If his own desire for the extra-marital woman is conditioned, as it so often is, on the mentally autoerotic nature of his own satisfactions, which his lack of success with his wife has, in most cases, amply proved, his success in the adulterous union is not likely to be any greater. He will be most likely to expect an easier conquest in the extra-marital liaison than in the marital relation. His going from the marital one to one fancied easier is an evidence of his mental autoerotism. § 213 In conclusion it may be said that the feeling on the part of any critic of modern civilization that marriage has been a failure applies only to the facts of the imperfect carrying out of the ideal of monogamy. We may remind such critics that, like Christianity, monogamy (in the sense of hologamy or the total physical and psychical fusion of man and wife) cannot be called a failure, because in the vast majority of persons, it simply _has not been given a fair trial_. External, conscious, superficial fidelity is not true hologamy any more than lip service is Christianity; and, as a whole, civilized peoples have not yet succeeded in attaining faith either in the one or in the other. CHAPTER X BIRTH CONTROL § 214 This chapter is written; but, because of the egoistic-social legislation of fifty years ago, cannot be printed. While it is lawful to inform readers that abortion is a crime and in every way unnatural, the practice of —— and ——, and the use of ——, ——, ——, etc., none of which in any sense causes the death of that which has begun to live, as is the case in abortion, cannot by law be described. While it has been conclusively proved that in countries like Holland where birth control is not only legalized but made a matter of public instruction, the birth rate declines, _but_ the death rate declines _still more_, legislators in this country have apparently gone on the principle that more unintelligent voters were more desirable than fewer intelligent voters. For where the death rate, due to birth control, is still less than the birth rate the result is a great increase in intelligence as well as eventually in population. FOOTNOTES [1] One of the questions of a questionnaire submitted to prominent neurologists, and published in _Mental Hygiene_ (Oct., 1920) was the following: “Do you consider that absolute continence is always to be insisted upon, or may it be taught that under certain conditions intercourse in the unmarried is harmless or beneficial?” To this question A. A. Brill of New York gave the following answer: “Years ago I encouraged intercourse in some neurotics who were constantly worrying about sex. I soon found out that it had not benefited them. The same factors which produced the original conflicts continued to disturb them. Now I remove their conflicts by analysis, and then they need no advice. I have known a number of cases who have successfully abstained from two to three years following analysis.”