THE FUNCTION OF THE SEX ORGANS
It hardly need be stated here, for it is a matter of common knowledge, that the primary purpose of sex in the human family is the reproduction of the race. In this respect, considered merely on its material, or animal side, mankind differs little from all other forms of animate life. As Whitman says, we see "everywhere sex, everywhere the urge of procreation." The flowers are possessed of this quality, and with them all vegetable forms. In the animal kingdom the same is true. Always "male and female" is everything created.
And the chief facts in reproduction are practically the same wherever the phenomena occur. Here, as everywhere else in the world, when a new life-form appears, it is always the result of the union of two forces, elements, germs or whatsoever. These two elements differ in nature and in function, and each is incomplete and worthless by itself. It is only by the combining of the two that any new result is obtained. It is this fact that has led to the most suggestive and beautiful phrase "The duality of all unity in nature."
Many centuries ago an old Latin philosopher wrote the now celebrated phrase, Omne ex ovo, which, translated, means everything is from an egg. This is practically true of all life-forms. Their beginning is always from an ovum, or egg. In this respect, the reproduction of human beings is the same as that of any other life-form.
Now in this process of producing a new life-form, the female is always the source of the egg, out of which the new creation is to come. This egg, however, is infertile of itself, and must be given life to, by mingling with its germ, an element which only the male can produce and supply. This element is technically known as a sperm, or a spermatozoa. Its function is to fertilize the dormant germ in the egg produced by the female, and thus to start a new and independent life-form. This life-form, thus started, grows according to the laws of its becoming more and more, until, at the expiration of a fixed period, which varies greatly in different animals, it becomes a complete young individual, of the nature and kind of its parents. The fertilization of the ovum in the female is called conception; its growing state is called gestation, and its birth, on becoming a separate being, is called parturition. In its growing condition, and before its birth, the new young life form is known as the foetus.
Now it is the fertilization of the ovum in the female (and from now on, it is only of the male and female in the human family that mention will be made) by the male, in the woman, by the man, that is of supreme interest and importance to both the parties concerned in producing this result. How this is brought about is substantially as follows:
As already stated, the infertile ovum, or egg, is produced by the woman. Such production begins at what is known as the age of puberty, or when the hair begins to grow upon the pubic parts of the female body. The time of the appearance of this phenomenon in feminine life varies from the age of nine or ten years to fifteen or sixteen. The average, for most girls, is fourteen years of age. At this time the formation of ova, or eggs, in the female body begins, and it continues, in most women, at regular intervals of once in twenty-eight days, except during pregnancy and lactation, for a period of about thirty years. During all this time, under favorable conditions, it is possible for the ovum produced by the woman to become fertilized, if it can meet the sperm of the male.
In a general way, this meeting of the infertile ovum of the woman with the sperm of the man can be brought about, as follows:
The ova are produced by the ovaries (the word ovaries means egg producers) where they slowly develop from cells which originate in these glands. When they have reached maturity, or are ready for fertilization, they pass out of the ovaries and down into the womb, by way of the fallopian tubes. As already stated, such passage of the ova from the ovaries into the womb occurs every twenty-eight days, and it is accomplished by a more or less copious flow of blood, a sort of hemorrhage, which carries the ova down through the fallopian tubes, and deposits them in the womb. This blood, after performing its mission of carrying the ova down into the womb, escapes from the body through the vaginal passage and is cared for by the wearing of a bandage between the thighs. This flow of blood continues for about five days, and is known as a menstrual flow; and this time in a woman's life is known as the menstrual period. It is so named because of the regularity of its recurrence, the word mensa meaning a month. In common parlance, these periods are often spoke of as the "monthlies."
After the ovum has reached the womb it remains there for a period of about ten days, after which, if it is not fertilized during that time, it passes out of the womb into the vaginal passage, and so out of the body. But if, at any time after it is ripe for fertilization, that is, from the time it begins its journey from the ovaries to the womb, and while it is in the womb, the ovum is met by the male sperm, it is liable to become fertilized—conception is possible. These are facts of the utmost importance, to be thoroughly understood and kept well in mind by all married people who would live happily together, as will be hereafter shown.
So much regarding the female part of the meeting of the ovum and the sperm. The male part of this mutual act is as follows:
The sperm, or spermatozoa, originate in the testicles. Each sperm is an individual entity and several thousands of them are produced and in readiness for use, at each meeting of the male and female generative organs; and if any one of the countless number comes in contact with the unfertilized ovum in the womb, conception is liable to result.
These sperms are so small that they are not visible to the naked eye, but they are readily seen by the use of a microscope. In shape they much resemble tad-poles in their earliest stages.
At the base of the penis, well up in the man's body, there is a large gland which surrounds the penis like a thick ring, and which is called the prostate gland. It secretes a mucous fluid which looks much like, and is about the consistency of the white of an egg. Close to this gland, and almost a part of it, is a sack, or pocket, into which the mucous secretion from the prostate gland is poured, and where it is kept, ready for use, in performing its part of the germinal act.
Now it is the business of this mucous fluid, which comes from the prostate gland, to form a "carrying medium" for the spermatozoa which originate in the testicles. There are small ducts leading from the testicles into the pocket which contains the prostate fluid. These are known as the seminal ducts, and through them the spermatozoa pass from the testicles into the prostate pocket. Here they mingle with the prostate fluid, in which they can move about freely, and by means of which they can be carried wherever this fluid goes. The combination of prostate fluid and spermatozoa is called "semen."
Seen under a microscope, a single drop of semen reveals a multitude of spermatozoa swimming about in the prostate-carrying medium. It is in this form that the vitalizing male element meets the female infertile ovum. This mass of live and moving germs is poured all around and about the region in which the ovum lies waiting to be fertilized, and every one of them seems to be "rushing about like mad" to find what it is sent to do, namely, to meet and fertilize the ovum. The manner of depositing the semen where it can come in contact with the ovum is as follows:
In order that this mingling of the male and female sources of life may be possible, it is necessary that there be a union of the male and the female generative organs. For such meeting, the penis is filled with blood, all its blood vessels being distended to their utmost capacity, till the organ becomes stout and hard, and several times its dormant size, as has been already told. In this condition it is able to penetrate, to its utmost depths, the vaginal passage of the female, which is of a nature to perfectly contain the male organ in this enlarged and rigid condition. Under such conditions, the penis is inserted into the widened and distended vaginal passage. Once together, a mutual back and forth, or partly in and out movement, of the organs is begun and carried on by the man and woman, which action further enlarges the parts and raises them to a still higher degree of tension and excitement. It is supposed by some that this frictional movement of the parts develops an electrical current, which increases in tension as the act is continued; and that it is the mission of the pubic hair, which is a non-conductor, to confine these currents to the parts in contact.
Now there are two other glands in these organs; one in the male and one in the female, which performs a most wonderful function in this part of the sexual act. These are the "glans penis" in the male and the "clitoris" in the female. The first is located at the apex of the male organ, and the other at the upper-middle and exterior part of the vulva. These glands are covered with a most delicate cuticle, and are filled with highly sensitive nerves. As the act progresses, these glands become more and more sensitized, and nervously surcharged, until, as a climax, they finally cause a sort of nervous explosion of the organs involved. This climax is called an "orgasm" in scientific language. Among most men and women it is spoken of as "spending."
On the part of the man, this orgasm causes the semen, which till this instant has remained in the prostate pocket, to be suddenly driven out of this place of deposit, and thrown in jets, and with spasmodic force, through the entire length of the penis, and, as it were, shot into the vaginal passage and the uterine cavity, till the whole region is literally deluged with the life-giving fluid. At the same time, the mouth of the womb opens wide; and into it pours, or rushes, this "father stuff," entirely surrounding and flooding the ovum, if it be in the womb. This is the climax of the sexual act, which is called "coitus," a word which means, going together.
With the myriads of spermatozoa swarming about it, if the vital part of the ovum comes in contact with some one of them, any one of which, brought into such contact, will fertilize it, conception results. The woman is then pregnant, and the period of gestation is begun.
This is a brief description of the act of coitus and of the means by which pregnancy takes place. It is, however, only a small part of the story of the sex relations of husbands and wives; and, be it said, a very small part of that, as will now be shown.
As has already been said, this use of the sex organs, merely to produce progeny, and so insure a continuance of the race, is a quality that mankind shares with all the rest of the animal kingdom. In all essentials, so far as the material parts of the act are concerned, the beginnings of the new life in the human family differ not a whit from that of any other mammals. In each case the ovum is produced by the ovaries of the female, passes into the womb, is there met by the semen from the male, fertilized by the spermatozoa, and so the foetus gets its start. This is the universal means by which the beginnings of all animal reproductive life takes place.
But there is another phase in the sex life of human beings, which is entirely different from that of all other animals, and which must therefore be considered beyond all that needs to be said regarding the act of coitus for reproductive purposes only. This we are now ready to consider and study.
Now in all animals, except human beings, the act of coitus is only permitted by the female, (it would seem is only possible for her) when the ovum is present in the womb and ready to be fertilized. At all other times, all female animals, except woman, are practically sexless. Their sexual organs are dormant, and nothing can arouse them to activity. Not only do they fail to show any desire for coitus, but if an attempt should be made to force it upon them, they would resist it to the utmost of their strength.
But when the ovum is present in the womb, these same female animals are beside themselves with desire for coitus. They are then spoken of as "in heat." And until they are satisfied, by meeting the male and procuring from him the vitalizing fluid which will fertilize their infertile ovum; or, failing in this, until the ovum passes away from them, out of the womb, they know no rest. At such times they will run all risks, incur all sorts of danger, do every possible thing to secure pregnancy. The thousand-and-one ways which female animals use to make known to their male mates their sexual desire and needs, when in heat, is a most interesting and wonderful story, a record made up of facts which would be well worth any student's knowing. But as all such knowledge can readily be procured from books which are within the reach of all, there is no need of noting the data here.
But now, in woman, all these things are different! As a matter of fact, the presence of the ovum in the womb of a normally made woman makes little, and, in many cases, no difference whatever as regards her status concerning the act of coitus! That is, women are never "in heat," in the same sense in which other female animals are. To be sure, in some cases, though they are rare, some women are conscious of a greater desire for coitus just after the ceasing of the menstrual flow; that is, when the ovum is in the womb. But such cases are so infrequent that they may well be counted atavistic, that is, of the nature of a tendency to return to a previous merely animal condition. For the most part, it is true of all normal women that the presence of the ovum in the womb makes little difference, one way or another, in regard to their desire for, or aversion to, the act of coitus.
Now the fact of this remarkable difference in the sex-status of women and the same quality in all other female animals leads us to a great number of interesting, not to say startling, conclusions, some of which are as follows:
In the first place, the phenomenon clearly establishes the fact that sex in the female human being differs, pronouncedly, from that of all other female life. For, whereas, among all females except woman, coitus is impossible, except at certain times and seasons, among women the act can not only be permitted, but is as much possible or desired at one time as any other, regardless of the presence or absence of the ovum in the womb. That is (and this point should be noted well by the reader) there is a possibility, on the part of the female humanity, for coitus, under conditions that do not at all obtain in any other female animal life.
This is a conclusion which is of such far-reaching importance that its limits are but dimly recognized, even in the clear thinking of most married people. The fact of such difference is known to them, and their practices in living conform to the conditions; but what it all means, they are entirely ignorant of, and they never stop to think about it.
And yet, right here is the very center and core of the real success or failure of married life! Around this fact are grouped all the troubles that come to husbands and wives. About it are gathered all the joys and unspeakable delights of the happily married—the only truly married. It is these items which make a knowledge of the real conditions which exist, regarding this part of married life, of such supreme importance. If these conditions could be rightly understood, and the actions of husbands and wives could be brought to conform to the laws which obtain under them, the divorce courts would go out of business, their occupation, like Othello's, would be "gone indeed."
The first conclusion, then, one that is forced upon the thoughtful mind by the fact of this difference in the sex possibilities of women and other female animals, is, as already stated, but which is here repeated for emphasis, that coitus can be engaged in by women when pregnancy is not its purpose, on her part; and that this never occurs in any other form of female life!
In view of this fact, is it too much to raise the question whether or not sex in woman is designed to fulfill any other purpose than that of the reproduction of the race? True it is, that the only function of sex in all other females is merely that of producing offspring—of perpetuating its kind. Under no circumstances does it ever serve any other end, fulfill any other design. There is no possibility of its doing so!
But one can help wondering if it is not true that, with the existence of the possibility of engaging in coitus at will, rather than at the bidding of instinct alone, there has also come a new and added function for the sex-natures that are capable of engaging in such before-unknown experiences? To a fair-minded person, such conclusion seems not only logical, but irresistible! That is in view of this conclusion, it naturally follows that sex in the human family is positively designed to fulfill a function that is entirely unknown to all other forms of animal life. And from this, it is but a step to the establishment of the fact that sex exercise in the human family serves a purpose other than that of reproduction!
Now, this fact established, a whole world of new issues arises and demands settlement. Among these, comes the supreme question: What is the nature of this new experience that has been conferred upon human beings, over and above what is vouchsafed to any other form of animal life? What purpose can it serve? How can it be properly exercised? What is right and what is wrong under these new possibilities? These are some of the issues that force themselves upon all thoughtful people, those who wish to do right under any and all circumstances in which they are placed.
Of course, here as elsewhere, the unthinking, the happy-go-lucky and the "don't-give-a-damn," can blunder along in almost any-old-way. But they can, and will, reap only the reward which always follows blundering and ignorance. In these days of scientific clear-thinking, we have come to understand that salvation from sin comes by the way of positive knowledge and not at the hands of either ignorance or innocence! If husbands and wives ever attain to the highest conditions of married life, it can only be after they know and practice, what is right in all their sex relations, both for reproductive purposes and in all other respects! Note that well!
As things are now, especially in all civilized countries, and particularly among Christian people, this secondary function of sex in the human family, while blindly recognized as a fact, is none the less abused, to a most shameful degree. For ages, the whole situation has been left in a condition of most deplorable, not to say damnable, ignorance; and no honest endeavor has been made to find out and act up to the truth in the premises. Husbands and wives have engaged in coitus ad libitum, utterly regardless of whether it was right or wrong for them to do so! They have taken it for granted that marriage conferred on them the right to have sexual intercourse whenever they chose, (especially when the man chose,) and they have acted accordingly. This is especially true of men, and the practice has been carried to such length that the right of a man to engage in coitus with his wife has been established by law, and the wife who refuses to yield this "right" to her husband can be divorced by him, if she persists in such way of living! It is such a fact as this which caused Mr. Bernard Shaw to write: "Marriage is the most licentious institution in all the world." And he might rightfully have added "it is also the most brutal," though it is an insult to the brute to say it that way, for brutes are never guilty of coitus under compulsion. But a husband can force his wife to submit to his sexual embraces, and she has no legal right to say him nay! This doesn't seem quite right, does it?
Now there are several different ways of viewing this new and added sexual possibility in the human family, namely, the act of coitus for other than reproductive purposes. The Catholic church has always counted it as a sin. Popes have issued edicts regarding it, and conclaves of Bishops have discussed it and passed resolutions regarding it. There has always been a difference of opinion upon the subject amongst these dignitaries and authorities, but they all agree in one respect, namely, that it is a sin. The only point of difference has been as to the extent or enormity of the sin! By some it has been reckoned as a "deadly sin," punishable by eternal hell fire, if not duly absolved before death; by others it has been held to be only a "venial sin," one that must always be confessed to the priest when coitus is engaged in, and which can be pardoned by the practice of due penance. But, always, it was a sin!
The Protestant church has never issued edicts regarding this matter, but, for the most part, it has tacitly held to the Catholic teaching in theory, while universally practicing the reverse, in actual married life. Protestants have looked upon it as a necessity, but have taught that it was regrettable that such was the case. They have held, with Paul, that, "it is better to marry than to burn." And most of them have chosen the marriage horn of the dilemma.
Among some European nations, attempts have been made to make it impossible for husbands and wives to cohabit except for reproductive purposes. In one of these nations, padlocks were used for preventing the act. A slit was made through the foreskin of the penis, and through this slit the ring of a padlock was passed, much as an ear-ring is passed through the lobe of a lady's ear. The padlock was made so large that it could not be introduced into the vaginal passage, and so coitus was impossible when it was worn. It could only be removed by the magistrate into whose hands the regulation of this part of the citizens' life was given. Specimens of these padlocks are still to be seen in European museums.
Now the terribly immoral thing in all this way of living has always been the fact that it compelled people to continually violate their consciences, by pretending to believe one thing and constantly practicing the reverse of their proclaimed belief. That is, it lured them into living a continual lie, and such can never be for the good of the soul! It goes without saying that the sooner this abominable way of living can be ended, the better it will be for all parties concerned—the individuals who are the victims of such falsehood, and the communities of which they form a part.
From all this it follows that the first thing every new husband and wife ought to do is to settle clearly in their own minds the issue as to whether it is right or wrong for them to engage in coitus for any other than procreative purposes. Having settled this point, one way or the other, then let them conscientiously act accordingly. For only so can they live righteous lives!
In settling this point, so far as available authorities for the young people to study and consider are concerned, these are all against coitus except for begetting of off-spring. All the "purity" writers and Purity Societies are ranged together on the negative side. Likewise are all the books of "advice to young wives and husbands," especially those addressed to young wives.
Now all these "authorities" base their whole argument upon the purely animal facts in the premises. Probably a certain Dr. C. is more largely read for information on these matters than any other author, especially among young women. He has written a large, and from the view-point he takes, a very plausible volume; and it is very extensively advertised, especially in papers which young women read. The result is that it has come to be almost a standard authority in these affairs.
Dr. C.'s argument is, baldly, as follows:—(a) Among animals, the universal practice is a single act of coitus for each begetting of off-spring, (b) Human beings are animals, (c) Therefore, human beings should only engage in coitus for reproductive purposes.
To this syllogism he adds a corollary, which is, that, therefore, all sexual commerce in the human family, for any other than reproductive purposes, is wrong. These are his texts, so to speak, and through several hundred pages he preaches, don't, don't, don't, sermons. The entire volume is one of denial and prohibition. He proclaims the act, even for the one purpose he allows to be right, as low, and in itself degrading, to be engaged in only after "prayer and fasting" and "mortifying the flesh," and even then, in the most passionless, and only done-because-it-has-to-be manner; as a mere matter of duty; to be permitted by sufferance; joyless, disgusting in itself; a something to be avoided, even in thought, other than it is a necessity for the continuance of the race.
It is from such data as this that thousands of "innocent" brides annually make up their minds as to what is right or wrong in the matter of sexual intercourse.
In doing this, most of these young women are perfectly conscientious, and want to do the right thing, and there are two items in the count that naturally lead them to accept Dr. C.'s teachings as correct. The first is, that it coincides with all they have ever heard about such matters; the second, that the Doctor flavors all his text with a religious quality, of the alleged most sacred sort. He instances saintly women who have lived the most ascetic lives, and whose religious status was achieved because, and by means of, their perfect chastity. In fact, this word "chastity" (which he translates as entire renunciation of the whole sex nature) becomes the test word of his whole treatise, and its practice is upheld as the true road to all goodness and virtue.
Now, nearly all well-bred and cultivated young women are naturally religious (and not a word should be said against their being so) and they are anxious to time their lives to everything that the highest religious demands prescribe. It is, therefore, most natural that, being thus taught by an authority for which they have the highest regard, they enter marriage with the fixed opinion in accordance with their teaching. How could it be otherwise?
On the other hand, a few young husbands, indeed none but now and then a "goody-good" (who usually turns out to be the worst of the whole lot, in course of time), are willing to "stand for" any such theory, much less to live any such life as this theory would impose. These "don't care what the book says," and, from the manner of their bringing up, from all they have learned or heard by hearing men talk about married life, (which is usually of the most vulgar sort) they have come to the conclusion that marriage confers upon the parties the right to engage in sexual commerce at will; and, especially, that the husband has the right to the body of his wife whenever he chooses. For, indeed, does not the law give him that right! And so long as one "keeps inside the law" what more could be asked! Yea, verily! What more could be asked?
So it is that most brides and bridegrooms go to their marriage bed with the most widely diverse views as to what is right and wrong in the premises—as to the life they will lead in their new estate. The young wife is for "purity" and "chastity." The young husband, driven by a passion which he has long held in thrall, in the belief that he can now give the fullest vent to it, when he has got where such relief is possible, is like an excited hound when it seizes its prey, which he fully believes he has the right to deal with as he pleases! What wonder that, in view of all these circumstances, the most extensive observer of marriage-bed phenomena should write: "As a matter of fact, nine young husbands in ten practically rape their brides at their first sexual meeting." Could anything be more horrible, or criminally wicked? And it is all so needless! It is all the result of ignorance, of "innocence," and the worst of false teaching. The pity of it!
True, these unfortunate conditions are often modified by "mother nature," who inspires the bride with curiosity, which, in a measure, controls her in spite of her false teachings, and with passion, which, to a degree, will assert itself over and above all false modesty, her religious scruples and her fear of pregnancy; and so she may come through the ordeal of introduction to the act of coitus in a fairly sane condition of mind, even though she may have practically been raped! But, too often, the result of such first contact is a shock to the bride from which she may not recover during all the subsequent years of married life! And "here is where the trouble lies," for untold thousands of married men and women, all over the civilized world, to-day. And it might all be so different! It ought, in every case, to be all so different! But if it ever does become different, knowledge has got to take the place of "innocence" on the part of the bride, and of ignorance on the part of the bridegroom, both of whom must be taught to "Know what they are about" before they engage in the sexual act, and be able to meet each other sanely, righteously, lovingly, because they both desire what each has to give to the other; in a way in which neither claims any rights, or makes any demands of the other—in a word, in perfect concord of agreement and action, of which mutual love is the inspirer, and definite knowledge the directive agent.
Such a first meeting of bride and bridegroom will be no raping affair. There will be no shock in it, no dread, no shame or thought of shame; but as perfectly as two drops of water flow together and become one, the bodies and souls of the parties to the act will mingle in a unity the most perfect and blissful that can ever be experienced by human beings in this world. This is no dream! It is a most blessed reality, which all normally made husbands and wives can attain to, if only they are properly taught and educated, if only they will learn how to reach such blissful condition.
However, such greatly desired status is not to be had for the asking merely. Instinct can never bring it about; "innocence" will never yield such a result; and force, or the declaration of a "right" in the premises will forever banish it to the realm of the never-to-be-realized. It can only come as a result of clear-headed thinking, scientific investigation, honest study, wise and righteous action under the given conditions; and, above all, a love, each for the other, that knows no bounds. All these things must obtain, on the part of both parties concerned, or the desired results can never be attained.
Having said which, here shall follow some suggestions as to how such estate may be reached by the readers of these pages.
But first, let us finish Dr. C., and all of his tribe—banish them from all our reckoning in these matters, forever.
As already shown, this argument has not a leg to stand on. These writers treat the whole situation as though men and women were mere animals! Men and women are far more than mere animals, and God hath made them so! And for these reasons we will have respect for men and women as God has made them, rather than as Dr. C. and the "purity leagues" say God should have made them!
As a matter of fact, the secondary function of sex in the human family is something far above mere animality; it is something that mere animals know nothing about, that they can never experience, or in any way attain to, and these fundamental differences in the premises remove the whole issue from the realm of comparison with any forms or functions of mere animal life. As well reason that animals never eat cooked food, and so men ought never to eat cooked food (and there are some people who do so reason, strange to say) or that animals do not wear clothes, and so men ought not to wear clothes—as well make these, or a score more of comparisons, between the human race and mere animals, as to try to compare them in the item of their sex functions.
In only the single fact that, on the physical plane merely, coitus for the purpose of procreation is common to all animal life, mankind included, is there a point of comparison between humanity and the brute creation. Beyond that point there is nothing comparable between the two! As well say that because beasts can hear, therefore they can comprehend and enjoy a Beethoven Sonata, or because they have eyes they can delight in a picture by Corot!
This is only another way of saying that sex has functions and uses in the human family that are entirely apart from the possibilities of all other animal life—functions as much above mere animality as music is above mere physical hearing, as painting above mere physical sight.
These facts forever upset and overthrow all the theories of Dr. C. and Co., they entirely eliminate the whole bunch from any part or lot in the issue on which they have essayed to speak with such authority, but whose main point, whose essential elements they have entirely misunderstood, and hence have treated in a way that is wholly at variance with the truth in the premises, and it is the truth that we are looking for.
Once more (for it is well to go to the bottom of this matter while we are about it) the honest truth is, that it is the universal practice of the human race for men and women to cohabit for other purposes than reproduction, and it has always been so, since men and women were men and women! It is true among the most savage and barbarous tribes of the earth, and it is more emphatically true of the highly civilized people in all lands and climes. And is it reasonable to suppose that such a universal phenomenon should not have been intended to be as it is! As well say that appetite for food is a mistake, one that ought to be eliminated!
Again, the experiences of men and women, all over the world, prove that, where this act is engaged in properly, according to the laws that obtain in the premises, it conduces to the highest physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of the parties concerned. Indeed, it is beyond doubt true that the men and women who have never known this most perfect of all human experiences, have never reached the summit of human attainment, have never arrived at the perfection of manhood and womanhood. Length of life, health of the highest sort, and happiness, the most delectable—all come, these and more, to men and women by this route, if it is rightly traveled. Hell and damnation result if that road is wrongly trod!
And that's what makes the manner of traveling it so important.