y
at variance with the practice regarding all other forms of human
knowledge, which is to spread, as widely as possible, all known data
that have so far been obtained.

There is not space, in this small volume, for pointing out the reasons
for this anomalous condition of affairs, but the chief cause of its
status, past and present, is grounded on two sources: The first of
these is a brutal selfishness which has come over to modern times from
a savage past; the second is a sort of pious prudery.

The result of these causes has been to make the whole subject of sex
in the human family, with its functions and mission in human affairs,
together with its proper training, discipline and exercise--to make
all these things _tabu_, something to be ashamed of and ignored
as much as possible, and all the knowledge regarding them that one
generation has been permitted to transmit to those who come after, may
be summed up in these words, namely "_Thou shalt not_."

Now it goes without saying that, in the very nature of things, _all_
this is just as bad as it can possibly be. For, of all phenomena with
which the human race has to do, that of the highest importance, so far
as the well-being of the race is concerned, is that which has to do
with sex in men and women. A large percentage of all the physical
ailments in mankind and womenkind arise from errors in sexual life,
and these are but trifles compared with the mental and spiritual
disasters which come upon humanity from the same source. It is
probably true that more than one-half of all the crimes that are
committed in the civilized world are more or less directly connected
with sex affairs, and there is no so common a cause for insanity as
sex aberrations.

And nearly all these ills, crimes and misfortunes arise because of
_ignorance_ in the matter of sex in which the rank and file of the
race are forced to live. Few of these ever acquire any positive and
definite knowledge in the premises, and if they do learn anything
for sure, _they keep it to themselves_, inspired to do so by a false
belief regarding the rightful transmission of such knowledge; or, by
a false modesty, or prudery, they are kept from telling to anyone else
what they have discovered or found to be the truth in these matters.
And so the people stumble along in ignorance of these vital affairs
in life, generation after generation, repeating the errors of their
predecessors, and no positive progress being made