The effects if these sins against nature are frequently not felt for years after the cause has been at work, and even then are seldom attributed to t… - John Harvey Kellogg

Children should be early taught to reverence virtue, to abhor lust; and boys should be so trained that they will associate with the name of woman only pure, chaste, and noble thoughts. Few things are more deeply injurious to the character of woman, and more conducive to the production of foul imaginations in children, than the free discussion of such subjects as the “Beecher scandal” and like topics. The inquisitive minds and lively imaginations of childhood penetrate the rotten mysteries of such foul subjects at a much earlier age than many persons imagine. The inquiring minds of children will be occupied in some way, and it is of the utmost importance that they should be early filled without thoughts that will lead them to noble and pure actions. Teach Self-Control.-One important part of early training is the cultivation of self-control, and a habit of self-denial, whenever right demands it. Another most essential part of a child’s moral training in the cultivation of right motives. To present a child no higher motives for doing right than the hope of securing some pleasant reward, or the fear of suffering some terrible punishment, is the surest way to make of him a supremely selfish man, with no higher aim than to secure good to himself no matter what may become of other people. And if he can convince himself that the pleasure he will secure by the commission of a certain act will more than counterbalance the probable risk of suffering, he will not hesitate to commit it, leaving wholly out of the consideration the question. Is it right ? or noble ? or pure ? A love of right for its own sake is the only solid basis upon which to build a moral character. Children should not be taught to do right in order to avoid a whipping, or imprisonment in a dark closet,-a horrid kind of punishment sometimes resorted to,-or even to escape “the lake of fire and brimstone.” Neither should they be constantly coaxed to right-doing by promised rewards,-a new toy, a book, an excursion, nor even the pleasures of Heaven. All of these incentives are selfish, and invariably narrow the character and belittle life when made the “chief” motives of action. Bur rather begin at the earliest possible moment to instill into the mind a love for right, and truth, and purity, and virtue, and an abhorrence for their contraries ; then will he have a worthy principle by which to square his life ;then will he be safe from the assaults of passion, of vice, of lust. A mind so trained stands up on an eminence from which all evil men and devils combined cannot displace it so long as it adheres to its noble principles.

The Instructor in Vice.-Are these line perused by any one who ever taught another this vice so vile, and so certainly followed’ by penalties so terrible-penalties not upon the instigator but upon the hapless victim ? let such a person clothe himself in sackcloth and ashes, and do penance for the remainder of his life. The only way in which he can hope to atone even in some small degree for such a heinous crime, is by doing in all his power to warn those in danger against this sin. When all men receive their just deserts, what will be the punishment of such a one who has not, by thorough repentance and a life spent in trying to undo the work of ruin so foully wrought, in some measure disburdened himself in the consequences of his act Sending children very early to bed before they are weary, “to get them out of the way,” or for punishment, is a grave error, as this may give rise to the vice. Confining children alone in a room by themselves is an equally reprehensible practice, as it favors the commission of the act, at least, an may afford a favorable opportunity for its discovery. Allowing children to form a habit of seeking solitude is an evil of the same nature.

15. Easily frightened children are abundant among young masturbators, though all easily frightened persons are not vicious. It is certain, however, that the vice greatly exaggerates natural fear, and creates an unnatural apprehensiveness. The victim’s mind is constantly filled with vague forbodings of evil. He often looks behind him, looks into all the closets, peeps under the bed, an is consistently expressing fears of impending evil. Such movements are the result of a diseased imagination, and they may justly give rise to suspicion.