20 The Time to Build 



ranks and conditions while he is yet a mere lad. 

 Under our present organization of society, the boy 

 who would win the life race must have much experi- 

 ence of trial and error, of failure and success, and of 

 tribulation and triumph ; and all that for the sake of 

 a self-reliant character. Now, the boy who has lost 

 all sense of embarrassment in the presence of others 

 is likely to be denied the stirring inner experiences 

 just named, and to settle down in an indifferent, self- 

 satisfied attitude toward the big problems of human 

 conduct. It may be counted, therefore, as an indi- 

 cation of much promise and advantage that the 

 country youth and the country maiden continue to 

 be comparatively "green" and bashful during the 

 period of their adolescence. 



9. The instinct of sexual love will manifest itself 

 at the proper time and age. Before so doing, cer- 

 tain organic changes and inner nerve developments 

 must take place. Parents may learn some lessons 

 from observation of this instinct that will apply to 

 practically all the others. For example, there should 

 be no attempt to hurry the manifestation and the 

 functioning of the instinct, nor should the training 

 necessary for its development and refinement be 

 denied or withheld. Of all the many inner awaken- 

 ings that come to the developing human being, there 

 is probably none that quite matches the surging 

 energy of sexual love in healthy young manhood 

 and womanhood. And to an extraordinary degree, 



