532 PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG 



been presented. If he find that the annnal in his nature 

 is too strong to allow him to comply with what seems 

 to be the requirements of natural law, let him approxi- 

 mate as nearly to the right as possible. ''Let every 

 man be fully persuaded in his own mind," and act 

 accordingly, not forgetting that this is a matter with 

 serious moral bearings, and hence one in which con- 

 science should be on the alert. It is of no use to reject 

 truth because it is unpalatable. There can be nothing 

 worse for a man than to ''know the truth and do 

 it not." 



It is but fair to say that there is a wide diversity 

 of opinion among medical men on this subject. A very 

 few hold that the sexual act should never be indulged 

 except for the purpose of reproduction, and then only 

 at periods when reproduction will be possible. Others, 

 while equally opposed to the (excesses, the eifects of 

 which have been described, limit indulgence to the 

 number of months in the year. 



Read, reflect, weigh well the matter, then fix upon 

 a plan of action, and if it be in accordance with the 

 dictates of better judgment, do not swerve from it. 



If the suggestion made near the outset of these 

 remarks, in comparing the reproductive function in 

 man and animals,— that the seasons of sexual approach 

 should be governed by the inclination of the feniale,— 

 were conscientiously followed, it would undoubtedly 

 do away with at least three-fourths of the excesses 

 which have been under consideration. Before reject- 

 ing the hint so plainly offered by nature, let every 

 man consider for a moment whether he has any other 

 than purely selfish arguments to produce against it. 



Early Moderation. —The time of all others when 

 moderation is most imperatively demanded, yet least 



