140 SEX 



punctuation has been regulated in the course 

 of natural selection, for it is best for the race 

 that it should be continued by young mothers 

 though not immature ones. One must not 

 make too much of the case of Isaac. 



The cessation of ovum-production in women 

 is known as the climacteric, or menopause, 

 arid its symptoms bear some resemblance to 

 those which occur after castration. Ovulation, 

 or the liberation of ova, ceases ; the production 

 of new ova normally comes to an end; the 

 connective tissue of the ovary hardens, the 

 blood-vessels degenerate, the whole organ 

 shrinks. Associated with these essential in- 

 ternal changes there are others more super- 

 ficial. Thus the skin loses its tenseness and 

 tends to become wrinkled ; and the deposition 

 of fat increases, often excessively. Hairs 

 may grow out on the upper lip and on the 

 chin, and there is often an increase in the 

 size of the thyroid gland. 



In man there is sometimes, initially be- 

 tween fifty and fifty-four, but often later, a 

 " climacterium virile, " analogous to the change 

 in woman. It appears to be associated with 

 retrogressive changes in the gonads and often 

 with a waning of sexual appetite. It is 

 sometimes marked by unrest, anxiety, hyper- 

 sensitiveness, irritability, sluggishness, sleep- 

 lessness, rushes of blood to the head, sudden 

 rises of temperature, changes of blood- 

 pressure . . . but, in fact, so many symptoms 

 have been recorded by medical experts that 

 the impression left is not very convincing. 

 Perhaps, it is enough to say that with a, 

 waning of sexual activity there is associated 



