adly seize every opportunity of speaking to the children upon
sexual matters, intoxicating themselves the while with their own sexual
imaginings. The grave danger of allowing an unsuitable person to
undertake the sexual enlightenment is obvious from the existence of
those persons who teach that homosexual inclinations occurring in
children indicate that they are permanently homosexual--a view which, as
has been shown, is utterly erroneous. But let us suppose that one who
holds such a doctrine is the person who has undertaken the sexual
enlightenment of a child, and we can hardly doubt what the result will
be, namely, to foster homosexuality. The greatest possible care must
therefore be exercised in the selection of the person who is to
undertake the sexual enlightenment.

Nor must we expect too much from the sexual enlightenment. Although to
adults the way in which one schoolboy instructs another about matters of
sex may appear to be extremely unpleasant, yet, as a matter of practical
experience, this method has not had the disastrous results that some
believe to attach to it. Unquestionably, the Germans and other civilised
races have done much very important work, not only in the intellectual
field, but also in that of ethics and in that of social life. Still we
have learned that disadvantages are entailed by the rough-and-ready
methods of sexual enlightenment hitherto commonly practised. Will these
ill-effects disappear with the realisation of the modern efforts for a
purposive and deliberate sexual enlightenment? Even though the modern
ideas on the subject are to be preferred, it must not be supposed that
their adoption will immediately result in the disappearance of all the
unfavourable aspects of the sexual life. We shall not thereby transform
children into little angels; and I doubt very much if the new methods of
enlightenment will have much effect in diminishing the frequency of
masturbation among children. I am led to this conviction by my
experience that at the time when the process of sexual ripening begins,
a child does not usually possess an adequate sense of the dangers of
such malpractices. I am certainly afraid that nothing we can do will
greatly lessen the prevalence of masturbation among children. I would
rather venture to hope for a diminution in the prevalence of venereal
diseases, as a result of the newer methods of sexual enlightenment; but
even here there will be many cases in which passion will ga