I assume that you have followed my argument, and are prepared to consider seriously whether it may be possible to establish love in marriage as the sex institution of civilized1 society. If you really wish to bring such an institution into existence, the first thing you have to do is to accomplish the social revolution; that is, you must wipe out class control of society, and prestige based upon money exploitation. But that is a vast change, and will take time, and meanwhile we have to live, and wish to live with as little misery2 as possible. So the practical question becomes this: Suppose that you, as an individual, wish to find as much happiness in love as may now be possible, what counsel have I to offer? If you are young, you wish this advice for yourself; while if you are mature, you wish it for your children. I will put my advice under four heads: First, marriage for love; second, birth control; third, early marriage; fourth, education for marriage.
The first of these we have considered at some length. A part of the process of social revolution is personal conversion4; the giving up by every individual of the worldly ideal, the surrender of luxury and self-indulgence, the consecrating5 of one's life to self education and the cause of social justice. And do not think that that is an easy thing, or an unimportant thing, a thing to be taken for granted. On the contrary, it is something that most of us have to struggle with at every hour of our lives, because respect for property and worldly conventions has become one of our deepest instincts; our whole society is poisoned with it, and I can count on the fingers of one hand the people I have known in my life who have completely escaped from it. It is not merely a question of refusing to marry except for love, it is a question of refusing to love except for honest and worthy6 qualities. It is a question of saving our children from the damnable forces of snobbery7, which lay siege to their young minds and destroy the best impulses of their hearts, while we in our blindness are still thinking of them as babies.
Of the other three topics that I have suggested, I begin with birth control, because it is the most fundamental and most important. Without birth control there can be no freedom, no happiness, no permanence in love, and there can be no mastery of life. Birth control is one of the great fundamental achievements of the human reason, as important to the life of mankind as the discovery of fire or the invention of printing. Birth control is the deliverance of womankind, and therefore of mankind also, from the blind and insane fecundity8 of nature, which created us animals, and would keep us animals forever if we did not rebel.
Ever since the dawn of history, and probably for long ages before that, our race has been struggling against this blind insanity9 of nature. Poor, bewildered Theodore Roosevelt stormed at what he called "race suicide," thinking it was some brand new and terrible modern corruption10; but nowhere do we find a primitive11 tribe, nowhere in history do we find a race which did not seek to save itself from overgrowth and consequent starvation. They did not know enough to prevent conception, but they did the best they could by means of abortion12 and infanticide. And because today superstition13 keeps the priceless knowledge of contraception from the vast majority of women, these crude, savage14 methods still prevail, and we have our million abortions15 a year in the United States. Assuming that something near one-fourth our population consists of women capable of bearing children, we have one woman in twenty-five going through this agonizing16 and health-wrecking experience every year. They go through with it, you understand, regardless of everything—all the moralists and preachers and priests with their hell fire and brimstone. They go through with it because we have both marriage without love, and love without marriage; also because we permit some ten or twenty per cent of our total population to suffer the pangs18 of perpetual starvation, because more than half our farms are mortgaged or occupied by tenants19, and some ten or twenty per cent of our workers are out of jobs all the time.
Some of our women know about birth control. They are the rich women, who get what they want in this world. They object to the humiliations and inconveniences of child bearing, and some of them raise one or two children, and others of them raise poodle dogs. Also, our middle classes have found out; our doctors and lawyers and college professors, and people of that sort. But we deliberately21 keep the knowledge from our foreign populations, by the terrors which the church has at its command. And what is the practical consequence of this procedure? It is that while all our Anglo-Saxon stock, those who founded our country and established its institutions, are gradually removing themselves from the face of the earth, our ignorant and helpless populations, whether in city slums or on tenant20 farms, are multiplying like rabbits. Read Jack22 London's "The Valley of the Moon" and see what is happening in California. You will find the same thing happening in any portion of the United States where you take the trouble to use your own eyes.
Now, I try to repress such impulses toward race prejudice as I find in myself. I am willing to admit for the sake of this argument that in the course of time all the races that are now swarming23 in America, Portuguese24 and Japanese and Mexican and French-Canadian and Polish and Hungarian and Slovakian, are capable of just as high intellectual development as our ancestors who wrote the Declaration of Independence. But no one who sees the conditions under which they now live can deny that it will take a good deal of labor25, teaching them and training them, as well as scrubbing them, to accomplish that result. And what a waste of energy, what a farce26 it makes of culture, to take the people who have already been scrubbed and taught and trained for self-government, and exterminate27 them, and raise up others in their place! It seems time that we gave thought to the fundamental question, whether or not there is something self-destroying in the very process of culture. Unless we can answer this we might as well give up our visions and our efforts to lift the race.
Theodore Roosevelt stormed at birth control for something like ten years, and it would be interesting if we could know how many Anglo-Saxon babies he succeeded in bringing into the world by his preachments. If what he wanted was to correct the balance between native and foreign births, how much more sensible to have taught birth control to those poor, pathetic, half-starved and overworked foreign mothers of our slums and tenant farms! I can wager28 that for every Anglo-Saxon baby that Theodore Roosevelt brought into the world by his preachings, he could have kept out ten thousand foreign slum babies, if only he had lent his aid to Margaret Sanger!
Ah, but he wanted all the babies to be born, you say! I see before me the face of a certain devout29 old Christian30 lady, known to me, who settles the question by the Bible quotation31, "Be fruitful and multiply." But what avails it to follow this biblical advice, if we allow one out of five of the new-born infants to perish from lack of scientific care before they are two years old? What avails it if we send them to school hungry, as we do twenty-two per cent of the public school children of New York City? What avails it if we allow venereal disease to spread, so that a large percentage of the babies are deformed32 and miserable33? What avails it if, when they are fully34 grown, we can think of nothing better to do with them than to take them by millions at a time and dress them up in uniforms and send them out to be destroyed by poison gases? Would it not be the part of common sense to establish universal birth control for at least a year or two—until we have learned to take care of our newly born babies, and to feed our school children, and to protect our youths from vice3, and to abolish poverty and war from the earth?
These are the social aspects of birth control. There are also to be considered what I might call the personal aspects of it. Because young people do not know about it, and have no way to find out about it, they dare not marry, and so the amount of vice in the world is increased. Because married women do not know about it, love is turned to terror, and marital35 happiness is wrecked36. Because the harmless and proper methods are not sensibly taught, people use harmful methods, which cause nervous disorders37, and wreck17 marital happiness, and break up homes. Thorough and sound knowledge about birth control is just as essential to happiness in marriage as knowledge of diet is necessary to health, or as knowledge of economics is necessary to intelligent action as a voter and citizen. The suppression by law of knowledge of birth control is just as grave a crime against human life as ever was committed by religious bigotry38 in the blackest days of the Spanish Inquisition.
Now this law stands on the statute39 books of our country, and if I should so much as hint to you in this book what you need to know, or even where you can find out about it, I should be liable to five years in jail and a fine of $5,000, and every person who mailed a copy of this book, or any advertisement of this book, would be in the same plight40. But there is not yet a law to prohibit agitation41 against the law, so the first thing I say to every reader of this book is that they should obtain a copy of the Birth Control Review, published at 104 Fifth Avenue, New York, and also should join the Voluntary Parenthood League, 206 Broadway, New York. Get the literature of these organizations and circulate them and help spread the light!
As to the knowledge which you need, the only advice I am allowed to give is that you should seek it. Seek it, and persist in seeking, until you find it. Ask everyone you know; and ask particularly among enlightened people, those who are willing to face the facts of human life and trust in reason and common sense. I do not know if I am violating the law in thus telling you how to find out about birth control. One of the charming features of this law, and others against the spreading of knowledge, is that they will never tell you in advance what you may say, but leave you to say it and take your chances! I believe that I am not violating any law when I tell you that there are half a dozen simple, inexpensive, and entirely42 harmless methods of preventing undesired parenthood without the destruction of the marital relationship.
I am one of those who for many years believed that the destruction of the marital relationship was the only proper and moral method. I was brought up to take the monkish43 view of love. I thought it was an animal thing which required some outside justification44. I had been taught nothing else; but now I have had personal experience of other justifications45 of love, and I believe that love is a beautiful and joyful46 relationship, which not merely requires no other justification, but confers justification upon many other things in life.
I used to believe in that old ideal of celibacy47, thinking it a fine spiritual exercise. But since then I have looked out on life, and have found so many interesting things to do, so much important work calling for attention, that I do not have to invent any artificial exercises for my spirit. I have looked at humanity, and brought myself to recognize the plain common sense fact—that whatever superfluous48 energy I may have to waste upon artificial spirituality, the great mass of the people have no such energy to spare. They need all their energies to get a living for themselves and for their wives and little ones. They have their sex impulses, and will follow them, and the only question is, shall they follow them wisely or unwisely? The religious people decide that sexual indulgence is wrong, and they impose a penalty—and what is that penalty? A poor, unwanted little waif of a soul, which never sinned, and had nothing to do with the matter, is brought into a hostile world, to suffer neglect, and perhaps starvation—in order to punish parents who did not happen to be sufficiently49 strong willed to practice continence in marriage!
I used to believe that there was benefit to health and increase of power, whether physical or mental, in the celibate50 life. I have tried both ways of life, and as a result I know that that old idea is nonsense. I know now that love is a natural function. Of course, like any other function it can be abused; just as hunger may become gluttony, sleeping may become sluggishness51, getting the money to pay one's way through life may become ferocious52 avarice53. But we do not on this account refuse ever to eat or sleep or get money to pay our debts. I do not say that I believe, I say I know, that free and happy love, guided by wisdom and sound knowledge, is not merely conducive54 to health, but is in the long run necessary to health.
People who condemn55 birth control always argue as if one wished to teach this knowledge indiscriminately to the young. Perhaps it is natural that those who oppose the use of reason should assume that others are as irrational56 as themselves. All I can say is that I no more believe in teaching birth control to the young than I believe in feeding beefsteak to nursing infants. There is a period in life for beefsteaks—or, if my vegetarian57 friends prefer, for lentil hash and peanut butter sandwiches; in exactly the same way there is a time for teaching the fundamentals of sex, and another time for teaching the art of happiness in marriage, which includes birth control. That brings me, by a very pleasant transition, to the other two subjects which I have promised to discuss: early marriage and education for marriage.
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1
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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consecrating
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| v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的现在分词 )；奉献 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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snobbery
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| n. 充绅士气派, 俗不可耐的性格 | |
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fecundity
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| n.生产力；丰富 | |
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insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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abortion
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| n.流产，堕胎 | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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abortions
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| n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育 | |
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agonizing
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| adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式) | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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pangs
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| 突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛 | |
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tenants
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| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
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tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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farce
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| n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹 | |
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exterminate
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| v.扑灭，消灭，根绝 | |
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wager
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| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
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devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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quotation
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| n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情 | |
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deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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marital
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| adj.婚姻的，夫妻的 | |
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wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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disorders
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| n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调 | |
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bigotry
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| n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等 | |
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statute
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| n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例 | |
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plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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monkish
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| adj.僧侣的，修道士的，禁欲的 | |
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justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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justifications
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| 正当的理由，辩解的理由( justification的名词复数 ) | |
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joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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celibacy
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| n.独身(主义) | |
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48
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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celibate
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| adj.独身的，独身主义的；n.独身者 | |
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51
sluggishness
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| 不振，萧条，呆滞；惰性；滞性；惯性 | |
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52
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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conducive
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| adj.有益的，有助的 | |
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condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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56
irrational
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| adj.无理性的，失去理性的 | |
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vegetarian
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| n.素食者；adj.素食的 | |
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