vii THE STAGES OF LIFE AND DEATH 289 



attained at 25 years of age, when it ceases altogether, except in 

 cases of excessive corpulence. 



The transition from adolescence to youth does not present the 

 same features in every case, but varies considerably owing to 

 different causes. 



The longer the process of development, the more perfect it is ; 

 the longer the human being remains a child and the later the 

 sexual functions and characteristics make their appearance, the 

 more complete will be his development as a whole. The right 

 kind of home and social environment, a wise and careful up- 

 bringing, can do much towards postponing the use and possibly 

 also the development of the sexual organs, a fact which is of the 

 greatest interest from the educational point of view. 



V. The adolescence of the Latin races, which begins with the 

 variable age of puberty, comprises the whole process of develop- 

 ment of the organs and organism both in stature and weight, and 

 also those physical and psychical changes which go with that 

 development. In the case of women it lasts until the age of 

 21, unless puberty be unusually late, and in that of men until 

 25 to 28 years of age. The term adolescence is most correctly 

 applied to the first stage of this period ; after puberty man 

 enters the period of youth, the age of full activity, during which 

 he develops the capacity for useful work, and becomes fit for 

 military service. 



At this age, when the physical and aesthetic characteristics 

 of the body have reached perfection and the sexual tendencies 

 are properly developed, man is conscious of a new feeling of 

 vigour and expansive ability which decides his walk in life. 



The slight, supple figure of the young woman or man attains 

 that outward perfection of which the Greeks gave us the model 

 in their statues of Diana and Apollo. The skin loses the delicacy 

 of childhood, the hair becomes richer in colour, the muscles become 

 larger and firmer, imparting the final shape and size to the limbs 

 and endowing the whole body with agility, flexibility, grace, and 

 strength. The head is no longer disproportionate in size as in 

 childhood, and with the increase in the thorax and the pelvis 

 harmonious proportions are established between the three portions 

 of the body. The lymphatic plethora peculiar to childhood 

 decreases and the right equilibrium is attained in the proportion 

 of blood and lymph. The strength of the heart increases, the 

 arteries and veins are elastic and large, so that the flow of blood 

 through the whole capillary network is at its strongest in youth. 

 The respiratory movements, in agreement with the increased size 

 of the lungs, are slower and less frequent than in the preceding 

 years. The digestive system attains its full activity ; the mastica- 

 tory apparatus is completed by the addition of the four last molars, 

 the so-called wisdom teeth. The absorption of the digestive 



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