More wisdom from
The Personal Help Library Vol. III For Boys and Young Men


"See the enervated and stunted fathers, the nervous and sickly mothers, the puny and weak children, the lustful sons and fallen daughters, the poorly developed bodies and dwarfed minds, the paupers and criminals, the epileptics, the feeble-minded and the insane!...Why such a large percent of our population among the aimless, purposeless, shiftless ne'er-do-wells? Why our race degeneracy, our threatened race extinction?...The sin of sensuality, with its attendant diseases, is the most prolific source of blighted manhood."

"Passion means inflamed organs. Oft-repeated, prolonged and intensified passion will result in diseased conditions of the genital organs of either men or women."

"Dancing leads to passion and passion leads to mechanical or mental self-abuse."

On theater: "No normal man, in the prime of life, can sit for hours and be entertained by semi-nude actresses, who engage in knee-dress dancing and other gymnastics, such as degrade their sex, and remain pure in his thoughts and habits. These women are nearly all loose in their morals."

On the symptoms of a victim of chronic "self-abuse": the eyes will be sunken and dull, the cheeks pale and pasty, the face, neck and back covered with bumps and pimples, the disposition peevish and irritable, hands cold and clammy, mind sluggish, feelings morbid and despondent, actions extremely diffident and shy...For years it has been our conviction that mental and mechanical masturbation are the chief causes of suicide."

"Unengaged young people, under no conditions, should engage in kissing and hugging. Even in the engaged state these social relations are not necessary for expressing love between lovers and they are not essential to blissful courtship. When young people are engaged, and the date of engagement is fixed and not far off, an occasional good-bye kiss could be safely exchanged without the ill effects of spooning."

"If a young woman knows that for some reason she is sterile, or that motherhood would be very unwise, she should not encourage lovemaking by a gentleman friend."

"Though the practice of self-abuse may not be the direct and sole cause of insanity, the morbid mental states, due to its practice, are doubtless contributory causes. Epilepsy may be caused by the habit."

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