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been alluded to, and will further be stressed in the next chap- ter. The wife also has her responsibilities, her contribution to the solution of the problem of marital happiness, which cannot be thrown upon the shoulders of another.

As the Rev. Hugh Northcote remarks in his excellent volume, Christianity and Sex Problems, there is as much "sin" in sexual frigidity (coldness) as in excessive venery, and that a well instructed woman would not allow herself to form "a false and illusive theory of wedded love disjoined from physical pleasure. She would think it not right, after accepting the obligations of matrimony, to rebel against the law of nature by rejecting one of the most vital and impor- tant of these obligations."

The wife acts wisely and in accord with her normal rôle in the sexual sphere in not acceding at once and uncondition- ally to her husband's amatory advances, leading to the marital relations. Modest reluctance and hesitancy on her part, with a prolonging of the love-play which naturally follows, perfect the mental and spiritual state for the acme of enjoyment to be derived, as well as enhance the physical preparation for the act.

The Sexual Initiation of the Bride. The problem of the sexual relationship in marriage depends, to a large extent, upon the attitude of the couple toward sex matters at the time of marriage, and in the sexual initiation. It is true the first union may be difficult for the bride, or even painful, owing to the resistance of the hymen, but with a tactful, informed husband, and a rational insight into the nature of the act on the part of both, this should be the beginning of a rich and developing experience, a life-long adventure that will bring mutual joy and keep vitally alive the inspiration of love.

Copulation,—coitus, or coition, the technical terms for sex-