PERSONAL PUSHY FOR YOUS3.MEN PUBLICATIONS GIFT OF -E3 Personal Purity Publications Personal Information FOR BOYS FOR GIRLS FOR YOUNG MEN FOR YOUNG WOMEN Size, 4^ x 7#, Cloth Binding. 50c. each PERSONAL PURITY PUBLICATIONS Personal Information FOR Young Men By ERNEST EDWARDS R. F. FENNO & COMPANY 18 EAST SEVENTEENTH ST., NEW YORK COPYRIGHT, 1909 BY R. F. FENNO & COMPANY FOR YOUNG MEN PREFACE IF it be true that one of the crying evils of the age is impurity, surely one of the ne- cessities of the age is a book on purity and how to attain it. It is with this object that this little work is issued. There are in ex- istence books on the subject, but they are high-priced, and so an endeavour has been made to present the salient facts of repro- duction, and the dangers accruing from wrong, foolish, and immoral conduct, in a form that shall be simple and plain to the youth's understanding, and at a price that he can easily afford to pay. Parents need not be nervous about present- ing this book to their sons, or allowing them 5 6 FOR YOUNG MEN to read it. Matters of the most delicate and sacred nature are, it is true, dealt with open- ly and plainly, but, nevertheless, with a re- finement of language that cannot possibly of- fend the most fastidious. The book is not meant for free and open discussion in the family circle. There are certain acts of everyday life that we perform when alone, but they are absolutely necessary to health and happiness, and the pages that follow should be read in the quiet of the study or bedroom. It does not contain romance as romance is generally understood, but deals with facts of nature; yet these facts, when properly and judiciously studied, form a romance of real life that no story book can equal. After all, why should a young man not learn all there is to know about himself? And what more important part of his physi- cal organism is there than his reproductive organs ? His digestive system may indeed PEEFACE 7 come first, because it retains the life in the body, but surely next to this are the organs which have for their duty the reproduction of his kind. How necessary, then, is a complete and correct knowledge of these special organs to the boy who is growing into manhood, and who naturally expects some time or other to become a husband and father. We teach him not to be greedy and selfish, not to over- load his stomach, not to drink intoxicating liquors, to keep his feet dry and his chest warm, and then we leave him to go and play ducks and drakes with his sexual nature, and perhaps ruin his entire career through lack of the knowledge that would have saved him, and that we could have imparted, and did not. After the publication of this book there will be no excuse for any young man remain- ing in ignorance concerning his sexual sys- tem. And as a knowledge of good and evil 8 FOR YOUNG MEN is the first step towards the choice of the good for it is inconceivable that anyone really understanding the meaning of these terms should deliberately choose the evil this work is sent forth with the earnest hope that every young man in the kingdom will read and study it as thoroughly as his mental capacity allows. He cannot fail to profit thereby. One other thing may be mentioned. The book is not "written down" to the intellect of boys. Those of sixteen years and under will find all they want in the first of these series, entitled "For Boys. 77 The present work is for young men, and if a word or a phrase here and there is not properly under- stood, let us hope it may lead to the more frequent use of the dictionary. This itself will be something gained. Finally, men no longer young may read these pages with in- terest and profit. FOR YOUNG MEN ABOUT EGGS I TAKE it for granted that the youth into whose hands this volume is placed has made himself familiar with the contents of the first of this series of books, viz., "For Boys." There he was told, in plain and simple lan- guage, something of the origins of things, including the beginning of plant and animal life. The book for "young boys" left off at the interesting period when the boy begins to feel that he is at the end of his childhood days, and that a new era in his life is about to begin. I propose in this work to take up the story at that point, and to show the young man V 10 FOR YOU]\ T G MEX some of the wonders of his body that it was not necessary or expedient for him to know more about at an earlier age. To do this properly we must again go back to the beginnings of things, and that is why this chapter is headed "About Eggs." I remember a good many years ago some- one asking me the question, "Which came first, the hen or the egg?" I could not answer the question then, and I could not now, without giving a long dis- sertation upon the hen and her ancestors. But what we have to consider in this book is, "How came the life we see around us to be ? What is the origin of the hen I see in yonder fowl-house, the flower in my garden, the lit- ter of puppies in the kitchen, and the baby in the nursery ?" Well, the origin of each and all of these was an egg. We may take this as a funda- mental truth. All the life that we see around ABOUT EGGS 11 us, both vegetable and animal, began in each instance as an egg. As you were told in the book for "young boys," every plant bearing flowers, fruit, and seeds has a special place prepared by nature, called the ovary from ovum, which means an egg where the seeds are deposited. As the flower ripens the seeds underneath it ma- ture, until at the proper time the pollen dust from the stamen above it falls into the stigma and passes through the pistil into the seed pod, or ovary, to the seeds. The seeds, thus fertilized, become capable of shooting forth roots, and springing up into fresh plants. A study of botany should be part of every young man's curriculum. It is one of those branches of learning that is too much neg- lected, and I fear that in most cases where a rudimentary knowledge has been obtained, it is all too soon forgotten in the rush and whirl of daily life and the pursuit of other things. 12 FOR YOUNG MEN And yet the young man of the present day might do worse than lay clown his copy of "Scrappy Bits" and go out into the fields and woods, or even into his own garden, and, culling some of the flowers, study them in- telligently and earnestly, with a view to get- ting from them some of the secrets of life. One of the things he would notice, were he an observant youth, would be that the idea of "family" is maintained even among plants. Take the hawthorn blossom as an example. Here you see the petals forming the home, the father represented by the stamen, the mother by the pistil and ovary, and the chil- dren by the seeds. Without these three the hawthorn blossom is not complete, but when they are all there the little family is perfect. Now let us take a closer view of the seeds themselves. We shall find them well worth examining. Take a bean and cut into it ABOUT EGGS 13 with a knife. What do you see? Simply a white substance, that is all. But if you look at it very closely you will see that it is not all. At the top end there is a little projection, and if you cut through it you will find that it comprises a tiny white knot, or lump, different from the rest of the bean. If, instead of cutting the bean in two, you soak it in water for a few days, or plant it in the ground and water it, you will find out what this white spot really is, and what it becomes. A stem will shoot up from it which will open into two broad leaves, and then slowly but surely the new bean plant will appear. This white spot is, in brief, the germ of life in the seed, and it is from this tiny germ, that is in some seeds too small to be seen without a microscope, that the future plant or tree springs into being. You will probably have gathered by this 14 FOE YOUNG MEN time that the words a seed" and "egg" are synonymous terms. The seed is the egg from which the future tree grows ; the egg is the seed from which the future animal comes. Animal eggs may be divided into two classes : 1. Those which are hatched outside the body of the mother. These comprise fishes, birds, frogs, insects, and some others. 2. Those which ripen and mature inside the body of the mother, and are born when developed. These comprise quadrupeds and human beings. In both these kinds of eggs the germ of life is present, just as it is in the seed, and it is from this germ that the future bird, fish, animal, or human baby comes. The human egg or ovum, to give it its technical name is very small, scarcely any bigger than a needle's point, and hardly dis- cernible without the aid of a good magnify- ing glass. ABOUT EGGS 15 Yet, small as it is, it is formed on the same model as a hen's egg, consisting of a germ, a yolk, and a thin, transparent cover- ing. In shape it is round, like a ball. Two or more eggs are called ova, the plural of ovum, and it would take one hundred and thirty of them I am speaking of human eggs lying side by side to make an inch. From such a tiny speck of matter man is formed. It is important to know that the human egg, so tiny as to be almost invisible, is pro- tected by nature from danger in the best possible way; that is to say, it is taken from the place where it was formed and carried to another part of the mother's body not far, only, as it were, from one room to another and here, where practically nothing can reach it, or do it harm, it is nourished and cared for until it is ready to be born. 16 FOB YOUNG MEN THE OVAKY, ETC. You will now probably wish to know some- thing about the place where the eggs are manufactured. In plants this is called the ovary, in animals ovaria, and in woman ovaries. These are all variations of the same word, the root of which is ovum, which you remember is Latin for egg. Plant seeds are found in a pod. The pod is really the ovary. It will interest you to go out into the fields and examine the blos- soms you see, so as to find the ovary or seed pod in them. They are of various shapes, sizes, and colours, some being long and green, like the pea and bean; some round, and, as in the case of the rose, scarlet in colour; while others, like the chestnut and beech, have prickly burrs covering the seed. THE OVABY 17 With regard to animals, the ovary is al- ways near the uterus. This is the proper name for the bag-like receptacle into which the egg is conveyed from the ovary for de- velopment. [It may be here remarked that those mem- bers of the animal kingdom such as birds, fish, etc. whose eggs are laid as soon as they are ripe and hatched outside and not within the body, have no uterus, because, obviously, they have no need of one.] In the case of the rabbit the ovaries are two in number, one on the left side and one on the right. There is also a left uterus and a right one, and each ovary is connected with the uterus nearest to it by a pipe, called the fallopian tube. Passing on to the human mother, we find the uterus, or womb, in what anatomists call the inferior portion of the pelvis. It is, when not in use, very small, being only two inches in width, three inches in length, and one 18 FOR YOUNG MEN inch in thickness. In shape it is like a pear, the small end, which is open, pointing down- wards into the vagina. This is a tube lead- ing from the uterus, and ending in the open- ing of the body at the base of the abdomen. From the uterus itself extend several mi- nute cylindrical openings, both right and left. These are called oviducts, or fallopian tubes. They are some three inches long, and termi- nate in fimbriated, or finger-like extremities. The ovaries are situated just over these tubes, right and left of the uterus, and when an egg is ripe and bursts through the walls of the ovary, the fingers of the tubes grasp it and convey it into the oviduct on its way to the uterus. The size of the ovum, or egg, is only one and one hundred and twentieth of an inch in diameter, so that the fallopian tubes need not be much thicker than hairs to be able to carry it. The uterus, or womb, is the most precious THE OVARY 19 organ in a woman's body. It is situated be- neath the heart, and, nestling among the in- testines, is hidden from sight, and rendered safe from harm. Here, by some method which man is powerless to fathom, the egg is developed into the baby boy or girl. 20 FOR YOUNG MEN THE "FATHEK" PKINCIPLE AFTER reading so much about the "mother" principle in plants and animals you will be prepared to pass on to the "father" principle. If you have read the book for "young boys/' you are already fa- miliar with this part of our subject, but for the sake of those who have not I will briefly recapitulate the information there conveyed. In plants the sex part is provided by the flower. In many flowers the male and female organs are in the same blossom. This is the case, for instance, with the sweet-pea, the hawthorn, and the rose. It you look at a hawthorn blossom care- fully you will notice first the petals, which, to most people, form the flower. At the bot- THE "FATHER" PRINCIPLE 21 torn of the flower the stalk thickens almost to a ball, and from this there proceed several fine stems, with some larger stems standing around them. The ball part is the ovary, containing the seeds; the middle stems are the mothers, called pistils; and the larger stems are the fathers, called stamens. The duty of the last-mentioned is to drop some of the dust on their anthers as the top knobs are called through the pistils to the ovary, and thus fertilize the seed. In some cases, as the vegetable marrow and tomato, the male principle is on one blossom and the female on another, and the pollen is then applied by the gardener, who takes a male blossom and plunges it into the heart of the female blossom the one behind which the marrow is growing thus ensuring the lodgment of some of the pollen on to the pistil that is ready to receive it. Bees are also great helpers in the fertiliza- 22 FOR YOUNG MEN tion of plants, as anyone can see who has watched them on any fine, sunshiny day, flit- ting from flower to flower. It must be borne in mind that no seed is capable of .growing into a plant unless the father and mother principle has been united in its composition. The father, or male principle, of course, is the pollen, that fine golden dust that you see on the top of the stamen in nearly all the flowers. The particles of this dust aie very small, but are not too small to have some pronounced qualities. Seen under a microscope they look some- thing like irregular-shaped peas. They are hollow, and filled with a watery fluid, in which are a lot of little grains, or granules, as the scientist calls them. The shape of the pollen dust varies in different plants, but all are hollow and have the grains as described. All plants produce seed, and some of them fruit. Usually where there is fruit, the THE FATHER PRINCIPLE 23 seed is inside as in the apple, plum, and cherry but in the case of the strawberry the seed is on the outside, and, technically speaking, the part of the strawberry that is so luscious to our taste is not fruit at all. The white part of the seed, apart from the germ, is composed of albumen, and it is this lhat the germ feeds on while it is developing the stem, leaves, and roots. By the time the albumen is exhausted the seed has developed sufficiently to do without it, taking its nour- ishment through the roots from the earth, and through its leaves from the air. There is another point, also, to notice here, the importance of which will be seen later on. Not only do the seeds and fruit nourish the baby plants, but they contain properties to sustain human life, and so people eat them freely to that end. Roots, stems, and leaves are all eaten, and all help to sustain life, but the best and most valuable part of any plant is its seed or fruit, FOR YOUNG MEN HUMAN LIFE WE have now learnt something about the importance of seed in both the plant and the animal economy of life. You all know that the pollen is as important to the growth of new plant life as the seeds that, in fact, the seeds are not able to grow into plants un- less they are impregnated with the pollen. Among animals the same principle obtains, as is fully explained in the first book of this series. In the human being the sexual prin- ciple is carried to its highest point, for it is here linked with intelligence and spiritual feeling, and is not, except in low types of human life, merely an accompaniment of blind animal passion. The sexual organs of the female human HUMAN LIFE 25 being (woman) I have already mentioned. In these organs the unfertilized seed grows and ripens. In the sexual organs of the male human being (man) the male principle, correspond- ing to the pollen on blossoms, is manufac- tured. In this case, however, the fertilizing element is not a dust, but a rather thick, yellow-white liquid. Strictly speaking, the life principle, comprised of very tiny germs, is contained in this liquid, the scientific name of which is semen, which comes from a Latin word meaning seed. Although boys and youths have the organs for producing semen, they are not matured, for the simple reason that at this early age the semen is not wanted for reproductive purposes. It is only when the youth has grown into a man that his sexual organs are in a fit and proper state to produce the fer- tilizing liquid. To put this thought in other words, the 26 FOB YOUNG MEN aim and object of all nature is (to mature and then) to produce seed. The seed of plants and flowers is not produced before maturity, and is not shed until ripe. The same effect is seen in young men. The semen indicates maturity. The production of seed can be prevented by picking the flowers, but nature will pleasantly fight you by produc- ing more flowers. The semen is useless un- less retained to gather force. The same can be done by young men, viz., prevent the seed forming by using up the forces in mental and physical work transmuting the life into action. I have said the germs that are contained in the semen are tiny. They are about seven hundred to an inch, so that you see the basis of human life in the sexual organs of both the male and the female is one of the small- est, as well as one of the most important, substances in nature. It is hardly necessary now to state that HUMAN LIFE 27 the ova the woman's seed is of itself in- sufficient to develop into a liviiig child. It must be fertilized, or impregnated by sperm the man's seed before it becomes capable of proper development, so you see the sperm that will by and by be manufactured in your organs is every bit as necessary as the ova for the production of new life. The reason I am dwelling so strongly on this point will be seen later on ; at present I need only reiterate that as the seed of a plant is its most important part, so your seed is the most important part of you, and should be taken the most jealous care of. Remember, it is only strong, virile sperm that is of any use in this respect, that is, sperm from a strong, healthy man. A weak man might indeed be able to fertilize the woman's ova, but the result would be a puny child. If the man's sexual organs have become diseased, or emaciated from any reason, he 28 FOR YOUNG MEN will not be able to produce any sperm at all, and although he may secure a flow of semen, it will be poor in quality, and, in fact, what we call barren. But when both the man and the woman are in that state of health and strength that na- ture has intended they should be, there is no difficulty in this respect. The tiny ovum is taken from the ovary by the finger-like ex- tremities of the fallopian tubes and carried to a spot where it meets the semen, that has been deposited there from the male sexual organ, and one of the germs, or sperm, in the semen, by some wonderful law of na- ture, penetrates the ovum, and thereby fruc- tifies it. It is then taken into the uterus, or womb, where it lives for nine months, gradu- ally assuming the form of a human being. At first the unified germ lives on the albu- men in the ovum (just as the plant germ lives on the albumen in the seed), and when that is used up the mother provides all the HUMAN LIFE 29 nourishment that is needed from her own body. It is of course necessary at these times that the mother should be kept from worry, harm, or danger, and that she should have proper nourishment if she is to produce a healthy, well-developed child. At the proper time the child is born, that is, it leaves its home in the uterus and cornea out into the world, where it immediately be- gins to breathe. This, then, is the history of the origins of life on the earth, both with regard to plants and animals. It is a story that every boy should read and become thoroughly acquainted with, for a proper knowledge on this important subject will be one of the best safeguards against any acts that would tend to harm or destroy his own vital organs. All boys are potential fathers, but to be a father and, indeed, to be anything else 30 FOR YOUNG MEN worth being the sexual organs must be kept well and virile. In the following pages we shall go a little more fully into the physiology of man, and need only say here that with regard to the organs of generation, as they are called, any- thing that tends to excite them, as handling or rubbing, or tickling, or even bathing them in very hot water except on rare occasions when for medical reasons it is necessary- should be avoided. You probably know what I mean by self- abuse. This is improper handling of the out- side organ, or penis to give it its scientific name by which a pleasurable sensation is produced, together with an ejection of semen. The handling of the penis will cause it to become erect and grow big, blood will flow rapidly into it, and all the other organs round about it will become hot and feverish. When the excitement is over the parts be- come limp and flaccid, a feeling of weariness HUMAN LIFE 31 comes over the boy, and he feels that he has done a very wrong thing. If the practice is continued the boy loses his health and changes his character. lie grows dull, sullen, and irritable, suffers from headache, and has pains in other parts of his body, and ultimately becomes a wreck. As you value your health, your life, and your happiness, then, guard these organs now in your youth, so that they will serve you properly in your work of propagating your species when you become a man.* *When you are troubled with vexatious sensations in the generative parts you should fix your mind on them and say to them, "/ am greater than any parts of my body, and therefore I can rule them. I there- fore rule you and command you to get into a peace- ful and restful condition." A short practice of this exercise will have a soothing and elevating effect. 32 FOR YOUNG MEN CELLS, TUBES, SUBSTANCE THE next few chapters will consist of a brief and concise description of some of the more important parts of the human body. Long, technical words will be, as far as pos- sible, avoided, and those that it will be neces- sary to give will be explained. The idea is to give to every boy who reads this book an outline of the wonderful structure that he calls himself, leaving him to pursue the sub- ject at greater length when his age permits. First, then, the human body is built on a well-defined plan. It consists of (1) cells, (2) tubes, and (3) substance. There is a fourth element, but it is impalpable, and is called by various names. It is that which keeps the organs at work, helps them to as- CELLS, TUBES, SUBSTANCE 33 similate food and perform all other neces- sary functions. It springs from the life of the individual, and manifests or shows forth as force. (1) Cells are found in the solid parts of the body, such as the muscles, fat, cartilage, bones, brains, lungs, skin, etc. All the vital organs are made up of cells. A cell is a tiny drop of matter and is only visible with the aid of a microscope. I have told you how many ova and sperm go to the inch ; you will be interested to learn that it takes two hundred air cells of the lungs to fill this small space, which to make an inch in length of the corpuscles, or blood cells, no less than 3,500 would be wanted. The number of cells in the whole body are practically uncountable. They are well com- pared with the sands on the seashore, "which cannot be numbered." The individual cell is composed of three parts, viz., the nucleus, which forms the kernel 34: FOR YOUNG MEN or germ; the envelope, a thin, transparent covering (sometimes lacking) ; and the proto- plasm, which is the main substance of the cell, and furnishes the necessary nourishment. The microscope also shows that the cell lies in a kind of fine network, called the plexus (meaning a net). The tubes compos- ing the net serve, some as capillaries to the veins and arteries, and others as absorbents and nerves. (2) The more important tubes or pipes of the body are the alimentary canal, the arte- ries, veins, and perspiration diicts. The ali- mentary canal begins at the mouth, proceeds via the esophagus to the stomach, and thence to the intestines and bowels. It is twenty- five feet long, and is lined w r ith a membrane in folds that, if stretched out, would reach just twice this length. The arteries begin at the heart, like the trunk of a tree, and, subdividing into branches and twigs (also like a tree), reach CELLS, TUIIKS, SUBSTANCE 35 every part of the body. They end in minute capillaries. The veins begin as capillaries, and, gradu- ally running into one another (as the branches of a tree), join the trunk, and end in one large tube at the heart. So a proper and entire circulation of the blood is ar- ranged. The perspiration ducts are placed just be- neath the outer skin, and if all of them were joined end to end would reach about twenty- eight miles in length. (3) Substance is the nourishment taken into the body. When it is properly assimi- lated it feeds every particle of the body. It is composed of food, water, and air. Eood furnishes the solids, but water is the principal constituent of the body, forming seven-eighths of its substance. The entire body is thus made up of (and is constantly being remade from) things that we eat, drink, and breathe. It is a marvellous 36 FOE YOUXG MEN thought that all our bones, muscles, blood, and vital organs are simply matter changed from one form to another. How is this change brought about ? By the aid of yet another element that mani- fests in the body, and without which we should be cold, inert, and dead. I mean that wonderful, indescribable something we call life. Life is invisible, yet very powerful, and it has a kind of machine, or tool, that it works with, which is also invisible. This machine is force. Force never acts of itself, but must be set in motion by a power able to control it. This power is Life, which mani- fests or shows forth in the human organiza- tion as force. Life is not force, it simply directs and controls it. Force is a very important machine. When directed from the brain, which may be called the chief seat, or throne of life, it sends currents all along the nerves to every part CELLS, TUBES, SUBSTANCE 37 of the body. Thus we are able to move our limbs, to walk, run, lie, or sit, to fling our arms about, to move our jaws when eating, and our tongue when speaking. Force has many manifestations; that is, it shows itself as strength, power, vitality, life, spirit, and energy. The force I have described as moving our arms, legs, etc., is called "conscious" force. There is also an "unconscious," or "vital" force, that acts independently of the brain, although not independently of the will. It keeps the alimentary canal always on the move, so that the food we eat is con- tinually moving along. When by any rea- son this movement is insufficient to keep the food matter in motion, a block occurs, just as a block will sometimes occur in a crowded street where the traffic is unusually heavy. Then there is trouble. Great pain ensues, and unless the obstruction is cleared away, there is what doctors call a stoppage, and 38 FOK YOUNG MEN death ensues. Force keeps the heart a-beat- ing, whether we are asleep or awake, and controls the action of the lungs, by which fresh air is continually being taken into the body and impure air expelled. Force is also attractive. It draws as well as pushes, and thus it keeps all the atoms together. When the life departs and force is no longer able to manifest, the body soon crumbles to dust. CONCERNING GLANDS 39 GONCEBNIKG GLANDS I WANT you to read carefully what I am saying about cells, because it has an impor- tant bearing upon what follows. The cell, which you now understand, is found in every part of the body, is the centre from which force acts. Force enables the protoplasm around the cell to take up the necessary liquids and gases, and pass them to the con- tents inside. It also reverses this operation, and allows the used-up material to pass away. The nourishment is taken into the centre of the cell by the plexus, or network of tubes. The cell never takes the wrong food, but just that particular kind that it needs to build up its own particular portion of the frame. 40 FOR YOUXG MEN Cells are constantly growing, dying, and reforming. At the moment of conception the germ of the ovum (female seed) and the sperm of the semen (male seed) unite and form a cell. Immediately the life force be- gins to act; the nucleus of the cell divides into two, which move to opposite sides of the protoplasm, which in its turn divides, thus forming two complete cells. These im- mediately divide into four, and the four into eight, and the eight into sixteen, and so on, and this enables the body that begins to be formed to grow in size. Babies grow into children, children into youths and maidens, and these again into men and women, all by the multiplication of cells. In the human body they number un- told millions. They are broken up and de- stroyed by millions every day, and millions of others are daily formed to take their place. Every action on our part breaks up a por- tion or the whole of many cells, and these GLANDS 41 have to be removed from the body for new ones to form. There are a number of organs of various sizes in the body that have a common purpose. They are called glands, and their use is to manufacture a secretion that is necessary for building up or purifying the body, or in some other way aiding the work of keeping it alive. The larger glands are the liver, pancreas, spleen, and kidneys, but there are many others, too numerous to mention here. The glands are composed of cells, joined to a tube, and the whole is enclosed in a strong membrane. The cells themselves are in all stages of growth, from new ones just formed, that are engaged in multiplying themselves, to old worn-out ones, which break up and are lost. The salivary glands are six in number, three on each side of the mouth. When you begin to eat, the ripe cells in these glands 42 FOR YOUNG MEN burst their walls, and the liquid contained in them flows down the tube, or duct, into your mouth in the form of saliva; this is the first part of the process of digestion. The lachrymal glands lie just above the outer angle of the eyes. Their business is to secrete a salty liquid, which cleanses the eyes and passes through a tube into the nose. The liquid we call tears. It is constantly being produced, and serves to keep the organ of sight moist. In fact, the tears lubricate the eyeball as oil lubricates the axles of a machine. The liver gland is a much more complex organ than the two I have described. It may be imagined as a large number of glands joined together, called lobules, which are laid side by side in rows, so as to form five divi- sions called lobes. The liver secretes a bitter liquid called bile. This bile is stored in a small receptacle called the gall bladder. The mammary glands are situated in the CONCERNING GLANDS 43 breasts. They secrete a milk, like goat's or cow's milk. This secretion only occurs in the mother's breast when it is needed to nour- ish her new-born babe. The gastric glands, which are very nu- merous, line the inner coating of the stomach. They produce a liquid called gastric juice. This is the next digesting medium, after the saliva has operated on the food. It is in- tensely sour and contains, among other prop- erties, hydrochloric acid and pepsin. The secretion is formed in the cells of the gland, and when food is taken into the stomach the walls of that organ immediately begin to stretch and contract, so that the cells are crushed and the contents poured out. There are other glands yet to be described, but these are some of the principal ones, and I have drawn special attention to them be- cause of their work in keeping the body alive and healthy by means of the liquids that they manufacture. 44 FOR YOUNG MEN These glands, as well as most of the others, are subject to abuse. If they are allowed to act in a proper and normal manner, the body is kept in good repair, and is what we call "well." If they get out of order and they may easily do so then the body is "ill," and if the cause of the illness is not stopped it will develop in a most serious manner. For instance, take the salivary glands. Their work, as I have said, is to secrete saliva while eating, so as to aid the digestive process. But the cells may be broken and the saliva discharged by another means altogether. This is by the power of thought. You have often heard the phrase, "It makes my mouth water." This is a literal statement, and means that the thought of eating something tasty breaks up the cells and fills the mouth with their juice. Now, if a boy or young man is constantly thinking of and longing for some luxury or other in the way of food, his saliva glands will be CONCERNING GLANDS 45 continually at work, breaking up cells and discharging the saliva, and his mouth will be constantly full of water. But note the effect. When all the ripe cells are gone, those that are not ripe will be broken, and if the fretting and pining is continued, the gland itself will be worn out and destroyed, and no more saliva will come, even when food is taken. And, remember, to swallow dry food is impossible. When, therefore, you find your mouth "watering/ 7 immediately stop the thought that causes it, and the saliva will be saved for the time you need it. With regard to the lachrymal glands, these are also subject to abuse. In the ordinary way the secretion lubricates the eyeball. But if, through strong emotion, there is much crying, the result upon these glands will be exactly the same as the result of pining after luxuries on the salivary glands. First the ripe cells, then the unripe ones, will break, 46 FOR YOUNG MEN and their contents flow into the eyes. Ulti- mately the glands are destroyed, and the eye, getting no lubrication, becomes hot and fever- ish, and is attacked with inflammation. This sometimes ends in blindness. Here, again, we see that thought influ- ences the secretion, and to avoid any evil consequences in this respect you must exer- cise control over your feelings. If you have troubles that bring tears, forget them, and the best way to do this is by changing the cur- rent of your thought. Never continue weep- ing. Resolutely think of something else, and the effort at self-control will benefit you in more ways than one. You will now be prepared to believe that thought influences the mass of glands called the liver. Of course, wrong food affects this organ, and you must be careful not to eat that which gives you trouble here. But this is a part of the subject that every intelligent boy can familiarize himself with. If he finds CONCERNING GLANDS 47 that certain foods, such as white bread, bis- cuits, puddings, pies, etc., give his liver trouble, by making him constipated, or if he finds that certain other foods give him diarrhoea, his common sense will tell him either to avoid these foods altogether, or to be careful of the quantity he takes. But the average youth does not know that his liver may be affected by his thoughts to a very material extent. If you are angry, have bitter thoughts against anyone, become miserable or bad- tempsred, the secretions in the gall bladder will be poisoned, and you will be ill. Good thoughts, such as love, joy, and a feeling of happiness and contentment, will enable your liver to retain its normal character, its secre- tions will be healthy, and you will be well. Just the same may be said with regard to the mammary glands, but as they refer to women, I need only mention the fact. I may, however, give you a warning. Xever 48 FOR YOTT3TG MEN annoy or anger a woman, or do anything to distress a mother, because, if yon do, the mother's milk becomes poisoned by her anger, and her baby will suffer and perhaps die. The gastric glands are also quickly affected by the emotions, bad news taking away one's appetite, and sometimes causing sickness. I think I have said enough now to show you the importance of the cells and the glands (that are made up of cells) to the human body, and the necessity of keeping them in good order if you would retain your health and strength. And I think I have shown you plainly how very necessary it is that you should control your thoughts. If you permit evil thoughts to pass through your brain, the injury to your system will be very great ; but if your thoughts are good, they will be reflected in all your organs in no uncertain manner. This is one of the laws of Nature to which there is absolutely no exception. THE GENERATIVE SYSTEM .49 THE GENEEATIVE SYSTEM As this is a book of not so much general as special physiology, we will pass on at once to the sexual parts. These are, it need scarce- ly be said, some of the most important organs in the body. The digestive system must, of course, take first place in importance, as life itself depends on the proper carrying out of the work of assimilating the food taken into the body. But the generative organs surely come next, because, not only does the general health and strength of the body depend on the condition of these organs, but also the power of reproduction. If a man's sexual parts are badly injured or diseased, or de- stroyed, all hopes of his ever becoming a father are gone forever. Nothing stronger 50 FOR YOUNG MEN could be said in favour of our keeping these parts of our physical organization in as sound a state as possible. Let us consider, in the first place, what these organs are. Eirst we have the testes (or testicles, as they are called), from the Greek testa, a crucible in which precious metals were melted so as to test their purity. They are contained in a sac, or bag, called the scrotum. If you are in health the scrotum will be taut and firm ; but if you are unwell it will probably hang limp and loose. The testes lie side by side in the sac, with a division wall between them. Behind each is a narrow flat body, called the epididymis, and two spermatic cords, one for each testicle, pass upward into the body. The testes are glands, and you know some- thing of their nature already if you have carefully read the last chapter. In a full- grown man the testes contain some four hun- dred lobules each. Inside the lobules are the THE GENERATIVE SYSTEM 51 seminal tubes, laid in a coil. The walls of the tubes are lined with cells, which are full of force and life, and are able to take in and give out substance. The substance they take in is the food, which is used to manufacture the secretion peculiar to them. The tubes are the ducts or canals by which the secretion of the cells is taken away from the testes. They turn and twist about in a marvellous manner, and would be of a tremendous length if they were unravelled. The epididymis, already men- tioned, is a continuation of the seminal tubes, and leads to the vas aberrans (deviating), and thence to the vas deferens (to bear away), this last-named being the part of the duct that conveys the secretion out of the scrotum. The spermatic cord is composed of the vas deferens, with arteries, veins, nerves, lym- phatics, etc. [The lymphatics, it may be remarked, are 52 FOR YOU^G MEX certain organs, situated in nearly all parts of the body, whose duty is to take up (absorb) certain waste matter that is formed by the wear and tear of the body, and transform it into good nourishing material. This avoids the necessity of expelling all these used-up particles from the system.] When the spermatic cord enters the pelvis it ends its course by opening into the uretha (the tube leading from the bladder to the penis). You thus see that within the scrotum and the pelvis (the bony cavity in the lower part of the trunk) there are miles on miles of tiny tubes, perfect cells, as already described, lymphatics (absorbents), nerves connecting directly with the brain, arteries to bring rich blood in, and veins to take the used-up blood away. You will now easily understand that the secretion from the glands we call the testicles is of a highly organized character. It has THE GENERATIVE SYSTEM 53 been called the essence of the blood, and is the finest matter produced by any organ in the body. The name of this secretion is sperm, other- wise called seminal fluid, or semen. All these mean seed, so that the sperm really contains the seed of humanity, without which human propagation is impossible. During your boyhood days, that is up to the age of twelve or so, not a drop of this secretion passed through the entire sper- matic cord into the uretha. Before it reached the end of the tube it was all absorbed by the lymphatics and used up again in the blood to nourish muscles, bones, brain, and sinews. You see, during this early period of your life you were growing fast, and it was necessary that your body should have the best, richest, and most refined kind of nourishment that it could possibly get, and as this, in a liquid form, was continually being manufactured by the testes, it was (not being wanted for 54 FOB YOUNG MEN any other purpose) taken up as fast as it was made, and distributed over the system, Now you " see what harm masturbation would have done you had you given way to this form of vice in your earlier days. The finest, best, and most nourishing material that you could possibly have would have been roughly expelled from the system, and bones, muscles, brain, and blood would have been impoverished thereby. In fact, it is the semen, when it is allowed in Nature's way to become absorbed into the system, that makes a boy a strong, healthy man, instead of a puny, weak one, this last-mentioned being the fate of the boy who by self -pollution lit- erally sends the essence of his manhood away. The sperm, or semen, is not of itself re- productive, that is, it could not fertilize the female ovum, but it contains the life-giving germs in the form of spermatozoa. These germs are not found in the semen of boys, so THE GENERATIVE SYSTEM 55 that very young people cannot become parents. But at puberty, or manhood, the sperma- tozoa begin to appear, and this period may be reached any time between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. In warm countries boys mature much earlier than in cold, but the longer it takes a lad to mature, the longer and stronger will his future life tend to be- come. Let us suppose for a moment that you have reached this age. You find that your chest is widening and your shoulders are getting broader. Your voice "breaks"; you can neither talk nicely nor sing ; but by and by it settles down into a firm strong tone, and becomes "manly." At this point, too, your brain grows more active. You can do much more thinking, and can attain to a far greater intellectual height than was possible at an earlier age. You are 56 FOK YOUIs'G MEN stronger, in fact, mentally and physically, can endure more fatigue and do more work. All this is accomplished with the aid of the semen, if it is allowed to remain in the body and not be wasted. Nature never wastes anything, and so this secretion, as soon as it is manufactured in the testes, is taken up and reabsorbed, and being such splendid nourishing material, mind, body, and soul are benefited by it to an almost incalculable de- gree. THE GENERATIVE SYSTEM! 57 THE GENERATIVE SYSTEM (Continued) WE may now take a further view of the sexual organs, and describe in as succinct a way as possible without illustrations, their various parts and special duties. The testes have already been described. Above the scrotum is the penis, the only por- tion of the sexual apparatus that is outside the body. The penis is composed of erectile tissue, that is, it is made up of a quantity of fibres, arranged something like an ordi- nary sponge. There are three compartments, the lower one, called the corpus spongiosum (spongy body), and the two upper ones cor- pora cavernosa (cavernous bodies), meaning that these parts are full of little cavities. They are lined with an immense number of 58 FOR YOUNG MEN veins, arteries, nerves, and lymphatics. It is noteworthy that in the penis there are a greater proportionate number of veins than anywhere else in the body, and that this organ is capable of carrying a large amount of blood. When, through sexual excitement, or from some other cause, blood begins to pour into the penis, it immediately fills all the veins and arteries, and as the whole of this organ is elastic, it expands, and continues to expand until it can grow no larger. At this point an erection is said to have taken place. This state of erection, however, never lasts long. Soon the tissues contract, and, squeez- ing the veins, press the blood back again into the body, and the penis falls again into its normal limp condition. The entire move- ment is under the control of the nerves. At the end of the penis there is a smooth part called the glans, and surrounding this is some loose skin called the foreskin. This THE GENERATIVE SYSTEM 59 completely covers the glands in childhood, but may be pushed back before puberty. ]N~ear the lower side of the penis is the urethra, which is a tube leading from the bladder to the outlet. The principal use of the urethra is to convey the urine or waste water from the bladder. As the youth grows older and stronger the erectile tissue of the penis shows increased power, and the secretion from the testes im- proves in both volume and quality. This is because it does not get absorbed into the sys- tem so rapidly as when he was younger, and the cells have time to ripen before they are broken up and their contents discharged. Until the youth is about twenty-five years of age he will continue to use up a large por- tion of the secretion in the various processes of the body, but at that age he has become a man, and the semen henceforth, if it is left alone, becomes incorporated in his beard, brain, chest, etc. 60 FOR YOUNG MEN It is very important to remember that the intimacy between the penis and the testes is very great, the nerves, which are close to the skin in the former, going direct in great numbers to the latter. Any irritation there- fore given to one is immediately felt by the other. Plainly put, if the penis is excited, either by thoughts of a sexual character or by handling or toying, the testes immediately become aware of it, and the cells, or at least those that are ripest, begin to break and dis- charge their contents. These two organs being so closely con- nected, it will be readily understood that when one becomes diseased the other follows ; when one is in pain the other suffers; when one is at rest and in a state of ease and quiet the other is necessarily the same. But, more important still, both are in in- timate relation with the brain by means of the nerves going up the back. As the brain THE GENERATIVE SYSTEM 61 is the seat of thought and the force that the light puts in motion, the sexual organs may be said to be almost a part of the brain. Here, again, we see action and reaction. Whatever affects the brain, or that part of it that is more directly connected with these organs, affects them, too, and their state of health or disease is instantly and inevitably reflected in the brain. Returning to a consideration of the testes and their secretion, the question arises as to its disposal. I have already explained what happens if Mature is allowed to pursue her own course. When this is done the young man benefits by the nourishment afforded him in those parts of his system that at this time more particularly need nourishment. But there is another method of dealing with the secretion, and that is by forcing it along the spermatic cord into the urethra, from whence it is expelled through the mouth of the penis. 62 FOR YOUNG MEN The chief method by which this is accom- plished by boys is by masturbation, or tick- ling by the hand. I have already said that the penis, especially the glands, is the most sensitive organ in the body. This is because of its thin skin and abundance of nerves. An erection may come at any time, on awaking in the morning, or through a mo- mentary thought, or from no apparent cause. It is just here that danger arises. There is the beginning of a pleasant sensation, and the boy is tempted to prolong it. The ex- citement and feeling becomes increasingly intense, until what is called a nervous spasm intervenes. This is first felt in the nerves, then it reaches the erectile tissue, and goes to all the nerves in the testes, and into the sur- rounding parts. There is at this point a great deal of movement among all the fibres and sinews in the various organs concerned, THE GENERATIVE SYSTEM 63 and the riper cells in the testicles are broken with great force and rapidity. The semen, thus liberated, cannot be ab- sorbed by the lymphatics, and so falls into the duct, and is ejected, as already narrated, through the urethra. The spasm passes, the acute feeling of pleasure is past, the secretion is wasted, the nerves relax, and a natural reaction takes place, during which the boy has time to medi- tate on the folly of the entire proceedings. He will, indeed, if he continues this un- natural performance, pay dear for the mo- mentary feeling of enjoyment. In the first place he may bring about a fever in these parts that he has so wrongly and forcibly excited. There is always a little fever on such occasions, and if the act is repeated as it often is, at short intervals the fever becomes inflammation, and stricture of the urethra occurs. 64 FOR YOtTNG This means that the canal or tube through which the urine is passed becomes inflamed and swollen, and the sides close up, so that neither semen nor urine can pass through it, but will be absorbed into the body, and, by poisoning the blood, bring sickness with much pain and suffering. Worse than this, if the semen that was discharged from the cells could not pass away, but collected in greater quantities than the lymphatics could take up, it would putrefy, and cause an abscess to form. It might even cause gangrene and mortification, and then the doctor's knife and the hospital operation, which would leave the miserable patient without his testi- cles, and perhaps without his penis. If masturbation has become a frequent practice it ultimately destroys the glands (testes). If it does not absolutely destroy them it robs them of their power, and the youth becomes impotent; that is, he is in as THE GENERATIVE SYSTEM bad a condition as a man who has been castrated. The scrotum hangs long, limp, and heavy. The feeling is one of dragging down, and is accompanied by physical weakness and in- tense mental depression. But even this is not all. It may happen that, if the boy has a sound constitution to start with, he may not feel any immediate mischief. His organs will mature quickly by the practice, and become as large as they would have grown later on had he left them alone. In this case the sexual organs gain a pre- mature maturity at the expense of the rest of the body, and if there is any weakness, either in the lungs, heart, or stomach, the weak organ will suffer to the same extent as the sexual system is (apparently) benefited. It is well known that the strength of a chain lies in its weakest link, and when in a boy 6C FOR YOUNG MEN anything breaks down it is usually the weak- est part. Thus, a youth who, through any unnatural desire for pleasure, or in order to premature- ly develop his sexual nature, indulges in this evil practice, loses his health, strength, pow- ers, both mental and physical, and becomes a wreck. He will flush to the roots of his hair at the slightest provocation, his muscles will be flabby instead of firm, his eyes dull and lus- treless instead of bright; he will look old, haggard, and worn out, His brain will fail, his memory depart; all interest in life will pass; he will be in- capable of study or healthy games ; and will, in short, lose all power for enjoyment. He will have thrown away his hopes of happi- ness, and all to indulge a craving that is as foolish and harmful as it is wicked and de- grading. His end will probably be, first the lunatic asylum, and then the grave. THE GENERATIVE SYSTEM 67 There is an old, blunt proverb that is often used in many connections, and that is quite appropriate here. Most boys will recognize it. It is, "the game is not worth the candle." 68 FOE YOUXG MEN "EVEKY INCH A MAN" I DON'T know at the moment of writing where the phrase heading this chapter came from, but I have no doubt most boys have seen it somewhere or other, and have hoped that it might apply to them. The next few pages will tell you how this desire can be fulfilled. This is the best am- bition a youth can possibly have, that he may become a real man God's man, as someone beautifully put it; in other words, a being who can reasonably claim to be a son of God. Let me give you this as an axiom to start with. Your conduct will decide. There is no alternative method of becoming a real man, and there is no short cut to manhood. EVERY INCH A MAN ' 69 There is, indeed, a "royal road," but it is not a short road, and you cannot profitably hasten along it. In nature's time your boy- hood developed into youth-hood, and this in clue time will merge into manhood; but it will depend on yourself alone what sort of a man you will be. This is, of course, subject to the provision that you began life fairly. If you were born weak and sickly, or deformed, or with any other disability, your manhood may show the results of such defects, but it is nevertheless true that in hundreds and thousands of cases weakly children have developed into strong and healthy men and women. If you read biographies of great men, or the short descriptions of their lives that ap- pear in newspapers, you will sometimes come across a sentence that tells you the subject of the biography was a weakly child, who grew ultimately into a man or woman, strong, healthy, and with mental and physical pow- 70 FOR YOUNG MEN ers that amazed those who knew them in their youth. What was the reason ? They conserved their forces. They did not dissipate their strength. The late Cecil Rhodes is a case in point. In his boyhood days he was so weakly that nobody thought he would live. Yet he became a man, and did a work that made him the cynosure of the whole world. Many other instances could be given to prove the necessity of conserving one's forces while the body is youthful, but, indeed, they are not needed, for the truth is self-evident. In the commercial world the most success- ful man is he who concentrates his mind on the particular business in hand to the ex- clusion of all else, while, vice versa, the fail- ure is generally the man who disperses his forces and his energy, and, being engaged in a number of operations, succeeds in none. An athlete, before he enters the lists in any competition, gathers all his forces to- EVERY INCH A MAN" gether, so as to be able to direct them all at once to the object in view. So the youth, if he is to become a real man, with "a sound mind in a sound body," to quote an old adage, must not dissipate his life forces, but save them in the strictest sense of the word, until they have done their work in building up his bones, sinews, brain, and nerves, and so fitting him for the posi- tion he will henceforth fill as one of the world's workers. It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the youth who is just verging into manhood that purity in thought, word, and deed is absolutely essential to his progress, both ma- terially and mentally. There is nothing so damaging to the sys- tem as impure thoughts. It is natural for boys, when they are growing into manhood, to 1 think a good deal about sexual matters. Their physical feelings and sensations will lead their thoughts that way. The compan- 72 FOR YOUNG MEN ionship of girls of their own age may excite them still further, although to a pure-minded youth the presence of a good, modest girl can bring nothing but good. But ttie ordinary youth and this book is written for such has no pretensions to purity of thought, and it is just here that the danger lies. I have already described the pernicious effects of bad thoughts on the glands of the eyes, mouth, stomach, and liver. On the testes the results of impure thought are no less marked. The youth may not be particularly impure in his thoughts, neither is he fastidious. In these circumstances his thoughts are very apt to run away with him, and he may often spend many minutes in thinking of impure subjects without realizing what he is doing. If, when he comes to a knowledge of what he is thinking of, he changes the current of his thoughts, no harm is done ; but if he con- tinues in the same train of thought, the testi- EVERY IXCH A MAS cle glands will operate, and secretion will be lost. While there is nothing wrong in thinking about sexual matters, provided that the rea- son for such thoughts is good, as in studying physiology, or in reading such a book as this, there is everything wrong in allowing the mind to idly dwell on such things. Apart from the reasons mentioned, there is no necessity for a boy to think about either his own sexual organs or those of the opposite sex. Ignorance of his own physiology, and of the functions of the various organs in his body, together with a natural curiosity with regard to certain physiological phenomena, has led many a youth into errors of thought that have had disastrous results, but after a perusal of the preceding pages no boy will be able to say that he did not know, and therefore sinned in ignorance. Surely there are plenty of things to think FOR YOTJXG :\IEA~ about besides sexual matters, and there is no youth on this earth who, when his thoughts begin to drift in this direction, could not at once, and with the slightest effort of will, turn them upon his sports, his cricket, foot- ball, etc., or on some work he is engaged upon, or some new game, or a new book he is reading, or on his studies. If he must think on the subject of woman, then let him think of some high-minded, pure-souled woman of his acquaintance, or that he has read or heard about, and he will probably find that the thought of her virtues, her work, her philanthropy, or her writings, has driven all foolish thoughts of sex out of his head. Sometimes, when boys are alone, a passage in a book, or a suggestive picture, will set them thinking about sex matters, or perhaps the thought will come without any apparent cause. It is, in a sense, a pleasurable emo- "EVEKY INCH A MAN"" 75 tion, and the desire to prolong the feeling will be very strong. This is called "wallowing in the mire," and the mental calibre will be as much af- fected by it as the clothes would if the boy rolled in the mud. Let me again say, then, change the current of your thoughts ; get up, walk about, read a book, do anything, in short, that will take your mind from the subject that is enslaving you; and remember that the first time you conquer such a temptation you gain moral strength to resist future temptations of the same kind. Above all, continue repeating, "I am stronger than this feeling, and I can and will conquer, and be pure." This is not a religious book in the ordinary meaning of the term; it is simply a work of physiology, written from a purely health point of view, but I would like to point out that true re- ligion consists, not in the acceptance of a 76 FOR YotrxG creed or a set of formulas, but in the living of a godly (good) life ; and if a young man wishes his life to be in the best sense a good one, he must begin by controlling his thoughts.* The ordinary youth may at this point feel inclined to ask how this is possible. He says, and with some reason, My thoughts come and go without my appearing to have anything to do with them. How, then, can I control them ? To a beginner in the art of self-control it is not easy. But it is to be done, and, as I have already remarked, a victory gained *When it is found that nature is maturing seed, which is sensed by an erection, you should join your mind with the force you feel and expect that the force and seed will be absorbed by the nerves and brain and be productive of strength for your use in whatever direction you wish to use it study, manual work, etc. Thus you will be transmuting what would be an enemy and destroyer into a friend and upbuilder. It can also be considered that the erec- tion is a result of power being created to supply any demand of the system. IXCH A MAX means so much more strength for the next tussle. It is true that if you allow your mind to become vacant, or do not voluntarily think of something, thoughts will pass through your head, going as we say with regard to a boy who does not pay attention to what is said to him in at one ear and out of the other. But if you are thinking, say, of the won- ders of our solar system, and watch with your mind's eye the great sun, and all the planets rolling onward, each in its orbit, making, in various times, a complete circuit of the glori- ous orb that gives them light and life, form- ing the various seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and all this going on daily and nightly in regular order, without mistake or any danger of mistake why, where are your sexual thoughts ? Do you not see, you cannot think of. two things at once? And if you make up your mind to concentrate your thinking powers on 78 FOR YOUNG MEN any given subject, you can keep all thoughts of other things away. Young men naturally find their thoughts at times taking the shape of a kind of longing for sexual intercourse. If they dwell on this thing, their nerve force will be dispersed, and they will be weakened in both body and mind. Many cases have come under the notice of medical men where this result has been apparent to them, although to the patient no idea of the real state of things had occurred. If you would be a man, then, avoid lascivi- ous thoughts. There are sexual duties, as well as pleasures, and at the proper time you will become familiar with both, but, for the sake of your future happiness, do not antici- pate either. It is a good plan to think out schemes for succeeding in life, and how you can get on in anything you may take up. At such times make up your mind that you will succeed in "EVERY INCH A MAN" 79 all you undertake, as you will find the con- dition of mind you adopt at such periods will become very strong. You are thereby con- verting the sex force into a mind force and storing up energy for the present and the future. I have left small space for the second and third essentials to health, viz., purity of word and deed. Yet these are important enough to receive every consideration. Of course, thoughts come first, for a word is only the expression of a thought; but if you should think of an impure story, and be on the point of repeating it, refrain. You may cause a laugh, but the moral tone of yourself and of those who hear the story will be apprecia- bly lowered. If a low ribald phrase rises to your lips, check it ere it passes into speech, for a word once spoken can never be recalled. Let your language be pure, noble in idea and in phrase, and you may depend upon it that it will be reflected in your body and soul. 80 FOR YOU^G MEN Then let all jour actions be pure. At the age of puberty the temptations to immorality are many and great. If you live in a large town or city you will be brought in contact with the "painted woman" pretty frequently. Avoid her as you would the plague. Poor thing, she is a product of our debased civili- zation, and no means has yet been found for suppressing her. By and by this scourge of the streets will disappear, but while she is in evidence she must be met and withstood. I repeat, then, avoid her, or you will suffer. At any rate, you who read these lines can- not say you indulge in immorality of this kind without warning. If you cultivate the impure companionship of such women as these, pain and suffering of the most intense and demoralizing character will be laid up for you. Do not read this lightly or laughingly; there is a real danger, as hundreds and thou- sands of men, with their bodies racked with "EVERY INCH A MAN" 81 pain and other consciences pricking them like darts, can testify. ^sTever do a single act without asking your- self whether it is right. I do not wish you to do, or not do, a deed merely with regard to the consequences, but it is an infallible rule that the deeds that are wrong bring suf- fering in their train, while the good and noble deeds bring joy. If in doubt, ask yourself, Could I ask my parents' approval to this? Is it gentleman- ly ? Is it right in the eyes of the law ? Does it savour of God-likeness ? 82 FOE YOUNG MEN CONCLUSION I HAVE now led you, dear reader for I wish to address you in these last words in a personal manner from a consideration of the beginnings of life along the pathway of human experience, showing you many won- derful things by the way, and imparting just that kind of knowledge abotit yourself that was likely to do you most good ; and now, as you stand at the beginning of your manhood, I bid you a temporary farewell. I say "temporary," because this book will be followed by another, which will be written especially for the man who is contemplating entering upon the sacred duties of matri- mony. Until you reach this period of your life CONCLUSION 83 the advice given in the preceding pages must be followed resolutely if you wish to become a happy husband and father. If you have read the first book of this series and if you have not you cannot do better than get it you will remember that I spoke very clearly and strongly on the sub- jects of heredity and transmission. What applied to your boyhood days applies with tenfold force to you now, and if for no other reasons than those given, you cannot, if you have the tiniest spark of manhood within you, disregard the statements made. Let me repeat them. What your parents were, you, broadly speaking, are to-day, and what you are to-day your children will be to-morrow. This looks at first sight as if the results of a man's actions are apparent in his grandchildren, and in a sense this is true. But now you are a man, with free will you can to some extent free yourself from 84 FOR YOUNG MEN purely hereditary impulses, and to the ex- tent you are successful in this will your chil- dren benefit. I have written a good deal about conse- quences, because to most young men cause and effect are better understood than the deeper ethical principles. But it is possible to get on to a higher plane of thought than this. The man who decides not to do a wrong act for fear of consequences is wise and prudent, but he who does right because it is right, and declines to do wrong because it is wrong, has advanced to a point in spirituality that the first man has yet to reach. And if you are in doubt whether a con- templated action is right or wrong, you have a conscience. You may trust that warning voice. It has never led anyone astray yet, and it never will. Your conscience is that part of you which is the emanation from CONCLUSION 85 Deity it is the witness of the truth, that we are never without. One word as to your treatment of the other sex. Never be rude to a girl. Xever say a word that would bring a blush to the cheek of the maiden that is for the time in your company. And never, under any circum- stances, take what is called a a liberty" with any girl. Girls are, not without reason, called the weaker sex, and their confiding nature lays them open to many insidious attacks by un- scrupulous men. You may find yourself on occasion in a position when you may easily take advantage of a girl's trustfulness. Here the law of consequences comes in again, and I might confine myself to the re- mark that the man who betrays a girl's trust is the greater sufferer in the end. But I will place it at once on a higher plane of thought. Is it right or wrong? Your conscience will tell you plainly enough. 86 FOR YOUXG MEN I would even take you higher still. What should be your guiding principle through life ? Surely the highest guiding principle a man can have is Love. If you love your fellows, men and women alike, you would never do aught that would harm them or give them pain. And a man who loves a woman, whether as lover, brother, or merely as a friend, will never betray the trust that his love has attracted. For love attracts love, just as truly as magnetized iron attracts steel, and to betray one who trusts you is the basest act you can commit. Be chivalrous, then, to girls and women, be kind and loving to all, conserve your own strength, and do not dissipate any of the forces that Nature has endowed you with: so shall you prolong your life, fulfil your destiny, and bring honour to yourself and happiness to all with whom you are in any way connected. A Guide to Girlhood, Motherhood and Infancy By Dr. H. LANG GORDON Size, 6 x 8%; 278 pages; fully illustrated. Price, $2.00 THIS work marks in its Own line the opening of a new epoch. Hitherto such works have been devoted to treatment and a study of the abnormal; here these subjects yield precedence to prevention and a common-sense exposition of the normal. The author, imbued with the spirit of modern preventive medicine, points out the errors and abuses of modern life (so easily avoided and yet so easily yielded to) which affect injuriously the health of women and children. At the same time he clearly assists the mother and others to understand the physiology of womanhood and motherhood, the care of the infant and young girl, and the detection and treatment of common complaints. The subjects of heredity, environment, educa- tion and schools, the home-training of children, the physical development of the body and the position of woman in modern life, are among the topics of the day which are touched upon in a new light in this concisely written book. Each of its three sections, Girlhood, Mother hood and Infancy, provides the mother, the schoolmistress, and the intelligent nurse with a fascinating and easily understood guide and high ideals. R. F. FENNO & COMPANY 18 East 17th Street .... NEW YORK Books by FLOYD B. WILSON Paths to Power 1 4th Ed. izmo. Cloth. $1.00 Man Limitless jd Ed. izmo. Cloth. Gilt Top. $1.25 Thro' Silence to Realization 3d Ed. izmo. Cloth. $1.00 The Discovery of the Soul urao. Cloth. $1.00 BOOKS BY HENRY FRANK The Mastery of Mind 12mo, cloth, 250 pages . $1.00 The Kingdom of Love 12mo, cloth, 245 pages . $1.00 The Shrine of Silence 12mo, cloth, 275 pages . $1.09 The Triumph of Truth or The Doom of Dogma 12mo, cloth, gilt top, 400 pages, $1.50 I2mo, cloth, gilt top, $1.25 Man Limitless By FLOYD B. WILSON AUTHOR OF "PATHS TO POWER," &C., &C. CONTENTS Man, Limitless Love The Christ Principle Through Intuition Work Control of Memory- Suggestion Must Age Enfeeble ? Pathway to Achievement Children of the Gods Shakespeare's Ariel Spirit Aid in Man's Unfoldment 9 PATHS TO POWER By FLOYD B. WILSON CONTENTS One's Atmosphere Growth A Psychic Law in Student Work Unfoldment Power : How to Attain It Harmony The Assertion of the I The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil Conditions Faith Back of Vibrations Wasted Energy Something About Genius Shakespeare : How He Told Hi 8> Secret in the " Dream " and the " Tempet " 1 2 mo. Cloth, $ 1 .00 Fifteenth Edition R. F. FENNO & COMPANY 1 8 East Seventeenth St. New York * * * * Fate Mastered Destiny Fulfilled By. W. J. COLV1LLE CONTENTS Fate Mastered Destiny Fulfilled Interior Force Its Practical Evolution Thought as a Shie dThe Human Aura KANDSOMELY bound in White Cloth, and Stamped in Three Colors of Ink. Twelve-mo fj Fifty-two Pages fl Thirty cents, Postpaid. 000000 The Mastery of Mind , By HENRY FRANK The Record Herald (Chicago} : "Dr. Henry Frank is a charming pilot through the mazes of the so called 'New Thought' and the mysteries of the New Psychology. 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It is written with literary finesse that will appeal to all, and the most abstruse themes .... are made a matter of compelling interest." Transcrtpt (Boston) : "Mr Frank is at his best in this new volume, which is redolent of advanced science and the New Psychology, beautiful in style and uplifting in n^ral sentiment In this age of mental quackery it is refreshing to find subjects of this character treated so rationally." The Washington (D. C ) Times: "A masterly and prac- tical outline of the entire field ot psychology." 12mo. cloth, 250 pa^s, $1.00 R. F. FEN NO & COMPANY 18 EAST l/iii STREET, - - NEW YORK, BOOKS BY JAMES ALLEN As a Man Thinketh Out from the Heart The Heavenly Life Entering the Kingdom The Way of Peace The Path of Prosperity Sent postpaid upon receipt of pric* Paper Covers . . . . 15c. per copy Cloth Binding .... 50c. per copy Watered Silk .... 75c. per copy Leather . . . . . 75c. per copy R. F. 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