Although mocked and completely disregarded as prudishly Victorian and an example of quack-science, the Turn-of-the-Century health and sex manuals were actually incredibly spot-on because of their reliance upon time-tested moral Truths as founded by Judeo-Christian principles. The best examples were: all the works of Charles Atlas, “The Way to Live” by George Hackenschmidt, and “The Virile Powers of Superb Manhood” by Bernarr MacFadden. There were also Catholic writers who preached on the unity of the body, mind, and spirit; namely C.C. Martindale, S.J. in “The Difficult Commandment” and Felix M. Kirsch, O.F.M. Cap. in “Sex Education and Training in Chastity.” Without exception, they all warned against masturbation and the growing threat of pornography. MacFadden wrote of masturbation: “it is injurious at any time of life, however, owing to the drain upon the constitution and the weakening or exhaustion of the nerve centers which it involves. It is truly an outrage upon the body - to such an extent that the effects are not only physical but moral or psychic as well. The mind and the soul of the victim seem to be tainted and at the same time that the body is weakened…” This has been proven all too real by the modern male epidemic of erectile dysfunction and the propensity for Viagra prescriptions; even to men in their 20s and 30s. Then, on the just burgeoning business of porn, Charles Atlas simply said: “Live clean, think clean, and don’t go to burlesque shows.” Lastly, Fr. Kirsch, remarkably in the year 1930, had an incredible grasp of the dangers inherent within pornography. For, what is seen by the eyes, can never leave the mind. Today, the human costs are incalculable, with the meteoric rise in child sex crimes, rape, and the curious trend of adolescent homosexuality:
“The reason for the advice on guarding our eyes and controlling our reading is obvious. A man stated in a letter to the writer that he used to think himself immune, that he believed nothing would affect him, and hence that he was free to see or read anything. However, he admits in his letter that he is now paying the price for his indiscretions in that his fancy and memory often annoy him with what he learned in those years. There is nothing that we see or read but makes some difference and leaves some sort of impression. All these impressions will be stored in the subconscious mind, and the consciousness, whenever the sex urge is felt, will tend to recall whatever has been experiences or seen or heard on the subject.”