Page:The Virile Powers of Superb Manhood.djvu/82

satisfied with his condition, can probably enjoy nearly the same energy and success that might have been his under more normal conditions. We must remember, however, the enormous influence of mind over body. A man's ability to remain permanently continent depends largely on his mental condition. We must admit that the average human being of the present day is born under conditions that tend to aggravate or develop to an abnormal extent the sexual instinct. But few marriages are based on right lines. Excess is the rule in nearly every case, and this sexual excess is usually continued even at the time the child is forming and growing into life. When this is considered, can one wonder at the premature development of the sexual instinct in children? And then comes the prudish silence along sexual lines, which is so significant to a growing, thinking boy. It arouses his curiosity, his interest. This, combined with the stimulating diet adopted in most civilized homes, soon results in calling a boy's most serious attention to this sexual part of his nature, and this instinct is consequently developed prematurely, caus-