LOVE—MARRIAGE—BIRTH CONTROL
May I make certain preliminary observations? Painters and poets depict Love to us in golden hues and arouse in us happy and sympathetic, and, I trust, reminiscent response, helping us to realise that life without the love of man and woman would be like the world without sunshine.
Though, therefore, the social student in his approach to the subject is not helped by the beauties of colour and song, it behoves him to avoid undue solemnity, and still more an air of portentous foreboding.
In each age customs have been deplored as heralds of evil, but the evils have seldom materialised.
One of the difficulties of this subject is that those who are called upon to give counsel are apt to forget the strength of the forces to be dealt with, for it is during youth especially that sex attractions are so powerful, and, may I add, so delightful. Middle-aged people may be divided into three classes.
Those who are still young.
Those who have forgotten they were young.
Those who were never young.
And it is with the first class before my eyes that I am privileged to address this audience.
I will confine my attention to the sexual relationships between unrelated adult people in youth and prime.