1. For the beginning of a new life, select the most favorable time, which will be when the bodily health is at its height; when the mind is free from care and anxiety; when the heart is joyous, cheerful, and filled with hope, love, high aspirations, pure and beautiful thoughts. If, as one writer says, it is the duty of every human pair engaging in the reproductive act to bring into existence the most perfect specimen of the race of which they are capable, then it becomes a monstrous crime to enter into relations which may produce a contrary result. This may be a truth hard to accept, but who is prepared to dispute it on logical or moral grounds?
2. If a child has been properly conceived, the duty then devolves upon the mother to secure its proper development. Is beauty desired, let the mother be surrounded with beautiful objects; and let her mind dwell upon such objects. If an active mind and brilliant intellect are required, the mother should devote considerable time to study and mental labor of a pleasant nature. The moral nature should be carefully cultivated, to insure a lovely disposition. No angry words or unhappy feelings should be tolerated. Purity of heart and life should be maintained. The husband should do his part by supplying favorable surroundings, suggesting cheerful thoughts, and aiding mental culture.
3. After birth, the mother still possesses a molding influence upon the development of her child through the lacteal secretion. Every mother knows how speedily the child will suffer if nursed when she is exhausted by physical labor or when suffering from nervous excitement, as anger or grief. These facts show the influence which the mental states of the mother exert upon the child even when the act of nursing is the only physical bond between them.
It would be a happy day for the race which should witness the recognition of the fact that infants, even human beings in embryo, possess rights which are as sacred as those of adult human beings.
[Circumcision.]—The fold of integument called the prepuce, which has been previously described, has upon its inner surface a large number of glands which produce a peculiar secretion. Under certain circumstances, and from inattention to personal cleanliness, this secretion may accumulate, and then often becomes the cause of irritation and serious disease. To prevent such disorders, and to insure cleanliness, the Jewish law required the removal of the prepuce, which constituted the rite of circumcision. The same practice is followed by several modern nations dwelling in tropical climates; and it can scarcely be doubted that it is a very salutary one, and has contributed very materially to the maintenance of that proverbial national health for which the Jews are celebrated. Eminent physicians have expressed the opinion that the practice would be a salutary one for all men. The maintenance of scrupulous cleanliness, by daily cleansing, is at least an imperative duty.
In some countries, females are also circumcised by removal of the nymphæ. The object is the same as that of circumcision in the male. The same evils result from inattention to local cleanliness, and the same measure of prevention, daily cleansing, is necessitated by a similar secretion. Local cleanliness is greatly neglected by both sexes. Daily washing should begin with infancy and continue through life, and will prevent much disease.
[Castration.]—This operation consists in the removal of the testes of the male. It does not at once obliterate the sexual sense, especially if performed after puberty, but of course renders the individual impotent, or incapable of reproduction. Persons upon whom it has been performed are called eunuchs. It was a very common custom in ancient times, being usually prompted by the jealousy of rulers, who allowed no males but eunuchs to associate with their wives and concubines. The effect upon the male is to render him effeminate in appearance and weak in mind. If performed before puberty, the growth of the beard is scanty, and the voice never acquires that deepness of tone natural to the masculine voice.
An analogous operation, termed spaying, is performed upon females, consisting in the removal of the ovaries; effects similar to those in the male, sterility without entire immediate loss of sexual sense, being the usual result. Spaying is much more rarely performed than castration. Both operations are now quite rare, seldom being resorted to except in surgical cases. Castration is still practiced in some Eastern countries.