, etc.) we find that
the young man is hardly able to establish such a home as most such
young men feel that they must maintain on any salary that they receive
before they are twenty-eight to thirty years old. This consideration
applies particularly to college and university men, as, almost without
exception, these men are preparing for some of the above mentioned
professions or vocations.
Now the conditions of college life, the field sports and athletics,
together with the social conditions, tend to develop in college
circles a body of most virile young men. The problem which now
confronts us is: How may these young men live a hygienic life under
these unnatural circumstances?
If a man becomes able to procreate his kind at seventeen but is hardly
able to marry before he is thirty he must solve the problem as to what
his attitude shall be regarding matters of sex. The earlier this
problem is solved the better it is for the young man. Unfortunately, a
large proportion of young men do not realize that they have any
problem in this field to solve until circumstances, more or less
accidental, have already established in them a mental attitude and,
perhaps, a habit of life that may not be either wholesome or wise.
From what has preceded, it must be evident that from the early months
of the period of puberty, through the adolescent and adult period,
even until some progress is made in the senile period, every normal
male will experience sexual desires. It has been shown that these
particular experiences are linked, more or less intimately, with the
condition of the sexual apparatus; but whatever the cause, we are
confronted with the question, What shall be done about it?
When a man experiences a sexual desire does it necessarily follow that
the desire must be satisfied? Some have reasoned that the muscles of
the arm, if not exercised, wither and become weak, therefore the
sexual desires, if not exercised will become weak, and the sexual
apparatus, if it does not exercise its function, must become withered
and atrophied. While this course of reasoning may seem rational and
the conclusion may seem tenable, it is well known to physiologists and
sociologists that the reasoning is fallacious; the fallacy rests in
the premises. It was assumed above that the activity of the sexual
glands was comparable with that of muscles.
We must not lose sight of the fact that the male sexual glands are
continuously active, and in this
|