e the sexual temptations that may be more or less
experienced by many and perhaps by all, requires an effort of course,
and frequently a very great effort; but let it be borne in mind that
all temptations to do wrong, require effort to overcome them; and as a
rule, the greater the evil we are tempted to commit the greater is the
effort needed to overcome it. Now, as shown above, since sexual matters
are so thoroughly interwoven with the highest destinies of the human
race, physically, mentally and spiritually, there is scarcely any
function of higher import, allotted to any individual, than that
assigned to the genital organs. No function more deeply concerns the
healthfulness of the body, the clearness and brilliancy of the
intellect, or the purity and sincerity of the soul itself.

Several times in the course of this book I have referred to the term
"abuse." By "abuse," I mean precisely what _Lallemand_ so forcibly
expresses as follows: "_I understand by the term abuse, when applied to
the organs of generation, any irregular or premature exercise of their
functions; any application of them which cannot have, as its result, the
propagation of the species._"

Look at the habitual masturbator! See how thin, pale and haggard he
appears; how his eyes are sunken; how long and cadaverous is his cast of
countenance; how irritable he is and how sluggish, mentally and
physically; how afraid he is to meet the eye of his fellows; feel his
damp and chilling hand, so characteristic of great vital exhaustion.
Taken as a class, how terrible are their lost virility, their miserable
night's sleep, their convulsions and their shrunken limbs. They keep by
themselves, seeking charm in solitude and are fit companions for no one;
they dare not read their Bible, they cannot commune with good angels nor
with the Lord, our Saviour. Is not this picture deplorable? It is at the
last end of the chain I admit, but it is reached link after link, one at
a time; and the first link was forged when the first temptation in the
mind was first favored and finally yielded to. The above picture is a
true one and shows how intimately connected are the soul, the mind and
the body with this whole subject. Man in a healthy state need not and
should not lose one drop of seminal fluid by his own hand, by nightly
emissions or pollutions, or in any way, until he becomes conjoined to a
wife of his choice in the holy bonds of matrimony. Every time the seed
of his bo