10. One of the most effectual panaceas for certain varieties of

sleeplessness is going to bed at peace with all the world, and with a conscience void of offense toward God as well as man. Dreams.--This is a subject of much interest to those suffering from nocturnal pollutions, for these occurrences are almost always connected with dreams of a lascivious nature. In perfectly natural sleep, there are no dreams; consciousness is entirely suspended. In the ordinary stage of dreaming, there is a peculiar sort of consciousness, many of the faculties of the mind being more or less active while the power of volition is wholly dormant. Carpenter describes another stage of consciousness between that of ordinary dreaming and wakefulness, a condition "in which the dreamer has a consciousness that he is dreaming, being aware of the unreliability of the images which present themselves before his mind. He may even make a voluntary and successful effort to prolong them if agreeable, or to dissipate them if unpleasing; thus evincing a certain degree of that directing power, the entire want of which is characteristic of the true state of dreams." Can Dreams Be Controlled?--Facts prove that they can be, and to a remarkable extent. A large share of emissions occur in the state described by Dr. Carpenter, in which a certain amount of control by the will is possible. This is the usual condition of the mind during morning naps; and if a person resolutely determines to combat unchaste thoughts whenever they come to him, whether asleep or awake, he will find it possible to control himself not only during this semi-conscious state, but even during more profound sleep. The following case, related by an eminent London surgeon,[55] illustrates what may be done by strong resolution; the patient was an Italian gentleman of very great respectability. [Footnote 55: Acton.] "He had been inconvenienced five years before with frequent emissions, which totally unnerved him. He determined resolutely that the very instant the image of a woman or any libidinous idea presented itself to his imagination, _he would wake_; and to insure his doing so, dwelt in his thoughts on his resolution for a long time before going to sleep. The remedy, applied by a vigorous will, had the most happy results. The idea, the remembrance of its being a _danger_, and the determination to wake, closely united the evening before, were never dissociated even in sleep, and he awoke in time; and this reiterated precaution, repeated during some evenings, absolutely cured the complaint." Several other cases of the same kind have been recorded. Doubtless the plan would be found successful in many cases when coupled with a proper regimen. A still greater control is exerted over the thoughts during sleep by their character during hours of wakefulness. By controlling the mind during entire consciousness, it will also be controlled during unconsciousness or semi-consciousness. Dr. Acton makes the following very appropriate remarks on this subject:-- "Patients will tell you that they _cannot_ control their dreams. This is not true. Those who have studied the connection between thoughts during waking hours and dreams during sleep know that they are closely connected. The _character_ is the same sleeping or waking. It is not surprising that, if a man has allowed his thoughts during the day to rest upon libidinous subjects, he should find his mind at night full of lascivious dreams--the one is a consequence of the other, and the nocturnal pollution is a natural consequence, particularly when diurnal indulgence has produced an irritability of the generative organs. A will which in our waking hours we have not exercised in repressing sexual desires, will not, when we fall asleep, preserve us from carrying the sleeping echo of our waking thought farther than we dared to do in the day-time." Bathing.--A daily bath is indispensable to health under almost all circumstances; for patients of this class, it is especially necessary. A general bath should be taken every morning immediately upon rising. General _cold bathing_ is not good for any person, especially in the morning, though some may tolerate it remarkably well, being of exceptionally hardy constitutions; but the advice to try "cold bathing" often given to sufferers from seminal weakness, is very pernicious, for most of them have been reduced so low in vitality by their disease that they cannot endure such violent treatment. Sun baths, electric baths, spray, plunge, and other forms of bath, are of greatest value to those suffering from the effects of indiscretions. These are described, with additional observations concerning temperature of baths, etc., etc., in works devoted to this subject. Improvement of General Health.--Patients suffering from emissions and other forms of seminal weakness are almost always dyspeptic, and most of them present other constitutional affections which require careful and thorough treatment according to the particular indications of the case. The wise physician will not neglect these if he desires to cure his patient and make his recovery as complete as possible. Prostitution as a Remedy.--Said a leading physician in New York to us when interrogated as to his special treatment of spermatorrhoea, "When a young man comes to me suffering from nocturnal emissions, I give him tonics and _send him to a woman_." That this is not an unusual method of treatment, even among regular physicians, is a fact as true as it is deplorable. There are hundreds of young men whose morals have been ruined by such advice. Having been educated to virtuous habits, at least so far as illicit intercourse is concerned, they resist all temptations in this direction, even though their inclinations are very strong; but when advised by a physician to commit fornication as a remedial measure, they yield their virtue, far too readily sometimes, and begin a life of sin from which they might have been prevented. There are good grounds for believing that many young men purposely seek advice from physicians whom they know are in the habit of prescribing this kind of remedy. Few know how commonly this course is recommended, and not by quacks, but by members of the regular profession. A medical friend informed us that he knew a case in which a country physician advised a young man of continent habits to go to a neighboring large city and spend a year or so with prostitutes, which advice he followed. Of his subsequent history we know nothing; but it is most probable that, like most other young men who adopt this remedy, he soon contracted diseases which rendered his condition ten times worse than at first, without at all improving his former state. In pursuing this course, one form of emission is only substituted for another, at the best; but more than this, an involuntary result of disease is converted into a voluntary sin of the blackest character, a crime in which two participate, and which is not only an outrage upon nature, but against morality as well. A final argument against this course is that it is not a remedy and does not effect a cure of the evil, as will be shown by the following medical testimonies:-- "The vexed question of connection is one which may be decided out of hand.... _It has no power of curing bad spermatorrhoea_; it may cause a diminution in the number of emissions, but this is only a delusion; the semen is still thrown off; the frame still continues to be exhausted; the genital organs and nervous system generally are still harassed by the incessant tax, and the patient is all the while laying the foundation of impotence."[56] [Footnote 56: Milton.] "In all solemn earnestness I protest against such false treatment. It is better for a youth to live a continent life." "There is a terrible significance in the wise man's words, 'None that go to her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.'"[57] This hazardous and immoral mode of treatment is the result of the common opinion that emissions are necessary and natural, which we have previously shown to be a falsity. [Footnote 57: Acton.] Marriage.--Another class of practitioners, with more apparent regard for morality, recommend matrimony as the sure panacea for all the ills of which the sufferers from self-abuse complain, with the possible exception of actual impotence. Against this course several objections may be urged; we offer the following:--