TO THE UNFORTUNATE.
Let no one imagine that, because he or she has committed any of the
great errors enumerated in former chapters, there is no hopeful future.
Such a conclusion need not, necessarily, be accepted. In very many cases
where there is a _will_ to reform, there is also a _way_; and very often
a complete cure and restoration to health may be effected. Diseased
bones may be made sound; ulcerations healed; sore throats cured;
blemishes on the skin removed; urinary difficulties may be dissipated or
at least greatly ameliorated; sexual disorders remedied; impaired eyes
much improved and defective vision much benefited if not wholly
restored; the auditory apparatus helped if not fully cured; and the
distracted mind, with its fanciful imageries, rendered tranquil and
rational.
To accomplish all this the _mind_ must lead the way. The brain must
assert its supremacy, and the will-power become absolute. It is only
where there is a will, an indomitable will, that a way out of these
direful difficulties is afforded. Let happen what may, no opposing
influences should dampen the determination to press forward to
reformation; and then, sooner or later, the conquest will be made.
To begin with, when the mind is fully determined to overcome all
obstacles or perish in the attempt, consult a judicious physician as
advised in the preface of this book. Lose no time with quackery in any
shape or form. Do not be beguiled by those who promise "a speedy cure."
Speedy cures cannot be made in these cases. Strong determination to
improve aided by proper medication can, in bad cases, only restore a
healthful condition in from two to three years. The system requires to
be made over anew as it were. The current of life must be turned into
new channels. New thoughts and new blood must be made to take the place
of what were wrong and polluted. This will take time and perseverance;
and then, little by little the old enemies will be overcome and driven
out. But progress for the better must be measured only from month to
month and even then there may be apparent relapses. Let me however
asseverate, from my abundance of experience in these cases, that there
is ultimately, after a reasonable time, every hope of becoming sound
and healthy again.
Many young persons are rendered quite distracted by the sexual
instinct being too strong. It infests them and goads them on to the
commission of further unseemly acts--though suffering much from past
transgressions--which it seems almost impossible to avoid. The sensation
haunts and clings to them day and night, in spite of every attempt to
rise superior thereto. Sometimes nocturnal pollutions, or "wet dreams,"
as they are commonly termed, result from these or other causes. There
must be some cause for this state of things and a rigid examination into
one's mode of life should ascertain the same. It may come from errors in
diet, in eating or drinking; in the use of highly seasoned food; or the
taking of some medicinal drug substance. It is well known that many
drugs have the power of producing such a condition. Should any of the
above seem to act as causes, a change should be made at once. The
plainest diet and simplest mode of life is always best in sickness or in
health. Again, one may take too little exercise in the open air. If so,
an abundance of physical exertion should be made daily, to insure a
natural and healthy condition of all organs of the body. Or, uncomfortable
conditions may arise, as they often do, from some morbid condition of
the vital forces. If diet and exercise are insufficient, the judicious
physician should be consulted and every symptom or unnatural sensation
from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, should be carefully
described to him. In all probability he will remedy the trouble, thus
restoring peace and happiness. The generative organs are as liable to be
affected by a morbid state of the vital forces, as are any other organs
of the body; and when so affected they are just as amenable to
treatment.
The above condition of affairs is not, however, confined to the male
sex. Females often suffer equally and in the same way. Many young
persons, of both sexes, have fallen victims to these disorders who could
have been cured by proper medical treatment. A female suffering from the
ill effects of any bad habit contracted in youth, or from any sexual or
venereal disorder, should seek medical aid with the same promptness and
openness of heart as a male. To overcome the vicious habit of self-abuse
is no trifling matter; it will require the persistent application of
indomitable will, aided by Christianity--by oft repeated appeals to the
Lord for aid, who lends a willing ear and a helping hand to the poor
and needy. When reformation is determined upon, it is better to consult
a physician at once and act under his advice. Besides directing the
proper diet and plenty of vigorous exercise in the open air, he will
prescribe the proper medicament.
Cases of real syphilitic poisoning are most serious affections, and
everyone should know of the fearful effects of this poison--how
searchingly it infests the whole system, and how it contaminates the
blood and every tissue in the body. Such cases, therefore, should not be
trifled with in any way. Advertised nostrums should be particularly
avoided. For, if this poison be simply smothered in one's blood instead
of being wholly eradicated and cured, it will be sure to seize upon the
offspring and either destroy them before birth or during dentition. The
bare fear of such contamination should be amply sufficient to deter
everyone from exposing him- or herself to the risk. But, having fallen,
by all means seek the aid of a judicious physician. An experience of
nearly forty years in the treatment of these cases, in both sexes, has
given me the power to know whereof I speak; and I do declare that a very
large percentage of these cases can be cured in a safe manner; and so
perfectly cured too, that there will be no danger of transmitting the
infection to the offspring. I, by no means stand alone in this statement;
many other physicians, after long years of experience assert the same
truth.
Therefore, let no one be discouraged, no matter how far he, or she, has
strayed from the paths of virtue or how much suffering has been entailed
thereby. In connection with the physician's help, aid yourself. Have
courage! Let the invincible will lead on unflinchingly--upheld by pure
thoughts, and good actions will surely follow. "Desire is really
dangerous only when it brings voluptuous pictures incessantly before the
imagination. It thus holds a thousand conflicts with virtue which it
conquers in the end; it installs itself in the bosom of the intelligence
of which it becomes the habitual pre-occupation." Seek therefore for
only pure thoughts.
We should at all times exert all the power within us to live correct and
blameless lives in every respect, but particularly so in sexual matters.
The happiness, the health, and the lives of families and communities are
far more largely dependent upon these matters than is commonly supposed.
Those who have led lives of blameless purity, will continue to do so
after reading this book; while those who have gone astray will here find
every encouragement to set about their reformation at once. If faithful
to the teachings recorded in these pages they will bless the day and the
occasion that inspired the writer to put his hand to this work. The God
of Heaven and Earth knows that the motive that led me to this undertaking
was pure, and as solely for the good of humanity, as that purity which
prompts a human being to live a blameless life in the sight of his Maker.