aving children is the costly penalty which
women pay for shirking the mother's duty to the child.

10. LAW OF GOD.--So graciously has the law of God been arranged in regard
to the mother's strength, that, if it be obeyed, there will be, as a rule,
an interval of at least from eighteen months to two years between the birth
of one child and that of another. Every married man should abstain during
certain natural seasons. In this periodical recurrence God has instituted
to every husband the law of restraint, and insisted upon self-control.

11. TO YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE MARRIED.--Be exceedingly careful of license and
excess in your intercourse with {436} one another. Do not needlessly
expose, by undress, the body. Let not the purity of love degenerate into
unholy lust. See to it that you walk according to the divine Word,
"Dwelling together as being heirs of the grace of life, that your prayers
be not hindered."

12. LOST POWERS.--Many young men after their union showed a marked
difference. They lost much of their natural vivacity, energy, and strength
of voice. Their powers of application, as business men, students, and
ministers, had declined, as also their enterprise, fervor, and kindliness.
They had become irritable, dull, pale, and complaining. Many cases of
rheumatic fever have been induced through impoverishment, caused by
excesses on the part of young married men.

13. MIDDLE AGE.--After middle age the sap of a man's life declines in
quantity. A man who intends close application to the ministry, to
scientific or literary pursuits, where great demands are made upon the
brain, must restrain this passion. The supplies for the brain and nervous
system are absorbed, and the seed diverted through sexual excesses in the
marriage relationship, by fornication, or by any other form of immorality,
the man's power must decline: that to this very cause may be attributed the
failure and breakdown of so many men of middle age.

14. INTOXICATING DRINKS.--By all means avoid intoxicating drinks.
Immorality and alcoholic stimulants, as we have shown, are intimately
related to one another. Wine and strong drink inflame the blood, and heat
the passions. Attacking the brain, they warp the judgment, and weaken the
power of restraint. Avoid what is called good living; it is madness to
allow the pleasures of the table to corrupt and corrode the human body. We
are not designed for gourmands, much less for educated pigs. Cold water
bathing