THE PARENTS AND THE BOY
Abuse of the Procreative Function--The Continent Life--Provide
the Environment Necessary to the Clean Life--The Period of
Procreative Power--Self-abuse--Masturbation--Treatment of
Masturbation--Night Losses or Wet Dreams--Causes of Night
Emissions--Sexual Excesses--Treatment of Sexual Excesses--What
Parents Should Know About the So-called "Social Evil," Before
Speaking with Authority to the Boy--The Need of Enlightenment
in Sexual Matters--"No One Told Me, I Did Not Know"--Fake
Medical Treatment of Venereal Diseases--Sowing Wild
Oats--Should Circumcision be Advised?
ABUSE OF THE PROCREATIVE FUNCTION.--Breeders of animals have discovered
that to breed from very young stock is not good. The quality and stamina
of the progeny is lowered and the vitality of the parent stock is
reduced. It is not a good economic proposition.
Boys should therefore be taught that any form of sexual indulgence is
harmful before the period of full growth.
Nature did not intend that the procreative function should be exercised
by individuals who were not fully developed. The perpetuation of the
species must not depend upon the license of immaturity. The instinct of
sex-attraction must not be debased to serve a puerile, rather than a
holy purpose.
Sexual indulgence in any form, and in any degree, at any age prior to
full maturity is a perversion of the primal instinct of race
perpetuation. The practice has a more intimate and a more personal
association with growing boys, however, than a merely altruistic
reference. Any indulgence of this character at this time is physically
and mentally injurious. No boy can hope ever to acquire the full measure
of his possible development as an efficient working or thinking machine
if he wastes his vital forces in unnatural liberties. He should be
taught this truth in an emphatic manner by those responsible for his
education.
There is a false idea prevalent that a continent life is harmful. So far
as continence relates to immaturity, it may be strongly and justly
asserted that it is probably the most important factor in the
conservation of health and strength. The retention of the procreative
fluids, at a time when nature is opposed to their loss, enables the
growing economy to utilize them in the conservation of nervous energy
and virility. If a boy dissipates these energizing fluids, he deprives
his body of the richest products which he is capable of manufacturing at
a time when he needs every aid in the building up of a physically and
mentally sound and vigorous constitution. There cannot exist a normal
development if the body is deprived of the essential ingredients
necessary to growth and mental vigor.
There was a time when young men were actually taught that sexual
intercourse was necessary to develop full manhood. This was followed by
a period of silence, which has practically extended to recent times.
Both of these systems are pernicious. We know that sexual intercourse is
not necessary to the development of mature normal manhood or womanhood.
On the contrary, we know that continence, not incontinence, is an
absolute essential to the growth of full sexual, virile maturity, as
well as to the growth of efficient and healthy manhood and womanhood.
We must appeal to a boy's reason and show him the personal side of clean
living. When he understands that to attain success in every department
of human effort,--on the baseball and football fields, in the ring, in
gymnastic contents, in examinations, in social intercourse, in trades
and professions,--a continent life is the only means possible that
promises success, he will give the appeal consideration.
We must employ all the safety devices possible to guard against the
inclination of youth to wander. Regular exercise is one of the very best
institutions in this respect. If we can instill into our boys a love of
manly sports and encourage every effort in this direction, we will be
doing much to minimize the growth of any tendency toward incontinence.
We must provide the environment necessary to right living. The home
should be attractive and we should permit the boy to have privileges
even at the expense of the housekeeping decorum. His companions should
be made welcome if they are the right kind of intimates, and the parents
should enter into the life of the boy and try to look at "things" from
his standpoint.
THE PERIOD OF PROCREATIVE POWER.--The procreative ability begins at
puberty. There is no fixed period at which it may be said to end. From
puberty until the period of physical maturity, it grows in vigor and it
remains stationary until middle life, when it gradually declines. The
standard of virility is unquestionably an individual problem. It depends
upon the various factors that contribute to good health and longevity.
It may be stated that the boy who abused his procreative function,
during the period of immaturity, will not enjoy, during the mature
period of his sexual life, a normal standard of vigor, nor will he carry
the ability into old age, to the same relative degree, as he would, and
as he had the innate promise to do--if he had led a normal continent
existence. It may also be stated here that there is no effective
remedial measures known, that will "bring back" the procreative ability
if it is lost as a result of disobeying natural laws. Drugs and
treatments by quacks to cure impotence are impositions and fakes. Money
and time spent in the pursuit of this dream is money and time wasted.
SELF-ABUSE OR MASTURBATION.--By self-abuse is meant the production of
the venereal orgasm, with or without emission, by any means other than
the natural union of the sexes.
It is a fact that the large majority of boys acquire the habit of
self-abuse at some time. This is a very serious reflection upon parent,
teacher, and physician, because it is through ignorance of the
elementary principles of sex hygiene that this condition continues to
exist. If they were warned against the possibility of self-abuse
arising in innocent ways, as well as in more reprehensible ways, they
would exert their influence against its acquirement. If however a boy
discovers accidentally a condition of which he was innocent, and of
which he does not know the significance, it is human nature that he
should investigate the phenomenon and in the end suffer as a
consequence. In the effort to relieve some local irritation he may
handle himself and be led into a dangerous practice. He does not know
that the practice may have serious results--in fact he does not know he
is doing anything wrong. Many boys have practically ruined their
physical health and become morally irresponsible because no one--neither
parent, teacher, physician, nor friend--told them of their danger. This
is unjust, but great strides are being made in this direction and we may
reasonably hope, that in the not far distant future, every boy will be
plainly told the true facts about himself.
Most boys acquire this habit from other boys, but as we have intimated
it is possible to acquire it in what are termed innocent ways. Sometimes
the sensation which leads to it is discovered by sliding down banisters;
or it may be that climbing trees or poles first awakens the feeling.
Very young children are sometimes taught the vice by depraved nurses.
Local irritation, as has been stated, may necessitate itching and
handling the parts and in this way the vice is begun. The results are
the same, no matter how the habit may have originated.
If the habit is persisted in, the muscular system suffers,--the muscles
become weak and flabby; the patient develops weariness and languor and
loses his mental and physical vigor. He is no longer forceful or
energetic, his efficiency is impaired and as a consequence his nervous
system begins to show signs of depleted strength. He cannot concentrate
his thoughts, he falls behind in his studies, his mental effort is
sluggish, he becomes diffident and shy, shuns society, loses confidence
in himself, is morbid and emotional and may even think of suicide.
It is astonishing how indulgence in this habit may affect the moral
nature of a boy. First of all, he is no longer frank and open. He
becomes shifty and suspicious and will not look you squarely in the
face. A boy cannot become a slave to this habit without it affecting his
mind. He invites debasing thoughts,--the old pure and clean method of
thought and living no longer satisfy. His imagination even becomes
corrupt and his moral nature and moral sense is perverted until he no
longer seems to be able to tell the difference between right and wrong.
He has little regard for the truth and if occasion demands it he will
lie without appreciating the dishonorable part he is playing. In the end
his will power is lost--even the effort to save himself is too feeble to
succeed--he is a slave to the habit, his health and strength ruined.
If every boy could realize the possible end of this evil habit he would
make an effort to rid himself of it before he becomes its victim and its
slave. It may be easy to abandon the practice in the beginning. The
longer he continues it, however, the less chance he has of finally
mastering it, until, if he persists beyond a certain point, it is a
matter of serious question whether he will ever be able to free himself
from its grip. If the boy has lost the will power to carry out his
resolves, no number of good desires or resolutions will avail. And it is
just this will power that the wasting of the semen saps little by little
away.
TREATMENT.--What can we do for these boys? Most of them can do much for
themselves by simply stopping the practice. There are, of course, others
who need careful management before the habit may be controlled and
health restored. It is well to always remember to be tactful and patient
and kind to these boys. Many of them are standing on the brink of
despair, weak in body and weak in mind. They do not know where to turn
to look for a friend--the right kind of a friend. It is a terrible
thought that your own boy may be abjectly miserable in his own home
because he is harboring a secret that is wrecking his health, and,
though he may long for sympathy and a helping hand, neither his father
nor mother have invited his confidence or spoken to him about these
things. A watchful mother can usually tell when her boy becomes addicted
to this habit. He will show it in his manner, he will not be free and
open, he will want to be by himself. Later he will show the effects of
the abusive treatment he is subjecting himself to in his appearance. He
will be sunken-eyed, pimply-faced, pasty-skinned, shiftless, sneaking,
silent, unmanly. No mother can fail to note these signs and she should
suspect the cause and take steps to tactfully reach him before he has
ruined his health absolutely.
We would advise regular exercise of a vigorous kind. Tire out the body
so that sleep may be sound. Cold baths, followed by brisk rub-downs; no
intoxicants, light meals, plenty of drinking water morning and night.
The bowels should be regular every day. He should sleep alone on a hard
bed in a well-aired room with light covering. He should keep busy every
minute of the day and he should not think of himself at all.
The boy must realize that his salvation rests with himself. After he
knows the real danger which the habit carries with it, he must be on his
guard every moment to abstain. If he does not he may rest assured that
the practice will ruin his health, render him, a business failure and
deprive him of all happiness during the rest of his life.
NIGHT LOSSES OR "WET-DREAMS."--A so-called wet-dream is an unconscious
emission of semen during sleep. The discharge may or may not be
accompanied with an erotic dream.
After a certain age--which may be from the twelfth or fourteenth year--a
boy may discover that he has discharged some substance during his sleep.
He finds the discharge on his night clothes and it naturally puzzles him
greatly. He may be entirely unconscious of the whole proceeding, having
slept soundly during the night, or he may wake up to find the fluid
actually discharging.
If a boy has not been told of this phenomenon he may regard it as a form
of self-abuse of which he may have heard and as a consequence he may
worry himself sick, as the night emissions continue to occur from time
to time. Many pure-minded boys have been rendered miserable, and their
efficiency and health have suffered as a result of just such an
experience. It is, therefore, proper that they should fully understand
the true significance of these occurrences.
CAUSES OF NIGHT EMISSIONS.--I have explained how nature makes a man out
of a boy. During this maturing process the testicles are very active
organs--their function is to manufacture or secrete the fertilizing
fluid or semen. This maturing process begins actively, as I stated,
about the age of fifteen, though in some boys it frequently occurs
earlier, sometimes as early as the twelfth year. When the testicle
begins to grow at this time they manufacture more semen than the little
pockets can hold, so nature adopts the method of permitting the surplus
to escape during sleep. These night emissions, therefore, are perfectly
natural losses, and need cause absolutely no distress of mind whatever.
The frequency with which they may occur depends altogether upon the
temperament of the boy. If the boy is a strong, active, athletic boy,
they may not be so frequent in him as they may be in a quiet, studious
boy. The system of the athletic boy seems to utilize more of this
surplus than the quieter existence of the studious boy calls for. If the
discharge does not occur oftener than once every two weeks, it may be
regarded as normal and natural. Should they become more frequent than
this, the boy should inform his mother or father and the family
physician should be consulted. It may be that he is in need of a tonic,
or special instructions regarding his method of living and his mode of
exercising. Whatever the cause may be, it can be corrected, and the best
plan is to give it attention as soon as it is noted that the losses are
too frequent.
SEXUAL EXCESSES.--It is well known to the medical profession that the
marital relation is frequently practiced to excess. The same indictment
may be passed on what may be termed extra-marital relations. No one has
ever formulated a general sexual standard which could be safely regarded
as normal. Too many individual conditions of temperament and health
enter into the proposition to permit of a standard being formulated. It
must, therefore, be regarded as an individual question to be adjusted,
if necessary, by the family physician. What may safely be regarded as
normal and harmless in one, constitutes, for many reasons, excess in
another. When a man performs hard physical or mental labor, his sexual
aptitude or capacity is limited, and this limitation cannot be exceeded
without risk. Such a limitation may not constitute an excess in a man
whose occupation does not call for a great expenditure of physical or
mental energy. Any indulgence which produces exhaustion is excessive.
The age of the individual has undoubtedly much to do with his sexual
endurance. A young, virile adult will tolerate a sexual expenditure
which would seriously affect the health and vigor of an older man.
Environment and inclination are factors in determining the standard of
some people. If the marital relations are participated in simply to
preserve peace and harmony in the home, they are productive of harm even
if indulged in moderately.
The symptoms of sexual excess are much the same as those of self-abuse.
To a certain extent, however, they are favorably influenced, because the
conditions under which the relationship is practiced are natural,
because the participants are matured physically, and because there is no
element of worry over the probable effects.
Sexual excess defeats its own purpose, because it engenders a lack of
desire and consequently it is to a certain extent a self-limiting
process. We must also remember that excess entails consequences just as
the breaking of any natural law is followed by retribution of some kind.
In these cases we find that discomfort follows excess. The parts become
irritated and congested and disease of the prostate gland always
follows.
TREATMENT.--Stop the excess by self-control and self-restraint. Employ
all the aids dictated by an intelligent perusal of the laws of sex
hygiene. Preserve the general health. It may be necessary to resort to
local treatment, because, if the parts have been abused by excessive
indulgence, there is always more or less irritation and congestion
present. This condition affects the nerves, suggestive reflex sensations
are produced by a congested prostate and the patient becomes morbid. It
is essential for such patients to consult a physician whose local
treatment will stop the sensitiveness in the parts and relieve him so
that he may carry out his programme of restoration unhampered by
conditions which are only amenable to local treatment.
WHAT PARENTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE SO-CALLED "SOCIAL EVIL" BEFORE
SPEAKING WITH AUTHORITY TO "THE BOY."--To be qualified to speak with
authority, or convincingly, to a boy upon sex hygiene, the parents must
be familiar with, and well versed in the subject. The facts related in
the preceding pages must be thoroughly understood. No parent can study
these facts intelligently without being impressed with the importance of
the subject; without realizing that it is absolutely essential that the
fundamental principles of sex hygiene should be taught to the rising
generation; without acknowledging the tremendous part for evil which
prudery and ignorance play in the education of youth; and without being
convinced that most of the evil is the product of ignorance on the part
of the boy, and that parents are in a large sense to blame if they fail
to impart the necessary knowledge in time.
The need for enlightenment in sexual matters is a product of existing
conditions. Civilization and the social environment are developing along
a plane which subjects the youth to temptations that practically did not
exist in the past. There is a broader and looser code of ethics.
Business monopolizes the entire time of the father, and social and
political unrest and misdirected ambition distracts the mother. The son
or daughter has a wider latitude and a freer reign than they once had.
The opportunities for promiscuous intimacies are easier, and the public
conveniences and utilities lend themselves to the designs of
evil-intentioned and loose-moraled women. The ease of travel, the laxity
of laws, the theater, with its unchaste and indecent plays, the moving
picture snows, the vaudeville resorts, whose highest priced "talent" is
some voluptuous female, who has cultivated the art of draping nudity
with suggestiveness and singing immoral songs, all tend to give youth a
false impression of the reality of life and to make the path of the
degenerate easy and profitable. The rich are growing richer, and their
children are pampered and overfed and underrestrained. Time hangs
heavily on their hands and their only mental effort is to devise new
methods and new ways of satisfying the lust of liberty and
overstimulated desire. The poor are growing poorer, and to "keep in the
ring," to live and dress beyond their means as many do, it is necessary
to have an unexacting standard of morals. In this way the promiscuous
libertine is evolved,--the most insidious and dangerous product of
present day civilization, and the most pernicious factor in the spread
of immoral impulses and indecent diseases.
Parents must accept these institutions and agencies as necessary
instruments of evil and adopt measures to nullify their attractiveness.
Eternal vigilance is the price of success, but the quality of the
vigilance must be dictated by love, not by suspicion and distrust.
When the parent can convince the boy that the knowledge is imparted, not
with the intention of depriving him of what he may construe as his
natural liberties and rights, but with the single intention of adding to
the sum total of his pleasure and success, he will look more kindly upon
any proposition that suggests a course of conduct that leads to clean
living. Sex hygiene will eventually find a natural place in the scheme
of education. It will be taught to male and female alike. In the
meantime, however, we must begin by educating the educators--the
parents. In the beginning, their task will not be easy. There will be
much to overcome, much ignorance, prudery, false modesty, hypocrisy;
there will be much vicious teaching and evil example to live down. But
we cannot hope to achieve results in the noblest cause, save by patient,
intelligent, and persistent effort and by self-sacrifice and a constant
enthusiasm. The aim is to tell all,--all the truth,--so that we may
never be assailed by the cry, "No one told me, I did not know," from the
loved lips of son or daughter gone astray.
THE FATHER AND THE BOY.--The right kind of father can always find the
time and the way to awaken in the heart of the boy the spirit of
companionship. No boy living will resent the fellowship of the right
kind of father. It depends upon the father! If the spirit of chumminess
does not exist between you and your boy, you are at fault, you have made
a mistake, you have missed your opportunity, you "did not go about it in
the right way and in the right spirit." Try again--it may not be too
late.
The father who adopts the habit of taking his boys (and his girls too)
out for long walks, at least every Sunday, and who spends an hour with
them every evening--is the right kind of father. One who has never
tested the merit of walks with children cannot possibly appreciate the
enjoyment and benefit that can accrue from them. It is not only the
physical good that results, nor the inspiration which one may draw from
nature, but the concrete advantages that come from the fellowship with
the children are a new and a real experience--this is what counts. You
will have opportunities of sewing seeds in their minds that will grow
into a harvest that will astonish you. Children in the right mood--and
they are in the right mood when they are happy, and they are happy out
in the open with an interesting companion--are alert, and responsive,
and eager to be told "things," and this mood can be put to marvelous use
by the "right kind of father." The father who wanders forth with the
fixed purpose of thinking out some business problem during the walk and
permits the children to find their own amusement is the wrong kind of
father. He must choose to be a child again, he must desire to please
them, he must make an effort to be in harmony with them, he must draw on
his experience to interest them, he must talk to them entertainingly of
every interesting problem which the walk itself suggests or he must
formulate a plan and select a subject with a definite educational scheme
in view. We can, in a most effective way, begin to build their
characters, and, by the right kind of talk and enthusiasm, he can
determine their resolves to be honest, truthful, just, clean,
sympathetic. He can instill into them, in a thousand different ways, the
determination and inspiration to succeed. It is a wonderful and a
precious chance, and it will make the "right kind of father" more just,
more sympathetic, more optimistic, and it will make him young again and
more successful. Try it.
Implant in the hearts of your children a love of home, make the evening
meal and hour by the fireside a period of congenial fellowship, when all
the little irritable ruffles of the day may be ironed out and swept
away. The secret is to be intimate. Tell them the secret of success from
your standpoint, how happiness is gained only by being efficient and
successful, and that, to be efficient, one must be energetic and
healthy. Drum into their ears the truth that life is a battle, and only
the brave "win out," and health is the one essential necessity. It is
astonishing how such talks will impress young minds. They will remind
you of things you said, that made a lasting impression on them, long
after you have forgotten the incident.
A father can, in this way, by talking of the future to his boy, convey
to him the high hopes he entertains of the great success the boy is
going to achieve--you establish a standard in the boy's mind, and he
unconsciously hopes to attain that standard. If you have impressed him
with the necessity of preserving his health and strength, as an
essential to success, he will be slow to yield to any temptation that
may interfere with his plans. This reasoning may sound quixotic to some
people, but it is the truth. Many a boy has been inspired to success by
the knowledge that his mother or father believed in him, and was
confident he would be a leader. He strove to justify the pride and
confidence of those who held him dear, and he won out.
To retain his health, therefore, is the first impulse to be conveyed to
the boy. When he recognizes this truth, it is an easy task to instill a
love of exercise, gymnastics, swimming, fresh air, cleanliness and
temperance in him. If these are attained, you will have tided him over
the tendency to self-abuse, and you will have rendered him less likely
to yield to evil suggestion or temptation. His confidence in you will be
whole-hearted and implicit. You can do anything with him at the
psychological moment. It is now time to talk of more intimate matters.
Carefully and tactfully, the father approaches the fundamental truths of
sex hygiene.
The selection of a subject for a text as a means from which to advance
toward the real facts is sometimes of importance. It must not appear as
though the subject was designedly chosen. If it follows in a natural way
it will more thoroughly interest the boy and he will have swallowed a
large dose of truth before he is impressed with the personal viewpoint.
A passing trotting horse has served me a number of times for intimate
talks with boys on heredity and kindred subjects. I invite the boy to
watch how the horse uses his legs, and how rhythmically and beautifully
he places his feet, and how his whole attitude serves the end for which
he is exerting himself--to gain speed. Tell the boy the story of how
professional breeders have achieved such marvelous results; how for
generations the "strain" has been kept clean and pure, how any
descendant of a great sire, who showed any habit detrimental to the
development of the highest racing qualities--no matter how trivial the
disability might be--was cast aside, experience having taught that it
does not pay to waste effort and time on any horse whose physical or
mental characteristics are not up to the highest standard. Such a horse
will not win, and it is only "wins" that count.
Change the subject to human beings. Tell him how the race maintains its
standard; but show him the difference between the methods employed. How
the horse has his mate selected because of the female's good qualities,
so that the offspring may possess like qualities, if not better, and
that the selection is made by men who know their business, and have had
long experience in the work. How, on the other hand, a young man with no
experience is permitted to choose any woman he may fancy irrespective of
her qualifications. As a consequence, we have all kinds of children,
good and bad, feeble and strong, honest and dishonest, some degenerates
from birth, some criminal, and many diseased and inefficient, few of
them "winners." It is an easy matter to preach a little sermon from this
text. Show him how essential it is to select the mother of one's
children wisely, to know if there is disease in the future wife's blood,
if her family history is good, if her temperament is suited to his, if
her domestic qualities are satisfactory, if her principles are moral
and normal, and if she understands and appreciates the true object and
function of marriage. Show him also the element of justice involved in
the marriage contract; that he must give what he exacts, that if he
expects a healthy and normal wife, he must be healthy and normal
himself; if he expects purity and cleanliness he must give purity and
cleanliness; if he expects to mate with a fit female he must be an
efficient and fit male. Remember that every act, deed, thought, and
aspiration is regulated by laws which one cannot fool with, or disobey,
without reaping a harvest which will conquer, crush and ruin you, no
matter how clever or smart you may think yourself.
Show him the wisdom of the breeders' habit of never permitting sexual
liberties in a too young stallion. For the same reason the boy must
conserve his strength and virility for the marriage state and for the
function of procreation.
In a further talk, the father may extend this subject and gradually lead
up to the "consequences" of the unclean life. The boy will be ready for
this talk and will evince an interest in it that will be encouraging and
promising.
The talk about the science of mating the horses he will understand
readily and thoroughly, and he will not fail to see the point when you
switch to man and apply the same principles. Then when you show how
mismating is responsible for poor children quality and how disease
accounts for feeble-minded and degenerate offspring, he will be fairly
well posted, and he will be ready to imbibe more details, and you will
have done much of your duty. His curiosity will be quickened and his
interest is awakened. It depends upon the father. If your boy is honest
and clean, open and decent, he will not fall without a fight, and while
he is fighting he is maturing. If your picture of the consequences of
the venereal diseases has been effective and vivid, he will grow up with
a healthy horror of them. If your conduct as a father has been wise and
exemplary, and if your home has the right kind of environment, and the
right kind of mother in it, you have done all a father can do to help
the boy over the rough spots. The proper kind of encouragement and the
right kind of vigilance, and books which will satisfy the boy's craving
for more knowledge along this line is all that is needed to help the boy
to "win out."
FAKE MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR VENEREAL DISEASES.--Parents should in every
possible way discourage the use of patent medicines and fake medical
methods of curing these diseases. Untold harm has been done to boys and
to women by these nostrums.
In every instance the motive underlying the methods of people selling
these things is to frighten the patients into the belief that their
condition is more serious than it is in order to justify a long and
expensive course of treatment.
Their work is carelessly performed, and frequently they are directly
responsible for the development of complication and dangerous sequelae.
The promises of speedy cures are false, and, not infrequently, methods
of black-mailing have been known to follow an expensive and unsuccessful
course of treatment.
There is no class of disease in which the help and honesty of the
legitimate medical profession is needed more than in the treatment of
the venereal diseases. Parents should see to it that the family
physician is prescribing any strange medicine that may appear in the
boy's room, and not some unknown individual who may be an impostor and a
blackmailer.
SOWING WILD OATS.--Writers of fiction and others of a more serious trend
of thought have recognized the sowing of wild oats as an institution
which, if it does not merit the full approval of society's moral code,
is, at least, tolerated. No serious consequences befall the offender. On
the contrary, the libertine is the type of hero who receives the
commendatory quips of erotic dames and the questionable interest of
hysterical maidens.
Women of easy morals are always willing to espouse the cause of the
"black sheep," and to further the matrimonial success of the penitent
_roue_. Many mothers are willing to marry their daughters to the
polished villain of society, who is known as a rake and debauchee, if
his family connections are desirable. It has been even held that a
youth who did not "sow his wild oats" was of doubtful stamina.
That many able men have sown wild oats is indisputable, and that many
men who are respectful husbands, have also gone "through the mill" is
also true, but this need not blind us to the fact that thousands upon
thousands, who could have been successful men of affairs and creditable
husbands and fathers, have been utterly ruined, as a result of having
sown wild oats. No man is a better man because of a past record of
licentious habits. The man who sows and escapes the harvest is lucky.
The man who reaps, reaps in abundance. Most men regret the lapses of
youth. Most of these lapses would never have occurred if the impulse
could have been governed by the reasoning of maturity. These acts are
the promptings of an impetuosity which may be entirely foreign to the
individual's innate character, but brought out by promiscuous
circumstances and the ignorance and license of youth. If we can protect
youth, by an adequate knowledge of the consequences, we will furnish the
means to tide over the impressionable period. Until a healthy maturity
of judgment will assume the task unaided.
The effects of the wild oats' theory are too tragically evident to need
any argumentative refutation. The statistics of the prevalency of
venereal diseases alone is sufficient; the results of these diseases are
more than enough.
Study the records of the jails and prisons, courts and asylums,
hospitals and health resorts, think of the hundreds of thousands of
diseased and deformed and mentally inferior children, of the multitude
of paretics, melancholies, ataxics, maniacs, syphilitics,--all the
products of "wild oats,"--and ask if the wild oats' theory is
justifiable.
Think of the ruined homes, the wretched lives of fallen women, the
hopeless prayers of abandoned wives, the loneliness and misery of
parents neglected and forgotten, the "bastards" and fatherless children,
the drunkards and criminals and tramps--all weeds of the wild oats'
harvest.
Then reflect upon the tragedies, the suicides of the betrayed and of the
diseased, the bank thief, the broken hearts of deserted and hungry
children, the army of inefficients--around whose necks hang wild oats'
medals, the men of big business, who constantly fight the effects of
early incontinence and abuse, and the thousands who go to early graves,
and then ask, in all justice, if the sowing of wild oats needs
justification.
Who supports the thousands of prostitutes? Who made them? Wherever you
find pauperism, crime, drunkenness, insanity, idleness, immorality, vice
and disease, you will find that the sower of wild oats has traveled the
path and left his stain and his footprints there.
SHOULD CIRCUMCISION BE ADVISED?--The answer to the above question is
"Yes," in every instance. If circumcision is done early,--during the
first two weeks of life,--the operation is without danger and
practically without pain. In quite a considerable percentage of all
males, circumcision is an absolute necessity. For excellent medical
reasons, about which your family physician can inform you, every boy
should be circumcised.