• wtOLOCT LIBRARY BIOLOGY LIBRARY *»n THE FUNCTIONS AND DISORDERS REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. A Practical Treatise on Diseases of the Urinary aud Generative Organs (in both Sexes). — Part I. Non-Specific Diseases. Part II. Syphilis. Entirely Rewritten, with Copious Additions. Illustrated by Wood- cuts and Coloured Plates. 3rd Edition. Octavo, £1 11*. 6d. Prostitution, considered in its Moral, Social, and Sanitary Aspects, in London and other Large Cities ; with Proposals for the Mitigation and Prevention of its Attendant Evils. 2nd Edition. Octavo, 12*. THE FUNCTIONS AND DISORDERS OF THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS a CPtvok, fttty, $tatt gge, an* gJtantri fife CONSIDERED IN THEIR PHYSIOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, AND MORAL RELATIONS BY WILLIAM ACTON, M.R>C>S> LATB SURGEON 10 THE ISMSQTOS DISPKNSART, AKD FORMBRLT BXTBRNE TO THB VBSEREAL HOSPITALS, PARIS, FELLOW OF THB BOIAL MED. AND CHIB. BOCIETT, ETC. E1C- SIXTH EDITION LONDON J. & A. CHURCHILL, NEW BURLINGTON STREET 1875 ^W3^^i WOLOGY LIBRARY \ 42- Bio/c o <\y PREFACE TO THE SIXTH EDITION In preparing the present edition I hope I may again consci- entiously state that no time or labour has been spared in the endeavour to make the work more worthy of the continued favour the profession has shown it. I have sought to investigate the subjects treated of in the calm and philosophic spirit in which all scientific inquiries should be approached, and have striven to keep the text free from any sentiment or expression incompatible with the dignity and the high calling of a medical man. I would further add that I have not relied on my own observations only, but have quoted largely from the works of Carpenter, Lallemand, and Parise; preferring that they should share the responsibility of many statements which I could have established on my own experience. Hence I would fain hope that the professional reader, who takes up this work in a serious, thoughtful, and what I would term a loyal spirit, will not rise from its perusal without having derived considerable information. ( The continent student will find reasons for continuing to live according to the dictates of virtue. The dissolute will be taught, on positive and irrefragable grounds, the value of self-control?^ The bachelor, who is often placed in a trying social position, will glean consolation from observing that not only are his sexual sufferings recognised, but that rules are given him for their £f9§W* APR 3 1972 nn3^ i Ko 1 3l VI fcREtfACE mitigation. The married man will find advice and guidance, in order to avoid excesses. The surgeon will learn how to manage those difficult classes the hypochondriacal and the libertine. Lastly, the advocate who practises in the divorce or criminal courts will here find the basis for many valuable argu- ments, — nay more, he may learn how, in many cases of guilt, fair cause may be shown for a culprit's committal to a lunatic asylum instead of to a prison. In conclusion, I would fain indulge the hope that the book may continue to exert, as I trust it has already exerted, some good practical influence upon public health and public morals. 17, Haeley Steeet, Cavendish Squaee October ', 1875. TABLE OF CONTENTS FIRST PERIOD-CHILDHOOD THE FUNCTIONS AND DISORDERS IN CHILDHOOD PART I PAGE NORMAL SEXUAL CONDITIONS IN CHILDHOOD . 1 PART II ABNORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN CHILDHOOD Sexual Pbecocity ........ 3 SECOND PERIOD-YOUTH THE FUNCTIONS AND DISORDERS IN YOUTH PART I NORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN YOUTH . . 9 i 12 Vlll CONTENTS PAET n ABNORMAL CONDITION IN YOUTH Cha.pt. I. — Incontinence ...... „ II.— Masturbation ...... Sect. I. — Masturbation in Eablt Childhood „ II. — Masturbation in the Youth and Adult „ III.— Insanity arising from Masturbation . „ IV. — Phthisis arising from Masturbation . „ V.— Affections of the Heart arising from Mas turbation .... PAGE 33 38 39 54 62 THIRD PERIOD THE FUNCTIONS AND DISORDERS OP THE REPRO- DUCTIVE ORGANS IN THE ADULT dfi'rstf Wbi&Um GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON THE SEXUAL CONDITION OF THE ADULT . . . .71 CHAPTER I— VIRILITY . .74 *econb fflttnsuon THE SEXUAL ACT, ITS PHYSIOLOGY AND DISORDERS . 74 CHAPTER I— ERECTION . . 75 PART I NORMAL ERECTION, OR CONDITIONS ESSENTIAL TO IT . . 76 CONTENTS IX PAET n ABNORMAL ERECTION AND DISORDERS AFFECTING ERECTION Sbct. I.— Slow Erection II. — Erection not lasting long enough III. — Impeefect Erection . IV. — Irregular Erection . V.— Non-Erection .... VI.— Priapism, or Permanent Erection „ VII.— Satyriasis .... PAGE 82 82 83 83 86 86 87 CHAPTER II— EMISSION PART I NORMAL EMISSION; CONDITIONS ESSENTIAL TO IT PART II DISORDERS AFFECTING EMISSION Sect. I. — Premature Ejaculation „ II.— Non-Emission ..... „ III.— Nocturnal Emissions .... ,, IV.— Diurnal Pollutions or Emissions . 91 97 100 102 105 116 CHAPTER III— THE EMITTED FLUID SEMEN PART I NORMAL CONDITION OF THE SEMEN PART II DISORDERS AFFECTING THE SEMEN Sect. I. — Inpecund Semen „ II.— Ungratified Sexual Excitement „ III. — Sexual suffering in the Married „ IV. — Disappointment in Love „ V. — Passing Bloody Sembn „ VI. — Spermatorrhea ' . False Spermatorrhea CHAPTER IV— SEXUAL INTERCOURSE 12.2 122 131 131 138 141 143 144 145 171 178 CHAPTER V— MARITAL EXCESSES 191 CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER VI— CELIBACY . . .195 CHAPTER VII EARLY BETROTHALS-LONG ENGAGEMENTS . 198 Cfnrti Sibfetim IMPOTENCE . . . .200 Sect. I. — Sexual Indiffebence, oe Tempobaey Absence of Desiee 203 „ II. — Tetje Pebmanent Impotence, oe Absence of Vibility . 222 N III. — Steeility . . . . . . 230 „ IV. — Impotence considbeed as a Gbound foe a Deceee of Nullity of Mabeiage ..... 234 FOURTH PERIOD-ADVANCED LIFE THE FUNCTIONS AND DISORDERS OF THE REPRO- DUCTIVE ORGANS IN ADVANCED LIFE . 249 PART I NORMAL FUNCTIONS IN ADVANCED LIFE . . 249 PART H DISORDERS IN ADVANCED LIFE . . 254 Chapt. I.— Functional Disoedees in Pbesons who do not know the Consequences of Repeated Acts of Sexual Inteecoubse, and commit excesse8 feom ignoeance . . . 255 „ II. — Functional Disoedees in Peesons who know the Conse- quences of Sexual Excesses, but cannot contbol theib Passions ....... 260 „ III.— Functional Disoedees in Debauches who, hoping to SUPPLY THE LOSS OF I'OWEB CONSEQUENT ON THEIB PBE- vious Excesses, fbefeb to stimulate the Repeoductive Oegans fob the pubpose of gbatifying theib Animal Passions . . . . . . .261 APPENDIX.— Pbescbiptions . . . .265 INTRODUCTION I have in the following pages treated of the Functions and DisorderSj as distinguished from the Anatomy and Pathology, of the reproductive organs. On the latter topics there are many excellent and exhaustive works, but the former still need much elucidation. Until lately, indeed, many standard surgical writers on the generative l system have practically ignored the functional aspect of their subject ; dealing with the whole of the wonderful and complex machinery of which they treat, as if the offices it fulfils, the thousand feelings it affects, the countless social, moral, and scientific interests with which it is so intimately connected, were of little or no moment. A different, and I trust, healthier feeling has arisen since the first edition of this book was published ; and I think I need not here repeat the apology or defence with which the earlier editions were prefaced. I have laid under contribution the domains of Natural History and Comparative Anatomy, with the illustrative treasures of the College of Surgeons' Museum, the Veterinary College, and the Zoological Gardens, and have, moreover, availed myself of the experience of practical breeders of stock. I have again followed in this edition the natural division of the subject, and have considered it under the four main periods of — Childhood — Youth — Adult Age — and Advanced Life. Taking 1 In the following pages the words " generative," " sexual," u reproductive," will be used synonymously ; there are some instances in which distinctions may be made between them, but these are so slight I need not further allude to them, Xll INTRODUCTION each period separately, I have first discussed the normal Functions or Conditions of the reproductive organs incidental to it. Having fully explained these by the help of the most recent physiological investigations, I have examined the Disorders to which each period is most subject. I venture to hope that scarcely a single ailment to which the generative functions are liable has escaped notice. To each it will be found that I have at least indicated the appropriate treatment. FIRST PERIOD— CHILDHOOD THE FUNCTIONS AND DISORDERS IN CHILDHOOD PART I NORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN CHILDHOOD Any preliminary detailed analysis of the anatomy of the reproduc* tive organs would be foreign to the purposes of the present treatise ; a few words as to their relative size and appearance at different periods of life at the outset of our inquiry will suffice. In childhood the penis is naturally small, with the foreskin pointed, and not only completely covering the glans, but even extending beyond it. The attempt to uncover the glans is attended with difficulty in conse- quence of the existence of a natural phymosis, and similarly the process of recovering the glans owing to a natural paraphymosis, cannot be accomplished without resort to a certain degree of violence. The mucous membrane is soft and flaccid, and (in a healthy con- stitution) free from the secretion called smegma by which it is covered in after life. With sensitive children the withdrawal of the prepuce appears to promote erection, and to induce a gradual increase in the size of the penis, and such withdrawal is in all cases so far as possible to be avoided. In childhood the testes are small and flaccid, often pendent, and not sensitive to the touch. Such briefly described are the external appearance and general characteristics of the reproductive organs during childhood. We may now turn our attention to their functions. (^Previously to the attainment of puberty the normal condi- tion of a healthy child is one of entire freedo m from sexual impres- sions) All its v ital energ y is employed in constructing the growing frainj ?, in storing up external impressions, and in educating the brain to 1 V 2 NORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN CHILDHOOD receive them. ^During a well-regulated childhood, and in the case of ordinary temperaments, there is no temptation to infringe this primary law of nature^ The sexes, it is true, in most English homes, are allowed unrestricted companionship, and experience shows that this intimacy is in the main unattended with evil results. In the immense majority of instances, indeed, it is of great benefit. How- ever this may be, at a very early age the pastimes of the girl and boy diverge. The boy takes to more boisterous amusements, and affects the society of boys older than himself, simply because they make rougher, or, in his opinion, manlier playfellows. The quieter games of girls are despised, and their society is to a considerable extent deserted. This apparent rudeness, often grieved over by anxious parents, may almost be regarded as a provision of nature against possible danger. Education, of course, still further separates children as they grow into boys and girls ; and the instinctive, and powerful check of natural modesty is an additional safeguard. ^Thus it happens that with most healthy and well brought up children no sensual idea or feeling has ever entered their heads, even in the way of speculation} I believe that such children's curiosity is seldom excited on these subjects except as the result of suggestion by persons older than themselves. At any rate in healthy subjects and especially in "children brought up in the pure air and amid the simple amusements of the country, perfect freedom from, and indeed total ignorance of any sexual attrac- tion is the rule. The first and only feeling exhibited between the sexes in the young should be that pure fraternal and sisterly affection which it is the glory and blessing of our simple English home habits to create and foster with all their softening influences on the after life. This state of purity and ignorant innocence in children is not in any way unnatural. It is true that a different rule prevails among many of the lower animals. For instance, no one can have seen young lambs gambolling together without noticing at what an early age the young rams evince the most definite sexual propensities. Precocity in them is evidently intuitive, as it cannot depend on the force of example. This contrast between children and young animals may be explained by the fact that the animal's life is much shorter than that of man, its growth is more rapid, its office in the world is lower and more material, its maturity is sooner reached, and sexual propen- sities are therefore naturally exhibited at a much earlier age. In still lower forms of life sexual feeling commences yet earlier. In many Bpecies of moths no sooner is the perfect insect produced than it proceeds at once to the exercise of the function of procreation, which completed, its own existence ceases. Very different should be the case with the human being, who needs ABNORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN CHILDHOOD 3 all the strength and all the nutrition he can command for the gradual development and consolidation of his more slowly maturing body and mind. ^The full development of the physical frame should precede reproduction. This applies to both sexes alike^) PART II ABNORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN CHILDHOOD SEXUAL PRECOCITY It were well if the child's reproductive organs always remained in a quiescent state till puberty. This is unfortunately not the case. Amongst the earliest disorders that we notice is sexual precocity. In many instances, eitner from hereditary predisposition, bad com- panionship, or other evil influences, sexual feelings become developed at a very early age, and this abnormal excitement is always attended with injurious, often with the most deplorable consequences. Slight signs are sufficient to indicate when a boy otherwise apparently healthy, and fond of playing with other boys, has this unfortunate tendency. He shows undoubted preferences. He will single out some one particular girl, and evidently derive a more than boyish pleasure from her society. His penchant does not take the ordinary form of a boy's good nature, but little attentions that are generally reserved for a later period prove that his feelings are different from the ordinary standard and sadly premature. His play with the girl is different from his play with his brothers. His kindness to her is too ardent. He follows her he knows not why. He fondles her with tenderness painfully suggestive of a vague dawning of passion. No one can find fault with him. He does nothing wrong. Parents and friends are delighted at his gentleness and politeness, and not a little amused at the traces of early flirtation. If they were wise they would rather feel profound anxiety ; and he would be an unfaithful or incom- petent medical adviser who did not, if an opportunity occurred, warn them that such a boy ought to be carefully watched, and removed from eveiy influence calculated to foster his abnormal propensities. The premature development of the sexual inclination is not merely repugnant to all we associate with the term childhood, but is also fraught with danger to dawning manhood. On the judicious treat- ment of a case such as has been sketched, it probably depends whether the dangerous propensity shall be so kept in check as to preserve the boy's health and innocence, or whether one more shattered constitution 4 ABNORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN CHILDHOOD and wounded conscience shall be added to the victims of sexual precocity and careless training. It ought not to be forgotten that in such cases a quasi-sexual power often accompanies these premature sexual inclinations. Few, perhaps, except medical men, know how early in life a mere infant may experience erections. Frequently it may be noticed that a little child, on being taken out of bed in the morning, cannot make water at once. It would be as well if it were recognised by parents and nurses that this often depends upon a more or less complete erection. Predisposing Causes. — What the cause of this early sexual predis- position in a young child may be, it is difficult to lay down with certainty in any given case. My own belief is, that there are sexual predisposing causes. I should specify hereditary predisposition as by no means the least common. It cannot be denied that as children soon after birth inherit a peculiar conformation of features or frame from the parent, so they frequently evince, even in the earlier years of childhood, mental characteristics and peculiarities that nothing but hereditary predisposition can account for. \I believe that, as in body and mind, so also in the passions, the predispositions of the father are frequently inherited by the children. No man or woman can inordinately indulge their own sexual passions without at least running the risk of finding a disposition to gratify their sensual passions at an early age inherited by their offsprings In this way only can . we explain the existence in generation after gene- ration of an early and apparently almost irresistible propensity to similar tastes and feelings. No doubt vicious tendencies are frequently, perhaps most frequently acquired. But I firmly believe that moral as well as physical tendencies and irregularities can be transmitted to the progeny. Exciting Causes. — There are, however, not a few directly exciting causes which can, and do frequently, not only foster this early proclivity to sexual feeling when there is hereditary predisposition, but even of themselves alone beget it. | (We see in some children at a very early age an almost ungovernable disposition to touch or excite the sexual organs. This most dangerous habit is not unfrequently, I believe, produced by irritation in the rectum arising from worms. In other instances it arises from excessive irritability of the bladder. In addition to the manipulation another symptom often supervenes, viz., the constant wetting of the bed at nightN There is, besides, in many young persons, as will be mentioned here- after (p. 32), a morbid sensibility of the external organs that is exces- sively troublesome and often painful. This symptom may, I believe, appear very curly in life, and, if not removed, lead to consequences SEXUAL PRECOCITY. 5 that will be aggravated by youthful ignorance and want of self-control. It is to be wished that all medical men attached to large institutions where young boys are collected would bear this in mind, and when they have reason to suspect its existence remedy it at once. How- ever natural the delicacy they feel in investigating such ailments, yet in this, perhaps above all other evils, prevention is .better than cure. Irritation of the glans penis arising from an unusually long prepuce or the collection of secretion under it is another exciting cause which should not be neglected. Since my attention was first called to this subject I have had abundant evidence that the influence of a long prepuce in producing sexual precocity has not been sufficiently noted. In the child the prepuce usually, as stated at p. 1, entirely covers the glans penis, and when, as generally happens in early life, smegma is not secreted, no ill consequences arise, but in some cases the urine lodges behind the prepuce and (especially if it becomes acrid) produces irri- tation which accordingly requires local treatment. A judicious mother or nurse should on observing any redness, swelling, or peculiar appear- ance call the attention of the surgeon to the case, as when taken in time the treatment is very simple and efficacious. £l do not recommend that the child under normal conditions should be advised, like the adult, to draw back the prepuce and employ ablution daily, but in all cases where the smegma is secreted early, daily ablutions are indispensable. As the boy grows older careful ablution of the glans and prepuce every morning will be beneficial, and if it is neglected, annoyance will be experienced, especially by those who have a long prepuce, from the collection of the secretion round the glans penis ; but it should be remembered that this white secretion is natural, and not a symptom of disease?) Quacks have frequently so wrought upon the fears of ignorant patients, especially those whose consciences were not clear, as to induce them to think they were labouring under some peculiar affection, whereas a little soap and water would have acted as a sufficient remedy. A long and narrow prepuce is, in my opinion, a much more common cause of the subsequent contraction of evil habits than parents or medical men have any idea of. The collection of smegma between the glans and the prepuce is almost certain to produce irritation. Preventive Treatment. — The first point to be observed will already have suggested itself — cleanliness. Yet I have never heard of any steps being taken by those having the care of youth to induce boys to adopt precautionary methods. Children are educated to remove secretions from every other part of their bodies (where they are of less importance in their consequences than these are here), but probably a nurse, parent, schoolmaster, or even doctor, would be somewhat 6 ABNORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN CHILDHOOD astonished at its being proposed that a boy of twelve should be told (for if not told he will never do it) to draw back the prepuce and thoroughly cleanse the glans penis every day in his bath. In my own experience of the treatment of children I have found this practice so beneficial, that I never hesitate to recommend it in any case where there is the least symptom of local irritation^ VThe only objection which can be suggested to recommending thorough cleanliness in early childhood is the supposed risk of teaching the boy to practise manipulations which may tend to excite sexual desires^) This vague alarm that we must not allude to these sexual matters because some ill consequences may arise has no longer any influence on me. I am fully convinced from the acknowledgments of patients that the course I suggest will not be accompanied by the risk above referred to. Even if the dreaded evil should arise, and the carrying out of advice was followed by any morbid sensations, the boy who had received such recommendation would go to his adviser and state the consequences, in the full assurance that he would receive sympathy and any further advice that might be necessary, fl am convinced of the fact that when any irritation or derangement exists, if the proper steps (of which cleanliness is the most effectual) are not taken to check it, the child will in ignorance handle or rub the organs, and the dangers arising in this way are much greater than any to be apprehended as indirectly arising from mere ablution, especially in cold water/) \The shock .joi cold water falling on the organs in susceptiblepeople is most beneficiajj In subsequent pages, see p. 53, we shall see that this treatment will often by itself suffice to cure the irritability that occasionally is noticed in the reproductive organs, and which produces, if unremoved, much mental and sexual suffering. Nothing of course can be more important than carefully to guard against unnecessary irritation from whatever cause. \Children should be early cautioned against playing with the external organs. Without giving any reason, they may be desired to keep their hands away, which will in most cases be sufficient, if there is no physical exciting cause. The slightest symptom, however, of the existence of any such cause should never be neglected. If, for instance, a child wets his bed, — which is generally almost the first indication the parents have of the presence of irritation, — the organ should be examined, and the boy's other habits watched. The irritation of the bladder is only too likely to determine blood to the part, and the unpleasant symptoms, moreover, show a nervous susceptible temperament, which always requires careful watching^ A few practical hints may here be added for the benefit of those who have not had much experience in the tra&ment of children. If SEXUAL TRECOCITY 7 the prepuce comes back readily all well and good, but if (especially in boyhood) it is retracted with difficulty, the introduction of dry lint between the glans and prepuco will suffice to stretch the latter and the lint may be gradually increased in thickness. If there is paraphy- mosis, division of the few threads which cause contraction of the prepuce, and keeping it drawn back for a few days by covering it with dry- lint, will usually suffice. I have by using these precautions in many instances been able to dispense with circumcision, which would have been otherwise necessary — an operation that I always avoid, if possible, especially in young children. It has been, indeed, suggested by some persons that the universal performance of circumcision would be of no small benefit. This, however, can be only a speculation. Circumcision is never likely to be introduced amongst us, and there is no doubt that the above- mentioned precautions will suffice in most cases to remove all ill effects arising from the existence of a long and narrow prepuce or from the retention of the prepuce. 1 If in the young human being the existence of the foreskin may produce the above evil consequences, later in life we shall see that its presence or absence may lead to most important consequences, particularly when speaking of impotence (see that chapter) . Several confessions that have been made to me induce the suggestion for the consideration of parents and schoolmasters, whether the practice of climbing in gymnasia is not open in some degree to objections. The muscles chiefly called into action in climbing, are those, the excessive exertion of which tends to excite sexual feelings. Boys have, as I know, sometimes discovered this, for more than one adult has told me that, when at school, he had found that he derived pleasure from the exercise, and had repeated it quite in ignorance of the consequences. Those who will refer to p, 30 will not suspect me of undervaluing athletic exercises, but if this particular one has the effect I have described, I should certainly advise its discontinuance. Persons having the care of children cannot too constantly bear in mind that the tendency of all irritation or excitement of the genera- tive system, either mental or physical, is to induce even the youngest 1 In a state of nature the foreskin serves as a complete protection to the glans penis ; nevertheless, to the sensitive, excitable, civilised individual, the prepuce often becomes a source of serious mischief. In warm climates, the collection of the secretions between it and the glans is likely to cause irritation and its consequences; and this danger was probably the origin of circumcision. The existence of the foreskin pre- disposes to exaggerate the effects of syphilis, and I am fully convinced that- the excessive ibility induced by a narrow foreskin, and the difficulty of drawing back the •ice, is often the cause of emissions, masturbation, or undue excitement of the sexual desires. 8 ABNORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN CHILDHOOD child to stimulate the awakened appetite, and attempt to gratify the immature sexual desires which would otherwise have remained dormant for years to come. In a state so artificial as that of our modern civilisa- tion the children of the upper classes are sadly open to this temptation. An enervated sickly refinement tells directly on the children that are at once its offspring and its victims, begetting precocious desires, too often gratified, and giving rise to the meanest and most debasing of all vices. The melancholy and repulsive habit of masturbation, so degrading and debilitating to the child, and so injurious in its effect on the after life, will be fully discussed in a later chapter (p. 38). SECOND PERIOD-YOUTH THE FUNCTIONS AND DISORDERS IN YOUTH PAET I NORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN YOUTH Youth (by which we mean that portion of a man's earthly existence during which he is growing — that is, in which he has not yet attained his maximum of mental and physical stature and strength) is, as regards the reproductive functions, to be divided into two periods. The line of demarcation is the occurrence of that series of phenomena which con- stitute what we call puberty. During the first of these two periods, or childhood, strictly so termed, the fitting condition is, as we have seen in the last chapter, absolute sexual quiescence. In the second period, or that of youth, which we now purpose to con- sider quiescence wakes into all the excitement of the most animated life — a spring season, so to speak, like that so brilliantly sketched by our great poet : " In the spring a fuller crimson comes upon the robin's breast, In the spring the wanton lapwing gets himself another crest, In the spring a livelier iris changes in the burnished dove, In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love." Of the real nature of this new condition, of its temptations, of the incalculable advantages of resisting them, and of the means of doing so, it is now my purpose to speak, as plainly and concisely as possible. Dr. Carpenter thus describes the change from childhood to youth : " The period of youth is distinguished by that advance in the evolu- tion of the generative apparatus in both sexes, and by that acquire- ment of its power of functional activity, which constitutes the state of puberty. At this epoch a considerable change takes place in the bodily constitution: the sexual organs undergo a much increased 10 NORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN YOUTH development ; various parts of the surface, es]>ecially the chin and the pubes, become covered with hair ; the larynx enlarges, and the voice becomes lower in pitch, as well as rougher and more powerful ; and new feelings and desires are awakened in the mind." " To the use of the sexual organs for the continuance of his race Man is prompted by a powerful instinctive desire, which he shares with the lower animals. This instinct, like the other propensities, is excited by sensations ; and these may either originate in the sexual organs themselves or may be excited through the organs of special sense. Thus in man it is most powerfully aroused by impressions conveyed through the sight or touch, but in many other animals the auditory and olfactory organs communicate impressions which have an equal power, and it is not improbable that in certain morbidly excited states of feeling the same may be the case with ourselves." — Carpenter's Physiology, 7th edition, p. 825. With this bodily and mental change or development special functions, hitherto quiescent, begin their operations. Of these the most impor- tant in the male is the secretion of the impregnating fluid, the semen. " From the moment," says Lallemand, " that the evolution of the generative organs commences (the testicles act), if the texture is not accidentally destroyed, they will continue to secrete up to a very advanced age. It is true that the secretion may be diminished by the absence of all excitement, direct or ^indirect, by the momentary feeble- ness of the economy, or by the action of special medicines, but it never entirely ceases from puberty up to old age." (' Les Pertes Seminales,' p. 240, vol. ii.) And now begins the trial which every healthy youth has to encounter, and from which MTniust conie 'out victorious if he is to be all that he can and ought to be. The_child should know nothing of this trialjjind ought never to be disturbed with one sexual feeling or thought. But with puberty a* ver y different state of thiiogs^anses^ A new power demands to be exercised, a new want to be satisfied, ylt is, I take it, of vital importance that boys and young men should know, not only the guilt of an illicit indulgence of their dawning passions, but also the gan ger of sjra ini n^an immature powe r, and the solemn truth that the want will be an irresistible tyrant only to those who have lent it strength by yielding ; that the only true safety lies in keeping even the thoughts pure. Nothing, I feel convinced, but a frank statement of the truth will persuade those entering upon pubei^v that these new feelings, powers, and delights must not be indulged^ ^It is very well known to medical men that the healthy secretion of semen has a direct effect upon the whole physical and mental confor- mation of the man. A series of phenomena attend the natural action of the testicles influencing the whole system; helping, in fact, in no TOXTINENCE 11 small degree, to form the character itself. A function so important, which, in truth, to a great extent determines, according as it is dealt with, the happiness or misery of a life, is surely one of the last, if not the very last, that should be abused (see chapter on Semen)!) But what, too often, are the facts ? The youth, finding himself in possession of these sexual feelings and powers, utterly ignorant of their importance or even of their nature, except from the ribald conversation of the worst of his companions, and knowing absolutely nothing of the consequences of giving way to them, fancies — as he, with many com- punctions, begins a career of depravity — t hat>ir> i s obeying nature's digtates^ Every fresh indulgence helps_tpiorge the chains of habit ; and it too often happens in consequence of the morbid depression to which these errors have reduced him, that he fancies that he is more or less ruined for this world, that he can never be what he might have been, and that it is only by a struggle as for life or death that he can hope for any recovery. In too many instances there is no strength left for any such struggle, and, hopelessly and helplessly, the victim drifts into irremediable ruin, tied and bound injjie chai n of a sin with the commencement of which, ignorance had as much to do as vice. Not that this natural instinct is to be regarded with a Manichaean philosophy as in itself bad. Far from it. That it is natural forbids such a theory. It has its own beneficent purpose ; but that purpose is not early and sensual indulgence, but mature and lawful love. Let us hear what Carpenter eloquently says on this point : " The instinct of reproduction, when once aroused, even though very obscurely felt, acts in man upon his mental faculties and moral feelings, and thus becomes the source, though almost unconsciously so to the individual, of the tendency to form that kind of attachment towards one of the opposite sex which is known as love. This tendency, except in men who have degraded themselves to the level of brutes, is not merely an appetite or emotion, since it is the result of the combined operations of the reason, the imagination, the moral feelings, and the physical desire. It is just in this connection of the psychical attach- ment with the more corporeal instinct that the difference between the sexual relations of man and those of the lower animals lies. In pro- portion as the human being makes the temporary gratification of the mere sexual appetite his chief object, and overlooks the happiness arising from mental and spiritual communion, which is not only purer but more permanent, and of which a renewal may be anticipated in another world, does he degrade himself to a level with the brutes that perish." — Carpenter's Physiology, 7th edition, p. 826. Shakespeare makes even Iago say — " If the balance of our lives had not one scale of reason to poise another of sen- 12 NORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN YOUTH guality, the blood and baseness of our natures would conduct us to most preposterous conclusions ; but we have reason to cool our raging motions, our carnal stings, our unbitted lusts."— Othello. " Nuptial love," says Lord Bacon, " maketh mankind, friendly love perfecteth it, but wanton love corrupteth and enibaseth it." Here, then, is our problem. A natural instinct, a great longing, Las arisen in a boy's heart, together with the advent of the powers requisite to procure its gratification. Everything — the habits of the world, the keen appetite of youth for all that is new — the example of companions — the pride of health and strength — opportunity — all com- bine to urge him to give the rein to what seems a natural propensity. Such indulgence is, indeed, not natural, for man is not a_Jiierilanimal, and the nobler parts of his nature cry out against the vio latio n of their sane6tyTT^ay~m^re, such induIgence^/atoZ. It may be repented of. Some of its consequences may be, more or less", recovered from. But, from Solomon's time to ours, it is true that it leads to a " house of death." The boy, however, does not know all this. ^le nas *° l earn that to his immature frame every sexual indulgence is unmitigated evil. It does not occur to his inexperienced mind and heart that every illicit pleasure is a degradation, to be bitterly regretted hereafter — a link in a chain that does not need many more to be too strong to break> " Amare et sapere vix Deo conceditur," said the ancients. It is my object, nevertheless, to point out how the two can be combined — how, in spite of all temptations, the boy can be at once loving and wise, and grow into what indeed, I think, is one of the noblest objects in the world in these our days, — a continent man. CONTINENCE f In the following pages the word " continence " will be used in the ( sense of voluntary and entire forbearance from sexual excitement or indulgences in any form. The abstinence must be voluntary, 'for continence must not be con- founded with impotence. An impotent man is continent in a sense, but his continence, not depending on any effort of the will, is not what we are now speaking of. Nor is the continence — which I advise, and would encourage by every means in my power — mere absence of desire arising from ignorance. That, as I shall hereafter show, p. 20, 1 consider a dangerous condition. (True continence is complete control over the passions, exercised by one who has felt their power, and who, were it not for his steady will, not only could, but would indulge thenA CONTINENCE 13 Again, continence must be entire. The fact of the indulgence being ^> lawful or unlawful does not affect the question of continence. In this respect our definition differs from those in most dictionaries. 1 This definition, of course, excludes the masturbator from the ^ory of continent men, even though he may never have had con- nexion with a female. It can be only iu a loose and inaccurate s^nse that an Onanist can be called continent. He is not really so. vCon- tinence consists not only in abstaining from sexual congress, but in controlling all sexual excitement. If a young man gives way to mas- turbation it is easy enough, as will be presently shown, for him to abstain from fornication. In fact, the one indulgence is generally incompatible with the otherj) O'Ve may confidently assert that no man is entitled to the character of being continent or chaste who by any unnatural means causes expulsion of semen. On the other hand, the occasional occurrence of nocturnal emissions or wet dreams is quite compatible with, and, indeed, is to be expected as a consequence of continence, whether temporary or permanent. It is in this way that nature provides relieO Professor Newman in his pamphlet on the relation of physiology to sexual morals has some excellent observations on this subject, which I generally coincide in, and which I prefer to quote rather than attempt to epitomise. "Moralists have at all times regarded strict temperance in food, and abstinence from strong drinks, to be of cardinal value in the mainte- nance of young men's purity. But whatever our care to be temperate, whatever our activity of body, it is not possible always to keep the exact balance between supply and bodily need. Every_Qrgaii_iaJiable occasionally to be ove rcharged, and, in every youthful or vigorous naTu^y-hsiS power to relieve itself. Considering that in man the sexual appeme~isliot, as in wild animals, something which comes for only a short season, and then imperatively demands gratification, but on the contrary is perennial, constant, and yet is not necessarily to be exercised at all, his nature cannot be harmonious and happy, unless it can right itself under smaller derangements of balance. But this is precisely what it does ; and I cannot but think it of extreme import- ance not to allow a bugbear to be made out of that, which on the face of the matter is God's provision that the unmarried man shall not be 1 The following are one or two of the definitions of the word " continence " in standard works : "Abstinence from, or moderation in, the pleasures of physical love.'' — B. Dun- c/Uson, M.D. " The abstaining from unlawful pleasures." — Bailey. " Forbearance of lawful pleasure."— Ash, 14 NORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN YOUTH harmed by perfect chastity. That it is ever other than natural, normal, and beneficial, I never heard or dreamed until I was well past the age of fifty. The Eoman poet Lucretius, in a medico-philoso- phical discussion, speaks of this matter quite plainly, and treats it as universal to mankind : iv, 1024 — 1045. He imputes it to strength and youthful maturity, not to weakness ; and while his description is tinged with epic extravagance, the thought of its doing any one harm evidently does not cross his mind, much less that it is an evil effect and disgraceful stain from previous vice. Now that I learn so many medical men to be unacquainted with it except as something immo- derate, and, thereby, depressing and dangerous, — morbid and alarm- ing ; I have thought it a duty to make inquiries, where I could properly do so, from persons of whose true purity from early life I am thoroughly persuaded ; and all that I elicit, direct or indirect, confirms me in what I have all my life believed. A clergyman reminds me that the ceremonial regulations in the books of Moses count upon it, and so does Jeremy Taylor; — dates, countries and races (says he) distant enough : he adds his belief that it is perfectly healthful, and tends to be nearly periodical. A traveller to Jerusalem tells me that he found one of the superior monks * unclean ' for the day on account of it ; and an inferior monk alluded to it as an ordinary matter. On gathering up what I know, what I have read, and what I believe on testimony, I distinctly assert, first, that this occurrence is strictly 1 spontaneous,' — that it comes upon youths who not only have never practised, but have never heard of such a thing as secret vice : that it comes on, without having been induced by any voluntary act of the person, and without any previous mental inflammation : next, that it occasionally comes upon married men, when circumstances put them for long together in the position of the unmarried; moreover, even when they become elderly, it does not wholly forsake them under such circumstances. My belief is that it is a sign of vigour. At any rate I assert most positively that it is an utter mistake to "Suppose that it necessarily weakens or depresses, or entails any disagreeable after- results whatever. I have never so much as once in my life had reason to think so. I have even believed that it adjJs JL jtcJbhfi_-spri»g-©f the WL^, and to the pride of manhood in youths. Of course there is an amount of starvation (at least I assume there is) which would super- sede it ; but to overdo the starvation even a little, may be an error on the wrong side. — Again, there is probably an amount of athletic practice which will take up all the supplies of full nutriment in the intensifying of muscle or of vital force,' and leave no sexual superfluity. But labour so severe is stupefying to the brain and very unfavorable to high mental action. Plato is not alone in regarding athletes as unintellectual. Aristotle deprecates their system of ' overfeeding and CONTINEV I. 15 overworking.' And after all, } r ou will not succeed in exactly keeping the balance, whether you try by starvation or by toil ; and the over careful effort will but produce either a valetudinarian, or else a religious ascetic, who is in terrible alarm lest Nature inflict upon him a momentary animal pleasure. A state of anxiety and tremor is not mentally wholesome. We must take things as they come, observing broad rules of moderation as wisely as we can, but without nervous alarm about details. The advantages of vegetarian food I have learned only late in life. I now know that I might have been wiser in my diet. With better knowledge I should have done far better as to the quality of food ; but I do not easily believe that a more scrupulous dread of satisfying my appetite lest it cause some small sexual super- fluity would have conduced either to mental or to bodily health, at any time of my life, unmarried or married." — Loc. cit., p. 26. Voluntary imitation or excitement of this natural relief is, in every sense of the word, incontinence. I would exclude from the category of continent men those (and they are more numerous than may be generally supposed) who actually forbear from sexual intercourse, but put no restraint upon impure thoughts or the indulgence of sexual excitement, provided intercourse does not follow. This is only physical continence : it is incomplete without mental continence also. Such men as these, supposing the sexual excitement is followed by nocturnal emissions, as it often is, and this with great detriment to the nervous system, must not be ranked with the continents ; to all intents and purposes they are Onanists. The subject will be further discussed in the section " On ungratified sexual excitement." v The advantages of Continence. — If a healthy, well-disposed boy \ has been properly educated, by the time he arrives at the age of four- teen or sixteen he possesses a frame approaching its full vigour. His conscience is unburdened, his .intellect clear, his address frank and candid, his memory good, his spirits are buoyant, his complexion is bright. Every function of the body is well performed, and no fatigue is felt after moderate exertion. The youth evinces that elasticity of body and that happy control of himself and his feelings which are indicative of the robust health and absence of care which should accom- pany youth. His whole time is given up to his studies and amuse* ments, and as he feels his stature increase and his intellect enlarge, he gladly prepares for his coming struggle with the world. (If, then, the above are the advantages of continence, let us now glance at the reverse of the picture hereafter more fully considered, and notice the symptoms when a boy has been incontinent, especially in that most vicious of all ways, masturbation. In extreme cases the outward signs of debasement are only too obvious* The frame is 10 NORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN YOUTll L ^^stunted and weak, the muscles undeveloped, the eye is sunken and heavy, the complexion is sallow, pasty, or covered with spots of acne, the hands are damp and cold, and the skin moist. The boy shuns the society of others, creeps about alone, joins with repugnance in the amusements of his schoolfellows. He cannot look any one in the face, and becomes careless in dress and uncleanly in person. His intellect becomes sluggish and enfeebled, and if his evil habits are per- sisted in, he may end in becoming a drivelling idiot or a peevish valetudinarian. Such boys are to be seen in all the^stagesjif-de^ene- ration, but what we have described is but the result towards which f/i^aTTare tending^ \The cause of the difference between these cases is very simple. The ■ continent bov has not_expendcd t h at jvital fluid, &emeiv_Qr exhausted his nervous energy, on the contrary, his vigour has been em ployed for its legitimate purpose, namely, in building up his growing frame. On the other hand, the wear and tear of the nervous system arising from the incessant excitement of sexual thoughts, the constant strain on the nervous system, and the large expenditure of semen, has exhausted the vital force of the incontinent, and has reduced the immature frame to a pitiable wreckj) Difficulty of Maintaining. — An almost infinite variety of opinion exists on this subject, between the extreme proposition on the one hand, that a young man has, or need have no sexual desire, at least to any troublesome degree, and consequently need neither take precautions, nor be warned against the danger of exciting his sexual feelings, and the equally extreme doctrine on the other hand, that the sufferings of chastity are such as to justify, or at least excuse, inconti- nence. ("My own opinion is, that where, as in the case with a very large number, a young man's education has been properly watched, and 1 his mind has not been debased by vile practices, it is usually a com- ' paratively easy task to be continent, and requires no great or extra- ordinary effort ; and every year of voluntary chastity renders the task easier by the mere force of habitT) Yet it can hardly be denied that a very considerable number, even of the more or less pure, do suffer, at least temporarily, no little distress. Lallemand has given a vivid sketch of this sexual uneasiness, which / the early recollections of many of my readers may verify. " There is ajxmstant st ate oL orga sm. and erotic preoccupation, accompanied with agitation, disquiet, and malaise, an indefinable derangement of all the functions. This state of distress is seen particularly in young men who have arrived at puberty, and whose innocence has been preserved from any unfortunate initiation. Their disposition becomes soured, impatient, and sad. They fall into a state of melancholy or niisan* CONTINENCE 17 tliropy, sometimes become disgusted with life, and are disposed to shed tears without any cause. They seek solitude in order to dream about the great mystery which absorbs them ; about those great un- known passions which cause their blood to boil. They are at the same time restless and apathetic, agitated, and drowsy. Their head is in a state of fermentation, and nevertheless weighed down by a sort of habitual headache. A spontaneous emission or escape, which causes this state of plethora to cease, is a true and salutary crisis which for the moment re-establishes the equilibrium of the economy.'' (Vol. II, p. 324.) I have quoted this passage, as containing a brilliant, though, per- haps, rather exaggerated sketch of a state of mind and body that is very common, and is the chief difficulty in the way of a youth's remaining chaste. I am, however, far from endorsing Lallemand's remark, that this distress affects those particularly " whose innocence has been preserved from any unfortunate initiations." On the contrary, it is my experience that these are just the persons who are, generally speaking, too happy and healthy to be troubled with these importunate weaknesses. The semi-continent, the men who indeed see the better course, and approve of it, but follow the worse— the men who, without any of the recklessness of the hardened sen- sualist, or any of the strength of the conscientiously pure man, endure at once the sufferings of self-denial and the remorse of self-indul- gence — these are the men of whom Lallemand's words are a living description. The facts which show the truth of this are innumerable, and apply to the youth, of whom I am now more particularly speaking, as much as to the adult, tit is a matter of every-day experience to hear patients complaining that a state of continence after a certain time produces a most irritable condition of the nervous system, so that the individual is unable to settle his mind to anything : — study becomes impossible ; the student cannot sit still ; sedentary occupations are unbearable, and sexual ideas intrude perpetually on the patient's thoughts. When I listen to this complaint, I have little doubt o f ihe c onfession that is to follow — a confession that at once explains_jthe__s^[mptoms^_» Of course in such cases 1 am prepared to learn that the self- prescribed remedy has been most effective, that sexual intercourse has enabled the student at once to recommence his labours, the poet his verses, and the faded imagination of the painter to resume its fervour and its brilliancy ; while the writer who for days has not been able to construct two phrases that he considered readable, has found himself, after relief of niinal vessels, in a condition to dictate his best performances. In individuals constituted as these are, continence is sure to induce this state of irritability. Still , no such symptoms, however feelingly de- 2 18 NORMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN TOUTS scribed, should ever induce a medical man even to seem to sanction his patient's continuing the fatal remedy, which is only perpetuating the ?sease^ In all solemn earnestness I protest against a medical man counte- nancing such a remedy. It is better for a youth to live a continent life. The strictly continent suffer little or__n one of this irrit ability j^ but the incontinent, as soon as seminal plethora occurs, are sure to be troubled in one or other of the modes above spoken of ; while the remedy of indulgence, if effective, requires repetition as often as the incon- venience returns. If instead of gratifying his inclinations the young patient should consult a conscientious medical man, he would probably be told, and the result would soon prove the correctness of the advice given, that low diet, partial abstinence from meat and stimulants, ape- rient medicine (if necessary), gymnastic exercise, and self-control, will most effectually relieve the symptoms^ The patient might further be advised to adopt the precautions mentioned in the chapter on Nocturnal Emissions, which will tend to prevent a repetition of the plethora. The truth is, that most people, and especially the young, are often only too glad to find an excuse for indulging their animal propensities, instead of endeavouring to regulate or control them. I have not a doubt that this sexual suffering is often much exaggerated, if not invented, for this purpose. Even where it really exists (and I am free to confess that in certain individuals continence of the sexual feelings is very difficult), one of the last remedies the patient would entertain the idea of, would be, that first recommended by a conscientious professional man, viz., attention to diet — exercise — and, in fact, regimen. That there should be more available and willing testimony in favour of the remedy considered agreeable than of that involving constraint or inconvenience, is easily explicable on the supposition that tp witnesses have not had experience of both systems. If a young man wished to undergo the acutest sexual suffering, he could adopt no more certain method than to propose to be incontinent, with the avowed intention of becoming continent again, when he had " sown his wild oats." The agony of breaking off a habit which so rapidlyje ntwinea^ itself with every fibre of the human frame is such that it would not be too much to say to any youtE^commencing a career of vice — " You are going a road on which you will never turn back. However much you may wish it, the struggle will be too much for you. You had better stop now. It is your last chance.^ There is a terrible significance in the Wise Man's words, " None that go to her return again, neither take they hold on the paths of life." How much more severe, occasional incontinence makes the necessary CONTINENCE 19 struggle to remain continent at all, appears from the sexual distress which widowers, or those married men to whom access to their wives is forbidden, suffer. To show that this is not the result of my experience alone, I may quote the statement of my friend Dr. , who is constantly attending for serious diseases of the womb the wives of clergymen, as well as of dissenting ministers, in whose cases, for months together, marital intercourse is necessarily forbidden. He tells me that he has often been surprised at the amount of sexual suffering — the result of their com- pulsory celibacy — endured by the husbands of some of his patients — men in every other relation of life most determined and energetic. Indeed, it is not wonderful that it should be so, if we consider the position of such men, who for years may have indulged, with modera- tion, the sex-passion as we have described it, untrained to mortification in the shape of food or exercise, or marital intercourse, the secretion of perfect semen going on in obedience to the healthy course of a married man's existence. Conceive them reined up suddenly, as it were, and bidden to do battle with their instincts. Religion and morality prevent them, more than others, from having sexual intercourse with strange wonien ; intense ignorance on the subject of the sex-passion in general, as well as misapprehension of the effects of disease of the generative organs, only aggravate their suffering : conceive all this, and it is not difficult to believe that affections of the brain may supervene. These remarks are in no way intended as any excuse or palliation for incontinence, but as warnings to the young. These, it must be remembered, are the complaints of incontinent men, and I mention them here to show^ow much easier it is even in adult life to abstain altogether than it is to control the feelings, when they have been once excited and indulgecp The real remedy for this form of sexual distress is resolute continence and the use of all the hygienic aids in our power — not the empiric receipt of present indulgence with the futile intention of curing the incontinence afterwards. The admitted fact that continence, even at the very beginning of manhood, is frequently productive of distress, is often a struggle hard to be borne, — still harder to be completely victorious in, — is not to be at all regarded as an argument that it is an evil. A thoughtful writer has on this subject some admirable remarks : — " Providence has seen it necessary to make very ample provision for the preservation and utmost possible extension of all species. The aim seems to diffuse existence as widely as possible, to fill up every vacant piece of space with some sentient being, to be a vehicle of enjoyment. Hence this passion is conferred in great force. But the relation between the number of beings and the means of supporting them is only on the 20 NOEMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN YOTJTfi footing of a general law. There may be occasional discrepancy between the laws operating for the multiplication of individuals and tbe laws operating to supply them with the means of subsistence, and evils will be endured in consequence, even in our own highly favoured species ; but against all these evils and against those numberless vexations which have arisen in all ages from the attachment of the sexes, place the vast amount of happiness which is derived from this source — the centre of the whole circle of the domestic affections, the sweetening principle of life, the prompter of all our most generous feelings and even of our most virtuous resolves and exertions — and every ill that can be traced to it is but as dust in the balance. And here also we must be on our guard against judging from what we see in the world at a particular era. As reason and the higher sentiments of man's nature increase in force, this passion is put under better regulation, so as to lessen many of the evils connected with it. The civilised man is more able to give it due control ; his attachments are less the result of impulse ; he studies more the weal of his partner and offspring. There are even some of the resentful feelings connected in early society with love, such as hatred of successful rivalry, and jealousy, which almost disappear in an advanced state of civilisation. The evil springing, in our own species at least, from this passion may, therefore, be an excep- tion mainly peculiar to a particular term of the world's progress, and which may be expected to decrease greatly in amount." 1 In addition to the foregoing considerations, I would venture to suggest one that should not be forgotten. {Granted that continence is a trial, a sore trial, a bitter trial, if you will — what, I would ask, is the use or object of a trial but to try, to test, to elicit, strengthen and brace^whatever of sterling, whatever of valuable, there is in the thing tried M To yield at once — is this the right way to meet a trial ? To lay down one's arms at the first threatening of conflict — is this a cre- ditable escape from trial, to say no more ? Nay, is it safe, when the trial is imposed by the highest possible authority ? " The first use," says the late Eev. F. Robertson, " a man makes of every power or talent given to him is a bad use. The first time a man ever uses a flail it is to the injury of his own head and of those who stand around him. The first time a child has a sharp-edged tool in his hand he cuts his finger. But this is no reason why he should not be ever taught to use a knife. The first use a man makes of his affec- tions is to sensualise his spirit. Yet he cannot be ennobled except through those very affections. The first time a kingdom is put in possession of liberty the result is anarchy. The first time a man is put in possession of intellectual knowledge he is conscious of the 1 ' Vestiges of Creation,' tenth edition, p. 310. CONTINENCE 21 approaches of sceptical feeling. But that is no j>roof that liberty is bad or that instruction should not be given. It is a law of our humanity that man must know both good and evil; he must know good through evil. There never was a principle but what triumphed through much evil ; do man ever progressed to greatness and goodness but through great mistakes." 1 The argument in favour of the great mental, moral, and physical advantage of early continence does not want for high secular authority and countenance, as the recollection of the least learned reader will suggest in a moment. Let us be content here with the wise Greek, 2 who, to the question when men should love, answered, " A young man, not yet ; an old man, not at all ;" and with the still wiser Englishman, 3 who thus writes :— \" You may observe that amongst all the great and worthy persons (whereof the memory remaineth, either ancient or recent) there is not one that hath been transported to the mad degree of love — which shows that great spirits and great business do keep out this weak passion By how much the more ought men to beware of this passion, which loseth not only other things, but itself. As for the other losses, the poet's relation doth well figure them : — ' Tliat he that preferred Helena quitted the gifts of Juno and Pallas :' for whosoever esteemeth too much of amorous affection, quitteth both riches and wisdom. . . . They do best who, if they cannot but admit love, yet make it keep quarter. '^) Aids to Continence. — Every wise man must feel that no help is to be despised in any part of the life-battle all have to fight. And in that struggle for purity, which is, at least for the young, the hardest part of it, what help to seek, and where and how to seek it, are no unimportant questions, and in a practical treatise well deserve a few words. Religion. -\F2ly above all other assistance must, of course, be placed the influence of religionA-not the superstition of which the bitter poet speaks : " Humana . . . cum vita jaceret In terris oppressa gravi sub religione," but that whose chief est beatitude is promised to the " pure in heart." Of the direct personal influence of religion upon the individual in this respect, it is not my purpose to speak here — the very nature of that influence is, in these days, the ground of too much and too fervid controversy. It is not, however, without interest to observe the diffe- rent way in which the two great western divisions of the Christian Church treat the subject of continence. Among modern Protestants, I cannot help feeling that there is, both in the spoken and written teaching of their authorised ministers, a 1 Robertson's ' Discourses/ pages 87, 88. 3 Thales, 3 Lord Bacon, 22 NOEMAL SEXUAL CONDITION IN YOUTH certain timorousness in dealing with the matter, which, however natural, almost gives the idea of a lack of sympathy with the arduous nature of the effort requisite to obey the commands that so urgently demand perfect purity from the consistent Christian. It is much the same among the fathers of our Church. In those writings which are, from their antiquity — the wide assent they have commanded — the character and station of their authors — or from other causes, usually regarded as of authority among us, there is often a defi- ciency in frank and kindly discussion of the subject. It was far from my intention, when I commenced this work, to put myself forward as a religious adviser, but I so frequently receive painful letters from young men, seeking advice how to curb the lusts of the flesh, that I was induced to inquire as to the views entertained upon the subject by the modern executive of the Church of England. I found, on application to competent persons, that it is not deemed expe- dient to be very diffuse upon the observance of the seventh command- ment. I was referred, indeed, by one worthy divine to the head of "Fasts and Vigils" in our Offices; but, after careful perusal, I was unable to discover much that could be of assistance to the earnest lay- man desirous of arming himself against the promptings of nature and imagination. The contrast, we may remark, between the common sense and wisdom of the more ancient writers and some modern ecclesiastical views on these subjects is rather painful. All the help that one excellent clergyman can give to tempted brethren is this : (" Another man is tormented by evil thoughts at night. Let him be directed to cross his arms upon his breast, and extend himself as if he were lying in his coffin. Let him endeavour to think of himself as he will be one day stretched in death. If such solemn thoughts do not drive away evil imaginings, let him rise from his bed and lie on the floor.' As will be seen by reference to pp. 26 to 30,^there is just so much truth in this advice as to cause a regret that the adviser had not the courage or the knowledge sufficient to go farther, and make it practical and useful^ I believe that in the writings of the more eminent divines among the various bodies of Dissenters in England, and the Protestant com- munities throughout Europe, there are to be found very few discus- sions of the subject of sexual temptations which can be appealed to as real aids to continence. Reference to the list of authorities I have con- sulted will show that some have, however, mentioned the subject. The Church of Rome, with that practical wisdom which so often characterises her, and which no Protestant prejudices should lead us to deny, has, in many of her arrangements, and in much of her authorised teaching, fully and sympathisingly recognised the great CONTINENCE 23 facts of the existence and intensity of sexual misery and temptation, and of the absolute necessity of perfect purity, for those who would reap the blessings of continence. 1 1 "1. Of this commandment we can say but little. St Francis de Sales says that chastity b snlliedja^h ^ J)are ment jonjof _ it. Hence let each person, in his doubts on this subject, take advice from his confessor, and regulate his conduct according to the direction which he receives. I will only observe here in general that it is neces- sary to confess, not only all acts, but also miproper touche s, all unchaste lookg. all jahac^nejvords, and whether they are spoken with oomplacency and danger of scandal to others. It is, moreover, necessary to confess oUJmjjiP rlgcf +i»migV»f