A CHAPTER FOR BOYS 409 



Evil Thoug^hts. —No one can succeed long in keep- 

 ing liimself from vicious acts whose thoughts dwell 

 upon unchaste subjects. Only those who are pure in 

 heart will be pure and chaste in action. The mind 

 must be educated to love and dwell upon pure subjects 

 in early life, as by this means only can the foundation 

 be laid for that purity of character which alone will 

 insure purity of life. "When the mind once becomes 

 contaminated with evil thoughts, it requires the work 

 of years of earnest effort to purge it from uncleanness. 

 Vile thoughts leave scars which even time will not 

 always efface. They soil and deprave the soul, as vile 

 acts degrade the body. God knows them^ if no human 

 being does; and if harbored and cherished, they will 

 tell against the character in the day of Judgment as 

 surely as will evil words and deeds^ 



Influence of Other Bad Habits.— Evil practices 

 of any sort which lower the moral tone of an individual, 

 which lessen his appreciation of and love for right 

 and purity and true nobility of soul, encourage the 

 development of vice. A boy who loves purity, who has 

 a keen sense of what is true and right, can never be- 

 come a vicious man. Profanity, falsehood, and decep- 

 tion of every sort, have a tendency in the direction of 

 vice. 



The use of highly seasoned food, of rich sauces, 

 spices and condiments, sweetmeats, and in fact all 

 kinds of stimulating foods, has an undoubted influence 

 upon the sexual nature of boys, stimulating those or- 

 gans into too early activity, and occasioning tempta- 

 tions to sin which otherwise would not occuro The use 

 of mustard, pepper, pepper-sauce, spices, rich gravies, 

 and all similar kinds of food, should be carefully 

 avoided by young persons. They are not wholesome 



