K^lhpB TO/ 5$EX "LET THERE BE LIGHT" Telling the Story of Life; The Present Day Idea of Sex Instruction. "<©, tljnu rljtlb nf mang pragers, Wife Iptth qutcksanbs, life hath snares." GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO PARENTS For the Proper Instruction of their Children; Vital Information for the Married and Marriageable; With Warning Against the Prevailing Ignorance of the Laws of Sex BY Prof. T. W. SHANNON, A.M. Author of "Perfect Manhood," "Perfect Womanhood," " Perfect Boyhood," "Perfect Girlhood," "Guide to Sex Instruction," "Heredity Explained," "Self Knowledge," "How to Tell the Story of Life," etc. Price, cloth, $1.50 THE S. A. MULLIKIN COMPANY OFFICIAL PUBLISHERS MARIETTA OHIO 1913 Copyrighted, 1913, By THE S. A. MULLIKIN CO. Agents wanted in every English-speaking country. Address publishers at foot of title page. " Yours in humanity's cause, PREFACE To all parents who would know how to tell their children the sacred story of their origin, and how to give them clean, concise, scientific sex instruction, with view to safe-guarding them against demoralizing half- truths of vicious schoolmates, servants or companions; to teachers who have at heart the moral and physical welfare of their pupils, and who would have a wise word at the right time for the child, in need of help; to ministers, doctors and guardians and all others who have opportunities for service to innocent and helpless children; to the young man and young woman, mar- ried or single, who would avoid the pit-falls lying in the pathway of those ignorant of God's sacred laws of sex nature, this little volume is affectionately dedicated by The Author. CONTENTS FIRST DIVISION CHILDHOOD I The Right of a Child to a Knowledge of Sex ii II First Story - Baby Plants 35 HI Second Story - Baby Oysters and Fish ... 47 IV Third Story - Baby Birds 52 V Fourth Story - Baby Animals and Man . . 56 VI Practical Questions Answered 65 CHAPTER PAGE SECOND DIVISION GIRLHOOD VII A Talk to Mothers 70 VIII Mother's First Talk - The Female Form . . 78 IX Mother's Second Talk - Dawning of Woman- hood 86 X Mother's Third Talk - Choosing a Chum . . 91 XI Mother's Fourth Talk - Confidential Advice . 94 XII Mother's Fifth Talk - A Small Girl's Ethics 105 THIRD DIVISION BOYHOOD XIII A Talk to Fathers no XIV Father's First Talk - Boys Make Men . . . 117 XV Father's Second Talk - Perfect Boys Make Perfect Men 126 CONTENTS chapter PAGH XVI Father's Third Talk - Imperfect Boys Become Imperfect Men 139 XVII Father's Fourth Talk - How to Live a Pure Life 148 FOURTH DIVISION YOUNG WOMANHOOD XVIII The Real Significance of Sex 155 XIX The Vicious Novel 162 XX The Public Dance 169 XXI A Young Woman's Ethics 174 XXII The Miracle of Motherhood 182 XXIII Practical Questions Answered 190 FIFTH DIVISION YOUNG MANHOOD XXIV The Deeper Significance of Sex 200 XXV Continence 209 XXVI Prostitution 214 XXVII Venereal Diseases 218 XXVIII A Young Man's Ethics 227 XXIX Manhood Wrecked and Regained 233 XXX Practical Questions Answered 241 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION FIRST DIVISION CHILDHOOD CHAPTER I THE RIGHT OF A CHILD TO A KNOWLEDGE OF SEX Social conditions of childhood changed.- The social conditions of childhood have changed much in the last fifty years. Just as our children have opportuni- ties and possibilities far greater than had we when we were children; so they are exposed to temptations and dangers greater than were we, when we were children. The suggestive, and oft-times positively obscene pic- tures on post cards, in books and on billboards; the viciously immoral literature; the cheap moving picture shows of to-day, were not social problems threatening the purity of our childhood. Knowledge of self important.- There were ethical, biological and vital truths that our parents, because of mock modesty and a false and inadequate education, failed to give us in our childhood. This was a serious defect in our early education. We met with tempta- tions, were often overcome by them and we are not 11 12 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION what we might have been had we been safeguarded by a better knowledge of ourselves. But, because of the better social conditions of our childhood, we were bet- ter able to grow up without this information and with less injury to ourselves, than our children can, without this information, under present social conditions. If we would safeguard the character of the children of to-day and the youths of to-morrow and the manhood and the womanhood of the succeeding day we must give our children a correct knowledge of themselves. The confidence of childhood.- When children are born, they have a capacity for learning how to stand alone, crawl, walk, love and hate, speak and read, to judge of what is right and wrong. All they may come to know in the future, true or false, good or evil, they must learn. Coming into our homes without knowl- edge and utterly helpless, they naturally come to rec- ognize their parents as their rightful teachers and to have absolute confidence in them. Ask a child from three to ten years old who he thinks is the best man in the world. The reply will be, " my papa." Ask him who he thinks is the best woman in the world. The instinctive reply will be, " my mamma." The an- swer may be true or false, but we do not question the sincerity of the child. The greatest calamity that can come to that child, comes when he is compelled by con- vincing evidence to reverse in his judgment this sincere GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 13 and implicit faith in the goodness of his parents. No greater misfortune than this, can come to the par- ents. This natural and complete confidence and de- pendence of the child gives the parents a very decided advantage over all other teachers in the future training of the child. Inquisitiveness of childhood.- It is because of this natural confidence that the child goes to the parents with his many questions. The almost ceaseless ac- tivity and playfulness of a child, are in response to na- ture's call for exercise in the natural and healthful development of every organ of the body. The many questions of a child are in response to nature's call for exercise in the development of every faculty of the mind. The unfolding, growing, developing mind of a child naturally asks questions. It is for this reason that a child is said to be an animated interrogation point. Some of the questions of a child may perplex a philosopher, tax the patience of a Job, or embarrass a brass monkey; but the naturalness and sincerity of the child demand honesty, frankness and wisdom on the part of parents. How did I get into this world? - At the age of three, four and five the child will begin to ask ques- tion as, "Where does the rain come from? Where does the snow come from? Where do the clouds come from? " When kittens, pups, pigs, a calf, a colt 14 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION are born, the child very naturally asks about their ori- gin. The child is told repeatedly that he is four, five or six years old; that he has had that number of birth- days and has seen that number of Christmases. He remembers only half of them. He listens with inter- est to his parents as they relate some thrilling event of years gone by. A bright inquiring child will naturally ask, " Mamma, was I in the world at that time ? " The mamma replies, " No, darling, that happened six months before you were born." How very natural it was for the child to ask, " Well, mamma, where was I at that time ? How did I get into the world ? " An angel could not be more sincere, or ask a purer ques- tion. This was no evidence of the child's depravity. When I find a child of seven or eight years old who has not asked about his origin, I know that one of three conditions will explain this unusual mental state of the child. (i) The parents have not encouraged the child's mental development by permitting him to be free in asking questions. (2) The child has heard the story of life told by vicious companions, in half truths, clothed in vulgar language and is keeping his information a secret from his parents. (3) The child is not developing quite as fast as I would like for my child to develop. The unsatisfied mind.- When the inquiring mind of a child has once become interested in this question, GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 15 it is not possible for him to be satisfied until a plaus- ible answer has been received. The child's future, physical, mental and moral life more largely depends upon the answer given to this question, than to any other question of his childhood. The most vital part of a child's education neg- lected.- In the past, parents, teachers, reformers and ministers have very largely held to the old theory, that, if children are to be kept pure and innocent, they must be kept ignorant of all information pertaining to sex. We have them learn the physiology, anatomy and hy- giene of their brain, heart, lungs, digestive and nerv- ous systems as if their very lives depended upon a correct knowledge of these parts; but we have allowed them to grow up in total ignorance concerning the sacred sanctuary and function of human reproduction, upon which so much of health, happiness and success in life depends. Mistakes of the past.- In the past all faithful par- ents have loved their children as much as we have loved our children. They were as much interested in safe- guarding the virtue of their children as are the parents of to-day. They endeavored to train their children in harmony with their ideals of right. Our parents, in their childhood, got the idea that all language and information concerning sex was essentially impure. All their information was feceived from vicious, igno- 16 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION rant sources. In matured life, they came to see that all the words and language they had heard pertaining to sex and all the mental and moral impressions they had received, had done them great harm. Their ex- perience led them-unwisely to conclude that all infor- mation of this kind is injurious to a child. They failed to see the difference between receiving only half-truths,, expressed in vulgar words and phrases, taught by the vicious and ignorant; and in receiving the pure truth, in chaste language from the lips of a wise teacher, a noble father or a pure mother. A nug- get of gold may be pure gold, whether found in a mud hole, a slop bucket, a tar bucket, or a clear stream of water. But, if you come in contact with the sur- roundings of the gold, your remaining clean, becoming cleaner, or becoming soiled, will depend on the place where you find t-he gold. The effects, good or bad, of sex knowledge, upon a child are largely determined by where and how he gets his information. If he gets this information from a careful and wise teacher no harm can come from it. If he gets the information from the misinformed and the impure, only harm will follow. To teach sex truths, two qualifications necessary. - You would not think of having your child taught mathematics by one, who, himself, was never prop- erly taught, or who knew only half-truths about mathe- GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 17 matics. You might not demand of him a moral qual- ification, if he possessed the intellectual equipment. But, in the teaching of sex, a moral qualification is even more necessary than the intellectual. But few adults are prepared to tell the story of life to a child, and fewer still are prepared to give additional instruc- tion as the child grows older. For one to do this work successfully two qualifications are absolutely neces- sary. (i) Parents and teachers must have a moral qualification. They must regard the organs of sex and their functions as pure and sacred. If they have the taint of lasciviousness in their thoughts of the creative function, it would be a dangerous experiment for them to attempt to teach their children about the origin of life, or to give other instruction to those more advanced in years. The misinformation and false education they received in childhood and the consequent mock modesty, are the greatest difficulties in the way of their performing this sacred duty to their children. For this reason the adult classes are as much in need of correct instruction in sex as are the chil- dren. (2) Parents and teachers must have a mental qualification. One-fifth of the names referring to the organs of sex, their functions and their abuse, that adults are forced to use when they try to express their thoughts about sex, could not be found in the dictionary, and, one-half of those that could be found 18 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION in the dictionary would not refer in their meaning, even remotely, to the sexual system. They picked up these words in childhood from ignorant schoolmates and companions whose minds were tainted with de- basing thoughts of sex. The use of these vulgar words, in the presence of a boy who has heard them before, suggests to his mind that which is lascivious. Those who would teach these things, to the young or old, should be able to command a chaste, clean, plain, language. How a father failed.- During one of my courses of lectures, a cultured lawyer invited me to his office for an interview. He reproduced, in language and ges- ture as best he could, a speech he had made to his twelve-year old boy warning him of the dangers of the secret sin. I saw the lawyer was deeply interested in his boy. He loved him and was deeply concerned about his future. The language he used was the same he had learned when a boy and the same his boy had evidently heard on the playground. I question whether the father's advice did Jhis son much good. Here was a case where good service was neutralized by suggestive language. How a teacher failed.- A few months ago I lec- tured in a city where immorality was appalling. The superintendent of schools called into the chapel about six hundred boys, from ten to eighteen, and attempted GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 19 to lecture them on social purity. He soon became embarrassed, used some street terms, excited lasciv- ious thoughts, looks, smiles and laughter among the boys and utterly failed in his efforts. If this lawyer and teacher failed with the advantages and solicitude they must have had, would not the great mass of par- ents, teachers and ministers fail for the same reasons. Parents not wholly responsible.- A few editors, doctors and reformers have censured parents severely for not teaching their children the truth on these sub- jects. They should remember that ten years ago a very few parents had read a sane book or listened to an intelligent lecture on these subjects. Their only information had been gained from the playground and street on the sly. Courses of lectures, adapted to age and sex, should be given in every community. Ministers, teachers, physicians, merchants, parents, young and old, educated and uneducated, all should hear them. A few standard books on sex-hygiene and social purity should be put in every home. Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." More people are in physical, mental and moral slavery because of ignorance concerning the laws of sex, than all other causes combined. It follows that those who have learned the truth should impart it to those who have it not. How children have been treated in the past.- We 20 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION have seen how parents have been led in the past to conclude that all information as to the origin of life is injurious to a child. For a child to inquire, "Where was I before I was born? How did I get into this world?" was a sure sign of his depravity. As a result of these traditionary ideas some parents have slapped a child for asking about his origin. Still, others have scolded and ordered the child from the room, commanding him never to ask such ugly ques- tions again. What must be the feelings of a child treated in such an unappreciative and heartless way! Such treatment has never satisfied the inquiring mind of any child. Under such treatment a child will .go off alone, pained and puzzled to know what was wrong in that simple, natural, honest question. In most cases the child's question has been evaded by some one of a hundred falsehoods about " swamps," " sinkholes," " hollow logs and stumps," " bird nests," " storks," " old women," " doctor's satchel," and " un- der a cabbage head." When only a small boy, I was called from my bed early one spring morning to see a beautiful colt the mare had found. For awhile I looked at the colt with admiration and wonder. Then I very naturally inquired, " Where did the mare find her colt ? " I was told that she found it in a near-by brush pile. For the next six months no brush pile escaped my eager eyes. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 21 An example.- On my second lecture trip through Canada, a father told me how he answered his little girl's question, " Papa, how did I get into this world? " His answer was as follows: " Daughter, God dropped you out of heaven one day while it was raining. Papa saw you falling from a cloud and ran out and caught you in his arms and brought you into the house." That father was boasting of his tact and wisdom. Another example.- A mother in the South, in reply to a similar question asked by her five-year-old boy, said: " Son, God sent you into this town on the Cot- ton Belt train, about three o'clock one afternoon. The doctor was at the depot and saw you. He knew that we wanted a little boy, so he put you in his satchel and brought you to mamma." When this mother related this to me, her boy was nine years old and had not asked her another word about his origin. At the close of my lecture, with tears in her eyes, she said: " Professor, do you suppose that my little boy has been hearing vulgar stories and is keeping his in- formation a secret from mamma?" "Yes, nine times out of ten, if you have a bright boy," was my reply. Upon investigation she found that her boy had been hearing vulgar talk for about three years. How long do you suppose it will take that boy to eradicate from his mind and heart the evil effects of such training? It is not a question whether your 22 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION child and mine shall get this information or not. That question is settled. The child will get the in- formation. The questions for us to settle are: When shall this information be given? Who shall give it? What shall be given? How shall it be given? Results of the old method.- I shall not call in ques- tion the love, sincerity and honesty of these parents. In most cases they were sincere and did the best they knew how. I am concerned about the results of this time-honored method. Did the old method of decep- tion, misleading and false replies ever satisfy the in- quiring mind of a child? Did the old method ever make a child wiser ? Did it ever lead a child to regard human reproduction as delicate, sacred and pure? Did it ever lead a child to greater love and faith in its parents? Only negative answers can be given to all these questions. How the child finds out.- As a rule, it is not long after a child becomes interested in his origin until some older child, a playmate or servant will say, " I know something that you do not know. You would like to know it. It is how little children come into this world. I will tell you all about it, if you will not tell your mamma and papa about it." I do not care how good the child may be, how well trained, or how obedient: such is the intense interest of a child in the GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 23 mystery of his life that he will agree to keep the story a secret. Now the child listens eagerly to the half- truths, couched in impure language and gets a per- verted vision of the origin of life. What are some of the results? - Five very sad misfortunes have come to the child. (i) The child has learned that his parents evaded his question; in most cases, he discovers the answer to have been a false- hood. (2) To the extent that the child comprehends the falsehood, does he lose confidence in his parents. (3) He has learned to keep these vital matters a se- cret from his parents. (4) The child cannot think of his parents' relation to the initial of his life, except in terms of vulgarity. Early images do not easily leave the mind of a child. Ugly words, impure pictures, ob- scene language, with all their vile suggestiveness, oft- times remain through life. (5) He regards the or- gans of sex and their functions as vile and sinful. God never planned that any human being should en- tertain any such degrading and demoralizing views of the divinely created organs and function of human reproduction. It is impossible to estimate the evil ef- fects of this false training. Yet, there are many peo- ple, often very religious, who estimate their modesty, refinement and culture by the degree of conscious shame they have when questions of sex are referred to. Just to the extent that we fail to see that God is 24 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION the author of sex, that sex is sacred and pure, our glory and not our shame, has a false training degraded us. Boys lose confidence in their parents.- You ask, does a child lose confidence in his parents when he has discovered that they have told him a falsehood about his origin? Certainly he does. In the past three years not fewer than seven hundred and fifty young men from eighteen to thirty-five have written me for advice in regard to their youthful indiscretions. One question I have invariably asked those young men, " Did your father ever warn you of your sexual dan- gers?" Only two have replied in the affirmative. Those young men were once as innocent and pure as your little boy. They first went to their parents for information about these delicate matters. They were treated as I have described. They received their in- formation from sources and in a way that led to sex- ual abuse. Girls lose confidence in mother.- While on a seven thousand-mile lecture trip, in company with twenty other lecturers, conducting purity conventions in many of the large cities in the United States and Canada, after the evening sessions were over, in company with one or two detectives and other parties of our crowd, we visited the " red light " districts and saw several thousand erring girls from twelve to twenty years old. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 25 Those girls were once as innocent, pure and sweet as yours or mine. They first went to their mothers and asked about the origin of their lives. Those were golden opportunities for safeguarding the virtue of those girls. More easily than at any other time in life could those girls have been impressed with the sacred- ness of sex. At no other time in life is it so true that " an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Much more of Christian effort is put forth to rescue the fallen than to prevent the youths from falling. More churches are open to lectures on rescue work than on preventive work. More money can be raised for rescue work than can be raised to prevent youths from falling. Boys and girls want to know the real truth.- One morning a number of high school boys requested that I give them a lecture more advanced than the one I had given. While passing through the hall, at the close of this special lecture to the young men, I was approached by the lady principal with the request from the high school girls for a special lecture. She told me that fourteen had made the request and that several added: " We wish that Prof. Shannon was a lady lecturer. There are so many things we would like to know, but would hesitate to ask a gentleman lecturer." Then the lady teacher added, " I said, girls, why do you not ask your mamma for such in- 26 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION formation?" With hands uplifted, a look of sur- prise, a gasp for breath, those girls replied: " I would not think of asking mamma such questions." Why not? Let me tell you why. When they were little innocent girls they went to their mothers with their first questions of sex. They were treated as already indicated. Their inquiring minds and un- satisfied interests in the mysteries of life led them to go elsewhere for this information. It was at this point in their lives that a chasm started to form be- tween themselves and their mothers. There is not one boy in twenty-five who will go voluntarily to his father for information or advice about his sex-nature. The same statement is almost as true about girls and their mothers. 1,000,000 children adrift.- 1,500,000 children are born annually in this Christian nation. One-third of this number die before they are ten years old. An- nually one million children inquire, " How did I get into this world? " Not more than one in twenty re- ceive a kind, truthful and intelligent reply. More than nine-tenths' are treated in one of the following ways: (1) Told some one of fifty falsehoods. (2) A slap, with orders to clear out. (3) Some form of ridicule, such as " shame on you." " Don't let me hear you ask such an ugly question again." " I am disgusted with you." That settles it. The golden GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 27 cords of confidence and influence are severed. Never again will those children go to their parents for in- formation pertaining to sex. Elsewhere, they will find friends who will gladly give them the in forma- Danger ! tion. These children, one million strong, are now adrift on the storm-tossed sea of passion, without chart or compass; drifting, drifting, drifting for years toward ports, to them, unknown. 28 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION The virtue of a quarter of a million of boys sac- rificed.- Time passes. The boys are now sixteen to twenty-five. They have boon and base companions. Their imaginations are at fever heat with morbid in- terest and their ambitions are aflame with daring. One quarter of a million young men annually sacrifice the priceless gem of manhood's virtue just here. Now, they are nearing the fearful rapids of vice where most of this number annually become diseased and many perish as sex-maniacs in the awful maelstrom of lust. 60,000 girls annually.- With the passing of time, the girls from twelve to seventeen, many without the safeguard of knowledge, are associating freely, gayly with their boon male companions, exposed to all the temptations and dangers incident to young woman- hood. Many, many thousand young women annu- ally sacrifice the priceless gem of womanhood's virtue just here. Owing to the double standard of morals, sixty thousand of this number are forced against their own wills into the public maelstroms of immorality. Who is to blame.- Thousands of poor prudish par- ents line the shores, and, with broken, bleeding hearts are crying out in anguish, " My God, my God, why has this awful blow fallen on us?" The poor, igno- rant, diseased, exiled, passion-ridden children, in many cases beyond the reach of the home, society and GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 29 the church, exclaim, " Oh, if I had only been told of these dangers! " All along the almost socially inaccessible rock- bound shores of this sea of human passion, the churches and philanthropists are building and maintain- ing rescue and foundling homes at an outlay of mil- lions in money. They are not, and cannot, rescue one in twenty. The foundling homes are crowded to a dangerous, unsanitary overflowing with illegitimate children, whose mothers are out in the rapids of vice, or entirely lost in the maelstrom of immorality. Too long have the churches been satisfied with snatching, here and there, a piece of human wreckage from the waves of vice, instead of erecting a lighthouse system of properly warning and informing the childhood of the land. The new way.- We have seen the results of the old way of dealing with children in matters of sex. Is there a new and better way? We shall see. "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." The new and better way is to tell the truth to the child. How shall a child be told.- One day when our lit- tle girls were four and six, wife said, " Husband, I am in trouble about our little girls. They are asking where they were before they were born and how they got into this world. How am I to answer them ? " " Tell them 30 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION the truth," was my reply. " But, they are not old enough to be told the whole truth," was her reply. We talked over the problem and arrived at the follow- ing solution of the problem: Since I had been a teacher of biology for years, and it was presumed that I was familiar with the stories of life among the plants and animals, it was agreed that I should at once tell them a nice little story about God's beautiful plan of bringing all the little plants into the world. Six months later I was to tell them the story of life about the oysters and fish. Every six months to a year I was to tell them a more advanced story. As they were girls, wife reserved the right to tell them the last story to be told when they were nine and ten. These stories were all told in the order given. Our girls are now twelve and fourteen. We have never had an occasion to regret that we have followed this natural method of instructing them. They seem to have no morbid curiosity about questions of sex. They look upon the facts as being natural, sacred and pure. Wife and I can approach them on these sub- jects without embarrassment to them or us. When should a child be told? - The average boy should be told all these stories by the time he is eight, not later than nine. The average girl should be told all these stories by the time she is nine, not later than ten. The developing mind of the average child and GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 31 the social influences to which he is exposed, demand that he be safeguarded by the whole truth, this early in life. While the girl and boy develop alike until they are ten or eleven, the boy being exposed to vi- cious companions more than is his sister, he should be told the story of life earlier than she. At the age of seven, boys know more about these things than the girls do at ten and twelve. You had better tell the child the truth at six, than to have him told by the vi- cious at the age of seven. If a child could understand the story of life at three, and was properly trained afterward, this information could not do him one par- ticle of harm. This statement is either absolutely true, or God is the author of a plan of human increase, the knowledge of which is essentially sinful. Person- ally, I decline to believe the latter. If the child has been informed by vicious playmates or servants and his mind has been tainted, the only sane and safe method is to tell him the full truth as quickly as possible, regardless of his age. If the child has been allowed to grow up to the age of nine or ten, ignorant of the story of life, I would tell him all the stories, beginning with the first story, telling them only a few days apart. Where parents are not prepared to do this, I would advise them to place a suitable book, presenting these stories in a clear, chaste and interesting way, in the hands of the 32 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION child, saying, " Here is a very interesting little book telling you just what you will be interested in know- ing and what I would like for you to understand." The ideal way.- The ideal way would be to start with the child when he first inquires about his origin, telling him the first story about the plants. Promise to tell him other stories about the oysters, fish, insects, birds, animals and man as he grows older and can un- derstand them. Where a child is naturally very in- quisitive and insists on knowing more, I would not hold him off too long for the next story. How to introduce each new story.- I would intro- duce each new story by reviewing the story of the plants and flowers. There are at least three reasons for this, (i) You can go into all the details of re- production in the flower without danger of awaken- ing the sex consciousness of the child. (2) It saves going into the detail when you have come to the higher animals and man. The child's mind usually compre- hends more than we give it credit for. If he under- stands the details of reproduction in the flower, his innocent fancy will fill in the details when he hears the other stories. (3) If he has been so unfortunate as to fall in with bad company at any time and his mind has been tainted with their stories, there is no means you can use in ridding his mind of impurity, GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 33 quite so effectively, as by telling him the story of life in the flower. Teaching these truths in the public schools.- The violation of the laws of sex is the chief cause of physi- cal, mental and moral degeneracy. The degenerate classes are increasing at an appalling rate. Correct sex-instruction in childhood is the most important and effective step in the solution of this problem. There is a growing conviction among the students of soci- ology that sex-hygiene should be taught in the public schools. There are some teachers in all departments of school work, who, in morals at least, are not fitted for this delicate work. At present, an extremely few have the educational qualification for this delicate work. When teachers are required to take a course of training in these subjects, there will still be but few who are possessed of the natural talent for effectively and wisely presenting these subjects to children of the different grades. Already colleges and universities and even a few high schools have begun to teach sex hygiene in a lim- ited scientific way. This work will first be introduced into the high school work and later, gradually be intro- duced into the lower grades. Definite instruction will not be given, for many years at least, and possibly never, to boys under eight, and girls under ten or 34 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION eleven. If this statement is true, it will be seen that the schools will have left the first and most important part of this training to be done in the home. The teaching of morals in the public school can never be substituted for the teaching of morals in the home. The present great awakening on these subjects will shortly result in three-fourths of the parents teaching these truths in their homes. Since one-fourth of the children do not get any moral instruction in the home and they do not go to Sunday school or church, the public school is the only place where they can be given moral training for citizenship. How this can be done.- In my opinion, the safest and most effective method of dealing with these ques- tions in the public schools, for the present at least, would be for the school boards in two or three counties to select and employ a gentleman and a lady lecturer, having natural gifts, moral and educational qualifica- tions, whose duty it shall be to lecture to all the boys and girls; the male lecturer, lecturing to the boys and the lady lecturer, lecturing to the girls. All other teachers should be required to be sufficiently versed in these matters to enable them to solve any individual problems that may arise in their social relations to the pupils in school. CHAPTER II FIRST STORY BABY PLANTS The author's experience.- When our girls, Fay and Fern, were six and four years of age, they became interested in learning about their coming into the world. Their mamma had told me of their puzzling questions. We agreed that I should tell them a story of life, every six months or a year, until they were nine or ten. Then their mamma should tell them the last story, the story of their life. A few days later some young men, whom we were helping through college, and I were working among the flowers, when one of the girls made some inquiry about the relation of birds. This naturally opened the way for my first talk. I promised her and her sis- ter a very interesting story at the rest hour at noon. As ever, they were both anxious to hear a new story. Dinner over, they followed me into the greenhouse. I gathered a number of flowers and invited them to be seated near me while I told them the story. Praise a child for asking.- I opened the story by saying, " Mamma tells me that you have become in- terested in knowing where you were before you were 35 36 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION born and how you got into this world. We have talked together about your interest in this matter and we are glad that you have asked these questions, and especially because you came first to us. For you to ask these questions so early in life indicates that you are very bright and intelligent. We are your natural teachers. We love you as no one else does or can. In the future, anything you wish to know about your- selves, come to us and we will take pleasure in telling you all that is best for you to know." Why the child should be told gradually.- You would like to be able to read and understand all there is in the fourth reader. There is nothing in the fourth reader that could do you a particle of harm. There are many things in the fourth reader that you could not un- derstand. Papa and mamma might read and try to ex- plain them to you. Still, there would be some things that we could not make plain to you, for the reason that you are not old enough for your little minds to grasp them. You understand that you must learn first what there is in the first reader. When you have learned all there is in it, then you are ready for the second reader. The mastery of -the second reader prepares you for the third and the third reader pre- pares you for the fourth. There are some things that you understand to-day, that you could not understand six months ago. This great world is full of things GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 37 that you cannot understand now; but, as you grow older and your mind grows stronger, step by step, you will learn and understand things that you cannot un- derstand now. There as so many things in this world that may be known, that no one lives long enough to learn them all. Just so, you would like to know how God brings little children into this world. This is God's wonderful plan. It could not do you a bit of harm to know all about it, if you could understand it. But you are not old enough now. Papa can tell you a beautiful story about how God brings all the little sprigs of grass, weeds, vegetables and trees into the world now, and in a few months I can tell you about the mussels, oysters and fish. Then, when you are a year older, I will tell you about the birds; later, I will tell you about the higher animals. ' When you are eight or ten, mamma will tell you the last story - God's beautiful plan of bringing little children into the home. Some things right one time and wrong at an- other.- You are both old enough to know that there are some things we do that is right for us to do under certain conditions, but would be very wrong for us to do under other conditions. Some things would be right to do during the week, but wrong if done on Sunday. Every few days you take an all-over bath. It is perfectly right for you to take these baths and for 38 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION your mamma to help you. All people, who desire to live cleanly lives and enjoy good health, take frequent all-over baths. But you have noticed that when you take baths, other people are not invited to be pres- ent, not even papa is present. This is because our bodies are sacred. We wear clothing that our bodies may not be exposed to the gaze of other people. We do not speak the name of God and Jesus in a light and frivolous way because these names are sacred. Why we do not talk about the origin of life.- One of the most delicate, pure and sacred experiences con- nected with human life is God's beautiful plan of bringing little children into the home. It is so sacred, pure and delicate that good people seldom speak of it, and never in a light and foolish way. It is for this reason that you have never heard your mamma and papa speak of it. It is right for fathers and mothers, husbands and wives to speak to each other about this matter; also, for grown people, when there is some good reason for doing so. It is not wise or best for little children to talk about how children come into the world except to their parents. We are your natural teachers and we want you always to feel free to come to us with questions about things of this nature. When you are older you will understand better why papa gives you this advice. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 39 Many men and women, boys and girls have not been carefully trained to be good. They get angry and quarrel or fight, use bad language, break the Sab- bath, and do many other wrong things. Some appear to take pleasure in doing wrong and in leading others to do wrong. This class of people do not look upon God's plan of bringing little children into the world as being pure and sacred. They use very bad lan- guage when they try to talk about the story of life or tell it to others. When little children hear these peo- ple talk about the story of life, their little minds and hearts are filled with bad words and very wicked thoughts. In this way many little boys and girls are started wrong in life and they are sure to have a hard and painful struggle to rid themselves of impure thoughts, words and habits in after life. It may not be very long until some schoolmate or someone older than you will say, " I know something that you don't. You would like to know it and I will tell you, if you will not tell your papa and mamma about it." Now, girls, whenever someone wants to tell you something and asks you not to tell your mamma and papa, you may be sure that it is wrong, that it will injure you, and most likely it is false. Mamma and papa would advise you to say to them, "We don't want to hear anything that we cannot talk about to mamma and papa." 40 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION Story of the plants.- The story of life that papa will'tell you to-day will be about the plants, vegetables and trees, how their young come into the world. Papa has gathered some beautiful flowers with which to illustrate the story. This will be our first lesson in Botany. Every part of a plant has special names. Many of the names are too difficult for you to remem- ber. When you get older you will learn and remem- ber the names. The story of life in all flowering plants begins in the flower. The outer parts.- At sight, we notice that the many parts of a flower are arranged in whorls or circles. The outer whorl is called the (i) calix. You will notice that in some of these flowers, the calix is highly colored, in others it looks like little green leaves and in some of the flowers the.calix is absent. You will observe that in some flowers the calix is composed of four or more parts. These separate parts are called (2) sepals. In other flowers the sepals have grown together so they appear to be only one sepal. In such flowers we count the sepals by the small notches on top. The second whorl is called the (3) corolla. This whorl is usually the most highly colored part of the flower. If either of these whorls is absent in a flower, it is the calix. Sometimes both whorls are absent. The separate parts of the corolla are called GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 41 (4) petals. Sometimes the petals are separate from the base of the flower. In other flowers they are more or less united. The papa parts.- While the calix and corolla form the most attractive and beautiful parts, they are not the most important parts of a flower. The prettiest things are not always the best or most useful things. Let us now carefully examine these central organs. They are called the essential organs. Were it not for these organs in the flowers, no new grasses, plants, vegetables and trees would come into this world. Such a misfortune would rob this world of most of its beauty and much of its value. In this flower, the next whorl consists of a number of small slender organs. These are called (5) stamens. They are the father parts of the flower and possess the father na- ture. On top of these organs are little delicate bodies, poised lightly, and filled with a very fine dust. These little bodies are called (6) anthers. The fine grains of powder are called pollen. You can rub the pollen off with your finger. This dust varies slightly in color in different flowers. The mamma parts.- The central organ in this flower is called the pistil. The pistil is composed of three parts. At the base of the pistil is the (7) pod, more correctly called the ovary. In the ovary little seed are formed. On top of the ovary is a slender 42 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION organ called the style. On top of the style is a spongy enlargement called the (9) stigma. The stigma, style and ovary form the mother part of the flower and possess the mother nature. In some plants each flower has more than one pistil. How the papa and mamma natures unite.- When the pollen is ripe, the anther cells burst open and the GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 43 little, light, powdery pollen falls out and it is carried by gravity, the wind or by insects to the stigma. The little pores of the stigma open and admit the grains of pollen and the style carries the pollen to the ovary where it unites with the little seed. The seed are then said to be fertilized. This means that the father and mother natures have united in the seed. The seed grow and develop in the ovary. While this is being- done, food for the little baby plants to live on while only a day or two old, is being stored up in the seed. In such seed is the tiny beginning of a future plant. The seed ripen in the pod. The pod bursts open and the seed fall upon the ground, or men gather them, and later plant them in the soil. The spring sunshine and rain cause the seed to sprout and as tiny stems ap- pear above the ground, only an inch or so high, they are nothing in the world but little baby sprigs of grass, little baby weeds, little baby vegetables or little baby trees. When God created the first grasses, plants and trees, He commanded them to be " fruitful and multi- ply." In this story you have learned how all the grown-up plants and trees obey this command of God. The two natures do not always exist in the same flower.- In the flowers we have studied, we found both the male and female organs in the same flower. 44 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION Each flower possessed the two natures, male and fe- male. But this is not true of all plants and trees. In some plants and trees flowers can be found having only stamens. These would be father-flowers. They could not produce seed or fruit. On some plants and trees may be found flowers having only pistils. These are mother-flowers. Flowers of these two kinds may be found growing on the same limb of a plant or tree, or on different limbs, or on different trees. The poplar and willow trees are examples of the last kind. In the case of the Indian corn, the ear of corn, in- cluding the cob, the grains, shuck and silk form the mother part of the cornstalk. The tassel of the corn- stalk is the father part and contains the father nature. The tassel produces a great deal of pollen. You have, on passing through a patch of corn, noticed the pollen falling everywhere and covering everything. Ears of corn sometimes have as many as 1000 grains of corn to the cob. Each grain sends out one or more little silks beyond the shuck to catch some of the pollen. Should these little silks fail to catch the grains of pollen, no grains of corn would form on the cob. The father and mother natures must unite if little seed are formed. From this we learn why it is that every lit- tle sprig of grass, weed, vegetable, and tree must have a father and mother and their natures must unite. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 45 The three methods.- We mentioned three ways by which the pollen from the male organs is carried to the stigma of the female organ: wind, gravity and insects. In the corn, the ears are below the tassel and gravity is all that is necessary to carry the pollen to the silks. Where one tree bears bloom having only stamens and another tree of the same species bears flowers having only pistils, nature may use both the wind and insects in carrying the pollen from the male to the female tree. In some plants and trees the blooms are so constructed that gravity and the wind are of but little service. In such flowers a sweet juice is formed at the base of the flower. This attracts the bees and insects. As they press down into the flower to sip the sweet juice they rub off some of the pollen on to their wings, legs and back. The next flower they enter, some of this pollen is rubbed off on the stigma of that flower. In this way the seed are fertilized. From this we see that the real purpose of the sweet juice in the flower, is not pro- duced for food for the insects, but for the purpose of attracting the insects so they may carry the pollen from one flower to another. A most wise, sacred and beautiful plan.- In this little story, you have learned in a general way God's plan of bringing all little grasses, plants, vegetables and trees into being that come from a seed. You have learned two great laws, namely; every plant that comes 46 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION from a seed must have a father and mother, and, the father and mother natures must unite in the seed. These two great laws are just as true in the animals and in the human family as among the plants. When we most admire a beautiful bed of flowers or a bloom- ing tree, when we gather a bouquet of flowers to wear, or offer to a friend, at that very moment the two na- tures are uniting for the purpose of increasing their kind. God is the author of the male and female organs of the plants and for this reason the union of their two natures is sacred and pure. Plants were the first living things that God made; man was the last. The plants were at the bottom of God's work of crea- tion; man was at the top. If the same laws we have found in the plants, that enable them to bring their little children into the world, are the same laws that enable human fathers and mothers to bring their little children into the world, and since we found this'plan to be. sacred and pure among all the flowers; then this same plan, when used in the human family, must be pure and sacred. If man is so much higher in the scale of life than the flower, then these laws must be even more sacred in the human family. This will show you how very degrading it is to entertain low and vulgar thoughts about the coming of little children into this world, as some people do." CHAPTER HI SECOND STORY BABY OYSTERS AND FISH The story of baby oysters.- Before telling this story to my little girls I reviewed the story of the plants. This refreshed in their minds certain very important laws that they had learned in the first talk. This talk was given when they were about six and eight years old. In studying the story of life among the plants, you will remember that we learned that in most plants the male and female organs of sex were in the same flower. Among the lower forms of animal life, we find both the male and female natures in the same animal. The oyster furnishes a good example. These little ani- mals are surrounded with and fastened to a very hard and heavy shell. These animals live in great masses and their shells are cemented together. Growing in this way they cannot move about, or mix and mingle with each other. The mother parts of the oyster pro- duce little eggs which are fertilized by a substance formed by other organs containing the father nature. The fertilized egg, when laid, floats off and becomes attached to the shell of some oyster on a nearby rock. 47 48 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION Later, it hatches and the little baby oyster forms about its body a hard shell that is made larger as the little animal grows. In this way the little oysters come into the world. Among the oysters, we find the same laws that we found in the plants, i. e., each baby oyster must have a father and mother and the father and mother natures must unite. In the plants the father and mother natures unite in a little seed; in the oyster this union takes place in a little egg. When God made the fish, lizards, snakes, birds and higher animals, he gave to one a papa or male nature, with suitable sexual organs; to another animal of the same kind he gave a mamma or female nature, with suitable female or sexual organs. In the plants we find that the female sexual organs, the ovaries, pro- duced little seed. We found that the male sexual organs, the stamens, produced a fine powdery sub- stance called pollen. Among the animals, the sexual organs of the mother produces little eggs and the sex- ual organs of the father produces a fluid called semen. The story of baby fish.- Now we will study the fish. In the spring season of the year thousands of tiny eggs are formed in the ovaries of the mother fish. When these eggs are matured, the mother fishes swim in large crowds, called " schools," from the deep water of a stream, river or sea to some shallow place that seems to them to be suitable for a nest or home for their GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 49 young. The mother fishes lay their eggs in a mass of albuminous substance, like the white of an egg, that spreads out in a very thin sheet holding the little eggs one in a place and close together. The father fishes swim along sometimes a foot, a yard or more behind the mothers and expel from their bodies the semen that unites with and fertilizes the eggs. This spe- cial fluid of the male fish is formed by his sexual glands, called testes. In this way the father nature unites with the mother nature to produce every little fish that comes into this world. Why the mother fish lays so many eggs.- The fe- male fish forms thousands of these little eggs in her body each year. The female codfish has been known to lay as many as 6,000,000 eggs in one season. You could not count as many in a lifetime. The reason why the mother fish produces so many eggs is, that not one fish egg in twenty-five, on an average, will ever hatch and not more than one out of twenty-five little fishes ever grow to be an inch long. They have little, or no, protection, and they have so many enemies. There are hogs, turtles, crocodiles and alligators; the ducks, geese and other water fowls; as well as most of the fish that feed upon fish eggs and- small fish. That the streams, rivers and seas may be kept sup- plied with an abundance of fish, God has planned for the mother fish to lay thousands of eggs. 50 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION All baby fish are orphans.- Most kinds of fish leave their eggs as soon as they are laid and fertilized and never see or know their young. There are a few male fish, known as game fish, which swim over and around the eggs until they are hatched to keep other kinds of fish from eating the eggs. As soon as the eggs are hatched, he leaves. In this way all little fish grow up as orphans. They never know or enjoy the presence of their parents. The parent fish do not labor or sacrifice for their young, and, for this reason, they have no love for them. Should they ever meet their young in the river or sea they would have no way of knowing them or of feeling any sense of joy. Fish do not pair off.- We found in the study of the plants that the seed were fertilized while in the pod or ovary. In the fish we found that the eggs are fertilized outside of the mother's body. In nearly all the animals above the fish the eggs or ova are fertil- ized while in the mother's body. There is no love be- tween the male and the female fish. They do not pair off and live in families. Among all the spiders, lizards, serpents, many of the insects, crawfish, frogs and toads there is a tendency, at certain seasons, for the male to choose a female with a view to a home and family. But among all the animals we have named, many of the male and female animals part or leave each other as soon as the eggs are fertilized, and all GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 51 the others leave each other as soon as the eggs are hatched. The love of the-male for the female lasts but for a little time; while there is no love for their young after they are hatched. Before the young are hatched some of their parents show interest in their eggs and make some provisions for their young when hatched. But this is all done before the young are hatched. The young all grow up as little orphans. CHAPTER IV THIRD STORY BABY BIRDS When our little girls were seven and nine this talk was given. The previous stories were reviewed bring- ing out the resemblances and differences. They were permitted to ask questions. In this talk they were very alert to see and apply all the lessons learned from pre- vious stories. The beginning of love.- In this review of the story of life, among the plants and fish, we found no love or personal feeling between the male and female. Among the insects and reptiles we found that the males and females choose each other, when led by in- stinct to bring their young into the world. From the fish to the birds we find the simplest form of love and interest on the part of the parents in their young. This is shown by the care the parents take in the pro- tection and care of the eggs and the food prepared for the young before they are hatched. The male craw- fish picks up the fertilized eggs with his feelers, that are arranged in a double row underneath his tail, and, by means of these feelers, he carries the eggs close to 52 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 53 his body until they are nearly ready to hatch. The frogs and toads show great tenderness for their eggs. A great many books have been written about all these animals and when you are older you will be greatly in- terested in learning more of the detail of reproduction among these curious animals. Among all the animals we have studied the male and female separate as soon as the eggs are fertilized and laid, in other cases as soon as the eggs begin to hatch. The parent animals show no interest in their young after they are hatched and their children never know their parents or love them. The ant and the bee.- Two exceptions should be made to the above statement, the bee and the ant. They do not pair off and mate, as do other insects, but they live in colonies, or societies. They do not seem to have any special interest in their offspring or even a mate, but in the whole community of bees or ants. The perfect social organizations they form and the homes they build rival the skill and intelligence of man. There are some interesting books written about the bee and ant by persons who have spent years in studying them. When you are older you may be interested in reading such books. Baby birds.- We will study God's plan among the birds. In studying the family life of the birds we find a higher form of instinct, more love and care for 54 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION each other and their young than among the animals we have studied. We often feel disgusted at the ugly, slimy toads, lizards and serpents living in swamps and pools. But not so with the birds. Most of them are very inter- esting and beautiful and some are fine musicians. Among most of the wild birds of the fields and forests, in the spring time the male chooses among the females the one that most suits his fancy and they are mated or married. When they decide to raise them a family they build them a nest. This is their home. The par- tridge and lark build their nests on the ground, the swallow in chimneys, the pigeons in barns, the wood- cocks and woodpeckers in hollow limbs, the wild ducks and geese on the ledges of rocky cliffs, or in the high grass and weeds on the edge of a lake, but most birds build their homes in bushes and trees. The cuckoo does not build a nest, but lays her eggs in the nest of other birds, to get rid of all labor and trouble of hatch- ing, feeding and rearing her young. We feel a nat- ural contempt for the cuckoo. In every female bird there are organs called ovaries where at certain sea- sons little eggs are formed. While small or soft they are fertilized by the male bird. As the egg grows in the body of the mother bird a hard thin shell is formed around them. When the eggs are fully formed and the nest is completed, the mother bird lays GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 55 the eggs in the nest, usually one egg a day. For sev- eral days these eggs must have some extra heat or they will not hatch. Among most birds, the mother sits on her eggs so that the warmth of her body will cause the fertilized cell in each egg to form the little bird. While she sits on the eggs the father bird gathers fresh berries and worms and brings them to the mother bird to eat. When not bringing her water or food, he is usually found perched upon a nearby limb cheering his wife by talking and singing to her. When her little legs become tired, he will take her place, while she goes and finds fresh food or water. When the little birds are hatched, from sunrise to sunset the parents are busy catching worms and insects and feeding their young. As their children grow older and larger, in some mysterious way, they teach them the danger of men and guns, cats and snakes. When they are about grown they are taught to fly. From this time until the next spring they will live in flocks, when they will again mate and raise a family. In this way all the beautiful feathery songsters are brought into this world. CHAPTER V FOURTH STORY BABY ANIMALS AND MAN As the days and months glided by, our little girls were greeted one autumn morning by the advent of a little baby brother. Wife had given consent, years gone by, for me to tell the foregoing stories of life; but, only a few months before the above event, she had requested the privilege of telling this last story, as the girls would naturally ask of her how the little fellow came. This she told them, in a way no doubt, better than I could have done. In lecturing to multiplied thousands of boys and many hundreds of girls, I have told the stories of life much as I did to my little girls, with this story added. Baby animals.- We will now study God's plan of increase in the higher animals and man. We shall find many striking resemblances and interesting varia- tions between the lower forms of life that we have studied and the higher forms that we shall now study. All along the ascending scale of life we have found male and female, organs of sex, possessing male and female natures. We have found that the male organs of sex produce a fertilizing substance called pollen in 56 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 57 plants and semen in animals; that the female organs of sex produce seeds in plants and eggs in animals. We have found that every new plant, fish, insect, and bird comes from the union of the pollen with the seed, or the semen with the eggs. This last fact is true of the higher animals and man. We found that the seed of the plants are fertilized in the ovaries of the mother organs; that eggs of fish are fertilized outside of the body of the mother; that the eggs of insects and birds are fertilized inside of the mother's body. This last plan is also true of the higher animals and man. We found that the seed of plants were sown or planted in the soil; that the eggs of fish were deposited in water; that the eggs of insects and birds were laid in some specially arranged place for them, usually called nests. In the higher animals and man the young starts from a tiny fertilized egg and grows in an organ in the mother's body, called the womb, until it is strong and old enough to be born. The earliest stage of plant life in the little seed is called an embryo. When the seed has been planted and the little embryo appears above ground, it is then a little baby plant. The earliest stage of animal life in the egg of the fish, insect or bird, is an embryo. The mother part of the plant stores up food in the seed and the growing embryo feeds upon this food, until its little roots have grown down into the soil where they 58 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION can take up food from the soil and the blades or leaves are large enough to receive light and heat from the sun and food from the atmosphere. The mother fish, in- sect and bird store up food in their eggs for the little embryos to live upon until they are hatched. Among the higher animals and man, the embryo begins with the tiny fertilized egg in the mother's womb and re- ceives nourishment and life from the mother's blood through a duct, called the placenta, which is connected with the mother's womb at one end while the other end connects with the body of the embryo at a point called the navel. In this way the mother fur- nishes the young with all the air, food, water and life that it gets until it is born. Among the higher ani- mals and man the young when born are very tender and helpless. For several weeks or months they are fed on milk from their mother's breasts. In higher forms of life the birth of young is attended by greater sacrifice and suffering than in lower forms of life. For months, and in the case of man, for years, the parents must labor and sacrifice to feed, protect and educate them. Birth in the human family is attended by greater suffering and the little baby is more helpless and tender, and for this reason requires more tender care than the young of any other animal. You have observed that in the lower forms of life where the parents do not have to suffer to bring their young into GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 59 the world or labor to provide for them food or shelter that they do not love their young. As we ascend the scale of life in our study, we find that love exists be- tween the parents and young just in proportion as the parents suffer and labor for their young. One of the most impressive and effective ways of telling the story of life in man was told by a wise and queenly mother in the following true story. This mother introduces the story by telling how solicitous she became about her little boy when he was about seven or eight years old. He was in the public school where he was likely any day to hear the story of life from some wicked boy. She was anxious that her boy should hear this story first from his mother's lips. How a mother told the story of life to her boy.- In telling the story, the mother said: One morning, the opportunity that I had been pray- ing and watching for, came. I observed my little boy playing rather roughly, not cruelly, with the pet cat. Speaking kindly to him, I said, " Son, don't be rough with the old cat; handle her gently." "Why, mamma ?" he replied. " Son, mamma cannot make the reason clear to you now, but you obey mamma and in about ten days, mamma will tell you a very beautiful story, and, then you will understand." As those days glided by, with pride I observed the unusual attention and kind- 60 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION ness he showed the old cat. One morning, about ten days later, he came running into my presence, per- fectly delighted, wonderfully elated, and overflowing with joy, he invited me out the back way to see what he had found. I anticipated his discovery, but 1 wanted him to have all the pleasure. So, I offered him my hand while he proudly led the way. As we stepped from the back porch, turning he pointed his finger under the floor; I looked, and there was the old mother cat and by her side were four as beautiful little kittens, basking in the sunlight, as the human eye ever saw. He bragged about having found them; called my attention to their color and markings; and claimed two of them as his own. We sat down on a rustic seat where we could still see them. We admired their plumpness, color, eyes and playfulness and chatted together about them. At length I said, " Son, do you remember about ten days ago when you were playing rather roughly and I asked you to handle the old cat tenderly? " Promptly he replied; " Yes, mamma, and you promised me that in about ten days you would tell me a beautiful story that would explain why I should handle the old cat kindly. Can you tell me that story this morning?" "Yes, son, mamma is ready to tell you the sweetest and purest story that a mother can tell her son. When mamma asked you to be kind to the old cat, those four GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 61 little kittens were then in her body. That was why the old cat was larger than she is now. The little kittens were then much smaller and very tender, and, had you been rough with the old cat, you might have injured them; and, then, they might have been born crippled, deformed or dead. When they were born three or four days ago their little eyes were so tender that the full light of the sun would have put out their sight, so they were born with their eyelids closed and glued together. The old cat knew how tender their eyes would be, so three or four days ago she went away back under the dark floor and gave them birth. As they have grown older and their eyes have become stronger, every few hours the old cat has brought them a few feet nearer the light. Meanwhile, their eyelids have gradually opened until they can now look up at the sun as well as you can. Jf they had been born out in the open, the full light of the sun would have made their tender little eyes very sore or put them out." By this time I saw that my boy was very anxious to ask me a question. I was just as eager for him to ask it. I believed that he was going to ask the very question that my mother heart longed for him to ask; the very question that I believed God wanted my little boy to ask. I paused and looked into his little up- turned face. As his deep, true blue eyes met mine, spontaneously, naturally, seriously he enquired, 62 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION " Mamma, was I once in your body, too ? " " Yes, son, you were formed in mamma's body, in a little nest or home underneath mamma's heart. You started as a little cell. For two hundred and eighty long days, nine full months, nearly a whole year, you were growing in mamma's body. Mamma knew that you were there and loved and prayed for you long before you were born. Mamma had to be careful not to meet with an accident lest you might be born crippled, deformed or dead. Mamma had to be cautious about the food she ate, the air she breathed, the water she drank, the exer- cise she took, all she thought and did; because you were united to mamma by a little cord filled with blood vessels, through which mamma was supplying you from her blood with all the materials necessary for your forming body, mind and soul. In this way you were being influenced by mamma. Mamma was anx- ious that you might have a healthy and perfect body and grow up to be a smart, good and great man. If mamma had been angry, untruthful or dishonest dur- ing these months that you were a part of her, you might have been born with an ugly disposition, ten- dency to steal or be untruthful. Mamma was very careful about all she thought, said and did during the months you were a part of her body. " Mamma knew about the day that you would leave your little home and come into this world. For hours GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 63 mamma suffered great pain. The faithful doctor was present and did all he could to lessen mamma's suffer- ing. Papa stood at my side, held my hands in his, often stooped over and kissed my lips, cheeks and brow. As soon as you were born, the air rushed into your lungs and you cried, just as all little babies do when they are born alive. Mamma heard your baby cry and it thrilled her with joy known only to a mother, when she knows that her little baby is alive. But, son, when you were born and for many weeks and months, you were tiny, tender and helpless. No one in this world, and, God could not have found an angel in all of heaven who could have cared for you as well as mamma could. Mamma fed you at her breast, held you in her lap, fondled you in her arms and sung lullabies to you. When you were only a few weeks old you would have the colic. All night long your little body would be racked with pain and mamma would walk the floor with you, rub your little body and sing to you." By this time my little boy was standing up close by my side, had both arms thrown around my neck, his little lips were kissing my cheek, and tears were rolling down his on to mine. Then he said, " Mamma, I am glad you have told me that story. I love you better now. I did not know that you loved and prayed for me before you ever saw me; that you were so careful that I might be well born; that you had to suffer so much when I 64 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION was born; and that you cared for me so good when I was so small and when I was sick. This story will help me love you better and I will try never to dis- obey or tell you a falsehood." Do you not see how much better it was for this boy to hear the story of his life from the pure lips of his loving mother, than to hear it first from the lips of some ignorant and wicked boy or man? Well this is the story of your life. You cannot understand now how much your mamma suffered in bringing you into this world. Then, both your father and mother have made many sacrifices for you and are deeply interested in your future. If you should make a shipwreck of life, I am sure that their old days would be spent in grief. How can you repay your parents for all their sacrifices? If you will keep your thoughts, words and actions pure, every time your parents see or think of you, they will be thrilled with joy and apprecia- tion. Will you not now promise yourself and promise God that by His forgiveness of the past, grace and help now and in the future, that you will keep yourself pure? When you have done this will you not go and kiss mamma, and tell her that you love her better than ever before and that you are determined to live up to her prayers and wishes? CHAPTER VI PRACTICAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED When should parents begin telling a child of his origin? -■ When a child asks about his origin he is old enough to be told the first story. Some children will ask about this by the time they are three or four years old, others not until they are five or six. A normally developing child will certainly become inter- ested in this matter by the sixth year. If a child has not asked about his origin by the time he is six, it would be wise for the parents to ascertain by question- ing him whether he has received this information else- where. If they find he has gained this information from the vicious, what should they do? - I would suggest that they wisely, tactfully and kindly ask him to tell them all he has heard, promising him that they will tell him the real truth in a number of very interesting stories. If he has received only very limited information, I would tell him at once the story of the plants and promise him another story in a few days or weeks about the oysters. If he has received considerable in- formation in half-truth and learned several vulgar ex- 65 66 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION pressions, I would tell him these stories of life, one at the time and one each day until I had covered all the half-truths he had learned. I would endeavor skill- fully to impress him with the sacredness of the laws of life. I would try to induce him to discard every false name he has learned by giving him the chaste pure names. I would teach him that we should be modest and discreet regarding these organs, and when and how to speak of them; that we should carefully avoid entertaining the idea they are in themselves sinful or that they are our shame and humiliation; that these organs and their functions are sacred, delicate and pure; and that they are our pride and our glory. If this advice were universally followed by teachers, ministers and parents among all children over ten, youths and adults, it would immediately reform and purify society. " If a child, especially a boy, is not fully satisfied with the information contained in these stories, and should ask for a more detailed explanation of the child's origin, how would you answer him? " - I would first try to decide whether the child is prompted by natural or morbid curiosity. If the child is sincere, very bright and inquisitive, you will have a very pleasant task and one that should result in only good to the child. I would start with the plant and show just how the two natures reach each GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 67 other in the seed. Then I would pass in my detailed explanation to the oyster and fish. I would call his attention to the real visible examples of mating among the insects, birds, and domestic animals. I would call his attention to the father and mother of insects and birds as they build their cells and nests to receive their eggs when laid. I would call attention to the fact that food is stored up in the egg or cell for the young be- fore and after it is hatched. I would call his attention to the fact that among the animals where the young is born alive, that the mother furnishes the young with food before it is born. If the child has witnessed the mating of the birds and domestic animals and this is explained to him in detail, the necessity for a detailed discussion of human mating will be avoided. The child could be informed that human mating is practi- cally the same. If the child is prompted by morbid curiosity, the task is a more difficult one, the ideal results are not so certain, but the above method is the only one that can be safely followed. To be able to give sex and social purity truths ef- fectively to children and youths, what qualifications should parents and teachers have? - They should have tact or skill. It is possible to approach them in such a way as to do great harm. This qualification comes to one as a result of careful study of these subjects, the 68 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION consciousness of personal responsibility and a realiza- tion of the child's need of being safeguarded by a clear knowledge of the truth. (2) They should be able to discard all words and phrases they learned from the ignorant on the street and playground. They should be able to use a chaste, simple, scientific sex vo- cabulary. (3) They should be free from all mental and moral taint. No one can tell or willingly listen to a lascivious joke and then be able to tell effectively a child of his origin, the functions of his sexual system and his temptations and dangers in connection with them. " Would it be safe for all parents and teachers to give sex information to children? ' '- It would, if all possessed the qualifications mentioned. A thief is not the proper person to teach honesty to a child. A liar is not the proper person to teach truth. A tobacco- using father is not the one to teach his boy not to use cigarettes. A swearing man is not qualified to teach his boy not to swear. Occasionally a child is saved from one or more of these vices by becoming utterly disgusted with the vice in his father. The child is an imitator. The child is quick to detect the difference between teaching and practice. One must practice what he teaches, if he expects his child or pupil to ac- cept and follow his teaching. If parents and teachers do not possess these qual- GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 69 ifications, what should they do?- It is their duty to prepare themselves for this service. Under present social conditions, they are not cpialified to be at the head of a family, or to teach children unless they have these qualifications. Those who have these responsi- bilities upon them and feel that they cannot at present effectively perform these duties can secure the serv- ices of others or they can place in the hands of a child or youth a safe and interesting book containing what the child needs to know. If a child is told these delicate truths will he not tell other children about them? - That will depend upon the nature of the child, the way he has been trained and the tact used in telling the story of life. Some children have inherited a gossipy nature and some have been unfortunately trained. They would. But most children would not seek to inform other children; they would not seek this information from the vicious when they know they could obtain the truth from parents and teachers. SECOND DIVISION GIRLHOOD CHAPTER VII A TALK TO MOTHERS Similar information needed by the boy and girl. - Thus far the author has dealt with the best methods of telling the story of life to a child. These stories can be as effectively and appropriately given by one parent as by the other. Where children develop early or where they are very inquisitive, it would be well to begin earlier and tell the stories faster than you would to the other class of children. Boys and girls are neuter as to gender until they are ten and eleven years old. The information given to one may be given to the other. Carefully ascertain if your child is perfectly normal in his or her sexual organs. This is too vital to be neglected. A simple operation per- formed on a boy or girl when only a few days, weeks, months, or years old would often save a child from a life of impure thoughts and vicious habits. How to satisfy morbid curiosity.- Every possi- 70 A Gift From Heaven. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 71 ble means should be used to keep small boys and girls from acquiring and cultivating morbid curiosity about the sexual organs of each other. This is not accom- plished by telling them that the difference between a boy and girl is that one wears trousers and the other dresses. This can be prevented or overcome by hav- ing small boys and girls in the home both together under the mother's watchful care. While bathing or dressing the baby, the older boys or girls may be per- mitted to view and admire baby's body. In one of these ways the mother can in a perfectly natural and modest way make it possible for the children to observe the difference between boys and girls. Most likely one will ask some question pertaining to this difference. The mother can then explain that the organs of sex make the difference between boys and girls; that these organs of the boy will cause him to grow up to be a man and these organs of a girl will cause her to grow up to be a woman. The earlier in life the boy and girl becomes acquainted with this difference, the less of morbid curiosity they will develop. The boy of ten.- When the boy reaches the tenth year he begins to look upon life from the masculine point of view and his father is his natural teacher. If the father is dead or careless the mother should see that her boy is given such information as his de- veloping boyhood and manhood demands. The in- 72 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION formed mother could do this herself, other mothers could have the family physician give her boy talks or she can secure suitable books that will furnish him this information. The mother should be careful to purchase for her boy only such books as are per- fectly chaste, accurate and adapted to his age. The girl of ten.- When the girl reaches her tenth and eleventh year she begins to look upon life from the feminine point of view and her mother becomes her natural teacher. But if mother is dead or in- different the father should see that his daughter re- ceives from himself, a lady doctor, or buy for her a good and appropriate book containing what her devel- oping girlhood and womanhood demands. Advantages of beginning early.- There are sev- eral advantages in beginning this instruction early; your child's first impression regarding the organs of sex will be that they are pure and sacred, you retain your child's confidence, and your child will feel free to come to you for future instruction. If you do not begin early your children get this information from the vicious and ignorant youths, their mind and hearts will be filled with impurity, you lose their con- fidence and they may reach a condition where they will not allow you or anyone else to advise them on these matters. Wise instruction needed.- When a girl is eleven GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 73 she has reached an age where her approaching woman- hood demands other lines of sex instruction. The study of social questions has made rapid progress in the last ten years. There are few sincere, thoughtful parents who do not recognize the need of wise in- struction in these matters for children. Wise mothers are asking, What, When and How Shall the Truth be Told? A talk on the dawning of womanhood.- The mother should give her daughter instruction concern- ing her approaching adolescence. This should be given before the courses start. This change usually occurs when the girl is from twelve to fourteen. In girls of precocious development, this change may oc- cur in the eleventh year. Many mothers say nothing to their daughters about this period of life. This is a very great mistake. When it occurs in the life of the uninformed girl, she is often greatly frightened and resorts to some injurious device, such as cold water, to stop the work of nature. Through doctors, husbands and wives I have found that many women owe their poor health to mothers who failed to give this natural and vital information. The female form.- In this talk the mother should inform her daughter about her organs of sex, their God-given functions and the meaning of the change that is likely to come to her at any time. Don't inti- 74 GUIDE TO .SEX INSTRUCTION mate that she has organs to be ashamed of, but teach her that these organs form the sacred sanctuary which will one day enable her to become the sweetest and holiest of God's creatures - a pure, happy mother. Ask her to notify you of the first signs of this change and promise to give her another talk about how to care for herself at the time. Be a companion to the daughter.- A true mother will be her daughter's best " chum " cultivating the most intimate confidence and companionship. If you will do this, your daughter will be free to come to you for information and advice pertaining to her sex problems and you will rarely have to say to her, " Thou shalt not." A confidential talk.- By the time the girl is twelve the mother should have a confidential talk with her about the secret vice. While girls are not so likely to be taught or to discover this vice, and are not likely to practice it to the extent of boys, yet authorities claim that one-third of the females prac- tice the secret sin at some time in life and to some extent. It is claimed by some authorities that more women, than men, are in the asylum because of this vice. This is because their nervous system is so much more delicate than is the case in men. In schools and sometimes among servants in the home may be found a sex-pervert who will take a fiendish delight GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 75 in teaching this vice to a little girl. Mothers cannot be too cautious about these dangers. A real transition.- Few mothers begin to compre- hend the mental phases that attend the dawning of womanhood. The building of the new sex life means a real transition from one distinct period of life to another, from the experiences of girlhood to woman- hood. For the first four years of adolescence there is a constant clash in her mind between the feeling of the girl that was and the woman that is to be. This is caused by the creation of a new life, the sex life, whose immediate functions is to change her from girlhood to womanhood. This new life is stimulating rapid growth and changes in many organs of the body, awakening the social nature, quickening every faculty of the mind and giving new impulses to the moral nature. No wonder that the girl does not always understand herself. The mother needs to be tact and wisdom combined, if she is to understand her daugh- ter and assist her in giving proper direction to this new life. Inform your daughter that these strange experiences are due to the changes that are taking place in her body and mind; that she will often have tendencies to be peevish, irritable, cry and take offense, to be sentimental and self-conscious. Remind her that you have not forgotten the experiences of your girlhood, that you are sympathetic, that you are in- 76 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION terested in helping her overcome all wrong tenden- cies and that you will gladly aid her all you can in the direction of this new life to the development of charm- ing, ideal womanhood. Important advice to mothers.- Gradually every- thing pertaining to her womanhood should be told her. Instill into her mind slowly and cautiously the beauties of wifehood and the sacredness of motherhood and teach her that these glorious honors in their perfec- tion come only to those who know themselves, think pure thoughts and live pure lives. Don't tease little girls about sweethearts. Don't rush them into soci- ety. Allow them to remain innocent, playful girls as long as possible. When fourteen or fifteen, tactfully impress upon her mind that unkissed lips will be the most queenly gift that she can offer her king at the marriage altar; that virginity of mind and body will be appreciated by him as of more value than the most costly jewels. Teach her to demand a white life of her male friends and admirers, and, to demand as pure a life of her coming prince as he will demand of her. NO ONE HAD TOLD HER. She was just in the bloom of life's morning; She was happy, and free, and fair; And a glance in her bright eyes would tell you Of nothing but innocence there. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 77 She was waiting for some one to tell her, As she stood with reluctant feet, On the banks of the wonderful river Where childhood and womanhood meet. She waited, but still no one told her The secret of life so sublime ; And she held not the safeguard of knowledge In life's beautiful morning time. The flower so sweetly unfolding Was crushed by a rough hand one day, And the jewel, so sacred, so precious, Was stolen and taken away.- Selected. CHAPTER VIII MOTHER'S FIRST TALK - THE FEMALE FORM You have been told God's plans in bringing all the little fish, plants, birds, animals and human babies into the world. You have enjoyed all these stories. We have not gone into detail in these talks. When you are older, if you desire you can study the laws of life more thoroughly. We have tried to satisfy your in- quiring mind and lead you to see that God's laws of increasing life are pure and sacred. All these years you have been a little girl. You have been growing larger and wiser all the time. You have worn short dresses, loved your dolls, played with little boys and girls; you have been innocent, free from care, jolly and happy. You will be a girl for several years to come. You should not be in a hurry to get away from the joys, pleasures, and ways of girlhood. However, God has not planned for you to be a girl always. He has wisely planned for you to grow and change in body and mind, from a girl into a woman, that you may some day be a mother. A review.- In previous talks we found that every 78 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 79 little baby plant and animal had a father and a mother. We found that the pollen produced by the small organs of the flower had to unite with the seed formed by the mother organs, before a little plant could come into the world. We found among the animals that little eggs were formed by organs in the mother's body, called ovaries, just as seed are formed by ovaries in the flowers. We also found that these little eggs formed by the mother organs could not become baby animals without the union of a life-giv- ing substance from the father animals. In the higher animals, where the mother nurses her young with milk formed by the mother's breasts, we find many resemblances to the lower animals, with some very interesting additions to the reproductive organs. Among some of the lower animals, such, for exam- ple, as mussels and fish, no provision is made to nour- ish and feed their young; some, such as the bee, store up food in cells; while still others, such as the bird, provide food for the young for some days after they are hatched. Mothers of the higher animals and man.- In the higher animals, the mother supplies her young with food for weeks or months after they are born, by means of organs called breasts or udders. These organs are not found among the lower animals. They are vitally associated with, and therefore a part of, 80 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION the female organs of sex of the higher animals and man. How mothers in the lower and higher forms of life differ.- Among the higher animals, the eggs are formed by ovaries, just as -in the case of plants and the lower animals. Here we find another important addition to the female organs of sex. As soon as the egg is formed by the ovary it passes, by means of a duct called the fallopian tube, into a pear-shaped ves- sel called the uterus, or womb. Here, if the egg is fertilized by the male substance, it becomes attached to the wall of the womb. At this point of the womb, a cord is formed, containing a vein and artery, called the placenta. The placenta connects with the body of the young at a point called the navel. The form- ing young receives its air, food, and life through the cord from the mother's blood. There is a very close resemblance between the crea- tive organs and their functions in the higher animals and man. We could not become fathers and mothers without these special organs of sex. The essential female organs of sex.- These con- sist of ovaries, oviducts, womb, vagina and breasts. All these organs, except the breasts, are on the inside of the body -in the lower part of the abdomen. In a mature woman the (i) ovaries, two in number, are small almond-shaped glands just below the navel GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 81 and are four or five inches apart, one located in the left side of the body and the other in the right. The ovaries are enveloped in a broad, thin, strong mem- brane and connect with the upper part of the (2) womb by slender cords called (3) oviducts. Location and function of the ovaries.- There takes place in every girl, when she is from twelve to fifteen, a remarkable change, called puberty, or ado- lescence. From this time on, until she is forty to forty-five years old, there will be formed in one of the ovaries every four weeks a tiny egg, or ovum. The ovum is less than 7^20 of an inch in diameter. When this little egg breaks through the membrane of the ovary, it would drop down into the cavity of 82 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION the body were it not for a most wonderful provision. The oviducts, or, as they are often called, the fallopian tubes, are ducts connected with the upper part of the womb, are three inches in length and have finger-like ends. When the little egg breaks through the mem- brane of the ovary, the little fingers of the oviducts close about the ovary and receive the little egg which then enters the tiny mouth of the oviduct and is con- veyed through its small cavity to the womb. The location and function of the womb and vagina.- The womb, or uterus, is located midway between the ovaries on the right and left, and between the bladder in front and the rectum behind. The ovaries and the womb are supported near the center of the abdomen by means of cords and muscles stretched across from the walls of the abdomen. The womb is a pear-shaped muscular organ with the small end pointing downward, and in a matured woman is three inches in length, two inches in width and with walls one-half inch thick. The cavity of the womb is small and has three open- ings, two near the top leading into the oviducts and one at the bottom opening into the (4) vagina. It will be seen from the cut that the lower end of the womb dips into the upper end of the vagina about one inch. This part of the womb is called the (5) os uteri, or mouth of the womb. The vagina in a grown GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 83 woman is from four to six inches in length, of firm but very elastic tissue. It aids in holding the womb in position, serves as a passageway for the menstrual fluid to pass from the body, and has other purposes that will be mentioned in another chapter. The breasts.-'The form and position of the (6) breasts, or mammary glands, being known to you, it is not necessary for me to describe them here. Through the nerves they are closely related to the other sexual organs. With the approach of puberty they make considerable growth. However, it is not common for a girl's breasts to develop to any consid- erable size before she is married. When she becomes a mother, the hundreds of tiny glands in her breasts form milk from her blood with which to nourish her child. The creative energy.- From the dawning of puberty, all through life, day and night, asleep and awake, the breasts and other sexual organs are gen- erating an energy that is being distributed throughout her entire being. It is this energy that helps to de- velop the girl into perfect womanhood. If the breasts and ovaries of a small girl could be painlessly and skillfully removed without injury to any part of her body, she would not develop into perfect woman- hood in other respects. This experiment proves that these organs are secreting an energy that is necessary 84 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION in developing and maintaining an ideal woman- hood. Information concerning the external organs.- The word vulva is the name of the lower external female organs of sex. It is composed of the follow- ing parts: (i) The labia majora are the outer and larger lips or folds; (2) The labia minora are the smaller and more concealed lips; (3) The mons Ve- neris is the prominent eminence formed by fatty tis- sue situated just in front and above the labia majora; (4) The hymen is a very thin membrane which partly closes the opening to the vagina; (5) The clitoris is a small organ of an erectile structure and is the site of passion in the female. This organ is situated near the upper and front part of the opening into the vagina and between the folds of the labia minora. Connected with this organ is a small tough membrane or ligament called the frenum which corresponds to the frenulum of the male. Sometimes, though rarely, this is short and tight or broad and hooded. When this is the case the parts become irritated at times causing sex consciousness and passion; and when it does the girl will rub or scratch these organs. If she does this often she will become conscious of a sense of pleasure. She will then handle the organs for the purpose of producing this pleasure. In this way a girl will learn a vicious habit, the nature and effects GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 85 of which we will study in another talk. While only a few girls have this trouble, it is very necessary that the causes be removed. Should you find yourself fre- quently rubbing these organs you should speak to mamma about it. Confidential advice.- In the mucous membrane of these external organs of sex are thousands of little glands that secrete a foul, filthy substance called smegma. If this is not removed frequently with a damp cloth, it will irritate these organs and produce an offensive odor. If you should discover that you are frequently scratching those organs, or have an unnatural feeling, you should consult your mamma for advice. Your health, happiness, life and character are, to a consid- erable extent, based on these organs' being natural and normal. CHAPTER IX MOTHER'S SECOND TALK DAWNING OF WOMANHOOD An interesting change in a girl's life.- In the previous talk, we found that God has planned for a most interesting change to take place in a girl's life. This change from girlhood to womanhood, called pu- berty, and covering a period of eight years, is brought about by certain changes in the sexual organs. At birth these organs are inactive and remain so until the girl, in this climate, is thirteen or fourteen years of age. In the Southern states it occurs a year sooner. In Central America, puberty comes when the girl is ten and eleven. In Canada this change comes a year later than here. Thus we see that climatic conditions either hasten or retard this change. In climates where pu- berty is delayed to the fourteenth and fifteenth years, girls are healthier, more energetic and live longer than in warm climates. This would indicate that the longer puberty is delayed in a girl's life, if she is otherwise healthy, the better for her. If the girl keeps company with wild girls, enjoys obscene jokes, reads cheap novels, entertains impure thoughts or handles her 86 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 87 sexual organs, she may cause puberty to come on six months sooner than it naturally would come - a mis- fortune indeed for her. In a few girls, especially those who develop rapidly, puberty may occur in the eleventh year. Signs of puberty.- During this period of puberty, or adolescence, which usually lasts for eight years, she is changing from a girl to a woman. This is one of the most important events in a girl's life. The ap- proach of this period is usually heralded by an uneasy feeling in the small of the back, heaviness about the ovaries, sometimes by headaches and possibly by pains in other parts of the body. One of the ovaries has formed a little egg or ovum. A flow of mucus tinged with blood, formed by the mucous membrane of the womb, passes from the body by way of the vagina. This usually lasts about four days. Meanwhile the ovum is conveyed by the fallopian tube to the womb where, after the flow has ceased, it remains several days, before passing from the body by way of the vagina. Menstruation.- The discharge is called the men- strual fluid. If the girl is healthy, this will occur once each lunar month, or every twenty-eight days. It is for this reason that the flow is called menstruation. This word comes from the Latin word " mensis," meaning a month. This monthly experience is known 88 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION by several names, " Menses," " periods," " courses," and "unwell." The doctors use the term " Menses," and this is doubtless the best one to use. How made regular and painless.- When a girl has good health, does not expose herself so as to take colds, dresses so as not to compress her body and push these organs out of their proper place, takes plenty of outdoor exercise, keeps her mind pure and free from ugly thoughts, and does not abuse her sexual organs, she will be regular in her menses and will feel but little inconvenience or pain. Experience shows that just in proportion as a girl fails to follow the rules I have just stated, will her menses be irregular and painful. Physical, mental and moral changes.- It will be noticed in the first stages of puberty that the limbs are growing larger and more shapely, the shoulders are growing backward and downward, the chest is ex- panding, the breasts are enlarging, the skin is becoming more delicate and rosy, the hips are growing broader, the hair is growing thicker, longer and more glossy, and the voice is developing richer tones. With all these physical changes that are taking place, the men- tal and moral natures are changing as well. The girl will now take a keener interest in society, and in mental and moral matters. These changes show that the de- veloping sex life is making a woman of the girl. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 89 The charms of womanhood.- This new life is making her attractive, lovable, sociable, brilliant and attractive. This new life adds very much to the nat- ural charms of a girl, making the naturally beautiful girl more beautiful and the homely girl more attrac- tive. The girl with a " doll face," and weak in her sexual nature, will not be as attractive as the more homely girl whose normal sexual life has given her these personal charms of a healthy, strong woman- hood. When you see or feel the first signs of this change, consult your mamma, and she will give you directions and advice about how to care for your person during the menses. This is a perfectly natural experience that all girls have. It indicates that the special organs are developing and preparing for motherhood. Men- struation is not a disease; it is a natural function. Girls should be proud of this new accession to their girlhood. Health, happiness, and beauty of woman- hood and the sacred function of motherhood, which will one day declare them the sweetest and holiest of God's creatures are vitally related to this function. Girls with perfect health, who are usefully and hap- pily employed, who entertain no base ideas of this function and who pay no special attention to it, expe- rience little or no pain and little flow. Meaning of menstruation.- Ovulation and men- 90 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION struation usually occur about the same time. Ovulation consists in the formation of an ovum or egg by one of the ovaries once a month. Without the formation of the ovum motherhood would not be possible. Men- struation consists of a flow of bloody mucus formed by the velvety lining of the womb. This has the ef- fect of purifying a woman's blood and preparing the womb to receive the ovum. After this change first takes place several years will be required before she is old enough to marry and raise a family. Until she is married, the ovum each month lingers in the womb a few days and then passes out. When she is married, if she and her husband are strong and healthy, at the close of some menstrual period a cell from the hus- band will unite with one of these little eggs, which will become attached to the velvety walls of the womb, the door to the womb will close, and this beginning life will grow for two hundred and eighty days, when the door of the womb will open and a little baby will be born into the home. CHAPTER X mother's THIRD TALK CHOOSING A CHUM Early Adolescence.- You are now entering upon that period of a girl's life known as the adolescence period. You are now passing from girlhood to wom- anhood. This period will be about seven to eight years long. The first four years will be the most im- portant years of your life. This is true for many reasons. During this period you will be largely a girl and partly a woman. The mind of the girl that was and the woman that you will be, will occasionally cause you to have confusing experiences. You will have many new and strange feelings, emotions, impulses. During these years you will need the advice of those older than yourself. New social desires.- One of the new experiences you will have, will be the desire for social privileges. You will want a little girl chum. This is perfectly natural. God has given you a social nature. You should cultivate your social gifts. This will enlarge your happiness and usefulness. Why a girl wants a chum.- The reason small girls desire chums is because the new sex life stimu- 91 92 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION lates and awakens the social nature. This is a period in a girl's life when she is especially interested in things romantic and sensational. Girls naturally choose their special chums, and it is so easy for them to engage in conversation that they would not want their mothers to hear. This sensational friendship might lead to exaggeration, disobedience, and the se- cret meetings with other girls or boys. It is not hard for a mother to see how her daughter might become thoughtless, rash, indiscreet and be overtaken in some very great wrong. A girl needs two chums.- In this period of life little girls need two chums, her mother and a girl friend. She will often need her mother's advice in the choice of a girl chum. Choosing the right chum.- If you wish to have one or more girl friends, you should exercise great care in your choice. If you find a girl inclined to ex- aggeration, to use by-words, to use improper language while talking about her boy friends, to desire secret meetings with boys, however attractive she may be, you should not be chummy with her. To form inti- mate friendship with such girls would be a great risk. You will find it safest always to be chaste, sincere and dignified in conversation, even with a girl chum. This does not mean that you should not have innocent fun. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 93 The wise girl.- The wise girl will take her mother into her confidence and ask for advice in the choice of her chum. Mamma will always appreciate the op- portunity to be to you a chum, a friend, a companion and a mother. CHAPTER XI MOTHER'S FOURTH TALK CONFIDENTIAL ADVICE Organs of sex can be abused.- In other talks we learned the names, position and functions of the dif- ferent parts of the female form. In this lesson we will study one of the abuses of the organs, and the ef- fects. In childhood, youth and middle and old age the organs of sex may be abused in several ways. If girls knew their delicate nature and their sacred mis- sion, I am sure they would never abuse these organs. The more delicate and sacred an organ is, the more serious will be the penalty following its abuse. The abuse of these most delicate organs of the body results in poor health, poor development, much suffering, and should the victims marry, their children would be puny, sickly and short-lived. The bearing of strong, healthy, beautiful, playful children is woman's high- est mission. It is for this reason that girls should understand the nature and functions of these organs and the results of abusing them. The secret sin - how learned.- The special abuse we shall consider at this time is one that small 94 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 95 girls are liable to learn or to have taught them by com- panions or servants. This habit has several names. It is called the " secret sin," or " secret vice," for the reason that every organ of the body, faculty of the mind and power of the soul is abused by it; " self-pol- lution," because it is filthy; or " masturbation," which comes from two words meaning the abuse of the body with the hand. This abuse consists in rubbing or handling the sexual organs so as to excite them and bring on a feeling of pleasure. Usually this vice is taught a girl by some companion. If a girl does not keep these parts clean, they become irritated and she will be disposed to rub or scratch them. In this way she would likely awaken a sense of pleasure and finally discover the vice. It sometimes occurs, not often, that a small ligament or membrane, called the frenum, is too short or broad, and this causes irritation and leads a girl to discover the secret vice. If you should find yourself inclined to rub those parts often, you should mention it to mamma. A girl may, by pressing this part of her body against some object, or by sit- ting with her feet underneath her, with the sole or heel of a shoe pressing or rubbing against these or- gans, discover this vice. What you should not do.- From these illustra- tions you will learn that you should never handle or rub these organs except to wash and keep them clean. 96 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION When you study these organs with a view to under- standing them, or when you think of their sacred functions, these mental relations to these organs never do them harm. But when you entertain thoughts about them that you would not be willing to express to your mother; when you read an immoral book, look upon an obscene picture or engage in improper con- versation about these organs, then these mental states cause the blood to rush to these organs and sex con- sciousness and passion follow. A girl cannot keep from the secret sin if she permits her mind to engage in wrong thinking. The moral effect of the sin.-Perhaps the first ef- fect of this sin is to be seen in the moral nature. The expression in the girl's face often indicates that she is conscious of wrong doing. She will likely become irritable, peevish and disobedient. She will not take the interest in prayer, the Bible, good books and the church she once did. The mental effects.- The constant excitement of the organs of sex leads to many forms of nerve trou- ble. The mind becomes sluggish and stupid. Mem- ory fails and sometimes the poor victim becomes in- sane. This habit leads to a gloomy, despondent, discouraged state of mind. One does not longer enjoy life. Because of this mental state many commit sui- cide. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 97 The physical effects.- Perhaps the most notice- able effects of this vice are to be found in the physical system. The eyes become hollow and lusterless, com- plexion sallow, cheeks haggard, lips and ears pale, muscles soft and flabby, the breasts shrink, the bodily form is stooped and weak. Every time the life-giving blood is caused by this sin to rush in undue quantities to these organs, it returns to the heart with less of life and more impurities. Such girls will grow up to be weak, puny women and will suffer from dyspepsia, consumption and nervous troubles. If you have learned to misuse these organs, you must determine that you will never do it again. By keeping the mind pure and never abusing these organs you will develop a healthy and perfect body, a bright and cheerful mind, a charming, winning personality, and live to be useful and happy. Two letters from young women.- From a large number of letters received from young ladies who have heard the author's lectures or read his books, the following letters are added to this chapter. A big- hearted man in Canada gave 500 copies of Perfect Manhood to that number of young men. Fortunately, a young woman who was greatly in need of help, read one of these books. These letters tell the sad story of thousands, whom the author is anxious to help. 98 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION First Letter.- M-, Canada. Dear Professor: You will doubtless be surprised at receiving a letter from a young lady of twenty-seven, on a very delicate subject. Recently, I read one of your books, " Per- fect Manhood," presented by a friend to my brother. It was a great revelation to me. I wish I could have read it when I was twelve. When eleven, I was taught the secret sin by older girls. I continued the habit until I read your book. I never received one word of instruction about this vice from parents, teachers, or physicians. When twenty, I became an invalid. For one year I was placed in a hospital and treated by eminent specialists. I improved much. When I was twenty-four, my mind failed me and I was placed in a private institution. I am now very gloomy, despondent and I constantly dread a return of mental trouble. I will greatly appreciate the favor if you can give me some additional advice and help. Please help me if you can. Most sincerely, Some four times a year, for three years, I received a letter from her. For eighteen months her letters in- GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 99 dicated a hard-fought battle, small victories and a strong determination to win out. Each succeeding letter indicated greater victories. In her last letter she assured me that her womanhood had been restored and that she was entertaining a marriage proposition from a worthy and very superior young man. Professor T. W. Shannon, City. Dear Sir : I heard your lecture this afternoon and am now going to write for help and advice. First, I shall tell you the story. Like most children, I began quite early in child- hood to ask about my origin, and received answers that were falsehoods. I do not remember just what I was first told, but the replies given did not satisfy my enquiring mind. I eagerly listened to the vulgar stories of servants and schoolmates and before I was twelve years old my mind was taken up with lascivious thoughts and vulgar expressions. Two months before I was ' thirteen, I was taught how to practice that awful habit, the secret sin. I be- came a slave to it. I could not stop. In the spring after I was fourteen I was converted. Again I tried, oh so hard, to quit this habit, but I could not. My mind was filled with those ugly words and I could not expel them. This sin is still troubling me and I can't get rid of it. Oh, I would give anything if I could. 100 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION Now, I am away from home attending college, and I know that my parents (especially mamma) are wor- ried. They fear that I, being young, and, as they think, ignorant of all these things, may bring disgrace to them. Last winter a friend gave me a book entitled, " Let- ters of Love to Our Girls," but mamma and papa hid it. I asked them why they did so. I received the answer, " It is a book that no married person should read, let alone a young girl." I have a little sister nine years old. For four years she has often asked questions about the origin of ani- mals. When a colt is born or a calf, or kitten, or pigs, she always asks the same question. " Where did Dolly find her colt? Where did Lily find her calf?" etc., and they always put her off with some falsehood. Please advise me how I may be able to rid myself of this habit. Yours in earnest, I gave her the following advice: " Dear Friend: Your letter received. In reply, I am glad you had the courage to ask for advice and to state facts so frankly. Your trouble began with your false training in GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 101 childhood. If you had been taught the sacredness of the sexual organs and their functions, your mind would have been safeguarded against this vice. In- stead, you received the very opposite information. Half-truths, clothed in vulgar language, received from the ignorant and vicious, lead naturally to a morbid interest in matters of sex and consequently to a habit of lascivious thinking. Impure thinking causes the blood to rush to the sexual organs. The inflamed and gorged condition, due to this rush of blood to these parts, results in frequent experiences of sex con- sciousness and passion. This leads very naturally to the handling of the organs of sex. That you may clearly understand the relation of the mind to the secret sin, and what you must do if you would break from it, I will use the following il- lustration : Suppose that you have been at hard work for five or six hours and have had nothing to eat dur- ing the time. You now come into the presence of a well-spread table, or a basket full of luscious fruit. You must wait ten minutes for others to take their places at the table. You become quite conscious of hunger; you remember how the kinds of food taste, how you have enjoyed them before, and you are eager to begin eating. These mental states cause the blood to rush to the salivary glands. They are stimulated to unusual activity. Under these conditions the saliva 102 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION flows rapidly. Just at this moment, something unusual occurs. The blinding flash of lightning followed quickly by a deafening peal of thunder. Looking out you see some limbs falling from a nearby tree. You run to the window and for ten minutes your attention is wholly called from the thought of food. Now the saliva is flowing just fast enough to keep your mouth pleasantly moist. Excitement over, you again become interested in the food, hunger returns, you begin once more to entertain pleasant thoughts about the food, blood rushes to the mouth and the salivary glands are stimulated and the saliva is formed many times faster than when your mind was wholly engaged in the ex- citing scene a few minutes before. When you allow your mind to entertain impure thoughts and words, the blood rushes to the genital organs and they become inflamed, resulting in passion. Now your victory over this habit will come just as fast as you can learn to get control of your mind in these matters. This is not done in a day. For five or six years you have allowed your mind to entertain wrong thoughts. In this way you have brought about a con- dition in which the slightest suggestions relating to sex, any pressure or friction of clothing or irritation of parts causes the blood to rush to these organs ap- parently without your willing it. This will gradually cease as you begin to get control of your mind. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 103 There are several things that will help you. When you are tempted to entertain impure thoughts or to practice the sin, immediately engage your mind in something else. Pray, read the Bible or some good book, write a letter to mamma or some friend, per- form some duty or take a walk, anything that will take your mind from the temptation. Refuse to han- dle these organs except to keep them clean. Bathing the parts in cold water tends to allay passion. If you have in your possession any suggestive pictures or questionable literature, destroy them. Cultivate the habit of looking upon every young man as you would upon your brother or father. One of the most common effects of this habit is dis- couragement, gloominess, despondency. These men- tal states must be overcome. Constantly a firm " I will break from this habit," " I will have only pure thoughts." Don't chide and condemn yourself any more because of the errors of the past. God has mercifully and lovingly forgiven them and graciously offers to give you strength and grace with which to win the battles of the future. Hopefully, cheerfully and bravely face the future. You may occasionally meet with defeat. If so, try again. No lasting defeat can come to one who keeps on trying. Victory will crown the persistent effort. We often help ourselves by helping others. You 104 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION are only one of the many girls who have had a similar experience. The battles you are fighting in your life will enable you to be a blessing to other weak ones. If I can be of any help to you in the future, write me. If this letter helps you in any small degree to win a victory, pass the blessing on to another. " Very sincerely, " T. W. S." CHAPTER XII mother's FIFTH TALK A SMALL GIRL'S ETHICS The social nature.- You are now of an age when you will appreciate a heart to heart talk on the social relations of small girls and boys. God gave to us our social natures. It is our social nature that leads us to desire new acquaintances, to be with old friends, to be in large gatherings of people, and to have special friends. A reasonable amount of social activity is essential to our well-being. Most of our real pleas- ure in life grows out of our relation to society. Gen- uine innocent pleasure is nature's greatest tonic. In- nocent games, a big romp, a good laugh, all help to develop the body, prolong life and increase one's use- fulness. Plays, games, a good time, should form a large part of childhood. The boy's masculine nature leads him often to prefer games that require strength, endurance and daring. The girl's feminine nature leads her often to prefer games that require less of strength, endurance and danger. It is for this reason that boys enjoy games of football and baseball and girls enjoy their dolls, tennis and croquet. Boys and girls should play together.- While 105 106 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION boys prefer to play with boys much of the time and girls prefer to play with girls much of the time, yet their opposite natures lead them to enjoy being with each other in conversation and games. In most homes and communities, boys and girls are nearly equally divided as to number. This would indicate that God planned for boys and girls to be much with each other. The sex and social nature.- God has given us a sexual nature as well as a social nature. If boys and girls have not learned bad language, engaged in im- pure thoughts or formed habits of vice, they have been ing of puberty. After puberty the organs of sex are generating a sex life that results in occasional sex consciousness. This is not an injury, not a sin. If we keep our minds pure, avoid everything that would excite these organs, this new sex life will make won- derful changes in every organ of the body, faculty of the mind and power of the soul. The consciousness of sex, or what may be correctly called passion, simply means that we are in possession of creative energy. By keeping the mind pure, taking plenty of physical exercise, mental study and sympathizing with and lov- rarely conscious of their sex nature before the dawn- ing everybody, this sex life will be built into the mus- cles and brain tissue, giving strength of body, bril- liancy of mind and warmth of soul. The developing GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 107 sex life is slowly and gradually preparing them for fatherhood and motherhood. This preparation is not completed until they are matured. The girl does not mature until she is about twenty and the boy until he is about twenty-four. During the eight years of ado- lescence for the girl and ten for the boy, she is gradu- ally passing out of girlhood into womanhood and he from boyhood into manhood. During the first half of these periods, she is more girl than woman, he is more boy than man. During these early years the boy may be a manly boy and the girl a womanly girl, but they are still children. They should still play together without any thought of being sweethearts. It is natural for a girl to admire one boy more than she does another because he is gallant, kind and manly. For like reasons, it is natural for small boys to admire one girl more than another. Occasionally these little experiences of admiration take on the more serious form of love. If older people do not encourage or tease them their little spasms of love will soon disap- pear. It is best for boys and girls not to think of each other as sweethearts and lovers until they are nearer matured. The ' ' boy-struck ' ' girl and the ' ' girl-struck ' ' boy.- They range in age from ten to twenty. They excite the pity of some, the disgust of others and the love and appreciation of none. They will carry on an 108 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION insane or ridiculous conversation over the phone for an hour, or stand on the street corner and engage in the most silly nonsense. He is usually a cigarette- smoking nonentity and she a simpering, giggling, flirting, amusing imitation of what she would like to be. In the schoolroom they pass notes and receive low grades. She carries her dressing to the extreme limit of idiocy, disfiguring her body and ruining her health. As she grows older she takes lonely midnight strolls and buggy rides. It will be a miracle if the " boy-struck " girl does not fall. Even if she does not fall into disgrace, it will be difficult for her to regain her self-respect and the confidence of her neighbors. Confidential social advice.- While the associa- tion of boys and girls is natural, enjoyable, and has its blessings, it is not without its temptations and dan- gers. Passion should never be aroused. In associ- ating with boys, girls should be very careful in regard to their dress. They should not wear dresses that unnecessarily expose their breasts or limbs; they should never use a word or expression that would sug- gest wrong thoughts to their boy friends; they should never go off alone with boys; and they should never permit a boy to hold their hands, pinch their arms, play with their hair, hug or kiss them. All these things tend to arouse passion in a way and to an ex- tent exceedingly dangerous. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 109 A class of dangerous boys.- It will be well for you to remember that many boys are very wicked. Poor boys! In many cases they have not been trained to be polite, kind, and pure. They have no idea how sinful it is to use obscene language, to be immodest, and by these methods to seek to ruin the character and life of a girl. Such boys would rather ruin a girl than be president. Girls should be careful not to as- sociate with this class of boys. The true, the pure boys.- Some boys are as inno- cent and pure as most girls are. Good boys and young men who have been well trained are always kind, courteous, brave, true, and pure. Association with this class of boys is always helpful. Girlhood comes but once.- Don't be in a hurry to grow into womanhood. Be a joyful, playful, happy little girl just as long as you can. Of course you will not want to play or be with your friends all the time, or even most of the time. You will be in school much of the time. You will want to spend some time on your music, in learning how to make your clothing, how to care for the bedrooms, and how to cook. You will wish to form high ideals and gain inspiration from reading books of travel, of history, some fiction of high moral and literary tone, biographies of great and good people, the best magazines and, of course, you will not leave the Bible out of your daily reading. THIRD DIVISION BOYHOOD CHAPTER XIII A TALK TO FATHERS The importance of fatherhood.- In the past we have written, talked and sung of the duties, responsi- bilities, faithfulness, sacrifice and love of motherhood. Is there any reason why the father should have less of these sacred parental qualities than the mother? Did not God in his early revelations to his chosen people honor fatherhood as much as motherhood in his relation to the training of children? In no other way has God bestowed larger capacity, power, honor and responsibility upon man than when he made him capable of fatherhood. Fatherhood - the giving of life to another - makes man a co-worker with God in the creation of human beings. This creative rela- tion to children gives dignity, sacredness and im- measurable responsibility to fatherhood. The father is the son's natural teacher.- If a man at the head of a home is to measure up to the 110 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 111 full meaning of fatherhood, he must assume the re- sponsibility of teaching purity and sex truths to his boy, instead of leaving him to get his primary sex culture from the playground; his preparatory sex en- lightenment from the street; and his complete course of sex education from the saloon, the gambling house and the brothel, where the moral atmosphere is sat- urated with all that is vicious and polluting; where the vilest pictures are to be seen, vilest conversation is to be heard and the vilest associations are to be formed. The wise father looks after less important phases of his son's education.- If his son decides to be a farmer, he tells him all he knows about farming and sends him to an agricultural college. If he de- cides to practice medicine, he tells him all he knows about medicine and sends him to a medical college. His interest in his son would lead him to follow this plan should he choose some other calling or profession. Compared to the education, training and development of a boy in relation to the teaching of purity and sex truths, all other training pales into insignificance. The boy can just as easily become a successful farmer without a knowledge of agriculture, horticulture and stock-raising; he can as easily become a successful physician without a knowledge of medicine; he can as easily become a successful lawyer with- 112 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION out a knowledge of laws, as he can devel- ope into a pure, virile manhood without a correct knowledge of his sex nature. Since half truths are often more injurious than ignorance, and since the enfolding sex life of a boy demands information, and since he will get this information true or false, it logically follows that correct sex education is the only safe method to be followed in the complete education of the boy. The father who holds to unethical ideals.- The father who holds to or practices the double standard of morals is not qualified to teach these truths to his son. If he believes that it is a smaller sin for his son to be immoral than for his daughter; if he be- lieves in the " sex necessity lie " for his son and absolute virginity for his daughter; if he uses vulgar words or indulges in lascivious stories, he is disquali- fied for this sacred duty of a father. Recently I lectured in a town of several thousand inhabitants where the mayor boasted of taking his seventeen-year- old son to St. Louis and introducing him to an im- moral life. Such a father's influence on his own son is a withering, paralyzing, blighting curse. The sons of such beastly sires are to be pitied. The model father.- I assume that I am now ad- dressing a model father, one who, at least, desires to be a worthy example and a wise teacher and trainer GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 113 of his son. The model father should not only be pure in outward life, but he should regard the organs of sex and their functions as pure and sacred, he should possess a fair knowledge of sex and be able to use only pure language in his confidential talks with his son. I am fully aware that very few fathers have had an opportunity to hear a series of lectures or to read a good book on these lines that would help them perform this duty. The mission of this book is to aid and inspire every sincere father in his duty of supplying his son with these truths. How to proceed.- This is not a difficult problem to the young father who is fairly well informed and who has strong convictions of his duty. He can start with his son, as soon as he asks about his origin, and tell him the stories of life, six months or a year apart, and continue to give him such information as his developing boyhood and manhood demand. But to the uninformed father, out in middle life, aroused for the first time to the great need of this teaching and to his personal responsibility to his boys ranging from five to twenty years old, this is not an easy problem. In this case I would suggest that, if pos- sible, he should avail himself of hearing a good course of lectures, and buy for himself a practical and com- plete book on sex for himself and smaller books adapted to the age and sex of his children. If he 114 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION has a boy from five to eight years old, begin by telling him the story of how plants are brought into the world. If he has a boy ten to fifteen, I would advise that he put in his hands a book containing stories of life from plants to man and encourage him to read it. If there is real companionship between the father and son, a better plan would be for them to read the book to- gether and talk with each other. When this is done and a few days have passed the father should give him a book containing such information as a boy from ten to fourteen should know. And if proper compan- ionship exists, they should read this book and talk over its revelations together. When this is done the boy should be encouraged to talk over any personal prob- lem he may have. It would be well for the father to inquire of his son, if he has any irritation or soreness in his sexual organs, if the prepuce is capable of passing back and if the frenulum is too short. The boy should understand that he will be welcomed at any time to return with his problems and to ask for information. If he has a boy over fifteen he should be presented with a book that covers the problems of a young man. If there is a companionable relation between the father and his son, it would be well for them to read and talk over the revelations of this book. The son GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 115 should be encouraged to ask questions and to talk about his personal problems. When should a boy be informed of the secret sin? - In no case should this be postponed until a boy is twelve. Out of one thousand of the young men who have read " Perfect Manhood " and in that way were lead to write me about their troubles not one in twenty-five learned the habit after he was twelve, many commenced when they were eight and ten, a few when five and six, one stating that so far as he knew he was born practicing the vice. Lecturing to nearly one hundred thousand young men a year and having several thousand a year to in- terview me, in this way the conclusion from my correspondence is confirmed. When a boy is fourteen he should be given a more complete talk on the nature and effects of the secret sin. If he is found to be guilty he should be induced to break off. If his sexual desire is due to a tight prepuce, this should be treated by the family physician. If due to a tight frenulum, this requires the attention of a doctor. As a rule his sexual excitement grows out of a mind that has been filled with lascivious thoughts from some schoolmate or servant. This can be corrected by sat- isfying the boy's morbid curiosity with the truth and a faithful warning of the dangers of this vice. 116 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION Fathers should not be suspicious but watchful. - A wise father will have a frank, positive under- standing with every servant in the home and employee on the farm, or in his business, that he is not to en- courage vice by vulgar conversation, vicious practice, or by presenting the child with a vile book or showing him a lude picture. Keep an eye on the little visitors - and the big ones too. There are in circulation some most inconceivable immoral books that teach children every phase of sex perversion. I recently secured such a book and it was estimated by the school board that two hundred or more boys from twelve to sixteen had read it. Only a few months ago the president of a female college living in the girls' dormitory told me of how one of the college girls had introduced his three-year-old boy to the vice. About the same time and in the same State, an editor said to me, " Profes- sor, you don't realize the temptations to which the small Southern boy is exposed in his relation to the colored help about the home." A wise father will be on the guard from the time his boy has quit the cradle until he has passed safely through the stormy period of adolescence. A Good Argument for Pure Living I Wait for My Future. CHAPTER XIV father's FIRST TALK BOYS MAKE MEN Trees are grown-up sprouts; clogs are grown-up pups; horses are grown-up colts; and men are grown-up boys. A crooked, scarred sprout will produce an ugly, useless tree; a starved, neglected and abused pup will grow up to be a cowardly or vicious dog; a spoiled colt will make a vicious horse; boys who are not trained to work, study and be moral will grow up to be lazy, stupid and bad. A perfect tree, dog, horse must be trained.- If you want a perfect tree, one that will be straight and shapely, one that will afford perfect shade or bear large, luscious fruit, you will have to give it proper care and training while it is young. If you want to have a perfect dog, one that will be large and handsome, one rhat will do what you want him to do, you must give him good care and training while he is young. If you would have a perfect horse, one with elastic bear- ing and beautiful form, one that will be gentle, go the gaits and travel fast, you must feed, groom and train him while he is young. Boys need training.- If you would become a per- 117 118 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION feet man, you must be wisely trained and taught. A large part of this you can and must do for yourself. You must get a true idea of what it takes to make a perfect man. You must desire and purpose daily to live that life that will help you to reach your ideal. You must be willing to be trained and taught by those who are older and wiser than yourself. Boys want to be men.--All boys really want to be men. They are great imitators. They look at men and decide what man they would rather be like. What a pity that all men are not what they appear to be to the inexperienced boy. So many appear to the boy to be real men, when they are not. Boys try to follow their examples and fail. It is so easy for a boy to make a mistake in what is required of him to become a perfect man. How one boy tried to be a man.- I am quite intimately and personally acquainted with a man, who, when a boy, lived on a farm near a small town. Like all boys he longed to be a man. Some of his ideas were good and some were false. When he was about eight years old, he decided that if he could only ride a big bay horse and take a sack of corn to mill, then he would be a man. It was a happy day when he was allowed to do this. Having carefully balanced a sack of corn on the horse's back, his father placed him on the horse behind the sack and started him to the mill. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 119 That was the happiest day of his life. As he rode along the street of the village, all the boys and girls, men and women, seemed to be out on purpose to look at him. He could almost hear them saying, 11 Yonder goes to mill this morning. See what a big man he is." That boy never felt more like a man in his life than he did that morning. What do you suppose happened as he went back home? It was the saddest experience that boy ever had up to that time. His sack fell off. Then he cried like a boy. He felt like a boy. He acted like a boy. He knew that he was only a little boy. For several weeks he was willing to be only a little boy. Use of profanity.- It is perfectly natural for a boy to long to be a man. So, it was not long before that boy again wanted to be a man. This time, a boy, some three years older than he, was visiting his home. His friend was some three inches taller, twenty pounds heavier and a few grades higher in school than he. As these boys rambled over the fields, climbed trees, and played together, my little friend had to listen to a constant stream of oaths, pouring from the lips of his visitor. He had been taught that swearing was a very great sin. Had he heard a little dirty street waif, or an old bloated, swaggering drunkard swearing, it would have been disgusting. But this time, swear- ing did not sound so badly. His friend wore fine 120 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION clothes, his family had wealth and culture and this seemed to change the nature of swearing in this case. Before that day was over our little friend had decided that the only difference between him and his friend was, that his visitor could swear and he could not. He felt, that, if he could only swear, instantly he would grow six inches taller, twenty pounds heavier and a great deal smarter. He finally decided to try it. While they were walking by the back porch, he made the effort of his life and out came a big ugly oath. His heart hurt him. His conscience condemned him. He was sure that God heard him. He had dishon- ored his father and mother. He had insulted God. He wondered if his mother was not near. Glancing quickly over his shoulder, he saw his mother on the porch, and the expression on her face showed that she was much grieved. When the visitor had returned home and our little friend had danced at the end of a peach tree switch for some moments, he decided that swearing would not make a man. This was his first, last and only oath. He has never ceased to thank and love his mother for her faithful training. Almost all men and boys who swear started where he did. They thought swearing would make them taller, heavier, wealthier, and smarter. This sin has never helped a boy to become a man. If a boy can swear and be manly, his mother and sister can swear GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 121 and be perfectly ladylike. No man or boy can give a good reason why he swears. Intelligent people are supposed to understand and mean what they talk about. Idiots do not. Not one man or boy in a hundred, who swears, understands and means what he says. The words that he uses make him call upon God to send something or someone to hell. He does not under- stand or mean this. Idiots would be excusable for swearing; sensible men and boys are not. The kind of clothing a boy wears, the house he lives in, and the carriage he rides in, do not make his swearing manly. Use of tobacco.- Months went by. This boy's noble father had crossed over the river into heaven. He and his widowed mother were visiting among their relatives who lived in a rough country, many miles from their, home. One night, after making a long journey on horseback, he slept so well that he did not wake until the sun was an hour high. On arising, he found that his cousin, a boy fifteen years old, had been out in the woods and had killed a number of squirrels before breakfast. In his estimation, his cousin was a hero, a great man. Breakfast over, they rambled over a large tobacco farm. They became very chummy. At length they came to a large tobacco barn. His cousin pulled off a leaf of tobacco, rolled up a shapely cigar, lighted it 122 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION and began smoking. As our friend stood and watched those dense clouds of smoke pour from the mouth and nose of his cousin, he whispered to himself, " Now I know why you can kill a mess of squirrels before break- fast. If I could smoke, I could do the same thing." Once more he decided he would try to be a man. He selected the largest leaf that he could find. When he had finished making his first cigar, it resembled a saw log about as much as it did a first-class Havana. His cousin noticed that he could not get it into his mouth, and said, " You take my cigar and keep it going for a few minutes and I will make you one." He kept it going for a few minutes, then it kept him going for about three hours. He lost little less than ten pounds of his former weight in a hurry. He was soon so weak that he could scarcely walk back to the house. His mother and friends were greatly frightened. His cousin's face was as pale as a sheet. There was not a doctor in ten miles of the place. Many remedies were thought of and used. None did any good. Finally, his uncle's father, quite an old man, suggested that the best remedy, ever used in those parts of Ken- tucky for sick stomach, was a sweetened toddy. This boy had been taught that the use of tobacco was a great sin and that the use of whisky was a still greater sin. He had acted very much like a fool and felt like one. He understood his case better than they did. He GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 123 reasoned like this: " if whisky is worse than tobacco, the remedy they want me to take will kill me." But, he was between two fires. If he confessed what he had done, he would get a switching, and if he took the remedy they were offering, he would die. What do you suppose that boy did? He was determined to keep his secret and he did not want to die, so, for convenience, he became a Christian Scientist, denied that he was sick and got well. This was his first, last and only experience in the use of tobacco. Why boys are tempted.- Perhaps the average boy has no greater temptation than to use tobacco. He sees merchants, lawyers, doctors, occasionally a min- ister, and often his father using it. He does not see the expense side of the habit, because prosperous busi- ness men use it. He does not see the filthy side of it, because nicely dressed men use it. He does not see the injury to body and mind, for doctors use it. He does not see the wrong in the use of it, for good men use it. He does not see that thousands of children are in rags, live in rented cabins, go hungry and are de- prived of many comforts and pleasures because the father has spent $50 a year for one or two score years on tobacco. He does not quite understand that doc- tors and sometimes ministers, like other men, die of a tobacco heart. He does not desire to imitate the dirty, ragged, stupid tobacco using wag on the street 124 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION corner. He wants to be like the man dressed in broad- cloth, wearing a fine beaver hat, twirling a golden- headed cane, with sparkling diamond ring and shirt studs and smoking a twenty-five cent cigar. The cigarette habit.- The worst form of the to- bacco habit is the use of the cigarette. When a boy falls into this habit, at the age of ten to fourteen, he never develops properly in his body or mind. You will understand this statement better, when it is re- ferred to in another chapter. The boy who uses to- bacco does not progress well in his studies. This has been tested in nearly all our military and naval schools as well as in other schools and colleges. Boys who use tobacco will gradually lose respect and courtesy for ladies. It is claimed by those who have studied the effects of the cigarette habit that it causes the boy to become dishonest. It is for these reasons that many business men will not employ a boy who is guilty of this habit. There are many other wrongs that boys are tempted to engage in, that if yielded to will result in habits that prevent boys from becoming perfect men. It is hard for boys to see the injury that dishonesty and gambling, disobedience to parents and breaking the Sabbath will do for them. Some boys take pleasure in doing wrong and leading other boys to do wrong. If you keep company with them, do as they do, you will get a GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 125 wrong start in life and find it a hard struggle later in life, when you would like to be a real man. The kind of boys who make men.- Someone has said, " A dead fish can float down stream, but it takes a live one to swim up stream." Any kind of a boy can float down the stream of life, have what he calls a good time in the world, live and die and never be missed. It takes a boy with a strong, healthy body, a sound mind, a pure heart and clean life, brave, deter- mined and true to make a perfect man. You will need more than a strong will and the help of true friends, if you would resist the many temptations that are sure to come, be a perfect boy and become a per- fect man. Christ alone can purify the heart and help you to live a clean life. CHAPTER XV FATHERS SECOND TALK PERFECT BOYS MAKE PERFECT MEN Why we are given sexual organs.- You have learned God's beautiful and sacred plan of bringing into this world baby plants, fish, birds, animals and human beings. You learned from the stories of the plants and animals that God provided them with organs of sex, for the purpose of increasing their kind. When little children are born they have organs of sex. A boy's sexual organs have several important uses. They are as important to a boy as his mouth, ears, eyes or heart. They are just as pure as any other organs of his body. These organs are very sacred. It is through their proper use that men and women obey God's command to " be fruitful and multiply." Without sexual organs, new plants, animals and hu- man beings could not come into the world. They are not sinful.- We should never think of these organs as being sinful. They are not. The true names of these organs are as pure as the words baby, home, mother, Bible, heaven, angels, God, so far as a word is concerned. The true names of these 126 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 127 organs are found in the dictionary. Your sister and mother can find these words in the dictionary and just what they mean. They are placed in the dictionary because they are clean words and are a part of our language. The names of these organs are pure.- Unfor- tunately, almost all boys have received their first in- formation about sex from the vicious. Such teachers are ignorant for they do not know the true names of these organs or their true purposes. They are vicious because their teaching is largely false and they fill the minds of boys with impure thoughts and ideas. Let twenty boys write down on paper all the names of their sexual organs that they have ever learned and not less than thirty names would be found among them. Now go to the dictionary and look for these names. One out of every five cannot be found, for the reason that it is not a part of our language. The other words do not, even remotely, refer in meaning to the sexual organs. This is a sample of the ignorance of such men and boys who are always ready to tell a boy something that he is not to tell his parents. Such teaching is a very great evil. It has poisoned the minds and hearts of thousands of boys and started them on the road to ruin. It is very important that you fix the thought in your mind that these organs are as pure as any other organ in the body and that 128 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION their names are just as pure as any other word in the language. There are many reasons why we should not expose these organs or talk about them, except when it is right or necessary for us to do so. We should learn all we can about our lungs, hearts, brains and other organs of the body. When we can see these organs or pictures of them, they help to make many things plain to us that would be difficult for us to un- derstand. For this reason we have placed the cut of a boy's body in this book, showing the urinary and sex- ual organs. The urinary organs.- The urinary system con- sists of the following organs: Two (i) kidneys, only one can be shown in the cut. The kidneys are located just above the small of the back and in front of the spinal column, or backbone. The kidneys take up wa- ter, waste matter and impurities from the blood. In this way the kidneys help to keep the blood pure. This liquid mixture is called urine. The use of to- bacco and strong drink injures the kidneys, and pre- vents them from doing all the work that they need to do in order to keep the blood pure and the body healthy and strong. As fast as the kidneys form the urine it is carried by two ducts, called the (2) ureters, one leading from each kidney, and emptied into the (3) bladder. Here it is stored until we wish to dis- charge it from our bodies. The urine is discharged GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 129 from the body by a duct that leads through the ex- ternal sexual organ, and this duct is called the (4) urethra. This process of discharging the urine is called urinating. This is a perfectly natural act. There is no more sin in urinating than in shedding a tear. Because of unfortunate training, many boys think of this act as sinful. The words and expressions they have learned for this act have been associated for years with low thoughts. It is for this reason that you should cease to use those false words and expres- sions and learn to say, " I desire to urinate," or " I have urinated. The sexual organs.- Some of the sexual organs are on the outside of the body and some are on the inside of the body. Those on the outside of the body are perfectly familiar to all boys. The external organ through which the (4) urethra passes is called the (5) penis. This organ is not shown in the cut, its posi- tion being shown by the figure (5). At the end of this organ is a sheath of loose skin, called the prepuce or foreskin. In some boys the prepuce is quite long and tight. When the boys of the Jewish race are eight days old they are circumcised. This act consists in cutting off that portion of the prepuce that extends beyond the head of the penis. The act is performed with a sharp knife and causes but little pain. Ninety millions of Mohammedans practice circumcision. This 130 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION should be performed on many boys in this country when they are only a few days old. There are a num- ber of reasons for this. Underneath the folds of the prepuce are hundreds of little glands that secrete a GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 131 substance that should be removed daily with water, or a wet rag. When the prepuce will not glide back over the head of the penis, it cannot be kept clean. In such cases the secretion becomes white and hard and causes irritation. Boys in this condition will often scratch this organ. In many cases, these boys do not get along well in school, they are nervous, have fits and spasms, and this scratching often leads to a bad habit. When the prepuce of a boy will not glide back, be- comes red, sore and swollen, he should ask his father to have a doctor treat him. The doctor will know how to enlarge the opening, break up the adhesion and glide it back. Underneath the penis is a sack, called the (6) scrotum, in which are suspended two glands, called the (7) testicles. The (7) indicates where these glands would be if placed in the cut. Leading off from the (8) descending artery are two small arteries, called the (9) spermatic arteries. They carry pure blood to the testicles. Leading back from the testicles are two small veins that separate from the spermatic ar- teries and are called the (10) spermatic veins. Connected with each testicle is a duct, called the (11) vas deferens that passes up through the loins and over the bladder and becomes enlarged into a small vessel called the (12) ampulla. The ampullae open into the urethra. Near the ampullae, and be- 132 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION hind them, are two larger vessels, called the (13) seminal vessels. These vessels connect with the ure- thra by a small duct, at the point where the ampullae do. Surrounding the neck of the bladder, the lower portion of the ampullae, the seminal vessels and the deep urethra is a very important gland, called the (14) prostate gland. Connected with the urethra and only a short distance from the prostate, are two small glands, called the (15) Cowper's glands. These glands and vessels are all very tender. They are pro- tected by being placed on the inside of the body. Be- cause of bad habits connected with the organs on the outside, many men suffer much pain from diseased conditions of the organs on the inside. Puberty.- When a boy is born, he has all these organs. The testicles and the glands on the inside are inactive until he reaches the age of fourteen and a half. Until this time he has been only a boy. At about this age the glands become active and begin to slowly form from the blood a fluid called semen. This period in a boy's life is called puberty. It is at this time that he starts toward manhood. We shall find later that he will not be a perfect man until he is twen- ty-four. During these ten years he will be changing gradually into a man. There is no way by which a boy can come suddenly to manhood. Some things hasten puberty.- There are some GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 133 things that will hasten puberty. Several thousand miles South, puberty comes on a boy a few months sooner than it does here. Several thousand miles North, puberty comes later than here. Thus we see that a warm climate tends to hasten the arrival of puberty, and a cold climate will tend to retard it. This is the main reason why puberty, in the colored race, comes a few months sooner than it does in the white race. For centuries the negro lived in the hot climates of Africa. In this country he has lived largely in the South. Vulgar language, impure thoughts and the cigarette habit will tend to hasten puberty. These bad habits arouse passion and lead to the formation of semen before the body is prepared to absorb it. This leads to the habit of wasting this energy from the body. It will be noticed by you that the cigarette smoking and vulgar boys grow up to have a pale or a dark complexion and many are stunted and ugly. Using cigarettes before you are fifteen will do you more harm than to use them after that age. The nature and value of the creative life.- The wisest doctors tell us that one drop of semen is worth twenty drops of blood; one ounce is worth twenty ounces of the purest blood. If a discharge of this en- ergy were taken from the body of a healthy, strong man, twenty-five years old, and placed in a small glass test-tube and allowed to settle for ten hours, it would 134 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION divide itself into two unequal parts. The upper and smaller portion would be thin, clear and slightly oily. It would look just like joint water. The lower and larger portion would be thick and milkish in color, with many little (16) sperm cells. These cells can be seen only under the microscope. They are in the shape of a tadpole, except they are longer in propor- tion. They are very active at first, but when the fluid becomes chilled they soon die. They are formed from the blood and contain life. The condition of an unwell man.- If a discharge is removed from a man that is in poor health, a man who drinks liquor, uses much tobacco, or wastes this energy from his body, it will be found that the amount, as a rule, is much smaller, the parts reversed, sperm cells fewer in number, smaller in size, slower in move- ments, than in the discharge taken from a healthy man. This illustration shows how bad habits injure the blood and rob a man of his energy. How sex helps to change a boy into a man.- We are now able to study how this new life, this vital force, changes a perfect boy into a perfect man. We find that this energy is formed from the blood and contains life. These sperm cells contain physical, mental and soul life. This will be made plain to you, when you learn, that, when one of these sperm cells of a father unites with the cell of a mother, under GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 135 proper conditions, the result will be a child having physical, mental and soul life. A boy has physical, mental and soul life when he is born, but he has not as much as he will have when he is grown. If he grows up to be a man, he will need more of this energy and life. This is the work of the sexual glands. They form, by the help of the blood, this energy. This energy is absorbed by the body and carried by the blood to every part of his being. It is in this way that this energy helps the body to grow, and the mind and soul to develop. Two full brother colts.- The use of this fluid can be illustrated in several ways. If two brother colts grow up side by side, they will look much alike when grown. If one of them be castrated when young, he will not develop as well as the other one. The castrated horse is called a gelding. The other one is called a stallion. The stallion has a high arched neck, dilated nostrils, sparkling eyes, a heavy thick mane and tail, broad, deep hip and chest muscles and an elastic bearing. He commands the attention and admiration of all beholders. A boy can't manage him. It takes a strong man to control him. Turn him out in the field with one hundred geldings and he will rule all of them. The only difference between these horses was that one had had his testicles removed and the other had not. The gelding could not form from his 136 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION blood any of this valuable energy. This energy was formed by the stallion and absorbed by his body where it gave him perfect development, an elastic bearing, fiery eyes, strong muscles and lots of vitality. Two full brother chickens.- Take two full brother chickens, put them in the same pen, give them the same food and shelter and when they are grown they will look very much alike. Suppose that when these roosters were small one of them had been capon- ized, that is, his glands had been removed, what would have been the result? The one not caponized would grow a large red comb, ear lobes and wattles, long glossy neck and tail feathers and long, strong spurs. In the case of the other bird, his comb, ear lobes and wattles, neck and tail feathers and legs would resem- ble an old hen that had not laid an egg for months. If food is scarce, the first bird will scratch for worms and catch insects for a living; the other one will starve. If food is thrown down for the old hen and her brood of chickens, the first bird will step up and pick up a bit of the food with his beak, drop it, then step back, point his beak at the food, glance up at the old hen, look down at the chickens and cluck to them to come up and eat the food. When they are through, if some food is left, he will eat it. If not, he goes out and finds him a meal. The capon will rush up to the food, with one foot crushing the life out of a chicken and GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 137 the other crushing the life out of another chicken; he hurriedly eats the food and does not offer any to the old hen and her chickens. If an old hawk or owl comes to catch the chickens, the first bird will fight the enemy until the hen and chickens find shelter. The capon sneaks under the floor. The first bird retained his glands, formed that vital energy, absorbed it back into his body; this made him industrious, gallant and brave. The capon formed none of this energy, and he could not develop a per- fect body, be industrious, gallant and brave. Eunuchs.- Long years ago, men would select some boys that they wanted to be slaves and remove their sexual glands when they were quite young. Such boys were called eunuchs. When they were twenty- five years old they differed much from other men. They grew only a few scattering short hairs on their faces; their vocal organs never developed so as to pro- duce a deep base voice; their shoulders never became broad and square; being cowardly they were never sent to the battlefield, they did not care to own prop- erty and had no desire for an education. Now, com- pare in your mind, the manly man with the eunuch. This energy gives him his beard, square shoulders, bass voice, brilliant mind, snap and vim, push and en- terprise, bravery and attractive manliness. If you would be a perfect man.- While it is now 138 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION very rare for a boy to be made a eunuch, yet it is very common to see young men who are dull and stupid, lifeless and lazy, stunted and ugly. In most cases this is due to their having wasted this energy. From these illustrations we see that the sexual en- ergy strengthens and develops every organ of the body, faculty of the mind and power of the soul. If a boy would have a strong, healthy and perfect body, this energy must be kept in the body and built into the muscles. If he would have a strong and brilliant mind, this energy must be directed to the brain. If he would be strong in moral character, he must learn how to use it in his moral nature. In the chapter on how to live a pure life this will all be made plain to you. CHAPTER XVI father's THIRD TALK IMPERFECT BOYS BECOME IMPERFECT MEN Why some trees, kittens, calves, colts, do not be- come perfect.- In the last chapter we found how perfect boys become perfect men. In this chapter we shall find why some boys do not become perfect men. If a crooked sprout is not made straight before it gets to be a young tree, it can never entirely outgrow the defect. If it received a wound before it grew to be a young tree, nature may heal the wound but the scar will indicate a weak place when it is grown. If the wound is a deep one, decay may follow and its life greatly shortened. If a kitten, calf or colt be starved or crippled while young, they will rarely outgrow these defects. Boys may injure themselves.- There are many ways by which a boy may injure himself physically, mentally and morally and prevent perfection in his manhood. We have learned that when the mind is kept pure and no bad habits are formed, that the sex- ual life will gradually change a boy into a perfect man. Now we are to study the bad effects of wasting this 139 140 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION energy. Why are there so many men with defective bodies? When we study the lower animals in their wild state, or when the domestic animals have been well kept by their owners, we find nearly all of them to be perfect. This is due to the fact that the lower animals have not violated the laws of sex. They do not waste their sexual energy. Many defective men.- If you were to visit some of the insane asylums and look into the faces of from one to two thousand of the unfortunates, you would see some who do not possess a sign of intelligence. Many of them were born of parents who had violated these laws. Many are personally guilty and have brought on their own ruin. In the penitentiaries and hospitals we find that many are there because they have been guilty of the same wrongs. If many of these poor people had read the book you are reading, they would now be well and happy. The following story is told by an author: Robbing a vine of its life.-11 When I was only a small boy, one lovely spring morning, I stepped up to a vigorous young grapevine, at the time the sap was rising and flowing out the branches to every •bursting bud and cluster of blooms. I had watched my father bore holes in the sugar maple trees, a century old, and we would use the sap to make syrup and maple sugar. I did not know that this GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 141 really injured the old trees and that tapping them when ten or twenty years old would have very seri- ously injured them. So, with my knife, I cut a hole in the vine some two feet from the ground. At once the sap flowed as freely as from an old sugar tree. I stood by proudly and watched the sap flow out. Soon a puddle of sap had formed at the foot of the vine and the ground became damp all around. An hour passed and still the sap flowed. I became frightened. I won- dered whether, at that rate, the vine would not disap- pear after a while. With mud, made from the sap and soil, I tried to stop up the wound and stop the flow. Quickly the flowing sap dissolved the mud and washed it down. After repeated failures, I ran to the house and got some rags and strings and tried to stop the flow, but soon the rags would get damp and the sap flowed as before. " I decided to leave the vine to its own fate. The 4 next morning I ventured out to see what had occurred. The vine looked as it did the day before. I found that kind nature had formed a reddish substance and had filled the wound and stopped the flow. That day I cut another hole in the vine. Again the sap flowed but not so freely as the day before. Day after day I repeated this for ten days. Will you be surprised when I tell you that the buds never matured into full size leaves, the clusters of blooms never matured into 142 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION large clusters of grapes, and that the vine did not live many years? I had robbed the vine of its very life." Some boys and men sap their life.- Now there is an act that is performed by many boys and men by which they waste the vital fluid from their bodies. This act soon becomes a habit. It has the same effect upon them that we found in the vine. Instead of their eyes glowing with luster, they become dull and sunken. Instead of their cheeks having the rosy look of youth and health the face becomes pale. Instead of offering a hearty warm handshake, it is lifeless and cold. In- stead of muscles being hard and elastic, they are soft and weak. Instead of bright, alert minds, they are dull and listless. Instead of an elastic bearing and a straightforward step, there are the languid movements and the swaggering walk. Boys do not know that it will hurt them.- Very early in life some boys learn to handle the sexual organs so as to produce a sense of pleasure. Not one in a hundred has been told that this habit will injure him. They have an idea that this will make them men. You will some day, if you have not already, hear boys boasting of committing this sin; or they will want to teach it to you. These poor ignorant fel- lows have not been taught that it is wrong and will injure them. They are to be pitied. They need a friend that will take them off, one at a time, and have GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 143 a friendly talk with them. You may some time have a chance to give such advice. Where a boy will not take your advice, it is not safe to make him your com- panion. The habit is often commenced early.- Many boys begin this habit before they are twelve, some- times as early as five and six. They have watched young men and boys older than themselves. They do not know that the glands do not begin the secretion of this energy until after they are fourteen to fifteen. They try to follow the example of older boys. While there is no waste of sexual material, it injures the nerves and pollutes the mind and starts a habit that, unless stopped in the early teens, will be hard to break off from later. Usually when a boy gets to be four- teen his conscience begins to tell him that the habit is wrong. Fortunately, many boys quit at this age, some check themselves, others go recklessly on to their cer- tain ruin. When a boy breaks from the habit at four- teen or fifteen, this new energy soon overcomes the bad effects of the habit. If he continues until he is a young man, eighteen or twenty, he will have a harder struggle to break from the habit, and it will require a longer period for nature to overcome the bad effects of the habit. Boys who go on through life practicing the habit never amount to much and in many cases shorten their lives. 144 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION How to keep from the habit.- I hope you have never formed the habit. It is not necessary to do so. It is far wiser never to commit the sin. If you will keep your hands off your sexual organs, refuse to let your mind entertain impure thoughts, your lips to speak vulgar words, your ears to listen to obscene stories, your eyes to look upon impure pictures, you can master your passions, be pure and clean. Some effects of the habit.- Some of the effects of this sin are as follows: It injures the morals. The victim will take on a guilty look; may become irritable and cross; may avoid good company and seek the vile; may quit reading the Bible and going to church. This is one class. They are called bad boys. There is another class that are affected differently and would usually be called good boys. They are very modest, retiring fellows, rather shy of girls and would be shocked at immodest language. As the habit fastens itself more firmly, they become more sensitive, stay more alone, the presence of girls be- comes more embarrassing to them, they become quite suspicious and feel that everybody knows of their guilt. In both of these cases, if the habit is continued, it will get the mastery of them and will be very difficult to quit. The latter class will feel gloomy and discour- aged. They feel that everything is going wrong and that everybody is against them. This is due to the GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 145 effect of the sin upon their nervous system. It is hard for them to dismiss this idea. This state of mind will unfit them for business of any kind. Unless they break from the sin and dismiss these gloomy feelings, they can't hope to succeed. It injures the mind and morals.- The boy who practices the secret sin will one day find that he is fall- ing back in his classes. His memory is not as good as it once was. He cannot solve problems as easily as he once could. If a kind-hearted, wealthy man should offer to put all the young men in a town of ten thousand people through college and meet all their expenses, on the conditions that they study hard and stand their examinations, not half of them would ac- cept his kindness. Why ? They have wasted this energy and are without ambition. The young men who have been wise enough to live pure lives, have so much manly ambition that poverty will not keep them from graduating. Many young men who die from consumption when from eighteen to thirty years old are victims of this sin. In a few cases the sin leads to epilepsy or in- sanity. It injures the sexual organs.- The sexual organs become soft and flabby, when this sin is practiced much. Sometimes they do not develop properly. The most common effect of the habit is varicocele. 146 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION This often occurs at the age of eighteen. The blood vessels in the scrotum become gorged with impure blood and feel like a mass of tangled cords. There will be felt a very unpleasant dragging pain in these cords and the left gland. Soon the left gland will waste away until it is no larger than in a small boy. Sometimes both glands become affected. Passion aroused by the mind and handling the organs, even when the habit is not practiced, will cause this disease. There are other bad effects that do not occur until the boy is a man and it is not necessary to mention them here. You have learned enough for you to know that boys should not form the habit, and, if they have, they should break away from the habit at once. How to quit the habit.- Where a boy has com- menced the habit and desires to quit, there are some things he should know and do. The feeling of sexual desire, called passion, is caused almost entirely by the mind. As long as a boy can keep his mind on some- thing else, he will not have these desires. He will need to avoid those things that lead the mind to think about these organs. Handling and looking at the or- gans direct the mind to them. Looking at the pic- tures of partly dressed girls, reading obscene books, talking vulgarly or entertaining impure thoughts will all cause passion. All these things must be carefully avoided. You can bring your will into play and be- GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 147 come able to say and mean it, " I will never again com- mit the act." But, best of all, God can help you and offers to do so. Go often to Him in prayer. Ask Him to purify your mind and heart and give you strength to live a pure life. Ask Him to help you to keep all His laws, to be a Christian and to become a perfect man. CHAPTER XVII father's FOURTH TALK HOW TO LIVE A PURE LIFE The adolescent period.- The first distinct period of a boy's life is his boyhood. This closes when puberty dawns. This usually occurs when he is about fourteen and a half. This is followed by a period of ten years, called adolescence. During these years he is changing from boyhood to manhood. In his feel- ings, thoughts, looks and ways, he resembles the boy he was and the man he is to be. In this mixed state, he is a problem. His whole after life is to be largely determined by this period. The most important part of this period is the first three years, from fourteen to seventeen. These three years are called puberty period. During these three years his sexual nature develops rapidly. Still he is much more a boy, during this period, than he is a man. This is the most criti- cal period of a boy's life. He is coming into posses- sion of powers that are new to him, he does not under- stand them, he is not prepared by nature to control them. He needs the advice and instruction of a wise father, teacher or book at this period of his life.' If a boy is wisely trained during these three years and 148 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 149 he follows the good advice given him, there is little danger of his going wrong in the future. A boy can live pure.- There is an idea among boys and men, that it is not best for them to live a pure life. Some of them think that doctors teach that they should gratify themselves in some way. There is not one intelligent, honorable doctor who teaches this lie. There are a few " quack " doctors, whose practice is largely among wicked men, who teach this lie. When one of these " quacks " tells a boy this, the boy tells twenty other boys and each of them whispers it to twenty more boys, and in this way many come to believe the lie. They reason like this, " If I put my arm in a sling for a year or more, I lose the use of my arm through the non-use of it. Therefore, if I do not gratify my passions, I will lose my sexual powers." To one, who does not under- stand his sexual nature, this looks like good reasoning. But it will not stand the test of a simple illustration. Here is a woman who gives birth to a child when she is twenty and nurses it perfectly at her breast. This is the first time her breasts have performed this func- tion, though they have been capable of doing so for five years. Suppose she does not become a mother again until she is forty. Again she nurses her baby as perfectly as she did the first time. But, there were nineteen years in her life, during which these glands 150 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION did not feed a child. The breasts of a woman are a part of her sexual system. These organs have a dou- ble function. One is being performed all the time, day and night; that of secreting an energy that is ab- sorbed back into her body and that adds to her strength, health and beauty. The second function is to secrete milk for her baby when she becomes a mother. The first function helps to keep her in a con- dition where the second function can be performed when she becomes a mother. The sexual organs have two functions.- Now, in the case of a boy or a man, the sexual organs have a double function. The first function is to secrete a peculiar energy that is absorbed by the body. It is this energy that makes a boy a perfect boy when he is fourteen or fifteen, that changes him from a perfect boy into a perfect man, and that keeps up his perfect manhood through life. We usually speak of a boy's sexual glands as being wholly inactive, having nothing to do until he reaches puberty. This is not true. It is true however that what we call semen is not formed by his glands until puberty. If two boys were made eunuchs, one when only a few days old and the other when puberty came, there would be quite a difference between them at the age of twenty-five. Both would be inferior men, but the second would be in many re- spects superior to the first. This can be explained GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 151 only on the ground that the glands of the second boy formed a vital energy before puberty, and it was this energy that made the difference between them. Now we see that this first function of our sexual nature is going on all the time. It is this function that keeps the sexual system in a condition, when at the proper age and under proper conditions, the man can become a father. These illustrations absolutely show that a boy, or a young man, does not have to gratify his pas- sions. A boy can live as pure a life as a girl. The effects of impure thinking.- The secret of living a pure life is in controlling the mind and know- ing how to use this energy. The mind has the power to stimulate many of the glands of the body to greater activity. For example, suppose that you have been hard at work for six hours, then you come into the presence of some fine fruit or a table spread with good things. What happens? Your mouth begins to water. What causes this? The sight of food. Not exactly. The sight of the food caused your mind to think of the food, to long for it. You remember how the different things taste. The longer you have to wait, the more your mouth waters. Now the philos- ophy of it is this, your mind is stimulating the little salivary glands in your mouth and causing them to secrete the saliva rapidly. Just now you hear some one crying, Fire! Fire! Looking through the win- 152 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION dow, you see the neighbor's building is on fire. You rush over and for one hour you try to put out the flames, save some property or someone's life. Your mind is wholly withdrawn from all thought of food. During that hour your salivary glands secrete just enough saliva to keep your mouth moist, perhaps the heat and labor left your mouth dry. Now you return home and your attention is called back to the food. Again the saliva is formed rapidly, ten or twenty times as fast as while you were fighting the fire. Now, when a boy has impure thoughts in relation to his sex- ual organs, the mind stimulates passion. If he is un- der the age of puberty, constant passion will injure his nervous system, lead him to form the secret sin and will misdirect that energy so that he will fail to be a perfect boy, when puberty dawns. After puberty dawns, impure thinking and all impure states of the mind will so stimulate the sexual glands that they will secrete more semen than the body can absorb. What cannot be absorbed will in some way be wasted from the body. It is in this way that boys become imper- fect men. Nothing that a boy can do is more impor- tant than for him to keep his mind pure. Two things will help him; a Christian life and a strong will. One is a gift; the other must be cultivated. Ways of using up this energy.- It is very im- portant for a boy or young man to know how to use GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 153 this energy. We know that if this energy is wasted, it leaves the body weak, makes the mind stupid and hurts us morally. We have learned that when this energy is retained, our physical strength is increased, our minds are more alert and our moral natures de- velop better. This shows that this energy can be directed to these parts of our being. How is this to be done? Let a boy who is conscious of sexual de- sire, tempted to practice the secret sin, take a brisk walk for three or four miles and his passion is gone. What became of it? He directed the energy to his muscles and expressed it in labor. Here is another boy with passion, he too is tempted to waste this en- ergy. He has a hard lesson in mathematics. Let him will to take his mind off sex and force it to solve those problems. In an hour or two passion is gone. What became of it? This time he directed it to his brain and it increased his mental power. Here is another boy. His body is healthy and strong, his mind is bright, but he is cold, unkind, unsympathetic and indifferent to the claims of the needy. He has passion and is tempted to waste his energy. What should he do? Let him spend an hour loving the unlovely, boosting the discouraged, speaking kind words and doing noble deeds and his passion will be gone. What became of it? He built his energy into his sentiments, feelings and moral nature. 154 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION The meaning of passion.- The consciousness of passion is the voice of nature telling you that you have an extra supply of creative energy on hand, that you can use in performing physical, mental and moral service. If this energy is wasted, it will unfit you to perform the service. It is for you to decide what use you will make of this energy. Would you prefer momentary pleasure? Then, you can find it in sexual gratification. But you should remember that pay-day comes later. Inferior manhood, disease, suffering, sorrow, regret and failure lie in the road of all who live in vice. Only perverted ideals and views of life would lead one to seek pleasure on the plane of an ani- mal. Man's highest, truest and sweetest pleasures come from the consciousness of perfect physical, men- tal and moral development. Self-management, self- control, self-government will keep us in harmony with nature and God and result in true happiness and suc- cess. For Time and Eternity. FOURTH DIVISION YOUNG WOMANHOOD CHAPTER XVIII THE REAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SEX Views of the past.- In the past, sex has been re- garded as vitally a part of our physical organism. We are now learning that sex is vitally and substantially a part of our psychic nature - physical, mental and moral life. In the male, this sex life may become chemicalized and find expression on a purely physical plane, but this is not its true or highest function. Its highest function in relation to the individual, male or female, is the creation of new life - physical, mental and moral. Its highest function in relation to society is that of reproduction. The unsexed male horse.-If the male horse be deprived of certain sexual glands when he is a year old, at maturity he will not have the sparkling eye; the high arched muscular neck; the heavy flowing mane and tail; the deep hip and chest muscles, and the elastic bearing of the stallion. 155 156 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION The caponized male bird.- If a male bird be ca- ponized, he will not grow a large comb, ear-lobes and wattles, long glossy, flowing neck and tail feath- ers, or strong sharp spurs on his legs; he will be with- out gallantry, courage and energy. The eunuch.-If a boy be made a eunuch, when he is twenty-five he will have no beard, unless it be a few short scattering hairs; his voice will be devoid of the deep bass tones of a man; his shoulders will be round and drooped like a girl's; he will be without bravery, gallantry, ambition, energy and will be very limited in mental capacity. The unsexed girl.- If the ovaries and breasts of a small girl should be removed, when she is twenty she would not have the graceful outlines of limbs, body, shoulders, neck and face; her skin would not be- come thin and fair; her cheeks would not have the ruddy glow; her eyes would not be bright and expres- sive; her hair would not be long, heavy and glossy; her voice would not be rich and tender, sympathetic and musical; she would not take a keen interest in in- tellectual, moral and social questions; she would be a woman devoid of many of the physical, mental and moral characteristics belonging to attractive, beautiful womanhood. Without these organs of sex it would not be pos- sible for a girl to develop into attractive normal worn- GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 157 anhood. Should these organs be removed after she has attained maturity, she and her friends would notice a gradual loss in her physical, mental and moral tone. The two functions of the sexual glands.- These easily recognized and well established facts show that these organs perform an involuntary and continuous function that is vitally related to the attainment and maintenance of perfect womanhood. We know that whatever interferes with this function will prevent the attainment and maintenance of these ideals. What is the nature of this function? The monthly creation of the ovum and the monthly period do not answer the question, for both represent a sacrifice. The function of becoming a mother does not explain it, for the rea- son that perfect womanhood may be attained and maintained in the single life. The explanation lies in the fact that the sexual glands of a woman, breasts and ovaries, each have two functions - a periodic and special function and a continuous involuntary func- tion. After the dawning of puberty the ovaries, once every twenty-eight days, produce an egg or ovum. This is their periodic function. Should she become a mother and nurse her child, this function of lactation would be the periodic function of the breasts. The continuous function.- Day and night, asleep and awake, both the breasts and the ovaries are gen- erating an internal secretion that is being absorbed and 158 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION used by every organ of the body, faculty of the mind and attribute of the moral nature. This continuous function, not only aids in the attainment and main- tenance of perfect womanhood, but enables her to perform perfectly the periodic functions of mother- hood and lactation. The generation, absorption, distribution and as- similation of the sex life in the development and nor- mal functions of womanhood are controlled by natural laws, but these laws may be aided or interfered with by the individual. As a result of morbid sex heredity, ignorance of sex laws and a false education, most people misdirect their sex life. When we learn to plan intelligently for the creation of children, to respect their prenatal rights, to give them a warm and loving welcome into our homes and wisely to instruct them in regard to their sex natures, the sex life will then be intelligently directed towards the development of a more perfect manhood and womanhood. The relation of the mind to the salivary glands. - It is quite important for one to understand the relation of the mind to the functions of the sexual system. The mind has the power to stimulate many of the glands of the body to unusual activity. In the presence of delicious fruit, or a table spread with tempting food, the mind stimulates the salivary glands to increased activity. The blood flows freely to the GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 159 glands and they secrete saliva many times as fast as they would when the mind is engaged in other things. If, when the saliva is being secreted so rapidly the mind should be suddenly directed to something else the unusual flow of saliva would cease. The relation of the mind to the organs of genera- tion.-• The mind can awaken, intensify, and prolong a desire for food. This causes a rush of blood to the salivary glands, stimulating them to unusual activity in the secretion of saliva. In the same way the mind can awaken, intensify and prolong sexual excitement. This causes a rush of blood to the genital glands and stimulates them to unusual activity. In the male, this results in the dissipation of the vital energy by volun- tary or involuntary discharges of the vital fluid. In the female, the internal secretions or vital energy does not become chemicalized as in the male, but is directed to wrong channels or is dissipated by radiation. There are some authors who hold that the injuries sustained by the female, due to impure habits of think- ing, the secret sin, or sexual excesses, are not caused by dissipated sexual life, but are due to the strain upon the nervous system. We have already observed that the development of the feminine physical and mental characteristics during adolescence and the maintenance of womanhood are due to the generation of an internal secretion of the genital glands. The 160 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION nerves, as well as all other organs of the body, facul- ties of the mind and powers of the soul, are injured by the dissipation of this energy. What produces impure thoughts.- Whatever leads the mind to entertain lascivious thoughts about matters of sex will cause an excess of blood to flow to the genital organs, resulting in sex consciousness and passion. The reading of novels tainted with immoral suggestions, admiring obscene pictures, engaging in the public round dance or waltz, kissing, caressing, teasing, fondling, or what modern society calls " spooning " if indulged in by the sexes, will produce these results. Self-pollution, or the secret sin, is more common among the females than was formerly be- lieved. These indulgences lead to abnormal sexual desire, weaken the will and make it possible for the girl to surrender the priceless gem of virtue. Effects of impure thinking.-The dissipation of the sex life in any one or more of these ways will slowly undermine the physical, mental and moral health. The victim loses the snap and luster of the eye, the ruddy glow of health, plumpness of features, and becomes conscious of bodily lassitude, nervous- ness, loss of mental and moral tone. Dissipation of the sex life will explain many a nervous invalid and consumptive patient. It is for you to decide.-The continuous involun- GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 161 tary function of the creative organs is to generate this creative force, this life principle. It is for you to decide what use you will make of it. If you keep your mind pure, eat only wholesome food, take plenty of exercise, breathe deeply, sleep in properly ventilated rooms, spend much time in God's out-of-doors, this creative life will vitalize the blood, give elasticity and strength to the muscles, and will express itself in physical health, strength and beauty. By keeping your mind pure, following the forgotten physical di- rections, taking plenty of mental exercise in reading books of high mental and moral tone, hearing good speakers and indulging in independent thought, this vital principle will be directed to the brain, where it will be converted into intellectual brilliancy and men- tal vigor. If you keep your mind pure and follow the physical directions given, cultivate an unselfish inter- est in the well-being of others, sympathize with the sorrowing, boost the discouraged, love the unlovely, help to bear the burdens of others, recognize your need of Christ, surrender your life to Him, this God- given creative life will be directed to the moral nature. This is Perfect Womanhood. CHAPTER XIX THE VICIOUS NOVEL The introduction.- Since you were a very small girl I have very carefully selected the stories told you and the books and papers read to you. What we read very largely determines our thoughts, words, actions and character. In the past I have told you many stories of my childhood, stories I had heard, stories found in the Bible and good books, besides reading many good books to you. During these years I have selected many simple interesting books for you to read. I made the selection for you because I knew what books were too difficult for you; what books would interest you; what books would do you good and what books would do you harm. Then you enjoyed those stories which most appealed to a child. Why girls are fond of novels.- Usually the novel craze comes on a girl when she is about fifteen years of age. This is because of certain changes that are taking place. God has made her a social being. About this time in a girl's life the developing sex nature is stimulating and awakening the social nature. Thoughts of a lover, courtship, marriage, wifehood 162 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 163 and motherhood are occasionally entertained by her. This is perfectly natural. The reason she wants to read novels is because they deal with the social ex- periences and this appeals to and satisfies her develop- ing social life. She is in a period of transition.- Wonderful changes are now taking place, not only in the delicate curves of bust and hips, in the dainty coloring and superb vitality of body, but also in the thoughts, feel- ings and emotions. At this time a girl is passing from girlhood to womanhood. It is the developing sex life that is producing all of these new changes. With this new life and new experiences come new dangers. Prior to this time there has been but little difference between her mind and that of her brother's. But, now, this new life is developing the woman in her. In this transition period, she is conscious of the girl she was and partly is, and of the woman she is to be and partly is. This is rather a mixed experience. This accounts for the girl's changeable states of mind, emotions, feelings and sentiments. If this new life is properly directed, it will contribute much to the joy, charm, and beauty of an ideal womanhood. The difference between a good novel and a bad novel.- The world is being flooded with novels, good and bad. They are very popular because they are light reading and appeal to the social nature. Their 164 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION authors write largely about courtship and marriage. Some of these books are good and some dangerously bad. A good novel is one that is high in literary and moral tone, true to life and gives one a natural and true idea of noble manhood and pure womanhood; of their social relations in courtship, marriage and par- entage. A good novel can be read by a girl to her parents or before a company of young people without embarrassment. A bad novel is one that is either highly sensational, intensely romantic, untrue to life, tainted with immorality, or in some way gives one a perverted vision of all the sacred relations of life. A novel that a girl would be ashamed to read before her parents, or a group of friends, belongs to that class of literature that should be tabooed. The effects of the vicious novel.- If the girl reads the questionable or vicious novels, fancies them, ad- mires their heroes and heroines, and in her mind con- dones their indiscretions, excuses their sins,- as the author does,- the influence cannot be otherwise than bad. Such novels must give an unnatural tone to her thoughts, feelings and sentiments. Cause and effect are always inseparably related. The outward life is the enfolding of the inner life of feelings, sentiments and emotions. This inner life is affected by what we read. If a girl delights in reading novels that con- done, excuse, or advocate a girl receiving caresses, GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 165 kisses and keeping late hours at night with a beau, she will not likely greet her prince at the marriage altar with the rare queenly gift of unkissed lips. If she de- lights to read the novels whose heroine was angelic in all things, except in the insignificant item of personal purity, she too will be in danger of lacking that same element of character when she marries, should she be so fortunate as to become a wife. If she delights in read- ing novels, whose married heroines lived " double lives," she too, one day may be guilty of imitating the heroines she worshiped. Novels which are untrue to life, tainted with im- morality, certainly account for many girls going astray, many who overtrust their lovers, and many un- congenial marriages and many divorces. The title of a novel usually indicates its contents. Novels with sen- sational titles or titles suggesting unnatural and im- moral thoughts, appealing to the morbid and baser feel- ings should be avoided. How to direct and conserve the creative life.- This new life, the sex life of a girl, if rightly retained and directed will give strength, health, beauty and per- fection of the body; alertness, strength and brilliancy of every faculty of the mind and power of the soul. The sex life is three-fold in its nature, being related to the physical, mental and soul life. It is a law of human biology that the direction of 166 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION this energy is very largely under the direction of the mind. If one desires bodily development and will take regular and systematic physical training, this energy can be built into the muscles giving them the body of an athlete. If one desires intellectual development and will regularly and systematically exercise every faculty of the mind, this energy will be directed to the brain, resulting in intellectual brilliancy. The same law ap- plies with equal force to the development of the feel- ings, sentiments and emotions of the moral nature. If we take normal physical, mental and moral exercise, this energy will be conserved in the blood, which is the life, and directed so as to produce a perfect develop- ment. Sin alone has brought conflict and inharmony into our three-fold nature and prevents perfect hap- piness and perfect development. This is an appalling- fact. We are hereditarily degenerate. God's grace and the right exercise of the will in relation to perfect self-control are necessary conditions of individual and race improvement. If lascivious thoughts are allowed control of the will, this creative life will be misdirected, the generative system will become abnormal, resulting in sexual weakness and depriving the entire being of the benefits of this energy. The relation of reading to the disposition of the sex life.- A fondness for reading highly romantic, in- tensely sensational, untrue and immoral novels is ab- GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 167 normal and lead to a misdirection of this creative life. There is the romantic element in our nature which should be developed, but it should not be over-de- veloped. We should have a balanced development. The degenerate elements in our nature, inherited or ac- quired, should be suppressed and eliminated. The vicious novel increases the creation of the sex life and at the same time misdirects it. This intensifies our degeneracy. Reading good literature, facts or fiction, or both, is normal and leads to a natural generation of and dis- tribution of this energy. Girls should read a general line of good literature. The romantic nature is espe- cially active in youth. It is for this reason that the youth is inclined to read only fiction. If in young life we would develop properly, we should choose a gen- eral line of reading, embracing some of the standard books of fiction, history, travel, poetry, biography, es- says and religion. Advice concerning books.- Every young person should possess some good books of his own, even if but few. They should read good books. Time is too valuable to be wasted in reading bad or even mediocre books. In this way they keep company with the great men and women of this day and of the past. In this way they become heirs to the intellectual and spiritual wealth of the past and are intimately associated with 168 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION and related to the mental and spiritual aristocracy of the present. They may not be recognized in their com- munity as belonging to the " upper tens," but they can keep company with the best men and women of the ages by reading good books. Just as we have read and talked together about good books and stories in the past, so I trust we shall find it pleasant and profitable to be companionable in our read- ing in the future. I will be glad to aid you in the se- lection of such books and magazines as will be pleas- ant and profitable for you to read in the near future. I will always appreciate the privilege of hearing you read a book that you like, of discussing the merits of a book with you, or of giving you the best advice that I am capable of giving with reference to any book that you may desire to read. CHAPTER XX THE PUBLIC DANCE Why attractive.- Dancing is one of the social temptations that come to young girls when they are fifteen and older. The gliding, swaying movements of the dance, the brilliantly lighted halls, the intoxicating strains of fast music, the gay and jovial throng and the display of dress appeal strongly to the feelings of young- people. Dancing in itself is not sinful or objectionable.- There is nothing intrinsically wrong in the act of dan- cing. There is nothing sinful in the act of bathing the entire body. But the act can be performed under so- cial conditions when it would not be only a sin but a crime. There could be no moral objection to the dan- cing together of young men, neither could there be any moral objection to the dancing of young ladies with each other. Individuals could dance alone, brothers and sisters and near relatives from homes of culture, refinement and good morals could dance together with- out committing a moral wrong. Or if society had re- mained satisfied with the old " Virginia reel " or the " square dance " little harm would come of it. Dan- 169 170 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION cing with these restrictions, is seldom engaged in to- day for the reason that the pleasure found in the waltz and round dance is so largely diminished. The secret of the dance's hold on society.- If modern dancing were restricted to the chaste and pure, and limited to the parlors of the best homes and safe- guarded by the presence of the heads of that home, dancing would lose much of its attractive hold upon society. If the dancing of the sexes together were pro- hibited by law and should the government provide well equipped dance halls in every village and city to be used free of charge, with the one restriction that the sexes dance separate, there would be little temptation to dance. This reveals the true secret of the public dance. Here is about the relation assumed by young people in executing the dance as we have it to-day. The young man places his right arm around the waist of the young lady; she places her head against his left shoulder, her heaving breasts are against his, her right hand is held in his left, he places his foot, sometimes his leg, be- tween hers. To this must be added, the young lady, if properly attired, must wear a sleeveless, low-necked dress exposing, in part, her secondary sexual charms, the breasts; wine, ale and beer are often indulged in freely by many of the young men and occasionally by some of the young women. The public dance a menace to society.- From GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 171 this description you will easily see that the public dance, as we have it to-day, appears to have been especially contrived, in all of its appointments, to awaken and arouse the sex nature. It is for this reason almost all truly religious people and churches condemn the public dance. In almost all communities the public dance has been relegated by the best classes of society to a lower class. There are some communities where the dance is encouraged in homes of wealth, culture and refine- ment. For a~ few years at least, they pride themselves in the fact that only the best are invited. Here, of course, the harm would be reduced to some degree. Many erring women attribute their fall in part, or en- tirely to the public dance. Many vicious young men use the dance as their most successful means of accom- plishing the ruin of young girls. When the young woman assumes for the first time the relation of the dance, her sense of womanly modesty is greatly shocked. If she continues to dance, this relation be- comes less embarrassing. If she becomes very fond of dancing, this will usually be due to her passions be- ing aroused by the magnetic, amorous influence of her partner in the dance. She will not enjoy dancing with men who fail to excite in her those agreeable feelings. She will be popular with this class of men to the extent that she is able to respond to their amorous nature. She will not fully realize that the pleasure she enjoys, 172 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION while dancing, is inseparable from her sex nature; she may never fall, but constant sexual excitement caused by the dance will produce all the evil effects of the secret sin. Other objections.- Aside from this main objection, there are a number of other objections. The flimsy dress, late hours at night, over-exertion and poorly ven- tilated halls are in violation of the simple laws of health. It fosters unfortunate social distinctions, leads many young people to violate the wishes of their parents and their church vows, keeps many from Christ, and inter- feres with the spiritual life of others. It is responsible for not a few life-long invalids, premature deaths from heart trouble and consumption, ruined marriages and cursed children with illegitimacy. It has broken the hearts, bowed the heads, carved lines of sorrow on the face and silvered the hair of loving devoted parents. Right information needed.- Few young people understand the nature of the dance. Those who have condemned it have rarely done so in the right spirit or given a satisfactory reason why the public dance is wrong. Owing to the relation of the modern dance to the Sex nature it would usually be wiser to discuss it before single sex audiences. If young people, who are interested in developing a perfect manhood and womanhood, understood how the modern dance com- plicates each other's sex problems, they would discard GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 173 the dance from their social programmes. I am sure they would arrange for other forms of diversions and entertainment. The cold-blooded facts are, few, if any, vigorous young men and women can persist long in the modern dance and maintain perfectly chaste thoughts and emotions. It is a sad thought that many young people are not interested in developing perfect manhood and perfect womanhood. They are not likely to heed the advice of this talk. By all who understand the value of the creative life, the importance of keep- ing the mind pure, this advice will be appreciated and heeded. CHAPTER XXI A YOUNG WOMAN'S ETHICS Girlhood.- We have talked with each other about a small girl's ethics, the proper social relations of girls with boys. Your girlhood has been one- of innocence, playfulness and unbounded joy. I have noticed with real pleasure that you have not been in a hurry to leave the period of girlhood. Although you will soon be seventeen, and you are quite as large as your mother, you will not be a mature woman until you are about twenty. Occasional association with young men.- You have had one or two schoolroom flirtations, of small consequence, a few times you have been escorted home from school or church by youths who had but recently reached the dignity of " long pants," but you are now of an age when you will be thrown more in company with young men. Many will call to see you whom you will entertain no thought of marrying. For several years your social relation with young men will be only that of friendship. To associate occa- sionally with young men who are socially, intellectu- 174 Friendship 176 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION ally and morally, your equal is natural, enjoyable and in many ways very helpful. Girls should demand a single standard of mor- als.- You should treat young men as you would wish young women to treat your brother. Many young men will want to call, whose habits and character are such that you cannot associate with them, without injury to your social and moral standing. If you do not know a young man's record, who seeks your com- pany, have your papa or brother look it up. Be frank, kind and positive in your explanation that you cannot encourage his attentions because of his evil habits and his bad record. Assure him that you will gladly assist him to reform and to step up to the standard you hold for a young man, but that you can- not and will not approve of his life by stepping down to his plane. If all girls would demand a " white life " of young men, fewer would sow their " wild oats." If all sensible and moral girls would frankly and kindly express their disapproval of the filthy, ex- pensive and injurious habits of using tobacco and drink, there would be fewer " boozers " and unfortu- nate appendixes to the wet end of cigarettes. Many young men are indiscreet or immoral.- In your association with young men be natural, be your- self, be frank, use good sense, guard against any indis- cretion in yourself or in young men. It is a custom GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 177 with many young men to try to hold the girl's hand, to play with her hair, to pinch her arms, to pat her cheeks, to drop carelessly their hands in her lap, or to place their arms about her neck or waist. Unless densely ignorant, such young men are vicious. All the males among the lower animals, at certain seasons, make a peculiar noise recognized by the females as a " sex call," and the males have their peculiar methods of teasing the females inviting their consent to the sexual act. Whether young people put this sex inter- pretation on pinching, caressing, hugging and kissing or not, it is, in its final analysis, a sex call. These are the methods used by the seducer. These are the in- discretions into which uninformed youths easily drift to their ruin. If a young man appears to be ignorant of the real nature of these indiscretions, he is to be pitied and helped. If he persists in these indiscretions, he should not be extended the courtesy of an invitation to make another call. If you allow one young man to kiss you, he believes that you allow others the same privilege, whether you do or not. Young men who possess one spark of manhood will admire and respect you more than the girls they may kiss. Be sensible.- In your conversation with young men, have something sensible and interesting to say. Have some charming story to read or tell them. 178 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION Have them read or tell you a story. This will enable you to help them cultivate an interest in intellectual matters. Many young people get into the habit of in- dulging in the most insane and ridiculous conversation. "Hands off.''-"Moonlight walks along unfre- quented streets or roads, night buggy rides, late hours in the parlor, low-necked dresses and suggestive post cards, photos and pictures are unnecessary sources of temptation. When young women permit these social privileges and conditions, young men naturally con- clude that they are easy victims. The clear-eyed, frank, pure, common-sense girl will have but little trouble in letting young men know her disapproval of that which is questionable, indiscreet or undignified. They will soon learn to respect her convictions. She will seldom find it necessary to enforce her ideals in an aggressive way. She will kindly, tactfully and positively enforce the rule, " hands off she will keep ever in her mind the ideal of manhood she hopes one day to realize in her king. She will never do or say anything while entertaining young men that would displease the mental image of her future prince. Letter writing.- If you should correspond with a young man, be interesting, sensible, cautious and sin- cere. You should never put in a letter to a young man, what you would object to your mother's reading. You would be surprised to know how many young men GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 179 compare their letters from young women. If you will remember this and consider the possible consequence, you will be cautious what you put in a letter. Ethics of the engaged.- Thus far we have studied the ethics of young women in their relation to young men, as friends only. Friendship may assume a more serious nature and ripen into love. Love is the strong- est and at the same time the weakest, the most fickle; the most far-sighted and the blindest; the wisest and sometimes the most foolish, of human attributes. Love should listen to the voice of reason, judgment and will. That experience, called love, that makes court- ship so delightful and beautiful, marriage desir- able and sacred, that harmonizes differences, blends personalities, and makes the two one, is the child of the sex life. When the sex life is normal, the two having lived virtuous lives, love will be pure and in- tense. If one, or both have misused their sex life, lust, the child of sensuality, may be easily mistaken for love. Harmony, happiness and heaven will reign in the home where both have been pure before marriage and remain true to each other after marriage. Where one or both break their marriage vows the bond of love is broken. The deed may never be confessed, but the estrange- ment will be felt. Lust is responsible for most un- fortunate marriages, domestic inharmonies and di- vorces. Lust on the part of one, and love on the part 180 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION of the other, can never make a happy marriage. Pure love on the part of both is the only thing that can stand the inevitable tests of marriage. Some advice.-• Shun sudden emotions, cultivate sincerity, covet neither beauty nor wealth, be true to the best that is within you; don't be in a hurry to be- come engaged; the first chance may not be the best; wait for the coming of your prince. Until he comes, don't trifle with your affections or the affections of a gentleman friend by making marriage engagements. This is dangerous, as well as a very great sin. When you have found your prince, you should not postpone marriage by a long engagement. It is not necessary or wise to wait until you are as well equipped for housekeeping as your parents now are. Long engagements.- If your prince is healthy, in- dustrious, economical and has a few hundred ahead; or if he has a good education and a good position, with the other qualities, he can make a living for his family. If either of these conditions exists, a long engagement should be avoided. If either of these conditions does not exist a definite engagement with a man would be unwise. Hasty marriages.- The other extreme of hasty marriage is to be condemned. If marriage takes place when one or both are immature, the offspring must suf- fer. If an engagement follows a very brief acquaint- GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 181 ance, disagreeable qualities may be discovered later, to be followed by a broken engagement. Hasty and brief engagements often terminate in the divorce courts. Closing advice.-■ When friendship has ripened into love, the vital question being asked and answered; fra- ternal relations established between the families; and the engagement is a blissful reality, what then should be the rules governing the young woman's ethics? In- flexible rules would be difficult to give. Much depends upon the man to whom she is engaged and the length of the engagement. During the pending engagement both should remember that they are not married, and hence there are liberties in the married life that are not theirs until the civil phase of marriage has com- pleted their oneness. All embracing and sitting in each other's lap should be entirely avoided. Pictures, showbills and post cards have taught in recent years some very vicious lessons to the youth. An occa- sional good-by kiss between the engaged, at the close of a call, just before parting, unaccompanied by an embrace should result in no harm to either. She should be frank, sincere and earnest, versatile, entertaining and affectionate, but very discreet. If she follows these simple and essential rules, she and her prince will be all the happier during their pending engagement and will respect and love each other all the more through life. CHAPTER XXII THE MIRACLE OF MOTHERHOOD Sublime miracle of motherhood.-My talks to you would not be complete without a study of the sublime miracle of motherhood, the creation of a new life. It is no wonder that motherhood, in all ages and by the great of all nations, has been treated with due respect and reverence. Ovulation.- In this talk we shall begin with the be- ginning of life and trace life's development up to birth. The formation of an egg, or ovum, by one of the ovaries once every twenty-eight days is called ovulation. When the ovum matures it breaks through the mem- brane of the ovary and the little muscular fingers of the oviduct, on that side, take up the ovum and convey it to the womb. This usually takes place during men- struation and the egg enters the womb near the cessa- tion of the flow. Sometimes the egg may reach the womb before menstruation begins. It is possible for an egg to form at any time between periods of menstru- ation, but this is of unusual occurrence. Impregnation.- If, in either of these events, the husband and wife, being both of matured age, vigorous, 182 God's Richest Blessing to a Home. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 183 healthy and strong, engage in the reproductive act, the wife will conceive. When one of the sperm cells of the husband unites with the germ cell or egg of the wife, conception or impregnation takes place. This is the be- ginning of life, the creative moment of a new life, a new being. It is at this creative moment that an im- mortal soul is started upon its eternal voyage, nine months before it makes its visible appearance in the world. All life begins with a cell.- Every living being begins life as a single cell of protoplasm. The cell from which a child is formed is produced by the union of two cells, the germ cell of the mother and the sperm cell of the father. The germ cell is much larger than the sperm cell. At the point where the sperm cell enters the ovum a new cell is formed. This new cell is the beginning of a new life and is called the embryo. The embryo receives its nourishment for several days from the food material stored up in the ovum. When the sperm cell fuses with this minute ovum, i-120th of an inch in diameter, the ovum becomes at- tached to the velvety inner surface of the womb. At this point of the womb the mucous membrane begins a rapid growth and in a very few hours has enveloped the ovum. What takes place the first twenty-four hours.- In the rapidly growing ovum marvelous processes are 184 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION going on. In part the physical processes have been studied. The vital and psychical processes that are taking place, far more wonderful than the physical, cannot be understood or comprehended by mortal man. So rapidly has the embryonic cell divided itself into two cells, these two into four cells, and these into eight, then into sixteen, until many thousand cells have been produced in the first twenty-four hours. The first thirty days.- During the next thirty days this multiplication of cells by division goes on rapidly. The embryo is now receiving life, air, water and nourishment from the mother through the rudi- mentary beginning of the placenta. The placenta when developed is a membrane composed largely of blood vessels, entirely surrounding the embryo and is attached to the womb near the top. At this point the umbilical cord, which connects with the child at a point called the navel, merges into and becomes a part of the placenta. These thousands of cells, under the control of some invisible agency or law within the mother and the embryo, begin to arrange themselves in layers and groups. In this way the rudimentary organs one by one, step by step, begin to form. At the end of the first thirty days the embryo is about one inch long and one-fourth of an inch in diameter. At this time it has no resemblance to a human being. Separate from all connection with the mother, no GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 185 scientist could tell whether it is the embryo of a rat, a rabbit, a dog or a human being. It is this resident physical, mental and soul-life received from its parents that will determine for it a human body. The second thirty days.- During the next thirty days, new cells will be produced rapidly, new organs will be started, other organs will take on more definite form and the embryo will be many times larger and will have a very distinct resemblance to a human being. During the latter part of the second month this human embryo will possess a very distinct ap- pendage resembling a tail; the neck will be nearly as large around as the body; the arms and legs, fingers and toes, ears, eyes, nose and mouth will all be quite distinct, and the head will appear overgrown. The embryo at the close of the second month will be about four inches in length and one and one-half inches in diameter. The relations between the mother and the em- bryo.- The little embryo has projecting from its body, at the point called the navel, a large cord, larger around than one of its legs. This cord is called the umbilical cord and connects the embryo with the upper part of the womb. Here the cord seems to branch out and to form a rather thick membrane which en- tirely surrounds the embryo. Where the umbilical cord connects with the womb there are thousands of 186 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION small blood vessels. Here the blood of the mother bathes the blood vessels of the umbilical cord. In this way the embryo absorbs from the mother's blood the materials from which its bones, muscles, brain, nerves and spinal cord are built. In this way the blood of the mother furnishes her forming child pure oxygen. In this way also the mother is furnishing the embryo with life - physical, mental and spirit life. Here, too, she gives it joyous or sorrowful thoughts, a good or bad disposition, a frail or strong constitution, mental brilliancy or mental dullness, and influences its character in many ways before it sees the light of day. The order of special maternal attention.- Dur- ing the first three and four months the mother should breathe the purest air, drink the purest water and eat plenty of wholesome, nutritious food. The physical health, strength and perfect development of the child's body are largely determined during these months. During the fifth and sixth months the nervous system, including the brain centers, is being organized and de- veloped. Attention to mental exercise during these months and the months following will influence the child favorably in after-life. The moral nature of the child is more largely influenced by the mother during the eighth and ninth months than during the previous months. This indicates roughly the order of GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 187 special attention that should be given by the mother to her forming child. Symptoms of impregnation.- After impregna- tion has taken place and the days and months pass by, certain signs appear which tell her that she is to be- come a mother. The menses stop, the breasts enlarge, a dark color appears about the nipples, the abdomen enlarges and about the fourth month she feels the distinct movements of the fetus. This movement is called fetal life. However, life existed in the embryo from the beginning. Feeling the movements of the fetus only indicates that the fetus has grown to where it has strength enough to make its presence known. Birth.- At the end of two hundred and eighty long days, nine full months, three-fourths of a year, the strong muscles of the womb contract, and all the muscles of the abdominal and pelvic cavities are called into action to expel the child from its maternal cradle or home. All of nature's maternal processes, from the initial of life in the tiny egg, through all the mysterious and interesting changes of embryonic and fetal develop- ment, until the babe is easily and quickly conveyed by muscular energy from its warm, cozy, maternal abode and introduced to a world of independent life and activity, are a sublime miracle - the miracle of motherhood. 188 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION The maternal instinct.- The maternal instinct is inherent in every normal girl. It is this maternal na- ture that prompts little girls to play with their dolls and with childish glee and innocent sincerity to organ- ize their doll families into beautiful imitation of real life. The natural desire of every girl, as she matures during the years of adolescence, is that she may one day become a mother. A perfect body essential to ideal motherhood.- The beautiful ideals of wifehood and the sacred ideals of motherhood can come in their fullness only to those who make themselves worthy. The broad-minded, sensible girl will not bind her young growing figure with a corset, pinch her undeveloped feet by wearing tight, high-heeled shoes, ruin her neck with high, stiff collars, expose her shoulders and bosom to the varying changes of temperature by wearing low-necked dresses, ruin her health and throttle her mind and soul in a cradle of ignorance. The independent girl.- All girls should qualify themselves for some vocation, aside from marriage. The girl who stays at home and has nothing to do but dress and primp and wait for some man to come along and marry her is likely to develop into a flippant, ex- travagant social nonentity. The girl who qualifies herself for some vocation will not be a burden to her parents. She will learn the value of money, will ac- GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 189 quire self-confidence and personal dignity, will multi- ply the red corpuscles in her blood, and thus be able to give her hand and heart to her coming prince with the knowledge that she is quite capable of entering upon the new duties of home-building. All girls should have training for motherhood. - But whatever be the place or position to which you may aspire, you should also seek the training necessary to ideal motherhood. Your mother instinct calls for plenty of roomy quarters for the fetus. It is the mother instinct that demands open-air athletics, free chest expansion and a correct poise and carriage of body. It is the mother love that calls for books and magazines that give special articles on courtship, mar- riage and the sacred mission of motherhood. CHAPTER XXIII PRACTICAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED How young can a girl become a mother? - It would be possible but not likely for her to become pregnant soon after her first menstruation. If the ova should be fertilized at that time she would become a mother. In most cases the ova would be too weak for impregnation to be perfect. Should it occur, as it does in some cases, soon after puberty begins, it is always unfortunate for the girl and her child. How old should a woman be before she becomes a mother? - She is not a matured woman until the close of her adolescence, which is about the twentieth year. Marriage means motherhood. Motherhood should not take place until she is matured or practically so. Marriage before eighteen should be universally discouraged. Children born of mature parents are healthier, stronger, and live longer than do the chil- dren of immature parents. Is there any way to lessen the inconvenience and pain of menstruation and child-bearing? - Women of the savage races, women of the laboring classes of Europe, and to some extent laboring women 190 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 191 of this country, do not suffer the inconvenience of menstruation and the pain of child-bearing that most women do. If our girls and women took more out- door exercise, if they did not displace their sexual organs by tight lacing, if they did not abuse these organs in other ways in single and married life, they would suffer less of penalties peculiar to women. Habits practiced for generations become fixed char- acteristics and are transmitted to children. Hence part of the. suffering of present-day womanhood is due to the errors of the past. What causes displacement of the womb? - By reading Mother's First Talk you will be able to fix in your mind the location of the womb and ovaries. You will find that they are near the center of the abdomen, just behind the bladder and are supported from above by long, broad and round ligaments. These ligaments are stretched across the abdominal cavity and are attached to the abdominal walls. The small end of the womb rests upon the vagina. This tube being flexible affords but little support for the womb. If a woman wears a corset, or tight waist band above her hips, the organs of the abdomen will be pressed downward. This is the principal cause of the womb's being forced down into the vagina, bent upon itself, tipped forward or backward. The dis- placement of the womb interferes with the functions 192 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION of the bladder and rectum. Leucorrhoea and inflamed conditions of the womb often follow. The fault is not in God's arrangement of these organs, but in woman's slavish devotion to fashion. Were all girls taught by means of charts the location of these organs, and their relation to the other organs of the abdomen, fewer girls would try to be like fashion plates. Is there some natural method by which a woman can replace her own womb and avoid ex- posure, operation and expense? - Yes; if the fol- lowing advice is followed early enough: Having re- moved your outer clothing, so as to give you perfect freedom, assume a position on the bed that will throw your hips above the rest of the body. This is easily accomplished by kneeling and then bending forward until the head and shoulders rest upon a pillow. Now contract the muscles of the abdomen in such a way as to appear to be trying to draw air' into the body through the vagina. In this way all the abdominal organs are drawn toward the chest. When the womb falls into place, a gurgling sound will be heard caused by the air rushing into the vagina and the womb. This is the evidence that the womb has dropped back into its proper place. Now assume an easy position and be perfectly quiet for one or two hours. Then arise, dress and go about your duties. Don't strain yourself or over-work. Very likely the womb will GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 193 continue to drop out of place for several days. Keep up this method and soon the womb will remain in place. Very likely you will not succeed in replacing the womb, the first effort. It may be several days before you succeed. What are the causes of ovarian trouble? - The answer to the last question applies in this case. Any- thing that interferes with the menstrual period, such as taking cold, lascivious thought, secret vices; if mar- ried, sexual excesses. These conditions cause a rush of blood to the sexual organs, and this keeps them inflamed. Should a woman have her womb and ovaries removed because of these conditions? - Only in the most extreme cases, and, even then, only upon the united opinion of several capable and honest physi- cians. In recent years operations for these troubles have been too frequent. A woman is never quite her- self after one of these operations. If women were taught plainly and scientifically how to obey the laws of sex they would in almost all cases recover without an operation. It is generally estimated by hospital authorities that from sixty-five to eighty per cent, of married women who are operated upon in their sexual organs have been infected by gonorrhoea. In almost every case they were infected by their husbands who 194 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION thought they were cured. In the initial stage this is usually treated by the wife as leucorrhcea; later she is treated by the doctor, or operated upon and the real cause is kept secret from her. In most cases an operation might be avoided, by going with her trouble at once to a doctor. How may young women know they are marry- ing men free from venereal infection? - This will not be possible in all cases. A young lady should not become engaged to a young man until she is ac- quainted with his record. She could have her brother or father look up his record. Your family doctor, or some reliable doctor that knows him, might be profita- bly interviewed. When we have laid aside our mock modesty and foolish prudery and shall come to regard these questions in a practical way, matured young women will not hesitate to ask the young man for a statement from a reliable physician, showing that he is free from all communicable diseases. What is the cause of pimples on the face and sometimes on a girl's back from twelve to seven- teen? - They are due to the change she is passing through. By some they have been considered as evi- dences of the secret sin, but they are not, at least in many cases. Many girls have these bumps who are perfectly free from the secret sin. It is true that they may be caused in some cases by the secret vice. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 195 What remedy would you suggest for these pu- berty pimples? - Tonics, lotions and cosmetics will do no good. Common-sense remedies may mitigate this evil. Avoid rich pastries and highly seasoned foods, take plenty of outdoor exercise, bathe fre- quently, forget your pimples and be cheerful and happy. This is the best you can do. Nature in her own good time will remove the pimples. Is there a safe way by which a young woman can develop her bust? - Several methods are adver- tised. Most of them are fakes. The vacuum method is perhaps the least injurious. If a young woman keeps her body healthy, does not abuse her organs of sex mentally or mechanically, her bust should be nor- mal. The greatest injury done by any of these arti- ficial methods is, they lead a girl to be lascivious in her thoughts. By studying the lower animals we find that motherhood is nature's plan of developing the bust. It is natural for single girls to have small breasts. There are some exceptions to this rule. It is, there- fore, unwise to try to enlarge them. What injuries may follow artificial develop- ment of the breasts? - Flabbiness, inability to nurse a child, tumors and cancers. What effect upon the morals of men has the wearing of low-necked dresses by girls and mar- ried women? - All normal adolescent youths and 196 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION adults possess sexuality. Occasional consciousness of sexual desire is natural. These experiences simply indicate that we are in possession of creative energy. If we keep control of our thoughts about the opposite sex, this energy will be converted into physical strength, mental brilliancy and soul beauty. It is through the influence of the sex life upon the social nature that the opposite sexes are attracted to each other and their association is made sacred, beau- tiful, enjoyable and mutually uplifting. God's greatest blessings to man may be abused by misuse. This is preeminently true of our God-given sexual nature. Improper thinking about the opposite sex leads to special excitement of the sexual organs and results in conscious sexual desire. In the normal man such thoughts and wishes are awakened by sug- gestive and inviting environment. A dress that only partially conceals the breasts of a woman, that reveals the delicate curves of hips and limbs, has this influence upon the mind of the normal man. The normal man usually fights off these temptations. Sometimes they overcome him. Few men are normal. Licentiousness is transmis- sible. Most men have inherited very strong tenden- cies toward lust. Most men have received an unfor- tunate training from childhood. This has led to GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 197 mental sex perversion. Improperly dressed women are a special temptation to these weak men. The time has come for a reform in woman's dress. She should not dress in a way that makes her a source of temptation to men. It is natural for a woman to desire the attention, courtesy, gallantry, respect, reverence and love of men. The normal sex nature in woman will develop those indefinable feminine physical, mental and moral charms. If she dresses modestly and becomingly, if she is discreet, versatile and entertaining, she will have her admirers. Is there any relation between the nude in art and immodesty? - Yes and no. There are great masterpieces of beautiful figures of men and women, which stand for some lofty ideal, which represent some phase of ideal thought in life, some exposition of grace and strength, and, while they are nude, they are no more immodest than perfect landscapes. There are other famous nude figures of men and women which appear conscious of their nudity. Such have a bad influence. There are some ignorant or evil- minded people who would be injured as much by one of these classes of art as by the other. Are there reliable tests of the virginity of a girl? - The only test which a man has a right to 198 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION make before or after marriage is a modest demeanor, absence of familiarity, a pure state of mind and an innocent expression in the face and look of the eye. The physical presence of the hymen, or a flow of blood at the consummation of marriage, should not be made the test of a young wife's virginity. In some cases the hymen is absent from birth and in others only par- tially represented. Where girls may have had leu- corrhoea the parts are relaxed and no blood appears. In stout blonds the presence of blood is the exception and not the rule. What is the relation of ' ' spooning ' ' to the sex problems of young people? - This is a growing evil. It is the kindergarten to prostitution. Young people cannot engage in " spooning " and maintain a pure state of mind. When the mind is engaged in sensual thoughts and wishes the sexual system is stimulated and inflamed by a rush of blood to those parts and passion becomes more or less intense. In this state virtue is in great danger. What is the relation of suggestive pictures and books to the problems of sex in young people? - The suggestive sentences and pictures on post cards, bill boards, the novel and serial story all tainted with immorality; and in the moving pictures found in most five and ten cent shows, are positively pernicious. They lead young people to believe that hugging, kiss- GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 199 ing, lying or sitting on each other's lap, and all other forms of " spooning," are natural, harmless and a necessary part of the entertainment among young peo- ple. The young man who would offer to present a young woman with a suggestive post card or book is stupidly ignorant or viciously immoral. If young ladies value their virtue and have the proper regard for young men, they will not accept such cards and book, nor allow them in their parlors. All women and girls and all virtuous men should protest against the production, sale and distribution of all books, cards, and pictures encouraging " spooning " and the improper dress of the female as an insult to virtuous girlhood and womanhood and dangerous to the virtue of boyhood and manhood. FIFTH DIVISION YOUNG MANHOOD CHAPTER XXIV THE DEEPER SIGNIFICANCE OF SEX You are now old enough to be exposed to all of the temptations and dangers incident to your approach- ing and rapidly developing manhood. Previously, we have referred to many things in an elementary way, which you should now have more fully explained. There are a number of practical and vital facts con- nected with the sexual organs and their separate and combined functions of which you should have a thor- ough knowledge. The nature of the sexual life.- The child resem- bles the father physically, mentally and morally, be- cause the sperm cell formed from the father's blood, that took part in the initial of the child's life, had in it the essence of the father's life, physical, mental and moral. For the same reason the child resembles the mother in these three ways. When the males of the domestic animals are deprived of their generative glands they are not able to develop the peculiar physi- cal masculine characteristics that distinguish them 200 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 201 from the females. They are also less independent, more inactive and show less rudimentary manifesta- tions of intelligence. If man be made an eunuch, when he is a boy, he never fully develops masculine characteristics, and he develops little mental and moral tone. Similar results would follow in the female, if her generative glands were removed in childhood. It is quite noticeable that any form of sexual dissipation usually underminds the physical health, weakens the mental faculties and leads to loss in moral tone. It is equally noticeable that the intelligent retention of this energy leads to physical improvement, intellectual brilliancy and soul enlargement. These illustrations reveal that the creative life has other uses than selfish gratification and unselfish reproduction. It is vitally related to the psychic life, health and happiness of the individual. Other purposes of sex.- The primary purpose of sex is that of reproduction. There are many rea- sons why the reproductive function of sex should be limited to a period of twenty-five years - from twenty- five to fifty years of age. Statistics show that this is man's period of greatest reproductive possibility. Children born to men of younger or older age do not receive as favorable heredity as children born within the period mentioned. The sexual organs, like all other organs, require activity. Two boys are made 202 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION eunuchs; one at six months of age and the other just before puberty. The last mentioned develops much better in physical, mental and moral tone. This shows that these glands are active, that they generate energy, even before puberty, which is essential to their health and the development of every part of the boy. But even the boy, made an eunuch at fourteen, will be a very defective man at twenty-five. This indicates that the sexual glands are generating a creative energy, during this period of adolescence, that is needed to prepare him for the period of largest possibilities of fatherhood. As a general rule, until he is twenty- four, this sex life should never be expressed for re- productive purposes. The young man has other needs for it. When he arrives at his fiftieth milestone, if he has conserved this energy, in youth, he will thus have added thirty or more years to the fifty already lived. The old men who wear a halo of health, energy, nobility, happiness and purity (there are but few), are men, who in youth, young manhood and middle life, conserved the energy of manhood. Man is hereditarily degenerate.- Man cannot understand, why his hardest battles are not with ene- mies on the outside, but with his own inherent in- clinations to do wrong; why he makes such slow progress; why the mass of his fellow men are so in- different to the development of ideal manhood, until GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 203 he gets a vision of the real cause of human degeneracy. The one basic cause of all degeneracy in the past and present has been and is the dissipation of the creative life. It is possible and highly probable that the orig- inal cause of the origin of degeneracy involved the violation of the laws of sex. All practical and inde- pendent students of sociology are rapidly recognizing that this is the chief cause of the present day degen- eracy. They are recognizing that most children are the products of uncontrolled desire, that their pre- natal rights were not respected, that many were not warmly welcomed at birth, and but few are properly instructed in regard to the laws of sex and the im- portance of purity. They see that the hope of the nation and the human race is to come back to nature, be natural, not to substitute artificial laws for nature's laws, but to intelligently study and apply the laws of nature. They see that the initial of every child's life should be intelligently and prayerfully planned, pre- natally protected, also the birth warmly welcomed, environment safeguarded and education natural and wise. The sexual system has two functions.- Take three brothers who have received good heredity and give them the best environment. We will make this difference between these boys; the first is made an eunuch when one year old, the second when he is 204 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION fourteen, the third is permitted to grow up normal. When they reach maturity, we find they have devel- oped differently. The first has grown only a few scat- tering short hairs on his face, his voice is like a girl, his shoulders are round and drooped; he is cowardly, without capacity for business, with but very little mental capacity and wholly without mental ambition. The second one has slight but noticeable improvements in all of these particulars. The third is normal. These facts show that the sexual organs have two functions, and that the organs of a small boy are not wholly inactive as believed by most people. Before puberty these glands are generating an energy of great value to the boy that cannot be chemicalized and ejected from the body. When puberty dawns, the sexual organs become more noticeably active and a part of this energy, at least, becomes chemicalized into a fluid containing active cell life which may be ab- sorbed by the body or ejected from the body. Before puberty this sex life helps to change the baby into a perfect boy. From fourteen to twenty-four this sex life helps to change the perfect boy into a perfect man. In these two periods the sex life has the one special mission, making a perfect man. In the latter " teens " and early " twenties " it would be possible to force this sex life into the function of reproduction. But this is not its natural mission during these early GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 205 years. He now enters the period of greatest repro- ductive possibilities. This period should last for twenty-four to twenty-six years. During this period this creative life has two distinct functions. The first in importance is that of reproduction. This is the highest, noblest, purest and most sacred function of manhood. In rare cases, such as an unfortunate heredity, accident or disease, over which the man has had no control, may unfit him for normal reproduc- tion. He is to be pitied not censured. Through the effects of bad habits, upon sexual manhood, many men are unfit for normal reproduction. The second func- tion of this creative life is to maintain perfect man- hood. Sexual excess in the married life is just as much a violation of the laws of sex as sexual vice before marriage. The fourth period in a man's life begins when he is forty-five to fifty-five, and includes the remainder of his life. During this period the cre- ative life has the one primary mission of maintaining his manhood. While the reproductive function re- mains possible it rarely would be advisable to express this energy in this way. The creative life.- Until recent years nearly all students of sexology considered sex as essentially physical. Now the idea is growing that sex is vitally a part of the physical, mental and soul life of the individual. The sexual organs are simply the gen- 206 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION erators of the creative life and mediums through which this creative life is expressed in reproduction. The meaning of passion.- The consciousness of normal sexual desire is not an evidence of sinfulness and it is not an excuse for dissipation. Sexual desire rightfully interpreted means that we are conscious of the possession of creative life. This can be utilized in several ways. It can be built into the body, into the mind, into the moral nature, it can be used in repro- ducing the species, or it can be dissipated. Man must decide the way he will use it. The disposition he makes of his sex life will determine whether he and others are blessed or injured by the use he makes of it. How to build this creative life into the body.- On the road might be seen a pair of strong draught horses pulling a wagon containing only an armful of wood. Becoming interested in knowing why those horses are not able to pull a larger load, you find, upon investigation, the wagon to be so frail that, if you should double the load the wagon would break down. The horses represent a strong, educated mind and the wagon a frail body. Such a person is handi- capped in the march of life. Others with stronger bodies, but with less of mental ability, will win more honors, receive larger remuneration and accomplish more in life. One needs a strong healthy body in which GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 207 to train the mind and achieve results. In most cases, it is a sin and a shame not to have a sound and perfect body. By keeping the mind pure, taking regular, syste- matic physical exercise, deep prolonged breathing and observing ordinary health laws this creative life can be built into tissue and muscle, developing the body of an athlete. There are examples where men, who by the secret vice, have brought on initial stages of consumption, afterward broke from the vice and by control of the mind and physical culture cured the disease, restored health and developed a fine physique. How to build the creative life into a greater mind.- The organs of generation are life generators. They create life, physical, mental and spiritual. This life is embodied in a very nutritious substance. This valuable food material, with its essence of pure life, if not dissipated by vice, is absorbed by the blood. Nature sends the blood most freely to the parts most used. If physical exercise is taken and the mind neglected, the body will be strong and the mind weak. If both the mind and body are uniformly exercised, they will be uniformly developed. If the mind is allowed to revel in lascivious thoughts many times as much of this creative life will be formed as the blood can absorb. Thus the blood is robbed of nutritious material and life that should never have 208 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION been removed. This surplus cannot be reclaimed by the body but must be dissipated. Keeping the mind pure is of paramount importance. To do this, the mind must constantly be engaged in some worthy ac- tivity. Keep company with great men and women by reading their articles in magazines and their books. Think great thoughts of your own. Be hopeful, cheer- ful and determined. The prize of a great mind will be yours. How to build the creative life into a larger so- cial and moral life.- Emotions, sentiments, feelings, hope, faith and charity are essential elements of a man's nature. He is not a- full man, a well rounded man, a perfect man if these elements of his nature are neglected. These elements of his nature are fed on spiritual exercise. Man's degeneracy is an appalling fact. Regeneration, or Christ is a necessity in every life. Christ loved the unlovely, inspired the discour- aged, wept with those that wept, and lifted the bur- dens of struggling ones. By following this example we will build His life, our creative life, into a larger social and moral life. CHAPTER XXV CONTINENCE It has been several months now since we had our last confidential talk. Many changes have taken place in your body and mind during these months. You have been inclined to be more with large boys and young men and this is due to the changes that are going on. With the coming months you will have less the feelings of the boy and more the feelings of the man. The two forms of incontinence.- I have been anxious to have a talk with you on the subject of continence. By this word as applied to young men, we mean abstinence from all voluntary sexual gratifi- cation. Having given you talks on the subject of the " solitary vice," which is one form of sexual gratifi- cation, I will now talk with you about the other form of incontinence, cohabitation or sexual relation with women. A false idea.- There is a widely prevailing idea among young men that they must gratify their sexual desire in some way, and that if they do not they will lose their reproductive power, or their ability to be- 209 210 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION come fathers. They have an idea that sexual gratifi- cation is essential to sexual and physical health, mental development and manliness. They think young men are weak-minded and incapable who do not gratify themselves in one of these two ways. Where did they get this idea? The wrong application of biological law.- They will tell you that doctors teach that young men should gratify themselves. They will tell you then that the non-use of an organ will lead to the loss of its function. The illustration they use is, "If the arm be kept in a sling for a year, one will find he has lost the use of his arm for several days. If the arm should be kept in a sling for ten years, he would likely lose the use of his arm for life and the arm would wither; therefore, if a young man should live a continent life for ten years, his sexual organs would atrophy and he would lose his powers of fatherhood." No reliable physician holds to the sexual neces- sity theory.- In reply to these arguments, no intelli- gent and reliable physician to-day teaches sex necessity. Some ignorant, unreliable, " quack " doctor occa- sionally tells a young man that his physical, mental and sexual strength will be ruined unless he indulges in sexual gratification. This young man will tell twenty young men what he has learned and each of these will tell twenty others. It is in this way that GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 211 so many young men get the idea that doctors advise sexual indulgence. Continence does not destroy virility.- Ten years, twenty years, or even more, of absolute conti- nent living will no more cause a man to lose his virility than twenty years of absence from nursing a child will destroy the function of lactation in a woman. Only the unreliable doctors advocate sexual ne- cessity.- In every profession of men there are some fakes. This is as true of the medical profession as it is of other professions. In all large cities and in many small towns there are ignorant, unreliable and unscrupulous doctors. In almost every State, I have had young men to tell me that they have been advised by doctors to visit the prostitute. Such frauds are a great social and moral misfortune to any community. The high-minded, capable, honorable doctors all advo- cate continence for young men. They are real friends to young men. Even the young man who has made his mistakes will find the advice and treatment of this class of doctors to be far the safest and cheapest in the end. Unanswerable arguments.- It is not an uncom- mon occurrence to hear some very prominent citizen advocate the necessity for a few public characters in every community to conserve the health of young men by ministering to their sexual necessity and in this way 212 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION protecting the virtue of innocent girls and respectable women. The test of sincerity and honesty of a man who claims to believe in foreign missions, is his willingness to go, to allow his child to go, or to help support those who do go as missionaries. The test of the sincerity and honesty of a man who advocates the necessity for the immoral woman, is his willingness to contribute a mother, wife, sister, or daughter to the philanthropic interest of masculine health and the safeguarding of innocent girls and respectable women. If he is not willing to make this contribution he is not honest and not sincere when he advocates public prostitution. If public prostitution protects innocent girls and respectable women from the abnormal man, cases of rape and seduction would occur most frequently where there are no lewd women. But the reverse is true. The continent young men would be guilty of commit- ting all the assaults on female virtue. But it is the incontinent men who commit all the crimes of this kind. If the social evil is a necessity and the immoral woman protects the virtue of the innocent girls and virtuous wives, is she not a benefactor? Who is engaged in a more commendable, philanthropic or Christian service? Then why should she be treated as an outcast? Should she not be invited as a guest GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 213 of honor at our social functions? Should she not sing in the choir, or sit in a front pew in the most aristocratic church ? The pugilist and athlete, in their training for special tests of strength, endurance, and skill, abstain for long periods from all sexual gratification. It is by living a continent life that the lower animals, unmolested by man, reach a state of physical perfec- tion. Effects of incontinence upon the married life.- An incontinent single life will naturally lead to ex- cesses in the married life. Such young men get the idea that marriage means unlimited gratification. With these perverted views they enter and soil the sacred precincts of marriage and parentage. By mar- ital excess, indulged in by no other animal or savage, their health is injured, their lives are shortened and their children are poorly born. This is a very com- mon harvest reaped in the married life. Back of this harvest, and back of the sowing is ignorance. From these facts and many others that could be had we see that absolute continence is not unnatural, but it is the only sane solution to a young man's sex problems. CHAPTER XXVI PROSTITUTION We have talked over many of the problems of boys and young men. You are now sixteen and new prob- lems are constantly coming up in your life for solu- tion. I would like to speak with you on this occasion about the very vital problem of illicit intercourse with women. By this expression is meant all sexual inter- course with women outside of holy wedlock. Men are as fallen as women.- When this sin occurs among single people it is fornication, when among the married, it is adultery. Whether this oc- curs among the single or the married, it is prostitu- tion. In this sin there is no difference, in character, between the male and the female, the married and the single prostitute; in either case, the priceless gem of virtue has been forfeited. Men think less of their virtue than women.- Partly due to a bad heredity and largely due to a false training and the existence of a double standard of morals, boys and men are more willing to sacrifice their virtue than are girls and women. There are a few degenerate girls and some who have been reared 214 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 215 in immoral homes who willingly sacrifice their virtue. But these represent only a very small part of the girls who annually fall. Most of those who are known as fallen women were induced to fall by designing men. Many methods are used to accomplish the fall of girls. Lady clerks, stenographers and servants in homes and hotels receive such meager wages that they are often unable to meet their necessary expenses. Men have taken advantage of their financial need and by skillful advances, artful entreaties and by offering to supplement their income for special favors, they succeed in ruining many girls. Few women go wrong from choice.- Some men use the dance, the theater, alcoholic drinks, certain stimulating drugs, buggy rides and late hours at night as means of accomplishing their fiendish purposes. Victory once won, clandestine relations are continued until the girl finds that she is to be a mother, or her guilt becoming known, being often forced from her own home, ostracized by society, shunned by pro- fessing Christians, she now becomes an outcast. Few girls ever go wrong from choice. Great as her sin is, it is small compared with his. There is not greater sin and crime than his. Possessed of one spark of manhood, he would marry the girl; instead, he is more likely to boast of his achievement. No less a sin because the fallen woman accepts a 216 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION " price."-Young men often ask, "What harm can there be in seeking sexual gratification with a woman who voluntarily gives her consent for a price?" There are many reasons why this is wrong. The Bible condemns it as a very great sin. Civil law condemns adultery as a crime. By both civil and divine law it is considered as great a crime as stealing, murder or drunkenness. If men controlled their pas- sions, there would be no fallen women. If men would not visit them, they would reform or become Chris- tians. Thus men are not only largely responsible for the fall of women, but they are largely responsible for their remaining fallen. Man's appreciation of pure women destroyed.- Constant association with fallen women degrades or destroys a man's conception and appreciation of pure womanhood. He may become so degraded as to be- lieve that all women have their " price." Such a man could not appreciate a pure sister, daughter, wife or mother. Such men become sensualists and should they marry, their excesses would wreck the health and happiness of their wives, and their children would receive an unfortunate heredity. A great physical risk.- For physical reasons a visit to the fallen women would be a hazardous risk. These women are nearly always diseased. In this way young men become diseased and they infect their GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 217 wives and transmit serious troubles to their chil- dren. Self-respect lost.- From a moral point of view a visit to the strange woman is wholly inadmissible. You could never wholly recover your self-respect. A young man has no moral right to demand purity of his sweetheart at the marriage altar unless he can offer her a pure life. Danger of becoming an illegitimate father. - Finally, through illicit intercourse a young man is constantly in danger of becoming a father. An ille- gitimate father never loves, feeds, clothes, shelters, educates and trains his own child. Every instinct of nature demands this much of him. The child is blood of his blood, bone of his bone, life of his life; it is as truly his child as if it had been conceived in wedlock. Sin that will so degrade a man as to leave him without sense of honor, justice and right in his relation to his own child certainly has no equal in the catalogue of crime. The pure man is worthy of a pure wife.- The young man who keeps himself as pure as a virgin will be worthy of one of God's queenly women, he will be capable of making her a kingly husband, and, con- scious of their dignity, purity and virility, he and his wife will become the happy parents of a brood of fair girls and lusty boys. CHAPTER XXVII VENEREAL DISEASES The bad cold ' ' fallacy. ' '- Most boys and young men are disposed to think of venereal diseases as a joke. They often compare them with a bad cold. They are often heard to boast of having had one or more attacks from which they easily recovered. This is due to the fact that these young men have no just conception of the grave consequence of these diseases. Two principal diseases.- There are two principal kinds of venereal disease : gonorrhea, in street vernacu- lar known as clap, and syphilis, popularly called pox. These diseases are due to specific disease germs and require a specific treatment. These diseases originate as a result of illicit intercourse, never originating in the married life where husband and wife are true to each other. Sometimes a husband or wife may be infected by accidentally coming in contact with the disease germs by kissing an infected person, the use of public towels, closets, etc. As old as prostitution.- Venereal diseases are as old as prostitution. These diseases evidently origi- nated as a result of prostitution. Venereal diseases 218 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 219 are known to have been in existence more than 2000 years B. C. All venereal diseases were thought to be one until 1838. These diseases may be acquired by the use of a closet, towel or bath tub previously used by an infected person. The immoral woman dangerous.- All immoral women, whether they live in public houses or in private homes, are diseased some of the time, and some of them are diseased all the time. No young man can know, not even a doctor, when a man may or may not be infected by having sexual relations with either class of these women. Facts show that eighty per cent, of the young men of this country become infected with gonorrhea be- tween the ages of eighteen and thirty. This would indicate that only a few who visit the immoral woman escape, because at least ten per cent, of our young- men never visit fallen women. The ten per cent, of our young men is increasing. Immediate medical attention.- Should a young man be so thoughtless and unfortunate as to visit one of these women and become infected, he should go at once to a competent physician and follow his advice and take his treatment. He should not postpone treat- ment one hour, send off for some remedy he sees advertised, or go and get some patent remedy to be 220 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION obtained at a drug store. Money, time, health and even life itself are too valuable to be hazarded in this way. If this advice were always followed the dis- eases could in many cases be cured in their first stage and most of the after evil results be prevented. Discovery of the disease germs.- In 1879, Dr. Neisser discovered the specific germ of gonorrhea, called the Neisser gonococcus. In 1895, two German doctors discovered the germ of syphilis, spirochetae pallida. Gonorrhea.- The disease appears from three to five days after exposure, and is heralded by the swelling of the urethra, and an itching, burning sensation dur- ing urination. These symptoms continue for a week or ten days when a thick greenish yellow discharge begins. Under careful and prompt treatment the dis- ease may be permanently cured. Even under prompt and skillful treatment some cases have a persistent tendency to run into a chronic condition. Complicated chronic conditions often occur from poor treatment or neglect. When the disease reaches a chronic form it is likely to continue for years. Some of the complications of this disease are: chronic in- flammation of the mucous membrane of the urethra, accompanied by a constant discharge. Stricture.- A tightening or narrowing of the ure- thra at some point. This is called stricture. Urinat- GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 221 ing becomes difficult and painful. A lengthy and difficult treatment may be required and sometimes a painful operation. - Inflammation of the prostate -If the prostate gland becomes the seat of this disease, it will cause great inconvenience and may result in painful treat- ment, surgical operation, loss of health and mental vigor, with possible loss of the power to become a father. If both testes become inflamed, the victim often becomes sterile. A dangerous and painful operation is sometimes required. He will never be what he once was, or might have been. Gonorrheal rheumatism.- If the gonorrheal germs get into the blood and find their way to the joints of the bones, the result is gonorrheal rheuma- tism. This is one of the most painful and difficult diseases to be cured known to medical science. Ophthalmia.- Should some of this poisonous pus be transferred to his eye or the eye of another, it would cause gonorrheal ophthalmia, a disease of the eye that often results in blindness in a few hours or unsightly sore eyes for life. Wife and children the greatest sufferers.- If the guilty young man were the only one to suffer, it would not be so serious. His future wife and chil- dren may be the greatest sufferers. It is now known 222 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION that these disease germs may remain for years in a young man's body in an inactive and weakened state; and that too, after he thinks he is perfectly cured. In this condition he is likely to infect his wife. These weakened germs will now take on new life in her body and produce gonorrheal conditions. She will mistake the disease for leucorrhea and treat herself for a time. During this loss of time, various compli- cations have developed. One or more of her sexual organs are now inflamed and ulcerated. One organ after another may have to be removed by a surgical operation to save her life. Tumors, nodules, and ulcers must be removed by the knife. The doctor feels that it is best to leave the husband, as well as the wife, to believe that the whole trouble is due to the weakness of woman. Perhaps the wife dies under the knife and leaves a husband and children. In preaching her funeral, the pastor tries to console the bereaved by laboring to reconcile Providence and the unfortunate death. Blind children.- If she becomes a mother before these operations are made, as the child passes from her body it gets some of the gonorrheal germs in its little eyes and in a few hours or days it is totally blind from gonorrheal ophthalmia. Or, if the doctor suspects this trouble and puts a drop or two of a solution of silver nitrate in the eyes of the new-born baby, no GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 223 serious trouble may come to the child because of the father's sin. An eminent physician in Germany says that there are 30,000 blind people in Germany because of gonorrheal ophthalmia. No statistics have been kept in this country, but reliable physicians claim that there must be as many as 15,000. What right has a young man to engage in a sin that will cause his wife and child a lifetime of suffering? Syphilis is by no means as common as gonorrhea, there being only eight to eighteen per cent, of the young men who contract this disease as compared with eighty per cent, who contract the other. The germs that produce gonorrhea have only to come in contact with the mucous membrane for infection to follow. The germs of syphilis have to reach the blood by means of a sore or small crack in the skin or mucous membrane. Three stages of syphilis.- Syphilis develops by three stages, known as primary, secondary and tertiary syphilis. If treated promptly and properly during the first stage, it may be cured without great injury fol- lowing, or danger of return. In other stages a much longer treatment will be required, with many possible complications and dangers. Before the doctor can check the disease it may attack the bones, muscles, arteries and the internal organs. This disease causes 90 per cent, of locomotor ataxia, much of apoplexy, 224 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION paralysis and sudden deaths long after the disease is supposed to be cured. It is a prolific cause of insan- ity. The descendants of a syphilitic father or mother are often still-born, die prematurely, or become insane later in life. Syphilis shortens the lives of its victims one-third. An innocent person can be infected.- By using or handling something used by a diseased person an innocent person may be infected. A person infected with one of these diseases is absolutely unclean and dangerous. There are better reasons for putting such a man in the pesthouse than one who has small- pox. A certificate of good health should be required. - It will not be long before a young man will have to present a certificate of freedom from these diseases, obtained from a reputable physician, before he is granted a license to be married. An example.- The President of a college Y. M. C. A. recently said to me, " Five years ago I was in poor health due to a long and excessive practice of the secret vice. I went to a doctor for advice. He sug- gested that I should occasionally visit the prostitute. I made but one visit. That night I caught syphilis. For five years I have been under the treatment of doc- tors. I have been to Hot Springs. Doctors tell me that I cannot be cured under two more years of this GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 225 treatment. Even then, the risk of its return will be so great they say, that I should never think of marry- ing." Then he added, " That is what one visit has cost me. Three times in these five years I have planned to commit suicide." Another example.- Only a few days since a young man called at my office for an interview. His story was, " Three years ago I was induced by other boys to visit the ' Red Light ' district of this city. On my second visit I was infected with gonorrhea. My income was small. The doctor's fees were beyond my reach. I tried patent remedies sold in drug stores guaranteed to cure the worst case in three to five days. Failing to cure myself in this way I was compelled to go to doctors. At times I seem to be cured. Then I make another visit and the old trouble comes back on me. This has been repeated three times in two years. I am now in a worse shape than I have ever been." He then asked my advice. I told him to select the most reliable doctor he could find, and regardless of price take his treatment until he was pronounced cured. Then twice a year for several years, to have a State Health Board to make a microscopic examination. If they find no gonococci for two or three years, he might consider himself well. But marriage will then be a risky proposition. These two recent cases are selected from a thousand 226 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION experiences related to me in the last five years, many of which were far worse than these. The reader can judge for himself whether or not these diseases are no worse than a " bad cold." CHAPTER XXVIII A YOUNG MAN'S ETHICS You have a social nature.--This nature should be developed. Boys and girls, men and women, are complements of each other. Every boy needs a sister and every girl needs a brother. It is a good thing for boys and girls of different families to be schoolmates and occasionally to engage together in games. Where co-educational colleges are wisely managed, young men and women develop socially in a more normal way than when they are separated. The matured young man is never quite himself until he finds his mate. The same can be said with equal force of the matured woman. Relation of the social and sex natures.- The social nature of an eunuch has been arrested in its development to such an extent that he appears to be without a social nature. He does not attract the op- posite sex, admires no woman, has no interest in chil- dren, and does not care to mingle with people in a social way. The secret sin often causes a young man to be exceedingly indifferent and to shun the company of young women. 227 228 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION These facts show clearly that there is a vital rela- tion between the sexual nature and the social nature. If developed and kept normal, they will contribute much to the enjoyment of life. Like all great blessings they have their dangers. Whatever, in the social relations of young men and women, leads to the excitement of the sexual instinct means danger, temptations and ofttimes social disaster. Almost all men have either inherited or acquired a strong ten- dency toward easy sexual excitement. Most young men are ignorant of their weakness and the laws of sexual excitement. In these regards the birds and lower animals are much truer to nature than is, de- generate, man. Among them the sexual exciting re- lations, preparatory to the reproductive act, are never indulged in by the male except during the mating sea- son. The lower animals never violate these laws of normal sexual excitement. A pernicious custom.- Many young men, igno- rant of these laws, prompted by an over-developed sexual condition, have the habit of pinching the arms of girls, patting their cheeks and chins, squeezing their hands, playing with the hair, hugging and kissing them, and other indiscreet and dangerous habits. These relations are known by modern society as " spooning." It is seriously common. It is more dangerous to physical, sexual, mental and moral health GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 229 than the secret sin or prostitution. It is the kinder- garten for both. Few young people would ever fall were it not for these pernicious and foolish customs. You should treat every young lady as you would have other young men treat your sister. You should have a correct knowledge of these laws and by an intelligent choice and a manly, strong purpose, refuse ever to engage with young women in any social relation that would endanger your honor or their virtue. Friendship and love.- For a number of years you may for social reasons wish to call occasionally on one or more girls for whom you will entertain only thoughts of friendship. However, friendship occa- sionally assumes a more serious turn and is trans- formed mysteriously into love. If this love is natural, prompted by your paternal nature, approved by your reason and judgment, no mistake will be made. Love can be blinded by lust, paralyzed by wealth and hyp- notized by beauty and in either event, marriage would be a failure. A good wife is a helpmate.- If a young man has perfect control of his sex nature, I would not advise marriage before he is twenty-three or four. If he has a few hundred dollars ahead, a good education, or a good paying position, has good health and has found the girl of his choice, he should not postpone 230 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION marriage until he has accumulated more. A good wife is a helpmate. Long engagements.- Such engagements are sel- dom necessary and rarely advisable. Don't be in a hurry. The first chance may not be the best one. Study her and her family well. Your children's rights should be respected; choose for them a good mother. A young man should never trifle with his affections or the affections of young women by nu- merous engagements. This is a serious matter. The affectional nature can be trifled with until it cannot be relied upon. Certain rights not yours.- After you are satis- fied with the choice you have made, the important question been asked, a favorable answer received, and the engagement has been effected with the approval of both families, remember that there are privileges that are not yours until the legal phase of marriage has completed your oneness. Any violation of chas- tity before marriage is a sin against society, weakens self-respect, causes a loss of confidence in each other, and often leads to domestic discord in the future. When you call.- After the engagement is made you will want to be with your betrothed much of the time. When together have something sensible to talk about. It is a good thing for lovers to read interest- ing stories to each other. While sentiment and the GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 231 occasional repetition of the avowal of marriage will add interest to these calls yet this can be over-done and becomes very monotonous. Be frank, sincere, versatile and entertaining, but be discreet. The nuptial night.- In relation to the nuptial night there is some very delicate and vital information every engaged young man should possess. The pri- mary purpose of marriage is reproduction. Marriage is said to be " Consummated in the first act of cohabi- tation." In Greece it was a custom for three days to intervene between the marriage ceremony and the " consummation of marriage." This was a very wise custom. The bride is usually nervous, exhausted and excited over the occasion. However much she may love her husband, he is yet to her a stranger. This nuptial night should be a night of sweetest, tenderest courtship. The bride should be promptly assured that she will be protected by her lover and that no sexual demand will be made until she extends the invitation. You have often noticed reports in the daily papers of the young bride deserting her husband a day or two after marriage, or committing suicide. Their hus- bands were ignorant, low and brutal, in almost every case. A young man should understand that his bride is not in a condition of body and mind to meet the sudden change which the marital relation brings. The considerate young husband.- If a young 232 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION husband is considerate, awaits his wife's invitation, practices self-control and moderation for the first few weeks of marriage, his wife will be spared much anx- iety, nervousness, and possibly diseases of the genital organs and an invalid condition for life. If an engaged young man is informed, sensible and pure, and his bride possesses these qualities, there would be nothing indiscreet, unmanly, or even un- christian for him to assure his betrothed that she need have no fear in approaching the nuptial night. CHAPTER XXIX MANHOOD WRECKED AND REGAINED Few perfect men.- When we study man in his relation to the world about him, in relation to his physical, mental and moral possibilities, we get a glimpse of what nature and his Creator planned for him to be. In sacred and profane history, on the farm and in the shop, behind the counter and at the bar; in Congress and in Senate, on the platform and in the pulpit; we find some splendid examples of ideal man- hood. But look at humanity in the mass. How few perfect men do you find in a community! Look at the enervated and stunted fathers, the nervous and sickly mothers, the puny and weak children, the poorly developed babies and dwarfed minds, the crowded reformatories, penitentiaries and asylums. Why are sixty-seven per cent, of the children defective at birth? Why the aimless, shiftless, purposeless, ne'er-do-well men? Why so much of deteriorated manhood? the causes are many. Many people are ignorant of the most common laws of health. Many live in unap- peased hunger and some are improperly fed. Whis- ky, tobacco, opium and morphine are all doing their 233 234 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION part in wrecking manhood. But the most prolific cause of blighted manhood is the sin of sensuality. It is fully equal to all other causes combined. One state health board asserts that if all men understood the laws of sex and kept them, there would not be the need of one doctor in ten that we now have. This in- dicates the injurious physical effects of this sin. Wrecked minds.- An eminent doctor of France claims that the insanity of eighty-two per cent, of all the females and seventy-eight per cent, of all the males in the asylums of that nation involves their sexual mechanism, function, or both, and that early sex in- struction would have wholly precluded much of it and postponed the mental break much later in life in many other cases. This indicates the mental effects of this sin. Kept from Christ.- More people are kept from Christ and more fail to live the Christian life because of their sex problem than because of all other prob- lems put together. This indicates the moral effects of this sin. Regained - extent.- The extent to which in- jured, impaired or wrecked manhood due to dissipated sex life, may be regained, will be determined by the number of years he has indulged, the excessiveness of his vice, his age when he reforms, the exercise of his will and the help he seeks from God. When na- GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 235 ture is given a fair show, it is wonderful what she will do in a few years. When God is given a fair chance in a man's life, it is equally wonderful what he can do for a man. God and nature work together in the restoration of manhood. The diagnosis.- A study of the causes and the conditions of wrecked manhood will aid us to under- stand what must be done, if manhood is to be restored. Nearly all cases of sexually injured or wrecked man- hood first originated in wrong mental relations to mat- ters of sex. The mind has the power to excite to greater than normal activity many of the glands of the body. In the presence of food, or fancying that one is in the presence of food, the mind so influences the salivary glands that they secrete saliva much faster than at other times. In the same way, when the mind is called to the sexual organs, and thought and desire for sexual gratification are aroused by hand- ling these organs, or when gazing upon lewd pictures, reading obscene literature, telling or hearing a smutty joke, " spooning " with a girl, reveling in lascivious desire, or when constipated these organs are stimu- lated to unusual activity. Blood rushes to the genital organs, the capillaries are dilated and gorged with blood and many times as much semen is formed in a given period, as would be formed, if the mind was otherwise engaged. The body has its limit in ab- 236 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION sorbing the vital substance. Much of it that should never have been taken from the blood must be thrown off from the body by seminal emissions, the secret vice, prostitution or marital excess. When improper mental relations are continued for months or years, gradually there is established a tendency for too much blood to flow to the genitals, the capillaries become easily dilated, the organs are constantly excited and inflamed and the habit of generating too much semen is formed. This leads to impaired manhood. All causes of wrong mental thinking must be avoided.-• If constipated, this must be corrected. If accustomed to handling the organs with the hands, this must be stopped. Learn instinctively to shun the vulgar story teller, close your eyes to every lewd pic- ture, burn every obscene book in your possession, keep company with only the discreet, chaste girls who wear a full dress, banish every lascivious thought, and keep your mind engaged in other things. This desired mental control does not come in a moment, an hour, a day or a month of effort. It will take a year, it may take more to become master of the mind. A young man must quit the sin. It can be done at once, but not in every case. It may take months or a year. If a true conversion to Christ means anything, it means a purification of the mind from a GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 237 willful choice to engage in impure thoughts. From my point of view this is one of the most important steps for a young man to take in the solution of his sex problem. A pathological condition.- It is vitally important for a young man to understand that, even when he has fully decided in his mind on reform and has ac- cepted Christ, that this reformation of mind and re- generation in his moral nature do not change the pathological condition of the genital organs, due to years of violating nature's laws. These steps are all important. Restoration to manhood would not be possible without one or both. The physiological facts are, years of wrong thinking, the secret vice or pros- titution has established a tendency for too much blood to flow to these parts and consequently too much se- men is formed. This will continue until nature has had time to restore normal conditions. This could never be done by nature without the causes being re- moved. Nature's work of restoration is always gradual. She cannot be hurried. She always does her best. Her best is always measured by the oppor- tunity given her. Start in time, be faithful in remov- ing all hindrances and she will accomplish results. Hindrances and helps.- You cannot help na- ture in this trouble by using drugs, stimulants or galvanic batteries. Marriage only substitutes one 238 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION form of sexual waste for another. Prostitution is not a remedy; that simply destroys two souls and bodies instead of one. The use of tobacco and alcoholic drinks tends to inflame the passions. These habits must be entirely quit if restored manhood is desired. Absolute cleanliness, bathing of parts with cold water, eating nature's foods, vegetables and cereals, meat sparingly, if at all, taking plenty of open air exercise, including deep breathing; these are the remedies na- ture delights in using. A fact that should be clearly understood.- After one has fully decided upon a changed life, at certain periods he will be very severely tested by the constant recurrence of impure thoughts and a strong desire for sexual gratification. Many men doubt their conversion or decide that there is no hope for them. If they yield and practice the secret vice, they chide and condemn themselves, become despondent and decide there is no hope for them. They should understand that these thoughts and desires are not of moral choice, but they arise purely from a pathological condition of the genital organs. The changed mind and heart did not stop the usual flow of blood to these organs and the generation of too much semen. The surplus could not be absorbed by the body. It caused the ducts and vessels to become gorged. It was this GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 239 condition that caused the improper thoughts and de- sires. Nature has a relief for this while she is grad- ually producing a cure. The relief is a seminal emis- sion. If these men would resist the temptation for a few more hours or a day, nature would come to their help with an emission. Then for several days" they would be free from impure thoughts and desires. The next period would not be so severe. The will would be stronger and resistance easier. If this is kept up, less and less blood will go to the genital organs, less and less semen will be formed, and after one, two or three years a normal condition will be established and manhood restored. If venerealized, consult a good doctor.- If wrecked manhood involves some form of venereal com- plication, the sufferer should go to the most reliable home physician he can find, take his treatment and fol- low his directions. Even in these cases, if the direc- tions given are followed, the remedies given by the doctor will be made more effective. All out of the asylum can if they will.- To the young man with seminal weakness, or loss of virility, we can offer no easy, short cuts to recovery. For years you have violated nature's laws. The way back is not easy. Only the brave and the determined will make it. All out of the asylum can if they will. 240 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION There is hope, there is help, there is recovery. It is worth fighting a lifetime for. To the great army of young men who are unchaste in minds, many in habits, conscious of no serious re- sults, as yet, we would wave the flag of warning. CHAPTER XXX PRACTICAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED Are men naturally more passionate than women? - The accumulated hereditary effects of the double standard for centuries and his acquired tendencies have made man more sensual than woman. Reason- ing from the lower animals and from all natural con- ditions there is no reason why a woman should be less passionate than man. Centuries of false training in impure mental revelings, obscene language and vicious habits have had a growing tendency to establish lust in man. Most of man's lust is the child of his own cultivation. If the double standard had never existed and men and women had been equally moral, men would be no more passionate than woman and both would be better sexed and far less sensual. What are the causes of acquired sensuality in men? - The chief cause is wrong mental relations to matters of sex and reproduction. The following are contributory causes: The false impressions made by parents on the child; the half truths clothed in the most obscene language received from servants and playmates; obscene books, pictures, shows and the 241 242 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION dance. All these lead to sexual excitement through the mind. The use of tobacco and alcoholic drinks tend to inflame the passions. What are the principal causes of sterility in men? - Some authorities claim that twenty per cent, of childless homes are due to men having had certain chronic forms of gonorrhea. Excessive use of to- bacco and alcoholic drinks produces temporary ster- ility. The secret sin, when continued for many years, often results in temporary sterility. The inability to become a father, due to one of the last causes, may be regained on one or more years of abstinence from the cause. Loss of reproductive powers due to gonor- rhea, in most cases cannot be restored. Eighty per cent, of sterility among married women is due to gonorrheal infection. In nearly every case they were infected by their husbands who thought themselves cured. From these facts we see that men, not women, are largely responsible for sterile homes. Are occasional seminal emissions natural? - If men inherited normal sexual conditions and never violated sexual laws, it is reasonable to suppose that men would be as free from sexual losses as are the males of lower animals. But this ideal state does not exist with men. Nature has wisely provided for the escape of all surplus secretions from the various glands of the sexual system. This occurs without GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 243 any special shock to the nervous system and the amount of loss is usually small. Often what is called an emission is but the loss of fluid from the seminal vessels and not from the testes. This does not con- tain true semen. Practically no harm results from these last discharges. When do these emissions begin on a young man? - This depends upon the sexual development and the habits of the youth. In some it occurs much earlier than in others. If a young man has lived a continent life, he may expect an occasional emission when he is eighteen or twenty. If he has used nar- cotics, entertained impure thoughts, or practiced the secret sin, he may expect them sooner. All young men who practice the secret vice would have frequent emissions if they were not disposing of their surplus energy in this way. The young man who thus volun- tarily gratifies his sexual desires is losing more energy than he would be doing if he were to discontinue the habit. Among many letters received recently are letters from two young men living nearly a thousand miles apart. Their cases are very similar. Each began the secret sin when he was only six or seven years old; both were taught the vice by companions older than they; neither ever received a word of warning from a parent or teacher. One got to practicing the vice as 244 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION often as seven times a day before he was thirteen. He is now eighteen and having emissions as often as four times a night. He has varicocele on both sides. The other one is now twenty-two, has practiced the secret sin as often as four times a day, and now has varico- cele on the left side. Of course these are extreme cases, but they are more common than most people think. Are there some young men who never have emissions? - It is no doubt true that all normal young men who are living pure lives have an occa- sional emission. In a few young men it may occur during urination and therefore be unobserved. A young man who willfully dissipates his energy as fast as it is formed, by means of masturbation or prostitu- tion, may not have emissions. But let him stop his bad habits and he will experience them. Are seminal emissions injurious? - Unnatural emissions are injurious; the natural emissions are not. What is the difference between a natural and an unnatural emission? - The natural emission is a discharge from the seminal vessels; the unnatural emission is a discharge from the testes. The natural one contains no sperm cells; the unnatural one does. The first is wholly involuntary; the second one is due to sexual excitement caused usually by impure think- ing. If a young man keeps his mind pure and avoids GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 245 all habits that excite the sexual organs, practically all the sexual life formed by the testes will be absorbed. Whenever he maintains a high state of passion for several minutes, several hundred of the latent sperm cells in the epididymis will take on active life and be sent over to the ampullae, and emissions under this condition would contain many sperm cells. This is why the unnatural emission is injurious. Owing largely to our artificial methods of living, when a boy is eighteen, the seminal vessels secrete more than can be absorbed. The surplus is thrown off from one to four times a month. This is nature's plan of reliev- ing the gorged condition. How can one prevent too frequent emissions? - Such dietetic measures as eating non-stimulating foods, discontinuing the use of tobacco and alcoholic drinks, and such hygienic measures as emptying the bowels and bladder just before retiring, sleeping on the side, and preventing constipation, will aid in the control of emissions. But the most important meas- ure to be used is that of mental control. The cure in all cases will be gradual and the time required will de- pend on the condition of the victim and his determina- tion to conquer the habit. Can seminal weakness or loss of manhood be cured by the use of medicine of any kind? - The idea that a young man suffering from this trouble, by 246 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION opening his mouth and swallowing pills or drinking medicines, can cure himself is an absolute false hope. No intelligent, conscientious doctor will advise the use of drugs for seminal weakness. The only safe, sane and sound prescription that can be given one in this condition is a strict continent life, aided by pure thinking, proper diet, and hygiene. Would you advise the use of any drug or medi- cine in case of seminal weakness? - Absolutely, No. I have no confidence in medicine for such cases. In no case place your trouble in the hands of a special- ist who claims to cure seminal weakness. Your home doctor is your best friend when you need medical ad- vice. No well informed doctor will recommend the use of drugs in such cases. How may manhood be restored? - One suffering from seminal weakness must abandon the secret sin, get control of his mind, have only pure thoughts, ex- ercise the mind along other lines, take plenty of out- door exercise and avoid all stimulating foods and drinks, especially narcotics. If not a Christian, be- come one at once. A genuine conversion will be the most helpful means of bringing his mind to a pure state of thinking. Remember that the creation and distribution of this energy is largely under the control of the will. How long will it take a young man to recover GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 247 from the effects of masturbation? - There are so many things to be considered in each individual case that this question cannot be answered in other than general terms. The age when the habit was com- menced, the age when the habit was quit, the fre- quency and the number of years of indulgence, the inherited constitution, the extent of lascivious think- ing and the use or non-use of coffee, tea, tobacco and alcoholic drinks, all play a part in the correct answer to the question. I recall one young man of a frail constitution and a nervous temperament, who had practiced the vice two to four times a week for four years. He had nearly all the complications resulting from a greater excess and a much longer period of in- dulgence. He used coffee, tobacco, and had been ad- dicted to much impure thinking. His will-power was weak. He had a long, hard struggle in breaking the habit. It required four years for him to recover. Here is a remarkable example. One of my corre- spondents, twenty-eight years old, began the habit at the age of eight and practiced the habit two and three times a day for twenty years. He had very few of the troubles following the habit of masturbation. Sat- isfactory recovery took place in a year's time. He had everything to his advantage. He had inherited an ideal constitution and moral tendencies. He had never used coffee, tea, tobacco or alcoholic drinks. 248 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION He had never allowed himself to indulge in obscene language, to read immoral books, to associate with bad company or to have improper thought about women. He had cultivated studious and industrious habits, and tried hard to live a Christian life. These ideal conditions had largely counteracted the injurious effects of the secret sin and made recovery possible in the brief period of one year. I regard this as the most remarkable case that I have ever had under my advisement. Where one has practiced the secret sin from four to ten or more years and had the symptoms of greatly injured or lost manhood, it will require from one to four years for nature to restore his manly powers. Nature cannot counteract the loss of vitality and re- store years of waste in a few days or weeks of time. Where one has been a victim of this habit for years he must be patient with nature. Years of practice have established a stream of waste from his body. In most cases it will require six months to one year for nature to check this waste. Until this is done, the patient cannot hope to be conscious of the delightful thrill of manhood being restored. Just here, I find many of my correspondents become discouraged. Failing to realize results in a few weeks, they are tempted to feel that the advice found in this book will not bring relief when followed, or that their case is a GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 249 helpless one. They need to be patient with nature in her slow but sure method of producing real results. What per cent, of children should be circum- cised and when? - The best physicians are not agreed on this. Many would say one-fourth to one- third. It is best to do this when the boy is only a few days or weeks old. Should a young man be circumcised after he is grown? - If the prepuce passes back freely and there is no irritation or soreness, I would not advise circum- cision. If there is, I would advise circumcision. In extreme cases of the secret sin, circumcision would help in breaking off the habit. Is there some method of dilating the prepuce and thus avoiding the necessity for circumcision? - Yes. In many cases doctors are able to break up the adhesions and dilate the prepuce as a substitute for circumcision. In this matter most parents neglect their boys. When the prepuce is not passed back every few days and the secretion removed, an adhesion takes place between the prepuce and the head of the penis. A large number of boys labor for years, from the age of six to twelve trying to pass the prepuce back. They have not the right motive in doing this. It is impos- sible for them to handle this organ in this way, several times a day for months or years, without discovering 250 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION the secret sin. In this way they dilate the prepuce and break up the adhesions. It is strange that this experience among boys has not suggested to parents the following natural and practical method of solving this problem. Where the prepuce passes back naturally in baby- hood, the mother should occasionally take a damp cloth and remove the secretion. When the boy is two years old the mother should have the boy trained to do this every two or three days. Where the prepuce is long and the opening small, if the mother, every time she cares for the little fel- low's body, would endeavor to pull the prepuce back, by the time the boy is one year old, nine times out of ten, the problem would be solved. This should be done so gradually and carefully as not to produce soreness. If this is done before the boy is three years old sex consciousness and passion need not be awak- ened. I would not advise the mother to begin this after the boy is two or three years old. Is there a safe method by which small organs, due to the secret sin, may be enlarged? - There are some methods advertised by " quacks " and cer- tain firms, but most of them are unreliable or injuri- ous. The vacuum method is perhaps the most satis- factory. This consists of an appliance that removes the external pressure from the organ and allows the GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 251 blood to rush into the capillaries. This practice must be kept up for a considerable time to be effective. While this is the most natural method, I would not, in any case, advise the use of it. Any method used tends to call the attention to the organs and this leads to continual sexual weakness. A restored virility is of far more importance than the size of the organ. Because this organ varies in size, many men who have practiced the secret vice to some extent, fear that this organ has become in a measure atrophied. Would you advise marriage as a remedy for weak manhood? - No. One would simply substi- tute marital excess for excessive self-abuse or prosti- tution. If a man has impaired his manhood he should recover his manhood by conserving sexual life, proper diet and physical exercise for a few years before he marries. What effect will a period of self-abuse have upon one's offspring? - Perfect children are born of parents having a strong vitality. This vice weak- ens the vitality. Where a young man has noticeably injured his nerves, his vitality, his health, he should seek to regain his manly powers before he thinks of becoming a father. Should a young man marry who has for a num- ber of years practiced masturbation? - It is al- ways best for a young man who has practiced the 252 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION secret vice for five, ten or fifteen years to quit the habit and live a continent life for one or more years. During this time he becomes normal in his sexual life and sexual demands. If he has practiced the habit only in a very limited way, so that he is not suffering from any bad consequences, postponement of marriage is not necessary. What should a young man do when he discovers that he has varicocele? - The approach of this dis- ease is first noticed by a dilation of the cord leading to the epididymis of the left testis. When the veins become full of impure blood and feel like a handful of tangled earthworms and the left gland becomes painfully tender and begins to become much reduced in size, then the individual has a real case of varico- cele. If, when the veins are only moderately large and there is but little soreness, the causes are aban- doned, no serious results may follow. This disease is caused chiefly by the secret sin and impure thinking. In some cases it is caused by a bruise or the " falling of the mumps." The patient must abandon the cause; if it be the secret sin, quit it; if impure thinking, quit that; if " spooning " with girls, a most common cause, be a gentleman and quit it. Buy two silken suspensories, so they can be kept clean. The suspensory holds the testes up close to the body and prevents much of the uneasy dragging feel- GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 253 ing. If this advice is followed for several months a surgical operation need never be necessary. Not one of several hundred young men who have carefully followed this advice have had to be operated on. If the patient fails to get relief and cure after several months of following this advice, he should consult a home physician. Does varicocele caused by the " falling of mumps," lead to sterility? - It does not. If neg- lected, varicocele, however caused, may lead slowly to sexual weakness and this finally to temporary sterility, or inability to become a father. Prompt attention should be given to the advice found in the answer to the previous question. When a testicle has become reduced in size can it be restored to normal size? - If in the earliest stage of varicocele, before the gland has become much reduced, the advice found elsewhere in this book is followed, the gland may become normal in size. When the gland has become much reduced in size, it will not be possible to restore it fully. When a young man has become infected with venereal disease, should he treat himself with a patent remedy purchased in a drug store or send away for a remedy? - A young man's money, health and life are too valuable to be jeopardized by resorting to either method. Most of these drug store 254 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION remedies advertised in gentlemen's closets are guaran- teed to produce a cure in one to five days, and, it is further guaranteed, that the disease will never return. There should be a law prohibiting the sale of such drugs. They are an encouragement to uninformed men to visit the prostitute. When the young man finds that the patent remedy has failed to cure him, he is then perhaps in a chronic state of infection. Now the best medical talent may fail to produce a perma- nent cure. Should a young man who has had a venereal disease in a chronic form ever marry? - Few questions are more important and few more difficult to answer. The right of being a husband and father may be annulled by inherited defects or acquired con- ditions. The wife and child have incontrovertible rights. The specific disease germs producing gonor- rhea have been found in the genital vessels and ducts ten years after the victim considered himself cured, and the germs producing syphilis have been found in a man's brain twenty-two years after he considered himself cured. Sixty-five per cent, of married women who are operated on in their pelvic and abdominal cavities, a very large per cent, of imbecile children, and eighty per cent, of blind infants are traceable to uncured infection in their husbands and fathers. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 255 Where the diseases have been properly treated and a cure has been effected in the first stage, no serious after effects will be experienced. Where the seeming cure has been effected several months or years after taking the disease, quite a large per ,cent. are never free from the effects. If such men marry at all, mar- riage should be delayed a few years after they con- sider themselves cured. At intervals of once or twice a year they should be carefully examined by the State Health Board. If no disease germs are found after two, four or more years, the individual may marry with some measure of assurance that he will not infect his wife or child. Even when these necessary precau- tions have been taken, children to the third and fourth generations may have to suffer for life for the sins of their fathers. Can gonorrhea and syphilis be permanently cured? - If gonorrhea is promptly and properly treated, it can, in many cases, be cured without dan- ger of return or any serious effects being transmitted to the wife or child. It is also a fact that in many cases of gonorrhea, even when properly treated, there is a strong tendency to run into chronic conditions. When the disease has been neglected or poorly treated, or when a case by its own persistency runs into a chronic state, many such cases are never cured so that 256 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION they may not return in some form. Weakened germs have been known to remain in a quiescent condition in the genital ducts for years. In recent years many prominent physicians have changed their views regarding venereal diseases, as they are now known to be more insidious and persistent than was formerly thought. Some physicians claim that syphilis may sometimes be cured; but many emi- nent physicians claim that it is quite probable that when one has once been infected with syphilis that his body is never entirely free from the disease germs. Some authorities claim that the syphilitic germ has been found in the brain twenty years after the disease was contracted. Many leading physicians now con- sider gonorrhea worse than syphilis. When a man experiences a sexual desire, does that not indicate that the desire should be satis- fied? - Sexual desire results from the conscious pos- session of creative energy. This creative energy can be disposed of in any one of the following ways: (i) For procreation; (2) Built into the body and converted into health, strength, labor and length of days; (3) Built into the brain and converted into mental attainments and achievements; (4) Built into the feelings, sentiment, emotions, and converted into sympathy, love and service; (5) It can be selfishly dissipated and reveal its misuse in a blighted, wasted GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 257 life. What disposition shall be made of this creative energy is up to the individual to decide. How can a young man judge of his sweetheart's virtue? - In the same way that a sensible girl would decide upon the virtue of her best gentleman friend. She would consider his reputation, the company he keeps, his general demeanor and his facial indications of chastity. A modest demeanor, absence of famil- iarity, a pure mind, innocent expressions on the face, and look in the eye, are the only evidences of a young woman's virtue by which a young man can be guided. Would it be wise for a young man to test the virtue of his best girl by using the methods of the seducer? - How would he feel if he knew that some young man was practicing the same test on his sister? Not very comfortable, if he had a spark of manhood about him. There is no excuse for or jus- tice in such a test. Under the pressure of the seductive methods used, promise of marriage oft repeated, a pure girl might be induced to surrender her all to the one she loves and trusts. As a rule, such a young man would then refuse to marry the girl he has ruined. If he does marry her, the mistake may mar their future happiness. Would it be proper for a young man to ask his sweetheart if she has kept her virtue? - Cer- tainly, if he can first assure her that he has kept his 258 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION own. If he cannot offer a square deal he should, at least, be willing to take chances. If a young woman is not a virgin should she be expected to confess this to her lover? - If it were customary for men to make such confessions, then if would be fair for a woman to do the same. Since men do not consider it wise or necessary for them to confess their sins before or after marriage, they should not expect this of women. If the question of virtue is raised, let the innocent party introduce it. If the arm is not exercised it becomes helpless, withered and weak. If a young man should re- main single for five to ten years and live a conti- nent life, will not his sexual organs lose their function, wither and atrophy? - These questions appear to present a most perfect analogy. Based on the information the average young man is supposed to have, even if he be a college or university graduate, not one out of a hundred could extricate himself from the conclusion that he must reach, viz., continence in the single life leads to a loss of the reproductive powers and to atrophy of parts. When we consider that this is the argument of the immoral doctor, the ignorant and the vicious, the classes to whom young men of the past have been compelled to go for all their sex information, it is not surprising that almost all young men hold to the " sex necessity lie." In the GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 259 past, ministers, teachers and parents have not been in possession of facts with which to combat this sexual heresy. The solution of this problem lies in the fact that the male and female organs of reproduction have two functions. One is a continuous and regular function, taking place day and night, asleep and awake. The other is a periodic and special function. To illustrate: The breasts of a woman are a part of her reproductive system. A married woman becomes a mother for the first time at the age of twenty. She nurses her babe at her breasts. This function is called lactation. But, it would have been possible for her to become a mother at fifteen and to nurse her child. Then, there were five years during which she did not perform the function of lactation, and yet, she did not lose this function. Suppose she does not become a mother the second time until she is forty. Again her breasts perform this special function as perfectly as they did the first time. But, remember, there were nineteen years during which she did not perform this function, and yet, she did not lose this function. The other sexual organs of a woman have special and periodic functions, such as, menstruation and ovulation. The normal performance of these special functions is de- termined by their general and continuous function. If the female sexual glands, ovaries, and breasts, 260 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION were removed from a girl in her infancy, she would never develop the indescribable physical, mental and social charms of ideal womanhood. If these glands were removed at any other age under forty, she would lose in physical, mental and moral tone. This illus- trates the nature of the general and continuous func- tion of these organs. This function consists in these organs generating an internal secretion which, if not interfered with, will build and maintain a perfect womanhood. This continuous function gives con- stant activity to these organs; keeps them healthy and strong and prevents the loss of their special function, that of motherhood. Day and night, asleep and awake, the male sexual glands are generating an internal secretion which, if retained in the body, will build and maintain perfect manhood. It is this continuous function that gives constant activity to these organs, keeps them healthy and strong and prevents the loss of their special func- tion of reproduction. What effect upon his sex problems has a young man's keeping company with young women? - We have a social nature. It should be normally de- veloped. The sex nature and the social nature are vitally related. Improper social relations lead to sen- suality and proper social relations lead to purity of manhood and womanhood. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 261 If a young man would develop an ideal social na- ture, he should to a reasonable extent, associate with modest, discreet and chaste young women. This is natural and in every way helpful. If a young man who has sexual weakness, due to youthful indiscretions, purposes reform and desires to regain his manhood, he will find association with young women of the above type to be very helpful. The normal young man, as well as the sexually weak, should studiously avoid association with girls whose actions, conversa- tion or dress suggests impure thought. What is the relation of ' ' spooning " to a young man's sex problems? - A single example of " spoon- ing " will answer this question. January 19, 1912, a college young man, in a personal interview, explained that since April 14th he had been completely impotent and wanted to know of me, if there was any hope for him to have his manhood restored. I assured him that there was. He then asked me what he must do. My reply was, " That depends upon what you have been doing." I found that he had been guilty of the secret vice and prostitution to only a limited degree. Convinced that these habits would not explain his con- dition, I said to him, " The trouble is in your mind. You have in some way aroused and maintained a high state of sexual excitement for hours at a time and over a period of months or years. Can you explain? " 262 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION He confessed that for nearly two years he had spent two or three hours, two or three times a week, in company with a girl friend who permitted him to hold her hands, play with her hair, pat her cheeks and chin, kiss, caress and even fondle her breasts, but absolutely refused to permit further advances. Then I explained to him how this intense sexual excitement had brought on varicocele, loss of sexual power and spermatorrhea. Spooning is a growing evil. It is more injurious than the secret sin. Our suggestive post cards, pic- tures on billboards, novels and serial stories, and the moving pictures in five and ten cent shows are all giving young people the idea that spooning is natural and expected as a part of the entertainment, when a young man calls to see his " best girl." The girl who permits spooning will lose many of her personal physical charms. The eyes that once sparkled with intelligence and glowed with luster be- come lusterless, stupid and sunken; the cheeks once rosy and plump become pale and poor; the handshake that was once warm and full of life, is now cold and lifeless. Health is gone. She ends her days in heart trouble, wrecked nerves or consumption. If cohabitation is not a physical and sexual ne- cessity, or conducive to health, why do married people live longer and have better health than GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 263 those who remain single? - As a rule married peo- ple are more temperate in their sexual lives than are the single. But this does not prove that sexual grati- fication is ever conducive to health and long life. All nature contradicts such a conclusion. The embodi- ment of life in seed is a universal sacrifice. Many flowering plants wither, fade and die as soon as they embody life in their seed. If young fruit trees bear fruit too early in life, they are stunted in their growth and die prematurely. There is a suspension of growth in all the vegetable kingdom as soon as the function of reproduction is completed. Among the lowest forms of animal life, as soon as the eggs are fertilized, the animal dies. Among all the higher animals, in- cluding man, there is abundant evidence of some bodily depression and nervous exhaustion after each act of cohabitation, showing the act to be one of sacrifice. The arrested growth, susceptibility to dis- ease and premature decay among plants, trees and animals, when premature or over-production occurs, are significant illustrations of the baneful effects of youthful dissipation of the sex principle and of marital excesses. All nature teaches that the normal expression of sex is the unselfish act of embodying life in a new being and that means sacrifice. The story of the cross is typical of all nature. Christ sacrificed his life 264 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION that humanity might have redemptive life through a process of spiritual reproduction, regeneration. Through centuries of bad heredity, a misunderstand- ing of the nature and true function of sex and years of violation of sex laws have combined to give men. an abnormal sex nature. It has remained for the people of this country to discover and apply the laws of heredity, to learn the true nature and function of sex and to restore to humanity a normal sex nature. The results of centuries cannot be corrected in one genera- tion. Few men will be able to reach the ideal life, but it is the privilege of every man to struggle toward the ideal. For young people to regard sexual gratification as the one reason for marriage is positively degrading and shows that our ideas of marriage should be cor- rected. There are many reasons why the married life is the ideal life. Man is a social being. He needs a companion. He is not complete in himself. He represents only one-half of a complete being. He is never quite satisfied until he finds the other half, the complement of himself. A demand for companionship is found in the very physical, mental and moral natures of man and woman. Their constant association, their mutual home interests and sacrifice for their children are very conducive to health, happiness and a long life. GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION 265 What is the philosophy of the relation of sex to a happy courtship and marriage? - The sexual life forms the basis of these experiences. Without the creative principle, these social relations would be impossible. The love and magnetism that draw the sexes together in courtship and marriage, that har- monize their differences and blend their personalities and make the husband and wife one are the expressions of the sexual life. Young people who get the idea that marriage means unrestricted sexual privilege, will sooner or later land in the divorce court, or be com- pelled to live miserably together. If they live in har- mony with the laws of sex, their honeymoon will be lifelong. My subject is before you. While we may differ as to some minor particulars, we are agreed that the violation of the laws of sex is the most prolific source of wrecked manhood, and that a pure life is the only possible road to perfect manhood. I have tried to lead you to loathe and abhor all forms of sexual impurity and to form a purpose as lasting as life and as strong as death, that you will never again violate the laws of sexual purity. The attainment and main- tenance of perfect manhood, the recovery of wrecked manhood, the transmission of potential perfect man- hood to your offspring, all absolutely depend upon your faithfulness to the principles of sexual purity 266 GUIDE TO SEX INSTRUCTION enunciated in this book. If the truths presented in this book keep one boy out of the pit of sensuality, or if they lead one poor faltering man to form an un- dying purpose to become pure, or if just one man finds help, strength and life through faith in Christ, the author is repaid a thousand-fold. It is a higher honor to wear a crown of perfect manhood than to wear the crown of an angel. HEREDITY EXPLAINED By T. W. Shannon, A. M. This is Prof. Shannon's latest, largest and best book on Heredity and Prenatal Influence. It is one of the most entertaining, instructive and helpful books ever written on this most impor- tant subject. It shows the relation between the prevailing ignorance oi the effect of careless heredity on the one hand, and feeble-mindedness, insanity, inherited tendencies to drunkenness, the social evil and crime on the other. And his po- sition is made clear by actual illustrations. BETTER DAY DAWNING The author sees the dawning of a better day. The country, he says, is very generally aroused to the necessity for action: that greater progress has been made, through aroused interest, during past ten years, than in ninety years previous. The book consists of nearly 150 pages, a number of striking illustrations; bound in Vellum de Lux cloth, postpaid, 75c- Special quantity prices to Lecturers, Evangel- ists, Salesmen and Agents, when accompanied with order for single volume. Address all orders to THE S. A. MULLIKIN CO. Official Publishers MARIETTA OHIO. THE WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC AND PUBLIC VICE CAN AND MUST RE ANNIHILATED. The Light OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE WORLD'S PURITY FEDERATION. B. S. STEADWELL, Editor This wonderfully helpful magazine has been pub- lished for fifteen years at La Crosse, Wisconsin, and has for its purpose the eradication of the traffic in women, (White Slave Traffic), the suppression of public vice; a higher and single standard of morality, and the safe and sane instruction of our young in sex hygiene and the laws of life. It is acknowledged everywhere to be the leading magazine of the world along social purity lines. It tells exactly what our parents, teachers, editors, doctors, pastors, evangelists, Sunday school workers, social, civic and moral reformers, and our young men and young women ought to know,-tells it in a pure, chaste way. It is a magazine that ought to be in every home, in every library, and in every office. I enclose my annual gift to The Light of $5.00. You are doing a glorious work.-J. T. S. Williams, Iowa. The Light has been of greater value to me than any other magazine I have ever read.-Virgil L. Smith, Wisconsin. Your last issue is one of the very best Christian magazines that I have ever seen.-E. P. Miller, M. D., New York. I can hardly wait for The Light to come. I wish it was printed every week. May God bless you.-Mrs. Simpkins, California. I wish I were able to put a copy of The Light in every home, especially where there are young people. -Mrs. Nareganz, South Dakota. In my work as Provincial Superintendent of Purity in the W. C. T. U., I could not do without The Light.- Annie K. Thompson, Victoria, B. C., Canada. I certainly do not want to give up The Light. I look for it as I do a dear friend's visit. It is one of the very best magazines I ever saw.-Mrs. Ferris, California. Nothing has helped me so much to live down tempta- tions in college as The Light. I can never be grateful and thankful enough to its editor.-J S, Scriminger, Virginia. The May number of The Light is one of the best, the most hopeful and encouraging of all the good Issues you have sent out. My God bless and prosper you in this good work.-Sylvanus Stall, D. D., Phila- delphia, publisher "Self and Sex Series." Dear Mr, Steadwell: Enclosed find check for $1.00. Please continue The Light to my address. I can't get along without it-nothing is more helpful in my work and there is not a copy that is not more than worth the 50 cents.-Mrs. Lulu Loveland Shepard, President, Utah State W. C. T. U, The Light, so far as I know purity literature, is, be- yond all comparison, the best periodical on the varied phases of the broad subject of the sex problem as it agitates the world today. It keeps abreast of the negative side, everything that is being done to reduce and eliminate vice is discussed in fullest detail; on the positive side, everything that is being tried to bring in a speedy development of pure manhood, womanhood, childhood, home life, public life on these lines, is dealt with sanely and in due proportion by writers of unquestioned competence, arranged with the skill of a born journalist. I have a complete set, from No. 1, Vol. 1, and find it a perfect thesaurus of information on every conceiv- able phase of the question. Then each new number comes with new and most important matter, which keeps one up-to-date with the world-campaign for a clean humanity, while old and new material throbs with a constant inspiration. God give it an immense circulation until the World Federation for Purity shall have accomplished its work.-Rev. Dr. C. S. Eby, Toronto, Canada. The Light contains from 68 to 100 pages each issue. Publishes all the reform news of the world and por- traits of the leading writers. A yearly subscription is only 50 cents; single copy, 10 cents; foreign postage 15 cents per year. Help scatter its needed messages by subscribing yourself and urging others to sub- scribe. Agents are wanted for this magazine every- where. Address all communications and send all remit- tances to THE LIGHT B. S. Steadwell, Editor. La Crosse, Wisconsin. VITAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED Prof. Shannon is now giving to the world of men the benefit of thousands of private inter- views with men seeking his counsel concerning their problems (withholding names and places) ; of eight years as teacher of biology; of many years on the lecture platform; of an exhaustive research for the purpose of writing ten sexual purity books for men, women and children, and a life devoted to study of the vital problems of the human race. PERFECT MANHOOD Prof. Shannon's first book for men, which has had the marvelous sale of over 100,000 copies in advance of magazine advertising notices, has been enlarged to include the answers to the questions which have come to him through his wide experience, with new chapters and illustra- tions. Questions answered frankly for the bene- fit of all men of all ages, with safe, sane, practical and scientific explanation of man's sexual nature. Book consists of nearly 175 pages. Price in fine cloth, postpaid, only 75c. Special quantity prices to Lecturers, Evangel- ists, Salesmen and Agents, when accompanied with order for single volume. Address all orders to THE S. A. MULLIKIN CO. Official Publishers MARIETTA OHIO. MILLIONS OF WOMEN Will welcome the advent of Prof. Shannon's new sexual purity book for women, entitled PERFECT WOMANHOOD This is a companion volume to Perfect Man- hood, and will be the help, counsel, encourage- ment, inspiration and revelation to all women that Perfect Manhood has been to tens of thousands of men. It supplies just the help that every mother needs, and solves WOMEN'S PROBLEMS What woman is free from her own personal problems ? Prof. Shannon understands them all. He lectures to women and girls all over the American continent, and is unable to meet half of the return calls received. The questions and answers in Perfect Womanhood make everything plain. There is no basis for calculating the value of the contents of this book of vital facts. The price in Vellum de Lux cloth, postpaid, is only 75c. Special quantity prices to W. C. T. U.'s, Lec- turers, Evangelists, Salesmen and Agents, when accompanied with order for single volume. Address all orders to THE S. A. MULLIKIN CO. Official Publishers MARIETTA OHIO. PERFECT BOYHOOD For boys from ten to fifteen; charming, sim- ple, safe. It tells what a boy should know and no more. It is more important for your boy to get the information from this book now, than for him to receive it after he is fifteen. " Will my boy read it?" If he does not, we will re- fund the price. The price in Vellum de Lux cloth, postpaid, is only 40c. Paper, 20c. PERFECT GIRLHOOD A reprint of the " Girl and Her Mother " from " Guide to Sex Instruction," with several new chapters added. A book of vital facts for girls from twelve to fifteen. No mother can afford to deprive her daughter of the information this little book contains. The price in Vellum de Lux cloth is only 40c. Paper, 20c. Special quantity prices to Lecturers, Evangel- ists, Salesmen and Agents, when accompanied with order for single volume. Address all orders to THE S. A. MULLIKIN CO. Official Publishers MARIETTA OHIO.