span class="smcap">Appendix II</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td></tr> -</table> -<p> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span></p> - - -<h3 id="intro">INTRODUCTION</h3> - -<p>This work is written from the standpoint of the Christian physiologist.</p> - -<p>The essence of all religions is the recognition of an Authority -higher, more comprehensive, more permanent than the human being. The -characteristic of Christian teaching is the faith that this Supreme -Authority is beneficent as well as powerful. The Christian believes -that the Creative Force is a moral force, of more comprehensive -morality than the human being that it creates. Under the symbol of a -wise and loving parent—the most just, efficient, and attractive image -that we know of—we are encouraged to regard this unseen Authority as -being in direct relation with every atom of creation, and as desirous -of drawing each atom into progressively higher forms of existence.</p> - -<p>The Christian physiologist, therefore, knowing that there is a wise and -beneficent purpose in the human structure, seeks to find out the laws -and methods of action by means of which human function may accomplish -its highest use.</p> - -<p>The task can only be carried out gradually. Ultimate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span> function is not -revealed by structure, nor ultimate use by function.</p> - -<p>The empty arteries did not suggest the circulation of the blood -to ancient physiologists, nor did the curious arrangements of the -intestinal canal explain the complicated function of digestion. -Ignorance of facts, preconceived notions, or fanciful theories as -to ‘vital spirits,’ ‘cold and hot humours,’ etc., long delayed the -attainment of correct knowledge of physiological facts.</p> - -<p>Neither does physical knowledge of individual function reveal the -developed use of which it is capable. The new life that may be given -through touch to the blind, or the destruction of a nation through its -vices, is not revealed by the minutest examination of the mechanism of -touch, or the physical structure of the nervous system. Function and -use are only proved by observation, reflection, and rational experiment -patiently carried on age after age, with generalization based upon -accurate and accumulated facts.</p> - -<p>Structure, function, and extended use, although closely connected, -are, nevertheless, separate branches of inquiry. Applied physiology -comprehends them all. Function is the arrangement by means of which the -independent life of the sentient being is carried on and maintained. -Developed function or use includes the growth and improvement of the -individual in relation to his fellows, and to existence outside his own -personality.</p> - -<p>No physiological truth is more firmly established<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span> than the fact that -we can modify the action of our physical organs towards the special -objects related to them, by the way in which we use our organs. By -long-continued and careful study of the apparatus and processes of -digestion, the physiologist has discovered the general plan by means -of which food is converted into the substance of the body, and the -part which each portion of the complicated digestive system takes -in the maintenance of daily life. He does not stop, however, with -this discovery of the general plan by which food is converted into -flesh. He studies the way in which our habits of eating and drinking -may destroy or improve the power of digestion, and recognises the -effects which various kinds of food and drink may exercise upon the -character of the individual and the race. The physiologist, therefore, -proceeds to investigate, as a direct branch of necessary human -physiological inquiry, the influence which the consumption of flesh -or fruit, of alcohol or water, of warm or cold articles, of quantity -or quality, etc., exerts upon the unique organization of the human -being, in producing health or disease in mankind; or upon the power of -self-control or endurance, with the promotion of ferocious or genial -tendencies in Man. Both human strength and human character can be -affected by enlarged knowledge and control of the uses which belong to -the digestive system.</p> - -<p>What is true of the effects of food is equally true of the effect of -every other physical condition of human life. It is, therefore, a -special work of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span> rational physiologist to discover the higher uses -of our varied human faculties. We only see at present the beginning -of this great work of applied physiology in enabling us to comprehend -the full effects of food, air, exercise, climate, etc., upon human -character. We possess only vague knowledge of the great facts of the -hereditary transmission of diseased or healthy tendencies; and we give, -as yet, no due consideration to the important results which follow from -such transmission. We only faintly realize the transforming power of -habit or mind in healthy growth and in morbid degeneration.</p> - -<p>These investigations form a distinct branch of applied physiology; -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 power; and this perception cheers and -guides him in the perplexed paths which lead towards human growth and -perfection.</p> - -<p>Medicine and morality being related to function and use are, therefore, -inseparable in a Progressive State. The union between the physical, -moral, and intellectual elements of our nature cannot be dissolved -during lifetime. To speak of the ‘Physician of Nature’ and ‘Physician -of Grace,’ as two entirely distinct classes is an untenable position or -a misleading sophism. Sound education, State medicine, healthy society, -must all be based upon the inseparable union of the various elements -of the human constitution. This is the only rational system in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span> a -Progressive State; any other practice leads to empirical medicine and -hypocritical morality.</p> - -<p>The unity of human nature gives immense importance to the influences -which surround the beginning of life and the education of the young. -The greatest present obstacle to progress is the ignorance of parents, -and above all of mothers, of many facts of physiology, and particularly -of the facts of sexual physiology. For want of this knowledge our -nurseries and schools are not wisely guarded, young people lack -guidance, and marriages are too often the mischievous union of two -unsuitable partners.</p> - -<p>By the present lamentable ignorance of sound physiology, men and women -lack the elements necessary for forming correct judgment on the most -important relations of life. Parents are thus unequal to their first -duty, viz., the guiding of domestic and social life, as helpmeets to -one another.</p> - -<p>In all the excellent treatises on physiology, domestic economy and -education, prepared for the special instruction and help of parents and -teachers, all knowledge is generally omitted which refers to the sexual -functions; yet to the parent or educator this is an essential branch -of knowledge. A woman attempts to carry on her work blindfold, who -tries to educate her children, guide her household, or take her proper -part in society without this knowledge. She understands nothing that -is going on around her; she sees nothing but the surface of things; -her influence is either stupid, mischievous, or negative, if she is -not truthfully instructed in relation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span> to the central force of human -emotion and action.</p> - -<p>Mothers, requiring this knowledge for their special duties which -commence with infant life, can with propriety, purity, and reverence -study the action and uses of our sexual powers. Their intense interest -in the family and self-sacrificing devotion to its welfare, their -insight into its needs, and their sensitive consciousness of the -approach of danger to their offspring, make them the providentially -appointed guardians of the young. The profound depth of the passion of -maternity in women extends not only to the relations of marriage, but -to all the weak or suffering wherever found. It gives a sacredness to -the woman’s appreciation of sex, which has not yet been utilized for -the improvement of the social life of the nation.</p> - -<p>The ignorance of parents in relation to essential facts is deplorable. -I believe it to be the source of our gravest social evils. In the -present work, therefore, which I offer to my profession as an aid in -the instruction of parents and guardians of the young, I shall speak -with the frankness of profound respect in relation to our God-created -faculties. As a Christian physiologist, I shall endeavour to show the -true and noble use involved in the highest of our human functions.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I<br><span class="small"><i>The Distinctive Character of Human Sex</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>A fundamental error as to the nature of human sex too generally exists -amongst us, from failure to recognise that in the human race the mind -tends to rule the body, and that sex in the human being is even more -a mental passion than a physical instinct. This superficial view dims -our perception of the causes which produce the facts around us; it also -prevents our recognising the essential difference which exists between -human and brute sex, and it blinds us to the imperative necessity of -giving human education to this part of our nature.</p> - -<p>As the study of the human body is carried on from its simpler to -its more complex parts, it is perceived that the physiology of the -more complex functions takes in a wider range of relations. The wise -guidance of these more complex powers by parent or physician in -health, and disease, demands a careful consideration of this extended -range of relations. Thus the proper nourishment and exercise of the -brain require more extended knowledge than the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span> hygienic treatment -of the skin, and diseases of the brain cause more serious danger to -the individual. So all the faculties which belong to the life of -relation—viz., the faculties which, like the senses, 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 individual.</p> - -<p>The portion of our organization most difficult of study, but also -requiring the widest range of knowledge for its healthy guidance, is -the faculty of sex. This faculty has a very complex aspect from its -three-fold relation to the race, to men, and to women.</p> - -<p>Sex is not essential to individual existence, but it is indispensable -to the continuance of the race; and the progressive or retrograde -character of the race largely depends upon the wisdom with which this -faculty is guided in youth, and the character of the parental relations -which are established.</p> - -<p>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 race, and exists in the dual -form—male and female. Unless the distinctive characteristics and -requirements of each of these equal halves are fully understood, the -relation between them cannot be satisfactory. The physiological meaning -of the differences in organization between the sexes is at present very -imperfectly understood.</p> - -<p>The most striking distinction, however, in the manifestation of the -sexual faculties exists between man and the brute creation, and is -found in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span> mental or moral aspects which it assumes in man. The -general structural resemblance between man and the lower animals -affords no guidance to the education of this human faculty, for the -differences between man and the lower animals are radically greater -than the resemblance between them.</p> - -<p>The most evident form of this mental difference shows itself as a -sentiment of self-consciousness which is not observed in the brute. -If an animal is not frightened by human beings it never hesitates in -carrying on sexual congress in their presence, and neither before nor -after the special act does it exhibit the smallest approach to shame -in relation to it. In man, however, from the earliest dawn of the -approaching faculty, self-consciousness is intense. This is not only -observed in well brought-up boys and girls, who shrink from indecency -of word or action, but it is never entirely extinguished in the most -corrupt man or woman; and even the poor little waifs of our streets, -blighted from earliest infancy, exhibit marked consciousness in their -infantile depravity. 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 relations. -Permanent parental care of offspring, mutual respect between the sexes, -reverence for these faculties as typifying the mighty Creative Power -of the universe, are stages of social progress based upon this mental -difference in human and brute sex.</p> - -<p>It is the mental or moral aspect of our sexual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span> powers which, as -society grows, shapes so much of the literature of every civilized -country. In the popular ballads of a people, songs of love are even -more abundant than patriotic songs; and as education spreads amongst -the masses, romances and novels form the bulk of popular reading.</p> - -<p>The subject of love is always of the most absorbing interest to the -younger and more active portion of a people; sexual passion, in its -ennobling or debasing form, exercises irresistible attraction.</p> - -<p>Our amusements and our customs are largely moulded by the same powerful -attraction, viz., the mental and moral quality of the relations which -are formed between the sexes. As civilization advances, and dense -masses of human beings are crowded together in heterogeneous selfish -strife, the destructive extremes of luxury and pauperism appear. From -this state of society, where misery will do anything for money, and the -satiety of luxury seeks fresh stimulus, speculation in this strongest -part of our nature—sex—arises. Its creative use disappears, and it -becomes a subject of merchandise. Every variety of effort is made to -stimulate and debase the mental quality or sentiment of sex, and the -strength of human passion furnishes an exhaustless field for corrupt -speculation.</p> - -<p>It is therefore not the simple physical aspect of the reproductive -powers which is remarkable in humanity. The physical instinct is shared -with the rest of the animal creation. It is the unique and powerful -mental and moral element, the principle that moulds<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span> and governs human -sex, which produces such striking results in the life of our race.</p> - -<p>The mental or emotional element in these powers, both in relation -to the action and reaction of mind and body, and the hereditary -transmission of tendencies, will, therefore, largely engage the -attention of the physiologist who truly studies our human nature. 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 instruments. 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 sex.</p> - -<p>The clue to a true knowledge of sexual functions in man and woman is -found in this striking peculiarity of the human race, viz., that these -functions are largely dominated by mental action, and that sex in the -human being does not mean simply the action of the physical organs, but -also the conjoined mental principle directing those organs.</p> - -<p>Sex, therefore, in the human race alone, resting upon that broad, -well-marked mental foundation, is capable of great development towards -good or towards evil. As simply material satisfaction soon reaches -the limit which bounds matter, so mental or spiritual enjoyment is -capable of indefinite growth. It is this mental sentiment peculiar to -human sex which is capable of a twofold development. It may<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span> grow into -a noble sympathy, self-sacrifice, reverence, and joy, which enlarge -and intensify the nature through the gradual expansion of the inborn -moral elements of sex. It is also this same intensity of the mental -form and power of sex, possessed by mankind alone, which allows of the -perversion and extreme degradation of sex which is observable only in -the human race. It is the degradation of this mental power when running -riot in unchecked license that converts men and women into selfish and -cruel devils—monsters, quite without parallel in the brute creation.</p> - -<p>These facts are strikingly illustrated by the anatomical and -physiological constitution of the human being. 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 existence.</p> - -<p>These fundamental principles are—First, the independence, freedom, -and perfection of the individual. Second, the preservation of the -race. These two objects are secured to a certain extent in all -highly organized creatures; but in the human race provision is made -for individual freedom in a much more marked and perfect manner, in -accordance with the superior rank of man in creation.</p> - -<p>The brute, both male and female, is at certain times blindly dominated -by the physical impulse of sex. This impulse in the lower animal is -a simple imperative instinct, unhesitatingly yielded to, with no -preparation or after-thought, with no calculation, shame, triumph, or -regret. But it is very different<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span> with the human race, as it grows from -lower to higher states of society. Thoughts and feelings, social ties -and conscience, religious training and the objects of life, all act -upon the distinctive mental character of sex; and it is seen that the -welfare of a third factor, viz., the child, is inseparably connected -with these relations.</p> - -<p>Its character is thus changed to a very complex faculty. The young man -or woman blindly yielding to this power of sexual attraction, against -the remonstrance of a high sense of duty, is torn by remorse, and is -consciously self-degraded.</p> - -<p>The influence of the moral element is also strikingly shown by an evil -peculiar to the human race, viz., suicide or insanity as the result of -unhappy love.</p> - -<p>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 -civilization. The free and friendly intercourse of self-respecting -youth of both sexes satisfies the complex wants of early man and -womanhood; there is physical as well as mental refreshment in such -honourable and natural human intercourse.</p> - -<p>In the young man or woman, just entered into the full possession of all -the human faculties, where the special attraction of two tends towards -marriage, this moral or mental predominance is still remarkable. The -attraction towards the other sex is rich in mental delights. The -passing sight of the object beloved, a word, a look, a smile, will -make sunshine in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span> gloomiest day. The consciousness of spiritual -attraction will sustain and guard through long waiting for more -complete union.</p> - -<p>The physical pleasure which attends the caresses of love is a rich -endowment of humanity, granted by a beneficent Creative Power. There -is nothing necessarily evil in physical pleasure. Though inferior -in rank to mental pleasure, it is a legitimate part of our nature, -involving always some degree of mental action. The satisfaction which -our senses, sight, hearing, touch, etc., derive from all lovely objects -adapted to the special sense, indicates that beneficence latent in the -‘cosmic process’ which enters into the physical manifestation of our -present earthly life. The sexual act itself, rightly understood in its -compound character, so far from being a necessarily evil thing, is -really a Divinely created and altogether righteous fulfilment of the -conditions of present life. This act, like all human acts, is subjected -to the inexorable rule of moral law. Righteous use brings renewed -and increasing satisfaction to the two made one in harmonious union. -Unrighteous use produces satiety, coldness, repulsion, and misery to -the two remaining apart, through the abuse of a Divine gift.</p> - -<p>At a public table in the Tyrol I once heard an Austrian officer, a most -repulsive spectacle, dying of his vices, boast of his ruined life, and -declare that he would take the consequences and live it over again had -he the power to do so. This is the insanity of lust. But it illustrates -the inseparable union of soul and body in human sex.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span></p> - -<p>It is the mental element dominating the physical impulse in man, for -evil, which produces that monstrous creation, cold, selfish, and cruel, -which is seen only in the man or woman abusing the creative powers of -sex.</p> - -<p>It will thus be seen that in the varieties of degradation of our -sexual powers, as well as in their use and ennoblement, it is the -predominance of the mental or spiritual element in our nature which -is the characteristic fact of human sex. The inventions and abuses of -lust, as well as the use and guidance of love, alike prove the striking -and important distinction which exists between the sexual organization -of man and that of the lower animals.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II<br><span class="small"><i>Equivalent Functions in the Male and Female</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>In examining the characteristics of sex in Man under its dual aspect, -male and female, Nature’s primary or rudimentary aim in establishing -sex must be clearly recognised. This aim is the reproduction of the -species.</p> - -<p>Pleasure in sexual congress is an incident depending largely on mental -constitution. In the varying ranks of the animal creation it may or may -not exist in connection with reproduction; for it is not essential to -the one all-important dominating fact in nature, viz., parentage.</p> - -<p>Reproduction is accomplished in various ways in the widely differing -ranks of living creatures. Man, owing to certain general resemblances -of physical structure, belongs to the higher class of animals, the -Mammalia. In this class the two factors necessary to reproduction, -viz., ova and semen or sperm, exist in separate individuals. The ova -or seed are formed in the ovaries, two small bodies placed within the -pelvis of the female; whilst the sperm or vitalizing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span> fluid is formed -in the testes, two small bodies placed outside the pelvis of the male.</p> - -<p>The organs or parts which produce the ova and semen are strictly -analogous in the two sexes. Each part in the female corresponds to a -similar part in the male; and at an early period of existence before -birth it is impossible to determine whether the sex of the embryo is -male or female.</p> - -<p>Whilst the male and female organs concerned in the production of semen -and of ova are parallel and in strict correspondence, there is one -striking deficiency in the male structure. The organ essential to the -development of the human being, the organ into which the fertilized -ovum (or human seed) must be brought for growth, is wanting in the male -structure. This deficiency or difference between the sexes produces -important physiological results. The special part which the male has -to perform physically in the all-important reproductive function of -sex finishes with the act of sexual congress, but it continues in -the female. If conception has taken place, the results of this act -become increasingly important. The life of sex, or all that belongs -to the life of the race, as distinguished from the existence of the -individual, becomes continuously and for a long time inseparable -from the woman’s personal existence. Thus, all the relations of sex -form a more important part of the woman’s than of the man’s life. -Another important fact in sexual construction must be noted—viz., the -nervous connections of the sexual organs. All the parts concerned in -reproduction<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span> 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 brain, the medulla oblongata. If the nervous connection between the -generative organs and the brain be severed, no consciousness of those -parts will remain. But whilst the natural nervous connection exists, -the influence of the brain upon those organs is continually felt, -and information as to their changes is sent to the brain. This nerve -connection exists from birth, although the formation of ova and semen -(on which the power of reproduction depends) does not take place until -a later date. Keen nervous sensation may, therefore, be perceived at -any time after birth, although offspring cannot be produced until the -more or less perfect establishment of reproductive power at puberty.</p> - -<p>It is of great importance to recognise this fact in the education of -children.</p> - -<p>The above general statements respecting the division and correspondence -of the sexual organs in the male and female, and their connection with -the brain through the nervous system, are true of all the Mammalia, -where, as in man, the reproductive power exists in two separate -individuals. When, however, we consider the way in which these -functions act in the work of reproduction, an important difference is -observed between their action in man and in the lower animals. This -difference places man physically in a different and superior category -from the brute creation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span></p> - -<p>The physiological arrangement of physical sex in man corresponds to the -demands made by the increasing complexity of the sentiment of mental -sex.</p> - -<p>As already stated, the two essential features of physical sex are -ovulation and sperm-formation. These two important factors in the joint -work of reproduction are governed by a different rule in human and -in brute life. In man they exist under the rule of continuity and of -self-adjustment—<i>i.e.</i>, these functions are always existent—but -at the same time they adapt themselves to the higher needs of the -individual. These two laws under which the functions exist—viz., 1st, -continuity of action; 2nd, power of self-adjustment—are distinctive -marks of superior human sexual function. Both are necessitated by the -growth of reason—<i>i.e.</i>, by a progressive civilization.</p> - -<p>This will be understood clearly by dwelling more in detail on the -way in which these two essential parts of reproduction—viz., -sperm-formation and ovulation—are established in the human race. In -reproduction, the ova which are constantly produced in the female -require to be fertilized by contact with the semen, which is constantly -produced by the male, before they can commence the remarkable series -of changes and transformations which result in the formation of the -embryo, the rudimentary human being.</p> - -<p>Semen is a highly vitalized fluid, slowly but constantly secreted or -formed by the male. As is the case with all organized living fluids, -it is filled with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span> rapidly-moving particles (spermatozoa), and its -vitality appears to be in direct ratio to the quantity and activity of -such movement. Motion seems to be inseparably connected with life, and -is distinctive of any highly vitalized fluid. Thus, in the important -and highly organized fluid, the blood, we observe constant motion and -change in the active little bodies with which it is filled.</p> - -<p>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 it. An intense energy in the special -act of procreation is needed to overcome the difficulties which may -prevent conception.</p> - -<p>It is here necessary to note a common but mischievous fallacy. This -necessary energy on the part of the male, in order to overcome -anatomical difference of structure in sexual congress, is commonly -considered an indication or measurement of the superior force of sexual -attraction or passion in the male.</p> - -<p>This superficial judgment is not unnatural, as facts which are patent -to the senses suggest the first crude thought. The chief structures -of the male are external, but they are internal in the female. This -difference of structure first suggests to the boy the meaning of -actions of the lower animals, whilst the girl may grow up to full -womanhood in complete unconsciousness of their signification.</p> - -<p>This failure to recognise the equivalent value of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span> internal with -external structure has led to such crude fallacy as a comparison of the -penis with such a vestige as the clitoris, whilst failing to recognise -that vast amount of erectile tissue, mostly internal, in the female, -which is the direct seat of special sexual spasm; such superficial -observation also fails to realize that sexual attraction is not limited -by any isolated physical act.</p> - -<p>The true nature of semen remained unknown during ages of physiological -ignorance. It was regarded as the one essential element in -reproduction, planted for growth in the uterus, where it was simply -nourished by the female. The moving particles contained in it were -regarded as animalculæ, and fanciful theories as to these particles -forming the brain and nervous system, etc., of the embryo were -entertained. But all these theories have been swept away by modern -investigation. It is now proved that when the substances of spermatozoa -and ova mingle a new action is set up, and an entirely new substance -created. Life, in the true sense of separate individuality, only begins -with the mingling of the male and female elements, the commencement of -a new existence then taking place when the living ovum fixes itself -in the uterus, and remains there for full growth and final birth. The -substance of spermatozoa and the substance of ova possess no sanctity -of life apart from their union. They are both produced in lavish -abundance, and thrown off from the body in the same way as other unused -secretions are thrown off.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span></p> - -<p>At the periods of menstruation unused ova are discharged. In a similar -manner unused semen is thrown off from time to time, in an entirely -healthy and beneficent way, by spontaneous natural action.</p> - -<p>As ovulation in the female and sperm-formation in the male are -equivalent productions, so menstruation in the female and natural -sperm-emission in the male are analogous and beneficial functions.</p> - -<p>It is in the arrangement of these two functions in man that the -physical sexual superiority of mankind to the brute creation lies. The -reason of the two distinctive laws which govern human sex is evident. -Thus:</p> - -<p>1st. Continuity of action. Procreation in man is not limited to any -special season.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</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 family. The physical organs are maintained -in fit condition for reproduction by these functions of ovulation -and spermation, as servants ready to obey at any time the superior -intelligence of the master Will.</p> - -<p>2nd. The power of self-adjustment. These two functions, whilst -maintaining aptitude for procreation in the activities of ovaries and -testes, by occasional spontaneous action secure also the independence -of the individual by such natural action. In the exercise of a -faculty which requires the concurrence of two intelligent beings -endowed with free will and reason, individual independence must be -secured.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span> It would strike at the root of human progress, and convert -society into slavery, if the life and health of an adult could not be -maintained by the self-guidance and independence of the individual. -The natural occasional spontaneous action of the structures concerned -in reproduction secures individual independence whilst awaiting the -beneficial ordinance of marriage.</p> - -<p>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 menstruation, which only in exhausting excess -becomes menorrhœa. 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-emission, which only in exhausting excess becomes -spermatorrhœa.</p> - -<p>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 vitality, so -sperm-emission is the natural relief and independent outlet of that -steady action of the generative organs in the male, which secures -through adult life the constant aptitude for reproduction distinctive -of the human race. The parallel in the two sexes is exact. Menstruation -and sperm-emission are the natural healthy actions of self-balance, -established by the economy for preserving the mastership of each -individual over her or his own nature. At the same time the integrity -of the structure is maintained by the steady action<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span> of these two -functions of ovulation and spermation. These natural functions only -degenerate into states of disease through ignorance of physiological -law and faulty hygienic conditions on the one hand, or through impure -thoughts and bad habits acting through the nervous system on the -other. When these natural functions are either injured or unduly -stimulated through the brain and nervous system, then only do they -become diseased, producing menorrhœa or leucorrhœa in the female, and -spermatorrhœa in the male.</p> - -<p>It is impossible to overrate the wide importance of this law of -self-adjustment, under which human function is carried on. The abuses -of sex and the misunderstanding of actual facts, which have led to -widespread error on this subject, will be dwelt on later. Every parent, -however, who has been able to fulfil the true parental relationship to -the child will realize the beneficence of this law. The obligatory and -premature marriage of daughters, so largely the custom abroad, is one -result of error on this subject. A still more dangerous error is the -cruel advice sometimes given to a young man to degrade a woman, and -sin against his own higher nature by taking a mistress or resorting to -harlots.</p> - -<p>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 place. 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 girl, but that in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span> both it is a time requiring guidance, -both moral and physical. Respectful, earnest words of hygienic counsel, -including mind and body, are indispensable at this critical time of -youth. Parents, particularly mothers, live too often in fatal ignorance -of the conditions of sexual health and disease in their children. My -advice is constantly asked in such cases as the following: A careful -mother, who had brought up her son, a strong and healthy young man, to -the age of twenty, learned from him of this natural sign of vitality, -which both supposed to indicate disease! It was with pain and dismay -that she replied to his confidence, ‘Alas! then, my son, I fear you -must consult a doctor.’ The joyful light of gratitude and renewed hope -with which she learned the truth on this important subject—viz., that -the occasional spontaneous action of the organs (not voluntarily forced -by corrupt thought and action) is natural and beneficial—will not be -easily forgotten. 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 infant.</p> - -<p>The measureless evil caused, not only by their ignorance, but by the -false information given to mothers, is illustrated by the inquiry made -of a friend of mine, a clergyman, by an intelligent French mother about -to move to Paris with her son. This lady, sensible and even pious, -wrote to the clergyman to inquire ‘if providing a mistress for her son -would be very costly in Paris.’ She had accepted as a fact what she had -been taught, viz., that no young<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span> man who could not marry early could -remain healthy without resorting to vice.</p> - -<p>From lack of true knowledge of the natural facts of their own physical -organization, young men are often terrified into a resort to quacks, -who impose on their ignorance. The young also of both sexes may be -tempted into bad habits of self-abuse at the outset of this new -life, from being unacquainted with the evils and dangers of vicious -indulgence.</p> - -<p>It is the grave parental duty of both father and mother to be able to -direct a child at its first entrance into adult life. At an age varying -with climate, race, and temperament, the young man as well as the young -woman will experience the healthy discharge, which is a sign that the -gradual development of the reproductive organs has attained its final -stage. In both its sudden appearance often produces fright; in both -it may appear once, with long intervals of recurrence. In the girl it -tends gradually (for important natural reasons) to the establishment -of a frequent and regularly returning function. In the young man and -in the continent unmarried adult, the natural action of these organs -is of far less frequent recurrence; it may be of slow and uncertain -return, dependent greatly upon the occupation of the mind and general -physical state of the individual. In the natural healthy young man, -the occasional return of this function, even with a certain degree of -periodicity, is a valuable aid to adult self-government.</p> - -<p>It is impossible to reprobate too strongly the false<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span> views of -physiology held by those who make no distinction between the natural -healthy growth of these functions and their abuse. No Christian -physiologist whose observation of facts is enlightened by a knowledge -of the possibility of moral growth can commit so fatal an error. 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-balance. 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 -experience.</p> - -<p>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 parentage. The constant production -in the female of living germs (ova), which require only a passing -act of stimulation by the male to enter into a state of active and -astonishingly rapid growth; the unique change of the small uterus into -an enormous and powerful structure, capable of containing a perfect -child, and sending it forth by tremendous efforts into the outer world; -the changes in all the surrounding organs and tissues necessitated by -the accomplishment of such a remarkable work in the short space of nine -months; and the subjection of this great physical work to the law of -individual freedom and perfection, are facts which show the superior -complication and importance of the female sexual organization. The more -elaborate processes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span> of menstruation, as compared with the lesser work -of sperm-emission, show the greater complication of the organs to be -kept in good working order in the female than in the male.</p> - -<p>So extensive and important are the physical structures that must be -kept in readiness for use in the mothers of the race, that their action -is more withdrawn from the dominion of the will than is the case with -men. In relation to the male, it is well known that the secretion -of semen is very much controlled by the mental condition of the -individual. Thus many a young man during keen nervous excitement (or -during the strain of examinations) becomes alarmed by the appearance of -unusual action never before noticed.</p> - -<p>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 life, quite independently of the will. Nature -never allows the male, any more than the female, to become impotent -through abeyance of function. No such fear need ever disturb the -mind. The utmost devotion to intellectual life, to lofty thought, -to beneficent action, never injures the procreative power, which -always remains intact, capable of its special faculty throughout the -virile age. But the active exercise of the intellectual and moral -faculties has remarkable power of diminishing the formation of semen, -and limiting the necessity of its natural removal, the demand for -such relief becoming rarer under ennobling and healthy influences. -As <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span> Acton remarks, ‘sexual distress affects particularly the -<em>semi-continent</em>—those who indeed see the better course and -approve of it, but follow the worse; who, without the recklessness of -the hardened or the strength of the pure, endure at once the sufferings -of self-denial and the remorse of self-indulgence.’<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<p>The healthy limitation of sexual secretion in men sets free a vast -store of nervous force for employment in intellectual and active -practical pursuits. The amount of nervous energy expended by the male -in the temporary act of sexual congress is very great, out of all -apparent proportion to its physical results, and is an act not to be -too often repeated. In the fully matured and strong adult the nature -is adapted to such occasional expenditure, but it is a serious evil -to the growing or unconsolidated nature. Even in strong adult life -there is a great loss of social power through the squandering of adult -energy, which results from any unnatural stimulus given to the appetite -of sex in the male. The barbarous custom of polygamy, the degrading -habit of promiscuous intercourse, selfish license in marriage, and all -artificial excitements which give undue stimulus to the passion of sex, -divert an immeasurable amount of mental and moral force from the great -work of human advancement.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span> of ovulation. In the female, Nature apparently -cannot venture to subordinate the simple physical functions of sex -to the will, to as great an extent as in the male. A more unyielding -rule is needed in these physical activities, because the work to be -accomplished for the race by the female is so much more elaborate and -long continued. A greater amount of varied action in the complicated -organs is necessitated in order to maintain their adult aptitude. The -function of ovulation (formation of ova) is not increased or diminished -by the will, or by the dwelling of the mind upon sexual objects, at all -to the same extent that spermation (formation of sperm) may be affected -by the same mental action. Ovulation, and its natural accompaniment, -menstruation, is much more of a necessary fixed quantity than -spermation and its natural accompaniment, sperm-emission.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - -<p>It is thus seen that the laws guiding the human sexual functions as -established by Creative Power are as conducive to health, and as -consistent with the freedom and perfection of human growth, in one sex -as in the other. Each sex, obeying the Governing Law, is created to -help, not destroy the other. The general outline of arrangement is the -same in each, viz., power of mental and physical self-balance, strictly -guarded potency, and a certain degree of periodicity.</p> - -<p>I repeat that parents, and especially mothers, should be acquainted -with the truths of physiology.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span> There is in the pure sentiment of -maternity a special Divine gift of unselfishness and profound devotion -to the well-being of husband and children. This God-given power enables -a wife and mother to comprehend and apply this knowledge with the -impersonality of wisdom. The awful aberrations of our sexual nature -excite a deep pity which inevitably seeks for a remedy. When this -special aptitude given to women by the power of maternity is fully -realized, the enlarged intelligence of mothers will be welcomed as the -brightest harbinger of sexual regeneration.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III<br><span class="small"><i>On the Abuses of Sex</i>—I. <i>Masturbation</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>Of the various forms of abuse which spring from ignorance or corruption -in the exercise of the most important of our human faculties, two only -will be dwelt on—viz., masturbation and fornication. These are the -two radical vices from which all forms of unnatural vice spring. The -first is the especial temptation of the child, the last the temptation -or corruption of the adult. It will be seen how the one prepares for -the other, and how both, unchecked and unguided into rightful channels -by judicious sexual education, lead inevitably to those horrors of -unnatural vice which belong to disease, not nature. Abnormal vice -abounds on the Continent, where the virtue of Christianity has fallen -into contempt. But although it is increasing amongst ourselves as we -blindly follow in the path of foreign error, yet, happily for parental -guidance of childhood and youth, the darkest phases of human corruption -need not be exhibited here.</p> - -<p>Of Self-abuse (called also Masturbation, Onanism,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span> etc.) it is -necessary to speak fully. This vice may infect the nursery as well as -the school, and in innumerable cases it induces precocity of physical -sensation, and prepares the way for every variety of sexual evil.</p> - -<p>That much contradiction of thought exists on this subject even in -the medical profession, the following facts will show. One of the -most distinguished members of the profession, a man noted for sound -judgment and large experience, made the following noteworthy statement -to me in speaking of ‘The Moral Education of the Young in Relation to -Sex.’ He said: ‘You are all wrong in what you say about masturbation. -Medically speaking, it is of no consequence whatever. Mind, I say -<em>medically</em>, not morally speaking. I know a man, the father of a -family, who was taught by his nurse to masturbate at three years old, -and it has done him no harm whatever.’</p> - -<p>On the other hand, distinguished physicians, as Tissot and others, have -drawn frightful pictures of the mental and physical ruin which always -result from habits of self-abuse, and they refer to the records of -insane asylums to confirm these statements.</p> - -<p>There is error and confusion of thought in both these extreme views.</p> - -<p>Self-abuse or Solitary Vice is the voluntary purposed excitement of the -genital organs, produced by pressure or friction of those parts, or by -the indulgence of licentious thoughts.</p> - -<p>The term ‘masturbation’ does not apply to that involuntary and -beneficent action of the organs in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span> adult of both sexes, with which -nature from time to time relieves necessary secretion.</p> - -<p>This radical distinction between the independent and benign action of -nature, and the dangerous practice of voluntarily stimulated physical -sensation, has not been pointed out by physiological investigators with -necessary clearness, 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 nation.</p> - -<p>The dangerous habit of voluntarily produced excitement, to which alone -the term ‘masturbation’ is due, may be formed by both the male and the -female, and it is found even in the child as well as the adult.</p> - -<p>In the child, however (it being immature in body), it is the -dependencies of the brain, the nervous system, which come more -exclusively into play in this evil habit. The production of ova or -semen, which mark the adult age, has not taken place; 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 adult. In the little ignorant child this habit springs from a -nervous sensation yielded to because, as it says, ‘it feels nice.’ The -portion of the brain which takes cognizance of these sensations has -been excited, and the child, in innocent absence of impure thought, -yields to the mental suggestion supplied from the physical organs. -This mental suggestion may be produced by the irritation of worms, by -some local eruption, by the wickedness of the nurse, occasionally<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span> by -malformation or unnatural development of the parts themselves. There is -grave reason also for believing that transmitted tendency to sensuality -may blight the innocent offspring.</p> - -<p>A serious warning against the unnatural practice of circumcision must -here be given. A book of ‘Advice to Mothers,’ by a Philadelphia doctor, -was lately sent me. This treatise began by informing the mother that -her first duty to her infant boy was to cause it to be circumcised! Her -fears were worked upon by an elaborate but false statement of the evils -which would result to the child were this mutilation not performed. 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 -practice, and endeavour to introduce it into a Christian nation.</p> - -<p>Circumcision is based upon the erroneous principle that -boys—<i>i.e.</i>, one-half the human race—are so badly fashioned by -Creative Power that they must be reformed by the surgeon; consequently, -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 body.</p> - -<p>The erroneous nature of such a practice is shown by the fact that, -although this custom (which originated amongst licentious nations in -hot climates) has been carried on for many hundred generations, yet -Nature continues to protect her children by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span> reproducing the valuable -protection in man and all the higher animals, regardless of impotent -surgical interference.</p> - -<p>Appeals to the fears of uninstructed parents on the grounds of -cleanliness or of hardening the part are entirely fallacious and -unsupported by evidence.</p> - -<p>It is a physiological fact that the natural lubricating secretion of -every healthy part is beneficial, not injurious, to the part thus -protected, and that no attempt to render a sensitive part insensitive -is either practicable or justifiable. The protection which Nature -affords to these parts is an aid to physical purity, by affording -necessary protection against constant external contact of a part which -necessarily remains keenly sensitive; and bad habits in boys and girls -cannot be prevented by surgical operations. Where no malformation -exists, bad habits can only be forestalled by healthy moral and -physical education.</p> - -<p>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 support.</p> - -<p>Parents, therefore, should be warned that this ugly mutilation of their -children involves serious danger, both to their physical and moral -health.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>It is a fact which deserves serious consideration that many ignorant -women purposely resort to vicious sexual manipulation to soothe their -fractious infants. The superintendent of a large prison for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span> women -informed me that this was a common practice, and one most difficult, -even impossible entirely to break up.</p> - -<p>Medical observation proves that such injury to infancy is not confined -to the lower or to the criminal classes. The habits formed by unrefined -or exposed women are brought by servants into our homes. The ignorance -or viciousness of nurses, often veiled by a respectable demeanour, has -injured and even destroyed the children of many a well-to-do nursery.</p> - -<p>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 fact. 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 exercise. In this case -an evil hereditary tendency from both parents was discovered, and -malformation existed in the child. Indeed, 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 subject. The cause should be -carefully sought for wherever this vicious practice is discovered, and -the trusted family physician consulted if necessary.</p> - -<p>Now, it is quite true that this habit, when observed in children, may -often, and I believe generally, be broken up. It is the mother who must -do this by sympathy and wise oversight. When a child is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span> known in any -way to be producing pressure or excitement in these parts, the watchful -observation of the mother must be at once aroused. If no physical -cause of irritation, such as worms or some malformation, appears to -be present, the dangerous habit may be broken up entirely; but no -punishment must ever be resorted to. The little innocent child, to whom -the sentiment of sex is an unknown thing, will confide in its mother -if encouraged to do so. If kindly but seriously told that it may make -little children ill to do this thing, and the reply being given (as -in cases I have known) that ‘the little feeling comes of itself,’ the -child should be encouraged to come to its mother, and she ‘will help -him drive the feeling away.’</p> - -<p>This providential guardianship of the portals of life is a special -endowment of maternity, 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 nature. The tact of a -mother will never suggest evil to her child, but her quick perception -of danger will enable her to detect its signs, and avert it.</p> - -<p>The frequent practice of self-abuse occurring in little children -from the age of two years old, clearly illustrates the fallacy of -endeavouring to separate mind and body in educational arrangements or -systems of medical treatment. In the very young child those essential -elements of reproduction, semen and ova, which give such mighty -stimulus to passion<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span> in the adult, are entirely latent. Yet we observe -a distinct mental impression possible, leading to unnatural excitement -of the genital organs. This mental impression, growing with the growth -of the child, produces an undue sensitiveness to all surrounding -circumstances which tend to excite this cerebral action. Touch, sight, -and hearing become avenues to the brain, prematurely opened to this -kind of stimulus. The acts of the lower animals, pictures, indecent -talk, which glide over the surface of the mind in a naturally healthy -child, excite self-conscious attention when habits of self-abuse have -grown up unchecked. The mind is thus rendered impure, and the growing -lad or girl develops into a precocious sexual consciousness.</p> - -<p>At school a new danger arises to children from corrupt communication -of companions, or in the boy from an intense desire to become a man, -with a false idea of what manliness means. The brain, precociously -stimulated in one direction, receives fresh impulse from evil -companionship and evil literature, and even hitherto innocent children -of ten and twelve are often drawn into the temptation.</p> - -<p>From the age when the organs of reproduction are beginning slowly to -unfold themselves for their future work, the temptation to yield to -physical sensation or mental impression increases.</p> - -<p>The inseparable relation of our moral and physical structure is seen -in full force at the age of twelve or fourteen. Confirmed habits of -mental impurity may at any age destroy the body from the physical -results<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span> of such habits. 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 lady, dying from the effects of -this inveterate habit. She had been a teacher in a Sunday-school, and -the delight of a refined and intelligent circle of friends. But this -habit, begun in childhood in ignorance of any moral or physical wrong -which might result to her nature, had become so rooted that her brain -was giving way under the effects of nervous derangement thus produced, -whilst her will had lost the power of self-control.</p> - -<p>It will thus be seen that there are two grave dangers attending the -practice of masturbation.</p> - -<p>The first evil is the effect upon the mind through the brain and -nervous system from evil communications or evil literature. The mind -is thus prematurely awakened to take in and dwell upon a series of -impressions which awaken precocious sexual instinct. This precocity -gives an undue and even dominating power to this instinct over the -other human faculties. Coming into play before reason is strengthened -or the sense of responsibility awakened, there is no counterpoise or -principle of guidance to the rapidly developing powers of procreation. -Thus the precocious stimulus of childhood, even if it has not -undermined the individual health, becomes a direct preparation for the -selfishness of lust in the adult.</p> - -<p>The other grave danger incurred by the practice of masturbation is the -risk of its becoming an over-mastering<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span> habit, from the ease with which -it can be indulged; also from the insidious and increasing power of the -temptation when yielded to, and from its association with the times -when the individual is alone, and particularly the quiet hours of the -night.</p> - -<p>In the adult who yields to solitary vice, Nature’s marked distinction -between the beneficent effect of spontaneous healthy relief and the -injurious action of self-induced irritation is destroyed. Individual -self-control, the highest distinctive mark of the human being, is -abandoned. In this way the evil habit may become a real obsession, -leading to destruction of mental and physical health, to insanity, or -to suicide.</p> - -<p>It will thus be seen that this first abuse of the sexual faculty given -to us by our Creator—viz., the practice of masturbation—is a special -danger to the very young as well as a temptation of the adult, and that -it is an injury to mind as well as body, through the inseparable union -of the moral and physical elements of our human constitution.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV<br><span class="small"><i>On the Abuses of Sex</i>—II. <i>Fornication</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>The second abuse of sex to be dwelt on by the Christian physiologist -is the practice of fornication. One broad distinction separates this -form of vice from masturbation—viz., that it necessarily affects two -persons instead of only one. Its effects upon the mental and physical -development of both the male and female must therefore engage the -attention of the physiologist. This necessity of considering the -effects produced by a joint act upon two separate individualities -greatly complicates the inquiry.</p> - -<p>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 act. It requires -a certain amount of generalizing power to do this; and the power of -generalization, which leads to the recognition of abstract truth and -to the perception that a true<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span> principle is of far higher value than -any number of phenomena, is an advanced attainment of human beings. -Abstract truth commonly seems vague as compared with a material fact.</p> - -<p>We are also so accustomed in using all our other senses, sight, -hearing, etc., to regard them as individual possessions, that it -is difficult to separate the sexual sense from all others. Yet it -distinctly belongs to a different class from all our other senses, -because its ultimate expression is not a simple individual performance, -but is a social act of vital importance to the race. The imperfection -of our intelligence, which makes it easier to consider a joint act in -its diversity than in its unity, has led to very imperfect observation -of physiological facts and many false deductions from such imperfect -observation. Very grave social errors, leading even to the general -debasement and ultimate destruction of national life, flow from the -hitherto rudimentary condition of our human intelligence in relation to -the sexual powers.</p> - -<p>Fornication is the promiscuous intercourse of the sexes. It is the -yielding to the domination of the simple physical impulse of sex, with -no perception or acceptance of the mutual responsibility involved -in the relation, and with no regard to a fundamental aspect of this -relation—viz., the well-being of offspring. Fornication is the attempt -to divorce the moral and physical elements of human nature, and to -ignore the inseparable results of joint action.</p> - -<p>In considering this subject from a medical point<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span> of view, we are at -once brought face to face with a conflict nineteen hundred years old. -Christianity, springing up when the Roman Empire was perishing through -its vices, stamped fornication as the gravest of social crimes. There -is nothing more strongly marked in the earlier records of this religion -than the stern, even awful, condemnation of whore-mongers. The sin of -sexual impurity is denounced as the essence of hatred and fraud. We -observe that wherever the Christian Church becomes hypocritical and -cowardly, and fails to reprobate this sin alike in men and women, in -high and low, in the State and in the family, or fails to be the leader -of the people against organized evil, there the Christian Church begins -to fall into contempt, and the <i lang="la">vox populi</i> condemns it.</p> - -<p>The Christian physiologist, pondering the inexorable law of purity -as shown by history, is compelled to re-examine the physical and -moral facts of the human constitution, on which the rise and fall -of races depend. The question distinctly arises, Is Christianity a -superstition, dying out in the nineteenth century of science and -material development; or does it contain within itself a principle -whose transforming power has been hitherto unrecognised, but which -will now come into play, and lead the nations into renewed and more -permanent vigour of life?</p> - -<p>One of the first subjects to be investigated by the Christian -physiologist is the truth or error of the assertion so widely made, -that sexual passion is a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span> much stronger force in men than in women. -Very remarkable results have flowed from the attempts to mould society -upon this assertion. A simple Christian might reply, ‘Our religion -makes no such distinction; male and female are as one under guidance -and judgment of the Divine law.’ But the physiologist must go farther, -and use the light of principles underlying physical truth in order -to understand the meaning of facts which arraign and would destroy -Christianity.</p> - -<p>It is necessary, therefore, to determine what is meant by strength -and what is meant by passion. In one sense a bull is stronger than a -man, and many of the inferior animals are superior in muscular force -or keenness of special sense to human beings, yet man is more powerful -than the animal world which he dominates to his will. Any assertion -that the animal is stronger than the human being fails to recognise the -very essence of humanity—viz., mental or moral strength.</p> - -<p>Again, in one sense, the whirlwind or the earthquake is stronger -than the creative action of Nature; their rapid devastation strikes -the terrified imagination, 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 destruction.</p> - -<p>In determining the strength of races and the strength of individuals, -the various elements which constitute vital power must be considered. -Endurance, longevity, special aptitudes with the proportionate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span> amount -of vital force given to their fulfilment—these are all elements of -relative strength.</p> - -<p>In any attempt to settle the comparative strength of man and woman, -therefore, all these elements must be weighed. Thus the powers of -endurance which are demanded by each kind of life must be accurately -measured; the care of a sick child must be balanced against the anxiety -of business, the ceaseless cares of indoor life against the changes of -outdoor life, etc. 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 separately.</p> - -<p>Any attempt at a comparison of absolute sexual power between men and -women will be found to be equally futile. The varying manifestations -of the sexual faculties, as exhibited in their male and female phases, -make the relative measurement of this vital force in men and women -quite impossible. Considering, however, 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 passion, it is -necessary to examine closely the facts of human nature, and challenge -many erroneous conclusions. Any theory which proposes two methods -of judgment or two measures of law, in consequence of a supposed -difference of vital power, is emphatically uncertain, and lays itself -open to just suspicion of dangerous error.</p> - -<p>The equal numbers of men and women, their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span> equal longevity, and -consequently equal power of enduring the wear and tear of life, prove -the equal general vital power of the sexes.</p> - -<p>In considering further the special sexual manifestations of the two -sexes, we observe that the power of reproduction commences at an -earlier age in women than in men. The physical life of the sexual -faculties at the same early age is more vigorous in the female than in -the male, and all those social interests which centre round sex in the -human race are in the young woman stronger; 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 attained. -The ‘eagerness for a romance’ and the unconscious impulse towards -parentage are developed earlier, and absorb a larger proportion of -vital force in the girl than in the boy.</p> - -<p>At a later age, when physical sex is fully developed in the young -adult, we are still struck by the greater proportion of vital force -demanded from or given by women to all that is involved in sexual -life. The physical functions of sex weigh more imperiously upon the -woman than the man, compel more thought and care, and necessitate more -enlightened intelligence in the general arrangements of life. Physical -sex is a larger factor in the life of the woman, unmarried or married, -than in the life of the man, and this is the case at every period of -the full vigour of life. In order to secure the perfect health and -independent freedom which is the birthright of every rational human -being, larger wisdom is required for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span> the maintenance of perfect -physical health in the woman than in the man, this function being a -more important element in the one than in the other.</p> - -<p>If this be true of the physical element of sex, it is equally true of -the mental element. No careful observer can fail to remark the larger -proportionate amount of thought and feeling, as compared with the total -vital force of the individual, which we find given by women to all that -concerns the subject of sex. Words spoken, slight courtesies rendered, -excite a more permanent interest in women. That which may be the -mere passing thought or action of the man, at once forgotten by him, -obliterated by a thousand other intellectual or practical interests in -his life, often make a quite undue impression upon the woman. Incidents -are thought of over and over again, and are supposed to mean much more -than they do mean. A romance or a scandal, a tale of true or false -love, will always excite interest, where business, politics, science, -or philosophy will fall upon deaf ears. All that concerns the mental -aspect of sex, the special attraction which draws one sex towards the -other, is exhibited in greater proportionate force by women, is more -steady and enduring, and occupies a larger amount of their thought and -interest.</p> - -<p>The frivolity and ephemeral character of the seducer’s impulses, -as compared with the earnestness of the seduced, illustrates the -profounder character of sexual passion in woman.</p> - -<p>Wide-spread unhappiness, social disturbance, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span> degradation -continually arise from the vital force of human sex in woman, -unguarded, unguided, and unemployed.</p> - -<p>Passion and appetite are not identical. The term ‘passion,’ it should -always be remembered, necessarily implies a mental element. For this -reason it is employed exclusively in relation to the powers of the -human being, not to those of the brute. Passion rises into a higher -rank than instinct or physical impulse, because it involves the soul -of man. In sexual passion this mental, moral, or emotional principle -is as emphatically sex as any physical instinct, and it grows with the -proportional development of the nervous system.</p> - -<p>This mental element of human sex exists in major proportion in the -vital force of women, and justifies the statement that the compound -faculty of sex is as strong in woman as in man. Those who deny sexual -feeling to women, or consider it so light a thing as hardly to be taken -into account in social arrangements, confound appetite and passion; -they quite lose sight of this immense spiritual force of attraction, -which is distinctly human sexual power, and which exists in so very -large a proportion in the womanly nature. The impulse towards maternity -is an inexorable but beneficent law of woman’s nature, and it is a law -of sex.</p> - -<p>The different form which physical sensation necessarily takes in the -two sexes, and its intimate connection with and development through the -mind (love) in women’s nature, serve often to blind even<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span> thoughtful -and painstaking persons as to the immense power of sexual attraction -felt by women. Such one-sided views show a misconception of the meaning -of human sex in its entirety.</p> - -<p>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 feel, and they -draw the conclusion that the wife possesses no sexual passion. A -delicate wife will often confide to her medical adviser (who may be -treating her for some special suffering) that at the very time when -marriage love seems to unite them most closely, when her husband’s -welcome kisses and caresses seem to bring them into profound union, -comes an act which mentally separates them, and which may be either -indifferent or repugnant to her. 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 passion; it is the profound -attraction of one nature to the other which marks passion, and delight -in kiss and caress—the love-touch—is physical sexual expression as -much as the special act of the male.</p> - -<p>It is well known that terror or pain in either sex will temporarily -destroy all physical pleasure. In married life, injury from childbirth, -or brutal or awkward conjugal approaches, may cause unavoidable -shrinking from sexual congress, often wrongly attributed to absence of -sexual passion. But the severe and compound suffering experienced by -many<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span> widows who were strongly attached to their lost partners is also -well known to the physician, and this is not simply a mental loss that -they feel, but an immense physical deprivation. It is a loss which all -the senses suffer by the physical as well as moral void which death has -created.</p> - -<p>Although physical sexual pleasure is not attached exclusively, or in -woman chiefly, to the act of coition, it is also a well-established -fact that in healthy, loving women, uninjured by the too frequent -lesions which result from childbirth, increasing physical satisfaction -attaches to the ultimate physical expression of love. A repose and -general well-being results from this natural occasional intercourse, -whilst the total deprivation of it produces irritability.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, the growth in men of the mental element in sexual -passion, from mighty wifely love, often comes like a revelation to -the husband. The dying words of a man to the wife who, sending away -children, friends, every distraction, had bent the whole force of her -passionate nature to holding the beloved object in life—‘I never knew -before what love meant’—indicates the revelation which the higher -element of sexual passion should bring to the lower phase. It is an -illustration of the parallelism and natural harmony between the sexes. -The prevalent fallacy that sexual passion is the almost exclusive -attribute of men, 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span> character of -human sex—viz., its powerful mental element. A tortured girl, done to -death by brutal soldiers, may possess a stronger power of human sexual -passion than her destroyers.</p> - -<p>The comparison so often drawn between the physical development of the -comparatively small class of refined and guarded women, and the men of -worldly experience whom they marry, is a false comparison. 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 feel, and which she would -die rather than confess. She has not been taught that sexual passion is -love, even more than lust, and that its ennobling work in humanity is -to educate and transfigure the lower by the higher element. The growth -and indications of her own nature she is taught to condemn, instead of -to respect them as foreshadowing that mighty impulse towards maternity -which will place her nearest to the Creator if reverently accepted.</p> - -<p>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 -vice, 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 former. The astounding lust and cruelty of women uncontrolled by -spiritual principle is a historical fact.</p> - -<p>The most destructive phase of fornication is promiscuous intercourse. -This riotous debauchery introduced the devastating scourge of syphilis -into<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span> Western Europe in the fourteenth century. Promiscuous intercourse -can never be made ‘safe.’ The resort of many men to one woman, with its -results, is against nature.</p> - -<p>The special structures of the female body, which are endowed with the -elasticity necessary for the passage of a child, rich in secreting -glands, in folds, in power of absorption, cannot be treated as a plane -surface, to be washed out and labelled ‘safe.’ Physical danger will -always be connected with unnatural use of the body; neither party -engaged in promiscuous intercourse can be pronounced clean.</p> - -<p>This is not the place to speak of the moral danger inseparable from a -corrupt bargain which debases the highest function, the creative, to -the low status of trade competition, but the Christian physician is -bound to consider this.</p> - -<p>Some medical writers have considered that women are more tyrannically -governed than men by the impulses of physical sex. They have dwelt upon -the greater proportion of work laid upon women in the reproduction of -the race, the prolonged changes and burden of maternity, and the fixed -and marked periodical action needed to maintain the aptitude of the -physical frame for maternity. They have drawn the conclusion that sex -dominates the life of women, and limits them in the power of perfect -human growth. This would undoubtedly be the case were sex simply a -physical function.</p> - -<p>The fact in human nature which explains, guides, and should elevate the -sexual nature of woman, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span> mark the beneficence of Creative Force, -is this very mental element which distinguishes human from brute sex. -This element, gradually expanding under religious teaching and the -development of true religious sentiment, becomes the ennobling power of -love. Love between the sexes is the highest and mightiest form of human -sexual passion.</p> - -<p>The mental element in human sex, although as distinctly a part of -sexual passion as the physical element, does not necessarily imply good -use. The woman who employs the arts of dress to bring the physical -peculiarities of sex into prominence, and uses every method of coquetry -and flirtation to excite the attention and awaken the physical impulses -of men, is abusing her sexual power. The degree in which she employs -these arts, measures the extent to which her own nature is dominated -by brute sexual instinct, and the unworthiness of the use to which she -puts this instinct.</p> - -<p>This power of sex in women is strikingly shown in the enormous -influence which they exert upon men for evil. It is not the cold -beauty of a statue which enthrals and holds so many men in terrible -fascination; it is the living, active power of sexual life embodied -in its separate overpowering female phase. The immeasurable depth -of degradation into which those women fall, whose sex is thoroughly -debased, who have intensified the physical instincts of the brute by -the mental power for evil possessed by the human being, indicates -the mighty character of sexual power over the nature of woman for -corruption.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span> It is also a measure of what the ennobling power of -passion may be.</p> - -<p>Happily, 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 regarded. It is -a sign of something wrong in education, or in the social state, when -matters which concern the subject of sex are discussed with the same -freedom and boldness as other matters. This subject should neither -be a topic of idle gossip, of unreserved publicity, nor of cynical -display. This natural and beneficial instinct of reserve, springing -from unconscious reverence, renders it difficult for one sex to measure -and judge the vital power of the other. The independent thought and -large observation of each sex is needed in order to arrive at truth. -Unhappily, however, women are often falsely instructed by men, for -a licentious husband inevitably depraves the sentiment of his wife, -because vicious habits have falsified his nature and blinded his -perception of the moral law which dominates sexual growth.</p> - -<p>Each sex has its own stern battle to fight in resisting temptation, -in walking resolutely towards the higher aim of life. It is equally -foolish and misleading to attempt to weigh the vital qualities of the -sexes, and measure justice and mercy, law and custom, by the supposed -results. It is difficult for the child to comprehend that a pound of -feathers can weigh as much as a pound of lead. Much of our thought -concerning men and women is as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span> rudimentary as the child’s. 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—fornication. We have not hitherto perceived that, on account -of the moral degradation and physical disease which it inevitably -produces, lustful trade in the human body is a grave social crime.</p> - -<p>In forming a wiser judgment for future guidance, 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 assertion, based upon a -perverted or superficial view of the facts of human nature. Any custom, -law, or religious teaching based upon this superficial and essentially -false assertion, must necessarily be swept away with the prevalence of -sounder physiological views.</p> - -<p>It is a fact that the brain and nervous system are the media of -sensation, and that pleasure, physical or mental, in whatever way it -may be aroused, must be measured by the keenness of nervous life in -both sexes, not by any special act of one sex.</p> - -<p>It has also been shown that the secretion of semen does not necessitate -a resort to sexual congress, 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-guidance. Physiology condemns -fornication by showing the physical arrangements which support the -moral law. There is no justification in the physiological<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span> structure -of humanity for the destructive practice of fornication. We thus -see by the light of sound physiology, and the advanced thought of -the nineteenth century, the profound insight of the founders of -Christianity, who denounced in one equal and awful condemnation the -whoremonger and the whore.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V<br><span class="small"><i>The Development of the Idea of Chastity</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>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 girls. The sexual instinct, being a -primitive elementary instinct, exists alike in men and women. It is -the necessary impulse leading to parentage, an impulse which the great -Creative Force has laid down as a law of our present human life. But -chastity and continence are not primitive instincts in either sex; -they are the higher growth of reason, and of the religious and legal -guidance by which in every age it has been found indispensable to -direct the impulse of sex.</p> - -<p>The way in which this instinct may be exercised to the permanent -advantage of a progressive community is a gradual discovery of the -human race. It is a development or differentiation of the primitive -instinct; but the instinct and the wise method of educating or of -exercising it are separate facts.</p> - -<p>In the savage stage, in semi-barbarous countries,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span> and in the slums of -all great towns, both men and women are grossly unchaste.</p> - -<p>It is by the growth and expansion of human nature under a knowledge of -providential law, that the necessity of guiding the exercise of the -original instinct is perceived. Thus, varying institutions gradually -arise out of the varied methods employed to guide the sexual impulse. -Different circumstances, different systems of education, law, and -religion, produce varying results. But all these results spring from -a perception that the sexual instinct requires guidance, and cannot, -without danger to society, be left in its primitive ignorance.</p> - -<p>In the gradual growth of thought which leads to ever higher forms -of society, the physiologist has very important aid to render. 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 race. In these two great facts—viz., the ability to -form habits and the power of transmitting the tendencies produced by -habits—the mind and body are inseparably blended, and through them a -nation becomes chaste or unchaste. Habit can so change the nature as -to make what was difficult easy; it can so strengthen the tendencies -in directly opposite directions as to both govern, and to a great -extent change, the action of the physical organization itself, and the -fact of heredity will transmit these changed tendencies to succeeding -generations.</p> - -<p>It is impossible in the long-run to ignore these<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span> two facts which -so powerfully govern sexual passion, because Nature has established -them. Short-sighted views may exist as to the trivial character of -the relations prevailing between the sexes. It may be considered of -slight importance whether lust or love rule these relations. The slow -or remote nature of the evils produced by the violation of Nature’s -laws, and the apparent escape of some offenders from immediate penalty, -confuse the short sight of the irreligious. But Nature disregards our -short-sightedness, sweeps away our theories and self-indulgence, and -inexorably avenges the violation of law by gradual but inevitable -degeneration of the race.</p> - -<p>The power which habit exercises over human nature depends upon the -physiological character of the nervous system itself, through which our -will and thought act.</p> - -<p>It has been well said by Michel Lévy that periodicity is the law of the -nervous system.<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> It is a law which both regulates its physiological -action and controls the course of its diseases.</p> - -<p>Impressions made upon the brain by external objects or by internal -sensations modify the condition of the brain. This modification is -slight at first, but increases by repetition. When an impression -is first made upon the brain, it has to overcome the inertia or -unaccustomed state of the organization to receive that kind of -impression. But with each repetition this resistance diminishes and a -habit is formed.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span> Owing to the rule of periodicity which governs the -nervous system, the brain tends to repeat the change which it has once -experienced, to recall sensations, and solicit a repetition of changes -which have been frequently impressed upon it.</p> - -<p>Passing impressions may produce little effect in changing the -condition of the brain, but when such impressions are often repeated -and prolonged, when the attention is fixed upon them and the will -engaged in recalling them, then the nervous system itself undergoes -modification, and a new disposition of the organization itself is -acquired from the continuation and frequent repetition of the same -impressions.</p> - -<p>It is in this way, through a change in the nervous system itself, that -habit becomes literally a second nature; and in this way habits most -opposite to the natural or rudimentary state are introduced into our -human organization, and ‘nature is dominated by or absorbed in habit.’</p> - -<p>The power of habit is seen even in the action of organs withdrawn -from the will, as in the powers of adaptation to all kinds of food, -to various kinds of atmosphere and climate. It is, however, in that -portion of our nature directly connected with and governed by the brain -that the remarkable transforming power of habit is seen, and in the -sexual system this enormous power is most signally displayed.</p> - -<p>Habits may become so much a part of our nature that they are exercised -unconsciously, the impression which first excited the brain being no -longer noticed, though still exerting its modifying influence.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span></p> - -<p>But when the attention is constantly aroused, the brain acts with -sustained and increasing energy; the senses are thus strengthened or -perfected, and new and higher powers are developed in the individual, -which through inheritance may be transmitted to a succeeding generation.</p> - -<p>It is in this way that the practice of continence or of incontinence -gradually forms a distinctive characteristic of social and national -life.</p> - -<p>This distinctive faculty possessed by the nervous system of -modifying its own sensations, and even acquiring new aptitudes, is -the physiological basis of human progress. ‘It is the foundation of -education, of the power of law, of the influence of custom, and the -necessary condition of hygienic improvement.’</p> - -<p>Habits, when formed in accordance with physiological law, do not tend -to indifference. By the constant repetition of impressions a new -relation is gradually established between the organs or faculties -affected and the cause which produces the effect. As the keenness -of first sensations producing transitory pleasure diminishes, habit -strengthens the important relation which grows up between faculties -and the objects which modify them. It is the superior power of the -new relation thus established by habit between the individual and the -objects that have modified his nature, that have even caused the Swiss -mountaineer to die of home-sickness, or the bereaved partner in a -lifelong union to follow the beloved object to the grave.</p> - -<p>It will thus be seen how the idea and the practice<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span> of chastity have -grown up from a physiological basis, and may be inseparably interwoven -with the essential structure of our physical organization. Chastity -is the government of the sexual instinct by the higher reason or -wisdom—<i>i.e.</i>, by our perception of the providential law which -governs our human nature. Customs, and the laws concerning marriage and -the relations of the sexes which represent them, are checks or guides -imposed upon the blind sexual impulse by the enlightened common-sense -of mankind. These customs and laws, acting slowly but persistently upon -society, generation after generation, modify the habits of thought in -the adult, and the methods of education in the child. It is thus that -the idea of chastity arises, and its practice becomes possible and -easy. 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 custom.</p> - -<p>The universal experience of the world has proved that directly human -beings join in societies, they are compelled to impose guides upon -the exercise of the sexual powers, in the interest of society itself. -This check upon the blind, unrestrained use of the sexual impulse is a -necessity imposed by our physiological structure for the well-being and -continuance of the race.</p> - -<p>The most important practical results flow from obedience to the -physiological law of chastity thus imposed upon our sexual nature. The -necessary mutual aid and respect of the sexes, procreative<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span> vigour and -the production of a fine race, and the extirpation of the loathsome -disease caused by promiscuous intercourse, are all subject to the -guidance of chastity.</p> - -<p>The tremendous power of creative law, which is quite beyond our reach, -demands that the blind instinct of sex be governed and enlightened by -this inevitable higher control, and that human law be moulded upon -Divine law.</p> - -<p>The mighty and transforming physiological power of habit, with its -tendencies transmitted by both men and women to their offspring, shows -the method by which the law of chastity must gradually extend its sway -over the human race. The choice between inevitable degeneracy and sure -improvement is left to our relatively free will, but the law which -governs results is beyond our reach. Race after race has perished from -blind or wilful ignorance, or neglect of the inexorable moral law bound -up with our physiological structure.</p> - -<p>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 community. If they will learn to trust to the -sacredness of the maternal instinct, and instruct mothers, as well as -fathers, in these vital truths concerning our sexual structures, they -will exercise a mighty influence in the elevation of our race.</p> - -<p>To the younger members of the profession I wish to offer some farther -hints on the direct practical bearing of the foregoing truths. The -facts of our<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span> human organization should not only guide the medical -advice given in the consultation-room, but caution us respecting -the methods to be adopted in dealing with the poor, and suggest the -direction in which national sanitary measures should proceed.</p> - -<p>The immense power of this passion of sex in the human race must never -be ignored in relation to either men or women. The beneficent control -which the human mind can exercise over the passion points out that -item in the human <i lang="la">materia medica</i>, which more than any other -the physician must strive to secure for the benefit of his patient, -viz.—force of will. He is bound to declare the sovereign efficacy of -this natural specific, and enforce the methods of securing it. 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 nature.</p> - -<p>There is another point which cannot be too strongly insisted on. The -personal modesty of patients—that elementary virtue in Christian -civilization—must be carefully cherished by the physician, who, more -than any other, is acquainted with its influence on the sexual nature. -The common resort to sexual examination is an evil grown up in medical -practice of comparatively modern date. The use of the speculum should -be strictly limited by absolute necessity. Its reckless use amongst the -poor is a serious national injury. I know from fifty years’ medical -experience amongst the poor, as well as the rich, that this custom -is a real and growing evil. It should be a last<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span> resort of medical -necessity, and it is so regarded by thoughtful physicians. That it is -sometimes necessary is unhappily true; and when a poor sufferer learns -from her trusted adviser that such investigation is quite unavoidable, -acceptance of such judgment is the part of wisdom and true modesty. -But it is essential that the medical judgment thus rendered should be -final—the result of age and special experience. 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 rule. It is a social wrong when the serious character of this -branch of medicine is not conscientiously acknowledged. The natural -sentiment of personal modesty is seriously injured amongst respectable -people by the resort to a succession of incompetent advisers.</p> - -<p>A really serious and national evil results from the thoughtless -treatment of the poor. In dispensary and hospital, and wherever medical -assistance is rendered to the exposed and helpless classes, the first -duty of the physician is to respect personal modesty, or to instil it -if the habit has been lost. Every physician, man or woman, is bound to -cherish with reverence the great conservative principle of society, -personal modesty and self-respect. This is a point on which the medical -practitioner cannot avoid a moral responsibility. Physicians are the -special guardians of health from infancy onward. They possess the means -of acquiring the fullest knowledge of the double elements of human -nature—the interaction<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span> of mind and body. From their culture, their -social position, and the authority which they legitimately exercise, -the weighty responsibility of rightly guarding the human faculties -rests chiefly upon them. In all those points where the physical health -of a nation is inseparably connected with its moral health, they are -more responsible than any other class of the community for the moral -condition of their country.</p> - -<p>All medical advice and all medical measures must, therefore, 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 it, and which must never be lost sight of in dealing with -human beings.</p> - -<p>To the rising members of our noble profession I earnestly present -the foregoing facts for their Christian and patriotic consideration, -believing that when they fully realize these great truths they will -embrace them with the generous enthusiasm of youth. Thus, while guiding -their future practice by sound principles in relation to the care of -our human organization, they will enforce these truths by the strongest -of all arguments—the true manliness of their own lives.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI<br><span class="small"><i>Medical Guidance in Legislation</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>All thoughtful members of the medical profession will appreciate -the power of education exercised by law, particularly on the rising -generation. As students of human physiology, knowing the inseparable -connection of mind and body, they can more fully understand how the -laws of a country mould social customs, and recognise the gradual but -widespread deterioration of social morality resulting from unjust laws.</p> - -<p>In all legislation which endeavours to protect and improve national -health the medical profession is necessarily consulted. The advice -of experts is indispensable in framing measures which affect such -important subjects as wholesome food-supply, the healthy housing of a -people, the prevention and spread of epidemic diseases, etc. Indeed, -so important is the connection of a sound body with a sound mind, -and so linked together are all classes of society, that common-sense -and rational foresight will more and more recognise that health -regulations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span> are a subject of national concern as well as of individual -instruction, and the advice of the medical profession will be -increasingly needed.</p> - -<p>It is, however, equally certain that with the advance of intelligence, -of education, and of political power amongst all members of a -community, the great principle of Justice must become the foundation -on which all legislation, which is to prove of permanent benefit to a -nation, will rest. Expediency, regardless of justice, may sometimes -seem to offer an easy solution of difficult practical problems, but it -is a delusive seeming. The temporary adoption of such expedients, when -contrary to the inexorable requirements of far-seeing or sympathetic -justice, will always degrade, and in the end destroy, the society which -persists in resting upon expediency instead of principle.</p> - -<p>For this reason slavery and polygamy are always found to hinder the -progress of any nation that is founded upon them. In our own country -the unjust condonation of adultery, by law, in 1857, against the -strenuous opposition of far-seeing statesmen, has educated more than -one generation in a false and degrading idea of physiology.</p> - -<p>In all sanitary legislation, where the authority of the medical -profession is recognised by an appeal to any of its members for -guidance in respect to practical regulations, the counsel given -affects the honour of the whole profession, and it is vital to the -authoritative status of the profession that the advice rendered shall -be based upon a sound knowledge of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span> the creative laws which govern our -complex human nature. Superficial or one-sided statements, made on so -momentous an occasion as an appeal by legislation to medicine, degrade -the profession; and practical measures founded upon unsound knowledge -may debase legislation and intensify the evils they are intended to -diminish.</p> - -<p>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 sexes.</p> - -<p>The importance of these relations cannot be overrated. They deal with -the very source of society. They may affect the soundness of both body -and mind. If legislation fosters immoral customs which spread disease -and death, then such legislation, corrupting a nation’s life, is -treachery to human nature, and the false counsel that has been given is -defiance of Divine law.</p> - -<p>A great physiological fact which requires now to be faced is that -promiscuous intercourse cannot be made physically healthy. The reasons -for this have already been stated.<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> But no practical measures are -sound which do not steadily repress this dangerous and debasing -practice in men and women.</p> - -<p>This great problem of sexual evil has never hitherto been studied -from the two sides which Nature presents to us. But sound physiology -requires that the parallel functions and equal attraction in the two -halves of humanity be considered. A Christian nation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span> must recognise -that the purchase of the weaker by the stronger is a cruel and debasing -trade which must be checked, and that the substitution of promiscuous -intercourse for Christian marriage is a physical and moral degradation -to each half of the human race.</p> - -<p>When the facts are fully grasped—1st, that men are not made dependent -upon women for the maintenance of individual health and vigour; 2nd, -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 established.</p> - -<p>In all practical measures required to check sex disorders in our midst, -the co-operation of experienced men and women is essential.</p> - -<p>Whether it be for the maintenance of good order in the streets, for -purification of the slums, for reduction of brothels, for reform -of marriage laws, or for the extirpation of venereal disease, no -regulations will unite expediency with justice, which do not proceed -from the united wisdom of earnest men and women.</p> - -<p>There are encouraging signs in the present day that such a source of -hopeful practical reform will become possible, and that men and women -of large experience are rising into that reverential recognition of -the Creative Power entrusted to the human race, which will enable them -to consult together, and thus gain the wisdom necessary for practical -action.</p> - -<p>The awful aberrations of our sexual nature, which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span> produce such -profound social disorder and exercise such degrading influence on the -relations of men and women, result from ignorance of physiological laws -and the adaptation of human physical structure to the maintenance of -those laws.</p> - -<p>It is through the recognition of these facts by the medical profession, -and their instruction of parents in the truths of physiology, that the -most powerful impetus to human growth may now be given. The medical -profession can prove, through its knowledge of the physical and mental -structure of the human race, that the great Christian doctrine of one -equal standard of morality for our race is true doctrine based upon our -human constitution.</p> - -<p>Our noble profession is summoned to a mighty warfare in the present -deadly strife between good and evil. If as Christian physicians, -believing in a beneficent Creative Power, and imbued with the spirit -of the Master, they recognise the Divine unity manifested through the -compound nature of all life, they will become the vanguard of that -growing army of truth which seeks to know and obey Divine law.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 id="APPENDIX_I">APPENDIX I. (<span class="smcap">Page 24</span>)</h3> -</div> -<p>Human procreation possesses a double relation—viz., <em>first</em>, a -relation to the race; and, <em>second</em>, a relation to the individual. -In the former character, as the inevitable method of continuing the -race, it is a great providential law whose mysteries we by no means -comprehend, and which is placed quite beyond the control of the -human will; but in the latter, the exercise of this great power of -procreation possesses the distinctive mark of self-control, and as -an individual act our power and responsibility are great. In this -important subject of procreation, no one can speak with scientific -precision and lay down absolute rules respecting its complete method -of action. It has been wisely said by one of the most skilful and -experienced French physicians:<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> ‘No opinions put forth reconcile -all facts. We are obliged to confess that there is a mystery in this -subject, that our most ingenious theories fail to enlighten.’</p> - -<p>In considering this subject in its relation to the individual, the -beneficent educational uses of parentage to the individual must be -realized, and the irreparable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span> loss that human society would sustain -from the absence or serious diminution of the parental relation. -Parentage is the most potent and persistent civilizer and educator -of our race. There is no other influence that will compare with the -deep-seated and unique power of parentage in breaking down the narrow, -unsocial barrier of exclusive individual selfishness. Much has always -been said and written about maternal love, but there is a very deep -significance in the persistence with which the Hebrew Scriptures -exalt the power, the supreme beneficence of fatherhood; and there is -a profound reason why universal Christendom is taught to address, -‘Our Father, who art in heaven.’ It is a special lesson to men. The -mother, by the inevitable facts of her nature, when that nature is not -corrupted, is moulded into tenderness and providential watchfulness -over the weak and helpless; her nature is a harmonious whole, and, as -a beneficent general rule, all women are potential mothers. But Nature -does not so inevitably educate men. 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 paternity. 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 -man. It is very instructive to observe how unmarried or childless women -replace by adoptions or by pets their unexercised natural affections.</p> - -<p>Any failure to realize the Divine purpose in this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span> joining together of -cause and effect amongst the mass of mankind, any efforts which tend to -diminish respect for the parental relation and destroy the perception -of its essential sacredness, must be disastrous to the welfare of a -nation.</p> - -<p>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 it, when we seek to remedy the hideous perversions of natural -sentiment, which we find in our unhuman slums. It is not by destroying -parentage, but by teaching its responsibilities and by restoring its -educational influence upon the adult, that we must hope for progress.</p> - -<p>In seeking to bring into the freedom of humanity, not only the swarms -of poor fellow-creatures sweltering in city slums, but all classes of -human beings struggling in the slough of unrestrained lust, we must -reverently study Nature’s laws as they are gradually discovered in -relation to parentage, by which the Creator gradually develops even the -lowest forms of mankind through parentage.</p> - -<p>The fact established by Raciborsky, the famous German physician, in a -former generation is that ‘the period when conception is most likely to -take place is near the time of menstruation, either just before it or -during a few days after the time.’ It is not asserted that conception -in the human race is necessarily limited to this interval of time, 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 -conception.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span> 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 harmony, and -woman assumes her due place as the regulator of sexual intercourse. -Throughout the animal world procreation is governed by the will of -the female. Not violence, but gentleness, is shown by the male to the -female. Her refusal or desire guides sexual intercourse amongst the -lower animals. To raise the human race to this higher animal level from -which it has fallen is a special task of advanced physiology, which can -show the physical method and reason of this redemption.</p> - -<p>Human marriage must be regarded as a life companionship, in which the -satisfaction of physical desires forms a secondary, not a primary, -part. When so entered upon, love will direct its relations for the good -of the two joined together in this unique union. The man joins himself -to the woman in loving companionship, and her constitution henceforward -must determine the times of the special act of physical union.</p> - -<p>The foregoing physiological law is a truth full of hope and promise -of infinite progress, for nations have hitherto perished in large -measure through the abuse and degradation of women. The regulation of -sexual intercourse in the best interests of womanhood is the hitherto -unrecognised truth of Christianity, towards which we are slowly -groping. When it is fully accepted, a fresh spring of vigour will have -been discovered for the human race.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - - -<h3 id="APPENDIX_II">APPENDIX II. (<span class="smcap">Page 32</span>)</h3> -</div> -<p>The following sound advice on sexual physiology from the <i>Lancet</i> -should be widely known:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘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 confidence. 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 them, and the latter are therefore left an easy prey to -their strange desires, and to those “lewd fellows of the baser sort” -who are always at hand to corrupt innocent youth.</p> - -<p>‘If it is true that to a very large extent parents are unmindful of -one of their gravest responsibilities, it is no less true that the -medical profession has often failed in its duty in connection with -this subject. Medical writers and medical men generally are too often -silent on this matter, and unfortunately, when the silence has been -broken, it has not always<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span> been with words of truth and soberness. -We are constantly hearing and saying that “knowledge is power,” yet -we find that little effort is made to impart the knowledge which -would largely aid in preserving the virtue of the young, and the most -pernicious teaching of those who for the lowest of reasons propagate -error is left unnoticed.</p> - -<p>‘Knowledge alone will never make a people virtuous, but it is an -invaluable aid to those who are striving to control their passions. -Seeing, on all sides, the terrible physical, mental, and social havoc -wrought by sexual vice, we feel that the medical profession should do -its utmost to stem the evil, and, at any rate, should give utterance -to the truth with no uncertain sound. What are the physiological -facts that ought to be proclaimed by the medical profession? Mainly -these. In the first place, that occasional involuntary emissions of -semen during sleep, and often in association with libidinous dreams, -are natural occurrences in unmarried continent men, and are neither -the cause nor the consequence of disease. The emissions are most -frequent between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five; they vary in -frequency in different men, but are favoured by sedentary occupations -and by lewd thoughts. The subjects of these emissions sometimes -complain of various sensations of malaise, which they attribute to the -depressing influence of these losses; 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 discharge, and that -they quickly disappear when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span> their real meaning and causation are -understood. To regard such a physiological occurrence as a disease and -name it “spermatorrhœa” is a very serious error.</p> - -<p>‘The second fact we wish to insist upon is that sexual continence does -not beget impotence, and that the all-prevailing cause of impotence -is prolonged sexual excess. In support of the opposite conclusion -appeal has been made to analogy. It has been pointed out that unused -muscles and bones waste, and therefore, it is urged, it must be true -that continence will lead to impotence. Such argument is utterly -fallacious, as are most arguments from analogy. Facts in abundance -prove the contrary. Common as is sexual vice, continence is not -unknown among us, and the truth of our statement is not difficult -to verify. The real argument from analogy is drawn from the breast. -This gland is generally inactive for many years after puberty, and -yet, whenever the call for its activity arrives, it is more or less -perfectly responded to. As a matter of fact, impotence does not depend -upon the testicle, but upon the spinal cord; the sexual act is a -physiological nerve-storm, and not simply an act of secretion. Loss -of sexual potency is due to some fault in the nerves of the parts, -or more commonly in the centre, in the spinal cord, which presides -over this function. It is often a solitary nervous phenomenon, and by -itself is not of grave import.</p> - -<p>‘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 sexual.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span> It is excited by lewd imaginings, loose talk, and -sensuous scenes. It is set in motion by even accidental stimulus of -any part of the nervous system affected by the sexual organism. Hence -the difficulty of continence. On all sides are sights and sounds -that may become the stimulus of sexual excitement. The other side -of the picture is equally true. By the exercise of watchfulness and -self-control the occasions of such excitement may be reduced to a -minimum, and the passion may be subdued.</p> - -<p>‘Medical men are sometimes asked to formulate rules of diet and -exercise—hygienic rules—by which immorality is to be banished. The -task is altogether impracticable. Vice is voluntary, and it is only by -the exercise of a resolute self-will that virtue is maintained.</p> - -<p>‘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 avoided. Ignorance of them drives -men into the clutches of ruthless charlatans, leaves them a prey to -groundless fears, and often leads them into vicious habits from which -they are unable to free themselves. 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 evil. We feel strongly the urgent -importance of this matter, and hence we speak plainly, and hope that -others, as they have opportunity, will do their best to help young men -in their struggle against vice.’</p> -</div> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> See Appendix I., <a href="#Page_75">p. 75</a>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> See Acton’s <i>Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive -Organs</i>, sixth edition, p. 17.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> See Appendix II., <a href="#Page_79">p. 79</a>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> See Michel Lévy, <i lang="fr">Traité d’Hygiène</i> 5th ed., vol. i., -pp. 294-299.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> <i>Ante</i>, p. 53. See also pp. 128, 129.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> See Cazeaux, <i lang="fr">Des Accouchements</i>.</p> - -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span></p> - - - -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop chap" id="medical"> -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -MEDICAL RESPONSIBILITY IN RELATION<br> -<br> -TO THE<br> -<br> -CONTAGIOUS DISEASES ACT</h2> -<p class="center caption"> -<i>An Address given to a Meeting of Medical Women in London,</i><br> -<i>April 27th, 1897.</i><br> -</p> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span></p> - -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop chap"> -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span></p> - - -<h3 id="address">ADDRESS TO MEDICAL WOMEN</h3> -</div> -<p>Having been invited to speak to you on ‘The Responsibility of Women -Physicians in relation to the Contagious Diseases Act,’ I have -considered it a duty to accept this invitation for several reasons.</p> - -<p>It is twenty-seven years since my attention was first imperatively -called by our philanthropist, Miss Mary Carpenter, to the subject of -regulating or organizing the immorality of women. Since that time I -have necessarily given much thought to this subject.</p> - -<p>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 1886. The fact that, in a House of 670 members, only -245 voted on the side of a great moral question, and that 289 absented -themselves, was worthy of note. It showed that the great campaign -against perverted sex was then only beginning. After that first defeat -the mighty forces of evil, of selfishness, of ignorance, of timidity, -of hypocrisy, and of lust were sure to rally, and many genuine -but short-sighted philanthropists, seeing the shocking results of -unrestrained evil, would grope about for a remedy, and probably<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span> again -be misled by a plausible but impossible method of cure.</p> - -<p>On studying carefully the important Government Reports just -published—viz., Representations from the Royal College of Physicians, -from the Secretary of State for India, from the Departmental Committee, -from the Army Sanitary Commission, and from Lord George Hamilton’s -despatch—I recognised more fully than ever before the great and -growing danger which is arising from sexual vice. That danger exists, -not only through our army in India, but also through the present -condition of all standing armies. Thus, by the systematic perversion -of the sexual instinct, the gradual destruction of so-called Christian -civilization is taking place.</p> - -<p>I felt, moreover, 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 physicians.</p> - -<p>Since 1870 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 brethren. During that -period also a most important and beneficent medical movement for the -help of our Indian sisters has been established in India, known as the -Dufferin Fund, and promoted by our European women physicians. All women -physicians willingly help the most degraded persons who voluntarily -seek their help. But any proposition that women<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span> 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 insult, as well as extreme folly, that I felt sure that the -responsible gentlemen who authorized the Government Reports could not -realize the meaning of their suggestion. But it laid upon disciplined -and far-seeing medical women, who must carefully consider any practical -measures which concern the relation of the sexes, the imperative duty -of helping in the solution of an urgent and most difficult problem.</p> - -<p>It is for these reasons that, as the oldest woman physician, I have -thought it right to accept this invitation, and I earnestly desire -to be aided in what I may suggest by the serious thought of every -experienced physician.</p> - -<p>I propose to say a few words under the three following heads:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>1st. On the growing and dangerous character of this sexual evil, which -produces venereal disease.</p> - -<p>2nd. On the error of Governments in their endeavours to cope with -disease.</p> - -<p>3rd. On the right principle which must guide all practical methods of -dealing with it.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3>I.<br><span class="small"><i>On the Gravity of the Evil of Venereal Disease.</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>The Royal College of Physicians—our highest medical authority—makes -the following statement:</p> - -<p>‘The increase of venereal disease appears to us to be a matter of -serious moment, and to call for the gravest consideration. The -constitutional form of the disease is one of the most serious, -insidious, and lasting of all the contagious diseases that afflict -humanity. Other contagious complaints—<i>e.g.</i>, smallpox or -scarlatina—are transmissible only for a limited time, and not by -inheritance. With syphilitic disease it is far otherwise: it is the -most lasting in its effects, and most varied in the character of its -specific manifestations; it frequently gives rise to consequences far -removed from its initial symptoms, most seriously implicating and -affecting various organs of the body; it complicates other diseases; -its contagious properties extend over lengthened periods of time, -during which the sufferers are often a source of danger to innocent -people, while they may be, and frequently are as parents, the source -whence specific infection is transmitted to their children....</p> - -<p>‘About 13,000 soldiers return to England from India ever year, and -of these, in 1894, over 60 per cent. had suffered from some form of -venereal disease.’<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span></p> - -<p>Lord George Hamilton’s despatch quotes from a War Office Report:</p> - -<p>‘Of the fatal character of this form of disease’ (syphilis) ‘the -committee, after a visit to the military hospital at Netley, where -invalids from India are sent for treatment, have drawn a dreadful -picture. During their short term of military service a great part -(in some cases more than half) of their time has been spent in -hospital, either in India or at home. Before reaching the age of -twenty-five years these young men have come home presenting a most -shocking appearance: some lay there having obviously but a short time -to live; others were unrecognisable from disfigurement by reason of -the destruction of their features, or had lost their palates, their -eyesight, or their sense of hearing; others, again, were in a state -of extreme emaciation, their joints distorted and diseased. Not a -few are time-expired, but cannot be discharged in their present -condition, incapacitated as they are to earn their livelihood, and in a -condition so repulsive they could not mix with their fellow-men. Their -friends and relatives refuse to receive them, and it is inexpedient -to discharge them only to seek the asylum of the poor-house, so they -remain at Netley in increasing numbers.’</p> - -<p>The Government Departmental Committee (p. 11)<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span> uses almost the very -words of the French surgeon Diday, who, in writing some years ago of -the dangerous prevalence of venereal disease, so widespread in Paris, -warns his readers how this most insidious disease may be spread by -ordinary contact, by wet-nurses to infants, or by infants to nurses, -by public conveniences, by unsuspected touch, and even by the kiss of -relations.</p> - -<p>These reports show that wherever a standing army exists, either in -Europe or America, whether in temperate or tropical climates, at home -or abroad, there exists a focus of the most insidious and dangerous -diseases that afflict human beings—diseases which specially injure -the procreative power, and which are annually spread in varying -amounts amongst the civil population, 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 mercy.</p> - -<p>When we consider also that not only are the standing armies of -every civilized country nurseries of the various forms of venereal -disease, but that the same dangerous diseases prevail in all our large -towns, the gravity of this scourge, which is sapping the vitality of -Christendom, is evident.</p> - -<p>The more careful study of venereal disease in its two forms of -gonorrhœa and syphilis is especially incumbent upon women physicians, -on account of the result of important modern researches. These show -that many of the female complaints which have so<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span> largely increased, -and which we are naturally called upon to treat, are now considered by -experienced and clear-headed physicians to be often due to gonorrhœal -infection derived from husbands of former loose life—infection -conveyed either directly or from recrudescent and insidious forms of -trouble hitherto unsuspected.<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3>II.<br><span class="small"><i>The Errors of Official Bodies in dealing with this Subject.</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>Before I venture to criticise any procedure or suggestion of the -Government, 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 success. The first refers -to the causes of disease.</p> - - -<h4><i>Axiom 1.</i></h4> - -<p>‘In combating serious disease it is essential to ascertain the chief -cause of the disease, which must be directly attacked and steadily -removed, or no cure is possible.’</p> - -<p>We may as well expect to cure typhoid fever whilst allowing sewer gas -to permeate the house,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span> or cholera whilst bad drinking-water is being -taken, as try to cure venereal disease whilst its chief cause remains -unchecked.</p> - -<p>I shall show later that Promiscuous Intercourse, or the resort of many -men to one woman, is a prolific source of venereal disease.</p> - -<p>The second axiom refers to the physiological rank and scope of our -human faculties.</p> - - -<h4><i>Axiom 2.</i></h4> - -<p>‘The sexual organs are not essential to individual life, although they -are essential to the continuance of the race. Neither is their full -exercise by sexual congress indispensable to individual health.’</p> - -<p>The blind obstinacy with which these scientific facts are ignored in -education, in social sentiment, and in Government organizations, is a -potent cause of national degeneracy, of impaired procreative power, and -enfeebled offspring.</p> - -<p><em>Hunger</em> is the primary instinct and indispensable condition of -human life. It is that which insures the continuance of the individual. -The sexual instinct, with all its grand power to perpetuate the -race, is only a later development, growing with the unfolding of the -intellectual and moral nature. It is shared equally under varying -aspects by each of the two necessary factors in procreation, woman as -well as man.</p> - -<p>This fact of the powerful sexual attraction necessarily existent -and dominating in woman, as mother of the race, seems to be quite -overlooked. In any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span> true meaning of the word ‘strength,’ this potent -social force in women demands far more serious study than it has yet -received, although it may exhibit itself in less spasmodic form than in -men.<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - -<p>There are two branches of the medical art which urgently require fuller -consideration. These are:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>1st. The physiological life of the organs of generation in both men -and women.</p> - -<p>2nd. The immense influence which the mind can exercise over the body -in controlling disease.</p> -</div> - -<p>The susceptibility of our sexual nature to mental control and direction -to noble ends is a great and encouraging scientific truth.</p> - -<p>From these data of true physiology the possibility of continence is -evident. With further physiological study, its great advantage, up to -the full consolidated adult age, can be proved. By scientific study of -the biological facts that underlie these data, it can be shown from -positive medical experience that promiscuous intercourse between the -sexes, or the resort of many men to the same woman, cannot be made -physically safe. The gradual elimination of this destructive practice -is essential to the progress of the race.</p> - -<p>These statements are supported both by historical experience and sound -medical knowledge.</p> - -<p>The human race, in advancing through lower stages of development, -passes from polygamy and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span> concubinage to the higher state of Christian -marriage. The scientific basis which underlies this advance has not yet -been realized.</p> - -<p>Polygamy, although morally degrading to both parties from its -injustice, tyranny, and impairment of vigour, does not produce the -special physical curse of syphilitic disease.</p> - -<p>But promiscuous intercourse inevitably tends to give rise to varying -forms of venereal disease, no matter what precautions may be taken.</p> - -<p>In the female subject, irritation, congestion, or inflammation of the -parts are the result of unnatural repetition of the sexual act. By -such irritation the natural and healthy secretions of those organs are -rendered morbid.</p> - -<p>The natural secretions of the male organs also become morbid in -licentious men, developing into blennorrhagia, or purulent gonorrhœa, -and thus the danger of promiscuity is intensified.</p> - -<p>Neither is it possible, when such injurious practices are allowed, to -cleanse or disinfect the female parts as if they were a plane surface. -The woman’s structure is designed for the passage of a child’s head. It -is consequently composed of immensely distensible or elastic tissue, -forming folds or rugæ, which may retain diseased products. It is also -abundantly supplied with active secretory and absorbent glands, whose -action may become unhealthy.</p> - -<p>The special danger of specific disease also arising from the congress -of different races is a well-known<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span> fact. The alarming epidemic of -venereal disease, which spread like the plague through Europe in -the fifteenth century, was brought from America by the licentious -conquerors of Peru. This gravest form of racial injury is now being -emphasized by the contrast between the condition of our white and -coloured troops in India.</p> - -<p>Although medical investigation has failed to determine precisely the -originating cause of the specific virus which produces the form of -venereal disease named syphilis, yet it is always connected more or -less directly with promiscuous intercourse, especially with the advance -of armies.<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> - -<p>We know, however, that morbid changes may take place in the natural -secretions of the male and female organs under impure sexual -intercourse, leading to advanced forms of degeneration in the various -results of gonorrhœa, producing, particularly when the epidermis is -abraded, sores, ulcers, etc. And the poison of diseased secretion is -thus conveyed from one to the other partner in vice.</p> - -<p>Nor can the presence of infectivity, once acquired, be detected by -inspection; and no infected immoral person, still carrying on impure -sexual relations, can ever be pronounced healthy or ‘sound’ by means -of examination or ocular investigation. Neither can the absence of the -so-called venereal germ gonococcus be relied on as proving health. Its -specific significance is denied by many competent investigators,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span> and -it is absent in some of the worst forms of disease.</p> - -<p>‘Mediate contagion’ is also an important and well-established medical -fact. Thus a famous French harlot, called ‘Casse-noix,’ presented none -of the grosser signs of venereal disease, yet continued to infect the -men who resorted to her.</p> - -<p>When to the difficulty of pronouncing the parts with their secretions -healthy, is added the existence of uncleanliness, of drunkenness, etc., -in either party, the danger of these promiscuous relations is evident.</p> - -<p>Now, these positive medical facts appear to be unknown in their full -significance to our Government advisers, judging from the latest -reports and proposals with regard to disease in the Indian army, -which seemed designed to allay national panic rather than to reach -the source of the evil. A mistake was certainly made by Government in -withdrawing a subject of such vital importance to the nation, from full -consideration by our Parliamentary representatives, on account of its -painful character. The consequence is that an active but irresponsible -Press has thrown a mass of unsifted and shocking statistics broadcast -amongst the people, creating widespread alarm.</p> - -<p>The army statistics imperatively demand a far more searching -examination, both into facts and their causes, than has yet been given, -before rational or permanent legislation can be adopted. Any thoughtful -person examining the reports referred to, will see that such facts as -the following require<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span> elucidation: the actual number of individuals -affected (not the repeated return of the same soldier) and the varying -category of their complaints; the variations in different cantonments, -with the causes of such difference; the effect produced by the -introduction of the short-service system and by increased restrictions -on marriage; the closure of voluntary hospitals and dispensaries; the -influence of malaria and tropical climate on the constitution; the -mixture of different races; and the causes which have produced the -improved health results which are obtained in the army in England.</p> - -<p>These points have not been sufficiently investigated by unprejudiced -inquiry. The well-meaning effort of Government to meet a very serious -state of things must inevitably fail, because the necessary bases for -legislation are not yet established.</p> - -<p>It is clear that, until all these essential facts have been carefully -looked into by a competent Commission and the results presented to -Parliament, no legislation—which apparently destroys the foundations -of morality, which perverts and weakens our youth, and which, under the -misleading phrase ‘voluntary submission,’ reduces our helpless Indian -sisters to virtual slavery of the most destructive character—can be -permanently accepted by the British nation. We must look forward, -therefore, to a longer and more arduous struggle than the one that was -prematurely quieted in 1888. Neither can the struggle between right and -wrong methods of practical action be confined to our Indian army. It<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span> -concerns our work in Great Britain as well as in India and in Africa. -The dire diseases in question are connected with all large towns as -well as with every military station, and as physicians we must study -them in these two relations.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - - -<h3>III.<br><span class="small"><i>On the Principle which must guide all Practical Methods of dealing -with Venereal Diseases in the Army.</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>On this vast subject I can only refer to-day to two practical methods -of gradually extirpating venereal disease from our army in India.</p> - -<p><em>The first</em> is the steady discouragement by Government of -promiscuous intercourse.</p> - -<p><em>The second</em> is the removal of the idleness which curses our -soldiery in an army of occupation.</p> - -<p>The first indispensable condition in the prevention of disease is the -steady discouragement of promiscuous intercourse.</p> - -<p>Now, I assert positively that such discouragement has never been -seriously and steadily tried in the army by Government, but only by -unofficial efforts—efforts which are most valuable, but which are -entirely lacking in the force of organization and in the important -recognition and help which Government alone can afford.</p> - -<p>In the ‘Memorandum of the Army Sanitary Commission,’ No. 2, published -this year, on the first page appears the following noteworthy -statement—so<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span> utterly misleading as to amount to virtual falsehood:</p> - -<p>‘The efforts to teach the soldiers habits of self-control having -so signally failed, 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 service.’</p> - -<p>Now, what are the <em>Government</em> efforts here referred to which are -said to have failed?</p> - -<p>In examining the circulars issued from the Quartermaster-General’s -Department from 1870 to 1884 for the adoption of stringent measures -‘to reduce the chances of venereal disease,’ it is found that the -recommendation consists in instructing the soldiers how to cleanse -themselves after dangerous sexual indulgence! 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 -(<em>that</em> is left to scattered individual effort), but official -instruction is confined to the vain endeavour of teaching him how to -satisfy lust without extreme risk! Surely this is adding hypocrisy to -culpable disregard of the national welfare.</p> - -<p>It is encouragement to continence which the young soldier needs; 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 consolidated,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span> and when continence is -invaluable in helping the physical forces to build up a fine strong -manhood. Encouragement to self-control, therefore, must be afforded -from the soldier’s first introduction to Her Majesty’s service.</p> - -<p>It must begin with the recruiting sergeants, who should be moral men, -and understand that continence in the soldiers will be regarded with -the highest honour, as preservative of physical efficiency and moral -bravery.</p> - -<p>The inspectors of recruits, and especially the medical staff, must give -the important instructions needed by soldiers of how to restrain their -passions.</p> - -<p>The sexual organs are not a permissible subject of trade, and purchase -of the female body should be discouraged in all the manifestations -that official influence or human law can legitimately reach. The -army surgeons must <em>themselves</em> know the physical reasons -why the practice of immorality can never be rendered safe, 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 incontinence. They can indicate the rational means -of physical exercise and mental discipline by which the eager passions -of youth can be controlled, whilst at the same time they insist upon -the necessity of a non-stimulating diet in tropical climates.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span> absolute direction of the army authorities. No chaplain should -be appointed to our Indian army who is not only himself a moral man, -but who has also learned the physical possibility and immense advantage -of self-control, and is thus able from the basis of physiological -knowledge to rise to the higher plane of religious instruction. Without -such physiological knowledge, as a sound support of well-grounded -spiritual faith, his sacred calling may seem a badge of hypocrisy, more -deadly and destructive from the profound responsibility of the position -which he has ventured to fill.</p> - -<p>The immense influence which commanding officers may exert by -their own example and sympathy cannot be enlarged on here. But -until such influences are brought to bear on the recruits by the -<em>Government</em>, it is not true to state that efforts to teach -self-control have signally failed, for they have not been made.<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p>Our responsibilities to the people of India, where England has become -the paramount Power, are very weighty. These responsibilities are due -to its women as well as to its men. It is stated that, according to -the last census, there were the enormous number of 38,047,354 girls -under fifteen years of age in our Indian Empire. What is the duty -of a Christian Government to this helpless mass of human beings? -The formation of poor young Indian women into a class purchasable -by white soldiers—a class despised<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span> by their own people, with no -refuge before them, but when used up turned out to die—is a dire -and dastardly disgrace to any Government calling itself civilized. -The removal of temptation by forbidding our soldiers to purchase our -young Indian sisters, and, if necessary, excluding them entirely from -the cantonment, is a distinct duty on the part of any Government that -seriously means to banish venereal disease from our army.</p> - -<p>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 day. This subject can only be referred to here, for, although -of extreme importance, its practicability and adaptations must first -of all be thoroughly discussed by military men intimately acquainted -with the exigencies of army life. But it is a paramount duty to provide -constant useful employment and healthy recreation for our soldiers in -every army of occupation, during the cooler hours of the evening in -tropical climates, when such employment becomes possible as well as -imperative.</p> - -<p>The remarkable organization of an army is the most powerful -training-school, in good or evil, for the poorer classes of men, that -we possess. The conversion of an army of occupation into a school -of the industrial arts needed in its maintenance—with rewards for -industry, sobriety, and self-control—must surely be in the power of -any Government that resolutely determines to accomplish such a noble -transformation.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span> The saving in health and even in money would be a -great economic gain. The Government that carried out such a grand -result would be a mighty benefactor to our race.</p> - -<p>It is impossible now to go fully into the various branches of this -vital subject, but I would say to my younger medical sisters, who -will carry on here the grand work of medicine when I have entered -upon another sphere of life, that I most earnestly counsel them to -recognise that the redemption of our sexual relations from evil to -good, rests more imperatively upon them than upon any other single -class of society. 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 attention, because the subject—which concerns both -sexes equally—is a repulsive one.</p> - -<p>To us medical women, the special guardians of home life, has been -opened the path of scientific medical knowledge, which, as science, -embraces both mind and body; and it is by our advance, independently -but reverently, in that path, guided by our God-given womanly -conscience, that we shall be able to detect clearly the errors in -relation to sex, which lie at the root of our present degeneracy.</p> - -<p>It is not conspicuous public action that is required from us, but the -thorough realization of true physiology.</p> - -<p>We must ourselves recognise the truth, and instruct parents, that -it is a physiological untruth to suppose that sexual congress is -indispensable to male health.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span> We must warn our young men that no loose -woman picked up in the streets, or in a brothel, or in her own house, -can be pronounced physically safe, no matter how attractive she may -seem to be. 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 mothers. 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 life.</p> - -<p>This is the confidential but imperative duty of true physicians. It is -by quiet but never-ceasing effort to spread the true view of scientific -medicine amongst our patients, and wherever the opportunity occurs, -that our influence as Christian physicians will gradually permeate -society, and cause truth to prevail over error.</p> - -<p>If you perceive that the principles I have laid down are sound, then -hold to them firmly as the most precious truth.</p> - -<p>Meet together to mature practical applications of those principles by -intercommunication of experience and mutual encouragement, feeling sure -that where two or three meet together in the everlasting Spirit of -<span class="smcap">the Christ</span>, you will find, as I have found during a long life, -that light and strength will be given you, and as earnest followers -of the Great Physician you will take part in that mighty work of -regeneration, which from our present small beginnings will, I fully -believe, grow and transfigure the twentieth century.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="2_APPENDIX_I">APPENDIX I. (<span class="smcap">Page 91</span>)</h3> -</div> -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>The following testimony is by <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> <span class="smcap">T. Gaillard Thomas</span>, a -recognised gynæcological authority of New York.</p> -</div> - -<p>‘Until the last twenty years specific urethritis was regarded, in the -male, as an affection of the most trivial import, as rapidly passing -off, leaving few serious sequelæ, and offering itself as an excellent -subject for jest and good-natured badinage. About two decades ago, -<abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Emil Noeggerath published a dissertation upon this affection, -which will for ever preserve his name in the list of those who have -accomplished good for mankind, and give him claim to the title of -benefactor of his race. This observer declared, first, that out of -growing young men a very large proportion prior to marriage have -specific urethritis; second, that this affection very generally causes -urethral stricture, behind which a “latent” or low-grade urethritis is -for many years prolonged; third, 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 time;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span> and fourth, that -the disorder affects, under these circumstances, the ostium vaginæ and -urethra, and thence passes up the vagina into the uterus, through the -Fallopian tubes, where it creates specific catarrh, and by this disease -produces oöphoritis and peritonitis, which becomes chronic, and often -ends in invalidism, and sometimes even in death. For this essay <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> -Noeggerath was assailed by ridicule and by contradiction. The matter -has now been weighed in the balance, and admitted to its place among -the valuable facts of medicine.</p> - -<p>‘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 -gynæcology to-day. Specific vaginitis, 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 judgment, is one -of the most frequent, most active, and most direful of all the causes -of serious pelvic trouble in women—one which meets the gynæcologist -at every turn, and one which commonly proves incurable except by the -dangerous procedure of cœliotomy.</p> - -<p>‘Think for a moment of the terrible position in which a high-minded, -upright, and pure man finds himself placed without any very grave or -unpardonable fault on his part. At the age of nineteen or twenty, -while at college, excited by stimulants, urged on by the example of -gay companions, and brought under the influence of that fatal trio -lauded by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span> German poet—“Wein, Weib, und Gesang”—the poor lad -unthinkingly crosses the Rubicon of virtue! That is all! On the morrow -he may put up the prayer, “Oh, give me back yesterday!” But yesterday, -with its deeds and its history, is as far beyond our reach as a century -ago, and returns at no man’s prayer.</p> - -<p>‘Four or five years afterward this youth goes to the marriage bed -suffering, unknowingly, from a low grade of very slight latent -urethritis, the sorrowful memento of that fatal night, which has -existed behind an old stricture, and a result is effected for the -avoidance of which he would most gladly have given all his earthly -possessions.</p> - -<p>‘All this sounds like poetry, not prose; like romance, not cold -reality. But there is not a physician in this room who does not know, -and who will not at once admit, that every word that I have uttered is -beyond all question true, and even free from exaggeration.</p> - -<p>‘I mentioned, in speaking of the grave duties demanded by puberty, -that one of the important functions of the physician in regard to -the development of the girl during the thirteen years which precede -it, is to instruct her and her guardians how to prepare her for the -approaching issue. 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 “clean bill of health” in reference to gonorrhœa, both -acute and chronic, before the marriage contract be entered upon.</p> - -<p>‘Until a very late period the plan universally<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span> followed has been -this: The man about to be married went to his physician, told him the -history of a gonorrhœa, and asked if, now that all discharge appeared -to have ceased, any danger would attend his consummating the tie. The -physician would ask a few questions, examine the virile organ carefully -as to discharge, and, if the “outside of the platter” appeared clean, -give his consent to the union. The evil which has resulted from this -superficial and perfunctory course has been as great as it has been -widespread. To-day the question of stricture, a slight, scarcely -perceptible “latent gonorrhœa,” with its characteristic “gonococcus,” -is looked into, and not until all trace of disease is eradicated is -permission given for the union. A marital quarantine is as necessary -to-day in social life as a national quarantine is for contagious -diseases in general.</p> - -<p>‘Few men, however eager for matrimony they may be, would run the great -risks attendant upon precipitancy if they only knew of them clearly -and positively. In no field of medicine is the old adage, “Prevention -is better than cure,” more important than in this one. If physicians -would do their duty fully in the matter, how many unfortunate women now -languishing from “pyosalpinx” would in the next generation be saved!’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="2_APPENDIX_II">APPENDIX II. (<span class="smcap">Page 101</span>)<br><span class="small"><i>The following important Memorandum lately issued is full of promise -of a noble future in the British army.</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p class="center caption"><span class="smcap">Memorandum by the Commander-in-Chief.</span></p> - -<p>‘It will be the duty of company officers to point out to the men under -their control, and particularly to young soldiers, the disastrous -effects of giving way to habits of intemperance and immorality; the -excessive use of intoxicating liquors unfits the soldier for active -work, blunts his intelligence, and is a fruitful source of military -crime.</p> - -<p>‘The man who leads a vicious life enfeebles his constitution, and -exposes himself to the risk of contracting disease of a kind which has -of late made terrible ravages in the British army.</p> - -<p>‘Many men spend a great deal of their short term of service in the -military hospitals, the wards of which are crowded with patients, a -large number of whom are permanently disfigured and incapacitated from -earning a livelihood in or out of the army.</p> - -<p>‘Men tainted with this disease are useless to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span> State while in the -army, and a burden to their friends after they have left it.</p> - -<p>‘Even those who do not altogether break down are unfit for service -in the field, and would certainly be a source of weakness to their -regiments and discredit to their comrades if employed in war.</p> - -<p>‘It should not be beyond the power of company officers to exercise -a salutary influence in these matters, more particularly over the -younger men. Many of these join the army as mere lads, and are taken -away early in life from the restraints and influences of home. They -should be encouraged to look to their superiors, both officers and -non-commissioned officers, but more especially to the officers -commanding their troops, batteries, and companies, for example and -guidance amid the temptations which surround them.</p> - -<p>‘The Commander-in-Chief expects officers and non-commissioned officers -to be always ready and willing to afford them sympathy and counsel, and -to spare no effort in watching over their physical and moral welfare.</p> - -<p>‘Officers should do their utmost to promote a cleanly and moral tone -amongst the men, and to insure that all rowdyism and obscenity in word -or action is kept in check. In no circumstances should public acts or -expressions of indecency be tolerated, 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 authorities, -vigorous steps should be taken by surprise visits<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span> or otherwise to put -a stop to such practices. All persons implicated in them, whatever may -be their rank or position in the Service, should be punished with the -utmost severity.</p> - -<p>‘Nothing has probably done more to deter young men who have been -respectably brought up from entering the army than the belief, -entertained by them and by their families, that barrack-room life is -such that no decent lad can submit to it without loss of character or -self-respect.</p> - -<p>‘The Commander-in-Chief desires that in making recommendations for -selection for promotion regard should be had to the example set to -the soldier. No man, however efficient in other respects, should be -considered fit to exercise authority over his comrades if he is of -notoriously vicious and intemperate habits.</p> - -<p>‘The Commander-in-Chief is confident that officers, non-commissioned -officers, 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 soldiers, and that officers -of all ranks will do their utmost to impress on their men that, in the -important considerations of morality and temperance, soldiers of Her -Majesty’s army should, as befits their honourable calling, compare -favourably with other classes of the civil population.</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span style="margin-right: 1.5em;">‘<span class="smcap">War Office</span>,</span><br> -‘<i>April 28, 1898</i>.’<br> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span></p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> In the alarming statistics of disease circulated by the -Press no distinction was drawn between gonorrhœa and syphilis, yet the -larger part of the Government returns of Army Venereal Disease refer to -gonorrhœal affections.—See <i>Report of Departmental Committee</i>, -1897, p. 27.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[8]</a> See Appendix (<a href="#Page_105">p. 105</a>). See also <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> T. More Madden in -<i>Medical Annual</i>, 1897; <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> W. J. Sinclair’s <i>Gonorrhœal -Infection in Women</i>; Researches of <i>Sanger</i> and other German -Investigators; <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Lawson Tait on <i>Diseases of Women</i>; and <i>The -Pathology and Treatment of Diseases of the Ovaries</i>, 1877 and 1883, -etc.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">[9]</a> See <i>The Human Element in Sex</i>, pp. 22, 23, and pp. -47-58.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">[10]</a> See Hirsch, <i>Handbook of Geographical and Historical -Pathology</i>, vol. ii., chap. ii. (The New Sydenham Society).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">[11]</a> Since the above was written an event has occurred full of -hope for the future. See Appendix II. (<a href="#Page_109">p. 109</A>).</p> - -</div> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="RESCUE_WORK_IN_RELATION_TO_PROSTITUTION_AND_DISEASE">RESCUE WORK IN RELATION TO PROSTITUTION AND DISEASE</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center caption"><i>An Address given at the Conference of Rescue Workers held in London, -June, 1881</i></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span></p> - - -<h3>RESCUE WORK</h3></div> - -<p>The letter inviting me to take part in your deliberations proposed many -important subjects for discussion, and, amongst others, the subject -of venereal disease amongst the fallen. On this point I was asked -more especially to give information. I esteem it a privilege to aid -in any way your very important work. I will begin by stating certain -propositions which are fundamental in rescue work, and which are -susceptible of ample proof.</p> - -<p>First. By prostitution is meant mercenary and promiscuous sexual -intercourse, without affection and without mutual responsibility.</p> - -<p>Second. Its object is on one side pecuniary gain, on the other side the -exercise of physical lust. It is the conversion of men into brutes and -of women into machines.</p> - -<p>Third. So far from its being necessary to humanity, it is the -destruction of humanity. It is the production of disease, of gross -physical cruelty, of moral death.</p> - -<p>Lastly. It should be checked by legislative enactment, and destroyed by -social opinion.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span></p> - -<p>Now, 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 conference, and would prevent the special consideration of -the subject of disease. I will, therefore, simply offer them for -consideration as fundamental propositions. I will only beg you to -observe the distinct statement in the above, that it is the sexual -intercourse without affection and without responsibility that I have -spoken of. I say nothing about the exercise of the sexual faculties -in legitimate or illegitimate single unions, where affection and -responsibility may enter as elements. However injurious, therefore, -illegitimate but single unions may be to the welfare of society, I -leave them entirely aside in these remarks, as not coming under the -head of prostitution. I speak of the conversion of soulless lust into a -business traffic—of the system of brothels, procurers, and so-called -Contagious Diseases Acts—the system which provides for, not checks, -vice. I solemnly declare that so far from this system being a necessary -part of society, it is the greatest crime that can be committed against -our common humanity.</p> - -<p>Let me now lay bare to you the root of the whole evil system, because, -as a physician acquainted with the physiological and pathological laws -of the human frame, and as one who has lived through a generation of -medical practice amongst all classes of the community, I can speak -to you with a positive and practical knowledge rarely possessed by -women. The central point of all this monstrous evil is an audacious<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span> -insult to the nature of men, a slander upon their human constitution. -It is the assertion that men are not capable of self-control, that -they are so inevitably dominated by overwhelming physical instincts, -that they can neither resist nor control the animal nature, and that -they would destroy their mental or physical health by the practice -of self-control. Now, it is extremely important that you should -understand exactly the nature of this dangerous falsehood. It is that -most dangerous of all kinds of falsehood—the perversion of truth. I -think it was Swedenborg who said: ‘I saw a truth let down into hell, -and forthwith it became a lie.’ I have often thought of this bold image -when observing in the present day the audacious <em>lie</em> which is -announced as truth, in relation to that grand and universal force of -humanity, the sexual power.</p> - -<p>When you see a poor drunkard reeling about the streets, when you -recognise the crimes and misery produced by intemperance, you do not -say that drunkenness is necessary to men, 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 young. On the -contrary, you form a mighty crusade against intemperance. And how do -you go to work? You recognise the absolute necessity which exists in -human nature for amusement, social stimulus, refreshment, change, and -cheerful hilarity; and so you provide bright entertainments, bands -of hope and excursions for the young, attractive coffee palaces and -clubs for the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span> adults. In your entertainments you substitute wholesome -drinks for ‘fire-water’; you repress the sale of alcohol by legislative -enactments, you arrest drunken men and women, and you establish -inebriate asylums for their voluntary cure. You recognise that -drunkenness is a monstrous perversion of legitimate human necessities, -and you set to work to reform public opinion and social customs. -Whilst on the one hand you legislate, on the other hand you educate. -You perceive that the distinctive feature of humanity is its power -of intellectually guiding life, and you train boys and girls in the -exercise of this specially human faculty, moral self-control.</p> - -<p>Now, my friends, lust, unchecked, untransfigured by affection, is like -fiery alcoholic poison to the human constitution. It constantly grows -by indulgence; the more it is yielded to, the fiercer it becomes; an -instinct which at first was governable, and susceptible of elevation -and enlightened direction and control, becomes through constant -indulgence a vicious domination, ungovernable and unrestrainable. When -unsubdued it injures the health, produces disease, and grows into an -irresistible tyrannical possession, which converts human beings into -selfish, cruel, and inhuman devils. This is what the great universal -force of sexual passion becomes when we resolutely ignore it in -childhood and youth, refuse to guide it, but subject it to accumulated -vicious influences in manhood; and when even our churches and religious -organizations are afraid or ashamed to deal with this most powerful -force of our God-created<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span> human nature, we suffer lust to grow into a -rampant evil, a real drunkenness, and then we have the audacity to say -in this nineteenth century, ‘This is the nature of men; they have not -the human power of intelligent self-control; women must recognise this -fact, and unbridled lust must be accepted and provided for.’</p> - -<p>Now, I say deliberately, speaking as a Christian woman, that such -a statement and such a belief is blasphemy. It is blasphemy on our -Creator who has brought our human nature into being, and it is the -most deadly insult that has ever been offered to men. Do not accept -this falsehood. I state to you as a physician, 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 evil. If -you let corrupt servants injure your little children, if you allow -your boys and youths to practise self-abuse and fornication at school -and college, if you establish one law of divorce for a man and another -for a woman, if you refuse to protect the chastity of minors, if you -establish brothels, prostitutes, and procurers, you are using the power -of the mind over the body for evil. You are, indeed, educating the -sexual faculty, but educating it in evil. Our youth thus grows up under -the powerful influence of direct education of the sexual instincts in -vice; but so far, even in our so-called Christian civilization, we are -ashamed to attempt direct education of those faculties for good.</p> - -<p>I have made the above remarks as bearing directly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span> on the subject of -disease, as well as to call your attention to the proper place which -‘rescue work’ must occupy in humanitarian work. As prostitution is the -direct result of unbridled licentiousness, you may as well attempt -to ‘mop up the ocean’ as attempt to check prostitution, unless at -the same time the root of the evil—viz., licentiousness—is being -attacked. Let it be distinctly understood, however, that I would -encourage, not discourage, rescue work. I honour the self-denial and -beneficence even of those who cannot see the source of the evil they -are trying to mitigate; but I would much more strongly encourage those -who, being engaged in this work, do at the same time clearly recognise -that the warfare against licentiousness is the more fundamental work, -and who, whilst themselves engaged in rescue work, 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 custom, institution, or law that promotes sexual vice. Such -earnest rescue workers are not simply mopping up the ocean, 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 forces. Thus, 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 prostitution. Attention -to sexual morality in educational establishments everywhere, in public -and private schools and colleges, amongst young men and young women, -is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span> of fundamental importance. Also efforts to secure decency in the -streets, in literature, in public amusements, form another series -of efforts which make a direct attack upon licentiousness, and cut -away another cause of prostitution. Again, the abolition of unjust -laws and the establishment of <em>moral</em> legislation form another -series of effort, and a vital attack upon the roots of prostitution. -Always remember that the laws of a country possess a really terrible -responsibility through the way in which they influence the rising -generation. Inequality between the sexes in the law of divorce, -tolerance of seduction of minors, the attempt to check sexual disease -by the inspection of vicious women, 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 licentiousness. Now, every encouragement afforded by those -engaged in rescue work to fundamental efforts to check licentiousness, -either through subscription of money, through expressed sympathy, -or through active work, is also aid to rescue work, because such -fundamental efforts attack the causes of prostitution. Having thus -stated distinctly the aspect under which rescue work must always be -regarded—as a precious outgrowth of Christian charity, but not as -a fundamental reform—I will speak more fully on those points upon -which my opinion has been particularly asked for—viz., the question -of venereal disease as affecting individuals<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span> and posterity, and the -effect of late legislation on prostitution.</p> - -<p>This subject of venereal disease is a very painful one to the -non-professional mind, and I would not bring it before an ordinary -audience. But this is an assembly of experienced women dealing directly -with the vicious classes of society. I think such persons are bound -to inform themselves on this subject. It is needed to their effective -work, and I consider it an honourable duty to furnish what necessary -medical knowledge I can.</p> - -<p>Venereal diseases, syphilis, gonorrhœa, are all names distinctively -used for the diseases of vice, which exist in various forms. All -forms of these diseases are injurious to the health of the diseased -individuals. All forms also are injurious to the health of the -partner in sexual intercourse. But only one form of such disease is -transmissible to offspring. I shall not enter upon the question of the -extent to which these diseases endanger the health of the community. My -long public and private medical observation leads me entirely to concur -in the opinion of Sir John Simon (formerly Medical Officer of the -Privy Council), as to the exaggerated statements that have been made -respecting the extent of these diseases. I fully recognise, however, -the very grave character of venereal disease, and as a hygienist I -consider that <em>any</em> danger from such a cause should be checked.</p> - -<p>These diseases are called the diseases of vice because they spring -directly from the promiscuous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span> intercourse of men and women. Syphilis -never arises from the single union of a healthy man and woman. We do -not know the exact conditions under which promiscuity produces these -diseases. Dirt and excess of all kinds favour their production; but -we also know that, however apparently healthy the individuals may be -who give themselves up to indiscriminate debauch, yet these diseases -will speedily arise amongst them. Now, I wish to point out with -emphasis (to you who are engaged with the criminal classes) this chief -originating cause of disease—viz., promiscuity. It is a cardinal -fact to notice in studying this subject, for it furnishes a solid -basis of observation from which you may judge legislation and all -proposed remedial measures. If you will bear in mind that unchecked -licentiousness or promiscuity contains in itself the faculty of -<em>originating</em> venereal disease, you will possess a test by which -you may judge of the good or evil effects of any proposed measure. -Ask yourself whether any particular legislative Act tends to check -licentiousness in both men and women; if not, it is either useless -or injurious to the nation, because it does not check that source of -constantly increasing danger—viz., promiscuity. The effect of brothels -and Contagious Diseases Acts, of establishments and laws which do not -tend to check promiscuous intercourse, is to facilitate, not stop, -such vice, and cannot eradicate the diseases of vice which spring from -such intercourse. The futility of any system which leaves the causes -of disease unchecked, and only tries to palliate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span> its effects, is -evident. The futility of such a false method would remain, even if it -compelled the inspection of vicious men as well as women. But when a -system attempts only to establish an examination of women, leaving men -uninspected, and allowing free scope to the licentiousness of all, it -becomes a direct encouragement to vice. 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 evil.</p> - -<p>But I do not advocate letting disease and vice alone. There is a -right way as well as a wrong way of dealing with venereal disease. I -consider that legislation is needed on this subject. It is unwise to -propose to do nothing because legislation has unhappily done wrong. -It is out of the question to suppose that in this age, when we justly -boast of the progress of hygiene or preventive medicine, so great an -evil as the unchecked spread of venereal disease should be allowed to -continue. It was the necessity of providing some check to the spread -of disease which operated a few years ago, 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 -immorality. All legislation upon the diseases of vice which can be -durable—<i>i.e.</i>, which will approve itself to the conscience of a -Christian people—must be based upon two fundamental principles—the -principles,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span> viz., of equal justice and respect for individual rights. -These principles are both overturned in the Contagious Diseases -Acts—Acts which are, therefore, sure to be abolished in a country -which, however many blunders it makes, is equally distinguished for -its love of justice and its love of liberty. Respect for individual -rights will not allow compulsory medical examination and treatment. The -right of an adult over his or her own body is a natural fundamental -right. We should uproot our whole national life, and destroy the -characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon race, if we gave up this natural -right of sovereignty over our own bodies.</p> - -<p>Society, however, has undoubtedly the right to prevent any individual -from injuring his neighbour. Interference to prevent such injury is -just. The same sacredness which attaches to individual right over one’s -own person exists for one’s neighbour over his or her own person. -Therefore, no individual suffering from venereal disease has a right -to hold sexual intercourse with any other person. In doing so he goes -outside his individual right and injures his neighbour. The wise -principle on which legislation should act in dealing with venereal -disease is therefore perfectly clear. Society has a right to stop any -person who is spreading venereal disease; but it has no right to compel -such a person to submit to medical treatment. It is of vital importance -to recognise the broad distinction between these two fundamental -points—viz., the just protection which society must<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span> exercise over its -members, and the inherent right of self-possession <em>in</em> each of -its members.</p> - -<p>Accepting, therefore, one essential legislative principle so strongly -emphasized by the Contagious Diseases Acts—viz., 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 <em>just</em>, practical law -upon this subject. 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 obligations. A law wisely enforced, making the communication -of venereal disease by man or woman a legal offence, would place -a necessary check on brutal appetite. Such a law would not be the -introduction of a new principle into legislation. The principle of -considering sexual intercourse for the good of society has always -been recognised, and must necessarily be developed with the growth of -society. It was reaffirmed, but in an injurious manner, a few years ago.</p> - -<p>It is the just and moral application of this principle that must be -insisted on, instead of an unjust, immoral, and tyrannical perversion -of the principle. The necessary safeguards in the working of such a -law, the special inquiry, the protection of innocence, the avoidance of -public scandal, etc., must be sought for with care. But the people have -a right to require that legislators shall seek for and find the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span> right -method of enforcing any law which is just in principle and necessary -for the welfare of society. It is not only a duty, 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 -nation.</p> - -<p>A law which makes it a legal offence for an individual suffering from -venereal disease to hold sexual intercourse with another person, and -a ground for separation, is positively required in order to establish -a true principle of legislation, a principle of just equality and -responsibility which will educate the moral sense of the rising -generation and protect the innocent. Any temporary inconveniences which -might arise before the wisest methods of administering the law had -been established by experience, 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 method. The -first direct means, therefore, for checking venereal disease is to make -the spreading of this disease a legal offence.</p> - -<p>Secondly, 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 funds. -Such institutions have hitherto refused to receive persons suffering -from disgraceful diseases, or have made quite insufficient provision -for them. This refusal or neglect has left venereal diseases more -uncared for than ordinary diseases. It was a perception of this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span> -neglect which induced the establishment of special institutions for -the cure of such disease. But no general hospitals, supported by -charitable funds given to cure the sick, have a right to refuse to make -adequate provision for any class of curable suffering which is not -infectious—<i>i.e.</i>, dangerous to the health of the other inmates. -The rigid exclusion in the past of venereal diseases from our general -medical charities, on the ground of their disgraceful nature, has done -great mischief by producing concealment or neglect of disease. This -mischief cannot be repaired in the present day by establishing special -or so-called Lock hospitals. A strong social stigma will always rest -on the inmates of special venereal hospitals, a stigma we ought not to -insist upon inflicting, but no such stigma rests on the inmates of a -general hospital. These hospitals are established for the purpose of -relieving human suffering, and such suffering constitutes a rightful -claim to admission not to be set aside.</p> - -<p>While thus advocating the careful framing of a law to make -communication of venereal disease by man or woman a recognised legal -offence, and whilst insisting upon the claim of this form of physical -suffering to free treatment in all general medical charities, I would -most earnestly caution you against the dangerous sophism of attempting -to treat women as prostitutes. Never do so. 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 women. The time -is coming when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span> Christian men and women will see clearly that this -hideous traffic in female bodies, this frightful danger of promiscuous -intercourse, must be stopped. Men themselves will see that they are -bound to put a check upon lust, and forbid the exercise of physical -sex to the injury of another individual. Serious consideration will -then be given to the ways in which sexual power may be rightfully -exercised, and preserve its distinctly human features of affection -and mutual responsibility. Whilst social sentiment is growing -towards such recognition, it is our duty as women unflinchingly to -oppose prostitution—<i>i.e.</i>, mercenary indiscriminate sexual -intercourse—and to refuse utterly to countenance it. The tenderest -compassion may be shown to the poor creature who <em>ceases</em> to be a -prostitute; the most beneficent efforts may be exerted, and sympathy -for the individual human soul shown in the merciful endeavour to help -every woman to leave this vile traffic, but never fit her for it.</p> - -<p>Let no one countenance this human trade in any way by assisting to -make vice itself attractive and triumphant over our human nature. I -therefore earnestly counsel all those engaged in rescue work to keep -this rule clearly in mind. Plead earnestly and affectionately with -the female prostitute to leave her vile trade. Offer her remunerative -occupation—every rescue worker should be able to do this.<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> If she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span> -has children whom society may justly remove from her deadly influence, -work upon her maternal feeling to induce her to become worthy of the -care of the innocent and regain her children; but do nothing to raise -the condition of prostitutes as such, any more than you would try to -improve the condition of thieves as thieves.</p> - -<p>There is, however, another suggestion which I will present to you, -because it bears directly upon your way of dealing with the vicious and -enforcing law, and I believe that its acceptance is only a question of -time. I refer to the introduction of a certain number of superior women -into the police organization, to act, amongst other duties, as heads -of stations where women offenders are brought. I know the scenes which -station-houses witness. I know that policemen themselves often dread -more to arrest a half-drunken woman than a man, and that it requires -more than one man to overpower the maniac who, with tooth and nail -and the fury of drink, fights more like a demon than a human being. I -know that such wretched outcasts rage in their cells like wild beasts, -filling the air with shrieks and blasphemy that make the blood run -cold. Nevertheless, wherever a wretched woman must be brought, there a -true woman’s influence should also be brought. When the drink is gone, -and only the bruised, disfigured womanhood remains, then the higher -influence may exert itself by its respect for the womanhood which still -is there.</p> - -<p>There are many special advantages to be derived<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span> from the introduction -of a few superior women into the police-force. I think that the -services of a lady like the late Miss Merryweather, for instance, -would be invaluable, both for the actual service such a woman would -render in the management of female offenders, and also for the higher -tone that such appointments would infuse into the police force itself. -It is only the appointment of a few superior women that I should -recommend, and these must be solely responsible to the highest head of -the organization. The introduction of ordinary women corresponding to -the common policeman, or in any way subordinate to lower officials, -would be out of the question and extremely mischievous. But to secure -the insight and influence of superior and proved women in dealing -with female offenders, by placing them in positions of authority and -responsibility, would be a great step made towards the solution of -some of the most difficult problems of society. The problems which -grow out of the relations of the sexes have hitherto proved insoluble, -the despair of legislation. With the most conscientious endeavour -to act wisely, even our ablest statesmen do not know how to deal -with them. It is impossible that men alone can solve these sexual -problems, because there are two human elements to be considered in such -questions, which need the mutual enlightenment which can only result -from the intelligent comparison of those two elements. The necessary -contribution of wise practical suggestion which is needed from the -intelligence of women, can only come through the enlarging experience<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span> -gained by upright women. The reform now suggested is one of the steps -by which this necessary experience may be reached—viz., 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 remedies.<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p> - -<p>Let me, in conclusion, heartily bid God-speed to the noble efforts of -your rescue societies, and to all those engaged in reinstating our -fallen womanhood. I hail with deep satisfaction the meeting of this -Conference. 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 -intercourse.</p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">[12]</a> The power of being able to offer fair remunerative -occupation is becoming more and more evidently a necessary condition -of rescue work. The pitiful response, ‘It is my bread,’ is now often -addressed to those many noble-hearted young men who, instead of -yielding to, remonstrate with, the street-walkers.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">[13]</a> I cannot now enter upon a subject most difficult -and important, a most prolific source of prostitution—viz., a -standing army. 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—<i>i.e.</i>, the compulsory enrolment of the entire male -youth of the nation in the military service of a great standing army, -where purity of life is not encouraged—is the greatest barrier that -can exist to the gradual humanizing of sexual life. Let us, therefore, -most gratefully recognise that in our own country we have not the -gigantic evil of military conscription to overthrow, and let us ever -hold in honour the memory of our ancestors, who have preserved us from -that measureless curse.</p> - -</div> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PURCHASE_OF_WOMEN">PURCHASE OF WOMEN:<br><span class="small">THE GREAT ECONOMIC BLUNDER</span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3>CONTENTS</h3> - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr><th></th><th class="tdr">PAGE</th></tr> -<tr><td><a href="#Page_135"><span class="smcap">Preface</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"><a href="#Page_142">CHAPTER I</a></td> -</tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Foundations of Trade</span></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"><a href="#Page_155">CHAPTER II</a></td> -</tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Trade in Women</span><td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td></tr> -</table><p> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span></p> - -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3>PREFACE</h3> -</div> -<p>The object of this work is to show the real meaning of those relations -of the sexes, which are commonly known under the term of ‘ordinary -immorality.’</p> - -<p>Customs in the midst of which we are brought up often befog the vision. -Nations, like individuals, may journey on unsuspicious of danger, if no -fresh wind lift the veil which hides the fatal precipice towards which -they are rapidly moving.</p> - -<p>Much has been heard of late respecting criminal -immorality—<i>i.e.</i>, the abuse of the sexual powers, which human -law recognises as crime. The boundary of criminal immorality has of -late been extended in the hope of protecting young girls. When fathers -and mothers begin to realize what the destruction of their children by -lust really means, natural horror is felt at the corruption or torture -of young children of either sex, and a storm of righteous indignation -compels an attempt to provide a remedy. But at the same time the very -causes which directly lead to and produce the monstrous crimes, are not -clearly seen. Horror at effects, diverts attention from vicious customs -which lie at the root of evil, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span> which inevitably produce crime. -Many of those who are most actively engaged in devising safeguards for -the very young, draw at the same time a radical distinction between -so-called ordinary immorality and what, at that particular epoch, has -been labelled criminal by process of law.</p> - -<p>It is a fatal imperfection of human laws that, being only an endeavour -to enforce fragments of Divine Law, they carry the evil of such -disruption with them, and whilst checking wrong in one direction -strengthen it in another.</p> - -<p>This evil is shown in the broad distinction now drawn between different -kinds of sexual immorality, and the results which follow such -distinction.</p> - -<p>Some persons who would shrink from the guilt of being the authors of a -first seduction, or of running the risks of legal prosecution, will not -hesitate to engage in ‘ordinary immorality’—that is, they will without -scruple purchase the temporary use of a consenting woman for a little -money; they will justify the transaction by the plea that what women -will sell men may buy; they may even consider that they show a little -contemptuous kindness to women in such buying, as industrial conditions -press most heavily on women. Women also accept false theories of human -nature that blaspheme their Creator, and degrade their exalted rank of -motherhood by welcoming profligates and sacrificing their daughters in -mercenary marriages.</p> - -<p>Until the higher law of human relations is more clearly understood, -great confusion of thought will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span> necessarily exist as the result of -ignorance and selfishness. But as old errors are gradually proved, an -inevitable and growing discussion will arise in the present age as to -the natural relations of the sexes. The most contradictory theories are -even now brought forward and actively spread abroad, and in the course -of this unavoidable growth of the mental faculties, the necessity -or expediency, the wisdom or the guilt, of what is called ordinary -immorality must finally be brought before the highest court of public -opinion—<i>i.e.</i>, the enlightened conscience of men and women.</p> - -<p>Although, however, the widest diversity of opinion may still exist on -abstract questions, there is one practical point on which all persons -are compelled to agree. It is this—viz., if temporary bargains are -made, either expressly or tacitly, by which one party gives money to -another for a certain return, such a bargain is trade. If few such -bargains are made it is a limited trade, if many it is an extensive -trade, but in each case the transactions are equally trade, and are -necessarily subject to the laws which govern trade. If, therefore, -women are made the subjects of temporary purchase they become the -subjects of trade. Now, trade is always directed by the rules and -customs prevailing at the time, and the economic aspect requires to be -studied; for the laws which govern trade are not fanciful theories, but -very real practical facts, which lie at the foundation of our social -institutions and silently mould our every-day life.</p> - -<p>This is seen clearly by the effects which trade in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span> land produces, -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 country. The -thrifty farms of New England help to create a sturdy, self-respecting -people, whilst the Bonanza machine-managed land monopolies of the West -create luxurious absentees and permanent paupers or tramps. Extensive -enclosure of hills and commons will destroy the country tastes and -habits of generations, whose walks are confined to dusty high roads, -and the destruction of a hamlet fills the slums of a city. So the -Custom-houses and protective tariffs which municipalities create within -their limits, hamper productive industry and help to produce paupers. -Even such a modern practice as bicycling has created an extensive -trade, with dress and habits and various arrangements, all acting -and reacting on the life of the younger generation. Whatever becomes -an article of trade, will become at once subject to the methods and -regulations of trade, with the ever-widening circle of effects which -belong to all industrial action.</p> - -<p>Every civilized nation is compelled to cope with the most difficult -of all social problems—viz., sexual evil—and the great modern -development of benevolence and reform has created a new force -endeavouring to solve the same problem. The most varied methods of -action have been called forth. Religion and morality, physiology and -expediency, pity and severity, have all been invoked in turn to rescue -the fallen and to restrain the vicious.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span></p> - -<p>But the subject of ordinary immorality as a trade necessity, governed -by the economic laws which regulate trade, has not been seriously -examined in the light of political economy, nor has the inevitable -effect which trade in women must exercise on the character of a nation, -been clearly shown.</p> - -<p>There is widespread mental evasion or unconscious hypocrisy on this -subject. So many wrongs in our social state require to be dealt -with, that reformers willingly avoid the painful consideration of -sexual evil. Hope is felt that some of the great reforms of the day, -in which all thoughtful individuals take a special interest, will -prove fundamental in their curative effects, and heal this gravest of -our diseases. Thus free access to land, co-operation and abolition -of interest, total abstinence, universal suffrage, emigration, -arbitration, State-socialism, etc., are all amongst the popular -panaceas of the present day, each important reform or theory being -chiefly relied on by its special advocates, to change all social -relations and eradicate any serious social disorder.</p> - -<p>Favourable, however, as improved material or legislative conditions -may undoubtedly be to the extension of health and morality amongst -a people, these reforms can only be palliative, not curative, if -the fundamental conditions of growth and freedom to use them be -not guaranteed to all portions of a people. 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span> those needs. It is only by such recognition -and such adaptation that any human measure becomes an embodiment of -Divine law. Our conscience must recognise this law, and our Will must -render it obedience, in both individual and collective life, for there -is no other possible method of securing durable and progressive growth. -No human effort can change the supremacy of law written on the human -constitution. Human perversity is free to thwart it temporarily, with -delusive results which serve to bewilder our short vision; but the law -is rewritten with wonderful persistency on each fresh generation of -men, and it remains inexorable in its demand for obedience.</p> - -<p>If trade in women be contrary to the Divine law written on the human -constitution, it will destroy society. Insignificant as the needs of -women’s lives may seem to superficial politicians or self-worshipping -wordlings, yet these apparently weak lives, because God-created, will -prove stronger than <em>all</em> their unstable laws and customs. No -arrogant rebellion against the methods of moral progress, however -splendid in its material force and its money-worship, can change the -awful reality of Divine law.</p> - -<p>Is the trade in women such a violation? Does it destroy the freedom, -and therefore the necessary conditions of growth, in one-half the human -race?</p> - -<p>The time has certainly come when earnest reformers should consider -to what extent trade in the human body exists in this civilized and -Christian nation, and what its effect upon the nation is.</p> - -<p>In a subject so vital to human welfare as the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span> social relations which -are established between men and women, it is pusillanimous to refuse to -examine them. If the human conscience, slowly awakening, discovers that -the necessary laws of progress have been ignorantly violated during the -gradual development of humanity, none but pessimists will fold their -hands in despair, none but the partially blind will continue to rebel -against the Divine law of growth.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3>CHAPTER I<br><span class="small"><i>The Foundations of Trade</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>The wealth of a nation is that which contributes to its real and -lasting well-being, which makes it powerful in the present, and durable -and progressive in the future. A happy and intelligent people, with -just and far-seeing rulers or guides amongst them, is a rich nation, -and one that is fulfilling its duty by carrying on the gradual growth -and ever higher development of the human race.</p> - -<p>Political economy is the study of wealth, and particularly of those -results of human activity, which spring from the necessary physical -relation of human beings to their surroundings. It is this relation -which makes the firm foundation on which political economy rests.</p> - -<p>The subject leads to three great branches of inquiry—viz., the things -which constitute wealth, the method of their production, and the way in -which they are distributed.</p> - -<p>The study of wealth must always take in this large scope in any lasting -system of political economy,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span> because the many special branches which -the subject includes are all connected together. Every part is built -up on the sure foundation of the relation of human needs to their -surroundings. If our knowledge of this relation is unsound, the edifice -will in time fall down.</p> - -<p>In seeking truth in any branch of political economy, whether it be the -relations of labour and capital, land tenure, or free trade, etc., -examination must be made of this foundation of knowledge. Artificial -arrangements which do not recognise the primitive needs of human nature -can only lead at last to misery.</p> - -<p>Reason shows us that physical needs are imperative in a material world -where mind works through matter. They come first in order of growth -as the primary condition of life, through which and out of which the -higher moral and intellectual forces grow. They are like the first -gasping inspiration of the infant, which sets in motion the astonishing -mechanism of conscious human life. Trade and commerce are a necessary -first outcome of a nation’s physical needs; the nature of its trade and -commerce and the methods by which they are carried on are inextricably -woven in with social life, and stamp the character of a nation.</p> - -<p>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 wealth.</p> - -<p>The term ‘law,’ however, is often erroneously<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span> applied to temporary -phases in the arrangements of human industry, which vary with age and -country. But a fixed law in political economy can only become such -when, and because, it expresses the necessary relation between human -growth or nature, and the conditions which promote it. It is only the -result of this necessary relation that can claim the name of Law.</p> - -<p>Political economy must, therefore, necessarily be a progressive -study, because, although human desires are unlimited, human power or -ability to discover law is much more limited. This power grows with -intelligence, and intelligence is of slower development than the -motive-spring of human life, which is desire, emotion, will.</p> - -<p>The methods of producing and distributing wealth must, therefore, -necessarily vary. The interval of growth between the Esquimaux -bartering his skins, and the Englishman exporting machinery is great. -Even the objects and definition of wealth change with race and epoch. -There can be no such thing as finality in the applications of human -knowledge, because the law of progress—progress of individuals and -of races—is stamped on our nature. Political economy, as every other -subject of knowledge, must be revised, extended, and re-adapted from -age to age.</p> - -<p>Although the methods of producing and distributing wealth may vary, -the creative Divine laws which determine the welfare of the human race -cannot vary. Below the changing phenomenon of epoch, country, and race -are fixed principles on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span> which trade (which may be designated human) -must be based. The search for these necessary or fixed laws, and their -discrimination from temporary arrangements or adaptations, is not -only a legitimate but an indispensable subject of inquiry. It affects -not only the foundation, but also the whole edifice of life, which is -built upon it in every stage of its construction, helping or injuring -each individual of the community, as well as that collective mass of -individuals which we vaguely style the nation.</p> - -<p>No religious teacher, any more than the (technically styled) social -reformer, can afford to ignore this great subject of political economy. -A knowledge of its objects, and of the laws which must govern industry, -in its march to the promised land of human welfare, constitute a Divine -revelation. It is a revelation gradually made through the honest use -of our intellectual faculties, and constantly grows from imperfect -beginnings, to clearer guidance under an earnest search for truth.</p> - -<p>A distinct recognition of the different kinds of wealth must precede -any wise or efficient regulation of trade and commerce; for the same -method of production and distribution cannot be applied to all. We can -neither produce air nor sunshine, nor legitimately attempt to make them -the subject of trade, as, being essential to life, they are necessarily -supplied free to all. Neither can we produce earth, which (as far as -it is essential to life) cannot be made a subject of trade on exactly -the same methods, as products which can be indefinitely multiplied.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span> -Neither can strength, energy, or character, which constitute a valuable -part of a nation’s wealth, be grown in a similar way to corn, or thrown -off by machinery like calico. Education is a different process from -printing, and if reduced to the mechanism of manufacture, or converted -into a system of money-getting, is self-destructive, frustrating the -object of education—viz., the drawing out of the infinitely varied -human faculties.</p> - -<p>The growth of reason and conscience in the leading nations of the -world, is more and more differentiating the various kinds of wealth; -data are thus being collected from which the progressive laws of -political economy can be deduced. By the leading nations, of course -is here meant those communities where a large number of unselfish -and thoughtful men, inspired by truth, find their teaching accepted -by the uncorrupted though crude intelligence of a patient multitude. -Unfortunately, the so-called ruling classes in these nations, 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 -midst. But the possession of a band of honest truth-seekers with -earnest listeners eager to be guided, marks the really progressive -nation.</p> - -<p>It will be found that a true system of political economy must rest -upon a moral basis. Trust, freedom, and gradually evolved sympathy are -the foundations on which all systems of industry are built up that -permanently civilize races.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span></p> - -<p><i>Trust.</i>—Trust is the beginning of exchange. Nordenfeld, in -his record of observation round the Arctic circle, relates how money -or articles were left in perfect safety, and faithfully replaced by -equivalent articles in exchange. A striking instance of the necessity -of re-creating trust as the foundation of industry where it has been -lost by long-continued oppression, is related by a gentleman who many -years ago went as mineral viewer to the Nerbudda Valley. Almost alone, -and far removed from the possibility of obtaining white labour, the -natives refused to dig for him. He felt compelled to capture a few -men and enforce a day’s work, which he at once honestly paid for with -the copper currency of the region. But it seemed to the natives the -grossest folly on his part that, having gained the labour, he should -pay for what he had already obtained, and feeling sure that he would -not repeat such folly, they hid away on the following day. The capture -had to be repeated during many successive days, and the heavy coin -brought at great inconvenience for the daily payment, before the habit -of trust could be fairly established; then an oversupply of willing -workers crowded round the encampment.</p> - -<p><i>Freedom.</i>—A great advance was made in the onward march of -humanity, when the reasons for abolishing slavery became clear to -the conscience of the minority, those nations who lead the van of -human progress. The production and sale of human beings as articles -of merchandise can be made extremely profitable as a money-making -trade. It<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span> has been truly said that ‘if the reproduction of capital is -the one great means of a nation’s wealth’; if demand and supply, the -employment of labour by capital, and profits limited only by the wages -of maintenance, are laws of political economy and the right guides of -industry, ‘why should sentimental notions about justice and abstract -rights of freedom interfere with the national good? Why not grow -corn on the sweating system? Why not buy slaves? There is no reason, -on so-called economic grounds, why slaves should not be bred like -cattle—bred to the exact wants of the agriculturist, and when no more -wanted melted down in the sulphuric acid tank and drilled in with the -root crops. Any farmer who would have courage to carry on the economy -of labour and the reproduction of capital in that way, would farm at a -splendid profit.’</p> - -<p>For long ages the trade in human beings has been, and is still, carried -on. It has only very gradually dawned upon human intelligence, that -short-sighted trading customs which destroy the conditions of human -development, injure equally the sellers and the sold, and gradually -degrade and destroy the societies that practise them. This second -foundation of political economy—freedom—still remains unrecognised -by the large majority of the human race. But when the destructive -character or essential wrong of human slavery was once thoroughly -understood by a portion of our nation, they never rested from the fight -until it was abolished. The abolition of slavery was the revolt of -conscience and intelligence<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span> against a false mercantile system which -converts everything into money value.</p> - -<p>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 -industry. They saw that the human being belongs to a different category -of creation from the subjects of his industry, and that he may not -be made a thing of trade, that he owes duties to himself and to his -neighbours, and that he can neither sell another adult, nor his -child, nor himself; that the purpose of human life and the methods of -attaining it, are both destroyed when the condition of human freedom -is violated by converting human bodies into chattels. The abolition of -slavery forbade henceforward the purchase or sale of any individual, -whether adult or child.</p> - -<p>The same uprisings against injustice in the kindred nation of -the United States, has produced a similar advance in intelligent -conscientiousness. However much the American Revolution may be -misunderstood, the facts remain which prove the great moral movement -which preceded it—two generations of united and resolute lovers of -freedom, although a minority, had fought to the death for the cause of -justice, and prepared the way for the great Emancipation Act of 1863.</p> - -<p>It could not be denied that temporary phases of political economy were -being set at nought by the abolitionists. There was no flaw in the -logic of maintaining slavery as a money-making machine. Vast tracts of -land were to be cultivated, useful<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span> products raised, craving desires -satisfied, great profits realized, and a clever, energetic race was -able to abuse a weak, childish one. But the abolition of slavery united -the two leading branches of the Anglo-Saxon race in setting a limit to -trade. They established the law that no human being may be bought or -sold. They recognised the fundamental conditions of human industry, -trust, and freedom, 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 money.</p> - -<p><i>Sympathy.</i>—Another great step in advance has been made by the -dawn of the Co-operative movement amongst us. As Abolition set a limit -to the subjects of trade, so Co-operation is setting a limit to its -methods. True co-operators clearly see that to arrest the slave-owner -and the slave-dealer by the strong arm of the law, is but a first step -to human progress; it is only compelling a necessary condition, not -insuring a good end.</p> - -<p>But co-operation will secure gradually the third necessary basis of -progressive and durable human industry—viz., sympathy.</p> - -<p>Doubtless this statement will at once bring to mind not only the -selfish combinations of Civil Service supply, but the multifarious -quarrels and departure from principle, in the great body of working -people distinctively called co-operators.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, the statement is true that co-operation is a new -development of practical Christianity, which can introduce that -essential element of true<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span> political economy, sympathy, the hitherto -missing guide of human industry.</p> - -<p>The few friends who met in a small chamber in 1828 and initiated the -Manchester and Salford Co-operative Schools were fired by enthusiasm. -The poor weavers of Toad Lane, who saved their hard-earned pence and -divided their first chest of tea, were filled with pity for their -suffering brethren, and eagerly gave the poor room, the precious -time, the exhausting thought—all they had to give—to establish the -brotherly principle of mutual help. And the large-hearted leaders -of the movement, who changed the name of Christian Socialist to -Co-operator—Maurice, Kingsley, Ludlow, Hughes, and many another of the -first noble little band—laid down a spiritual basis as the essential -foundation of durable material success.</p> - -<p>It has been said of the labouring classes ‘that they are unfit for any -order of things which would make any considerable demand on either -their intellect or their virtue.’ The enlightened co-operator perceives -that this is true of all classes of men, rich or poor, in a state of -things where industry is ruled by unlimited competition, and trade -subjects everything to the domination of money. Where all restrictions -are removed, but no sympathy developed, new forms of oppression and -revenge arise.</p> - -<p>Co-operation, therefore, announces a fundamental law of durable -political economy. It adopts mutual aid instead of antagonism in -industry, extends a share of the results of labour in equitable -proportion to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span> all who produce them, and replaces competition in -money-getting by emulation in superiority of production.</p> - -<p>Thus sympathy, the first necessary foundation of industry and social -union, is being slowly evolved by the trials, the failures, but the -ultimately assured success of the Co-operative movement.</p> - -<p>This gradual recognition of the necessary basis of progressive -political economy—trust, freedom, and sympathy (here slightly -hinted at)—is itself founded upon a rock—viz., the immutability of -the Creator’s law of Moral Government, the adaptation of the human -constitution to its surroundings, the only method by which steady -growth can be secured. The waves of selfishness and false theories dash -themselves vainly against this rock, and race after race perishes in -the foolish attempt to set aside the Moral Law.</p> - -<p>The hopeful light thrown upon the future by the revelation of freedom -and co-operative sympathy, as fundamental laws of true political -economy, can only be fully perceived by those who have measured the -evils of slavery and sounded the fearful depths of misery produced by -unlimited competition. The revelations of the results of this phase of -competition in which we are living are all around us, in every class of -society, in every quarter of the globe. The mercantile system, which -makes wealth and money synonymous, and reduces every interest to a -subject of trade, spares no relation of life, and desecrates every rank -of society. We need not go back to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span> crimes which Warren Hastings -committed to fill his treasury. The same methods of crushing the weak -for money, of bartering honour and conscience in the lust of gain, -are going on at this moment in Asia and Africa, in the islands of the -Pacific, in uncontrolled America, and enchained Russia. Its effects are -seen in the Legislature and the courts of law, in all professions and -trades, in the mansion and the lodging-house. Corruption and cruelty -inevitably resulting from a false system of political economy, are -barring the progress of the human race.</p> - -<p>In the present day we prostitute the superior strength gained by -us from the principles of Christianity, to the debasement of human -beings. Money being considered identical with wealth, sensuality -reigns supreme. Money having under this system become the great means -of gratifying material desires, the strife to obtain it becomes -ever fiercer. The statesman regards it as a highest duty to open -new channels of commerce for national activity, quite regardless of -the conditions of mutual freedom and sympathy which make commerce -legitimate. Whisky, opium, and gunpowder bring rich returns from the -ignorant peoples to whom their use was hitherto unknown, and this -wicked abuse of our superior intelligence is in strict accord with the -short-sighted teaching of the political economy accepted by trade.<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> -This species of trade,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span> carried on without limitation, without the -large intelligence of religious insight, must produce a fall of any -race equal to the height of its development; for although ‘religion -without science is a purblind angel, science without religion is a -full-blown devil.’</p> - -<p>It is into the last possible phase of limitless competition in buying -and selling, that our nineteenth century has entered, by permitting -one-half the race to become the merchandise of the other half.</p> - -<p>Under a specious hypocrisy, falsely styled freedom of contract, a -modern phase of slavery is still exercising its influence in our midst; -for the slave-holding principle that the human body may be an article -of merchandise is still applied to women, and conscience is still dead -to the essential principle of freedom—viz., the sacredness of the -human body, through which the soul must grow.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3>CHAPTER II<br><span class="small"><i>Trade in Women</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>It is necessary to define clearly the practical form of evil which is -now under consideration, and to the effects of which the consciences -of men and women must be roused. Ordinary immorality is not the -demoralization of the slums—that horrible result of monopoly and -speculation in land, where human beings are herded together like -pigs—a condition into which the bargains of trade hardly enter. -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 caprice. Ordinary immorality is the distinct, deliberate -application to women of the trading system of money values governed -by unlimited competition. In this system activity, opportunity, and -cleverness carry the day; conscientiousness and spiritual aspiration -are out of place; innocence and ignorance constitute weakness, and, of -course, go to the wall.</p> - -<p>Ordinary immorality or fornication, assuming the female body to be an -article of merchandise, necessarily<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span> subjects this merchandise to those -fluctuations of the market, those variations in demand and supply, and -that tyranny of capital over labour which destroy freedom of contract.</p> - -<p>It may be urged that women ‘consent’ to be purchased, and that -therefore there is a radical difference between the purchase of the -bodies of men and women, which the anti-slavery movement has pronounced -illegal, and the purchase of women by men which we are now considering. -The sophistry of such evasion will be apparent if the question of -‘consent’ and the specious hypocrisy generally involved in freedom of -contract be closely examined. Freedom of contract can only take place -between those who in certain essential particulars are equals. The -parties to any contract must be so far equals in intelligence, that -they can equally understand any risks that may be run, and clearly -foresee the probable results of the bargain; and they must be so far -equals in social position, that neither party is compelled by the -pressure of circumstances or the fear of want, to accept conditions -which are unjust or unwise. No freedom of contract is possible where -this degree of intellectual and practical equality does not exist. -Freedom implies responsibility. There is no freedom if both parties -are not free. Any insistence upon consent to a bargain ignorantly -or forcibly made is fraud. It is fraud darkened by varying degrees -of cruelty, proportioned to the superiority of intelligence and -independence possessed by the stronger party in the bargain.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span></p> - -<p>The grave error of excusing purchase by the plea of consent, is fully -shown when the relations of capital to labour in the present system -of competitive industry are understood. We are now so far removed -from the primitive trade of barter, where values were determined -by necessities, that first principles are commonly lost sight of. -Generations have passed, during which ideas about wealth have become -confused through complicated exchanges, stored-up labour inherited by -those who no longer labour, violent seizures in the past or cunning -ones in the present, with constantly changing standards or ideals. The -quite new standard of converting everything into a money value, and -measuring its value by money, has taken the place of older methods. As -a result, money has become the autocrat of industry. Character, talent, -activity still possess their uses, but only as the servants of money -or capital, which have practically become interchangeable terms. The -weaker portions of the human race are ever more and more deeply crushed -down by the misery of a limitless competitive system, which is not -based on the legitimate foundations of trust, freedom, and sympathy, -and which consequently, by placing money as the irresponsible governor -of the industrial world, makes the hypocrisy of so-called ‘freedom of -contract’ the most bitter mockery.</p> - -<p>It is necessary to realize the overwhelming and illegitimate power of -money in the present day, if the condition of any grade is to be justly -judged, and the responsibilities for the evils of a vicious<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span> trade -rightly apportioned. In the terrible trade which converts the human -body into a marketable commodity, it is no figure of speech, but a very -weighty fact, that vicious men are the capitalists. The responsibility -of that position must be recognised.</p> - -<p>In judging either of the parties concerned in the trade, the question, -‘Who are the capitalists or paymasters?’ is the point to be insisted -on. 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 merchandise; or the wholesale traders who organize -to meet a demand increasing beyond the power of individuals to supply; -or the State which connives at the trade; or society which condones -it—the capital on which this nefarious traffic rests is supplied by -licentious men. This is the great economic fact on which the whole -system rests. All legislation and all benevolent effort that do -not recognise this fundamental fact, will hopelessly wander in the -labyrinth of evil trade, with no clue to direct their energies aright. -From this unnatural employment of capital, two other economic evils -directly arise—viz., first, the discouragement of honest industry; -second, an unfair competition with male labour.</p> - -<p>The discouragement of honest industry is a very serious economic evil. -Any discouragement to patient industry, thrift, and self-control is -direct encouragement to reckless improvidence, vicious indulgence, and -the creation of a dangerously increasing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span> predatory horde. Through -obstacles to honest labour, our prisons are now filled with criminals, -our streets with the vicious, and our work-houses with paupers. -The industrious workers are taxed beyond endurance to support the -institutions rendered necessary by the suicidal policy of degrading -labour.</p> - -<p>The discouraging difficulties which now surround all honest industry -press with increased force upon women’s labour, and compel a moral -heroism to resist the special temptation which crowds upon them.</p> - -<p>It is now a fact that in every large city, no woman with any pretension -to natural attractiveness can fail to meet a purchaser. There are -men who think it neither shame nor wrong to purchase for shillings -or pounds, as the case may be, a temporary physical gratification, -without reflection upon the inevitable results, individual and social, -of their temporary action. The knowledge that money may be gained so -easily, spreads from woman to woman. The contrast between the ease with -which the wages of sin may be gained, and the laborious, even crushing -methods of honest industry, becomes an ever present and burning -temptation to working women.</p> - -<p>It is undoubtedly true that the numerical excess of women in Great -Britain, with other economic facts, intensifies most heavily upon woman -the grinding pressure of our present industrial system. All rescue -workers seeking to help their fallen sisters are constantly confronted -with the appalling answer, ‘Give<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span> me work; I cannot starve.’ The awful -extent of woman’s industrial misery would now be more fully realized, -had not well-meant benevolent efforts called in the harsh hand of the -police to suppress begging, and thus crush it out of sight.</p> - -<p>The increasing and perplexing flood of women in the streets, begging -to be bought, is a strange commentary on the effect of the stern -repression of begging for alms. If in the future, in addition to -the suppression of ordinary begging by men and women, another edict -goes forth forbidding women to present themselves for sale, but not -forbidding men to purchase them, gross injustice to women will be -added to a cruel abuse of power, and fresh impulse given to male vice. -Certainly, if it were in the nature of women to become murderous -criminals, any increasingly harsh and unjust attempts to crush their -misery and degradation out of sight, would drive them into violent -crime.</p> - -<p>But it is not the seamstress slowly starving in her garret, nor the -mass of struggling poverty that is alone, or even chiefly, beset by -the fiery temptations of gain, and the enticing pleasures which money -can provide. The deterioration of character, which is the gravest -result of a false system of political economy, extends to much wider -circles of society. This serious fact is sufficient to prove the error -of those who look to the industrial independence of women, as the -chief means of destroying licentiousness. Although freedom to obtain -decent remunerative employment will secure an important condition<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span> for -checking social evil, it will be a means only, it can never attain the -end.</p> - -<p>The great army of domestic servants, whether in public or private -dwellings, are surrounded by constant temptations to supplement their -wages or relieve their monotonous labour by selling themselves. When -we remember the conditions under which the vast mass of servants -have grown up, the exposures and privations of their homes, their -undeveloped mental state in relation to social duties, the exhausting -work upon which the majority of them enter in hotels, lodging-houses, -struggling households, or the special danger of rich, careless -establishments, and realize both the condition under which their -service drags on and the natural instincts of the human being, then -it is easy to understand why to a frightfully increasing extent -they yield to the solicitations to which they are exposed. The five -shillings secretly gained at night becomes an important addition to -scanty wages, the stolen pleasures an intoxicating relief to drudgery. -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 latter, and to produce discontent and careless, -unwilling service in industries for which women are naturally better -fitted than men; for the same state of things that is injuring domestic -service, exists in dress-making, millinery, and all peculiarly feminine -industries.</p> - -<p>If we take the wider range of labour in which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span> women compete more -directly with men in the labour market, it will be found that -this practice of purchasing women introduces an unfair element in -remuneration of labour. The introduction of the slave principle -(the purchase of the human body) in cheapening women’s labour, has -a formidable effect in depressing the wages of working-men. In all -systems of industry carried on by slaves the cost of maintenance is, as -a rule, the limit of expenditure, the equivalent of wages. Also in the -industrial systems of so-called free industry, the maintenance of the -labourer again forms a limit beyond which profit cannot be extracted, -for no man will consent to labour for less wages than will keep him -alive. But this is not the case in regard to women’s labour. As was -proved a generation ago in France, and can be amply verified in other -civilized countries, women’s wages are forced down below subsistence -point.</p> - -<p>This important fact, with its cause, has evidently not been fully -realized even by so close and impartial an observer as Mill. He says: -‘The wages at least of single women must be equal to their support, but -need not be more than equal to it; the minimum in their case is the -pittance absolutely requisite for the sustenance of one human being. -Now, the lowest point to which the most superabundant competition -can permanently depress the wages of a man is always somewhat more -than this. The <i lang="la">ne plus ultra</i> of low wages can hardly occur in -any occupation which the person employed has to live by, except the -occupation of a woman.’ Mill is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span> evidently uncertain as to the causes -of the under-payment of women in cases of equal efficiency with men, -and is inclined to attribute it to injustice and to overcrowding in -a few employments. He remarks: ‘When the efficiency is equal but the -pay unequal, the only explanation that can be given is custom, which, -making almost every woman an appendage of some man, enables men to take -the lion’s share of whatever belongs to both.’</p> - -<p>But in this generation, which has thrown open the broad gates of -education to women, and which has enormously extended the range of -employments into which they are invited to enter, the causes which -Mill suggests (overcrowding, injustice, etc.) do not seem to give -a sufficient economic reason. One powerful and growing cause of -derangement in the natural rewards of labour has been overlooked—viz., -the unequal competition with male labour which must result, when the -wages given by vice are allowed to supplement the under-payment for -honest work, and the street-door key makes up for the deficient salary. -Whilst this phase of human slavery exists, and the female body remains -an article of merchandise, 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 them. -The wages of women can never permanently rise to a just scale of -labour value, until this slavish principle is eliminated, because this -purchase introduces an uneconomical element into the remuneration of -labour which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span> destroys any legitimate effect of demand and supply. It -enables competitive employers solely intent on profit to beat down -the price of male as well as female labour indefinitely. Indeed, we -have by no means reached the limits of this injustice. The practice of -purchase is still more dangerous in an economic point of view, because -whilst the labour of all women tends to sink to the lowest point of -remuneration, this lowest point can be reached in the labour of the -young and strong, who are most eagerly sought for as merchandise.</p> - -<p>The increasing employment of less remunerated female labour while male -labour stands idle, is an alarming fact. The family is barely held -together by the earnings, of a daughter, whilst father and brother -lounge about the pot-house. The results of any sudden stoppage of a -factory where large amounts of this cheap labour has been employed (as -in the Barking jute factory, where 800 girls were suddenly thrown out -of employment) is an object-lesson in the suicidal policy of degrading -women.</p> - -<p>The natural order of industry by which the man is the chief material -support of the family, is disturbed and destroyed by this unnatural -practice.</p> - -<p>The purchase of young women adds cruelty to fraud. Youth must always -fail to realize results which are only known through the experience of -age. No amount of cautious or theoretic teaching given to the young can -ever place them on an equality with the experienced adult. Moreover, -it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span> is Nature’s law for youth that sexual attraction is quite out of -proportion to intellectual development. The fact of this great natural -law of slower mental growth is the Creator’s imperative command laid -upon the older generation, to protect and guide the youth of both -sexes. The corruption of the young by the adult is not only fraud, it -is dastardly cruelty.</p> - -<p>Moreover, Nature has laid upon woman the more important share in -the great work of continuing the race. It is not therefore pity, -but justice which requires that reverent and grateful aid should be -rendered by men, in the grand duty of creating an ever nobler race.</p> - -<p>Trust, freedom, and sympathy form the bases of true relations between -men and women, as they are also the moral foundations of political -economy.</p> - -<p>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 industry. These effects necessarily extend to the whole -position and character of one-half the race, when any portion of women -are turned into human merchandise. They are seen, by a careful study of -those reckless or hardened ones who have become so direful a problem -in all our large towns. How is that growing army of shameless women -created who, with their companions, so fearfully avenge all social -injustice on our boys and girls and our young men and maidens?</p> - -<p>It is well known that there are thousands of ‘fallen women’ in London. -What does this general<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span> statement in relation to women mean in detail? -What is involved in living by the sale of the human body? The woman, -however ‘fallen,’ is still a human being with its desperate clinging to -life. Let it be realized what is involved in thousands of women living -to the age of three-score years and ten, who must feed themselves -three times a day, and provide lodging, clothing, and the satisfaction -of all human needs by the repeated sale of their bodies—thousands -of women, with all the craving and ever active necessities of the -human being, bodies and souls to be kept alive by the money of their -buyers, 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 nature, and sloth and -falsehood habitual; women driven on by ceaseless material needs to -lower and lower phases of misery and vice, in whom a bitterness is -engendered that revenges itself on the weakness and innocence of youth, -tempting the lad when the adult ceases to purchase; women who—terrible -fact—finally losing their own marketable value, and scourged by their -own daily recurring needs, throw away the last remnants of womanly -instinct, and drag down young girls into their hell of life.</p> - -<p>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 -life. Each one, with father and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span> mother, brothers and sisters, friends -and acquaintances, servants and tradespeople, is exercising a fatal -influence, desecrating the sanctity of sexual relations, proving -the ease with which the rewards of vice are gained, bewildering the -conscience of the innocent, and transmitting sensual tendencies to -their descendants.</p> - -<p>From these bought women come those enemies of social progress, who -enslave our young men of the higher classes, our future statesmen, -those who should be the leaders of the nation. From Skittles to Cora -Pearl, our generation has witnessed the enslaving power of these -tyrants of lust. They have dried up the generous enthusiasm of our -youth, and destroyed those principles of trust, freedom, and sympathy -which should guide our domestic and foreign policy.</p> - -<p>Who is guilty of this appalling conversion of women into demons, this -contagion of evil which in ever-widening circles is destroying our -moral health, and injuring the modesty, freedom, and dignity of all -womanhood? The immediate cause is the man, whether prince or peasant, -who purchases a woman for the gratification of lust. It is this -purchase which draws women into the clutches of a godless, money-making -machine, which never loosens its hold of the feeble creature until the -essential features of womanhood are crushed out of recognition. The -irresponsible polyandry of prostitution, with its logical acceptance -and regulation of brothels, has replaced in the West the polygamy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span> -of the East. In both, degradation, discouragement of marriage, and -injustice to women create a fatal barrier to permanent national -progress. But there is a more insidious source of evil than the direct -purchaser. The conversion of women into merchandise, whilst it produces -a dangerous deterioration of female character, unavoidably reacts upon -male character. This evil tends in women to produce the vices of the -slave—deceit, falsehood, and servility; in men it tends to foster the -vices of the slave-holder—arrogance, selfishness, and cruelty. In both -it engenders that deadly sin—hypocrisy.</p> - -<p>Hypocrisy is the vice which, above all others, our Lord denounces with -the most awful condemnation, raising the drunkard and the harlot, -with His far-seeing, merciful purity, and thrusting the Scribe and -Pharisee—secret fornicators—into their place. ‘He that is without -sin, let him cast the first stone.’ Hypocrisy is the vice which -distinguishes in the most marked degree those nations which dare to -call themselves Christian, but who practically deny every principle -of Christ’s teaching in the conduct of public and, to a great extent, -private affairs. 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 nations. When a savage tribe enslaves -its enemies and trades in human flesh it does not trade against its -conscience. In its rudimentary condition of slow emergence from brutish -ignorance it knows no higher standard than a savage display of muscular -force.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span> When a polygamous nation buys both men and women, or endeavours -to enforce the physical chastity of women by harem imprisonment, it -obeys the highest authority it knows of, its religion, believed in, -although erroneous in its teaching. 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 women, and the -treatment of those women according to the hypocritical customs of -their lustful conquerors. However false the standard of the savage -or semi-barbarous peoples may be, they possess one, and strive to -realize it. But the corruption which the latest and intensest phase -of competitive money values has introduced into the most enlightened -nations, is unexampled in the history of the race. The deliberate -reasoning out and justification of the conversion of women into -things is the abuse of our highest faculties, our power of reason and -conscience.</p> - -<p>The cruel vice of fornication, protected by hypocrisy, is sowing -moral scrofula broadcast, and, like an insidious poison, producing -generations of feeble, rickety wills and maniacal monsters. It is -the degeneracy of the race. The palliation of this vice is shaking -the foundation of our civilization, by destroying the moral basis on -which alone progressive society can rest. The purchaser of a woman -is directly guilty, but a deeper source of evil influence is the man -or the woman who excuses and sanctions the purchase of women, by -upholding<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span> a double standard of morality for the sexes. In the present -age, while the actively licentious are following evil customs like -sheep, some of their intellectual and spiritual leaders are throwing -a veil of hypocrisy over these customs. The God-given faculties for -creating literature, investigating science, and promoting religion are -being perverted to the justification or palliation of lust.</p> - -<p>Our brothers have hitherto been the rough and active pioneers of human -progress, first moulding the material framework of society, then -becoming its leaders and teachers—teachers of those fundamental moral -relations on which human society rests.</p> - -<p>But a time has come in the development of the race, when much of the -teaching and judgment formed by one-half the race alone, is seen to be -liable to error, and requires to be weighed and approved by the other -half of mankind.</p> - -<p>The women half is necessarily slower in development, from being -appointed to bear that great altruistic burden, maternity. 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 creation.</p> - -<p>When we now inquire into and weigh the value of the teachings offered -to women as the guide of their human relationship to men, we are -struck with its amazing contradictions. All classes and sections -bring forth their varying opinions. The scientist and the theologian, -the physician, the lawyer and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span> the journalist, the literary and the -business man, the official and the man of leisure, are all seen -carrying their load of heterogeneous materials to help build up the -Babel of advice to women. All assert their knowledge of ‘Nature and -Instinct,’ of ‘Science and History,’ or ‘the tragical plea of material -necessity,’ to justify opinions founded on misunderstood data. But the -sectional opinions of a portion of the race must necessarily be either -imperfect, arrogant, or sentimental, and God confounds the Tower which -foolish mortals strive to raise to heaven. All those, both men and -women, who retain their reverence for sex, turn away from this unseemly -Babel of conceit and short-sightedness, and ponder these things in -hearts earnestly seeking truth.</p> - -<p>The great question now at issue is the Unity of the Moral Law. This -unity is being attacked by the intellectual short-sightedness or -unconscious intellectual dishonesty of those who should be its most -enlightened upholders.</p> - -<p>One of our leading family journals has lately stated that ‘the modern -notion of equality impairs the responsibility of special classes for -special virtues.’ There is a sense in which special classes may be said -to hold special responsibility. 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 people. They must consider the conditions -essential to such virtue, and when they clearly see the truth, an army -of noble men will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span> zealously help in shaping truth in practice. The -great truth which women are now learning is the necessity that every -man should be chaste. This is the truth so long unrecognised, but at -last discovered as the solution of the great social problem. Without -male chastity, female chastity is impossible.</p> - -<p>Virtue is not self-righteousness. It is unconscious of self, because -it has become a mode of individual existence, and it maintains its -vitality by care for others. A chaste woman does not think of her own -purity; she thinks of the poor girl drudging in cellars, or hurrying -at night, waylaid by tempters, to her poor home, or ‘drilled’ in the -rich man’s shop; she thinks of her cherished sons with their noble -and innocent young manhood exposed to the influence of the corrupt -adult. Women’s responsibility for the purity of society commands her -to announce the conditions of purity, and unmask with a relentless -justice—which is now the truest mercy—those destroyers of national -purity, the upholders of a double standard of sexual morality. The fact -that so many cultivated intellects resort to fallacy or metaphysical -abstraction to palliate the destructive abuse of our sexual powers, is -a direct call on women to help in spreading truth.</p> - -<p>There cannot be one moral law for human beings, which is at the same -time of unequal application to them. Moral law is not the creation of -mediæval art, which, substituting a symbol for entity, represents the -Great Creator as an aged man with long gray beard seated upon clouds. -The moral law is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span> not the arbitrary dictum of a man. The authority of -the moral law springs from its adaptation by the Creator, to the nature -of the beings subjected to it. It is the guide to the highest end of -that nature, the necessary method by which its welfare is secured. -Its authority is absolute, not relative, because it is the method of -highest growth. Divine law admits of no exception, it cannot contradict -itself. It is equally binding on the weakest as on the strongest, on -the man as on the woman, or it is not law. If men are so constituted -that they can grow to the full stature of manhood without obedience -to the law of purity, then the moral law of purity does not exist for -them, because it is not a necessary method of growth to their highest -human development; their nature is not adapted by the Creator to the -moral law; its influence over them is thus weakened, its absolute -authority destroyed.</p> - -<p>To profess to accept the unity of the moral law, but at the same time -seek to avoid its consequences, is hypocrisy. The moral law cannot be -evaded by any metaphysical creation of ‘noble moral paradoxes.’<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> Any -attempt to define purity as unequally binding on the sexes by being -‘more for women, but not less for men,’ is worse than nonsense, it is -dangerous sophistry. It is a confusion of right and wrong, placing men -and women on diverging paths which will lead them ever farther apart. -It is a strange spectacle, the nineteenth-century Adam cowering under -the overpowering justice of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span> moral law, seeking refuge behind a -paradox! But the weak and erring children of one Great Creator, bound -to live together and help or injure one another, must not be turned -away from each other by the arrogance or ignorance of any portion of -the race. What mortal can determine the varying kind and quality of -temptations which assail another mortal life? Who shall dare to say -to another, You are not tempted as I am? Who can measure the weakness -or the strength of another soul, and measure out judgment by shifting -standards of right and wrong? Only by humility can we gain wisdom. Only -by doing the will of the Creator shall we learn the doctrine of truth.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span></p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">[14]</a> ‘At a meeting of the British Association, held September -7, 1886, the eminent African explorer, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Joseph Thompson, spoke -boldly of the evil influence of Europeans in Africa, remarking that -it has been terrible, and that for one negro influenced for good by -missionaries there were a thousand who had been driven to deeper -degradation. We supplied them still with an incredible quantity of gin, -rum, gunpowder, and guns.’</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">[15]</a> See the <i>Spectator</i>, July 31, 1886.</p> - -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_MORAL_EDUCATION_OF_THE_YOUNG_IN_RELATION_TO_SEX">THE MORAL EDUCATION OF THE YOUNG IN RELATION TO SEX</h2> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3>CONTENTS</h3> -</div> -<table class="autotable"> -<tr><th></th><th class="tdr page">PAGE</th></tr> -<tr><td><a href="#Page_177"><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc">CHAPTER I</td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="#Page_180"><span class="smcap">Physiological Laws which influence the Physical and Mental Growth of Sex</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_180">180</a></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc">CHAPTER II</td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="#Page_206"><span class="smcap">Social Results of Neglecting these Physiological Laws</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_206">206</a></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc">CHAPTER III</td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="#Page_240"><span class="smcap">The Hygienic Advantage of Sexual Morality</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_240">240</a></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc">CHAPTER IV</td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="#Page_259"><span class="smcap">Methods by which Sexual Morality may be Promoted</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_259">259</a></td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="#Page_306"><span class="smcap">Appendix I</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_306">306</a></td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="#Page_308"><span class="smcap">Appendix II</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_308">308</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3>INTRODUCTION</h3> -</div> -<p>Age after age brings forward varying phases of thought, when some -particular facts of life are thrown into unusual prominence, such -special development of thought serving to mould the society of that -generation, giving it a special stamp, and thus advancing the progress -of humanity one step forward. Of all the ideas gradually worked out -and gained as the permanent possession of human society, the slowest -in growth is the idea of the true relations of the sexes. The instinct -of sex always exists as the indispensable condition of life and the -foundation of society. It is the strongest force in human nature. -Whatever else disappears, this continues. Undeveloped, no subject of -thought, but nevertheless as the central fire of life, Nature guards -this inevitable instinct from all possibility of destruction. But -as an idea, thought out in all its wide relations, shaped in human -practice in all its ennobling influences, it is the latest growth of -civilization. In whatever concerns the subject of sex, customs are -blindly considered sacred, and evils deemed inevitable. The mass of -mankind seems moved with anger, fear, or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span> shame, by any effort made -to consider seriously this fundamental idea. It must necessarily come -forward, however, in the progress of events, as the subject of primary -importance. As society advances, as principles of justice and humanity -become firmly established, as science and industry prepare the way for -the more perfect command of the material world, it will be found that -the time has come for the serious consideration of this first and last -question in human welfare, for the subject of sex will then present -itself as the great aid or obstacle to further progress. The gradually -growing conviction will be felt that, as it is the fundamental -principle of all society, so it is its crowning glory. In the relations -of men and women will be found the chief cause of past national -decline, or the promise of indefinite future progress.</p> - -<p>The family, 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 element, and the powers that -can be unfolded from it. Morality in sex will be found to be the -essence of all morality, securing principles of justice, honour, and -uprightness in the most influential of all human relations, and as it -is all-important in life, so it is all-important in the education which -prepares for life. A great social question lies, therefore, at the -foundation of the moral education of youth, and influences more or less -directly each step of education. It becomes indispensable to consider -the relation of this subject to the various stages of education, and -the methods<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span> by means of which education may guide and strengthen youth -in their entrance into wider social life.</p> - -<p>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 life, as men and women; these -views will unavoidably determine the course of practical education. Two -great questions, therefore, naturally present themselves at the outset -of every careful consideration of moral sexual education—</p> - -<p>1. What is the true standard for the relations of men and women—the -type which contains within itself the germ of progress or continual -development?</p> - -<p>2. How can this standard be attained by human beings?</p> - -<p>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 essay.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3>CHAPTER I<br><span class="small"><i>Physiological Laws which Influence the Physical and Mental Growth of -Sex</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>The very gradual growth of mankind from lower to higher forms of social -life, makes the study of the relation of the sexes a very complicated -one; but a sure guide may be found in the great truths of physiology, -viewed in their broad relation to human progress, and it is on the -solid foundation of these truths that correct principles of education -must be based. The tendency of our age, in seeking truth, is to -reject theories and study facts—facts, however, on the largest and -most comprehensive scale. Every physician knows that nothing is more -stupid than routine practice; nothing more unreliable than theories -unsupported by well-observed facts; and, at the same time, nothing -more misleading than partial facts. The laws of the human constitution -itself, as taught by the most comprehensive investigations of science, -must be carefully studied. We must learn what reason, observing the -facts of physiology, lays down as the true laws which should<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span> govern -the relations of men and women—laws whose observance will secure the -finest development of our race, and serve as a guide in directing the -education of our children.</p> - -<p>The relations of human beings to each other, depend upon the nature and -requirements of individuals. It is, therefore, essential to know what -the nature of the individual human being really is; how it grows and -how it degenerates. Such knowledge must necessarily form the basis of -all true methods of education.</p> - -<p>We find throughout Nature, that every creature possesses its peculiar -type, towards which it must tend, if it is to accomplish the purpose -of its creation. There is a capacity belonging to the original germ, -which, if the necessary conditions are presented, will lead it through -the various stages of growth and of development, to the complete -attainment of this type.</p> - -<p>This type or pattern is the true aim of the individual. With the -process by which it is reached, it constitutes its nature.</p> - -<p>In order to determine the nature of any creature, both the type it -should attain and the steps by which alone that type can be attained, -must be taken into consideration, or we are led astray in our judgment -of the nature of the individual. Thought is often confused by a vague -use of the term ‘nature.’ The educated man is more natural than the -savage, because he approaches more nearly to the true type of man, and -has acquired the power of transmitting increased capacities to his -children. What is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span> popularly called a state of nature, is really a -state of rudimentary life, which does not display the real nature of -man, but only its imperfect condition.</p> - -<p>Striking instances of unusual imperfection may often be observed in -the physical structure of the individual, for there are blind as well -as intelligent forces at work, in the long and elaborate process of -forming the complete human being. Thus, sometimes we find that the -developmental process of the body goes wrong, and produces six fingers -instead of five through successive generations, or the formative -power of some organ runs blindly into excess, producing the diseased -condition of hypertrophy. Arrest of development, also, may take place -at any stage of youthful life as well as before birth, the consequence -being deficiency of organic power, or even defective organs, although -in such cases growth and repair continue, and even long life may be -attained. These conditions are not natural, because, although they -exist, they are contrary to the type of man. For the same reason the -cannibal must be regarded as unnatural.</p> - -<p>In studying the individual human type, we find some points in which -it resembles the lower animals, some points in which it differs from -all others, and some temporary phases during which it passes from the -brute type to the human. If it stop short at any stage of the regular -sequence or development, it fails in its essential object, and, -although living, it is unnatural.</p> - -<p>When we seek for the distinguishing type of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span> human being—the type -for which the slow and careful elaboration of parts is necessary—we -find it in the mental, not in the physical, capacity of man. Physical -power and the perfection of physical instincts are attained by the -lower animals in a higher degree than by man. It is only when we -observe the uses and education of which the physical powers are -susceptible, and the development of which the mental powers are -capable, that we perceive the immense superiority of the human race, -and recognise the type—viz., the true nature of man, towards the -attainment of which all the elaborate processes of growth are directed. -The more carefully we examine the intellectual growth of the lower -animals, tracing the reflex movements and instinctive actions of the -invertebrata, through the intelligent mental operations of the dog -or the elephant, the more clearly we perceive the distinguishing -type of Man. This type is that union of truth and good which we name -Reason. Reason is the clear perception of the true relation of things, -and the love of their harmonious relations. It includes judgment, -conscience—all the higher intellectual and moral qualities.</p> - -<p>Reason, with the Will to execute its dictates, is the distinguishing -type of man. It is towards this end that his faculties tend; in this -consists his peculiarity, his charter of existence. Any failure to -reach this end, is as much an arrest of development as is a case of -spina bifida, or the imperfect closure of the heart’s ventricles. -We cannot judge of the Nature of man, without the clear recognition -of this distinctive<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span> type, and it is impossible to establish sound -methods of education, without constantly keeping in view, both -the true nature of man and the steps by which it must be reached. -These steps—<i>i.e.</i>, the method by which man grows towards his -distinctive type in creation—constitute the fundamental question in -the present inquiry.</p> - -<p>One distinguishing feature of human growth is its comparative slowness. -No animal is so helpless during its infancy, none remains so long in -a state of complete dependence on its parents. During the first few -years, the child is quite unable either to procure its own food, or to -keep itself from accidents, and it attains neither its complete bodily -nor mental development, until it is over twenty years of age. We find -this slow growth of faculties to be an essential condition of their -excellence. It is observed to be a law of organized existence that the -higher the degree of development to be reached, the slower are the -processes through which it is attained, and the longer is its period of -dependence on parental aid.</p> - -<p>The forces employed in the elaboration of the human being, differ in -their manifestation at various stages of its growth. There are two -marked forces to be noted, often confounded together, but important to -distinguish—viz., the power of growth and the power of development, -the former possessed throughout life, the latter at certain epochs -only. The capacity for <em>growth</em> and nutrition, by means of which -the human frame is built up and maintained<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span> out of the forces derived -from food and other agents, is shown until the last breath of life, -by the power of repair, which continues as long as the human being -lives. All action of the organism, every employment of muscular or -nervous tissue, uses up such tissue. The body is wasted by its own -activities, and it is only by the exact counterpoise of these two -forces—disintegration and repair—that health and life itself are -maintained. In youth, in connection with very rapid waste of tissue, -exists a great excess of formative power, which excess enables each -complete organ to enlarge and consolidate itself. The reduction of this -excess of formative power to a balance with the waste of tissue, marks -the strength of adult life. Its diminution below the power of repair -marks the decline of life.</p> - -<p>The force of <em>development</em>, however, is shown, not in the -enlargement and maintenance of existing parts, but in the creation of -new tissues or organs or parts of organs, so that quite new powers -are added to the individual. After birth these remarkable efforts of -creative force belong exclusively to the youth of the individual. -They are chiefly marked by dentition, by growth of the skeleton and -the brain, and still more by the addition of the generative powers. -With this work of development the adult has nothing to do; it is a -burden laid especially upon the young: it is a work as important and -exclusively theirs, as child-bearing is the exclusive work of the -mother.</p> - -<p>One of the first lessons, then, that Physiology<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span> teaches us in relation -to the healthy growth of the human being, is the slow and successive -development of the various faculties. Although the complete type of -the future man exists potentially in the infant, long time and varying -conditions are essential to its establishment, and the type will never -be attained, if the necessary time and conditions are not provided.</p> - -<p>The second physiological fact to be noted is the order observed in -human development. The faculties grow in a certain determined order. -First, those which are needed for simple physical existence; next, -those which place the child in fuller relations with Nature; and, -lastly, those which link him to his fellows. As digestion is perfected -before locomotion, so muscular mobility and activity exist before -strength, perception before observation, affection and friendship -before love. The latest work of Nature in forming the perfect being is -the gift of sexual power. This is a work of development, not simply -of growth. There are new organs coming into existence, 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 life. -At the age of puberty, when the special life of sex commences, the -other organs of relation—skeleton, muscles, brain—are still carrying -on their slow process of consolidation. ‘At eighteen the bones and -muscles are very immature. Portions of the vertebræ hardly commence to -ossify before the sixteenth year. After twenty, the two thin plates<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span> on -the body of the vertebræ form, completing themselves near the thirtieth -year. Consolidation of the sacrum commences in the eighteenth year, -completing after the twenty-fifth. The processes of the ribs and of the -scapula are completed by the twenty-fifth year; those of the clavicle -begin to form between eighteen and twenty; those of the radius and -ulna, of the femur, tibia, and fibula, are all unjoined at eighteen, -and not completed until twenty-five. The muscles are equally immature; -they grow in size and strength in proportion to the bones, and it is -not until twenty-five years of age, or even later, that all epiphyses -of the bones have united, and that the muscles have attained their full -growth.’<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p> - -<p>As a necessary consequence of this slow order of natural growth, -the individual is injured when sufficient time for growth is not -allowed, or when faculties which should remain latent, slowly storing -up strength for the proper time of unfolding, are unduly stimulated -or brought forward too soon. The writer above quoted remarks: ‘It is -not only a waste of material, but a positive cruelty, to send lads -of eighteen or twenty into the field.’<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> The evil effect of undue -stimulation to a new function is twofold. The first effect is to divert -Nature’s force from the consolidation of faculties already fully -formed, and, second, to injure the substantial growth of the later -faculty, which is thus prematurely brought forward. Thus the child -compelled to carry heavy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span> burdens will be deformed or stunted; the -youth weighed down by intellectual labour will destroy his digestion -or injure his brain. So, if the faculty which is bestowed as the last -work of development, that which requires the longest time and the -most careful preparation for its advent—the sexual power—be brought -forward prematurely, a permanent injury is done to the individual, -which can never be completely repaired.</p> - -<p>The marked distinction which exists between puberty and nubility -should here be noted. It is a distinction based upon the important -fact that a work of long-continued preparation takes place in the -physical and mental nature, before a new faculty enters upon its -complete life. Puberty is the age when those changes have taken place -in the child’s constitution, which make it physically possible for it -to become a parent, but when the actual exercise of such faculty is -highly injurious. This change takes place, as a general rule, from -fourteen to sixteen years of age. Nubility, on the other hand, is that -period of life when marriage may take place, without disadvantage to -the individual and to the race. This period is generally reckoned, in -temperate climates, in the man at from twenty-three to twenty-five -years of age. About the age of twenty-five commences that period of -perfect manly vigour, that union of freshness and strength, which -enables the individual to become the progenitor of vigorous offspring. -The strong constitution transmitted by healthy parents between the -ages of twenty-five and thirty-five indicates<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span> the order of Nature in -the growth of the human race. The interval between these two epochs of -puberty and confirmed virility, is a most important period of rapid -growth and slow consolidation. Not only is the lifelong work of the -body going on at this time, with much greater activity than belongs to -adult life—<i>i.e.</i>, the work of calorification, nutrition, 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 perfection. Although, as will be shown later, the -influences brought to bear upon the very young child strongly affect -its later growth in good or evil, yet this period between fourteen and -twenty-five is the most critical time of preparation for the work of -adult life.</p> - -<p>Another important fact announced by physiological observation, is -the absolute necessity of establishing a proper government of the -human faculties, by the growth of intelligent self-control. Reason, -not Instinct, is the final guide of our race. We cannot grow, as do -the lower animals, by following out the blind promptings of physical -nature. From the earliest moment of existence, intelligence must -guide the infant. At first this guiding intelligence is that of the -mother, and through all the earlier stages of life, a higher outside -intelligence must continue to provide the necessary conditions of -growth, until the gradual mental development of the child fits it for -independent individual guidance. The great difficulty<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span> of education -lies in the adjustment of intelligence, for there are antagonisms to be -encountered. There is first of all to be considered the adaptation of -parental intelligence to the large proportion of indispensable physical -instinct, with which each child is endowed by Nature. There is next the -adjustment of the two intelligences, the parental and filial. These -relations are constantly changing, and the true wisdom of education -consists in meeting these changes rightly.</p> - -<p>It is very important to observe that each new phase of life, each new -faculty, begins in the child-like way—that is to say, there is always -a large proportion of the blind, instinctive element which absolutely -needs a higher guidance. The instinctive life of the body always -necessarily exists, and, therefore, constantly strives to make itself -felt. This life of sensation will (in many different ways) obtain a -complete mastery over the individual, if Reason does not exist, and -grow into a controlling force. This danger of an undue predominance -of the instinctive force is emphatically true of the life of sex. It -begins, child-like, 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 child. At this period -of life, an adjustment of the parental and filial intelligence is -required, quite as wisely planned as in childhood, in order to secure -the gradual growth of intelligent self-control in the young life of -sex. If we do not recognise this necessity, or fail to exercise<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span> this -directing influence, we do not perceive the crowning obligation of the -older to the younger generation. However much parents may now shrink -from this obligation, and, owing to incorrect views of sex, be really -unable to exercise the kind of influence required, the necessity -for such influence, nevertheless, exists as a law of human nature, -unchangeable, rooted in the human constitution. It is Nature’s method, -that every new faculty requires intelligent control from the outset, -but only gradually can this guidance become self-control.</p> - -<p>This necessity is seen more clearly as we continue our physiological -inquiry. The preceding considerations refer chiefly to the slow -processes by which the various parts of the body must be built up step -by step, under the guidance of outside intelligence, which furnishes -the proper conditions of physical growth. Equally certain, and within -the legitimate scope of true physiology, is the influence which the -mind of the individual exercises upon the growth of the body. This -difficult half of the subject presents itself in increasing importance -as science advances. The particular theory of mind held by individuals -does not affect our inquiry. Everyone understands the term, and gives -to its influence a certain importance. Our perception of the degree of -power exercised by the mind over the body, and the importance of that -power, will continually grow as we observe the facts around us. It is -a fact of every-day experience, that fright will make the heart beat, -that anxiety will disturb digestion, that sorrow will depress all the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span> -vital functions, whilst happiness will strengthen them. How often does -the physician see the languid, ailing invalid converted from mental -causes—through happiness—into a bright, active being! Medical records -are full of accumulated facts showing the extent to which such mental -or emotional influence may go; how the infant has been killed when the -mother has nursed it during a fit of passion, or the hair turned gray -in a single night, through grief or fright.</p> - -<p>We find that the mind, acting through the nervous system, affects not -only the senses and muscles—the organs of animal life, 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 body. Emotion can act where -Will is powerless, but a strong Will also can acquire a remarkable -power over the body. It has been remarked ‘that men who know that -there is any hereditary disease in their family, can contribute to the -development of that disease, by closely directing their attention to -it, and so throwing their nervous energy in that direction.’ It was a -remark of John Hunter ‘that he could direct a sensation to any part of -his body.’</p> - -<p>‘As in the case of other sensations, the sexual, when moderately -excited, may give rise to ideas, emotions, and desires of which -the brain is the seat, and these may react on the muscular system -through the intelligence and Will. But when inordinately excited, or -when not kept in restraint by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</span> Will, they will at once call into -play respondent movements, which are then to be regarded as purely -automatic. This is the case in some forms of disease in the human -subject, and is probably also the ordinary mode of operation in some -of the lower animals.... In cases, however, in which this sensation is -excited in unusual strength, it may completely over-master all motives -to the repression of the propensity, and may even entirely remove -the actions from volitional control. A state of a very similar kind -exists in many idiots, in whom the sexual propensity exerts a dominant -power, not because it is in itself peculiarly strong, but because the -intelligence being undeveloped it acts without restraint or direction -from the Will.’<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p> - -<p>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 hunger. The exigencies of human -society have caused this tremendous power of hunger to be kept so -completely in check, that the gratification of it, except in accordance -with the established laws (of property, etc.), is considered as a -crime. In spite of the terrible temptation which the sight of food -offers to a starving man, society punishes him if he yield to it. Still -stronger than the established laws are those unwritten laws which are -enforced by ‘public opinion,’ in obedience to which, countless people -in all civilized countries<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</span> suffer constant deprivation—even starving -more or less slowly to death—rather than transgress universally -accepted principles, and subject themselves to social condemnation by -taking the food which does not belong to them. Another curious and -important illustration of mental action is shown in the accumulating -instances of self-deception, of contagious hallucination, and of -emotional influence acting upon the physical and mental organizations, -so strikingly depicted by Hammond and other writers in the accounts of -pretended miracles, ecstasies, visions, etc.</p> - -<p>Of all the organic functions, that of secretion is the one most -strongly and frequently influenced by the mind. The secretion of -tears, of bile, of milk, of saliva, may all be powerfully excited by -mental stimuli, or lessened by promoting antagonistic secretions. This -influence is felt in full force by those of the generative system, -‘which,’ writes a distinguished author, ‘are strongly influenced by -the condition of the mind. When it is frequently and strongly directed -towards objects of passion, these secretions are increased in amount -to a degree which may cause them to be a very injurious drain on the -powers of the system. On the other hand, the active employment of the -mental and bodily powers on other objects, has a tendency to render -less active, or even to check altogether, the processes by which they -are elaborated.’<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</span></p> - -<p>That the mind must possess the power of ruling this highest of the -animal functions, is evident, from its uses, and from the nature of -man. The faculty of sex comes to perfection when the mind is in full -activity, and when all the senses are in their freshest youthful -vigour. Its object is no longer confined to the individual, it is the -source of social life, it is the creator of the race. Inevitably, then, -the human mind (the Emotions, the Will) must control this function more -than any other function. It assumes a different aspect from all other -functions, through its objective character. The individual may exist -without it—the race not. Every object which addresses itself to the -senses or the mind acts with peculiar force upon this function. Either -for right or for wrong, the mind is the controlling power. The right -education of the mind is the central point from which all our efforts -to help the younger generation must arise. It will thus be seen that -the standpoint of education changes in childhood and in youth, the -first period being specially concerned with the childhood of the body -or of the individual, the second period representing more particularly -the childhood of sex or of the race. In neither childhood nor youth -must either of the double elements of our nature—mind and body—be -neglected, but in childhood the body comes first in order, in youth the -mind.</p> - -<p>The higher the character of a function and the wider its relations, -the more serious and the more numerous are the dangers to which it is -exposed.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</span> A physiologist remarks, ‘In youth the affinity of the tissues -for vital stimuli seems to be greater when the development is less -complete.’ That which the strong adult may endure with comparative -impunity destroys the growing youth, whose nature, from the very -necessities of development, possesses a keener sensitiveness to all -vital stimuli. This important remark is true of mental as well as -physical youth, and applies with especial force to the prevention of -the dangers of premature sexual development. More care is needed to -secure healthy, strengthening influences for the early life of sex than -for any other more simply physical function.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>In the preceding considerations, the faculty of sex has been regarded -chiefly in its individual aspect, and the principles laid down by means -of which the largest amount of health and strength can be secured -for each individual. But this half-view is entirely insufficient in -considering those physiological peculiarities of the function of sex, -which must determine the true aim of education. There are two other -physiological facts to be considered—viz., the Duality of Sex, and its -Results.</p> - -<p>The power we are now considering enters into a different category from -all other physical functions, as being, <em>first</em>, the faculty of -two, not of one only, and, <em>second</em>, as resulting in parentage. -Directly a physical function is the property of two, it belongs -to a different class from those faculties which regard solely the -individual. That very fact gives it a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</span> stamp, which requires that the -relations of the two factors should be considered. No faculty can be -regarded in the light of simple self-indulgence, which requires two for -its proper exercise. The consideration of such faculty in its imperfect -condition as belonging to one-half only is an essentially false view. -It is unscientific, therefore, to regard this exceptional faculty -simply as a limited individual function, as we regard the other powers -of the human body. Its inevitable relations to man, to woman, and to -the race must always stand forth as a prominent fact in determining the -aim of education. If this be so, the moral education of youth, with -the necessary physiological guidance given to their sexual powers, -must always be influenced by a consideration of these two inevitable -physiological facts—viz., duality and parentage, and the training of -young men and women, should mould them into true relations towards each -other and towards offspring.</p> - -<p>The question of the hereditary transmission of qualities, of the -influence of both mind and body in determining the character of -offspring, is a question of such vital importance that it cannot -be disregarded even in the narrowest view of family welfare, and -still less in any rational view of education, which lies at the -base of national progress. This great question is still in its -infancy, collected facts comparatively few, and the immense power -of future development contained in it, hardly suspected by parents -and philanthropists. We know already that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</span> various forms of disease, -physical peculiarities, and mental qualities may all become hereditary; -also that the tendency to drunkenness and to sensuality may be -transmitted as surely as the tendency to insanity or to consumption. If -we compare the mental and moral status of women in a Mahommedan country -with the corresponding class of women in our own country, we perceive -the effect which generations of simply sensual unions have produced on -the character of the female population. The Christian idea of womanly -characteristics is entirely reversed. The term ‘woman’ has become a -by-word for untruth, irreligion, unchastity, and folly.<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a></p> - -<p>The same observation may be made in so-called Christian countries -under Mahommedan rule, in independent countries in close proximity to -this degrading influence, and wherever the influence of unions whose -key-note is sensuality, prevails. The woman is considered morally -inferior. ‘She is man’s help, but not his helpmate. He guards and -protects her, but it is as a man guards and protects a valuable horse -or dog, getting all the service he can out of her, and rendering her in -turn his half-contemptuous protection. He uncovers her face and lets -her chat with her fellows in the courtyard, but he watches<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</span> over her -conduct with a jealous conviction that she is unable to guard herself. -It is a modification, yet a development, of the Mussulman idea, and he -seems to think if she has a soul to be saved he must manage to save -it for her.’<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> 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 character. This -influence on the character is due, not only to the customs, religion, -and circumstances which form the nation, but also to the accumulating -influence of inherited qualities. The hereditary action produces -tendencies in a particular direction in the offspring, which renders -its development easier in that direction. It is only gradually, through -education and the influence of heredity in a different direction, that -the original tendency can be removed. But if all the circumstances of -life favour its development, the individual, the family, and the nation -will certainly display the result of these tendencies in full force.</p> - -<p>A striking illustration of this subject has been published in the -report of the New York Prison Association for 1876. An inquiry was -undertaken by one of the members of the association, to ascertain the -causes of crime and pauperism, as exhibited in a particular family or -tribe of offenders called ‘The Jukes,’ which for nearly a century has -inhabited one of the central counties of the State. The investigation -is carried back for some five or six generations,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</span> the descendants -numbering at least 1,200, and the number of persons whose biographies -are condensed and collated is not less than 709. The facts in these -criminal lives, which have grown in a century from one family into -hundreds, are arranged in the order of their occurrence and the age -given at which they took place, so that the relative importance of -inherited tendencies and of immediate influences may be measured. The -study of this family shows that the most general and potent cause, -both of crime and pauperism, is the habit of licentiousness, with -its result of bastardy and neglected and miseducated childhood. This -tribe was traced back on the male side to two sons of a hard drinker -named Max, living between 1720 and 1740, who became blind in his old -age, transmitting blindness to some of his legitimate and illegitimate -children. On the female side the race goes back to five sisters of -bad character, two of whom intermarried with the two sons of Max, the -lineage of three other sisters being also traced. In the course of the -century, this family has remained an almost purely American family, -inhabiting the same region of country in one of the finest States of -the Union, largely intermarrying, and presenting an almost unbroken -record of harlotry and crime. ‘The Jukes,’ says the report, ‘are not an -exceptional race; analogous families may be found in every county of -the State.’<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p> - -<p>Conspicuous facts such as these, display in a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</span> striking manner the -indubitable influence of mind in the exercise of the highest—the -parental—function. We see as a positive fact that mental or moral -qualities quite as much as physical peculiarities, tend to reproduce -themselves in children. The mental quality or character of the parent -must then be considered physiologically, as a positive element in -the parental relation; thought, emotion, sensation, are all mental -qualities. In human unions this great fact must be borne in mind. Any -sneer at ‘sentiment’ proceeds from ignorance of facts. Happiness is as -vivifying as sunshine, and is a potent element in the formation of a -child. Hence arises the necessity of love between parents—love, the -mental element, as distinguished from the simple physical instinct.</p> - -<p>To understand the true relations of men and women in their bearing upon -the race (relations which must determine the moral aim of education) -the duality of sex and the peculiarity of the womanly organization -must be recognised. Woman, having a special work to perform in family -life, has special requirements and sharpened perceptions in relation -to this work. She demands the constant presence of affection, an -affection which alone can draw forth full response, and she possesses -a perception which is almost a special instinct for detecting coldness -or untruthfulness in the husband’s mental attitude towards her. The -presence of unvarying affection has a real, material, as well as a -moral power on the body and soul of a woman. Indifference or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</span> neglect -is instantly felt. Sorrow, loneliness, jealousy, all constantly -depressing emotions, exercise a powerful and injurious effect upon the -sources of vital action. This physiological truth and the necessity -of securing the full assent of the mother in the joint creation of -superior offspring, are important facts bearing on the character and -happiness of one-half of the human race, and influencing through that -half the quality of offspring. These facts have not yet received the -attention which so weighty a subject demands.</p> - -<p>In pursuing the physiological inquiry, we are met by one remarkable -fact which it is impossible to ignore, and which remains from age -to age as a guide to the human race. This guide is found in the -physiological fact of the equality in the birth of the sexes. This is a -clear indication of the intention of Providence in relation to sexual -union, a proof of the fundamental nature of the family group. Boys and -girls are born in equal numbers all over the world, wherever our means -of observation have extended, a slight excess of boys alone existing. -Sadler writes: ‘The near equality in the birth of the sexes is an -undoubted fact; it extends throughout Europe and wherever we have the -means of accurate observation, the birth-rate being in the proportion -of twenty-five boys to twenty-four girls.’<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> The injurious inequality -which we so often find in a population is not Nature’s law, but is -evidence<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</span> of our social stupidity. It proves our sin against God’s -design in the existence of brutal wars and our careless squandering -of human life. All rational efforts for the improvement of society -must be based upon Nature’s true intention—viz., the equality of the -sexes in birth and in duration of life, not upon the false condition -of inequality produced by our own ignorance. It is essential always -to bear in mind this distinction between the permanent fact and the -temporary phenomenon.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>The foregoing facts illustrate fundamental physiological truths. They -show the Type of creation towards which the human constitution tends -and the distinctive methods of growth by which that type must be -reached. In brief recapitulation, these truths are the following—viz., -the slowness of human growth; the successive development of the human -faculties; the injury caused by subverting the natural order of growth; -the necessity of governing this order of growth by the control of -Reason; the influence of Mind—<i>i.e.</i>, Thought, Emotion, Will—on -the development or condition of our organization; the necessity of -considering the dual character of sex; the transmission of qualities by -parents to their children; the natural equality in the creation of the -sexes.</p> - -<p>These truths, which are of universal application to human beings, -furnish a Physiological Guide, showing the true laws of sex, in -relation to human progress. We find that the laws of physiology -point in one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</span> practical direction—viz., to the family—as the only -institution which secures their observance; they show the necessity -of the self-control of chastity in the young man and the young woman, -as the only way to secure the strong mental and physical qualities -requisite in the parental relation, whilst they also prove the special -influence exerted by mutual love in the great work of Maternity. The -preparation, therefore, of youth for family life should be the great -aim of their sexual education.</p> - -<p>Experience as well as Reason confirms the direct and indirect teaching -of Physiology; they both point to the natural family group as the -element out of which a healthy society grows. It is only in the family -that the necessary conditions for this growth exist. The healthy and -constantly varying development of children naturally constitutes the -warmest interest of parents. Brothers and sisters are invaluable -educators of one another; they are unique associates, creating a -species of companionship that no other relation can supply. To enjoy -this interest, to create this young companionship, to form this healthy -germ of society, marriage must be unitary and permanent. A constantly -deepening satisfaction should exist, arising from the steady growth -together through life, from the identity of interest and from the -strength of habit. Still farther we learn that such union should take -place in the early period of complete adult life. Children should be -the product of the first fresh vigour of parents. Everything that -exhausts force or defers its freshest exercise<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</span> is injurious to the -Race. Customs of society or incorrect opinions which obstruct the union -of men and women in their early vigour, which impair the happiness of -either partner, or prevent the strong and steady growth of their union, -impair their efficacy as parents, and are fatal to the highest welfare -of our Race.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - - -<h3>CHAPTER II<br><span class="small"><i>Social Results of Neglecting these Physiological Laws</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>The wide bearing and importance of the truths derived from physiology -will become more and more apparent, as we examine another branch of -the subject, and ascertain from an observation of facts around us, how -far the present relations of men and women in civilized countries, are -based upon sound principles of physiology. It is necessary to know -how far these principles are understood and carried out from infancy -onward, whether efforts for the improvement of the race are moulded -by physiological methods of human growth, and what are the inevitable -consequences which result from departure from these principles.</p> - -<p>According to a rational and physiological view of life, the family -should be cherished as the precious centre of national welfare; every -custom, therefore, which tends to support the dignity of the family -and which prepares our youth for this life, is of vital importance -to a nation. Thus the slow development of the sexual faculties by -hygienic regime, by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</span> the absence of all unnatural stimulus to these -propensities, by the constant association of boys and girls together, -under adult influence, in habitual and unconscious companionship, 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 being, are the ordinary and natural conditions which rational -physiology requires. On the contrary, every custom which insults the -family and unfits for its establishment, which degrades the natural -nobility of human sex, which sneers at it and treats this great -principle with flippancy, which tends to kill its Divine essence, all -such influences and such customs are a great crime against society, and -directly opposed to the teaching of rational physiology.</p> - -<p>An extended view of social facts, not only in different classes of -our own society, but also in those countries with which we are nearly -related, is of the utmost value to the parent. Physiological knowledge -would be valueless to the mass of mankind, if its direct bearing upon -the character and happiness of a nation could not be shown. So in -considering the sexual education of youth according to the light of -sound physiology, the social influences which affect the natural growth -of the human being are an important part of applied physiology.</p> - -<p>The tendencies of civilization must be studied in our chief cities. -The rapid growth of large towns during the last half-century and the -comparatively stationary condition of the country population show<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</span> -where the full and complete results of those principles which are most -active in our civilization must be sought for. London, Paris, Vienna, -Berlin, New York, are not exceptions, but examples. They show the -mature results towards which smaller towns are tending. Those who live -in quiet country districts often flatter themselves that the rampant -vice of large towns has nothing to do with villages, small communities, -and the country at large. This is a delusion. The condition of large -towns has a direct relation to the country.</p> - -<p>In these focal points of civilization we observe, as examples of -sexual relationship, two great institutions existing side by side—two -institutions in direct antagonism—viz., Marriage and Prostitution, the -latter steadily gaining ground over the former.</p> - -<p>In examining these two institutions, the larger signification -of licentiousness must be given to prostitution, applicable to -men and women. Marriage is the recognised union of two, sharing -responsibilities, providing for and educating a family. Prostitution -is the indiscriminate union of many, with no object but physical -gratification, with no responsibilities, and no care for offspring. It -is essential to study the effects, both upon men and women and upon -mankind at large, of this great fact of licentiousness, if we are to -appreciate the true laws of sexual union in their full force, and the -aims, importance, and wide bearing of Moral Education. We shall only -here refer to its effects upon the young.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</span></p> - -<p>We may justly speak of licentiousness as an institution. It is -considered by a large portion of society as an essential part of -itself. It possesses its code of written and unwritten laws, its -sources of supply, its various resorts, from the poorest hovel to -the gaudiest mansion, its endless grade, from the coarsest and most -ignorant to the refined and cultivated. It has its special amusements -and places of public resort. It has its police, its hospitals, its -prisons, and it has its literature. The organized manner in which -portions of the press are engaged in promoting licentiousness, -reaching, not thousands, but millions of readers, is a fact of weighty -importance. The one item of vicious advertisements falls into distinct -categories of corruption. Growing, therefore, as it does, constantly -and rapidly, licentiousness becomes a fact of primary importance in -society. Its character and origin must be studied by all who take -an interest in the growth of the human race, and who believe in the -maintenance of marriage, and the family, as the foundation of human -progress.</p> - -<p>Everyone who has studied life in many civilized countries, and the -literature reflecting that life, will observe the antagonism of these -two institutions: the recognition of the greater influence of the -mistress than the wife, the constant triumph of passion over duty and -deep, steady affection. We see the neglect of the home for the café, -the theatre, the public amusement; the consequent degradation of the -home into a place indispensable as a nursery<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</span> for children, and for the -transaction of common, every-day matters, a place of resort for the -accidents of life, for growing old in, for continuing the family name, -but too tedious a place to be in much, to spend the evening and really -live in. Enjoyments are sought for elsewhere. The charm of society, the -keener interests of life, no longer centre in the household. It is a -domestic place, more or less quiet, but no home in the true sense of -the word. The true home can only be formed by father and mother, by -their joint influence on one another, on their children, and on their -friends. The narrow, one-sided, diminishing influence of Continental -homes amongst great masses of the population, from absence of due -paternal care, is a painful fact to witness. 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 society. -Indeed, any nation is in the stage of rapid dissolution where the -institution of the family is completely and universally degraded; but -the preceding statement is a faithful representation of the general -tone and tendencies of social life in many parts of the Continent. That -the same fatal principles, leading to the like results, are at work -both in England and America will be seen as we proceed. Licentiousness -may be considered as still in its infancy with us, when compared with -its universal prevalence in many parts of the Continent; but it is -growing in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</span> our own country with a rapidity which threatens fatal -injury to our most cherished institution, the pure Christian home, -with its far-reaching influences, an institution which has been the -foundation of our national greatness.</p> - -<p>The results of licentiousness should be especially considered in their -effects upon the youth of both sexes, of both the richer and poorer -classes; also in their bearing upon the institution of marriage and -upon the race. In all these aspects it enters into direct relation with -the family, and no one who values the family, with the education which -it should secure, can any longer afford to ignore what so intimately -affects its best interests. It is to the first branch of the subject -that reference will here be chiefly made.</p> - -<p>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 world, into school, -college, business, society. What are the ideas about women that have -been gradually formed in the mind of the lad of sixteen, by all that he -has seen, heard, and read during his short but most important period -of life? What opinions and habits, in relation to his own physical -and moral nature, have been impressed upon him? How have our poorer -classes of boys been trained in respect to their own well-being, -and to association with girls of their own class? What has been the -influence of the habits and companionships of that great middle-class -multitude,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</span> clerks, shopkeepers, mechanics, farmers, soldiers, etc.? -What books and newspapers do these boys read, what talk do they hear, -what interests or amusements do they find in the theatre, the tavern, -the streets, the home, and the church? What has been the training of -the lad of the upper class—that class, small in number but great in -influence, which, being lifted above any sordid pressure of material -care, should be the spiritual leader of the classes below them—a class -which has ten talents committed to it, and which inherits the grand -old maxim, <i lang="la">Noblesse oblige</i>? How have all these lads been taught -to regard womanhood and manhood? What is their standard of manliness? -What habits of self-respect and of the noble uses of sex have been -impressed upon their minds? Throughout all classes, abundant temptation -to the abuse of sex exists. Increasing activity is displayed in the -exercise of human ingenuity for the extension and refinement of vice. -Shrewdness, large capital, business enterprise, are all enlisted in the -lawless stimulation of this mighty instinct of sex. Immense provision -is made for facilitating fornication; what direct efforts are made for -encouraging chastity?</p> - -<p>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 preacher, compared with the mighty social influences which -spread with corrupting force around the great bulk of our youth. We -find, as a matter of fact, that complete moral confusion too often -meets the young<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</span> man at the outset of life. Society presents him with -no fixed standard of right or wrong in relation to sex, no clear -ideal to be held steadily before him and striven for. Religious -teaching points in one direction, but practical life points in quite -a different way. The youth who has grown up from childhood under -the guardianship of really wise parents, in a true home, with all -its ennobling influences, and has been strengthened by enlightened -religious instruction, has gradually grown towards the natural human -type. He may have met the evils of life as they came to him from -boyhood onwards, first of all with the blindness of innocence, which -does not realize evil, and then with the repulsion of virtue, which is -clear-sighted to the hideous results of vice. Such a one will either -pass with healthy strength through life, or he may prove himself the -grandest of heroes if beset with tremendous temptations; or, again, -he may fall, after long and terrible struggles with his early virtue. -But in the vast majority of cases the early training through innocence -into virtue is wanting. Evil influences are at work unknown to or -disregarded by the family, and a gradual process of moral and physical -deterioration in the natural growth of sex corrupts the very young. -In by far the larger ranks of life, before the lad has grown into the -young man, his notions of right and wrong are too often obscured. He -retains a vague notion that virtue is right, but as he perceives that -his friends, his relations, his widening circle of acquaintance, live -according to a different standard, his idea of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</span> virtue recedes into a -vague abstraction, and he begins to think that vice is also right—in -a certain way! He is too young to understand consequences, to realize -the fearful chain of events in the ever-widening influence of evil -acts—results which, if clearly seen, would frighten the innocent mind -by the hideousness of evil, and make the first step towards it a crime. -No one ventures to lift up a warning voice. The parent dares not, or -knows not how to enter upon this subject of vital importance. There -are no safeguards to his natural modesty; there is no wise help to -strengthen his innocence into virtue.</p> - -<p>Here is the testimony in relation to one important class, drawn from -experience by our great English satirist: ‘And by the way, ye tender -mothers and sober fathers of Christian families, a prodigious thing -that theory of life is as orally learned at a great public school. Why, -if you could hear those boys of fourteen, who blush before mothers and -sneak off in silence in the presence of their daughters, talking among -each other, it would be the woman’s turn to blush then. Before he was -twelve years old, and while his mother fancied him an angel of candour, -little Pen had heard talk enough to make him quite awfully wise upon -certain points; and so, madam, has your pretty little rosy-cheeked son, -who is coming home from school for the ensuing Christmas holidays. I -don’t say that the boy is lost, so that the innocence has left him -which he had from “Heaven which is our home,” but the shades of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</span> -prison-house are closing very fast over him, and that we are helping as -much as possible to corrupt him.’ ‘Few boys,’ says the Headmaster of a -large school, ‘ever remain a month in any school, public or private, -without learning all the salient points in the physical relation of -the sexes. There are two grave evils in this unlicensed instruction: -first, the lessons are learned surreptitiously; second, the knowledge -is gained from the vicious experiences of the corrupted older boys, and -the traditions handed down by them.’</p> - -<p>Temptations meet the lad at every step. From childhood onward, an -unnatural forcing process is at work, and he is too often mentally -corrupted, whilst physically unformed. This mental condition tends -to hasten the functions of adult life into premature activity. As -already stated, an important period exists between the establishment of -puberty and confirmed virility. In the unperverted youth, this space -of time, marked by the rush of new life, 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 functions. The -very indications of Nature’s abundant forces at the outset of life, -are warnings that this new force must not be stimulated, that there -is danger of excessive and hasty growth in one direction, danger of -hindering that gradual development which alone insures strength. If at -an early age, thought and feeling have been set in the right direction, -and aids to virtue and to health surround the young man, then this -period of time, before his twenty-fifth year,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</span> will lead him into a -strong and vigorous manhood. But where the mind is corrupted, the -imagination heated, and no strong love of virtue planted in the soul, -the individual loses the power of self-control, and becomes the victim -of physical sensation and suggestion. When this condition of mental -and physical deterioration has been produced, it is no longer possible -for him to resist surrounding temptations. There are dangers within -and without, but he does not recognise the danger. He is young, eager, -filled with that excess of activity in blood and nerve, with which -Nature always nourishes her fresh creative efforts.</p> - -<p>At this important stage of life, when self-control, hygiene, mental -and moral influence, are of vital importance, the fatal results of -his weakened will and a corrupt society, ensue. Opportunity tempts -his wavering innocence, thoughtless or vicious companions undertake -to ‘form’ him, laugh at his scruples, sneer at his conscience, excite -him with allurements. Or a deadly counsel meets him—meets him from -those he is bound to respect. The most powerful morbid stimulant that -exists—a stimulant to every drop of his seething young blood—is -advised viz., the resort to prostitutes. When this fatal step has been -taken, when the natural modesty of youth and the respect for womanhood -is broken down, when he has broken with the restraints of family life, -with the voice of Conscience, with the dictates of religion, a return -to virtue is indeed difficult—nay, often impossible. He has tasted the -physical delights of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</span> sex, separated from its more exquisite spiritual -joys. This unnatural divorce degrades whilst it intoxicates him. Having -tasted these physical pleasures, often he can no more do without them -than the drunkard without his dram. He ignorantly tramples under foot -his birthright of rich, compound, infinite human love, enthralled by -the simple limited animal passion. His Will is no longer free. He has -destroyed that grand endowment of Man, that freedom of the youthful -Will, which is the priceless possession of innocence and of virtue, -and has subjected himself to the slavery of lust. He is no longer his -own master; he is the servant of his passions. Those whose interest -it is to retain their victim employ every art of drink, of dress, -of excess, to urge him on. The youthful eagerness of his own nature -lends itself to these arts. The power of resistance is gradually -lost, until one glance of a prostitute’s eye passing in the street, -one token of allurement, will often overturn his best resolutions and -outweigh the wisest counsel of friends! The physiological ignorance -and moral blindness which actually lead some parents to provide a -mistress for their sons, in the hope of keeping them from houses of -public debauchery, is an effort as unavailing as it is corrupt. Place -a youth on the wrong course instead of on the right one, lead him into -the career of sensual indulgence and selfish disregard for womanhood -instead of into manly self-control, and the parent has, by his own act, -launched his child into the current of vice, which rapidly hurries him -beyond his control.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</span></p> - -<p>The evils resulting from a violation of Nature’s method of growth by -a life of early dissipation are both physical and mental or moral. -In some organizations the former, in some the latter, are observable -in the most marked degree; 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 sex.</p> - -<p>Amongst the physical evils the following may be particularly noted. -The loss of self-control, reacting upon the body, produces a morbid -irritability (always a sign of weakness) which is a real disease, -subjecting the individual to constant excitement and exhaustion from -slight causes. The resulting physical evils may be slow in revealing -themselves, because they only gradually undermine the constitution. -They do not herald themselves in the alarming manner of a fever or -a convulsion, but they are not to be less dreaded from their masked -approach. The chief forms of physical deterioration are nervous -exhaustion, impaired power of resistance to epidemics or other -injurious influences, and the development of those germs of disease, -or tendencies to some particular form of disease, which exist in -the majority of constitutions. The brain and spinal marrow and the -lungs are the vital organs most frequently injured by loose life. But -whatever be the weak point of the constitution, from inherited or -acquired morbid tendencies, that will probably be the point through -which disease or death will enter.</p> - -<p>One of the most distinguished hygienists of our<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</span> age writes thus: ‘The -pathological results of venereal excess are now well known. The gradual -derangements of health experienced by its victims are not at first -recognised by them, and physicians may take the symptoms to be the -beginning of very different diseases. How often symptoms are considered -as cases of hypochondria or chronic gastritis, or the commencement of -heart disease, which are really the results of generative abuse! A -general exhaustion of the whole physical force, symptoms of cerebral -congestion, or paralysis, attributed to some cerebrospinal lesion, -are often due to the same causes. The same may be said of some of -the severest forms of insanity. Many cases of consumption appearing -in young men who suffer from no hereditary tendency to the disease -enter into the same category. So many diseases are vainly treated by -medicine or regime which are really caused by abuse of these important -functions.’<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> Another of our oldest surgeons writes: ‘Among the -passions of the future man which at this period should be strictly -restrained is that of physical love, for none wars so completely -against the principles which have been already laid down as the most -conducive to long life; no excess so thoroughly lessens the sum of -the vital power, none so much weakens and softens the organs of life, -none is more active in hastening vital consumption, and none so -totally prohibits restoration. I might, if it were necessary, draw a -painful—nay,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</span> a frightful—picture of the results of these melancholy -excesses, etc.’<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> Volumes might be filled with similar medical -testimony on the destructive character of early licentiousness.</p> - -<p>Striking testimony to the destructive effects of vice in early manhood -is derived from a very different source—viz., the strictly business -calculation of the chances of life, furnished by Life Insurance -Companies. These tables show the rapid fall in viability during the -earlier years of adult life. <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Carpenter has reproduced a striking -diagram<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> from the well-known statistician Quetelet, showing the -comparative viability of men and women at different ages, and its -rapid diminution in the male from the age of eighteen to twenty-five. -He remarks: ‘The mortality is much greater in males from about the -age of eighteen to twenty-eight, being at its maximum at twenty-five, -when the viability is only half what it is at puberty. This fact is -a very striking one, and shows most forcibly that the indulgence of -the passions not only weakens the health, but in a great number of -instances is the cause of a very premature death.’<a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Bertillon (a -well-known French statistician) has shown by the statistics of several -European countries that the irregularities of unmarried life produce -disease, crime, and suicide; that the rate of mortality in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</span> bachelors -of twenty-five is equal to that of married men at forty-five; that the -immoral life of the unmarried and the widowed, whether male or female, -ages them by twenty years and more.</p> - -<p>Many of the foreign health resorts are filled with young men of the -richer classes of society, seeking to restore the health destroyed by -dissipation. Could the simple truth be recorded on the tombstones of -multitudes of precious youth, from imperial families downward, who are -mourned as victims of consumption, softening of the brain, etc., all -lovers of the race would stand appalled at the endless record of these -wasted lives. ‘Died from the effects of fornication’ would be the true -warning voice from these premature graves.</p> - -<p>The moral results of early dissipation are quite as marked as the -physical evils. The lower animal nature gains ever-increasing -dominion over the moral life of the individual. The limited nature -of all animal enjoyments produces its natural effects. First there -is the eager search after fresh stimulants, and as the boundaries of -physical enjoyment are necessarily reached, come in common sequence, -disappointment, disgust, restlessness, dreariness, or bitterness. The -character of the mental deterioration differs with the difference of -original character in the individual, as in the nation. In some we -observe an increasing hardness of character, growing contempt for -women, with low material views of life. In others there is a frivolity -of mind induced, a constant restlessness and search for new pleasures.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</span> -The frankness, heartiness, and truthfulness of youth gradually -disappear under the withering influence.<a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p> - -<p>The moral influence of vice upon social character has very wide -ramifications. This is illustrated by the immense difficulties which -women encountered in the rational endeavour to obtain a complete -medical education. Licentiousness, with all its attendant results, is -the great social cause of these difficulties.</p> - -<p>The dominion of lust is necessarily short-sighted, selfish, or -cruel. Its action is directly opposed to the qualities of truth, -trust, self-command, and sympathy, thus sapping the foundations of -personal morality. But apart from the individual evils above referred -to, licentiousness inevitably degrades society, firstly, from the -disproportion of vital force which is thus thrown into one direction, -and, secondly, from the essentially selfish and ungenerous tendency -of vice, which, seeking its own limited gratification at the expense -of others, is incapable of embracing large views of life or feeling -enthusiasm for progress. The direction into which this disproportionate -vital force is thrown is a degrading one, always tending to evil -results. Thus the noble enthusiasm of youth, its precious tide of -fresh life, without which no nation can grow—life whose leisure hours -should be given to science and art, to social good, to ennobling -recreation—is squandered and worse than wasted in degrading -dissipation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</span></p> - -<p>This dissipation, which is ruin to man, is also a curse to woman, for, -in judging the effects of licentiousness upon society, it must never -be forgotten that this is a vice of two, not a vice of one. Injurious -as is its influence upon the young man, that is only one-half of its -effect. What is its influence upon the young woman? This question has -a direct bearing on the Moral Aim of Education. 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 -influences. One sex may experience more physical evil, the other more -mental degradation, from similar vicious habits; but the evil, if not -identical, is entirely parallel, and a loss of truthfulness, honour, -and generosity accompanies the loss of purity.</p> - -<p>The women more directly involved in this widespread evil of -licentiousness are the women of the poorer classes of society. The -poorer classes constitute in every country the great majority of the -people; they form its solid strength and determine its character. 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 evident. These women are everywhere, interlinked with every -class of society. They form an important part (often the larger female -portion) of every well-to-do household. They are the companions and -inevitable teachers of infancy and childhood. They often form the -chief or only<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</span> female influence which meets the young man in early -professional, business, or even college life. They meet him in every -place of public amusement, in his walks at night, in his travels at -home and abroad. By day and by night the young man away from home is -brought into free intercourse, not with women of his own class, but -with poor working girls and women, who form the numerical bulk of the -female population, who are found in every place and ready for every -service. Educated girls are watched and guarded. The young man meets -them in rare moments only, under supervision, and generally under -unnatural restraint; but the poor girl he meets constantly, freely, -at any time and place. Any clear-sighted person who will quietly -observe the way in which female servants, for instance, regard very -young men who are their superiors in station, can easily comprehend -the dangers of such association. The injustice of the common practical -view of life is only equalled by its folly. This practical view utterly -ignores the fact of the social influence and value of this portion of -society. The customs of civilized nations practically consider poor -women as subjects for a life so dishonourable, that a rich man feels -justified in ostracizing wife, sister, or daughter who is guilty of -the slightest approach to such life. It is the great mass of poor -women who are regarded as (and sometimes brutally stated to be) the -subjects to be used for the benefit of the upper classes. Young and -innocent men, it is true, fall into vice, or are led into it, or are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</span> -tempted into it by older women, and are not deliberate betrayers. But -the rubicon of chastity once passed, the moral descent is rapid, and -the preying upon the poor soon commences. The miserable slaves in -houses of prostitution are the outcasts of the poor. The young girls -followed at night in the streets are the honest working girl, the young -servant seeking a short outdoor relief to her dreary life, as well as -the unhappy fallen girl, who has become in her turn the seducer. If -fearful of health, the individual leaves the licensed slaves of sin -and the chance associations of the streets, it is amongst the poor -and unprotected that he seeks his mistress:—the young seamstress, -the pretty shop girl, the girl with some honest employment, but poor, -undefended, needing relief in her hard-working life. It is always the -poor girl that he seeks. She has no pleasures, he offers them; her -virtue is weak, he undermines it; he gains her affection and betrays -it, changes her for another and another, leaving each mistress worse -than he found her, farther on in the downward road, with the guilt of -fresh injury from the strong to the weak on his soul. Any reproach -of conscience—conscience which will speak when an innocent girl has -been betrayed, or one not yet fully corrupted has been led farther -on in evil life—is quieted by the frivolous answer: ‘They will soon -marry in their own class.’ If, however, this sin be regarded in its -inevitable consequences, its effects upon the life of both man and -woman in relation to society, the nature of this sophistry will appear -in its<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</span> hideous reality. Is chastity really a virtue, something -precious in womanhood? Then, the poor man’s home should be blessed by -the presence of a pure woman. Does it improve a woman’s character to -be virtuous? Has she more self-respect in consequence? Does she care -more for her children, for their respectability and welfare, when she -is conscious of her own honest past life? Does she love her husband -more, and will she strive to make his home brighter and more attractive -to him, exercising patience in the trials of her humble life, being -industrious, frugal, sober, with tastes that centre in her home? These -are vital questions for the welfare of the great mass of the people, -and consequently of society and of the nation.</p> - -<p>We know, on the contrary, as a fundamental truth, that unchastity -unfits a woman for these natural duties. It fosters her vanity, it -makes her slothful or reckless, it gives her tastes at variance with -home life, it makes her see nothing in men but their baser passions, -and it converts her into a constant tempter of those passions—a -corrupter of the young. We know that drunkenness, quarrels, and -crimes have their origin in the wretched homes of the poor, and the -centre of those unhappy homes is the unchaste woman, who has lost the -restraining influence of her own self-respect, her respect for others, -and her love of home. When a pretty, vain girl is tempted to sin, a -wife and mother is being ruined, discord and misery are being prepared -for a poor man’s home, and the circumstances created out of which -criminals<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</span> grow. Nor does the evil stop there. It returns to the upper -classes. Nurses, servants, bring back to the respectable home the evil -associations of their own lives. The children of the upper classes -are thus corrupted, and the path of youth is surrounded at every step -with coarse temptations. These consequences may not be foreseen when -the individual follows the course of evil customs, but the sequence of -events is inevitable, and every man gives birth to a fresh series of -vice and misery when he takes a mistress instead of a wife.<a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a></p> - -<p>The deterioration of character amongst the women of the working -classes is known to all employers of labour, to all who visit -amongst the poor, to every housekeeper. The increasing difficulty of -obtaining trustworthy domestic servants is now the common experience -of civilized countries. In England, France, Germany, and the larger -towns of America, it is a fact of widespread observation, and has -become a source of serious difficulty in the management of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</span> family -life. The deepest source of this evil lies in the deterioration of -womanly character produced by the increasing spread of habits of -licentiousness. The action of sex, though taking different directions, -is as powerful in the young woman as in the young man; it needs -as careful education, direction, and restraint. This important -physiological truth, at present quite overlooked, must nevertheless -be distinctly recognised. This strong mental instinct, if yielded to -in a degrading way (as is so commonly the case in the poorer classes -of society), becomes an absorbing influence. Pride and pleasure in -work, the desire to excel, loyalty to duty, and the love of truth in -its wide significance, are all subordinated, and gradually weakened, -by the irresistible mastery of this new faculty. In all large towns -the lax tone of companions, the difficulty in finding employment, 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 diminish. We thus find an immense mass of young women -gradually corrupted from childhood, rendered coarse and reckless, the -modesty of girlhood destroyed, the reserve of maidenhood changed to -bold, often indecent, behaviour. No one accustomed to walk freely about -our streets, to watch children at play, to observe the amusements and -free gatherings of the poorer classes, can fail to see the signs of -degraded sex. The testimony of home missionaries, of those<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</span> experienced -in Benevolent Societies and long engaged in various ways in helping -women, as well as the Reports of Rescue Societies, all testify to the -dangerous increase and lamentable results of unchastity amongst the -female population.</p> - -<p>We observe in all countries a constant relation also between the -prevalence of licentiousness and degradation of female labour; the -action and reaction of these two evil facts is invariable. 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 Berlin, in Liverpool, Glasgow—<i>i.e.</i>, in all large -towns. The revelations made by writers and speakers in relation to the -condition of the working women of Paris, are of very serious import -to England. Such terrible facts as the following, brought to light by -those who have carefully investigated the state of this portion of the -population, must arrest attention. In relation to vast numbers of women -it is stated<a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a>: ‘In Paris a woman can no longer live by the work of -her own hands; the returns of her labour are so small that prostitution -is the only resource against slow starvation. The population is -bastardized to such an extent that thousands of poor girls know not of -any relation that they ever possessed. Orphans and outcasts,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</span> their -life, if virtuous, is one terrible struggle from the cradle to the -grave; but by far the greater number of them are drilled, whilst yet -children, in the public service of debauchery.’ 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 vice, when to lead a -virtuous life often requires the possession of moral heroism.</p> - -<p>Of the multitude of those who fall into vice, many ultimately marry, -and, with injured moral qualities and corrupted tastes, become the -creators of poor men’s homes. The rest drift into a permanent life -of vice. The injurious effects of unchastity upon womanly character -already noted, can be studied step by step, to their complete -development in that great class of the population—the recognised -prostitutes. Their marked characteristics are recklessness, sloth, and -drunkenness. This recklessness and utter disregard of consequences -and appearances, a quarrelsome, violent disposition, the dislike to -all labour and all regular occupation and life, the necessity for -stimulants and drink, with a bold address to the lower passions of -men—such are the effects of this life upon the character of women. -Unchaste women become a most dangerous class of the community. To these -bad qualities is added another, wherever, as in France, this evil -life is accepted as a part of society, provided for, organized, or -legalized; this last result of confirmed licentiousness is a hardness -of character so complete, so resistant of all improving influences, -that the wisest and gentlest efforts to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</span> restore are often utterly -hopeless before the confirmed and hardened prostitute.<a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a></p> - -<p>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 society. The mode of this influence -demands very serious consideration on the part of parents. It is -natural that young women should wish to please. They possess the true -instinct which would guide them to their noble position in society, as -the centres of pure and happy homes. How do our social customs meet -this want? All the young women of the middle and upper classes of -society, no matter how pure and innocent their natures, are brought -by these customs of society into direct competition with prostitutes! -The modest grace of pure young womanhood, its simple, refined tastes, -its love of home pleasures, its instinctive admiration of true and -noble sentiments and actions, although refreshing as a contrast, 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 intoxications. The virtuous girl exercises a -certain amount of attraction for a passing moment, but the intense -craving awakened in the youth for something far more exciting than -she can offer, leads him ever farther from her, in the direction -where this morbid craving can be freely indulged. This result is -inevitable if licentiousness is to be accepted as a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</span> necessary part -of society. Physical passion is not in itself evil; on the contrary, -it is an essential part of our nature. It is an endowment which, like -every other <em>human</em> faculty, has the power of high growth. It -possesses that distinctive human characteristic—receptivity to mental -impressions. These impressions blend so completely with itself as to -change its whole character and effect, and it thus becomes an ennobling -or a degrading agent in our lives. In either case, for good or for -evil, sex takes a first place as a motive power in human education. -The young man inexperienced in life and necessarily crude in thought, -but fallen into vice, is mastered by this downward force, and the good -girl loses more and more her power over the strong natural attraction -of sex which would otherwise draw him to her. The influence which -corrupt young men, on the other hand, exercise upon the young women -of their own standing in society, is both strong and often injurious. -It being natural that young women should seek to attract and retain -them, they unconsciously endeavour to adapt themselves to their taste. -These tastes are formed by uneducated girls and by society of which -the respectable young woman feels the effects, and of which she has a -vague suspicion, although, happily, she cannot measure the depth of the -evil. The tastes and desires of her young male acquaintance, moulded -by coarse material enjoyments, act directly upon the respectable girl, -who gives herself up with natural impulse to the influence of her male -companion. We thus witness a widespread<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</span> and inevitable deterioration -in manners, dress, thought, and habits amongst the respectable classes -of young women. This result leads eventually, as on the Continent, to -the entire separation of young men and women in the middle and upper -ranks of life, to the arrangement of marriage as a business affair, and -to the union of the young with the old.</p> - -<p>The faults now so often charged upon young women, their love of dress, -luxury, and pleasure, their neglect of economy and dislike of steady -home duties, may be traced directly to the injurious influence which -habits of licentiousness are exercising directly and indirectly upon -marriage, the home, and society. The subject of dress is one of serious -importance, for it is a source of extravagance in all classes, and one -of the strongest temptations to vice among poor girls. The creation of -this morbid excess in dress by licentiousness is evident. If physical -attraction is the sole or chief force which draws young men to young -women, then everything which either enhances physical charms, which -brings them more prominently forward, or which supplies the lack of -physical beauty, must necessarily be resorted to by women, whose nature -it is to draw men to them. The stronger the general domination of -physical sensation—over character, sympathy, companionship, mutual -help, and social growth—becomes amongst men, the more exclusive, -intense, and competitive must grow this morbid devotion to dress on the -part of women. Did young men seriously long for a virtuous wife and -happy home,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</span> and fit themselves to secure those blessings, young women -would naturally cultivate the domestic qualities which insure a bright, -attractive home. The young man, however, is now discouraged from early -marriage; the question soon presents itself to him: ‘Why should I -marry and burden myself with a wife and family? I am very well off -as I am; I can spend my money as I like on personal pleasures; I can -get all that I want from women without losing my liberty or assuming -responsibilities!’ The respectable girl is thus forced into a most -degrading and utterly unavailing competition with the prostitute or the -mistress. Marriage is indefinitely postponed by the young man; at first -it may be from necessity, later from choice. The young woman, unable to -obtain the husband suited to her in age, must either lead a single life -or accept the unnatural union with a rich elderly man.</p> - -<p>The grave physiological error of promoting marriage between the young -and the old cannot be dwelt on here. It is productive of very grave -evils, both to the health and happiness of the individual and to -the growth of the Race. The steady decrease of marriage, and at the -same time the late date at which it is contracted as licentiousness -increases, is shown by a comparison of the statistics of Belgium and -France with those of England. We find also that the character of -the population deteriorates with the spread of vice—the standard -of recruiting for the army is lowered, an ever-increasing mass of -fatherless children die or become criminals, and, finally, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</span> natural -growth of the population of the country constantly decreases.</p> - -<p>The records of History confirm the teaching of Physiology and -Observation in relation to the fundamental character of sexual virtue, -as the secret of durable national greatness. The decline of all the -great nations of antiquity is marked by the prevalence of gross social -corruption. 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 them. We find amongst these races, as the -result of their sexual customs, a want of human charity. This is shown -in the absence of benevolent institutions and other modes of expressing -sympathy. A great gulf separates the rich and poor, bridged over by -no offices of kindness, no sense of the sacred oneness of humanity, -which is deeper than all separations of caste or condition. There is -no respect shown for human life, which is lightly and remorselessly -sacrificed, and punishment degenerates into torture. There is also -an incapacity for understanding the fundamental value of truth and -honesty, and a consequent impossibility of creating a good government. -We observe that bravery degenerates into fierceness and cruelty, and -that the apathy of the masses keeps them victims of oppression. It is -the exhibition of a race where there is no development of the Moral -Element in human nature. These general characteristics and their cause -were well described by the celebrated surgeon Lallemand, who says: ‘The -contrast between<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</span> 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 powers. On one side, -Polygamy, harems, seraglios—the source of venereal excesses—barbarous -mutilations, revolting and unnatural vice, with the population -scanty, inactive, indolent, sunk in ignorance, and consequently the -victim of misery and of every kind of despotism. On the other side, -Monogamy, Christian austerity, more equal distribution of domestic -happiness, increase of intelligence, liberty, and general well-being; -rapid increase of an active, laborious, and enterprising population, -necessarily spreading and dominating.’</p> - -<p>The great moral element of society, which contains the power of -self-renewal and continual growth, must necessarily be wanting in all -nations where one-half of the people—the centre of the family, out of -which society must grow—remains in a stunted or perverted condition. -Women, as well as men, create society. Their share is a silent one. It -has not the glitter of gold and purple, the noise of drums and marching -armies, the smoke and clank of furnaces and machinery. All the splendid -din of external life is wanting in the quiet realm of distinctive -woman’s work; therefore it is often overlooked, misunderstood, or -despised. Nevertheless, it is of vital importance. It preserves the -only germ of society which is capable of permanent growth—the germ of -unselfish human love and innate righteousness—in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</span> distinction to which -all dazzling material splendour and intellectual ability, divorced from -the love of Right, is but sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. It is for -this reason that no polygamous or licentious customs, which destroy the -woman’s nature and dry up the deepest source of human sympathy, can -possibly produce a durable or a noble and happy nation. The value of -a nation, its position in the scale of humanity, its durability, must -always be judged by the condition of its masses, and the test of that -condition is the strength and purity of home virtues—the character of -the women of the nation.</p> - -<p>No reference to the lessons of History, however brief, should omit -the effect produced by religious teaching. The influence exercised -by the Christian religion in relation to sex is of the most striking -character. Christian teaching is distinguished from other religious -teaching by its justice to women, its tender reverence for childhood, -and by the laying down of that great corner-stone, Inward Holiness, as -the indispensable foundation of true life. This is all summed up in -its establishment of unitary marriage, through the emphatic adoption -of the original Law, ‘Therefore shall a man leave his father and his -mother, and cleave unto his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh.’ -The development of this Law by Jesus Christ into its high significance -of spiritual purity, whilst it has been a principle of growth in the -past, is the great hope of the future. The study of this Christian -type, in its radical effect upon national<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</span> life, is full of interest -and instruction, but is also a study of great difficulty. This teaching -of our Lord has never been adopted as the universal rule of practical -life by any nation. 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 existed. The great battle between Christianity -and Paganism still continues in our midst. The actual practical -type prevailing in all civilized nations is not Christian. In these -nations the Christian idea of unitary sexual relations is accepted -theoretically, as conducive to the best interests of the family and -binding upon the higher classes of women; but it is entirely set -aside as a practical life for the majority of the community. Christ’s -Law is considered either as a vague command, applicable only to some -indefinite future, or as a theory which it would be positively unwise -to put into practice in daily life. The statement is distinctly made, -and widely believed, that the nature of men and women differs so -radically that the same moral law is not applicable to the two sexes.</p> - -<p>The great lesson derived from History, however, is always this—viz., -that moral development must keep pace with the intellectual, or the -race degenerates. This moral element is especially embodied by woman, -and purity in woman cannot exist without purity in man, this weighty -fact being shown by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</span> facts already stated—viz., the action of -licentiousness upon the great mass of unprotected women, its reaction -upon other classes, and the accumulating influence of hereditary -sensuality.</p> - -<p>In the indisputable principles brought forward in the preceding pages, -and the mass of facts and daily observation which support them, is -found the answer to the first question proposed as a guide to the moral -education of youth—viz.: What is the true standard for the relations -of men and women, the type which contains within itself the germ of -progress and indefinite development?</p> - -<p>We see that the early and faithful union of one man with one woman is -the true Ideal of Society. It secures the health and purity of the -family relation, and is the foundation of social and national welfare. -It is supported by sound principles of Physiology, by the history of -the rise and fall of nations, and by a consideration of the evils of -our present age. The lessons of the past and present, our clearer -knowledge of cause and effect, alike prove the wisdom of the highest -religious teaching—viz., 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 grow.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3>CHAPTER III<br><span class="small"><i>The Hygienic Advantage of Sexual Morality</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>The present subject may be summed up in two great questions—viz., -First, is Virtue desirable? Secondly, is Virtue practicable?</p> - -<p>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 importance; that it is essential to individual health, to -the happiness of the family, to the purity of Society, and the growth -of a strong nation. Virtue, therefore, is desirable. It remains to -consider whether it be practicable. No vagueness or doubt should exist -in relation to fundamental principles of education. Methods may change; -no inflexible rule can be laid down. Enlarging experience, enlightened -by love, will vary infinitely the adaptations needed in the education -of infinitely varied children, but the aim of education should not -vary. Sound knowledge, as well as a steadfast faith and hope, must -guide every intelligent parent from the beginning of family life, or -confusion, perplexity, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</span> endless difficulties will be added to the -inevitable difficulties of education.</p> - -<p>One of the most serious questions to be understood and practically -answered by parents in the education of their sons is this: If in -relation to sex Chastity be the true moral aim of a young man’s -education, can it be secured without injury to his health? Is morality -an advantage to the health of young men?<a id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> It is impossible to -over-estimate the importance of this question, both to men and women. -It touches the most vital interests of both. The family, the relations -of husband and wife, the education of children, the rules and customs -of society, and the arrangements of practical life will directly depend -upon, or be affected by, the answer which we give to the question, Is -virtue an advantage to all human beings? Can one moral law exist for -all?</p> - -<p>Truth must always be accepted. No personal prejudice, no habit of -education, must stand in the way of clearly established truth. It is -the greatest sin we can commit to try to believe a lie because the -truth seems unpleasant, difficult, or contrary to prejudices. If it be -true that chastity is a right thing for women, but a wrong thing for -men, then the truth, with all its consequences, must be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</span> accepted. If, -however, this statement be false—if it be a prejudice of education, -a result of evil customs, the most fruitful source of misery to the -human race—then the truth, with all its consequences, must equally -be accepted. In seeking truth on this subject it is indispensable to -examine its practical aspect closely, to study the facts on which -existing customs are based, and disentangle the confused web of truth -and falsehood, 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 health.</p> - -<p>That <em>some</em> limit to the indulgence of natural instinct is -necessary in both sexes will be evident from the early age at which -the sexual movement commences, as well as from the length of time -required for its completion. It is not only in children of twelve -and fourteen that this instinct is already strongly marked, it may -be observed at a much earlier age. Numberless instances of juvenile -depravity come under the observation of the physician, and such gross -cases are only exaggerations of the refined instincts veiled by modesty -and self-respect, which are gradually growing in all healthy children. -That this mental instinct tends to express itself in the unformed -bodies of children corrupted by evil example, we have only too abundant -proof. A chronic evil of boarding-schools, of asylums, and of all -places where masses of children are thrown together without wise moral -supervision, is the early habit of self-abuse. Long before the boy or -girl is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</span> capable of becoming a parent, this dangerous habit may be -formed. It is not necessarily the indication of a coarse nature. It is -observable in refined, intellectual, and even pious persons, as a habit -carried on from childhood, when it was begun in ignorance, or taught, -perhaps, by servants, or caught from companions. Many a fine nature in -both man and woman has been wrecked, by the insidious growth of this -natural temptation, into an inveterate habit. The more common result, -however, of this vicious practice is a premature stimulation of the -sexual nature, which throws youth of both sexes either into habits of -early licentiousness or into a morbid condition of mental impurity. An -experienced physician<a id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> writes: ‘The earliest and most frequent cause -of disorder of the generative apparatus is the practice of self-abuse, -the tendency to which is strongest about the age of puberty.... -Excitement is increased by the conversation and thoughts which are -indulged in, and it is apt to be unchecked by the moral control which -has not yet acquired its proper influence. Moreover, lads are often -induced to the pernicious practice by their companions, who may be as -ignorant as themselves of the wrong and mischief they are doing. It -would be a very good thing if those who have the charge of boys were -less scrupulous in giving warning upon this matter. Much trouble and -anxiety might be spared by timely advice seriously and kindly given.... -An extensive<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</span> acquaintance, through years with those who have just come -from our schools, has impressed the importance of this matter upon me.’</p> - -<p>Dangers thus existing which may threaten the youngest child, the -necessity of guidance, the formation of good habits, and the -inculcation of self-respect even in childhood is evident. At an -early age self-control can be taught. It is a principle which grows -by exercise. The more the brain asserts its power of Will over the -automatic actions of the body, the stronger may become the control of -reason over sensations and instincts.</p> - -<p>The neglect of children at this early age is a direct cause of the -corruption of the next stage of life. The lad of sixteen or seventeen -is in the first flush of early manhood. He is physically capable -of becoming a father, although entirely unfit to be so. Some years -are required to strengthen his physical powers. The advantage of -the self-control of absolute chastity at this period of life is -unquestionable; every physiologist will confirm this statement. But -chastity is of the mind as well as of the body. The corruption of the -mind at this early age is the most fruitful source of social evil in -later life. The years from sixteen to twenty-one are critical years for -youth. If purity of life and the strength of complete self-control can -then be secured, there is every hope for the future. Every additional -year will enlarge the mental capacity, and may confirm the power of -Will. The strong man is able to take the large views of sex, its uses, -aims, and duties,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</span> which are considerations too abstract for the -child-man, impelled by bewildering sensations. If at this early age -he falls, he is too often lost. Physical passion, which reaches its -maximum (roughly speaking) at twenty-seven, can only be controlled and -exalted if, at the age when chastity is a positive physical benefit, -the great mental principle of self-control has gained mastery over the -nature. If at this period the power of Will has been gained to retain -self-respect and resist temptation, such habit of self-government is -the safeguard of youth. It is the only foundation on which the early -years of life can be safely based, 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 manhood. If, however, -the child has been injured by habits or associations which produce -precocity and irritability of function, he will inevitably fall into -vice in the earliest years of manhood; his power of resistance is gone, -and every temptation drags him down.</p> - -<p>One of our ablest surgeons has left on record the following weighty -advice:<a id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> ‘The boy has to learn that to his immature frame every -sexual indulgence is unmitigated evil. Every illicit pleasure is a -degradation to be bitterly regretted hereafter.... If a boy is once -fully impressed that <em>all</em> such indulgences are dirty and mean, -and, with the whole force of his unimpaired energy, determines he -<em>will</em> not disgrace<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</span> himself by yielding, a very bright and -happy future is before him.... Where, as is the case with a very -large number, a young man’s education has been properly watched, -and his mind has not been debased by vile practices, it is usually -a comparatively easy task to be continent, and requires no great or -extraordinary effort, and every year of voluntary chastity renders the -task easier by the mere force of habit.... It is of vital importance -that boys and young men should know, not only the guilt of an illicit -indulgence of their dawning passions, but also the <em>danger</em> of -straining an immature power, and the solemn truth that the <em>want</em> -will be an irresistible tyrant only to those who have lent it strength -by yielding; that <em>the only true safety lies in keeping even the -thoughts pure</em>.... It is easier to abstain altogether than to be -occasionally incontinent, and then continent for a period.... If a -young man wished to undergo the acutest sexual suffering he could -adopt no more certain method than to propose to be incontinent, with -the avowed intention of becoming continent again when he had “sown his -wild oats.” 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 vice: “You are -going a road on which you will <em>never</em> turn back. However much you -may wish it the struggle will be too much for you. You had better stop -now. It is your last chance.”’</p> - -<p>Our early neglect of youth is, then, one of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</span> great causes of social -immorality. 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 life. Evil outward temptations abound, -but they must not be allowed to exercise their effects unchecked; they -must be counteracted by more powerful influences for good.</p> - -<p>The physical growth of youth, the new powers, the various symptoms -which mark the transition from childhood into young manhood and -womanhood, are often alarming to the individual. Yet this important -period of life is entered upon, strange to say, as a general rule, -without parental guidance. Parents shrink from their duty. They have -failed to become their children’s confidential friends. In every other -respect the physical and mental wants of their children are attended -to. Suitable food is provided, and the various functions of digestion -and assimilation carefully watched; the healthy condition of the skin, -of the muscles, of all the various functions of the body provided for, -and intellectual education carried on, but the highest physical and -mental function committed to the human being, whose guidance requires -the wisest foresight, the most delicate supervision, is left to the -chances of accident or the counsels of a stranger. Measureless evil -results from the neglect of parents to fortify their children at this -age.</p> - -<p>Although direct and impressive instruction and guidance in relation to -sex is not only required by the young, but is indispensable to their -physical and moral welfare, yet the utmost caution is necessary in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</span> -giving such guidance, in order that the natural susceptibilities of the -nature be not wounded. It is a point on which youth of both sexes are -keenly sensitive, and any want of tact in addressing the individual, 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 relations, may do harm instead of -good. Where the conscience of the parent has only been awakened late -in life to this high duty to the child, the attempt to approach the -subject with the young adult is often deeply resented by both boy and -girl. In such cases the necessary counsel may be better given by a -stranger—by the physician, who will speak with acknowledged authority, -or by some book of impressive character, when such a one (much needed) -shall have been prepared. That this is a very imperfect fulfilment of -parental duty is true, 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 life, and thus not guided the past education of -the children.</p> - -<p>It is important to recognise the parallelism which exists throughout -the physical organization of the two sexes, making them equal parts -of complete human nature—a parallelism which is too often lost sight -of, at this period of a young man’s life. In each of the two halves -of humanity, the sexual functions are adapted to the higher nature of -the human being.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</span> Provision is made in each sex for their control by -reason, this provision being made with greater or lesser elaborate -preparation in proportion to the relative importance of these functions -in each sex. This provision secures their conversion into a human -social force, instead of allowing them to remain a blind instinct, -as in the lower animals; for everything in humanity is subject to -the law of progress and higher growth. The generative function in -both sexes must be kept in a state of readiness for use. It has, -therefore, its special activity of production, maintaining its tissues -in healthy vigour throughout adult life. It is also marked with a -certain periodicity, which is stamped on all the more important vital -functions. It must, however, at the same time be subjected to reason -and converted into a human faculty. To secure this end, it contains -within itself natural provisions for its own independent well-being, -Nature having established the power of physical self-balance in this -important function by the natural, gradual, and healthy removal of -unemployed secretions in each individual. It thus becomes the subject -of reason, adapted to the higher aims of life, instead of a blind force -enslaving the human being.</p> - -<p>An important illustration of this subjection of these functions to -reason, is referred to by the experienced surgeon, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Acton, who -writes: ‘There exists no <em>greater error</em>, or one more opposed to -physiological truth, than the fear that atrophy or impotence might be -the result of chastity. I have never, after many years’ experience, -seen a single<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</span> instance of atrophy from this cause. It is not a fact -that power is annihilated in well-formed adults leading a healthy life -and yet remaining continent. The function goes on to old age, sometimes -slowly, sometimes quickly, but very frequently only under the influence -of the will. No person need be deterred by this apocryphal fear from -living a chaste life. It is a device of the unchaste—a lame excuse -for their own incontinence, not founded on any physiological law. The -organs will take care that their action is not interfered with.’<a id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p> - -<p>The very signs, however, of Nature’s provision for raising the lower -instinct into a human faculty, often create great uneasiness in the -young mind. It is at this important crisis that the delicate and -respectful counsel of the wise parent or physician is indispensable -to both boys and girls. The youth should be told that Nature will -help, not injure him at this important crisis of life, if he will be -true to his own higher nature. The young of both sexes should realize -that self-control of thought and action is essential. Every means of -hygienic, intellectual, and religious influence should be used to -direct and strengthen both mind and body. For both young men and young -women it is hygiene in its largest sense that should be prescribed and -enforced—viz., the guidance of the early vital forces, both physical -and mental, into natural beneficial directions. The youth who has been -saved from habits of self-abuse<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</span> in childhood can now be saved from -habits of vice in manhood, and helped forward in that life of virtue -which alone will strengthen all his powers and make him worthy of -marriage.</p> - -<p>That this view of the sexual function as a human force, to be governed -by reason, is the truth, and the modern theory of its being a blind -instinct enslaving the individual a falsehood, is proved in many -ways. We have the medical opinion of physicians in large practice, -the private and public testimony of individuals, the observation of -well-managed schools and colleges, of prisons, of communities, and the -social customs of various classes and different races. Let us glance at -some of these facts.</p> - -<p>In rigid training for athletic sports, for boat-racing, prize-fighting, -etc., chastity is enforced as one of the means for attaining the -greatest possible amount of physical vigour and endurance. This fact, -observed in ancient times, is confirmed by modern experience.</p> - -<p>When the health is seriously impaired, the same rule of sexual -abstinence is laid down. In a large proportion of these cases the power -of sex is not lost; the physical craving may even be increased, from -the irritability which often accompanies disturbed health. But the -fear of death acts as a counter force on the young mind, and rouses -it to unwonted efforts at self-command. No sacrifice is too great to -escape death, to regain health, and take part once more in ordinary -life. Temptations are avoided, healthy regime adopted, and the young -man, taking a great deal of outdoor exercise, leads for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</span> months an -absolutely chaste life, with the greatest possible advantage to his -health. Such cases may be constantly noted in foreign health resorts, -and amongst a class of cases the most difficult to reform—viz., -dissipated young men who have been perverted from childhood by a state -of society so universally corrupt that it cannot happily be paralleled -yet, in England or America.</p> - -<p>It is well known that the early ancestors of our vigorous German race -guarded the chastity of their youth until the age of twenty-five, as -the true method of increasing their strength, enlarging their stature, -and enabling them to become the progenitors of a vigorous race.</p> - -<p>The opportunity of wide observation enjoyed by the headmasters of -public schools, and all engaged in education, lends great weight to -their testimony. The master of over 800 boys and young men states: ‘The -result of my personal observation, extending over a great many years, -is, that hard exercise in the open air is, in most cases, an efficient -remedy against vicious propensities. A large number of our young men -thus make a law unto themselves, and pass the period of their youth in -temperance and purity till they have realized a position that enables -them to marry.’ <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Arnold, of Rugby, has given similar testimony.<a id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a></p> - -<p>In primitive Christian communities, and many country and village -populations uncorrupted by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</span> stimulants of luxury, we observe the -advantage of chastity to the health of youth. In these simple, healthy -societies the strong public sentiment of the village, combined with -outdoor life, preserves the honesty of the young men until the time of -early marriage. The result is the growth of a vigorous, healthy race.</p> - -<p>Our recognition of the possibility, as well as advantage, of chastity -to the young is further strengthened by a knowledge of the healthy -self-control exercised by men in the prime of life. After the age of -thirty, the unnatural life of celibacy is a difficult exercise of mind -and body, far more difficult than it is to uncorrupted youth. The -intimate experience, however, 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 wives; and -the majority of our countrymen would consider it an insult to suppose -that when a new-born child is laid in their arms, and the wife leans -for support during her period of weakness upon her husband’s love, that -he betrays her love and trust during those solemn epochs of family life.</p> - -<p>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 chastity. Every one who listened to -the weighty words of Père Hyacinthe, spoken in <abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> James’s Hall -before a crowded audience a few years ago, received the proof of -the co-existence of vigorous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</span> health with stainless virtue. Similar -testimony, called forth by the false teaching and dangerous tendencies -of the present time, has been given by many others, proving the -principle that the human sexual passion when uncorrupted, does not -enslave the man; that the possibility of perfect health and perfect -virtue is the natural endowment of every human being.</p> - -<p>A modern writer of unsurpassed genius, Honoré de Balzac (whose writings -are injurious because they are such wonderfully vivid representations -of horrible social disease) was himself a man of singularly chaste -life, and attributes his power to that fact. Brought up by his -father in strict self-control, his power of Will was not destroyed; -he preserved his respect for women, his belief in noble love. His -intimate friend thus writes of him: ‘Above all he insisted on the -necessity of absolute purity of life, such as the Church prescribes -for monks. “That,” said he, “develops the powers of the mind to the -highest degree, and imparts to those who practise it unknown faculties. -For myself, I accepted all the monastic conditions necessary for -workers. One only passion carried me out of my studious habits—it was -a passion for outdoor observation of the manners and morals of the -<i>faubourg</i> where I lived.”’</p> - -<p>Strong testimony as to the compatibility of chastity and health is -furnished by the Catholic priesthood. Although it is well known that -there are large numbers of men who break their vow, and men who should -never have entered the priesthood, it is also well known as a positive -fact that vast numbers of men<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</span> are found in every age and country who -honestly maintain their vow, and who, by avoidance of temptation, by -direction of the mind to intellectual pursuits and devotion to great -humanitarian objects, pass long lives in health and vigour. The effect -on the world of enforced celibacy is, of course, disastrous; but -the power that has been gained by the institution of the priesthood -is indubitable, and the one object here insisted on—viz., the -compatibility of physical health with the observance of chastity—is -proved by it on a large scale.</p> - -<p>The Shaker communities of New Lebanon and other settlements contain -a large number of middle-aged as well as elderly men, who live an -absolutely celibate life and enjoy excellent health.<a id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> The same is -true of Moravians, etc.</p> - -<p>The possibility of controlling this great human instinct is further -shown by the experience of women. 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 life, -frequently in spite of physical instincts as strong as those of men, -and always in spite of mental instincts still more powerful. 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 ‘strength’ its -true signification—the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</span> signification of mental as well as physical -phenomena in proportion to the powers of the individual. The demands -of women are greater than those of men; they desire more and more -the thought and devotion of those they love. They often display a -persistent fidelity, terrible in its earnestness, when they have had -the misfortune to become attached to an unworthy object. The weak -virtue of the mass of women, exposed to constant temptation, indicates -the insatiable craving of the woman’s heart for love. It is never -at rest; it always needs its objects, and when these affections are -degraded from their high purpose and defrauded of their legitimate -objects, they become the greatest obstacle to human progress. No -solution of the difficult problem of sexual relationships is possible, -until the complete parallelism (not identity) of the sexual nature in -the two sexes is recognised, and the significance of woman’s mental -necessities understood. Women themselves must learn the meaning of -the high nature that God has given them, 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 love. That large -numbers of women, so richly endowed with the high principle of sex, -retain their health whilst leading celibate lives, is one more proof -of that adaptation of this principle to the higher character of our -nature, which transforms a simple brute instinct into a grand human -force.</p> - -<p>The foregoing facts distinctly prove that the exercise of the sexual -powers is not indispensable to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</span> health of human beings; that men of -all ages can live in full vigorous health without such exercise; and -that to the young it is an immense physical advantage that they should -so live. This is the important principle to be first established. -The subjects of temptation, of customs, of artificial wants, etc., -are other questions, to be considered by themselves. Thought will -be inevitably confused, and the important practical arrangements -of the future hopelessly perplexed, if all sorts of questions are -jumbled together; if practical difficulties, social phases, temporary -phenomena, are allowed to obscure or completely hide the great guide -of humanity—Eternal Truth. A principle clearly established is that -portion of truth needed for present guidance. It must be thoroughly -understood and resolutely held to, as the only clue which can guide us -slowly through the dark labyrinth of error, vice, and misery. Such a -guiding principle is found in the essential nature of the human sexual -faculty—its distinctive power of self-control. The more this principle -is considered, understood, and valued, the more it will be found that -it contains the power of purifying society, enlightening legislation, -and raising our status as a nation.</p> - -<p>The aim, therefore, of all wise parents should be to secure those -influences which will preserve the purity of their sons until the age -of twenty-five, when marriage, as a rule, should be made possible -and encouraged. This is the wise practice, derived from experience, -applicable to all nations living in temperate climes. Earlier marriage -may sometimes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</span> be wise, but it is not the broad rule. That the -individual may remain in health until a later period and throughout -life has been proved, but it is a national loss that the best years of -vigorous manhood should not stamp themselves upon the future generation.</p> - -<p>The unmarried life after thirty years of age is often injured in mind -or body. The exceptions arising from character or occupation, from -religious enthusiasm or devotion to some great work, do not refute -the general statement. It must necessarily be so. As sex is a natural -and most powerful human force, there is risk of injury in permanently -stifling it. Marriage being its true method of expression and -education, the character is injured through want of this development. -It is only through honourable marriage that the beneficial growth of -manly character of mind and body can be attained. The illegitimate -exercise of the sexual powers is a source of direful social and -national evil, and requires those strong restraints of both law and -custom which help to educate a nation. No fear that some individuals, -unable to marry, may suffer in their private lives, can for one moment -justify the establishment of practices or the sanctioning of customs -which are destructive to the general welfare. Far more evil, mental and -physical, arises to the race from the effects of licentiousness than -from any effects of abstinence.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3>CHAPTER IV<br><span class="small"><i>Methods by which Sexual Morality may be Promoted</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>The important question will present itself to everyone who realizes -the gravity of the dangers which we have now exposed: What practical -steps can be taken to secure the truer standard of morality which -will remodel the education of youth? This weighty question can only -gradually receive a complete answer, as the intelligence of our age -awakens to the fact that the attainment of true sexual morality is -the fundamental principle of national growth. The first indispensable -basis of all efforts for practical reform is the acceptance of a true -principle of action. The great guiding principle now laid down is this: -that Vice—that is, the illegitimate exercise of the sexual faculty, -regardless of religious conscience and the welfare of others—is not -essential to the constitution of the human being, but is the result -of removable conditions. The importance of this truth is immense. Its -acceptance or denial produces two diametrically opposite courses of -action—action in education, in society, and in legislation.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</span> It is -one of those abstract truths which are stronger than all facts, being -eternal instead of temporary, moulding practical action instead of -depending on it. The belief or denial of this truth may express itself -in varying forms, according to the age or country, according to the -more or less logical workings of a nation’s mind; but whether clearly -recognised in all its bearings, or blindly acted on in a confused and -near-sighted way, the results will always follow in the same direction. -The acceptance of this truth will always tend to diminish and gradually -destroy evil; its denial must inevitably intensify and extend evil.</p> - -<p>It is the essential nature of truth or falsehood to express itself -in practical action. This tendency is overlooked by the majority of -human beings engaged in the eager pursuits of daily life, in business, -in household duties, in amusements, and the logical results of false -theories are, in practical life, often modified by the happy instincts -which blindly turn aside the inevitable tendencies of logical error; -but the truth or falsehood always remains as a great permanent force -at work from age to age. In considering the means of attaining to a -truer practice of morality, therefore, the spread of truth is a first -indispensable necessity and condition of future improvement. The great -truth to be recognised is the fact that male as well as female purity -is a necessary foundation of progressive human society. This important -subject must no longer be ignored. The time has come for its acceptance -by all experienced<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</span> men and women. The necessity of upholding one -moral standard as the aim to be striven for, must become a fundamental -article of religious faith. Above all, Parents must realize the -tremendous responsibility which rests upon them to provide for the -healthy growth of the principles of sex in their children.</p> - -<p>It will be seen, the more closely this subject is investigated, that -the thought and action of women as well as men, is indispensable to -social regeneration. On women of all classes rests a full measure of -responsibility for the present evil condition of sexual relations. No -class can throw off this responsibility. Women are equally responsible -with men for the deep corruptions of society. This is pre-eminently -a parents’ question, affecting the vital interests of the family and -the future of children in every relation of life; woman, from her -central position in the family as wife and mother, must know how to -use her immense influence wisely. To be wise, knowledge of truth is -essential, and the adult woman, the centre of home influence, must -acquire correct knowledge on every subject that concerns family life. -The nature and requirements of men and women is a subject on which a -woman needs correct knowledge, not only as a guide to the education of -the young child, but as a guide in the various duties of life. A woman -is mother always, not only of the infant, but of the growing and grown -man. A mother who has been able to secure the friendship of her son as -well as her daughter, can exercise a beneficial influence<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</span> from youth -onwards which will be recognised with ceaseless gratitude in later -life.<a id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> The higher influence which women are intended to infuse into -sex makes the subject a holy one to the wise mother. She can approach -it in moments of sacred confidence with her children with a delicacy -and tender earnestness that wounds no natural reserve, but excites a -grateful reverence in the youth’s mind. The first falsehood, therefore, -that must disappear is the belief that the higher classes of women—the -cultivated, the refined, the virtuous—have nothing to do with sexual -vice; that they must remain ignorant of facts, and see nothing but what -it is pleasant to see. It is on this class of women, perhaps, more than -on any other one class of society that its future welfare depends.<a id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> -They are capable of broad views of truth, of insight, of ceaseless -devotion to the highest welfare of the race, to God, when once they -have learned to know what truth is; when they have realized the -actual facts of every-day life and observed the effects of prevalent -customs upon women as well as upon men. The task of regenerating -society by securing the healthy growth of the faculty of sex in their -children being, therefore, laid upon both parents, the indispensable -co-operation of the mother in this work is seen more clearly, as the -causes of sexual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</span> precocity and the triumph of the material nature over -love are studied more deeply.</p> - -<p>The fact being established that the human being is not designed by -Providence to be the slave of passion, 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 time, the dangerous -peculiarity of the present age being that customs and habits, formerly -blindly followed, are now defended or legalized?</p> - -<p>We shall find, on considering the influence at work on the human being -from childhood upward (laying aside for the moment the question of -heredity), obvious sources of corruption that help us to the solution -of this difficult problem. ‘The temptations of life’ to which our -youth succumb are no fixed things essential to human nature. They -vary in every age and country. They are changeable facts, removable -evils, perversions of natural tastes. The human race can grow out of -license into order, out of prostitution into marriage, out of lust -into love, as certainly as typhoid fever can be exterminated by pure -water and pure air. It is from childhood that the strong man is moulded -gradually into the hero—or the criminal. If the superior standard -of morality which is still to be found amongst us, be compared with -the customs widely diffused in many other countries, it will be seen -how variable the standard of morality is, and how dependent it is on -social<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</span> circumstance—<i>i.e.</i>, on removable conditions.<a id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> These -corrupting circumstances of life surround the individual at every -stage of growth from youth onwards. They are found in early habits -and influences; in mischievous school companions and studies; in vile -literature, books, advertisements, pictures; in indecent theatre, -ballet, public amusements; in opportunity and temptation; in drink and -dissipated companions; in perverted social sentiment, false medical -advice, delayed or unhappy marriage—these are the snares which meet -the human being, and which may gradually pervert the nature. Now, there -is not one of these facts that is an essential part of human nature. -There is not one that cannot be changed to good. Each one of the evils -above named is an evil to be attacked and vanquished, and the wise -method of doing this, is a distinct command and work of practical -religion.</p> - -<p>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—viz., observation of the child -during<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</span> infancy, acquirement of the child’s confidence, selection of -young companions, care in the choice of a school and of studies which -will not injure the mind, the formation of tastes, outdoor exercise, -companionship of brothers and sisters, the choice of physician, social -intercourse, and amusements. These various points require careful -consideration.</p> - -<p>The earliest duty of the parent is to watch over the infant child. Few -parents are aware how very early evil habits may be formed, nor how -injurious the influence of the nurse often is to the child.<a id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> The -mother’s eye, full of tenderness and respect, must always watch over -her children. Self-respect cannot be too early inculcated. The keynote -of moral education is respect for the human body. The mother should -caution the child plainly not to touch or meddle with himself more than -is necessary; that his body is a wonderful and sacred thing, intended -for important and noble ends; that it must not be played or trifled -with, or in any way injured. Every thoughtless breach of delicacy -should be checked with a gentle gravity which will not repel or abash, -but impress the child.</p> - -<p>This watchfulness over the young child, by day and night, is the first -duty to be universally inculcated. Two things are necessary in order to -fulfil it—viz., a clear knowledge of the evils to which the child may -be exposed, and tact to interpret the faintest indication of danger and -to guard from it without allowing the child to be aware of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</span> danger. -Evils should never be presented to the young child’s mind. Habits must -be formed from earliest infancy, but reasons for those habits should -only be given much later. It is the parent’s intelligence which must -act for the child during very early life. This unavoidable necessity -is, at the same time, a cause of frequent failure in education, for -the reason that parents, through ignorance or egotism, fail to see -that they must study the nature of the child. The strong adult too -often fails in insight, and imposes its own methods and conclusions -upon a nature not susceptible of those methods and often not adapted -to those conclusions. This is really spiritual tyranny, and destroys -the providential relation which should exist between child and adult. -The parent should become the first and truest friend of the child. This -possibility and duty is a great parents’ privilege, too often unknown, -and yet it affects the whole future of the child. It is through the -love and confidence that exist between them that durable influence is -exerted. If the child naturally confides its little joys and sorrows to -the ever-ready and intelligent sympathy of the mother, if it grows up -in the habit of turning to this warm and helpful influence, the youth -will come as naturally with his experiences and plans to the parent as -did the little child; the evils of life, which must be gradually known, -will then be encountered with the aid of experience. The form of the -relation between parent and child changes, not its essence. The essence -of the relationship is trust: the fact that the parent’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</span> presence will -always be welcomed by the child; that in work or in play, in infancy or -youth, the parent shall be the first natural friend. It is only then -that wise, permanent influence can be exerted. It is not dogmatism, nor -rigid laws, nor formal instruction, that is needed, but the formative -power of loving insight and sympathy. It is only when this providential -relation exists that the parent can understand the life of the child -and exercise influence without harshness. With every step in life the -child’s horizon enlarges, and opportunities of good or temptations to -evil increase. The experiences of school-life, the companions selected, -the studies pursued, and the books read, introduce the child into the -wide world of practical life in miniature. All the circumstances of -school-life are of serious importance—an importance not sufficiently -realized in their bearing upon character, and in the responsibility -which rests with parents themselves, to mould those circumstances. The -child’s entrance upon school-life is his first plunge into the great -world beyond the family circle, his first serious contact with new -thoughts, customs, and standards—with a new code of morality; not the -formal morality of his professors, but the confused practical morality -of his school companions. Here he may meet with every kind of evil, of -which he had previously no conception, carried on in a crude, practical -form by those whom he naturally looks up to—his elder companions, who -are perhaps rich and clever, and whom he regards as ‘men.’ How is the -child strengthened<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</span> to meet this grand new life, as it seems to him, -which entrances him with its novelty, its variety, and its vigour, and -which very often produces a feeling of kindly contempt for the narrow -home life?</p> - -<p>Full confidence between parent and child is necessary in order that -all the child is learning may be known. This school world, unlike -the larger world, is directly under the possibility of parental -control. What parents, as a body, require, the teacher will endeavour -to provide. The material arrangements and regulations, as well as -the moral tone of any school to which a child is sent, must be -considered. It being remembered that the great vices of self-abuse and -fornication are the curse of our schools and colleges, 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 -thieving. School and college sentiment should be trained to regard them -as equally dishonourable and unmanly. They must be overcome chiefly -by moral means in connection with hygienic arrangements. The views -of the principal on the subject of sexual training, the character -of assistant-teachers, the water-closet and sleeping arrangements, -the amount of outdoor exercise secured, should all be studied by the -conscientious parent.</p> - -<p>Some direct hygienic instruction and warning, suited to the age of -the child, should be given. It is a false and cruel delicacy which -ignores the great danger of schools, and sends an innocent child -utterly unprepared into a school society where<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</span> corruption exists. ‘I -believe,’ writes an experienced teacher of lads, ‘that ninety-nine -hundredths of the immorality that prevails amongst young men originates -primarily in ignorance and perverted curiosity.’ He therefore lays -down the following practical rules for the hygienic instruction which -he deems indispensable: First, that the physiology of sex should be -carefully subordinated to general physiology and hygiene, and that it -should always be treated comparatively. Secondly, that all instruction -and examination should be oral and in class, no text-books being given -to the pupils, the utmost simplicity and plainness of speech being -employed, and only outline diagrams used as pictorial illustrations.<a id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a></p> - -<p>The rational view of education—viz., the formation of character and -the establishment of well-balanced health, as fundamental objects to -which other things should be added—require such a revision of our -school system as will secure correct physical habits, and, above all, -mental purity. This sound basis of education must be insured in all -places where children congregate together. Careful arrangements to -promote these ends are equally necessary in boys’ and girls’ schools. -They promote alike true manliness and true womanliness.</p> - -<p>The nature of the studies given to the young and the way in which -classical literature is taught require to be considered by parents. The -corrupt<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</span> literature of antiquity tends to corrupt the youthful mind -as unavoidably as licentious modern literature. Its bearing on the -healthy growth of youth must be considered. The advantages of classical -education should be secured without employing works whose tendency -is to degrade the young mind. The contrary opinion is the prejudice -of custom. Our Catholic brethren have fully recognised the suicidal -policy of imbuing unformed minds with licentious literature, and the -Church has held more than one General Conference on the subject. No one -can doubt the excellence of their scholarship, and it is much to be -desired that a careful study of their methods in this respect should be -required from all instructors of youth. The impulse to such a change -should come from parents.</p> - -<p>The dangers arising from vicious literature of any kind cannot be -overestimated by parents. Whether sensuality be taught by police -reports, or by Greek and Latin literature, by novels, plays, songs, -penny papers, or any species of the corrupt literature now sent forth -broadcast, and which finds its way into the hands of the young of all -classes and both sexes, the danger is equally real. It is storing the -susceptible mind of youth with words, images, and suggestions of vice -which remain permanently in the mind, springing up day and night in -unguarded moments, weakening the power of resistance, and accustoming -the thoughts to an atmosphere of vice. No amount of simple caution -given by parents or instructors suffices to guard the young mind from -the influence<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</span> of evil literature. It must be remembered that hatred of -evil will never be learned by intellectual warning. 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 mind. Physiological inquiry is constantly throwing -more light upon our mental as well as physical organization. We learn -that nutritive changes take place in the human brain by the effect of -objects which produce ideas; that permanent traces of these changes -continue through life, so that states or changes connected with -certain ideas remain stored up in the brain, capable of recall, or -presenting themselves in the most unexpected way. We see the importance -of the last impressions made on the brain at night, indicating the -activity and fixity of the cerebral changes of nutrition during the -quiescence of sleep. All that we observe of these processes shows us -that different physical changes are produced in the brain by different -classes of ideas, and that the moral sense itself may be affected by -the constant exercise of the brain in one direction or another, so that -the actual individual standard of what is right or what is wrong will -be quite changed, according to whether low or high ideas have been -constantly recorded in the retentive substance of the brain.</p> - -<p>These important facts have a wide and constant bearing on education, -showing the really poisonous character of all licentious literature, -whether ancient or modern, and its destructive effect on the quality -of the brain. It is necessary, therefore, to prepare<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</span> the young -mind to shrink repelled from the debasing literature with which -society is flooded, and which is one of the greatest dangers to be -encountered. The great help towards this object is the cultivation of -strong intellectual and moral tastes in children, the preoccupation -of the mind with what is good. Truth should be in the field before -falsehood. All children and youth are fascinated by narratives of -adventure, endurance, heroism, and noble deeds. The home library -should be selected in order to brace the mind and character, and -enlist the interest of the child or youth in what is manly and true. -Every child also has some special taste or tendency which can be -found out, if carefully looked for. It may be for art, for science, -for construction, for investigation, adventure, or beneficence; -but whatever it be, it may be made the means of intellectual and -moral growth. The special youthful tendency is of extreme value, as -indicating the direction in which a taste, even if slightly marked, -may be cultivated into a serious interest and become a powerful help -in the formation of character. The study of natural science and of all -pursuits which develop a love and observation of Nature are of great -value in education. Such pursuits have the additional advantage of -promoting life in the open air. The weighty testimony in favour of the -beneficial influence of outdoor exercises and amusements has already -been noted. 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 healthy,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</span> well-balanced growth of -the frame, and for preventing the premature development of the sexual -faculty. It is a subject worthy of the especial study of parents in -relation to the education of both sexes. Abundant exercise in the fresh -air, with total abstinence from alcoholic drink, may be considered the -two great physical aids to morality in youth.</p> - -<p>The companions chosen by the child at school or the youth at college -are of extreme importance to the growth of character, and the exercise -of influence over this choice, without interfering with the freedom of -the child, is one of the greatest aids that a parent can render it. -The intimacy between those who are entering upon life together, and -who have the same future before them, must necessarily increase and -become a great fact in the young life; but it is essential that the -parent should know who these companions are, and the character of the -influence that will be exerted. If the parent be the friend of his -child, he can also be the friend of his friend. Tact and sympathy are -of the utmost value in welcoming and attracting the youthful friends, -and the wise parental care thus exercised towards offspring, extends -necessarily beyond the individual home.</p> - -<p>The attention of the parent must always be ready to observe the signs -of growing sex in sons as well as daughters. Numberless indications, -which none but the mother can note, warn her of that approaching -crisis of early manhood, now so fatal to our youth. No wise mother -observes this change without a deepening of respect and tenderness, -and of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</span> infinite maternal yearning to strengthen, guide, and ennoble -her man-child. 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—viz., the choice of his physician. The -importance of this choice cannot be over-estimated by the parent. The -young are easily alarmed about their health; they are at the same time -utterly unable to judge of their own condition; they have no knowledge -to guide them, no experience by which to measure their symptoms. -They place absolute confidence in their medical adviser; his opinion -and advice outweigh all other considerations and supersede all other -counsel. The parent must therefore realize that when a physician is -selected for the growing lad, an authority is placed over him which -may become stronger than the parental influence, and be henceforth the -most powerful support or antagonist in the moral as well as physical -guidance of the son.</p> - -<p>If medical science were a positive science, as is mathematics, and -its professors able to apply its principles to daily life with the -certainty of geometrical propositions, it would be folly to do -otherwise than accept any medical opinion of established authority with -entire confidence. This, however, is not the case, and the members of -the medical profession would themselves be the last persons to lay -claim to the possession of absolute truth. As centuries roll on, one -medical school of opinion succeeds another, and theory after theory -is exploded<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</span> by accumulating facts. It is therefore no new thing and -no subject of reproach to the self-sacrificing members of a noble -profession, that different opinions should exist amongst them, in -relation to subjects which affect that complex problem—human life. -Indeed, it would be an exception to a general rule did not such -difference exist. But we are now considering a subject so fundamental -in human welfare, so much wider than any class interest, that any -variety of opinion respecting it, is of vital importance to be noted, -and must be recognised by all intelligent persons. It must therefore be -thoroughly understood by all parents that there are now two distinct -classes of medical opinion existing amongst physicians. Each class -embraces men of high medical repute, but men who hold diametrically -opposite views in relation to the guidance of the sexual powers, the -one class considering Virtue, the other Vice, a necessity. Each class -of physicians is honest in opinion, clear-sighted, wishing well to -society; but the one class is far-sighted, the other near-sighted; the -one knows the omnipotence of Good, the other sees the triumph of Evil. -This diversity of opinion cannot remain as an abstract proposition, -but, like all opinion, it expresses itself in action. In medical advice -given to a youth, 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 wrong. One path leads to self-control, -enlarged<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</span> mental and physical hygiene, chastity; the other to doubt, -yielding, fornication.</p> - -<p>At this period of life, no uncertain advice should be given by the -physician. Support and guidance are required from him, and his counsel -must be strong, positive, and clear. The patient must be taught that -chastity, properly understood, is health. He must learn that the -indications of sex in early manhood are a notice that the new faculties -must be restrained—not exercised; that they give a warning to guard -against self-abuse and abuse of the other sex; that the great danger -to be dreaded is stimulation; that everything that can excite, whether -external or internal, must be studiously avoided. The vital fact must -be announced and powerfully brought home to him—that if he will keep -the mind pure, Nature will keep the body healthy. This mental strength -is his one great concern, to be secured in every possible way. There -must be no doubt in medical advice; it must ring like the words of -true science spoken by our distinguished surgeon to his students:<a id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> -‘Many of your patients will ask you about sexual intercourse, and -some will expect you to prescribe fornication. I would just as soon -prescribe theft or lying or anything else that God has forbidden.... -Chastity does no harm to mind or body; its discipline is excellent; -marriage can be safely waited for, and among the many nervous and -hypochondriacal patients who have talked to me<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</span> about fornication, I -have never heard one say that he was better or happier for it.’<a id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> 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 pages. No lesser consideration, no false -feeling of reserve, should ever prevent the parent from knowing to -which class of physicians the medical guidance of his son be intrusted.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</span></p> - -<p>An invaluable provision for the education of the principle of -sex, exists in the companionship of brothers and sisters. This -companionship, established by Nature, should be carefully promoted, -not thwarted. It is one of those provisions which make family life -the type of wider relationships, the true germ of society from which -national purity and strength should grow. Indeed, the more we study -the capabilities of the family in each of its varied aspects, the -more potent we perceive its influence to be, the greater the national -importance of maintaining the family in its proper power and dignity. -This natural grouping of boys and girls is Nature’s indication of the -right method of education, and the time will undoubtedly come when the -present monastic system of general education may be given up without -incurring grave disadvantages. 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 experience. Isolation, -mystery, obstacles, produce craving curiosity, excitement—in fact, -morbid stimulus—instead of matter-of-fact acquaintance and natural -familiarity. Two opposite extremes tend to produce the precocity and -morbid condition of sentiment which now prevail—viz., either throwing -youth into the companionship of the vicious or rigidly separating -the sexes. Each extreme is against Nature, each is injurious to the -individual. The former practice is based upon the theory that sex is -an uncontrollable instinct which must run riot. The latter practice -proceeds from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</span> the theory that sex is a great evil, a temptation of -the devil, and as far as possible to be destroyed. The true principle, -however, consists in a recognition of the nobility of sex, and the -necessity—1st, of its slow development; 2nd, of its honourable -satisfaction.</p> - -<p>Now, in the young and growing nature, sex may be richly satisfied by -spiritual refreshment and refined companionship. Conjugal relations -are not necessary to the very young in attaining true delight in -sex. On the contrary, false relations are an outrage. They violently -destroy the gradual unfolding of mental and physical joys, which alone -produces exquisite and lasting delight. A large amount of honourable -companionship between young men and women is of the utmost advantage in -strengthening and ennobling young manhood and womanhood. This valuable -result is only possible, however, as springing from the practice of -chastity; in connection with fornication it is impossible. Parents -are now justly afraid of the influences that may be brought to bear -on their children. Nevertheless, abundant honourable companionship -between the sexes is an important principle of future reform. Provide -the necessary condition of adult sympathy and influence, and the wider -the range of acquaintance can be made between boys and girls, between -uncorrupted young men and women, the better, the more valuable, will -be the results of such acquaintance. The possibility and practice of -natural familiar acquaintance between unmarried young men and women in -any society<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</span> may be considered a test of the healthy human condition -of such society. Any society where it is considered necessary to keep -young people rigidly apart is a corrupt society, based upon principles -of national degeneracy instead of natural development.</p> - -<p>The companionship of brothers and sisters is now early falsified by the -failure of parents to perceive its inestimable value, by separation -in studies and amusements, by false theories or corrupt habits, -through the influence of which the tie is weakened or perverted. The -friendship and affection, however, of these natural associates should -be sedulously promoted by companionship in studies, in music, in -outdoor pursuits and amusements. Into a family circle where brothers -and sisters were friends and companions, other boys and girls, other -young men and women, would naturally enter, the ennobling educational -influence would extend indefinitely, and those genuine sympathies which -should lead to marriage union, would gradually display themselves.</p> - -<p>There is peculiar value in the influence of sisters. It is a special -mission of young women to make virtue lovely. As the mother realizes -all that such a high calling implies, as she fully understands the -meaning of Virtue—as distinguished from Innocence—and the methods -of clothing it in loveliness, the more she will perceive the noble -character of a daughter’s influence and its vital importance. In this -aspect small things become great through their uses. The principles of -dress become worthy of study; health, grace, liveliness and serenity, -sympathy,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</span> intelligence, conversational ability, accomplishments, -receive a new meaning—a consecration to the welfare of the human race. -To make brothers love virtue, to make all men love purity, through -its incarnation in virtuous daughters, is a grand work to accomplish! -The failure of young women in any country, to embody the beauty and -strength of virtue is one of the most serious evils that can befall a -State. The necessity of cultivating mental purity and respect for the -principle of sex exists as strongly in relation to girls as to boys, -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 companions.</p> - -<p>The family home, carrying on its proper work, is no narrow circle of -selfish exclusiveness, but a living centre, attracting to itself and -widely radiating healthy social life. The moral influence of parents, -and particularly of the mother, as the centre of the household, extends -itself in two opposite directions—viz., in intercourse with the poorer -classes, through servants, tradespeople, benevolence, etc.; with the -richer, through social intercourse with equals. In both directions, her -influence will exert a direct bearing upon the moral education of the -young. The first and most important connection with the poorer classes -is through domestic servants. It is essential, from the outset of -family life, to select servants who will not injure the atmosphere of -home. The difficulty of doing this should be a warning voice to every -parent, and compel a careful search into the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</span> cause of this great and -growing difficulty. What does it mean—a widespread corruption through -the foundation of society, through the ranks of working women, so that -virtue, truth, fidelity, are hard to find? If so, what are the causes, -and what will be the influence exerted on the children of the family, -both at home and when they go out into the world, and are thrown into -unavoidable intercourse with this class of women? The more carefully -this problem is considered, the more intimate will the relations of -rich and poor be seen to be, the more vital their relations in respect -to the great question of morality, the more imperative the duty of -every mother to take a personal interest in her servants, to exert an -ennobling influence upon them, and to consider the children of her -poorer neighbours as well as her own, if only for the sake of her -own children. The family is a centre of affection, and every servant -should share in this life. It is wrong to retain a young servant -in a household without entering into her joys and sorrows, being -acquainted with her family and friends, providing her with honourable -amusements, and helping her to grow. In connection with this branch of -our subject there are two important principles that should be acted -on by intelligent women. The first is the necessity of educating the -sentiment of sex in girls into a self-controlling force, conscious of -the weighty responsibility which its great influence involves. The -second principle is the resolute abolition of an outcast class of -women. Christian civilization can acknowledge<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</span> no pariah class, but -only erring individuals of either sex to be helped to a nobler life.</p> - -<p>Equally important is the influence exerted by parents as members of -society on their own class, thus helping to form public opinion, -which is the foundation of law as well as custom. The moral tone of -general society at present is a source of great injury to the young. -The wilful ignoring of right and wrong in sex; the theory that it is a -subject not to be considered; the custom of allowing riches, talents, -agreeable manners, to atone for any amount of moral corruption; the -arrangement of marriage on a commercial basis, material, not spiritual, -considerations being of chief importance; 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 -atmosphere, equally injurious to the moral health of men and women. The -purest family influence contends with difficulty against this general -corruption. After the period of childhood, society becomes a powerful -educator of young men and women. The seductions exercised by women and -by men bear upon our youth of both sexes in various ways, under widely -different aspects, but always with the same degrading tendencies, -with the same unequal contest between inexperienced innocence and -practised vice. Seeing how the highest aims of parental education -are constantly shipwrecked by the influence of society, it becomes a -necessity on the part of parents to change the tone of society.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</span> In -this great work women quite as much as men must think and act. Two -fundamental principles must be steadily held in view in this great aim: -First, the discouragement of licentiousness; second, the promotion of -early marriage. The methods of discouraging licentiousness in society -require the gravest consideration of all parents, and emphatically of -all married women. It is a subject so delicate, and yet so vital, that -it must be treated with equal care and firmness, and the problem can -only be solved by combined action. To admit men or women of licentious -lives or impure inclinations to the home circle, or to receive them -with welcome honour or cordiality in society, is a direct encouragement -to vice and an equal discouragement to virtue.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</span><a id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> Confirmed Vice -must not be brought into intimate relations with young Virtue. It is -a crime, a stupidity, to do so. On the other hand, no inquisitorial -investigation of private life is desirable or permissible. A great duty -also exists towards the erring and the vicious, towards all those who -have oftentimes fallen into vice rather than voluntarily chosen it, who -are the victims of circumstances, of gradual unforeseen deterioration. -These fellow-beings demand the tenderest pity, the strongest sympathy, -the wisest help. Clever or frivolous, unstable or hardened, charming -or repellent, they are still precious human creatures, and the insight -of large sympathy—that most powerful influence which Providence has -intrusted to us—should be extended to all; but such sympathy can only -be exerted by the experienced, the strong, and the right way of doing -this must be sought for. One duty is perfectly clear: No persons of -acknowledged licentious life should be admitted to the intimacy of -home; no such persons should be welcomed with honour in society, no -matter what lower material or intellectual advantages may be possessed. -Their acquaintance is even more to be dreaded for sons than for -daughters. The corrupt conversation so general amongst immoral men is a -source of great evil to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</span> young. As the perusal of licentious books -marks the first step in mental degradation, vicious talk is often the -second decided advance downward.</p> - -<p>The moral meanness of enslavement to passion, of selfish disregard -to one’s weaker fellow-creatures exhibited by the profligate, should -always be recognised by the parent. Consent should never be given to -the union of an innocent child with a profligate. This plain dictate -of parental love, this evident duty of the experienced and virtuous to -the young and innocent, is strangely disregarded. Material advantages -in such cases are allowed to outweigh all other considerations. -Parents fail to recognise that the only source of permanent happiness -must arise from within, from spiritual qualifications; they fail to -recognise the inevitable effect of a corrupt nature upon a fresh young -creature linked to it in the closest companionship. Thus, in the -most solemn crisis of human life, the parent may betray the child. -It is not only the individual child that is betrayed, but the rising -generation also. On a previous page, the numerous external corrupting -circumstances have been mentioned which gradually degrade the -individual, but the subject of inherited qualities, of the inherited -tendency to sensuality, was not then dwelt upon. The transmission of -this tendency in a race is, however, a weighty fact, which must be -distinctly noted in this connection. Change in the tendencies of a race -can only be slowly wrought out in the course of generations. A most -important step in this direction is the union of virtuous daughters<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</span> -with men of upright—or in the present day, it may be said, of -heroic—moral life. The effect upon offspring produced by the noble and -intense love of one man for one woman, with resulting circumstances, -would in the course of generations produce an hereditary tendency to -virtue instead of to sensuality. 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 society. Honour to -virtue, expressed in this sacred and at the same time most practical -manner, would be an encouragement, a reward, an incitement to all that -is noblest in human nature; it would be a standard to guide youth, a -real disinfectant of corrupt society.</p> - -<p>The second principle to be kept steadily in view is the encouragement -of early marriage. A statesman, writing a generation ago on the causes -in the past, which have contributed to the prosperity of England, -says: ‘The lower and working classes are an early and universally -marrying people; this sacred habit is one which, while it has secured -the virtue and promoted the happiness of the country, has multiplied -its means and extended its power, and constituted Britain the most -powerful and prosperous Empire of the world.’<a id="FNanchor_46" href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> A quaint old writer -has said: ‘The forbidding to marry is the doctrine of devils.’ The -universal testimony of experience may be summed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</span> up in the words of -Montesquieu: ‘Who can be silent when the sexes, corrupting each other -even by the natural sensations themselves, fly from a union that ought -to make them better, to live in that that always renders them worse? -It is a rule drawn from nature, that the more the number of marriages -is diminished, the more corrupt are those who have entered into that -state; the fewer married men, the less fidelity is there in marriage.’ -All short-sighted Governments that impose unnatural restrictions upon -marriage are compelled, by the increase of bastardy and its attendant -evils, to repeal such restrictions. Grohman, speaking of the causes of -the present immorality of the Tyrolese, says: ‘Very lately only has the -Austrian Government annulled the law which compelled a man desirous -of marriage to prove a certain income, and, further, to be the owner -of a house or homestead of some kind, before the license was granted. -Next in importance is the lax way in which the Church deals with -licentious misconduct, it being in her eyes a minor iniquity expiated -by confession.’ 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 -race.</p> - -<p>Early marriage, however, without previous habits of self-control, -is unavailing to raise the tone of society. Marriage is no cure -for diseased sex, and early licentiousness is really (as has been -shown)<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</span> disease. In those parts of the Continent where the lowest -sexual morality exists, marriage is regarded as the opportunity for -constant and unlimited license. The young man, therefore, is not -allowed to marry (by the law of social custom) until he is over thirty -years of age. If his health has been impaired by licentiousness, he -is enjoined to resort less frequently to prostitutes, or to take a -mistress; but marriage is positively forbidden by his medical advisers -and discouraged by his relations. By the age of thirty his health -is either completely broken down, and marriage, therefore, out of -the question, or, having passed the most dangerous age of passion -without breaking down, it is judged that his physical health will -hold out under the opportunities of married life. The result of this -system is inevitable. Marriage, being regarded as the legalization -of uncontrolled passion, is so exercised until satiety ensues. -Satiety is the inevitable boundary of all simply material enjoyments. -Self-control being entirely wanting, the spiritual possibilities of -marriage are unknown; social duty in respect to sex is a vague dream, -not a reality. Physical satiety can only be met by variety; hence -universal infidelity—destruction of the highest ends of marriage, the -dethronement of the mother, the deterioration of the father, and the -failure of the family influence as the first element in the growth of -the nation.</p> - -<p>The same important truth is exemplified in the social condition of -our great Indian Empire. There the custom of early, even infantine, -marriage co-exists<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</span> with a licentiousness truly appalling in its -strength and character.<a id="FNanchor_47" href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> Lads of sixteen, thoroughly corrupted in -childhood, become the fathers of a degenerate race, the girl-mothers -being the hopeless slaves of simple physical instincts. Early marriage -is the safeguard of society only when the self-control of chastity -exists, a self-government which is essential to the formation of manly -character as well as conducive to vigorous health. With the acceptance -of this essential condition, the aim of all wise parents will be to -secure for their children the great blessing of early marriage, to -provide for them opportunities of choice, 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 life.</p> - -<p>This proposition is always met by a host of social difficulties which -perplex the inquirer, and finally quiet the conscience of society into -a passive acquiescence in evil customs. These difficulties, however, -must be met and overcome. It is cowardly not to face them, and weak not -to vanquish them. Wise early marriage is the natural and true way out -of disorder and license into the providential order of human existence. -The first condition of improvement is to accept this plan as a living -faith, not an abstract ideal; to consider how difficulties can be -removed, not be cowed by them; and to study the possibilities, not the -impossibilities. It leads to diametrically opposite practical action, -whether we dwell upon the advantages of a certain course of life and -strive in every way to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</span> attain it, or whether we lose ourselves in -doubts and discouragements. ‘Put your shoulder to the wheel, and call -upon Hercules to help,’ is the only true plan now, as in the days of -Æsop. It is a matter of every-day experience that if we resolutely -determine to do a thing, and steadily apply the common-sense and -intelligence (the germs of which exist in every human being) to its -accomplishment, success will follow.</p> - -<p>The difficulties urged are the foolishness of first love; the -impossibility of providing for a family; the craving for wild -adventure, excitement, change. These are the spectres which bar the -entrance to the right way of life. But such arguments are all false. -They are founded on the sandy basis of removable conditions—on -false methods of education, narrow family exclusiveness, on lack -of self-control, vicious customs, and perverted tastes. All sound -argument, based on the permanent facts of human nature, enjoins us to -provide for early marriage as the basis of social good. The young man -accustomed from boyhood to mix freely with young women under honourable -conditions, is no longer bewildered by the first woman he meets, whilst -the free, friendly companionship, secured by the family circle with its -wide connections, has supplied a want that his growing nature craves; -his taste and judgment have grown and strengthened, and he is no longer -the victim of baseless fantasies. Accustomed to free association with -young women of his own class, he is able at an early age to know<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</span> his -own mind and make a wise selection of his future partner. To the young -woman an early marriage is the natural course of life; to this end she -tends, and, consciously or unconsciously, prepares herself to secure it -according to the requirements of society. Her unperverted taste is for -the young man a little older than herself—a companion she can admire, -respect, and, love—but still a companion, not a father. If taught -by the silent though still powerful voice of society that harmony of -character, of aims, of temperament—<i>i.e.</i>, mental attraction—is -the indispensable foundation of great and lasting happiness in -marriage; that material advantages are secondary to this unspeakable -blessing; that thrift, knowledge of household economy, power of -creating an attractive home, are essential to the attainment of this -great good, then her instincts, by an inevitable law of nature, will -tend to the acquirement of these qualifications. If, on the contrary, -she feels, through the influence of society (still unexpressed), that -physical effects are the things chiefly sought for, that physical -charm or the power exercised by corporeal sex is the chief or only -possession that draws attention to her, then, by the same inevitable -law, she will strive to exercise this physical power, and the means of -doing so will become the all-absorbing occupation of an ever-increasing -number of young women. As already stated, 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</span> -attractions into prominence or supply their deficiency. The craving -for riches and luxury, the ignorance of economy, so often urged as an -obstacle to marriage, are the inevitable results of licentiousness, -which strengthens and cultivates exclusively material desires and -necessities. Children should look forward to beginning life as simply -as their parents began it, but with the added advantages of education. -It is a totally false principle that they should expect to begin where -their parents left off. Filial honour for their parents’ lives and -inherited vigour would alike lead them to commence life with extreme -simplicity. 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 luxury. -They would thus, whilst beginning life as did their parents, begin -it, nevertheless, from a vantage-ground, the result of their parents’ -labours. Each generation would thus make a solid gain in life instead -of encountering the destructive results which always attend the strife -for material luxury.</p> - -<p>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 physiology, which is needed to reconcile marriage -with foresight—whose discussion would be out of place in the present -essay. But that the topic must be thoroughly and wisely considered by -parents resolved to aid one another in securing this inevitable reform, -is certain. The increasing tendency<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</span> to delay marriage is so serious -an evil, that methods for checking this tendency must be found if our -worth as a nation is to continue. The early and solemn betrothal of -young people is an old custom now fallen into disuse. The possibility -of its readoption as a beneficial social practice, with its duration, -duties, and privileges, is worthy of serious consideration.</p> - -<p>We have seen that the careful guidance of youth in relation to the -faculty of sex, an improvement in the tone of society, and provision -for early marriage, are fundamental points which should engage the -earnest thought of every mother. It would be, however, a most serious -mistake to suppose that the methods of carrying out these principles -devolve upon the mother only. It is too frequently the case that the -father, absorbed in outdoor pursuits, regards the indoor life as -exclusively the business of his wife, and takes little or no part in -the education of his children; but no true home can ever be formed -without the mutual aid of father and mother. The division of labour -may be different, but the joint influence should ever be felt in -this closest of partnerships. As the wise wife is the most trusty -confidant of the general business life of the husband, so he is the -natural counsellor and support in all that concerns the occupations, -amusements, society, and influence of his home. No home can be a happy -one, if the father’s keenest interest and enjoyment do not centre in -his family life. There are, however, special duties to the family -required from the father,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</span> owing to his position as a citizen, and -these hold an intimate relation to the future of his children. A large -view of home duty must necessarily lead to a fulfilment of citizen -duty. There are few men who, in their special business or occupation, -do not possess large opportunities for encouraging a nobler idea -respecting the relations of men and women than now prevails; few -who cannot show their respect for virtue and in some way discourage -vice. Men, not only as fathers, but as educators of youth—clergymen, -physicians, 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 enter, and through the ceaseless temptations of which the -effects of the most careful family education may be destroyed. No -occupation can stand isolated from the rest of life; the interlinkings -are innumerable. The man who throws a temptation in the way of a weaker -neighbour, or ignores the struggles of his dependents, or fails to -speak the encouraging word to those whom he influences, may be placing -a pitfall in the way of his own son and daughter.</p> - -<p>A mighty power which fathers hold in trust for the future of their -children, is the character of the legislation which they establish or -sanction. It is almost inconceivable how intelligent and well-meaning -individuals, knowing the weakness of human nature and its inevitable -growth towards good or evil through circumstances, can fail to see -the immense moral bearing of legislation. The laws of a country<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</span> are -powerful educators of the rising generation. They reach all classes; -their influence is a national one, silently exercising a never-ceasing -effect on the community. Every new act of legislation is a power -which will work much more strongly upon the young than the old. The -adult who makes the law has grown up to complete manhood under other -influences; he is moulded by the laws of a previous generation, and no -new legislative action can change his fixed character. It is the young -and unformed who will grow in the direction made easiest to them by our -laws. Whether the subject of legislation be the increase of standing -armies, the promotion of the liquor traffic, the regulation of factory -labour, the arrangement of national education, or the establishment of -railways—these subjects affect the moral condition of a people. It -would be difficult to find a subject of legislation which has not some -moral issue, more or less directly connected with it, and which will -not influence the rising generation more powerfully than the generation -that establishes the law. Legislation, therefore, has an inevitable -and most important bearing upon the welfare of the family, and must -be considered in relation to its effect upon the youth of the nation. -Every mother has a right to ask this from the legislators of a country. -No parental legislator should ever lose sight of the central family -point of view in legislation—viz., How can good conquer evil? How can -it be made easier for children to grow up virtuous than vicious?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</span></p> - -<p>The power of the human race to place itself under any restrictions -which its welfare requires, has already been shown in the control which -society exercises over the intense craving of hunger. Strong as the -faculty of sex is, its abnegation does not destroy the individual as -does starvation from lack of food. This instinct, therefore, cannot -be considered more imperative than that of hunger; it must be as -susceptible of restraint. Indeed, the relations of sex have already -been placed under a certain amount of restriction by both law and -custom, only these restrictions are not nearly of such severity or -universal application as those which govern the instinct of hunger, -showing that the human race, in their present stage of development, -have not felt that it was such a pressing question. Society has not -hitherto recognised such restraint as essential to its own existence -and welfare. This conviction, however, is now awakened, and when once -established, it will be found that the dominion of law is as powerful -in one direction as in the other. Every great question of society -is a necessary subject of legislation. The necessity of protecting -property and the ability to do so, even against the terrible power of -slow starvation, is shown by every civilized nation. This experience -conclusively proves that chastity also may be protected by legislation, -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 legislation.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</span> The true principle to be held to, in -legislating for the evils that afflict society, cannot be too often -insisted on. In legislating for any evil, it is necessary to seek out -the deepest source of the evil, and check that source. Attention must -not be limited to the effects of the evil. This is eminently true of -all legislation which deals with the evils caused by licentiousness—a -branch of legislation which, more than any other, has a direct and -powerful bearing upon the welfare of the family.</p> - -<p>The subject of licentiousness is justly attracting the attention of -legislators of the present day to an extent which has never been -witnessed before. This is a sign of dawning promise, for the worst -condition of a nation is that where gross evils remain uncared for. -This great evil has crept on uncared for, or referred to with hushed -breath, until it bids fair to ruin our most valued institutions. -Legislation has broken the spell, and will continue its work until -it has aroused the conscience of the nation. The execution of wise -measures can only be secured by the support of an enlightened, -conscientious community. No legislation can be efficient which does -not represent the best average sentiment of the country. In regard -to this great question, 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—viz., the fathers -and mothers of the nation. No specialists, of whatever class, can -suggest wise measures, as specialists, in a matter which so intimately -concerns<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</span> the family. Only a large view of what is needed for the -purity and dignity of the family, for the good of its children, for its -influence in society, can secure wise laws. Anything which tends to -encourage the lowest passions of human nature, either by the acceptance -of base customs, by the legalization of vice, or by fostering in -any other way the animal tendencies of men, must produce hereditary -as well as social effects on daughters as well as sons. Customs and -institutions which injure the character of women, which weaken their -virtue and crush out the germs of higher life, must be the source -of deadliest evil to any nation. It behoves the legislators of the -present generation to be careful in their social and legal sanction of -vice amongst males, lest they be blindly undermining the whole social -fabric, amongst women as well as men, in a way which they would least -wish to do, if they knew what they were doing.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>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 education, -with the individual action to which such perception leads. The second -step is combination—<i>i.e.</i>, the determination to secure this end -by the strength of union. It is true that individual efforts are the -foundation on which any power must rest that wishes to lift society -to a higher level, and we find at present innumerable individuals -keenly alive to the evils in which we are involved, and earnest in -seeking a remedy. There are very many families where father<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</span> and mother -work together with unwearied effort to ennoble home life, but these -individual efforts, these aspirations and patient endeavours, although -indispensable as a foundation, are isolated and scattered; they are -continually overpowered by the evil influences existing outside the -family. Organized effort is needed—resolute and united action—to -meet the organized dangers of the present age. The condensed review -in the preceding pages of the causes which produce the present low or -diseased condition of the humanizing principle of sex, indicates the -immense range of subjects which its consideration and guidance involve. -No isolated individual, no single family, can work out for itself a -solution of the present problem, or command the means for securing the -moral welfare of the most cherished child. Change in the conditions of -life may be wrought by united effort; it cannot be attained by isolated -effort. When we consider the innumerable objects for which strength is -gained by association, and that this rational principle is constantly -extending its operation in the present age, it is evident that any -strong leading principle capable of enlisting devotion and steady -enthusiasm affords sound basis for combination and organization. Such -a leading principle is found in the clear conviction of the nobility -of the spiritual principle of sex in the human being, the binding -obligation of one moral law for all, and the regenerating power of -this law upon the human race. It is a principle capable of enlisting -religious devotion and embodying itself in the most valuable practical<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</span> -action. Methods of combination inspired by this principle are clearly -conceivable which would be susceptible of the widest application. -Indications of such combination are already visible, and these must -constantly extend themselves as this great idea of the present -age—<em>the true view of Sex</em>—grows into complete development.</p> - -<p>All existing efforts which tend to destroy the causes of -licentiousness—such as temperance, increase of occupation and wages -for women, improvement of poor dwellings, facilities for rational -amusement, the abolition of enforced celibacy, and the regeneration of -the army—demand and should receive the special recognition and aid of -parents. These movements are all invaluable and cannot be too actively -supported, being founded on true principles of growth; but something -more is needed—viz., distinct open acknowledgment of the fundamental -principle here laid down, and organization growing out of it. In this -work the natural leader of a nation is the Church—<i>i.e.</i>, that -great body of all religious teachers and persons who believe that man -cannot live by bread alone, but that the Divine instinct that urges -him onwards and upwards must be expressed in the forms of our daily -life. When the Church recognises that one of its difficult but glorious -duties is to teach men how to carry out religious principles in -practical life, it will perceive that the foundation of all righteous -life is reverence for the noble human principle of sex. It will no -longer shrink from enforcing this regenerating principle. The undue<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</span> -proportion of thought and effort now given to forms and ceremonies, -to metaphysical disquisitions and subtle distinctions, will then give -place to earnest united efforts to enable men to lead righteous lives. -No Church performs its duty to the young that fails to raise this -fundamental subject of sex into its proper human level. It is bound to -rouse every young man and woman of its congregation to the perception -that respect for the principle of sex, with fidelity to purity, is a -fundamental condition of religious life.</p> - -<p>The truths which have been set forth in the preceding pages may be -briefly summed up in the following propositions—viz:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Early chastity strengthens the physical nature, creates force of Will, -and concentrates the intellectual powers on the nobler ends of human -life.</p> - -<p>Continence is indispensable to the physical welfare of a young man -until the age of twenty-one; it is advantageous until twenty-five; it -is possible without physical injury throughout life.</p> - -<p>The passion of sex can only be safely and healthily gratified -by marriage; illegal relations produce physical danger, mental -degradation, and social misery.</p> - -<p>The family is the indispensable foundation of a progressive nation, -and the permanent union of one man with one woman is essential to the -welfare of the family.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</span></p> - -<p>Marriage during matured early vigour is essential to the production of -a strong race.</p> - -<p>Individual morality can only be secured by the prevalence of early -purity, and national morality by the cumulative effects of heredity.</p> - -<p>In Moral Education the first step to secure is the slow development -of sex; the second, its legitimate satisfaction through honourable -companionship, followed by marriage.</p> - -<p>There are special duties which devolve upon women as mother, sister, -ruler of a household, and member of society for securing the -conditions necessary for the attainment of early purity in sons and -daughters.</p> - -<p>There are special duties laid upon men, not only as parents, but as -citizens, for the attainment of national morality.</p> - -<p>The fact must be clearly perceived and accepted, that male purity is a -fundamental virtue in a State; that it secures the purity of women, on -which the moral qualities of fidelity, humanity, and trustworthiness -depend; and that it secures the strength and truth of men, on which -the intellectual vigour and wise government of a State depend.</p> - -<p>Whether it be regarded in relation to the physical and mental status -of Man, or the position and welfare of Woman, there is no social evil -so great as the substitution of Fornication and Celibacy for Chastity -and Marriage.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</span></p> - -<p>These are fundamental truths. But in those grown old in watching the -spread of evil, despair often takes possession of the mind, and the -question arises, Can evil ever be overcome with good? Can we hope to -change this widespread perversion of human faculties? When we observe -the raging lust of invading armies, more cruel than the ferocity of -the most savage beasts; when we study the tumultuous passions of -early youth, the rush for excitement, for every kind of gratification -that the impulse of the moment demands, can we believe that there are -forces at our command strong enough to quell the tumult, to guide the -multitude, to sustain the weak, to change the fierce brutishness into -noble manhood and womanhood?</p> - -<p>There is a force more powerful than tempest or whirlwind, more -irresistible than the fiercest brutal passion, a power which works in -nature unseen but ceaselessly, repairing all destruction, accomplishing -a mighty plan; a power which works in the human soul, enabling it to -learn truth, to understand principles, to love justice and humanity, -and to reach steadily onward to the attainment of the highest ideal. -It is the creative and regenerating force of Wisdom, gradually but -irresistibly penetrating the mind of Humanity. This mighty governing -Power, call it by what name we may—Religion, Truth, Spiritual -Christianity, Jehovah—uses human means, and works through the changing -phenomena of daily life. It is our part to make the forms of human life -exponents of this Divine force.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</span></p> - -<p>The principles here laid down are true. They rest upon the firm -foundation of physiological law, and are confirmed by facts of -universal experience. Let the younger generation of parents accept -them in their great significance, making them the guiding influence -in all social relations. Then will human life at once begin to shape -itself according to God’s Truth; the law of inheritance will strengthen -each generation into nobler tendencies; and our nation, renewing its -strength, will grow into a humble but glorious exponent of the Divine -Idea.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3>APPENDIX I. (<span class="smcap">Page 262</span>)<br><span class="small"><i>Christian Duty in regard to Vice</i></span></h3> -</div> -<p>Cruelty and Lust are the twin evils that now most seriously afflict -our race, and which women—the mothers of the race—are especially -called on to fight. Women must act. 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 occupied. Whether we welcome or dread this change, it goes -on irresistibly, based upon industrial activity, and extending into -every other department of life. The command of wisdom is to accept this -advance, recognise its responsibilities, and bravely rise to meet them. -Women, by the endowment of Motherhood, are created with special powers. -This endowment, which is a mighty spiritual as well as a physical -force, indicates their distinctive line of active influence, and will -show why they are especially called on to combat cruelty and lust, -which kill motherhood.</p> - -<p>In this special subject, women must initiate their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</span> own lines of -action, for they are called on by the constitution of Humanity to -lead in this moral warfare, not be led. Equal justice to all, with -protection for the most defenceless, 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 engender.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3>APPENDIX II. (<span class="smcap">Page 265</span>)</h3> -</div> -<p>Terrible instances of this may be seen in Trélat’s medical work, -<i lang="fr">La Folie Lucide</i>, etc. Lallemand and other French surgeons -report numerous cases of fatal injury done even to nursing infants by -the wicked actions of unprincipled nurses. I have myself traced the -ill-health of children in wealthy families to the habits practised by -confidential nurses, apparently quiet, respectable women! Abundant -medical testimony confirms these observations.</p> - -<p>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 subject; such details are more suited to the private and familiar -conferences of those who are resolved to ennoble the life of sex. When -this high resolve has become a guiding principle, it will throw light -upon every practical arrangement from infancy onward. It will then be -seen that no details are insignificant to the watchful mother; that the -shape of the child’s nightdress, made in the form of loose drawers; the -manner<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</span> of washing and of attending to its natural wants; the nightly -prayer; 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 sex.</p> - -<p><abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Acton has called attention to the necessity of securing local -cleanliness, and to the evil arising from worms and from the habit of -wetting the bed.</p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">[16]</a> Parkes’ <i>Manual of Practical Hygiene</i>, 4th edition, -p. 493.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">[17]</a> <i>Ibid.</i>, p. 493.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">[18]</a> W. B. Carpenter’s <i>Principles of Human Physiology</i>, -7th edition, p. 631.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">[19]</a> W. B. Carpenter’s <i>Principles of Human Physiology</i>, -7th edition, p. 812.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">[20]</a> The unhealthiness and indecency of harem life, with its -effect upon the boys and girls, its encouragement of abortion, and the -unhappy and degraded condition of the women, are sketched with the -painful truth of close observation in <i>The People of Turkey</i>, -edited by S. Lane Poole—a book worthy of careful consideration. See -also Lane’s <i>Egyptians</i>, etc.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">[21]</a> <i>Bulgaria and the Bulgarians.</i></p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">[22]</a> Abstract from the <i>Sun</i>. See <i>Thirtieth Annual -Report of the Prison Association of New York</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="label">[23]</a> See Sadler on <i>Population</i> for many curious facts -tending to show how strictly Nature guards this equality.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="label">[24]</a> See Michel Lévy’s <i lang="fr">Traité d’Hygiène</i>, 5th edition, -vol. i., p. 145.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="label">[25]</a> Hufeland’s <i>Art of Prolonging Life</i>, edited by -Erasmus Wilson. 2nd edition, Part II., p. 138.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="label">[26]</a> See W. B. Carpenter’s <i>Principles of Human -Physiology</i>, 7th edition, p. 909.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="label">[27]</a> <i>Ibid.</i>, p. 909.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="label">[28]</a> 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 home.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="label">[29]</a> The frequent opinion that a limited amount of fornication -is a very trivial matter, that the individual may become an excellent -father of a family and good citizen in spite of such indulgence, is -based on the grave error of regarding sexual relations as the act -of one instead of two individuals, and limited in their effects to -the moment of occurrence. The moral character of such indulgence is, -however, determined by its effects upon the after-life of two human -beings—viz., its effect on the citizen, whose judgment becomes injured -in relation to this great subject of national welfare, through early -experience, and on the partner in vice whose life is one of growing -degradation. These two inevitable facts remain through life.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="label">[30]</a> See Debates of Working Men’s Congress, Paris, October, -1876. Also <i lang="fr">La Femme Pauvre</i>, a work crowned by the French Academy -some years ago. Also the writings of Le Clerc, Guizot, etc.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="label">[31]</a> See Reports of Rescue Society, London.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="label">[32]</a> This question is now anxiously asked by intelligent -mothers, who, resolved to do what is right for their children, are -yet bewildered by the contradiction of authorities and the customs of -society. It is the necessity in my own medical practice of answering -this question truthfully, which is one of the reasons that has -compelled me to write these pages.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="label">[33]</a> G. M. Humphrey, M.D., F.R.S., in Holme’s <i>System of -Surgery</i>, 3rd edition, vol. iii., p. 550.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="label">[34]</a> See Acton’s <i>Functions and Disorders of the -Reproductive Organs</i>, 6th edition, p. 12 <i lang="la">et seq.</i></p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="label">[35]</a> Acton’s <i>Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive -Organs</i>, 6th Ed., pp. 37, 38.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="label">[36]</a> See also a very interesting account of schools in -Thackeray’s <i>Irish Sketch-Book</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37" class="label">[37]</a> I can speak from personal observation of these upright -communities, where the health of the men was far better than that of -the women; the former leading an outdoor, the latter an indoor life.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38" class="label">[38]</a> Numerous instances of wise maternal influence over sons -have come under my own observation, where in mature life they have -thanked these true friends, their mothers, for the wise counsels given -at the right time.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39" class="label">[39]</a> See Appendix I., <a href="#Page_306">p. 306</a>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40" class="label">[40]</a> In earnest conversation with a gentleman of wide -connections, resident in Vienna, he stated that he did not know a -single young man who led a virtuous life. So completely was the idea -of sexual control lost, that he said frankly he should consider any -man a hypocrite who pretended to be virtuous. 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 life.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41" class="label">[41]</a> See Appendix II., <a href="#Page_308">p. 308</a>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42" class="label">[42]</a> See a valuable article in the <i>Westminster Review</i>, -July, 1879, ‘An Unrecognised Element in our Educational Systems.’</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43" class="label">[43]</a> Sir James Paget, <i>Clinical Lectures and Essays</i>, -second edition, p. 293.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44" class="label">[44]</a> There is a class of persons, the illogical, whose -conscience will not allow them to counsel vice, who state that it is a -habit that can be avoided as the use of opium can be avoided, but who -in the same breath declare prostitution to be a necessity, and that -the greater part of young men away from home will resort to it. Now, -if prostitution be a necessity, it must be because fornication is a -necessity. What is a necessity? It is something inevitable, because -it is rooted in the constitution; it is an unavoidable development -of human nature itself. If so, fornication is not a habit like -opium-eating, but the form in which human nature is shaped—God’s -work. In that case fornication would not be wrong; it should not be -condemned, and neither the man nor the woman who practises it should be -blamed. There is no avoiding this direct conclusion, and everyone who -asserts that prostitution is a necessity must be prepared to accept it. -This grave error and the confusion of thought and practice which arises -from it proceed from a wrong use of the word ‘Necessity.’ It is the -existence of the sexual passion which is a necessary part of nature, -not prostitution. This necessary passion may either be controlled or -it may be satisfied in two ways—by marriage, or by fornication. It -is only the passion which is a necessity, not the way in which it is -gratified. It is thus a positive falsehood to state that prostitution -is a necessity, and, considered in all its bearings, a most dangerous -falsehood.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45" class="label">[45]</a> Whilst travelling in Italy I met a very intelligent -Austrian gentleman, who, as a citizen of the United States, had -brought up his family in New York. Conversing on the various customs -of society, he said to me: ‘I have always endeavoured to respect -women, and to live an upright, moral life, but I have never met with -any appreciation of this fact by the families of my acquaintance. -On the contrary, no mother that I have known has banished a man of -position from her society, no matter how notoriously immoral his life -may be. I have known respectable mothers, moving in what is called -the best society, allowing a man of wealth to continue visiting the -family after gross impropriety of behaviour to a daughter. My own -little Rosa there (and he pointed to a charming little creature of -sixteen who was travelling with the party) will not give the slightest -discouragement to a clever or amusing man, although I may warn her -against the notorious character of the man. I go to Paris, and observe -the night assemblies after the theatres close. I find brilliant salons -filled with young girls as lovely as my own daughter, often gentle in -manner, elegant in dress, refined, accomplished; I should not know -from observation merely that they were fallen women. “What does it all -mean?” I ask myself again and again. Surely women in society have much -to do in this matter.’</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_46" href="#FNanchor_46" class="label">[46]</a> Sadler on <i>Population</i>, who states the average age -of marriage amongst the labouring population at twenty-three years.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_47" href="#FNanchor_47" class="label">[47]</a> See Professor Monier Williams’ <i>Indian Travels</i>.</p> - -</div> -</div> - - -<p class="center p2">BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter transnote"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber’s Notes</h2> - - -<p>Errors in punctuation have been fixed.</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_120">Page 120</a>: “sexual moralty” changed to “sexual morality”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_168">Page 168</a>: “deady sin” changed to “deadly sin”</p> - -</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSAYS IN MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY, VOLUME I (OF 2) ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. -</div> - -<div style='margin-top:1em; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE</div> -<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE</div> -<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person -or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the -Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when -you share it without charge with others. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work -on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the -phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: -</div> - -<blockquote> - <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most - other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions - whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms - of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online - at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you - are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws - of the country where you are located before using this eBook. - </div> -</blockquote> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg™ License. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format -other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain -Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -provided that: -</div> - -<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'> - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation.” - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ - works. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. - </div> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right -of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread -public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state -visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. -</div> - -</div> -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/69939-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/69939-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 93c7712..0000000 --- a/old/69939-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null |
