Think of the ruined homes, the wretched lives of fallen women, the hopeless prayers of abandoned wives, the loneliness and misery of parents neglected and forgotten, the "bastards" and fatherless children, the drunkards and criminals and tramps—all weeds of the wild oats' harvest.
Then reflect upon the tragedies, the suicides of the betrayed and of the diseased, the bank thief, the broken hearts of deserted and hungry children, the army of inefficients—around whose necks hang wild oats' medals, the men of big business, who constantly fight the effects of early incontinence and abuse, and the thousands who go to early graves, and then ask, in all justice, if the sowing of wild oats needs justification.
Who supports the thousands of prostitutes? Who made them? Wherever you find pauperism, crime, drunkenness, insanity, idleness, immorality, vice and disease, you will find that the sower of wild oats has traveled the path and left his stain and his footprints there.
Should Circumcision be Advised?—The answer to the above question is "Yes," in every instance. If circumcision is done early,—during the first two weeks of life,—the operation is without danger and practically without pain. In quite a considerable percentage of all males, circumcision is an absolute necessity. For excellent medical reasons, about which your family physician can inform you, every boy should be circumcised.
CHAPTER XIV
A MOTHER'S DUTY TO HER DAUGHTER
What a Mother Should Tell Her Little Girl—Where Do Babies Come From—How Baby Birds and Fish Come from Eggs—How Other Animals Have Little Nests of Their Own—The Duty of Mothers to Instruct and Direct—What a Mother Should Tell Her Daughter—Every Mother Should Regard This Duty as Sacred—Every Female Child is a Possible Future Mother—Motherhood the Highest Function of the Sex—Health the One Necessary Essential—Symptoms of the First, or Beginning Menstruation—The Period of Puberty in the Female—Changes in the Reproductive Organs at Puberty—The Female Generative Organs—The Function of the Reproductive Organs—The Age of Puberty in the Female—The Function of the Ovary—The Function of the Womb—Why Menstruation Occurs Every Twenty-eight Days—The Male or Papa Egg—The Function of the Spermatozoa—"Tell the Whole Story"—"How do These Spermatozoa Get There"—The Union of the Species—"How Can a Baby Live in There for Such a Long Time"—How the Baby Gets its Nourishment in the Womb—Girls Must Not Become Mothers.
What a Mother Should Tell Her Little Girl.—Every little girl should be told the Story of Life by her mother. It should be told in simple language, so that the little girl will understand. Very early in life the little girl will be prompted to inquire of her mother "Where do babies come from?" It is wrong to give an evasive reply to this natural inquiry or to postpone telling the story, because they will be told it by playmates and will receive very wrong and very crude impressions of this wonderful subject.