! 



SOME MATTERS OF HYGIENE 409 



everywhere whose thoughts revert to the subject of sex 

 whenever they are free to wander. Their ideas of en- 

 joyment and humor are sexual. It is probably true of 

 men of stronger character that most of them wish that 

 the matter had not become so obtrusive. They regret 

 that they have not more firmly confined it within bounds. 

 Nothing else so threatens the symmetry, the efficiency, 

 and the height of attainment of a man's life. 



Clearly, then, it is the part of wisdom to occupy one's 

 energies with many concerns which shall not minister 

 at all to the impulses of sex. As a man who is sailing a 

 boat places himself so that his weight shall tell against the 

 heeling effect of the wind so one should 'be at pains to 

 trim the craft in which he is making the voyage of life. 

 To bring it upon an even keel he must match other forces 

 against that which is always bearing him over to one 

 side. To drop the figure, he must set himself tasks 

 for the muscles and the intellect which shall keep sex 

 in abeyance. 



Appeals for sexual self-mastery in the name of good 

 taste, chivalry, social justice, and even religion have 

 genuine power. But we shall not set them forth at any 

 length in this place. We shall be content to urge that the 

 earnest cultivation of varied interests, the finding of pleas- 

 ure in work and sport, the stimulus of friendships, and the 

 appreciation of the aged and the little children as well 

 as of our own generation will usually insure the relega- 

 tion of sex to its own proper but restricted place. Habits 

 (which may quite as well be mental as physical) which 

 extend its dominion are calculated to lead on to the most 

 unhappy distortion of ideals and to the forfeiture of the 

 highest prizes. 



Three concrete reasons to go no farther may be ad- 

 vanced for sexual abstinence on the part of the young 

 man. First, the dangers of the venereal diseases suggest 

 a motive, not high but positive, for continence. Second, 

 if he indulges he becomes a contributor to the degradation 

 and misery of outcast womankind. Finally, he should 

 cherish the purpose of coming to his wedding-day with no 



