In these nations the Christian idea of unitary sexual relations is accepted theoretically, as conducive to the best interests of the family and binding upon the higher classes of women; but it is entirely set aside as a practical life for the majority of the community. Christ’s Law is considered either as a vague command, applicable only to some indefinite future, or as a theory which it would be positively unwise to put into practice in daily life. The statement is distinctly made, and widely believed, that the nature of men and women differs so radically that the same moral law is not applicable to the two sexes. The great lesson derived from History, however, is always this--viz., that moral development must keep pace with the intellectual, or the race degenerates. This moral element is especially embodied by woman, and purity in woman cannot exist without purity in man, this weighty fact being shown by the facts already stated--viz., the action of licentiousness upon the great mass of unprotected women, its reaction upon other classes, and the accumulating influence of hereditary sensuality. In the indisputable principles brought forward in the preceding pages, and the mass of facts and daily observation which support them, is found the answer to the first question proposed as a guide to the moral education of youth--viz.: What is the true standard for the relations of men and women, the type which contains within itself the germ of progress and indefinite development? We see that the early and faithful union of one man with one woman is the true Ideal of Society. It secures the health and purity of the family relation, and is the foundation of social and national welfare. It is supported by sound principles of Physiology, by the history of the rise and fall of nations, and by a consideration of the evils of our present age. The lessons of the past and present, our clearer knowledge of cause and effect, alike prove the wisdom of the highest religious teaching--viz., that the faithful union of strong and pure young manhood and womanhood is the only element out of which a strong and durable nation can grow. CHAPTER III _The Hygienic Advantage of Sexual Morality_ The present subject may be summed up in two great questions--viz., First, is Virtue desirable? Secondly, is Virtue practicable?