Here, again, alcohol and narcotics in general are the stone which sets the whole avalanche in motion. The use of alcohol produces mental inferiorities by its corrupting influence upon the cells (blastophthory), and many people whose weakness of mind is traceable to this cause cannot resist its use, and so become dangerous inebriates.
Once more, it is the source and fountain of the evil that must be stopped.
But there are other hereditary diseases and degeneracies of every kind, not only of the brain, but of the whole body, such as the disposition to tuberculosis, rickets, short-sightedness, and diseases of the blood, all of which are related to sexual life and morals, because they are all more or less injurious to the individual and to society.
If persons suffering from such diseases have children at all they must proceed with the greatest caution, and they should always be instructed as to the hereditary nature of their maladies and the risk of their transmission.
And now can we not hear the dictates of a truly human moral code, based upon the facts that we have just considered?
It is true that we cannot change the present hereditary nature of man, but it is none the less our duty, now that Science has revealed this nature to us, to prepare for our posterity a greater degree of happiness and a higher standard of social life than we now possess. To this end we must first strive with all our might to destroy the all-corrupting supremacy of private capital and wealth, with its exploitation of human life and energy; and we must further combat the use of all narcotic poisons, especially that of alcohol.
We must not rest until these two deadly monsters are overthrown.
In the sphere of sexual life we must endeavour to replace by truth and justice the present-day hypocrisy which parades under the false banner of “morality.” We must also restore to woman the same natural and equal rights possessed by man.
Moreover, we must no longer be content to remain indifferent and idle witnesses of the senseless and unthinking procreation of countless wretched children, whose parents are diseased and vicious, and whose lives are for the most part destined to be a curse both to themselves and their fellow-men.
We must therefore recommend to all persons who are sickly or infirm in body or mind, and especially to all suffering from hereditary ailments, the use of means for the prevention or regulation of conceptions,[D] so that they may not, out of pure stupidity and ignorance, bring into the world creatures doomed to misery and misfortune, and predisposed to disease, insanity, and crime.