We may say that the manner in which the natural desires of the sexes are expressed, both in their organic and physical development, in form and in character, marks the degree of perfection of a human being, be it man or woman. Each sex has attained its own highest development. “Among civilized human beings,” says Klenke in his essay on “Woman as a Wife,” “sexual intercourse is controlled by moral principles dictated by common sense. But nothing could ever fully subdue the instinct of race preservation, implanted by nature in both sexes. Wherever healthy male or female individuals failed to fulfill this duty, it was not of their own free will, though they may deceive themselves into believing it, but was a result of social hindrances and restrictions. These hindrances have impeded the laws of nature, have stunted the organs, and have transformed the whole organism into an atrophied type both in appearance and in character and have caused nervous disorders that bring about abnormal, pathological conditions of body and mind. The man becomes effeminate; the woman becomes masculine in form and character, because the sexual contrast has not been realized; because such particular human being remained one-sided, failing to attain his own integration, the full height of his existence.” Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell says in her essay on “The Moral Education of the Young in Relation to Sex”: “Sexual impulse exists as an inevitable condition of life and the foundation of society. It is the greatest power in human nature.... While undeveloped it is not an object of the thoughts, but it remains nevertheless the central force of life. This inevitable impulse is the natural guardian against all possibility of destruction.”[44] Practical Luther has positive advice to offer. He advises: “Let him who has no desire for chastity look about him for work and turn to matrimony; a boy at the latest when he is twenty, a girl when she is fifteen or eighteen years of age. Then they are healthy and skillful and trust to God to provide for them and their children. God gives them the children and he will provide for them.” Unfortunately our social conditions make it impossible to follow Luther’s good advice, and neither the Christian state nor Christian society believes in trusting to God to provide for the children.
Science, the views of the philosophers, and Luther’s sound common sense, all are agreed that man is entitled to normal satisfaction of those desires that are part and parcel of his very life. If social institutions or prejudices make this impossible, his development is hampered thereby. The results are well known to our physicians, and can be met with in hospitals, insane asylums, prisons, and in thousands of disrupted families. In a book published in Leipsic we find the following thought expressed: “Sexual impulse is neither moral nor immoral; it is simply natural like hunger and thirst. Nature knows nothing of morality.” But organized society is very far from recognizing the truth of this sentence.
[44] E. Blackwell, “Essays in Medical Sociology.” Page 177. London, 1906.
[2.—Celibacy and the Frequency of Suicide.]
Among physicians and physiologists it is generally assumed that even an imperfect marriage is preferable to celibacy, and this assumption is substantiated by experience. It is a striking fact that the rate of mortality is lower among married than among unmarried people (comparing about 1,000 married persons 30 years old with 1,000 unmarried persons of the same age). The difference is especially marked in the case of men. During some periods of life the rate of mortality among unmarried men is almost twice as great as that among married men. Mortality is likewise very great among men who have become widowers while still young.[45]
It is furthermore claimed that the number of suicides are increased by unsound sexual relations. In all countries suicides are much more frequent among men than among women. The following table shows the ratio in various European countries:
| During the years. | Among 100,000 suicides. | Ratio of female to male suicides. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male. | Female. | |||
| Germany | 1899–1902 | 33.0 | 8.4 | 25.5 |
| Austria | 1898–1901 | 25.4 | 7.0 | 27.6 |
| Switzerland | 1896–1903 | 33.3 | 6.4 | 19.2 |
| Italy | 1893–1901 | 9.8 | 2.4 | 24.5 |
| France | 1888–1892 | 35.5 | 9.7 | 27.3 |
| Netherlands | 1901–1902 | 9.3 | 3.0 | 32.3 |
| England | 1891–1900 | 13.7 | 4.4 | 32.1 |
| Scotland | 1891–1900 | 9.0 | 3.2 | 35.6 |
| Ireland | 1901 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 52.2 |
| Norway | 1891–1900 | 10.0 | 2.5 | 25. |
| Sweden | 1891–1900 | 21.1 | 8.6 | 40.8 |
| Finland | 1891–1900 | 7.8 | 1.8 | 21.1 |
| European Russia | 1885–1894 | 4.9 | 1.6 | 32.7 |
During the years 1898 to 1907 we find the following ratio of suicides in the German Empire:
| Year. | Total. | Male. | Female. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1898 | 10,835 | 8,544 | 2,291 |
| 1899 | 10,761 | 8,460 | 2,301 |
| 1900 | 11,393 | 8,987 | 2,406 |
| 1902 | 12,336 | 9,765 | 2,571 |
| 1904 | 12,468 | 9,704 | 2,764 |
| 1907 | 12,777 | 9,753 | 3,024 |