CHAPTER XL

MANHOOD WRECKED AND REGAINED

=Few perfect men.=--When we study man in his relation to the world about him, in relation to his physical, mental and moral possibilities, we get a glimpse of what nature and his Creator planned for him to be. In sacred and profane history, on the farm and in the shop, behind the counter and at the bar; in Congress and in Senate, on the platform and in the pulpit; we find some splendid examples of ideal manhood. But look at humanity in the mass. How few perfect men do you find in a community! Look at the enervated and stunted fathers, the nervous and sickly mothers, the puny and weak children, the poorly developed babies and dwarfed minds, the crowded reformatories, penitentiaries and asylums. Why are sixty-seven per cent. of the children defective at birth? Why the aimless, shiftless, purposeless, ne’er-do-well men? Why so much of deteriorated manhood? The causes are many. Many people are ignorant of the most common laws of health. Many live in unappeased hunger and some are improperly fed. Whisky, tobacco, opium and morphine are all doing their part in wrecking manhood. But the most prolific cause of blighted manhood is the sin of sensuality. It is fully equal to all other causes combined. One state health board asserts that if all men understood the laws of sex and kept them, there would not be the need of one doctor in ten that we now have. This indicates the injurious physical effects of this sin.

=Wrecked minds.=--An eminent doctor of France claims that the insanity of eighty-two per cent. of all the females and seventy-eight per cent. of all the males in the asylums of that nation involves their sexual mechanism, function, or both, and that early sex instruction would have wholly precluded much of it and postponed the mental break much later in life in many other cases. This indicates the mental effects of this sin.

=Kept from Christ.=--More people are kept from Christ and more fail to live the Christian life because of their sex problem than because of all other problems put together. This indicates the moral effects of this sin.

=Regained--extent.=--The extent to which injured, impaired or wrecked manhood due to dissipated sex life, may be regained, will be determined by the number of years he has indulged, the excessiveness of his vice, his age when he reforms, the exercise of his will and the help he seeks from God. When nature is given a fair show, it is wonderful what she will do in a few years. When God is given a fair chance in a man’s life, it is equally wonderful what he can do for a man. God and nature work together in the restoration of manhood.

=The diagnosis.=--A study of the causes and the conditions of wrecked manhood will aid us to understand what must be done, if manhood is to be restored. Nearly all cases of sexually injured or wrecked manhood first originated in wrong mental relations to matters of sex. The mind has the power to excite to greater than normal activity many of the glands of the body. In the presence of food, or fancying that one is in the presence of food, the mind so influences the salivary glands that they secrete saliva much faster than at other times. In the same way, when the mind is called to the sexual organs, and thought and desire for sexual gratification are aroused by handling these organs, or when gazing upon lewd pictures, reading obscene literature, telling or hearing a smutty joke, “spooning” with a girl, reveling in lascivious desire, or when constipated these organs are stimulated to unusual activity. Blood rushes to the genital organs, the capillaries are dilated and gorged with blood and many times as much semen is formed in a given period, as would be formed, if the mind was otherwise engaged. The body has its limit in absorbing the vital substance. Much of it that should never have been taken from the blood must be thrown off from the body by seminal emissions, the secret vice, prostitution or marital excess. When improper mental relations are continued for months or years, gradually there is established a tendency for too much blood to flow to the genitals, the capillaries become easily dilated, the organs are constantly excited and inflamed and the habit of generating too much semen is formed. This leads to impaired manhood.

=All causes of wrong mental thinking must be avoided.=--If constipated, this must be corrected. If accustomed to handling the organs with the hands, this must be stopped. Learn instinctively to shun the vulgar story teller, close your eyes to every lewd picture, burn every obscene book in your possession, keep company with only the discreet, chaste girls who wear a full dress, banish every lascivious thought, and keep your mind engaged in other things. This desired mental control does not come in a moment, an hour, a day or a month of effort. It will take a year, it may take more to become master of the mind.

A young man must quit the sin. It can be done at once, but not in every case. It may take months or a year.

If a true conversion to Christ means anything, it means a purification of the mind from a willful choice to engage in impure thoughts. From my point of view this is one of the most important steps for a young man to take in the solution of his sex problem.

=A pathological condition.=--It is vitally important for a young man to understand that, even when he has fully decided in his mind on reform and has accepted Christ, that this reformation of mind and regeneration in his moral nature do not change the pathological condition of the genital organs, due to years of violating nature’s laws. These steps are all important. Restoration to manhood would not be possible without one or both. The physiological facts are, years of wrong thinking, the secret vice or prostitution has established a tendency for too much blood to flow to these parts and consequently too much semen is formed. This will continue until nature has had time to restore normal conditions. This could never be done by nature without the causes being removed. Nature’s work of restoration is always gradual. She cannot be hurried. She always does her best. Her best is always measured by the opportunity given her. Start in time, be faithful in removing all hindrances and she will accomplish results.

=Hindrances and helps.=--You cannot help nature in this trouble by using drugs, stimulants or galvanic batteries. Marriage only substitutes one form of sexual waste for another. Prostitution is not a remedy; that simply destroys two souls and bodies instead of one. The use of tobacco and alcoholic drinks tends to inflame the passions. These habits must be entirely quit if restored manhood is desired. Absolute cleanliness, bathing of parts with cold water, eating nature’s foods, vegetables and cereals, meat sparingly, if at all, taking plenty of open air exercise, including deep breathing; these are the remedies nature delights in using.

=A fact that should be clearly understood.=--After one has fully decided upon a changed life, at certain periods he will be very severely tested by the constant recurrence of impure thoughts and a strong desire for sexual gratification. Many men doubt their conversion or decide that there is no hope for them. If they yield and practice the secret vice, they chide and condemn themselves, become despondent and decide there is no hope for them. They should understand that these thoughts and desires are not of moral choice, but they arise purely from a pathological condition of the genital organs. The changed mind and heart did not stop the usual flow of blood to these organs and the generation of too much semen. The surplus could not be absorbed by the body. It caused the ducts and vessels to become gorged. It was this condition that caused the improper thoughts and desires. Nature has a relief for this while she is gradually producing a cure. The relief is a seminal emission. If these men would resist the temptation for a few more hours or a day, nature would come to their help with an emission. Then for several days they would be free from impure thoughts and desires. The next period would not be so severe. The will would be stronger and resistance easier. If this is kept up, less and less blood will go to the genital organs, less and less semen will be formed, and after one, two or three years a normal condition will be established and manhood restored.

=If venerealized, consult a good doctor.=--If wrecked manhood involves some form of venereal complication, the sufferer should go to the most reliable home physician he can find, take his treatment and follow his directions. Even in these cases, if the directions given are followed, the remedies given by the doctor will be made more effective.

=All out of the asylum can if they will.=--To the young man with seminal weakness, or loss of virility, we can offer no easy, short cuts to recovery. For years you have violated nature’s laws. The way back is not easy. Only the brave and the determined will make it. All out of the asylum can if they will. There is hope, there is help, there is recovery. It is worth fighting a lifetime for.

To the great army of young men who are unchaste in minds, many in habits, conscious of no serious results, as yet, we would wave the flag of warning.