SEXUAL HYGIENE 143 



mind unbiased by passion, and prayerfully anxious to 

 know and do what is right. 



In the following paragraphs of this section are 

 considered some of the evils out of which grows much 

 of the sexual suffering of men and women: 



Sexual Precocity.— There are two periods in hu- 

 man life when the sexual instincts should be totally 

 dormant ; and they are so when nature is not perverted. 

 The first is the period reaching from infancy to 

 puberty. The second is the period reached in ad- 

 vanced age. 



If raised strictly in accordance with natural law, 

 children would have no sexual notions or feelings be- 

 fore the occurrence of puberty. No prurient specula- 

 tion about sexual matters would enter their minds. 

 Until that period, the reproductive system should lie 

 dormant in its undeveloped state. No other feeling 

 should be exhibited between the sexes than that broth- 

 erly and sisterly affection which is so admirable and 

 becoming. 



Fortunate, indeed, would it be for humanity if this 

 natural state always existed; but it is a lamentable 

 fact that it is rarely seen in modern homes. Not infre- 

 quently, evidences of sexual passion are manifested 

 before the child has hardly learned to walk. It has 

 been suggested that this precocity is nothing remark- 

 able or unnatural, since it is often seen in little lambs 

 and other young animals. To this it is only necessary 

 to reply that the development of the sexual instincts 

 perfectly corresponds with the longevity of the animal ; 

 if short-lived, like the sheep, only a short period inter- 

 venes between birth and the attainment of the sexual 

 instinct and virility. If the animal is intended for long 

 life, as is the case with man, these manifestations are 



