Book Description

Excerpt from The Problem of the Nations: A Study in the Causes, Symptoms and Effects of Sexual, Disease, and the Education of the Individual Therein This is not a Scientific Treatise. It is, or at least I hope it will be found to be, a plain, straightforward account of the greatest curse known to civilization; a plague which is indeed the Problem of the Nations. I have tried to write the account in such a fashion that all may understand. Some technical terms there must be, but in writing about intimate details of sex there is only one language which can, with proper decency, be employed, and that is the language of medical science. In any case there will be found a short glossary at the end of the book which may prove useful. I am not a medical man. If I were I probably could not have tackled the subject from this independent point of view. My outlook would, I feel, have been prejudiced. I have the deepest respect and admiration for the medical profession. I am told that the first man my eyes ever looked upon was a doctor, and I have been most intimately associated with the profession ever since. But, with all due respect to its members, I cannot help thinking that those who specialize in a subject such as Sexual Disease are too prone to work with their eyes glued to the microscope. They discover and record details with the utmost nicety of precision; they cannot always grasp the subject in its entirety, the big human side of it. Those who do not specialize must needs possess a good working knowledge of the subject, but they must also give an equal share of attention to half a hundred other departments of their work. They have not the time nor opportunity to go into details. My own methods of investigation have been perfectly simple. In fact it has been so easy that I never cease to wonder why in this country it has not been done years ago. There is no doubt whatever that it should have been done; nor should it have been left for a layman to take it up, almost by pure accident. Certainly, I have had exceptional facilities for acquiring information, and for these I must record my indebtedness to my connection with The Royal Institute of Public Health. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.