SEXUAL HYGIENE 149 



Satyriasis. —A^VTien the passions have been in- 

 dulged, and their diminishing vigor stimulated, a hor- 

 rid disease, satyriasis, not infrequently seizes upon 

 the imprudent individual, and drives him to the per- 

 petration of the most loathsome crimes and excesses. 

 Passions cultivated and encouraged by gratification 

 through life, will thus sometimes assert a total suprem- 

 acy in old age. 



MARRIAGE 



The scope and plan of this work will allow of but 

 the briefest possible consideration of this subject, upon 

 which volumes have been written, and much to no pur- 

 pose, other than the multiplication of books. We shall 

 devote no space to a consideration of the origin of the 

 institution, its expediency, or varied relations, as these 

 topics are foreign to the character of this work. 



The first jDhysiological question to be considered 

 is concerning the proper age for marriage. 



Time to Marry.— Physiology fixes with accuracy 

 the earliest period at which marriage is admissible. 

 This period is that at which the body attains complete 

 development, which is not before twenty in the female, 

 and twenty-four in the male. Even though the growth 

 may be completed before these ages, ossification of the 

 bones is not fully effected, so that development is in- 

 complete. 



Among most modern nations, the civil laws fixing 

 the earliest date of marriage seem to have been made 

 without any reference to physiology, or with the mis- 

 taken notion that puberty and nubility are identical. 

 It is interesting to note the different ages established 



