The mythical sorceress Circe first enchanted and then transformed the fellow-voyager of Ulysses into swine who grovelled at her feet. And even yet, in very truth, men from every sphere of life, married and single, rich and poor, ignorant and educated, continue to drink the poisoned draught from her cup.
Again, Ulysses, being warned of the sirens on the shores of Sicily, who charmed all passers-by with their false songs, stuffed the ears of his sailors with wax, and had himself securely fastened to the mast of his vessel until the ship sailed past out of the range of their voices; and thus he heard their enchanting music without perishing. But no man can go through life protected by having his ears filled with prophylactic wax, nor limited in the range of his vision by the wearing of blinders.
Circe and the sirens still continue to enchant and to destroy ; and in order to pass by them unmoved a man must rely on a strong force of will, fortified by a just and appreciative knowledge, else "I fear me the skiff and the boatmen will both 'neath the waters drown."
It is a vain thing to cry out, "Save our girls!" when parents allow their boys to grow up into bad men. How cruel it is to permit a son to advance to manhood without instruction; to let him flounder along an assuredly dangerous road without giving him all possible directions which could in any way help him or perhaps save him from utter ruin! Unlike the animals, man experiences shame and seeks secrecy when he gratifies his sexual appetite. Unchastity, being a secret sin, is therefore all the more dangerous. No child is safe from its subtle influence, and no careless parent can be assured that his household is secure. Few boys indeed escape from the contamination of the evil teachings of their schoolfellows, and many of them acquire vitiated tastes without in any way appreciating their gravity, while others inherit weakened wills and "fall victims to their grandfathers' excesses."
The saddest sight in the world is to see a man sepulchred while yet living. Diseased himself, and with perverted tastes, he transmits the injury to his innocent wife and children, and no repentance is assuredly effectual unless he remain single.
A reformed profligate makes a poor husband, being corrupt in body, and the slave of the imperious voluptuous recollections which bring before him the debased images of the harlots with whom he formerly associated. Aye, women can be found who will marry such men; but they and their offspring suffer terribly!
No man's opinion on these matters is of so much value as the physician's.
On account of the nature of his work he has an immense advantage, and is peculiarly well qualified to speak, because he sees clearly in his every-day experience the physical effects of impurity upon the man and his paramours, and, if he marry, upon his wife and posterity ; the mental effects in widespread insanity which results from disease; the moral effects in the loss of character, the breaking up of home life, and the loss of confidence between husband and wife; and the social effects in the ravages which vice makes among a large class of humanity.
Every doctor who regards his physicianship as a sacred trust realizes that sexual impurity is pre-eminently the cause of most of that which stands out as hideous and disgusting in society, and feels that silence regarding this question is not in line with his duty.
In the case of a thoughtful man there should be no one so much interested in his career as he himself, and he should think out with far more care than any one else the problems of life as they concern him. It is his duty and his legitimate privilege as a man and citizen to ground himself on the standard truths relating to this subject, which are recognized the world over by the medical profession, and it will then be proper for him to be somewhat dogmatic in his conclusions and arguments.