Human Sexuality - Forgotten Books

PUBLISHER’S PREFACE

Both the need andpurpose ofthe present bookwill be readily apparentto the intelligent reader. The work is ably, graphically, entertainingly,and scientifically written; and presents a wealth of scholarship, litcrary as well asmedical, rarely found in our professional text- books . In

v idions comparisons are discarded, as both odious and distasteful. The

treatise, however,may be very fairly said to be exhaustive ofthe entire

subject; and, ifintrinsicmerit, clear reasoning, completeness anderudition,count for anything, it ought to finda permanentplace in everywell-orderedlibrary . We give it to the Professionwith a considerable, and,we believe,pardonable degree ofpride.

Pnomssromn Poemsnme Co.

CONTENTS

Faults andMeritsofWriters on SexThemes . Faith inAmerican Intelligence. Health the Foundation ofHappiness . Luxury Conducive to

Lust. Ignorance ofPhysiologicalLaws . PenaltiesofSexualPrecocity .

Sexual Life ofMan . The Woman-Movement in America . Causes and

Efl'

ects ofSexual Vice . Cau ses ofProstitution . Difficulties Attending thisKindofWriting . HowthePublic isAttracted. Present State

oftheSex Problem.

CHAPTER ONEMom AND SOCIAL Aspncrs or m Saxon . RELATION 13- 51

ProcreationaDivinePurpose. Sexuality theBasis ofSociety . TheImportance ofitsCultivation . Woman'

s Position in theEast. Influence

ofSexuality on Religious Beliefs . An OrientalDandy . Sexuality of

Heathen Gods . Its Influence on the SavageMind. Christianity the

Savior ofWoman. Woman not Created in God’s Image. Sexual

Abuses Fosteredby theEarly Church . RefinementofIntellectnotRefinement ofMorals . NoQuarrelwith theChurch . Revulsion Against

Contrary Sexual Habits . Evils ofExaggeration . Sexuality in the

Home . As aCauseofNationalDecay . As theBasis ofTrueLov e . An

Attempt toDefine Love. Modesty as a Phenomenon ofSex . Modestyin the Philippines . Varying Standards ofModesty . Association of

the Sexes an Instinct. Origin oftheFamily . EarlyCourtship . Infib

ulation. AMiraculous Impregnation . Marriage Outside the ClanorTribe . Sexual Sins Rare Among Savages . Primitive EmancipationofWoman. Early Position oftheWife. Adultery a Simple Debt inAfrica . Influence ofChristianity on the Sexual Life. The Lawof

Female Purity . A Suppositious Hell. One Lawfor Both Sexes .ManMore SensualthanWoman . RelativeV anityoftheSexes . Originand Development ofHumanModesty . Rudiments ofDress . The

Dance. Sexual Immorality in Guise ofReligion. SexualDepravityin Early Rome. Concluding Thoughts onModesty . Nakednem.

Civilization and Sexual Abuses .

CHAPTER TWOSaxon . Su ns-non onm Lawor 03 0c 52- 87Mutilations ofSavages . Painting the Penis . Tattooing . Phallic and

LingamWorship. Significance oftheTattoo. Polynesian Origin oftheTattoo. Clothing as aMeans ofAttraction . Dancing as a Love- lure.

OtherPractices inCourtship. Tubori Dress. Nakedness inEurope.

V

Contents .

Immodesty ofChildren. Modesty not Innate. Blushing . ModestyasAssociatedwith Sexual Susceptibility . Relation ofthe Face to the

Sexual Organs . Immodesty of Civilization Accounted For. Love

lures of Civ ilization . Other Conditions which Influence Sexual

Choice. Woman Loves AboveHerself. Strength inMenAdmiredbyWomen . A Severe Love- test. Physical Beauty . Types ofPhysicalBeauty . Abstract Beau ty . Soul Beauty . The Female Breasts .

FemaleObesity as a Charm. Caucasian StandardofBeauty . Sinha

lese Beauty . Artificial Beauty . Case ofMadame Grisi . EvilEfi'

ects

ofCosmetics . TheDesireforBeauty . OtherAids toPhysicalBeauty .

Causes Influencing Stature . Dwarfs andGiants . Influence ofClimateonMan . Influence ofHeredity andEnvironment onMan . What isBeauty? HowInfluenced by Civilisation. Love. Conditions of a

HappyMarriage. Love inMostCases Simply SexualDesire . Love of

CHAPTER THREE

Brrao'rmn,Mam as , Drvoacn

InfantBetrothal. Liberty ofChoice GeneralinPrimitiveTimes . First

Concept ofWoman’s Use . Power ofFather Over Child. Parental

PowerAmong the Jews andEgyptians . Among Greeks andRomans.

Among Teutons andRussians . CompulsoryMarriage ofChildren. In

GreeceandRome. In FeudalandPresentTimes . Origin ofMarriage.

ParentalSupportofChildren . CuriousAfricanCustom. MarriageDecreedby the State. Among Hebrews . Among Savages . Marriage inthePhilippines . Taxing Bachelors . Decline ofMarriage inRome :ItsCauses. Luxury of the Roman Libertine. EarlyMarriages AmongSavages . StupidMenMost Sexual. Future ofMarriage in America .

Obstacles toMarriage. PhysicalIncompatibility . The “NewWoman”as swits .Marriages ofKindred. Roman Laws Regarding lncestuousMarriages . Punishments for Incest 'mVarious Countries . Results of

IncestuousMarriage. Endogamy and Exogamy . InfluenceofSocial

Caste onMarriage. Barrenness . Marriage by Capture. Marriage byPurchase. Ruling Pri ces ofWives. Marriage Rites andCeremonies .

ImmaculateConceptions . Chastity andReligion . Origin ofthe BestMan .

” Marriage a Sacrament. Marriage an Instinct. Polygyny and

Concubinage. Orientals andSavages SexuallyWeak . CausesTendingtoMonogamy . Polyandry . Numerical Parity ofthe Sexes . Argu

ments againstMonogamy . Marvels ofMenstruation . Female BeautyShortLived. Causes ofUniaithfulness in Husbands . The Desire for

SexualChange. Man’sLove ofProgeny . Polygyny andDomesticDiscord. ModernMarriage. Causes Favoring Polygyny . ModernGrowthof the Polygynous Instinct. Concluding Reflections onMarriage.

Divorce. Marriage notAlways a LifeContract. Divorce Among Savages . Divorce Easy is Savage Life. Children a Factor in Divorce.

SavageLimitations ofDivorce. Divorce inChina . In Japan . InTur

key . In India . In Spain andItaly . In Early Rome. Protestantism

PLO.

88- 152

Contents . vn

FAQ.

and Divorce. Divorce in Europe. In South America . Among theJews . Among Hindus ,Teutons , etc. Causes ofDivorce. MutualDeceptions aFactor. ApparentAntagonismoftheSexes. Other CausesofDivorce. Disease.

CHAPTER FOUR

Fscma'rron, Anoe'rrorr, Imam-rem! 153- 178

Smell as a Sexual Stimulant. Castigation as a Sexual Stimulant.Rubbing and Sucking the Female Breasts. The E sthetic Factor

in Sexuality . Organs ofGeneration. The Sperma , or Seed. Insemination. Pleasure ofthe Copulative Act. Comparative Sizes ofMen’sPenises. Orgasmand Ejaculation. TheMelancholy Lover. ThePhysiology ofFecundation. Impregnation and its Prevention. Abor

tion. ChiefCause ofAbortion in the United States and England.

When Justifiahle. Its Prevalence. Criminality ofInfanticide. De

crease in Native- born Population. Abortion Largely Due to Igno

rance. Legal Definition of the Crime. Bishop Coxe on Abortion.

Prevention ofConception. Onanism. TheCundum. An “Accident.

The Womb- veil. Selection of Time for the Copulative Act. The

Suckling Period. The Cold Water Douche. OtherMethods ofPreCHAPTER FIVE

Lawor Saxon . Du ran 179 - 243Instinct Best Considered in Animals. The Evacuation Theory .

The SexualMechanism. Original Unity of Sex. Castration Con

sideredwithReference to the Sex- impulse. SexualPowercofSpadones.Castration ofBoys. Religious Eunuchs . Eunuchs not always Ed

'

eminate. SexualFeeling ofEunuchs . Castration as aRapeRemedy. Cas

tretien in Females. Awakening ofthe Sex- impulse. SenileDementia.

Sexual Anesthesia . Feebleness of Sexual Life. Causation. Sexual

Frigidity . SexualAnesthesia inWomen. EarlyManifestations ofSexuality . SexualCuriosity ofGirls. SexualKnowledgeofStreetGirls. Seduction ofMen. A ShrewdMagistrate. Inconstancy ofthe SexualAppetite . Intermittent Satyriasis. Sexuality in Plant- life. In Birds and

Quadrupeds. TheWaltz. Force the Strongest Factor in Sexual Selec

tion. SexualManifestations inMolluscs. In the Octopus . Aranean

Love-maln’ng. The Balloon Fly. Dancing as a Sexual Stimulant. The

Dance in Australia. The Sexual DanceMost Favored. In Tahiti.Mendafian Wedding Dance. Minnetarees Love Dance. Kaflir Love

Dances. Dancing Among the Zulus. In Senegal. Ivory Coast

Dances. Causes Influencing Savage Sexuality . Status of Savage

Andamanese and Fuegians. Chastity ofSavages. Sexuality ofNe

groes. The Pepper-cure for Girls . Sexuality andCivilization. Psy

chology ofthe SexualFunction. The Bladder as Associatedwith Sexual Feeling . Ancient V iews as to Sexuality . Conflicting Opinions ofits Nature. Stages ofthe Sexual Impulse. Its FirstManifestations.

Contents.

The Sexual Life oi Women. Religion and the Sex Impuln . Their

ment ofSexuality by Tickfing. Instances ofSexual Preeocity. In a

Boy. In a Girl. Sexuality AmusedbyWhipping . By the Proverbial

Nurse-girl. Case of Boy Seduction. Sexual Awakening Earlier inGirls than '

in Boys. Experiences ofa Physician. Studying for theMinistry .

’ Experience ofa“Pretty Boy .

” “A PerilousMoment.”A CCMEgg

n

CHAPTER SIX

The Basis ofInversion. Inversion as a Theme ofRomance. As a

Scientific Study . InFrance. Elsewhere. CriticalStudy ofInversion.

sion in Relation to Religion andMorality. Difierentiation ofSex.

ity. Inv ersionAmong Savages. Inversion as Conditionedby Luxury.

Boy Prostitution in China. The “Bate” and “Schupan.

” The “Se

ketra” and“Sarimbavy .

” Asexuallnverts. PointofDeflection in Sex.

Factors Entering into the Sexual Character. Idealismas a Cause of

Inversion. Sexual Inversion Among Artists. Among Rulers. Sex

ual V ices of the Early Christian Church. Pederasty in the EarlyChurch. SexualDiversions ofPopeAlexander. Philip ofOrleans andHenry VIII . Suggested Zone” ofHomosexuality . Causation ofIn

version Considered. ItsMorphology and Psychology. Theories and

Cases ofInversion. Sex Hallucinations. Delusional Eviration. De

lusionalMasculinity . Dr.Mary Walker.

” AClassicalVirago. Les

ser Types ofInverts. Normal Sexual Love Incomprehensible to theInvert. Early Normal Sexuality . Inversion Critically Defined.

Congenital Homosexuality .

‘ WasMan Originally Bisexual? Plato’sMyth. Mantegasza’s Theory. V iews of Krafit-Ebing. HeredityFurther Considered. A Case in Point. Instances ofAssumed Congenital Inversion. Reversed Standards ofBeauty . A Subject’s OwnBeliefas to Congenitality . A Sanctimonious Seducer. A School Sar

danapalus. Homosexuality Defended. Inversion with Sadistic Impulses. Sexual Influence ofColors. Inversion ofDementia. Gen

eral Remarks on Homomxuality . Psycho- sexual Hermaphrodism.

Acquired Homosexuality . Venereal Epidemics , HowSpread. Dis

tribution of the Contagium. Among the Early Hebrews. AnotherMeans ofPropagation. Roman PederastyAlmost Always Cultivated.

Acquisition Considered. Masturbation a Potential Cause. Difi cultyof Determining Congenital Type. A Disagreeable Quick- step. A

Scientific Hobby Considered. Case of the Enarians.

“Instinctive

Test” ofInversion. Classical Case ofCultivated Inversion. Evita

tion and Defemination. Efl'

emination and V iraginity. Androg

yny and Gynandry . NormalMale Homosexuality . Case I . Be

marks onCase I. Case II . Case III . NormalFemale Homosexuality .

A Couple ofFastidious Ladies. E sthetic Refinement as a Cause of

Sapphism. Methods ofGratification in Sapphism. Influences Tend

PM}!

244- 323

Conte xts . ix

Relation Bstm Girh Frequently Yg re Rather than V icious.

The “MWa d” Case. The “Tinier Sisters.

” “Cutptn-seMel .

”

Ellie’sCase. Women SometimesUnconsciously Homosexual. Fannie

Reticence on the Subject. Increase of Sapphismin America . Its

CHAPTER SEVEN

324—365SadismandMasochism. Theories ofMarro and efSehafer. Probable

Carnation of the Phenomena. The “Palang . The

The “FrilledCundum.

” Judgment the Fee ofImpulse. Ellie’s V iew.

Schafer’s Theory Critically Examined. The “lflemsclou Case.”

Alton’s 'Case. Verseni’s Case. Sadism‘mWomen. Strange Sexual

tion. Remarkable Case. Apron”and “Wet-Skirt” Fetiehes. Shoe

and Othsr- Borru el Fetish. An Odd Case. The Sex- impulse in

Samal Phasss op ilspsy. Sexuality inMam'a. Satyriasis and

in the UnitedSh -tes. Is the Fault that oftheNegro or oftheWhiteWoman?

CHAPTER EIGHT

366495

FloralGm . Viewedwith Indulgence by Certain Writers . Circumtanoes under which itwas Permitted by the Christian Church. Its

Growth inMedie val Times. Apologists ofMasturbation. Its Preva

lence inModemSodety. l un’

ons RespectingMasturbation“ Its

Associated with the Criminal Instinct. Masturbation and the

Pitiable Case ofa Young Girl. As to Loss ofSemen. ComplexityoftheMale SexualMechanism. Efiect ofMasturbation on the Gen

eral Health. V iews ofMedicalWriters. Its Relation to Epilepsy and

Insanity . Artificial Erotism in Japan. The Rin- no- tama. The“Daikon. The Artificial Penis and Cunnus. Other InstrumentsEmployed. Varieties of Artificial Erotism. Horse-riding and the

Sewing-machine. Thigh-friction. Psychic Erotism.

“Day-dream

Contents.

PAGE

ing . Jove Himself Sometimes Nods. Hysterical Erotism. Re

ligious Erotism. Woman the Type ofFertility . Both Love andReligion Based in Sacrifice. HowSexuality has Helped Religion. A

Plea forLove andReligion.

CHAPTER NINE

396- 447Instinct as a Factor in SexualCrime. Hemdity Considered. Theories

ofDarwin and Ha ckel. Schools ofCriminology . Sexual Criminalsby Instinct. Penology ofSexual Crime. PartwhichMedicine shouldBear in fixing Punishment. Ultimate Purpomof all Criminology .

FewCriminalsMentally Sound. Obstacles to Prosecution for SexualOfiences. Case ofthe Sadist Bruce. legal Status ofFetichistic Acts.

OfMasochism. Lust-murder. Love andAnger asMotives ofCrime.

Bases of Sexual Crime. The “Social Evil.” Mental Status of the

Criminal. Sexual and Religious Exaltation. Impotence and Sexual

Crime. Psychic Inhibition. Four Important Sexual Phenomena .

Acts IndicatingMental Discu s . Early SexManifestations not Nec

essarily Abnormal. SexualCrimes ofthe Aged andDecrepit. Sexual

Acts ofAlcoholic Drunkards . Further Examination of Sadistic Acts.

The Brady Case. SadismForensically Considered. Exception to thePreceding Rule. Fetichisrn. Homosexuality Forensically Considered.

Prevalence ofthe V ice. Its legal Status . Contrary Attitudes ofLawandMedicine. The Criminal to be First Considered. Responsibilityin Alcoholism. AlcoholismandRape. Medical Examination in Rapeand Lust-murder. Sexual Anthropophagy . OtherManifestations of

Cruelty . The Impulse toDefile. Summary ofPsychopathicAnomalies .

Proposed Glossary ofSexual Terms . Vagueness oflegal Definitions.

Libido Nemia in Sexual Offences . Heredity and Suggestion. Influ

ence ofEducation. SexualMalformation. SexualRecidivists . Rival

Theories ofCriminology. legal Statu s ofHomosexuality Continued.

Superficial Treatment ofSexual Offences by Jurists. Further Points

inMedico- legalDiagnosis. Confusion Caused by Faulty legal Phrase

ology . Aid to Preliminary legal Diagnosis . Further Guides to the

Subdivision ofCriminals. The CriminalTriangle. GeneralCharacteristics . Origin and Growth ofLaw. Application ofLawin Cases of

Sexual Crime. Cures and Punishments ofSexual Inverts . Society’s

Attitude Toward the Invert. Influence ofMoral Teaching. Conclu

sion oftheWhole Subject.

AUTHOR’S PREFACE

HE question ofhuman sexuality has always been regarded,moreor less, as something to be handledonlywith literary tongs . Even

professionally, although the taboo has been measurably liftedwithin recent years, the subject is still looked at askance ; and it

wouldnot be diffit to find, to-day, both in England andAmerica, physicianswho couldnot be inducedto touch itfor either love ormoney .

Before the publication ofMoll’s, Ulrichs’andTillier’s able treatises firstcalledattention to thefact that the sexualfieldwas practically termincognitotomedical science , thewriterwho felt called on to invade it, even casually,

was always careful to prov ide himselfwith a portentous array ofFrench

and Latin phrases, dashes and asterisks ; which,while both vulgarly sug

gestivo, and ridiculously irrational, seemed, nevertheless,marvelously soothing to his professional pmdery .

It need not be remarked that such ultrap refined dilettantismwas bothsilly and unscientific and, in electing to dissectmy subjectwithout eitherkid gloves or lavender salts , neither courting nor avoiding, but using,

wherever needful, those v irile Anglo-Saxonisms which, it requires only a

superficial knowledge of any science to conv ince us , are commonly the

strongest and readiest vehicles ofsense, I have done sowith the convictionthat the languagewhich Chaucer and Shakespearewrote in, andwhich isthemediumofdiv ine revelation to themost enlightened part ofmankind,is good enough forme and good enough formy theme.

As to the theme itself, I amon surer ground. Thatwhich constitutes

the beginning, end and substance ofmy book— the force and universalityofsexual law— is in itselfsuficient guarantee that any attempt, howeverfeeble, to define, analyze, or illuminate that law,must, in the very nature ofthings,meetwith a considerable degree ofhuman interest.The sex- problemappeals to all. To the physician,

professionally ; tothe moralist, ethically ; to the anthropologist, sociologically ; and, to no

smallpart ofthe human race, purely sensually . Therefore , ifthere be found

any lack ofinterest in the following pages thewriter shouldbe, and is , fullyprepared to assume the blame.

But, as theworkwill necemarily fall into the hands ofmany non-

pro

Author’s Preface

fessional readers, teachers, lays tudents , and advanced thinkers generally,bothmale andfemale, some ofwhommay not yet be entirely emancipatedfromthe fetters ofearly conventions , a little further comment onmy policyofcalling a spade a spademay not be out ofplace.

The physician,” remarks that philosophical old thinker, Tardieu , in

that he was all things ought to be permitted to say all things.

” 1 But

society is , unfortunately , not founded in philosophy . It has certain pet

prejudices , fads and conventions,which thewriter, ifhe cannot respect, isat least bound in somemeasure to observe ; just aswe humor an hystericalwoman ; but this is preciselywhatmakes both difiicult and delicate investigations like this present, in which freedom, strength, and accuracy of

thought, just as thediamondlosesweightby toomuch polishing andcutting,are frequently , indeed as a rule, hampered by an enforceddeference to cer

tain literary forms andmoral susceptibilities, which might be found, oncloser examination, littleworthy ofsuch consideration.

But this too fastidious prudery is only one ofthe quirks, foibles and inconsistencies ofour dear humanity ; inconsistencieswhichwould bemoretruly amusing were they not sometimes both pitiable and contemptible.

As an instance: since the Creator’s first invocation to light the parrot- cry

ofhumanity has never ceased imitating Him. Let there be light,morelightl

” But God help the light- bringer ! Christ and Paul, and Socrates

andGalileo, could tell something ofhowtheworld has used him. Butweneednot go back to them; modern instances are plentiful. Luther sawthelight, andReligion hounded himthrough Europe. Savonarola sawit, andwas burnedon the bridge ofFlorence. Columbus caught its gleamfromtheWesternwaters, andwore the fetters ofBobadilla as tokens ofhis nation’sgratitude. Kossuth sawit in Hungary , and had to flee for his life ; and

Father Gapon andMaximGorky , trying to transmit its rays to benightedRussia, are shot down and trampled by Cossacks in the streets ofLodz andMoscow. Oh, yes ; light

- bringing has proved a grand and profitable business in the past, and promises to be equally so in the future !Only a short time ago, as good a man as the presentwriter, surely

a better scholar, was put into jail in England forwriting a far less

“Aucunemisere physique enmorale, aucune plaie, quelque corrompue qu’elle soit,ne doit efirayer celui qui s

’est voué a la science de l’homme et leministers sacré du

médecin, en l’obligeant a tout voir, lui permet aussi de tout dire.

” Des attentats our:

moeurs .

Rectal surgery is not an inviting nor a savory subject; neither ismidwifery , norcancer, nor venereal disme; butwhatwould be thought ofthe physicianwhowoulddecline todiscuss eitheron the groundofmodesty? Such a sticklerfor conventionality

wouldequal themanwho, about to be operated upon for appendicitis , insisted that aminister be sent for, so that he couldbe “

openedwith prayer.

”

Author’s Preface 3

plainly spoken book than this, on the same subject ; a book since adopted

bymany ofour best colleges ; and ifthe first part ofthat author’s fatefor I dare not hope the second- shall befall unworthyme at the hands of

my appreciative countrymen,I can only consolemyselfwith the reflection

that “I amofhis brethren the prophets ,” and equally prepared to “sufier

hardness for the faith that is in me ; for, though the heavens fall, I amresolvedto speakmymindplainly andfearlessly on thismatterbeforeme.

The physicianwho hesitates in the performance ofwhat he conceives

to be a professionalduty, through fear either ofadverse criticismor publicmisapprehension,

is not only a sorry citizen , and still sorrier Christian, but

unworthy to take that vowwhich Juhel- Renoy tells us ev ery young physician once took before the statue ofHippocrates ;1 an oathwhich boundhimirrevocably to truth, andwhich made probity, honesty and fearlessness ,

the very Shibboleth ofhis calling .Much has beenwritten, good, bad andindifferent, on the diversematterswhich enter into the laws and relations ofsex . Part

Faults andMerits is the product ofunleamedquacks,whosemotives andofWriters on qualifications I do not care to scrutinize at present ;Sex Themes part

,thatofcertaindry- as -dust clinicians

,whosefacts,

when they give us any , are utterly devoid of the

faintest charmof literary expression ; but a goodly portion, fortunately,in recent years particularly , ofgenu ine literary and psychological reasoners ,whosework I cannot hope to improve ; except by a, perhaps,more systematicandrationalmethod ofclassification andtreatment.

In this connection Iwouldmention first the splendid treatise ofKrafftEbing,

’as only too severely technicalfor the average reader ; that ofHave

lock Ellis ,’as lacking grievously in orderly arrangement; both, however,

being veritablemines ofscientific information ; that ofUlrichs,‘ as an argu

ment, pro domo, in favor ofhomosexuality ; that ofMoll,“while the best of

all on sexual inv ersion,as too exclusively psychological; that ofChevalier,“

as lacking somewhat in critical perception ; though in themain copious andcorrect; and that ofFéré,

7which I regard as,in the ground covered

, the

completest andmost satisfactorvwork on the subject yetwritten.

Whether the faults enumerated are corrected, or the undoubted great

merits ofthesewri ters even approached,in the followingwork, the reader

must determine. It ismy hope, however,while retaining all that ismost“V ie Professionelle et Devoirs duMedéciné,” Paris, 1878.

Psychopathia Sexualis .

” “Studies in the Psychology ofSex.Memnon: Die Geschleschtsnatur desManliebenden Urnings .

Kontrare Sexualempfindung .

”

“L’Inv ersion Sexuelle.

“L’Instinct Sexual.

4 Author’s Preface

valuable in the anthemnamed,to present the facts in such continuity of

formas to rendermywork amore readily accessiblemediumofprofessionalreference ; and, in collating fromvarious other sourceswhatever additionalinformationmore recent inquirymay have brought to light, togetherwiththeresults ofpersonalobservation, andthepassing reflectionswhich theymaysuggest, and by the exclusion

,as far as possible, ofscientific technicalities,

to make my work more easily intelligible to the lay- reader who maydesire— as all should— to enlighten himself, or herself, on the immutablesystemof laws which not only underlies this life

, but upon the rational

observance ofwhich depend, more largely, perhaps, than commonly sup

posed, our hopes and expectations ofa fuller and nobler one hereafter.

And it is a pleasure to reflect,notwithstanding the

Faith in Ameri human inconsistencies I began by noting, that in thiscan Intelligence country, at least, with its predominant intelligence,

and liberty ofthought, nowriterwho comes with a

message of possible good to humanity , even though thatmessage tear thepaintedmask fromthe face ofConventionality, need fear that hewill bedenied an audience through themiserable pseudo-modestywhich prevailedin the past ; the superstitious reverenceforwhich has ruined somany noble,promising lives, and inflictedmore pangs upon innocentwomanhood thana hundredyears ofhellcouldatonefor.

The golden inscription on the gate ofDelphi— KNOWTHYse — never

promised amore perfect realization than in the present ceaseless and indefatigable inquiry into thosemysteriousmorphologicaland psychicalscienceswhich hold the hitherto unguessed secrets ofboth spiritual andmaterialexistence ; andwhilewe justly glory in the beauties ofthe flower, and thestar, and the forest and the sea , is it rational, is it proper, thatwe shouldblush to contemplate the attributes and power ofthe Deity, as expressedin thatmostwonderfulandelaborate ofallHisworks—MAN ?

“Health,” says Solomon, “is a faithful ambassaHealth the dor. Its voicemust be heardbefore allothers . The

Foundation of Greeks deifiedhappiness,making it the supreme good;Happiness but disregarded those laws ofhealth uponwhich per

feet happiness can only be founded; and there is

more truewisdomin thewords ofthe “godlike Athenian to his favorite,

Euthydemus ,1 and in his last sacrifice to Esculapius , than in all the oracles

ofDelphi andDodona.

1p oor ammo! : Knowthyself. Said by Juvenal (XI - 27) to be a saying descended

fromheaven , and called by Cicero (Tusc. Disp. , 1—22)

“a precept ofApollo.

”Itwas

probably first used by Pythagoras ,many ofwhose philosophicalmaximswere embodiedin theworks ofthemythicalGreek poetess, Phemonoé; and, adapting itselfso admir~


Anthony sought happiness in his lust ; Brutus in his ambition ; Aristotlein the holy oracles ofmeditation ; Napoleon in conquest ;Milton in poetry ;Paul in religion , and Juliet in love. We all have our ideals ofhappiness ;to attainwhich, in the fullestmeasure,was the dreamofthe ages . And

the desire is laudable, reasonable ; and, so far aswe know, entirely con

sistentwith thewill andpurpose oftheCreator. But it always carrieswithit the implication that no creative lawbe infringed or contravened in its

accomplishment ; to insurewhich there is the var: Dei within, answeringto the var:humanewithout ; prudenceever parleyingwith passion, consciencepleadingwithdes ire.

Paul understood this dual property ofour naturewhen he spoke ofthe“lawofthe spirit,”warringwith “the lawofhismembers,” one unto life

andthe other untodeath ; andI strongly agreewith thedistinguishedauthorof“The Simple Life,” that the high-wrought nervous tension and luxuryofthe times, with the sexual and other v iceswhich are their direct out

growth, are only to bemet and remedied by a return to primitive sourcesofpleasure andhabits oflife.

Pratensis held that the bodies ofpersonswho feed gluttonously, live at

ease, and indulge themselveswithwine, “are full ofLuxury Conducive bad spirits anddevilish lusts ;” 1 and Hierome advises

to Lust us,ifour horse be too lusty, to take away some of

his provender.

”

It is seldomthat you see an hiredservant, as our quaintfriendBurtonremarks,’ onewho is kept constantly atwork

,

“troubled verymuchwiththe fires oflust but noble v irgins, nice gentlewomen, who live lives of

pleasure and case, are its peculiar victims . On the same principle be ac

counts for the sexual vices of convents andmonasteries,where the youngpriests , fullblooded,wellfed, andnot overburdenedwith labor, have becomefamous for their rapes, incests, adulteries, mastuprations, sodomies and

buggeries and there is little doubt that the luxury and enlightenmentofthe present day bear an almost equal part in the production ofthose

sexual viceswithwhichwe are at present concerned.

There is something in the character ofmodern enlightenment, notwithstandingwhat has already been said, which awakens too grand a hope forthe future to be readily relinquished. One ofits greatest achievements is

ably to the prevailing current ofspeculative inquiry , came to be employed very generally in the language ofdialectics , Pittacus carrying the same thought into the practicalafiairs oflife in his famous aphorism: scepov rumor—knowyour opportunity .

1 Daemonitus referta sunt corpora nostra , illorumprincipue qui delicatis vescuntureduliis , advolitant, et corporibus inhe rent,

”etc .

“Anatomy ofMelancholy ,” pp. 273, 274.


the educatedfaculty ofdiscriminating betweenwhat is deliberately obscenein literature, and thatwhich,while scientifically frank and bold, is never

theless born ofa pure purpose ; between thatwhich popularizes, for instance,themysterious phenomena ofsexual life, and thatwhichministers simplyandsolely to a depravedandprurient public curiosityMen andwomen everywhere are becoming better andbetter acquaintedwith the laws, physical and psychical,which underlie their being ; thus preparing themselves , not only for a better andmore intelligent fatherhoodandmotherhood, by instilling the seeds oftheir own knowledge into theminds oftheir children, but preparing humanity for the NewEarth bylifting it up to a knowledge ofitself, its hopes, perils, capacities andenv ironments, and finding, in release fromthe broken trammels and prejudices ofthe past, not only immunity fromthe v ices ofthe present, but grander andnobler v istas ofthe future.

Is it not lamentable that for lack ofonly a little knowledge somuchmisery, deformity, suffering and disease should exist

Ignorance of in the common family ofhumanity? Is it not sad

PhysiologicalLaws that a man, born and endowed to enjoy to the fullthat supremes t ofall physical pleasures , sexual union

with thewoman he loves, “thatmagnetmost div ine,”which, “as the verycentre ofthe earth, draweth all things to it, and to stand in the prideofhismanhood, as the father ofhis children and perpetuator ofhis nameand race, should be cut 03 fromboth forever? Condemned

,by the in

sidious , but not the less fatal, grasp ofa habit, perhaps, againstwhich theuntaughtminds ofhis own parents were incapable ofwarning him, to a

whole life ofmiserable longing and desire, without the power to gratifythem? Is it not unutterably sad that themiddle years oflife,which oughtto be years ofglorious ambition and splendid achievements, should be, toa great proportion ofboth sexes, only bleak, barren days ofhopeless un

fruitfu lness— gray and leaden as the pallofautumn— inwhich physical decay, and

“thewormthat dieth not,”complete thewreckwhich the very

exuberance ofyouth, andlove, andhealthmost probably began?And this is no overdrawn picture, as the body of

Penalties of theworkwill only too sorrowfully prove. Well doesSexual Precocity Flourens exclaim— “man does not die— he kills him

self!” The soil ofyouth, unplantedwith the seeds

ofknowledge, begets the flower ofprecocity, whose bloomis speedily destroyed by thewormoflust. Boys , instead ofthe healthful exercise essen

tial to the season ofphysiologicaldevelopment, enter at once into the eroticsexual indulgences designed for later years ; into masturbation,

tobaccousing, beer and spirit drinking, the cigarette habit, and other forms of

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join


perversions of the sexual instinct— rape, masturbation, pederasty, etc.

are not only always possible but extremely probable. Indeed I think it

would not be diflicult to trace— as I shall attempt to do under its properheading

— the Negro’s passion for child- rape and lust-murder to a sexual

degeneracy res ulting rather fromthe vicious practices bequeathed by hisCaucasianmasters , during thedays ofslavery, than to any racial inheritanceofvice ; or, as is popularly believed, an abnormally strong virility andsexualpower.

TheNegro is notstrong sexually ; nor is he, in a state ofnature, especiallyaddictedto those revolting viceswhich seemto be rather the pets ofcivilization.

“ In Central Africa,”as Havelock Ellis informs us,

“pederasty ap

pears to be extremely rare ; although some cases ofeffemimtio, and passivepederasty, have been reportedfromUnyamwezi andUganda. But amongthe negro populations ofZanzibar, forms ofhomosexuality,which are be

lieved to be congenital aswell as acquired, are said to be fairly commonand I think itwill be fairly shown later on in thiswork that the sexualityofthe negro is one ofdisplay rather than ofrealpower.

The present tendency in this country to the apotheTheWoman -Move osis ofwoman

,with her so—called “

rights”and “

ad

ment in America vanced thought,” in plain reversal of the scriptural

and traditional decree offemale subordination to thestronger sex, is undoubtedly erotic in its origin . Not that Iwouldcondemnit

,by anymeans, anymore than Iwould any ofthe other forms andmani

festations ofinnate chivalry on the part ofmen ; but thewholesale invasionofthe prerogatives ofthe latter, inmart, factory andprofession, precludingin greatmeasure even amascu line thought ofmatrimony, and producingamong women themselves a growing indifierence to the sexual bond, is

engendering psychological results in society too apt to escape very generalobservation .

There is a tendency,more andmore, towardcelibacy andsexual isolationamong both sexes ; and since the sexual instinct is not only the earliest butthemost dominant impulse ofhumanity, insusceptible ofsubjection,

wholly,to any power either ofwill or conscience, itfollows as a corollary that therewill be, ultimately, a return on the part ofbothmen andwomen to thosegrosserforms ofartificialerotism,

homosexuality or open prostitution,whichtake the place ofthe natural relation . In point offact this appears to bethe actual pres ent condition, as I shall attempt to showunder appropriateheads in thiswork.

In one respectdoes the presentwriter takedecided issuewith an anomalystrangely obtrusive in the learned treatise ofMr. Ellis,

2as well as in the

1 Loc. cit , n , 11. Loc cat , I, 110- 204.


works of various Continental and Ameri can psychologists,l that, as masturbation appears to be almost universal among the higher animals,we are not justified in regarding it so much as a v ice as a sponta

neous and instinctive act ofnature. Mr. Ellis’statement that, “while the

practice ofmasturbationmay be harmful in its consequences, it is also, inthe absence ofnormal sexual relationships, frequently not without goodresults

,

”3 I place side by sidewith that ofthe erudite, careful andobservantKrafit- Ebing, ofVienna ; and shallmake itmy busines s, later, to entermorefully into the relative positions ofboth. Nothing is so prone to contaminate,

”says the learned Austrian,

“under certain circumstances even to

exhaust, the source ofall noble and ideal sentiments,which arise froma

normally developed sexual instinct, as the practice ofmasturbation in early

years . It des poils the unfolding bud ofperfume and beauty, and leaves

behind only the coarse, animal des ire for sexual gratification. Ifan indi

vidual, spoiled in this manner, reach an age ofmaturi ty, there is alwayswanting in himthat aesthetic, ideal, pure andfree impulse,which draws onetowards the opposite sex . This defect influences the morals

,character,

fancy , feeling and instinct of the youthfulmasturbator,male or female, inan unfavorableway, and allows the desire for the opposite sex to sink to

nil; so thatmasturbation is preferred to the naturalmode ofsatisfaction.

"

Itwill be observed that in the statements quoted, pro and con

,there

is no reference to the effect ofthe practice on physical health. This, beingamerematter ofclinical observation

,within the purviewofevery practi

tioner ofmedicine, need not long engage our attention, nor remain amatterofdoubt. Indeed

,Dr. Edward Carpenter, ofManchester, in his pri vately

printedpamphlet on Homogenic Love, 1899 , sets, I think, the sealofmodernscientific thought upon thewhole question . At least I amcontent to leave

it for the present to his able summing up ; only to return to it, however,more fully in the section on Artificial Erotism, underwhich head it, andits kindredvices

,willbemore appropriately andexplicitly rev iewed.

Purity, after all (in the sense ofcontinence) , is ofthe first importanceto boyhood. To prolong the period ofcontinence

,in a boy

’s life, is to pro

long the period ofgrowth. This is a simple physiological law, and a very

obvious one ; andwhatever other thingsmay be said in favor ofpurity , itremains , perhaps, themostweighty . To introduce sensualandsexualhabits

SeeTillier,“L’Instinct Sexual,

”Paris , 1889 , as a striking example.

Loc. cit. , r, 19 1.

The concurrent statements ofboth Ellis andMoll thatmasturbation is only harmfulwhen carr ied to access , are plainly illogical, for the simple reason thatwhat is harmfulin excess must be proportionately harmful inmoderation . In otherwords,what isharmful at allmust be harmful in any givendegree.

ro Au thor’s Preface

— and one oftheworst ofthemis selfabuse— at an early age, is to arrest

growth, both physical andmental; and, what is even more,itmeans to

arrest the capacity for affection. Allexperience shows that the early outlettowards sex cheapens andweakens affectional capacity .

”1

“Themanwho does notwork,

”says President Roosevelt,

“cannot be

happy .

” “Thewomanwho does not labor,

”remarks

Causes andEfiects Acton, I think , in his History ofProstitution,“rich

ofSexualVice and honored though she be, bears upon her head theinevitable curse ofheaven.

”Itwouldbe a safewager

thatHelen Gouldreapsmore genuine andrationalhappiness fromherworksofbenevolence than Queen Alexandra fromall the trappings ofher rank.

We need not go back to the concubines and thrushes ofLucullus ; to the

boy- harems of the Caliphs,where a special tutor at an enormous salary

was employed by the Court to teach the royal scions the“fine arts

”of

sexual indulgence ; to the“strangewoman,

” dropping honey fromher lipsin the streets ofBabylon, or Nineveh nor point to the giganticwrecksofempire scattered along the shores oftime, to showthe inevitable con

nection between the growth ofluxury, perversion ofthe sexual instinct, andnational ruin.

And shallwe judge the future by the past? Are the same causes operative in society to-day as , under the splendid reigns ofHenry III and LouisXIV ,

sanctioned the abduction of little boys fromthe streets ofParis to

satisfy the abominable exigences of the king’s royal baths?‘ Are not the

vast accumulations ofwealth, in our own simple democracy ,”with theirinseparable concomitants ofluxury and highly stimulated erotism, directly

responsible for the secret vices andprostitutionwhich avowedly characterizethe times?There are practically only two causes for prostitution amongwomen

wealth andwant. Innatemodesty, and her normalfeebleness ofsexualdesire, comparedwith that ofman,may , under ordinary conditions, always be relied on

to prevent her entering those paths that “take holdupon hell. Ofcourse life is precious to her ; even the insult, contumelyand degradation ofprofessional harlotry are preferable, onmerely humangrounds, to the pangs ofstarvation ; but ordinari ly the danger and temptstion are far greater to thewomanwho “lives high,

”amid scenes offashion

For instances ofthese statements ,m'

d.Krafl’

t- Ebing, Text- Book ofLegal Psychopathology , p. 16 1.

The lips ofa strangewoman drop as an honeycomb, and hermouth is smootherthan oil. (Prov . 5,

V ictorHugo.

Author’s Preface rI

able luxury anddissipation, exposedon all sides to the lust- excited solicitations ofidle libertines , drugged constantlywithwine, and very frequentlywith aphrodisiacs, to whose refined taste the atmosphere of the publicbrothelwouldbe intolerably ofl

'

ensive. She it iswho usually falls into thatpitiable condition ofneurotic exhaustionwhichmakes her an “interestinginvali to her lady friends, the pet ofthe family doctor, andfromwhichthe transition to artificial erotism— the hair- pin or the rubber penis— or to

secret prostitution, is both easy and natural. These are thewomenwhomSeneca had inmindwhen he remarked that theywere “more solicitous oftheir head- tire than their health

, spending their time between the comb andthe glass, _

farmore desirous ofbeing accounted beautiful than virtuous,”l

and beggaring their husbands, prostituting themselves, enticingmen and

damning theirown souls, all in a breath.

”

In concluding these prefatory remarks itmay not be amiss to say that,

whilewe are surrounded on all sides by physiologicalDifi culties Attend sex-manifestations

,they are

, fromthe very nature of

ing this Kind such things, as diflicult to come at as they are ofstrictofWriting scientific definition . If the physician announce his

intention ofwriting a brochure on typhoid fever, or

diphtheria, he is at once approachedby a host ofpatients, anxious to impartinformation ; but if he ask one ofthemost oflicious ofthese howmanytimes he has intercoursewith hiswife everyweek, whether she is alwayswilling or reluctant, howthey are sexuallymated as to size and desire, or

any other ofa dozen such questions, no clamat high tide could shut uptighter, nor lookmore v irtuously indignantTherefore it is

, asMr. Ellis , possiblywith a similar sad experience freshin his memory, ruefully remarks

,that any serious and precise study of

the sexual instinctwillbemetwith populardisapproval; and,

among those forwhomhe is chiefly working, the authorwillfind indii

The publicwill be attracted by gross pictures ofsexual perversity— thegrosser the better— furnished by asylum- reports

,

Howthe Public patent nostrumvendors, brothels , professional oh

is Attracted scenity mongers, or wouldbe writers, destitute of

learning, decency and ethics , whose conceptions of

science,literature and religion, begin and endwith the amount ofcoin each

“Sollicitiores de capitis sui decore quamde salute, etc.

As an instance ofthe difficulty experienced in collecting data for awork ofthis

character, a very intelligent lady whomI approached, as tactfully as I knewhow,with certain questions ofa sexual nature , was deeply insulted, and has not spoken to

me since. IfIwri te anotherbook like this I shallnot have a friendleft in theworld.

1 2 Author’s Preface

is capable ofproducing ; while the serious and educated inquirer,who examines phenomena in their proper perspective, weighing themwith a

thoughtful regard to their causation, bearing, and ultimate physiologicalresults,willtoo often only have his laborforhis pains .

Imake no apology forwriting this book . I think

Present State of itwill satisfy, in somemeasure at least, a professionalthe Sex Problemneed. Ifnot

,ifit contain no little grain ofthought

worthy ofperpetuation,no ray ofknowledge to help

brighten that dawn ofreasonwithwhich,some profess to believe, the hill

tops are already aglow, let its extinction v indicate the Darwinian law. In

one respect at least— the grouping and classification ofmy subjects— I howtomeet the approval ofmy professional brethren ; and, entering upon thediscussion ofthemes whichwriters at the beginning of the past centurybarely rescued fromthemisty domain ofpoetry and romance, butwhichwere somewhat better amplified andanalyzedby others ofthe Ploss- Bartels

school, I do sowith the earnest assurance that in the following pages,whilestartling facts shall be dealtwith in very plain language,whilemy preaching

— like that ofNathan to King David—will be very concise, and to the

point, I shall endeavor to showthat,until the lawlearn to recognize and

discriminate between conscious crime and physicaldisease, between deliberate violation oi statutory enactments and those irresponsible

,paranoiac

actswhich are but the evolution, or involution, ofthe psychologically pervertedorganism,

the needofthemedico- legalwriterwillnot cease to exist ;and in doing this, I beg at the very outset to acknowledgemy indebtednessto those authors, ancient andmodern, whomI have so freely used,withproper credit in each case as well as to the professional friends, ofbothsexes,who have somaterially and kindly aidedme in investigationswhichwere not only tediously technical, but, as I have intimated, unusuallydelicate in their nature.

J . RICHARDSON PARKE .

925 SPRUCE 8mm, Pnru nmnra.

CHAPTERONE

MORAL AND SOClAL ASPECTS OF THESEXUAL RELATION

HEN the Creator told Adamthat itwas not good for himto be alone

,andmadewoman for his companion, the in

ference is sufliciently obvious that the newbeing had beencreated not onlywith a need and capacity for human fel

lowship, but, that celibacy, eithermale or female,formed no part in the

primitive scheme ofcreation.

1

Religious cenobitismwas,and is, but one ofthosemorbid, unnatural

and sexually subversive customs withwhich, amongProcreation a heathen races particularly , ethical thought has alwaysDivine Purpose delighted to invest the sacred or prophetic character.

The same motive which made Isaiah , for instance,

walk nakedthrough the streets ofJerusalemto showthat the Lord intendedto strip the latter, andmake her bare.

’ Whichmade Cardan remark, ofsuch “prophets,” that iftheywent to church through the day they could

sleep with prostitutes at night— introrsumturpes , speciosi pelle decora.

Which made Ezekiel cut 03 his hair and beard, weigh them, and divide

theminto three parts, one ofwhichwas to be burnedwith fire, one cut

with the knife, and one scattered to the fourwinds.

‘ Which made himbutterhis breadwith his own cccrement

,andeat it publicly, in token ofGentile

defilement.

‘ Whichmade Jeremiahwear a wooden yoke, as a sign that

1 Celibacy, both in principle and de facto, grewout ofa strange andfanatical proscription ofwhat, there can be no question ofdoubt, God specifically ordained.

C'rescite ctmultiplicamini was His command to the children ofNoah, when they leftthe ark ; and the counter- commandofthe church, could it have been enforced,wouldhave speedily brought an end to humanity in theworld. But God fortified this , as

well as every other ofHis commands ,with such natural laws and conditions as to

speedily nullify every formofhuman antagonism; making the sexual instinct far

stronger than any more legal enactment; and proving, in the sexual abuses of the

convents , those preparatory schools oferotic hysteria, aswell as in the masturbation ,

rapes and adultery ofthe priesthood, the pitiable incompetency ofhumanwisdomto

override any one ofHis divine decrees

Isaiah xx, 3.

‘Ezek., N , 12.

14 Human Sexualitythe Jews shouldgo into captivity ; 1 whichmade Hosea cohabitwith a prostitute for three years, to indicate that the tribeswere guilty ofwantonnemand of idol-worship ; 3 andwith anotherman’swife, to signify the ao

-called

adultery ofhis nationwith the gods ofthe heathen .

’

The Jewish prophet, speaking like an angel and acting like a beast,wasan extraordinary being ; but not more extraordinary than many of the

cloistered cenobites and nuns ofthemiddle ages ; ifindeed the character

ofthe latter bematerially improved in the present day . Among thes e, aswe are credibly informed by El Ktab, aMohammedanwriter,whose book,“Traduction de Paul de Regla,

”was published in Paris in 1893, the sexualvices— Lesbian love

,masturbation, etc — grewso common that they cameto be regarded as peculiarly Christian institutions by the theologians of

Islam. TheMohammedan religion, while openly tolerating and even en

couraging the sexual relationship,still placed such restri ctions upon the

practice ofself- abuse that itwas only allowed to devoutMussulmanswhenalone

, on a journey; for the sin ofthe seminal emission during sleep,whichwas the subject ofsuch long and heated controversy by the fathers ofthe

early Christian Church, andwhich provided the necessary relief to the

physical function, the piousMussulman consoling himselfwith the con

venient ejaculation that Allah ismercifull’“Leaving the consideration ofthese themes

,how

Sexuality the ev er, for a more appropriate place, and continuingBasis of Society our inquiry into themoral and social aspects ofthe

sexual relation,I considerMaudsley’s statement, that

the sexual feeling is the rightful foundation ofthe social feeling, as indis

putably true.

“Wereman to be robbed ofthe instinct ofprocreation, and

‘ Jer., xxvrrr, 10.

‘Hosea, r, 2, 3.

‘Hosea ,m, l .

A careful reading of the records of ancientmedicine will speedily conv ince us

ofthe perfect consistency ofthe earlyChurch’s attitude towards certain sexualmatters

which later intelligence enabled it to unqualifiedly condemn. Thus , even Galen taughtthat long retention of the semen produced insanity . HieronymusMercurialis at

tributed to the same cause that, andmany other maladies ; and Oribasius (Med.

Coll. 6 , c. 37) says that those“who do not use carnal copulation snfier continually

with heaviness and headache. Felix Plater, in his Observations ,” tells ofan old

manwhomarried a youngwife, and, being unable to pay his just debts ,” the lattertook on a

“kind ofmadness ” (not unknown even today) , in which “she desired

every man that came to see her, by looks , words and gestures, to have to dowithher. The Church,

“knowing the Father’s will but doing it not,” dared not array

itselfagainstmedical science, with its physical fulminations ; and, being then farmoretimorous in this respect than at present, tacitly , at least,movedwith the current ithadnot power to stem; going to such an extreme in the opposite direction thatwefind Jacchinus mis ting (in 9 Rhasis , 15) the case of a patient, a young priest, whohad so exhaustedhimselfwith “

chamberwork ” that he becamemad, andwas only

Human Sexualityindirectly, is always the product ofsexuality , depending on the latter for

all its viv idness ofpurpose andardency offeeling .

Shakespeare might have studiedwhole libraries on the philosophy of

the passionswithout being able to conceive, had he not experiencedwithinhimselfsomething ofboth, either the jealousy ofan Othello or the love of

a Juliet; andwhen the soldier dies on the battlefield, wemay trace hisdevotion, not somuch to love ofcountry, or liberty, as to his little cottagehome

,where sleep thewoman he loves andthe offspring ofhis sexualpassion.

Butwhile the sexual life leads to the very highestThe Importance manifestations of virtue, religion and patriotism,

it

of Its Cultivation cannot be denied,andmust always be borne inmind,

that it also lies behind the worst dangers whichthreaten society and the State. Sexual love, as a blind, unbridledpassion,is like a cyclone that destroys everything in its path ; but, ruled and held

in leash by the gentle restraints ofreligion, society andcivilization, is capableofleading us on to the grandest andmost beneficent ends .

It is true that the culture ofsexualmorality becomes equally importantwith its recognition as a prirnitively inherentforce. This culturewilldepend,as to its direction

,on the ethical viewpoint ofthe country inwhich it oh

tains . Thus a Japanesewoman is only eligible towifehood after she has

lived at least a year in a house ofprostitution ; and she can,anddoes

,thus

satisfy her sexual passion, daily,without detracting either fromher virtueas awoman orhermarket value as awife ; proving that among this remark-a

able people—more remarkable through the astounding developments of

the presentwar l— woman possesses rather a procreative, andphysical, thanethical v alue. Andwe must not hastily condemn

,in these sons ofDai

Nippon,institutions andcustomswhich are the heri tage ofAsiatic ancestors,

andthe growth ofages .

In allOriental countrieswoman has always been regarded as a chattel,a plaything, themere toy ofman’s lust; and yet the

Woman’s Position facts ofhistory are lacking to prove that shewas morein the East unhappy , in the greatmajority of instances at least,

as an odalisque,or concubine, than herWestern sister

as awife. Islamkeptwomen— as indeed did all the polygynous countries

ofthe East— fromactive participation in social and public life, thus placinga bar upon hermental andmoral development ; but, on the other hand

,

was equally careful to surround herwith every luxury and comfort whichthe fine lady bestows today upon her pet kitten,

or poodle. Whether thisdwarfing of intellectuality, womanhood, and the moral nature, was ade

quately offset by the, no doubt, heightened pleasures ofher sexual and

Russo- JapaneseWar, 1904- 5.

Moral and Social Aspects ofthe Sexual Relation 1 7

sensual existence, or whether the greater liberty , and necessarily coarser

contacts, ofwestern civ ilization are preferable,we leave thefacile judgmentofthe sex todetermine.

But it seems an anomaly ofsequence that, whileMohammed himselfwas undoubtedly actuatedby amoraldesire to raisewoman fromher primitive r61e, as amere instmrnent ofsensualgratification, to a higher socialandmatrimonial plane, in no country in theworld— not even China— has the

sensual and sexual idea so largely prevailed in regard towoman, both insociety and religion , as in theMohammedan.

The Christian,with the exception ofa dimand notwelldefined idea of

sexual reunionwith thewoman he loves after death, pictures his heaven as

a place ofspiritual, rather than sensual delight; while theMohammedan,though denyingwoman a soul, by one ofthose adroit sinuosities ofmind so

peculiar to the East, fills his paradisewith dark-eyed houris and the sensu

ous pleasures ofthe harem.

The religions ofthe East— andafter all thatmeansInfluence ofSex the religions oftheworld— began and ended in sexual

uality on pleasure. The prophet, or priest, married his girlReligious Beliefs wives in droves , not singly ; stimulated himselfwith

aphrodisiacs , forhis tremendous task , as , I have heard,

breeders sometimes do a fancy stallion ; and,when exhausted nature sank

under the delightful burden, themost glorious purpose ofhis renewedyouthwas to tacklemanq y the bewitching bevy ofbeauties awaiting his adventin the better land.

It was largely so in Nineveh, Babylon, and by the Nile; where theHogarths ofthe period paintedthe young dandy being

An Oriental Dandy carried home by his footmen, wigless and hatless ,

while the lady forwhomhe had possibly paidan enormous sum, awaitedhis arrival amid ev idences ofthe same reckless disorder.

Themen painted their faces and pencilled their eyebrows ; wore braceletsand collars ofgoldand jewels ; dinedon a variety ofdelicate entrees, tast

ing and nibbling a little here and there ; drank deeply ofthe liquid sun

shine ofDamascus , or Shiraz ; yawned orwallowed half the day in their

harems ; had valets dc chambre to help themin andout ofbed; had actions

likewater andwords likewind,” and spent fabulous sums yearly for epi

dermatica to swell the size oftheir testicles .

What a field the sexual life of the ancients would have been for themodern American patentmedicine vendor, the beauty-doctor and pro

fessional “bust-developer ! 1

The idea recalls a laughable story ofthemanwho, sufieringwith toothache,madea liberal application ofa “ liniment” he found in hiswife’s closet. To his horror a

z

18 Human SexualityThe religions ofGreece andRome deifiedwoman ;

Sexuat of and ifyou run through the records ofrationalmytholHeathen Gods ogy, you will find the sexual life its v ital element.

Jupiter, thefather ofall the gods , alongwith being thehusbandofsevenwives, became a very Proteus to gratify his sexualpassion ;and his childrenwere numerous as hismistresses . Hewas the Ammon of

the Africans, the Belus ofBabylon, the Osiris ofEgypt; and only a little

literary research is needed to showthat themethod he took to appease themarital jealousy ofDemeter, by castrating himselfin the formofa ram,

was entirely consistentwith his character, and only one ofthosemany littletrickswithwhich not only the gods amused themselves at human expense,

butwhich, in all ages oftheworld, have been resorted to to throwtoo inquisitive husbands ofi

'

the track .

In ancient language,words expressed not abstract

Its Influence on ideas but concrete substances. Thus the terms day ,the SavageMind night, earth, spring , dawn , not only possessed termi

nations ofgender, but carriedwith themthe corre

sponding idea ofsex ; so that they became pomessedofnot only an indiv idualbut a sexual character. In themythopoeic age, therefore, ifa poet spoke ofthe shining one pursuing the burning one —meaning the sun followingthe dawn— itwas only natural for the primitive reader to formamentalpicture ofamale following a female, both inflamedwith sexual passion ;or aman pursu ing awoman— ih all ages , ifthe fair oneswill pardon theungallant comparison , the huntedbeast ofhistory .

Apollowas an amorous young god, chasing a lovely , but too reluctant

Daphne ; who, to evade her pursuer, changed herself into the flowerwhichat presentbears her name.

1 Apis , the great godofEgyptianMemphis ,wasa bull in every sense ofthe term, and is nowgenerally concededby scholars

to have been, on account ofhis fertilizing and procreative powers, a type orsymbol ofthe river Nile. The Vedic hymns,which ascribe to Indra,Mitra ,and the other Aryan deities ofIndia , such lofty attributes ofmoral v irtue,will be found, on a little closer examination, to be scarcely more than a

div ine chronique scanda leuse of sexuality ; andwherever we turn, in the

mythological records oftheworld, Scandinav ian, Australian, African , North

American orOriental,we find the same erotic threadrunning through it all,

large, soft tumor developed in the afiected part, the miraculous and peculiar growthofwhichwas only explainedwhen his wife,with equal horror, informed himthat the

supposed“liniment” he hadbeen usingwas nothingmorenor less thanher newpatentbust-developer.

” Relata refera.MaxMuller— “SelectedEssays , r, 398, ct seq.

Moral and Social Aspects ofthe Sexual Relation 19

andexercising the same profound influence upon the religions and society ofthe times .

The love ofKhadija inspired, largely , the sums ofMohammed; that ofHoovi , the Zend Avesta of Zoroaster; and from GitobeManitou the

mighty ,” of the American Indian, to the miserable insect- god of the Aus

tralian Bushman, the first great lawofhuman passion and procreation,bequeathedtoAdamin the garden ofEden, is perpetuated.

It remained for Christianity to be the sav ior of

Christianity the woman. But it took even Christianity , with all its

Savior ofWoman sexually uplifting precepts, and ennobling principles,nearly two thousand years to accomplish the div ine

task . It found her “amovableware, a thing oflust, an object ofbarter

and sale andgift andwork 1and it has transformedher, by processeswhich

are as inscrutable as thatwriting ofthe Savior’s finger in the sands ofOlivet,’into a beingwho,while preserv ing all that glory and beauty ofbodywithwhich she first came fromthe hand ofthe Creator, has added to both those

qualities ofheart,mind and soul,which not only fit her to be the equalpartner, and life companion, but inmany instances the guide andmonitor,ofman. But this transformation has not been effected easily , norwithouteffort. Themoral elev ation ofthe sexual factor,which refined and spiritualized the bondoflove betweenman andwoman,making it a religio-moralinstitution, andmarriage a div ine sacrament,was opposed at its very inception by that traditionary history ofGenesis ,whichmadewoman not only

the author ofthe primitive curse— a cursewhich became the very comerstone ofthewhole structure ofearly ecclesiastical teaching

— but imposedupon her a secondary part in creation, and the specific command thywillshallbe to thy husband.

”

Indeed itwas not until the Council ofTrent, in the middle of the sixteenth century , that the church, by definite decree, took steps to raise

woman to her rightfulposition in society as the peer and companion ofman.

Nor is this to bewondered at. The Gospels,with the possible exception of

the text forbidding the putting away ofawife, saving for the crime of forni

cation,”contain absolutely nothing favoring the social or legal recognition

ofwoman. The Sav ior’s tenderness to the repentantMagdalene, already

alludedto, conveyedless a desire on His part to establish a question ofright,than to teach a lesson ofmercy ; while the Epistles ofPaul explicitly taughtthat therewas nothing in the NewDispensation to alter in the slightest the

status ofwoman as laiddown in the Old.

’

Psychopathia Sexualis , p. 2

John’s Gospel, vrrr, 6 .

1Timothy, rt , 12. Ephesians , v , 33. Colossians,m, 18. 1 Peter,m, 1.

so Human SexuatThe Canonical Lawof the primitive church ex

Woman not pressly declares onlymanwas created in the imageCreated in God’s ofGod, not woman ; therefore woman should serve

Image man, and be hismaid; while the Prov incialCouncilofMac on, in the sixth century , debated seriously the

questionwhetherwoman has a soul. Furthermore, polygyny ,which is one

ofthemost clearly recognized institutions ofthe OldTestament, is nowheredefinitely interdicted in the New, to any , at least, except bishops ofthe

church ; while in thewritings ofthe early Fathersmany passages may bepointedout, illustrating the prejudice existing in theirminds againstwoman,through the original guilt ofEve.

’

As a consequence ofthese ideas in the peopleswho had embracedChristianity , among theGermans , according to Folke, (DieRitterliche Gesellschaft,p. theweregeld, or purchase price ofawife,was materially decreased;theMerov ingian kings ofFrance lived in open polygyny , towhich theChurchmade little opposition, (Weinhold, Die Deutschen Frauen inMittelalter,n , anddivorceswere far easier ofprocurement than in the later, and

present, administrations ofthe Church ofRome. As to the relative values

of the sexes among the Jews, the reader is referred to the twenty- sixth

chapter ofLev iticus .

Butwith the growth anddissemination ofChristianity , strange as itmayseem, came an insidious , but not the less real, ten

SexualAbuses deney to sexualperversion. While among the GreeksFostered by the and early Romans , as well as the Babylonians and

Early Church Ninev ites , very shocking Obscenities were indulgedin ,

notably during the festivals in honor ofBacchus

andPriapus , inwhich,we are told, nakedgirls danced in halfdrunken frenzyin the Dionysian andFloral processions, around an immense artificial penis,carried on the end ofa pole, departures fromthe naturalmethod of sexual

gratificationwere extremely rare.

“Woman, thou shouldst go forever in sorrowand rags , thy eyes filledwith tearstThou hast broughtman to the ground.

”— Tertullian.

“Woman is a door for the dev il, away to evil, the sting ofthe scorpion.

”—St.Hieronymus .

“ Itwerewell, remarked Jason toMedea, “ that the female race should not exist.

Then therewouldnothave been any evilamongmen.

”(Eurip.,

“Medea ,”Milton voices the same sentiment (Par. Lost, x, andMoncure D. Conway ,M.A. , emphasizes 11, 412, et seq.) by his legend of Noah’s wifehaving smuggled the devil into the ark , in addition to Eve’s original sin. Guy

Patin also, notwithstanding that hewas a polite Frenchman, has his ungallantfling at

woman in the following words : “Ce serpent, dans la Genese, étoit quelque JeuneDameret qui donna la vérole aEve, et voilé ls péché original de nosMaines.”

Moral and Social Aspects ofthe Sexual Relation zr

Lecherywas the rule, lasciv iousness a fine art, and intercourse betweenthe sexes as Open and common as , nay far commoner than,

betweenbrutes in a free state ofnature ; but itwas onlywhen Christianity began toplace its restrictions upon sexual indulgence, solemnizing andmaking sacredthe institution ofmarriage, that the unnatural secret v ices of later timesbegan to flourish, and selfabuse and homosexuality— offering the readiest

outlet to sexual passion— took the place, largely , ofthe legitimate congress.

Thus , itwas onlywhen philosophy had refinedthe intellectuallife ofGreece,thatDiogenes the Cynic,whomZella calls themost typicalfigure ofancientGreece , as Plutarch tells us,was praisedby Chrysippus for publiclymasturbating in themarket place.

The indifference andlack ofopprobriumwithwhichRefinement of bothGreeks andRomans, aswellas some ofthe earlierIntellect not nations, treated this formof autogenous vice, prove,Refinement of very clearly , that refinement ofintellect is one thingMorals and refinement ofmorals qu ite another; that how

ever high a nationmay rise in the scale ofintellectualand social culture, there can be neither solidity nor decorumrn any societynot founded on ethical principles , the purest present exponent ofwhich la,

undoubtedly, theChristian religion.

If the genius ofprimitive Christianity strongly proscribed all sexual

relationships not conforming to certain specified laws, and conditions , and

ifthe bann ofthe Church failed to fall equally heav upon the secret sins

which, as I have intimated, lay at theweakest line ofhuman defence, itwasnot the fault ofthe Church, per se, somuch as that, in damming back theturbulentwaters ofsexual passion, it failed at the outset to adequatelyappreciate the essential and inherent v iciousness ofwhat it had to contend

with— human nature. Hence itwas quitenatural that, as in the case oftheFatherMathewtemperance crusade in Ireland,when intoxication by ether

took the place ofintoxication by alcohol; and as in the samemovement inAmerica , the drug habit grewin exact proportion to the diminution ofthe

drink habit, there should result that increase ofhomosexual and auto- erotic

v ice among religious devotees ,which, however, rapidly began to disappearas soon as Christian ideals became better established andmore intelligentlyapprehended.

In order that Imay not be accused ofbeing a priest devourer, or of

making assertions , touching their impure practices ,NoQuarrelwith which cannot be substantiated, (for I have too sincere

the Church a regard for the Church, and too firma faith in her

ultimatemission, aswell as div ine ordination, to be

lightly led intomaking such) , Imay quote fromMigne’e Essay on Pollu

Human Sexualitytion,”1 that under certain circumstances the Catholic theologians have permitted amarriedwoman to masturbate. Gury, the deeply learned Jesuittheologian, declares explicitly that thewife commits no sin qure se ipsamtactibus excitat ad seminationemstatimpost copulamin qua v ir solus

seminavit;” but itmust, however, in common justice to the Church, beexplained that thismodified permission to thewife to masturbate, restson the then prevalent false idea offecundation, even among physicians.

This taught that seminal ejaculation by thewomanwas quite as necessary as by theman, to ensure impregnation ; and ifthe former failed in this ,during coitus , as the Catholic Church had, andhas , always discountenancedsexual intercoursewithout fecundation, itwas plainly thewoman’s duty tocomplete the act by artificialmeans.

According to the samewriter,’the beliefthat the emission ofvaginal

mucus , under the influence ofsexual excitement inwomen, corresponds tospermatic emission in themale, has led to the practice ofmasturbation on

hygienic grounds. Garnier, indeed,mentions‘ thatMesué, in the eighteenthcentury , invented a specialpessary to take the place ofthe penis, and, as hestates,

“effect the due expulsion ofthe feminine sperm. This , of course,

after coitus .

It was not until the beginning of the eighteenth century ,when the

publication in London of a book ofmost alarmingRevulsion Against nature

“ first called attention to the, asserted, evil

Contrary Sexual consequences ofthe vice, thatmasturbation, hithertoHabits treatedwith such easy indifference by both society

andtheChurch,was openly andvigorously denounced.

Tissot,with his “Traits de L’Onanisme,” followed; and behind himcamea host of quasi- scientific writers— Voltaire , Lallemand and others— whomore thanmade up , by their wild and fanciful pictures of the ruin and

misery consequent upon the practice, for all the prev ious apathy ofsocietyconcerning it.

The wellmeaning but highly exaggerated state

ments ofthesewriters ,while directing popular attention to an undoubted ev il, worked, nevertheless , agreat degree ofunnecessary social suffering ; and put

into the hands ofunscrupulous quacks a lever, themore pernicious that itpossessed the sanction of then recognized medical authority , which has

occasionedunspeakable dread,misery and remorse to thousands ofignorantand misled youth, of both sexes. So prolific and profitable a field of

“Dictionaire de TheologieMorale.

“Compend. Theolog.Mor. , II

, 417.

Gury , Compend. Theolog . Vol. 11, 417.

Loc. cit., p. 255. V id. Onania, etc., loc cit.

24 Human SexualityWest against the polygyny of the East,was not the idle thing the great

Castilian painted it. Itwas an illustrious phase in the evolution ofsociety,towhose knightly customs and courtlymannerswe trace the pedigree of

themodern lady and gentleman.

The latterwas at first a page. He learned to handle his charger

with grace and skill, to use crossbowand sword, towind the notes ofveneryon his horn, to tread the statelymeasures oftheminuet, to tilt against arival, or the quintaine,with lance in res t, and to shoutMa Dame atMonDieu ! as he entered the combat,with his lady’s glove on his lance ; even as

theMoslemknightmingled the name ofhismistresswith his Allah Akbar!her embroidered scarfspeaking to him, in the smoke ofbattle, ofhis love

dreamby themoonlit Xcuil, or the Zambra.

Itwas his duty towait upon the ladies ,who took care to tutor his youthfulmind in othermatters than the chase and battle. Hewas taught elegance ; trained in all themysteries ofcourtship, love andmarriage ; made toselect a mistress fromamong the demoiselles , and to adore and serve herwith a patience and fidelitywhich, ifhistory err not, seldomfailed of its

legitimate reward at last.

But v ice ceases to be v icewhen it is only reachedthrough a long disciplinein v irtue. Afterward, he became an esquire ; attended his patron on all

hismilitary adventures , and at the age oftwenty- one— like the Germanwhoat the same agewas solemnly investedwith spear and shield— he received

themuch coveted accolade ofknighthood. Thus arose the sentiment ofhonor— the institution of chivalry

—which made women chaste andmenbrave; teaching each to aspire only to pomese those qualities which theother lovedand approved.

Women admire above all things courage, truth, constancy , in men .

Thereforemen became courageous , true, constant. Men admire above all

thingsmodesty , v irtue, refinement, in women. Thereforewomen becamev irtuous ,modest, refined. It all grewout ofsex . Religion hadmuch todowith purifyingmen’smorals ; but itwas the Queen ofBeauty and of

love, the splintering oflances andthe shout ofthe herald Stand forth,

gallant knights ! Fair eyes look upon yourdeeds !”thatmade themspring

to the Laissez aller,” with flashing eyes and throbbing hearts. Itwas

this sentiment of chivalry which demanded, and ultimately established,not only a higher standard ofsocial propriety , but ofsexual purity . That

which had once been a harmless amusement became a vice ; and unchastity,once regarded as the private wrong ofa husband, was stigmatized as a

sin against society .

‘

Plato held that the love ofVenusmadeMars brave; that Ariadne’s lovemadeTheseus adventurous; that the beauty ofMedeamade Jason victorious; and history


There will always he remarked an exact relation between the sexual

life and themoral health or decadence ofa people.

As a Cause of Efieminacy and sensuality are sure concomitantsNational Decay of that social luxury which always precedes

national decay. The petite créves, or spindle- legged

dandies ofParis,who cohabitedwith and called each otherman occur, and

ma chore Belle, aswell as the pale girls ofthe Faubourgs,withwax penisesand dildos in their pockets,wereweeds that grewquite naturally in the

shadowof the king’s guillotine. Greece, Rome, Babylon, and France

under Henry III and Louis XIV , present striking instances ofthe luxuryand licentiousness which always mark the beginning ofnational decay ;

1

and it is not difficult to trace the latter, in each case, to those psychopathological, or neuro

- pathological, conditionswhich, perverting sexuality,robbed the people ofthe physical and moral qualities necessary to its

The sexual, more than any other physical element, corresponds to theBrunonian theory of life. It lies at the bottomof

As the Basis of society’s aesthetic feelings. A hiddenworld ofideals

True Love reveals itself in every gradation of sexual development. There may be seductions , rape, fierce trage

dies ofhuman passion, but the love ofyouth for youth is ever romantic,v iv ifying , idealistic, uplifting. So- called platonic love is an impossibility .

Such a passion, or rather profession, becomes a simple friendship as soonas the sexual element is eliminated. But, on the other hand, an over- sen

sual, or purely sensual, love can neither be true nor lasting. Only that

afiectionwhich rests on a twofold foundation ofsexual desire and respect,

on recognition ofthe social, moral, intellectual and psychical, as well asphysical, charms ofits object, can ever rise to the purity and strength of

an emotion capable, not only ofenjoying pleasure, but ofaccepting sufieringfor the sake ofits belovedobject.The Greeks represented love under two characters— one a love for the

good and beautiful, in the abstract; the other a sexual passion pure and

simple. Eros meant passion, lust, desire— the purely physical crav ing of

sex for sex ; andAgapae signifiednon- sexual love, friendship, affection, and

tells us that SirWalterMan y, in EdwardIII’s time, while stuck fullofladies’favors,fought like a very devil.

” Castilio thinks that Ferdinand ofSpainwouldnever haveconquered Grenada had not Isabella and her Court been present at the siege ; and

not Ce sar nor Alexander could accomplish greater triumphs than Sir Lancelot or

Sir Tristram; nor Hector nor Achilles put on a more martial front than the braveSir Blandimor andParidal, the fairy knights, fighting for the love ofFlorimel.

Comp. Grote, Friedlander, Suetonius,Moreau .Guizot, Lecky.

26 Human Sexuatsimple kindliness offeeling ; but there can be no doubt that themost perfect type ofthe passion is that inwhich both sentiments are present.

Love has been the theme ofthe ages. Fromthe v illage laureate to theblind bard,who hymned in canticles ofdeathless fire the first passionofour foreparents in the garden ofEden. FromSappho to Shelley , andfromSolomon to Suckling ; fromPindar to Petrarch, and Sophocles toShakspeare line upon line and precept upon precept have been piled,till, as one quaintly observes, thewholeworldhath scarce roomfor them.

”

Novelists'

have depicted it, and dramatists portrayed it, and maidensdreamed about it, and actors declaimed it, andministers preached on it,

and cynics ridiculed it, and philosophers analyzed it, and cuckolds cursed

it, andwomen andmen havediedfor it; andyet it stands as the inspirationand strongestmoving impulse ofhumanity to-day , themost talked about

andthe least understood.

Guianerius attributed love to the hot temper ofthe testicles , pureand simple.

1 Ferandus , to“such as are very sper

An Attempt to matic, and full ofseed Savonarola attributed the

Define Love fiercest love to monks , friars and religious persons ,chiefly ,who live solitary , fare daintily anddo nothing ;

and Chaucer accounts for erotic love, mainly , through the stimulatinginfluence ofliquor,”making hisWife ofBath exclaim a liquorishtonguemust have a liquorish tail.” Giraldus sought to prove that love is bornin the eyes Plato calls it a passion for the beauty of nature—wannagaudentis opus ; and Diogenes , a tyranny which tyrannizes over the

tyrant.” But, leav ing the poets and philosophers , whose interpretations

anddefinitions ofthe div ine passionwouldfill ten volumes like the present,I think Science has approached the subject in the only correct and philosophicway , regardingwhatwe call love as the resultant oftwo very dif

ferent sets ofemotions , v iz . , sexual desire andmoral sympathy ; the latterbased on certain qualities ofmind, or soul,which command respect andesteem, thus imparting an element ofboth strength and permanency tothe otherwise transientebullition ofsexualpassion. ThusMr. Ellis, ignoring ,

very properly , every element ofvague and intangible romance, discusses

Qui calidumtesticulorumcras in habent, etc.

“Erotiqus Paris, 1624.

“Amoris primumgradumvisus habet, ut aspiciat remamatam.

It is very doubtful, indeed, whether themost acute, learned, scientificallymetaphysical attempt to define love, according to the laws ofmodern logic,will be found,after all, very much superior, ormore satisfying , than the dictumof earlyMedicinewhichmade it an “

afiection ofthe forepart ofthe head, fromwant ofmoisture ob

calefadionemspirituumpars anterior capiu'

s laborat ob comumptionemhumiditatis .


love under the only formin which it can appeal to the scientist— sexual

instinct, or impulse; andKrefit- Ebing, under that of sexual psychology ;both writers giv ing it further attention only as it relates to, or touches,

some other physical or psychical attribute throughwhich itmay be manifeated, such as pain, courage ormodesty ; and it is thus that I purpose toconsider it here .

The latter emotion ,modesty , seems to be so genModesty as a erally difiused amongst all races , so common to bothPhenomenon of sexes, and so early amanifestation in the sexual life

Sex that we are fairly justified in regarding it as con

genital. Centering, as a rule, around the sexual

proces es , it forms one ofthe component elements ofwoman on the pey

chical side, and as suchwill be treatedwhen I come to take up the nature

That it forms the beginning ofmorality in the sexual life,” however,

as stated by Krafit- Ebing, I take the liberty ofdoubting. It iswithin theexperience at least ofmanywho have associated largelywith prostitutes,thatmodesty is no infrequent trait among them; while the girlwho blushesthemost readily , and hangs her head in shame at the slightest indiscreet

word, offers , it is fairlywell known, usually the least resistancewhen yougether behindthedoor.

While acting as surgeonwith the 11th U. S . CavModesty in the alry in the Philippines, I have been, on the other

hand, amazed to find such an utter lack ofmodestyamong women whom, to my equally great amaze

ment, I found to be perfectly v irtuous . It is no uncommon thing to see

the young Filipino dandy ,while talking to his lady- love, turn his back to

her and urinate ; and, on the railroad fromManila to Dagupan, during the

detention oftrains at stations , bothmale and female passengers may befrequently seen squatting or standing side by side, reliev ing themselvesin a similar, or evenmore ofiensive,way .

And yet the femaleswho do these things are, tomy certain knowledge,among themost v irtuouswomen on earth. So virtuous that I sawa girl,

quite pretty and attractive,who, occupying the same social rank in the

United States , andwith a different complexion,would be extremely apt

to yield to such a glowing temptation, offered fifty dollars in gold by a

handsome young officer for herdusky favor, andyet carry away her v irtueunscathed.

“ It has beenmy experience, remarks H . CrawfordAngus,writing of

CentralAfrica, that themore nakedthe people andthemore, tous , shameless and obscene theirmanners and customs, the more moral and strict

28 Human Sexuatthey are in thematter ofsexual intercourse. He then gives a descriptionofthe Chensamwalz', or initiation ceremony practised in introducing a younggirl ofAzimba Land to themodus operandi ofthe sexual act, and all the

secrets ofmarriage,with certain songs anddances expressive ofthe pleasuresand sensations attending it; stating in conclusion that the whole thingis looked upon as amatter ofcourse, and not one to be ashamed of or to

hide; and being thus Openly treated of, and no secrecymade about it, you

findthat in this tribe thewomen are very virtuous .

” 1

The presentwriter’s cousin , Dr. Thomas H. Parke,who accompaniedStanley asmedical officer ofthe Emin Pasha ReliefExpedition, says thatthewomen ofUpotowear no clotheswhatever, and came up to us in

themost unreservedmanner. An interesting gradation in the arrangementoffemale costume has been observed by us : as we ascended the Congo,

the higher up the riverwe found ourselves, the higher the dress reached,till it has now, at last, culminated in absolute nudity .

”

The question ofmodesty in the sexual life iswhollyVarying Standards one of conventionality, different nations adopting

ofModesty different standards. The fashionable lady ofPekin,

who blushes to expose herfeet, even to the physician,and the Thessalian girlswho, as described by Perseus , habitually dancednaked at the national banquets, and themaidens ofChios, spoken ofbyAthenians as wrestling nakedwith the youths in the gymnasium,

3and

which, with a sexual enthusiasmquite pardonable, he calls a beautifulsight,

” had each her own idea ofmodesty ; as has also our own Newportbelle,whose seashore displays oflovelinemare startlingly at variancewiththe correctness of her city costume, in which only a passing gleamof

variegated hosiery , perhaps , is permitted to lighten the monotony ofourstreet- life.

The Roman damsel, shut up naked in her bathwith an equally nude

Greek slave, can readily be pardoned for those frequent losses ofv irginity

which history has taken care to record, andwhich so excited the piousscandal ofClement ofAlexandria that he made it the subject ofa very

forcible andspicy section ofhis Piedagogus .

Women will scarce strip naked before their husbands , he writes,affecting a plausible pretense ofmodesty, but any otherswhowishmay

see themat home, shut up in their own baths , for they are not ashamedto strip before spectators , as ifexposing their persons for sale. The bathsare Opened promiscuously tomen andwomen ; and there they strip forlicentious indulgence, as if theirmodesty had beenwashed away in the

“Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie,”H. 6 , 479 , 1898.

Loc. cit , p. 6 1. Loc. cit run , 20.


bath. Thosewho have not become utterly destitute ofmodesty shut out

strangers ; but bathe with their own servants , strip naked before their

slaves, and are rubbed by them, giv ing to the crouching menial liberty tolust, by permitting fearless handling ; for those who are introduced beforetheir nakedmistresses,while in the bath, study to strip themselves in order

to showaudacity in lust; casting 03 allfear in consequence ofthewickedcustom.

”1

The early fathers foresawthe danger to society in this voluptuous intermingling ofthe sexes , and strove to remedy it by

Association of the ecclesiastical laws ofseparation, the spirit ofwhichSexes an Instinct was caught up by the primitive Puritans, and con

tinned almost to the present day . But the instinct

ofsexual association, being a lawofnature, cannot be abrogated. Desire,afiection, family love, combination, gregariousness, clanship—even religion

itself— are but parts ofthose complex emotions and sentiments which, asMr. Darwin points out, arise fromthe fact that one animal is dependenton anotherfor the completion ofitswants.

The desire for offspring , or the good of society , does not, primarily ,lie behindman’s desire for sexual intercourse. The latter is a simplewantof his nature, the same as defecation or micturition. But the Creator

planted these animal desires, this hot temper ofthe testicles , inman’snature in order to guard against any possible evasion of the great planofpropagationwhich He had dev ised, and to assist inworking out those

ultimate social andmoral developments with which the sexual life is so

intimately related, and concerning which society itself is still so largely

ignorant.

Reproduction was once a part of growth, and is still. Therefore

animals desire to perpetuate their species froman

innate tendency , inherited fromtheir hermaphroditeand animalcule days.

’ Religion came in with its

laws of sexual separation, and the instinct becameimpossible offulfilment, except by a systemofcc- operation on the partofthe sexes . In order that propagationmay be ensured, two persons enterinto a partnership. That the result ofthis partnership- act— the ofispringmay be reared, the partnership must be continued for some time. All

human beings , ifthey are the product ofconjugal love, are the objects of

prolonged parental care ; therefore it is only natural that they should love

in return. Those who do not are anomalies, perversions , and are blotted

out, in the development ofDarwin’s law. Then , that parents and children

1 Loc. cit , III , 5.

“MartyrdomofMan,” p. 445, etseq.

30 Human Sexualityshould consort together is so natural as to dispensewith explanation ; sothat, by a simple process ofnot difficult inductive reasoning ,we have thegrowth ofthe family , the germand nucleus ofsociety , as society itselfis

ofthe state.

In the primitive period, males contended during the courting season

for the most desirable females , just as animals doEarly Courtship today . Polygyny prevailed, and the strongest and

most v irile ofthe race naturally became the fathersofall the children. Thiswas the survival ofthe fittest; a lawwhich prevailed until, by the gradual growth ofintelligence, society began to see

that, instead ofdestroying all its sickly and feeblemembers, and makingsoup ofthe superannuated and aged, the lattermight bemade use ofto dothe thinking and inventing for thosewhose physical superiority was exercised 1n the pursuits ofwar, husbandry and the chase. Thiswas the beginning ofthe reign ofintellect,whichMr. Darwin, I think , has not sufii

ciently dealtwith, as limiting the lawofevolution.

Promiscuous intercourse on the part of the females was observed toproduce sterility , so thatwas forbidden. The prime objectwas to increaseand strengthen the clan, or nation, pursuing by mere instinct the div ineinjunction to the Jews to “multiply and replenish the earth. All the

phenomena attending the process ofreproductionwere carefully watched,andmade the bas is oftribal regulations . Cohabitation during the periodoflactation,which lasted in most cases three years , was found to impairthemother’s health andmilk, and so, for that period, thewomanwas set

apartfromsexual intercourse as a hygienicmeasure.

Premature marriages, or sexual unions amongInfibulation children, were also forbidden ; or, where it was

found impracticable to prevent such clandestine

escapades as the promiscuous intermingling of the sexes naturally occa

sioned, the interesting practice ofinfibulationwas resorted to. This con

sisted in drawing the foreskin ofthemale forward, over the head ofthe

penis, and passing a ring , orwire, through it, thus effectually preventingthe act ofcopulation. The too amorously inclinedyoung ladywas treatedin a somewhat similarmanner, the lips ofhermischief-maker being piercedfromside to side, andfirmly securedwith a clasp, or look .

The latter practice, fromits undoubted efficacy , suggests rev iving and

making it a portion ofourmodern sacrament ofmarriage. Itought to provea source ofwonderful comfort to the jealous young husband to knowthatthe frisky organ, which he possesses a not unnatural desire to retain ex

elusive control of is securely locked, and the key in his vest pocket. It

must at least prove an immense stimulus to the locksmithing trade, both

32 Human Sexualitythe gods,were at first obeyed by the young through fear, and afterwardsthrough amentally ingrained tribal tradition.

And right here, in this briefsurvey ofthe rise and

Sexual Sins Rare relations ofsociety , and sexuality , we encounter a

Among Savages remarkable fact. Themore brutal and savagemenare the fewer sins do they commit against their con

sciences ; and in exact proportion as they become refined and civilized do

they become sinful. With the primitive man, conscience is an instinct.

The savage seldomdoeswhat he feels to bewrong ; the civilizedman doesso constantly . The former does not feel it to bewrong to commit incest,or rape, ormurder, outside his own tribe ; to kill a sickly child, or to eat

a grilled rib ofhis grandfather; therefore he does itwithout v iolation of

conscience, and hence without sin. But the civilizedman, ofcultivatedintelligence, knowing thewill ofthe Father but doing it not, passes no dayofhis lifewithout committing offenses against conscience. He has to re

proach himselffor the hour he haswasted, for the unkindword, the impurethought, the opportunity neglected, the burning desires and pmpensitieswhich, being incident to his nature, as contrary to his conscience, cannot

be quelled. But let us not argue fromthis that barbarismis better thanciv ilization ; it is not. In the very consciousness of these offenses, ifweaccept rational guidance, lies themeans ofremedying them, and the sure

highway to ultimate human perfection.

There is no ev il of society which does not contain a kernel ofgood.

Evenwar,which has occasioned somuchmisery and sufiering , and bloodshed and despair, is undoubtedly a div ine institution for the bettermentoftheworld; carrying religion and civ ilization to benighted races, and, as

more germane to our subject, influencing society and the home- life inwayslittledreamedofby the casualobserver.

As a passing instance, and directly in the line of

Primitive Emanei our thought,woman,who, as I have said,was at firstpation ofWoman a chattel, a slave, common to all or exclusively for

one, a bondservant, a drudge, the hewer ofwood and

drawer ofwater for her domineering lord,whenwar became an institution,and its captiveswere trained to slavery ,wasmanumitted, the slave takingher place, and entered upon a life ofease. Before that timewomenwerecoarse, hard-featured, ill- favored creatures oftoil. With their newfree

dom, and comparative condition of physical luxury , they became soft,

gentle, beautiful, renderedfitboth tofeeland inspire love.

The sav age selected his wife for utility , the civilizedman selects his

for beauty . At first the hair ofwomenwas no longer than that ofmen,possibly not so long . Long

- hairedwomen being universally des ired, by a


continued selection ofthese, the long flowing tresses ofthe sex have finallybeen produced in their offspring. In the sameway, as ethnologists very

clearly explain, the elegance, grace, rotundity of the female form, the

undulation ofcurve and bloomof complexion, are not less the creation

ofman than the symmetry and speed ofthe racehorse, the coloring ofthe

rose, or the delicious flavor ofthe cultivatedpeach. Even the reservedde

meanor of the woman, her refined feelings, modesty , unselfishness, andsublime faculty ofself—control, are all a part ofthe grand heritagewhichman, unwittingly , andoften unwillingly , has bequeathed to her.

At the first awifewas simply a domestic animalEarly Position of like the horse or dog. She couldnot be usedwithout

the Wife the consent of the proprietor, but he was usuallywilling to let her outfor hire.

”1 Indeed, amongmanysavage races, itwas considered the duty ofthe host to lend hiswife to a

guest, the first night ofthe latter’s v isit, as amark ofconsideration ;

1and

many embarrassing “

experiences in this line are related by Stanley , Spekeand others, in their accounts ofthe social customs ofCentralAfrica,wherea declination ofthe loan is looked on as a personal insult to the husband.

With themadultery is simply a question ofdebt;

Adultery a but their lawofdebt is terribly severe, as the bodySimple Debt in and life ofthe insolvent belong to the creditor. No

Africa other sentiment enters into the transaction. The

injuredhusbandis purely a creditor, always delightedthat the debt has been incurred, andboth parties to the suitmay frequentlybe seen smoking a friendly pipe together after the case has been settled

andthe judgment paid.

With us it is difierent, as the following incidentwill prove. A gentle

manwho surprised a neighbor flagrantc delictowith hiswife,when asked

ifhe had killed the intruder, responded quickly no, I didn’t kill him,

but I guess he knewby theway I slammed that doorwhen I went outIwasn’t verywell pleasedl”. Autant d’hammas autantd’avis , you know.

1

1WinwoodReade, “MartyrdomofMan.

1 Krafit-Ebing, loo. cit., p. 3. See alsoHospitableProstitution, as indexedin thiswork.

1 This recalls the two cases recorded by Harrington in his notes on Ariosto. A

fellowwho found that a certainman haddone for himwhat fewmen like to have doneby a deputy , drewhis dagger, and swore that ifthe ofiender hadnot been his best friendhe would have killed him; and another, hearing that he had been similarly assistedin his domestic duties , and having assurance made doubly sure by the frightened

confession of the culpritwhen chargedwith it, swore that the confessionwas all in

theworld that had savedhim. Ifhe haddenied it, hewouldhave killedhimat sight.

We are told by Plutarch that Calbas bargained thiswaywithMarcenas for an office;

Phayllus, with King Philip; and Amphitrio, with Jupiter; but themajority ofmen3

34 Human SexualityMarriage, hallowed by the influence ofreligion,

Influence of becomes pure, sacred. Even the noblest principlesChristianity on and sublimest ethics ofphilosophy have failed to conthe Sexual Life trol the impulses of sex ; but Christ taught, even

while forgiving the adulteress, that adultery is a

shame, a sin againstmanhood andwomanhood, and against God. Under

the influence ofthat teaching , through a long course ofsevere but salutary

social surveillance, chastity has become the rule offemale life, and the verytouchstone ofman’s honor. As the human mind becomes cultured and

refined, through the grandmorality ofthe Gospels, there rises within itthoughts, sentiments, impulses, never experienced before. It begins toconceive a contempt for pleasures which it shares in common with thebrute ; and, insulted by the reflection, strives, and strives nobly andusually

successfully, to be pure. Themoral forcemust be strong which subdues

an instinct pregnant and v italized by the accumulated power ofinnumerable centuries ; but religion does it.

One other triumph yet remains to it. TomakeThe Lawof society treat both male and female offenders withFemale Purity equal severity . Of course we must recognize the

fact that the instinct ofpurity , the sense ofmoralduty, the fear ofexposure, all conspire to create a lawwhichwomen ought

to, anddo, enforce ; constituting themselves the rightful guardians oftheirown honor, and treating as a traitress to her sex thewomanwho betraysher trust.

But ifshe fail, ifshe v iolate once those laws ofhonor and virtue on

which society is founded,mustwe have no compassion? nomercy? Shall

that social decree, as immutable as the laws oftheModes and Persiansgo on sinning , or starve

— continue forever? Is it forbidden to receive her,

to associate with her, to allude to her existence, to pronounce her very

name? Is she to be condemned without inquiry by the drumheadcourt-martial ofpublic opinion, as the soldier iswho has shown cowardicebefore the foe? Are we to forget that the whole life ofwomankind is a

battlefield; that she is constantly surroundedby foes ,who assail the citadelofher honorwithout, as her own passions dowithin ; and that, even if

she succeed in defending that citadel against assaults towhichmen are

immune, on one side at least, she does itwith noweapon but virtue, andno reward save her own peace ofmind and approval ofconscience? It

wouldbewell, inmy judgment, ifmenwere ruled by as severe a social code.

do not like it, andfind poor comfort in the adv ice ofHenry II to his jealous courtier,

to think nothing about it—“it amounts to very little ifyou knowit, and nothing at all

ifyou don’t.” Date vcniamat sustindc tacrti , is Sophocles’s counsel.


The passions are always our foes ,” but it is terriblewhen they becomeourmasters. It is mvictis with a vengeance

— the fierce war cry ofthe

conquering Gauls—when thewildbeast ofhuman passion,whichmen feed,andpet, andmake a playmate of, turns upon themat last and rends them!Howmany splendid intellects are paralyzed, howmany homes despoiled,hopes blighted, hearts broken, and promising young lives swept to death,or broken on the rack ofdisease, by that unchaineddemonwhich destroyedBabylon andNineveh,andhasmadewildemessesofthefairestEdens ofearth !Somewriters on eschatology have put forth the doctrine that the future

hell of the wickedwill be the perpetuation, to all

A Suppositious eternity , of the ev il passions which brought about

Hell their condemnation. Should such prove the case, I

knowofno greater punishment thanwould befall thevoluptuary. Even on earth he dreads to be alone, so foul amonster doeshe appear in his own eyes. His memories are fierce battlefields ofun

gratified temptation, ofinsane frenzy , ofaccusing conscience, ofmiserableremorse. As the beautifulmind ofMendelssohn caught a divine idea of

harmony fromthewhispers ofnatureh the lullaby ofthe brook , the rustlingofthe leaf, the voice ofthe birdand the sigh ofthewind— ao, to the soul

steeped in sensuality , every sight, every sound, calls up an impure association. Hemay struggle, pray , resist; but the links ofhabit, tempered inthe forge ofpassion, are stronger than steel; and hismiserable life is spentbetween fierce desire, unsatisfying indulgence andunspeakable remorse.

To stimulate his jaded senses, he enters those paths where stands the

angelwith his flaming sword, and following these across the borderland

ofcrime, eats the forbidden fruit, and is cast out forever fromthe fair

Eden ofhis hopes.

Thatmen should be subjected, therefore, to the same laws and restric

tionswhich governwomen iswise, for their own goodOne Lawfor aswellas the goodofsociety ; and although seeminglyBoth Sexes nowfar distant, I cannot but hope that such a day

will come, and that the future historian ofmoralswill record, with infinite surprise, that at the beginning of the twentiethcentury society tolerated conduct in men which, in women , would havebeen v isitedwith socialostracism.

It cannot well be denied, notwithstanding whatManMore Sensual has been said to the contrary , that inman the sexual

than Woman impulse ismuch stronger than inwoman.

1 He loves

sensually , as a rule ; and his choice is influenced byphysical beauty, voluptuousness ofperson, and those other traits of the

1 Psychopathia Sexualis , p. 13.

36 Human Sexuatfeminine character which go to make up the purely sensual ideal. To

these ofcoursewill be added suchmental andmoral accomplishments ashis varying degrees ofeducation and refinementmay suggest, but the loveofthemajority ofmen is largely sensual. Withwoman it is the reverse.

Her sexualdesire is , normally , small; her sentimentality large.

1 She yields

herselfto the sexual embrace, perhapsmost frequently , either as amatterofwifely duty or as a favor to the lover.

2 Butwhile sexual desire,whichin theman is the ultimate culmination ofall aflection, is relatively small,she is a creature oflove, in its highermoral and psychological sense. It

is, as Byron says, herwhole existence.

”She freights her golden argosy

ofromancewith every treasure ofher heart; and ifshipwreck come, herloss is total. In her choice ofa life companion,mental andmoral, ratherthan physical qualities prevail; andwhen she has passed through the painsofmaternity , she always thinks oftheman as the fatherofher child, ratherthan as husband, the sensual losing itselfin thematernal instinct.Thus, woman’s love being spiritual, rather than sensual, any wound

to it is necessarily deeper andmore painful. To her, love is life ; toman,the joy oflife.

8

It is a psychological, aswell as a society, question— can awoman lovetruly twice in her life? I aminclined to think the normalwoman cannot.

Either the disappointment or fulfilment ofher romantic ideal inmarriagewillequally preclude a secondventure ; andbesides ,woman ismonogamousby instinct, whileman is essentially polygynous . Shemay many twicefor somebody else

’s sake—for self- sacrifice is also her instinct—or for utili

tarian ends ; but, asMantegazza intimates , itwill usually be found thatsupport, and protection for herselfand her children,will oftener underlie

the act than the recrudescence oflove, or the gratification ofsexual passion.Man is only stronger thanwoman as he shows himself stronger thanhis sexual passion. As soon as he submits to woman’s seductions she

“Husbands have toldme ofbrideswho sobbed and trembledwith fright on thewedding night, the hysteria being sometimes alarming . E aged 25 , refused her

husband for six weeks aftermarriage, exhibiting the greatest fear of his approach.

”

H. Ellis . , loo. cit. , r, 25 .

Helen , Brunhalt, Fredegonde,Messalina, Joanna ofNaples, and other historical

prostitutes whose lust was pathological, a species of insanity— est areas ills , vis est

immedicabilis , est rabies imam— as Plutarch describes it, may only bementioned toprove the rule offemale chastity . Itwas notwomen’s lust butmen’s that broughtruin upon Sodomand Gomorra; upon Rome and Sybaris ; and that prompted Paulto arraign the Romans on the filthy charge of“leaving the natural use ofwomen,”committing “folly with beasts and ‘burning with lust one toward another, manwithman,”working all sorts ofabomination. (Rom. r,

Krafit-Ebing, loo. cit. . p. 14, et seq.


becomes stronger than he ; and the handicapwhich man carries in such

a contest lies, necessarily , in the greater strength of his sexual passion.

Thus , it is not hard for a woman of charmto enervate and despoil thecharacter ofa man whose lust is stronger than his intellect. She need

simply yield to him, give himhis way , and hismin is certain and easy .

Themore neuropathic, weak and sensual he grows , the more dependenthe becomes upon her, themore servile in his devotion, themore amenableto her rule and direction. Hence arises the danger to the state, and

society , that bothmay be ruled by prostitutes and courtesans, as in the

days ofDubarry , Herodias andMessalina , through sensually efleminatemenwho become their tools and playthings. Indeedwe have not to

go so far afield as Greece, Rome, or even France, for instances ofsuch

gyne ocracy. To those acquaintedwith the present status ofWashingtonsociety ,

“federalmatronage will readily suggest itselfas a farmore appropriate phrase than “federal patronage;” andwe do not have to readfar inthe biographies ofstatesmen, both in ancient andmodern times , tofindthat,through their neuropathic condition , theywere frequently the instrumentsofwomen who used their power inways far fromconducive to the public

Butwemust not forget that goodwomen as frequently exercise their

influence in those respects as bad. Marianne thus influenced Herod; andSerena , Diocletian ; and Theodora, Theophilus ; and Thyra, Gummundein allfour cases , unlike thatofXantippe andSocrates , the husbandbeing theweak , bad, or vacillating character.

“ In all times and among all races, says Krafit

Relative Vanity Ebing, women showadesire to adorn themselves andofthe Sexes be charming .

”1 This is quite true, although deniedby Westermarckfbut it is equally true thatman is

little, ifany , less addictedto habits ofpersonaldecoration. Among animals ,naturehas usually endowedthemalewith the greaterbeauty ; andI cannot,in fact, at present recalla single type,with the possible, although largely disputed, exception ofman, in which the reverse holds true. Culture and

fashion,with thefiner andmore gaudymaterials ofdress , have givenwomenan advantage in enhancing their physical beauty ; but unadomed, it is quitepossible, as is claimed by resmctable authority , that themale germs homowill be found to conformmore nearly to the artistic standardofbeauty than

Itmust never be lost sight ofthat feminine dress exhibits a tendency

to exaggerate certain sexual peculiarities—hair, bust, waist, hips— thebeauty ofwhich is entirely ofsexual origin, andwhich is lost to a great

1 Loc. cit , p. 16 . Lac. cit , pp. 182- 184.

38 Human Sexualityextentwhen the female is exhibited nude.

1 Fromthis circumstancemost

men for certain articles ofwoman’s dress—gloves , shoes, hair, etc —which,under the head ofFetichism,will be alluded tomore fully later.

We are accustomed to little feminine varieties in dress ; and, so long asthey do not reach that all- absorbing condition towhich the French applythe strangelymasculine term, coquetry ,’ and inwhich all the serious pur

poses oflife are sunk in idle vanity anddisplay , rather like andencourage it.Many psychologists regard clothing as the cause

Orig in and or beginning ofmodesty . Sergi, indeed, so taught

Development of until 1894,when fuller reflection ledhimto attributeHumanModesty it rather to the excreting functions of the body.

‘

Ellis also disputes it on thewell ascertained groundthatmany races which go absolutely naked possess a highly developed

sense ofmodesty.

“ Such writers, it seems tome, however, lose sight

wholly of themuchmore conclusive circumstance that, ifwe accept theBibledoctrine ofspecial creation, the awakening ofmodesty in Eve, throughher sin, prompted thewearing of the fig- leaf; while, ifwe prefer to pinourfaith to the natural processes ofevolution, as applied toman, we find,nevertheless, that psychologicalmodesty,” as onewriter terms it, is farmore primitive in the humanme than anatomicalmodesty .

”

I cannotwholly dismiss a subjectwhich bears such an important relation both to society andmorals as femalemodesty ; but as thematter hasbeen so ably and thoroughly discussed elsewhere—notably in theworks ofProfessors James ,Westermarck , Grosse andRibat, aswell as ofDarwin andSpencer— I purpose devoting to it only such space as a condensed record

ofthe results ofthesewriters’ investigations, togetherwithmy own passingreflections, demand.

The subject is complicated by the difficulty ofseparating it clearly and

definitely fromthose phenomenawhich, although pure instincts, ofvaryingsignificance and origin, are nevertheless so clomly related to truemodesty

Comp. Westermarck , op. cit. , p. 205, and Goethe’s Adventure in Geneva, inBriefs aus der Schweiz.

”

Coqueter—to swagger or strut like a cock.

Sometimes these little exhibitions ofvanity on the part ofthe sex are rendered

exceedingly ludicrous by some peculiarity ofsurroundings or dress. Not long ago I

had the pleasure ofsitting directly behind a young lady , in a street car,whose conse

quentialdeportmentwas somewhat at variancewith the tag attached to her bonnet

the latter evidently quite new— reading reducedfromDolore e Piacere,

” pp. 209 , et seq.

H. Ellis . loc. cit., I, 6 .

40 Human Sexualitypublic festivals , are formedusually ofpearl-shell, or opossumskin, and are

worn for the purpose, presumably, oflending tone anddignity to the proceedings. Among the tribes ofTorres Straits , as Haddon observes, whilethemen go naked, thewomen decorate their sexual partswith tufts ofgrass,or pandanus leaves , which, passing between the thighs, are fastened to

another piece behind, recallingMark Twain’s remark concerning a cele

brated beauty at a fashionable ball, that shewas beautifully attiredwitha pink ribbon roundherwaist.”In the NewHebrides the closest secrecy is adopted in regard to the

penis ; notfromany sense ofdecency , but to avoid Narak ,”the sight even

of that of another man being consideredmost dangerous. The natives

accordinglywrap the peniswith yards ofcalico,winding andfolding it untila preposterous bundle, sometimes two feet long and a couple ofinches in

diameter, is formed,which is then supported by a belt to the waist, thetesticles being left naked. (Somerville, Joumal Anthropological Institute,p. 368,

It is regretted thatDr. Somerville has neglected to telluswhat Narak

is . Such a sight as that described is certainly enough to produce Narak,

or even aworse disease, in anyman, not to speak ofawoman.

In the PelewIslands , according to tradition,when the god, Irakaderugel,and his wife, were creating man andwoman— he forming man and she

woman— the inquisitive god, reversing the proverbial order ofthings , askedto have a look at his consort

’s handiwork. She was jealous, I suppose ;

remarked, possibly, that hewas “too fresh, orwords to that effect, and

persistently concealed that part ofthe female organisminwhich he seemedso particularly interested. Therefore women ever sincewear an apron of

pandanus leaves,whilemen go naked.

1

In Rotuma, in Polynesia,wherewomen are permitted a great degree of

freedom, andwhere as a rulemarried persons are faithful to each other,

the language is not chaste, according to our ideas, and there is a greatdeal

ofliberty in speaking ofsexualvices . In this connection aman andhiswifewill speak freely before their friends, and indulge in chaff. I aminformed,however, by Europeans conversantwith the subject, that there are gradesoflanguage, and that certain coarse phrases are never used to any decent

woman ; so that probably, in theirway , they havemuchmodesty , onlywecannot appreciate it.

”2

Roth made the very interesting discovery that, among the natives of

Queensland, there is both a decent and indecent vocabulary ; onewordforthe female genitals being proper in the best aboriginalsociety,while another,

1 Kubary , quotedby Bastian, loc. cit. , p. 112.

Gardiner, loc. cit., p. 481 .


meaning the same part, is considered very offensive. AtTahiti,whichwasa center of Polynesian social culture, nakedness was almost a religious

cult. There was a funeral dance which was performed naked; and the

wedding ceremony was also celebrated in the same interesting condition

on the part ofboth bride and groom, the dance taking place before thepublic.

1

In Samoa the only requisite garment for eitherman orwomanwas anapron of leaves, but they possessed so delicate a

Rudiments of sense ofpropriety” that evenwhen bathing they hadDress a girdle ofleaves or some other covering around the

waist.

2 The Indians of Central Brazil have no

private parts ; they are grievously public. Inmen, the little girdle, orstring, surrounding the lower part of the abdomen really hides nothing ;

but it is alwaysworn after puberty by themales , the penis being drawnup andheldby it, to lengthen that organ, the latterbeing themost importantpurpose. Thewomen use a little strip ofbast, that passes down over the

Among some tribes— the Karibs , Tupis , Nu -Arwaks , etc — a little

triangular, coquettishlymade piece ofbark bast comes just belowthe hairymansmade, but conceals nothing except the entrance ofthe vulva. It rs

known as the uluri . Neither this nor the red thread ofthe Tmmai, however, nor the variegated flag of the Bororo, can be called clothing, beingdesigned, itwould seem, rather to attract attention than repel it. Von den

Steinen found, however, that themales manifested shame and embarrassment at the exposure ofthe penis.

Among some ofthe tribes ofthe Amazon thewomen are clothedwhilethemen go naked; but the natives ofUaupas reverse the custom, themenwearing the loin- cloutwhile thewomen go entirely nude. The feeling of

modesty is strongly developed among the Fuegians , although they are

accustomed to live quite naked. Theymanifest it in their bearing , and theease ofmannerwith which they showthemselves in a state ofnudity ,

compared with the awkwardness and confusion both men andwomenexhibit ifyou look too closely at their privates . Among themselves this isnever done except by husband andwife. The women wear a minute,triangular garment ofskin, suspended over their privates, which is never

removed day or night, and is lifted out of theway duringmicturition or

the conjugal relation.

“With the CrowIndians ofMontana , writes Dr. Holder, a sense of

modesty forbids the attendance upon the female in labor ofany male,Tautain, L

’Anthropol, p. 546 , 1896 ,Turner,

“Samoa a HundredYears Ago, p. 121.

42 Human Sexuahtyphysician or layman. Hementions the case ofa very fastidious youngwomanwho, in a dificult confinement, repeatedly refused to allowhimtoexamine her. At last, however, she consented, but not until after she hadcarefully preparedherself, by covering her thighs and the lips ofthe vulvawith pieces ofquilt; and this excess ofmodesty, youmay be sure,was notthe less amusing fromthe fact that shewas a common prostitute, as, indeed,are all thewomen ofthis excruciatinglymodest nation.

In every North American tribe, fromthemost southern to themostnorthern,

”writes Otis T.Mason, the shirt ofthewoman is longer than thatofthemen. In Esquimo- land, the parka ofdeerskin reaches to the knees ;while the buckskin dress ofthewomen ofCentral North America reaches

quite to the ankles. This difierence in lengths suggests very clearly that

the instinct ofmodesty , and not another cause, underlay the original idea

ofdress among those peoples ;while ofthe Nagawomen ofAssam, it is said

by Dalton, therewas notmuch clothing to see, but I doubt ifwe all couldexcel themin true decency andmodesty.

”1 They cover only their breasts,declaring it absurd to hide in later life those parts ofthe bodywhich everyone has been able to see fromtheirbirths ; but it is differentwith the breastswhich, as they growlarger, require to be covered. They therefore cover

themreligiously in the presence ofstrangers, caring very littlewhat otherdusky charmsmay be revealed.

’

Mrs. French—Sheldon says that theMasai and other East African tribes,with regard tomenstruation, observe the greatest delicacy, and aremorethanmodest but the same gifted lady , through some oversight, perhaps,forgets to record the farmore obtrusive fact that themales have enormouspenhas,which they consider it the greatestmerit todisplay , anddisreputeble in the extreme to conceal.”The African Dinka, according to Schweinfurth,‘ are an exceedingly

clean and delicate race” “ justifying the good opinion by smearing

themselves with burnt cow’s dung , andwashing themselves daily withcow’s urine.

“ The neighboring tribes ofthe redsoil,”it is said, are called

women by the Dinka, because among these tribes themenwear aprons ,while the women refuse to wear any clothes whatever.

“ Lombroso and

Carrara, examining some Dinka negroes brought fromthe White Nile,remark as a psychological curiosity their exaggerated notions ofmodesty.

Jour. Asiatic Soc Bengal, 41—1—84.

Johnston, loc. cit., pp. 408- 19 .

Loc. cit., r, 152. H . Ellis , loo. cit. , r, 12.

I des ire here to acknowledgemy indebtedness to H . Ellie’s admirable treatise on

The Evolution ofModesty ” formany ofthese historical references. but to Wa termarck formost.

Moral and Social Aspects ofthe Sexual Relation

In not a single case, they state,“would themen allowus to examine

their genital organs, or the women their breasts , onewoman, the tattoomarks ofwhose chestwe hadexamined, remaining sadand irritable for two

The negro in a state ofnature, as I have before intimated, is very rarelyindecent, or addicted to those habits oflubricitywhich seemto have grownup among the race so alarmingly in recent times, in America especially .

In this landofmodesty ,”writes Sir H. H. Johnston, “which I have knownfor seven years, I do not remember once having seen an indecent gesture

on the partofeitherman orwoman, andonly very rarely in the case ofthatmost shamelessmember ofthe community— the little

The Dance every other pagan country , are,with one exception,of a serious, almost religious character. This one

was intended, originally , to represent the act of intercourse betweenaman and awoman, andwas necessarily ofa highly suggestive and inde

cent nature ; but it has been so altered, it is said, that its purport has nowceased to be obv ious to strangers.

As amatter offact, ifwe compare the nativeAfrican danceswith thoselasciv ious orgies ofGreece andRome, during the latter’s periods ofboastedenlightenment, the Floralia and the Dionysia, where, at a signal fromthe rediles, the courtesans sprang into the circus , undressedthemselves untiltheywere naked, and assumed lascivious attitudes, amid the plaudits ofadelirious people;where, to the sound of trumpets, nakedmen jumped intothe arena, and an awfulmelts ofprostitution was publicly accomplished,amid the transports of themultitude,” we shall have little difliculty inawarding the palmfordecency andmodesty to theAfrican savage.

Religion, in Rome,wasmade a pretext formanySexual Immorality ofher obscene orgies anddebaucheries,whichmay be

in Gu ise of mentioned here for their features of immodesty .

Relig ion There were temples to the deities— Isis , VenusVolupia (the voluptuous) , Venus Salacia (the lascivi

ous) , andthe publicGardens ofPriapus, all ofwhichweremuch frequented,andmade the scenes ofthemostmonstrous lewdness.

‘ The latter god,

1Archie. di Psichialria, 1896 , v . xvrr, fasc. 4.

Loc. cit. , pp. 408- 419 . Burst, loc. cit., r, 172.

Andwe need not go back so far for instances inwhich religion has been adroitlywrestedto serve the needs ofsexuality . Austin tells us (Lib. de heres) that the Nichol

aitos , a sect founded by the deacon, Nicholas , had promiscuous sexual intercourse.Mohammad usedeverywoman he fancied, in order to boast prophets; two hundred and

forty -five being in love with himat once, and he as“able as forty men ” to satisfy

them. (Al-Koran, Bibliondro). The priests of Cybele, Bacchus , Bel, Ishtar and

44 Human Sexualityan obscene deity among the ancients,was born at Lampsacus , it is said, ofa union ofVenuswithMercury , or as some say , Adonis. Priapuswas sodeformed that his mother, ashamed ofhis ugliness , exposed himon the

mountains , where his life was saved by some shepherds. He became a

favorite ofthe people ofLampsacus , butwas soon after expelledfromthecommunity for his acts oflicentious v iolence.

Festivals ofan exceedingly immoral character soon came to be cele

brated in his honor; the people ofRome, through their luxury and sala

cious tendency , readily falling into theworship ofa deitywhose lust particularly commended itselfto them.

‘ Hewas representedwith an enormouspenis , rigid and red—mbicundub —whichwas almost alwaysmade ofwood,that preferred being sometimes cypress , butmost frequently the fig- tree

ficus . We neednot explain,

”remarks Buret, the concealedmeaningwhich

influenced this choice ofwood.

” Itwas customary in Rome for intendedbrides to repair to the gardens ofPriapus, before the nuptial ceremony , tosacrifice their virginity to the god. Although therewas ofcourse no actualdefloration, nevertheless the young betrothedwas obliged to sit upon theenormous penis in such amanner as to bring its extremity into contactwithher genitals .

8

Therewas nothing, to tell the truth, but simple contact in the ceremony,and that ofvery shortduration ; but it is sufficient, neverthelem, to explainquite clearly the rapid spread and propagation ofvenereal diseasewhich,medicalwriters informus ,was so notorious a condition ofthe times. The

strange custommust have been derived fromIndia ; for Duquesne reportsthat he saw, in a pagoda in the env irons ofPondichery , newlymarriedwomen coming to the god, Lingam, to offer the sacrifice oftheir v irginity .

‘

Theyweremade to sit upon a Lingam(Indian Priapus)made ofwood or

iron ; but it appears that therewere pagodas farmore advanced than this ;for, as the author naively remarks, in many of these the priests, farmore adroit, robbed the poor god ofhis chieffunction.

”

Osiris , as proxies, actually emaciated themselves in accepting the hosts ofmaidenheads chared to those deities ; the Anabaptists ofMunster consortedwith allwomenjust as the

“spiri tmoved them; ” and the Adamites , an early religious sect ofFrance

andBohemia, founded by Picardus, going absolutely naked, asMunsternaively remarks,(Cosmog ., lib. 3, cap. 497) in their religiousmeetings, when the priest repeated thatorder fromGenesis—increase andmultiply— “

outwent the candles, andwithout respect ofage, person or condition, catch-as- catch-can, every man took her that camenext to him.

”

Lempriere, loc. cit art.“Priapus . See also St. Augustine,

“C'ivitas Dei,

” lib.

vi. cap. ix; Catull., Epist. 19 and 20; Borat., 1 Sat. Ecl. vrr—v - 33 .

Referring to the termficus , a fig , as themucous syphilidewas called.

Buret, loo. cit., 1 , 172—3.

Loc. cit ; also Dufour“Hist. ofProstitution; andDiet. Encyclop. des Sc.Medic.


Men oflered to Priapus the first fru its oftheir gardens, importuning himto cure the diseases his worship had communicated; and decorated hismagnificent organwith garlands offlowers , and the ez - votoswhich recalled

the form, ifnot the size , ofhis phallus .

‘ So, also, thewomen had recourse

to Isis or Venus in their trouble, filling her templeswith analogous ex—votos

representing the organs oftheir sex ; and the extraordinary spectaclewasprwented, in both cu es, ofa temple dedicated to two distinct, and equallynecessary purposes, sexual orgies in the evening, and divine healingnextmorning for the diseases they produced.

Our latter-day quacks ,whomake brothels andwater closets the chief

fields oftheir advertising enterprise, itmay not be amiss to remark , hadalsotheir antetypes in the whore- houses ofTarentumand Pompeii ; the empirics

—male and female— sellers ofdrugs, and peddlers of philters , overnmning with their business stands the approaches to the temples, andbawling out theirwares like fakirs on a fair-day . As the quaint Burtonremarks (loc. cit. , p.

“themost sly, dangerous and cunning bawds,

are your knavish physicians and empirics . Though it be against Hippocrates’ oath, they will give a dram, promise to restore maidenheads,make an abortion ifneed be, keep down the paps , hinder conception, pro

cure lust,makemen able as Satyrs , andnowand then step in themselves .

”

In v iewofthese public debaucheries , all authorSexual Deprav ity ized by both lawand religion, a fair idea may bein Early Rome formed ofwhat private life must have been among

these noble Romans. Itwas not luxury alone, itwasnot dissipation, itwas not simply perversion ofmorality , itwas an absolute

aberration of the genesic sense ; a monstrous insanity in creating and

glutting the sexualdesire .

’

The sign ofthe brothel in Romewas a clay phallus , baked and painted, surmounting the suggestive inscription over the door— “Hie habitat Felicitas . Indeed, to

showthe tenacity with which religious superstitions cling to us , it is no uncommonthing in Naples , Florence, Rome and other Italian cities , to see men wearing ,on the threshold ofthe Twentieth Century , little carved figures ofPriapus danglingfromtheirwatch- chains , as a prophylactic against the Jettatura ; while the paintedpenis over the bawdyhouse doormay be yet seen in Naples by any traveller curious

enough to search for it. Phalluses carved on stone have been unearthed in the ex

cavations at Pomperr, evidently connectedwith adv ertising the bawdy houses ofthe

times , and in China today they are the accepted badge ofthe trade ofprostitution.

Bale’s “Catalogue ofSodomites enumerates, among the sexual and other vices,mastupration, satyrias is , priapismus , melancholy , madness , fornication, adultery ,

buggery , sodomy , theft,murder andinfanticide; and Jovius remarks that theRomans“mustered up women as we do soldiers , having choice ofthe rarest beauties in the

world, their posts, even, giving themselves to nothing but songs anddalliances ofwhichwine, lust andwomenwere the chiefest subjects.

46 Human SexualityIntercourse betweenmales was the daily practice ofthe Roman aris

tocracy . In our day , ifaman discover v icious tendencies in his son, or amother in her daughter, he or shewill endeavor by every art ofparentalsolicitude to correct or overcome it; but among the patrician families ofRome— a customI could never satisfactorily account for, except on theground ofavoiding venereal disease— itwas quite common to give to theyoungman, just arrived at puberty, amale slave ofthe same age for a bedfellow, in order that hemight satisfy , according toDupouy , his first genesic

Such practices are so monstrous that the reader may well ask

himself if he is dreaming ; but that they prevailed, is eas ily susceptibleofhistoric proof. “And thou , perfumedhusband, it is very nice to say thatthou regretfully givest up thy beardless pets ,

”cries Catullus to the husband

ofJulia ; and the same poet acknowledges that the young marriedmanis excusable, adding you have never known any but pleasures whichwere permitted, but a spouse should no longer taste of them; there are

Wellmight the elder Catomantle his face at the shocking obscenityof the times. Murder, incest, adultery , pederasty , prostitution, protectedsay , and, ifthe ev idences ofhistory go for anything ,was justified in saying,

as quoted by Suetonius, that the conqueror ofGaul andBritainwas “thehusbandofallwomen and thewife ofallmen.

”

I shouldscarcely be justified,were this other than awork for the learned,presumably already fairly acquaintedwith the depths ofhuman depravity,tomention themonstrous acts ofTiberius , for instance, fromwhose awfullust not even infancy was sacred. Ofthe infamous Nero, whowas seen

wedding , in public, andwith the greatest imaginable pomp, the poor boy ,Sporns ,whose genital organs he had caused to be prev iously removed; orofthe same crowned lunatic, and sadist, ravishing the two officiating priestsat a public religious ceremony or ofHeliogabalus, aworthy rival ofthe

imperial incendiary ,who did not, however, go beyond the passive rdle inhis sodomy ,willing to give an empire to the athleticmale slavewhomhehadmarried.

‘

The instances are too shocking and revolting for even a work ofthis

character, and belongmore properly to the realmofsexual psychiatry, ormental alienation. But there is a fearful lesson to be learned froman

analysis ofthe secret causes, however revolting ,which produce a nation’s

downfall; and pursuing my original intent, there is no field, modemor

Vid. Cains Valerius Catullus , Lx— In Nupties JaliasctMania .

Suetonius “DuodecimCe sares.

48 Human Sexualitywithoutdoubt,much rarer in Rome than in Lesbos, sinceMartialmentionsbut one such prostitute— Philenis plane medias carat puelIas ,

”l in a

Latin far too picturesque for translation even here. Itwill convey a suffi

ciently accurate picture of the times to conclude, for the present, thesereflectionswith the remark ofMartial thy young slave ails in his penis ;thou , v olus , it is at the anus ; I amnot a magician, but I knowthyhabits .

“

The beauty ofa Chinesewoman, says Dr.Matignon, resides largelyin her foot.”a She is as bashful in revealing this to a

man as the European lady her breasts. When the

physician finds it necessary to examine her feet, theChinese school- girl will blush , turn her back to un

fasten the bandages , and then conceal themember ina cloth, leav ing only the affectedpart visible.

‘ Even the pictures ofnakedChinesewomen always showthefeet surroundedby a little silkenfrill.

Concerning the communication quoted byMr.

Nakedness Ellis,“ in which it is stated that the girls of Japan,

after their bath, wouldmingle freely with themen,holding out their hair as iffor innocent admiration, until theywere forcedinto greater privacywhile bathing by the insults ofthosewhomisconstrueda harmless custom, I desire to say that in the Japan oftoday thesemattersare quite changed. When Iwas in Yokohama in 1902, I found that, outside the houses oi prostitution— towhich latter, I solemnly aver,my personal experience did not extend— the girls were equally as modest and

retiring in bathing , aswell as in their other habits, as our ownmost fastidious damsels andIwas credibly informedby a gentlemanwhose scruplesdidnot prevent an occasional v isit to even these chateaus:aconcert, that the

behav ior ofthe inmates, outside the bare actwhich constitutes their pro

fession, andmeans ofexistence,was orderly anddecent in the extreme ; andthat in hygiene andprophylaxis they are fully abreast ofthe times, tablets ofpotassiumpermanganate being passed around by the thoughtful youngladies immediately after the sexual congress.

An authorwho hadmuch opportunity ofnoting the great beauty of

Japanesewomen in their national dances, performed naked, points out thatthe Japanese seemtohave noaesthetic sensefor the nude.

”7 At the Jubilee

1 Lib. vn , Epigr. 67. M. V .Martialis, lib.m, Epigr. 71.

Loc. cit. , p. 445. H. Ellis, Zoe. cit., r, 15. Ibid, 1, 16 .

This is not the only instance inwhichmodern Japan is snfiering fromthe carelessuse ofher earlier history in the hands ofwriters. The Japan ofto-day is not the Japan

CarlDavidsohn, lac. cit.


Exhibition at Kyotowas a naked figure representing the Greek Psyche, orTruth, and it seemed to be the first time the natives had been treated to thenude in art, for therewas a great deal ofgiggling and blushing, and someby their gestures clearly showed their disapproval. He discovered that,while nakednesswas in noway ofiensive to themin real life, itwas not considered aesthetic to paint awoman naked; at a fountain in themiddle of

the same city , the verymen andwomenwhomanifested this repugnance tothe picture, standing naked together,while thewater, supposed to possessmedicinal virtue, ran over them.

The institutes ofLycurgus prescribed that at solemn feasts and sacri

fices the youngwomen ofSparta should dance and sing , naked, the young

men forming a circle about them; andAristotle remarks that in his timeSpartan girlswore only a very slight garment. As describedby Pausanias ,and as ev idenced by certain statues in the Vatican, the ordinary tunic of

the female, when running , left entirely bare the right shoulder andbreast,

reaching only to the upper third ofthe thigh.

‘ The Lydians considered it a

disgrace for a man to be seen naked,’but

'mboth the Olympic games and

the wrestling matches ofSparta, and in Asia , the contestants appearedentirely naked,with the exception ofthe girdle.

a

Among theTyrrhenians ,Timmus relates that the female servantswaitedupon themen completely naked; andTheopompus , in the forty- thirdbookofhis History ,” states that

“ itwas a lawamong that people that all theirwomen should be in common) “ The latter practised gymnastics amongthemen quite naked; and so indifi

'

erentlywas the sexual relation regarded

that, ifa v isitor askedfor themaster ofthe house, hewas quite frequentlyinformed, andwithout any attempt to refine the information, that hewasin the bed- roomenjoying himselfwith hiswife.

The influence ofthe nakedfemale formin stimulating the sexualappetitehas been frequentlymade use of. Tiberius, when he suppedwith SestinaGallus, aworn-out old reprobate,waswaitedupon by a beautifulnakedgirl.Dav id fell in lovewith Bathsheba fromseeing her naked; as did ApelleswithCampaspe,while painting her; andLeonicus states that at set banquetsamong the Romans nakedwomen frequentlywaited at the tables .

“ Both

Nero and Heliogabalus filled their chambers with nude and lasciv ious

pictures , etiamcommagentes, at ad veneremincitarent, and toomany youngmen ofthe present day adopt the same practice as an aid in secretmasturbation.

Christianity, at its introduction among bothGreeks andRomans, appears-s on Greek Dress,” p. 34.

Herodotus, r, 10. Thucydides ,“History , 1

, v1.

Athenians , lac. cit m, 830. De Varia m, 96 .

4

so Human Sexuatto have profoundly affected the sexual as well as religious habits of

the two peoples ; instituting bothmasculine virtue andfemininemodesty ,at least publicly , where before the greatest and coarsest indecency pre~

vailed. Tertullianwell portrays the position which the Church of thosedays assumed in the matterwhen, in his treatises , De Pudicitia ” and

De Culta Feminarum,

” he remarks salvation— and not ofwomen onlybut likewise ofmen— consists in the exhibition principally ofmodesty .

Sincewe are all the temple ofGod,modesty is the sacristan and priestessofthat temple,who is to snfier nothing unclean or profane to enter it, for

fear that the Godwho inhabits it shouldbe ofiended.

”

The private v ices which followed the outward enforcement of thesestrict rules ofcontinence, as I have before remarked, while flagrant andwidespread,were the result rather ofnatural causes, due to the applicationofarbitrary laws towhat is really a natural instinct, than to any laxityin their enforcement; and only proved, what has been proven hundredsoftimes since, thatmen andwomen cannot be legislated into virtue and

The Church can only 811c which attacksmotives, rather thanmen.

The creeds ofAnaxagoras and Epicurus , and Zeno and Spinoza,weremagnificent but they have perishedfromthe earth. Why? Because theydealt

with laws andmen, rather thanwith lives andmotives. What is the secretofthe success ofMoody andSpurgeon, and Savonarola andGeneralBooth?

Personalmagnetism, says one; popular ignorance and superstition, saysanother. It is neither. Theywere simply socialreformers along primitivelyreligious lines. They attacked the very basis ofsociety , and carried, there

fore, theMaster’s signet ofauthority graven on their palms. With them,

churches , systems , institutions ,were nothing , theman everything. Itwasthe great spiritual leverwithwhich Paul overturned all the polished intellectuality ofGreece andRome, andwhich is embodied in the Sermon on theMount. Men knowthey are bad—most ofthemdesire to be better; and,

with an inborn consciousness of this primal fact, any motive of reformaddressed to that consciousness cannot be long destitute ofresults.

As to the partwhich civ ilization plays inmitigatCiv ilization and ing sexual abuses I cannot do better than quote theSexualAbuses words ofone ofthe clearest thinkers on this theme that

recent times have produced. Contactwith a higherculture has proved pernicious to themorality ofsavage peoples ; andwehave some reason to think that irregular connections between the sexes

have, on thewhole, exhibited a tendency to increase alongwith the progressofcivilization. Moreover, free sexual intercourse prev ious tomarriage isquite differentfrompromiscuity ,which involves a suppression ofindividual


inclination. Themost generalmanifestation ofthe former is prostitution,which is rare among peoples liv ing in a state ofnature, untouchedby foreigninfluence. Customswhich have been interpreted as acts of expiation for

indiv idualmarriage, a sort ofreligious prostitution found in the East; theins prim noctis ‘

granted to the friends ofthe bridegroom, or to all the

guests at a marriage, or to a particular person, a chiefor priest, and thepractice of lending wives to visitors, may be farmore satisfactorily ex

plained otherwise.

The savage imagination prefers the clear and concrete to the abstractandmetaphysical. This is why rules and laws to govern the sexual life

have so uniformlymiscarried among unenlightened peoples. They cannot

1mderstandwhy an instinct, as natural as thirst or hunger, should be sub

jected to arbitrary laws,which, however salutary froma sociological pointofv iew, can hardly be expected to find a ready sympathywith peoplewhohave been accustomedfromtime immemorial to investeven theirdeitieswithhuman passions and sexual attributes. Hence polygyny has always beena feature ofethnicism, asmonogamy has been ofChristianity ; one being apurely spiritual cult and the other sevemphysical. But ifwe examineclosely pagan customs in this respect,we shalldoubtless be surprisedtofindtherein a principle, analogous to our civ ilized lawofchivalry ; onewhichmakes it exceedingly disgraceful among almost all savage peoples for a

man tomarrymorewives than he can properlymaintain, a hint pregnant ofmeaning to a certain class ofour own citizens, andwhich brings us properlyto a consideration of the chiefincentiv e to, and condition of, marriageitself,which rs sexual selection.

“Lawofthe first night. Among the Nasamonians andAugilrs , Libyan tribes,thefirst nightwith the bridewas accordedto all ths guests at amarriage. (Herodotus ,book Iv , ch. In the province ofManta, Peru , the bride yielded herselffirst tothe relatives andfriends ofthe bridegroom, the friends being presumably exceedinglynumerous about that time. (V id. De la Vega n,

Westermarck, lac. cit., p. 539 .

CHAPTERTWO

SEXUAL SELECTION ORTHE LAW OF CHOICE

T is a fact ofvery early observation that some lawofcontrariety underlies the sexual union. The manly man will always seek themostwomanlywoman ; as themostwomanlyman will usually be foundcohabitingwith themostmanlywoman. Punymen have a decided

preference for strong women and strong women seemto appreciate thatpreference by taking up with littlemen. Blondes prefer dark persons , orbrunettes ; those oflong limbs, the short and stumpy snub- nosed personsmanifest a liking for the hawk- nosed and, asMantegazza, Allen,Walker

and other psychologicalwriters clearly demonstrate, in the love ofthe

sexes the charmofdisparity goes beyond the standing differences ofsex, asin contrasts ofcomplexion, stature andphysicalfeatures .

”1

It is well that knowledge ofthe laws governing sexual susceptibilitiesis usually confined to those whose wisdomprevents themfromillegallyexercising it. Ifthe handsome young libertine possessed the insight intofemale character, and preferences, possessed by thewrinkled. philosopher,societywould soon fall before the success ofhis onslaughts. But the hand

some young libertine .is usually themost ignorant being in the world of

everything excepthis own goodlooks ; and these are far less potentwith thesex than is commonly supposed. Wilks, the homeliestman in GreatBritain,

made himselfthe successful rival ofthe handsomest one— LordTownsendby his superior knowledge ofwoman’s susceptibilities and his brilliant

conversational powers? and there is none ofus who cannot readily recall

instances ofsociety being set agog by unions ofbeautifulwomenwith ex

ceedingly homelymen.

Bain, lac. cit. , p. 136 .

Fine thoughts andwitty speech'mamanwillmore surely fascinate the average

girl than fine features ; a factwhich the stuttering fellowwas apparently insensibleofwhen,

’mpaying his addresses to a young lady one evening , the conversation lagging,and he being anxious to avoid the impasseof absolute silence, suddenly blurted out:“H-how’ayourmother? Not that I c-c- care a d— n, but itm-m-makes t- t- talk , you

know.

”

Baldness and courage in approaching the vital questionwith awoman have also

52

Sexual Selection or the LawofChoice 53

The investigations ofProfessor Candolle in Germany and Switzerland,bearing upon this question of contrasts , elicited the fact thatmarriages inthose countries , and in Belgium, are most usually contracted betweenpersonswith difierent colored eyes ; except in cases ofbrown- eyedwomen,

who are generally consideredmore attractive than others. Thus, ifwe findthat a general standardofbeauty, or attractiveness , exists among the race,we alsodiscoverthat specialcharacteristics appealstrongly tocertain people;and that ideals exist inmost, ifnot all,mindswhich conformonly in very

slight degree to a common standard.

In discussing themeans resorted to by men andMutilations of women to make themselves mutually attractive,

Savages I shall omit largely , although they are far fromuninteresting, those brutal customs ofsavage races,

which, in civilized eyes, at least, only enhance their physical deformity .

Thus fewwomen in Central Africa are foundwithout the lip- ring . Theysay itmakes them“ look pretty and the bigger the ring themore theyvalue themselves .

“ The Shulis have the under lip perforated by a pieceofrock crystal, threeorfour inches long , which sways aboutas they speak,“andwithoutwhich theywould regard themselves prettymuch as one ofouryoung ladieswouldon Fifth Avenue in her bare feet.

The Papuans pierce the septumofthe nose, and pass through it sticks ,claws ofbirds and pieces ofpolished stone. Many natives pierce, enlarge,or otherwisemutilate the ear lobes, some oftheNorthAmerican Indians, aswell as the Arecunas andBotocudos ofSouth America, and theWataita of

East Africa, pulling themdown by this process ofbeautification almost tothe shoulders.

The Botocudos dwell on the banks ofthe Rio Dace, in Brazil, andmaybe said to be the only people in theworldhaving twomouths. The second

mouth is artificial, formedby a large transverse slit in the lower lip ; but itdoes not look artificial, and there are fewmore horrible sights than to see

one ofthese fellows ,while grinning fiercely , and showing the teeth in hisuppermouth, suddenly stick his tongue out at you through the lower one.

Some ofthese people develop an incredible elasticity ofthe lip, and it is said

colored individuals over the telephone in proofofthis statement“Hello! it datMiss Johnsing?”Yes, sah.Miss Johnsing , I hab a very impawtant question to propound to you dismawnin.

Willyoumarryme,Miss Johnsing 1”“Well aah, as yo’done ben so persistinate and gentlemanly in dematte, aah. I

will ssh ! Who is dat atde phone?”1Macdonald, lac. cit., r, 17.

3Westermarck, loc. cit., p. 160.

54 Human Sexualityto be not uncommon for awoman, at a single efiort, to throwthe underlip up like a shield, covering both face andeyes.

Among the Guarayos ,when a youngman falls inPainting the Penis love, he paints himselffromhead to foot, the penis

usually being ofa different color, and, armedwithhiswar club, lurks about the cabin ofhis Dulcinea for days at a time, oruntilhe gets a chance to capture her,which he does by force.

Among the Ahts the girls are generally painted at their firstmenstruation , not before ; and scarcely anything possesses so great a charmfor

almost all savages as bright, showy colors. Nomatter howpoor a manmay be, otherwise, ifhe have a good stock ofbright blue or red beads , hecan always command the service ofslave andfreeman alike ; and in some ofthose interesting regions of the earth the beads are held so precious , orwomen so cheap, that a single bead may always be counted on to pur

chase awife, either temporarily or permanently .

Red ochre is a staplewithmost savages in their personal adornmentthe Naudowessies paint their faces red and black , which they esteemhighly ornamental,“ the Guaycurus preferring red andwhite,withwhichcolors they paint their entire bodies. The natives ofAustralia stain themselveswith black, red, yellowandwhite ; and in Fiji, alongwith the soberercolors , a slight touching upwith vermilion is esteemed the greatest possibleacquisition.

“ In NewZealand the lips ofthe dandies ofboth sexes are

stained blue ; and itwould appear that themodern bleachedblonde wasby nomeans unknown in Santa Cruz, or Egmont Island, fromthe observation ofLabillardiere that

“therewas difiused among thema fondness for

white hair,which formed a very striking contrast to the coloroftheirskin.

"

Mr. Darwin says (“Descent ofMan,” II , 369) that

Tattooing in not one single country fromthe polar regions in

the north to the confines ofNewZealand in the south,was tattooing

“

unknown among the aborigines ; and the practice , as we

Carver, lac. cit. , p. 227. Wilkes , loc. cit. ,m, 356 .

Loo. cit. , n , 266 .

The mischiefand havoc wnich blondes have created in all ages of the world ishistorical. Appollonius tells us that Jason

’s golden hairwaswhat captivatedMedea,

(“Jasonis flava coma incendit cor that Castor and Pollux, who wroughtsuch devastationwith the ladies in their time,were both yellow- haired, as were also

Patroclus and Achilles ; and Leland praises Ginthera, King Arthur’s wife, for herbeautiful blonde tresses. Homer does the same for Helen; Venus is pictured as a

blonde; so are Queen Dido, Paris, andMenelaus. Our Savior Himself, “fairest amongten thousand,

”is representedin theoldpaintings as having long , golden- brown ringlets,

and it is said (Plin. 1—37—3) that Sabina Poppma’s ambere olored hair set the fashionfor allRome in Nero’s day.

56 Human Sexualitybefore puberty , and after themarrying age, themen’s hair is croppedshort.

In Australia, a girl is painted at her firstmenstruation, the periodwhenshe is ready for the copulative act; and in EquatorialAfrica she is rubbedwith black , red, andwhite paint, in the course ofa public ceremonywhichattends the same interesting period, andwhich Reade very consistently

associateswith thePhallic practices ofEgyptandChaldea .

‘

It is well known that the worship of Baal Peor

Phallic and among the Hebrews, ofLingamin India , ofPriapusLingamWorship at Rome, and ofPhallus in Syria, Egypt andGreece,

was founded on similar principles , and celebrated

with similar rites. Whether the Hindus borrowed it fromEgypt, or thelatterfromthem, is immaterial at present; but in the ceremony referred to,

aswell as inmany others found scattered throughout Central Africa, it is

not difficult to trace, not only ev idences ofearly intercourse between AfricaandEgypt, but thatwholesale prostitutionwhich, under the garb ofreligion ,

once reigned like amistress fromthe Ganges to the Nile.

Since the god could not descend fromhis pedestal to take, personally ,the immense crop ofmaidenheads ofiered to himdaily , it had to be doneby proxy ; and in thedischarge ofthis delicate duty the priests found theirchiefest and pleasantest occupation. Themaiden was of course dressed

and decorated for the occasion ; and fromthe customs observed, no

doubt, are derived many of those common not only to Africa, but in

Brazil, and other South andCentralAmerican communities,where the girl,as soon as she is ready to be courted, is painted about the eyes and sub

jected to various other ceremonials .

WhenMertens asked the natives ofLukanorwhatSignificance of tattooing signified among them, one replied it

the Tattoo has the same object as your clothes, to please thewomen ; and Bancroft informs us that young

Kadiak wives secure the affection oftheir husbands by tattooing their

breasts , and adorning their faceswith black lines .

”

In Samoa, great licentiousness and prostitution were associatedwiththe practice oftattooing ; and the ma in preparing the young girl forthe embraces ofher husband, didnot hesitate to take his tolloccasionally asshe passed through his hands. Indeed, I fear there are notmany professingChristians who, manipulating the naked body of an amorously inclinedyoung lady

—which the Samoan girls proverbially are—for days , and even

weeks together,wouldprovemuch better or stronger than the poor matai.”InTahiti, the chiefs hadfinally to prohibit tattooing entirely , on account1 “Savage Africa, p. 246 . Waits- Garland, loc. cit. , V , II , 67.

Loo. cit. , r, 72.


ofthe obscene practices by which it came in time to be surrounded;1 and

its obscenity is not strange, whenwe consider that it had its origin in a

divine source, as had tattooing itself. The legend is as followsThe god, Taaroa , had a daughter named Hinae

Polynesian Origin reeremonoi. In order to preserve her chastity she

ofthe Tattoo wasmade pabio,” and confined in a fencedenclosure,

attended only by hermother. Her brothers , captivated by her beauty ,wanted to seduce her (theywere not at all conven

tional in those days) , andstrove by everymeans in their power towoo herfromthe care ofher mother. Finally , one brother invented the tattoo

mark , Taomaro, anddecorating themselveswith it they caperedbefore her.

It was too much for the maiden’s virtue ; she broke the enclosure,

flewthe coop as itwere ; andthe young rascals accomplishedthe purpowwhich,we shrewdly suspect,was not such a difficultmatter after all.’Thus the sons ofTaaroa became the gods oftattooing ; their imageswere

kept in the temples ofthosewho practised the art; and itwouldbe unreasonable to suppose that, in perpetuating its outward observance, the sen

timentwhich first inspired it should be entirely neglected; sowe find that,at every step ofthe tattooer’s progress, prayerswere breathed to the lasciv ious young gods tomake the operation successful, and as fraughtwithpleasure to the subject as it had been to the gods themselves !It is qu ite probable that a similarmotive lay at the bottomofboth

painting and tattooing the body . The former very likely antedated the

latter, tattooing being resorted to as a means ofmaking permanent theaestheticdecorations ofpainting . Even Europeans, andciv ilizedAmericans,cannot help admitting that tattooing does improve the savage appearance .

Beechey asserts as much concerning the Gambier Islanders ; and Yateremarks that nothing can excel the beautiful regularity withwhich thefaces and thighs ofthe NewZealanders are tattooed) “All the facts go to showthat this , aswell as every other species ofself

decoration, ormutilation,was intended to stimulate the sexualdesire oftheopposite sex. Probably its first idea—for it seems strange to us that

piercing the lips , or nose- septum, or coloring the body , should be resorted

to as amere piece ofcoquetry—was to attract attention, just aswith our

modern young lady the beauty patch, or artificial dimple, is intended tosupplement the graces ofnaturewith the charmofnovelty .

In explanation ofan anomalywhich has been currently remarked, thatamong savage races it is manwho resortsmost frequently to the arts of

personal adornment, notwoman, itmay be stated that among savage racesTurner,

“Samoa , p. 90. W. Ellis , lac. cit., r, 206 , at seq.

Ibid, 1 , 262, etseq. Loo. cit. , p. 147.

58 Human Sexualityit isman onlywho runs the risk ofbeing condemned to celibacy. Womanmay be a slave, a beast ofburden, and knee], asMr.Macdonald says she

does in Central Africa, to the lord ofcreation in addreming him, but she

rarely fails in securing a husband. Hence she pays little attention to her

personal appearance, knowing she poem a secret charmwhich willland her v ictimat any time, and it ismanwho has todo the hustling tokeephimselfup to par as amasculine beauty .

As civilization progre ss ed, ornamentation cameto be appliedto clothing instead ofto the nakedbody ;clothing itselfbeing most probably an outgrowth of

the same desire for adornment, instead ofbeing , asstated by mostwriters, ameans ofprotection from

cold and the inclemency oftheweather. This is themore likely, since, inthose oriental countrieswhere it iswell known clothingwas firstworn, cold,aswe experience it,was seldomor never known.

The savage begins,” remarks ProfessorMoseley, by painting or tattooing himselffor ornament. Then he adopts amovable appendage,whichhe hangs upon his body , and upon which he puts the ornamentation heformerlymarked,more or less indelibly, upon his skin. In thisway he isable to gratify his taste for change, and in this way was the customof

clothing the body originated. So the use ofthe cod- piecewas originallyto attract attention to the genitals, not to cover them.

l

The conclusion that shame is a feeling specifically peculiar toman ,

and that clothingmay have partly arisen fromhis desire to conceal certain

parts ofhis body , seems scarcely tenable, fromthe fact that, as I have

prev iously intimated, hardly two savage nations agree as to the portion of

the body to be concealed. In fact, as Westermarck very justly inquires,why shouldman blush to expose one part ofthe bodymore than another?

There are numbers ofpeoplewho go habitually naked, towhomthe feelingofshame is unknown ; andmany otherswho studiously cover every partofthe body , inwhomthe feeling is very fully developed. But, setting the

question aside, as scarcely germane to our present subject, ifwe followthecourse ofbodily clothing

— a task far too tedious— fromthe cod-

piece ofthe

Botocudos , the scarlet thread of the Patachos andMachacaris , and theuluri of the Bororo, to the low- cut gown of our modern drawing- roombelle,we shall find the same idea ofintersexual adornment permeating itall.

Thus, among the negroes of Benin ,whose girls had no other garmentthan a string ofcoral, twisted about themiddle, itwould be absurd toassociate such garments with any feeling ofshame, ormodesty ; the far

V id. Bloch, Beitrdge cur E tiol. d. Psychop . Sa ud is , Teil, 1, 159 .


more plausible theory being, as awriter asserts, that thesewaist ornamentsare simply designed to make the wearers more attractive to the men.

‘

In this these dusky beauties , however, showed a very imperfect knowledgeof the true art ofsexual stimulation ; partial concealment of the femalecharms being alwaysmore efiective than utter nakedness. There is little

that is voluptuous or enticing , as Reade remarks ,’ in the absolute naked

ness ofan equatorial girl,” and scarcelymore in that ofawhite woman ;but vastlymuch in the little slipper, or ankle, coquettishlydisplayed, orthelithe roundnemoflimbwhich is accentuated rather than concealed by the

clinging lines ofawell-made gown ,whether that limb bewhite or black.

Custombreeds contempt. There is nomanwho betterrealizes this thanthe physician, whose daily and hourly familiarity with the female formbegets such a sexual indifference as to he sometimes both stubborn and

irritating. Among medical students , and artists , the nude produces no

sexual emotion ; and, as Flaxman observes , the latter, in entering the

academy , seemto hang up their passionswith their hats.

The natives ofMallicollo, as Forster says ,’by their scanty dressmakeit exceedingly difficult to determinewhether they are actuatedby a sense

ofshame, or an artful desire to please ;” showing that the ladies ofto-dayhave by no means a monopoly of the sex

’s wisdomin these matters.

The men ofTana tie a string around thewaist and hang the leafof a

plant in such away that it partially covers the hair above the penis , butleaves the latter organ, aswell as the testicles , exposed. This is donewitha very ev ident intent to attract female attention to those ponderous, ifnotat all times aesthetically beautiful, portions ofthe savage anatomy , and theplan ought certainly to be successful. Boys at the age ofsix are providedwith similar leaves , obv iously for a similar purpose? and, speaking ofa like“dress ”worn by the Hottentot, Barrowsays,

“ ifthe real intent ofitwasthe promotion

.

ofdecency , thewearer has widelymissed his aim, as he is

certainly amost immodest looking object,” reminding us v iv idly ofthat

naked and terrible looking deity who protected the gardens and orchards

ofthe ancients.

A certain queen among the Khyoungtha noticing, as Iewin tells us,“

that themen ofthe nation, like some ofthose inmodern times ,were losingtheir love for the society ofwomen, and resorting to abominable sexual

practices , promulgated an order premribing the kind of petticoat to beworn by women, and ordering that all themen be tattooed, so that themales being decorated, and piquancy added to the beauty ofthe females,the feet ofthe formermight return to the paths ofmaritalduty . Whether

1 Westermarck, lac. cit., p. 192. Loc. cit. , p. 546 .

Lac. cit., n , 230, 276 . Ibid. Loc. cit. , pp. 116, et seq.

60 Human Sexualitythe expedientwas successfulor.not, I regret to say , the interesting historian

fails to informus .

Among theMucfira, in Brazil,Mr. Wallace found awoman possessed of

a safa, or petticoat,which she sometimes put on, seemingwhen she did

so asmuch ashamedas civ ilizedladieswouldbe ifthey took 06 theirs}Among the Saliras,Mr. Lehman says,

’only the harlots clothe them

selves ; observation, keen among the sex at all times, hav ing taught themthe fact prev iously alluded to, that the unknown attracts farmore than theknown. So in the interior ofAfrica, aswe learn fromBarth,’ themarriedwomen go entirely nude, while the young damsels , hav ing their marketyet tomake, clothe themselves. The girls ofAustraliawear a fringe abou tthewaist, but ofcourse notwith any idea ofcovering the sexual apparatus ;and Barrington tells us that the females ofBotany Bay wear a little

apron ofkangaroo skin , cut into slips, until they aremarried,when it is discarded.

Among theTupi tribes ofBrazil, as soon as a girl becomesmarriageable ,

cotton cords are tied round herwaist and the fleshy parts of her arms ,

denoting a state ofmaidenhood and strangely enough this customhas a

great cfiect in restraining prostitution, or slips among the girls , since ifanywear itwho have lost their v irginity , itwas believed the Anhangawouldcome and carry themaway bodily . I amaware thatMr. Southey denies

the foregoing statement, and says these badges could not have been ihvented for the purpose ofkeeping women chaste, since they were often

brokenwithout fear, and incontinence among themwas not regarded as an

but otherwriters lean to a different v iew; and the fact that theywere often broken does not disprovemy original statement, anymore thanthe frequent defiance ofthe confessional, in the Catholic Church, disproves

the latter’s admitted eflicacy in restraining sexual immorality .

Dancing as a the most shocking licentiousness was frequentlyLove- Lure indulged in. The young men andmaidens painted

themselves in themost brilliant andgaudy colors, like

a lot offlamingoes , or other tropical birds, and, like the birds also,wouldnot infrequently nmaway fromtheir sport for awhile to have sexual intercourse with one another. Tasmanian dances were performed with the

avowed purpose of exciting the sexual passion,‘ and those churches in

1 Loc. cit. , p. 357. Quotedby Westermarck , loc. cit., p. 195.

“Reisen,

”etc ., 11 , 467.

“Hist. NewSouth Wales ,” p. 23.

“History ofBrazil,” I , 240.

Bonwick , “Daily Life oftheTasmanians ,” pp. 27- 38.

Sexual Selection or the LawofChoice 6 1

in their generation than is commonly supposed.

‘ All dancing excites the

passions , particularly those modern Terpsichorean creations known as

glides , two- steps , waltzes and other rag- time patter, not to speak ofthe

wild can- can ofMabille; and, as in the Saturnalia and Floralia ofRome,heretofore alluded to as scenes of thewildest obscenity and licentiousness ,

have, as their ultimate tendency , the breaking down ofsocial and religious

restraint, and the free exercise ofsexual liberty .

Among the Brazilian Uaupes, thewomen,while dancing ,wear a gaudylittle tanga,

”or apron, ofwoven beads, which is taken offwhen the

dance is over; and the Tahitian Areois— a kind oflicensed libertineswholead amost licentious life, given up chiefly to lewddances and pantomimes ,inmimicry ofthe sexual act— put on a sort ofyellowgirdle of ti leaves

while dancing , to facilitate those gestures and attitudes which are mostsuggestive.

z In fact, as Professor Smith says,‘withmany races the dance

is nothingmore nor less than a rude representation ofsexual passion.

Some ofthe Tasmanian corroborees have a distinctly phallic design, and

in the Yucatan dance ofthe naual, as in the Dionysian andFloralian orgies,

the ladies grasp themen by the penis instead ofthe hand, in turning , a

practice well calculated, we may be sure, to lend additional zest to the

At certainMexican feasts the noblemen and women danced, tiedtogether by the hands , and embracing one another, the arms being thrownover the neck inwell-defined imitation oftheGreek bracelet,

”or brawl

and in this , as in other oftheMexican dances , the relation ofthe sexes is

very clearly symbolized. In fact, although Locke points out the benefitsto be derived fromthe pastime, in imparting to children gracefulness of

motion,” as well as manly thoughts and a becoming confidence,”4

and

although Homer calls it the sweetest andmost perfect ofhuman enjoyments ,” fromtheMemphic andHymenrealdances ofthe ancients down tothe latter day ballets, aswell as the awe- inspiring contortions ofthe can

Petrarch calls it the spur oflust—inictamentumlibidinis ; and another alludes toit as a circle, ofwhich the devil himselfis the center.

” Lucian tells us that Thais

captivated Lamprias by her dancing , Herodias certainly did Herod, and Robert of

Normandy , riding through Falaise, and spying the villagemaid, Arletta , dancing on

the green , was so enamored ofher that, as the chronicler states ,“ hemust needs lie

with her that same night.” Fromthis escapade was born Williamthe Conqueror;

andOwen Tudor, it is said, capturedQueen Catherine’s affection by his skill in dancing .

Itwas so clearly recognized as an incentive to lust that Domitian forbade the Romansenators to dance ; and Lucre tia openly boasted that she so bewitched a certain

Romanmerchant by her dancing that he ofiered her all hiswealth for a single night

with her— “pro concubito solo.

”

H. Ellis, lac. cit., r, 235. Ency . Brit. , v1, 798. Education,”

67—196 .

62 Human Sexualitycan, or houtchi- coutchi, we are perfectlywilling to endorse the sentimentof the early Albigenses ofLanguedoc, who called dancing the dev il

’s

procession.

”

There is nomanwho does not desire to appearwell before the oppositesex ; but the diflerentmethodsmen have ofmanifest

Other Practices ing this desire are, to say the least, confusing. Thus

in Courtship a South Australian boy must have every hair pulledout around his penis , and the latter decoratedwith

a garland ofgreen leaves , before he can be presented to the sex as a fit

candidate for their favor while the Admiralty Islander covers his , or

partially covers it,with a sea shell, thedazzlingwhiteness ofwhich presentsa startling contrast to the ebony blacknessofthe organ,which thebrev ity ofthe covering halfconceals halfdiscloses.

” Afine study in black andwhite.

’

The Tankhul- Naga puts a horn, or ivory , ring over the headofhis peniswhen hewants to present an intensely fascinating appearance ; and in the

South Sea Islands the penis is tattooed in themost brilliant andvariegatedcolors, as ameans ofattracting that attention among the fair sexwhich itshealthy sizewould alone be pretty apt to insure.

‘ The tattoo markswould, however, at least compare favorably with the venereal necklaces

of-many ofour young“spo oftoday in soliciting female regard; while

the customamong the Nagas , ofslipping the ring over the penis, in preparingfor a

“fancy dress ball,”reminds us that among the early Germans the

engagement ringwas thusworn, placed upon the youngman’s penis by thelady herself,withwhat peculiar feelings to theformer I leave to the reader’5imagination, andwas only removedby the same fairfingers aftermarriage.

The Chinese lady considers her small feet to be her chiefcharm; toexpose which is deemed exceedingly immodest, and to speak ofwhich isregardedas highly improper on the part ofmen.

‘ The Hinduwoman hidesher face, andwears at the same time a thin gauze dresswhich,while it displays every charmofher dusky person, cannot, asMr.Man intimates, beregarded as other than an attempt to convey an arriére penséc.

’

Ladies , in some portions ofAs ia, are not permitted to showthe ends oftheir fingers, while a Caribbean belle considers herselfvery fully dres sed

with a guajuco, two incheswide, and a becoming smile. To go out ofthe

Nor are some ofthe dances ofcivilizationmuch behindthese in point ofindecency .

Onewhich Iwas privileged to see in 1892, in thea de Paris, in the French capital,wouldmake the ordinary houtchi-coutchi artiste look like a NewEngland spinster incomparison.

Angas , loc. cit. , r, 98, ct seq.

Watt, Jour. Anthr. Inst , xvr, 365.

Cook ,“Voyage to the Pacific,

”11 , 192, cl seq.

Stricker, loc. cit., xv ,243. Moore, lac. cit., p. 259 , atseq.

64 Human Sexualityseventeenth century , he found thewomenwearing only smocks , inwarmweather; and, in Venice and Padua,with their breasts and backs entirelynaked. MaryWortleyMontagu ,writing of thewomen ofTurkey ,describesthemin the baths at Sophia as quite in a state ofnature,

”as regards

dress ; and in Ireland, up to the seventeenth century , itwas no uncommonthing to see young women and girls stark naked, grinding corn for the

family .

‘

Children, while bashful, are proverbially destitute ofwhat we call

modesty ; a circumstancewhich directs attention veryImmodesty of sharply to a distinction too often lost sight ofbyChildren writers, butwhich is emphas ized, byMr. Ellis in his

splendidwork on the Psychology ofSex , thatmodestyis an instinctwholly separablefromfear, although a resultanto an agglomeration offears ; one ofthese being ofearlier than human origin, and sup

plied solely by the female, and the other, or others , ofmore distinctlyhuman character, and ofsocial rather than sexual origin.

” Children, bynature, have little ifanymodesty . Both in speech and act, they outrage

conventionalitywith themost charming insouciance. Frequently their apparent ignorancewill have amost appalling accidental point, as thefollowingwill proveA littlemisswho, to deter her fromthe too common practice ofsucking

her thumb, had been told by hermother that if she continued the habit

shewould lose allher beauty , and growup coarse and stout, andwith a bigstomach. When a lady about seven months advanced towardsmaternitygot upon the caroneday , the little girl, aftereyeing her closely for some time,suddenly pointedherfinger reprov ingly at her, shouting out, to themingledhorror and amusement ofthe passengers aha, I knowwhat you’ve beendoing 1

”

To showthatmodesty is not innate , but cultivated, among children,it is only necessary to point out that children whohave not been subjected to a discipline ofdecencynot only expose themselveswith the greatest freedomand unconcem, but when under instruction in this

regard,frequentlywhollymiss the point at issue. Up to that periodatwhichthe lessons ofmodesty become properly instilled, both boys andgirls exposetheir priv ates quite unconsciously ; and I aminclined to think that if, insome, the reverse happen to be the case, it is due not somuch to the factthat the organs are sexual as that they are excretory , just as it is withanimals.

Repugnance to filth is an animal as well as human feeling , the lower1 F.Moryson, Itinerary , 3 , n—v .


mammals , cats anddogs, exercising the greatest care to preserve clean

liness , and retiring , almost invariably , to secluded places to respond to

thewants ofnature.

1 Thus wemay be justified in regarding a too pre

cocious modesty as ofanimal rather than human origin. There is awellmarked repugnance among all peoples , savage and civ ilized, to the satis

faction oi natural needs ; the Dyaks ofMalacca, although remarkablycleanly , washing the sexual organs carefully after urinating, and alwaysusing the left hand for the purpose, the right being reserved for themorehonorable uses ofwar, labor and the chase.

’

Itwouldbe tedious, and perhaps unprofitable, to attempt in this placeany extended or scientific analysis of this question ofhuman modesty ;butwhetherwe regard it as congenital or acquired, psychological or physiological, there can be no evading its importance as a sexual attribute, or

the partwhich it plays in themutual attractability ofthe sexes .

One ofitsmost obtrusive phenomena— the act of

Blushing blushing— presents the following list of symptoms,

as recorded by Partridge in one hundred and twentycases critically examined.

’ Tremors near thewaist,weakness in the limbs,pressure, trembling , warmth, weight or beating in the chest,warmwavesfromthe feet upward, quivering ofheart, stoppage, and then rapidbeatingofthe same, coldness all over, followed by heat, dizziness , tingling oftoes

andfingers , numbness , something rising in the throat, smarting ofthe eyes ,ringing of the ears , prickling sensations of the face, and pressure insideh A portentous array ofsymptomswith themost important objective one— facial subcutaneous hyperazmia— omitted The lady blushed

red, but nothing she said) “

There is no feminine charm, or combination ofModesty as charms , that can preserve its attractiveness for the

Associatedwith male for any length of time ifmodesty be lacking ;Sexual Suscep and prostitutes who have not learned the art of

tibility simulating it are only half educated in their timehonored profession. They may not be able at all

times to set inmotion the delicate reflexmechanismofblushing, anymorethan themodern society belle can ; but fewofthemwill be founddeficientin those little acts ofassumed coquetry ,mauvaise home,which experiencehas told themare farmore potent in exciting themasculine passion thanthemost lav ish display ofperson.

The peculiar influence which darkness has in dispelling modesty has1 Houmay ,

“Industries ofAnimals,” Ch. vn .

Ste vens, Zeitschriflfar Ethnologis , p. 182, 1897 .

Pedagogical Seminary , April, 1897. Scott, Eve ofSt. John.

5

66 Human Sexualitynever been satisfactorily explained, butwe do knowthat, althoughmthefashionable whore- houses mirrors are so arranged as to stimulate thedebaucheewith a constant sight ofhis own sexual act, in a state ofnature

bothmen andwomen courtdarkness rather than lightfor sexual indulgence.

Those, too,who are temperamentally shywill always find in the companyofblind persons relieffromtheir constitutionalweakness .

Lerius says that in coming to Brazil wherewe foundmen andwomennaked as theywere born,manywill think that our so long commercewithnakedwomen must needs be a great provocation to lus but he con

cludes that the nakedness did not entice themsomuch as ourwomen’sclothes .

‘ Itwas Judith’s pantoflles that rav ishedHolofernes , andNaomi,well versed in the arts ofher sex, counsels Ruth howto dress to captivateBoaz.

’

Customhas established a curious complimentary relationship betweenthe face and the sexual organs , in the former ofwhich

Relation ofthe thefirst symptomofmodesty— blushing— is commonlyFace to the Sexual revealed. Martial, long ago, remarked that when

Organs an innocent girl looks at a man’s penis, she alwaysdoes so through her fingers ; and it is within the

experience ofevery gyne cologist thatmostwomen cover their faces duringexamination, paying little heed to sexual exposure so long as this ostrich

act conceals it fromtheir own v iew. This curious psychosis, or self- consciousness, sharedbyman andanimals alike, bywhich the idea is conveyedthat inv isibility to ourselves involves inv isibility to others, is an instino

tive impulse ofnature, overriding reason, and is very ably dealtwith byProfessor Stanley Hall in theAmerican JournalofPsychology, Vol. IX, 1898.

The question has been pertinently asked — is modesty , on thewhole,becoming more prominent as civ ilization advances? I have alreadyintimated otherwise, and thewriterwho puts the question answers it himselfnegatively , andwith his usual philosophical insight into, not only theorigin ofhuman emotions , but, thevarying influences ofhabit andeducationwhich shape and control them. It is amistake to suppose,” he remarks ,that, in becoming extended,modesty also becomes intensified.

”s

I have noted elsewhere that many savage races

Immodesty of are really more modest than the civilized; and the

Civ ilization Ao fact is quite susceptible ofexplanation. The teachingcounted For of at least the outlines of physiology in our public

schools has familiarized us , to a great extent,with thephenomena ofphysicalfunctions , sexual anatomy, and the laws ofprocrea

1 “Hist. Nav . in Brazil,” Cap. 8, London, 1842. Ruthm, 3

Lib. 11, v m. H. Ellis, lac. cit., r, 47.


tion ; andwith that knowledge has come, necessarily , a greater freedom1n

discussing such questions, aswell as a stimulateddesire for their investigation. Ourmodern life 18 largely subservient to human needs, in art, litera

ture and science. Outward expression , chastened by the refinements of

society , touches freely themes and sentimentswhich are forbidden ground

to the unlettered; andas a consequencewefindthe semblance, aswellas theprinciple, ofmodesty far more invincibly established among the latter

than the former class . Hence, conversations and themes are admittedquite readily into the drawing- rooms ofeducated peoplewhichwould beconsidered outrageous in the household ofaworkingman. The disgust for

certain portions ofour anatomy,which is an instinct ofmost savage races ,as Richet has well pointed ou , necessarily decreases as our knowledgeincreases ; and examining scientifically the wonderful mechanismfromwhich our physical functions spring ,we lose, to a large extent, the feelingofdisgust which thatmechanismoriginally conveyed to our senses . Thus

civilization tends to subordinatemodesty as an instinct, to intellectas a law;and in doing so, while still recognizing it in principle, has necessarily

depri ved it ofmuch ofits originalpower.Mr. Darwin in hisDescent ofMan, andMr.WallaceLove- Lures of in his Contributions to the Theory ofNatural Selec

Civ ilization tion , have so clearly and cleverly covered the ground

of sexual choice among animals , describing the

variousmeanswhich the latter resort to for the purpwe ofattracting the

opposite sex,means after all scarcely diflering fromour own, that I shall

omit, however reluctantly , this very important phase ofthe question, andpass at once to these attributes ofsexwhich aremutually attractive tomenandwomen, andwhich so largely influence the question ofmarriage and

procreation in the human family .

I placemarriage first,with a clear eye to the fact thatman, unlike other

male animals, is usually ready to pair offwith the female every time hegets a chance ; so that themere act ofcopulation becomes in a senseweondary to the lawoflegitimate union as one ofthe foundations ofsociety.

Let aman be never so good- looking , hewill not bemuch sought after;

but let awoman be never so plain, shewill still be eagerly courted is an

old proverb , the truth ofwhich is farmore apparentwhen applied to prev ious generations than to this . Notwithstanding the undoubted fact thatthe progress andrefinements ofciv ilization,with the greater regard paid tothe laws ofhealth, and culture of themind, havematerially raised the

standard offemale beauty , it is equally undeniable that woman, in her

sexual capacity , is not as largely sought after today as heretofore.

Whether this bedue tothatgradualweakening ofthe sexual life, formerly

68 Human Sexuathinted at, the enlarging ofthe idea] at the expense ofthe purely sensual,the,Mbly , greater prevalence ofillicit indulgence, or any other, or all,

ofa number ofcauses, it is not thewriter’s prov ince, in his strict dealingwith sexualfacts , to determine ; but at no period in the history ofthe race,it can truthfully be said, has the question ofthe sexual relation furnished

amore interesting fieldfor philosophical speculation than at present.Newspapers, magazines and v arious publications

Other Conditions of a quasi- scientific character, literally teemwithwhich Influence discussions— for themost part foolishly or illogicallySexual Choice founded— as to

“whymen do notmarry ,

”the causes

ofunhappy unions, andthe probable ultimatedevelopment of the ever-

growing divorce ev il. Indeed, with the present hypothetical character ofthewedding contract, the perilswhich involve it, andthe comparative rarity withwhich it is either entered into, or lasts, for alifetime, itwould seemthat a return to the primitivemethod ofthe Sagno

negroes , as describedbyMerolla da Sorrento,would be strictly in order, in

America at least. Women have experience of their husbands before

marrying them, and in likemannermen oftheirwives ; and in this par

ticular I can aver that thewomen are commonlymuchmore obstinate or

fickle than themen, for I have knownmany instances in which themenwerewilling to bemarried,while thewomen heldback , andeitherfledawayormade excuses .

”

The last clause ofthe quotation is less applicable tomy present purposethan the first. What Imean to convey is thatMr.Meredith’s scheme of

ten-

yearmarriages is, after all, nothing new; and that as a remedy for the“divorce disease itmight not be unworthy ofa trial. Lobo tells us that,

inAbyssinia, marriagewas usually enteredupon for a termofyears and

we are informed by Waitz8 thatmany ofthe negro peoples marry either

on trial”or for a fixed time. The Aleuts used to exchange theirwives

for food and clothes , just as themodern lady exchanges her husband for

notoriety andalimony . The systemis the same, only themodern lady, beingamore valuable asset, naturally brings the higher price. I shall, however,defer consideration ofthis theme untilwe come to the duration ofmarriageamong ancient andmodern peoples , and continuemy investigation ofthe

physical causeswhich underlie the sexual union.

It will be found, asM. de Quatrefages haswellWoman Loves remarked, that while men are less delicate in this

Above Herself respect, women persistently refuse to lower themselves by the sexual choice, unless depravedby drink ,

drugs , or some other unseemly or brutalizing habit.

‘ Thus ,while duringLac. cit., p. 236 . Lac. cit. , p. 26 . Lac. cit. , n , 114. Lac. cit. , p. 267 .


the reign ofslavery in the South,whilstmen frequently debased themselveswith blackwomen, the cases are, so far asmy reading has extended, prac

tically nilwhere the reverse proposition proved true. Thewoman alwayslaces above herself; theman, in a general sense , promiscuously.

Dr. Nott, writing in the middle of the past century , asserts that he

nevermetwith a half- breedwhowas the offspring ofunion between a negro

man and a whitewoman ;1 and I think that careful investigation woulddevelop a similar condition in lower class society today ; unless in those

comparatively rare cases due, as I have intimated, to causes other than normal. In NewZealand, European men occas ionally marryMaori women ;butMr. Kerry Nicholls states quite positively that he never knewofa casewhere a Europeanwoman hadmarried aMaoriman.

’

The question ofrace miscegenation, however, is an anthropological, ifnot a zoological one ; themeans resorted to among savages to attract the

attention and admiration ofthe opposite sex being thowcommon tomostanimals . Chiefamong these are gaudiness ofplumage, as in birds and, shallI say it?women . Softness andcoloring ofskin,as in the leopard, andmusicalsweetness ofthe voice, as in the educated lady and the singing bird. ButMr. Darwin,with his customary keenness in investigation, found another

principlewhich he holds , and rightly so, to be common to bothmen and

animals— that the female gives preference, other things being equal, tothemost v igorous , defiant andmettlesome ofthemales .

”

Among savage races, particularly , is this crownStrength inMen ing attribute ofmanhood reverenced and esteemed;

Admired byWomen and in the song ofthe Indian girl, as given byMr.

Schoolcraft,we find the spontaneous outflowing ofthefemale heart to its sexual ideal, just as in Solomon’s songwe see the femaletype ofideality pictured by themale: My love is tall andgraceful as theyoung pine,waving on the hill; as swift in his course as the noble, statelydeer. His hair is flowing , anddark as the blackbird that floats through theair; andhis eyes , like the eagle

’s, both piercing and bright. His heart, it

is fearless andgreat; andhis arm,it is strong in the fight.

”

Often the curled and perfumeddandy is astonishedandmystifiedtofindhimself cut out, in the affection and regard ofhis lady- love, by someweather-beaten sailor, or bronzed fireman, destitute ofevery charmsave

physical strength andmanly courage; ignorant ofthe fact that the very

means uponwhich hemost relies tomake himselfpleas ing to the feminineheart, the latter regards as stolen property , her own by right, andsuggestiveofcontempt rather than admirationwhen appropriatedbyman.

V id. also “Africans , Macdonald, r, 141.“TheMaori Race,” Jaur. Anthr. Ind xv , 195. Schoolcraft, lac. cit., v , 6 12.

70 Human SexualityThe lovely Atalanta, according to Ov id gave herselfas a prize to the

swiftest runner; and althoughwon by the ruse of thewily Hippomenes,voiced, in the terms ofthe Arcadian race, the earliest instinct ofher sex.

The hero- lovers ofScandinav ianmythologywere subjectedto extraordinarytrials ofprowess , andWestermarck tells ofabeautifulMadagascar princess,for whomkings andwarriors fought, surrendering herself at last to theloverwho proved the strongest andmost courageous.

’

Itwas not sufficient among most primitive races

A Severe Love that the suitor should be young and attractive— he

Test must be both brave andstrong ; andthemore enemieshe subdued in battle, and themore heads ofa hostile

tribe he could lay at the feet ofhis inamorata, themore hewas prized and

Among the Dongolowees , as Felkin informs us ,’the difficulty ofchoice

between two rivals,which themodern bells would probably decide on a

purely monetary basis, was determined in the following manner. The

young lady tied a knife blade to each forearm, the points projecting fromtheelbows, then seating herselfupon a log ,with a young lover on each side,

she slowly leanedforward, pressing the points ofthe blades into the youngmen’s thighs , and the onewhowhimperedfirstwas ignominously rejected.

It is amatter for pious gratitude that courting in this country is not governedby such strenuous conditions. I fear therewouldbemore bachelorseven than at present ifitwere.

Regarding the natives oftheRiverDarling ,Mitchell says that the possession ofgirls, orwives, appears to be associatedwith alltheir ideas offight

ing ,while the girls have it in their power to evince that universal pre

rogative ofthe fair— a partiality for the brave.

‘

It is not difficult to explain women’s instinctive preference for strongmen, as a fundamental lawin natural selection. The strongman not only

begets strong children, but is better able to protect and prov ide for boththemand themother. In the early stages ofhuman and social evolution,

bodily v igorwas the chieffactor in the struggle for existence. The strongmanmight perpetuate theweakwoman, but thewoman, however strong ,couldnot give continuedexistence to theweakman. This principledidnotcease to exist with the progress of civilization ; but prevails , andmustcontinue to prevail, so long as society and the human race depend, as they

presumably always will on the lawof selection for their growth and

perpetuation.

To the ancient Greeks , Eros was an extremely handsome boy ; and

Met. 8—4; at Euripid. in t niss. Lac. cit.,p. 255.

Lac. cit., n , 310. Westermarck, lac. cit., p. 256 .

72 Human SexuatTo theChinook the idealoffacialbeauty is a straight line fromthe tip

ofthe nose to the crown ofthe head andwhile theTypes of darling littleAmericangirldespises a snub- nose,soften

Physical Beauty ing the harshness ofthe Anglo-Saxon termwith theFrench euphemism, retrousse, the Africanmaiden ridi

cules the tomahawk noses” ofherwhite sisters, as she smiles complacentlyupon the reflection ofher own broad, flat proboscis in the stream.

The Tahitian women frequently remarked toMr. Williams— “what apity it is that Englishmothers pull their children’s noses out so frightftlong , when they are young I

” And the Chinesewomen of the northern

portion ofthe empire, according to Pallas,’aremuch preferred to those oftheManchu type, who have broad noses andenormous ears.

However various the races ofmankind, the standards ofbeautywill befound equally varied. To our honest Fleming ,” says Bombat,‘ whohas never studieddesign, the forms ofRubene’swomen are themost beautiful in theworld. le t not us,who admire slenderness offormabove everything else, and towhomthe figures even ofRaphael’swomen appear rathermassive, be too ready to laugh at him. Ifwewould consider thematterclosely , itwouldappear that each indiv idual, and consequently each nation,has a separate idea ofbeauty.

”

If there be an abstract beauty, as some claim,

Abstract Beauty althoughmost deny , as civ ilization tends to perpetuate and refinewhatever is best in nature, itwould

seemonly natural to look for it among those peopleswithwhomciv ilization

has been carried to greatest perfection. This would take us naturally to

either the greatTuranian races ofthe East, or the Caucasians oftheWest;and itwill require little argument to prove that among these, as amatteroffact, are found the greatest graces and attractiveness ofperson, aswellas those physical featureswhich are themost universally pleasing.

though drunk , was by his beauty alonemore powerful tha n Achilles , as Favorniusasserts ; and Adrian IV , the bastard ofan English priest, by the same qualitywonthe papal throne. Shakespeare claims thatwhen Venus ran tomeet the rosy-checked

Adonis , even the air fell in lovewith her, “the bushes in theway did twine about herlegs , tomake her stay , anddid covet her for to embrace andHeliodorusmakes thesame remark about Daphnewhen she fled fromApollo. The oldmen ofTroy,whenthey sawHelen , said that thewarwaswell undertaken for her; andV enus ,when she

lost her son Cupido, ofl'ered as a reward for himseven kisses , a greater price thanseven prov inceswouldbe, since any one ofthem, as the gallantApulius remarks .wouldbring a dyingman to life. But towrite ofthe conquests ofbeautywould be towritea history ofnot only theworld, but ofboth heaven andhell.

Bancroft, lac. cit. , I , 227. Lac. cit., p. 539 .

Lac. cit., rv , 519 . Lac. cit. , p. 278.


In considering the question offemale beauty , and the influence it naturally exerts upon sexual selection in man, it is manifestly right that weshould confine our inquiries to those typeswhich are recognized as truly

beautiful by considerable groups ofpeople, andentirely apart fromindiv idual difierences oftaste and opinion. Mr. Spencer has claimed andwithmuch philosophical reason, that “mental and facial perfections are fundsmentally connected; the aspects ofthe latterwhichmost charmus beingthe external correlations , or reflections , ofthose spiritual perfectionswhichconstitute the inward beauty ofthe soul.

Bad persons , whatever their grace or regularity

Soul Beauty of formor features , and however the beautifulshe-devil may have been exploited in fiction, are

rarely beautiful in the true sense ofthe term; that beauty being , as definedby dictionaries, such a quality or assemblage ofqualities in an object asgives the eye intense pleasure ,” it follows that its power ofagreeability

must bematerially lessened by those ideas ofassociationwhich render it

repugnant to the moral sense. Thus many women are beautiful in the

ordinary acceptation ofthe term, perfect in the regularity , and classic in

the contour oftheir features ; and yet fall far belowthe exquisite and sub

lime beauty ofRaphael’sMadonnas. To attain this , these outward and

visible properties ofthe human organism,which aremost agreeable to us

by reason ofcustom, or education,must be irradiatedby an equally pleasingsoul- light fromwithin ; otherwise they would be but as one of those old

cathedrals ofEurope, glorious in design, reflecting the sublime skill ofthe

architect, and itswalls breathingwith the trophies ofimperishable art, butwith shroudedwindows, andwith no light on its altar. To be physicallyhandsome a pemonmust approach the physical typeofhis orher sex ; butto be aesthetically beautiful requires , in addition, not only the reflected

charmofmoralgoodnes s , but that intangible somethingwhichwe call intelligence speaking in the countenance.

The Kaflirs and Hottentots are shamed withthe long pendant breasts oftheirwomen,which are

sometimes somonstrously lengthened as to be thrownover the shoulder to accommodate the child in suck

ling, when it is carried on the back ;’while we admire the round, firm,

protuberant breasts of lesser development, quale decus tumidis Pario de

Mr. Reade tells us that the native girls ofGaboon, by stretching and

pulling , strive to emulate the pendant beauties oftheir seniors ; ’.Za result1 “Essays,

”u , 156—162.

“VonWeber,” lac. cit., r, 174.

74 Human Sexualitywhichwould strike horror to the heart ofan American societywoman, andwhich is little agreeable to thewhite races generally .

TheMakololo women make themselves plumpFemale Obesity as and, to their dusky admirers, pretty , by drinking

a Charm enormous quantities of a peculiar decoction called“boyaloa ;

” 1 theMoorish women of the WesternSahara use a large quantity ofmilk and butter for the same purpose ;z andthewell known fondness oftheAmerican negress for anointing herbodywithcocoanut- oil andbear’s grease,while a relic ofher earlierAfrican barbarism,

had its origin probably in a similar idea.

In almost allOriental countries the “stout lady

”is in demand. In fact

there are portions ofour ownwhere the supply sometimes runs short; butin Turkey andChina,where the highest social andmatrimonial ambitionsare not realized somuch through the spiritudle type offeminine lovelineaas by the number offingers offat over the ribs, the ladies are shut up andstall- fed, like Strasbourg geese, before their prudent parents think ofputtingthemupon themarket. Indeed the pashas andmandarins ,who are the

chiefpatrons ofthis flourishing domestic industry , buying theirwives incarload lots, and always on trial, are not as a rule highly spirituelle themselves , running to stomach rather than soul, and paying far greater heed toquantity than to quality . With them, no lady is prized until, instead of

one abnormally active chin , she have at least three ofthe indolent type,

andherwaist andbust- lines are lost in paraboloidcurves oflovely sphericity .

They not only like a good thing but plenty ofit.

I amproud ofour American large ladies . The country wouldn’t beworth lov ingwithout them; but I confess thatwhen one came puffing uptome on the street the other day , big enough tomake a fine travelling

advertisement for a newbreakfast food, and askedme to “ inhale that car”

for her, intimating that itwas some newkind ofsmelling salts, I inwardlywishedshe hadbeen smaller andless conspicuous .

Awoman’s face is shorter than aman’s, hermouthCaucasian smaller, her nose less prominent, her neck longer and

StandardofBeauty thinner, her hipswider, her waist narrower, her fingers more slender and pointed, and both hands and

feet smaller anddaintier. Themiddle line ofher body is lower thanman’s;so that inwalking her steps are shorter, and consequently lighter andmoreseemingly graceful; since the absence ofthat up—and-downmovement ofthehead, resulting fromthe longer stride oftheman, gives to her progress theeasy , glidingmovement so characteristic ofthe sex .

A long face, a broadmouth, and large hands and feet, aremore accen

Livingston, lac. cit. , p. 186 . Chavanne, lac. cit. , p. 454


tasted in awoman than in aman ; through a greaterdivergence fromthestandard; andtheuse ofthe corset tonarrowthewaist, andthe low- cutdress

to lengthen the neck, are instinctive efl'

orts on her part to approximate thestandard. Both of the latter, however, are frequently carried to such an

excess as todefeat their very object. Ifthere is an idealofbeauty , commonto the entire race, it is, as I have intimated, purely one ofabstraction;

and incapable of realization, so far as our present knowledge extends .

Omne simile est dissimile; apparent similarities in taste are always aecompaniedby specific difl

'

erences in type. Thewhitemanwill see in the coloredwoman certain features offeminine beauty , though thewoman herselfis notbeautiful; andmost coloredwomenwouldpreferwhite husbands, on purelyesthetic grounds , ifthe sexuality ofthe blackmanwere not preferable tothem. People are prone to associate the idea ofbeautywith thosefeaturesand characteristicswhich distinguish themas a people, and ifnature havebestowedupon thema narrowforehead, a brown skin, high cheek bones anda flat nose, they are always disposed to regard as defects any dev iations

fromthat specific type. Thus thewhite lady employs the corset or the bustpad, orthe artificialhips , to preserve her type ofbeauty ; while the brownish,or red- skinned lady covers her bodywith annatto or chicadye to preserveher type ofcomplexion.

‘

The following description ofa Sinhalese beauty shows that interestingrace to be remarkably acute connoisseurs ofthe sex,

finhslese Beauty and corroborates the fact recently stated that each

nation has its own exclusive type, the descriptionfitting accurately , according to Davy ,

“the general external character

”of

the Sinhalesewomen. Her hair shouldbe voluminous, like the tail ofthepeacock, reaching to the knees, and terminating in graceful curls ; her noseshouldbe like the bill ofthe hawk, andher lips bright andred, like coral onthe leafofthe young iron- tree. Her neck should be large and round, her

chest capacious , her breasts firmand conical, like the yellowcocoanut, and

her waist small— almost small enough to be clasped by the hand. Her

hips should bewide, her limbs tapering , the soles ofthe feetwithout anyhollow, and the surface ofthe body 1n general, soft, delicate, smooth and

rounded,without the asperities ofprojecting bones and sinews. Barring

the flatness ofthe feet, this description is good enough to satisfy themostfastidious , even among ourselves.

“A small round face,”

remarks Castrén, “full rosy- red cheeks and

lips , white forehead, black tresses and small dark eyes , are marks of a

Samoyede beauty ; while among the Tartar women, who have much1 Humboldt, lac. cit m, 236 .

Davy, lac. cit. , p. 110, cl seq.

“

76 Human Sexualitysmaller noses than are seen ordinarily in Europe orAmerica, the smallertheir noses the handsomer they are esteemIn Fiji the peculiar broadness ofthe back ofthe head is regarded as a

greatmark ofbeauty ;’ and among the Egyptian ladies, aswe are informedbyMr. Lane,we seldommeetwith that corpulencewhich is somuch admiredbymost other African peoples .

’ The negro loves thick lips, the KalmukTartar the tumed—up nose, theAztec theflattenedhead, the NorthAmericanIndian the flat forehead, the natives ofSumatra , Tahiti and Samoa, thepressednose andbroadocciput, theCaucasian the high, broadforehead, and

large eyes , the Samoyedes fromthemiddle Obi, small eyes , and the nativeofCentralAfrica, the split- lip and stre tched ear—lobes. But although these

divergencies froma common physicaltype are startling , andoften ludicrousfromour point ofv iew, the anthropologist who strives to deduce fromtheman argument against the scriptural theory ofspecial creation,mightjust aswell argue that a lady ceases to be herselfthemoment she changesher dress.

Temporamutantur, 1103 etmutamur in illis ; andthefashions ofthe face,thewalk, the smile and the bow, are not less fickle than are those ofour

Ifwe are not born handsomemuch can be done to remedy the unfor

tunate defect by the professional beautifier, prov idedArtificial Beauty he or she be a physician, educated, and capable of

discriminating between what is helpful andwhat isharmful; but the astonishing follywithwhichwomen put themselves, theirhealth, happiness and the remnant ofbeauty they may possess, into thehands ofignorant and unscrupulous quacks , is one ofthemost inexplicableproblems ofthe present age. Women are fed on arsenic,which in tabletformis sent broadcast through themails, towhiten the complexion, untilby its prolonged administration the bowels are ulcerated, the heart

becomes irritable andweak , the cutaneous sensibility impaired, thebreathingshallowand difficult; and are only turned over to the physician whenBright

’s disease, paralysis , or impending perforation ofthe intestine has

rendered the case hopeless. As the beautifying treatment is alwayskept religiously fromthe family physician, he is ofcourseunable, frequently,to trace the etiology ofthe illness ; and can only prescribe as best hemay ,andprotect thequack bywriting adeath certificatewhen the inev itable contingency results. Imention arsenic, because it is the commonest, althoughonly one, ofhundreds ofdrugs used for similar purposes ; and becauseit is , probably , themost insidious aswell as fatal in its ultimate results.

DeRubruquis, loc. cit., p. 33. Waits-Garland, Ioc. cit. , V t, 543.

Loc. cit., r, 38, et seq.


As a typical instance ofthe efl'

ect ofthis drug in paralyzing the facialnerves , to which it owes its cosmetic power, it is

Case ofMadame related ofthe great operatic singer, Giulia Grisi,whoGrisi died in Berlin in 1869 , andwho, to preserve that

classical beauty of features for which she was so

universally famous, resorted to the use ofarsenic, that in 1856 ,when she

appeared as Semiramis in NewYork , her face was simply a death—mask ,hav ing completely lost its mobility through paralysis of the muscles of

expression . She could neither laugh, smile, nor otherwise assist the powerofspeechwith thosedelicatefacialmovementswhich somaterially emphasizeit; and thosewho conversedwith her, offthe stage, for some years prior toher death, describe her appearance, andefforts at articulation, as peculiarlystrange, pathetic and ghastly.

The generallywrinkled and shrivelled appearanceEv il Efiects of ofthe savage

’s skin is doubtless due in large degree to

Cosmetics the customofpainting it, and the fact ought to besufficient to call attention to a like danger attending

the pernicious customin ourmodern society . Itdoes not require amedicaleducation to appreciate the fact that the pores ofthe skin, the

“breathing

organs ofthe body , andwith excretory functions v itally important andnecessary in eliminatingwastematter fromthe system, can only be clogged

up with paint, or powder, and deprived oftheir functional usefulness, at

the peril ofdestroying both the beauty and life ofthe skin itself. This is

amply proven by the haggard, dry andwithered appearance ofthosewhohabitually use paint,when they are not

“made up ; and as to the use of

other cosmetics, itmay be briefly stated thatwhatever tends to conceal,

instead ofto correct, any defect ofphysical functionmust be injurious .

To simply condemn the use ofthese ao- called aids to beauty ,”without

directing attention to the fact that they in every instance defeat the very

purpose they are usedfor,wouldbe awaste ofwords ; since the desire to bebeautiful is so powerful and congenital an instinct, and so inseparablyidentifiedwith our nature, that most ofus, but particularly the femaleportion,would imperil our very souls to satisfy it.

Allwomen desire to be loved; but since love can

The Desire for be easily shown not to depend on, nor exhibitBeauty inseparable connection with, the aesthetic pleasure

which physical beauty excites , it is plain that it doesnot lie at the bottomofourdesire to be beautiful. The savagemotherwhopaints her childdoes it not for the purpose that shemay lov e itmore, butsimply tomake itmore beautiful and agreeable to her eyes ; and since,

among all races, the Baconian aphorismmight very appropriately read

78 Human Sexuatbeauty is power,‘ we need hardly expect that the civilizedwoman willneglect those arts of personal decoration which instinct has taught hersavage sister to adopt; unless, as I have intimated, it can be shown that thepractice destroys rather than aids such a purpose,which, I think, I haveshown to be the case.

The practice ofpainting the bodywas resorted to, originally , to exag

gerate the natural color ofthe skin. The Indian is

OtherAids to red, therefore he paints himself red. The Negro is

Physical Beauty black, so he paints himselfblack ; and the Caucasianbeing white, naturally chooses the white pigment.

The natives ofTana,who are copper colored, enrich their complexionswitha dye a fewshades darker and the Barnabi Islanders , a little lighter than

the Tanians, use yellowturmeric to give their bodies awhiter appearance.

'

The Javanese smear themselveswith a yellowcosmetic, but only , as Crawfordnaively remarks , when ln fulldress ; andMarcoPolo says‘ ofMaabar,on theCommands]Coast, the children that are born here are black enough,

but the blacker they are themore they are thought of; wherefore, fromthemoment of their birth, the parents do rub themevery week with oil of

sesame, so that they become black as dev ils . Moreover they make theirgods black, and their dev ilswhite, and the images oftheir saints they do

paint black all over.

”

This custom— exceedingly uncomplimentary to the white race— goes

to prove the truth ofV on Humboldt’s assertion that in barbarous nations

The instances in history where bothmen andwomen hav e achieved distinction

through physical beauty alone are numerous . Men hav e beenmade kings through

it, as was Saul among the Hebrews . Ganymedewas taken to heaven by Jupiter forhis beauty, and Haaphestionwas loved by Alexander, and Antinous by Hadrian, for

the same cause. Chariclea alone escaped death at the hands ofthe pirates , for herbeauty ; and Irena, similarly , at the sack ofConstantinople. Rosamond the Fairwasthe only onewho dared insult Henry H ; andMenelaus , coming to kill Helen , as the

cause ofall the suffering andbloodshed in the Trojanwar, droppedhis v engeful swordin her presence. Ev en the animals recognizedthe powerofbeauty . When Sinalda , the

queen ,was to be torn in pieces bywild horseswe are toldby Saxo Grammaticus thatthewild beasts stood in admiration ofher person the great AlexandermarriedRoxanna, a poor girl, for her beauty alone ; the beauty ofEsther set fire to the PersianCourt; Cleopatra conquered Rome by hers ; Delilah , Samson ; Judith, Holofemes ;Bathsheba, Dav id; Roxalana , Solimon theMagnificent; the v ery Dev il came fromhell to steal Proserpine for no othermotive, andwhen, as Tennyson sings .

Barefootedwent the beggar-maidTomeet the King , Cophetua,In robe and crown the king stepped down ,

Tomeet and greet her on theway .

”

Turner, loc. cit. , p. 307. ‘Angas , lac. cit. , p. 381. Loc. cit., n , 291.

80 Human Sexuatdwarfs. The conditions of life in civ ilized communities may perpetuateand guard, for some time, these abnormal characteristics ; but a little

reflectionwill conv ince us that theywould soon perish,where fidelity to a

common type prevails, and the principle of selection is enhanced by the

savage struggle for existence.

It is interesting to note the theories ofwriters asInfluence of to the effect produced on various races by the processClimate onMan of acclimatization. It has been asserted that the

curly hair ofthe European reverts to the length and

straightness ofthe original Indian type, among his American descendants ;andwhile Englishmen are all fairly corpulent at home, andwhile there isa tendency for themto growfat at the Cape,‘ in the United States and

Canada, as well as Australia, they are apt to become lean, and taller, as ifsteatopygy , or fatness ofthe buttocks,were a peculiarly British institution.

Itwould be interesting,were the inquiry cognate, to trace the connection

between these anthropomorphic changes ,due to climatic and env ironmentalcauses , and the appare nt inability ofEuropeans to found colonies in the

tropics ; themore so aswe have only recently undertaken such an experi

ment ourselves ; but thosewho desire to pursue such investigations furthermay do so in theworks ofSpencer, Darwin andWallace .

’

Itmay be pertinent to remark, however, that as , in the opinion ofmostBritish medical oflicers , an English regiment of a thousandmen wouldcompletely die out, fromdisease andother casualties, in a period ofthirteen

years ; and, as Springer has stated that a regiment ofeight hundredmenloses ,within ten years ,more than seven hundred, our prospective cost in

menandmoney , fromholding andcolonizing thePhilippines , is likely to provenot only great, but a re petition ofevery experience ofthe past in the sameline. Ofa third generation ofEuropeans in India, says Colonel Hadden,children only aremetwith, andthey commonlydie before the ageofpuberty ;andMr. Squiermakes the equally startling statement that the purewhitesofCentral America are not only relatively, but absolutely, decreasing in

numbers ; whilst the pure Indians are rapidly increasing , and the Ladinosmore andmore approximating the aboriginal type.

”

The negroes of the United States have undergone a residence change

which has left themat least two shades lighter in complexion than the

primitive African ; and Rohlfs records the case ofan African boy who,after a residencewith himin Germany of two years,was changedfroma

Westermarck , lac. cit., p. 268.

See also on this subject an able Paper by Dr. Felkin , in the EdinburghMcdicalJournal, 111—11 , 252.

Lac. cit. , p. 56 , quotedby Westermarck, lac. cit., p. 269


deep black to a light brown .

‘ In the“PhilosophicalTransactions” there

is even a record of a negrowho “became as white as a European ; but

this, I aminclined to think ,was probably a case ofcongenital or acquiredleucoderma, which, by reason ofits lesser frequency in Germany than inthis country and the tropics ,was less understood. All things considered,

wemay take it for granted that racial characteristics are very closely con

nested, in someway ,with conditions and env ironments . Intermixture of

blood has caused great confusions among racial types , which require the

slowgrowth ofyears , sometimes , to eradicate ; but the tendency among allraces , notwithstanding the ingenious arguments and theories ofthe svolu

tionists, is to revert to, and not deviate from, the parent type. Thus the

statement ofReclus , as quotedby Quatrefages,2 that within a given time,whatever their origin, all the descendants ofwhites, or ofnegroes,who haveemigrated to America,will become redskins ,

”though extrav agant, yet

recognizes the great primitive principle I have noted, and is not devoid ofacertain degree of support in the anthropomorphic changes at presentundoubtedly going on among our people.Many thinkers deny in tote the agency ofexternal

Influence of influences in cre ating racialdiflerences ; andProfessor

Heredity and Weismann is of the opinion that acquired char

Env ironment on soters are not transmittedfromparent tooffspring.

”

Man If the latter be true, and it is well home out by

observed facts, the evolution of the organic worldbecomes at once unintelligable, impossible, so far as it relates toman, and

themostwidely accepteddoctrine ofthe present day, the lawofevolution,

becomes practically a deadletter. It iswellknown that bent anddeformedlimbs are not perpetuated in the offspring ; the Chinese girldoes not inheritthe small feet ofhermother; themanwith skin brownedby long residencein the tropics begets a child perfectlywhite, and ofthe immemorialmutilartions practisedupon the body for generations , by savage tribes, not a hint istransmittedto the offspring. So, psychologically , the children ofmusicians,ofpoets, ofpainters , do not inherit their parent’s talent nor genius ; and

facts even go to prove that children ofciv ilized parents, permitted to growup in awild or isolated condition, lose even the language oftheir race and

adopt the sign language ofnature.

‘ These facts certainly go to prove thatdifferences ofrace are not the direct res ult ofadaptation ; and lead us to

assume that no heredity ofacquired character, ifthere be such, in the face ofthe facts stated, and the quite respectable authorities quoted, can explainthe diversity ofhuman races . The children ofnegroes are black,wherever

Lac. cit.,m, 255. Loc. cit. , p. 255.

Weismann, lac. cit. , p. 81. Rauber,“Homo sapiens , etc., pp. 69- 72.

6

82 Human Sexualityborn ; the children ofCaucasians white, wherever born ; and the color of

eachwe can only assume to be the correlative, or result, ofcertain physiological processes, long continued,which, in the country ofaman’s nativ ity,were exercised ratherwith a viewto his continued physical existence thanthe development ofracial characteristics .

This is shown by the fact that the native-born child surv ives,while theforeign

- bomchild perishes ; even though the parents of the latter have

undergone those functionalmodifications which necessarily followed theirchange ofabode. I dwell thus at length upon this question ofrace dif

ferences, notwith the hope ofadding anything newto the great fund of

information so patiently gathered by other, and abler, students of anthro

pology , but because the fullestdevelopment ofracial characters is necessaryto the production ofperfect health; and perfect health lies at the very

bottomofthat outward physical beautywhich is the strongest incentive tosexual selection.

Thus have I narrowed the theme down oncemore to thefield oforiginaldiscussion, and in following the thread ofreasoning

What is Beauty? bywhich I hope to trace the origin and developmentofthat innate instinctwhich teaches man to prefer

beauty to ugliness, in the selection ofhismate, I do sowith a perfect knowledge that I amcontravening one ofMr. Darwin’s most skillfully framedlaws ofhuman descent.

Themen ofeach race, says that incomparable anthropologist,1 preferwhat they are accustomed to ; they cannot endure any great change ; but

they like v ariety , and admire each characteristic carried to a moderateextreme. As thegreatanatomist, Bichat, long ago said, ifeveryonewere cast in the samemould therewould be no such thing as beauty .

Ifallourwomenwere to become beautiful as the Venus deMedici,we shouldfor a

'

time be shamed; butwe should soonwish for a v ariety , and as soon

as we had obtained variety , we shouldwish to see certain characters a

little exaggerated beyond the then existing standard.

”

In the foregoing statement, itwill be observed, there is a definition of

the simple lawofdesire, butwithout the slightest attempt to explain thatdesire, or the processes bywhich it is to be satisfied. So in the fashion of

ourdress, saysWestermarck,2following theDarwinian idea, only to reject itat the end, we see the same principle and the same desire to carry every

point to the extreme. Man prefers , to a certain extent,what he is accustomedto see. Thus theMaoris,who are in the habit ofdyeing their lips blue,consider it a re proach to awoman to have red lips ;” andwe ourselves dis

like, ou thewhole, any great deviation fromthe leading fashions , although1 Loc. cit., n , 384, at seq. Loc. cit., p. 274.


man always seeks some variety . Nowin one way , nowin another, he

changes his dress in order to attract attention, or to charm.

The fashions ofsavages are certainly more prominent than ours ; but

the extreme diversity ofornamentswithwhichmany unciv ilized peoplesbedeck themselves , shows their emulation tomake themselves attractive

bymeans ofnewenticements .

‘ But itwouldbe ridiculous to associate therace

’s ideal ofbeauty with such capriciousness oftaste, as Westermarck

very sensibly intimates . The point in whichMr. Darwin’s argumentcourts objection is his claimthat racial difi

'

erences are due to different

standards ofbeauty ,whereas it appears tome farmore probable that different standards ofbeauty are due to racial differences. The point, however, is aminor one, and only distantly connects itselfwith the question

Sexual selection has undoubtedly exercised some influence upon the

physical aspect ofmankind; but, since personalHowInfluenced deformities are far rarer, by general assent, amongby Civ ilization savage peoples than civilized,

’ it will have to be

admitted that other influencesmust have been operative,more directly traceable to civ ilization itself. Deformities are far lesslikely to survive among raceswhere hardship andendurance are the supremetest oflife,

’than under the protecting agis ofcivilized lawand the humanitarianismofreligion; and less likely to perpetuate their kindmthe faceofan aversion, far strongermthe former than the latter,where questions ofconvenience andexpediency are apt to intrude.

In concluding this subject, it is hard to see howsuch slight dev iations

fromthe original human type,which characterized, asMr. Darwin asserts,

the several tribes intowhichmankindwas originally div ided, could, even

in the long process oftime,develop such a striking difi'

erence aswe find, forinstance, between the color ofa European skin and that ofan African ; and

all the greater reluctance should the eminent naturalist have felt inmakingsuch an avowal in that none could bemore fully conversant than himselfwith the fact that the larger apes have identically the same color ofskinasthe human races , liv ing in the same country .

We come nowto consider the question oflove as

it relates to sexual choice ; for although the latter

has been shown to be largely influenced by beauty ,it has been equally shown that beauty is almostwholly a question oftaste

and custom; while love, both sexualandofkindred, is common to thewholeMarsden , lac. cit., p. 206 .

Humboldt, lac. cit. , r, 152; Waits, “Introduction , etc. , p. 113 ; Brough Smyth,lac. cit. , r, 30. Lawrence, lac. cit. , p. 422, et seq.

84 Human Sexuatrace ofman. While it cannot be denied that beauty offacemore frequentlyexcites love than any other personal characteristic, yet it is equally un

deniable that a vast number ofmarriages occurwhere it is not a dominatingfactor; the highest type ofhappiness , probably, more frequently arising

fromthose unions entered into on purely moral or afinitative grounds .

Ofcourse the idea ofbeauty is notwholly excludedby the fact that physicalbeauty is wanting. Theremay be amoral, or psychological beauty, perceivable only to the eyewhich forms it, perhaps ; but, notwithstanding theexceptions, those unions aremost apt to be permanent andhappy inwhichphysical beauty combines with high moral worth. Perfect sexual love

can only result froma perfect union ; namely , physical and psychologicalfitness ; and to secure this , reason and judgmentmust be summoned to theaid ofthe sexual sense. True love, unlike Jonah’s gourd, does not springup in a night. It is the growth ofyears, like everything else that is valuableand permanent. Its seed being an original perfect sexual adaptability, itis nourishedandfructifiedby harmony ofdisposition, sympathy , companionship,mutual forbearance, unity ofsentiment, andwilling discharge ofduty ;growing stronger, purer, holier andmore beautiful, through thedays,monthsand years of the earthly pilgrimage ; until, pruned ofits dead leaves of

selfishness , andwatered by the tears of common joys and afflictions , it

blossoms out at last into that great overshadowing tree ofdiv ine love of

which it is a part.No matter what its immediate precipitating cause, if conjugal con

geniality lie at the bottomofamarriage, it is boundConditions ofa to turn out all right; and no matter under whatHappyMarriage roseate auspices ofromanticism, and so- called love

at—first- sight, it may be entered into, if this con

geniality bewanting , it is bound to turn out allwrong . It is so easy for a

young lady to imagine herselfin love,when she only dreads becoming an

oldmaid to confuse love ofthemanwith love ofmen, or ofmoney , orhome, or social position ; and so hard to dissociate it fromselfishness and

adventitious circumstances, or to recognize even the existence, as a reality ,

ofthat pure, holy anddisinterested lovewhich comes only ofa perfect unionboth ofsoul and body .

And on the other hand— indeed far oftener— aman feels and believes

himselfin love every time he experiences the crav ingLove inMost Cases ofhis sexual instinct,without the remotest realizationSimply Sexual ofthe deeper and holiermeaning oftheword; and

Desire not unfrequently marries in such amesmeric trance,only to be awakened,most disagreeably, by the voice

ofthe judge, perhaps, assessing the amount ofalimony .


Howcommon it is forwomen,when they hear ofsome unfortunate caseofseduction, to cry poor soul, she couldn’t help it! She lovedhimso!

”

IfI could speak directly to the ladies I should tell themthere is no love insuch cases. It is amock article,mesmerism, hypnotismifyou like, andifit satisfy your consciences to give it such euphemistic names ; but,mycandid opinion is , it is nothing but a very natural sexual desirewhich hassimply failed in its purpose to escape detection.

Sowhen amoping , haggardwretch throws himselfinto the river, becauseMary Jane has refused him, andwhenMary Jane herselfloses her appetite,begins to indite love ditties, and pines away in seclusion, be assured it is

not true love. True love doesn’t do such things. They are done only by

the morbid, neurotic, diseased temperament, the unconscious v ictimof

sexual hyperesthesia,whomistakes his own infirmities for an emotion he isprobably quite incapable ofever feeling or conceiving ; andwho proves hisignorance ofthe true concept oflove by inflicting pain upon himself, ratherthan pleasure upon the object ofhis passion.

But, to analyze the questionmore closely, the stimulating impressionsproduced upon us by health, youth, beauty, symmetry ofform, omamentation, or other species of attraction, are all elements of sexual feeling .

The repugnancewhich everyman feels for sexual intercoursewith awomanof another race, powessed naturally of a different standard of physicalbeauty, and, possibly, a diflerent degree ofdesire, aswell as his instinctivehorror ofincest, or ofintercoursewith animals, belongs to the same class ofsexual phenomena. Around this passion, as a fundamental element, aregrouped such a host of subjective feelings aswouldfill awhole volume intheir analysis ; but it ,

is only to themost prominent ofthese that I shallask the reader

’s attention for the present.

The love ofthe sav age, although differing greatly fromthat ofa civ ilizedman, is nevertheless made up largely of the same

Lov e ofSavages ingredients. Thus, although in the latter conjugalaffection reaches a much higher degree of develop

ment, it is by no means absent in the former. Even among the

wretched Bushmen ofSouth Africa, possibly the lowest type of humanbeings, there is love in all their marriages ; 1 and among the races of

the Upper Congo there is a certain kind of poetry , a chiv alry , observ

able in their courtship and marriage, little to be looked for amongsuch a race.

3 The same touch of chivalrous sentiment is seen in the

sexual relationship of the Tauaregs ;’and Dr. Schweinfurth asserts that

even theman-eating Niam- Niamdisplay an affection for theirwives which3Chapman lac. cit., I, 258. Johnson ,

“The River Congo, p. 423.

Chavanne, lac. cit., p. 208.

86 Human Sexualityis unparalleled among other natives ofan equally lowgrade. The Esquimos are frequently seen rubbing their noses together— theirfavoritemarkofafi

'

ection ;” 1

and theTacullies, as Harmon informs us, are both fondofandkind to theirwives.

’ Catlin goes so far as to say that the North AmericanIndians are not in the least behindus in conjugal affection Mantegazzadiscovered it among the South American tribes ; ‘ the Fuegians are reportedto showa great deal ofafiection for their wives , and indeed, as Westermarck intimates ,“it seems difficult ifnot impossible tofindany portion ofthehuman race, however rude,where conjugal afi

'

ection is entirelywanting .

‘

Although far less intense among sav ages than its sexual analogue, parental love, being in one sense less vital to the existence ofthe species, seems,nevertheless, to be fully as primitive as the former; and, equally as in the

animal kingdom, lies at the bottomofthat instinctwhich prompts themaletowatch over anddefend the female during her periodofpregnancy . Only

inman, to his shame be it said, is this lawsometimes disregarded; but onthe other hand only inman is conjugal love found in its greates t perfection,deepened and broadened by the love ofoffspring and the refinements of

reason.Marriages frequently occur both in civilized and savage life, in whichlove, or even a pretence ofit, has no part. WivesMarriageWithout are purchased, captured, stolen or traded for, with

Love as sure a foundation, very often, for subsequenthappiness as when obtained in themore natural and

legitimate way . The Sabinemaidens made faithful and lov ing wives fortheir Roman captives, asMr. Rollin informs na;’ and the experiences of

modern society , as well as the facts prev iously quoted, go far to prove theassertion ofthe Eskimo toMr. Hall, that

“love, if it come at all, comes

aftermarriage.

”

Among theAustralians, according toMr. Smyth, the bride is nothonoredwith the tenderest kind ofa wooing . She is simply seized, and dragged

fromherhome. Ifshe resist, a spear is thrust through her foot or leg ; but,notwithstanding the harshness ofthe courtship, there seemto be fewcases

inwhich the husband’s subsequent devotion, fidelity and kindly affection,

do not in the end evoke kindred sentiments in thewife.

“

Sexual love has been greatly refined and spiritualized by the growingaltruismof society , and the influence ofreligion. In China it was con

sidered“good form” for aman to beat hiswife; and ifhe spared her a

Nansen, lac. cit. , 11 , 325 . Lac. cit., p. 292. Lac. cit. , r, 121 .

“Rio de la Plata ,

” p. 456 . Lac. cit., p. 360

See also Weddel, lac. cit. , p. 156 . Lac. cit. ,r, 39 , et seq.

Hall, lac. cit. , p. 568. Smyth, lac. cit. , r, 24.

BETROTHAL,MARRIAGE, DIVORCEHE betrothal of children, either for purposes ofpolitical expediency, strengthening the ties of clanship, or enlargement ofterritory ,which history shows us to be, and to have been, one ofthecommonest practices ofpresent civ ilization as offormersavagery,

must not be accepted as setting aside every instinct ofsexual adaptabilityand indiv idual choice inmarriages ofthe human race. As liberty ofselection has been already shown to be a fundamental lawamong the loweranimals, it cannot be supposed that even the dictates ofexpediency, and

the exigencies ofrefinedlife, shouldwholly abrogate it amongmen. Hencewe find, asMr. Schoolcraft remarks of the North

Infant Betrothal American Indians , that amongst almost all savage

races marriages are brought about sometimeswith,and sometimes against, thewishes ofthe graver andmore prudent relatives of the parties.

” Instances are citedby Heckewelder and others’ of

Indianswho have committed suicide through failure to secure thewives oftheir choice ; and among the Kaniagmuts , Thlinkets and Nutkas , the

suitor has usually to consult thewishes ofthe young lady . We are told

that among the Pueblos no girl is forced tomarry against herwill, however eligible her parents may consider the match 3

and in Terra del

Fuego the eagernesswithwhich the young girl seeks for a husband is onlyequalled by heruniformsuccess in getting the one shewants . Themoderncivilized customofthe girl running away fromtheman she dislikes, to takeupwith the one she likes, an inalienable sexual right, call it elopement orwhat youwill, has a perfect parallel among the Dacotah tribe, as we are

told,wheremanymatches aremade by elopement,much to the chagrin ofthe parents .

‘

But the reverse is also the case inmany savage countries . In Australia,

girls are contracted for in infancy ; as also in NewGuinea, NewZealand,Lac. cit. , p. 72. Vid. Westermarck , lac. cit. , p. 215.

Bancroft, lac. cit. , V . r, p. 549 , note Schoolcraft, loc. cit. , V .m, p. 238.

Betrothal,Marriage, DivorceTahiti, China andthe Philippines. In the lastmentionedplace, the farmingout ofyoung girls as temporarywives , or quartiles , by the father, or in somecases the padres ofthe church,was a very agreeable industry to the young

American oflicers during our first occupation ofthe islands ; andwas onlybrought to a sudden halt by stringent orders fromtheWarDepartment, in1902. The usual termswere, five dollars down, paid to the legal guardianofthe girl, and a weekly rental offifty cents ,with board and lodging , of

which the fairmatrimoniawas herselfthe recipient.In British India the same customnot only existed, but among the

natives themselves fully one- third ofthemarriedwomen ofall classeswerecontracted for, ormarried in infancy. The Kurnai girl ofAustralia had a

decidedfreedomofchoice; and shouldher parents refuse their consent, sheran awaywith her lover. Sometimes, on her return, shewould be forcedinto the same objectionable union, when another elopement took place,three such elopements usually being sufficient to overcome the parentalobjection ; but ifnot, all she had todowas to get the lover to impregnateher,which effectually ended the Opposition.

‘

The Australian raceswere quite liberal towomen in thematter ofchoosing husbands , as were also those ofNewZealand. TheMaoris have a

proverb, as thefish selects the bookwhich pleases it, sowoman chooses onehusband out ofmany ; and in Tonga, fully two- thirds ofthe girlsmarrywith their own consent. Themethod ofchoosing a husband among theladies ofAroraawas amusing . The girl sat in the lower roomofthe house ,

and her admirers, perhaps fifteen or twenty , assembling in the apartmentimmediately above, each one let down through the chinks ofthe floor a longstrip ofcocoanut fibre. She pulled upon one, askingwhose itwas ; and ifthe voicewas not that ofher favorite, shewent on fromone to another

till she fmmd the right party .

‘

In Sumatra, ifa young fellowran awaywith a virgin,which, consideringthe scarcity ofreal v irgins there hewas eminently justified in doing, thefather had the power to take her away fromhim, on his return to parentaljurisdiction, unless he paid over the stipulated price ; while among thewomen ofthe Chittagong Hill—tribe, in India, according to Lewin, the priv ilege ofselecting their husbands is to thefullas free as that enjoyedby ourown Englishmaidens .

”

In China, Japan and Korea, the lawofmutual choice largely prevails ;

and in Africa most of the tribalwomen may select their suitors at will.TheMadi girls , as is stated by Dr. Thomas H . Parke,

‘ have great

liberty in choosing companions to their liking ; and among the Kaflirs, asMathew, lac. cit. , xxm, 407. Taylor, lac. cit., p. 299

V id. Turner,“Samoa,” p. 295.

go Human SexualityMr. Leslie remarks , it is a greatmistake to suppose that a girl is soldby herfather, as hewould sell a cow.

‘

Among the Cathari the girls choose theirhusbands,Liberty ofChoice andthe youngmen theirwives ; andHerodotus states

General in that a similar rule prevailed among the Lydian

Primitive Times people. Notwithstanding the arbitrary powerwhichthe Hebrewlawgave the parent over the person of

the child, there was yet, as we learn fromthe Scriptures , considerableliberty ofchoice accordedthe girl in selecting a husband and in viewofthecases quoted, which might be multiplied at will, it seems impossible tocoincide in the viewofLetourneau that, during a very long period,womanwasmarriedwithout herwishes being at all consulted.

”

Indeed it appears difficult, considering our present systemof social

caste, andthevarious restrictionswithwhichparentalambition has hamperedmarriage, to avoid the conclusion that, under primitive customs, womenenjoyed possibly a greater degree ofpersonal liberty than she does today.

There is little reason todoubt that the earliest con

First Concept of ception ofwoman’s use in the worldwas identifiedWoman’s Use with the idea ofman’s sexual gratification. The

social pleasure she is capable ofimparting , throughher graces ofmind, and noble qualities of soul, did notweigh with the

He took her simply and solely as theministress ofhis lust, andwhenshe bore hima daughter, on the principle thatwomen eat but do not

hunt,” just as soon as the daughter reached amarriageahle age shewas

disposed of to the most desirable applicant. But notwithstanding that

bridestealing and rapes were quite the rule among most ofthe savage

races, a careful investigation ofthe subjectwill conv ince us thatmany,if not most, of these apparent outrages were perpetratedwith the con

nivance and consent ofthe young lady herself; so that themajority of

such cases comemore properly under the head of elopements than bridestealing .

”

The boy, as well as the girl, could ofcourse be hartered away , sold or

even killed, ifthefather thought proper; butwhile the boy attainedfreedomfromparental control atmaturity , the girl always remainedmore or less

amenable to it, so thatmarriage to her became rather a change ofownersthan one ofsocial or domestic status. Nor, even in cases ofenforced con

tract,were the conditions greatly difi'

erent fromour own. Themanwhohad been induced tomarry a wife he did not like, simply divorced her,

Loc. cit. , p. 194. Sociology, p. 378.

Westermarck, loc. cit., p. 223.

92 Human Sexualityhousehold lawamong the Egyptians, we read that the sonwho acceptstheword ofhis fatherwill attain oldage on that account)

"

The ancient Roman claimed, andwas awardedbyAmong Greeks and law, the jus vitae necisque over his children. He

Romans could imprison, sell, destroy or otherwise dispose of

them, under an explicit lawof the Twelve Tables(DuodecemTabularamFragmenta) ; and fromPlutarch we learn that

Brutus condemnedhis sons todeath,without judicialforms, not as consul,but as a father.

” The consent ofthe paterfamilias was always a conditionofmarriage; and children could not contract a legal union if this werewithheld.

“ Filial subjection ofthe son to the father also existedamong theprimitive Greeks, but, asWestermarck points out, disappearedat an earlyperiod in Athens , andsomewhat later at Sparta.

”

The relations ofUlysses andLaertes, in the Odyssey, is quoted to showthat at least in the decrepitude ofage a fathermight be deposedfromtheheadship ofa clan, orfamily. AtAthens , a sonwas heldwithin the father’spower until his twenty-first year; whilewomen remained in a condition of

nonage throughout life. Awoman’s power over property passed to herhusband atmarriage ; andas a rule shewas given inmarriage by the parentwithout being consulted, andfrequently to aman she did not even know.

‘

Among the early Teutons , while the father posAmong Teutons sessed the power ofselling his children, an adult son

andRussians could, ifhewished, put an infirmparent to death;and Pardessus tells us that, among the Franks, no

such patria potestas existed as among the Romans .

5 In choosing a wife,however, the youngman had to take council ofhis kin,who usually passedon the eligibility ofthe lady, and determined the nature and value ofthe

bridal gifts ,women always being regardedas helpless anddependent.In Russia, the word father (Batushka) is applied indiscriminately to

the head ofthe family ; to the starosta, the governor ofa prov ince, the emperot , and to God; showing themeasure ofrespect and reverence inwhichthe title is held.

“ The same rule holds among all the Slavonic races ; the

South Slavonian youth, according to Dr. Krauss,’not being permitted to

make a proposal ofmarriage to a girlwithout thewill and consent ofhis

parents ; the daughter, ofcourse, enjoying still less indiv idual freedom.

1 “The Precepts ofPtah-Hotep, xmr, 39 .

Quoted by Westermarck , lac. cit. , p. 229 . The daughter or sister, however, couldnot he sold, among the early Greeks , unlemshewere found to be awanton.

Justinian,“Institutionss ,

” I, title it. AlsoMackenzie, loc. cit. , p. 104.

Becker, loc. cit. , n , 446 . Loc. cit. , p. 446 .

Haxthausen, loc. cit., n , 229 .1 Loc. cit., pp. 313, 314, et seq.

Betrothal,Marriage, Divorce 93

The lawofIslamconsiderably limited the almost arbitrary powerwhichearly As iatic andHebrewcustomaccorded the parentover the lives and conduct ofhis children, theMohammedan son being competent to marry on the completion of his fifteenth year, with or without hisfather’s consent; andtheHanafis andShiahs bestowed

the same privilege upon their daughters , although in other schools ofMohammedan hermeneutics thewomanwas only freed fromparental controlatmarriage.

‘

During the republic ofGreece, and in Rome, under amore enlightenedand benign social jurisprudence, the parental power

In Greece and wasmore restricted than during the Homeric epoch,Rome when the fatherwas all, the childnothing . Diocletian

andMaximilian revoked the right ofselling freebomchildren as slaves ; and the father

’s prev ious power ofdictatingmarriage for

his sons“declined into a conditional veto.

“ The daughter, also,was ao

cordeda given degree offreedomin the selection ofa husband; andthe rightofprotesting , even refusing , ifher fatherwished to bestowher inmarriageupon aman ofdisreputable character.

“ The influence ofChristianitywasvery plainly felt in Roman andGreek domiciliary legislation ; and, spreading to prov inces ofthe former empire,we findClothaire I by a royal edict,

inA.D. 560, prohibiting the compulsion ofwomen tomarry against theirwill.Paternal authority , while declining in some

In Feudal and countries less rapidly than in others , has nevertheless

Present Times declined in all, being today practically an ignored

quantity in regulating marriage in most civ ilized

communities. But above the power even ofthefeudalbarons , the authority

ofthe parentwas supreme ; andhowever exalted in rank , no son everdared

to question it.

Even in France, at the present day, the parent exercises considerable

power over the conduct ofthe child. Neither son nor daughter can quitthe paternal residence before coming ofage,without permission, except, inthe case oftheformer, forenrolment in the army ; andthe rightofcorrection

duringmarriage still restswith the father. A son under twentyfive, and

adaughter under twenty- one, cannot contractmarriagewithout the parent’sconsent; and, even beyond those ages , both are stillbound to ask permissionby

“formal notification — somnolions respectueuses ; although this, ifthe

1 AmirAli, loo. cit., p. 180- 83.

Westermarck , loc. cit., p. 236 ;Maine, lac. cit., p. 138.

Rossbach, lac. cit. , p. 396 , et seq.

Guizot, “Hist. ofGvilisation, n , 464, et seq.

94 Human Sexuatcouple be determined, is amere formality , andseldompermittedto interfereseriously with ultimate results. Practically the same conditions exist in

England, where, apart fromthe lawofprimogeniture, traditionary customandthe etiquette ofhigh society, constitute barriers andrestrictions , almostas strong as lawitself, to regulatematrimony among the aristocracy .

‘

Whether it began in the garden ofEden, aswe areOrigin ofMarriage told in Scripture, or as an institution dev ised by

kings and rulers at a remote period ofantiquity forsociological or political purposes , is a matterwith which we are not at

present concerned; but a fewtheories respecting the origin ofmarriagemay not be uninteresting. An early Sanscrit poemsays that formerlywomen roved about at their pleasure,” independently ofany restraint, and

iftheywent astray theywere guilty ofno ofience.

’ The Emperor, Fou - hi ,

ofChina, is said to have first abolished promiscuous intercourse among hispeople ; the ancient Egyptians make a similar claimas toMenes, theirpharaoh ;‘ and the Greeks trace the institution ofmarriage back to Cecrops,the founder ofAthens .

‘ The legends ofLapland sing ofNjavv is andAttjis,who first institutedmarriage, binding the wife by a most sacredoath ;‘Brehmspeaks delightfully and entertainingly ofthemarriage ofmonkeysand other animals,“andMr. Powers andMr. Schoolcraft have tracedthe ih

stitution among theAmerican Indians to a very early source.

’ Rowney hasdone the same as to the tribes ofIndia,‘ andGuizot,’Lubbock,1°Moore,11 andWestermarck ,u have given us data sufficient to guide us to a fairly completeknowledge ofboth its beginnings and purposes ; and to the conclusion that,however itmay have beenmodifiedby thehabits andneeds ofdifferent races ,the interests ofthe child, health, home and the peopling ofthe clan, lay at

its foundation in primitive times .

Indeed, non- support ofwife and children seems toParental Support be a sin ofciv ilization rather than ofsavagery . The

ofChildren principle ofboth having awife and prov iding for herwants appears to have been one ofthe very earliest

among all peoples. With the Iroquois Indians, itwas the bounden duty of

the husband tomake themat, repair the Wigwam, or build a newone, and

prov idefor the hunger ofhis family. The product ofhisfirst year’s hunting ,Kent, loc. cit. , Lect. xxvr. Muir, loc. cit n , 327 .

Goguet, loc. cit. , 111 , 311- 313.

Ibt'

d. Also, Pausanias , 1 , 5; Strabo, Ix ; Herodotus, vm, 4.

Diiben, lac. cit., p. 330.

“Thierleben, xx, 16 .

“Tribes ofCalifornia ; Schoolcraft,“Tribes ofthe UnitedSta

“WildTribes ofIndia.

“Hist. ofCivilization.

Origin ofCi v ilization.‘1 “Marriage Customs,Modes ofCourtship. etc.

1’History ofHumanMarriage.

96 Human Sexualityrefuse, to support her properly and among theMohammedans themaintenance ofthe progeny is so completely the father’s duty that themotheris even entitled to claimwages for nursing her own children. The Alaska

Indians believe that a youthwhomarries before he has killed a deerwillhave no children ;

2and those ofPennsylv ania considered it a shame for a

boy to think ofmarrying before he had scalped an enemy, or given someother proofofhismanhood.

’ The Karamanians, also, according to Strabo,were only consideredmarriageable when they had killed an enemy ; and

the Gallawarrior dared not dreamoftaking awife until he could return tocamp with an enemy’s genital organs dangling fromhis waist- belt; butwhether this actwas born ofthe savage instinct to exploit his own personalprowess, or as a tacit regard to the suggestions ofmatrimony, the celebrated traveller fails to informus .

‘

The statements made, and authorities quoted,— for the latter ofwhichI amindebted, chiefly, to Westermarck’s admirable History ofHumanMarriage,’—whil_e establishing clearly the wife’s dependence on her hus

band, as an important phase ofsex- life as it stands relatedto society, brings

us naturally to the consideration ofmarriage itself, as a primal institutian of both the social and religious life, although on such a vast

subjectmy rev iewmust necessarily be a very briefone. But there surely

never was a period in human history atwhich such a discussion could

bemore appropriately entered upon than the present,when the prevailinglaxity ofourmarriage laws seems to be sapping the very foundations of

that sacred institution, andthe equally obv ious andgrowing distaste, on thepart ofwomen, themselves, for the cares and duties ofmaternity, appearsequally to threaten not only the stability and perpetuity ofsociety and the

home, but the very permanence ofthe State .

Apart fromreligious precept, the analogies ofMarriage Decreed savage life, the pairing of animals, the preservationby the State ofhealth, the perpetuation ofthe race, the prevention

ofdisease, and the thousand and one ev ils incident

to promiscuity in the sexual relation, all teach the usefulness and necessity

ofmarriage.

The Greeks regarded it, very properly, as not only amatter ofpriv atebut ofpublic concern. Thiswas especially so in Sparta,where criminalproceedingsmightbe institutedagainst thosewhomarried too late, or not at all.In the laws ofSolon,marriagewas placed under the rigid inspection ofthe

State ; andPlato remarks that every indiv idua is bound to prov ide for acontinuance of representatives to succeed himself, as ministers of the

Div inity.

”

Fytche, lac. cit. , n , 73. Dal], lac. cit. , p. 196 .

Buchanan, lac. cit. , p. 323 . Liv ingstone, lac. cit., p. 147.


The Hebrewswere, and are now, preeminently amarrying race. Theyhave a proverb that hewho has nowife is noman ; 1

Among Hebrews and the ancient Israelite, asMichaelis remarks ,’would hardly have believed it possible that a period

of the world should comewhen itwould be counted sanctity to live un

married. Marriagewas looked on as a religious duty. The authorities,

according to the Talmud,might compel aman tomarry ; and hewho remained single after the age of twenty,was , in old times , regarded as se

cursed ofGod almost asmuch as ifhewere amurderer.

8 As I have else

where stated, at the advents of the various falseMessiahs, the Jews of

Palestine, in rev iv ing their ancient ceremonies, were not negligent of the

laws relating tomultiplying and increase, andmarriedchildren together, often years and upwards,without regard to poverty or riches , quality or con

dition ; so that the synagogues ofthe citywere one continual scene ofwedding festivity , and the streets were strewn with bridal garlands ofolive

blossoms and the sweet- scented Narcissus ofSharon.

“

Savages as a rulemarry earlier in life than civ ilizedAmong Savages races. Among the Cingalese, it is the father’s duty

to prov ide his sonwith awifewhen that son reaches

eighteen.

“ Harmon found that among the Blackfeet, Crees, Chippewasand other tribes on the eastern side ofthe RockyMountains, celibacywasa rare exception, the girlsmarrying at fromtwelve to sixteen years.

In the Philippine Islands , among the Tagals,Marriage in the Visayans and Pangasinans, marriage among womenPhilippines is comparatively late in life, for the following reason,

which I donot think has hithertobeen noted,butwhichmy somewhat intimate life amongst these races enablesme to verify . The

female sexual organs, aswell as the pelv ic canal, are abnormally small; andup to the age oftwenty , not only would parturition be exceedingly diffi

cult, and dangerous , but sexual intercourse itselfwell nigh impossible.

With girls ofsixteen, there fully developed, I have been compelled, inmaking the digital examination, to usemy littlefinger, and that couldbe introduced only with considerable difficulty. It may be remarked, however,that themale genitals among these people is correspondingly small.Among the Burmese, and Hill Dyaks of Borneo, old maids and old

bachelors are alike unknown ;’and the Greenlanders frequentlymarry yearsbefore there is any possibility of the union being productive.

‘ AmongAndree, lac. cit. , p. 140, cl seq. Lac. cit. , r, 471.Mayer, lac. cit. , p. 286 . Parke,

“Under theCurse,” p. 96 .

Davy , quotedbyWestermarck , lac. cit. , p. 138. Lac. cit. , p. 339.

Fy'tche, lac. cit., n , 69. Wallace, “Malay Archipelago,” r, 141.7

98 Human SexualitytheMandans , Californians , andmost of the northwestern Indian tribes,marriage among girls takes place at twelve to fourteen years? and in

CentralMexico it is rare for a girl to be unmarried at fifteen.

a

In Brazil, according to the same authority , girls marry at fromten totwelve years, and boys almost invariably before eighteen ; and in Terra

delFuego, the young lady begins tocast aboutfor a husbandat ten or twelve,rarely passing fourteen without capturing one. In Japan

, celibates of

either sex are practically unknown ; the same rule holding in China.

‘ In

the latter country ,were a grownup son or daughter to die unmarried, theparentswould regard it as deplorable ; and ifa youngman be afflictedwithany incurable disease, he is obliged to marry at once, lest he dishonor

his parents by dying single ; and so far is this foolish and pernicious ideacarried that not a fewinstances are recordedwhere the dead have beenmarried.

“

So among the Tartars, the unfortunate bipedwho at twenty, or over,remains unmarried, is never called a

“man,

” but a“yatow,” a name given

by theChinese toyoung girlswho fail to secure husbands ; and even Tartar

boys are permitted to abuse, domineer over, and order about the pooryatow ofmiddle age,whodares not open hismouth in return.

“

TheMohammedan laws enjoinedmarriage, as a duty, upon bothmenandwomen. That polygynywas allowed by the Koran, everyone knows ;butfeware acquaintedwith the limitationswhich governed it.Mohammeddid not grant unbounded plurality ofwives or concubines ,’as is commonlysupposed; but expressly limits (Koran, Chapter Iv ) the number ofeither

to four. But if his means did not enable himto marry that numberofwives , theMussulmanwas permitted, after legallymarry ing onewoman,

to take upwith hisfemale slaves, or those ofothers, to thenumberofeightso that, as far as polygyny is concerned, itwas a distinctionwithout amaterial difference.

“Nothing ,” however, as Niebuhr remarks, “ is more sel

domto bemetwith in the East than a woman unmarried, after a certain

time oflife.

”Shewillrathermarry a poorman, or aman already sufficiently

married, than endure the shame ofcelibacy ; a feeling , I aminclined tothink, fully shared by nearly allwomen.

In Egypt and Persia, practically the same rules hold good; while inIndia, according to the Laws ofManu ,

“marriage is the twelfth Sanskara ,andhence a religious duty incumbenton all.” Untilhe findawife aman

Nansen , lac. cit., n , 320. Schoolcraft, Powers, Catlin.

Bancroft, lac. cit. , r, 632. Balfour, lac. cit., n , 882.

Gray , lac. cit., r, 216 . Ross , lac. cit. , p. 313.

Sale, lac. cit., p. 95. Comp. Savary , Prideaux , Sale,

Williams ,M. , lac. cit. , p. 246 . Koran, Chap. rv , p. 59 .

100 Human SexualityFromthewalls ofhis banqueting roombreathed

Luxu ry ofthe paintings, in stucco as on canvas , most sexually

Roman Libertine suggestive. Diana, and herwood nymphs, hunting ;Amphitrite, and her Oceanides, sailing in rose- tinted

maholls ; Iris ; the amorphous , or polymorphous Jupiter, in the formofa

golden shower, entering the sleeping chamber ofDanae; Apollo, pursuingDaphne ; Calypso, entertaining Ulysses ; Venus , receiving the prize fromParis ; Phryne, before the Judges ; the stage dancer, Theodora (afterwardsempress of Justinian) , in the great theatre ofConstantinople ; Zenobia, ofPalmyra, after she had proclaimedherselfQueen ofthe East ; Greek singers

and Nautch dancing-

girls ; and these all nude, or semi—nude, languishing inmost voluptuous attitudes, or firing the passions with the bewitchingglamour oftheir amorous glances. Everything breathed oflove. And not

only the inanimate, but the animate. As the young voluptuary lay on

his velvety divan, inhaling the smoke ofhisTurkish cigarette, orquafiing hisChianti, v isions ofsurpassing loveliness surrounded him. Beautiful girls,

in diaphanous drapery ofCoan-

gauze— “woven wind,” aentus textilis , as

Petronius called it— lay about himon rose- colored ottomans, like fairies intheir bowers resembling these also in the texture and scantiness oftheir

attire. Their rounded limbs and bare, swelling bosoms , their artfully

assumed attitudes ofmute invitation, the light ofpassion slumbering undertheir long- fringed lids , is it anywonder that even the pallidand jaded sensualist should be lashed into love, passion and desire? Is it anywonderhis ears should become intoxicatedwith music, his eyeswith beauty, hissoulwith imagination andhis senseswith the touch, as his charming temptress— thatmost beautiful and seductive ofall living creatures, a perfectwoman— stretches herselfby his side, and twiningwithin his arms , ravisheshimwith the hot rapture ofher kisses?Is it anywonder that theman fell— that society fell

— thatRome fell? 1Is it any wonder that young Romans ceased tomarry? Howcould any

pure, self- respectingwoman,with the demuremodesty ofrefinedwifehood,hope to satisfy aman rearedamid such scenes?As in drinking , so in sexual indulgence, an artificial appetite is created,

which ordinary sexual indulgence, unaccompanied by the highly erotic

Mercury,whether he were married, the young scamp replied: “No, no, father, I ama lover yet, onewomanwould never content me — Nequaquampater, amour cm'msum, etc. (Juvenal) and the “for better forworse, sickness-ar-health, richer-or-

poorsr

doctrineofmarriagewould have been, as the same author remarks , a dams same tothe

sensualRoman. According to all this, lust ought to be called theMillionaire’s Disease.

1 “The Romanmanners , in polishing ,weakened themin everything ; and instead

ofthatmasculine v igorwhich formerly appeared in all their pleasures, itwas observedthat theymore andmore considered their case and convenience.

”(Gibbon, iv ,

Betrothal,Marriage, Divorce ror

surroundings which appeal to, and stimulate, the imagination rather than

the senses, becomes incapable of satisfying ; and the Romans certainly

understood the art ofsexual stimulation as well, possibly , as any peoplewho have ever lived.

With theirworld-wide empire, they fell heir to every v ice ofantiquity ,but chiefly those ofPersia and Egypt. In all Oriental courts a physicianwasmaintained,whose duty itwas , not somuch to heal injuries caused bywounds and disease, as to recognize whatwas not visible to the eye.

” 1

This latter consisted, largely, ofthose neuro- psychologicalmanifestationswhich constitute, even to-day, a specialdepartment ofmedicine ; butwhichunder the Caliphs ofBagdad, the Pharaohs , and in the Greek schools of

Damascus and Alexandria, comprised chiefly, ifnot entirely, the so- called

science ofsexual psychology .

Av icenna, Galen, Aristotle, Hippocrates , Averroes ofCordova, Oribasius,and other legitimists, rescuedmedicine, to some extent, fromthe hands ofthe early sexual psychologists ; those priests ofAsclepius , who have theirparallels inmodern times ; andwhowere, perhaps, fairly represented bythe famous quack , Nostradamus, forwhomCatherine deMedici sent posthaste to see ifhe couldget her in the familyway, in order to save her fromthreatened divorce at the hands ofher husband.

Indeed itwas very early shown in the history ofRome inwhat regardmarriage and the rearing ofchildrenwere held, by those Gracchan agrarian

lawswhich placedpremiums upon both ;’while subsequently , butwith littleapparent result, the Les:Julia ct Papia Poppau imposed various penaltiesupon thosewho elected to live in a state ofcelibacy .

“

According to Caesar, the Germans considered it scandalous to have

intercoursewith the opposite sex before the twentieth year; but at a latertime, it seems probable that earliermarriages were encouraged, and that

celibacy was almost unknown, except in the cases ofwomenwho had losttheir v irtue, orthosewhomlack ofbeauty, orofriches , debarredfromprocuring husbands .

“

In this country the causes tending to celibacy are various and complex.

Among the most prominent, however,may be mentioned the industrialindependence ofwomen, the laxity ofsexual relations , and the increasing

cost of supporting wives and families in modern society. The absence

1 V id. the (Ethiopis ofArchinus, quoted by Welcker and Haeser. Th e duties ofMachaon and Podalirus , the two sons ofE sculapius ,were not precisely the same. One,

the former, treated external injuries, and the other recognizedwhatwas not v isible to

the eye, andtending towhat couldnot be healed. V id. Ency .

-Brit Art. “Medicine.

1Mommsen, lac. cit. , n ,432,andm,440.

1 Rosshach, lac. cit. , p. 418.

1 “De Belle Gallico,” 13, v 1,Ch. 21. Tacitus,“Germania, Ch. xxx.

102 Human Sexualityof uniformmarriage laws, and of ecclesiastical courts to regulate both

marriage and div orce— both the latter ev ils being involved in our systemofgovernment— has brought aboutmany diflicul

'

ties and abuseswhich, itis to be hoped, future national legislationwill remedy ; butwhile the perecrba de presenti continues to constitute marriage in one State, and the

per verba de futura cumcopula , the same institution in another, andwhilethe courts ofone State pass judgments dissolv ingmarriage,which the lawsofanother State deliberately ignore, or contravene, these difliculties and

abusesmust continue to exist.That the cost ofmaintaining awife, however, is the chieffactor in pre

venting marriage, in these days ofsocial extravagance, is readily provenby comparing the statistics ofmarriage, in times of commercial crisesand industrial depression,with those of comparative abundance, celibacy

being shown to increase in exact ratio with the difficulty of earning a

livelihood.

In those countries where our own precocious civ ilization has not yet

obtained, the reverse conditionwill be found to prevail. There thewife,farfrombeing a burden to her husband, is really ameans ofassistance, beinga co—laborerwith, and sometimes even supporter ofthe latter. Sowithchildren. They become, instead of as in this country , recipients offashionable dress and expensive education, sources ofincome, and add their

mite to theweekly earnings ofthe household.

Even in our great cities , it is by nomeans among the poorest classesthat celibacy ismost common. Thewell- to-domanmust have an incomesufficient to surround hiswifewith all the luxuries her social position, andhis own, demand; and after hemarries her, unless she bring hima fortune

as her dowry , she usually contributes little or nothing to the support ofhishousehold. This is unfortunate fromevery standpoint, but chiefly so fromthewoman’s. She eitherhas to remain single— amanifest reversaloffemaleinstinct, aswellas ofdivine purpose—or, ifshe succeed in finding a husband,ifshe be awoman ofhonest purpme and lofty ideals , shemust derive littlepleasure fromthe reflection that she has thrown herselfas a burden upononewho, inmoments ofsober reflection,may be led to contrast her actual

with her self- appraised v alue.

It has been very ingeniously pointed out by a te

EarlyMarriages centwriter 1 that the ruder a people are, andthemoreAmong Savages exclusively woman is valued as an object ofdesire,

or as a slave, the earlier in life is she generally chosen.

Thiswouldgo to explain the comparative lateness ofmost American marriages , since here an advanced degree ofintelligence hasmade the basis of

1 “Why is Single Life BecomingMore General?” The Nation, v1 , 190.

1 04 Human Sexualityexpedient to enter intomoreminutely , it remains for us to consider some ofthe motives which underlie it, and at least a fewofthe obstacles whichstand in theway ofsafe, rational and healthfulmarriage.

It is self—evident that diseased persons , ofeither sex , should notmany .

By parity ofreasoning , it is equally ev ident that theyshould deny themselves sexual intercourse. By

diseased persons I of course mean those with communicable blood diseases, the virus, seed or sus

ceptibility ofwhich is liable to be transmitted in the act ofcopulation ; andhere I think it highly proper todirectattention to afact too often slightedinmedicalliterature, andabsolutely unthoughtofby thegeneralpublic. Imeanthegreaterrelative liabilityto venerealcontagion ofthewoman than theman.

It is not desirable, in amedico- literarywork ofthis character, toburdenthe readerwith masses ofdry , clinical testimony , unless it be in thosematterswhich by reason ofthe involvement oftheir relations and aetiology

make a somewhat greater demand upon our mental powers ofanalysis.

But to showthe greater liability ofthe female to venereal contagion, it is

only necessary to point out that the spermatic fluid, injected into thefemale,must cause infection through absorption; while, unless in the acute stage, themale, undergoing only a briefperiod ofcontact, may escape entirely . In

one case the diseasedfluid is actually injected into the female body, producing certain inoculation,while in the other, through failure ofthe absorptivemechanism,

by prompt disinfection, or even by ordinary cleanliness , no

contagionmay follow. Thus, except during the initial lesion, a syphiliticwoman is not likely to infect themale,while at any stage themale is almostcertain to infect the female.

Blood disease, then, should always prohibitmarriage ; for scrofulous,

consumptive, or syphilitic parents, even though seemingly strong and

healthy, cannot possibly bear other than sickly ordeformedchildren,which,in v indication ofDarwin’s nowfully recognized and generally beneficent

law, are inv ariably puny and short lived.

Nature, usually a safe guide, seems for somePhysical unaccountable reason, to yet delight in the creation of

Incompatibility sexual anomalies . An hystericalwoman ,frail, fidgety,

a bundle ofnerves, possm an inscrutable charmforbig, strong men ; but was betide the latter when the honeymoon has

waned, and the stern conflicts and troubles of life begin. Instead of a

helpmeet, a support, a brave, patient companion in his misfortunes , themanwhomarries one ofthese fragile flowerswill be too apt to find in her

only a garrulous faultfinder, a complainer,whose noblest efiort in time of

trialwill be to throwherselfinto a fit.


in no department oflife more religiously than in selecting awife. As I

have intimated, for some strange reason— or more properly for lack of

any— largemen seemto have a partiality for smallwomen ; althhugh here,

above all other cases , the lawofopposites should not hold. Small favorsshould not be thankfully received. Howoften dowe see in the streets

immensemen, tall enough to light their cigars at a lamp- post,withwomenclinging to themabout large enough tomakedecent charms for their watchchains ; and, on the other hand, samples offeminine sweetness long drawnout —delightful specimens of Brobdingnagian loveliness, whoma mancouldn

’t possibly get acquaintedwithmore than two- thirds ofin an ordinary

lifetime— pegging alongwith a little hop- o’-my- thumb, an abridged edition

ofmasculinity, like Cassius, of a lean andhungry loo

This should not be so. If there were not many other self- sufficient

reasons , one themere esthetics ofsociety , the disparity in physical statureought towarn us against such sexual incompatibilities on the simple groundofconsideration for the female; that is, ifshe be small and themale large.

Not only is sexual connection in such cases exceedingly painful, entailing

the husband, but, should she bear himchildren, the danger to the life and

health ofthemother is renderedgreater by the naturally greater size ofthechild begotten ofsuch a father. While this particular objection does notapply ifthe physicalstatus ofthe parents be reversed, there are, nevertheless,others equally weighty to forbid the union ofa smallman with a large

woman, amongwhichmay be pointed out the lack ofpleasure to the formerfromthe disparity ofsize in the sexual organs . A largewoman cannot,

naturally, get proper satisfaction froma smallman.

There is a popular dread among men of the so

The “New called strongminded,” or educatedwoman ofto-day,

Woman” as aWifewhich I think requires a little examination. A right

mind can hardly be too strong, and a wrong mind,howeverweak, is never desirable in eitherman orwoman. Ifawoman’sdesires, aims , ambitions be abnormal, unseemly , or unwomanly ; if theytend to public speech-making , preaching , politics— pursu its primitivelyandnaturallymasculinch —insteadofthehome,maternity andthe partwhich,by her grace, beauty and attractiveness, nature evidently intended her to

play in society , shemust be regarded as a sexual pervert, amonstrosity ,and utterly unfitted for the serious duties ofwifehood andmotherhood.

But ifshe be simply a learnedwoman,with sexual instincts normal andrefined, no doubt should trouble the wife- seeker. She willmake hima

better companion, a bettermother for his children, a better ruler ofhis

106 Human Sexualityhome, andexert a holier andbetter influence upon his life. by reason ofher

education thanwithout it.By education, however, Imust not be understood tomean the ao- called

modern accomplishments ”— dancing,music, rhetoric, and a little dab of

Latin andFrench. These too often betray , not education, but the lack ofit. At best they are but the froth and bubbles ofthe deep, clear currentofuseful knowledge. Thewoman whomyou should select as yourwifeought toknowsomethingofeducation in itsdeeper,broader, truer sense— art,

literature, history , biography, philosophy and the great trend ofworldlyaflairs ; butmore than all, ofher own nature, her limitations and oppor

tunities, as well as the great sexual lawswhich God has ordained for her

government. She shouldbe as competent to cook ameal as to play a gemfromthe last opera ; tomend her stocking as to dance a two- step ; and tomake a bed, a shirt, a gown, or to rear a child, even better than she speaks

French or Italian, and pours tea or plays tennis .

Do not callme a cynic, or amisogynist. I amneither. I shall have

something to say tomen, too, after awhile. Neither have I that erotic

tendency ofthe timeswhich can find nothing bad inwomanhood; whichfrees themurderess on account ofher sex, andv iolates, day byday, theGod

ordainedprinciple ofeternal justice for a fairface or the lecherous glance ofalewdwoman. These are hardwords ,” but fully justified, I think , in v iewofthe fact thatwe find a notorious woman, offar greater beauty thanv irtue, nowin the dock on a charge ofmurder, choosing her own jurors,with far greater psychological knowledge than her judges possess, by thecolor oftheir eyes and the fullness oftheir lips .

‘

Human intercourse, after all, both social and sexual, is only one long

struggle for supremacy ; and the prisoner alluded to, in not trying to in

fluenes her jury by a showoflearning ormental culture, as somanywomenwould, simply demonstrated that she knewmore perfectly theweapons ofawoman’s power.

Shallowwomenmay accuseme ofspeaking disparagingly oftheir sex,

when in reality I amshowing themthe greatestmeasure ofrespect, by

warning themagainst unworthymembers ofit, by treating themas reason

ing beings,differing frommen only in the finer texture oftheir feelings, and

quite as capable as the latter ofdiscriminating between frivolous flattery,empty compliment, and earnest, serious counsel.We train the physician, or the clergyman, by five or six years ofinde

fatigable study for the practice ofhis profession ; we do not even buy a

1 Trialof“Nan Patterson , accusedofkilling Cwsar Young , NewYork, Nov . , 1904.

Acquitted by disagreement of jury , although believed by both trial- judge and the

generalpublic to be guilty as charged.

108 Human Sexualityfinding only five cases. Onewas that ofafarmer’s daughter, aged sixteen,andher brother, a year older. He toldme thathehadoften playedwith hissister alone, sometimes undermost exciting circumstances,without feelingthe slightest sexualdesire. And, in fact, I gatheredfromhis description ofthe occurrence that itwas the girl, herself, and not he,who finally precipitated the crime. They were rolling about in the freshly cut hay in the

barn, the otherbrothers hav ing returnedfor a load to the hayfield, andmoreby accident than design,whilewrestling with her, he said, his hand camein contactwith her priv ates. Instantly ,

”touse his ownwords, a strange

look came into her eyes. Her face flushed crimson, she threwher armsaboutmy neck, andpulledme over on top ofher; and then for thefirst timeI felt like doingwhat I knewshewanwdme to do. I had never thought

ofsuch a thing before. I had some trouble the first time in getting intoher,but after thatwe used tomeet regularly every day in the barn, and keptit up until she got in the familyway .

”

Neither brother nor sister seemed to have any adequate idea ofthe

enormity oftheir crime.

The childwas born ; and, as I have since ascertained, is somewhatfeeble-minded. But the instances ofillicit intercourse between brother andsister are so rare, notwithstanding the natural freedomand closeness of

their daily intercourse, as to showvery clearly the existence ofsome law,other than that ofthe statutebooks ,which prevents it. As amatter of

fact the boy’s ownwords , that he felt no desire until the girl enticed him,

sufficiently reveal the character ofthis restraining influence.

Sexual desire between near relatives is , as a rule, a psychical impossibility . Thereforewe neednot take credit formaintaining the purity ofthe

home and family by our education, religion or civ ilization, either or all of

which would be utterly impotent to stema tide so resistless as that of

sexual passion.

Nature herselfhas established the barrier. And it is an efficient one ;there are fewflaws in any ofherworks. Relatives maymarry,may evenfeel no repugnance to the incestuous relation, but sexual love, sexualdesire,

the firewhich starts the conflagration, is always wanting . There is even

an innate aversion tomarriage between persons who have been closelyassociated since infancy ,which not only disproves the old adage that love

is chiefly the productofpropinquity ,but,withoutdoubt, explains sufficientlywell the exogamous marriage customs ofour sav age ancestors. Thus, it

may be proven, by an abundance ofethnographicalfacts , that itwas ratherthe natural repugnance tomarriages ofkin , than any species ofethical

restraint,which first suggested these prohibitory laws bywhich society is atpresent governed in this respect.

Betrothal,Marriage, Divorce rog

Werewe asked the cause ofthis repugnance, itmight be dificult tofinda satisfactory answer. The ev ils resulting fromconsanguinous marriagesdo not furnish an adequate basis ofargument; since the sexualdesire is notamatter ofreason, and rarely concerns itselfwith ultimate results . Wegather fromMr. Darwin’s able treatise,1 however, that Nature does concernherselfwith thematter ofself- perpetuation ; and that the injurious effectsofself- fertilization among plants, and in- and- ih breeding among animals,appear to demonstrate the existence ofsome lawofinhibition not yet dis

covered, thewisdomofwhich is very fully home out by human observ ation.

The classificatory system” of relationship, adopwd fromthe Bible,

the present basis ofecclesiastical prohibitory law, sprang originally fromthe close liv ing together ofconsiderable numbers ofkinsfolk , and as kin

shipwas traced by means of a systemof names, the name came, not

unnaturally, tobe regarded as synonymouswith relationship.

’

Among the Romans , marriages between personsRoman Laws under the same patria potestas , related within the

Regarding Inces sixth degree,were nefaria ct incestuaenuptia , although

tuousMarriages these prohibitionswere considerably relaxed at a later

period. Thus, in 49 A. D. , the Emperor Claudius,wishing tomarry his niece, Agrippina , obtained fromthe Senate a decree

legalizing marriage with a brother’s daughter,

“ though marriage with a

sister’s daughter still remained illegal. Theodosius the Great prohibited,

under the severest penalties, unions offirst cousins, both paternal andmaternal; and towards the end ofthe sixth century the same prohibitionwas extended to relations of the seventh degree. Under the WesternChurch, during the popeship ofInnocent III in the year 1215, the LateranCouncil reduced the prohibition to the fourth degree— that is, permittingmarriage to all beyond the degree ofthird cousins.

“ Such, I believe, is therule at present in force, at leastwherever the canon lawprevails.

“According to the Chinese Code, marriage withPunishments for a deceased brother

’swidowis punishedwith strangu

Incest in Various lation ; while marriagewith a deceasedwife’s sister

Countries is common, and has always been regarded as exceed

ingly In Japan, sexual intercoursewiththe concubine ofa father, brother, or grandfather, is regardedand punishedthe same as intercoursewith an aunt or sister; and in India, the Institutes

Origin ofSpecies: Cross andSelfFertilisation in Veg. Kingdom.

1Westermarck, lac. cit. , p. 544.

1Marquardt andMommsen, lac. cit. , vn , 29 , et seq.

Smith andCheetham, lac. cit 11 , 1727- 29 .

1Westermarck , lac. cit., p. 309 .

1 Longford, lac. cit. , n , 87.

rro Human SexualityofVishnu” declare that sexual connectionwith one

’smother, or daughter,

or daughter- in- law, is a crime ofthehighestdegree, punishable by burning atthe stake.

1 According to the lawofMoses ,’ofMohammed,“and theRomanLaw,‘marriagewas prohibitedwithmother- in- law, stepmother,daughter- in

lawand stepdaughter. Moses forbade, also,marriagewith the sister ofawifewhowas still living ; andwith a brother’swife, ifshewerewidowed, andhad children by the brother.

“

Since the very earliest times , thinkers have been,

Results of as I have suggested, puzzled to account, in a satis

IncestuousMarriage factoryway, for theworld-wide prohibition ofmarriegebetween near relatives ; andthe causes suggested

have beenmany andingenious . Some have ascribedit toafear that relationshipmight become too involved; others, that affectionsmight concentratewithin too narrowa circle ; this latter, based on the presumption ofvery

earlymarriages , inducedby early andconstant association, andfor propertyrights ; some, because suchmarriages are prohibited by God’s law; somebecause they outrage natural feelings andmodesty , an exceedingly vague

exegesis ; and in recent times, only, on the ground that they are injuriousto the oflspring .

But I think the reason prev iously adduced— the absence ofsexualdesirebetween near relatives— is onewhichmore readily appeals to both reason

and observation, corroborating as it does the prev iously demonstratedpotency ofnovelty as a sexual stimulant. Noman feels a desire to gowithhis sister, however beautiful and voluptuous shemay be ; and ifGodcursedCanaan for uncovering his father

’s nakedness,what shallbe saidofhimwho

commits incestwith his ownmother, or daughter?Among all the nations and tribes of the earth— numbering perhaps

thousands— there are only three or four, and those the most savage, inwhich, according toWestermarck , this primitive lawis lightly v iolated; andin these, it has not been found diflicult to trace the physical andmentalinfirmities prev iously mentioned to such v iolations . The Veddahs of

Ceylon, probably themost in- and- in bred people in theworld, and amongwhommarriage between brother andsisterwas allowed, are, according toMr.

Bailey ,“short ofstature,weak, and ofvacant expression.

” He did not

findmany traces ofinsanity, idiocy and epilepsy , themaladies supposedto result fromsuch unions ; but in other respects,” he remarks, “ theinjurious eflects ofthis customare plainlydiscernible. Therace is rapidlybecoming extinct; large families are unknown , and longev ity is very rare.

“

1 Institutes ofVishnu , xxxrv, v , r.1 Lev iticus xvrrr, 8, 15, 17.

1 Koran , rv , xv . Justinian,

“Institutiones , r, x.

1 Ewald, lac. cit. , p. 197. 1 Bailey , lac. cit. , n , 294.

1 1 2 Human Sexualitytheir race, and the Romans were prohibited by lawfrommarrying barbarians , Valentinian even inflicting the death penalty therefor.

1 Tacitus

tells us that the early Germans persistently refusedmarriages with alien

tribes or nations .

“ In Equatorial Africa, the non- cannibal tribes do not

intermarrywith the cannibals ;1and Barrowstates that the Hottentots

alwaysmarrywithin their own Kraal.‘Endogamy is the rule in India, andDaltonwas gravely assuredthatwhm

one ofthe daughters ofPadamdemeans herselfby marrying outside her

own clan, the sun and themoon refuse to shine, and there is such a strife

in the elements that all labor is suspended, till, by sacrifice andablation, thestain is washed away .

“ The Ainos despise the Japanese, the Japanesethem, and one v illage does not intermarry with another.

“ In ancient

Wales,marriage had to bewithin the clan ;"and at Atham,we are told,

ifan alien livedwith an Athenianwoman, as her husband, he couldbe sold

as a slave, andhave his property confiscated.

“

Marriagewith foreignwomenwasmade unlawful for the Spartans ; andatRome, amarriage ofa citizenwith awomanwhowas notherselfaRoman,

or not amember ofa community endowedwith the privileges ofcannabimuwith Rome,was invalid, children born ofsuch unions being illegitimate.

“

Marriage outside the genswas exceedingly rare ;11 and in the three forms offirst and third being involved in the second, namely , the placing of the

womanwithin the authority (menus) ofher husband, exogamywas alwaysimpliedas a condition.

“

Thedistinctions ofsociety, in this , aswell as nearlyInfluence ofSocial every other country , have always influencedmarriage.

Caste onMarriage In England, before the Norman conquest, the aristaeracywas Saxon. Afterwards itwas Norman ; and in

both periods unions between the two raceswere infrequent. The descend

ants ofthe Germanic conquerors ofGaul dominated France for nearly a

thousand years ; and up to the fifteenth century the French nobilitywasofFrankish or Burgundian origin, the caste pride ofwhich is amatter ofhistory ; andhere also the aristocracy kept itselfuntaintedbymarriage.

“

The Sanscrit word coma , signifying color, sufliciently indicates the

1Romhach, lac. cit. , p. 465.1 “Germania, Ch. Iv.

1 Du Chaillu , lac. cit. , p. 97.

1 Loc. cit. . r, 144.

1 Dalton, lac. cit. , p. 28.

1 Batchelor, lac. cit. , x , 211.1 Lewis , lac. cit., p. 196 . Hearn, lac. cit. , p. 156 .

1 Gains, “Institutiones , r, 56 .Marquardt andMommsen, lac. cl seq.

1! Ency. Brit., Art.

“Marriage.

” n Gobineau-Hots , lac. cit., p.m.

Betrothal,Marriage, Divorce 1 13

distinctions ofhigh and lowcaste in India. The fairerAryans ,when theytook possession ofthe country, found it inhabitedby a dark race; and the

bitter antipathies ofcolor and religion, thus resulting , aswell as the racialdifierences offeature, are apparent even to this day .

‘ In Ameri ca, subsequent to the early European immigration, caste distinctionwas quite common,white bloodbeing a synonymofnobility ; and in La Plata, Spaniards ,Mexicans andMestizos were frequently separated fromeach other in the

churches ? So strong is this idea ofcaste among savage peoples that, in theSouth Sea Islands , itwas a common beliefthat only the nobleswere posmed ofa soul, and one ofthesewho deliberatelymarried a girl fromtheranks ofthe peoplewas punishedwith death.

“ In the higher ranks ofPoly

nesia, marriages were only contracted between persons ofcorresponding

position; andmTahiti, ifa noble lady chose an inferiormate, or v ice versa ,

the children resulting were put to death.

“ Class , or tribe endogamy prev ails in Ceylon, Siam, Korea and Japan ; and in China the lower orders arenot permitted tomarry outside the class towhich they belong .

In Europe similar conditions exist; and in America,more andmore, thesocial orders are becoming div ided in this respect. In recent times, however, as nations are gradually drawing nearer and nearer to each other,

through commercial and educational influences , the national prejudiceswhich characterized themiddle ages are fast disappearing . The foreigner

who, as late as the seventeenth century,was called in Germany ein Elender,because he stood outside the law, enjoys to-day an equal positionwith thenative- born citizen ; and thewidening ofsympathy , and extension ofreli

gious teaching , have resulted in breaking down racial barriers, to a great

extent, and inpromotingmanymarriageswhich heretoforewouldhave been

When I say religious teaching I mean, of course, modern religious

teaching, since the prohibition of intermarriage among the early Christianswas a part of their doctrine. The Council ofElv ira forbade Christians

giving their daughters to heathen husbands ; andexcommunicationwas thepenalty ofsuch disobedience.

“ TheRoman Church prohibited themarriage

and the first Protestant Church also forbade such unions . The Greek

Church distinguishedbetween schismatics andheretics, permittingmarriagewith the former but notwith the latter“ in Russia, Greece, Servia, and

1Mueller, “Chips froma GermanWorkshop, 1, 322.

Bastian , lac. cit. , r, 267.

Waits-Gerland, lac. cit., v1 , 112. Cook, lac. cit. , n , 167.

Westermarck, lac. cit., p. 375, andnotes.

8

1 14 Human Sexualitymany other countrieswhere the Greek faith prevails, bothRoman CatholicsandProtestants being regarded as schismatics but not heretics}

Inmodern times thewoman is v aluedmore as a

Barrenness wife than as amother. Among primitive peoples thereverse was the case ; and nowhere, I think , was

greater stress laid uponmotherhood than in ancient Laced3mon,where a

husband,who thought unfruitfulness due to himself, surrenderedhismaritalrights to a younger and betterman.

“

We do not practise the self- sacrificing customin this country , at leastvoluntarily , probably fromthe difficulty offinding a

“betterman.

” This

would illustrate the principle onwhichMr. Lincoln told a very self- conceited

indiv idual that the lattermust be an atheist fromthe utter impossibilitythat he could recognize any superior being .

Livingstonewasmuch amused by the natives ofAngola singing as theydanced so- and-ao has no children, andwill never get any ; and amongourselves there is an unmistakable tendency to kid themanwho has nofamily,while barrenness is considered an especial reproach amongmarriedwomen. An anecdotewill illustrate.My,my, Bridget,” remarked a rich lady to herwasherwoman, howis it that you , so poor, have somany children, and I,who could give themevery comfort, haven’t any?

” “Faith I don’t knowma’am,

”responded

Bridget thoughtfully ,“barrin’ it is the foodwe ate. We use a power 0’

peraties ,ma’am,Patrick an

’me ! Doyou think it’s the potatoes, Bridget?

Then sendme up two bushels ofthe kind you use, just as soon as you go

home !” Faith I will ma’amwidout delay ,” she responded, with a

roguish twinkle in her eye hadn’t I betther sendPatrick up wid thim?”Mr. Reade tells us that in certain parts ofAfricawomen are sofrequentlysterile that no one cares tomarry a girluntil she has borne a child amongthe Votyaks, according toDr. Buch, a girlgetsmarried all the sooner ifshebe amother;“ and the Creek Indians contractmarriage for a year, stipulat

Winroth, lac. cit. , p. 220, et seq.

V id.Mueller, “The DoricRace, 11 , 211 .

In Egypt, as we learn, partially fromthe Ebers Papyrus, and partly fromother

sources (notably Chabas’

and the “Mélanges Egyptologiques,” Chalonssurfiabne, the question ofsterilitywas determined beforemarriage by , I fancy ,

amuchmore remarkable than reliable method. The man who desired to ascertain

whether a certain woman was congenitally sterile,was told to place two small bags ,one containingwheat and the other barley , both prev iously steeped in the urine ofthecandidate formaternity, in the woman’s private passage. If the wheat sprouted, it

would be a boy ; ifthe barley , a girl; ifno germination took place thewomanwouldremain sterile. I have pleasure in commending this interesting test— through the profassion , ofcourseh to those anxious ladieswho desire their fortunes told in this res pect.

“Savage Africa, p. 547. Lac. cit. , p. 45, at seq.

1 16 Human Sexuatyoung lady kicks, squirms and scratches,with real or simulated v igor, the

relatives standing bywith the greatest unconcem, regarding it as a purelyprivate aflair between the parties involved—which it undoubtedly is ;and as something not to be interferedwith by amanwho desires to live ongood termswith his neighbors .

‘

But the practice ofcapturing wives, vi ct amis ,is largely a thing ofthe past, anddemands , therefore,only passing notice. More important, as it is by no

means obsolete, is that ofpurchase, towhich I inv itethe reader

’s attention for a fewmoments .

As it is only just thatman should give some compensation forwhat hereceives , particularly that first, best good, an understandingwife,” and

as ability to give very naturally ensures the best andmost valuable commodity in themarket, it is only in the nature ofthings that the rich shouldenjoy the very daintiest tid- bits procurable in this as in everything else.

But sometimes richmen are grievously imposedupon. They buy awoman,presumably perfect in body , “fair as the smile ofheaven,

”andwith “

a

tonguemore tunable than lark to shepherd’s ears , only to find in a little

while that some ofthe furniture ismissing ; or the tongue is too tunable,”

or that her heart— a very important itemin the interior decorations—hasalready been disposed of. Thiswould be sadwere it not for the fact thatboth parties to the contract are usually in the same boat,which robs thebargain ofevery element ofone- sidedness .

The prices paid for first- class wivmin modernRuling Prices of times v ary greatly, ranging froma pound ofcaramels,

Wives a sealskinwrap, or a season’s opera ticket, to a duke’s

coronet or a cottage at Newport. Before the vast

aggregations ofwealth in modern days enabledmen to pay spot- cash forwhat theywanted, themost customary formofbuying awifewas by service,or exchanging a relative for her; andthis , as in themodern horse- trade,wasfrequently provocative ofmuch strife and recrimination between the partiesinterested, each claiming , and sometimeswith a fair presumption ofreason,

that he or she had been foully cheated.

Thus Jacob worked seven long years for Rachel, and then had the

inferior Leah palmed ofl upon him; and, although the records are keptexceedingly priv ate, the cases are no doubt numerouswheremen have paidfor brandnew, first- class articles, only tofind themshockingly out ofrepairandeven second- handat that.

Sometimes thewife is bought on credit, and then she and her confiding

parents run all the risk. Cases are recordedwhere, among savage nations,1 Nansen, lac. cit., n , 316 .


the youngman enjoyedall the priv ileges ofmarriage in awe, for years,whilehewas working for his bride, industriously helping the old gentleman tofish, smoke, and consume various native distillations , and at about the timethe period ofservice expired suddenly taking a notion to seek somewhereelse, thus occasioning considerable hard feeling and dissatisfaction. This

practice ofpurchase by serv ice,withwhich Hebrewtradition, principally,has made us acquainted, is very widely diflused and in the EyrbyggjaSaga, V igstyr says to the berserkwho askedfor his daughter as you are a

poorman, I shalldo as the ancients did and let you deserve yourmarriageby hardwork.

” 1

Among the shaatika , in California, awife is bought for shellmoney , orhorses, ten Cayuse ponies being sometimes paidfor a girl ofsuperior graceand beauty.

’ On the other handthe Nav ajos, ofNewMexico, consider thisan exorbitant price, only paying it for one possessing very extraordinary

qualifications , such as beauty , industry and skill in their necemary employments .

‘ Among the Kaflirs awifemay be always obtained “for an ox, or a

couple ofcows ; andthe Damaras are so poor that thefather is often gladto give up a very presentable daughter for one cow, and not the fattest at

that either.

“ Six sewing needles is the ruling price in Uganda ; among theMangonis, two sheepskins ; among the natives ofBonds , a goat suflices ;

other tribes are satisfiedwith a box ofpercussion caps ; the Bashkir buys avery fair article for a load ofhay ; in Tartary ten pounds ofgood buttermay always be depended upon ; a nice looking girl in India, among theKisans , isworth two buckets ofrice, farmore than some ladies ofour sequaintance ; among theMishmis , a pig ; among the Fijians the usual priceis awhale’s tooth,” andwe are told by Emin Pasha that in Unyoro,when aman is too poor to pay cash, hemay buy awife on instalments, the childrenborn in themeantime, however, belonging to thewife’s father, and redeemable only by payment ofa cowfor each.

“

In the books ofRuth and ofHosea the bridegroomspeaks ofbuying

the bride;°and, according toMichaelis , the modern Jews, even, have a

shampurchase in theirmarriage ceremony called marrying by the penny ,”which is very faithfully observed.

7

The Chaldeans, Babylonians andAssyrians , all bought theirwives ; andCastrén, speaking of the Finns , remarks there are many reasons for

believ ing that a capful ofsilver andgoldwas one ofthe bes t proxies inwooing among our ancestors .

" Aristotle tells us that the ancient Greeks

1 Weinhold, lac. cit. , p. 242.

1 Powers, lac. cit. , p. 247.

1 Schoolcraft, lac. cit. , rv , 214. Chapman, lac. cit. , 1 , 341.1 “Emin Pasha inCent.Africa , p. 86 . Ruth rv , 10; Hosea 111 , 2. Lac. cit., 1,451.1 “Litterflra Soiréer,

”1849 , p. 13. Quotedby Westermarck, lac. cit. , p. 396 .

18 Human Sexuathabitually purchased their wives, and Herodotus says the same of the

Thracians. Among the early Teutons a similar customseems to have beenobserved, and Scandinav ianmythology teaches that even the gods boughttheirwives .

1 In England, as late as the sixteenth century , traces ofthe samecustomwere to be found in legal procedure,’ and in Thuringia to this daythe betrothal ceremony speaks ofit.“These are but a fewofthe v ast host ofinstances inwhichmarriage by

purchase is shown to have been almost a universal institution among savagepeoples ; and among the civ ilized, I neednot cite special cases to showthat,although indirectlymanifested, it has by nomeans fallen into “

innocuous

desuetude even in America.

History records instanceswhere v ast sums have changed hands, sometimes by vote ofpopular assemblies , at themarriage ofone ruler’s daughterwith the son ofanother; and there is probably no country in theworldwhere the dot ismore carefully looked after than in that home ofmodernchivalry

— France. In this country it is becoming more andmore a legiti

matematrimonialmeans ofdefence againstfailing fortunes, andnoAmericanheiress ifshe possess beauty and stage talent, togetherwith even a spark ofthe hustling spirit ofher race, need go down to the dark valley withoutat least one ducal scalp at her belt.Leav ing the question ofdowry, however, as only indirectly related to

our present theme, and before taking up themore immediate consideration

ofsex- life in its physiological andpsychological aspects, let us glance brieflyat the rites and ceremonies ofmarriage froma legal andsocial point ofview.

It is quite probable that, among primitive peoples,Marriage Rites and no such thing as a wedding ceremony was known .

Ceremonies Whatever ofcontract existedwas in the formofmereverbal agreement between the parties concerned.

When a couple had lived together for a certain length oftime,without anydiscord, or opposition on the part ofthemselves or friends , theywere consideredhusband andwife ; and the formofagreement between them, beingtold to their friends, came, very naturally , to be imitated by those friendsin theirmarriages ; fromwhich circumstance it is easy to trace the rise of

themarriage ceremony .

“ Then, too, as marriage, through the growth of

society , and the broader recognition ofthe principle ofexpediency in such

unions , came to be endowedwith a higher degree ofimportance, itwas onlynatural that it should be investedwith greater formand ceremony, chief

1 “Suenska folkets historia , Geijer, in “Samlade Skrifter, v , 88. Quoted byWestermarck , lac. cit. , p. 396 .

1 Friedberg , lac. cit. , pp. 33- 38.

1 Schmidt, lac. cit., p. 13.

Hall, lac. cit. , p. 567.

1 V id. Westermarck , lac. cit., p. 418.

1 20 Human Sexualityafter striking his daughter gentlywith it, handed it to the newhusband, toindicate that the right ofits use henceforth belonged to the latter.

‘Many ofthemarriage usages ofboth savage and civ ilized races—such

as the use ofthe veil, and the customin several countries of the bridewearing her hair hanging down over her shoulders—seemto be expressiveofthat feeling ofallmen, and sentiment ofall nations, which, though itmay beweakened can never bewholly efiaced,“ that sexual gratification

is something to be veiled andhidden fromv iew.

It is hard to account for such an instinct on any rational ground— that

feeling , innate and intuitive,which associateswith impurity and indecencya peculiar ordinance ofGod but none can deny its existence.

It is this ideawhich lay at the bottomof that

sanctity which the early Church— and indeed the

Roman Catholic Church to-day— ascribed, and does

ascribe, to the condition ofperfect continence; whichcan be traced quite clearly through the religious Observances ofso manyCatholic nations , andwhich Buckle lashes so unmercifully in his HistoryofCiv ilization, Vol. 11 , Chaps . 1 and v . We find it among the Nazarenesand Essenes ofJudma ; the priests ofIndia and ofEgypt; in the remotemountains ofTartary and Thibet; and the history of the ImmaculateConception ofour Lord, concerningwhich there has been somuch illiterateconjecture and speculation, as well as downright ridicule, is only one ofa

host ofsimilarmiraculous motherhoods scattered throughout the legends

and literature ofAsia.

There is a Chinese legendwhich tells us thatwhen therewere but oneman and one woman on the earth, the woman refused to sacrifice her

virginity to him, even to people the globe ; and the gods, honoring her

purity, granted that she should conceive in her k aer’e sight, without

sexual intercourse, and in this way a v irginmother became the parent ofhumanity. Many other like instancesmight be cited fromvarious sources

to showthat Christianity is not alone in its creed as to the ImmaculateConception.

1

Amidst all the sensuality ofGreece, chastitywas preeminently the attribute of sanctity accorded to Athens, and Artemis.

Chaste daughter ofZeus ,” prays the suppliant in

JEschylus ; and the Parthenon, or V irgin’s temple,”

was the most sacred religious edifice in Athens.

The very basis ofPlato’s moral systemwas the distinction between the

sensual and the spiri tual parts ofour nature, the first being the sign ofour

1Meiners , k c. cit., 11 , 167.

1 Lecky , kc. cit., 1, 104.1 Helvetius,

“De l’Fsprit,” Dis. 117. AlsoDraper, kc. cit., p. 48, et seq.

Betrothal,Marriage, Divorce 1 2 1

degradation, the second, ofour dignity ; and the school ofPythagoras not

only made chastity a prominent v irtue, but advocated the creation ofa

monastic systemin Greece similar to that ofRomanismto—day .

Similarly , the conception ofthe celestial Aphrodite— the uniter ofsoulsunstained by any taint of earth, fingered for centuries beside that of

an earthly Aphrodite, the patroness of lust, the hot- blooded goddess of

passion. Strabomentions societies ofmen in Thrace who aspire to perfection through celibacy and austere lives ; and Plutarch highly praisescertain philosopherswho had sworn to abstain fromwine andwomen, and“to honor God by their continence.

” 1

The story ofthe vestals, which leaky calls one ofthemost curiouspages in the history ofRome,” exhibits an instancewhere continencewasnot only voluntary , but guarded and surrounded by such fearful legal

penalties as to almostmake one shudder to read. But ifliving- burialwasthe punishment inflictedby the Lea:Papia for v iolation ofher vowofchas

tity, the vestal had priv ilegeswhich, as in driving through the streets of

Rome, precededby the lictors,were sometimes refusedeven to an Empress.

’

Vestalswere believedto have amiraculous powerofprayer, andwere the custodians andpriestesses ofthe EternalFire, the palladium, andall the holiest

relics ofRome.

’

Among the Buddhistsmarriage is regardedby the priests as a concessionto human passion, and is therefore only a civil con

Origin ofthe tract.‘ The“bestman ” ofourmodernmarriagewas

BestMan” originally the best, or staunchest, abettorofthe bride’scapture; and as the civilizedman always feels like

beginning the connubialvoyageunder the auspices ofreligion, howeverwickedly hemay act afterwards , so the services ofthe priest in performing therite seemto have been inseparable fromthe marriage contract among

Too often, as I have intimated, it is only a form; but inMexico, Nica1 Flat “De Cohibenda Ira .

1 V id. Plutarch,“Val.Max . , 1, 1 ; Propert. , rv , 11 ; andTacitus , rv , 10.

1 Encyclop . Brit., Art.“V estals .

”

“At the Collins Gate has been builded the vault, with its bed, its table and its

black bread andwater. There , fromtime immemorial, that her cries may not reach

the pure daughters ofRome, the ofl'ender against the laws ofchastity , the desecratorofthe altar ofV esta, has been entombedalive !

“The litter iswithout! The lictors are in attendance,with theirfasces ofauthority !A Sentence ! A Sentence ! Death to the defiled! The lawordains it! The peopledemand it!”

J. R. Parke, Speech ofRutilius in “Tullia the Vestal:A Story ofAncient Rome,p. 22.

1 Fytche, kc. cit. , n , 70.

1 2 2 Human Sexualityragua, Australia, Africa and India, religion was always invoked in the

performance ofthemarriage ceremony .

Christianity confirmed and strengthened this

religious aspect ofmatrimony ; and fromPaul’s

words— sacramentumhoc magnumest— the presentdogma ofCatholicism, aswell as themore enlightened

sentiment ofthe Anglican anddissenting churches ,was gradually evolved,marriage assuming the position it today occupies of a sacramentalunion,rather than amere civil contract.

If the Creator thought it wrong for Adamto

remain single,what shallbe said in defence ofreligiouscelibacy, or ofour ever growing army ofbachelors71Men get tired ofeverything in time; can it be that

they are getting tiredofmatrimony? And, ifsuch he the case,what are thecauseswhich thus conspire to destroy one ofthe oldest instincts, aswell asinstitutions , of theworld, andwhat part have women themselves in its

destruction? This is not awork on social economy . Ifitwere Imightbe induced to attempt answering these diflicult questions, even at the risk

ofbeing thought both egotistical and ungallant; but as matters stand, Ican only thank heaven that I amrelievedfroma responsibilitywhich haswreckedmany awiserman, and permitted to followthe subject in my ownsweetway ; though, like Peter following hisMaster, it may sometimes beafar

1As an offset, however, to themountains ofabusewhich have been heaped upon

bachelors as a class , in recent years, may be cited the opinion ofHieronymus—napkin

heav en . Certain it is that fewmarried persons. fromthe Savior Himselfdownward,figuredlargely in the greatwork ofHuman Redemption . But let not the bachelor exalt

his horn on that account, nor point to Elijah, Elisha , John the Baptist andthemajorityofthe Apostles , as illustrious prototypes ofhis sacred character. These had reference

entirely to a spiritualministry ; the peopling ofthe earth, equally as divine a pre paganda, being conditioned primitively on the business ofmarrying andmultiplying .

And let not the oldmaid plead, as a cause ofsingleness , the case ofDaphne,whowasturned into a green bay

- tree to showthat virginity is immortal; nor that ofJoan of

Arc ; nor Queen Elizabeth ; nor the BlessedV irgin ; nor Susan B.Anthony . Av irgin at

eighteen is a flower, a lily , the fairest and sweetest thing in God’s creation ; but thesame v irgin at forty , lasciaa et petulans paella virgo, is a beanstalk , awithered chestnut

burr,when the frost has struck it. And all reach forty— ia time. In Italy, says Are

tine’s Lucretia, awoman is old at twenty-four ; in Turkey , at twenty ; and in Africa,

Leo Ager tells us, youwill scarcefind amaidatfourteen , they are soforward.

”(Lib. 3,

fol. Therefore takewarning, girls . As both Herrick andAusonius say“Fairmaids , go gather roses in your prime,And think that, as a flower, sofadeth time.

1Mark xrv , 54.

1 24

wives,1 although Priam’s appears to have been the onlywell authenticatedcase ofactual polygyny.

“ Among theRomans,while concubinage s eems tohave been general, themass ofthe peopleweremore strictly monogamous.The concubinewas always carefully distinguished fromthe legalwife, andthe rights and privileges ofchildren were bestowedwith a jealous eye to

this distinction.

“

marriagewas well recognized as an institution ; and even in the Christian

worldpolygyny , in the early ages ,was distinctly tolerated, ifnot sanctioned.

Itwas practised by the earlyMerov ingian kings, and a lawofCharles the

Great seems to imply that itwas not unknown even to the clergy .

“ Caribert

andChilperic hadboth a plurality ofwives ;“ andClotairemarriedthe sisterofhis firstwife, during the lifetime ofthe latter; consent being given in themockwords ofthewife letmy lord dowhat seemeth good in his sight;only let thy servant live in thy favor.

” 1

St. Columbanus was driven out ofGaul for his denunciation of the

polygyny ofKing Thierry ;1andDagobert had, in addition to threewives,

awholemultitude ofconcubines ; so that themodernmorganatic, or left

handed,”marriage of royalty,we see, hadample authority in the customs

ofthe past. Not only had the great Charlemagne twowives, but awholebattalion offilles de joie,

“and “polygyny , in this qualified form, has te

mained a toleratedprivilege ofroyalty down to the present time.

” 1

St. Augustine expressly said he didnot condemn polygyny, 1° andLutherpermitted Philip ofHessen tomarry twowomen to accomplish a certain

political purpose. Indeed, he openly declared that, in v iewofthe silence

ofChrist on thematter, he could not forbid the taking ofmore than one

wife ;” 11 while, as later exponents of the same view, it iswell known theMormons regard polygyny as a div ine institution. In factmonogamy,hav ing no sanction in theOldTestament, andbeing only negatively, ifat all,taught and enjoined in the New,were it not for the beneficent influenceit exercises upon society, the home, and the state,mightwell be discardedaltogether, both as a theologicaldogma andstatutory decree.

It rs probable, notwithstanding the general opinion, that polygyny hadits origin among a sexually weak, rather than a sexually strong people.The races ofthe East,withwhomit is proverbially indigenous, through

1 Becker, k c. cit., 11,438.1 Iliad, xxx, 88.

1 Rossbach , lac. cit., p. 5.1 Thierry, k c. cit. , p. 17, et seq.

1 Hallam, k c. cit., 1 , 420.

1 Greg. Tur. , rv, 26, quotedby Lecky, lac. cit., 11, 343.

1 Fredegarius , xxxvr.“Eginhardus ,

“V it. Kar.Mag , xvm.1 Spencer, 1‘ Prin. Sociology,

”1, 665.

1°Hellwald, kc. cit. , .p Westermarck, kc. cit., p. 44.

Betro thal,Marriage, Divorce 1 25

climatic and other enervating influences, are naturally less virile than the

Northern races , placing checks upon the sexual passion, fromreligious and

superstitious causes, which would be badly borne, I fear, by the latter.Andthe samemay be saidofsavages .

Hubert andMaus, in their essay on sacrifice} have pointed out howfrequently sexual relationships are prohibited by religious Observances ;

and quite recently Crawley ,1 in describing the occultismof taboo, has veryfully elaborated the traditional influences which tended to the promotionofchastity among primitive races. Numbers ofcases, fromvarious por

tions ofthe world, are cited to showwhere intercourse has been delayedfor days,weeks , and evenmonths aftermarriage, in conformity to certain

religious laws ; and a trace ofthe church asceticismoflater tiines is found

in the early history ofthe Orientalpagans .

Dion Chrysostomadvocated the suppression of prostitution by law.

Apollonius ofTyana, though a pagan, lived a life ofcelibacy.

’ Zenobiarefused to cohabitwith her husband, except on the ground ofproducingan heir; and Hypatia is said to have preserved her virginity, though a

There aremany evidences ofweak sexuat in savages. Love playsa very small part in their lives. They make use of

Orientals and fewendearments, knowlittle if anything about kissSavages Sexually ing , or the many other warmand more intimate

Weak manifestations of sexual affection ; have fewlovesongs , and give a very subordinate place to the

literature ofpassion. Parental love is stronger than sexual love; and as

amost convincing proofoftheir deficiency in the latter, jealousy , thoughby nomeans entirely absent, is far rarer and feebler than among civ ilized

races. Spencer and Gillen record the comparative absence of jealousy inmen ofthe CentralAustralian tribes? andnegresses are stated, by aFrench

army surgeon, to be so exempt fromthe passion that he has known a first

wife to earnmoney to help buy a secondwife for her husband.

“

Among higher races, the Korean women seemto live happily togetheras wives ofa common husband; theMormons, possibly, not so happily ,notwithstanding their contrary claim; and the women ofTurkey and

Persia take so kindly to the institution of polygyny that theirmost oh

trusive sentiment seems to be one ofrivalry for the favor oftheir husband,1 “Essai sur ls Sacrifice,

” L’Amicc Sociologiquc, 1899 , pp. 50, 51 .

1 Loc. cit., pp. 187, atseq.

1 Philos. Apol., 1, 13.

1 I amaware that this assertion is one ofan anonymouswriter, but is quoted byLecky (Hist. Europ.Mon , n , 315) as of, at least, possible credibility .

1 Loc. cit., p. 99 .

1 H. Ellis , kc. cit. ,m, 212.

1 26 Human Sexualityrather than of jealousy . But even where polygyny is permitted by law,it is by nomeans so generally practised as is commonly supposed. Almosteverywhere, it is confined to the smaller part ofthe people, themajoritybeingmonogamous . I amcredibly informed such is the case even amongtheMormons ; andMr. Phillips remarks , in his Sociological Study,

”that

“it is a mistaken opinion that in a polygamous society mostmen havemore than onewife.

” The relative proportion ofthe sexes forbids such

an arrangement; the poverty ofa certain class always precludes polygynyand Pmyart says 1 only the richmen ofLoango,whosemeans permit theenjoyment ofsuch a luxury , indulge the sexual priv ilege ofpolygyny. It

is so also inMohammedan countries , even the late Khedive ofEgypt,Tewfik Pasha, having had only onewife, the faithful and devoted EminehHanem.

1

In India, says Seyed Amir Ali, more than ninety-five per cent. of

theMohammedans are at the present moment, either by conv iction or

necessity , monogamists .

“ The educated classes, versed in the history of

their ancestors , and competent to compare itwith that of other nations ,

almost universally v iewpolygyny with disgust; and in Persia, Col.Macgregor tells us, only about two per cent. indulge the questionable luxury .

In China , no laboring man thinks ofmore than onewife; and Dr. Gray

is ofopinion that, originally, concubinage itselfwas a priv ilege restricted

to thewealthy .

‘ In the Indian Archipelago concubinage exists only amongthe higher ranks, while polygyny is regarded as a sort of v icious luxury

which itwould be absurd to regard as an institution affecting thewholemass ofthe people.

“ The truth ofthis statement is confirmed by Raffles ,for the Javanese ; 1 Low"and Bayle 1 , for theMalays ;Marsden for the

Sumatrans , and bymy own personal observation as to the Tagals, Visayans , and other native tribes in the Philippines .

Speaking ofthe Hebrews, Dr. Scheppig says that the expenses connected

with polygyny were so great that none but the rich could afford them;and in Egypt, although, as I have remarked, polygynywas common amongthe wealthy classes , as was also concubinage, it would appear fromthe

numerous ancient paintings descriptive ofdomestic life in that cmmtrythat among the poor, monogamywas the rule.

“ It is thought by somethat the ancient Persians alsoweremonogamous ; 1° andDr. Schradermakesa similar statement as to the early Indo-European races in general.“ Among

1 Loc. cit., p. 568.

1 V id. Amir Ali, k c. cit., p. 29, ct seq.

1 Ibid.

1 Gray , k c. cit. , I, 184.

1 Crawford, kc. cit., 1 , 76 .

1 Loc. cit., I , 81 .

1 Loc. cit. , p. 147.

1 Loc. cit. , p. 25 .

1 Wilkinson, k c. cit. , r, p. 318.

1° V id. Westermarck , k c. cit., p.442.1Maine, “Early LawandCustom, p. 235 .

1 28 Human Sexualityofconcubines, like the celebrated hand-maidens ofthe Hebrewpatriarchs,who so frequently usurped the functions oftheirmistresses .

The ancient Scandinavians had commonly only one legitimate wife,though asmany concubines as they chose; 1 and the paganRussians , according to Ewers, always gave the firstwife the precedence,1 as do theMormonsto-day, the firstwife only assuming the husband’s name and titles .

’

Beside those mentioned, there is another way in which polygynyis modified. Among many peoples there are well defined laws ofcus

tom, which compel the husband to cohabit with his wives in turn.

Otherwise, there would be trouble. The Caribs, when they married— as

they frequently did— several sisters at once, always lived onemonthwitheach in a separate hut. At least they did the first year, but it is not so

certain as to the second. Preferences are very apt tobeformedmsuch cases ,both by Christian and pagan, which exert a strong influence even uponnational custom; and a

“favoritewife” is as apt to growup, among a lot

offemales in a harem, through a hot sexuality, as the bluest kind ofblood.

TheMohammedan is compelled by law, however, to favor each ofhis four

legalwives by turns , ofcourse giv ing the intervals to a host ofcharmingodalisques ; and in all countries where the plural marriage is allowed, topreserve public order, similar laws ofrelation have been devised to governthe sexual commerce.

“ 1 have fourwives, said an oldArab Sheik to Sir S. W. Baker;1 “

as

one has become old, I have replaced herwith a young one (hemarkedfour strokes in the sandwith his stick) here they all are. This one carries

water; that grinds the corn ; thismakes the bread; the last does not domuch, she ismy youngest, andmy favorite.

” Alas , for the poorwifewhois no longer the

“youngest

”and the

“favorite !

Wherever Christianity has not idealized love, and investedwomanwiththose charms which far outlive, and outshine, her mere physical beauty,her lot is indeed hardwhen she has passed the stage ofsexual attraction

into the acre andyellowleaf, andbecomes the householddrudge to a youngerandhandsomer rival.To showhowlightly love, or the marital obligation, sits upon these

hoary old polygamists,Dr.Grenfell relates the story ofa peripateticministerin Labrador,who, called tomarry a richman at a place called SpottedIslands,

” found that he could not performthe ceremony, as the bridewaswithin the prohibited degrees ofrelationship. Nevermind,mister, oneofthesewill do,” said the determined old groom, selecting one ofthemost

1 Gener, k c. cit. , v , 88.

1 Ewers, k c. cit. , p. 108.

1 Burton,

“The City ofthe Saints, p. 518.

1 “Nile Tributaries, etc., p. 265.


attractive girls fromthe crowd; and forthwith the ceremony proceeded,with themerriment said to belong to allmarriage bells .

1

Polyandry, or plurality ofhusbands , is rarer as aPolyandry formofmarriage than polygyny .

1 In the Aleutian

Islands, Langsdorftells ofa woman who livedwithtwo husbands , onmutually satisfactory conditions between the latter as tothemethod ofsharing herfavors ;

1andVeniaminoflasserts that a Thlinket

woman was privileged to have, in addition to her real husband, a legal

paramour,whowas usually the brother ofthe former.

‘ Along the Orinoco,Humboldt often foundbrotherswho had only onewife between them;1 and

theWarraus, according to Brett, donot consider the customof onewomanhav ing two husbands tobe bad,” 1 a case being reported by thewriternamedinwhich it took three husbands to square the family.

In the Island ofLancerote,most ofthewomen have three husbands ; 7and Thunberg tells us the same is true of the Hottentots. Dr. Fritsch

mentions polyandry among the Damaras , andMr. Thea], among the tribesofthe Bantu race.

‘ The Hovas ofMadagascar have aword expressive ofthe permission given by a husband to his wife to have intercoursewithanotherman, ifhewere going to be long absent; 1 and in Nukahiva, rich

wives commonly have, in addition to the chiefhusband, another,whomightbe classed, as in pharmacy , a “qualified assistant.

” 1°

Among the Todas , all the brothers ofone family live in mixed intercoursewith one ormorewives ; everywife,when shemarries, claiming theright ofsexual intercoursewith her husband’s brothers , be theymany or

few.

“ The same customobtains among the Kurgs ofMysore ; and the Nairwomen ofMalabar commonly have twomen as husbands, aswell as , perhaps , halfa dozenmorewithwhomthey cohabitwith nearly equal regularity .

“ Polyandry is common prettymuch all over India, and in ThibetandMr. Ravenstein quotes a Japanese traveller as saying that it prevailedamong the Saporogian Cossacks, and in Eastern Siberia.

“

Among theRussian peasants the comfortable practice exists ofthe fathercohabiting with the wife ofhis son, during the latter

’s minority ; 11 and,

according to Strabo, all themalemembers ofaMedian familymarried thesamewoman. Perhapswe find a hint ofthis customin themythic account

1 Dr. Grenfell, “Labrador, Leslie’sMagazine, Dec 1904.

1Westermarck, kc. cit. , p.450.

1 Dal] , k c. cit., p. 416.1 “Personal Narrative, etc. , 11, 549 .

1 Loc. cit. , p. 178.

1 Bontier andLe V errier, kc. cit., p. 139 .

1 Loc. cit. , p. 19 .

1 Sibree, k c. cit. , p. 253 .

11 Bull. Soc. d’Anthr. , 111, 1x , 367.

11 “Trans. Ethn. N. S . 11. 240.

11 “Asiatic Researches ,”v , 13 .

11 Lansdell, kc. cit., 11 , 225 .

11 Haxthausen,

“Transcaucasia, p.403.

9

1 30 HumanSexualityofthe goddess Frigga marrying , during her husband

’s absence, his two

brothers, Vili and Ve.

1

Among some races a customexistswhich, in one important respect, isa marked improvement on our own. If two men propose to the samewoman, she is not compelled to break one heart inmaking the other happy.

Shemarries one ofthem, generally the rich one, butmakes the other an

auxiliary , and both arewell satisfied.

’ An equal liberality in suchmattersamong ourselvesmight take the formofa real philanthrophy.

With the ancient Britons, to prevent domestic confusion, the children

were regarded— not always correctly

— as belonging to himwho had firsttaken the v irgin towife; 1 and in Thibet the choice ofthewife belongs to theelder brother, though all the others are entitled to the husband’s privileges,ifthey choose to avail themselves ofthem.

‘

In Europe, the number ofmen and women, atNumerical Parity twenty years ofage, is about the same ; a similar rule

ofthe Sexes prevailing also in America ; but at an earlier periodoflife, in both continents, therewere more men than

women ; and at a later,morewomen thanmen.

‘ It is not necessary here

to enter into the causes ofthis disparity ; it being suflicient to say that it

depends, to a great extent, upon the higher, and lower, rates ofmortalityat given periods oflife ; but to this pretty constant equality ofnumbers, atthemarriageable age, is chiefly due the tendency in all civilized societies

tomonogamousmarriages.

There aremany reasonswhy amanmay desire toArguments against possessmore than onewife; and, fromthe view- pointMonogamy ofnatural law, there appears little to urge against

such a practice. In fact,much might be said in its

favor. The periods ofabstinence fromsexual intercourse,which the healthanddecency ofboth parties demand, are too long to be reasonably borne bya v igorous man,with sexual powers normally developed; and I amcon

v inced that not only aremany ofthemarital infelicities of society trace

able to this cause, but that serious impairment ofhealth very frequentlyresults fromtwo early sexual connexion after both childbirth andmenstruation.

In many countries— and fortunately they are mostly polygynousthe husband is not only compelled to live apart fromhiswife for a certain

period everymonth, but during thewhole termofher pregnancy ; 1 as soon

as this event is announced, the sexual rights being suspendedwith super1 Lisiansky , k c. cit. , p. 83.

1 Ce sar, kc. cit. , v , 14.

1 Ganzenmuller, “Ti bet,” p. 87 .

1 Oettingen, k c. cit., p. 59 .

1Westermarck , kc. cit. , p. 483.

132 Human SexualityA nakedwoman, says Pliny, led around an orchard, will protect

itfromcaterpillars; andeven in Italy to this day, according to Bastanzi, the

beliefis actedon and the custompractised.

In the sugar refineries , in the North ofFrance, nowoman is permittedto enterwhile the sugar is boiling forfearonemight bemenstruous and thesugar be blackened thereby; and thewomen ofAnnam, themselves, say it isimpossible to prepare their opiumpipes properly while they have their

courses.

‘ The most portentous account of the prodigies attending this

period is probably given by Pliny .

“Hailstorms ,” ,

he says,“whirlwinds

and lightnings,will be scaredaway by awoman uncovering her bodywhileher courses are upon her; and the samewith all other kinds oftempestuousweather. At sea, a stormmay be stilled by a woman uncovering herself,even though notmenstruating at the time; and ifshewalk rounda field,whilemenstmating , the caterpillars, worms, beetles and other vermin will fallfromthe ears ofcorn.

“

But coming down tomore recent times, in 1878 a physicianwrote to theBritishMcaicai Journal asking ifitwere true that ifawoman “boiledhams,whilemenstruating” (thewoman ofcourse, not the hams) , “wouldthehamsbe spoiled,” as he had known it twice to occur? Another inquired, in all

seriousness, as towhatwould happen to her patients should a lady doctor,whilemenstruating, attend them; andstill another replied,with that knowit- all air so often observable in our friends but never in ourselves, that he

thought the factwas so generally known,” thatmeatwould spoil ifsaltedat themenstrual period that hewas surprised to see somany letters in theJournal on the subject.Indeed itwas only as late as 18911 that Dr.WilliamGoodell, ofPhila

delphia,was enabled towrite concerning the prejudicial efiects ofmenstmation on surgical procedure I have learned to unleamthe teaching that

womenmust not be subjected to a surgical operation during themonthlyflux.

’

But enough has been said todirect attention to the fact that, in all ages

and countries, the phenomena attending this v ital function ofthe femaleare such as to preclude the sexual relation during its continuance.

‘

1 Vid. L. Laurent, Ann. des Sci . Psy ., Sept. andOct., 1897. H . Ellis, 1, 213, note .

1 Pliny ,“Natural History ,

” Books V II and xxvm. Respectfully referred to our

agricultural friends as a remedy for the boll-weevil and potato-bug . Indeed, the De

partment ofAgriculture could do worse, I think , than send a copy ofthis book to

every farmer in theUnitedStates . I have not the slightest doubt itwouldbe receivedwith farmore pleasure, andreadwith, possibly,more profit, thanmany ofthose annually sent out. As to the calmative influence offemale nakedness on the sea, havewea hint in it ofthe origin ofthe nudewoman so often usedas a figure-headfor ships?

1 ProvincialMedical Journal, April, 189 1 .

1 Vid. H. Ellis , kc. cit. , r, 212.


The chiefcause ofmonogamy in every country is

Female Beauty undoubtedly the youth, beauty , or other charmin

Short Lived the girlwhich excites andsets inmotion those psychosexual processeswhich, for lack ofa better name,we

call love. Whether this love be what Plato called it, the great dev il,because it rules and commands every other dev il ofpassion ; orwhetherit be

_divine, first created by GodHimself, in Paradise ; we do knowthat it

operates most powerft in youth. Love is painted young because hebelongs particularly to the young , says Hebre us. He is fair and fat

because, as another oldwriternaively remarks , such folks are first taken.

”

He is pictured naked, because all true affection is simple and open ; has a

quiver andbow, to indicate that he is a hunter, ofhearts ; is blind, becausehe neither sees nor cares where he hits ; and is a great commanding god,above Jupiter himself, according toAthenzeus} But to enjoy fully the passion oflove, bothmen andwomen shouldmarry young. The importance ofamanmarrying younger than himselfis obv ious . Women agemuch fasterthan men. The nervous systemis frailer, and themetabolicmechanismofthe entire body farmore sensitive anddelicate. Their charm, and there

fore the sexual life, are shorter in duration.

In California,Mr. Powers tells us,women are handsome in their carefree, untoiling youth, but break down after twenty-five to thirty , and be

come, many of them, positively ugly .

’ Among theMandan Indians ,

maidens are sometimes beautiful, but all get homely aftermarriage.

’ The

Kutchinwomen get coarse and ugly as they growold;1and among the

Warraus, according to Schomburgk , the flower ofawoman’s life is gone at

twenty . The Patagonianwomen fade early ; and in NewZealand, Tahiti,Hawaii andthe Philippines— partly fromtooearly sexualexcesses—woman’sbeauty is lost at a very unripe age.

‘

In Africa female beauty is particularly evanescent. The Egyptian girl,fromfourteen to eighteen, is amodel ofloveliness andgrace ; but at twentyfive to thirty-five— theseason ofawoman’s prime in America— she is broken

down and coarse-featured ! In Eastern Africa female charms are less

perishable than in India andArabia ; but even there the sex falls into the

hideous decmpitude ofthe East” 1 at a very early age ; and theArab girls

ofthe Sahara premrve the bloomandfreshness ofourwomen ofthirty only

till about the sixteenth year.

‘

1 Loc. cit. , Lib. 13, Cap . 5.

1 Powers , k c. cit. , p . 20- 24.

1 Catlin, k c. cit. , 1, 121 .

1 Hardisty , kc. cit., p. 312.

1 Angus , k c. cit. , 1 , 311 .

1 Lane, k c. cit. , 1, 50. Baker, k c. cit., p. 124- 265.

1 Burton , First Footsteps.” etc., p. 119 .

1 Chavanne, k c. cit., p. 397.

134 Human SexualityThe Wolofgirls are very pretty, with their soft, glossy black skins;

but,”asMr. Reade remarks, “when the first jet ofyouth is passed, the

skin turns to a dirty yellow, andcreases like oldleather; their eyes sink intothe skull, and the breasts hang down like the udder ofa cow.

” 1 Amongthe Fulah, it is rare forwomen above twenty to becomemothers ;” 1 and in

Unyoro, Emin Pasha nevermet awoman over twenty-fivewith a baby.

1

Early sexual intercourse, and sometimes withCauses of nearly awhole tribe ofmen, is, as I have intimated,

Unfaithfulness in the chiefcause ofthe early decay ofphysical beautyHusbands among thewomen ofthe tropics ; but constant toil,

poor food and climatic conditions, doubtless exert agreat influence in its production. It is well known that both men and

women preserve the bloomofyouth and health far longer in cold than in

hot countries ; andfor verywelldefined physiological reasons not necessaryto enter upon here ; 1 but,while female beauty almost always underlies

man’s sexual desire, his taste for change, unless overruled by religious

principle, love, or the precepts ofhonor,will always stand in theway of

prolonged constancy to any one type.

‘

Thus the negroes of Angolo excused themselves for their frequentbreaches ofmarital fidelity by the statement that they were not alwaysable to eat outofthe same dish;” 1 and, aswe shall see later,whenwe cometo notice the question ofdivorce, that, asMr. Lane remarks , fickle passionis themost evident and common motive bothofpolygyny and divorce.

” 1

But it is not the sole one. Man’s desire for

The Desire for children, wealth, authority, and the extension ofhis

Sexual Change social and political power, often prompts himto put

away an unfruitfulwife, or tomarry another ofgreaterworldly possessions . Among the Botis ofLadakh, should a wife provebarren, a secondcan be chosen ; andshouldshe only beardaughters, anothercan be similarly selected.

‘ In Indo-China, polygyny is allowed only ifthe

wife is sterile ; 1 and the Eskimo ofPrince Regent’s Bay only takes a secondwife ifthefirst have given himno children.

‘1 In China andTonquin, how1 “Savage Africa, p. 447. Chapman , k c. cit. , r, 342.

1 Westermarck, k c. cit. , p. 48.

1 “Emin Pasha inCent. Africa, p. 85 .

1 Lubbock , k c. cit. , p. 143.

1 Byron’s idea ofconstancy , therefore , to be“constantly loving somebody , seems

to be foundedon an innate instinct.1Merollada Sorrento, k c. cit. , p. 299 .

1 Loc. cit. , 1 , 252.

1 Cunningham, k c. cit. , 11111 , 204.

1 Colquhoun, k c. cit. , p. 71. 11 King , kc. cit. , 1, 150.

136 Human Sexualityas themen in general are very jealous oftheirwives , Imake nodoubt thesame spirit reigns among thewomen ; but they are kept somuch in awe oftheir husbands that the liberty ofthinking is about the only liberty the poorwives enjoy .

WhenMr. Williams asked a Fijiwoman,whowasminus her nose, howshe had lost it, she said it came fromher husband

Polygyny and having many wives.

“They get jealous , and hateDomestic Discord one another; and the strong one cuts, or bites off,

the other’s nose.

” 1

Itmay be remarked that in civ ilized society they only feel like doing so.

We are told that the oldwives in Australia are extremely jealous oftheiryoung rivals, being fmquently beaten and ill- treatedby the latter; and the

preservation oftheir place, anddignity in the family, depends largely upontheir fighting powers. I amtold thatMessrs . Seabury Johnson, theAmerican sticking

- plaster manufacturers, have kept a branch house in

Sydney for some years ; butwhether there is any connection between thatfact and thedomestic discordspoken ofI amunable todetermine.

When an Indian feels inclined to indulge himselfwith two or threewives ,

he selects, ifhe can, sisters ; thinking thus to secure a greater degree of

domestic tranquility ;1 and this shrewdmove, doubtless , underlies thewellknown customofthe Pawnees, andother tribes, ofmarrying , alongwith theeldest daughter, all her younger sisters in rotation, as they come ofage.

‘

I shall not devote much space to the modernModernMarriage status ofmarriage. Itwould involvemuch speculation, is pretty fairly known , as far as itmay be known

with any degree ofcertainty , and its literature is already sufficiently voluminous to answer every end; but there is a formofmarriage, influencedbyequality ofthe sexes,which demands at least passing notice.

When so- called love,which, in its protean forms , I amfar toowise toattempt to analyze, dependswholly upon external attractions, it is neces

sarily both changeable and imperfect. It cannot help but be so; since

the qualitieswhich excite it are themselves both changeable and indefinite ;butwhen it is foundedon sympathy, arising out ofsimilarity ofthementalconstitution, that peculiar sexual and psychological adaptability diflicult todescribe in briefterms, the union is apt to be both permanent and happy,and to continue long after both youth andbeautyhave disappeared. Along

with love, which I might possibly better answer the present purpose bycalling the monogamous instinct,” there is the great lawofnumerical

1 Loc. cit. , p. 310.1 1 Williams andCalvert, k c. cit., p. 152, et seq.

1 Domenech, k c. cit. , 11 , 306 .

1 Bancroft, k c. cit., 1, 277 . See also Schoolcraft, Bastian,Waits .


equality between the sexes, aswell as the imflied NewTestament teaching, to oppose the progress ofpolygyny .

The social instinct, the des ire for change,‘ the

Causes Favoring diflerent phases offemale beauty , the love ofchildren,Polygyny the curiosity to compare the pleasures ofthe sexual

actwith difl'erentwomen, ormen, all favor it; butas Bain well remarks , while thematernal feeling admits a plurality of

objects, while the love ofdomination needs many subjects,“ andwhilemany ofthe lighter elements ofaffection are best satisfiedby diversity , thehighest intensity ofthe love- passion is undoubtedly found in monogamy .

True love disdains tomeasure its object by any other human standard.

It sees in that object only an immeasurable superiority , an unapproachableexcellence ofmind, soul and body ; which, having their origin in somespecial liking, turning on apparently insignificent differences , or similaritiesoftemperament, become in themind ofthe subject so exaggerated by con

stant favorable contemplation as to be, as has been verywell remarked,altogether transcendent.

"

Although restrained by law, religion, and fixedModern Growth ofobservances, the natural tendency of our modernthe Polygynous social difierentiation is undoubtedly toward polygyny .

Instinct The growth ofneurodynamia among our great leisureclass ; the constant idleness , flattery , temptation and

sexual stimulation towhich they are continually subject, is always tendingto greater sexual liberty . There is a gradualweakening ofthe domestictie ; that tacit restlessness under restraint,

— a true democratic principle,which comes with the sense ofpower due, say, to greatwealth ; and the

subtle instinct of a class distinction inwhich women are graded and

tagged for market, just as a farmer grades his fruit; which, in all ages ,

has taught that themanywere createdfor the use ofthe few; have unquestionably a similar bearing. Polygyny has been shown to be rare amongthose savages who knownothing ofthe artificial disparities ofrank and

wealth; 1 but iswell known tobe common, in spirit ifnot in form, among thefashionable circles ofsociety today .

The Rock Veddahs have no class distinction and no polygyny .

1 Of

the Hottentots the samemay be said.

1 Among theAndamanese,monogamy1 Franklin’s asserted aphorism, that allwomen are alike fromthewaist down ,

andan old one better than a young one because she ismore gratefulfor the favor, doesnot seemto have attained the popularity amongmen its lovely unselfishness undoubtedly dwarves .

1 Bain, k c. cit. , p. 136 , et seq.

1 Ibid. , p. 137.

1 Waits , k c. cit. , 11, 341.1 Emerson Tennent, k c. cit. , 11 , 440, et seq.

1 Waits , k c. cit. , 11 , 341 .

138 Human Sexualityis instinctive, as in Europe;1 theMrlis , nearly allmonogamists, are despisedas wildmen” by the polygynous Khyoungtha ;1 andtheCalifornia Indians,who are not addicted to polygyny, are utterly ignorant ofclass distinctions !Many peoples , known to have beenmonogamous , have adopted polygynyunder the influence ofa higher civ ilization. The Turco-Tartars are one;

1

the Karens , who learned polygyny fromthe Burmese, another;1 and the

Hindus seemto have learned it subsequent to the Vedic age, since it

is notmentioned in the earlier hymns.

1

Polyandry also seems to presuppose a certain degree ofcivilization, as

we can find no trace ofit among the very rudest nations ; but, concerningboth these practices, the ground 18 too vast to cover in a single section ofa

single volume ; thosewho desire tocontinue theirexamination being referredto the variousworks on anthropology , toGaya’s andWestermarck’s valuabletreatises on human marriage, and to Kocnigswarter’s History of the

Development ofHuman Society .

” 1

Butbefore leaving thesubject it is befitting , I think,Concluding to glance, iffor only amoment, at the present statusReflections on ofmarriage in modern society . Possibly some mayMarriage think I have devoted toomuch space to its savage

and semi- savage aspects ; but ifI have, it is becausethe sources ofsuch information are not so readily accessible to the generalreader as are those ofmodern marriage; and because there can be no

adequate knowledge ofany human institutionwhich does not take cogni

zance of the circumstances and conditions fromwhich it was originally

Ifhistory teaches us that as civ ilization progresses affection, charity,

and human sympathy becomemore refined, purer, and deeper, it has also

shown, ifwe have studied it to any purpose, that sexual anarchy and immorality have proven the almost invariable sequelae ofevery advance of

society . Is the civilization oftoday different fromthat ofthe Pharaohs,

orofLouisXIV , or ofAristides? And ifso, ifithavedeeper insight, higherideals, purer ethics, ormore common sense, in what way shall these be

likely to affect the position ofwoman, or the restraints put upon the lawlessness ofsexual passion?The conflict between duty and desire is, I believe, not stronger today

than itwas two thousandyears ago. Petronius Arbiterwas not converted

1Westermarck , k c. cit., p. 507.1 Lewin, k c. cit. , p. 231.

1 1 vambéry , kc. cit. , p. 71.1 Smeaton, k c. cit. p. 81. 1 Butt, Calcutta Review, Lxxxv , 79.1 “Etudes historiques sur is développement de la Société humaine,” Paris, 1850.

140 Human Sexuatinvolved, and amore careful examination ofthe grounds, ifsuch legallyexist, onwhich itmay , either conditionally or absolutely , be abrogated.

I amonly sorry that the nature ofthis work does not permit such an

extension ofthe subject as its importance seems to demand; an importanceclearly established by , not only the conflicting conclusions arrived at bydiflerent civ ilized communities, and religious faiths , concerning it, but bythe equally significant conflicts ofinterstate and international laws touching its legal andmoralnature.

Itmay he remarked, however, at the very beginning , that this confusion,both secular and sacred, concerning the validity or propriety ofdivorce canonly have arisenfromgrave diversity ofv iews on the part ofthe law-makingpowers, not only ofthe countries themselves but ofthe various parts , orsections, ofeach.

Contrary to the Opinion generally entertained, the period for whichmarriage is entered into varies greatly among theMarriage Not difl

'

erent races ofman ; but, so far asmy reading has

Always a Life enabledme to ascertain, it seems tobe a pretty generalContract rule that the contract is not necessarily entered into

for life. There are a fewremarkable instances of

peoples among whomseparation is said to be unknown 1 but they are

vastly in aminority , comparedwith the thousands uponwhomthemarriageobligation site very lightly , andwho never permit it to stand in theway of

either pleasure or caprice.

The natives oftheAndaman Islands are, accordingDivorce Among toMr. E. H.Man,married for life ; no incompati

Savages bility oftemper, nor other cause, being allowed todissolve the union.

” 1 So alsowith the Papuans of

NewGuinea ; with one or two insignificant tribes ofthe Indian Archipelago,andwith the Veddahs ofCeylon, who have a proverb that “death alone

separates husband andwife.

”

The Romans are said to have honoredwith a crown ofmodesty thosewhowere satisfiedwith only onemarriage;1 andmany beautiful, althoughisolated, instances are recorded ofRomanwives who, in the prime oflife

the kmwledgc ofthe prevention ofconception.

conception, andeven the lowestm will take advantage ofthis knowledge; and thenumber ofragamuflins , illiterates , imbeciles , syphilitics , paupers and criminalswill bereduced to a minimum 1 Quowdby the Critic andGu ide, NewYork,March, 1906 .

It is best, possibly , to let such teaching passwithout comment, as a startling evidence ofthe spirit ofthe times.

1 Westermarck, k c. cit. , p. 517.

1 Jour. Anthr. Inst. , x11 , 135.

1 Vid. V al.Max 11 , 1—3.


and beauty , at the death oftheir husbands, devoted the remainder oftheirlives to seclusion and chastity in memory ofthe dead.

1

Tacitus applauded the Germans as models in this respect and the

epitaph, univirae,” inscribed onmany Roman tombs , sufficiently attests

the adoption ofhis teaching by society in his day . The family ofCamilluswas notedfor its singlemarriages ; and one oftheRoman poets beautifullyremarks concerning this custom to love awifewhen living is a pleasure;to love herwhen dead is an act ofreligion.

"

But the very fact that these instances ofpost- conjugal celibacywere sohighly applauded sufficiently proves their infrequency . The vastmass of

the Roman people were polygynous at all times, up to the advent and

establishment ofChristianity ; aswere also the Greeks, Persians and almostallOriental nations,with the possible exception, as I have before noticed,

ofEgypt,wheremonogamywith court- concubinagewas the general custom.Most savagemarriages are pure matters ofpleasDivorce Easy in me and convenience, contractedwithout formalitySavage Life and abrogated on the slightest, or no, pretext. A

large portion ofthe oldmen in CentralAfrica do notpersonally knowhalftheirchihiren; and, per contra , thewellknown aphorismabout thewisdomofthe childwho knows its own fatherfinds nowhere else,

possibly, so apt an illustration.

The great chiefs ofTasmania,Milligan remarks, make no scruple abouta succession of and in Samoa, ifthemarriage is contracted for

property, or the pleasures ofthe festivity, as is often the case, thewife isnot likely tobewith her husbandmore than a fewdays.

“

Among the Dyaks, instances are common of young girls who have

already livedwith three or four husbands ; ‘ and the Yendalinewomen inIndo-China have fmquently families by two or three different husbands .

’

TheMaldivians are so fondofa change that it is not uncommon for aman todivorce and remarry the samewoman halfa dozen times ; and Knox tells

us the Cingalese have tomarry four or five times before they are suited

suficiently to settle down for life.

’

Burckhardt knewBedouins offortywhohad hadupwards offifty wives ;and in Persia awife is taken for a stipulated period,whichmay vary from

Ofsuch examples thewives ofLucan, Pompey andDrusus , arememorable.

“Gennania,”xxx .

“Uxoremv ivamamare voluptas ; defunctamreligio. Statius,

“Sylve .

proam.

Vid. Bonwick, loc. cit. , p. 73. Turner, loc. cit., p. 97.

Trans . Ethn. Soc , N . S . , n , 237. Colquhoun , loc. cit. , p. 75.

Res et, in Jour. Anthr. Inst ,m, 169 . Pridham, loo. cit. , r, 253 .

142 Human Sexualityone hour to ninety-nine years.

1 Mr. Lane had heard ofmen in Egypt

who— in defiance ofthemonogamous customofantiquity— had been in thehabit ofmarrying a newwife every among theMoors of the

Sahara it is considered low” for a couple to live together too long ; and

mirabile dicta ! as an example ofhowhistory repeats itself the leaders of

fashionwere thosewho had been the oftenest divorced.

”

In Abyssinia marriagewas entered into not for life but a number of

years ,‘

and the Bondo husband exchangedwives so frequently that itwasa puzzle to fix the fatherhood ofthe children. Both Rawlinson and Lecky

mention the facility ofdivorce in Persia, as in perfect accordancewith thelooseness ofIranian lawwith respect tomarriage andwomen in general ;

while among the Greeks and Teutons , although divorces sometimes weregranted, the practice never grewto the same disgraceful proportions as itdid in Rome during the close ofthe Republic and the beginning ofthe

Empire.

“

Among unciv ilizedraces, as amatter offact, amanmay discardhiswifeabout when he pleases. The Aleuts traded theirs for clothes , beads and

jack- knives and a Tonga husband’s lawofdivorcewas simply telling his

wife to go.

7

Among the Hovas ofMadagascarmarriage was only a beau - knot, so

to speak ; and in Yucatan a husband considered it aChildren a Factor good and valid reason for divorce ifhe sawanother

in Divorce woman who pleased his fancy better. Greeks ,ancient Hebrews , Romans , and occasionally Germans ,

considereddislike a perfectly proper reason for putting away awife; divorcebeing regarded not as a matter of public concern but a purely personalact.“ The Greenlanders seldomrepudiate wives who have borne themchildren ; andMr. Powers says that the California Wintun, though hemay beat hiswife in amoment ofpassion, or slink away with another fair

one, seldomresorts to divorce.

10 The Iroquois regarded separation as dis

creditable, both to the man andwoman ; ‘1 and among the Patagonians,Charruas andYahgans, ifchildren have been born to them, absolute separa

tions are rare. So among theMaoris , Solomon Islanders, NewGuineans ,and inTahiti, the birth ofchildren generally precludeddivorce; andEwald

1 Polak , loc. cit. , r, 207. Respectft submittedfor the consideration ofMr. GeorgeMeredith.

Westermarck , loc. cit. , p. 520. Reade, loc. cit., p. 444.

Lobo, loc. cit. , p. 26 . Mackenzie, loc. cit. , p. 125

Georgi, loc. cit. , p. 371 . Martin , loc. cit. , n , 173.

Westermarck , loc. cit. , p. 521. Cranz , loc. cit. , r, 148.

1°Loc. cit. , p. 239 . Morgan, loc. cit. , p. 324.

144 Human Sexualitywhichwas frequentlymade use of. Thus in an oldChinese book it is tecordedthat when awoman has any quality that is not good,

’ it is but justand reasonable to turn her out ofdoors.

” Awifewas turned away ifsheallowed the house to get full ofsmoke, or ifshe ‘frightened the dog

’withany disagreeable noise. Yet, notwithstanding these momentous and

weighty provisions , as we are told byMedhurst, divorces in ChinawereAlthough in Japan almost similar reasons held good, the Japanese sel

domavailed themselves ofthese statutory grounds

In Japan to repudiate a wife ;' and in spite ofthe prejudicedaccount given bymissionaries, chiefly , ofthemiserable

status ofwomen in both countries, as amatter ofpersonal observation,I have found the treatment accorded themin China to be on thewholeremarkably kind and considerate, while in Japan women are honored as

among ourselves . Ifa daughter is born to a Chinese, it is looked on as a

misfortune, ofcourse; but one to be homewith, patiently , as amisfortune,and not visitedwith punishment upon the head ofthe innocent child. A

daughter is oflittle esteemor valuewhile young and beautiful; butwhenshe becomes old and ugly she is regardedwith the greatest respect andveneration.

InMohammedan countries religion regulates the lawofdivorce. In

the absence of serious reasons ,”

says a Turkish

In Turkey writer,‘ noMussulman can justify divorce in the

eyes either ofreligion-or law. Ifhe abandon hiswife,

or put her away fromsimple caprice, he draws down upon himselfthedivineanger; for the Koran says

‘the curse ofGod rests on himwho repudiates

his wife capriciously .

’Practically, however, Westermarck states, aMohammedanmay ,whenever he pleases, andwithout assigning any reason,

say to hiswife ‘thou art divorced,

’and shemust return to her parents or

friends.

In India, awifewhodrinks spirituous liquor, is ofbad conduct, rebellious, diseased,mischievous or wasteful,may at any

In India time be supersededby another; a barrenwifemay besuperseded in the eighth year; one whose children

alldie, in the tenth year; onewho bears only daughters , in the eleventh;

V id. Navarette, loc. cit., p. 73. Trans . Roy . As . Soc., China Branch, xv , 27 .

Re in, loc. cit., p. 424, et seq. AmirAli, loc. cit. , p. 332.

“History ofHumanMarriage, p. 525. A careful reading oftheKoran, however,conv inces me that Prof. Westermarck is slightly in error here. The wife may bedivorced, as stawd, on paymentofa stipulated sum, but alwayswithin the strict limitations oflaw. See Sale

’sKoran, 28, 62, 348.


but onewho is quarrelsome, without any delay. In Southern India, at

the present time,while divorce is fairly common among the lower castes , itis not practised, according to Westermarck, among the Brahmins , theKshatriyas , or the higher class Sudras .

’

Divorce procedure in Burma is simple. When husband andwife conclude that continued life together is impossible, the latter goes out and

buys two candles, of equal size and length,made especially for the use ofthe unhappilymated. These candles are lighted at the samemoment, onerepresenting thewife and the other the husband, andwhichever burns outfirstwins the suit. The owner ofthe other, whether husband orwife, iscompelled tomarch out in his or her clothes , butwith nothing else, leavingthe other party in undisputed possession.

In Rome, under the later Emperors , and doubtlewIn Spain and Italy through the permeating influence of Christianity ,

the right of the husband to repudiate hiswifewasrestricted by imperial decrees , which laid down the circumstances under

which divorce was legally justifiable. But the full doctrine ofmarriageindissolubility, as expressed

'

in the text what God hath joined togetherlet noman put asunder,” while at all times advocatedby the early Fathers,

was not fully confirmed until the Council ofTrent, in themiddle of the

sixteenth century, definitely suppressed the last vestiges ofdivorce, so far

as theChurchwas concerned,giving thereby notonly a permanent impetus tothe progress ofsocialmorality , but laying the foundations ofthat powerfulinfluencewhich the Roman Catholic Church has in recent years exercised

against this rapidly growing social abuse. In Spain, Portugal and Italythe husband can demand a legal separation—divorce amensa et thoro— butthemarriage contract cannot bedissolved in either country ; while inFrancedivorcewas practically reintroducedby the lawofJuly , 1884.

In early Rome, marriage being regarded, falsely ,In Early Rome asmerely a civil contract, entered intofor the pleasure

or convenience of the contracting parties, its con

tinuancewas just as falsely considered to depend only onmutual consent.Either party possessed the right todiscontinue it, and to remarry at pleasure ; and it is quite reasonable to assume that, under such a lax rule of

obligation, the relationship should come to be treatedwith the extremest

Cicero repudiatedhiswife, Terentia when his failing financial resourcespromptedhimto seek for a newdowry ; andAugustus forced the husband

“Laws ofManu ,

”rx, v , 80, et seq.

“Hist. ofHumanMarriage,” p. 525. Hindu LawandUsage,”Mayne, p. 95 .

Glasson, loc. cit., p. 204. Matthewxxx, 6.

re

146 Human SexualityofLivia to repudiate her that hemightmarry her himself.1 Cato cededhis

wife to his friend Hortensius, resuming her after the latter’s death; 1Maecenas was constantly changing wives ; 1 Sempronius Sephus put away hiswife because she went to the public games without his knowledge; ‘ and

Paulus zEmiIius defended himselffor the same act by saying my shoes

are newandwellmade, but no one knowswhere they pinchme.

” 1

Normust it be assumed that the ladies neglected to exercise the samepriv ilege. Seneca, in his denunciations against the social abuse, says that

therewerewomen in Romewho reckoned their years rather by their hus

bands than the number ofconsuls ;1 andMartial speaks ofawomanwho hadalready arrived at her tenth husband.

’ Probably the most astonishing

instance of the kind, however, is the woman mentioned by St. Jerome,whowasmarried to her twenty- third husband, she being the latter

’s twenty

8

But it is an interesting factforthemoralphilosopher to speculate on, that

itwas during the period ofthe greatest sexual libertinism, and social corrup

tion, in Rome, that we find the noblest examples of conjugal love and

heroismever recorded in the world’s history . Intellectual culture waswidely diffused, andwomen, evenmore thanmen, seemed to drawfromit

themost exalted ideals ofconjugal duty .

I needonly tomention Cornelia, the lovely anddevotedwife ofPompey ,withMarcia, the friend, and Helv ia, themother ofSeneca, to direct the

reader’s attention to a long list ofillustrious women. Mallonia, plunging

the dagger into her heart, rather than yield herselfto the embraces ofTiberius Porcia, claiming thewife’s right to share in the troubleswhich cloudedher husband

’s brow; Paulina, opening her own veins in order to accompany

her husband, Seneca, to the tomb ; Arria, thewife ofPretus,who,when hehesitated to strike the blowintended to take his own life, took the daggerfromhis hand and, plunging it into her own breast, gave it back to himsayingwith her dying smile My Paetus , it doesn’t hurt !” 1But the list is too long even to enumerate. In all the literature ofthe

world the patrician matron ofRome stands, perhaps, preeminent as thetype ofa pure, noble-minded, devotedwife; and itwould be difficult toconceive, as it is equally diflicult to reconcilewith the prevailing immoralityofthe times , amore touching image ofconjugal love than that furnishedbythemedallion, so common on all the Roman sarcophagi, of the husbandandwife,with their arms thrown affectionately over one another, united in

death, even as theywere in life, andmaking the eternal journey together.

1 Tacitus , Amt , r, 10.

1 Plutarch, Gate .

1

Val.Max, v1 , 3.

1 Plutarch, Paul. Emil. 1 Seneca, De Benef., 111, 16 .

EpiST- l V I , 7 Ep.,2 1 “Pate, non doletl

”— Pliny.

148 Human Sexuathusbandmust be conv icted ofother ofl

'

ences beside that of adultery . In

Spain and Portugal judicial separationmay be decreed on the ground of

adultery by thewife; but notwhen the same crime is committed by thehusband, unless it be under

“aggravating circumstances .

” 1

Thefact that in theUnitedStates , aswellas most other civ ilizednations ,statistics showthat women are by far themore frequent petitioners fordivorce,maybetaken as presumptiveevidence that the causemorefrequentlylieswith theman than thewoman ; since, in the vastmajority ofcases, the

lattersuffersmost through the remedialact. She is deprivedatonce, notonlyofherpropermeans ofsupport, but,whateverher innocence, ofnosmallportion ofher reputation aswell. That the latter 1s unfairandunjust, inmostinstances , is only another proofofthe fallacy ofhuman judgments ; but innowise alters the fact, nor ameliorates the hardships attending it; not to

mention the equally obtrusive circumstance that a divorcedwoman,whethervoluntarily or involuntarily , not only exposes herselftomuchmischievousgossip, but puts herselfdirectly in the pathway oftemptation.

Indeed, as Churcher says oftheMoors, andKatscher ofthe Chinese andArabs, in any society the divorced woman too often goes to swell theranks ofthe prostitutes .

When aman andwoman marry fromlove, there is a pledge that theunionwill bemore secure and permanent thanwhen

Causes ofDivorce founded onmere utilitarian considerations ; butwhen,as Father Bourien says ; as a certain Philadelphia

priest has recently said; and as the Catholic Church has always taught,when people marrywithout knowing each other, and live togetherwith

out loving each other,”which 1swrong , false, and sinful, it is scarcely sur

prising that they should partwithout regret, and,marrying andremarrying ,become,

’

1n the course oftime, little ifany better than common profligatesand prostitutes .

’

There is hardly a question ofdoubt that themutual deceptions ofthesexes are a prolific cause ofbothmatrimonial unhapMutual Deceptions piness andultimate separation. Men puton an aspect

a Factor entirely false to their real nature during courtship,practise politeness , manners, affability, concealing

the v icious sides of their natures , and aflecting qualities ofheartwhichthey are very far frompossessing , till the bird is captured, and all

motives for pretense have disappeared. And some women play an

exactly similar rble. IfMr. Addison’s aphorismbe correct’ that no faith

shouldbe keptwith cheats, surely a vowmade to a paintedwoman ought

1 Ibid. , pp. 29 1 , 298, 304.1 V id. Trans . Ethnolog. Soc., N . S .

,m

, 80.

1 Spectator, No. 41.


to be void in the eyes ofthe law. Give one ofthese a tolerably fair pairofeyes,

”as he cynically remarks, to setup businesswith, and shewillmake

bosom, lips, cheeks , forehead, dimples and eyebrows solely by her ownindustry ; but howshall she conformto the God- given ideal ofnatural

beauty so gracefully described by a certain poet in the picture of his

Herpure and eloquent bloodSpoke in her cheeks , and so distinctlywrought,That onewould almost say her body thought1”1

Or inwhatmanner shall she greet her husband, when these adventitious

aids to beauty have disappeared, and the dull eye, the sallow,withered skinand lifeless hair, reveal a picture shockingly different fromthe one he

courted? And shall they not be judged, these that paint their eyebrows ,and deck themselveswith ornaments,” shall they not be judged “

after the

manner ofadulteresses , after themanner ofwomen that shed blood?” 1It seems one ofthe strangest anomalies in nature that the painted

face, which has been accepted as the distinguishingmark ofthe prostitute,fromthe days ofJezebel, and the strangewomen” ofNineveh and Babylon down to our commonest street-walkers , should be so sedulously culti

vated by the belles ofmodern society ; and that virtuous women should

cling so tenaciously to a customwhich, while without enhancing their

beauty or concealing its defects, has been accepted in all ages as the badgeofdegradation. What queer crochet ofmind is it thatmakes a womanwant to look likewhat she is not—a prostitute? Answer itwho can.

Any attraction between the sexes , foundedon such shallowandmiserableartifices , can neither be oflong duration nor of any essential degree of

refinement. Beauty itself, evenwhen real and natural, as I have alreadypointedout, is not always by anymeans a sure guaranteeofhappiness in themarriedstate. It is not to these frivolous and evanescent charms ofpersonthat aman should lookwhen he seeks awife, a lover, a friend, a lifelong

companion. As a rule, female beauty is but thewell- spring ofa thousand

fopperies, falsehoods, silly artifices and shallowaflectations ;which, thoughtheymay lend sparkle and charmto the drawing- room, or dancing - school,

are sadly out ofplace in thehome,where the substantial v irtues— children

ofa higher love— kindness, consideration, sympathy , forbearance, all those

agreeable qualities ,which not only cultivate themindandheart but fashionthe behavior, are the sweet pledges ofhappiness and conjugal peace.

It is thewriter’s hope that as certain psychical causes,which are alwaysoperative in refined civ ilization, become more strongly developed, theremay be a gradual strengthening ofthemarriage tie; and that the question

1 John Donne, 1625 .

1 Ezekielxxrrr.

1so Human Sexuafityofdivorcemay be shorn ofmany ofits present terrible abuses. Indeed, a

greater consideration forwoman, the higher status of the paternalfeeling,more solicitude for thewelfare of the child, and (maywe indulge the belief?) a religious refining of the sexual passion, are already showing theirfmit inmost civilized communities .

A husband, legally at least, cannot repudiate his wife whenever hepleases ; awife cannot,without inv iting the censure and scrutiny ofsociety,ifnothingmore, divorce herselffromher husband. Marriage has becomea contract, not ofpersonal, but ofState supervision; and the idealistic commandment ofthe Church is beginning to harmonize, notwithstanding itsfrequentandflagrant v iolations ,more andmorewith themental andmorallife ofthe people ; so that, I amoptimistic enough to assume, wemayconfidently look forward to a daywhenmen andwomen, gleaningwisdomfromthe lessons ofexperience, and the precepts ofreligion, andfinding no

longer an easy pathway ofescape fromthe consequences oftheir own folly,may learn to scrutinize more closely the character of theirmatrimonialinvestments, andmarriage become oncemore,what God originally ordained

it to be, a holy , lov ing and lifelong relation, having for its purpose not onlyhuman happiness but the intelligent propagation oftheme.

There is a spirit ofantagonism, however, apparentApparent between the sexes today— notuniversal,butsufliciently

Antagonismof so to attract passing attention—which is as unnaturalthe Sexes as it is unaccountable. A portion ofitmay be traced

towomen’swholesaleentrance intomasculine employments another portion, possibly, to sexual resentment on her part for theindifference, or objection to matrimony displayed by the opposite sex ;

v iewing the latter as one ofvolition on the part ofmen, rather than stern

necessity, born ofthe industrial competition ofwhichmen are theunwillingv ictims ; but there remains yet a great portion ofthe prejudice to be reasonably accountedfor.

Aswomen commonly despise physical beauty in aman , somen in turnare jealous ofnothing somuch as any invasion oftheir sexual prerogativesbywomen ; and in v iewofthe following statements, collectedfromvarious

newspaper sources during the pastyear, andgiven, ofcourse, as such,withoutany pretense to scientific value,we may be led to inquire ifthe sexual

supremacy ofthe futuremay not be based asmuch on physical strength ason intellectual ormoralforce.

Alady atMonongahela, Pennsylvania,was so rejoiced,when herhusbandreturned fromhis hunting trip, that she embraced himwith such v igor as

to explode the cartridge in his gun. A gentleman in Buffalo had his ribs

fractured by a hug fromhis “best girl;”

and a cabman sufl’ered fracture of

152 Human SexualityearlyChurch sought to surroundthe institution ofmarriage; and is probablynomore significant a reaction than is apparent in other directions . Withthe lawregarding marriage as a civil contract, and religion pronouncingit a sacred andmoral institution ; with one part ofsociety viewing divorceas a penalty upon the delinquent spouse , and another as a refuge for the

innocent; it is hardly to bewondered at thatwe should have not only thepresent inconsistencies oflegislation in regard to it, but that indifference

touching the obligations ofmarriage itselfwhich is so deplorable a char

acteristic ofthe times .

It would be unjust, however, to leave the subject without a passingglance at itsmedical side disease, either ofmind or

Disease body , with the vicious propensities incident thereto,being the most frequent ofall the causes ofdivorce.

The State ofIowa, I believe,was the first in this country to take up the

matter ofphysical andmental fitness tomarry , in discussing the divorceevil. Legislators there advised the appointment ofamedical commissionto pass upon the physical andmental condition ofevery applicant for amarriage license. Other States have since suggested variously modifiedprovisions of this general principle; but, through the old stereotyped cry

that such legislation would be an abridment of indiv idual liberty ,”and an infringement ofconstitutional right,

”nothing definite seems , so

far, to have resulted.

Ifsuch legislation could be had, however; ifmarriagewere surrounded

by proper safeguards, and subjected to proper sanitary superv ision, I

unhesitatingly venture the opinion that divorcewouldfall ofits ownweight}1For the Divorce Laws ofthe United States see Bishop, “Marriage and Divorce,

CHAPTERFOUR

FECUNDATION, ABORTION , lNFANTlClDE

AVING glanced briefly at betrothal,marriage, anddivorce, theirrelation to society , andthe lawofattraction between the sexes, Icome nowto consider, prior to an attempt to dealwith the

sexualimpulse itself, that crowning pleasure oflife— sexual inter

course ; and the tu k is by nomeans easy . The taste ofan orange, though

pleasant, and simple, is exceedingly diffit to describe ; and at the very

threshold ofthe subjectwe aremet by physiological facts and phenomenawhichmust be dealtwith in the plainest possiblemanner, ifwewouldhavewhatwe setout tosay renderedclearandunambiguous. The systemhithertoadopted, bywriters on sex themes, ofclothing a portion oftheir subject in a

foreign language— French, German, orLatin,

— I amnot in sympathywith.

It not only fails inmany cases ofthe very purpose aimed at in thework, ofimparting useful information, but adds the silliness of a mock-modesty ,andthinly veiledsecrecy, towhat is an eminently proper subjectfor scientificdhcussion. For these reasons I have concluded to adopt a perfectly franktone, in the inquiry yet beforeme, as not only best adapted to the full andunhampered expression ofmy v iews, but as , to my mind, by far the

less immodest method. Therefore, if any man be oflended, let himturn the buckle ofhis girdle ; I care not!

”

Themodus operandi of the sexual act itself is sowell understood as

to require little explanation. My expenence 18 that boys andgirls , even,

who do not understand it are usually ofexceedingly tender years. Duringsexualmaturity desire is a physiological law. Girls living in cities comeunder its influence a year earlier, as a rule, than those living in the country ;

and the larger the city , the earlier development takes place.

1

Inwomen the activ ity ofthe reproductive organs is briefer thanwithmen,inwhomthe sexualpower, as I have already shown , sometimes continues intoadvancedage. There are nowell- authenticated cases ofvery late fecundityinwomen ; and “

the deadness ofSarah’swomb,” spoken ofby Paul,

’wasonly overcome— ifat all— bymiraculous agency .

1 Kraflt- Ebing , loc. cit. , p. 23 .

1 Romans rv , 9 .

154 Human Sexuality

The sexual instinct is , primarily , a function ofthe brain; andwhile as

yet there is some doubt as to its localized region therein, the fact that

thought, either as a result ofsight, or touch, orwithout either, 18 commonlynecessary to procure erection ofthe penis in the male, and tumescence inthe female, sufficiently indicates that those conditions are of cerebral

origin. Goltz and Eckhard placed the emetion- center between the brain

and sexual apparatus, connectedwith both by the sensory nerves .

1 This

centermay be excited by psychical or intrinsic irritation ofthe nerve- tract

in the brain, or cervical portion ofthe spinal cord, aswell as by external

irritation of the sensory nerves ofthe penis of themale, the clitoris of

the female, or other parts ofthe body which are known to exercise an

influence upon the power oferection,— in the latter instances the emotiontaking place independently ofwill power.

Simultaneouslywith such irritation, there is a dilatation ofthe capillaryblood- vessels ofthe penis or ofthe clitoris,with their surrounding vascular

structures, and pressure being exerted upon the former by distentionofthe involved organs , the return ofthe blood is impeded; this retentionofthe blood is aided by the contraction ofthemuscles of the part, anderection supervenes , briefor prolonged, weak or vigorous, in proportionto the controlwhich the nerve andmuscular systems exercise upon thevascular anderectile tissues.

Reflex irritation ofthe centermay be caused by disease ofthe urethra

(gonorrhea) ; by disease ofthe rectum(hemorrhoids) ; ofthe bladder (cystitis) ; and by normal distention of the seminal vesicles. The erections

occurring during sleep aremost commonly due to the latter cause, althoughsometimes produced by pressure ofthe intestines upon the pelvic bloodvessels , fromlying on the back.

That this erection- center is in some degree underThe Sexual brain control, is shown by the fact that sudden shockMechanismUnder ofany kind

— being surprised in the sexual act, fear

Brain Control of an unsuccessful attempt at intercourse, or other

causes hav ing their origin solely in the brain— destroys

the erection; and also by the fact that the sexual actmay be considerablyprolongedby keeping themindfixedupon an entirely different subject.

1 The pedunculi cerebri and the pens are probably nervous paths through whichsexual impressions are conv eyed to the brain , the erection- center being stimulatedby direct irritation ofthe nerve- tracts ofthe corpora, aswell as by peripheralirritationof the sensory nerves ofthe penis , clitoris and their annexa. The nerv i erigentes ,

running in the first thme sacral nerves , conv ey to themuscles ofthe penis the erectileimpulse, in this case an inhibitory one, acting , according to KellikerandKohlrausch,upon the ganglionic nervemechanismofthe corpora cav ernosa , relaxing the latter

’s

smoothmuscularfibers and permitting thefree entranceofblood into their spaces. By

1 56 Human SexuafityProfessorMost relates the ewe ofa young peasantwho had excited

many a chaste girl, sexually, andeas ily gainedhis end, by carrying a hand

kerchiefunder his armwhile dancing , and afterwards wiping his partner’sperspiring face with it; and it is recorded that the betrothal ofthe KingofNavarre andMargaret ofValois was brought about by the former acci

dentally drying his face on a garment ofMaria ofCleveswhichwas moistwith her perspiration. An analogous instance is told ofHenry IV ,whosepassion for the beautiful Gabriel is said to have begun at a ballwhere hewiped his face with her handkerchief; and although not, tomy knowledge, prev iously recorded, I have been told, by thosewho ought to know,that the natural odor ofthe negro is greatly increased by sexual excite

ment. The fact that these phenomena occur, however, for themost part,only among the lowest races , and those who have in greatmeasure subordinated intellect tomere animal passion, tends to strengthen the conclu

sion of Krafl'

t- Ebing ,

’as well as of the presentwriter, that olfactory im

pressions inman, under normal conditions , do not play an importantrolein the excitation ofthe sexual- center.

”

That passion may be induced, however, by cas

Castigation as a tigation or whipping is so well established that

Sexual Stimulant parents and nurseswould dowell to avoid the prsctice generally . Many boys, particularly, have been

led intomasturbation, during the first excitation ofthe sexual instinct, byspanking , Kreflt- Ebing states ; and the case ofMariaMagdalena, theCarmelita nun,whowas initiated into the sexual delights by thewhippingsofthe prioress ; and ofElizabeth ofGenton, who passed into a condition

ofbacchanalian frenzy under the same punishment; as well as the state

ment ofTaxil that rakes have sometimes flagellated themselves just beforethe sexual act, to stimulate their diminished powers, all bearwitness tothe connection, in some cases at least, ofcorporal punishment with the

sexual activ ities !

The Persians and Russians regard beating as a peculiar sign oflove.

Russian women are nevermore pleased than when receiving a drubbingat the hands oftheir husbands ; and Peter Petrius relates the story of a

lazy fellowwhowas practically impotent until he had induced the femaletitutes has been partially inhibited, and in some cases absolutely prevented, by the

strong perfumeswhich these persons habitually use ; and as to the admitted fondnessofwhores andmale voluptuaries for flowers . amore fruitful fieldof'

inquiry , I believe,

would be found in thewellknown close relation between the sexual and the asthetfc

and artistic senses , although the suggestion, tomy knowledge , has never been hithertoput forth.

1 Krafit- Ebing , lac. cit. , p. 27 .

V id. Paullini,“FlagellumSalutis , Stuttgart, 1847.

Fecundation, Abortion, Infanticide r57

tobeat himwellwith awhip he carried for that purpose.

‘ There aremanyother such cases recorded; and not only havemen been thus excited to

passion and lasciv iousness, butwomen also have, by the same means , hadtheir sexual pleasures greatly intensified. Itwas for this thatRomanwomenwere whipped by the lupercis ; and it is a well- known physiological factthat erection and orgasm, even ejaculation itself,may be induced by irritation ofvarious portions ofthe body , far removedfromthe sexual system.

I knowofa case where a highly passionate girlRubbing and habitually experienced the sexual pleasure with herSucking the lover fromhis rubbing his cheek against her nipples ;

Female Breasts and there is probably nowoman, inwhomthe sexual

feeling is not absolutely dead,whomay not be arousedto the highest passion, and thus easily seduced, by a man sucking her

breasts .

In the TopographicalAnatomy (I, 552) Hyrtlcalls this suctusstupratio,and tells ofa case where, frombeing thus sucked by her lover, the girl

learned to do it herself, andderivedfromthe act themost intense pleasure.

Thus , the fact, suflicientlywell known, that cows suck their own udders,is farmore probably due tosexualfeeling than the cause’generally ascribedtoit— that ofrelieving the uncomfortable distention ofthe udder.

Inmen, physiologically, the penis itself, and sometimes the scrotum,

are the only seats ofsexualexcitation, although the practice ofpederastyintercourse by the rectum— is probably best explained by associating the

nerves ofthe anuswith the sexual- center; and it iswell known thatwomenpractise putting their tongues intomen’smouths to excite themsexually.

The psycho- physiological processes involved in theThe E sthetic sexual impulsewould appear to be, then, thementalFactor in concept ofsexual pleasure, and the realization ofthat

Sexuality pleasure as derived from, or simulating , the sexual

act. But many factors govern the intensity of the

sexual feeling . Themanwho embraces a beautiful, passionate womanhimself in the prime ofhealth and sexual v igor

—will necessarily derivefromthe act a greater degree ofpleasure than '

the sexually feeble man,having intercoursewith an old or repulsivewoman ; and so closely is the

esthetic idea associatedwith sexual feeling that disgusting acts , or habitsofuncleanliness ,may inhibit it altogether.

’

While female prostitution is perfectly well recognized as a social insti

tution, and themanwho picks awoman up in the streets knows perfectlywell that he is about to travel a verywell- beaten road, the psychological

Kn i t- Ebing , loc . cit. , p . 30.

Thesefacts pretty fairly bearoutmy suggestions in a later portion ofthiswork .

158 Human Sexualityinstinct ofownership, nevertheless , struggles to assert itself; and nothingso cheapens and lessens the pleasure of the act as the reflection that

another has been there very recently. The power ofexcluding this idea,however, as well as inhibiting the sexual desire entirely , for prudentialreasons , is fortunately inherent in man ; and the moral freedomof the

indiv idual, in this , as in everything else, ismanifested in the power oftheinhibiting concept to overcome organic impulse.

The quite uniformexperience ofphysicians , therefore, is that sexual

diseases are contractedmainly, ifnot entirely , not through the strength

ofthe sexual impulse, but through the loss ofinherent aversion for filth

and prostitution, and the weakening of the will- power, through alcohol,

opium, or some other narcotic, many ofwhich, while intensifying the

libidinous passion, render it, at the same time, less capable ofmoral restriction wi thin safe lines. In otherwords , a drunkenman will gowithawomanwho, in his sobermoments,would be perfectly loathsome to him.

The organs ofgeneration it ismy purpose barelyto mention. Their anatomy is already well knownto the physician ; and this work being ofa psychopathic rather than physiological character, the more

intimate structure ofthose various parts may very properly be left to themanuals on the latter subject. Briefly, however, the female organs of

generation are— theMONS VENERIS , V unva, VAGINA, with its outer and

inner lips, and the Cu roms . TheMons Veneris, or Mountain of

Venus, is the soft rounded eminence between the thighs and beneaththe abdomen, coveredwith hair at puberty ,which by its physical beauty,aswell as its delightful and occasionally penitential history , well justifiesthe name applied to it by the ancients—Mountain ofLove. The labia

majora, or large outer lips ofthe vagina , are folds of integurnent covering

the labia minora, the inner and lesser lips,which close the orifice to the

vagina, andwhich in the v irgin are fresh and pink ofhue, as distinguished

fromthose of the mature woman, which are grayish - blue in color, and

flabby in texture.

Both the inner and outer labia are suppliedwith follicles,which secrete

a thick mucus, intended to lubricate the passage during intercourse, and

in the virgin are closely approximated, but after frequent intercourse, orchildbirth, they remain open, the outer lips permanently separated by

the inner. The Cm'roru s— orfemale penis— the chief seat ofsexualsensation in thewoman, is a bodywhichmay be found in the upper entranceof the vagina, immediately belowtheMons Veneris , by slightly separating the external labia, and is usually about an inch in length, but sometimes abnormally developed tofour, or even five inches in length.

160 Human SexualityIn the human female,we are led to believe, the spermatozoa retain their

power ofmotility for about thirty- six hours after copulation. Water, at

a lowtemperature, arrests thesemovements ; sugar andwater, and saline

solutions , affect thembut little; and the only possible way to destroythem, totally , in their normalmedium, appears to be by chemical agents.

These— alcohol, acids,metallic salts, narcotics, antiseptics, eta— not onlyinhibit theirmovements, but absolutely destroy their cell- life by dissolv ingits albuminous structure ; a factwhichwill bemore fully dealtwithwhenwe come to consider the pomible prevention ofconception.

The purpose ofthe sexual act is to bring about

Insemination ameeting ofthe spermatozoon ofthemalewith thatof the female; a meeting which occurs most com

mouly in thewomb, butwhichmay take place either in the vagina, the

Fallopian tube, or the ovary ; sometimes constituting, in the lattercases, anabnormalor extra- uterine pregnancy .

To bring about thismeeting ofthemale and female seed all themeansofattraction between the sexeswhich I have already noted under the headofsexual choice, all the powers ofthe sexual instinct, the desire for chil

dren, love, sympathy , association, everything embodied in the great Drvrm:PURPOSE or PROCREATION , are brought into play. And it is a beautifulstudy , to themindwhich understands it, as far as itmay be understood,

towatch the variouswheels in thismysteriousmechanism, each performingits allotted function with unfailing nicety, and, as the planets completetheirgreat solar, or lunar orbits , by its harmonious rhythmrounding out the

mysterious cycle ofhuman life.

First there is the longing for sexual satisfaction, arising fromtumescence,and the centrally or peripherally awakened sexual concepts ; the temptationoffemale beauty ; love,with all that it implies ; lust, excited by irritationofthe erection- center, rush ofblood to the sexual organs, hyperremia , andthat bounding erection ofthe penis which is the first condition ofa soul

satisfying sexual connection.

But the erection- center is not alone influenced byPleasure ofthe the venereal passion.

‘ The nervous excitement isCopulative Act distributed to all themotor nerves ofthe spinal axis

and arteries . There are great swelling and redness

(engorgement) ofthe penis, the clitoris , and the lips ofthe vulva ; injectionof the conjunctive , starting of the eyes, dilatation of the pupils , quickpalpitation ofthe heart,wi th shivering , nervous tremors, and short, gaspingbreath. In fact, both the muscular and nervous systems are highly af

fected more highly in themale than the female, though the pleasurableComp .Anjel,Arch.farPsych , vrrr, 2.

Fecundation, Abortion, Infanticide 16 1

feeling ofthe act, while slightly weaker, is continued longer in the latter

than the former.

The climax ofthe pleasure resulting to themale fromthe ejaculatoryact is synchronous with the passage of the semen through the vesicula

seminales into the urethra ; thatwhich precedes it being the pleasant titillation ofthe sensory nerveswhich surround the head ofthe penis,whichcontinues to growin intensitywith the progress of the intercourse, until

it at last culminates in the supreme nervous shock— the discharge of the

stored up nerve-energy ofthewhole period oftumescence—which aecom

panics the emission ofthe semen, andwhich then gradually subsides and

disappears, post- ejaculationem.

Fromthemoment the penis enters the vagina, however, there is pleasureto themale; while, froma variety ofcauses— irritability, or disease, ofthe

vaginal mucous membrane; shortness of the vaginal tract; abnormallength ofthe penis, forcibly driven against themouth ofthewomb ; in factfromany one ofa dozen difierent causes—the same may not be true as

regards the female.

Indeed, prostitutes, as a rule, have a horror anddread ofthemanwitha big and long penis, and prefer by far the less os

Comparative Sizes tentatiously decorated individual, whose memberofMen’s Penises reaches the clitoris equally well, producing the same

pleasure without the attending pain, and, best of

all, for their purposes at least, producing the same revenue.

‘ This state

ment, I know, takes a spoke out ofthe wheel ofthe fellowwho prides

Dupouy tells us that the first temple ofVenuswas builtfromthe revenue deri vedfromthe licensing ofprostitution in Rome. Butaalius Barrus , and other profmed

libertines having debauched three ofthe v estals, Emilia, Licinia , andMarcia , and thecontagion ofsexual vice becoming so flagrant andwidespread, itwas determined torwort to legislation for its suppression . The tax on courtesanswas increu ed, andfromthis source, chiefly , a temple was built and dedicated to Venus, under the surnameVerticordia, signifying that the goddesswas invoked to turnmen’s hearts fromlust topurity.

Venus, under the surname Etaira ,was regardedas the especial patroness ofprostitutes (hetairm) . .

In Athens andCorinth thesewere the legal, sometimes taxed, courtesans , ofwhomthemost notednames are Aspasia , Phryne, andLais . Hospitalitywiththe last,whose headquarterswere at Corinth,was fixed at such fabulous prices that itgave rise to the old saying

—non licet omnibus adire Cori ntlmm— “not everyone can

afiord a good time at Corinth.

”In addition to the heta irarat Athenswere the dieter

iadar, a sort ofnon- professional prostitutes who were sometimes called on— as , I

have been told, some of our shop and factory -

girls are here— to help out at certain

seasons ofunusual activity in those lines . Fromthe lines—“the girls whomEridon

nourishes in its sacredwav es — it is probable that the dicterionswere recruited fromcountries bordering on the Po; andEubulus gives some advice to the young Athenianswhich couldbe verywellappliedby youths ofour own large cities , to go to thediderions,

rr

162 Human Sexuahtyhimself on the weight and caliber ofhis artillery , and puts a premiumrather upon small and active “quick firers ;” but I think it is borne out by

the facts ; and, indeed, outside ofthose cases where the normal development ofthe penis has been arrested bymasturbation in boyhood, or othercauses, I have found little difierence in the relative sizes ofthe various

adult organs in a state oferection, in the same sizedmen. Through dif

terences in vascularity , one peniswillbecomeflaccid, and nearly inv isible,”

by loss ofblood, during the intervals oferections ; while another, alwaysretaining a great quantity ofthe vitalfluid,will seemboth larger and longer;but,when the parts are fully engorged, and themuscles distended under

sexual excitement, there will be found, I think , less diversity as to size

in the penises than in the bodies ofdifferentmen.

The distinctive event to the man in the act of

intercourse is the orgasm, accompanied by seminalejaculation. This phenomenon depends on a gen

ito- spinal center, situated, as some think ,‘at the

level ofthe fourth lumbar vertebra. Being a reflex center, its stimulationnaturally follows that of the sensory nerves of the glans penis, as soon

as the secretion ofsemen has reached a point suflicient to stimulate the

ejaculation- center, the nerve responding andemission taking place.

The climax ofthe physical act consists in a spasmodic contraction of

the bulbo-cavernosus muscle, due to the influence just described, whichforces the semen along the urethra and fromthemouth ofthe penis, thuscompleting the second stage of the sexual act; the third and last stage

being that period ofdelightful lassitude and languor which follows thesexual excitement, and in which both beings— for the woman also has

passed through an equally voluptuous experience—lie in one another’s

arms , in the sexual analepsis, until the recuperated powers ofnature fit

themfor a repetition ofthedelightfulbut exhausting process.

The sexual impulse is not the same in all persons . Those ofsanguine

temperaments are voluptuous , romantic, and given to fetichism. Byfetichismis meant that peculiar tendency of a lover toworship or love

insteadoftrying to prostitutedecentwomen . The priestesses ofIshtar— theKadishtu ,or

“holy ones —were prostitutes ; as were also the Sibylline priestesses ofLibya,Delphi, Cumre , Samoa,Marpessa, Ancyra andTiburtis ; but it is a fact ofhistory thatprostitution ,

“for revenue only ,”is peculiarly a vice ofcivilization ; sexual profligacy

among nearly all savage and semi-savage peoples being rather associatedwithreligious ,tribal, or superstitious Observances ; as at the great Tammuz festival among theBabylonians , for instance,where appeals through itweremade to Nature, the greatmother, tomanifest her generative frmctions and to strengthen and favor those of

man . (V id. Gérard- Varet,“L

’Ignorance et l

’Irreflexion,

” Paris, 1899 ; Jastrow,“Religion ofBabylonia,

” pp. 485 ,Krafit- Ebing , loc. cit. , p. 33. See, also, Foster,

“Text-book ofPhysiology .

164 Human Sexuatoffar greater sexual passion than those inwhomsuch physical prominencesdo not exist. The same observation has beenmade in regard to animals ;while, although the relation ofthe lesser brain to the sexual impulse, asfirst setforth by Gall, has been strongly criticisedbyMobius and other later

writers,’ it is awell- known fact that disease ofthe cerebellumdoes impairor destroy the sexual desire; and, equally, that stimulation ofthe sameorgan heightens that desire in exact proportion.

Carpenter mentions the case ofa man whose sexual procliv ities hadalways been under normal control, butwho, through inflammation of the

cerebellum, developed an intractable satyriasis before death; and another

instance ofa young oficerwho, falling fromhis horse, received a blowon

the back ofthe headwhichmade himimpotent for life.

‘ Thus it wouldseemthat, notwithstanding the contrary trend ofmodern physiologicalteaching , there are yet suflicient facts within our reach— one being thatheaviness anddullness ofthe back ofthe headwhichwe have all felt aftersevere sexual indulgence

— towarrant us in believing that the cerebellumdoes in some way influence the amorous and voluptuous passions. This

physiologicalpoint, however, is not a part ofour present inquiry .

The cmcc ofthe uterus, along with that ofchildThe Physiology bearing , is to receive the semen of the male, andofFecundation conduct it into the Fallopian tubes, throughwhich,

ifnot interrupted in its journey , it passes onward tothe ovaries . But the neck ofthewomb does not, as many suppose, receivethe fluid directly fromthe intromittent penis ofthemale. It is thrown ,

at the orgasm, or going off ofthe latter, into a little pouch- like receptacleat the upper portion ofthe vagina, formed by the dilatation ofthe neck

ofthewomb, and is introduced into the latter, frequently , long after inter

course, partly by the amoeboidmovement ofthe spermatozofin itself, andpartly by a function of the vagina which has been well described byBlundell.‘ This canal,

” he remarks, “during the heat, is never at rest.

It shortens and lengthens, changing continually in its circular dimensions ;and when irritated, will sometimes contract to one- third its quiescentdiameter.

” Howwell adapted this curious movement is , not only for theintroduction ofthe semen at the opening, but to heighten the pleasure of

themale, it is needlemto explain .

Even if the ejaculatory act ofthe male were sufliciently vigorous to

throwthe semen beyond this pouch, or against themouth ofthe womb,

Comp. Darwin, Descent ofMan ;” Johnston,

“Relation ofMenstruation to

the Reproductive Functions ,” andWallace, “TropicalNature.

See H. Ellis , loc. cit. , vol.m.

See also, on this subject, Krafit- Ebing , loc. cit. p. 373, etseq. Lac. cit. p 55

Fecundation, Abortion, Infanticide 165

the close approximation ofthe lips ofthe latterwould effectually bar its

entrance. But the cilia, or hair- like processes, of the lining membrane,by their swayingmotion, gradually drawit upwithin the neck— almost asa drop ofwater pressed between two pieces ofglasswill rise to the uppermargin ofthe latter— and by a peculiar “

swallowing motion, also possessedby the bladder, attract it inwardto the fundus ofthewomb.

Itwill thus be seen that fecundation, so far frombeing simultaneouswith the sexual act,may take place at any time subsequently, compatiblewith the duration ofintravaginal cell- life in the spermatoblast and, aho,howfutile and foolish are somany ofthe means resorted to to preventconception by temporarily covering the neck of thewombwith “

sponges,”

“veils,

”andothermischievous contrivances during the act ofcopulation.

Whilemany ingenious theories have been advanced

Impregnation and in recent years touching the precise point, or period,its Prevention at which impregnation takes place, it is regrettable

that at the present stage of the investigations no

authoritative judgment, founded on actual knowledge, can be passed.

Fromobservations , however, made in a great number of cases by Tait,Kruger, Pozzi , Schroeder and others , it is apparently certain that it mustoccur, as to time, during thefirsthalfofthemenstrualperiod, andmost probablywithin aweek after the cessation ofthe catamenial flow. Raciboski

observedsixteen cases inwhich conception occurred as late as the tenthdayafter; and fromwhat I have been enabled to glean froma vastmass of

literature on the subject, it is fair to assume that fully ninety- nine per cent.

ofall cases occurwithin twelve days after termination ofthemonthly flow.

There is little substantial ev idence to support the theory that impregnationmay occur at any time by themere rupture ofan ovisac nor is

it at all probable that the ov ummay be retained in the Fallopian tubefromonemenstrual period to another; the contrary, indeed, being prettyfully establishedby examination ofanimals.

Themost probable hypothesis is that the ovum, after ejection fromtheovary , is fromsix to twelve days in passing through the tube, and that

impregnation occurs within that place and period. Fouchet extends the

time to fourteen days, as does alsoM. Costa; but the slight diflerence intime is oflittle consequence, the important feature ofthe discussion beingto fix the place andmethod in which, and by which, impregnation takes

This has apparently been done; at leastwith such a degree of certaintyas to justify us in believ ing thatwhenever a conception takes place afterthe twelfth or fourteenth day of the menstrual interval, it is owing to

the Graafian vesicle hav ing failed to discharge the ripened ovum, the one

66 Human Sexualitywhich came tomaturity at the prev ious menstrual period; which ovumbeing ruptured by the excitement ofsexual intercourse, at any time priorto the next subsequentmenstruation,may insure impregnation.

The summary of our es tablished facts, then, seems to be, that it isduring themenstrual period that the female ova are ripened. That fromthe ovary they are discharged into the Fallopian tube, the journey throughwhich occupies themfromsix to fourteen days , according to functional

activ ity , and that, if impregnation occur at all, itmust occur before theovumhas passed out ofthe tube. Should it not be fertilized by themalespermatozofin within the tube, orwithin the ovary itself, there will be no

impregnation, the ovumpassing into, andbeing lost in , thewomb.

Then, iffive days be allowed formenstruation, and fourteen for thepm ofthe ovumthrough the tube, there remains— and this is the pointarrived at by the prev ious remarks—a period ofnine days during which

I use theword cannot, ofcourse, only as a substitute for extreme improbability ; the ratio in which it may occur— once in every three to

five hundred cases— being such as to practically exclude it fromconsidera

tion. The question then arises— knowing what we do concerning the

phenomenon offecundation, only a bare outline ofwhich is here given, arethere circumstances, physical, mental, moral, social or domestic, whichwould justify us in preventing it? For, that it can be prevented, notwithstanding all that has been written to prove the reverse, scarcely admitsofa doubt.

Ofcourse as to the graver question ofabortion, or foeticide, there canbe no serious conflict ofmoral judgment; although

Abortion the frequency with which the crime is committed,in these later days, is sufficient evidence that civiliza

tion itself, if it teaches, fails absolutely to guard, the sanctity ofhumanlife ; and that there is no power in education, law, refinement, nor any

other influence, save that possibly ofreligion, to repress savage and utili

tarian instincts , and subordinate themto the best uses ofsociety . Indeed,

there appears to be a growing sentiment, born chiefly ofthe crime, degradation and suffering ofthe very poor, with a too slavish regard for the not

clearly defined, and very much ov errated, lawofhuman heredity,‘which

In an address before the Scientific Conv ention ofthe University ofPennsylvania,Philadelphia,Dec 1904,Dr. Spitzka , ofColumbia University, clearly defined themodern reaction fromLombroso’s pet theory of“criminal heredity, ” showing that thereis no such thing as a

“criminal type,” and that “

the classification ofcriminals mustrest on observation of each indiv idual, his antecedent history , and his mental andphysical condition.

”

168 Human Sexualitydoctrinal changes or opinions . Butwhatever ofgain has resulted to hu

manity fromsuch a beliefhas been purchased at a tremendous price, inthat complete stultification of human reason which alone could have

producedso horrible a doctrine.

Of the Augustinian teaching of the damnation ofunbaptiz'

ed infants ,it is not an exaggeration to say, as has been said,1 that it surpasses in atrocitythemost horrible tenet ofany pagan creed; andwould,were it indeed a

part of Christianity,more than justify the term“pernicious superstition”which Tacitus appliedto theFaith ofthe Nazarene. That a little innocent

babe, createdwithout any will ofits own, liv ing but a fewhours beforebirth, and dying without themystic sprinkling ofa fewdrops ofwater,should bemade responsible before God for its ancestors hav ing eatensomeforbidden fruit, six thousand years before, and doomed, for this ancestralcrime, to burn forever in a lake ofunquenchable fire , and that by the commandofan all- righteous , all-mercifulGod, is at once so fantastically absurd,and so unspeakably horrible, that, asMr. Lecky justly says, its adoptionmight well lead thinking men to doubt the universality ofmoral perceptions .

”

The teaching , so far frombeing associated in anywaywith the sweet,tender, holy andmerciful creed ofthe Christ, is simply demonismin itsworst, wildest, cruelest andmost inhuman form; and farwickeder thanany act the inventive genius ofman has yet been able to ascribe even tothe dev il.

Probably themost active agent in promoting thewicked practices ofabortion and infanticide in the United States, aswell

ChiefCause of as England, is the obloquy , notwithstanding the sexAbortion in ual excesses ofboth countries, which attaches to such

the United States v iolations of the laws of chastity on the woman’sand England part. It is no crime on the part ofaman to commit

adultery , to seduce a virgin, orkeep amistress, so longas the act is shroudedwith a becoming secrecy ; iffound out, itmay bemildly disapproved of, butwoe betide thewomanwhomakes amissteplActswhich, in France, Italy, Russia, or other portions ofthe Continent,

would imply neither total subversion ofthemoral sense, nor any general

emotion ofdeep popular reprehension, are, in England and the United

States , followed in a greatmajority ofcases by social ruin. Thus, in the

endeavor to hide sins which in themselves ought neither to be hopelesslyv icious , nor irrevocably fatal, being simply the temporary triumph of

man’s temptation, and a natural instinct on thewoman’s part, over social

conventions , infanticide and abortion are multiplied, and thousands and

Lecky , loc. cit., I, 97. Ibid.

Fecundation, Abortion, Infanticide 69

thousands ofpure-minded, yes, easily savable young girls, are hurled an

nually into the abyss ofprostitution.

‘

Indeed itwouldnot be hard to showthat it is by nomeans the naturallyworst female element that falls before temptation ; this ruin, inmost cases,being quite asmuch due to ardor ofaffection, and v ivacity ofmind, as toinherent v icious propensities .

The question ofthe criminality ofabortion has also been largely afiectedby the diverse v iews, and physiological speculations , ofmedicalwritersthemselves, as to the precise period in intra- uterine existence atwhich thefcntus takes on the nature , and consequently the rights, ofa separate being.

The ancient ideawas that the childwas a part ofthemother; and thatshe had the same right to destroy it as to amputate a finger or excise a

tumor fromher body .

As I have already remarked, both Plato and Aristotle admitted, andeven sanctioned, the practice ofabortion ; and the laws ofRome contained,so far as I have been able to ascertain, no enactment against voluntaryfcnticide prior, at least, to the time ofUlpian.

The Stoic philosophers behaved that the soulofthe infantwas receivedwith its first respiration ; and the Justinian Code fixed, arbitrarily, theperiod ofthe beginning ofanimation at forty days after conception ; whilethemore rationalmodern doctrine, ofcourse, is that the infant is a distinctliving organismfromthe verymoment the ovumis fecundated.

’

Abortion is justifiable in those cases where con

When Justiflable tinuation of the pregnancy to full termwould beassociatedwith fatality to eithermother or child, or

to both; where the habitual death ofthe fcetus , in utero, has accompanieda great number ofprevious pregnancies ; inmultiple pregnancies,where thegrowth oftwo ormore offspring in thewombwould gravely threaten themother’s existence ; in certain diseased conditions— abdominal dropsy ,tumors , pernicious anaemia, predisposition to placental haamorrhage, chorea ,nephritis— and those anatomicalmalformations ofthe bony pelviswhich

MissMulock , in her admirable little book, A Woman’s Thoughts About

Women ,

” p. 229 , ci seq., calls attention to the fact that the experience offemale Sundayschool teachers is that the girl- pupils seduced are, almost always , “

the very best ;

refined, intelligent, truthful and afiectionate .

”

Educated readers, who feel an interest in pursuing this inquiry ,will find a very

curious and complete history ofthe speculations ofthe ancients on the“soul- birth

”

in Plutarch’s treatise, De Placitis Philos,

”andon abortion and infanticide in theworks

of Darwin, Lubbock (“Prehistoric Times") and Spencer; particularly , for exact

bibliographical reference, the reader is referred to the able treatise ofGerland, Ueber

des Aussterben der Naturvolker,”a recent translation ofwhich has appeared in this

country .

1 70 Human Sexualityrender parturition not only dangerous but, in many instances, impossible.

Stehberger and other obstetricians would add to this list cases wherethe mother’s life is despaired of,

1 but in which premature delivery maysave the child

’s life; butwhether deliberate abortionmay be resorted to

as ameans ofaverting shame, on the part of themother, or safeguardingher social character, and standing , is a question which belongs tomoralsrather thanmedicine, and concerningwhich thematernal instinct, aswellas the intuitive perceptions ofmorality,may always be relied on to forma correct judgment.With an almost countless army of prostitutes in this country , with

luxury and idleness among the rich constantly tend

Its Prevalence ing to sexual erotismand sensuality, with the freeand easy social intercourse prevailing between the

sexes , with the constantly diminishing number ofmarriages, and that

monstrous aversion to motherhood, when marriage does take place, souniversally prevalent among women, it can hardly be wondered at that

abortion has become so frequent as to attract the gravest attention ofthe

lawit seems so easy for it to evade ; or that infanticide is growing so common as to recall the Roman horrors ofthe thirteenth century ,when, it issaid, Pope Innocent III was shocked at hearing that dead infants werebeing drawn nightly fromthe Tiber in the nets ofthe fishermen ?

In the first place , there is no roomfor any diversityCriminality of ofv iewas to abortion outside the exceptions I haveInfanticide named. It is simply the most cowardly and brutal

formofmurder, committed for the most selfish ofmotives . There shouldbe no hesitancy at least on that point. Iwish I couldsay to those young girlswho prowl nightly through the streets , inquiring,with veiled faces , at drug- shop counters for abortifacient remedies, or forthose cold- bloodedcharlatans , thosenight- hawk Borgias ofunborn innocence(notalways,alas , belonging tothe illiterate laity ,norto even the known scal

lawags ” ofthe profession) ,who, for aweek’swage ofan ordinarymechanic,hire themselves to perpetrate a crime meaner, more cowardly than open,manly homicide; I wish I could say to these, many of theminnocent

v ictims ofman’s perfidy , that, as far as moral guilt is concerned, they

Stehberger, Lex regia undKiinstliche Friihgeburt,” Arch. f. Gym, 1 , 465.

Lecky , Ioc. cit. , n , 33 , note. Comp. also Remaele, “Hospices Enfans Trouves ,pp. 36 , 37.

A Philadelphia newspaper ofJan . 8, 1905 , records as a news itemthat two deadinfantswere foundby the city scavengers in one ash-barrel, and that sixteenwere theknown product ofthem slaughtered innocents ofthe city foroneweek.

r72 Human Sexualitycuring abortionwouldhave someweightwere they not preventable. Thus ,awomanwith an abnormally small pelvismay very justly dread the ordealofchildbirth; but such a woman never should havemarried. The sameremedy applies ifshe have an incurable disease; and in almost, ifnot all,such cases itwill be found that the first sin lay in exposing herselfto a

condition inwhich the secondary one became necessary . Ofcoursemanywillsay that this is a hard remedy— to abstain forever fromsexualpleasure.

It is ; but the condition necessitating it is also hard.

There is a great thirst for knowledge on sexual subjects among all

classes to-day andwhile much of itmay be due to licentiousness , andthe desire to pick up information thatwill help to obv iate its natural consequences, a great part alsowill be found inwomen who are striving to

guard themselves against the unbridled and brutal passions oftheir husbands . The troubles, anxieties, fears ofuntimely death, and the physicalpains woman endures through the selfish lust ofman, have driven her toevery imaginable artifice to prevent conception, or procure abortion ;ruining her health and destroying both peace ofmind and happiness of

heart.

Dr. Reamy , of the Ohio StateMedical Society,writes froma very

large verbal andwritten correspondence in this and other States, together

with personal investigation, and facts accumulated, it appears to me wehave become a nation ofmurderers .

” l This startling statement, foundedonmost undeniable facts, has reference to the widespread, and apparentlyincreasing , habit of committing abortion, or fcnticide, which is, to all

That forced abortion is steadily on the increase,

and that prevention ofconception keeps pace withit, is proven by the fact that our native-bomAmericans , amongwhomthe terrible practice appearsmostprevalent, are all noted for small families; and that

among this class, as is amply shown by statistics, there are absolutely inmany placesmore deaths than births, the native- bompopulation ofMassaQuotedby Dr. J . Cowan, Zoe. cit. , p. 276 .

A recent bulletin, issued by the U. 8. Census Bureau , and prepared by Prof. W.

F. Wilcox , ofCornell University , places this matter in a startling and official light.

Summarizing his conclusions , in 1860, the number ofchildren , underfive years ofage,to 1000womenwas asfifteen to forty ; at nineyears ofage itwas 634to the thousand. In

1900, itwas only474. In otherwords the proportion ofchildren to potentialmothers in1900was only three -fourths as large as in 1860, showing a verymaterial decline in the

birth- rate . The unusualdecline shown for the period 1860—1870is ofcourse accountedfor, at least in part, by the CivilWar; but the unsatisfactory index ofthe birth

- rate since

1870points very unmistakably to the causeswe are at present considering . In 1900, a

Fecundation, Abortion, Infanticide 1 73

chusetts and NewYork actuauy decreasing every year.

‘ A clergyman of

NewYorkwrites we could prove that in our little village ofa thousand

people prominentwomen have been guilty ofthis crime ofmurder. Sadder

still halfof themaremembers ofChrist’s Church ; andwhile fully fifteenper cent. ofourwomen habitually practise this deadly sin, there is amuchlarger percentagewho endorse anddefend it. Fewofeither sex nowadaysenter into the marriage relation without being fully informed of every

method andmeans ofobv iating the undesirable results ofmatrimony ; andit is no uncommon thing to findwomenmaking these the subject ofsocialafternoon conversations among themselves .

Common charity prompts the belief that such

Abortion Largely women cannot knowthe awful enormity ofthe crimeDue to Ignorance they commit. It is to be hoped, at least, that they

may have that shieldofignorance to cover themselveswith in the last day ; but in order to convince such that they cannot hide

behind any silly notion that the killing ofthe foetus in thewomb is awhitdiflerent fromkilling the child in the cradle, it is only necessary to quoteBeck

’sMedical Jurisprudence.

The absurdity ofthe principle uponwhich theseLegal Definition distinctions are founded is of easy demonstration.

ofthe Crime The foetus, prev ious to the time ofquickening,mustbe either dead or alive. Nowthat it is not the

former ismost ev ident fromneither putrefaction nor decomposition takingplace ,whichwould be the consequence ofan extinction ofthe v ital principle. The embryo, therefore, before the crisis ,must be in a state diflerent

fromthat ofdeath, andthat can be no other than a state oflife.

”

This, as well as an almost similar definition in Dr. Taylor’s work on

medical jurisprudence, sufficiently , I think , establishes the status of the

unborn infant froma legal standpoint, as well as the resultant fact that

the destruction ofthat prenatal life constitutes , clearly and unequivocally ,murder, in some one of its juridical degrees. But, independent of all

comparison ofthe proportion ofchildren born ofnative and foreignmothers shows460 for the former, and710for the latter, per 1000women ofa child-bearing age ; the

lowest native ratio ofbirths being in the District ofColumbia and inMassachusetts ,the highest in North Dakota and the Indian Territory . Outside ofthe fact that thecountry exhibits a superior fecundity to the city in the table quoted, the foregoing

statistics tend to showvery unmistakably the pernicious influence ofso-called civ ili

sation in restricting the birth- rate, and the deplorable prospect ofthis countrywere

this birth- rate not kept up by the superlor fecundity ofour so often derided foreign

bompopulation.See U. 8. Census Report for 1900; also Paper by Dr. Nathan Allen, ofLowell.

Ameri can SocialScienceAsso., quotedby Dr.Cowan, op. cit., p. 276.

r74 Human Sexualitylaws, human authorities or decisions , as Dr. Eddy well says, the true

Christian theory is that the thought ofman, in themind ofGod, embracesthe entire period ofhis earthly re lations , between the extreme limits of

embryotic existence and old age, andwhosoever, with sacriligious hand,

does violence to this chain ofsacredrelations is aMURDERER.

”

Thes e statements dispose, very effectually , ofthe fatuous pretence putforward by some, in defence ofthe abominable practice, that the unbornchild is not a separate and independent being ; and,with the equally strongwords ofBishop Coxe, ofNewYork, ringing in the reader’s ears, I thinkitwell to leave this subjectfor the present.

I have heretofore warnedmy flock,” he writes,against the blood-

guiltiness of antenatal infanti

cide. If any doubts existed heretofore as to the

propriety ofmywarnings on this subject, theymustnowdisappear before the fact that theworld itselfis beginning to be horrified by the practical results ofthe sacrifices toMolochwhich defile our

land. Again Iwarn you that theywho do such things cannot inherit eternallife. Ifthere be a special damnation for thosewho shed innocent blood,whatmust be the portion of those who have nomercy upon even their

own flesh?As an additional danger fromabortion, to themother herself, it need

only be pointed out that Esquirol, Hallam, and other alienists , associate

it very clearly with the development of sexual insanity . Woman,” asMaudsley well indicated, has more sexual needs than man , at least in

the ideal sense,”and knows no gratification for themsave in marriage.

Ifdenied this, she naturally seeks in illicit intercourse what she cannot

obtain honorably , and, in eflorts to conceal the fruit ofher criminal indulgence, develops an host of neurotic complaints, among which hysteria,religious frenzy and insanity , are not infrequent.

”

The Oneida Community of Perfectionists prac

Prevention of tise the sexual embrace without a complete intraConception vaginal orgasmon the part of the male— that is,

stopping the act just before seminal emission— coitus

interruptus ; and claimthat they derivemore pleasure than froma completed intercourse. In the face ofwell- known physiological facts , as wellas in the experience ofevery sensibleman, this claimis nothing but sheeres tfolly . Such a congresswould not only ruin, in time, the delicate sexual

mechanism, and, reducing the art to a purely animal level, deprive it ofthe highest element ofpleasure it possesses— the purely psychicalone— but

V id.

“Text- Book ofInsanity .

” Kraflt- Ebing , 1905, p. 142.

r76 Human Sexualitycausedby

“explodons and slippings—o

— the use ofthe cundumwouldbe open to fewobjections except fromamoral standpoint.

The slipping off recalls tomy mind a story told

An “Accident” me by a patient, a youngman,who, after prolongedsolicitation, at last got a nice young lady to consent

to the act on condition, only , that he would use one of those rubberbags she hadheard of.

” Ofcourse he joyfully consented, and in the courseofthe connection, the instrument slipping off, he reached his finger in to

recover it, and succeeded, to his infinite disgust, in fishing out no fewerthan six others .

Themore or less common use by the woman ofthe sponge- shield, or

the rubber pad, known as a“womb- veil, placed

TheWomb- Veil over themouth ofthe uterus to prevent the entranceofthemale sperm, is discredited at the start by the

simple fact that, for the reasons previously stated in reference to the life

andmovements ofthe liv ing germin its fluidmedium, it is a preventivewhich doesn’t prevent. And these, also, althoughwidely advertised and

sold under various names by quacks and druggists, are open to the sameobjectionswhich apply to the cundum. They are apt to erode and irritate

the vaginal and uterine membranes , producing vaginitis , ulceration and

endometritis ,while precluding to a great extent that sexual pleasurewhichis the chiefobject ofthe libertine.

This pleasure, in its very highest culmination, is the coming togetherof the extremely delicate and sensitive nerves of the head of the penisand the similarly highly sensitive nerves which surround the mouth of

the womb, producing that thrilling , galvanic shockwhich constitutes the

supremest sexual delight; and, it neednot be stated, that by the use eitherofthe cundumorwomb- veil, this is absolutely precluded. Besides , as in

the case of the cundum, through accidental displacement of the shield,it is liable to be renderedat any time as useless as it is injurious .

Amode of prevention, already hinted at in the

Selection ofTime section on fecundation, and hav ing at least a physiofor the logical basis, is founded on the theory ofthemonthly

Copulation Act arrival ofthe ripe ovumin thewomb. Itwas shownthat, in the last half of the menstrual interval, a

period of about nine days intervened in which, under ordinary circumstances , no impregnation can occur. But there are causes to thwart eventhis theory . It requires for a perfect connection,mutual adaptation of

the sexual organs , mutual love, andmutual intensity of passion. Con

nection under other circumstances is unenjoyable, distasteful, at least tothewoman , and so barren ofthe higher spiritual or psychical delight as

Fecundation, Abortion, Infanticide r77

to border on themerelymechanical act ofmasturbation. Fewwomen can

undergo the process ofthe sexual actwithout becoming sexually excited,and this excitement hastens the premature ripening and expulsion ofthe

germ- cell; so that impregnation may take place even within the period

Ofcourse, ifawoman— as many do,when sexual love does not enter

into the union— lie perfectly cold and passionless, the man, during this

briefperiod ofexemption,may enjoy himselfto his heart’s contentwithoutdanger; but, so far as the genesic pleasure ofthe act goes, hemight, asI have intimated, nearly aswellpractise self- indulgence by the hand.

There is a popular idea, chiefly among women,The Suckling that while themother is nursing sexual intercourse

Period may be indulged inwith impunity ; and the surprisewithwhichwomen are frequently cured ofthe belief

is very great indeed. The excitement ofthe act in thewoman, as beforestated, ripens and throws 03 an egg fromthe ovary , and impregnationfollows. The nerve forcewhich ismanifested usually in the sexual processes, however, being in a measure centered upon lactation, masks theusualmanifestations ofmenstruation , andmakes it impossible to determinewhen the ovumhas ripened, so that impregnation is more insidious thanat other times, but none the less certain.

The habit ofinjecting coldwater into the vagina

The ColdWater after connection, to which many women pin their

Douche faith, is , likemost ofthe othermethods alluded to,of very doubtful eflicacy, while of unquestionable

danger. Itmust be borne inmind that the liv ing germofthemale, protected as it is by the dense albuminousmediuminwhich it exists, is practically invulnerable to any such attacks . Thewater is brought up to thetemperature of the blood long before this albuminous covering can be

dissolved, or the spermatozofin reached; while the shock occasioned to

the delicate sexual organism, .by introducing fluids ofso lowa temperature

into the superheated vagina, can hardly fail to produce those various formsof subacute membranous inflammations to which, clinical experience hasshown us , persons who indulge the practice are peculiarly subject. And

the same objections apply where thewater is “medicated by the various

powders so largely soldfor the purpose ; only that there is greater liabilityto permanent injury thanwhenwater alone is used. Both act only uponthe seminalmedium— the albuminous vehiclewhich transmits the germnot upon the germitself; and ifonly one of these little agents survive,

out ofa thousand, themischiefis done. Thus, when zinc, bichloride of

mercury or other toxic agent is injected into the vagina there is coagulation1 2

1 78 Human Sexuality

ofthe albumen, locking up for a briefspace, and actually protecting insteadofdestroying the sperm-cell but themoment this covering is redissolvedwhich occurs long within the natural life- period of the germitself— the

There are many other methods of preventingOtherMethods impregnation, some ofwhich are even more perofPrevention nicious in their consequences, advertised by un

scrupulous , andmade use ofby silly, persons ; but,save in the one possible exception noted, all are inefficacious , and injuriousin their results. There is, however, one absolute remedy— the refrainingfromthe sexual act ; not so dificult after all, either, to the educatedman,sensible ofthe physiological fact that sexual connection is primarily God’slawfor the propagation ofthe race, andnot amere agency ofsensual pleasure; and fully conscious ofthe further fact that, had God intended it for

man’s gratification alone, His wisdomwould undoubtedly have providedsomemeans by which that gratificationmight have beenmuredwithoutthe danger ofimpregnation. The knowledge ofthese facts , togetherwiththe equally vital one, that intelligent sexual relations are founded, like

every other act of life, on intelligentmoral perceptions , ought tomakesuch a duty both plain and practicable ; and although a distinction is

easily drawn between duties which rest on the dictates ofconscience and

those based on positive commands, the sin ofunrestricted intercourse, to

such aman,will appear not the less a sin because there is no Scriptural,legal, nor social injunction against it.

180 Human Sexuatwhich prompts or underlies those complex groups of cc- ordinated acts,

totally independent of previous experience,” as Prof. LloydMorgan re

marks ,1 “butwhich are subject to variation, and subsequentmodification ,

under the guidance ofexperience,”wemay reasonably agreewith Garnier,Tillier andothers, in the recognition ofa true sexual instinct.

”

Purely instinctive acts, however, are probablyInstinct Best Con best considered in animals too lowin the scale of

sidered in An imals life to admit ofour supposing that the adjustmentswhich are produced could at any time have been

intelligent it being exceedingly difficult tomeasure the influence exerted

by either,where instinct, necessity , orwhat Lamarck calls the lawofin

herited habit, becomes the partner ofreason in the production ofspecific

acts ; and yetwe should be but poorly guided, in considering the questionofsexuality , didwe limit our research to those animals destitute ofthat

intelligence which constitutes the natural and frequently overlappingboundary ofits domain.

An instinct comprises toomany factors to be easily or accurately deter

mined, however; and afterwe have carefully marshalled these factors inthementalfield, according due consideration to each, andstriv ing to separatetheminto such co- ordinated groups aswould enable us to relegate each to

a distinct order ofactivity ,we are yet at a loss to dissociate the psychological fromthe physiological, themental fromthe purely sensuous ; and

meet with possibly as many arguments in favor ofthe early v iewthat

the sexual impulse is simply one ofglandular excretion, as ofthe later and

more elaborately worked out opinion that there is a congenital ins tinct of

procreation underlying the sexual need.

In the former case, the psychological elementThe “Evacuation would be subordinated to purely physiological proc

Theory”

ess’

es ; and, indeed, itwould not be diffit to showthat evacuation oflong suppressed secretions , either

physiological or pathological, especially in youth, is accompanied by a

degree ofpleasure almost equally intensewith that ofthe sexualdischarge;although in adult- life, such sensations are feebler, fromhabits ofrestrictivetraining, and frombeing pushed into the background of consciousness ,

through greater powers ofvolition, and the less imperious activ ity of the

involuntarymuscular system.

The evacuation theory ofthe sexual instinct was quite uniformlyreceived up to the latter part ofthe nineteenth century ; and grewchiefly

out of the fact that the crude mind expresses itself in crude language.

Even yet the French call the brothel a privy— la cloaque," andthemedie val;‘ “AnimalBehavior,” 1900, p. 21. ’H Ellis , loc cit

The LawofSexual Des ire 181

writers who alluded towoman as a temple built over a sewer,” did so

fromthe same coarse concept ofthe sexualfunction.

EvenMontaigne, paragon of literary politeness, contributed to this

popular viewrespecting it; remarking that Venus (venery) , after all,

is nothingmore than the pleasure ofdischarging our vessels, just as naturerenders pleasurable the discharges fromother parts ; and the delightful

author ofUtopia speaks naively of the pleasure experienced whenwedo our natural easement, orwhenwe be doing the act ofgeneration.

”

The genesic need,” writes Féré (incorrectly, since he does not take

into account howoften desire for children, the unselfish impulse to givepleasure to another, the frequencywithwhich the act is performedwithoutneed ofevacuation, andmany other conditions,may underlie the sexual

act) may be consideredas a needofevacuation ; and the choice is deter

mined by the excitationswhich render the evacuationsmore agreeable.

There are not wanting , however, facts in nature to strongly supportsuch a v iew. Both Goltz and Spallanzani threwconsiderable confirmatory light upon the subject bytheir prolonged and interesting course ofexperimentsupon the sexualmechanismoffrogs ;

’andTarchanofl,

ofSt. Petersburg, discovered that removal ofthe lungs, spleen, intestines,stomach, kidneys , parts ofthe liver, and even the entire heart, did not

destroy the sexual power.

‘ Similarly , removal ofthe testicleswas provento be equally ineflicacious but obliteration ofthe seminal vesicles very

shortly put an endto the sexual function.

But Tarchanofl found, as indeed it is so stated in the better andmoremodernworks on physiology, that the seminal receptacles are the starting

point ofthe centripetal impulsewhich, by reflex action, sets inmotion thewhole complicatedmechanismofsexualactiv ity ; andthis being established

we have at once a secure basis for the explanation ofmost ofthe puzzlingphenomenawhich arewell known to attend sexualmutilation ofthe frog,

in all its varying degrees ; but, as Steinachwell points out,“quite a diflerentset ofphenomena are observablewhen suchmutilations are practiseduponthe highermammals, removal ofthe seminal vesicles in thewhite rat beingfollowed by no abatement in the intensity or v igor ofthe sexual act; and

fromthe fact that the physiological secretions of the seminal vesicles of

SirThos.More, loo. cit Book It.Goltz, Gena-

albumf. d.Med. Wiseenschaften, 1865.

“Zur Physio]. des Geschlechtsapparatus des Frosches , Archie f. d. GcsammtePhysiol. , 1887, XL, 330.

Quotedby H . Ellis. loc. cit. ,m, 5.

ArchiefardieGesummte Physiologic, 1894, an , 304- 338.

182 Human Sexuatthe rat are quite difierent fromthose ofthe same organs in the frog, that

the sexualapparatus ofboth, and indeedofall the lower orders ofmammals,is destitute ofmany of those neuro- psychic elements which govern its

function inman ; and fromthe fact that even the closest observers have

failed to elicit fromthe most laborious research, and experiment, suchevidence as would bring themto any common ground ofagreement, it isprobably aswell to pass at once to a consideration ofthe sexual function

inman ; leaving these abstruse, andmost frequently profitless speculationsto such as delight to revel in the dry dust oflearned controversy .

”

The embryonic groundwork ofthe sexes is homologous, and the line ofdistinction, even in adult life,

and under normal conditions, so subtle and indefiniteas to invest itwith a peculiar degree of interest.

The physical structures ofbothmale andfemale afiord indubitable ev idenceoftheir common origin . Men have rudimentary breasts, capable, underthe stimulus ofsuckling, ofalmost feminine development; andmany cases

are indeed recordedwhere fathers, through the death ofthemother, havethus nursed the oflspring through the regular period oflactation.

The raphe ofthe scrotumshows very distinctlywhere itwas closed upto formthemale, instead ofremaining open as in the female ; andwomenretain in the clitoris the rudimentary penis oftheman. Littledifierenceexists

in the sounds ofthemale and female voices up to the period ofpuberty ,when the subtle process ofdifierentiation culminates in the sometimesabrupt establishment ofthose anatomical and physiological characteristicswhich continue through life. Then the boy

’s voice changes, hair begins

to growon those parts ofthe body where it is commonly absent in thefemale, and the girl begins to take on, along with certain finer shades of

sexualfeeling , that shyness, softness andmodestywhichdistinguish the sex .

And it is at this point, I think ,wemay beginmost profitably the studyofsex, leav ing the phenomena ofits origin, source, and the various steps ofits division and development to themore cognate science ofembryology .

‘

That thegenesic impulse inman, andI use thewordCastration Con impulse designedly , is entirely independent of the

sideredwith procreative glands, althoughmaterially assisted and

Reference to the strengthened by them, is shown by the failure ofcas

Sex- impulse tration towholly obliterate it.

Castration among the ancientswas offour kinds.

The Romans had perfect, or true castrati ,where both testicles and penis1 This v iewofsex is ably set furth in Ulrichs’s treatise on the subject.

“Sex,” he

asserts ,“is only an afiair ofdev elopment. Up to a certain stage ofembryonic exist

ence all living animals are hermaphroditic. A certain number ofthemadvance to

184 Human SexualityOf those voluntary eunuchs who emasculated themselves on religious

grounds, forthe avoidance ofsexual sin, andofwhomReligious Eunuchs an early Churchwriter says— “Valesii et seipsos cast

rant et hospites sues , hoc modo existimantes Deo se

debere servire,”the case ofOrigen furnishes themost illustrious example.

And itmay not be irrelevant here to remark thatEunuchs not the vulgar notion which ascribes to eunuchs sfiem

always Efieminate inacy , and lack ofphysical courage, as well as intellectual stamina, is wholly unfounded. On the con

trary, as we are told by Herodotus , eunuchs were especially prized inPersia for their fidelity andmanly courage; Narses, the famous generalunder Justinian, and Hermais, governor ofAtamsa inMysia, towhosemanes Aristotle oflered sacrifice, having both been eunuchs ; and under

theRoman emperors the same class ofpersons frequently rose to thehighestexercise ofpower.

Eunuchs are by nomeans destitute ofsexual feeling. Dr.Matignon,ofthe French Legation in Pekin, believes that they

Sexual Feeling seek the society ofwomen, and gratify their sexualofEunuchs appetites by suchmethods as remain to them, even

when the sexual organs are entirely removed ! In

Turkey and India,where the eunuchs are chiefly negroes, total castration

is commonly performed, the knowledge that sexual potency is not altoAugustine,

“De He r-se,"C. 37. See. also, Neander,

“Hist. ofthe Chr. Church,”

It, 462 ; andBingham’s“Antiq.Chr.Church,

"IV , 3.

V id. Lucian, Dial,“Eunuchus .

Poggius relates the case ofa citizenwho castrated himselfas a cure for his un

worthy jealousy ; Felix Plater another— that of Basil—who did the same with thesamemotive ; andboth Plutarch andLucian sing the praises ofCombalus who beingsent by Seleucus to escort the latter

’s beautiful and amorous queen , Stratomce, on

a journey , castrated himselfbefore starting , knowing something of the dispositions

ofboth his lord andlady , andleav ing his genitals scaledup in a boa:in the king’s palace

behind him. Sure enough, on his return, the King’s jealousy getting the better of

his judgment, the unfortunate squire ofdameswas accusedofintimacywith the queen.

thrown into a dungeon, and the sensationaldenouement occurredwhen he exposedhisprivates to the king , or rather the placewhere they once grew, and giving a key to

the irate monarch, directed himto the casketwhere were found the innocent andfoully slanderedmembers. The king , ofcourse,made the amends honorable, and one

ofthemat least liv edhappily afterward.

Francis ofAssisi similarly emasculated himselfbecause he had to be alone withwomen , confeming them; and Friar Leonard, another remarkable enthust along

these lines , removed his penis and testicles andwent through V iterbium, in Italy,

naked, to showthat hewas , physically at least, above suspicion.

“Lee Eunuques du Palais Imperial de Pekin,” 1901. quoted by H Ellis. 106

cit. ,m, 8.

The LawofSexual Desire 185

gether abolishedby the operation seeming to prevail; andLancaster quotesthe remark made by a resident ofNubia, that sex-feeling exists amongNubian eunuchs, unmodifiedby the absence ofthe genitalorgans .

“The eunuch differs fromtheman not in the absence ofsexual passion,but in the fact that he cannot gratify it. This seems to be, however, astatement not fullywarranted by the facts, as we shall see later; the castratedman being capable ofa certain species ofpsychological enjoymenteven when the genitalia are wholly obliterated. I dwell with specialemphasis, and at somewhat greater than necessary length, upon this question fromthe fact that emasculation has only recently , and quite seriously,been proposed as the basis ofa lawto punish and prevent the growingcrime ofnegro

- rape and for the purpose ofthrowing whatever scientificlightmay be available upon the subject.

When spadonics (testicle castration) only is per

Castration as a formed, it seems the consensus ofreputable opinionRape Remedy that little ifany damage is inflicted upon the sexual

passion. Indeed, as has been pointed out by Jtiger,

and as prev iously intimated here, women prefer castratedmen, not onlyfromimmunity fromthe danger ofimpregnation, but because ofthe longer

duration oftheir erections .

Disselhorst has limited the period ofsexual potency , as to the act, to

ten years after spadonic castration ; and Pelikan (Das Skopzentumin

Rfisshmd) ,while not fixing a definite limit to the potentia ceeundi , believesthat ifcastration is performed at puberty , the power ofsexual intercourseremains for “

a long time afterward.

” 1 Guinard concludes that the sexual

power ismore persistent under such conditions inman than animals ; beingsometimes even heightened, and renderedfarmore susceptible to the influence ofperipheral stimulation.

’ The conclusion then is that only true cas

tration, removal ofboth penis and testicles , is capable ofdestroying thesexual power.

The frequency ofthemodern operation ofovariotomy has convincinglytaught us that female castration exerts little, ifany .

Castration in effect upon the sexual feeling. The statement of

Females Ellis that after castration , sexual desire, and sexual

pleasure in coitus , may either remain the same, bediminished, extinguished, or increased,

”only proves howfeeble is the

foundation for either assumption, and almost justifies us in attributing

whatever change thatmay result rather to psychological than physiologicalinfluences.

Jayle found that out of33 patients inwhomov ariotomy had been perH . Ellis, loc. cit. ,m, 8. V id. Guinard, lac. cit. ,

“Castration.

186 Human Sexuality

formed, sexual desire remained the same in 18; was diminished in 3 ; abolished in 8; incremd in 3 ; andwhile the pleasure ofthe act remainedunchanged in 17, itwas diminished in 1 , abolished in 4, increased in 5, andin 6 cases sexual intercourse became exceedingly painful, possibly , althoughhe fails to so informus, fromresulting neuropathic hyperesthesia.

‘ Somewhat similar resultswere arrived at by Pfister, in Germany ; andKepplerannounced at the InternationalMedical Congress of1890, at Berlin, that,among 46 castratedwomen, sexual feeling was abolished in no single

case.

”

In America the records ofthe subject seemto confirmthe authorities

just quoted. Dr. IsabelDavenport describes two cases ofwomen, betweenthirty and forty years ofage, in whomerotic tendencies were greatly increased by removal ofthe ovaries ; Lapthorn Smith, a single casewherethe same resultwas observed; andBloom, seemingly the fullest investigator on the subject, out offour hundred cases, found that in nonewas thesexual appetitewholly destroyed; inmost itwas notmaterially diminished,and in a fewitwas intensified.

‘ Tait and Bantockmake a correspondingreport ofresults arrived at in England, and itwould seem, without anytedious prolixity ofdetail, that castration, both inmale and female,mustbe ofthe true and radical variety

— that is, all the sexual organs must beremoved— to insure total extirpation of the sexual passion. The facts

elicited ought to be, at least, some guide to legislators in dealingwith castration as a remedy for unlawful lust.

The evacuation theory ofthe erotic feeling is

Awakening ofthe largely disproved by the fact that sexual sensationsSex- impulse are felt, and sometimes, as we have seen, intensified,

when extirpation of the seminal vesicles has takenplace; and still further, that in children there exists frequently a welldefined sexual feeling long before there is any true sexual secretion, as also

inwomen long after the sexualglands have discontinued their functions .

The discovery ofsexual sensation in children is, I think, inmost casesaccidental. This beliefwas first impressed upon me by a circumstancewhich, while amusing, is worth repeating . Some boys were playing I

spy in my father’s orchard, and one little fellowof ten or twelve hidhimselfin an apple tree. During thewait for the regular count to be completed, hemust have gotten to rubbing and fingering his penis, probably

Jayle, Revue de Gynecologic , 1897, p. 403, etwq.

’H . Ellis , loc. cit. , vol. rr, records the case ofan invert inwhich castration wasperformedwithout effecting any sexual change.Medical S tandard, 1895, p. 346 .

QuotedfromH . Ellis, loc. cit., vol. 111, p. 10.

188 Human Sexuatthe phenomena tabulated by Gall and his successors, Obici andMarachesini , are difi cult ofexplanation on any other rational ground. The

manifestation of the sexual impulse in children, before the sexual ghmdshavematured; its continuance in old age,when the glandular function haslong since ceased; the absence ofany direct proofthat the latter is theseat ofthe sexual passion, and the persistence ofthat passion in congenital

absence, andafter extirpation of, those glands , all point very unmistakablyto some psychological cause not yet defined, but forwhich the recognitionofan organic brain- centerwouldquite satisfactorily account.The theory that man’s sexual pleasure, and passion, are due to themere natural need ofglandular evacuation, is so intrinsically improbableas to require little comment. The v iolence of the emotion aroused bysexual intercourse, so entirely disproportionate to the trifling quantity of

fluid emitted in the act, the utter exhaustionwhich follows, and the factsalready stated, that pleasurable sensations supervene where there are no

glands at all, sufficiently , I think, dispose ofthe fewphysiologicalfacts thatundoubtedly do support such a view.

The exhibition ofsexual passion in old age,while not necessarily pathological, proves clearly the relation ofthe brain to the sexual feeling ; and

presumption ofa pathological condition is naturally suggestedwhen thatexhibition is attendedby physical decrepitude, unnaturaldirection ofdesire,shamelessness ofits character, a marked change fromsexualmoderationto violence, or the exercise ofcriminalforce.

1

Medical science cannot but recognize, in such

Senile Dementia cases as the latter, impulses depending on morbidmental conditions , prodromal or pathognomonic

ofsenile dementia, and frequently unconnectedwith any other abnormalmanifestation ofthe cerebral processes. Lust, in those passing into senile

dementia, is most usually exhibited in lasciv ious speech, gesture, and

indecent display ; but less frequently in the attempted act itself. I have

a friend, a gentleman ofexcellent character, otherwise, aged about eighty ,who in street cars, and other public places, cannot refrain frompressingindecently against women, their privates or their breasts , and otherwisemanifesting those indications ofsexual dementia which are as foreign to

his real character as shameful to his friends.

Suchmen are not strictly criminal; and the lawshould not so regard

1 I aminclined to think , although not aware that I have ever seen the subjectdiscussed, that thewell- knownmania ofoldmen for young girls is largely the result

of a remembrance, or reminiscence, ofyouthful pleasure, as contrastedwith the less

intense experiences oflater life ; and an instinctive desire to reproducefeelingswhichbluntednerves andabsence ofvirility render totally unattainable.


them. Although societymust be protected fromtheir assaults, it should

be by othermethods than punitive ones ; but the saddest andmost dangerons feature ofsu ch cases is that,whilewomen have the power ofprotection within themselves , children , being both destitute of that power,andmore easy ofassociation , are usually made not only the v ictims butthe prosecutors

_ofsuch unfortunates .

A distinguishedwriter records the case ofa very infirmmanwhomadean unsuccessful assault upon a girl. He had awife, and large family , andhad lived a hitherto blameless sexual life ; but at the trial confessed to thecrime, saying he could not explain it. Hewas sentenced to five years inthe penitentiary , where, on examination by competent physicians , hewasfound far advanced in senile dementia. Legal question concerning his

mental condition had never been raised— simply because he had confessed

that he committed the crime.

‘ And even while I write , the papers are

being cried out, announcing the conv iction, anddeath- sentence, ofaman

who, during a paroxysrn oferotic frenzy , killedhiswife because she refusedto permit his intercoursewith her.

Such cases call loudly for amore intelligent legal treatment than theyusually receive , andwhile society, as I have said,must have an adequatemeasure ofprotection, it does seemthat the infliction ofthe death penaltyin such an instance as that last recorded— no element of premeditationhaving been established— is ameasure ofbarbarity strangely inconsistent

with our boasted civ ilization.

Actswhichmay be regarded as physiologically impossible, normally, andso distinguished by legalmedicine, are—exhibition of the genitals ,

‘ lustful

handling ofthe sexualorgans ofchildren , inducing themto performmanustupration upon the seducer, or performingmasturbation or flagellation uponthe v ictim.

“ These enormities , recognizedby English andAmerican, aswellas French law, as prime facia ev idence ofmental unsoundness,may yet beaccompanied by sufficient intelligence as to plan secrecy , although the

moral sense is tooweak to resist the immlse ; but as the disease progresseseven that is lost, and acts ofthemost shameful character are committedwithout the slightest regard to public decency . In fact, as the sexual

powerwanes , the demented impulse takes on, usually,more violent formsofgratification ; until, as Tamowsky points out,“pederasty,masturbation,

Kraft-Ebing , lac. cit. , p. 39 , note.

Frank Re isinger, Shiloh, NewJersey, conv icted at Bridgeton, Jan . 11, 1905, and

executedwithin the same year.

Vid. Lesegue,“Les Exhibitionistes, UnionMedicole ,May , 1877.

Iegranddu Saulle,“La folie devant les tribunaux ,

” p. 530.

‘Loc. cit. , p. 40.

“Die Krankhaften Erseheinungen der Geschlechtssinns , Berlin,

1 90 Human Sexuahtyamaults upon geese, chickens, and all the lower animals , as well as the

whole host ofhomosexual v ices , result.

Fewthere are who cannot recall at least one case ofa previously up

right, and outwardlymoralman ,who, during the decline oflife, suddenly

manifested a strange desire for prostitutes, street-walking , brothels , eitherasking everywoman hemet tomarry him, or suggesting sexual intercourse

with her; andwho, froma position ofhonor and respect, fell, by such prac

tices , to socialcontumely anddegradation before death. Themostflagrantcase ofthis kind, coming undermy personal notice, was that ofa manseventy years ofage,who, in the final stage ofhis dementia, took on a

most intractable satyriasis ,which continueduntil his death. He frequentlymasturbated— under the bed clothing at first, but openly at last ; delighted

in themost lasciv ious conversation, spoke only ofthewomen he had beenwith,” and on two occasions tried to assault female relatives who called

to see him. Such cases are not at all rare in both sexes ; andSchopenhauershows very conclusively that in such forms ofdementia perversions of

sexuality are the rule.

‘

Krafit- Ebing records a casewhich illustrates the truth ofthis statement;andalmoa every physician couldaddto it indefinitely . Agentleman whohad always been somewhat sensually inclined, ofuncontrollable temper,and confessedly preferring masturbation to natural intercourse, yet ex

hibitedno sign ofcontrary sexualfeeling ,furtherthan that thefamilyhistoryshowed that a brotherwas suspected oflove formen, and that a nephewhad become insane fromexcessivemasturbation. The gentleman kept a

number ofmistrem , reared a childby one , and, up to the age of80,whensexual aberration first appeared, lived the life ofa respectable but somewhat amorousman . Then he began tomanifest afiection for certainmaleservants , particularly a gardener

’3 boy ,whom, hav ing by bribes and favors

seduced, he used to surroundwith every luxury andmark offavor that

a lover couldbestowupon hismistress. He awaitedthe hour ofrendezvouswith all the sexual excitement ofa boywaiting for a girl for the same purpose ; sent the family away , that hemight be alonewith his favorite , andafter hours ofsuch privacy would be found lying on his bed utterly ex

hansted.

Besides this“grand passion,

” he had occasionally intercourse withothers ofthemale servants , enticed them, asked themfor kisses , inducedthemtomanipulate his genitals , and practisedwith themmutualmasturbation. Yet the patient seemed completely destitute of appreciationofhis sexual perversity ; and no other course remained to the family thanto place himin an asylum. No erotic inclination towards the opposite sex

“DieWelt alsWills undVorstellung ,” n , 46 1, et seq.

92 Human Sexualityexperience pleasure, nor any sexual excitement in intercourse; andwho,ifthey bear children, beget themwith the greatest repugnance andaversion.

There is a sexual life which, fromits feebleness

Feebleness of and brev ity , may properly be called spinal, rather

Sexual Life than cerebral. It is usually the fruit ofprecocity , isspasmodic, fluttering , eas ily excited, just as easily

satisfied, and commonly lapses into impotency at an early age. It is the

iswell exemplified in Case 8, in Archiv far Psychiatric, vn , as quoted byKrafit- Ebing .

‘ A young student, ofnineteen, hadmasturbated fromhisfifteenth year

b eccentric after puberty , read Jean Paul almost exclusively,was romantic, andwasted his time. Complete absence ofsexual feeling .

Once indulged in intercourse ; experienced no pleasure ; thought it absurd;did not repeat it; made it the subject ofa philosophical essay , however,in which he argued that both it andmasturbation were justifiable acts.

Attempted suicide, andwas afterward committedto an asylum.

Whether such cases ofsexual anesthesia are due

Causation to simple aspermia, or congenital absence ofdesire,

the instance recorded byMaschka, and others byUltzmann ,

’showthat they are sufficiently numerous tofigure in ourmodern

divorce courts . Maschka’s case is that ofawoman,who pledfor divorceon the ground ofher husband’s impotence, he never hav ing had intercoursewith her. The husbandwas somewhatweak ,mentally ; butwas physicallyv igorous . He declared he never had a complete erection, nor flowof

semen, andthat hewas totally indifierent aboutwomen!Conditions ofsexual coldness , or apathy , physio

Sexual Frigidity logical in character, are not uncommon ; being foundmore frequently in women than men. They are as

a rule due to psychical, rather thanmaterial causes ; and aremanifestedin disinclination for the sexual act, absence ofpleasurable excitation, andsuch other accompaniments as showthemto he, usually , ofa congenital

character. Ifdiminution ofthe sexual passion be not a somatic one, dependent on age andnatural organic degeneration, a pathological causemayproperly be inferred. As prev iously pointed out, however, diminution of

sexual lust frequently depends on certain psychical andmoralfactorswhich

Education, hard study , emotional depremion, anxiety , intense physicaleffort, all exercise amarked influence in lessening sexual desire ; and con

tinence itself,while at first stimulating, afterwards induces a markedLoc. cit. , p. 44.

“Uébermannliche Sterilitat,”WienerMed.Presse, 1878,N. l .

Psychopathia Sexualis,” p. 46 .

The LawofSexual Des ire 1 93

abatement ofsecretory activity in the generative glands, and a consequentdiminution ofsexualdesire .

Disturbances of nutrition are also prominent among the peripheralcauses. Conditions ofmuscular atrophy— ao calledmarasmus—may likewisebementioned as causative ; andalcoholic anddrug intoxication produces it;not centrally , as frequentlysupposed, but peripherally , by over- stimulationand subsequent exhaustion of the neuro-sexualmechanism. Interference

with thatmechanism, arising froma central source,may usually be tracedto degenerative changes in, or near, the genito

- spinal center in the cord;

functionally , to hysteria, whichmay be a manifestation ofcentral anes

thesia ; and to those forms ofemotional insanity characterized bymelancholia, and hypochondriasis , as well as to the dementia paralytica ofcor

ticaldisease.

Up to themiddle ofthe last century two directly opposing currents of

opinion prevailedconcerning the comparative strengthSexual Anesthesia ofthe sexual passion inwomen andmen. Gall, Tait,

in Women Lombroso, Windscheid,Moll, Krafit-Ebing , Fehling,and Lowenfeld,may be cited as fairly representative

ofthe negative side ofthe argument; and Brierre de Boisrnont, Benecke,

Coltrnan, Venette , Vedeler, Duncan,Mantegazza and Eulenburg, of the

aflirmative. The v iewthatwoman is fully as passionate as man, terselyifnot elegantly expressed in the oldArabic proverb the longing ofthe

woman for the penis is greater than that oftheman for the vulva,”is

undoubtedly the v iewofantiquity ; founded in part on those erroneous

conceptions offemale character heretofore noted; andwhich, before theextension ofthe Renaissancemovement in Europe brought about amorejust and sympathetic appreciation ofwoman’s place in society , relegated

her to a condition ofchattelage and servitude, little better than that ofanimals. But even at a later datewe find the sentiment cropping out.Montaigne, while pointing out thatmen have imposed their own rule of

life and ideals upon women , demanding fromthe latter oppodte and con

tradictory v irtues , argues thatwomen are incomparablymore ardent in lovethanmen, and that they knowfarmore thanmen can teach them; for it isa discipline born in theirveins .

‘

It cannot be denied that inmatters ofsexual lovewomen, as Venettesmette,’are more lively in imagination , and romance, and have usually

greater leisure to indulge the play ofboth thanmen ; but as to the questionwhethermen orwomen derive the greater pleasure fromthe sexualm

V id. Fmays, 111, v .

“De la Generétion de l’Homme nu Tableau de l’Amour Conjugal, Amsterdam,

194 Human Sexualitybrace, the same writer could only reply that man’s pleasure is greaterbutwoman’s lasts longer.

”

In the Koenigsberg district, near the Baltic, where sexual intercourse

before marriage is quite the rule, it has been found that the girls , alongwith being entirely willing for the act, are not infrequently the seducing

parties ; and in Koslin , Pomerania,where intercourse between the girls

and boys is equally common, the former visit the latter’s rooms quite as

frequently as the latter do those ofthe former. In some ofthe Dantzigdistricts, says Ellis , the girls give themselves quite freely to the youths,sometimes seducing them, and that not alwayswith a viewtomarriage.

‘

As physical sex is ofcourse a large factor in the life ofwomen, it should

not be astonishing that the psychical element is equally large ; but notwithstanding what has been said, and the admittedly dominant functionofreproduction in woman, her intense relationships to life, feeling , sympathy,maternal emotions , and love, it is extremely doubtfulwhether sheis, under any condition, susceptible to the same erotic passions as are

felt byman. At least all, or nearly all,modernwriters agree that sexualanesthesia is commoner inwomen thanmen ; meaning , ofcourse, that thephysical element ofpleasure in, and desire for, intercourse is less in the

former than the latter. Investigators of the subject are, however, irequently misled by the statements ofwomen themselves ,who, fearing bytoo free admission of their passion to provoke suspicions of impurity ,very often deny the feeling entirely. I have found this to be in manycases a practice ofdesign among young wives , to inspire their husbandswith the greater confidence in them; andwhile itmay be frequently used

as a cloak for sexual depravity , there is hardly adoubt that it ismorefrequently either partially true or perfectly innocent inmotive.

On the other hand, inmost ofthemodern realistic”novels,written

chiefly by the“newwoman, this longing formaternity is only used as

a thin veil to disguise the sexual desire ; and howevermenmay declaim

H . Ellis , loc. cit.,m, 160.

As a proofthatwoman is not infrequently the temptress in suchmatters , it is tecorded ofAntonius Caracalla that, seeing hismother- in- law, a handsomewoman ,withher breasts exposed, he exclaimed: Ah,m“ liceret— “

oh that Imight!” Towhich she

amorously replied— Quicquid libel lied— “thou mayest if thou wilt! and Isaiah’s

picture ofthewhore ,with her “bracelets and sweet-balls , and ear- rings , andwimples ,and veils , and crisping- pins ,” was surely not founded on a conception of the sex

’s

coldness .

“When she goes along,”remarks another ofthese old cynics ,

“she ruffles

her clothes tomakemen look at her ; her shoes creak ; her breasts are tied up ; her

waist is pulled in, tomake it look small; she shows her stocking , or her leg , pulling up

her petticoat, and fires men’s passionwith the languorous glamour ofher lascivious

eyes. Springes to catchwoodcocks ,” as the saintly Chrysostomwarningly remarks.

1 96 Human SexualityCampbell’s results, along similar lines, by the difierences ofvocation and

social position of the various classes among which they worked. He

remarks : While the conditions ofupper- class life are, probably , peculiarly favorable to development ofthe sexualemotions , among theworkingclasses in London,where the stress ofthe struggle for existence, under badhygienic conditions , is so severe, they are likely to be peculiarly unfavorable.

It is thus powible that there is really a smaller number ofwomen experiencing sexual emotion among the class dealtwith by Campbell than amongthe class towhichmy series belongs.

”

Iflove is ofman’s life a thing apart, andwoman’sEarlyMan ifesta whole existence, it seems impossible to believe thattions ofSexuality sexual anes thesia in the latter is so common aswriters

have paintedit; or that the sexual act, the supremesymboloflove, andthat inwhich the propagative purposefinds its ultimateexpression, should be indifferently regarded by herwhomitmost closelyconcerns . Indeed, not to speak ofthe host ofrecorded cases inwhich thereverse has been proven, every man’s early experiencewith the sexwill,I think , amply refute such a dogma. Outside the verywell authenticatedfact that nurse-girls habitually soothe the excitement ofchildren by rubbingtheir penises , it is well known that almost everyman receives his first

initiation into the sexual mystery at the hands, either of a youthful

girl playmate, a nurse, or a designing older woman ; and that, as Ellis

truthfully observes , ifman seduces thewoman, he is usually first seduced

by awoman.

’

There are fewnurse-girlswho do not delight to induct the boy committed to their care into sexualmatters. I select a

Sexual Curiosity fewout of the v ast number of cases before me.

ofGirls“The girl,

” proceeds the author quoted, “got into

bedwith the boy— ten years old— tickled his penisuntil it became erect, showed himhowto insert it, guiding it herselfandinstructing himinmaking the propermovements .

’ All nurse- girls,withevenmore than the natural curiosity oftheir sex , are particularly interestedin examining themale sexual organs , even inminiature, andwill handlea boy

’s penis with the liveliest curiosity , squeezing and rubbing it to

see howitworks,” and amusing themselveswith these—to them— harmless coitions , where fear ofpregnancy would deter themfromthe real

thing .

”

V id. H . Ellis, loc. cit. ,m, 171 .

H. Ellis records 25 cases ofmiddle- classmarried men, compiled by a Chicago!

physician, inwhich sixteen hadbeen firstwducedbywomen. Lac. cit. ,m. 174.

Ibid.

The LawofSexual Desire

Lawson Tait says that children ought never to be allowed, under anycircumstances , to sleep with servants. In every instance where I havefound a number ofchildren affected by masturbation, the contagion has

been traced to a servant 1andFreudfound that, in cases ofsevere youth

ful hysteria, the starting- pointmay frequently be found in such sexual

manipulations by servants, nurse-girls and govemesses.

”

When Iwas about eight or nine ,”writes another, a servant-maidof

ourfamily ,whousedto carry the candle outofmy bedroom, oftendrewdownthe bedclothes and inspectedmy organs . One night she put my penisinto hermouth. When I mked herwhy she did it, she answered that‘sucking a boy

’s little dangle

’cured her ofpains in her stomach. She

saidshe had oftendone it to other little boys, and likeddoing it.’This girlwas about sixteen, andhad lately been ‘

converted.

’

Anothermaid in our family used to kissmewarmly upon the nakedabdomen,when Iwas a small boy, but nev er didmore than that. I have

heard ofv arious instances ofservant- girls tampering with boys, excitingthe penis to premature erection by manipulation, suction, and contact

with their own parts ; and Hutchinson describes a case ofamblyopiain a boy , developing after he had been placed to sleep in a servant- girl

’s

room.

”

The apparentwillingnesswithwhich young girls assent to undue libertieswith their persons proves, adequately , a prev ious familiarity with the

sexual subject, at least in thought. A youngman tellsme that once, lyingupon the grass at duskwith some other young people ofboth sexes, and

more than average respectability ,while a young ladywas relating a story,

he passed his hand, miseen by the rest, under her dress and began to

feel her legs.

” Although betraying considerable excitement, manifested chiefly by the deep flushing of her face and rapid respiration, she

never once interrupted the recital ofher narrative until its conclusion,

when, instead ofresenting the act, she deliberately sat upon his hand,pinning it in contactwith her own privates . He says that soon after theyboth retired to a lonelier portion ofthe garden, where, although the denouement is not given by himself, it requires no very vivid imagination toconceivewhat followed.

Ellis records a case ofa boy oftenwho, being askedby a girl ofsixteento lace up her boot,while kneeling before her, quite accidentally put his

handupon her ankle. She trembleda little, andaskedhimto put it higher,repeating, higher,

” higher,”until he finally reached her priv ates ,when

she asked himto insert his finger. The girlwas handsome, amiable, ofLoc. ci t. , p. 62. Quotedby H. Ellis. loc. cit. ,m, 174, 175.

Ibid. , p. 175. Archives ofSurgery, xv , 200.

98 Human Sexuatgood family and a favorite ofthe boy’s mother. No one suspected hersexual propensity .

‘

Wolbarst recites the case ofa boy offouryearswho came tohimsufleringwith clap,” andwho saidhe had been forced to the act by a girloftwelve,whothreatenedhimwith physical injury ifhe refused to performhis part ;’and Gibb states , in reference to assaults upon children by women and

grown girls , that “ it is undeniably true that they occurmuchmore frequently than is generally supposed; although fewofthe cases are brought

to public notice fromthedifficulty ofprov ing the charge.

”

The curiosity ofboth boys and girls concerning

Sexual Knowledge each other’s sexual apparatus is quite normal and

ofStreet Girls Physiological; butwhen grownmen develop a passionfor playing with little girls , or grown women with

boys , the symptomis undoubtedly one ofpsychological perversion. Sexual

attempts ofgrown girls , orwomen, upon boys sometimes become ofmedicolegal interest ; although the tendency ofpopular judgment is to reverse

the question ofcriminality , and the laws ofalmost all civ ilized countries

are so framedas to protect the former rather than the latter. In England,

ifthe girl be under sixteen, she is shielded by the Criminal AmendmentAct; by a similar statute here ; and in every country she easily enlists

sympathy by alleging that she is the victiminsteadofthe aggressor.

‘

By arrangementwith the authorities , Lawson Tait had the priv ilegeofexamining 70 ofsuch cases , at Birmingham; and in only 6 could he

conscientiously advise prosecution. In 26 ofthe cases the charges wereobviously trumped up ; and although the average age of the girls wasonly twelve, he remarks that there is not a piece ofsexual argot that hadever before reachedmy ears butwas usedby these children in the descriptions given ofwhat had been done to them. They even introduced a

hitherto unknown vocabulary , and the minute and detailed descriptionofthe sexual act, given by chits often and twelve, “would do credit to

the pages ofMirabeau .

”

I havemyselfheard the act alluded to by incorrigible girls ofthis classas punching ,” “

cramming ,” “diddling ,

”and a host of similar terms ;

while the names applied to the generative organs ofboth sexes peter,”“yardstick ,

” “banana ,” “monkey ,

” “twot,” “

quifl,

”etc. ,wouldfilla book .

Itwould seemfarmore puzzling to comprehend howthese young children acquire such extensive information , and so complete a sexualvocabulary ,were we not compelled to consider that in the first place precocious

Loc. cit. ,m, 176 . JournalAm.Med. Asso. , Sept. 28, 1901 .

“Indecent Assaults upon Children ,

”Hamilton’s SystemofLegalModicine. r, 651.

V id. H. Ellis, loc. cit. ,m, 177.

zoo Human Sexualitywhen, andwhere , such increased desire exists ; in otherwords , to drawa

'

definitive line between the normal and abnormal; between the phenomenaofphysiological development, and those ofpathologicaldeterioration}As a broad rule, the statement ofEmminghaus , that an immediate

re- awakening of sexual desire after coitus ,’ its entire occupation of the

mind, and its strong excitation by persons, things and objects,which inthemselves are scarcely sexually suggestive,may be accepted as indicating

hyperesthesia in some one ofits degrees. The normal appetite is governedby health, v igor, age ; is strongest fromthe twentieth to the thirty- fifth

year;' is preserved by marriage, exhausted prematurely by libertinism,

and stimulated but not strengthened by psycho-sexual thoughts and asso

elations . As, notwithstanding the exceptional cases I have recorded, it

is pretty generally agreed thatwoman’s sexual need is weaker than thatofman, anymanifestation ofa predominating sexual appetite in hermaybe accepted as pathologically significant.

The sexual desire in both men and women is

Inconstancy of the necessarily a very inconstant and v ariable quantity;SexualAppetite depending , as I have stated, on health, habits of

mind, and various other causes. Thosewho live incities , surroundedby sights, scenes and associations ,which tend constantlyto sexual excitement, and suggestion, are necessarily more sexually dis

posed than are thosewho live in the country ; although the secret v ices,

masturbation, bestiality , etc. , are as a rule far commoner among the latterthan the former.

The great lust ofconsumptives has been the subject ofremark bymanywriters. Hofmann tells ofa patient, sufieringwith this disease,who satisfiedhis wife sexually the evening before he died; and the prevention of

these unfortunates, on prophylactic grounds, fromsleepingwith, and sexually exhausting both themselves andtheirwives , has been one ofmy gravestdifliculties inmedical practice.

‘

1Themost concise, clear, and scientifically accurate classification of sexual phe

nomena I have thus far seen , andwhich I endeavor to followin some respects in thistreatise, is that laid down by Kraflt-Ebing in his “Text- Book ofInsanity ,

”Philadel

phia, 1904, and in the “Psychopathia Sexualis ,”to both ofwhichworks the reader

’s

attention is cordially inv ited in studying the psychical aspects ofthis subject.Psychopathologie,” p. 225. Krafl

'

t- Ebingmakes it the fortieth.

Itwill be observed that all through thiswork I note , for themost part, clinicalfacts ,withoutmaking any attempt at scientific analysis or lengthy treatment, the vastnemofthe sex-subject, and the illimitable opportunity for inductive reasoningwhichit ofiers, rendering my seeming brev ity sufficiently obvious . A fair- sized volumemightbewritten on the lustofconsummives alone, touching its psychology andprobwlecausation.

The Lawof Sexual Des ire 201

Sexual hyperesthesiamay be either peripheral or centralmorigin, but

ismost frequently the latter. Cantharides , and other so- called aphrodisiacdrugs, sometimes induce the venereal excitement , but only through in

creasedturgescence ofthe sexual organs ; and, given in suflicient quantities ,they are very apt to profoundly aflect the vascular system. Anal pruritis,and eczema ofthe genitals ,may also cause it ; particularly inwomen at, or

near, the climacteric. Magnan reports the case of a lady who snflered

intolerable sexual erethismfromneuropathic taint; and ofaman offifty

fivewho experienced themost constant and severe priapismfromthe samecause.

The true psychical basis , however, ofhyperesthesia sexualis is central

in character; not only visual and tactile, but sometimes even auditoryand olfactory impressions, being expanded in the psychosexual sphere

into themost lasciv ious concepts and desires. Indeed it is quite pomible,and has been so recorded} that even the sight ofa pretty female figure,or ankle, or breast, or any other objectwhichmay awaken the sexual idea,without the slightest irritation ofthe genitals ,may produce not only v iolenterection but ejaculation, with all the accompanying pleasure ofwhat onewriter calls the “ idealcoitus .

All that is necessary in such cases, if the reader will pardon a little

jocosity , to insure the most voluptuous sort of existence, seems to bea rainy-day in the street, a

“ leg show,” or awalk on the seashore ; but

mostmen, being old- fashioned, prefer closer quarters, and a less ideal”

condition ofthings. Whatwas good enough for their fathers, they think ,is goodenough for them.

Awriter reports the case ofa young lady who sufiered fromsexual

hyperesthesia fromchildhood, satisfying it partially, but never wholly,bymasturbation ; andwho became so excited, on seeing aman whowaspleasing to her, that she had to run away , and lock herselfup in her roomuntil the stormhad passed. It is wonderfulwhat dangers men almosttouch in lifewithout knowing it.Another relates the experience of a man who, on being arrested for

attemptedrape upon an oldwoman ofseventy , excusedhimselfon the groundthat he could not help it; that he had sufl

'

ered fromintolerable lust sincechildhood; and that in order to escape the greater crime hewas on his

way to the dog-

pound, to satisfy himselfwith a bitch,when thewomanunfortunately came in hisway.

‘

Two other cases are recorded in the same publication, one that ofaman offorty

-five,who had begun tomasturbate at fourteen, andwhowas1 W. A. Hammond, “Treatise on Insanity ,

”1871.Magnan , AnnaleeMedico-

psychol., 1885. Archie far Psychiatri c, vn , 2.

Human Sexualityin a constant state ofsexual excitement, which he had vainly attemptedto satisfy both by natural coitus and onanism, and inwhomeverywomanhemet, even though a re lative, aroused such a violence ofpassion that hewas compelled to make indecent proposals to her. He seemed sexually

satisfied aftermarriage, butwas v iolently sensual; andwas finally confinedin an asylumfor the insane.

The secondcase is that ofa ladywith a history ofinsanity on herfather’sside,who fromchildhood had been greatly given to venery . Shemarried,but her husband being normal, failed to satisfy her, and she sought other

friends. She felt keenly her immorality of life, and the fearful wrongdone to her husband; butwas powerless againstwhat she calledher maniafor men .

” Later in life the sexual impulse declined, and she reverted

to a normallife andbehavior.

A remarkable case of intermittent satyriasis is

that ofa farmerwho for three years, althoughmarried, sufieredfromsuch severe sexual excitement thathewas at times compelled to performthe sexual act

fromten to fifteen times in twenty- four hours , and thatwithout deriv ingtherefromany adequate sense of satisfaction. His attacks of satyriasis

became finally so v iolent that be lowconsciousness , and raged about thehouse in a blind sexual paroxysm, demanding that hiswife submit to othermen in his presence, give herselfto animals , and performthe eat beforeothers, with the idea ofheightening his own enjoyment. She was compelled to remain constantly with himduring these attacks , which weregreatly accentuatedby the use ofalcohol, to prevent his seizing upon someother female.Medical literature is full of instances ofhyperesthesia sexualis,manyofwhich furnish valuable data for the explanation of those remarkablefemale characters—Messalina , Cleopatras andMontespans—which havefigured so largely in theworld’s history , and are far too numerous to even

mention in awork ofthis character.

We are often startled, and shocked, by reading in the papers thatMissorMrs. So- andso has committed some gross conventional indiscretion ; or

that some demureminister ofthe gospel has kicked over thematrimonialtraces ; when a little better understanding ofthe neuropathic conditions

which govern modern society would not only explain it all, but suggest

to our lawmakers and jurists the expediency ofenlistingmedical knowledge,to a far greater extent than at present, in the treatment and diagnosis ofsuch anomalies .

With the following classical instance ofhyperesthesia sexualis I shall

Lents , Bull. de la Soc. dcMed. Legals dc Belgique, p. 21.

204 Human Sexuatthat propagation is conditioned in inanimate nature, exactly as in animals ,by love, desire and sexual affinity . The flower is the tout ensemble ofthe

organs of generation, the stamen (andmcium) representing that of the

male, and the pistil (gynwcium) that ofthe female; and itwould be interesting , hadwe space and opportunity , to trace in these not only the samesexual diseases andmanifestations found in the animalworld— barrennes s,fecundity , hermaphroditism, etc.

— but analogous laws, and the same underlying instinct ofpropagation. But the subject is too vast for even casual

mention, and thosewhodesire to study itmay do so in the various treatiseson botany .

As to the pages immediately following , in which various sexual phe

nomena in birds , animals and savages , are noted,while theymight veryproperly have been included under the head of sexual selection,

it willbe seen, I think , that they present certain phaswofsexualitywhich argueinfavor ofthe classification here adopted.

In the songs , struttings and love antics ofbirds,

In Birds and those periodicalfits ofgladness,” as a certain natur

Quadrupeds alist delightfully calls them,

‘ it is not hard to recog

nize the outcropping of sexual desire ; and whilethere can be , ofcourse, no positive assumption ofconscious sexual design

in suchmanifestations , they being duemore likely to a natural periodicityof irritation in the genitals , producing tumescence in the parts just as

erection is produced inmale animals , it is still undeniable that sexualityunderlies them; and Hudson’s argument that such acts cannot be sexual

because they occur in the absence ofthe female,” is equivalent to saying

that aman cannot have an erection unless in the presence ofawoman.

Darwin , a much closer reasoner and observer, indeed, states exactly

the reverse ; contending that animals find pleasure in following the instinctwhich they practised at one time for a real good; andMr. Ellismakesthe stillmore positive statement that such “manifestations are primarilyfor the sake ofproducing sexual tumescence, and could not have been developed to the height they have reached unless theywere closely connected

with propagation.

”

The turkey—cock, or rooster,with his peculiar circular love-dance, one

calculatedto produce the very highest intensity ofsexual pleasure. Withmost animalsthe act takes place back to belly , themale riding the female ; butwithman , inwhomthe psychic element plays so large a part, a part totally absent in the animal, the truelove- embrace, face to face,mouth tomouth, and sexual organ to sexual organ,maybe lookedupon as the very highest type ofthe sexual congress.

W. W. Hudson,

“The Naturalist in La Plata,”1892. In further refutation of

Hudson’s argument, see H. Ellis , loc. cit., 111 , 24.

The Lawof Sexual Des ire 5

wing scraping the ground and all his feathers ramed, is the analogue of

the young dandy showing offbefore his sweetheart; and although it has

been discovered by a careful observer 1 that a fewbirds , such as the stonecurlew, have danceswhich are not distinctly nuptial, even in these,whenparticipated in by both of a pair, the dance is immediately followed by

When twomale birds fight, which they frequently do, for one female,with v iolent passion on one side, andwilling preference for the stronger

on the other, the only way to account rationally for somuch swelling,crowing and strutting, is by comparing it all to the essentially humanmalevanitywhich delights in parading its prowess before the eyes ofthe female;and it is interesting to note howalmost rational is the instinct ofthemaleto utilize those points ofphysical perfection in which he most excels incourting the favor ofhis feathered lady- love. Thosewhich, like the eagleand turkey , are strong and vigorous , display only their strength; those of

gaudy plumage, their beauty ; while those possessing little ofeither, but

giftedwith the power ofsong , relywholly upon sweetness ofsound.

The love-making of birds is very interesting,

TheWaltz and has been closely observed by Forbes , Hudson,Schreiner and other naturalists ; but is too extended

a subject to enter on here. Itmay be remarked, however, thatmany of

them,particularly the ostrich, have a strange habit ofcourtship known

aswaltzing . After running some distance,with extendedwings, theywillsuddenly stop and begin to spin rapidly , until they become so giddy that

they fall to the ground. Frequently very v icious cocks will roll whenchallenging to combat, orwhenwooing the hen, inflating the neck, droopingthe tail, erecting the plume and expanding thewings in such away as to

display to the very best advantage whatever ofbeauty ofplumage theymay possess .Many facts ofgreat psychological significance have been deduced from

these and similar observations of birds and quadForce the rupeds in the rutting and pairing seasons . As Groos

Strongest Factor in very pointedly remarks , in his work on the playSexual Selection instinct ofmen and animals , if conscious selection

may be disputed in these amorous displays, anconscious selection, to the extent at least that the female ismost easilywonby the male whomost strongly excites her sexual instinct,

”is scarcely

open to doubt.

Whether it be themidnight song ofthemusical tomcat or the canso

ofthe troubadour; the growl ofa jealous dog or themighty deeds ofthel E . Selous ,

“BirdWatching,” p. 15, cl seq.

206 Human SexualityHomeric heroes ; all have a love- origin , a sexual fountain- head, and are

butmeans in the vastworkshop ofnature for the evolution ofthat great

lawofnatural selectionwhichDarwin so ably defined.

‘

Mutually desirable sexual conjunction has always been, both in menand animals , an end involv ing considerable difficulty and struggle. The

doewill race formiles to escape froman undesirable buck, and birdswinthe favor oftheir lady

- loves by a long stage ofthemost assiduous court

ship. We ourselvesmay obtain otherwomen ; indeed, by some tantalizingdiabolismoffate , themore keenly we pursue the only one, themore persistently do the others fling themselves at us ; but the perfect union, thatwhich satisfies everywant and longing ofour nature,which conformsmorenearly to every requirement ofthe selective law, is a matter sometimesinvolv ing years ofour best physical or intellectual effort. And this is a

wise ordination, spurring bothmen andwomen to the very highes t exerciseoftheirmental and physical powers ; and that at a period oflife whenboth are in their prime ; thus accomplishing , as I have prev iously pointedout, purposes for the betterment ofmankindwhichmight otherwise haveremainedunfulfilled.

Among savages , and indeed largely in civ ilization, as we have seen,

force is the symbol of v irility , as courage is its psychic manifestation .

Violence is a qualification ofthe first order in the prosecution ofa love

suit. And this is only natural. Men are v iolent, pugnacious , lav ish of

their physical andmental energies , only when they are deeply in earnest;

when they properly appreciate the prize forwhich they struggle ; and the

object ofsuch a passion has nomeans ofgauging its earnestness save by

the energies called into play in the effort to gratify it. The instinct of

modesty ,which, in its primordial form,manifests itselfin resistance, active

or passive, is allwoman has to oppose this passion; and it needs nowordsto showthatmodesty yields , as does everything else, easier to force thanto feebleness , so that thewoman v iolates no lawofnature in yielding to

themost v igorous ofherwooers.

’

Among the I/imacidce the process of love-makingSexualManifesta is slow, elaborate and exceedingly interesting . In

tions inMolluscs the common garden slug it begins about midnight,ofa sultry spring night. Themale follows the female

in a circle, res ting hismouth on whatmay be considered the tail ofthe

Itmay be remarked here that sexual selection as a lawwas taken up by Groosat about the pointwhere “The Descent ofMan ” left it, considerably enriched by that

magnificent reasoner, and carried forward by more recentwriters to the logical conelusion , first hinted at by Haeckel, that sexual selection is a part, and not a small one,ofnatural selection .

In confirmation ofthis statement seeMarro, La Puberté, p. 464.

208 Human Sexualityinches fromher he stopped, and then began themost remarkable performance that an amorousmale could ofier to an admiring female. She eyed

himeagerly , changing her position fromtime to time, so that hemightbe always in v iew. Hemoved in a semicircle for about two inches , andthen, instaritly reversing the position ofhis legs, circled in the oppositedirection, gradually approaching nearer and nearer to the female. Nowshe dashes towardhim; while he, raising his first pair oflegs , extends themup, and forward, as ifto hold her off, at the same time slowly retreating.

Again and again he circles fromside to side, she gazing at himin a softer

mood, and evidently admiring the grace ofhis antics. Thiswas repeateduntilwe had counted one hundred and eleven circles made by the ardent

little wooer. Nowhe approaches nearer, and nearer, and, when almostwithin reach,whirlsmadly round and round her, she joining andwhirlingwith himin the giddymaze . Again he falls back, and resumes his semicircularmotions , with his body tilted over. She, all excitement, lowersher head and raises her body so that it almost stands upright. Both drawnearer, shemoves slowly under him, andlo, the great, eternal,mysterious,polymorphous act is accomplished.

‘

Aldrich andTurley describe a certain insectwhichThe Balloon Fly excites the sexual feeling ofthe female bymanipulat

ing a sort of bubble, or air- balloon, the glistening

white appearance ofwhich attracts the female, and which is probablyproduced by somemodification ofthe anal organs. Giv ing an account of

the sexual act, they say that, froma number ofmales gathered about her,

the female, without hesitation, selected for hermate the . one with thelargest balloon, reversing the usual position by mounting upon his back.

After the copulation had begun, the pairwould settle down towards theground, select a retired spot, and the femalewould alight by placing herfront legs across a horizontal blade ofgrass , her head resting against it in

such away as to brace the body for the act. Here shewould hold themale beneath her until itwas completed; hemeanwhile rolling the balloonabout in a variety ofpositions

— juggling with it, so to speak . After the

male and female parted the balloon was always dropped by the former

andgreedily seizedupon by ants.

’

In the love-making ofanimals the male plays themost active part,fighting for the female and surrendering her onlywhen confrontedby a

ject to the larger treatises ofLinmeus , Lister, Haeckel, and especially the “Liebe und

Liebes-Leben in der Thierwelt,” of Birchner ; Pluck’s“Primitive Love and Love

Stories ,”andHacker

’s“Gesang der V ogel,” Chap. lv .

V id. G . W. Peckham, loo. cit.“ABalloonMaking Fly ,”AmericanNaturalist, Oct. , 1899 .


stronger antagonist. Colors, odors and sounds , as do the colors andodors

of plants , bear in some way a close connection with the reproductivefunction ofmost animals . Thus, frogs andtoads have a sexual character

in themusical notes ofthemalewhich is exceedingly interesting ; and the

musky odor emittedfromthe submaxillary glands ofthe crocodile, duringthe mating season, has been generally commented on by naturalists.

‘ At

the same season the anal scent- glands ofsnakes are in full function, as are

also the corresponding glands ofthe lizard. Many ofthe largermammalsare odoriferous during the rutting season , the female thus attracting the

male, and the female genitalia ofall animals have an odor both character

istic and, generally , disagreeable toman .

The musk-duck during pairing season emits a strong musky smell,although deficient in beauty ofplumage, the female attracting themale,by the odor alone, fromquite considerable distances ; and sexual colors,

and the power ofsong , as has been remarked byMr. Wood, are, as a rule,

complementary to each other among birds.

‘ Thus , amongmost birds , thebest songsters are plain colored; while the brilliantly tinted birds of the

tropics are, as a rule, destitute of the power of song. The musk-deer,

also,which iswell known for its almost intolerable perfume, is an entirely

silent animal;' and thewild camel ofthe Kum- tagh desert,“uttering no

soundeven in the rutting season, finds his consort by scent alone.

”Nor

must this fact be accepted as a refutation ofmy former statement as tothe small part smell plays in the sexual processes. The dog

’s scent is not

sexual, yet it guides himto his prey equally unerringly .

In his admirable work on“Darwinism”

(p. Mr. Wallace givesit as his opinion that the various sounds and odors ofanimals ,which are

peculiar to themale, serve either to indicate his presence or as a sexual

call to the female, and that the production, intensification, and differentiation ofthese sounds, andodors, are clearlywithin the prov ince ofnaturalselection.

For further information on this remarkably interesting subject, thereader is referred to Darwin’s “Animals and Plants under Domestication,

”

n , 102, et seq. Tillier,“L’Instinct Sexuel;

”the two remarkably complete

volumes by Groos, andProfessor LloydMorgan’s “AnimalBehav ior.

”

For the fuller treatment ofthese interesting subjects , seeWallace’s “TropicalNature"

’ Darwin’s Descent ofMan “Contributions to the Theory ofNatural Selec

tion,Wallace; and Groos, “Die SpielederMenschen” and“DieSpielederThiere.

”

“IllustratedNat. Hist loc. cit. , 11, 257.

Brehm,

“Thierleben,

”m, 94.

Prejevalsky ,

“FromKulja toLob-nor, p. 92.

Thematter h stillfurtherdiscussedhere in the chapter on Sexual Selection.

I4

2 10 Human SexualityIn all ages , and among all races, dancing has been,

Dancing as a and is, intimately related to the sexual life ; and in

Sexu al Stimulant almost all theworks ofthosewho havewritten on the

latter theme it is first noticed.

‘ In many savage

countries, as I' have heretofore remarked, notably Australia and South

Africa, the rhythmic movement, unlike smell, is not only a pronouncedstimulant to tumescence, in both sexes , but, as a simple spectacle to thosenot engaged in it, is capable ofproducing the same result. Primitive dancing differedwidely fromthat nowin vogue. In the ballet,whichmay betaken as the type ofthe latter, the chiefenergy appears to bemanifestedin themuscles ofthe lower limbs, and is neither so v igorous nor so sexually

exciting as the samemovement among savages.

TheMarquesan girls, as HermanMelv ille remarks, dance all over;

their feet, arms, hands, fingers, even their very eyes seeming to partakein themovement; the kinesthetic forces being so exercised as to readily

account for the impulse ofsexu ality which is well known to followthe

dance among all savage, aswell as civ ilized, peoples .

Holden remarks ofthe Kaflirdance that the perfection of the art seemsto consist in their being able to put every part ofthe body intomotionat the same time; and as they are naked, the bystander has a good oppor

tunity ofobserving the whole process , which presents a remarkably odd

and grotesque appearance ; the head, trunk , arms , legs, hands , feet, bones,muscles , skin, scalp andhair, all inmotion at the same time; with featherswav ing , tails ofmonkeys andwild beasts dangling , shields beating , andaccompanied by whistling , shouting and leaping . There is perhaps no

exercise in greater accordwith the sentiments and feelings ofa barbarouspeople, or more fully calculated to gratify their wild and ungovemedpassions .

”

Such a dance, as Sergi truthfully remarks ,‘ is a powerful agent on theorganism, because its excitation is general, because it touches every v ital

organ , the higher centers no longer dominating ,” andwhile deeply affecting

the psychosexual life of a people, may also, as has been intimated by1 “Whosewouldwin awoman , remarks Castillo, must learn to dance. Cupid

himselfis representedas an inveterate dancer; anditwaswhiledancing among the othergods, according to Constantine, that he threwdown the bowl ofnectar which turned,as the fable reads , thewhite rose red. In Lucian

’s description ofJupiter’s rape of

Europa (tom. IV ) , by swimming fromPhoenicia to Crete, the sea is represented calm,

thewinds hushed, Neptune andAmphitrite in their chariots , the tritons dancing , andthe half- naked sea- nymphs andCupid,

himself, keeping time to themusic ofthe Hymeneus on thedolphins’backs . Themost beautiful picture in St.Mark’s, in Rome, represents a lovely nakedwoman, asleep , andtroops ofsatyrs dancing abouther.

Holden,

“TheKafirRace,”1866 , p. 274.

“Les Enotions , p. 288.

2 1 2 Human Sexualityto their ankles tomake a noisewhile dancing . Thewounding ofthe penisin obtaining the blood frequently produces inflammation and hyperemiaofthe organ,with consequent redness anddistention ; which,while addingmaterially to its size, andferocious appearance, in both ofwhich the ownertakes particular delight, at the same time must render exceedingly un

pleasant andpainful the act forwhich the operation is preparative.

In otherwords such penises, it seems tome,would be a good bit like

kings,warts, andmodern health- boards , farmore ornamental than useful

in theworld.

Among certain of the Australian tribes , sexual intercourse, however,is strictly forbidden at their dances ; but, as is suggestively remarked bySmyth, at the corroborees , the ladies light smallfires some two hundredfeetawayfromthe dance, to indicate their locality to their lovers ; and that thelatterwill frequently excuse themselves fromthe dance to slip out and

take a turn with their “best girls ” in the bushes , returning , qu ite inno

cently, tofinish the reelwith their unsuspecting (7) partners.

‘

Thewomen have a dancewhich, as describedby Eyre, consists in joiningthe hands over the head, closing the feet and bringing the knees together.

The leg are then thrown outward at the knee, the hands keeping theiroriginal position, and, being qu ickly brought together again , a sharp soundis produced by the collision. This is practised by the young girls alone,

orwith other girls, for amusement; and is the formofdance resorted to

when a single woman is placed before a rowofmale dancers to excite

their passions .

”

It isworthy ofremark that among civ ilized peoples those danceswhichmost unmistakably suggest the sexual embrace, not

The Sexual Dancewithstanding the denunciations ofthe clergy , alwaysMost Favored take the strongest andmost persistent hold upon thepopular fancy ; while thosewhich owe their pleasur

able feeling to the purely astheticmental emotion ofcadence, and rhythminmuscularmovement, such as the gracefulmenuet de la caeur and others

ofProvencalorigin , are relegated to the background.

11

Among the inhabitants ofTorres Straits ifaman dancedwellhe foundfavorwithwomen. In this country their favor depends not somuch on

hisdancing as his ability to pay the fiddler.

”

Thewomen ofthe NewHebrides dancewithin a circle ofmen, as a sort

ofspectacle for, rather than as partners of, the latter. They leap , twist1 Vid. Brough Smyth, loc. cit. , n, 319 .

1 E . J. Eyre, lac. cit. , rr, 235.Mp. Reed’s “Characteristic National Dances ;" Cahusac,

“La Danae, Ancienne

etmodems,” andfor the laterforms ofthe amusement, Rameau , “LeMaftreaDanser.

”

The LawofSexual Des ire 2 13

their bodies, exhibit their genitals, and imitate themovements ofsexualintercourse in awaywhich excites themen— particularly the younger ones— to the greatest possible sexualfrenzy . The latter unfasten the manou ,

or penis-wrap, fromtheir girdles with one hand,with the other imitatingthe act ofseizing awoman round thewaist, andgo through themovementsofsexual intercourse in the presence ofthe company , sometimes, it is said,actuallymasturbating .

1

Probably as a relic ofthe Lingamdances ofIndia, among theTahitians ,the

“timorodee” is frequently practised as a pre

In Tahiti paratory to sexual intercourse. This dance is per

formedby ten ormore young girls , andis accompaniedby bothwords and actions peculiarlywanton .

’ Indeed it seems strange, inthe face ofcurrent opinion respecting the innate sensuality ofsavages , that

such practices are indulged in to arouse passionswhich, in civ ilized peoples,rarely require stimulation ; and it goes far to prove, what is actually a

fact, as heretofore stated, that, although sexuality is germinal in all races,

it only reaches its climax ofdevelopment in the hot- beds ofciv ilization.

At themarriage ofaMendafianwoman, as a partMendafian of the ceremony , nomatter howhigh in rank , she

Wedding Dance lies in front ofthe bridegroom,with her head on his

lap,while everymalewedding -

guest, fromthe lowestto the highest

— the chiefs coming last— pays tribute to the bride by hav ingsexual connectionwith her. This , although apparently a very delightful

piece ofsocial etiquette for themalemembers ofthe company, must bea trifle hard on the lady ; and, indeed,we are informed thatwhen the company is large the enthusiastic bride is so exhausted after the ceremonythat she has to keep her bed for several days.

‘ The operation is alwayspreceded by singing anddancing on the part ofthemen, and is a remnantofthe ancient jus prim noctis , or lawof the first night,

”which I havealready alluded to under the head ofmarriage. In Russia the droit da

seigneur, or right ofthe lord,

”to have hiswives “broken in” by another

man,was claimed up to themiddle ofthe last century ; indeed is yet ; ‘ andthe Kalmuck priests, who are not allowed tomarry ,may pass the night

with any man’s wife they may fancy , the husband looking upon it as

an act of especial friendship and honor. Also, in Cochin-China,Marco Polo1 “Untrodden Fields ofAnthropology , 1898, n, 341. Quoted by H. Eli

'

s , loo. cit.,

1 Hawkesworth, lac. cit., n, 54.1 Tautain , loc. cit. , p. 642.Kulischer, Ardu

'

v f. Andra , n , 228.

2 14 Human Sexuatinforms us, no woman was allowed tomarry until the king had

“seen

her.” 1.

Among theMinnetarees a night-dance is practisedwhich is unusuallypeculiar. During its performance the lady selects

her favorite— I was about to say , v ictim— as a rule

the strongest and highest kicker ofthe lot, and as

she dances, advances slowly towards the gentlemanby whomshe is captivated. Having reached him, she gives hima light

tap on the shoulder—a veritable love-

pat— and immediately runs out of

the lodge, betaking herselfto the cover ofthe bushes, clmly followed byher fortunate favorite. But, as sometimes happens, should his preferenceextend to some other fair one present, or ifhe already has had an elegant

sufficiency ofthe commodity so delicately offered, he declines politely,by putting his hand in her bosom, signifying “

I would ifI could, but ifIcan

’t howcan I7” And, this being perfectly polite , considerate and satis

factory , both return together to the dance.

The Kafir love dances are usually feats ofmusonlar prowessmuchmore than grace, being kept upuntilmidnight, and consisting in themain ofleaping ,bounding and gesticulations ofa character frequently

to beggar description. These v iolent exercises concluded, each selects a

paramour, and the remainder ofthe night is spent in sexual gratification.

’

The initiation ofboys into the estate ofmanhood is also attendedwithdances ofthemost licentious character. Thewomen act a prominent part,endeavoring by every art ofexposure, and obscene gesticulation, to excite

the passions ofthe young nov ices. As soon as the penises ofthe latter

recover fromthe soreness caused by circumcision—which they religiously

practiseh -these boys are let loose upon society , so to speak , exempted

fromevery restraint ofmoral law, and permitted to rape and force every

unmarriedwoman theymeet.

’

1 Zimmermann , loc. cit. , r, 29 . Some Greekwriters fix the same habit upon theearly Britons ,who are said to have given theirwives to strangers , travellers and sea

faring men , to conv ince the latter that no such passion as jealousy existed amongthem; and Vertumannus relates that the ancient kings ofCalicutwould not touch

theirwives till the Biarmi , or high priests , had first had connection with them, to“sanctify theirwombs .

”Up to the time ofKingMalcolm, in Scotland, no girlwas

permitted tomarry until the king, or lord ofthe town ,

“had hermaidenhead;” and

Jastrowrelates (Religion ofBabylonia) that both Egyptians andBabylonians practisedthe same formofprostitution.

SeeHolden , lac. cit. , p. 192.

Ibid. , p. 185.

2 16 Human Sexuatward and backwardmovement ofher body, to all intents and purposessimulating the actualmovements ofawoman’s hips in sexual intercourse.

The Gurus ofthe Ivory Coast do not, as a rule,

formcouples in dancing , but performtheir exceed

ingly lasciv iousmovements vis asis ; andMrs. French

Sheldon,1 describing the marriage dance ofTaveta,

in East Africa, says it is no uncommon thing to see a young man falldown in a sort of apoplectic fit fromthe excitement of this dance, an

event which she delicately and significantly ascribes to a species of

voluptuousness .

”

The lady is farmoremodest in her psychosexual pathology , however,than as awriter of social gossip, ingenuously recording the fact that thebridegroom’

s four groomsmen “enjoy the bride” before she is handed over

to her legitimate spouse .

This jus primes noctis ofthe guests seems , as I have said, to have beena very general customamong savages ; and doubtless grewas much out

of some primitive conception of the sacred character of the sexual act

as frommere hospitality , as arguedbyWestermarck.

’

Herodotus tells us that in Babylon everywomanwas at least once in

her life compelled to give herselfup in the temple ofMylitta to strangers,

as a propitiatory rite to the goddess ; to all the guests , in the Balearic

Islands , according to Diodorus Siculus ; and Langsdorfdescribes a similarpractice as prevailing in Nukahiva.

’

Savage life is notmaterially differentfromciv ilized

Causes Influencing life, in that it is neither a continual sexual debauch,

Savage Sexuality as has been remarked, nor a prolonged idyllofaestheticchastity . It cannot be denied, however, that, not

withstanding the influence which Christianity exerts upon the sexual

function, either in bridling it openly , orfostering its secret v ices , the questionofethics enters more largely into its practices in the savage state than

is generally believed. The nakedness ofthe savage, the grossness ofsomeofhis sexual customs , the total absence ofall social restraint, and themoreintimate association ofthe sexes , doubtless hadmuch to dowith the growthofthe idea, among civ ilized peoples , that savages are sunken in sexual v ice

anddeprav ity .

When awifewas lent to a friend, even where intercourse was foundto be common before marriage, the practices were set down at once to

gross profligacy , without any attempt to ascertain the degree of inter

course they involved, or the tribal or superstitious purpose underlying them.

1 Jour. Anthr. last ,May , 1897 xx , 366, 367.

75.‘ Loc. cit. , r, 153 .

The LawofSexual Desire 2 1 7

Thosewho havemost carefully investigated the subject are not slowinasserting that, in most ofthe cases where sexual immorality is found toprev ailmost largely among savages , it is due to proximity to, and intercourse with, the “whites ; and that legalized prostitution, as found in

European and American civ ilization, is an institution almost unknown to

Having been privileged to travel somewhat extensively in the far East,in China , theMalay Peninsula, Japan and the Philippines , as well as inHawaii, I can addmy testimony to that ofMeyer, andothers, that chastityis held in great honor in all those countries . Even among the Igorrotes,the lowest andmost ferocious ofthe native tribes ofour remote eastern

possessions , the purity ofyoung girls is protected by very strict laws,1and the Aetas , Bagobos,Visayans,Moros andTagals , are equally chaste.

Iwas told in Honolulu that prostitution among the Kanakiswas almostunknown before the advent of the Americans ; and in both China and

Japan, while it is quite common now, in the latter country the principlewhich underlies it is radically difl

'

erent fromthat ofciv ilized prostitution ;and in the former it iswellknown that the token ofv irginity,

”the signum

innocentiaz, had tobefurnishedwith everymaiden at hermarriage.

3

In order to the proper understanding ofthe sexualStatus of habits of a savage people, we must bear in mind,

Savage Sexuality first— their restraints as to religion, time and season ;

and, secondly— the difficulty ofprocuring that sexual

erethismwhichmost savages seemto lack ; which itwas the purpose of

their dances , shows andfestivals to create ; butwhich seems to be an ever

ready and inexhaustible factor inmodern civ ilization. Then, again,whatwe are disposed to regard as purely sexual orgies on the part ofsavagesmay , anddoubtless do, have a ritual rather than a sexual significance ; such

as invoking the favor ofa certain god, appeasingmalign deities, or procuringfruitfulness for theirfields,wives orherds !Robertson Smith, in his “Religion of the Semites,” 1 points out the

frequency with which the religious taboo restrains the sexual impulseamong savages ; andFraser has further enlightened us as to the conceptionentertained by themof sexual intercourse, and the relation it holds to

1Meyer, “Die Igorrotes von Luzon ,Blumentritt, Versuch einer Ethn. der Phil

ippinen ; Petermann’s “Mittheilungen, Erganzungsheft, 67, Gotha , 1882.

1 V id. Gray, loc. cit. , r, 209 .

“Thus Skeat, in his‘MalayMagic,’ shows that the bride and groomare definitely

recognizedas sacred, in the same sense that the king is ; and inMalay States the king isa very sacredperson.

”Ellis , loc. cit. ,m, 209 .

“Taboo on the Intercourse ofthe Sexes ,”loc. cit. , p. 454, cl seq.

2 18 Human Sexualitysociety and themoral sense.

1 Ellis argues, very forcefully , that thefacilitywith which savages impose such restrictions upon themselves speaks forthe innate weakness of their sexual impulses ; and that the data whichhave been accumulated by Ploss and Bartels point very distinctly in thesame direction.

1

There is another factor, however, in the physiological repulsiveness of

the female genitals themselves ,which probably sfiectsRepulsiveness of the savage quite as strongly as it does ourselves ;

the Female andwhich in both cases requires sometimes all the

Genitalia force ofsexual passion to overcome. I can, indeed,

readily conceive cases inwhich the impulse is so con

genitally or pathologically weak as to occasion complete inhibition of

desire in the presence ofsuch obstacles .

That this horror feminwis not restricted to the refined and cultured,is shown by the statement ofawriter that his gondolier, a Venetian, stopping one day before the Night andDawn ofS. Lorenzo— sprawling naked

women— exclaimed: Howhideous they are I pressed himto explainhimself, and hewent on: ‘

the ugliestman naked is handsomer than thefinestwoman naked. Women have crooked legs, and their sexual organs

stink . I only once sawa nakedwoman. It was in a brothel, when Iwas eighteen. The sight ofher naturamademe go out and vomit in thecanal. Ofvery rank cheese he said oneday

— ‘puzza come la natura d’unadonna.

’ Theman was entirely normal and robust, but seemed to regard

sexual congress as amere evacuation, the sexual instinct apparently not

being strong .

” 1 I havemyselfonmore than one occasion heard similardisparaging remarks concerningwomen frommenwho, not being professedmisogynists,must havemade thementirely on aesthetic grounds.

Portman,who knows the Andamanese well, saysSexuality ofthe that their sexual desire is small, their love of sport

Andamanese being far greater than theirpassion ; 1 and although

and Fuegians chastity is not particularly regardedby the Fuegians,and v irginity is lost at a very early age, yet both

men andwomen are extremelymoderate in sexual indulgence.Menstruation among women, and the sexual passion among men, aresuppressedduring the longwinteroftheEskimos , children being born almostexclusively nine months after the first appearance of the sun andwithmany ofour Indian tribes it is a customto refrain fromsexual intercourse

1 “Golden Bough,

”1901 , p. 29 .

1 “Das Weib, 1901 , pp. 212, etseq.

1 Quotedby H . Ellis , loc. cit. ,m, 211 , 212.

Jour.Anthr. Inst. ,May , 1896 , p. 369 .

1 F. Cook, NewYork Jour. Gyn. andObstetrics 1894.

2 20 Human Sexualitya stone, shows the lips of her vulva suspiciously open, she is accused of

having had illicit intercourse, and subjected at once to the pepper- cure;”a formofpunishment, by theway , whichmight take its place, not unworthily ,with themuch exploited water-cure, as practisedby our oflicersin the Philippines . Were it employed generally in this country I amcon

v inced there would be an immediate and sharp advance in the price of

capsicum.

On thewhole, as far as my reading has enabledme to judge, I thinkI amsafe in saying that the sexual passion has in

Sexuality and creased rather than diminishedwith the growth of

Civ ilization civ ilization. Itwas during the very acme ofGrecian,

Roman and Babylonian intellectual enlightenmentthat sexual profligacy reached its greatest development; and in any comparative ethnological rev iewofthe human race itwill be found that thev ices ofsavages,much less than the luxuries ofcivilization, tend to impairanddiminish the national life. This fact did not escape the keen observation ofLucretius ,

1aswell as that ofmore recentwriters ; 1 andMary Wol

lenstonecraft remarks that people ofsense and reflection aremost apt tohave violent andconstant passions , andto be preyedupon by them.

” 1

Heape, in his study ofthe SexualSeason,

”regards it as highly probable

that the reproductive power ofman has increasedwith civilization, pre

cisely as itmay be increased in the lower animals by domestication ; a factwhich suggests the far greater importance ofthe sexual function amongcivilizedthan savage communities , in its relation to both society andmorals.

Aweak instinct involves laxity ofthemarriage tie, as a strong instinct tendsto its v igor and continuance, as well as that constant idealizing of sex

which, itwould not be diflicult to show, is the strongest factor not only

in promotingmarriage but in begetting fidelity in love ; so that the abusesand national ruinwe have seen to followsexual development in the oldercivilizations ,must be based onmoral, rather than social grounds .

Beaunis, by a somewhat far- fetched systemof reasoning , classes the

sexual impulse with the“needs of activity,

” 1co

Psychology ofthe ordinatingwith it the need ofurination. That both

Sexual Function these functions are mere nervous explosions, as

partially argued by Ellis,1and that there exists an

intimate connection between the explosion ofsexual detumescence and

1 Vid.

“DeRerumNatura, v , 1016 .

1 Comp. Lubbock ,“Origin ofCivilization ; Westermarck ,

“Hist. ofHrnnanMarriege ;

” “Das Weib ,

” Floss- Bartels ; andLecky s “Hist. ofEurop.Morals .

1 “Thoughts on the Education ofDaughters,” Boston , 1892.

“Les Sensations Internes ,”1889 .

1 Loc. cit. , rrr, 50.

The LawofSexual Desire car

the explosive energy ofthe bladder, each reinforcing and acting vicari

ously upon the other, is doubtless true to the extent that irritation ofone

of these organs is naturally reflected to the other; but that both havea common sexual origin, is open to very serious doubt. There is a partialerection, commonly referred to as piss—proud,” which disappears onmicturition and a nocturnal enuresis, and ao- called stammering of the

bladder,which are extremely apt tomanifest themselves at puberty ; butthese are by nomeans sufi cient in themselves to establish such an improbable theory as that ofBeaunis , and inferentially ofEllis ; themannerinwhich these undeniable reciprocities ofaction are exerted being readilyexplainable by the influence ofmutual engorgement, and the relatedneurophysiology ofthe parts.

Themanner inwhich neuro-

psychic disturbances act upon the bladderiswellexemplifiedin the coupletofHudibras before

The Bladder as debating on thematter, he stepped aside to drawhisAssociatedwith water;” in the vulgar adage ofa man hav ing “

the

Sexual Feeling piss frightened out ofhim,

”aswell as the tendency

ofgreat griefor othermental perturbation to cause

the flowofurine; and I do not think itwouldbe hard to trace all the phenomenawhich have been so laboriously compiled, in connectionwith thissubject, to a similar cause. Manywomen, as domares , urinate under theinfluence ofstrong sexual excitement, but on the other hand sexual excitement absolutely inhibits the discharge ofurine inmen. It is recorded that

a young girl, seeing at the theatre a particularly fascinatingman,was soovercomewith sexual desire that she had to urinate ; 1 and it iswell knownthat afullbladderfavors sexualemissionsduring sleep ; butboth phenomenaare readily explainable by the assistance which vesical repletion lends tovascular engorgement and resultant sexualtumescence ; so that I amnot in

anymanner conv inced that there exists any specific sexual relation betweenthe parts,more than can be readily accountedfor on a purely physiological

The circumstances recordedby Kubary , that the natives ofthe CarolineIslands tickle the privates oftheirwomenwith the tongue, until the involuntary emission ofurine shows that they are ready for sexual intercourse ,

1

and that spoken ofby Sérieux , inwhich a girl oftwelvewas only enabled

by urinating to overcome her impulse tomasturbate,1 prove nothing butwhatmay be accountedfor bymy last statement, and by the fact that oneprocess distracts attention fromthe other; but that there is a very close

1 Trans . Internat. Ill ed. Cong.,Moscow, IV , 19 . For similar instances see Archie de

Neurol. , 1901.xxl, 36 .

1 H . Ellis , loc. cit.,m, 50, note.1 Loc. cit. , p. 22.

2 22 Human Sexuatconnection between both bladder and sexual apparatus and the brain- cen

ters, is quite susceptible ofdemonstration.

Allmotor influences are communicated to related muscles . On this

ground the convulsion oflaughter, for instance, is in direct relation, quiteoften,with the sexual- center, there being persons in whomloud laughteris the liberation ofan explosive energy which, otherwise,mightmanifestitselfin sexual activity . Frequentlywe hear ofpersons laughing till theywet themselves ,” and the distribution ofnervous discharges is explainedby the connection between themotor- centers ; the sexualmotor explosionbeing themost powerful ofour nature fromthe fact that it is the resultantofnearly all our physiologicaland psychic forces combined.

The ancient Greeks regarded the sexual orgasmas

Ancient V iews as a species ofepilepsy , aswe are informedby Clement,to Sexuality ofAlexandria ;

1and even l ius Aurelianus , one of

themost noted physicians ofantiqu ity , taught thatthe nerve shock experienced in sexual intercourse is a briefepilepsy .

”

The reliefofthe distended seminal vesicles in the sexual act is not solely

that ofevacuation.

“ It is the discharge,”asMr. Elliswell says, “by the

most powerful apparatus for nervous explosion in the body , ofthe energyaccumulated and stored up in the slowprocess oftumescence ; and that

discharge reverberates through all the nervous centers ofthe organism.

” 1

In point offact, the true epileptic seizure does frequently involve the secual

mechanism, appearing most often at puberty , and manifesting itself

quite commonly in emotion, or satyriasis ; andfollowing , in quite enough instances tomake it observable, the practice ofmasturbation. Boerhaave

regarded coitus as a true epilepw andRoubaud, Hammond and other

modern writers , have noted the resemblance between both, without,however, identifying them; while almost all authorities regard sexual

excess as a cause ofepilepsy.

Somewritershave attempted, ridiculously , I think,Conflicting to connect the sexual impulse with psychological

Opinions ofits aflinity ; andBeaunis , almost equally so, to trace it to

Nature chemical action, exercised on the protoplasmic cells

through certain senses , such as that of smell in the

higher animals . Clevenger, Spitzka and others, have regarded it as protoplasmichunger, tracing it back, or endeavoring todo so, to those pres exualtimeswhen protozoa absorbedone another in the sexualactforthe perpetuation of life. In the sameway anotherwriter has endeavored, andwithsome success, to distinguish between sexualhunger,

”orthepropagative in

Pasdagogus , B. n ,C. x.

1 Loc. cit. , III , 53.

224 Human SexualityIn the paragraphs on sexual anesthesia we saw

The Sexual Life that,while the condition treated ofis far commonerofWomen in women than men, it is usually pathological and

unnatural; the abnormality , as a rule, disappearingunderfavorable conditions ofintercourse, andthe sexualmechanismgradually retuming to its normal organic functions . Thosewho desire tomoreintimately analyze the sexual status ofwomanwill find that, heretofore,two very opposite currents ofopinion prevailed respecting it, both ofwhichwere equally false . Onemadewoman an angel, awholly supernatural element in human life, and the other regarded her as a mere plaything of

the animal appetite, with no thought, feeling, nor purpose, outside thesexual sphere.

Religion, it cannot be denied, hadmuch to dowith fixing anddeveloping these discordant v iews ; they being far more intimately blended insav age life; and in the asceticismofearly Christianity , it is not hard to

trace those peculiarworkings ofthe humanmind inwhich the condemnstion ofsexualitywas very naturally correlatedwith exaltation ofvirginity .

To this persistent antagonismbetween the sexual and the ethical, are due,not only themystical idea ofsexual purity , onwhich, in the Div ine Iucarnation, the Christian faith is founded, but all those later picturesque idealizations of the diabolic and div ine, which constitute so large a portionofecclesiastical literature.

In the life ofwoman, itwouldnot be difficult to show, that religion and

love go hand in hand. That the boasted intellectuality ofthe sex today

is an anomaly , a subversion, a futile attempt to reverse the div ine order

ofcreation, is adequately shown by the fact that,wherever it has takenthe place ofprimitive instincts in women, sexuality has been abolished.

Joan ofArc nevermenstruated; the life ofGeorge Sandwas one long

battle against those sex impulses whichmade her “wander in darkness,and create in pain ;” and ofall thewomenwho have profoundlymodifiedthe intellectual or political life ofthe past, as well as thosewho stand in

the public eye today , there is not onewho, either in physical feature, temperament, or trend ofthought,will be found to conformappreciably to the

feminine type. They are invariably what Professor James calls anti

sexual.” 1

1 “Principles ofPsychology , 11, 347. Lombroso, I think , remarks very truthfunyand graphically— “

there are nowomen ofgenius ; thewomen ofgenius are allmen ;and Euripideswas one ofthe earliest to note thatwomen oftalent are all subject tosexual aberration. Sappho, Philena, Elephantina andLeontion , the priestess and philosopher,were all public prostitutes ; andduring the Renaissancewe find another nota

ble list of such ladies , ofwhomTullia ofAragonwas probably chief. (See“Weider

belebung des Klassisch

The LawofSexual Desire 2 25

On the other hand, women have always been identifiedwith religion ;

nor is it surprising that the sex-emotion, and thatReligion and the of spiritual exaltation, should have a close dynamicSex Impulse relation to each other; both being primitive inwomen,

and both presenting points ofvery marked aflinity,

aswell as those inherent qualitieswhich render each capable ofrising into

prominence at the expense ofthe other. Starbuck has shown very clearly1

that the age oflove is that atwhichwomen exhibit the greatest susceptibility to religious influences ; and Hahn points out, equally clearly , that

thewell-observed connection between sexual suppression andearly religious

rites grewout ofa desire to heighten, rather than to abolish, the sexual

instinct.

1 It needs only a slight knowledge offeminine psycho- sexuality

to understand the tendency for the sex- emotion,when repressed by cas

tration, celibacy , or other cause, to slip into the psychical sphere ; and thefact that early Christian theologians devoted somuch thought to sexual

matters , in the framing oftheir Church polity, shows that itwas not theleast ofthe troubleswithwhich they hadto contend.

Themaster ofClifton College, discussing the sexual v ices ofthe boys ,noticed that theworst offenders in this line were those ofreligious temperament} and the lateMr. Spurgeon , in 1882, pointed out in one ofhis

sermons that, by a strange yet natural law, excess ofspirituality is nextdoor to sensuality .

” 1

Bevan Lewis supplements Starbuck’s statement, associating the religiousimpulse in girlswith the age ofpuberty ; and the equally significant onethat decline ofreligious susceptibility begins, as a rule, at the cessation

ofmenstruation ; and Savage puts the seal ofhis judgment upon the question in the followingwords: Religion is very closely allied to love, andthe

love ofGod and the love ofwomen are constantly sources oftrouble inunstable youth.

” 1

“Ecstasy , remarks Norman , as we see it in cases ofacutementaldisease, is probably always connectedwith sexual excitement, ifnotwithsexual depravity ;

1and the case ofthewomanwhomasturbated herself

with a crucifix , to sanctify the act,7and ofanother,mentioned byMorel,

who believed herselfto be, by turns , a nun and a prostitute,11acting up to

the diflerent characters in each case, show, not only the close connection

Psychology ofReligion, 1899 .

1 Loc1 Rev . J.M.Wilson,

“JournalofEducation, 1881.1 H. Ellis , loc. cit. , r, 233 , note2.

1 G. H. Savage, Insanity,1 C. Norman, in

“Tuke’s Diet. ofPsychologicalMedicine.

”

1 Archives de Neurologie , 1897.

1 Quotedby H. Ellis , lac. cit. , r, 234.

15

2 26 Human Sexualitybetween the religious and sexual impulses, but the dangerwhich under

lies any attempt todivertor suppress either.Mr. Ellis relates graphically 1 the case of a youngTheir Corelation nunwho devoted herselfso exclusively to theworship

ofthe Sav ior that she became startled, even in her

mystical passion, by the haunting impression that there was somethingwithin her which impaired the purity of the love she was seeking . At

sixteen she fell in lovewith a priest, and, in spite ofher remorse, desiredto have sexual connection with him. Later on she understood every

thing .

”She had thought that the religious life precluded sexual thoughts,

and the joys ofmarriage; but nowshe understood it difierently. The

Sav ior desired she should have relationswith a priest; Hewas incarnatedin priests Himself; and as St. Josephwas the guardian ofthe Virgin, sopriests are the guardians ofnuns .

Then she began tomasturbate, but this apparently did not satisfy thedelusion. Shewanted sexual relations with the priest, threwherselfat hisfeet, embracedhim, sought himby everymeans possible, andfinally becamesuch a source of scandal that she was committed to an asylum. Here,modified by newsurroundings, her love for the unfortunate priest passedto the equally unfortunate doctor in attendance. The priest, by his sacredcharacter,was prohibitedfromgiv ing her satisfaction, she argued; but thedoctor,whowas compelled by his calling to do everything he couldfor thegood ofhis patients,why should he refuse to thus devote himselfon thealtar ofduty?

Alas, the poor doctors ! The only astonishing feature ofthis novel case

is that she seemingly failed to find a physician sufficiently altruistic and

unselfish to accommodate her. Inmost hospitals there is always to befound a large segment ofthe stafiwho are unselfishly ready , at any hour

ofthe day or night, to thus sacrifice themselves on the altar ofduty , their

devotion being as sublime in this respect as their sympathy is deep andfar- reaching .Mariani,1 also, describes the case of a young marriedwomanwho, inthe early stages ofher erotico- religious insanity , inflicted upon herselfthemost abominable forms ofpenance, fasting , cleaning dirty plates with hertongue, drinking her own urine, and various other delightful acts; till

having , as she supposed, obtained complete forgiveness ofher sins , she

entered upon a stage ofbeatific happiness , inwhich, she asserted, she enjoyedthemost intimate personal relationshipwith the Savior.

Thewriter subsequently shows howclosely the history he relates cor

1 LOC Cite , 1 , Q 5, 8:869 '

“Una Santa,” Archivio di Psychiatria ,

xxx, 438. at 809

2 28 Human SexualityO

lies supplied, this lad, among otherwerets ofthe domestic arcane ,wantedto knowwhen his “mamma was going to get a newbaby, andwhere itcame from,

” hav ing his mind afterward enlightened on thematter in a

manner farpleasanter by the nurse-girlthan by his father. She laughinglysaid shewould showhimhowbabies came, some day ; and taking himforawalk in thewood, lay down upon the grass and initiated himinto the

secret ofwhere babies come from, producing the erection, showing himwhat to do, and telling himthat itwouldmake him“feel as though he

was in heaven.

”

Finding the boy somewhat unresponsive, she assumed the masculinerble, embracing himwith frenzied passion ; and he could afterward distinctly recall the expression on the girl

’s face, the perspiration on her fore

head and thewhispered querywhether he “ liked it.” This embrace lasted

about tenminutes , andthe girlsaid ithad “done hergood.

”

Afterward, wishing quite naturally to repeat the experiment, hemeta girl cousin ofthe nurse, ten or twelve years old; and the three, going

again to thewood, the nurse suggested that he should “try itwith the

little girl. The boy was shy , and refused; but the nurse seemed bothexperienced andwilling , and, telling the younger girl to keepwatch a little

distance away ,went through the operation again herself.There rs hardly any doubt that the secret ofsexu

Development of ality in both boys andgirls is discovered, in the great

Sexuality by majority of cases, through the touch- sense of the

Tickling skin. Children are all ticklish ; and in workingupon that sense,which Scaliger suggestedclassing as

a sixth, andwhich Alrutz, ofUpsala, regarded as in the same category of

phenomenawith itching ,1 imprudent parents and friends , usually for pur

poses of amusement, succeed quite frequently in awakening the child’s

susceptibility to the greater passion.

To showthe intimate connection between tickling and the psychesexual centers, it is pertinent to remark the impossibility in most casesofself- tickling; a fact first noticed by Groos,

1and enlarged on by a later

writer.

‘ As I have elsewhere shown howlaughter itselfis an explosion of

nerve force,whichmay be very readily directed into sexual channels, as

in these minimal touch- excitationswhich call forth thatmost primitiveofallpsychicmanifestations , laughter,we have almost the key to the closeddoor ofhuman sexuality.

So powerful a nerve- stimulant is tickling that instances areworded

1 PsychologicalReview, Sept , 1901 .

1 “Die Spiele derMenschen,

” p. 206 .

1 Louis Robinson, Tuke’s“Diet. Psych. Art. “Ticklishness .

The LawofSexual Desire 2 29

where it has produced death; Simon deMontford having , ifhistory tellthe truth, put a number ofthe unfortunate Albigenses to death by therefinedtorture oftickling the soles oftheirfeet.

‘

Spinozamognized the close connection between tickling and the sexualembrace in his famou definition oflove -

“Amer est titillatwquwdamcoup

comitante idea cause m ;”

and Chamfert’s parallel v iew l’echangc

dedeuxfantafsies a ls contactdcdens:spider-mes ,” not only shows the positive

relation between the sexual and vasomotor-centers. but that the statementof (lowers, that “

the sexual act is a skin- reflex,”and that ofHall and

Allin that ticklishness ofthe sexual parts is as unique as theirfunction,

are both physiologically true.

Aswe hear ofwomen laughing till theywet themselves ;” find themmost readily yielding tomenwho captivate themby theirwit and jocularity ; and experience the thrillwhich follows the placing ofawoman'shandupon ourown penises,wemust recognise the intimate relation betweenthe tactile sense andthe erotic passions .

It is awell- known fact thatwomen lose a great portion oftheir ticklishness aftermarriage; that almost allyoung girls are skittish, giggly , inclinedto jump, and fee “queer,”when touched under the arms , on the breasts,or other private parts, especially by aman; and there are fewphysicianswho have not beenmore or less irritated by the seemingly sillywriggling

Perhaps, as awriter suggests? this is nature’smeans ofprotecting the

girl against the sexual advances ofwhich she is a continualobject; a theorywhich finds some confirmation in the diminution it undergoes aftermarriage; but at allevents there is hardly a sexual act ever performedwithoutmore or less resort to tickling , or feeling ,

”as a preparative.

I remember one case inwhich sexualitywas developedvery unexpectedlyand unintentionally by the presentwriter in a little girl often years. Ihad her onmy lap andwas amusingmyself, in the customary idioticmanner, by tickling her about the body , perfectly innocently , and in no partthatwould ordinarily be sexually suggestive; butwas considerably aston

iehed, youmay believe,when her face took on quite suddenly the tell- talespots of red on either check , her eyes the peculiar set- glance of sexual

passion, and her hand, scarcely larger than an infant’s, closed uponmy

private organ. Ever since I have been very careful, and caution others

to be equally so, to avoid the pernicious and silly practice oftickling children, especially young girls.

See Todd’s “Life ofSt. Patrick.

H. Ellis , loo. cit. , rv , 18.

230 Human SexualityItwouldbe, perhaps,more correct to Speak ofthe discovery ofthe sexual

impulse in children than ofits development; facts being within my personal knowledge to prove that

successful intercourse has been had between boysand girls at an astonishingly early age. At the first

public schoolwhich I attended in the country , one inwhich therewas promiscuous admittance ofboth sexes, agirloften succeededin earning forherselfthe elegantsoubriquetof the littlewhore,”by thegreatnumber and shameless abandon ofher liaisonswith the boys. Thesewereconcoctedwith an ingenuityworthy ofa farolderhead. Shewouldask leaveto go to thewatercloset,where shewouldbe speedily followedby theboy shehad arrangedwith; or bothwould play truant, and spend the entire day ,like a pair oflasciv ious young rabbits, in sexual intercourse, al fresco, inthe recesses ofthewood, or solitudes ofsome river- bank ; and I have sincebeen informed, by gentlemenwho began life in this stirringmanner, thatthose intercourses were as pleasant and perfect as any they had subse

quently experienced. Being endowed in youthwith a somewhat astonishing type offacial beauty (see portraits) , I was enabled, fortunately , toelude the siren wiles of this amorous young lady , who afterward, fromprecocious indulgence, natural or unnatural, I couldnever ascertainwhich,was lost sight of in some sanatoriumor asylumfor such precocious protagonists in the sexualmelodrama.Mr. Ellis, in his interesting but slightly tedious Histories of Sexual

Development,‘ as well as in his more important Analysis of the Sexual

Impuhe,2 records a number ofcases ofsimilarly early sexualmanifestation ;a fewofwhich I shall take the liberty ofreproducing here, but in a very

condensedformOne boy , at nine years ofage, began to speculate about sexual things ;

to lie awake, listening to the singing ofawoman of

In a Boy twentyfive to observe the coupling ofdogs, and

other animals, with more than usual interest; and

succeeded,while playingwith a girl ofhis own age, in overcoming her shyness to the extent that she exposed herselfto him, he at the same timeshowing her his own sexual organs . On this occasion, and once afterward,he succeeded in entering her, andboth experienced imperfect enjoyment.At ten he learnedthe vulgar phrases for the sexual organs , and sexual

act; could talk indecently , tell smutty stories, and indulged inmoderatemasturbation. When hewas fifteen hemade the acquaintance ofa prettyblonde girl ofhis own age, and they soon became lovers. One day she

toldhimthat she hadbeen sexually embracedby a former lover, andhinted,1 Loc. cit. , Iv , Appendix B. Loc. cit., III , p. 223 , et seq.

232 Human Sexualityclues , as a rule,merely the first stage ofsexual excitement. Mend, thesame ideas , connectedwith a particular person, will produce the second

stage. Third, the samemay be said ofthe presence ofa person beloved;and fourth, actual contact appears to bemcessary for the third stage. If

the first stage only be reached, the sensation is not pleasurable, save forits associations ; and ifwomenwho feel repugnance to the sexual act, evenwith aman they love, have never gone beyond the first stage, their dislike

is quite intelligible tome.

’

A boy oftwelve had his first sexual thoughts andSexualityAroused acts arousedbywhipping . He and another boy used

by Whipping to belabor each other upon the bare buttocks witha cricket bat, and afterward indulge inmutualmas

turbation. He cannot remember the beginning of sexual speculation, or

howhe learnedmasturbation. At thirteen he usedtodiscuss eroticmatterswith a schoolfellow,whowas at the same time carrying on regular sexual

intercoursewith a girl ofhis own age. This intercoursewas practised on

theway home fromschool, in a standing posture, and both boys shortlybegan to embrace the girl in the same way . The first boy , although his

sex- passionwas very early kindled, strange to say, never felt any desire

for prostitutes ; and thinks his youthful experiences had no ill effects uponhim,morally ,mentally or physically. He practisedmasturbationmoderately tillhemarriedat the age ofthirty- one.

Anothergentleman gives his experience as a kid,

By the Proverbialwhenhe trottedoffwith another youngster to see a

Nurse- girl girl’s legs , howorwhere, he is unablenowto remember.

At six or seven years ,when put to bedwith the nursegirl, he remembers feeling her bare armwith undoubted sexualexcitement,going along the armcarefully , to avoid awakening her, and feeling con

siderable disappointment tofind itwas only theam.

He lived at a farm- house on the north coast ofEngland, very remote,and used to assist the girls in looking after the young cattle. These girls

habitually instilled sexual ideas, though he did not realize themwith any

precision. He liked to see the girlswading ,with their clothing tucked up ;but, although he fell passionately in love about this timewith a girl- cousin,does not remember hav ing any sexual ideas in regard towomen. Sexual

dreams took place at the age ofthirteen,with emissions and sensual sensa

tions. Masturbation was the result of these dreams. He tried it first,

tentatively , out ofcuriosity , to determine ifthe dreamsensation could be

reproduced, and finding it could, to some extent, practised selfabuse frsquently. He neverhadhomosexualdesires.


Another youth had many boyish passions for

Case of girls, but thesewere unaccompanied by actual sexual

Boy Seduction desires. At thirteen, a grown sister ofa boy companion, in sitting down upon a sheafofcorn, exposed

her private organ intentionally ; and afterward persuaded himto copulatewith her. He had a slight emotion, and, after the act had been continued

some time, felt a pleasurable sensation, butwithout true emission. He had

frequent relations with the woman, however, after that, which were as

nearly normal as couldbe expectedunder the circumstances. At this timethe farm- servant ofa neighbor taught himtomasturbate ; and, as a furtherev idence that the lines had fallen to himin exceedingly pleasant places,themistress , herself, themother ofseveral chikiren , began to treat himwithsuch favor and familiarity as to

“habitually urinate in his presence,” in

such away as to tempt himexceedinglywith stray glances at the dark

haired beauty ofher organ. He conceived a great passion for thiswoman,strange to say ; trembledwhen he came near her, and says he derived far

greater pleasure frommasturbating against some article ofher clothing

than fromthe natural sexualembrace ofthe ever-willing sister ofhis chum.

‘

He thinks this preference for thewomanwas due to the greater quantityofhair on her privates , that hav ing such a charmfor himthat he has alwaysrefused to have anything to dowith a prostitutewhowas lacking , asmanyofthemare, in this species ofhirsute adornment.He says he never enjoyedmasturbation unless he had some hair, or a

partofthe clothing , ofthewomanwithwhomhewas enjoying the imaginarydelight. This phenomenon I will further allude to under the head of

fetichism. Although he afterward developed a strong sexual appetite,frequently having intercoursewith two or threewomen in a night, he had

fewlasciv ious dreams ; andthesewere always associatedwith a deadwoman.

He took all the pleasure that came in his way , practiced intercoursebetweenwomen’s breasts , and bymutualmasturbation, but only once per

mitted awoman to exhaust himwith hermouth, forwhich he felt exceedingly degraded afterward; and although frequently urged by women to

use his tongue on them—cunnilingus— always felt an irrepressible aversion

for the act.

Awomanwith large buttocks hadgreat attraction for him; he no longerpractised solitarymasturbation ; his genitalswerewelldeveloped, his skull

This statement is interesting as lending additional color to the already prettywellestablished psychical, rather than physical, nature of the love-

passion. The girl,presumably, by reason ofher youth and freshnem, was more attractiv e, physically ,than the olderwoman ; and yet the latter excited the stronger sexual passion. His

dreams ofa deadwoman betoken an undoubted tendency to necrophilia.

234 Human Sexualitydolichocephalic, his temper high, digestion good, and his greatest sexualpleasure experienced in witnessing a nakedwoman masturbating with herback towardhim. He has known very sensualwomen in respectablemiddleclass society . One girl ofeighteen, after intercourse, used to excite himagain with hermouth, but his real sweetheart, the only girl he ever sincerelyloved, remained, so far as hewas concerned, virgo intacto, showing that truelove is far removedfrommere sensuality .

As an illustration ofwhat I believe to be a fact,

Sexual Awakening that sexuality has an earlier awakening in girls thanEarlier in Girls inboys, a gentleman tellsme that,when a boy ofnine,than in Boys he had his very first intimations ofa sexual nature

froma little girl ofsevenwithwhomhewas playing .

She said she had seen her papa “do something to hermamma ” —a hint to

parents— and showed her knowledge ofits nature by trying to excite an

erectionwith her hand, as a preliminary to his initiation to the real act;

and, in further confirmation ofthat belief, I revert to another ofMr. Ellie’s

cases .

This lady says she remembers qu ite distinctly,when about eight yearsold, playing ,with a number ofgirls and boys ofsimilar age, in her father’sgarden, at

“beingmarried.

” The girls andboyswould pair 03 , in isolatedcouples , and the girls, unfastening their drawers , would showthe boyshowto do it,

” bringing the sexual parts together, and instructing theircompanions in the propermovements ; but, so far as she can remember,without any erection or apparent knowledge ofthe subject on the part ofthe boys.

She began tomenstruate at thirteen, and distinct sexual feelings weremanifested a fewmonths later. At seventeen she felt her first love for a

boy ofher own age, and experienced physical sensations,with secretion of

mucus,whenever she came near him.

Another girl, at the age often, used to discuss the sexual actwith othergirls ofthe same age; andplay childishly indecent games inwhich itfigured,butwithout distinct sexual feeling . A year after her firstmenstruationshe learnedthe secret ofmasturbation by leaning over a table, andpractisedit for a number ofyears, under the conviction that, as itwas learnednaturally, itmust bemorally and physically harmless. She took a delight in

watching dogs coupling ; and, although she afterwards fell in lovewith a

youngman , always separated the idea oflove fromlust, feeling that itwasfalse and unnatural to connect the two. She afterward formed a Lesbian

attachment for another girl,withwhomshe lived in that relationship forseveral years, her case passing , consequently, into the category ofhomosexuality.

236 Human Sexuatpermitted it; the supply , notwithstanding the strength ofhis desire, beingalwaysmore than equalto thedemand.

While engaged to hiswife, a beautiful and amorous girl, they used to

pass hours,wrapped in each other’s arms, practisingmutualmasturbation ;or hewouldkiss her passionately , pushing his tongue into hermouth, untilthe excitement ofboth became so intense that hewould have an orgasm,

andshewouldgo 03 in sighs andshivers.

He afterwards developedhomosexual preferences, andwas finally forcedto consult an alienistforneurasthenia andmelancholic .

The following is a portion ofa clergyman’s boyish“Studying for history . During the holidays, when home fromtheMinistry” 1

school, he used to talk about sexual thingswith hisfather

’s footman,who told himsomuch that, at the

age oftwelve, he began to have emotions One night the footman cameto his room, and tried to put his hand upon the boy’s penis. The latter

hadbeen thinking ofsexual things, and already had an emotion. Themanmasturbated him, and he sank back overcome by the pleasant sensation.

Next the footman masturbated himself, and left the boy sleepless and

excited fromhis initiation into the greatmystery . He at once took up

the habit ofmasturbation ; butwas thirteen before the orgasmproducedanything . Then a little froth appeared as a result, and at fourteen years,

semen.

One night, in his bedroom, all the boyswere asleep except himselfandone other. I suppose,” he remarks , wemust have been discussing thatsort of thing , for I remember v iv idly having an erection, and suddenly,

as ifby impulse, getting out ofbed and going over to that ofmy friend,

The priest seems always to have been the peculiar target of the dev il’s sexual

temptations. It is reported ofthose two inveterate persecutors ofthe early Church,Deoius and Valerianus , thatwhen they could not otherwise seduce a zealous youngpriest, by torments or promises , they put himinto a beautiful garden, as he supposed,alone , and sent a fair young girl to playwith andmmhim.

“She took himabout

the neck, as Hierome remarks (Epist. lib. 3, vita Pauli Eremita) , kissedhim, and that

which is not tobenamed, manubusque attrectare,” etc . ,with her tongue in hismouthandherhandgrasping his penis ,butalltono purpose.

At Berkely, in England, a certainconvent stoodon groundwhichwasmuch covetedby Godwin, Earl ofKent. The latter sent his nephew, a handsome young fellow, tostop awhile at the abbey , feeling confident ofwhatwould follow. Sure enough, as

GualterusMapes , the old historian remarks, the youngman,

“willing to undergo such

a business, playedhis part sowellwith the abbess and the young nuns that in a short

space he got upmost oftheir bellies , and returned to tell his lord howhe had sped.

The lord then complained to the king that the nunnerywas become “a cominon bawdyhouse,

”proved it by the nephew, had it closed, and got the property as the price of

his valuable services in the interests ofpublicmorality:


my heart heatingwith excitement. He exhibited no surprise atmy presence, and placingmy hand upon his penis I found he had an erection. Istarted tomasturbate him, and suggested getting into bedwith him— theideawas spontaneous , I hadnever heard ofit—but he

'

saidhe hadfinished,

that itwasn’t safe, and put his hand onmy penis , I think ,with the ideaofsatisfying , and getting rid ofme. Hemasturbatedme till the orgasmoccurred.

During the holidays I first practised intercourse between the thighswith a younger brother. I startedmanipulating his penis, and causing

erections , when he was about five. Afterward I got himtomasturbateme, and Imasturbated him, getting himinto bedwithme. Once I putmy penis into hismouth. I had never heard ofthis thing , either, and the

actwas entirely spontaneous. This went on for years. My first case of

heterosexual passion was with a girlwhomI knewwhen shewas aboutsixteen, and I nearly the same age ; but this died out without sexual

relation.

”

His experience with prostitutes , a large and varied one, corroborates

thewell-known fact thatmost ofthese become so fromdrink. They lose

control ofthe will, and before they realize fully what is happening , are

no longer virgins . The succeeding steps in “theway that takes hold on

destruction”are natural and inev itable. Most ofthem, before the first

intercourse, have no desire for it, and some time elapses before they beginto experience fromit either pleasure orenjoyment.With one girl,whowas unusually sensual and passionate, as a striking

illustration ofthemale capability in this direction under favorable circumstances ofselection, this embryo divine experienced the orgasmno fewerthan twelve times betweenmidnight and the following noon. As an instance

ofhis homosexual reversion, be, about this time, attempted intercourseby the rectumwith a young nurseryman with whomhe had been praetieingmutualmasturbation. Neither one ofus hadeverheardofthe prsctice before, andhe saidhe didnot like it.”At twenty hemet a girl ofsimilar agewhosemaster passion, he says,

was the sexual act. “The first evening Iwalked outwithher, she put herhand onmy penis, before I had even kissedher, and proposed intercourse.

She ledme to awall and, standing up,mademe do it. After thatwewerefrequently together. Imay say shewas always ready and never satisfied.

Shewas sensual rather than sentimental. I had intercoursewith her, evenwhile shewas engaged to bemarried, on every possible occasion ; in roomsat hotels, in railway carriages, the fields , againstwalls , standing , astridemy lap , and once all night, in London. She apparently had no fear of

getting in thefamilyway, andnever usedany precaution. On one occasion

38 Human Sexualityshe proposedfellatio— that iswith hermouth. This is the only case I knowofawomanwishing todo thisdegrading actfor the love ofit.”Subsequent to this exciting experience, themanmarried, became the

father ofan abnormal child, and, failing to receive fromhiswife’smodestembraces the satisfaction his formerwild orgies had afforded him, he re

turnedtohis homosexualandheterosexualpractices .

Liv ing in the city alonewith two servant girls, one ofwhomwas handsome, with beautiful eyes and a sensual expression, he persuaded her tomasturbate himone evening, in a cab returning froman exhibition. Next

morning ,when she came to his roomto call him, he embraced and kissed

her; and after some persuasion, and a promise to use a preventive, shepermitted himto have intercoursewith her. During the following weekshe found her to be an apt pupil, evenwithout the preventive,” thoughalways shy andundemonstrative.

“ I took her to a hotel,”he remarks, and experienced the intensest

pleasure I ever had in undressing her. I had lately heard about cunnilingus(using the tongue instead ofthe penis) “and did it to her. I had also

intercourse by the anus. This againwas an act I had heard about, buthadneverbeen able to regardas pleasurable. Butbooks I hadbeen readingstated that itwasmost pleasant, both toman andwoman. She resisted

at first, finding it hurt her; but it excitedme greatly ; andwhen I haddone it thisway several times she herselfseemed to like it, especially ifIkeptmy finger on her clitoris at the same time.

”

His relationswith the housemaidwere only ended by satiety , and the

readerwill not be astonished to learn that, when he went away for theholidays hewas a physicalwreck .

Aftermarriage hemakes a remark concerning that relationwhich showsclearly that his passion was entirely sensual, and that he knewnothing

about love, in its purer and div iner sense: In the case ofhusband and

wife, the husband sees hiswife every day , at all seasons, dressed and un

dressed, ill, well, good tempered, bad tempered: he sees herwash, and

performother functions ; he sees her nakedwhenever he likes ; he can haveintercoursewithherwheneverhefeels inclined; howcan love continue?

Another youngmanwas good looking . He knewExperience ofa itby the admiring looks he receivedfromeverywomanPretty Boy

” he met. Even oldwomen regarded himamiably ,marriedwomenwith a challenge, andmaidenswith

paradise in their eyes .

”

Thewriter towhomI amindebtedforthe history 1does not statewhether1 H. Ellis , loc. cit.,mandrv , Appendix B .

240 Human Sexualitybreasts, flushedface, and swimming gray eyes , knowing that shewas longingforme as much as I for her, I went nearly madwith passion. Shewasinsatiable ; I never couldgive her enougThe next escapade of this enterprising young gentleman was with a

dark , handsome girl, littlemore than a child. Her older sisterwas notv irtuous, hav ing a

“beau whom“nothing was too good for;” and

“one

nightwhile she and the beau were together upstairs,” the subject ofthissketch remarks , I , guessingwellwhat theywere at, and tryingmy levelbest to get the younger sister similarly engaged downstairs, suggested tothe latter that she creep up upon the unsuspecting couple, just for fun.

She didso, and coming back pale and excited, gave herselftome almostwithout a struggle.

”

What she sawmay be readily imagined, and certainly the powerfulinfluence ofexamplewas never better illustrated.

I once lodgedwith a family ,” this professed young seducer continues,

inwhich the second daughter, a pretty girl,with light golden hair, freshcomplexion and rather largemouth, butwith beautiful teeth, became theobject ofmy passion. The mother tru stedme so entire ly that she left

me for hourswith the girls, the younger ofwhomIwould sometimes kiss.

Finally this passed fromlarking to a habit. We uwd to sit alone on a

sofa and kiss steadily for tenminutes, ormore, at a time ; she becomingvery excited, but not knowingwhy , although I knew.

Oneday ,with ourmouths gluedtogether, I passedmy handunder herskirt and began feeling her legs. She trembled like a string , but allowedmy hand to go farther,when she suddenly broke out into afit ofhysterical

laughter and crying . She had these hysterical attacks several times , andthey always frightenedme. It allended inmy seducing her.

One daywewere nearly caught. I had just leftthe sofa, after intercourse with her, and had corn

menced drawing a figure on paper at the table ,whenher mother came suddenly into the room, to find

Alicewith her hand under her dress arranging her drawers. Themotherstoppeddead, and shot a glance atme I shallneverforget.

‘Why ,Alice, you shockme l’she said.

I feigned surprise and asked— ‘what’s thematter?’ Alice, although

frightenedout ofherwits,managed to stammer: He couldn’t seeme— youcouldn

’t seeme, could you ?’ appealing to me.

‘See,’ I replied turning

round,‘seewhat? What do youmean?’ And I looked somystified, and

playedmy part sowell, that themotherwas completely deceived; butAlice and Iweremore careful in the future, youmay believe.

Onemore instance and I leave a themewhich I have followed, not from


any love ofit, but to showthat actual knowledge ofsexual conditions,

socially ,which couldonly justifyme in attempting todiscuss them.

The subject is a boy who, at a very early age,

A “Bad Egg”

remembers sitting in passages and water- closetsplaying with his penis , and developing by solitary

indulgence those strong sexual tendencies which played such a terrible

part in his subsequent life.

When I went to a schoolwith my third sister, as boarders, there

was a little girlaboutmy own agewho encouragedme in the v iciousmoodswhich apparently cloudedmy life. Shewould ask me to sit back inmychair, take outmy penis , and amuse herselfwith it, tying strings and piecesofribbon about it. I liked her to do this, andwould sink into a precociousreverie during hermanipulation of the organ . She never played withherself, nor had I any curiosity about her; but this thing between mylegs, that changed its size and shape,was an object ofcuriosity toboth.

“Down at the creek a lot ofus, boys and girls ,would expose ourselves ,

the boys examining the girls, butmost ofuswith very v ague, orwrong , ideasofwhat sexual intercoursewas like. But theword used for the act— that

vulgar wordwhich begins with f, which boys write across blank walls,andwhich sounds like a cowpulling herhoofout ofthemire,was perfectlyfamiliar to us . One ofthe boys, namedWalter,whomhismothermadesleep in a night gown, sewn together at the bottom, to prevent his playingwith himself, must have been unusually sexually developed for his age,

for I remember himsitting in the summer house, surrounded by his sistersand other girls,with his penis erect to an enormous extent, and laughingloudly at their astonishment as they lookedat it.

One day in class I felt amood come overme ofprecocious lust, andheld upmy hand to go out. Iwalkeddown the yard like one hypnotized,and into the closet. I must do something— something; but what? The

closet seat had awooden fiap on hinges . I knelt down, put my penis on

the seat and brought down the flap with allmy force. Then, in fearful

pain, I returned to the class. My penis gaveme great agony , and turnedquite black ; but Iwouldhavediedrather than tellanybody about it.

“ In the baths the boyswould compare the sizes oftheir penises, andwe began to knowpretty accuratelywhat sexual intercoursemust be like ;some ofthe boys hav ing ‘lost theirmaidenheads ,’as they termed it. One

nightwe sawthe servant girl through thewindow, brushing her hair, andI felt excited at the v iewofher bare bosom, but itwas not until a newas

sistantmasterh a young man— came to the school that I had a completesexual revelation.

Hewas a small, efieminateman , and, likemost small people, excessively16

242 Human Sexualityvain. As time went on he began to talk tome about things hemightbetter not have discumdwith a boy , and I listenedwith allmy ears. He

toldme about girls he had seduced, and one day in the bedroom— forweslept together— he pretended hewas a girl being ravished, and his sighs,

false screams, pretended refusal, and afterwards abandonment, all excitedmy curiosity to the greatestdegree.

He used to go out in the evening tomeetgirls, and Iwouldstay awaketill his return, to hear his adventures and experiences . One nightwhenhe came home thus, and the lightwas out, I remember feeling a fit ofpre

cocious curiodty come over me. I asked himfeverishly what a girl’s

privateswere like, and hemust have noticedmy excitement; but he putme off. Iwould not be put ofi, however, andwhen he got into bed I followedhim. I putmy handunder the clothing and took hold ofhis penis.Itwas hot anderect andseemedenormous tome. I askedhimifawomancould take that, andwhat it felt like when itwent in . I was mad forsomething, but didn’t knowexactly what. He then put his hand downandtook holdofmy penis,whichwas hardanderect. Atfirst I felt nothing ,but presently strange sensations filledmy whole being . I lay quiet asdeath , still holding his penis , and seemed lifted to the clouds onemomentand buried the next. But the sensationwhich, in a boy oftwelve,mustnecessarily have been faint and unripe, soon came to an end, and I lefthis bedwith a feeling ofintense shame.

About this time a newboarder came to the school. Hewas two or

three years older than I, fond ofreading such books as theMysteries ofParis , andwould relate tome passages inwhich lovely girls , naked and

voluptuous , danced in perfumed apartmentswith their rich young lovers.

I gloated over such books ; and even looked through the dictionary to

find some reference to awoman’s privates. Once he tookme to a pan

tomime, and I seemed in a dreamaswewent up carpeted stairs, and rubbedshoulderswith girls lov ely as flowers,who spoke in soft,well- bred voices.

Iwas romantic, as almost allmasturbators are, andused to picture myselfas the hero ofthe books I read, fighting dragons andmailing beautifulmaidens.

“One day, at the age offourteen ,whilemasturbating in a urinal, the

seminal fiowappeared, for the first time,white likemilk ; and I knewso

little about the sexualmechanismthat I thought I had injuredmyself.It gaveme a salutary fright; but the habit had too firma hold onme.

Theworks ofartwhichmost interestedme, about this time,were picturesofnakedwomen, sometimes in the act ofintercoursewith equally naked

men , andwhich always showed the female organ , surroundedwith hair,and themalemember entering it, in amannerwhich almost droveme to

CHAPTER s1x

INVERSION OF THE SEXUAL IMPULSEHILE simplicity might suggest the employment of a single

term, in the treatment ofthe sexual anomalies embraced inthis andthenext subsequent chapter, andwhileMoll,KrafitEbing andHavelock Ellis do, in fact, so limit themselves to

the single term, inversion,l it only requires a glance to conv ince us that,

in any precise or systematic consideration ofthe subject, sexual perversionmust be considered as quite apart fromsexual inversion. The latter term,which has only recently reached us fromItaly ,

’represents a complete

reversal ofnot only the physico- sexual, but psychical feelings ; in whichobjects and ideas , naturally repugnant, become associatedwith themostpleasurable aesthetic and sexual emotions ; and those normally pleasurableare investedwith a greater or less degree ofrepulsiveness .

This definitionwill, I trust, commend itselfto the clear- thinking student

as , in some respects at least, preferable to that ofthewriters named, asmore accurately expressive of a psychopathological condition in whichthe change, ifthe condition be one ofacquisition, is somatic rather than

partial, being restrictedto no onefeeling orfunction ofthe sexual organism.

Beginningwith an inverted judgment, anda conseThe Basis of quently errable andmisdirectedwill, abnormal ideasInversion assume the most passionate intensity, sometimes to

the destruction ofevery standard oflaw,morals and

asthetics, the unfortunate sufferer becoming notmore a sexual than amoralinvert, andnot les s a socialdanger than a psychicalmonstrosity .

Perversity in the sexual act, on the other hand, must never be con

foundedwith perversity ofimpulse. The formermay be pathological, orparanoiac, but the latter is always psychopathic. There is a perversity of

v ice and one ofdisease; and, to arrive at any intelligent judgment concerning the category inwhich an act shouldbe placed, careful cons iderationofthe previous history, habits, and personality of the actor, is an indis

V id.Moll, loc. cit. , p. 33 ; Krafit- Ebing , loc. cit., p. 279 ; H. Ellis, loc. cit Vol. n .

’H . Ellis, loc. cit.,n , 35 .

See final chapter ofthiswork .

Inversion ofthe Sexual Impulse 245

pensable preliminary . Ifthe abnormality be congenital, clearly it cannotbe a crime. If it be acquired, itmay be both v icious and criminal, oreither, or neither; amore careful analysis ofthe specific act, or series of

acts, being necessary to determine the difiicult point atwhich responsibility

within the domain ofmedical jurisprudence than sexual psychology.

Westphal, in Germany ,was probably the first toInversion as a place the study of sexual inversion upon a sound

Theme ofRomance scientific basis . Since the earliest ages it has beena favorite theme of poets and romancers. Balzac ,

whose treatment oflove- themes shows considerablepsychologicalknowledge,touches upon it in his “La Fille aux Yeux d’or;” andGautier in hiswonderful romance, Mademomelle deMaupin,” makes his heroine a sexual

invert, as hemakes her in “Claramonde” a vampire. Ariosto pointedoutthe homosexualpractice ofwomen ; andin Diderot’s novel, “LaReligieuse,”first published anonymously, and thought to have beenwritten by a nun,

a story ofsexual lasciviousness and torture, fairly representative ofthe

monastic life ofthe times, is founded on sexual inversion. Breckenridge

Ellis touches upon it in the loves ofRosamunda and Anna. Zola treats ofit

in his Nana”with themostfrank realism; andAdolpheBelot, in “Mademoiselle Giraud,Ma Femme,” tells ofamanwhose bride denied himsexual

intercourseon accountofher love liaisonwith a young lady friend. Swinburne hints at it in his first “Poems andBallads ;” Verlaine, in “Parallele

ment Lamartine, in “Regina and Bourget, Daudet,Mendes, Whitman , andMaupassant, aremodernwriters inwhoseworks homosexualityis, ifat all, only thinly veiled.

In 1836 Hossli published a medico- literary workAs a Scientific based on the trial and execution ofa young man

Study ofgoodfamily ,whomurdereda youth through homosexual love and jealousy ; and in Germany , where

themedico- legal aspects ofthe subject have been most carefully investigated, Casper, in his “Vierteljahrsschrift,” and elsewhere, calling attentionto those genito-

psychical conditionswhich plead for immunity fromlegalprocedure, and punishment, in dealingwith homosexual vices, treated thematter very fully andfairly ; but thewriter who has done the most— not

excepting evenWestphal— to scientifically define, and analyze, the subject ofsexual inversion,was Karl H . Ulrichs, ofAurich, Germany ; amanwhoformany years defended publicly the practice ofhomosexual love, andwhowas himselfa confessed sexual invert.

“Who drives fat oxenmust himselfbe fat. According to the Horatianmaxim, that no man is capable ofwriting about a passion he has not

246 Human Sexualityhimselffelt, Ulrichs, as a self- confessed invert,was peculiarly qualified todefine, analyze, anddescribe sexual inversion ; and the clear and intelligentcharacter ofhiswork does ample justice to his peculiaradv antages.

Under the pen- name, Numa Numantius,

and subsequently under hisown, beginning in 1864, he published in Germany a long catalogue ofworksin defence of the individual’s right to practice sexual intercourse as he

pleased; and pleading for a greater degree oflegal tolerance for the sexualinvert.

l

As has beenwell remarked, however, the reasonings ofthiswriter indefence ofan institution ofwhich hewas an avoweddisciple

,bear toomuch

the character ofarguments pro domo to have had a very marked bearingupon scientific thought. He regardedhomosexuality as simply a congenitalabnormality, bywhich a female soulhadbecome unitedwith a male bodyanimamuliebris in corporavirili inclusa— andviceversa; andthis speculation,

admirably suited to the superstitious spirit ofthe times, took rapid root

in Italy ,where Ritti , Tamassia, and at a later period Lombroso,began to

give such elaborate and careful study to those hitherto neglected sexual

phenomena as to result in their present elevation to the rank ofa clearly

defineddepartment in psychological science.

In France,the subjectwas taken up by Charcot

In France andMagnan, the first important result of their ia

vestigation of sexual inversion being published, in1882, in the Archives de Neurologie . Paul Sérieux, in his

“Les Anomaliesde l’Instinct Sexual,

” published in Paris in 1888,made valuable contributions to our knowledge ofthe subject ; which is further enri ched by thoseofLacassagne, ofBrouardel and Legludic, in Paris, and ofTamowsky inSt. Petersburg.

But it cannot be denied that,while Krafft- Ebing, ofV ienna, and Havelock Ellis, ofLondon, have accomplishedmore than ,

Elsewhere possibly, any two other previouswriters in reducingthe subject to clearly definite lines, and in framing

laws for its scientific investigation,it is equally obvious that in bothwriters

the literary arrangement oftheir facts leaves very much to be desired;and it iswith an ultimate hope ofbettering this condition, amplifying thetheme, in directionswhere it seems faultily circumscribedin theworksmentioned, and condensing it in others,where it is unnecessarily tedious, thatI have been ledto attempt the present task .

In theworks ofmostwriters on sexual themes the one great elementofall true literary excellence

—the power ofawakening human interestComp. Ellis , lac. cit., n , 33 , 34, Appendix ’

B ; and Jahrbuch far Secuelle Zwischewstufen, 1899 , n , 36, for a further account ofUlrichs and his somewhat novel v iews.

248 Human Sexuatofthose ridiculous prejudiceswhichmade sexual perversion a loathsome,nameless

,v ice, only to be touched, as one remarks , “with a pair oftongs;”1

and reducing to a concrete sciencewhat had hitherto been regarded as a

mere question ofsocial andindividualmorals .

In a pamphlet by EdwardCarpenter, ofEngland,’Intellectual Status sympathy is claimedfor homosexuality, on the ground

of Inverts that its laws are precisely those ofheterosexuality,

only reversed; andRafi'

alov ich, regarding congenital

inversion as a large element in human life, takes somewhat the same stand,supporting his viewby quoting the highmental andmoral characters of

many ofthose figuring in the r61e ofhomosexualists . Among these, hementions Alexander the Great, Virg il, the princes Eugene and Conde,Socrates, Pindar, Pheidias, and Epaminondas while the author of Psy

chopathia Sexualis ,”referring, in his preface, to themany communications

he received from“these step- children ofNature,

”remarks that “thema

jority ofthewriters aremen ofhigh intellectual and social position, andoften possess very keen emotions .

In dealingwith a question involving a grave pointInversion in Rela ofmorals, as this unquestionably does, it is difficulttion to Religion to repres s views inculcatedby a long course ofreligiousandMorality training ; but however the presentwritermay regard

thematter froman ethical standpoint, and howevermuch he may feel disposed to put his individual bann upon it

,as upon

kindred forms ofsocial vice, he feels at the same time that such a course

would be not only entirely unworthy the spirit ofenlightened research,

but would accomplish far less in the amelioration of the evil than that

full, free and frank discussion ofthe problem,with its logical causes and

sequences, towhich he has, in thiswork, addressedhimself.Heretofore the Church has unreservedly condemned both heterosexual

and homosexual indulgence withwhat effect has already been pointed out ;

and I amsatisfied that onlywhenmedical science shall take up and {dealwith the problemln its ownway,making it amatter ofhealth anddecencyrather than religion andmorality, and ofa happy life here, rather than a

miserable one hereafter,will the subject be found so full ofinterest that

Hewould be a sorry anatomist, as I intimated at the beginning ,whomresthetic

distaste for the fetor ofthe dissecting- roomwoulddeter fromfollowing out his course

ofanatomical research ; andwhile trying to soften the repulsive features ofmy subject,andwith no purpose ofdelivering a series ofpopular lectures on pornography , I ampersuaded that only the unintelligent readerwill see in these pages anything to outrage

his sense ofconventional prudery , the nauseating after- taste being inseparable fromthe v ery nature ofthemedicine.

“Homogenic Lov e,”Manchester, 1894.

“Uranisme, p. 197.


we need not fear it, sofullofgrave social actuality thatwe are bound toface it,

”as a recentwriter remarks ; and one farmore readily amenable to

the laws ofrational logic than to the ipse dixit ofspiritual authority . At

least fromthis viewpoint, andno other, it ismy present purpose to regard it.

With sexuality, as with life itself, we begin and

Difierentiation end in the unknown. N0 one is cognizant atwhatofSex point in embryonic development sex differentia

tion begins ; but we do know, as I have heretoforestated, that up to a certain stage there is absolute sea:unity; and that the

difierences which subsequently develop, both of sexual mechanismand

desire, are predetermined by influences, whether divine, accidental, or

fixedly embryological,which subserve those prime needs ofsocial evolution,

the numericalpari ty ofthe sexes andthe propagation ofthe human race.

It has been found an exceedingly difficult thing

to determine atwhat precise period the desire oftheboy for the girl, and that of the girl for the boy,

firstmanifests itselfdefinitely . Dr.Connolly Normanstates 1 that “the sexual passion, at its first appearance, is always indefinite,and easily turned in awrong direction Godard describes the little boys

in Cairo as playing sexuallywith both boys and girls,Mifierentlyfl and

we have only to go back inmemory to our own sexual awakening to beconvinced ofthe fact that itwas governed very little, ifat all, by the laterlaws ofnormal heterosexualfeeling.

The desire simply began to stirwithin us, seeking satisfaction preciselyas does the hunger ofthe infant,without a thought or concept as to thesource or character ofits food; and this blind groping ofinstinct along

the sexualborderland, so to speak, the undifferentiated “indecision betweenlove and friendship,” as Tarde calls it, not only natural but common tothe awakening consciousness ,were we privileged towander afield, wouldconstitute a very charming subjectformetaphysical inquiry .

Nature aims at a decided and complete prenatalThe LawofNature difierentiation ofsex ; but Nature, as Aristotle well

says , while shewishes, has not always the power toperform; and hence result not only the double acorn,

and the bisexualflower

, but those remarkable cases ofao- called hermaphrodism,compam

tively rare, however, in which the sex- line is so feebly drawn that real

men have been known towear female clothing, and cohabit by preferencewith men all their lives ; and other individuals, with distinctmasculinedevelopment, have felt fromchildhood sexual desire only formen,with a

corresponding indifference forwomen .

“Sexual Perversion ,

”Tuke’s“Diet. Psy.Med. Egypté atPalestine, P 105~

250 Human SexuatThere is a species ofhommxuality , however, not

due either to heredity or psychic influence,which isHomosexuality the natural outgrowth ofabsence ofthe opposite sex ;

and between which and the instinctive variety the

line should be carefully drawn in any attempt to define the typical phenomenon . Sainte Claire Deville found that dogs, goats and other maleanimals

,when isolated, became first restless andpugnacious, andafterward,obeying the lawofheat, attempted coupling together ; butwere speedilyquieted and restored to normal condition by companionshipwith females.

l

Buffon observed the same thing in birds ; andLacassagne noted that youngfowls and puppies, before intercourse with the females, frequentlymadehesitating attempts upon those oftheir own sex

,

’showing the instinct to

be germinalandentirely distinct fromany question ofsexualassociation.Mr. Ellis thinks it probable that true sexual inversion, to the extent of

seeking gratification inmembers ofthe same, rather than ofthe oppositesex, may be found in animals and quotesMuccioli, an Italian pigeonfancier, as saying that inverted practices occur even in the company of

the other sex, and that birds ofthis family seemespecially prone to sexualperversion .

‘

The difficulty ofobtaining reliable data as to homosexual practicesamong savages , has been greatly augmented by the

Inversion disinclination of even scientific explorers to touch

Among Savages upon the theme. They speak vaguely of “brutishcustoms ” and “

crimes against nature ;” but “

sod

omy and “incest seemto be about the onlywords the ordinary divine

deems permissible in describing vices which,ifaccurately defined, might

aid us largely in our present task . Sufficient evidence, however, is forthcoming to conv ince us that even among themost primitive races there existsawidespread, and, presumably, instinctive knowledge of sexual laws and

phenomena ; a knowledge frequently utilizedfor social and tribal purposes ;andwhich, there is little reason to doubt, at a very early agewas properlyrecognizedas the great procreative principle ofnature .

Unnatural intercourse—meaning most probably pederasty—was te

garded as an antisocial offense among theMexicans, Peruvians, Chinese,Hebrews, Teutons andMohammedans and it isworthy ofnote

,as I have

heretofore remarked, that the early nations inwhich it receivedthe greatesttolerance and recognition were the most refined and civilized, notablyQuoted by Chevalier, loo. cit., p. 204—5 .

“De la Criminalité chea les Animaux ,

”Revue Scientifique, 1882.

‘ Loc. cit. , n , 3.Muccioli, “Degenerazione e Criminalita nei Colombi,” Arch. di Psichiatria, 1893,

252 Human Sexuatfor this purpose,was in the habit oftreating themliberally to champagnebefore selecting one for his nocturnal pleasure ; and a newboy having beenintroduced, filledwith champagne, and in this condition subjected to theusual process,when asked nextmorning by one ofthe other boys howheliked getting drunk on champagne replied, rubbing his posterior ruefullyI like it all right, butdoesn

’t itmake your behindsore?”

In China,when a richman gives a feast, boys are

Boy Prostitution provided to sing , dance, entertain the guests, and to

in China serve themsexually afterward; returning home nextmorning with generous fees ; and in Chinese novels

masculine love is frequently exploited in terms oftransport quite as ardentas applies to the normal kind here, sexual union between men being theliterary denouement, equally as realistic, as thewinning ofthemaid in ours .

1Morache gives us very interesting information ofthe Chinese boy prostitutes ,who are bought, or stolen, fromtheir parents at about four yearsofage, subjected to a special course in physical development, comprisingmassage ofthe hips, tomake thembroad, dilatation ofthe anus

,and the

process ofepilation previously alluded to, to subdue sexual sense in the

subject. They are also highly taught inmusic, drawing and conversation ;

and,as is the case among ourselves, in reference to whores and bawdy

houses, the waiters in the restaurants, and servants at hotels, acting as

pimps,” or procurers, are always fully informed ofwhere these younggentlemen are to be found

,when they are required to grace the festival

ofsome rich profiigate.

’Matignon, however, has thismuch to say to the

credit ofthe Chinese, that while pederasty is common, it is held under

more decent restraints than in either NewYork, London or Paris ; and

that, unlike the pederasts ofthe latter cities, they never practise unnaturalconnectionwithwomen.

’

Among the Aleuts ofOonalaska , boys are brought up as girls, their

hair pulled out,their bodies femininely developed,

The Boté and their chins tattooed like the women’s, whoseand Schupan sexual function they assume. They are called

schizpans, and, it would seem,

are efieminated not

by nature but by association and suggestion . Among all our Indian tribesthe boté,

”or sexual invert, is a regular institution . He is trained in

dress andmanners frominfancy for the feminine role,which he performswith themouth, although true pederasty is found likewise to exist amongmost of the tribes. Dr. Holder was privileged to examine a bate,

1 Diet. Encyclop . des ScienceMed Art.

“Chine. Ibid.

“Superstition, Crime, etMisereen Chine, 1901 ; also Arch. l

’Anthropol. Grim,

Jan 1899 .


who was a splendidly made man, seemingly in perfect formand health.

The sexual organs were normal, though not quite so large as his physiquewould have justified; but he had never had intercoursewith a female. On

removing his clothing, he pressed his thighs together, shamefacedly , precisely as a modest woman would

, so as to completely cover the sexual

organs, and in that position presentedawell-markedfeminine rotundity .

‘

InMadagascar certain boys , called seketra, are

The Seketra selected fromchildhood to be educated sexually as

and Sarimbavy girls. They live,walk , think, andspeak like girls, haveintercoursewithmen, by themouth or rectum,

and

reverse the usual customby paying themenwho please them.

’ The Hovashav e a sort ofmale inverts, called sarimbavy,which resemble the seketra

in being brought up as girls, but difier fromthemin that sexual relationsrarely occur between themselves ; andwhen they do, it is in the formof

intercourse between the thighs , and not as either pederasty or fellatio!

Their voices, in timbre and inflection,are those ofwomen ; their laugh

shrill; they have no sexual impulses ; erections are rare ; they are gentle,

timid andmodest, and,when natural intercourse is attempted, it is alwaysthrough the insistence ofwomen, and fails to produce any agreeable sensation. They constitute a remarkable group, regarded by Rencurel asasexual inverts, and are not

,I believe

,without their analogues in modern

civilization .

Only quite recently Iwas called to treat a remarkably refined and

cultured lady who, although married for ten years,Asexual Inverts had never in her life experienced sexual feeling. The

actwas repulsive, abhorrent to her; andwith the aidofa complaisant physician,whose substitute she nowdesiredme to become,she had succeeded hitherto in evading intercourse bymaking her husbandbelieve shewas physically unable to endure it. She toldme frankly that,although she loved and respected her husband greatly, shewouldwithouthesitation leave himifno otherway presented ofevading her spousalobligations. Permitting the reader to drawhis or her own conclusions as

to themoral principle involved, as well as the angelic v irtue necessary in

a husband to successfully resist such a strain on his fidelity , I can only

say Imade his task as easy as I couldby assuring himthat shewas physically unfitfor sexual intercourse.

I aminclined strongly to disagreewith Krafit- Ebing’s statement thatamong themost constant elements of self- consciousness in the individual

Quotedby H. Ellis , loc. cit. , n , 10.

‘Lasnet,“Annales et de Hyg . et deMed. Coloniales , p. 494.

Rencurel,“Annalee d

’Hygiene, etc., 1900, p. 562.

254 Human Sexualityare the knowledge ofrepresenting a definite sexual personality, and the

consciousness ofdedre during the period of physiological activity ofthereproductive organs, to performsexual acts corresponding with that personality.

“ It may hold true to a certain extent in the case ofwomen,with whomsentiment, much more largely than with men

,enters into

the sexual act; but unless love, which may be regarded as the chief

comerstone ofsexual selection, be present, itwill be found, I think , that,both physically and psychically, the sexual impulse responds rather to thepresent real than the absent hypothetical stimulus . Preferences may, ofcourse, exist ; which is but another voicing ofthe lawofselection ; but to

men,at least

,themaximattributed to Franklin, that allwomen are alike

fromthe waist down,

” is, sexually, one of pretty general and truthful

application .

Until there is adequate development in the childofthe cortical center of

sexualemotion,andwhile the latter is as yet incapable

Point ofDeflection of sexual differentiation, all ec ternal impressionsin Sex remain destitute ofmentalmeaning; sexual neutrality

being destroyed, not through diflerences of dress ,

habits, manners, voice, formor occupation,nor even by the growing ih

tensity ofsexualdesire, but by the intelligencewhich directs the latter intonormalandnatural channels.

And, hand in handwith this physical development, marches the peychical; the rudimentary instinct adapting itself, gradually and naturally,

but notwithout serious danger sometimes ofaccidental deflection, to thoseforms and ideas ofsex which constitute its subsequent standard. Ifthe

original constitution be favorable to normal development, a healthful andharmonious psychosexual organismwill result ; but ifthere exist any of

those unfavorable hereditary tendencies ,which are far easier to talk aboutthan to properly analyze, ifenvironment, education, vicious surroundings,or inverted habits ofthought, exert a counter influence, or ifthere be any

anomaly ofthe central conditions, perversity may supervene, and a con

trary sexualfeelingmanifest itself.That the physical processes taking place in the

Factors Entering genitals are not exclusive factors in the formationInto the Sexual ofthe psychosexual character, is proven by the fact

that, notwithstanding an apparently healthful andnormaldevelopment ofthese organs, a sexualitymay

resultwhich is at once abnormal in intensity , and radically contrary to

that ofthe sex towhich the individual belongs ; but that certain habits ofmind, andconditions ofbody, are conducive to the development ofcontrary

Lac. cit. , p. 185.

256 Human Sexualityment for the widowoftheMarquis Pescara

,his really impassioned love

sonnets,and longings,were all addressed to the beautiful and gifted youth,

Tomaso Cavalieri .Although Platohadmade just such an attachment the subject ofsublime

sentimental reflection,this homosexuality ofMichelangelowasmisconceived

in his day by that blind sensualitywhich could see no outlet for such emotions other than contrary sexu al indulgence. Men did not understand,aswe understand today, psychic or soul- love ; and there is hardly anydoubtthat thismisconception ofhis character and temperament

,as well as his

own longing for a supersexual, ideal beauty, lay at the bottomofthe great

artist’s deep- rootedmelancholy .

It has been noted that study of the classic formsSexual Inversion of Greek and Roman art— possibly through the

Among Artists higher physicalmale beauty already alluded to— pre

disposes to sexual inversion ; and the idea is very

fairly borne out by the great comparative number ofartists in whomithas been observed. A notable case, on account ofits tragic ending,wasthat ofJerome Duquesnoy,who, being accused ofsexual relationswith a

youth, in the chapel ofthe Ghent Cathedral,where hewas carving amonument for the bishop,was strangled and burned.

‘ Bazzi owed his nick

name,Sodoma

,

’ to the fact that hewas inverted; and among the greatartists ofthe Renaissance period in Italy , fromMichelangelo to Donatelloand Brunellesco

,history is full ofsimilar instances .Moll, Raffalovich andLudwig Frey find traces ofhomosexuality in the

lives of various sovereigns, notably those of the

Among Rulers Sultan, Baber; Henry III ofFrance ; Edward II,WilliamII, James I and WilliamIII ofEngland;

and, probably , also in the lives ofQueen Anne andGeorge III. The sexa

ality ofElizabeth, the “Virgin Queen,

”although undoubtedly strong, ap

pears to have followed normal channels ; but during the regime ofthe twochiefspirits ofthe “Alliance des trois Cotillons,

”MariaTheresa in Austria,andMadame de Pompadour in France, there is hardly a doubt that, amidthe other vices ofthe times , homosexual practiceswere not only commonat the courts ofthe reigning monarchs , but in the private lives ofthose

sovereigns themselves .

Jscoby and otherwriters have traced, very clearly, the hereditary ten

dencies inmonarchialfamilies to this species ofdegeneration ; showing thatWilliamRufus was undoubtedly a sexual invert ; that atmost Oriental

Jahrbuch !fir Seamelle Zwischenstu/en, B. 2, 1899 .

Indicating that hewas a pederast, or sodomist.Alliance ofthe Three Petticoats. See Guizot, “Hist. ofFrance, v , 137.

Inversion ofthe Sexual Impulse z57

courts the v ice is, and always has been, a royal institution ; and that the

biographer ofJames I, in the Dictionary ofNational Biography, had beenextraordinarily careful to suppress thatmonarch’s tendency to homosexualpractices , andto paint his life as one ofpeculiar personal purity .

John ofGaunt, fourth son ofRichard III, is described by Beckett asmagnus fornicator; and in the Hundred NewStories ofLouis V, gathered

by chroniclers of the latter’s reign,may be found some very interesting

reading on this andother sexual subjects .

King Henry V,the victor ofAgincourt, died of

Sexual Vices of a localized disease ofthe rectum,whichwas probablythe Early venereal; the popes, PaulII, Sixtus IV , InnocentVIII,

Christian Church andAlexander V I,were all pederasts, indulging themselves habituallywith boys ; and the sources ofmany

ofthe present revenues of the Catholic Church may be found in taxes

originally levied upon the people tomaintain these and similar ecclesiasticalvices .

1 Sixtus IV , successor ofPaul II, required, especially, such vast

sums in pandering to his sexual profligacy that he caused two books to bepublished Taxes ofthe Apostolic Chancery , and “Taxes ofthe Peni

tentialCourt inwhich a specific impostwas laidupon the vices ofothers,largely for the support ofhis own.

’

So freely could absolution be purchased, at the time, that GuillaumeBanchia ,

a lawyer ofMontpellier,was led to remark concerning it there

remains naught but to be rich, now, in order to have freedomand impunitytodo evil, anda fullpassport to Paradise forone’s selfandone’s evildeeds .

Ofthis same Sixtus IV it is saidthat his nephew, Peter,whomhe createdCardinal ofSt. Sixtus, cost himheavily ; but the young debauchee repaidthe pontififor his kindness in favorswhichwere very pleasing to the lThis popewas the first, but by nomeans the last, to patent prostitution

Vid. Attilio Arezzo ,

“Letters”in BaluzeMiscellanea, xv ,

519 . Also Buret, loc.

cit.,m, 201 .

Dufour traced the bestiality , and other horrible v ices ofthe Church at this time,to the long sojourn of the Templars in the Orient,where sexual crimes against natureare endemic . Dogs ,mares , geese, even sows ,enteredinto thefoulorgy ofpandemonium;and

“nunneries became places ofdebauchery where women, even the religions , in

dulged, amongst themselves, in orgies in which the art of the fellator had forgottennothing of the obscene lessons of antiquity . The same author remarks that the

laity, authorized by example, abandoned itselfreadily to the debauchery ofthe clergy ;and lest I be accused ofa gratuitous fling at Catholicism, or of indulging in statementsnot founded on facts , I quote froma Catholic historian “Alas , also, howmanypriests in their convents have established a sort ofinfamous gymnasium,where theyexercise themost abominable debaucheries l” “De Planctus Ecclesire,

”n , 2. See also

Nicolas de Clemenges, on the “Corrupt State ofthe Church in theMiddle Ages ,” forstillmore revolting details .

17

258 Human Sexuatby laying a tax upon courtesans. Quite frequently the prelates of the

Church exploited houses ofdebauchery on their own account,making no

secret whatever of it. Thus , Agrippa of Nettesheimone day heard a

Bishop ofRome relate, in a verymatter-of—factmanner, that his sole in

come consisted of two benefices, a cure oftwenty gold florins , and threegirls in a brothel, bringing in twenty jules aweek.

” 1

The women in convents ,”remarks Savonarola, are worse than the

courtesans and Hesnaut, wri ting of Jalien de la Roveri—Julius IIspeaks ofthat “prominent debaucheewho, become pope in 1503,will nottake his shoe ofl on Good Friday, for the adoration ofthe cross, becausehis foot is eaten by the Frenchdisease.

”

Pope Leo Xwas a lifelong snfierer fromsyphilis ; the Cardinal ofSt.

Denis died ofit ; and the coupling ofthe nuns in the convents with thepriestswas so open andflagrant that Burchardwrites ofit in the followingterms : The women were persecuted and imprisoned if they had any

relation with laymen ; butwhen they yielded themselves to the monks,masseswere sung and feasts given. The nuns, thus coupled

, give birth to

gentle and pretty littlemonks , or else they cause abortions to be performed.

Ifany onewere tempted to upholdthat this is not true, he needonly searchthe pri vy vaults ofthe convents, and hewill find there nearly asmanychildren’s bones aswere in Bethlehemin the time ofHerod.

” 1

Volumesmight be, and indeed have been,wri ttenPederasty in the on the sexual profligacy ofthe early Church ; but I

Early Church only introduce the normal to showthat the abnormalalsowas notwanting . Sodomy , or pederasty, in the

fifteenth centurywas called the Italian Vice, as poxwas the FrenchDisease.

As I have remarked,no pope ofthis epochwas exempt fromhomosexual

practices ,with the possible exception ofPius III,who, however, onlyworethe tiara twenty- seven days .

The mad debauchery of the time was attributed to astral influences

by Pontano, awriter ofthe period, inwordswhichwill be better understoodwhenwe knowthat Alexander VI, the pope, beside his pederastic

1 “tree putanas in bardello, qure reddunt singulia hebdomadibus

Julios viginti. Agrippa of Nettesheim,

“Vanity and Uncertainty of the Sciences ,”

“La Civ ilization au Italic au Tempo de la Renaissance, Tome n , 227.

The two besetting sins ofthe Romish clergy—wine andwomen— arewell setforth inthe following anecdote. A certain Philadelphia bishop— newly ordained, and very

proud ofhis promotion— sat down in a train one day beside a plainly dressed ladyof Hibernian descent. “Excuseme sort , she said, after surveying the bishop for amoment, “but by your dhress ye’re a presto?”

“Iwas a short time ago,madam,

”he replied proudly, but I’ma priest nomore .

Och, Godhelp you , poorman! an’was it dhrink, or thewomen?

260 Human Sexualitythe lines ofcandelabra, in the presence ofthe Pope, the Duke, and Lucretia ,his sister,who also looked on. To terminate the feast, giftswere offered

silk cloaks, hose, caps and other things— to themanwho should knowcarnally the greatest number ofthese courtesans , the act being done in public inthe courtofthe palace.

” 1

Along with his well known pederasty, Philip ofOrleans had regular

sexual relations with his daughters; 1 and Cardinal

Philip ofOrleans Wolsey in England paidwith his head for his sup

and Henry VIII pou d attempt to communicate syphilis, personallyanddirectly, to Henry V III. I amaware that “whia

pering in the ear is themannermentioned in history ; but, along withthe fact that Henrywas no such ass as to believe such amethod ofcommunication possible, it must always be remembered that the biographyofkings has its esoterica andesoterica, aswellas the Greek philosophy .

In considering the ethnographical, literary , andSuggested Zone historical aspects ofhomosexuality, the curious fact

ofHomosexuality is observable that,while it seems, to a greater or less

extent, prevalent everywhere, it obtainsmost largelyin certain pretty well defined geographical regions . Southern Italy has

always been noted for it; which Sir Richard Burton attempts to explain

by regarding it as a climatic, rather than a racial phenomenon ; and limitingitwithin his so- calledSotadic Zone.

This zone includedmeridional France, Italy, the Iberian Peninsula,

Greece and the coast regions ofAfrica, fromMorocco to Egypt, in Europe ;taking in, in Asia,Mesopotamia, Asia-Minor

, Chaldea, Afghanistan, Sind,the Punjaub and Kashmir ; and in Indo-China, China, Japan and Turk

estan . The theory, however is largely discredited by the fact that it

makes no provision for countries outside the zone, in which homosexualpractices are well known to prevail— notably among the Scythians , Tartars andKelts, aswellas in EnglandandAmeri ca.

The fact is, and I think the history ofall high

Causation ofIn civilization will bearme out in the statement, thatversion Considered wealth, luxury, effeminacy and general physical as

well as moral degeneracy , have farmore to dowiththe development ofthe vice than either climate or heredity ; and that theweakening of sexuality , and ofthemoral powers of resistance, are the

strongest factors in its productionf Goodhealthy sexuality is always contentwith the naturalmethod oi gratification ; but the impairment ofits

1 Job. Burchardi ,“Diariumsive rerumurbanarumcommentarii,” 1483- 1506 .

1 Dulaure,“Histoire de Paris ,

”1834.

Inversion ofthe Sexual Immlse 26 1

powers due to sexual debauchery always demands fresh agencies ofstimulation.

Ifthis be so, the labors ofthosewho have set inmotion two distinctcurrents ofopinion respecting homosexuality must be pronounced largelynugatory . On the one side, Binet, Schrenk- Notzing and others

, seekingto enlarge the sphere ofthe acquired, in accounting for sexual inversion,

have been met by the equally able psychologists, Kreflt- Ebing,M011 andFéré, with the opinion that it is congenital. Probably a sound and safe

way to regard the sexual instinct is to place it upon the same basis as anyother ofour instincts— appetite, for example ; and

,pursuing the analogy ,

compare the inverted instinctwith the inverted taste; which, as in the caseofclay- eaters for example, sometimes exists for abnormal kinds of food.

Thus the omnivorous instinct ofthe chicken, devouring everything that

comes in itsway ,may be likened to the normal sexual instinct at puberty ;the sexual invert corresponding to the same chicken

, carrying into adult

life its appetite for rags andwaste- paper; or to a grown man preferringthe nursing- bottle to roast beef.Although a tacit beliefin the idea ofcongenitality seems to be fairly

widespread, Ulri chs , so far as I know, was the only writer to frame a

distinct postulate, whatever its correctness or incorrectness, for the phe

nomena under discussion. This postulate is , that themale invert’s bodyco- existswith a female soul: animamuliebris in corpore virili inclusa; and,indeed, some writers, notablyMagnan and Gley, partially adopting thephrase

,have regarded inversion in the female brain as associatedwith a

certain degree ofmasculinity in the procreative organs .

Ulrichs , however,merely crystallizes into an epigramwhat is not onlyentirely insusceptible ofproof

,but opposed by the fact that, in a large

proportion ofcases, sexual inversion existswithout anymarkedmodifica tionofthe external organs and that, equally, in male inverts the femininepsychicmanifestationsmay be, andfrequently are,wholly absent.

As I have before remarked, in all animals there

ItsMorphology are certain relics ofbisexuality which neverwhollyand Psychology disappear. The hen retains the rudimentary spurs

ofthe cock ; the useless nipple oftheman develops,under certain conditions, into the lactiferous breast of thewoman ; in thefemale clitoris we see the rudimentary male penis ; while in the various

works on teratologymay be foundmore or less striking evidences to supportLetamendi’s theory of panhermaphrodism,

” 1 as a principle as universal

as sex differentiation itself.

But ifthere be an indeterminate point atwhich, by absolutely unknown1 Vid. Proceedings Int.Med. Cong ,

Rome, 1894.

262 Human Sexualityprocesses,whether fortuitous or designed, this sex separation begins, untilwe arrive at somemore definite knowledge ofthat starting -

point, and the

morphological influences ofwhich it is the center,wemust be content to

regard these subtle sex- approximations , anddeviations , as , ifnot accidental,at leastwholly beyond the domain ofpresent knowledge . Beforewe classtheminute organic variations froma given type as abnormalities, however,we should have a distinct idea ofwhat constitutes an abnormality . Is

the study ofnosologywholly distinct fromthat ofteratology? And howfar arewe justified in associating phenomena,which have been known toresult fromdisease, with thowwhich are equally well known to be theproduct oforganic predisposition?We knowcolor- blindness and criminat to be entirely distinct, as dis

eases, fromscarlatina and smallpox ; butwhere does the difference begin asto symptomatology? And ifLetamendi’s suggested theory 1 oflatentmalegerms in the female, and female germs in themale, striving formastery,and thus producing sexual inversion, be true, is it not equally true

that the same, or similar, embryological action iswhat produces the normalsex?

So far as the psychic features ofinversion are concerned, it is quiteprobable that they depend largely ifnotwholly on antenatal influences;but those influences , notwithstanding all that has been wri tten, are still

too problematical and vague to constitute littlemore thanwhatMoll callsmere happy thoughts in themorphology ofthe subject.While itmay be regarded as settled, therefore, that sexual inversion is

a product ofdegeneration, psychical and physical, toward the fulldevelopment ofwhich a greatmany causes contribute ; while it is a phenomenon,in themain,

ofweakenedwill power, licentious habits ofthought, and a

too luxurious civilization ; while it springs froma false sexual ideal, rather

than deficient intellect; andwhile its practice is so destructive of bothsocial and privatemorals that the lawtakes almost universal cognizanceofit, yet, in the nearly total absence ofwhatmay be regarded as adequatescientific data concerning its nature and causation, I deemit prudent totouch only very lightly upon the vast mass of speculation,

physiologicalandpsychical,which recent years have produced in reference to it; limitingmyselfto those practical phases of the question inwhich society suffers

from, andendeavors to protect itselfagainst, the sexualinvert ; and,withoutassuming that highmoral tonewhichwould be distinctly out ofplace indealingwith a pathologicalproblem, to protect the inverthimself, or herself,fromphysical destruction, by pointing out the penalties which this, in

commonwith every other v iolation ofnatural law,must ultimately entail.

G. de Letamendi, Int.Med. Cong . , Rome, 1894.

264 Human SexualityFalse interpretations of sensation, due to spinal

asthenia, are so powerful and real as to produce thesexualclimax frompurely psychical causes ; and, sincenature is not always kind tomany ofthese subjects

ofdelusional eviration, they pad their breasts and hips,wear tight shoes,use vast quantities of“tonic,” tomake their hair grow, andmodulate theirvoices so as to conformas nearly as possible to the female falsetto.

The cases , however, ofpsychic inversion reaching this extreme development are comparatively rare. Kreflt- Ebing cites only three, in his peouliarly extended experi ence ; 1 Sérieux , one ; Esquirol, two ; Arndt, one ;I,myself, have known only two ; and in the number ofcases recordedbyMr. Ellis, in volume three ofhis admirablework,we find the delusional

features so undeveloped as to bring the cases where be properly placesthem,within the category ofsimple sexual inversion.

Amdt’s case, as it reverses those already given,

being that ofawoman simulating the sexual characterofaman, isworthy ofmention. A sharply cutprofile,nose somewhat large, general heaviness of feature

,

and short hair, smoothly combed, gave the head a decidedly masculine

appearance. Shewas tall, lean, erect,with a low,rough voice, and looked

like a man in woman’s dress . Asked howshe came to think shewas a

man,she replied excitedly

— “how? Don’t I look like aman ! Just look atme ! I feel like aman

,tool I have always felt so, but I knowit clearly

now. The man who passed for my husband only helped to do what Iplanned. I have always beenmasculine, liked towork in the fields betterthan the house

, or kitchen, but never knewthe reason before. NowIknowit is because I amaman

,andnot awoman !”

It is regrettable that the case ofDr.MaryWalker,

late ofNewYork State, seems never, so far as I amaware

,to have been investigated by any competent

medico- psychologist ; as I feel certain itwould haveaflorded some enlightenment in this interesting field ofresearch. The, in

many respects, parallel case of“Murray Hall,”who died in NewY ork city

in 1901, ismentioned by Ellis,1whose omission oftheWalker case ismoreeasily accounted for by his foreign residence, than it iswith such investi

gators as Lydston and Kieman,who contributed so largely to the study

ofAmerican cases ofinversion.Murray Hall’s real namewasMary Anderson,born at Govan, Scotland.

Left an orphan at an early age, shewent to Edinburgh,where sheworkedfor some time as aman. The discovery ofher sex, through illness , caused

1 Loc. cit., p. 216 , et seq. Loc. cit. , n , 142.


her to emigrate to the United States,where she lived as aman for thirtyyears, becoming somewhat notorious as a Tammany politician,

in NewYork, as well as a rather riotous “man about town.

”

She seems to have associatedmuchwith girls, being exceedingly jealousofthem; was slight in build,with a squeaky voice, andhabits andmannersessentially masculine. Her first marriage ended in separation ; but thesecond, which lasted twenty years, was only terminated by the death of

the “wife. She smoked, chewed tobacco, drank, and could sing a ribald

songwith the best, orworst, ofthem; wore baggy trousers to conceal her

sex,andfinally diedofmammary carcinoma, in 1901.

The following description of a female invert isA Classical Virago themost classical I have come across ; portraying, as

it does, the perfect simulation ofmasculine habitsand bearing in theirminutest details.

“Whilewearing feminine garments ,her bearing is as nearly as possible a man’s. She wears her thin hairthrown carelessly back, a la Umberto, andfastened in a simple knot at theback ofher head. Her breasts are little developed, andcompressedbeneatha high corset. She walks out alone, refusing the company ofmen, oraccompanied by awoman,

as she prefers ; oflering her arm,and carrying

the other hand at herwaistwith the air ofa fine gentleman . In a carriage

her bearing is peculiar, and unlike that habitualwithwomen. Seated in

themiddle ofthe seat,her knees crossed, or the legs well separated,with

a virile air, andeasy , carelessmovement, she turns her head in every direc

tion, finding an acquaintance here and there wi th her eye, and saluting

with a large gesture ofthe hand, just as a business manwould. In con

versation her pose is similar. She gesticulatesmuch, is vivacious inspeech,with great power ofmimicry ; andwhile talking, arches the inner anglesofher eyebrows, making verticalwrinkles at the center ofthe forehead.

Her laugh is open and explosive, uncovering herwhite teeth, andwithmen she is on terms ofcareless equality .

” 1

The tendency ofgirls to dress in men’s attire is

amatter ofvery general observation, in large cities

particularly ; and I have little doubt that a fair proportion ofcases reported by the newspapers, inwhich

young girls suddenly disappear fromtheir homes , for a longer or shorter

period oftime,may be thus accounted for. To show, however, that thesemanifestations ofviraginity are inmost cases purely psychical, thoughwefrequently find associated with thema certain masculinity of physical

1 Zuccarelli,“Inversione congenita dell istinto sessuale in una donna, Naples'

L’Anomalo, Feb 1889 .

266 Human Sexuattexture

,and coarseness offeature, there is seldomany trace ofthemore

distinctivemasculine appendages, such as hairy legs, beard andmustache.

1

The invertedwoman lacks that softness and delicacy peculiar to hersex, andwill convey a

,masculine impression to the sense oftouch; but to

what extent thismay be due to her assumption ofmanly habits,with theirnaturalcoarsening, I amnot aware that I have seen discussed. Flatau ex

amined the larynx in a number offemale inverts, and found a decided

approach to themasculine type, especially in cases ofcongenital origin ;and this result seems to be borne out by thewellknown love of smokingamongwomen ofthat class.

But this is only one ofa number ofpoints inwhich the sexual invert

deviates fromthe normal type. The boy- invert seeks the companionshipofgirls, playswith dolls, cooks, sews, anddevelops a taste for the femininetoilette. He tabooes chewing tobacco, smoking, drinking, and allmanlysports ; and gives himselfup almost exclusively to the cultivation ofthe

aesthetic. He loves the female rble inmasquerades ; striveswith feminineinstinct tomake himselfpleasing tomen ; and simulates, in amanner oftenquite ludicrous , the peculiar undulatingmovement ofa girl’s hips inwalking,aswellas her attitude,manners andmysterious involutions ofdress.

With a female ofthe same class these, and similar, symptoms are of

course reversed. She plays with the boys, seeks to rival themin gymnastic sports, has a romantic passion to play the robber, or the soldier,

andlikes especially to be ridden by , or to ride, a boy in the game of“horse.

”

With reference to the sexual feelings ofboth, they are so identifiedwiththe sex the individual has assumed, in his or her thought, as to become,subjectively, quite real. The girl feels herselfto be a boy , and the boy, a

girl. They are antagonistic to their own sex,when the latter is abnormallyconstituted, like themselves, showing the jealousy ofwomen for one another;but are attracted to those oftheir own sex who are either sexually normal,or homosexual.When contrary sexuality is perfectly developed, natural union is re

garded pretty much as we regard the unnatural. I

Normal Sexual have a young fri endwho tells me that he is beingLove Incomprehen courted at the presentwriting by a youngman and

sible to the a young girl, the latter ofcourse normal,with equal

Invert ardor and pertinacity. These betray the utmostjealousy ofeach other, the former ridiculing anddis

paraging the latter, with even more than feminine vindictiveness and,

without enlightening me as to the possible encouragement afforded the

V id. L. Harris- Liston,

“Cases ofBeardedWomen,

” Brit.Med. Jour. , June 2, 1894.

268 Human Sexualityexact reverse ofall three. In the former case, it has the force ofa con

genital phenomenon, innate sexual inversion ; while in the latter, the forminwhich I amabout to consider it, a normal sexual beginning is inferred,towhich has been added

,by various definite external influences, a second

ary characterwhich brings itwithin the realmofacquired homosexuality.

Ofcourse there are various degrees ofthe abnormality , ranging all theway from simple hermaphrodism, through the partial homosexuality,which afiects only the physical life, to those typical cases in which boththe physical and psychical elements are involved; but, since any moreminute subdivisionwouldmake the subject far too complicatedfor presentpurposes, I have deemed it prudent to follow, in themain,

the established

classification.

It is a fair inference, although unsupported, so far as I amaware, byany previous testimony , thatwhatwe call congenital

Congenital homosexuality is really a development, inmost cases,Homosexuality rather than a primal condition ; 1 being a concomitant

of,andmost probably preceded by ,

an utter absence

ofsexual sensibility for the opposite sex, yet not necessarily with a syn

chronons love ofthe same sex . Whenwe invade the realmofinstinctive

beginnings , we shall find ourselves on very misty and uncertain ground;

but, ifLamarck’s conclusion be correct, that habit is the outgrowth ofa

primal need,we are in a fair position to trace homosexuality to the two

apparent factors in its causation— sexua lneed, and absence ofnormal sexual

In defence ofthe proposition assumed, it is proper to point out that,in homosexuality , there is noweakening ofthe sexual instinct, no enfeeblement ofwill, no failure ofdesire ; the impulse simply takes thewrong road;following that road, however, with an intensity quite equal to, ifindeednot greater than, the normal.Such intensity is shown,

not only in the radically changedmode of

feeling, manners, dress, calling and character,ofthe individual, but in so

complete a modification of the very aspect and facial expression, as to

suggest, not somuch the departure froman old type, as the formation ofanewone. In this respect I aminclinedtodiffer, somewhat, fromWestphal’sdefinition ofthe abnormality as “

a congenital reversalofthe sexualfeeling,

with consciousness ofthe abnormality ofthemanifestation 1most ofthe

1 For a comparison ofv iews on this interesting subject, the reader is respectfullyreferred to theworks ofTardieu , Hofmann ,Magnan, Shawand Ferris , Krefit- Ebing,Chevalier, Lombroso, Tamassia , Brouardel, Havelock Ellis and Lacass agne, as fairlyrepresenting the best class ofthinkers along sexual lines .

Archie f. Psychiatric, II , 73.


cases ofhomosexuality coming undermy personal observation displayingsuch beliefin

, and identificationwith, the see: assumed as to constitute a

very complete psychical actuality .

Kran‘

t- Ebing has endeavored to associate this peculiar conditionwithfunctionaldegeneration ,

anda partialmanifestation ofa neuro- psychopathichabit which is in most cases hereditary ;

‘showing slight divergence,

though in away difierent frommy own,fromWestphal’s v iew; who, while

admitting his inability to decidewhether the symptoms are ofneuropathicor psychopathic origin, still holds fast to the idea ofcongenitat in every

While not denying the truth ofthe latter idea, somuch as our abilityto prove it, I shall, for convenience, still continue to use the term congenital

inve just as I purpose using the name urning, to designate those homosexual inverts having desire for their own sex exclusively ; although I amnot entirely in sympathywith Ulrichs’s somewhat fanciful classification.

But, however viewsmay differ as to its beginning , it cannot be deniedthat the sexual life ofthese individuals manifests itselfat an abnormallyearly period; not infrequently the perverse tendency exhibiting itself inacts andfeelings quite outside the realsexualsphere. There is, for instance,inmany cases amarked and greatly exaggerated development ofthe peychical character ; exhibiting itselfin religiousmysticism,

artistic aptitude,love of poetry, romance

,and frequently that intellectual genius which

approaches dementia,which Lombroso so ably defines ,’and towhich Dryden’s immortal couplet so graphically applies:

Greatwits to lunacy are near allied,And thin partitions do their bounds divide.

”

Coexistent with the numerous psychical hallucinations of contrary

sexual feeling,will be frequently found such actual neuroses as hysteria,

neurasthenia and the several epileptoidconditionswhichhave been thought,as a rule, to have their root in heredity ; at least, until the recent revolution

against Lombrom’s pet theory has given the current ofscientific thought a

wholly contrary direction as to the influence of prenatal conditions on

psychicalphenomena.

Loc. cit. , p. 225 .

“TheMan ofGenius.

The remark ofAristotle, nullummagnumingeniumsinemizturd dementia , bears

out the same view; and that the sexual passion is notwholly destitute ofa similardementia is supported by the statement ofJosephus , that a celebrated Roman prodigal gave a hrmdred sesterces for a single nightwith Lais ofCorinth; and that ofGellius , ducenta drachmarummillio pro unicd node,which represented the price paid byMrmdus for a similar seasonwith the divine Paulina. (Joseph. Antiq. Jud lib. 18, 4;Gellius , n , On the insanity ofgenius , see alsoMoreen,

“PsychologieMorbide;”Lélut,

“Demon de Socrate ;” andNisbet, “The Insanity ofGenius ,” London, 189 1 .

270 Human SexuatThe somatic 1 character ofcontrary sexual feeling is shown by the fact

that the dreamofthemale urning has always for its object amale companion ; while the dreamofthe normalman

,which brings sexual passion,

emotion andejaculation through amentalpicture ofa beautiful, voluptuous,ormuch lovedwoman—ao real that the very acts ,movements andpleasurable sensations ofintercourse are unconsciously reproduced— is never knownto the invert.

So the female finds her satisfaction only with a female ; but it mustnot be assumed that the invert’s pleasure is the less intense on that account,in either case ; facts being abundant to prove that, before the sexualneurasthenia culminates in weakness , and irritability of the ejaculation- center,

in the male urning especially, enjoyment is sometimes abnormally intense, and onlymarred by the social and legal barrierswhich stand in the

way ofits open indulgence.

As I shall find occasion frequently tomake use ofthisword “urning,

a reproduction here ofUlrichs’s classification, fromwhich it is derived,maynot be out ofplace:’

1 .Man, orDioning . He becomes an Uraniaster,when he hasacquired the tastes ofthe UrningMannling

The HumanMale 2. Urningmhng

3 . Uranodioning4. Hermaphrodite

We see in this diagramonly three distinctions necessary to observethe dioning , normalman ; the urning , abnormalman ; and the hermaphrodite, bisexualman ; the same rule, only reversed, applying towomen . So

far as the presentwork is concerned the second individual of the grouponly needbe remembered.

In this connection and before proceeding to dis

WasMan Orig cuss the psychology ofthe subject, it is curi ous to

inally Bisexual? observe that the notion ofan original hermaphroditism

,or bisexuality, in the human species is ofhis

torical aswell as physiological antiquity. In the book ofGenesiswe aretold that God createdman in His own image,male andfemale createdHehim— not them,

as translated, since the creation ofthewoman, fromthe

It is necessary to remark that both here and elsewhere I use this word in its

medical sense, as meaning what pertains to the entire organism, bothmental and

physical.See

“Memnon , etc . , KarlH. Ulrichs, Schleiz , 1868 ; also H . Ellis , lac. cit n , 228 .

272 Human SexualityThis somewhat fantastic theory ofthe sexual creation, which Ulrichs

made the partial basis ofhis speculations, andwhich saversmore ofhighlywrought Corelli , or Bram-Stoker romance, than cold, latter-day reasoning ,

is cited rather to showthe dev ious trend ofthe human intellect, in dealingwith the psychology ofsex, than for any practical purpose to be subservedby itsdeductions.

Andthe samemay be remarkedofthe propositionofanother author,Mantegazza,

1 who endeavored to account for contrary

sexuat by an error of nature, in distributing tothe rectumcertain sexually sensitive nerves originallyintended for the genitals ; thus reversing the seat of

lustful sensation, and accounting , or endeavoring to account, for sexual

abnormality on a purely , physiologicalground.

Not tomention the well- known fact that many men are inverted to

whomintercourse by the rectumis avowedly abhorrent, this ridiculous

theory ofa usually acute reasonermakes no provision whatever for thepsychical side of the subject; nor any effort to explain these numerousphases of inversion where men are passionately attached to men, andwomen towomen,without, as I have heretofore shown, the slightestdesire

The explanation ofcontrary sexual feeling by Krafit—Ebing , that it isa peculiarity bred in the descendants but rooted in

Views of the ancestry ,’strikesme as being not only the acutest,

Kreflt- Ebing but most conformable to reason , that I have yet

encountered. The hereditary element may be an

abnormal tendency toward the same sex, in the parent, strengthened and

developed by external causes into positive inversion, in the child; but, untilwe knowsomething further oftheseminute andmarvellous processes inreproduction, by which the egg

- cell develops, either directly or indirectly,

into its parental analogue and resemblance, repeating , through long cycles

ofsyntheticmetabolism, peculiarities and characteristicswhich may havearisen originally fromspontaneous variation,wemay aswell deal almostwhollywith external causative influences, and content ourselveswith thevulgar apothegmthat “ like begets like,” restricting our inquiries to factsand phenomena susceptible ofactual demonstration.

The remark ofRichter that the clue ofour iden

Heredity Further tity , wander where we will, lies at the foot of the

Considered cradle,”a repetition ofwhich is found in the common

saying that ifyou want to reforma child you mustbegin with its grandfather, is doubtless true, within certain limits ; but,

1 “Fisiologia dell’Amore,” 1886 , p. 106 . Loc. cit. , p. 228.


although othersmay satisfy both reason and conscience by shufiing their

faults and shortcomings ofl upon the shoulders oftheir unfortunate ances

tors, until something more definite and tangible than Haeckel’s palingsnetic processes ” is discovered, to guide us through the misty realmof

hemdity, I shall continue to pinmy faith rather towhat Patrick Geddesdenominates the hammering of environmental forces , which formerlyplayed upon the parent,” than to an obscure generalization, which not

even its own innumerable theories can adequately explain.

There is ofcourse a certainty , as irrefutable as it ismarvellous , in theway distinguishing indiv idual characteristics are carried forward throughlong lines ofancestry ; but,while there is amore or less clear distinction

traceable between adaptive characters and the underlying morphologicaltype, itmust never be forgotten that the deepestmorphological charactersare but, at best, the accumuhzted results ofpast adaptations ; and that no

embryologist has yet succeeded, inmy view, in disentangling the intricatemaze oforganogeny which surrounds sexual abnormality, any more thanhe has explained thatwhich enve10ps sex differentiation itself. This beingtrue,we can only consider the former aswe find it; equally likely , so faras our present knowledge extends , to be a principle, instead ofa lapse of

biogenetic law; and regard,with Krafit- Ebing , contrary sexual feeling as

Indeed, this supposition is well borne out in the

A Case in Point case recorded by the latterwriter, ofthe eight-

year

olddaughter ofaman ofcontrary sexualfeeling,whopractisedmutualmasturbationwith a girl friend at an agewhich,while itfairly warrants the presumption ofheredity , does not, by anymeans , exelude the influence ofenvironment, or example.

1

The fatherwas inverted; the child lived in an atmosphere ofinversion ;

and the peculiarities,mental,moral and physical,which arewell known todistinguish the sexual invert, it is not unreasonable to suppose,may haveadded a very appreciable influence to that ofthe organic aptitude. And

the same, or similar, circumstances are very apt tobe found in almost every

I amfrank to admit, however, though even here I amcompelled toburden the concession with certain limitations, that outside the cases of

pronouncedmental disease, senile dementia, etc. , I have thus far failed to

find a single instance oftypical inversion,without some traces ofprenatalor ontogenic taint.

And furthermore, althoughmaking the suggestionwith becoming diflidence, I aminclined to think a subdivision ofumings into normal and

“Psychopathia Sexualis , Case 124, p. 228.

274 Human Sexualityabnormal types,might very properly be added to the present classification ;andI have, indeed, ventured in thiswork to adopt the innovation. There

arewhatmay be callednormal urnings ,who obtain perfect satisfaction only

with persons ofthe same sex ;whose homosexualembraces, curiouslyenough,seemto result in great psychic relief, and accession ofphysical strength;while there are others, the proposed abnormal type, who, through sexual

weakness or irritability ofthe ejaculation—center, the result ofmasturbationor other cause, experience the imperfect orgasmfrequentlywithout evencontact ofthe genitals , and in whomhomosexual intercourse, although

Persons inwhomthe perverse psycho- sexuality is strong ,who obtain thegreatestdegree ofdelightfrombeingmasturbatedby the person loved, or inmutualmasturbation, or by intercourse between the breasts , or thighs, orby the rectum, deriv ing an equal enjoyment fromeach method, are not

urnings, in the true sensewhich makes the homosexual act as real and

concrete as the heterosexual act.

The classification ofsexual inversion, as I have before remarked, is a

matter ofconsiderable difficulty ; many cases, such as those hintedat above,with others ofan entirely diflerent tendency , being sometimes placed in thecategory of homosexuality , congenital or acquired, whereas they really

belong to that ofpsychosexual hermaphroditism, or inversion ofa purelypsychic character; andwhile I do not desire to add to the complexity of

the subject, I shall not hesitate , fromtime to time, tomake those furtherclinicaldistinctionswhich absolute correctnessmay suggest, andwhich themethodoftreatment I have adoptedfortunately permits.

Nor is the determination ofthe congenital, or acquh d, nature ofa givencase ofinversion, by anymeans so easy as those cock- sure dogmatistswholay down their lawso arbitrarilywouldlead us to believe. Such cases are

commonly only so casuallymet by the physician , theirmost salientfeatures,only , expowd, and thesewith by nomeans the fullness, duration anddetail,

which accuratediagnosisdemands , that it is extremely diflicult to assure ourselves that a case is purely congenital, for instance, as is frequently claimed,where,without our knowledge, some imprint ofenv ironment, or suggestion,made at the

“ psychologicalmoment,” asMr. Ellis intimates,may haveturned a properly normal impulse into a factitious channel; similar argu

ments holding true in the reverse case ofacknowledgedinverts by acquisition .

The following cases, taken fromthe last menInstances of tionedwriter, and given chiefly in the subject’s ownAssumed Con language, I regard as typical ofthose instanceswhich,genital Inversion correctly or incorrectly , have always been lookedupon

as congenital.

At the age ofeight or nine, long before distinct sexualfeelings declared

76 Human SexualityLittle reflection is needed to conv ince us that in this casewe have inver

sion, so radical and somatic as to inspire, not only perfect satisfaction inthe subject as to themoral principles involved, but, an absolute beliefinthe actual normality ofhis condition ; and I cite it here, instead of its

more appropriate place in the category ofthe acquiredhabit, for the expresspurpose ofemphasizingmy recently expressed views on thematter ofcausation, by the statement ofthe subject himself, that his parentage was perfectly sound,with neither diseased nor abnormal tendency, nor any record

ofhomosexual practices in the family , prior to his own.

The following case, however, shows unmistakable evidence ofa predisposing influencePhysician, unmarried, feels sure that his inversionmust be hereditary .

His father snflered fromsevere attacks ofmelancholia, although never

known to indulge in homosexual practise s. At the age offourteen, the

son first felt the striv ing of the contrary instinctwithin him; struggled

against it frommoralmotives, but finally yielded. His life has beenmiserable ; not fromthe physical standpoint, nor fromany evil consequencesentailedfromthe habit, but fromthe outrage to his high sense ofmorality .

1

There is also a distinct trace ofcongenital influence in the followingMy grandfatherwas twicemarried,my father being his third son by the

secondwife. I believe that two, ifnotmore, ofthe familywere inverted,and the only one ofthemtomarrywasmy father. Themarriage proveda most unhappy one. I understand I was born with slight gonorrhea]

affection, and as a childmy health was very indiflerent. This lattermayhave been brought about by the peculiarly unhappy and unnatural life I

led. I had no companions ofmy own age , anddid not even attend school

until aftermymother’s death. When aboutfive years oldI recollect havinga sexual dreamconnectedwith a railway-

porter. It affordedme greatpleasure to recall this dream, and about that ~

time I discovered amethodofself- gratification. There is notmuch ‘

teaching’required in suchmatters.

I cannot say that the dreamconstituted absolutelymy first intimation of

inverted feeling ; but rather that it crystallized vague ideas which Imighthave already hadon the subject.

“I remember, however, that,when about three or four years ofage, ayoung fellowoftwenty came to our house, and, takingme in his lap, kissedme, itwas a source ofgreat pleasure tome. I cannot remember ifitwasaccompaniedby erection ofthe penis , but his caressesmade a greater impression uponme than those ofwomen. When I went to boarding- school I,

ofcourse, soonmetwith attachments and gratifications with other boys.

Iwas not long in discovering thatmy companions, however, v iewed theIbid. , p. 57.


pleasures thatmeant somuch tome froman entirely difi'

erent standpoint,their thoughts andconversation being aboutfemales .

“After I left school Imade the discovery thatmy case, far frombeing

mysteries ofhomosexuality , with its free-masonry and argot. I supposeit isdue to female versatility, or impressibility, that I amable to experiencethe emotions attributable to either see , according to the age and temperament ofmy companion. Ifwith one older thanmyself, possessing wellmarkedmale characteristics , I amable to feel all that surrender and dependencewhich is so essentially feminine ; whilewith a youth offemininetype and behav ior, I can realize, with an equal amount ofpleasure , thetender yet dominant attitude ofthemale.

“I experience no particular ‘horror’ofwomen, sexually ; and imagine

my feeling toward themrewmbles verymuchwhat normal people feelwithregard to pemons oftheir own sex. Among the latter, especially in thecase ofthose sexually strong , there exists a feeling ofantagonism, as betweenman andman, andwoman andwoman, based probably on instinctive

sex- rivalry ,which is sufficient not only to occasionmuch ofthe repugnanceand odiumwhich attaches to inversion, generally , but in itselfto create

a certain amount ofhorror. Thus , I have heard a woman- lover remarkthat he considered a nakedman to be the most disgusting swctacle on

earth, a feeling, ifanything,more strongly evinced as betweenwomen.

”

Inverts of the foregoing type, on the contrary ,

Reversed Stand feel themost exquisite pleasure in aman’s nakedness;ards ofBeauty the psychical impulse being reversed, andthat resthetic

and sexual delightwhich the normalman finds in thecontemplation ofa beautifulnakedwoman being transferred by the invertto his own sex.

I have always been impmssed, as previously intimated,with the extenttowhich the idea ofabstract beauty enters into inversion. With normalmen, awoman’s beauty is always,more or less consciously, associatedwithsexuality ; the same idea prevailingwith normalwomen as tomen ; while,as illustrated by the following case, the sexual impulse seems , in probablya majority of inverts, to be wholly subordinated to abstract love ofthe

beautiful the act of intercourse itselfbeing rather amanifestation ofthe

primitive impulse to touch whatwe . love, or to afiord gratification to the

object, than a desire foundedon innate sexualneed:

Inme the homosexual nature is singularly complete , and undoubtedlycongenital. Themost intensedelight ofmy childhoodwas towatch acrobatsand riders in the circus. Thiswas not somuch for their skillful feats, as

Ibid 11 , 59 , 61.

278 Human Sexualitythe beauty of their persons . I liked, particularly , the lithe and graceful

fellows. I longed to see themnaked, andwithout their tights ; and used to

lie awake thinking of them, and longing to be loved and embraced bythem. There was nothing consciously sensual about these reveries ,

because at the time I had no sensual feelings nor knowledge. I used

to take pleasure in watchingmen and boys in swimming , and although I

dared not letmy comrades knowhowI felt about thesematters, the sightofawell formed, naked youth, orman,would fillme, as it does now,withmingled feelings ofbashfulness and delight. I was constantly falling in

love with handsome boys ; but, although I played sometimes with girls,I cared little for them.

“My parents , as usual, neglectedto impart tome any sexual knowledge,andwhat I hadwas gatheredfurtively fromboys’talk at school, and other

impure sources . I do not believe that Iwas sexually precocious ; and, evennow, feelmore pleasure frommerely contempkrting, than fromcoming intosexual contactwith, the object ofmy amorous attentions . As I grewolder

there came, ofcourse, an undefined physical longing ; but itwas the beautyofthose I admiredwhichmainly appealedtome.

“At puberty , I spontaneously learned tomasturbate . I discovered it

while bathing , through the pleasant sensation that came fromtouching thesexualorgan, and itwas not long before I was confirmed in the habit. I

have never in my life had any sexual feeling for, or connection with, awoman. The very thought ofsuch a thing is disgusting tome. Evenwomen’sphysical beauty has little charmforme ; and I oftenwonder howmen can

be so afiectedby it.“At about nineteen I became strongly attached to a youngman, feeling

the first shock ofgenuine love . He returnedmy afiection but bothwereshy ofshowing our real feelings. Often,whenwalking together after nightfall,wewould put our arms about each other, andwhen sleeping togetherwould lie in close contact, my friend once suggesting that I putmy legsbetween his . He frequently beggedme to spend the nightwith him; butI began to fearmy feelings . We neither ofus had any definite ideas about

homosexualmatters ; and, apart fromwhat I have related, never had any

contactwith each other.

“My next lovewas a youth ofaboutmy own age,who exerteduponmea strong and instant attraction . Wewere together only a fewdayswhenIwas obliged to leave formy home, the partingwith himcausingme thegreatest unhappiness and depression. A fewmonths after, we spent a

v acation together, and during our trip went in swimming in company .

When I sawmy friendnaked,for the first time, he seemedtome sobeautiful

that I longed to throwmy arms about him, and cover himwith kisses. I

280 Human SexuatIn the following case, although the facts ofparent

A Sanctimonious age are unfortunately not stated, it would appearSeducer fromthe earlymanifestation ofthe inverted instinct

that there must have been a strong predisposingelement present, either ofexternal suggestion or heredity. At the age of

nine years, he fell in lovewith a handsome boy ; and,without any positivesexual feeling, felt a great desire to be fondled and handled by him. He

began tomasturbate at the age often ; but his first initiation into the real

mystery ofsex was at the hands of a dormitory-servant, at school, whoshowed himhis penis, andmasturbatedhimwhile in his bath. This reprobate, aman offorty years , habitually had intercoursewith the boys by therectum; and seemed to exercise a sort offascination for them although

wearing, in the presence ofothers, an expression ofsanctity and innocence.

“The boywho occupied the cubicle next tomine,”goes on this precocious historiographer ofschool- life,was also a bad case. I hadopportunity ofwatchinghimuntil, two years later, hewas fortunately invited

to leave the school. He talked bawd frommorning till night, got drunk,masturbatedwithout the slightest concealment, had intercoursewith several

ofthe younger boys, between the thighs , and gave the general impressionofhaving been born in a brothel. Whether this young cub

’s sexual instinct

could have been turned, or guided, I do not know. In a rougher and

simpler life than that of a public school, he might, perhaps, have been‘licked into better shape. At the age ofnineteen , when I left school, Ihadpickedup a sexualexperience thatmay ormay not have been a valuableone.My father had discovered, shortly after, that Imasturbated, andgavemewhat he ev idently conceived to be the proper advice. Ifyou do this,

’

he remarked, youwillneverbe able touseyour peniswith awoman. There

fore, ifyoumustdo it, youwouldbetter gowith a prostitute .

’

“Afterward Iwas taken to a great physician .

‘Masturbation,

’saidhe,

‘ is death. Many youngmen come tomewith the same story . They are

killing themselves , and it will kill you too.

’ His ev ident object was tofrighten young men into a better life. I took, then,my father’s advice.

I picked up awoman in the street andwent homewith her. Fromsomething she said I knewthat I had given her pleasure , and she askedme to‘come again.

’ I did, butwithout any re al pleasure tomyself. Thewholething seemedtome sordidand soulless, andamanwho takes nastymedicinemustmake up hismind that he really needs it. I have had sexual inter

coursewith otherwomen, but, if I hadmy life to live over, Iwould shunthemallas Iwoulda lethaldraught.

Inversion of the Sexual Impulse 28:

Possibly the experiences didme good, in the sense that theymade itpossible forme to look deeper into life, though towhat extent seeing thetorments ofthe damnedenables us to do this , only aDante couldtell.

“What is tome the chiefest and bitterest thought is , that I flung awaythe first- spri ng ofmanhood, getting nothing in return.

1 His virginity is , or

should be, as glorious and sacred a possession to a boy as to a girl, to be

guarded jealously and given only at the call oflove to onewho loves him,

andwhomhe loses in return.

“At the age oftwenty-four I first began to understand the relationshipofthe physical phenomena ofsex to intellectual and imaginativemanifestations . It was the study ofWalt Whitman’s ‘Leaves ofGrass’that first

broughtme light on the question.

’

Hitherto,my boy-friendships and sex- instincts had been kept sacredlyseparate. Ofcourse I had been troubled by the usual sex-

phenomenaerotic dreams, seminal emissions , troublesome erections, etc— but these I

strove to repress , as best I could; evenmaking an attempt to conquermyhabit ofmasturbating by gradually diminishing stages ; and, on the tippler’8plan oflessening the number ofdrinks by dropping a pebblemthe bottleevery day , Imarked uponmy calendar the erotic dreams , and the nights

ofmasturbation, seeking thus to gradually extend the intervening periods.

Sixweekswas the longest time Iwas able to abstain.

”

The following it seems proper also to relegate to the so-called congenital

class : “As soon as Iwent to school, I developed deep aflection for thoseofmy schoolfellowswhowerewell- built, and handsome ; and spentmuchtime in devising means ofmeeting them. With one boy in particular Iwas very friendly , having for hima strong sexual passion,which I did not

understand, nor did he, though we used to creep into one or the other’s

bed every night. I sufiered fromerections at the thought ofhandsomeboys since the age ofeight, though I did not understand anything aboutsexualmatters till Iwas fifteen.

“During allmy years ofschool- life, though the slightestmarkofafiectionfroma boy caused an erection, I never had the slightest sexual desire for

women, or girls. I loved to pressmy body against the boys I loved, and

It is upon this , andother similar experiences elsewhere recorded, rather than uponany specific didactic sermonizing, that the author relies to conv ey whatever ethical

teaching the presentworkmay contain.

The “manly lov e,” exploited by Whitman , Tennyson,Milton and other poets,which lay at the bottomofGreek , Roman and Babylonian pederasty , andwhich isdweribed in the recently edited “Iolaus : An Anthology ofFriendship,” by EdwardCarpenter,while ofvery doubtful value as an incentive to highmoral v irtue, is an ideaalways eagerly seized upon by thosewho are insensible to normal sexual ideals.

H . Ellis , lac. cit. , II , 71—76 .

282 Human Sexuatto handle their sexual organs. At fifteen, a boy one day inducedme torub his penis , and he did the same tome. I did not like the sensation,

but hemademe continue till he had an emission. I did not have the ex

perience, and he toldme I was too young . I used after that to rubmypenis myself; but, there being no emission, I concluded there was somethingwrong , and that Iwas impotent. Soon after Iwas sixteen, however,another boywhomIwas very fond ofdid the same, and I had an emission

With this boy-friendI usedtogratifymyselfthree or four times aweekbutwe never attempted penetration ofthe anus , both shrinking fromitas unnatural and beastly. Only once I suflered fromany sexual passionfor a girl, and she was boyish, and very likemy male friend inmanner.

I did not have sexual relations with her, nor have I ever hadwith any

woman. Photog aphs ofnakedwomen are repulsive tome; and ifI ever

were tomarry , itwould be solely for friendship ; and I should take care

to explain tomy intended, before contracting the alliance, that I should

probably never sleepwith her.

” 1

I cannot help interjecting here that, however novel such a stipulationmight appear in the marriage- contract, this modern young lady wouldhardly regard it as an insuperable obstacle, the facilities for having thatkindofwork done by proxy being inmost cases convenient andample.

The same youth takes strong ground as a homoHomosexuality sexual advocate ; puts forth the not unsupportedDefended theory that constant associationwith boys develops

the abnormal instinct, just as association with girlsdev elops the normal; condemns secret masturbation, as physically and

morally injurious ; and, assuming a highly altruistic r61e, remarks that heconceives it unfair to usewomen asmere channels for sexual gratification ;

forgetting that the ladies themselves have something to say in thematter,andthat, as far as I amaware, they have not registeredany serious objectiontobeing so used.

Our next case had his homosexual instinct developed at about fourteen

years ofage,when a young oflicer got into bedwithInversionwith him, and had intercourse several times between his

Sadistic Impulses thighs. Fromthis time on he always desired this

done to himwith violence, or to take the active parthimself. Has occasionallymasturbated, but always faute demieux. Erotic

dreams are rare , and always ofnudemales . Has a strong repugnance towomen , and has never attempted, nor desired, connectionwith them. He

loathes his homosexual inclinations, although these seemperfectly natural

Ibid loc. cit. , pp. 76, 77.

284 Human Sexuatvoice and expression, and unmistakably repelled by anything like coarse

ness.

” 1

In the cases ofa fewboys, this subject had indulged in rectal intercoursebut onlywhen theywere particularly attractive to him. As a general rule

hewas satisfiedwith the pleasure ofmutualmasturbation, and to producethe fullest degree ofthis there had to be a perfect abandon on the partofboth. As to his inverted taste, he confesses uncertainty as towhether itwas congenital or learnedfroman olderman .

’ He looked upon it as entirelynatural, andonly deplored it for the difficulty experienced in finding personsofsimilar tastewithwhomto gratify it.

The following case,whichMr. Ellis says he enlarges

on for the interesting mental and emotional statesdeveloped, butwhich I thinkwill be fairly recognisedas an ordinary instance of psychical aberration, or

paretic dementia, presents the usual psychopathic features. Sexual con

sciousness awoke at the age ofeight, when his attention was directed tohis own penis . The nurse-maid told himthat when little boys grewup

their penises fell ofi; and the sniggerwithwhich she directed his attentionto this hitherto unknown deciduous character ofthe interesting organ, led

himto conclude that theremust be something verymysterious about penisesin general.

It was doubtless the curiosity thus excited, playing upon a naturallyfeeble intellect, that led to many ofthese unusual psychical phenomenawhichMr. Ellis is careful to record. He became subject to half-wakingdreams , in which he imagined himselfthe servant ofseveral naked sailors.

He crouched between their thighs , called himself their “dirty pig ,”and

at their orders performed serv ices about their genitals and buttockswhichafiorded hima pleasure hewas ev idently tooweak-minded to recognize as

sexual.

Between the ages ofeight and eleven years he twice , by instinct, tookthe penis ofa young cousin into hismouth, after they had slept together,the sensation ofthe act affording himgreat pleasure .

When sleeping with another cousin they used to lie with each other’s

penises in their hands, although neither of the cousins was homosexual,and there was no attempt atmutualmasturbation. Hewas in the habitofplayingwith fivemale cousins, for ofiences inwhose games a remarkableformofpunishmentwas invented. The boys sat in a circle upon chairs,

with their little “dodgers”exposed, and the culprit had to crawl around

1 Ibid, pp. 82, 83 .

1 This element ofuncertainty , I fancy ,willbe foundto attach to a greatmany othercases ofse- called congenital inversion.


the roomon hands and knees, and suck each boy’s penis in turn. This

was supposed to humiliate him; and doubtless it did; but, so far as couldbe ascertained, seems , strangely enough, not to have resulwdin subsequentmasturbation, either on his part or that ofthe others.

1

On one occasion he sawa boy who sat next to himin school playingwith his penis, and he says the sight gave hima very

“uneasy sensation

but, as far as he is aware, none ofthe boyswithwhomhewas connectedatthis period, although exposed to precisely the same influences, contractedhomosexual habits. Hewas indifferent to the opposite sex, although up

to the age ofthirteen, or fourteen, he hadfrequent opportunities ofinspecting closely the sexual apparatus ofgirls .

Evenwhen he once sawa school- fellowcopulatingwith one ofthe young

girls, although greatly interested in watching the excitedmovements of

the pair, it aroused not the slightest sexual feeling in him.

When he went to another school he was induced by boy-friends to

1Orastupration (awordofmyown coining) seems tohavebeenoneofthe very earliestforms ofsexual abuse. Andit is readily accountedfor. Theheatofthemouth

,the secre

tionofsalivarymucus andthesuckingmovementofthe lips,simulating thatofthevagina,allcorrespondto the condition involved in heterosexual intercourse ; and it is not incon

ceivable thatmutual orastupration, under certain circumstances,might be foundevenmore pleasurable than the latter. I knewtwo boyswho pract it; and, although

neither was apparently inverted, so satisfactory did they find such copulation that

neither could be induced to exchange it for the natural act. Theirmethodwas as follows: Lying belly to belly , but reversed in position, so that themouth ofone cameto the privates ofthe other, they clasped each other about the body , and, hugging and

sucking , experienced an orgasmwhich they both asserted, andwhich I can readily

Themost remarkable and interesting case ofauto-stupration by themouth I haveevermetwith, was that ofa neurasthenic boy offifteen, who, by years oftraining,had succeeded inmak ing his spinal column so flexible that hewas enabled to suck his

own penis. Fromhis nervousness , emaciation, and osteomalacious condition, I wasled to suspect the truth, when his mother brought himtome for treatment; and

boldly charging himwith the act, at a later v isit,when hismotherwas absent, obtainednot only a complete confession, but, farmore interesting , a practical illustration ofthe

act itself. In order to convincemyselfthat the thingwas possible I asked himto puthis penis into hismonth. He did not hesitate to do so, apparently regarding the act

as of little consequence; but, seemingly by instinct,when he did so, the old pas

part played byme asmorally culpable, or professionally justifiable, I at least had the

novel experience ofwitnessing an act ofmouth- stupration by a boy—self- performed

inmy ownvprivate consulting room. He lay on a couch; and, as the climax ofthe

orgasmapproached, apparently forgettingmy presence, and ev ery other consideration ,

he resignedhimselfwith theutmostabandonment to thedeliriumofhis pleasure, rolling ,gasping,writhing , and resembling nothing somuch as some sort ofanimal, curled upin a ball, enduring its death agony. Hewas afterward committed to a sanitariumforthe treatment ofsuch cases.

286 Human Sexuatmasturbate; but it inspired himonly with a sense of indecency . In his

fifteenth year,when pubertywas established by regular nightly emissions,he began to masturbate ; but alwayswith the feeling that it was poorsatisfaction, as well as repulsive. His thoughts were not directed either

tomales or females , whilemasturbating secretly . His old dreams ofthe

sailors had disappeared, but about this time he began to enjoy v isions of

beautiful youngmen,which delightedhimgreatly .

After a time secondary v isions appeared,which took the fantastic formof naked young grooms, and peasants , with enormously large and stiff

penises . While these gross v isions offended his taste, they at the sametime evoked a strong desire; and he regards that as the periodwhen hishomosexual nature first became fully established. At this time he never

dreamed ofwomen ; never sought their society ; never idealized them, nor

felt the slightest sexual excitement in their company . Es thetically, he

thought themfar less beautiful thanmen ; and a newworldwas openedto himwhen he readPlato, andfelt his own sexual nature revealed to him.

He began to formpassionate friendshipswith boys, had erectionswhenhe touched them, and the only two kisses he ever had froma boy he looks

upon as themost perfect joys he ever experienced.

He formed a close alliancewith a youth ofnineteen, largely sentimental,and yetmarked by a kind of etherealized sensuality ; butwhich involvedno sexual act beyondkissing, nakedcontact, andrare involuntary emissions .

After this , however, he began to followfreely his homosexual inclinations .

Hismethods ofsatisfaction have since variedwith the phases ofhis passion .

At first theywere romantic, Platonic, when a hand- touch, a kiss, or even

themere presence sufliced; but later they becamemore frankly sensual,

when he took his enjoyment in every shape—mutualmasturbation, intercourse between the thighs, by the rectum, by themouth— following alwaysthe inclination, or conces sion, ofthe belovedobject.

He always, however, plays the active, orman’s part; and claims thathomosexual intercourse is not only natural butwholesome, cementing very

durable friendship, and imparting to himself, at least, a deep sense of

happiness andphysicalwell- being .

1

Histories of this character might be continued ad infinitum; almostevery large city hav ing a certain number of indiv iduals who pass as or

dinary , and occasionally honored,members ofsociety,whose sexual prac

ticeswouldappear very shocking to that societywere theymade public.

There is fortunately, however, for society , a sort offreemasonry amongthe guild, bywhichmutualrecognition ismade easy, andthe normal-mindedare protectedfrominsult.

1 Ibid. ,pp. 85- 89 .

288 Human Sexuahtypre- existing homosexual taint,will frequently sustain sexual relationswithmen ; 1 andmarriedwomenwith otherwomen ; although I doubtwhetherthe occurrence ofsuch phenomena, or thedefiniteness ofthefeeling involved,warrants the separation ofthe latter fromthe sphere ofsimple sexual inversion ; or bestowing upon it very difierent treatment, or consideration,than the latter calls for.Many cases ofuxorial andmarital coldnessmay, possibly , be thus aocountedfor ; but it is alwayswell to remember that, even to the pronouncedhomosexualist, intercoursewith the opposite sex is rarely, ifat all,whollyimpossible ; and also

,that to many who have forsaken the homosexual,

and adopted,permanently, the heterosexual r61e, traces ofthe older instinct

will frequently appear ; so that a differential diagnosis between simpleinversion and psychosexual hermaphroditism, so long as any vestiges of

normality survive in the abnormal, or any symptoms ofabnormality, appearin the normal

, is not only difficult, but impossible, froma standpoint ofstrict scientific accuracy .

Amanmay be a confirmedmasturbator, and yet enjoy fairly healthyintercourse with a woman ; anotherman, by the mere vigor ofhis vita

sexualis ,may be led into pederasty, or fellatio; while a third,though nor

mally homosexual,may be drawn into heterosexual relationship by someaesthetic, or ethical, factorwhich he found lacking in the contrary case.

Thus, everything considered,the line of demarcation seems so faintly

drawn between the two conditions as not to justify , inmy v iewat least, theseparate treatmentwhich Krafft- Ebing, andotherwriters, have accounted

them. I hav e seen fit, therefore, to include the phenomena ofboth,whereI judge themproperly to belong, among those ofsimple sexual inversion .

There is probably no other causewhich has beenAcquired more potent in developing homosexual practices

Homosexuality among men than the dread ofdisease. Among theGreeks , Romans , Babylonians and Egyptians, it lay

at the very bottomoftheir pederasty andmasturbation ; andin theProverbsofSolomon,’ as well as various other places in the sacred text, we haveunpleasant suggestions ofwhat night- visits to the prostitutes ofthe timesmight produce in theway ofpainful remembrances .

The Hebrews had the depraved tastes and habits,as well as the dis

eases, ofthe Asiatics . Withoutmentioning the awful fate ofSodomand

1 Krafft-Ebing , loo. cit. , p. 231 , note.

Prov . v,11 :

“Et gemas in nov issimis quando consumeris carnes tuca et corpustuum. I giv e the Latin version ofthe Hebrewtext as themore forcible. And again

in the fourth verse:“Novissima autemillins amara quasi absynthum, etacuta quasi

gladius biceps” (the consequences are bitter aswormwood, and sharp as a two-edged


Gomorrha,ofwhich the termSodomy is a perpetual reminder, the fact

thatMoseswas compelled to forbid incest, bestiality, and abnormal sexualintercourse among his people, is the very best evidence that such vices

existed; andwhen they , as well as legal prostitutes, were prohibited inthe Hebrewcamp

,the people, v ery naturally, visited

“strange women,”

particularly theMidianitewhores , and the “daughters ofMoab.

” These

daughters initiated them, willingly enough, into the worship ofBaal

Peor,or Belphegor, a sort ofOriental Priapus ,whose templeswere simply

theatres of the most flagrant debauchery , and in which the homosexualelementwas , youmay be sure, notwanting .

Rosenbaumtells us1 that the very name, Baal

Venereal Epidemics Peor, signified among the Hebrews the god, Penis,HowSpread towhose temple onMount Peor the young girls re

paired regularly to prostitute themselves ; where theMidianitish womanwas “stabbed through the belly ” by Phinehas , and

whereMoses slewtwenty- four thousand, as the original reads , ofthe people,to stay the plaguewhich hadbeen introducedby theMoabitish prostitutes .

’

Canwewonder, then, in v iewofthe terrorwhich such venerealepidemicsnaturally inspired, that homosexual practiceswere so universally adopted?Likewise in India, aswe are informed in theAyurvedi , amedical treatise

at least four thousand years old,”we are given such a fearful picture of

the ravages caused by communicable venereal diseases that the escape,which the people arewell known to have sought, in contrary sexual prac

tices, seems not only reasonable but, in somemeasure, at least, both justifiable and proper.

“History ofSyphilis in Antiquity , Halls , 1845. As itwas quite a current belief

in antiquity that angels couldhave carnal copulationwithwomen (see Gen. VI, the

customofoffering a girl’s v irginity to the god, in pagan countries , is notat allremarkable.

In early Japan a young girlwas brought everymonth to the idol,Teuchedi, and left inthefotoqm

‘

ofthe temple tobe deflowered, the god being commonly served by a priestlyproxy ; andHerodotus tells us that in the great temple ofBelus, in Babylon, therewasa beautiful chapel—splendide stratus lectus et apposite menca aurea— a fine bed, a table

ofgold, etc. ,whichwere never usedexcept by thewomenwhomthe godmade choice of,out ofthe thousands offereddaily for his service. The same customwas practised inThebes, and in Nineveh ; in all cases the pleasant duty ofaccepting these sacrifices ofwomen falling to the priests .

Numbers , chap. xxv . The ninth verse reads, in the original,“Et occisi sunt

viginti quatuormillis hominum”— not by the disease but by the steel. Thosewhomayquestion this rendering, are respect q y referred toboth Josephus and Philon,who ex

pressly state that thismeasurewas orderedbyMoses at the commandofGod.

Vid. F. Baudry , “Etude sur les Védas ,”Paris , 1855; Royle,

“Essay on the An

tiquity ofHindooMedicine;” and the “Ayurvedi” itself, translated into Latin by Dr.

290 Human SexualityProstitution there, as in Chaldea andmany other Oriental countries,

existing in its three forms— legal, hospitable, and

Distribu tion of religious— ao completely governed allclasses ofsociety

the Contagium that few, if any, es caped its penalties . The twolatter formsmay require aword ofexplanation .

‘ Byhospitable prostitution ismeant that primitive customofputting a gues t

in the host’s place, as amark ofhonor ; outdoing in this respect even the

proverbial hospitality ofScotland and Ireland. Nowcustomrequired thatthe travellerwho occupiedfor a night his host’s bed,with the privilegesand appurtenances thereunto appertaining,” shouldmake the obligingwifea little pres ent of some kind, in recognition of her courtesy; and, Ori

ental travellers at that time being as a rule always better suppliedwithchancres than shekels, it is easy to see howthe former, particularly ifthe traveller made many stops by the way, should have come into a

verywide circulation.

The fact is that, while in later years the JewsAmong the became noted for their sanitary cleanlines s, at the

Early Hebrews time ofwhich I write, itwas difiicult to find, as italways is among the Orientals , an undiseasedwoman.

Fromthe East, then, the cradle of sexual v ice, aswell as religion, homosexuality spreadto Greece,Rome, andother countries ; and it seems strangethat, as far as I have observed, nomedicalwriter has hitherto given it theprominence it demands, as an avenue ofescape fromvenereal contagion.

Even Dufour, in his voluminous work on prostitution, and Ricord and

Buret, in their equally valuable treatises on the diseases incident thereto,seemto have overlooked the sanitary feature of the case, in their keen

search for psychological causes ; and, as the henwill always reach for thegrain ofcorn farthest away, to have goneback to the origin ofciv iliza

tion, andthe very brain ofJove himself, forwhat lay right beside them.

The threemost celebrated courtes ans ofantiquity,AnotherMeans and possibly of the world, with all due respect toofPropagation later pretensions— Aspas ia, Phryne, and Lais—were

all diseased; and as their fabulously high prices forsexual entertainment— as high as five hundred dollars a night

— rendered

themonly accessible to the very rich, andas the nobleman ofAthenswouldnot degrade himselfwith the common dictmhda , or ladies ofthe publicbawdy houses institutedby Solon,whowere subjected in some slightdegree

Hospitable Prostitutionwas loaning thewife to an honoredguest. Legal Prostitu

tionwas that carriedon in the licensedbawdy houses , andReligious Prostitutionwas theoffering ofthemaiden’s v irginity to the god, usually through the priests , but sometimesthrough one selectedby the girlherself.

292 Human Sexualityoftheir passions ; and, for the same reason, the homosexual contacts of

sailors, soldiers, andboys and girls herded separately in boarding schools .

Dr. H . D.Wey, physician to the Elmira Reformatory, NewYork,writes,sexuality is one ofthemost troublesome elements withwhich we haveto contend. I have no data as to the number ofprisonerswho are sezu

ally perverse. Inmy pessimisticmoments I should say allwere; but probably 80% wouldbe afair estimate. Theway some ofthemen,withfeaturessuggestive offemininity, attract others, reminds me ofa bitch, in heat,

followed by a pack ofdogs 1and, in reference to the v ice among pupils

in our common, and advanced schools, it has been remarked that althoughmany pass through school-e without forming any passionate sexual re

lationship, there yet remain a large numberwho date the development ofhomosexuality fromits influences andexamples ?

Next in causative importance, possibly, is masMasturbation a turbation. Every masturbator reaches a point at

Potential Cause some timewhen, startled at the discovery ofthe evils

which inev itably followthe v ice, he strives to abandonit, and to return to that normal habit ofsexual intercourse forwhich hispsychical andphysical condition renders himpeculiarly, for a time, at least,unfit. When he does attempt the natural sexual act it is very apt to result

in a fiasco; and disappointed, ashamed, and disheartened, he has reached

the psychologicalmoment for intercoursewith his own sex, should op

portunity or temptation occur. Instead of auto- onanism, mutual masturbationwith a friendpresents not onlymore highly exciting surroundings,but a greater degree ofpsychical pleasure ; andfrommutualmasturbationto reciprocal pederasty is

'

not only a frequent, but a very easy transition.

Where a stronger aphrodisiac effect is exercisedby one ofthe same sex,than one ofthe opposite sex , a suspicion ofcongenitaltendencymay reasonably exist; but in cases ofsimple reversal ofsexualfeeling, the phenomenonis far oftener one ofcultivation andhabit, ofwhich the following is typical:

“My sexual life began inmy thirteenth year. I hadmy firs t ejaculationwhen fourteen . Seduced intomasturbation by two older schoolmates, Ipractised it, partly alone, partlywith other boys ; and, in the latter case,

alwayswith thoughts ofthe opposite sex. Later, at the university, Iwenthomewith a friend one evening, and in his room, both being in a mildstate ofintoxication, I grasped himby the genitals . Hemade slight opposition, and I accompanied himto his room, wherewe spent the night in

mutualmasturbation . Fromthat timewe indulged in it quite freely, andshortly after began to practicefellatio, ormouth- intercourse,with resultantejaculations .

Quotedby H . Ellis, lac. cit. , n , 16, 17. 190.


My visits to.

whore-houses, which had been frequent up to that time,were discontinued; I finding in my male friend a perfect and satisfyingsubstituteforfemale intercourse. Naturally, the thoughts ofwomen recededmore andmore into the background. I began, on the contrary , to think

ofmen— young, handsome men, with big penises— preferring those fromsixteen to twentyfive; and strangely enough, those dressed in trousers ofManchester cloth, or leather, excitedmemost. It seemed tome that themere touch ofsuch trousers arousedmy passion ; while unbuttoning them,

grasping the penis and kissing the young man, were simply the greatestdelight.My sensibility to female charms is dulled; yet in sexual intercourse

with awoman, particularly ifshe havewell-developedbreasts, I amalwayspotentwithout the help ofimagination. Thatmy sexual sense is partlyreversed is, I believe, somewhat due to convenience. The labor ofenteringinto a relation with a girl is amatter oftoomuch trouble.

l Again and

again I have resolvedwith allmymight to fight against onanism, but amstillunsuccessful. When I feel the sexual impulse gaining strength, insteadofseeking the natural act, Imasturbate, seeming to derive fromthis thegreater enjoyment. And yet, experience has taughtme that I ampotentwith girlswithout thinkingofmasculine genitals .

In one case, however, I did not attain ejaculation, because thewoman,whowas in a brothel,was very repulsive. I cannot avoid the thought that

my contrary sexuality is the result ofonanism; and it depressesme to feelthat I amnot strong enough to overcome this v ice bymy ownwill power.

“

Careful consideration of the psychical side of this case will convinceus that itwas one ofacquisition purely ; while, in that to follow, althoughthere are certain neurotic tendencies revealed on themother’s side, they

were in no sense greater than are compatiblewith perfectly healthy parentage, justifying me, I think, in placing it in the same category with theformer, as a case ofthe acquiredhabit.He remembers playing with his little sister at

“father andmother;remembers the nurse-maid telling himthat, at her last place, the boy she

The presentwriter receiv ed a v ery singular reply froma youngman whomhequestioned as to the latter’s practice ofhomosexuality . Aw, girls are too hard to

gitl They’re stuck on themselves , too. They think every time a fellowtries to get up

theirflue that he’s dead in love, andwants tomarry them. Boys do itforfun, andthere

aint no danger ofgetting disease, or getting into trouble. Bating some possible improvements in grammar and orthography, the abov e suggests very fairly the gist of

sexual philosophy , as understood by a certain class, andnot a small one, ofyoungmenat the present time, particularly in large cities .

“Psychopathia Sexualis , pp. 191—193 . The word onanismis used here, and

elsewhere , in its commonly accepted sense, signifyingmasturbation.

294 Human Sexuatwas nursing had sustained regular sexual relationswith his sister; but,being only eight years old, does not think her talk produced an emotion,or any erotic thought.

She used to speak freely about his “ little tassel,”but attempted no

further liberties with him. At ten he fell desperately in love with a girl

oftwelve,whomhe had seen in a theatrical performance; bought a photograph ofher, anduwdto kiss it passionately in secret.

“At twelve,” he says, “my father’s footman,whomust have been edu

cating me rapidly in sexualmatters, came intomy roomone night and

tried to put his hand uponmy penis . I had an erection, but resisted himfor a time, until, overcome by the sensation, I yielded. Stopping amomentin his process ofmasturbatingme, I remember pushing his hand away and

frantically finishing the actmyself. When I sank back exhausted, he tookout his penis and deliberately masturbated himselfbefore me, until theorgasmoccurred. I could hardly sleep afterward fromexcitement. I

felt I had been initiated into a great and delightfulmystery . Fromthaton, I fell readily into the habit ofmasturbation, theman tellingme hewassurpri sedI had n

’t learned ofit before.

”

Thisman afterward developed homosexuality in all its forms ; a development clearly traceable to the footman’s first tuition ; but, although desirefor the opposite sex became necessarily feeble, as a res ult ofhis abnormalsexual practices , there were no manifestations of true eflemination, or

psychical reversal, such as are usually found in cases ofso pronounced a

type.

The exceedingly early age at which homosexual habits first manifestthemselves, renders it extremely difficult to deter

Difi culty of mine,with any degree ofcertainty,whether a specificDetermining case be one ofexclusive acquirement, or assisted by

Congenital Type prenatal influence. Sometimes the acquisition is

forced upon the unwilling v ictim, almost vi et armis ,by the constant solicitations ofa friend, particularly in the cases ofboys .

An instance is recorded, as to the acquisition of

A Disagreeable the habit ofmasturbating, to which the school ex

Qu icli - step perience ofmore than one reader will furnish an

almost parallel example, ofa boy asking his parentstowithdrawhimfroma certain school, andgiving as a reason the shocking

fact that the other boys in his dormitory, eleven in number,made a regularpractice ofwaylaying himin the hallway, at night, andmasturbating him

While one or two held himdown, anotherwas selected to performtheH. Ellis , loc. cit. , IV , 228 , et seq.

296 Human Sexualitybeing a physician naturally felt disinclined to admit other than natural

causes for the phenomenon, thatdisease ofthe jugular veins , fromcontinual

riding, had produced it,‘ there can be little doubt that itwas, ab initio, asimple case ofpsychical inversion, inwhich their supposed impotencewaslookedupon as a div ine punishment.

It is unquestionable that themind is capable of“ Instinctive Test” producing not only such, but even greater, effects

ofInversion upon the physical mechanism; but, on the other

hand, those who find the beginnings ofhomosexualfeeling in env ironment, defective education, and other psychological influences , will equally fail in satisfactorily accounting for every instance of

itsmanifestation. A normally-mindedmalemay be reared amid themostfeminine surroundings , and associations , and yet preserve his sexualmasculinity ; while, ifhe be otherwise predisposed, through neuropathic or

prenatal taint, no association withmen will prevent his lapsing into inversion. It seems tome, in allamphibolous cases, in v iewofthe e tiologicaldifliculty which confronts us when we attempt their classification, that

whatwemay call the “ instinctive test ought to prove themost conclusive.

When a person feels, without any previous habitude, a psycho- secual

attraction toward an individual ofthe same sew— producing desire, and even

son is homosexual by instinct, and no question ofacquisition need be enter

Butwhen aman orwoman is seduced into, or performs homosexual acts

for such acts, cultivatedhomosexualitymay be inferred.

The following is a case inwhich, upon aweakenedClassical Case of vita sexualis, the latterdue to prolongedmasturbation,Cultivated with neurasthenia and partial impotence,was graftedInversion the homosexualhabit

Patient healthy, strong, lively, and ofa sensual

temperament. Masturbatedwhile a boy. Had intercoursewith a female

The Scythians spent their lives in the saddle. Thewarriordrank the bloodofthefirstman he slewin battle, imbibing therewith, as be supposed, his adversary’s prowess ;ifhe obtaineda suitofthe king , it entitledhimtodrinkwinefromhis enemy’s skull; andthe peculiar sex- beliefofthe people, it is not unreasonable to suppose,was strengthenedandfostered by the idea that theywere autochthonous , descendedfroma union ofthe

godTargitauswith the riverDneiper, and therefore liftedabove the ordinary conditionsandneces sities ofsex . For a further account ofthis remarkable people, the sex- legend

ofwhom, as related by Hippocrates (De Acre, is undoubtedly apocryphal, seeHerodotus , rv , 1- 82, 97- 142 ; Diodorus , rt, 43, et seq.; and Pliny, H . N ., rv , 44, the

latter ofwhomalludes to the Scythians as Aroteres .

Inversion of the Sexual Impulse 297

at the age offourteen,with normal enjoyment and power. At fifteen,wasseduced, homosexually, by a grownman, who performedmanustuprationon him. Atmaturity, committed venereal excesses , becoming in conse

quenconeurasthenic, andafflictedwith feebleness oferection andprematureejaculation.

In this period ofdeclining potency, he began to feel desire for little

girls, which increased as his virility diminished. Fromthis he developedan inclination for young boys, being impelled, finally, to approach themsexually . He experienced vehement erections on touching them, losingeven his partial desire for

'

females, and allayed this sexual excitement bymasturbation. He attributes his present homosexuality to excessivemasturbation ; andwhile free from degenerative

”symptoms, presents those

ofsexualandspinalneurasthenia.

With this case I conclude my remarks on acquired homosexuality,proper; the following six motional subjects presenting instances of its

modified manifestation, and requiring, obv iously, a partially separatetreatment.lThere are forms ofacquired homosexuality inwhich the patient under

goes a radical change ofcharacter, both in thought

Ev iration and and feelings, becoming, in impulses, desires and

Defemination psychical personality, amember of the opposite sex ;in the case ofev iration, theman becoming awoman ;

and in that ofdefemination thewoman becoming aman.

The condition is exceedingly interesting froma medico- legal as wellas social standpoint; one ofconsiderably greater frequency than ordinarily

supposed, and one in which we cannot be too careful in discriminatingbetween the guilt and innocence ofovert sexual acts . I have in mind,at present, a young man, gentle, affectionate, and, on all other points ,morally intelligent, who is so radically conv inced that he is a girl that no

thought ofmasculine employment, or amusement, ever enters his mind.

Heworks among girls in a large laundry , submitting to the chafiing ofthemale employees andtheflouting ridicule ofthe females— the latter ev identlynot innocent ofhis true character—with a patient, hurt, and surprised lookwhich is exceedingly pathetic.

He seeks female society, and avoidsmen, as he informedme, not fromany sexualmotive, although confes sing to habits ofhomosexual intercourse,

Instead ofthe usual tiresome repetitions of“clinical histories itwillbe obwrvedthat throughout thiswork I have restrictedmyselfto one or two, and those ofclassicaltype; a system, I believe,whichwillnotonly conv eymore forcibly the salient charactersofeach anomaly, but appealmore strongly to the reader

’s sympathy on grounds of

brev ity andconciseness.

298 Human Sexualitybut simply because he believes himselfto be a girl, and naturally selects,

sofar as he can, feminine companionship andpursuits.

It is a typical case ofev iration.

The corresponding condition ofdefemination amongwomen, althoughnot sofrequent, is farfromdifficult tofind in any large city ; andmy purposein treating themboth together, as well as the phenomena ofE lfeminationandViraginity, their antitheses,willbe obv ious to the intelligent reader.

The following classical case ofcultivated ev iration is taken fromKrafitEbing

’s valuable treatise,

land is remarkable as one in which the sexual

impulsewas originally directed in normal channels“My parents were healthy . When eleven years old I was taught to

masturbate by a playmate, and gavemyselfup to it passionately . Until

I was fifteen I learned easily at school, but on account ofmy frequentpollutions became less capable, andwas uncertain and embarrassedwhencalled upon by the teacher. Frightened atmy loss ofcapability I triedto give up masturbation, but the night pollutions became evenmore frsquent. Then I sought houses ofprostitution, butwith little satisfaction;for, though the sight ofa naked female pleasedme, neither erection nor

orgasmoccurred, evenmasturbation by awoman being incapable ofproducing

I grewashamed before the girls, and ceased to v isit such houses, andmy inclination toward the opposite sex grewless andless .

One evening, at the opera house, an old gentleman sitting near mebegan to courtme. I laughedheartily, and entered intowhat I conceivedto be his joke,when he saidhewas in lovewithme. I hadheard, however,ofhermaphrodites, and, thinking hemight be one, felt curious to see his

genitals . The oldmanwas entirelywilling, andwentwithme to thewatercloset. Contrary tomy expectation I found his penis normal, large and

erect.

“This man followedmewith his proposals for some time, fruitlessly ;although I had heard ofmale- love formales , andfeltmy sexuality excitedby his advances . Finally Iwent to the Promenade,where I had learnedmale- lov ingmenwere in the habit ofmeeting . Here Imade the acquaintance of a blondeman, and allowedmyselfto be seduced. The first steptaken, I have found, since, that kind ofsexual love particularly satisfyingto me. Our intercourse consisted ofmutualmasturbation; occasionally,

in osculumadpenemalteri us .

Iwas then twenty- three, studying medicine; and sitting beside mycomrades , on the beds ofthe patients , during the clinical lectures, excited

me so intensely that I could scarcely listen to the lectures. The same yearLac. cit. , p. 197 4809.

300 Human Sexualityhiswindow,when night fell, for someman to urinate against an oppositewall, so that hemight see his genitals , are peculiarly pathetic.

In the more pronounced stages of eviration, amounting almost toparanoia in the sexualmetamorphosis , the peculiar feeling offemale lust,as difiicult to describe as would be the taste ofan apple, is sometimesalmost agonizing in its intensity . The strange, hot, nervous , itching,

copulative desire, with wetness ofthe vulva, and the spasmodic, suckingmovement ofthe vagina, sowell known to every lustfulwoman, are so real

and uncontrollablewith this class ofinverts, that psychical satisfaction isoften obtained bymerely assuming the dorsal decubitus, spreading out thelegs and imitating, with corresponding voluptuousness of thought, the

passivemovements ofthe female in intercourse.

The reality, ifImay use the expression, ofthese delusional sex- trans

formations is so great that the subject is totally incapable ofsexual gratification by any other than the female r61e; but although comparativelyinfrequent, as phenomena in mental pathology, as stated elsewhere, suchinstances are by nomeanswanting in the annals ofpsychiatry .

Corresponding with the foregoing are the cases

Eficmination which make up this category, the man undergoingand Viraginity transformation into thewoman, psychically, and the

woman into the man. In homosexual intercourse,for ofcourse there can be no other, theman acts thewoman’s part, andthewoman theman’s . In the first case, the indulgence takes the formof

simple succubus ,‘ passive intercourse between the thighs, or ejaculatio viri

dilecti in are proprio.

Sometimes passive masturbation is resorted to; but the commonermethod is that ofmouth- suction. The female ofthis class is amazonian,

with a love formanly sports , and sometimes a very amazing showoftrue

manly courage and fearlessness . Shewears her hair short, and simulatesmen in the fashion ofher clothing . She has pleasure in assuming maledress ; and her character ideals are always eithermale, or those femininepersonalities distinguished for great mental and physical energy . She

The termsuccubus recalls to us the demon in mythologywhowas supposed tohave the power ofassuming awoman’s shape in order to consort, sexually ,withmen.

This is the doctrine ofthe incubi andsuccubi male andfemale nocturnaldemons whichconsort sexuallywithmen andwomen. Wemay set outwith their descriptions amongthe islanders ofthe Antilles , where they are the ghosts ofthe dead, v anishing whenclutched; in NewZealand,where ancestral deities formattachmentswith females , andpay themrepeated visits ; and in Samoa, where such intercourse causedmany supernatural conceptions ,” etc. Tylor, Prim. Cult. , 1873 , 11 , 189- 90. The belief that

voluptuous dreamswere real sexual unions , ofthis character,was a common teaching ofmedie valmedicine aswell as oflegendary belief.

Inversion ofthe Sexual Impulse 30:

whistles, sings rollicking songs, tells risque stories, and exhibits a man’sliking for alcoholandtobacco.

On the other hand, the true efieminate afiects female habits,manners,dress, voice and society ; homosexual inversion, howev er, being commonto both. There can be no question ofthe congenital origin ofthese twoconditions. The depth ofthe psychosexual transformation, togetherwiththe actual change observable in even the skeletal formofthe subject, informandfeatures, aswell as voice andexpression, preclude any possibilityofexclusive acquirement.There are fewofuswhodonot knowmen remarkablefor theirwomanish

characters and physical conformation—wide hips, full breasts, round and

fleshy limbs, falsetto voices, and sometimes, though not always, absenceor paucity ofbeard; and, on the other hand, women, who in muscularbuild, narrowhips,mannishwalk, rough voices, and general crassness of

feature, have little about themsuggestive offemininity .

These are conditions in which the more or less

Androgyny rudimentary instances ofsex transformation, or perand Gynandry hapsmore properly, pseudosexual development, just

mentioned, are carried forward into stillmore pronounced types . In androgyny and gynandry the sexual characters are

so radically deflected as to produce an almost complete physical, as wellas psychicalmetamorphosis ; and awhole volumemight bewritten on the

theme alone. The conditions are perhapsmost interesting, froma psychologicalstandpoint, ou account ofthedifierences they pres ent, in theirphases,fromthose teratological manifestations of hermaphroditismmentionedelsewhere ; but, as their distinguishing traitswill appear fromtime to timein the studies to follow, and as their discussion herewould involve a greatdeal ofnecessarily tedious psychosexual abstraction, it is perhaps best todismiss themfor the present,with the hazarded assumption that they are

purely cerebral anomalies, associatedwith a high degree of psychosexual

inversion.

The termnormal homosexualitywilldoubtless surprise those accustomedto the conventional classification; at least until a

NormalMale little fuller thought shall be found, I think, to justifyHomosexuality its use. The category includes, in contradistinction

to the conditions alreadymentioned, only thosemaleswho have sexual desires and inclinations formales exclusively, and solely,

whether the desires and inclinations be congenital or acquired. I have

venturedupon this newclassification ofsuch inverts—which difiers radicallyfromthat ofUlrichs , Féré, Ellis , Krafit-Ebing and other distinguished

psychologists—notwith any purpose save but to unify, and ifpossible sim

302 Human Sexualityplify, the entire subject; giv ing it not only a greater degree ofcorrectness

but such a division and arrangement as willmake it easier both to study

andto follow,with a proper consecution ofthought.

A normal abnormalitymay sound at first blush like a contradiction of

terms ; but I think a little considerationwill suffice to conv ince the primafacie objector that the termis scientifically proper. The accepteddefinitionofnormality is correspondence to a given type; and as types are the productsolely ofobserved uniformcontinuance, by parity ofreasoning , it is not

hard to see that, where an abnormality, so called, can be shown alwaysto have existed in the indiv idual without change, normal abnormalitybecomes not only possible in idea but strictly correct and rational in ex

pression. Ifany bas is ofargument exist, it is to be found in the limitationsofordinary language as a vehicle ofconcrete scientific thought, or in the

wordnormal, itself, rather than its synthetic associate.

Psychologically, the love ofa male for a male is just as real, just asexalted, just as normal to the natural invert,mentally,morally and physically , as the love ofa man for awoman. He deifies , idealizes , worshipsthemale object ofhis passion, just as theman does thefemale ; has neverknown any other kindoflove; makes the same sacrifices, endures the samejealousy , sufiers the same agonies fromunrequ ited attachment, andbehavesin allthings exactly as does the subject ofthe orthodox heterosexualpass ion.

The bodily contact ofa sympatheticman produces the same thrill thata sexually-minded normalman feels when he touches awomanwhomhedesires ; except that, the impulse of the normal invert is even stronger,

he usually snfiering froma sexual neurasthenia inwhich both erection and

ejaculation aremore easily induced.

I state these facts in a spirit ofscientific fairness to this unfortunate

class ofbeings ; to soften, ifpossible, the existing prejudice against them,

and to showthat, being nomore accountable for their condition than the

normal individual is for his , apart fromthemoral phases ofthe ques tion,society has nomore right to v isit themwith its opprobrium, or punishment,than it has to punish the demented, the idiot or the epileptic. I amnot at

tempting to justify homosexuality , as didmany Greek and Roman, as

well as later and abler, writers ofFrance, England and Germany . I do

not think it can be justified on any ground. It is a dangerous, damning,demoralizing andwidespread pathological v ice ; muchmorewidely spreadthan commonly supposed,which should comewithin the purviewof the

law, not in the vindices flammazof the Roman Code,‘ but according to the1 WhileConstantine,Theodosius andV alentinian passedlaws against homosexuality,

but little reading is required to showthat the prov isions ofthese lawswere very feeblyenforced. The Code Napoleon omitted to punish it; and in the French lawoftoday

304 Human Sexualityturbation ; and, at the age ofelev en and a halfyears, amusedmyselfwithmy comrades in thisway , andby imitation- intercourse between the thighs .

Violent erections causedme to play withmy genitals, and I came finallyto take my penis in my own mouth,which I succeeded in doing, after

considerable and prolonged gymnastic training, by bending over.

“This induced themost pleasurable ejaculation ; but, frightened by theact into the beliefthat I was a criminal, I confessed to a companion of

sixteen. He quietedmy apprehens ion, andwe entered into a love- bond

together. We were very happy in this , satisfying ourselves by mutualmasturbation ; and, even after a separation ofsome years, when I meethimnowthe oldfire lights up anew.

Later a physician, a friend ofmy father, seducedme by caressingmeand practising masturbation on me. He advisedme to give up solitary

masturbation, as itwas injurious to health; explaining thatmutualonanismwas not only harmless but the only way in which he could performthe

sexualfunction.

He had a horror ofwomen, andhad lived very unhappilywith his deceasedwife. This physicianwas a pompous man, the father oftwo sons,

aged fourteen and fifteen respectively, with both ofwhomI, in the following year, entered into love relations similar to those I hadwith theirfather.

While Iwas in relationwith the latter, in our practice ofmutualmasturbation, he showedme both ofour spermatozoa under themicroscope,aswell as various pornographicworks, and pictures ; fromwhich, however,I got little pleasure, as I caredonly formaleforms .

On the occasion ofa later v isit to him, he askedme to do himafavor

which he had never yet enjoyed, andwhich he greatly desired to enjoywithme. He then dilatedmy anus with an instrument, and had intercoursethatway, at the same timemasturbatingme, so that I hadpain andpleasureat once.

By this time Iwas quite grown , and had all sorts ofsignsmade tomebywomen and girls ; but Ifledfromthemas JosephdidfromPotiphar’swife.

Iwas inmy eighteenth yearwhen, in a mild state ofintoxication, I

tried to have intercoursewith awoman . Itwas accomplished by forcingmyself; but I felt as guilty and degraded after it as I did aftermy firstmanustupration, andfled fromthe house in disgust. On another occasion,

while perfectly sober, in spite ofevery effort ofa beautiful, naked girl to

giveme an erection, I remained— no doubt to her unspeakable disgustperfectly cold and unexcited, although at the same time themerest touchofa boy, or the sight ofhis naked genitals,would throwmy penis into themost v iolent erection.


When ninemen years old I made the acquaintance oftwo genuine

urnings like myself.1 One, aged fifty- six , was efieminate in appearance,beardless , oflittlemental endowment, possessing a powerful sexual instinct,that had been manifested at an abnormally early age, and had indulged

in homosexual love since his sixth year. I used to sleep with him; and,

along with being insatiable in mutualmasturbation, hemademe take a

part in both active andpassive intercourse by the rectum.

The otherwas a merchant, aged thirty- six , ofmasculine appearance,and fully as passionate as myself. He, however, knewhowtomake hisrectal intercourse so stimulating tome that I did not object to serve himpassively . Hewas the only onewithwhomI everfoundany pleasure in themethod. He confessed tome thatmy more presence gave himthemostpowerful erections ,which,when I could not serve him, he had to relieve

bymasturbation.

While pursuing these love aflairs, Iwas clinical assistant in a hospital,andwas considered capable and skillful in my work. I naturally sought

out literature on the subject ofmy sexual peculiarity ; finding that,whilemen regarded it as a crime, I could only recognize in it the natural satis

faction ofmy sexual desire. I knewthat itwas congenitalwithme; but,findingmyselfthus in opposition to thewholeworld, came very near in

sanity andsuicide.

Seeking to escape, I again tried to cultivate intercoursewithwomen ;but only with the old result ofimpotence, disgust and horror ofthe act.

Being amilitary surgeon for a time, I snfiered terribly fromtouching thenakedforms ofthe sick soldiers, finding escape only in a love- bondformedwith a young lieutenant, similarly aflected. Again I experiencedhappiness,consenting for his sake to rectal intercourse, forwhich, he said, he had

always longed.

“At twenty- three Iwent to the country as a physician, andwas soughtand esteemed. I satisfiedmyselfwith young boys ; interestedmyself inpolitical affairs, andmade an enemy ofthe local clergyman . One ofmyboy - lovers betrayingme to the latter, he denouncedme, and I was compolled to flee . Iwent to thewar (1870) as a soldier, hoping tomeetmydeath, but did not, returning insteadmuchmatured andwithmanymarksofdistinction.

“I hoped the hardships ofthe campaign, andmy age, hadextinguishedmy old desires ; but had no sooner recoveredmy health than they broke

The subject ofthis sketch, a physician himself, has anticipatedme in the distinction drawn between genu ine urnings (normal homosexualists) and thosewhose homo

impulses are only partial, or occasional; thus justifying, in the v iewofan

educatedmember ofthe guilditself, the classification here adopted.

20

306 Human Sexuatout anew. I sought then, as before, to force myselfto intercourse withwomen ; and itwill seemstrange to some that I,who at the sight or touchofthe dirtiestmale ragamumn, hadpowerfulerections, couldnot be broughtto one by the coaxing andhandling ofthemost beautifulnakedwoman . I

knewa young girl, ofwhose respect and love forme I felt conv inced, andmarried her, in the desperate hope that, through esteemand honor formywife, I shouldbe able to performmy conjugalduties andforget the past.

The boyish appearance ofmy wife greatly assistedme. I calledher

my ‘Raphael,’and, forcing intomy fancy the image ofa boy in embracingher, to induce erection, I actuallyMcame the father offour boys .

But, ifthis fancy ceasedfor amoment, the erectionfailed. Finally Iwasunable to sleepwithmywife; and, finding coitusmore andmore difficult,for two years pastwe have not slept together. Mywife knowsmymentalcondition, and her esteemand love formemayMoms estranged; but

my sexual inclination formales is unchanged; and, unfortunately, too oftenforcesme toMeme untrue tomywife.

To this day, the sight ofa youth ofsixteenwill put me into such av iolent erection that I amcompelled to masturbate. The sufferings I

endure are indescribable. I have induwd my wife to masturbate me,hoping to overcome my desire in thatway ; butwhat a boy’s handwillaccomplish,with infinite pleasure, in a fewseconds, is only producedby herin halfan hour, andwith pain instead ofpleasure. Thus I livemiserably,a slave oflawandofduty tomywife.

” 1

It is interesting to note that, according to the

authority quoted, this physician claims to have hadintercourse in his timewith no fewer than six hundred

normal inverts ; and that only ten per cent. of these

came, subsequently, to sexual intercoursewithwomen ; possibly these fewwith the unfortunate pseudowxual experiences just recorded. Anotherpor

tion didnot avoidwomen, althoughmore attracted to their own sex ; whilethe overwhelmingmajoritywere lastingly andexclusively homosexual.He foundin no single case abnormal formation ofthe genitals ; although

quite frequently therewere distinct approaches to femininity in form, voice,

complexion,manners and absence ofbeard. Development ofthe breastswas not infrequent. Indeed the physician himself, fromhis thirteenth tohis fifteenth year, hadmilk in hismammaawhich his boy- lovers suckedout.

All his acquaintances seemto have been affectedwith abnormal. sexualdesire ; which I have notfoundto be the case in the instances, comparativelyfew, however, coming undermy own observation .

I have found the abnormality to be that offashion, rather than force;1 Kraflt-Ebing , loc. cit. , p. 258, a seq.

308 Human SexualityAfterward he tried it again, with success ; but the act, outside ofthe

satisfaction offeeling that hewas at least aman, afiorded himrather dis

gust than pleasure. Subsequent attempts, however,were all unsuccessful.

When the woman was undressing, he found it neces sary to put out the

light to overcome his feeling ofrepugnance for her; and in dancing, ifa

woman pressed against him, he always felt the same feeling ofaversion.

But if, in a joke, he dancedwith a gentleman, the contrarywas the case.

He liked to press and rub against his partner, anddancedfrequentlywithmen for that purpose.

“There must be something peculiar about me,” he says,“for once

when Iwas eighteen a gentlemanwho came into the oflice remarked to a

friend that’s a fine boy over there; in the East hewould bring five dol

lars, every time !Another gentleman used to like to jokewith him, and stole kisses from

himwhen going away,which the other says he gave very gladly . His first

actual seductionwas by a priest. The lattermade a rendezvouswith theyoung man, and took himto his room,where an intercoursewas begunwhich lasted,with great feeling ofsatisfaction to both, for five years. The

boy took the passive, orwoman’s part, and grewso attached to the priestthat his life became filledwith jealousy, andfear ofultimate desertion. He

remains utterly incapable ofnormal intercoursewithwomen ; but is quitepotent, indeedlustful,withmen .

The next is a casemarked by the highly neurotic

Case III tinge ofromantic idealism, which, as I have beforeshown, is so frequent a psychological concomitant of

homosexuality . He is undoubtedly a normal invert; his first sexual impulses having been directed, at thirteen years ofage, to themale sex . He

masturbated at twelve; but, in spite ofhis later andmost heroic attempts ,women have always been impossible andinaccessible to him.

His impulse took the formofdesire for boys about his own age; whom,having no opportunity to approach, he used to followabout the streets ,

and in the squares , practising,when itwas possible to do so unobserved,privatemasturbationwhile looking at them. He never dreamed oforal or

rectal intercourse ; his des ire being bodily contact, embracing, mutualIn China, Persia andConstantinople the boy pets are usually bought. Among the

Romans , Egyptians andChaldeans theywere slaves , andhad to submit to theirmasters.Henry III ofFrance kept hismalemignons very expensiv ely ; but it is related that thecelebratedassassin ofthe Duke ofGuise had only the embarrassment ofa choice amongthe young lordswho surroundedhim.

”Itwas as towhich one ofthe court butterflies ,

as .theywere called,wouldfirst ofier his complaisance to the royal pederast, consumeris

lusaflagitusque domum, as Claudianus remarks of the libertine, Curetius. (Epigrammata, InCuretium.)


manustupration with his lover, and kissing, or being kissed upon, the

genitals, or podex.

His idealismwas so strong, however, that he could never bring himselfto the more degraded act ofmasturbation in the presence ofor near a

youngman, the psychologicalpleasure ofimagining bodily contactwith thelatter being always greater than that involved in thematerial act. He

believes that, under difierent social conditions, hewouldhave been capableofgreat, noble, and self- sacrificing love; deep impatience seizing himat

sight of a beautiful young man, and leading himto feel the sentimentembodied in the sweetwords ofHeine

Du bistwie eine Blume, so hold, so schbn, so rein, etc.

‘

I have never independently,” he remarks , revealedmy love to a

youngman ; butwhen I have an opportunity to have such a belovedfriend,to educate, protect andhelpme, ifmy recognizedlove finda (normalhomosexual) return, then allmy disgustingmental imagery grows les s and lessintense ; then my love becomes almost platonic, and ennobled, and thefine thought ofSchefiel passes throughmymind

Grauwie der Himmel, steht vormir die Welt,Dochwend’es sich zumGuten oder Ben n,

Du , lieber Freund, in Treuen denk’ich Dein l’etc !

When I have nothing to reproachmyselfwith inmy own conscience,

and yet,myselfin opposition to the judgment ofthe world, I snfier verymuch. I havedone no one harm; I ambrighter,mentally , than the averageman ; easilymoved to pity, and incapable ofdoing any animal,much lessa human being, an injury ; I considermy love, in its noblest activ ity, to

be quite as holy as that ofa normal man; and yet,with the unhappy lotwhich impatience and ignorance cast upon us, I suffer even to the extent

ofbeing tiredoflife.

”

In all large cities there are coteries ofthese inverts . In Vienna, secording to Krafit—Ebing, they call themselves “

sisters,”in other places

aunts, the samewriter stating that two v erymasculine public prostitutes,in the city named,who lived in perverse sexual relations with each other,

had informed a correspondent that the name uncle” was applied to

women ofa similar character.

‘

1 “Thou art like any flower, so sweet, sobeautiful, so pure, etc.

3 t lLowering like the heav ens, frowns theworldonme,Yet blest or cursedwillbe the fate Imeet.

With trusting heart, dearfriend, I think oftheel’etc.

Krafit- Ebing, loc. cit. , p. 66 , et seq. , condensed.

In American homosexual argot, female inverts , or lesbian lov ers , are knowneuphemistically as “bulldykers ,”whatever thatmaymean: at least that is their sobri

quet in the“RedLight

”district ofPhiladelphia.

310 Human Sexuality

During the v ice crusade in the city ofPhiladelphia, begun in 1904,under the auspices of the Lawand Order Society, in which a number ofdens ofhomosexual aswell as heterosexual v icewere raided by the

police, and their inmates arraigned in court, Iwas privileged to come intoexceptionally close contactwith a number ofthe former. Themales livedin houses ,mostly in the notorious “RedLight district, precisely as didthefemale prostitutes, being v isited by theirmale patrons and lovers fromwithout, and indulging their homosexual passions , itmust in strict justicebe admitted, on a farmore idealistic and less venal bas is than that foundin the average female brothel.Social disorders, alcoholic intoxication, profanity, brawling and noc

turnal orgies , according to police reports, were far less matters ofpubliccomplaint in these than in the other types ofbawdy house ; the indulgencecarried on in thembeing apparently a matter oflove, rather than luere,

and as a rule conductedwithin strict lines of at least, external social pro

priety .

These young men, corresponding in many cases very closely to the

feminine type, in features , forms andmanners, are variously known to

their patrons and outsiders, according to their different profes sions , as“tasters,

” “fruit,

” “ lady-men,” and“Dolly Vardens ,”whose intercourse

is had by orastupration ; and“brownies,” when the rectalmethod is em

ployed.

Iwas unable to ascertain thederivation ofthe latter term; but it recallsan apropos anecdote. A number ofgentlemenwere discussing themeritsofvarious poets , and thinking to chafi an Irishman present,whose literaryattainments were not of the highest, one of the gentlemen remarked tohim I used to admire Shelly and Keats very much; but here lately Ihave fallen in love with Browning. I think Browning delightful, don’tyou ?

“Faith, it may be deloightful, but it’s a domdhirty practice, wasthe startling andunexpectedresponse.

The arts ofcoquetry employedby thesemale prostitutes are interesting

as showing greatmental alertness in selecting those articles ofdress , orna

ment, perfumes , etc. , peculiarly attractiv e to their brother pederasts . Their

imitation offeminine peculiarities inwalk, rolling ofthe hips, and swayingofthe body, is, ofcourse, naturalto themas normal inverts ; but they displayalong with these a keen knowledge ofothermeans ofexciting the sexual

cupidity oftheir class , keeping the mouth dripping with saliva , and frs

quently cultivating the beard about the buccal orifice, in imitation ofthe

hair on the female genitals .

Coffingnon div ides these inverts into three distinct classes— amateurs,

31 2 Human SexualityYe gods , the ballet- dancer is also aman.

Suspicious, now,we begin to look about. Is theworld topsy turvy?Here goes, or rather trips, aman— no, noman at all, even though he has

a carefully trainedmustache; for his hair is curled, his face painted, hiseyebrows blackened, and he wears ear- rings, an elegant black gown, anenormous bouquet, reaching fromhis shoulder to his breast, bracelets on

his wrists, and his white gloved hands toy negligently with a beautifulfeather fan.

“Ah,howhe turns andlisps, and trips andflirts. Andyet,kindlyNature

made this doll a man ! He is a salesman in a greatmillinery store, and

the ballet- dancer is his chumbehindthe counter.

“At a little corner table there seems tobe a select socialcircle. Several

elderly gentlemen press around a group ofdécolletté ladies, who sit over

their glasses ofwine, and, in the spirit offun,make jokes that are far fromdelicate . Horrors ! Who are these ladies?

Ladies?’laughsmy knowing friend; ‘well, the one on the right,with

brown hair and the short skirt, is called‘Buttericke;

’he’s a hairdresser.

The second, the blonde, in singer’s costume,with the necklace ofpearls,

is known as ‘Miss Ella.

’He

’s a ladies

’tailor. The third is

‘Miss Lottie.

’

‘Whatl’I said, ‘that person aman? Thatwaist, that bust, those classicarms ! Why thewhole air andperson are femininel’

But belonging to aman, nevertheles s .

‘Lottie’takes pleasure in de

ceivingmen about his sex, as long as possible. He'

is singing a song nowthatwouldn’t soundwell 111 a drawing- room; but, you notice, the v oice is

one thatmany a sopranomight envy . He is a bookkeeper; andhas en

tered so completely into the female rble that he appears in the street infemale dress, exclusively, andonly sleeps in an embroiderednight- gown.

’

Tomy astonishment, I nowdiscover acquaintances on all sides . Myshoemaker,whomI never should have taken for awoman- hater, is a trou

badour,with sword and plume; andhisLeonora, in the costumeofa bride,sellsmemy cigars everymorning.

There ismy collar and cuflmerchant, also,moving about in the very

questionable garb of a festive Bacchus ; and the gaudily bedecked Dianabeside himI recognize as thewaiter in a beerrestaurant. The real ‘ ladies’of

the ball cannot be described here. They associate onlywith one another,

andavoidthewomen- hatingmen ; andthe latterare quite exclusive, amusingthemselveswith themselves, andutterly ignoring the charms ofwomen.

”

The most striking sexual manifestation of these

Normal Female women is that known as sapphism, or lesbian love. Not

Homosexuality withstanding the very general beliefthat sapphism, so

calledfromtheGreek poetess,Sappho,who is saidto have


practised it in Lesbos , is associated with cunnilingus , or tickling the

clitoris with the tongue,— in lambendo lingua alterius,— I aminclined to

believe that the latter practice is, for themost part, only resorted to, as

in other forms ofsexual inversion, during the climax ofpassion.

The act is so horribly repulsive, ifonly to the asthetic sense, that it

is diflicult to conceive ofits beingmade the basis ofpremeditatedor regularintercourse; and yet, since recent investigation has discredited the theorythat partial, or complete, hermaphroditismenters into these lesbian te

lationships, and that intercourse is had by means ofa greatly enlarged

clitoris, it seems quite probable that the lingualmethod is far commonerthan supposed; and that Kraussold

’s statement concerning mutualmas

turbation as a basis ofgratification, is greatlymodifiedby actual facts .

‘

That a large sentimental and psychical interest is involved in theseattachments is shown by the intense jealousieswhich frequently accompanythem; many cases being recordedwhere the sexual delusion attained such

a degree of reality as to produce the idea that children, even, had been

Not infrequently, as Parent-Duchateletwellobserves , are the disgustingacts oftoo amorous , or partially inverted,males responsible for these femaleabnormalities ; the latter being led by such perverse acts as intercourse

between the breasts, the thighs, in the arm- pits , and upon other portionsofthe body, to regard all dev iations fromthe normal as more or less justifiable; and to seek in lesbian intercourse escape fromthemore brutalfeatures ofthe other.

In all our large cities are female prostitutes who publicly advertise

themselves as devotees of this vice ; and it is amatter ofcurious observation that the regular prostitutes hate and despise this class ofwomen,just as normalmen do pederasts , or urnings .

Thus Parent records the case ofa prostitutewho,A Couple ofFas while intoxicated, tried to force another into the

tidious Ladies lesbian practice, with the result that the latter,

greatly enraged, went and denounced her assailant

to the police as an“ indecent character;

” which recalls the story of the

young lady who yielded herself to her persistent lover, on his promise,among other inducements , that hewould take her that afternoon to theTrocaderoTheatre.

“But,”remonstrated the highly scrupulous damsel,while hewas taking

the price ofhis generosity in“trade,

” “ I’ve heard some talk about that

theatre— are you sure it’s a nice placefor a respectable lady to go to?’

V id.

“Melancholie undSchuld,” p. 20.

Andronico, Archiv di Psi ch. , etc. , In, 145.

14 Human SexualityMantegazza finds sexual intercourse between

E sthetic Refine women as significant, inmany cases, ofan unsatisfied

ment as a Cause hyperesthesia sexualis ; but, frompersonal study of

ofSapphism the subject, under somewhat favorable circumstances,I amledtobelieve that, as it iswell known to be a v ice

ofthe higher classes ofsociety , it arises farmore frequently froman unsat

isfied aesthetic feeling, and a longing for the refinements , softness and love

which are associatedwith the female character, as against the customarybrutality and coarseness ofman.

I amfully aware that I standalone in this position; butfind it extremelydiflicult to account in any other way for the well- known prevalence of

sapphismin the higher ranks ofmodern society ; where, it is unfortunatelytrue, the v ices ofalcoholic intoxication and other forms ofphysical indulgence do not tend to the highest types ofmanly gentleness and refinement.It would astonish most persons to knowthe number ofwomen who

are liv ing together in this kindofsexualrelationship in every highly civilizedcommunity . There are fewwho cannot recall at least one instance ofthe

sort; and, in a matterwhich appeals peculiarly to social secrecy, there

must be an infinitely greater numberwho are not known.

In a certain court in London awomanwas arraigned on the charge of

beingmarried to no fewer than three otherwomen, and, on conv iction,wassentencedto sixmonths’ imprisonment.

‘

In the same city twowomen lived together quite happily as man and

wife for thirty years, the secret only being divulged in the death- bed con

fession ofthe husband; andHavelock Ellis records a case, as personallyknown to himself, where a congenitally inverted Englishwoman ofdis

tinguished intellectual ability, nowdead, was attached to the wife of a

clergyman, who, in full cognizance ofall the facts in the case, privatelymarriedthe two ladies in his church.

”

Traces ofthis formofsexual aberration have been found among thepeoples ofNewZealand, Brazil, India and Arabia, as well as almost all

the olderEuropean civ ilizations .

In Bali, according to Jacobs,‘ themethod ofgratification is either digital or lingual; but, among theOrientals, and the Japanese, an ivory or ebony

artificial penis is used, sometimeswith a head on each

end, so as to serve two women at once. It is

hollow, and filledwithwarmwater, to bring it to the heat ofthe natural

organ. and is regarded as an Arab invention, fromwhichmany womenKrafit- Ebing , loc. cit. , p. 429 , 430.

Loc. cit. , n , 146 , note . Quotedby Floss - Bartels , Das Weib , r, 390.

316 Human Sexualityoperatives towhich he refers, itmay be rare, or even entirely absent; but

amongworking- girls , as a class, it iswellknown toexist, andquite largely, atleast in America.

He further speaks ofthe girls in another roomretiring to the fitting

room, and, fastening their chemises around their legs to imitate trousers,playing at beingmen, and pretending to have intercoursewith the others .

1

The same, or kindred experiences , may be recorded in this, and every

country , by forewomen offactories where large numbers ofgirls are employed andwhile such amusements among themmay be looked uponas meremanifestations ofanimal spirits, both innocent and indeedwholesome, itmust also be ev ident that habits and ideas thus formed, and con

tinned into adult life,may assume a far less trivial character.

Thus, at Wolverhampton, England, some yearsJealousy in ago, awoman in a store indecently assaulted a young

Female girl lately employed, under circumstances which goHomosexuality to showthat homosexual v icewas no newthought

with her; and in the great tobacco factories ofSe

v ille, Spain, lesbian relationships are by nomeans uncommon.

In the Fabrica deTabacos, at the latter place, some years ago an incidentoccurredwhich drewpublic attention to the fact just recorded. Onemoming, as thewomenwere entering for their daily task, one ofthemdrewa

small clasp- knife, and attacked anotherwith the greatest fury, inflictingsix or sevenwounds upon her v ictim’

s face and neck, and threatening to

kill anyonewho interfered. The first reason assignedwas that the attackedwoman had “ insulted the other

’s son; but fuller investigation revealed

the fact that a lesbian friendship had existed between the twowomen,which was threatened by a newattachment, formed by the v ictimwiththe forewoman in another department ofthe factory .

‘

The samewriter says that the characteristic love-dances ofSpain are

performed by youngwomenwho never sell their persons, butwho are said

to frequently formhomosexual relationships among themselves ; andwitha people ofso amorous temperament, and jealous disposition, it is easy

to account for such furibundmanifestations as that just recorded.

Not all the sexual relationships of young girls ,

Relations Between however, are entered into with a distinctly v icious

Girls Frequently or sexual purpose. The same inherent instinctwhichVague Rather makes the young monkey handle his penis, the dogthan Vicious to lick his, or the boy to masturbate in sleep, will

frequently prompt, even with the most harmless or

vague intent, young girls to playwith themselves , orwith each other; and

Niceforo,

“IlGergo,

”cap. vi , Turin , 1897.

H . Ellis , loc. cit. , n, 128, 129 .

Inversion ofthe Sexual Impulse 31 7

when such girls, ator after puberty, are carriedby their childish impulses beyond the confines ofinnocence, into the realmofgenuine homosexual passion, they frequentlymanifest, andfeel, both shame andaversionfor the act.

It is only, as with other habits , when the v ice has been fixed by longpractice, or by congenital tendencies , that it leads to crime.

We all remember the celebratedMemphis Case,The “FredaWard” which occurred in 1894. AliceMitchell, a congenital

Case invert, planned a marriage with Freda Ward bytaking amale name and costume. The schemewas

frustrated by Freda’s sister; and Alice, in a moment of jealous frenzy,

cut her lover’s throat.

There were no collateral facts to prove insanity, the claimpresentedin her behalf; butmany to showthat shewas simply a homosexualist ofa very ponounced type ; a classical normal invert. Shewas by no meansv icious , however; with little knowledge ofsexualmatters, andmanifestinga shame, on being seen kissing or fondling Freda, which the latter could

see no reason forfeeling.

This case, recorded byMacdonald,1 is paralleled by that of the “Tillier

Sisters ,” quintroons , acting in one ofthe cheap theatres

ofChicago, and investigated by Dr. J. G. Kiernan

of the same city . One was an invert, with an in

veterate horror ofmen, dating fromchildhood, and

sexually attached to the other, whowas not congenitally inverted. The

latter, persuaded by aman, finally left the invert, whowas so overcomewith jealousy that she broke into the apartment ofthe couple and shot

the man dead. A defence of insanity was instituted; but, on trial, shewas convictedandsent to prison for life.

In August, 1610,was entered upon the Stationers’“CutpurseMoll” Register,London,

“ABooks calledTheMadde PrancksofMerryMall ofthe Bankside, with her Walkes inMan’s Apparel, and toWhat Purpose, Written by John Day .

” The biographer ofMary Frith, “MerryMall,” or

“MollCutpurse, as shewas vari

ously described, the first being her true name, paints her as “a very tomrig

and rumpscuttle, who delighted only and sported in boy’s plays and

costume.

” She is the heroine inMiddleton and Dekker’s breezy comedy,“TheRoaring Girl,

”andwas undoubtedly a sexual invert.

A case is reported by H . Ellis as occurring in

Ellie’s Case Massachusetts, in 1901, in which a girl of twenty ,ofneurasthenic constitution, fell in lovewith awoman

many years her senior,married and themother ofchildren,who hadwaitedArchivd

’Anthropol. Criminelle,May , 1895. Loc. cit, n ., 120.

318 Human Sexualityupon her during one ofher periods ofillness . Themother ofthe girl, andthe woman’s husband, both apparently cognizant of the nature of the

intimacy , tookmeasures to terminate it; but the girl,when the obstaclesto its gratification became insurmountable, deliberately bought a revolver

and shot herself in the temple, dying almost instantly in hermother’spresence.

The latterwas ofan aristocratic family, and the girl herselfhandsome,cultumd, an energetic religious worker, possessed ofa fine voice, fond of

outdoor sports, andamember ofmany fashionable clubs andsocieties .

Itmust always be remembered that attachmentsWomen Sometimes of this character between women are much moreUnconsciously diflicult ofanalysis than similar attachments betweenHomosexual men, on account ofthe frequency ofvery close in

timacies and friendships between the former, whichare not founded on sexualmotives ; and yet, I amconstrained to believethat verymany ofthe close intimacies existing between highly bred, andentirely purewomen have, it may be without the remotest suspicion on

their part, a distinctly sexualbasis . When awoman, therefore, feels herselfso drawn to one ofthe same sex that she iswilling to pass hours , anddays,in her company ; feels repugnance to the society ofothers ; or begins tosee in her friend qualities ofmind, or body, not possessedby otherwomen,shewould better examine herselfclosely,with a v iewto determine the realcharacter ofherfeelings .

Among the numerous confessions sent to Krafft- Ebing ofsexual aberration, it is interesting to note, not one came froma

Female Reticence woman, and I think the experience ofotherwriters,on the Subject as well as undoubtedlymy own, will be found very

similar. Whether women are more secretive, moreditfident ofpublicity, or less prone to fully developed sexual abnormality,thanmen, is a question onwhich psychologists difier,‘ andwhich I do not

think it here profitable to discuss ; but, while young girls , by sleepingtogether, touching each other

’s genitalia, or breasts, may awaken a pre

cocious play ofthe sexual feeling, in most cases perfectly innocent, andfollowed by shame, this must not be classedwith that intentionally producedhomosexualitywhich is indicative oftrue acquired inversion.

Themost passionate lesbian attachments among girls will usually be

found in theatres, between chorus and ballet- girls,where the erotismof

the play, the romantic character ofthe surroundings, and the privacy1 On this subject compare Hippocrates’ treatise “Of Generation ;” H. Ellis ,

“ManandWoman,

”chaps . run andxv ;Maudsley , “Relations Between Body andMind; Lan

cet,May, 1870; andBeaunis, “Les Sensations Internes ,” p. 151.

320 Human Sexualityto H . Ellis , fromwhomI partially quote, andwho has had amplemeansof ascertaining, the v ice is comparatively rare among that class ofun

fortunates .

Whether it be that the Anglo- Saxon race, by constitution, is less proneto sexual abuses than the Latin, I feel diffident ofasserting, although someev idence points in that direction ; but the fact is very obv ious that, in

Paris, lesbianismis almost normal. The Chahut dancers of theMoulinRouge, Casino, and other balls ofthat character, almost invariably go inpairs, and there are fewhouses of prostitution which do not keep an ex

clusively lesbian article offurniture.

The homosexuality ofprostitutesmust arise fromProbable Causes some radical cause, or causes and it is quite probableofSapphism those enumerated by Lombroso are in the main

correct: (a) excessive, and often unnatural venery ;

(b) confinement in prison,with separation frommen ; (c) close associa

tion, in brothels,with individuals ofthe same sex ; (d)maturity andoldageinverting the secondary sexualcharacters ; and (e) disgustforman on accountofhis repulsive grossness andbrutality , producedby the prostitutes’protession, and combinedwith a longing forgenuine love.

1 The lastelement,morepowerfulwithwomen than ordinarily supposed, I have already hintedat.MantegaZza finds the chiefcause in a pathologically unsatisfiable hypere sthesia sexualis ; and I think that to this, alongwith Lombroso’s list,might very properly be added the somewhat anomalous sexual position of

the modern woman, which, through the facts recently mentioned, is so

peculiarly favorable to thedevelopment ofa neurotic habit.As to the influence which suggestion exercises in

Heredity Nearly this connection, there can hardly be a doubt that in

Always Involved most cases ofso- calledseduction, themoving principlemay be foundrather in the revelation ofa congenitally

inverted nature, than in external influences . If the contrary were true,men andwomenwould practice indiscriminately the v ices revealed to them;whereas fewdo so; the perverted idea always assuming such definite linesas to indicate a preexisting congenital impulse ; or, as Féré properly says,

’

when an invert acquires , under the influence ofexternal conditions , it

is because hewas bornwith an aptitude for such acquisition, an aptitudelacking in thosewho have been subjected to the same conditions ,withoutmaking the same acquisitions .

”

In support ofthis v iewLeppmann mentions the case of a little girl

ofeight, who used to spend her nights hidden on the roof,merely to see

1 “La Donna Delinquente ,” p. 410, et seq.

“Anthropol. Cult. Studien, p. 97.

“L’Instinct Po 238

Inversion ofthe Sexual Impulse 32 1

the sexualorgans ofamale cousin,when he performedhismorning toilette; 1and it iswell known thatmany childrenwhomanifestedpleasure in handlingthe genitalia ofother children, while young, grewup, nevertheless , into

perfectly normal adults. The seed ofsuggestion is only prolific in a suitable

soil; its influences in other cases, though temporarily strong, usually dis

appearing in the presence oflater normal stimuli.Inmost invertedwomenwill be observed a certain

Physical masculinity , either of voice, dress ormanner, or inMascu lini ty of all three, which may be so subtle as to escape theFemale Inverts observation of all except the physician, or other

student ofpsychology, andwhich is alwayswantingin women towhomthey are attracted. In girls whowhistle, who havepeculiar raucous voices, indulging habitually in slang, loose gestures, and

othermasculine habits, inversion, while itmay not be open or perfectlydeveloped,may always be suspected.

But even here the need ofthe sexual opposite is operative, demandingin the object ofles bianismexactly contrary qualities to thosementioned.

Indeed, this lawfrequently expresses itself in attraction betweenwomenofdifferent colors, as I have personally known it to exist betweenwhitesand blacks ; and, as Kocher remarks, is the customamong the Arabs,where the lesbianfriendofawoman is commonly a European. Lorin noted

the same peculiarity in the Chines e, and the Annamites ; the former of

whomare usually active, andthe latter pass ive pederasts .

As to physical abnormalities among female inverts the evidence seemsalmost negative ; although in thosewhomI have had the opportunity toexamine, I have found confirmation ofEllis

’s v iew, ormore properly the

v iewofone ofhis correspondents ,’ that an excessive growth ofhair on thelegs is fairly typical. I have also observed, along with frequent facialasymmetry, a certain dreamy, romantic expression ofcountenance, together

with that genera“scrawniness ” of arms , legs and breasts, which their

deviation fromthe normal would naturally lead us to expect. I have

known one or two inwhich the feminine rotundity offace and formwaspreserved; but as a rule female inverts will rarely pass as

“ beauties ;”while withmales the exact reverse seems to be the case, many ofthose

whomI havemet having been remarkable, not only for classic regularityoffeature, but, a very soft and shaming facial play ofintelligence.

Among the characters exploited inMrs . Norman’sWomenAdventurers,there seems to be no trace ofactual inversion; the adoption ofmale garments andmanners being apparently prompted by the contrary motiveofattractingmasculine interest.

1 Bulletinde 1’Union Intemat. , etc. , p. 118. 1896 .

1 H. Ellis , loc. cit. , 11, 171 , note.

21

32 2 Human SexualityIt is amistake, also, as I have before remarked,

Pla tonic Attach to assume that all attachments betweenwomen havements Between a lesbian, or even sexual, basis . There is a vein of

Women platonism, or highly etherealized romance in manywomen ; and I have known cases where the highest

pleasurewasmutually derivedfromsu ch an association oftwo girls,withoutthe remotest suspicion ofsexuality entering into it. In this assertion I amglad to be in agreement with the v iews of so renowned an investigator

asMr. H . Ellis,whose Case XLII fully bears out the opinion.

At the age offour this girl used to enjoy seeing the buttocks ofa littlegirlwho lived near. When shewas six, the nurse-maid, sitting in the fields,used to play with her own privates telling the child to do likewise, andsaying itwouldmake “

a baby come. The latter touchedherselfin conse

quence, butwithout producing any sensation.

When about eight, she used to see various nurse-girls uncover their

children’s genitals , and playwith them, and used to think about itwhen

alone . Her first rudimentary sex- feeling developed at the age of eight

or nine, being most v iv id at about fourteen, and died away on the first

appearance ofher affection for girls. The earliest of these attachmentswas for a schoolfellow, a graceful, coquettish girl,with blonde hair and blueeyes, forwhomher affectionmanifested itselfin doing various small favors .

At the age offourteen she had a similar passion for a cousin, and used

to look forwardwith the keenest pleasure to her v isits, especially the rareoccas ions when the cousin sleptwith her. Her excitementwas then so

great that she could not sleep ; butwith it all therewas no sexualfeeling.

At sixteen she fell in lovewith another cousin,withwhomher experienceswere full ofdelicious sensations, she thrilling ifthat cousin only touched

her neck,with an excitementwhich unquestionably reachedthe borderlandofsexuality, butwith nodistinctively sexualpurpose or result.

On leav ing school, at the age ofnineteen, shemet a girlofabout the sameagewho became verymuch attached to her, and sought to gain her love.

She was attracted to this love, and an intimacy grewup which finallyresulted in contact, but ofa vague character andwithout sexual pleasure.

They used to touch, and kiss each other tenderly , especially on the

priv ates, experiencing strong pleasurable feeling in the act, with sexual

erethism, butwith no orgasm;which latter, indeed, appears to have only

very rarely and at a later period occurred. Therewas neithermasturbation, use ofthe tongue, pressing ofthe organs together, nor any other of

the methods commonly used in sapphism; and the attachment seemedto be one offeminine tenderness rather than sexualpassion.

In lesbian love the relation is anthropologically and clinically similar

CHAPTER SEVEN

PERVERSION OF THE SEXUAL IMPULSEHE firstofthese anomalies to be noted is the association ofactive

cruelty, or passive physical suffering,with sexual desire. In this

categorywemay properly placemany ofthose numerous instances,such as negro child- rape, and the debaucheries ofthe Roman

Nero, inwhich the infliction ofpain seems to be an essentialelement in thegratification ofsexual lust. One ofthe strangest phenomena ofthe entire

sexual sphere, and thatmost difficult ofanalysis, the attempts to account

for it have, ofcourse, been various, and, in some cases, curious .

The impulse to inflict pain, on the part of the

male, and to suffer it, on the part ofthe female, asan element in the expression oflove, reduces court

ship, as Colin Scottwell remarks , to littlemore thana refined anddelicate formofcombat, inwhich themale finds pleasurein the consciousness ofpower, and the female in submission to sufferingas a part ofthe passionwhich that power excites.Marro has thought that there may be a sort of

Theories ofMarro transference ofemotion, in which the impulse ofvio

and ofSchafer lence against the rival is turned, more or lewnu

consciously, against the belovedobject; while Schaferis inclined to regard the impulse as atav istic,

‘ battle andmurder beingso predominant an instinct, among themales ofboth animals and primitiveman, that it is impossible not to see a close connection between themand

innatemale sexuality .

As Darwin, Spencer,MacLennan and other investigators have clearly

pointed out,marriage by capture is not only so closely identifiedwith thehistory ofallearly peoples , butmodern courtship itselfso largely dominatedby the factor ofphysicalforce, thatMarro’s theory, as illustrated, for instance, ih thebiting ofamare by a stallion, during copulation, seems a fairlyplausible one; the question ofatavismnot seriously assailing it, since one

may be, andvery probably is , in rational correlationwith the other.

J ahrbficherfar Psychologie, n , 128.

324

Perversion ofthe Sexual Impulse 32 5

Whatever its cause, the psychological fact admits ofno disproof thatthe very highest degree ofsexual enjoyment is frequently, ifnot always ,found in connectionwithmore or less violence on one side, and resistance

on the other.

Brantome mentions a lady who confessed that she liked to be half

forced by her husband;1and everyone knows that thewomanwho re

sists is alwaysmore prizedbymen than shewho yields toowillingly . Amongthe Slavs thewife feels hurt ifshe is not occasionally beaten by her husband,treating such v iolence, according to Paullinus, as amark oflove.

2

It is doubtful if the institution ofthe whipping- post forwife- boaterswould be long sustained in any community, indeed, ifwomen themselveswere permitted to vote on it; andofthe host ofpoor, bruised, beaten and

blackened femalewretches , v ictims ofman’s brutality, who line up dailyin our police courts, fewwilleverbefoundfiguring in divorce cases .

I once told a woman who had been beaten by her husband that thelatter was a brute, and received for my kindly effort at sympathy the

snapping retort you mind your own business ! which I immediatelyproceeded to do. Acting on the old Russian proverb, possibly , that “

a

dear one’s blows never hurt long,

”thes e poor souls actually love their

stripes and slavery ; andwhatever the class in society, however the “ad

vencedwoman ” may declaimagainst it, there is just sufficient of the

primitive savage in allwomen tomake themassociate manly perfectionwith physical strength, and to lookwith a very lenient eye upon the v io

lences ofa true lover, prov idedhe be one.

In a recent popular novel,’ the heroine, a young Australian lady, is

represented as striking her loverwith a whip for attempting to kiss her;butwhen he seizes her in return,with no very gentle grip, she realizes for thefirst time that he truly loves her. I laughed a little joyous laug she

remarks, when on disrobing for the night I discovered onmywhite shoulders many black and bluemarks. It had been a very happy day forme.

”

The biological character ofprimitive animal courtProbable Causation ship, the desire ofthe female to be forcibly subjugatedofthePhenomena by the male, is very clearly illustrated by the case

ofthe ladywho,when askedby her loverwhy , duringintercourse, she always bit and scratched, and endeavored to repel him,

replied— “because Iwant to be forced, to be hurt, suffocated, thrown down“V ie des Dames Galantes , Disc. 1.

Schlichtegroll,“SacherMasoch undderMasochismus , p. 69 .

“My Brilliant Career,”Miles Franklin. See, also, The Scarlet Banner,” Dahn,p. 268 Fiercely as myworth,my honor, rebelled, yet, yet there blazed here inmyheart, secretly, awarm, happy emotion: he lov esme; he torturesmefromlove.

”

326 Human Sexualityin the struggle; and in the Kama Sutra, in a chapter given to the Indianart oflove-making, theman is instructed to strike thewoman on the back,

belly , flanks and buttocks, both before andduring intercourse, to increase

the sexualdesire.

2

It is impossible ‘

to deny that, although the conventions of modernsociety enforce its repression, the primi tive association between love and

pain, themasculine tendency to delight in domination, and the feminineto equally delight in submission, still exists ; and on that ground alone is

explained the not infrequent cases in which the gentle, timid, but, intellectually andmorally, far superior lover is thrown over for the onewhois rough anduncouth, to the no small bewilderment ofthe former.

Plutarch says that Flora, themistress ofCneius Pompey , found thelatter so lov able that she could never leave himwithout giving hima bite;

and Heine mentions , in one ofhis Romancero, the scars in the neck of

Harold,marks ofthe bites ofEdith Swan- neck, bywhich shewas enabledto recognize him.

3

It is noticed that dogs and catswill showtheir affection by gentle bites,and the grip ofthemale animal on the neck ofthe female, and the cook

on the crest ofthe hen, during intercourse, probably springs fromthe sameprimitive instinct. In any case the tendency to bite during the climaxof the sexual excitement is very widespread, being associated by somewriters with the origin ofthe kiss, and giv ing rise to the homely saying

about lov ing a personwell enough to eat him, or her. Indeed, there are

lasciv ious kisses, tamimpresso are, as Lucian says, vir labia detrahant, inter

deosculandummordicantes, tumet os aperientes quoque ctmammas attrec

tantes, etc . , which partakemore ofthe character ofbiting than kissing ;

inwhich the hearts and souls ofthe lovers seemtomingle, andwhich are

not the ambrosial salutes which Jupiter gave to Ganymede, or Jason toMedea, or Troilus to Cressida, butwhat St.Thomas calls contactus osculumsit mortale peccatum, obscene, meretricious kisses, forerunners always oflust and sexual passion, andwith that clinging, sucking, and biting ofthe

lipswithwhichmany ofus are pleasantly familiar.

Archiviodi Psychiatria , xx , 5 , 6—528 .

V atsyayana, Kama Sutra,” FrenchTrans ,m—v .

In Glov atski’s novel,

“The Pharaoh andthe Priest, 9. story ofEgypt in the time ofRameses XII, p. 681 , the following passage occurs , showing that, according to the novelist, at least, the idea ofthe lov e

- bite is nonewthingHe seizedHebron in his arms andwent towardthe couch,whisperingHowbeautiful thou art to day ! Each time I see thee, thou art difi’erent—each

timemore beautiful than ev er!”

Letme go,”whisperedHebron. At times I amafraidthat thouwiltbiteme !Bite? No; but Imight kiss thee to death !”

328 Human SexualityFrance, in the eighteenth century, rings, set with wooden knobs, andknown as

“aides,

”were usedto heighten the pleasure ofthewoman.

TheChinese hedge-hog,”awreath ofsoftfeathers,

The “Hedge- hog” the quills firmly fastened to a silver ring, is slipped

over the penis in intercourse; and in South Americaa similarly constructed horse- hair brush is used. This latter instrumentis commonlymade by thewomen themselves, and is ofvery delicateworkmanship. Most ofthe accounts agree that the women attach great importance to this appliance ; and Brook Lowremarks that “

no woman,habituated to its use,will dreamofpermitting her bed-fellowto gowithout it.

”

In Germany, the cundumis frequently madewith similar “frills, to

heighten the woman’s excitement; and in evidence

that they didso heighten it,Mauriac tells ofa patientwith warty vegetations on his penis who delayed

having themremoved, “because his mistress likedhimbestwith them.

” 1

These artificial aids to sexual enjoyment,while regarded now, inmanyoftheir forms, simply as ethnological curiosities, were once, and indeed

are yet, almost universally employed among Oriental peoples ; butwhilewe can conceive that the pain they ofnecessity producemay be lost in,or even heighten, the pleasure of connection, it seems almost incomprehensible that a delicate, refinedwoman should subject herself, or that achivalrous ,manlyman shouldsubject her, to physical v iolence andsufferingas a part or element ofmutual love. Yet, however it puzzle us as a themeofacademicaldiscussion, the fact is very real and indisputable.

There are groups ofhumanfeelingwhichfrequentlyJudgment the run counter to human reason, judgment and impulse,Foe ofImpulse being in themain hereditary enemies ; but it seems

strange that a fact ofsuch deep psychic importanceas that under consideration, eluding the research ofthe professed psychologist, shouldhave been first revealed in the pages oftwo novelists . Sadismtakes its name fromthe peculiar formofsexual perversion first laid barein the romances ofDe Sade; andmasochismfromthe corresponding pervers ion, ofa passive nature, displayed in those ofSacher-Masoch.

The definition ofKrafit- Ebing, that sadismis “the impulse to cruelandviolent treatment of the opposite sex , and the coloring ofthe idea ofsuch

actswith fails ofabsolute correctness, for the very same

V id. H . Ellis , loc. cit.,m, 84. Suggesting the shrewd inference that she had hadopportunities ofcomparing the sensationwith that producedby other penises destituteofsuch verrucous adornment. But that

’s another story . Loc. cit., p. 60.

Perversion ofthe Sexual Impulse 329

reason as that forwhich I have heretofore calledNero a sadist— that the

sadistic impulse may have either sex for its object. Féré’s definition is

better the need ofassociation of v iolence and cruelty with sexual en

joyment, such v iolence or cruelty not being necessarily exerted by the person, himself,who seeks sexual pleasure in this association ; andGarnier

’s

is best ofall, since it recognizeswhat I have heretofore contended for— a

principle of normality in these perversions— and comprises , at the sametime, every point covered by the others . Pathologicalsadism,

”hewrites,

thus inv iting the inference of a physiological sadism, is an impulsive andobsessing sexual perversion, characterized by a close connection betweensuffering inflicted, ormentally represented, and the sexual orgasm; without this necessary and suflicing condition, frigidity usually remainingabsolute.

”

In attempting to define sadism, Havelock Ellis is led to the conclu

sion, by others I believe overlooked, that it is not

Ellis’s View a perversion due to excessivemasculinity; a conclu

sionwellcorroboratednot only by the fact that strongmen aremore apt to be tender than cruel, and themost cruelmen to befeminine in character, but the equally remarkable fact that the skull ofDe Sade, himself, according to the phrenologist who examined it, was so

small andwell formed that onewould take it at first for awoman’s .

”

Indeed, the sadistic impulse, in my opinion, is quite as common inwomen as inmen. I had a little daughter, since deceased, who possesseda small Chines e poodle, uponwhich she lav ished the entire wealth of a

peculiarly affectionate nature ; andwhipping that poodle, dashing coldwater upon it, and treading upon its tail, were pastimes which not only

afforded her the very keenest enjoyment, butwere indubitably the con

comitants ofan equally strong affection, and fewparents will be foundwho have not observed similarmanifestations ofactive cruelty in their

children.

Thatwomen can be gentle as kittens, or cruel as tigers, is a proverbfounded on absolute fact; while it is only necessary to read the literature of

Goethe, Heine, Platen, Hamerling, Byron and other authors , to recognize,

in the affectionate submission ofthe heroine to the exactions and cruelty

ofa tyrannical lover, that masochistic feeling which is a part ofalmosteverywoman’s nature.

It is impossible to treat sadism, I repeat, apart frommasochism, one

being complementary to the other The former represents the activemileofabsolute domination, andthe latter, as Krafft- Ebing remarks , a peculiar

1 “L’Instinct Sexual, p. 33 .

“Des Perversions Sexuelles , Int. Cong.Mcd. , Paris, 1900.

330 Human Sexualityperversion ofthe psychical vita secualis in which the individual affected,in sexual feeling and thought, is controlled by the idea ofbeing completelysubject to thewill ofa person ofthe opposite sex ; and ofbeing treatedby this person as by amaster, andhumiliatedandabused.

” 1

Itwas fromthe peculiar character ofthe AustrianSacher-Masoch novelist, Sacher-Masoch,who firs t discovered his perand De Sade version by the pleasure he experienced in being kicked

in the face by.

his mistress, that Krafit—Ebing wasled to adopt the termmasochism, as the counterpart ofsadism; but, as Ihave previously remarked, a careful consideration of the phenomena of

both conditionswill lead us to discard even an imaginary line ofdemarcation. De Sade, himself, was not a pure sadist, any more than SacherMasoehwas a puremasochist, the sexual algophily ofwhich Fere speaks’being equally applicable inboth cases ; and the termalgolagnia

1— painwithsexual excitement—which Schrenk- Notzing invented to cover both sadismandmasochism, seems fairly adequate to describe both the passive and

active forms ofthe perversion.

I amnot sure that I amabsolutely correct, indeed, in applying thetermabnormal to either ofthese perversions ; the instinct to bite, for in

stance, in sexual excitement being so universal as to fall readilywithin thelines ofnormality ; and it is only when we go beyond this, and into themore pronouncedforms ofinstinctive cruelty, that the adopted classificationappears justified. The impulse offuribund passion, as manifested in thelove- bite, may ormay not be to shed blood; if it be the latter, and not

themere emotionaloutburst ofsexualdetumescence, common to all animals,it is a perfectly naturalmanifestation ofthe lawwhichmakes courtshiponly amodifiedformofcombat, ofwhich blood is the natural concomitant.

Thus, the heroes ofDe Sade’s novels plan scenes

Countess Bathory ofdebauchery in which the shedding ofblood is a

and necessary element of the fullest sexual enjoyment;Gilles de Rais and with the Hungarian, Countes s Bathory, andMarshall Gilles de Rais, we find lust only satisfied

with the death ofinnumerable v ictims .

‘

The intimate relation betweenwhipping and sexual passion has already1 “Psychopathia Sexualis ,” Seventh German Edition , fromwhich,when not other

wise stated, allmy quotations aremade, p . 89 .

“L’Instinct Sexual,

” p. 138.

1 ZeitschriftfurHypnotismus , 1899 , UK, 2.

1 Jacob,“Curiosités de l

’histoire de France , Paris , 1858. H . Ellis , loc. cit. ,m,

103.

Countes s Bathory couldonly satisfy her lust by the death ofher victim; andMarshall Gilles de Rais explained the horrible mutilations ,murders and cruelties , he had

practisedupon upwardofeight hundred children , by the example ofthe Roman Cmsars .

He claimed to have been led into such sexual barbarity by reading in Suetonius the

332 Human Sexualitya doubt thatmany, ifnot all, ofthemodern lust-murders ofchildren are of

sadie origin.

TheMenesclou case is fairly typical of these. Menesclou wasarres ted on a charge ofabducting a four-

year- oldgirl

The Menesclou fromher parents’ residence; and, when taken into

Case" custody, the forearmof the childwas found in his

pocket. Theheadandentrails, in a half- burned condition,were discovered in the stove, but the genitals ofthe girl could not be

found, being probably secreted and used by himfor sexual purposes .

”

“These circumstances , as well as the finding ofa lewd poemin his pocket,left nodoubt that he hadv iolatedthe child, andthenmurderedher.

” 1

Another, that of the clerk Alton, is distinctlyAlton's Case sadistic. Hewas a professed v iolator andmurderer

oflittle girls, luring theminto thickets , and vacant

buildings ; and, on his arrest, entries like the following were found in hisnote- book “Killed a young girl today ; it was fine and hot.

” 1 “ Jackthe Ripper, ofWhitechapel fame ; Holmes, whowas executed in Phila

delphia in 1896 , conv icted of the murder ofnearly twenty women, andJohann Hoch, the Chicago Bluebeard, hanged in Feb . , 1906 , formore thanan equal number offemalemurders, furnish remarkable instances ofthe

same sexual perversion.

The confession of the pellagrous vampire , Verzeni,‘ is interes ting as

afiording an example of sadistic anthropopagy . I

V erzeni's Case had an unspeakable delight in strangling women,

he remarks , “experiencing during the act emctions ,and intense sexual pleasure. Itwas a pleasure even to smellfemale cloth

ing. The feeling ofpleasurewhile strangling themwas much greater thanthat which I felt when masturbating. I took great delight in drinking

their blood, andin pulling the pins outofthe hair ofmy v ictims . Mymotherfirst came to suspectme fromnoticing the spots ofsemen on my shirt,

after eachmurder. I never touched the genitals ofthewomen. It satis

fiedme sexually to just seize themby the neck and suck their blood. Duringthe strangling, I pressedmyselfagainst the entire body , but didnot thinkofone partmore than another.

He further states that he came to his perverse condition entirely inde

pendently ofoutside influences , his first experience ofsexualpleasure comingfromthewringing ofchickens’necks .

That active sexuality is not at the bottomofall outrages , however, iswell shown by the case of the Spaniard, Gruyo, who, while physically

1 Vid. Krafi'

t- Ebing , lac. cit. , p. 63 .

1 V id. C. Lombroso, “V erseni Agnoletti, Rome, 1873.

Perversion of the Sexual Impulse 333

impotent, still continued his horrible deeds, strangling no fewer thansix women in ten years . He covered his tracks with such care that,for the above period, he remained undetected, choking his v ictims, whowere usually prostitutes, and tearing out their kidneys and intestines

through the vagina .

1

Tamowsky tells ofa physicianwho,while ordinarily capable ofnormalintercourse, found that,when excitedwithwine, hewas compelled to prickthewoman’s buttocks , and see blood, before he could have ejaculation, orobtain satiety ofhis lust; andDemme records the case ofamanwhowasledfrommasturbation by, and sodomy upon, little girls, to lust-murder bythe haunting thought ofhowpleasant itwould be to stab a young andprettygirl in the region of the genitals, while hav ing intercourse with her, andsee the bloodrunningfromthe knife.

1

That sadismis not infrequent in women is also

shown by Case 42, of Krafit- Ebing.

“A marriedman presented himselfwith numerous cuts and scarson the arms . He told their origin as follows: When

hewished to have intercoursewith hiswife,whowas young and nervous,

he first had tomake a cut in his arm. Then shewould suck thewound,andduring the act become v iolently excitedsexually .

” 1

History is full offurther instances of sadistic instinct in the sex, of

which possibly ValeriaMessalina and Catherine diMedici are the mostnoted; the latter, alongwith being the secret instigator of the awful St.

BartholomewMassacre , finding great pleasure,we are told, in having the

ladies ofher courtwhippedbefore her.

The desire which is so frequently obwrved in men to play the slave

to a woman, or a woman to a man, submitting to themost humiliatingoutrages oftheirmanhoodorwomanhood in the degrading r61e, can scarcelybe explainedon other thanmasochistic grounds .

‘

1 Krafit- Ebing , loc. cit. , p. 67.

1 “Buchder V erbrechen , 11, 34.

1 Loc. cit. , p. 87 This recalls themythological legendofthe vampires , originating,possibly , among the Gmeks , in themyth ofthe lamina:andmamolykes , blood-suckingwomen andmen , a full account ofwhichmay be found inTyler’s “Prim. 1893,

Ch. xv . Goethe alsomakes use ofit in his Bride ofCorinth,

”andthere is little doubt,

inmymind at least, that the origin ofsuch outre fictional characters as BramStoker’sDracula, andthe Slavonic andAlbanian beliefs so grav ely set forth in Rauft

’e DeMas

ticationeMortuorumin Tumulis ,” and Calmet’s “Dissertation on the Vampires ofHungary ,

”is to be found in the nocturnal depredations ofsec-ual sadists ,whose abnor~

mality escapeddetection through the fact that itwas not then recognizedor known .

Schulz reports the case (WeinerMed. Wochenschrift, 49 , 1869 ) ofamanwhowasincapable ofintercoursewith hiswife untilhe hadworkedhimselfinto a state ofartificialanger. LeoTaxi] states (

“La Corruption ,

” p. 224) that in Parisian brothels knouts are

kept for the castigation ofpatronswho can only be excited by suchmeans ; and it is

334 Human SexualityThe following represents only an exaggerated instance ofthis tendency,

so common as tofurnishmaterialfor a dozen books .

Aman finds satisfaction,when he v isits awhoreStrange Sexual house, in the following strange manner: He has a

Appliance porcelain ring, similar to those used in hanging cur

tains ,which he puts over the head ofhis penis . Twocords are attached to this ring,which are drawn backward between his legsand attached to the foot ofthe bed. He then tells the woman to beathimunmercifully upon the buttocks, and cry

“whoa ” to him, constantly ,as a personwould to an unruly horse. Themore thewoman whips himon to pull,with shouts andblows, the greater his sexualexcitement becomes.

Emotion occurs, andwith increasing emotion the penis ismore andmoretightly compressed by the ring, until, finally, ejaculation takes place,withexceedingly lustful feelings .

” 1

Only by the wildest flight offancy, certainly, could the slang term,riding awoman,

”he applied to such a procedure ; but, just as in sadism

men excite their lust by maltreatingwomen, or girls , ormales , when theactor is homosexual, so inmasochismthe same sexual stimulation is soughtin endurance ofsimilar abuse as in the above case.

With this definition ofthe terms ,masochismand sadism,which makesthe conditions, I think, fairly clear, and in illustration ofwhich numberlesscasesmight readily be adduced, I shall pass to the consideration ofa far

commoner sexualanomaly .

The association of certain parts of a woman’sFetichism body, or dress, with sexual desire in men, and of

corresponding articles andparts inman,with the samedesire inwomen. This abnormality , necessarily psychological in character,so rare amongwomen that itmay properly be omitted entirely, as respectsthem, presents features ofconsiderable clinical interest, fromthe fact that

itmay pass froma mere physiological preference for some particularportion ofthe female anatomy, or attire , to complete psychical impotencein the absence ofthe fetich.

That this interest not infrequently centers in por

Definition of tions ofthe female body not sexually related, as theywould he were the breasts , legs or external genitals

involved, is important, as leading up to the knowledge that in such cases

recorded ofthe religious enthusiast, Antoinette Bouv ignon de la Ports , as showing theconnection between themystical and sexual passions , and themasochistic tendency ofboth, that she habituallymixedhuman faces with herfood. (Krafft- Ebing , loc. cit. , p

The beatifiedMarieAlacoque, to “mortify herself,” is also said to have licked upwith her tongue the fecaldejections ofthe patients , and sucked their toes , coveredwithputrifying sores .

1 Krafi'tnEbing, loc. cit. , p. 113.

336 Human SexualityBinet, probably,more than any otherwriter, studied and analyzed the

whole fetichismoflove; developing the fact, along with Tarde, that thefetichmay vary just aswidelywith nations as with indiv iduals . Through

fetichismhe explains the attraction of the blonde for the brunette,nullifying the lawof Opposites in sexual selection, for a particularexpression ofthe eyes, for a perfume, a hand, a foot, a boot, an ear;

filling up the whole complicated chain ofmental processes involved

in sexual love, andmaking clear the otherwise inexplicable problemwhylove is sometimes a passion and sometimes a coldmental process ; sometimes inspiredby the beautiful, andsometimes by the ugly ; and, in addition,pointing out certain deep- seated psychological principleswhich, ifperfectlyandgenerally understood,would vastly, I think, promote not only domestichappiness, but amore intelligent administration oflegal justice.

Hand, glove, hair, clothing, foot andhandkerchiefForms of fetichists are themost common ofthe entire group.

It is easier to account for foot- fetichismthan that

ofthe hand. The female foot, unlike the hand, is commonly seen covered,

and the early direction ofthe sexual thought toward it is partly due tothat charmofnovelty, heretofore noted, and partly to themore intimateassociation ofthe foot itselfwith the sexual parts . Shoe fetichismmayalso, probably, be partly explainedby the latter hypothesis . Hairfetichismis forensically important fromthe seemingly greater frequency ofitsmanifestation in acts ofpublic v iolence, as well as the possible involvement ofone ormore ofthe physicalsenses in thosemanifestations .

Poets have rhapsodized about the smell of a woman’s hair, likeningit to the perfumed groves and flowers ofParadise ; and there can be no

doubt that different fashions ofwearing the hair, froma merely aesthetic

standpoint, produce d ifferent effects on difierent men. Moll reports thecase ofamanwho became v iolently excited, sexually,whenever he sawa

woman with her hair in a single braid; andMagnan, a similar instancewhere a man constantly dreamed ofwomen with braided ha ir, andwhoneverwas potent for intercourse with onewhowere her hair loose or in

any other fashion . He never dreamed ofthe sexual parts ofwomen ; butonly the braid ofhair; the idea oftouchingwhich, or better, sleepingwithit, producing themost powerful erections andejaculation .

1

Public hair despoilers are qu ite common in every great city ; the fol

lowing case taken fromthe Annalee d’hygiene,April, 1890, being fairly representative of the class

Themanwas a locksmith, agedforty ,whowas arres ted at theTrocadero,

in Paris, in flagranti , as he cut offa young girl’s hair in the crowd. He

1Archie dc l’Anthropol. Grim,

v, 28


stated thatwhen alone in his roomhe felt sick, anxious anddizzy, troubledcontinually with the impulse to touch a young girl

’s hair. When it hap

pened that he could do so, he had immediate erection, became intenselyexcited, sexually ; and,without touching the girl in any otherway, experi

One evening he could not resist the temptation to cutoffa girl’s hair.

He took it homewith him, and there enjoyedwith it themost exquisitesensual pleasure . Hismethodwas to rub his bodywith it,wrap it aroundhis penis , comb andfondle it, andeach timewith themost powerful orgasm.

The hair exhibited in the shops hadno such efiect on him.

To illustrate the psychopathic character ofthe phenomenon thefollowingis useful:1

A gentleman ofgood education, and social position, fromhis eighth

year, felt powerfully attracted by female hair. At

The Hair- Fetich nine years ofage a girl ofthirteen seduced him. He

inMasturbation did not understand it, andwas not at all excited.

A twelve-

year—old sister of the girl also courted,

kissed and hugged him. He allowed it because the girl’s hair pleased him.

When hewas ten, he firs t began to have definite sexual feelings at the

sight offemale hair. At eleven hewas taught to masturbate, which healways did to the accompaniment ofthe hair- fetich, and at fourteen ex

perienced v iolent erections when be touched a girl’s hair. But his par

ticular pleasurewas to kiss and suck the hair; and often on the street he

would surreptitiously kiss a girl’s hair, and then hurry home tomasturbate.

When he becamemature he attempted to satisfy himselfnaturallywithwomen; but although he could produce violent erection by kissing and

fondling the hair, he couldnot induce ejaculation. Once he stole the combings ofa lady

’s hair, put it in hismouth, andmasturbated, calling up the

lady in imagination. In the dark a woman could not affect himbecausehe could not see her hair. Flowing hair had no charmfor him, nor had

the hair about awoman’s genitals .

It should not be forgotten that the secondary

sexual parts ofwomen, bosom, hips,waist and legs,

exert a normal influence upon the sexuality ofmen;it not infrequently happening that, at the beginning

ofthe sexual life, the female charms ofperson become in greater or less

degree associatedwith certain articles ofdress . Thismay account for the

fact that to most men the attiredwoman is always more pleasing thanthe naked; and sexuality more highly and readily influenced by the half

concealedthan thefully revealedcharms .

1Krafit- Ebing, Ioc. cit. , p. 165, 166.

338 Human SexualityMollmentions a casewhere a patient could not performthe sexual actwith a completely nakedwoman ; and in the same place, ofa homosexualistwhowas subject to the same dress fetichism. One ofthemost interestingcases , however, in this connection is that taken fromRoubaud’s “Traité

de l’impuissance.

”

At the age offourteen the subjectwas initiated into the joys ofsex

ual intercourse by a young ladywith blonde ringlets ;Remarkable Case who, to escape detection more easily, shouldanyone

enter the room,was in the habit ofwearing her usualclothingwhile accommodating him. Shewore gaiters, a corset and a silk

dress ; and, later in life, to awaken this man’s sexual desire everywomanhadto have blonde ringlets , gaiters anda silk dress .Many ofthese articles ofclothing, owing to their private use, or the

partwith which they come in contact, are ofcourse peculiarly fitted toawaken sexual associations . Hammond records a numberofcases inwhichthe petticoat, corset, stocking and other undergarments, were made theobjects offetichistic impulses ; andDiez, one inwhich a youngman could

not resist the impulse to tearfemale clothing , always enjoying sexualpleasureand ejaculation in the act.1 This, however, might possibly be betterclassed as a case ofsadismwith inanimate objects .

Charcot andMagnan tell of a youngmanwho, at“Apron

”and fifteen, was sexually attracted by aprons hung out

“Wet- Skirt” to dry. He used to bindone about himselfandmasFetiehes turbate behind it; and could not see an apron on

either man or woman thee without repeatingthe act.

1 Krafi'

t- Ebing reports a parallel case ofwet- skirtfetichism,wherethe patient, at thirteen years ofage, had his first feeling ofyouthful lust

fromlooking at a wet dress, hanging froma line. Dry clothing did not

afiect him, but the sight ofawoman lifting herwet shirt, on a rainy day,

drove himalmost franticwith sexualdesire .

Cases ofhandkerchieffetichismare very numerous;Shoe and Other that of linen, velvet, fur, etc. , less ao;

1 which, asForms ofFetish might be expected, on account ofthe close relation

ship between the shoe and the feminine body , the1 “Der Selbstmord, p. 24.

1 Archie dc Neurol., 1882, p. 12.

1 As a fur fetichist Sacher-Masochwas himselfprobably chief. He remarked ofa

beautifulwoman ,

“I should like to see her in furs ; and ofone not so attractive— “I

couldnot imagine her in furs . Hiswriting paper bore the figure ofawoman in “Rus

sian Boyar costume, her cloak linedwith ermine, andbrandishing a scourge ; a speciesofdoraphiliawhich seems to have clung to himall through life, andto have been associ

atedwith his grossest sexual imaginations . Ra phael in “Fornarina,”andRubens in

“Helene Faurment,”made costly furs the frame andfoiloffemalebeauty ; buttowhat

340 Human Sexuatcap. The same thing occurred later, when he sawan elderly woman inher night- cap ; and for years afterward, merely thinking ofan oldman,orwoman, in a night- cap was sufficient to produce an erection, while, ifhe could touch the cap itself, he had an immediate ejaculation. Hewasnot a masturbator, and had never been sexually active until his thirtysecond year, when hemarried a charming young girlwithwhomhe hadfallen in love. On his first nightwith the bride hewas cold and impotent;until, by a happy inspiration, he called up a picture ofthe ugly oldwomanin her night- cap, when erection came at once, and hewas enabled to discharge his newly assumedduty,we are led to hope,

“with neatness and

despatch.

”

Ifthe captions reader object that I quit this section on fetichismwitha somewhat fishy

”and incredible case, I can only reproachfully refer

himto our worthy friends , and professional colleagues,Messrs . Charcot

andMagnan, fromwhomit is quoted) I amfrank to say, however, inendorsement of such an objection, that I have found the kind0 “

night

cap I amin the habit ofusing myself of considerably more efficacy

along the lines alludedto.

While sexuality in idiots is usually but very

The Sex- impulse slightly developed, being entirely absent in typicalin Imbecility cases, there are yet occasional instances where its

manifestations are ofthemost v iolent intensity.

At an army post where I was once stationed, in 1902, a young girl

initiated the village idiot into themystery ofsexual indulgence, givingher life as a penalty .

As nearly as I couldascertain the facts, the idiot, during an abnormallylong coitus, caused probably by mental incoiirdination and the absenceof psychic impetus, had become furiously maniacal, and strangled her.

In fact, it is the Opinion ofalienists thatwhen sexual desire,when it doesoccur in these unfortunates, is opposed, the fiercest passion is excited, andmurderous attacks are very likely to bemade.

’

Fortunately, both intensity and abnormality ofthe sexual life are in

frequentwith this class ofpersons ; otherwise, the total absence ofmoralinhibitory restraint would render themexceedingly dangerousmembersofsociety . Giraud relates three caseswhich fairly represent the psychopathic features involved.

The first, at eighteen years ofage, enticed a little girl into a barn, bygiving her nuts. There he exposedhis genitals, and, lying upon her,made

1 Archiedc Neural , 1882, No. 2.

Ffiedreich’s Bldtter, 1858, p. 50. Forfurther cases see, also, Combes , Amid .Med.

Psych , 1868; Casper-Liman, Hammond, Bartels , Krafit-Ebing , andotherwriters.


themovements ofcoitus against the child’s abdomen; butwithout bringinghis penis near her privates , or showing the slightest knowledge ofthe act,further than themere animal instinct to performit.

Another, about the same age, ev idently degenerate, on being told by hislittle sister andherplaymate, children ofabouteight years, thatan unknownmanhadattempted to violate them, had his sexual desire ev idently aroused

by the recital; and, leading the children to a des erted house, attemptedthe act himself. Because he had no emission, and because the youngerchild cried out, he let her go, promising to “marry her ifshewould not

tell ofhis act. At the trial it became quite ev ident that he thought the

ofier ofmarriage sufficient compensation for thewrong done.

The third and last case— for I consider sexualmanifestations in idiocyso rare as to require little further notice—was twenty- one years ofage,microcephalic and imbecile; hadmasturbated since his sixth year, and

was otherwise sexually v icious . Had practised both active and passivepederasty, repeatedly attacking boys for the purpose, and attemptingregular sexualassaults upon little girls .

He was absolutely’without an understanding of his acts, his sexual

desires beingmanifestedwith a periodicity andintensity purely animal)In almost allforms ofdementia, except those due

In Dementia to pathological causes , such as apoplexy , traumatism,

paresis , and the various secondary psychoses arising

frominflammatory processes in the cortex, the sexual factor is alwaysa dangerous one. In the latter cases, according to Krafit- Ebing,whoseusually accurate judgment in suchmatters does not appear here to bewellborne out by the facts,

“ perversions ofthe sexual instinct seemto be in

That very grave andfrequent perturbations ofsexuality do followbothapoplexy and trauma capitis,may be proven by various clinical histories ;

as amatter offact, fromhis own.

Thus, Case having passed through a cerebral attack which incapacitated himfor business, one day locked two young girls in the house,during his wife’s absence, gave themliquor, and carried out his sexual

purpose. The medical experts established mental weakness, resultingfromapoplexy ; and his own confession was that he committed the actManse ofa quite uncontrollable impulse.

Giraud, Aa .Med. Psychol 1855, No. 1. Emminghaus also draws attention tothe occasional openmanifestation ofsexual instinct in idiots , comprising publicmasturbation , exhibition of the genitals , attacks on children, and sodomy . V id.Maschka’s“Handbook ,

”xv , 234.

“Psychopathia Sexualis ,” p. 361 . Ibid. , p. 362.

342 Human SexualitySo, Case subsequently to being injrued in the skull by a horse,

developed an inordinate and beastly sensuality . His last actwas to rapea girl oftwelve, and afterward strangle her, to prevent discovery ofthe

lower crime.

Themost general experience is, I think, that whatever the cause of

the mental weakness, whether traumatic, idiopathic, or inherited, the

sexualmanifestations will be found to be very similar, being those chiefly

andsimply ofuninhibitedsexual impulse.

In senile and paretic dementia,while episodical and highly intensifiedmanifestations oflibido occur, the tendency, fortunately, is towardgradualextinction.

In the prodromal stage ofmental obnubilation, however, loose talk, asuggestive picture, touching a woman, or manipulation of the genitals,

may readily evoke, in the lessening light ofmoral consciousness, a passionwhichmay culminate in grossly immoralacts .

Thus a patient,whomI hadunder treatment andsurveillancefor pareticdementia, arose one evening during the nurse

’s absence, deliberately un

dressed himself, put on a silk hat, and, wholly naked otherwise, rang thebell ofamagnificentmansion, in an aristocratic neighborhood, handed hiscard to the maid at the door, and immediately followed up this politeconvention by seizing the girl andattempting to rape her in the vestibule.

Fortunately the latter, a pretty German, wasThe Value of experienced; otherwise, American social prestige

Experience Illus might have suffered by the occurrence. She toldmetrated afterwardthat, at her last place, in Bavaria, the young

Count, her employer, usedtodo “ shust likedot.Many cases are reported to showthe unbridled nature ofthe passionsin this condition. Legrand relates onewhere a hitherto respectableman,the father ofa family,was foundmasturbating in the street, and swallowingthe semen Krafft-Ebing, another ofan officer, prominently connected,whomade frequent daylight attempts to rape little girls at awatering place;and bothMendel and Tardieu, the former in Progressive Paralyse der

Irren,

”and the latter in his

“Attentats auxMoeurs,” agree inmaking thismentalmalady the basis ofverymany cases ofbigamy .

As in dementia and the associated psychoses , notonly is epilepsy characterized, very frequently, byreckless and intense emotional manifestations of

sexual passion, but the epileptiformseizures are often

made the occasions oflawless v iolence. Usually , however, the epilepticwillsatisfy himselfbymasturbation, natural intercourse, or, ifopportunity offer,

“La folie,” p. 519 .

“Psychopathia Sexualis ,” p. 363.

344 Human SexuatIn both the permanent and periodical phases of

the malady, the sexual sphere is frequently invaded.

Sometimes themaniacal outbreak, in the periodicalform,will assume the sexual character almost exclusively, inwhich conditionmost revolting acts are quite unconsciously committed, commonly followedby a periodofgreatmoroseness anddepression.

While it has been quite generally remarked that themaniacal impulseinwomen almost invariably takes a sexual direction,we are sometimes ata loss to determine howmuch ofthis is due to heightening ofthe sexual

feeling, andhowmuch towithdrawal ofrational inhibitory restraint; pos

sibly the latter factor, quite as much as the former,may be regarded as

In the masturbatory insanity ofasylums , it is frequently difficultto separate the cause fromthe effect; and, although the statement ofSirWilliamEllis, that he had no hesitation in ascribing a great proportion of

the cases ofmental disease to masturbation} is partially discredited inthe light ofmodern research, it is yet undeniable that verymany cases of

mania, idiocy, epilepsy anddiseases ofthe spinal corddo resultfromit.

Thus , at the State Hospital for Criminal Lunatics,Matteawan, NewYork, from1875 to 1897 as I have elsewhere stated, masturbation wasthe sole assigned cause of insanity in 120men, out ofa total of 1630;being auxiliary to other causes in numerous other cases ; while Dr. Clara

Barton found, among 121 cases of insanity in young women, no fewerthan ten inwhichmasturbationwas the sole discoverable cause.

2

Griesingerwas the first to point out, however, in this apparently strongpresentment against the practice, a factor hitherto overlooked: that not

somuchmasturbation itself, as the feeling aroused in sensitiveminds bythe attitude ofsociety toward the vice, was productive ofbrain disease ; and

the general progress ofcultivated opinion seems, at present, rather awayfromthe earlier andmore arbitrary v iew. Nevertheless, I repeat, it is

undeniable that selfabuse, begun early and long continued, may become a

In confirmedmania, sexual delusions and religious hallucinations seemto play the strongest part; while in the simplerforms ofmaniacalexaltationthe deeper sexual purpose is commonly lost in the frivolitieswhich attend

its manifestation. Thus, amaniacwill take the greatest delight in mockcourtship, lewdness ofspeech, tickling women, or even feeling their legs,

1 “Treatise on Insanity , p. 335, cl seq.

“Insanity in YoungWomen ,

” Jour. ofMcut. andNew.Dis . , June, 1896 .

In confirmation ofthis view, seeMarro, “La Puberta,” p. 174, andSpitzka, “CasesofMasturbation ,

” Jour.Ment. Science, July, 1888.


breasts and genitals,without the remotest impulse or desire for the sacucl

act; just as , in the religious equivalent, there is much talk ofv irginity,

purity, andbecoming nuns or celibates,without the least idea ofthe sexualpoint involved.

It is fortunate for society that inmania, unlike epilepsy and some otherneuroses, the sexual instinct seems to be, as a rule, nil. In periodical insanity it frequently becomes furibundal and v iolent, manifesting in somecases an unmistakable tendency to reversal; 1 but on thewhole, outside ofthe harmless and thoughtless acts ofchildren, sexuality plays a very slightpart in the cases ofthe incurable insane.

Although generally considered separate, and pecuSatyriasis and liarto themselves, these conditions aremorefrequentlyNymphomania symptomatic ofthe graver psychosis dependent on

derangement of cerebral or spinal function. Both

may occur as concomitants ofdelusional insanity, oftraumatism, or ofany

other deuteropathic condition, which may produce sexual hyperesthesia ;although the lasciv ious coloring of idea is so intensified, and the entire

consciousness so implicated in the sexual desire, as to constitute whatmay very properly be treatedas a distinct neuropathic condition.

A satyriasist, being pro tempore amaniac, governed by inordinate lust,as the latter is by delusional frenzy,may become equally as dangerous to

society, although not so apt to commit flagrant crime in the accomplishment ofhis purpose. He is more likely to resort to auto- erotic practicesthan to heterosexual v iolence; and, although passionately desirous of

natural intercourse, finding it too inconvenient, or diflicult ofattainment,he seeks, usually, an equivalent, faute demiewc, in solitarymasturbation.

Satyriasis , except as the result ofinjury , or ofan aphrodisiac drug,’is comparatively infrequent; but the corresponding condition inwomennymphomania, or uteromania— is farmore common than casually supposed,especially at the climacteric.

While both conditions may accompany senility, nymphomania is farmore frequent during this period than satyriasis ; the remarkably strong

manifestations ofsexuality among men at other times , due to restrained

indulgence, and consequent psychical and peripheral irritation, being en

tirely normal andphysiological.While nymphomaniamay be produced by the same causeswhich pro

duce satyriasis , traumatismor the cerebro- spinal neuroses, or even by con

Fock mentions a case (Archie fur Psych v ) ofaman who, in themoments of

maniacalexaltation ,manifeswd sexual feeling formen ; but in thatcase the patientfancied himselfa girl, so the idea ofcontrary instinct falls before themere delusion ofsex.

Andthis is rather simple priapismthan true satyriasis.

346 Human Sexualitystant irritation ofthe external genitals— pruritus pudendi, or even oxyuris

vermiculosis— the fact remains thatwomen are constitutionally more predisposed in this direction thanmen. In those cases ofwhatmay properlybe called chronic satyrias is, the malady commonly results fromvenereal

abuse, masturbation, and sexual neurasthenia, with augmented sexual

desire . In these, themind is occupiedwith obscene images, thoughts anddesires , fromwhich even themost solemn and exaltedmental conceptionsare notwholly separable and sacred. I have alreadymentioned the case

ofthe boy who committed frottagewith the gown ofthe priest whowasconfes sing him; and pages might be cited to showwithwhat force and

frequency the satyric factor has entered into religion; but these have

already been, orwill be, sufliciently noted elsewhere. While satyriasis is

rarely permanent in men the corresponding condition is quite frequentlyso inwomen, leading as a rule to confirmedprostitution ; althoughLegrandrecords a number ofcases inwhich themalady led, apparently, to no viola

tion ofsexual purity .

In this neurosis the sexual life is very frequently implicated. Contrarysexuality is often developed; and, as in all cases of

Sexual Aspects phenomena arising froma degenerate basis, themaniofHysteria festations are apt to be open and flagrant. Thus,

Giraud tells ofawomanwho, in an hysterical attack,

administered a narcotic to the family , in order to give her own daughtersto her lover for sexual amusement; she looking onwhile he performed theact. Up to the time ofher hemianesthesia, and first convulsive attack,

she had been a moral and trustworthy woman ; but afterward became a

most shameless prostitute; andmostwriters concur in the opinion that, inall cases ofhysteria, the sexual sphere is very largely involved,manifesting its activ ity either in such gross forms as last outlined, or in themoreharmless acts ofonanism, lewd encouragement ofmen, or, as Krefit- Ebingremarks, in such fantastic acts as going about the house naked, wearingmale apparel, or smearing the personwith fasces or urine.

’

Schiile finds in themalady, frequently, an abnormally intense sexual impulsewhichdisposes girls, andevenwomen, happilymarried, to pose asMesalinas,

"andfewmedicalpractitioners do not knowofsome case ofhysteria

inwhich similar abnormalmanifestations have occurred, such as elopingon thewedding- evewith anotherman, adulterous liaisons aftermarriage, orfierce exhibitions of jealousywithout a definite cause. Hystericalwomen,on thewhole,make exceedingly dangerous as well as disagreeablewives.

1 Comp. H. Ellis , loo. cit. , r, 231 , cl seq. ,

“Auto- erotismin Religion ;”Friedreich,

Gerichtl. Psychologie,” p. 389 ; Diagnostik der Psych. p. 247; and Neu

mann , Lehrb. d. Psychiatric ,” p. 80.

Psychopathia Sexualis , p. 375. Klin. Psychiatric, p. 237.

348 Human Sexualitythe sexual act between others,which closely resembles the passion for lewdpictures,mixoscopy, and gives considerable space to an efiort to establish

its relation to masochism; but, ifKrafit- Ebing’a definition ofparanoiaerotica be correct, that ordinary sexualmethods are not necessary to its

gratification, I fail to conceive ofany classification underwhich to placeitmore appropriate than the present.

Whore- houses are so constructed in Paris, NewYork, and London, asto accommodate patronswho desire only to look on; and it is remarkablethe number ofpersons who apparently find delight in simply witnessingthe sexual act between others. One gentleman informedme thatwhenin Paris hemade frequent use ofthese hidden peep- holes, always findingsexual pleasure and ejaculation, the first of the very highest order, in

watching men andwomen copulating ; and that his pleasurewas alwaysconditioned by that ofthe otherman.

‘

Once,when thewomanwas remarkably beautiful ofform, and themanunusually

“ heavily hung,”and v igorous, he says hewas so excited, and

his pleasure so intense, inwatching the deliberate in- and- outmovements,the convulsivewrapping of the girl’s legs about the man, and the enor

mous size ofthe latter’s penis, that he almost fainted.

An amusing confession, bearing upon the same point,was recentlymadeto the present author by a gentleman farmer ofhis acquaintance. The

first time he ever sawa stallion covering amare hewas so overcomewithsexual excitation inwatching the proceeding that he started hurriedly forthe house, intending to repeat the performancewith hiswife. In his haste

to get upstairs, however, he unfortunately slipped, and had his laudableambition disagreeably dampened by landing in a tub ofwash-water on

thefloorbelow. The gentleman pleads forsecrecy on quite obvious grounds .

Coflignon remarks that persons frequently hide at night in the bushesofthe Champs Elysees in the hope ofwitnessing, like the “

voyeurs”in

the brothels, this interesting act; and Ellis records that he came across,

during a country walk in England, an elderly man with afield-

glass , en

sconcedbehinda bush, intentlywatching themovements ofa pair ofyounglovers, reclining upon the grass some distance away . It is difiicult to

trace in such acts any ev idence ofthemasochismwhich somewriters claimfor them; but not at all diflicult to detect that psychical aberrationwhich

Such cases as that recorded in Genesis xrx, 33 ,where a daughter is impregnatedbyherfather,while the latter rs asleep,wouldseem, in the lightofexperiences here recorded,aswellas others elsewhere hinwdat 'mthiswork, to be far les fabulous than commonlysuppoM. Themind alone rs quite capable ofproducing both erection and ejaculation;and it

'

rs fairly possible for such impregnations to take place in the gu ise ofa voluptuousdream, although thematterwould require very delicate handling on the part ofthe lady.

Perversion of the Sexual Impulse 349

falls within the sphere ofparanoia, andwhich is further dwelt upon in

Indeed, I cannot help seeing in the phenomena the completest corre

spondencewith thosewhich Krefit- Ebing ascribes to paranoia ; inwhich,he states, that love for the opposite sex, weak and purelymental, due tolong- continuedmasturbation, or to any other causewhichmay debilitatethe sexual- centre, is manifested under the guise ofvirtuous admiration,while accompaniedwith great lasciv iousness and sexual perversion.

‘

This v iewofthe anomaly iswell borne out by the case ofKi'

rssner,withwhich I shall conclude this briefnotice ofthe subject.Amarriedwoman ofthirty had, by means ofsweetmeats andmoney,

enticed a boy offive into her room. She playedwith him, handled his

genitals, and finally attempted intercourse. Shewas a teacher,who hadbeen betrayed, and had since given herselfto prostitution, teaching, in a

manner not contemplated by the poet, in this case at least,“the young

idea howto shoot.

” Her explanation of the immoral set contains theparanoiac feature forwhich it is cited.

She had delusions ofpersecution, thought shewas under the secret in

fluence ofher seducer, and impelled by himto perverse sexual acts . She

thought he had put the boy in herway to tempt her. Coarse sensualitycouldnot be attributed as amotive for the crime, as shewas in almost constant intercoursewithmen, and the satisfaction ofher sexual needswouldhave been quite easy in a naturalway .

’

In v iewofthe fact that modesty, as previouslyExhibition shown, is almost universally innate in the human

race, it seems to be a justifiable presumption that aman who ofi

'

ends social decency, and outrages his own selfrespect, by a

public exhibition ofhis genitals, is either incapable ofmoral discrimination— idiocy, deliberately perverse— paranoia , or the act is the result ofa per

manently or temporarily beclouded consciousness— insanity .

3

The exhibitionary disposition is rarely an actively dangerous one;

prompting to clandestine exposure ofthe privates to persons ofthe oppositesex, rather than to acts ofaggressive v iolence. The silliness and lack of

purpose in these exposures, as a rule, point unmistakably to intellectual incompetency, moralweakness, and, probably, lack of v irility .

The chiefcause seems to be impairment ofthe cerebral or spinal function, due either to disease or old age, inwhich impotence prevents the expression ofan originally strong sexuality

'

rn the accustomedmanner; exhibitiou being resorted to as a newformofsexual stimulation.

Psychopathia Sexualis , p. 376 .

Krafi'

t- Ebing , lee. cit., p. 382, 383.

35° Human SexuatThus we find, in the greatmajority of instances , the exhibitionist to

be afflictedwith either senile or paretic dementia, epilepsy, impotence,following prolongedmasturbation, or one ormore ofthe neuroses incidentto alcoholism.

Pelanda records five cases, allofwhich fellunder the conditions named.

1

One, a paralytic, at the age offifty-eight began to exhibit himselftowomenand children; was lasciv ious and attempted fellatio in the asylumwherehe was confined. Another, a predisposed drunkard, sufiering with foliecirculaire, was first detected exposing himself in church, during div ine

serv ice . His brother, also, was an exhibitionist. The third, sexually

excitable,was confined in an asylumon account ofchronic alcoholism, and

exposed himself to every woman he saw. The fourth, rachitic, microcephalic, married, father offourteen children, was given to exhibition inspite of repeated punishment; and the fifth, a merchant ofmiddle age,

single, used to exhibit himselfto children by urinating with them, underan assumption of innocence. Once hewas known to kiss a little girl on

such an occasion. Had a severe attack ofmental disease,with an apo

plectic seizure ; and, losing his fortune, gave himselfto drink.

His conditionwas that ofalcoholism,with seniumprcecoz , andmentalweakness . Penis small and testicles atrophic.

Although widely separated fromthe actuality, possibly to this class

belong those indiv iduals of lowmorality who defile water closets, and

even decenter places, with pictures ofmale and female genitalia, associating themwith such literary offal as might reasonably be expectedfrompersonswho choose such fields for the display oftheir talents . It is little

wonder that theMuses, being self- respecting young ladies, should abso

lutely decline to showtheir favor to onewho courts themin such an un

savory arena.

The following is a case ofexhibition plainly due to insanity . A gentle

man, aged thirty- seven, had frequently given offence by exhibiting himselfto girls in the street, and even in schools, intowhich he forced himself.On these occasions hewould ask a girl tomasturbate him, or permit

himto gowith her, performing the first- namedact in her presence, himself,when she refused to serve him. He used to rap upon windows, hav inghis penis and testicles exposed, so thatwomen and childrenwere forced tosee themwhen attention had been thus attracted. When hehadexposedhimself, he knewnothing more ofwhat he did. As precursors of his

attacks, he complained ofvertigo, andflames before his eyes .

’

In the following case, taken fromKrefit- Ebing’a valuable treatise, theQuotedby Krafi'

t-Ebing, lee. cit. , p . 384.

Dr. Hotzen, Friedreich’s Blotter, 1890, H . 6.

352 Human Sexuatthe pygmalionism, or statue- love, already noticed; and, being a moralaberration, only psychically and physically disgusting, possesses little

scientific interest. Thosewho desire to study itsmanifestations in eztenso

will find themvery fully treated in Coflignon’s“La Corruption 5 Paris .

”

The American legal definition of rape, as carnal

knowledge ofawoman by force, against herwill, demands some modification, froma strictly scientific

standpoint. That adopted in some European coun

tries, as Austria and Germany , seems more accurate and complete. The

latter country understands as rape sexual intercourse, complete or partial,outside of the marriage relation, with an adult, enforced by means of

threats or v iolence; orwith an adult in a condition ofdefencelessness ; or

with a girlunder a specific age.

The growing frequency ofthis crime in some American communities,aswell as in certain parts ofEurope, andwhich I have already referred toin the preface ofthiswork,makes its further discussion at this time both

In reference to negroes,who are unquestionablymost largely identifiedwith this species ofcrime in the United States, I have already shown thatin a state ofnature they are not sexually v icious .

1 Indeed, the average

negress is ordinarily cold and indifierent to the pleasures ofsexual love,

particularly with the white man, whose comparative smallness ofpenis,and precipitancy ofemission, are incapable of exciting her to adequatesexual passion. Nor are themenmuch different except in the ostentationofthe act. They are uxorious; but the sexual instinct is far feebler than

with thewhite races generally ; in the latter, the growth ofsexual passionhaving kept pace, aswe have seen, pretty evenlywith that ofciv ilization.

This fact did not escape the keen insight ofLucretius,’ and has beenmade the bas is ofinteresting observations in regard to the breeding ofanimals, as well as among men. Thoroughbred horses soon reach sexual

maturity ; and in attempts to improve the breed ofcart- horses , it is said,

the sexual instinct is very apt to be specialized and, finally, impaired.

”

This being the case, ifthe negro by nature is not sexually amorous,theremust be some underlying cause for his present unenviable reputationas a v iolator and lust-murderer.

H . H . Johnston ,

“Brit. Cent. Africa , 1897, pp.409 , cl seq.

DeRerumNatura v, 1016 .

H. Ellis, loc. cit m, 220. The organswhich, in the feral state, remarks Adlers,are continually exercised in a severe struggle for existence , do not, under domestication , compete so closelywith one anotherfor the less needednutriment. Hence, organs

like the reproductive glands are able to avail themselves ofmore food.

”(Science,May 16 ,


Itmight be thought that the degradation ofhis social position, the generally impure atmosphere ofhis surroundings in large cities, the enforced

sexual promiscuity ofhis domestic life, and the weakening ofhis moralwill power by alcoholic andother forms ofdissipation, have allmuch to dowith his tendency to sexualcrime; but, as such conditions are sharedequallybywhitemen, ofa certain class, the argument losesmuch ofits force, andcompels us to seek further for a real and adequate solution ofthe problem.

After such thought as I amcapable ofgiving to it, I amforced to theconclusion already hinted at, that the negro

’s lewdness is far less a race

paranoia than a legacy ofservitude, bequeathed unconsciously by his formermaster, thewhite man.

The condition ofthe negro’s life during slavery is toowell known to re

quire comrnent. Hewas not only the bondservant but the tool, the in

strument ofpleasure, to hismaster. His daughter, or hiswife,was equallyat thatmaster’s behest, sexually or otherwise ; and considering the termsonwhich the negro boy and girl lived in the home of theirmaster, the idleness, sloth, and highly stimulated sexual life ofthe latter, as well as ofhis

sons also, the wonder is not that illegitimate children were born of the

servile race, and that sexual and other v ices flourished, but that bothwerenot far commoner andmore frequent.

I do not think that homosexuality, nowso prevalent among negroes inlarge cities as to occasion the proverb that whenever you find three coons,one is a lady-man,”was somuch a development ofslavery as of later civic

debauchery ; but I do think that illicit heterosexual intercourse,masturbation, and the present lubricity and sexual deprav ity of the negro, are in

largemeasure traceable to the unwholesome domestic relations which subsisted formerly between slave andmaster.

Even today the negro is , first ofall, a house- servant. His daily asso

ciations arewith thewomen andchildren ofhis employer; and,whilemanyinstances ofbeautiful and touching loyalty toward themare recorded, and

while the negro is by instinct religious, and devoutly emotional, as use

doth breed a habit in aman, hewouldbemore or less than human had henot taken on, to some extent at least, the too often v icious imprint ofhisearly teachings and environments .

Admiral Fitzroy did not hesitate to affirmthat, if the unchastity of

the Patagonianwomen did not correspondwith their prev ious characterforpurity, their sexual ideas hadbeen alteredby

“the v isits oflicentious Euro

peans ; 1andCaptain Cookmakes no scruple in asserting that thewanton

ness ofthe Tana andPonapewomenwas due to the same cause.

’

It remains then but to say, in concluding a too briefreviewofthis sub1King andFitzroy, loc. cit n , 173. Waltz-Garland, loc. cit., v , n , 108.

23

54 Human Sexualityject, thatmy last andstrongest argument against thewhites, in v indication

of the negro, and in attempting to account for his sexual depravity, isfounded on an entirely difierentmotiveon his part, notemanating fromthesame source. That argument is the spirit ofrace antipathy, and revenge,

engendered in the heart ofthe negro by the frequent lynchings, and violentacts ofwhich he has beenmade the v ictimin recent years at the hands of

thewhites, particularly in the South. To these, I think, are very fairly

chargeable fully two- thirds ofthe sexual crimes recently committed against

women ofthe latter race.

The negro knows no otherway, andpossesses no othermeans, ofstrikingback; and,while I amneitherwilling, nor perhaps competent, to enter into adiscussion of the theme, froma sociological or legal standpoint, I amstill

convinced that, until we learn to regard this species of crime, as we doevery other, as an exclusivematter for legal inquisition and punishment;until statutory provisions take the place ofmob- passion ; until the negro,instead ofbeingmade the target ofa blind and unreasoning animosity, islifted by education andreligion toa higher plane ofmorality and social selfrespect; just so longwill such crimes continue, and humanity and civilization be shamedby counter- crimes, as shocking in their ferocity as they are

unavailing in their results .

But the psychologicalfeatures ofthese sexual offences , not remedies fortheir prevention, arewhat invite our present attention.

It has been discovered by V illermé, and Lacassagne, that rapes, andother ofienees against chastity,aremost numerous inMay, June, and July, showing adecided seasonal influence; and Legludic, in his

recordof159 cases, places themaximumofthese at theJune-August period, and theminimumat that ofFebruary-March}It is a remarkable fact that sexual outbursts occur among prisoners

during the spring period; andDr. HamiltonWey ,writing fromtheElmira(NewYork) Reformatory , says beginningwith themiddle ofFebruary ,

and continuing for about twomonths , is the season ofan ascending sexual

wave.

”

I aminformed, also, by custodians of criminal court records that the

facts in their possession corroborate, in themain, Legludic’s statements .

“Attentats auxMmurs ,” 1896 , p. 16 .

Quotedby H. Ellis , loc. cit. , r, 101 .

It is remarkable that these statistics correspondcloselywith thoseofsuicide, a crimewhich, strangely enough, ismore prevalent in the bright, clear days ofsummer, than inthe gloomand dreariness ofwinter. See Durkheim,

“Le Su icide ;” Tissot, de laManic da Suicide, pp. 50, 149 , 150; Hawkins’s “Medical Statistics ; ” W'mslow’s

“Anatomy ofSuicide, pp. 131- 2, andEncy . Brit. ,m1, 629 - 31.

356 Human Sexualityattempted v iolation ofa girl, six years old; but as she had an eruptionon her head, andwas crying loudly , his desire cooled, and he fled. After

his arrest he confessed to the boy’smurder, giv ing hismotive. When the

boy had accompanied himinto thewoods, hewas seizedwith a desire to

abuse him; andwhen the v ictimbegan to cry out, he stabbed himtwicein the neck. Then hemade an incision above the pubes, in imitation of

the female organ ,with the intention ofsatisfying his lust ; but, the bodyseeming cokl, he lost his desire andfled.Marro in Italy, and Garnier in Paris, very ingeniously discovered thatall crimes ofbloodare six timesmore frequent in adolescents than in adults;

so that,while the aged libertine ismischievously active alongminor sexuallines, the lust-murderermay usually be looked for among the young, lusty,and sexually v igorous . There are men indeed, as we sawin discussingthe questions of sadismandmasochism, towhomv iolence in some formis an indispensable adjunct ofthe sexual act; a survival, possibly, aswashinted, ofthat primitive formofcourtshipwhich, Herbert Spencerdeclares,was once universal; andwhichwas conditioned by the power ofthemaleto both overcome rivalry and subjugate the female ; but this primordialinstinct shouldbe carefully discriminated against, in investigating acts due

to pervertedmorality , disease , or degeneracy ofthe sexual instinct. Cases

occur in which satyriasis, either congenital or pathological, is the under

lying cause ; but that imbecility, and defective moral sense, frequentlyfigure as causative agents is proven by the fact that even the bondofbloodis not always respected, mothers , sisters and daughters being made thevictims ofsuch brutal sexualattacks .

’

By this termis understood immoral sexual acts,Violation ofevery character,with persons under a given age

usually fourteen years. It differs fromrape in thepresumption, which the lawrecognizes, that the act ofv iolencemay beexercised against an already defloweredwoman ; while that ofseductionnecessarily applies exclusively to cases in which v irginity still exists, and

particularly to persons sexually immature.

A frequent feature ofviolation is its extreme silliness ; it being under

taken, in some cases , where there is not the remotest possibility ofsuc

cessful coitus, andwherewhatever gratification the act afiordsmust necessarily be ofa purely psychical character. It is the act, except in rare

‘Marro,

“La Puberta, 1898, p. 223 ; Garnier, “ La (himinalité Juvenile, Comp.

Rand. Cong . Int., etc . ,Amsterdam,1901 , p. 296 .

’Annal.Medico-Psychol. , 1849 , p. 515 ; 1864, p. 215 ; 1866 , p. 253. Comp. also

the cases recorded by Feldtmann,

“Marc- Ideler,”r, 18, et seq. and those ofMagnan

Anna l.Medico 1885.


instances, of imbeciles, paretics, persons snfiering fromsenile dementia,and ofyoung men who have no faith in their virility , orwho have losttheir potency frommasturbation or excessive venery . The imag ination of

the sexual debauchee, in actively or passively picturing the sexual act,as Krafft

- Ebing remarks, is exceedingly lively . Themost frequent formsofv iolation are by sexual handling ,mock- coitus, andby inducing the child

to performactive masturbation upon the v iolator. Menwith abnormallysmall penises will often attempt these crimes, froma size- instinct, and

through the lack ofgratification experienced fromthe over- large organs

ofmature women ; but as a rulemasturbation, or the psychical pleasureofthe act, is the sole incentive.

Less common acts, although by no means unknown to legalmedicine, are cunnilingus

— the apposition of themouth to the female organ ;

felhtio— the apposition ofthe mouth to the male organ ; intercourse be

tween the child’s thighs, andvarious other stupratory acts.

In a case reported byMaschka,l a young man induced little girls of

eight or ten years to undress , and dance around him, naked, until he had

ere ction andejaculation ; andTardieu knewofa nurse- girlwhomasturbatedchildren committedto her care ; exciteda little girlofsevenwith her tongue ;inserted parsnips and other vegetables into her own vagina, and a smallcarrot into the rectumofa babe only two years old.

Not infrequently little boys are abused by sensualwomen ; andPelandarecords a case , that ofan adultmasturbator,who used to entice little girls ,fromten to fourteen years , for the purpose ofpractising various v ile and

criminal acts with them, one ofwhich was cunnilingus . In these acts,

performedquite plainly ,with the older girls at least, not entirely innocentlyon their part, he always had orgasmand ejaculation. Masturbation, hesaid, did not afford himthe same pleasure. He also practisedfellatiowithmen, andwas an occasionalexhibitionist.

’

Other cases are , that ofa priest, agedforty ,whowas accusedofenticinglittle girls, endearing and fondling them, and finally inducing themto

masturbate him; a laborerwho committedthe same acts in secluded places,fondling the girls

’

genitals, attempting rectal intercourse andmutualmasturbation ; and an imbecile , physically deformed, rachitic and hydro

cephalic,who, after such acts, appeared to have no consciou sness oftheir

moral or legal significance.

Themarkeddifi'erence in the intellectual status ofthese threemen goesto showthe necessiity ofcarefulmentaldiscrimination in allcases ofv iolation ;for,while some are the result oflasciv iousness and brutality , solely , there

r «Handbq m, 174. Arch. di Psychiatric , x , 3,4.

Krafi'

t- Ebing, loc. cit, pp.403—4.

358 Human Sexualitycan hardly be a doubt thatmany are pathological; particularly those casesofravishmentwhere oldmen are them ore.

The termsodomy , so often loosely appliedto bothBestiality pederasty and intercourse with animals, is a verbal

excrescence, so confusing and useless, in a scientific

sense , that itmay verywell be discarded entirely in these studies. In its

correct scriptural sense it meant originally , however, intercourse by there ctum, a theme already sufficiently treated under the head ofhomosexuality ; and the early theologians , as a rule, recognized, and gave thewordits rightmeaning— concubitus cumpersona ejusdemseams ; although later

jurists, as Krafft- Ebing , remarks , “brought confusion into the terminologyby establishing a sodomia rations seams , and a sodomia ratione generis .

”

Monstrous and revolting as the v ice is, human intercoursewith animalsis by nomeans uncommon, nor in the regularmanner alone. Not long ago

I was called to treat an injury ofa youngman’s penis,which, he finallyconfessed, had been received fromamare’s teethwhile he had his organin hermouth ; and there are fewphysicianswhowill not easily recall casesofhabitual sexual intercoursewith heifers, sheep, goats, andeven sows.

’

Polak affirms that in Persia the v ice is practised under the beliefthat

it cures gonorrhea, just as in some parts ofEurope a similar delusion existsas to the curative effect in such diseases of intercoursewith children ; andthe action ofFrederick the Great, in the case ofa cavalryman who hadcommittedbestialitywith hismare, in reducing themboth to the infantryranks,

” is awell- known joke in history .

In the case recorded by Schauenstein, where the actwas undertakenwith hens,’ there was plainly an element of insanity ; but, on the whole,little attention seems to have been paid at the time to an examination of

mental condition involved in such absurdproceedings.

Boeteau tells ofa case in which a basis ofpsychical degeneration isplainly evinced. A boy oftwelve, seeing howother boysmasturbated a

dog , fell into the habit ofperforming the same act upon cats, rabbits and

other animals ; developing such a passion for the filthy sport that he cameto feel sexual pleasure in it, and finally to attempt regular sexual inter

coursewith the animals. Rabbits, forwhich he had an especial preference,“Psychopathia Sexualis , p.404, note.

A farmer’s son , personally known to thewriter, had,with considerable care andlabor, trained a young heifer to thus submit to his sexual attentions . The actwas performedby the boy in a sitting posture,while the animalwas lying down ; andofone ofthe performances Iwas priv ilegedto be an actualunseen eye

-witness .

Comp. Olfus ,“PastoralMedicine,” p. 78 ; Krauss , Psycho] . d. V erbrech . , p. 80;Maschka , Handb. ,p. 188, and the numerous briefs ofcases recorded in the “American

andEnglish Encyclopaedia ofLaw,” Art. Sodomy .

”

360 Human Sexualitythe authors named, aswell as inWestermarck’s equally complete HistoryofHumanMarriage.

”

Pathologically, incest occurs as an occasional concomitant ofepilepsy,paranoia, and other neuropathic conditions . Indeed, itwere well for thehonor andmorals ofhumanity ifa pathological basis could be found for

the act in every case; but, as a notedneurologist has said, it is quite probable that in a greatmany instances, probably amajority, when the tiesofblood are v iolated, there is no screen either ofpsychology or pathologyto cover the crime. My own opinion is that it develops frominherent

v iciousness anddeprav ity , pure and simple.

Cases ofincest are so numerous that only a fewwill be quoted. The

following, inwhich a fathermade frequent and unremitting attacks uponhis own daughter, finally killing her to accomplish his end, shows undoubtedmental disease, both in the persistency of the obsession and the greater

crime inwhich it culminated; and in that reported by Lombroso,’wherea father, aged forty

- two, practised incestwith his daughters , aged respec

tively twenty - two, nineteen, and eleven years, even forcing the youngest toprostitute herselfin a brothel, so that hemight have uninterrupted intercourse with her, the medical examination revealed both alcoholismand

intellectual, as well asmoral, imbecility .

Therewas no propermedical determination ofthe case given by Schiir

meyer, inwhich amother usedto lay her son, offive and a halfyears , uponherself, and practise abusewith him; norwas there in that ofLafarque,

where a girl ofseventeen performedthe same actwith her thirteen-

year- old

brother; but in thatofMagnan,

“where awoman agedtwenty- nine, though

indiflerent toward other children, as well as men, sufiered frightfully inthe presence ofher nephewfroma desire to cohabitwith him, there rsmanifest ev idence ofmental taint.

Cases are notwantingwheremothers have been cognizant ofincestuous

relations between their husbands anddaughters ; and in the recent whiteslave crusade in Philadelphia ,“ instanceswere found inwhich fathers notonly trained their daughters carefully for intercoursewithmen, but themselves sustained incestuous re lationswith themin themeantime.

While laws have been enacted to prohibit incest, andwhile Lubbock,Huth,Morgan,Darwin , Spencer, andother anthropologists, have endeavoredto account for the innate horror ofthe act which undoubtedly exists in

1 Feldtmann ,

“Marc—Ideler, r, 18. Archiv di Psichiatria , vn, 519 .

Deutsche Zeitschr. far Staatsarzneilsunde , xxrr, 1.

Jour.Med. deBordeaux , 1874. Ann.Mcd.- Psychol. , 1885.

An organized attempt on the part ofthe citizens to suppress , or limit, sexualvice,in that city in the years 1904—1905.

Perversion ofthe Sexual Impulse 36:

humanity, there can, it seems to me, be but one explanation of the

latter.

ground, and for identically the same reason, that twochildrenwho have been born and reared together, notwithstanding whatnovelists say to the contrary , rarely marry, so the pairing instinct— love,tumescence, and sexual desire— dulled by constant association, is excited

by novelty , by the powerful sensory stimuli proceeding froma strange

person of the opposite sex , culminating in tumescence and erethism, is

awakened and developed by newimpulses , always, rather than by thoseofprevious knowledge andhabitude.

Sexual attraction for dead bodies, horrible and

Necrophilia monstrous as itmay appear, is by nomeans unknown.Moreau records a case inwhich aman, in attemptingto rape awoman, killed her, and threwher body into the river. He then

fished it out again, repeatedly v iolated it, and, being convicted ofthe ter

rible double crime, was executed. Other Frenchwriters give us similarinstances ofevenmore pronounced necrophilia. One ofthesewas that ofa monk who assaulted the body overwhich he was holding the deathwatch; and another, an idiot, after his committal to an asylum, habituallyviolatedthe female bodies in themortuary .Mr. H. Ellis, usually a very acute observer of sexual phenomena , isdisposed to regard this abnormality as associatedwithwhat he calls pyg

malionism, or love ofstatues ; but,whatever the cause ofitsmanifestation,theremust be some obv iously perverse impulse ofsexuality , ofconsiderableforce , to overcome the natural repugnancewe all feel for even the touch

ofa deadbody ; andto enable aman to enjoy intercoursewith a cadaver.

That such an act can be compatible with perfectmental soundness,nothing but an acquaintancewith the horrible vagaries ofthe sexual appe

titewould, as Krafft-Ebing well observes, permit us to believe ; but thatit seems to be so inmany cases,we havemuch testimony , especially thatofBrierre de Boismont,who tells ofa corpse- violator bribing thewatchmanto give himentrance to a dead girl for sexual purposes ; 1 ofLegrand,whodescribes the case of a man who experienced inexpressible pleasure inv iolating corpses, and in disemboweling themafterward; ofLacassagne,

who speaks ofa re spectable tradesman whowas never intensely excited,

sexually, except at a funeral; and ofnumerous otherwriters ofequal credibility , amongwhommay bementionedMichéa, Tardieu , Lunier andTaxil.

One case recorded by the last- namedwri ter is peculiarly intere stingfromthe psychological feature involved, andwith it I shall quit the sub

ject. Amanwould, fromtime to time, visit houses ofprostitution, and1 GazetteMedicale, July 21 , 1859 .

“La foliedevant lesTri bunaux ,

” p. 524.

362 Human Sexuahtymake one ofthe girls lie upon the bed dressed all inwhite , like a corpse.

At an appointedhour hewould appear in the room,which in themeantimehe had caused to be elaborately prepared, anddraped in black, like a roomofmourning ; hewould begin to read amass for the repose ofthe dead,and, in themidst ofthe ceremony ,would suddenly throwhimselfupon thegirl, and copulatewith her, she playing the role ofa corpse throughout

the entire performance.

1

I need not say that the correct classification ofsuch unusual sexual

phenomena is one ofconsiderable difficulty. Itwould seemthat the defencelessness ofthe body, contrary to the accepted rule ofselection, formsthe sexualstimulus in such cases.

Possibly one of the most disturbing factors inNegrophilia in the American society today is the growing tendency of

United States whitewomen to cohabitwith negroes, in preference,apparently, tomen oftheir own race and color. The

causes underlying this sexual anomaly are somewhat diffit to trace,

clearly and satisfactorily. Sensually , they might be found in the largerpenis andmore protractedcoitus ofthe negro, as comparedwith the averagewhiteman, if it ,

could be shown that such conditions constituted a true

and constant basis ofsexual enjoyment to thewoman ; but such is by no

means always the rule, the smaller organ being frequently pleasanter, evenpurely physically , than the larger; while aesthetically and psychically thepreference ought certainly to restwith the Caucasian.

But that such is not the case, and that the frequent v iolations ofthisnatural race- lawofunion are not the result ofneuropathic processes, atleast in themajority ofinstances, are facts too obvious to admit ofquestion. What, then, are the causes andmotiveswhich are sufficiently strongto prompt acts, on the part ofwomen, which they well knowto be not

only degrading to themselves , but repugnant to society, and subversive

ofboth selfrespect andsocial decency?The frequent lynchings, burnings, and other illegal and horrible pim

ishments habitually inflicted upon negroes, for this species ofsexual crime,aswell as the recent serious discussion ofcastration, as a remedy for theevil, prove conclusively the importance andmagnitude which the latterhas assumed in the community ; and since, so far as I amaware , nothinghas been ventured on the subject savewhat, founded on a v indictive race

hatred on one side, or a too easy Christian forbearance on the other, is

necessarily either too prejudiced, or too pious , to be ofmuch service in

any rationalattempt to analyze ordealwith the problem.

1 “La ProstitutionContemporaine, p. 171.

364 Human SexualityA young lady ofPhiladelphia, beautiful, respected, rich ; a brewer’s

daughter;went to Atlantic City, a fashionable seashore re sort, for a season

of recreation. What happened to her there is amystery, buriedwith herin the grave ; butwhen she returned to Philadelphia itwas by '

a special

train, in the company of two attending physicians and a burly negro,

with the latter ofwhomshe was coupled, precisely as a dog with a

bitch. Bothwere taken to a hospital; and, the girlhaving an intractablevaginismus, I have understood, although the greatest secrecy surrounded

thewhole proceeding, that the negro’s penis had to be amputated to sep

arate them. Both subsequently died.

With the horror and shame ofsuch a calamity fresh in that father’smind, had he the voting ofnegro castration for all such offences, I ven

ture the assertion that black eunuchs wouldbemore plentiful in Americathan in the Sultan

’s seraglio.

The negro boasts that he can conjure awhitewoman ; and indeed

his exploits in that direction are such as to afiord

Is the Fault that of some groundfor believing him; ifby “conjuring” he

the Negro or of mean that species offascination, born ofterror, cmtheWhiteWoman? ployed by the serpent in capturing the bird; but I

aminclined to think , in the total absence of any

better solution ofthe difliculty , that his undoubted success with a certain

class ofwhite women, sexually hyperesthetic, possibly permanently or

temporarily nymphomaniac, lies in the greater boldness and directness

withwhich, on the principle that fools rush inwhere angels fear to tread,

he approaches the sexualsubject.

Sexually hyperestheticwomen frequently spend asmuch time, energyand diligence, in courting theman as theman ordinarily does in courting

thewoman ; and, in plain language,when shewants the penis, andwantsit immratively , she is quite as apt asman himselfto followthe point ofleast resistance, av ailing herselfofthe first one which offers, whether itbewhite orblack.

Thewoman, inmost cases at least, I believe,would prefer awhiteman ;but thewhiteman is comparatively timid in love-matters, fearful ofoffending , and lacking in the braggadocio and self- assurance which are distin

gniebing traits ofthe negro character. Therefore the latter, in living ex

emplification ofthe proverb that faint heart neverwon either fair or darklady , brings down the game by promptitude anddaring which the other

misses through diflidence andfear.

This fact, in connection with novelty on both cules , always a powerfulfactor in sexual selection, with drink sometimes, and innate deprav ity


always on thewoman’s part, I think constitute the chiefindictment in thesedeplorable andfrequently criminal acts.

‘

Plautus held that awhite skin has a peculiar charmforwomen ; but Desdemonarefutes him. She found in her

“sooty blackamoor” a being as fair as the lame V ulcan

was to Venus . It is only a part ofthe naturalmystery ofwoman ; andwhenwe havediscoveredwhyMary Stuart fell in lovewith the deformed Rizzio, the noble RomanJustine

’swifewith a strolling player, the queen in Ariostowith themiserable dwarf,

and the beautiful empress , Faustina,with a common fencing-master, then , andnot till

then , shallwe be able to account, on physiological and rational grounds, forwhat Ihav e ventured to termNemphilia— the love ofwhitewomen for blackmen. In the

meantime the law, and public opinion farmore resolutely, are dealingwith the problemas best they can.

CHAPTEREIGHT

ARTlFlClAL EROTlSMHE difficulty which confronts every investigator of this class of

sexual phenomena is sufficiently indicated in the admitted inadequacy ofthe caption I have chosen to represent this section.

I amaware that the latter is unsatisfactory , and that it only

imperfectly covers manifestations which are artificial only in the sense

that they are unnatural; but I have chosen it as , tomy mind, the bestoffered, by the somewhat limited capabilities of our language , to define

certain sexual phenomena net included within specific psychopathic or

reversedsexualbounds.

The term“auto- erotism, which Havelock Ellis applies to this group

of phenomena , while sufficiently suggestive, seems faulty fromthe fact

that it does not provide for the large element ofreciprocity inmanymasturbatory acts ; self-excited love , which is the approximatemeaning of

the term, being simply that formofautogenous erotismwhich is not dependent ou external stimuli , andwhich is perhaps limited, in an absolutely

strict sense , to those exclusively psychicalmanifestations, ofwhich daydreaming is the best example.

Thus,masturbation , which Ellismakes an important feature ofauto

erotism, may be mutual; in which case it certainly loses its autogenous

character; and in the case ofthe“rin- no- tama, the

“dildo,”or the carrot

or banana ,when used bywomen in place ofthemale penis,whilewemaytermthe act auto- erotic, it seems tome farmore rational to allude to it

simply as a formofmediatemasturbation.

The term“auto-erastia,

”which Letamendi suggested to cover the samefield, is open to similar objection ; and Hufeland

’s even vaguer caption

geistige onanie”—meaning the filling and heating of the imagination

with voluptuous images, without unchastity of the body ,” besides themisuse ofthe word onanismin such a connection, is condemned by thefact that it only covers, andthat imperfectly , a single side ofthe subject.Kaan’s term onania psychica

”— falls under like condemnation, forthe same cause ; and Jaeger, in proposing “monosexual idiosyncrasy ” to

366

368 Human Sexuality

by using the forelegs as a stimulus ; and stage, in the rutting season, rub

themselves against trees for a similar purpom. Sheepmasturbate ; camelsre lieve themselves by going through the movements of copulation withinanimate objects, and elephants rub and compress their penises betweenthe hind legs, to bring about ejaculation.

‘ Fere remarks thatmammarymasturbation isfound in certainfemale animals ; andmalemonkeys,fore verfiddlingwith their forever erect penises, are so addicted to the habit as to

render quite natural the nearsighted old lady’swonder,when she sawin

the Zoo amonkey, holding a cake in one hand and his little red penis inthe other,why he didn’t “eat his radishwith his cracker.

”

In the human species, there is probably no field

towhich Solomon’s aphorism— nihil sub sole novum—more appropriately applies thanmasturbation. As

sexuat itself is congenital, its perversions and

abuses are without doubt prehistoric. Whenwe find in the literature of

a country like China,whichmeasures its life by e ons rather than centuries,

distinct reference to masturbation at a period thirty- two hundred yearsprior to the Christian era ; among the Hindus almost, if not quite, asearly ; and among the Greeks, Hebrews and Babylonians , at the very

beginning oftheirwritten history ,“ it is but fair to assume thatwe are

entering upon the study ofa subject towhich theword, pre , very properlyapplies.

Indeed the East—which Beaconsfield called the cradle ofreligi

is not less the nursery ofsexual vice.

Eram, speaking froman extendedmedical experience, declares masturbation to be indigenous among the girls ofIndia; and Ellis records a

wealthyMohammedanwidow, ofthe same country , as admitting to amissionary that she began tomasturbate at a very early age,

“ just like all

otherwomen.

”

On the facade ofa Buddhist temple, in Orissa, are has- reliefs, representing men andwomen masturbating , andwomen masturbating men ;and, in a country where Lingam practices, already alluded to, have

flourished fromtime immemorial, it can scarcely bewondered at that this,

the simplest ofall forms ofartificial erotism, should have been so early

practised.

For the practice ofmasturbation among animals, seeMoll, “Libido Sexualis,”r, 76 ; Tillier,

“L’Instinct Sexual,” p. 270, andH. Ellis , loc. cit., r, 114.

“Nothing newunder the sun . (Eccles. r,Dabry ,

“LaMédécine chez les Chinois ,” Paris , 1863 .

Royle,“Antiquity ofthe HindooMedicine,” London, 1857.

Buret, “Syphilis in PrehistoricTimes ,” Vol. I. Lee. cit., r, 115.

Artificial Erotism 369

In,Cochin-China, according to Lorion, it is practised by both sexes,

but bymarriedwomen particularly ; 1 and, among the Visayans and other

races ofthe Philippines, not only wasmasturbation found to be commonwhen the Spaniards first arrived there, but the artificial penis, and other

erotic contrivances,were in habitual use.

The ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans,we have no difficulty in

gathering,were confirmedmasturbators. Aristophanes, Hippocrates ,Galen,Oribasius, Alexander ofTralles, andparticularly the Greek andLatin poets,while giving greater prominence to the heterosexual abuses ofthe times,and regarding masturbation as a mere matter of course, do not by any

means neglect the latter v ice in theirmedical and satiricalwritings ; whilePlutarch, Herodotus, and Lucretius, are equally candid in reference to it.

Themonstrous debaucheries ofthe Orient,what St. Augustine calls “Asiaticluxury ,

” which in Athens and Thrace had only gangrened society , found

in thewealth and idleness ofRome a soil admirably prepared to receive it.The nobles ofthe EternalCity , intoxicatedwith conquest, andfinding ,

in the rivers oftributewhich flowed in fromthe ends ofthe earth, ampleresources to support the most extravagant voluptuousness, distanced, ina short time, even their Asiatic teachers in this respect; the famous cry

ofthe populace— pane": cl circenses l — being a fair index of the commonmindon the question ofpleasrue .

A courtesan ofthe name ofFlora, hav ing becomeIn the wealthy in her profession, and desiring to perpetuate

Floral Games her posthumous fame in her own line, just as one

man‘

builds libraries, and another endows colleges,

for the same purpose in our day , gave a large sumto the state to pur

chase the honor ofhav ing an annual festival ofprostitution named after

her. Thus arose the Floral Games ; in which, with the worship ofthe

nowdeifiedFlora as a cloak , such debaucherieswere indulged in as wouldbe a startling revelation even to the

“redlight

”districts ofour large cities.

1 LaCriminalité en Cochin-China, p. 116 .

“Fames amica v irginitati est, inimica lasciviaa; saturitas vero castitatemperdit,etnutril illecebras.

”(Ambrose )

For similar reasons ,wine, in those hot countries,was forbidden towomen forfear ofexciting their passions ; and its use punished as was adultery itself. “Nonminus sivinumbibissent as si adulteriumadmisissent. (Gellius , 10,

The centers ofluxury have always been the centers oflust. Canopus in Egypt,Rome, Baits ,Cyprus ,ConstantinOple, Sybaris , Lampsacus , Venice, Naples andFlorence,where, ofninety thousand of population , ten thousandwere prostitutes ,” arememorable examples ofthe truth ofthis statement ofMaximus Tyrina libido consequuta

quumfueritmateriamimprobam, et praaruptamlicentiam, et efirenatarn audaciam.

”

“Breadandthe circusesl”24

370 Human SexualityIn the processions ofthe goddess , itwas no uncommon sight, aswine

was a part ofthe re ligion, to see nakedmen andwomen, some ofthe latterthe loveliest on earth, too drunken to performthe normal sexual act, foolishly trying tomasturbate each other before themultitude ; maidens, leading men along by their penises ; girls dancing, locked in one another

’s

embrace, coveredwith roses, and imitating the sexualmovements, as theywhirledmadly about; thosewhoweremore sober, publicly cohabiting underthe trees in the temple gardens ; lovely young priestesses , starknaked, carriedastridemen’s necks, their privates pressed against the cheeks, and sometimes themouths, ofthe latter; palms fluttering, flowers blooming,musicplaying,wine sparkling, v oices singing— oh,what amad sexual revelry andbacchanalian orgie !And at the head of the procession— representing the deity of their

worship— Priapus , the amorous god, with his enormous erect penis , of

cypress-wood, astride ofwhich not infrequently a young girl sat, going

through themovements ofmasturbating it.

It can hardly be supposed that a people, towhomViewedwith spectacles like the above were an every

-day occur

Indulgence by rence,would v iewsuch a common v ice asmasturbaCertain Writers tionwith any greatmanifestation ofopprobrium. I

have before pointed out the complacencywithwhichChrysippus praised Diogenes for his manliness, in publicly masturbatingin themarket- place and that attitude toward the practicewas the sameboth in Greece and Rome. Men viewed itwith absolute indiflerence, as

amerematter ofindiv idual concern ; andwhile Aretseus , without alludingto it specifically, points out the tonic cflect on the sexual systemofretaining

the semen, Galen, on the other hand, regarding the retention ofthe seminalfluid as injurious, inferentially , at least, advocates the practice ofmasturbation.

1 In the Dionysian Festivals in honor ofBacchus and Priapus, first introduced byMelampsus into Greece, fromEgypt, and thence passing to Rome, the processionwasheaded by an amphora ofwine, adornedwith v ines ; thiswas followed by a goat, the

symboloflasciv iousness , a basket offigs, and the huge artificial penis, orM101 , carriedon the endofa pole. Thefestivalwas celebrated in Egypt in honor ofIsis ; in Greece inhonor ofBacchus— by some thought to correspond to Isis ; and in Home the orgies ofthe bacchanalia grewso frenzied and outrageous , in the gromess of their licentious

h purity, that theywere abolished, finally , by decree ofthe senate, andat the instanceofthe consuls , Posthumius Albinus andMartins Philippus . In these processions , it issaid, no fewer than 7000v otaries , youngmen andwomen, indulged publicly in prostitution in the groves and gardens ofthe temples , each participant being bound under

oath not to revealwhatwas seen. (Vid. Eurip. in Beech. V'

u'

gil, fl uid, 11, 737;

Ovid,Met., 3,

372 Human SexualityThe appearance ofmasturbation is a moment

Apologists in the course ofthe development ofthe function of

ofMasturbation that organwhich is the necessary instrument ofsexuality . We find the first truemanifestations oflove

appearing togetherwith onanism,which is usually continued in a physiologicalway , thoughmodifled, into youth, and oftener through a great partofyouth, according as this is precocious or retarded. In this onanismof

early adolescence lies the germofwhatwill later be love; a pleasure ofthe

body, and ofthe spirit, following the reliefof a satisfied need. Onanimr,at this period, psychically approximates the sexualact, andpasses insensrblyinto it. If, however, continuedon into adult age , it becomesmorbid, passinginto eroticfetichism. Thus onanism,

”continues this adept inmaking easy

the road to ruin,

“ is not always a vice, such as is fiercely combatedby educatoraandmoralists.

”

Havelock Ellis , although I amgladto say he takes far less radical groundon the question, also temporizeswithwhat allmodern obwrvation teachesto be a gross physical as well as moral evil, in such a way that even so

close a student as Fere assumes his position to be, thatmasturbation isnormal, and that “ l’indulgence s’ impose.

”

It is only just toMr. Ellis, however, to say that he disclaims this position as an apologist of the habit, treating it solely fromthe standpoint

of science, and assuming a neutral agnosticismon the subject which ispossibly best defined in his ownwords : I do not consider thatwe can

decide the precise degree in whichmasturbationmay fairly be called nor

mal, so long as we takemasturbation by itself. Masturbation belongs toa group ofauto- erotic phenomena . Fromone point ofviewitmay be said

that all auto-erotic phenomena are unnatural, since the natural aimofthe

sexual impulse is sexual conjunction,’and all exercise ofthat impulse out

side such conjunction is away fromthe end ofNature . But we do not

live in a state ofnature which answers to such demands ; all our life is‘unnatural;

’and as soon as we begin to restrain the free play ofsexual

impulse towards sexual ends , at once auto- erotic phenomena inev itablyspring up on every side. There is no end to them; it is impossible to say

what finest elements, in art, inmorals, in civilization generally, may not

really be rooted in auto-erotic impulse.

“

Silvio Venturi ,“LeDegenerazione Paicho- sessuale, 1892, pp. 6—9 .

Itmay just as naturally be a homosexual impulse. See remarks inmy defence ofthe term“

normalhomosexuality ,” p. 301, et seq.

I have already shown , in the Preface ofthework , thatmost, ifnot all, ofthe greatconceptions ofart andliterature have a sexualroot; but I venture , seriously , todisagree

with the learnedwriter in his tacit assumption ofthe potency ofauto-erotic impulses inproducing them. Sexuality is one thing, its abuse quite another.


Auto-erotic phenomena are inevitable. Ourfirst duty is to investigate

the nature andresults ofthemanifestations , under the perpetual

indulgence, or indiflerence, to avoid also any attitude ofexcessive horror;for our horror not only leads to the facts being effectually veiledfromour

sight, but itselfserves tomanufacture, artificially , a greater evil than thatwhichwe seek to combat.” 1

Fromthe abovewe gather that various physioloIts gists have had various views respecting the mental

Prevalence in and physical eflects ofmasturbation. As formyself,Modern Society throwing theories aside, appealing to countless eu

thorities, and to the victims themselves , for the truthofwhat I say , and looking backwardto thirty years ofmore or less exten

dedobservation ofthe vice, I speakwith no uncertain voice in pronouncingmasturbation a deadly awl .

The Greeks and Romans believed thatMercury invented this act to

please and console poor oldPan,when he lost his beautifulmistress, Echo,daughter ofAir and Tellus , without having enjoyed her sexual favors.

The name Panwas given to himbecause hewas looked upon as the 0&spring ofall the loverswho are said to have had intercoursewith Penelope,thewife ofUlysses,while the latterwas absent in the Trojanwar; and

the name mightwell be continued in reference to masturbation itself, ifwe stop to consider the innumerable progeny ofev ils ofwhich it is theundoubted parent.

I speak not as amoralfanatic but as a physician ; and, notwithstandingthe ridicule that has been heaped upon Tissot, Voltaire, Lallemand and others, for their ao- calledfanat

ical condemnation of the vice , modern medicinefurnishes so formidable an array of unquestionablygreat thinkerswho sustain their views that nowriter

needfear being found in their company .

Among the host ofthose whomake masturbation a certain source of

physical andmental evil, are Spitzka, Anstie, Chapman, Lacassagne, Peyer,Skene, Lewis,Moraglia,Winckel, Pouillet, Gri‘rner, Gowers andMackenzie,not to speak ofthousands oflesser note .

Doubtless there has been much exaggeration,muchwillfulmisrepre

H. Ellis , lac. cit. , 1, 202—3. Mr. Ellis ought to feel complimented that one ofthefewlong quotations in this book is given to exonerate himfromthe charge ofaiding andabetting such a filthy vice . He owesme a bouquet.

Vid. Ovid. Fast. , 1, v , 396. Met. , r, v , 689 . V irg. Gear. , 1, v , 17. Vane , de L.L

v , c, 3. Dionys.Hal I. andLucian, Dial“Marc. andPan .

”

374 Human Sexuatscutation, and not a little real ignorance, displayed in painting the consequences ofa vicewhich is probably as common today as at any other periodofthe world’s history ; but when we find ophthalmologists so world- re

nownedas Hermann Cohn, ofBreslau , and Power, ofEngland, setting fortha long list ofdiseases as incident to the eflect ofthis practice on the delicatemechanismof the eye ; such alienists as Sir WilliamEllis, Spitzka andMaudsley , recognizing its influence in producing insanity ; and physiciansofevery country , andofevery degree ofstanding, uniting in their testimonyas to its deplorable efl

'

ects on the nervous andmuscular structures ofthebody , surely it is time to discard whatever hesitancy the fine-wroughttheories ofcertain . speculators may have engendered in reference to the

banefuleffects ofa habitwhich human instinct, aswell asmorality , decencyand religion, long ago united in pronouncing amost filthy , degrading and

damning vice.

To say, as some ofthe apologists ofthe habit have said, thatmasturbation has nomore injurious effect than excessive natural intercourse, is to

grossly insult reason. To lend a coloring of truth to such an assertion

the sexual actwould have to be a purely physical one,which every tyro

in sexual psychology knows is not the case. The sexual orgasmis boundup with such a network ofpsychical influences, that not even the act of

masturbation can be performedwhollywithout them.

The normalmasturbator always calls up the image ofthe woman toperfect his act; and if itwere possible, which in some cases it is not, to

induce the orgasmwithout such imaginative aids , the resultwouldbe bothmechanical and unsatisfying . This phenomenon, alone, proves the abnor

mality ofthe act, its opposition to nature , and its consequent amenabilityto the punishmentwhich, itwould be exceedingly unphilosophic to deny,follows every infraction ofnatural law.

Auxiliary to this positive and primary argument is the secondary one

that, ifmasturbation “does nomore harm,within reasonable limits, than

normal sexual intercourse — quoting an absurd statement only to refute

it— no onewill dispute that it certainly does less good and ifit does less

good, howarewe to evade the conclusion that it doesmore harmfThat sense ofwell- being, that physical andmental uplift, the conscious

ness ofmanhood and ofmanhood’s highest prerogative, which followthenormal sexual act— even though joinedwith fear ofa possible cowhiding,or a dose ofclap

— are absent in the experience ofthe solitarymasturbator.

A roué, a Sardanapalus, a Byron or a Richelieu ,may be a hero ; amasturbator never. The lattermay enter a cloister, become a fanaticaldevotee,a religious dreamer, a poet, but he can never become a famous figure inthe broadfieldoftheworld’smanly activity.

376 Human SexuatOn the psychic side ofthe question, it must be

Emotional Instinct seen at a glance that the higher emotional sexualDwarfed by impulse, being divorcedfromthe physical, is dwarfed,Masturbation and vitiated by the habit to such a degree as to for

ever prevent that sympathy between the sexeswhichmust underlie every permanent, agreeable and healthful union. Ifamasturbatormarry, therefore, eithermale or female, the chances ofdomestichappiness are slight, for two causes. He, or she, is apt to undervalue

the importance ofthe sexual act, in the first place ; and in the secondthe

divorcement ofthe sensuous and psychical elements, already referred to,

prevents that symmetrical development ofmoral and physical characterswhich unifies the contending impulses , and evokes sexual happiness fromconnubialdiscord.

l

If ninety- nine per cent. of young men and women masturbate, andthe hundredth conceal the truth, as Vorslungen states ; if the practicebe fraughtwith ev il, physically ,mentally

c

andmorally,which no reasonablemind can doubt; ifits indulgence lead, evenmore than any other ofthe

sexual vices already noticed, and by reason ofthe facility withwhich itmay be practised, to insanity , neurasthenia and ultimate physical impotence; surely it is not amatter inwhich a physician, as conservator ofthepublic health, aswell as in a sense the guardian ofphysicalmorals, shouldlong hesitate in voicing his v iews .

Andmine are these:Masturbation destroys the very foundations of

manhood andwomanhood, replaces the healthymoral consciousness,whichproperly belongs to both,with amiserable sense of shrinking , vacillating

shyness andmoral inferiority ; with amorbid idealism,wholly at variance

with every practical pursuit and v ital principle oflife ; and iswell alludedto by Rousseau as thatdangerous supplementwhich deceives nature.

”

Gogol, the great Russian novelist, masturbated;Instances to which practice was due, probably, the dreamyAmong melancholy ofhis life- pictures ; and Goethe is sup

IllustriousMen posed to have been a victimofthe same vice, fromthe passage in the seventh book ofhis Dichtung

undWahrheit, where ,describing his student life at Leipzig, and the loss

1 Concerning this point there seems to be a practicalagreement among allobservers.

Tissot stated thatmasturbation causes aversion tomarriage. Loimaa found that thehabit inwomen renders normal sexual satisfaction impossible (Ueber Onanismus beimWeibe) , andSmith Baker remarks that “a source ofmarital aversion lies in thefact thatsubstitution ofmechan ical and iniquitous excitation affords more satisfaction than

legitimate intercoursedoes .

”(Jour. Nera. andMent.Dis. ,

Oscar Berger, Archiv fur Psychiatric, b. 6 , 1876 .

“Confessions ,”II, III .


ofhis sweetheart, he tells howhe revenged that neglect by foolish practicesfromwhich he thought he suflemdmuchmischief.1But these instances, as well as thomalready quoted,must not be taken

as evidence against the injurious eflect ofthe practice on the brain. There

is no evidence that either Goethe or Gogol carried it beyond the limits ofmoderation, and bothwere fitted, by their very intellectual vigor, to resistinfluences whichmightwell havewrecked an ordinary mind, and drivenit into insanity or imbecility .

In reference to its association with crime, masAs Associated turbationholds aunique position. Ferriani,whomadewith the a special study of criminality among the young, in

Criminal Instinct Italy , states that if all boys and girls among the

general population do notmasturbate, the criminalpart ofthemcertainly do; andMarro found, among 458 adultmale criminals(“I Caratteri deiDelinquenti thatonly 72 deniedmasturbation. Moragliafound, among thirty criminalwomen, that twenty- four acknowledged thepractice ; while among prostitutes it is exceedingly common.

Indeed, the advertisements which fill our daily papers with the marvellous potency of various

“manhood- restoring”

Masturbation and nostrums, are sufficient evidence of the widespreadthe “

Quacks” prevalence ofthe degrading practice in this country ,

as well as ofthe mischievous power which the lawplaces in the hands ofunscrupulous quacks, in dealingwith such a prolificsource ofmisery , suffering and dread, to the young especially ; and it is

to be hoped that the intelligence and humanity ofthe near future willmake it the subject ofwiser legislation than has prevailedwith respect toit in the past .

As to the growth anddevelopment ofthe habit fewwords are necessary .

As I have before stated, I believe its discovery is most often amatterofmere accident; and the following case fromEllis will be found

to bearme out in this view.

The young ladywas very vigorous and healthy , ofa strongly passionate nature, andwas led to discoverthe secret ofmasturbation by becoming sexually ex

cited through the kisses andembraces ofa lover.

Ich hatte siewirklich verloren unddieTollheit,mitder ichmeinen Fehler anmirselbst rachte , indemich aufmancherlei rmsinnige Weise in meine physische Natursturmte , umder sittlichen etwas zu Leide zu thun , hat sehr viel zu den kOrperlichen

Uebeln beigetragen , unter denen ich einige der besten Jahremeines Lebens verlor; jaichwere v eilleicht an diesemVerlust vollig zu Grunde gegangen , hatte sich hier nicht

das poetischeTalentmit seinen Heilkraften besonders hiilfreich erwiesen .

”

Lac. cit. , n , 193.

378 Human SexuatAlthough she did not yield to these, she dreamed about them, thought

about them, and one night in bed, after amore than usually exciting ex

periencewith her friend, she accidentally found, possibly fromsomemanipulation ofher privates, accompaniedwith or prompted by sexual thoughts ,

that playing with a certain round thing within the orifice gave rise to

most intensely pleasurable sensations . She was relieved and quieted bythese manipulations , and masturbated thereafter, regularly , sometimesas often as six times in a night, until finally she lost the power to producethe orgasmor any pleasurable feelingwhatever.

Another lady used to relieve herselfin a somewhatPeculiar Formof peculiar manner, simply by kicking out her feet inMasturbation bed,withouttouching herselfotherwise ; 1 and another

“used to sit upon the edge ofthe bed, as she said,

when the feeling came overme so strongly that I simply couldn’t resist it.

I felt that I should gomad, and thought it better to touchmyselfthanbe insane. I used to pressmy clitoris in, and itmademe very tired after

ward— not like beingwithmy husband.

”

The confessionwasmade toMr. Ellis froma conv iction ofthe seriousness

ofthematter, andwith a hope that some extricationmight be foundfroma difficultywhich so often besetswomen .

’

“When I was twenty- six years of age, writesPitiable Case of another, a friend came tome with the confession

a Young Girl that for several years she hadmasturbated, and hadbecome such a slave to the habit as to snfler severely

fromits illefl'ects. I listenedto her storywithmuch sympathy andinterest,and determined to try experiments uponmyself, with the idea ofgetting

to understandthematter, in order to assistmy friend. After somemanipulation I succeeded in awakening what had before been unconscious, and

unknown . I purposely allowed the habit to growonme, and one night

for I always operated uponmyselfbefore going to sleep— I obtained con

siderable pleasurable satisfaction ; but the following day my conscience

awoke ; I felt pain at the back ofmy head and down the spinal column.

I ceasedmy operations for a time, but began againmore regularly .

Some two years later I heardofsexual practices betweenwomen, as afrequent habit in certain quarters. I hadbeen told something that had ledme to believe that therewasmore to be discoveredthanwhat I knew.

The rough handling ofmyselfduring this final stage disturbedmy nervous

system, and causedme pain and exhaustion at the back ofmy head, thespinal column, the back ofmy eyes, and a general feeling oflanguor. For

some days I lost energy , spirit and h0pe ; my nervous systemappeared to‘ Ibid, 193—4. um, p. 194.

380 Human Sexualitynormal pleasure is destroyed, and even the dreams take on the horrible

and, sometimes, lascivious coloringwhich belongs to thewakingmoments.

The child— boy or girl— loses its rosy complexion,

Eflect ofMastur becomes pale or leaden in countenance ; the eyes are

bation on the sunken anddull, surroundedwith dark rings ; the lipsGeneral Health lose their redcolor; themindis sluggish and indolent;

and the child sits in thought, with aversion to playor any natural childish amusements. Finally it becomes vicious and irritable, looks frightenedwhen spoken to— the solicitousmother excusing everything on the ground of ill health— and displays a tendency to sleep latein themorning, butwithout any evidence ofthat refreshmentwhich ought

to followsleep. Then the general health begins to sufl'

er. The appetitefails, the tongue becomes coated, there is emaciation,with nervous tremblingand physical debility , and, at the very threshold oflife, the poor victimeither yields to some intercurrent disease, the resisting powers completelybroken down, or passes into a condition ofhopeless neurasthenia, or evenimbecility or lunacy .

I speak with the greater conv iction and force on this point that thereappears to be a disposition in some quarters to gloze

Views ofMedical over thematter, and treat itwith a levity altogether

Writers incompatiblewith the grave facts ofevery daymedical experience regarding it; and, to showthat I do

not stand alone inmy opinion, I shall quote, in concluding this briefreviewofamost important subject, and as equally applicable to the other formsofartificial erotismyet to be noticed, the words ofa fewofthe greatest

medical teachers ofboth the past andpresentwith reference to the practice.

Hufeland, themost eminent physiologist ofGermany in the early partofthe last century , said ofmasturbation: “Hideous and frightful is the

stampwhich Nature aflixes on him(themasturbator) . He is a fadedrose, a

treewithered in the bud, awandering corpse. Alllife andfire are killedby

this secret cause, and nothing is left but weakness , inactiv ity , wasting of

body anddepress ion ofmind. The eye loses its lustre andstrength ; the‘

eye

ballsinks ; the features become lengthened; the fair appearance ofyouth departs, andtheface becomes pale, yellow, orleaden. Thewhole body becomessickly andmorbidly sensitive ; themuscular power is lost; sleep brings norefreshment” (this all seems but a re- echo ofwhat I have already said) ;“every movement becomes disagreeable , the feet refuse to carry the body ;the hands tremble ; pains are felt in the limbs ; the senses lose their powerand all gayety is lost. Boys ,who before showedwit and genius , sink intomediocrity , or become blockheads ; the mind loses its taste for all lofty

ideas, andthe imagination is utterly vitiated. Anxiety, repentance , shame,


anddespair ofany remedy,make the painful state ofsuch aman complete,and it is nowonder ifthe inclination to suicide ultimately arise.

” 1

Hoflman, ofEngland, andM. Louis , ofFrance, paint similarly frightfulpictures ofthe v ice ; and Dr. Howe, ofBoston, in presenting his Reporton the Subject of Idiocy to theMassachusetts Legislature , in 1848, says:There are among thomenumerated in this report some who, not long

ago,were considered bright young gentlemen and ladies, butwho are nowmoping idiots; idiots ofthe lowest kind, lost to reason, tomoral sense , toshame ; idiotswho have but one thought, onewish, one passion, and thatis the further indulgence ofthe habitwhich has already loosed the silver

cord, wasted their bodies and dissolved their min And Sydenham,

speaking oflung diseases , says: The organs ofrespiration are theweakestofall, two- thirds ofmankind dying ofdiseases ofthe lungs ; and themostcommon period inwhich young persons resort to this v icious practice (masturbation) is precisely that atwhich the chest exhibits the greatest susceptibility .

”

Howmany persons, exclairns the eminent Portal, have been the

victims oftheir own unhappy passions ! Medicalmen every daymeetwiththowwho, by this means (masturbation) , are rendered idiotic, or so ener

vated that they drag out amiserable existence. Others perishwithmarasmus, andmany die ofreal pulmonary consumption.

”

Copeland, in his work on Insanity , pointing out

Its Relation to the causeswhich underliemental diseases, says: Of

Epilepsy and these the most influential are masturbation and

Insanity _libertinism, sexual excess, sensuality in all its forms,and inordinate indulgence in the use ofintoxicating

substances and stimulants . The baneful influence of the first of these

causes (masturbation) is very much greater in both sexes than is usually

supposed; and is , I believe, an ev il growingwith the diffusion ofluxury ,

ofprecocious knowledge and ofthe v ices of civ ilization. In both sexes

epilepsy often pre cedes insanity fromthis cause ; and either it or general

paralysis frequently complicates the advanced progress ofthemental disorder. Melancholia, the several grades ofdementia, especially imbecilityandmonomania, are themore common forms ofderangement proceedingfroma vicewhich not only prostrates the physical powers but impairs theintellect, debas ing themoral affections and altogether degrading the indi

v idual, evenwhenmanifest insanity does not arise fromit.

”

Boerhaave , Sanctorius , Haller, Harvey , Gowers and Gall, among thoseofthe older school, andCharcot, Chapman, Krafl

'

t- Ebing, Venturi, SpitzkaandMarro, representing ably the newer, make almost similar, andmorescientifically accurate statements as to the ev il effects ofmasturbation;

1 Quotedby Dr. s. Pancoast in“Ladies

’MedicalGuide,” p. 583.

382 Human Sexuatthe modern school, however, condemning it principally for its disastrousinfluence on the nervous system, concerningwhich there seems to exist a

perfect unanimity ofopinion.

Fine points ofdistinctionmay be drawn by the psychologist in reference

to diflerences in its character andmanifestations, as in the case ofMaxDessoir, who speaks ofmasturbators aus Noth, and masturbators aus

Leidenschaft; and Dellamagne, who distinguishes between onanie par

impulsion, as occurring in mental degeneration, and onanie par evocation

an obsession;1 but such psychological hair- splitting does not, inmy v iew,

seriously afl'

ect the general discussion, nor robmasturbation ofits twofoldcharacter as a destroyer ofmind and body, and crownedmonarch ofthe

modern v ices ofsociety .

This active-minded people, as might be expected, have shown great

mechanical ingenuity in the invention ofappliancesArtificial Erotismfor sexual gratification. Among these the daikon

in Japan and rin—no- tama deserve especial mention. One of

The Rin- no- tama the latter,which I had the priv ilege ofexamining inNagasaki, in 1902 , consisted ofa pair ofhollowballs,

as large as pigeon’s eggs, made ofthin silver. Onewas empty , but theother the little man — contained a quantity ofmetallic mercury , themovement ofwhich made it impossible to keep the ballwholly still for

even a moment. Placed side by side in the hand, a peculiar, vibratory ,tickling thrillwas felt,which I could readily imagine capable ofproducingintense sexual pleasure ,when the balls were introduced into the vagina.

The sensation resembled, somewhat, a gentle shock ofinduced electricity ;

and thewomenwho use these balls , not by anymeans solely prostitutes,or even the lowest orders ofsociety, profess to derive greater pleasure fromthemthan fromnormal intercourse.

When introduced into the vagina, the halffilled globe ofmercury takesonwhat seems to be a living activity, and the ladywho feels in the humorfor a little quiet enjoyment, inserting her rin—no-tama , rocks herselfgentlyin a chair, or swings in a hammock , the slightest movement ofthe hipsbeing all that is necessary to impart that oscillatorymotion to the ballswhich produces all the delights oflove , without the dangers attending a

similar activ ity on the part oftheirhuman namesakes .

’

1 H . Ellis explains this nice discrimination bywhat he callsmasturbation , practisedat rare intervals for physical relief, and thatwhich is followed frompreference for it,rather than for the normal relationship; but since one conditionmay , and indeedoftendoes , growout ofthe other, I cannot holdthe distinction v alid froma scientific point ofvrew.

1 H . Ellis’s description ofthis ingenious contrivance (

“Studies, etc. , I , 116) I find

to be entirely accurate , as is also that ofMondiere,Men. Soc. d’Anthr., rr, 465.

384 Human Sexualityto recommend it. It is never associated with objectionable garrulity,

never diseased, always open for engagements, and needs only a fewmothballs occasionally, instead ofan expensivewardrobe, tokeep it in thoroughcondition and repair. The artificial penis possesses similarly good properties. It is always true to the ladywho courts it; doesn

’t get intoxicated

and balky ; needs no coaxing ; and its size and lengthmay be regulated

to suit her taste, amatter not always possiblewith the normal article.

The lesbian ladies are said to have used artificial penises of ivory, andeven gold, dressedwith “

silken stufl'

s and fine linen;”and Aristophanes

mentions the use byMilesianwomen ofleather penises ,1which ought to be

pleasanter, ifnot so gorgeous as those the lesbian fashion called for. As

the Irishman remarked about a stone coffin one o’thirn ought to last

a person his lifetoime.

In the BritishMuseummay be seen a Greek hetaira, or prostitute, holding such an instrument in her hand, possibly as a symbol ofher calling ;

and in themuseumat Naples is quite a collection ofthese interesting relics,

taken fromthe ruins ofPompeii.11 Ellis further notes that one ofHerondas’s

bestmimes The Private Conversation — presents an edifying dialogue

between two ladies concerning a certain newmake ofolisbos, which one

ofthemregarded as a perfect “dreamofdelight,

” 1 just as in our ownday we occasionally hear such rapturous expressions over a newbonnet,a gown, or a particular brandofconfectionery .

‘

Marston, in one of his satires, speaks, in even the Elizabethan age,

ofLucas preferring “a glassy instrument” to her husband’s “ lukewarm

bed;” while,were we to go into the annals ofthemighty Roman Empire ,

we should find that themenwere so occupiedwith their own sac that the

poor ladies had to do the best they could, consoling themselveswith theirslaves, eunuchs and golden phalluses, instead oftheir truant husbands .

To showthe refinements ofthe sexual taste at that epoch, Tiberius,it is said,was notwholly satisfiedwith anything but amale infant; Helio

1 “Lysistrata , v , 109 .

1 H. Ellis , loc. cit. , r, 117.

1 The ladies in the old times were delightfully candid in their sexual confessions ,

aswell as enterprising in their sexual practices . Ariadne Lucretia boasted ofhaving

sold her“maidenhead” nearly a thousand times before shewas twenty- one years old;

and it is related thatwhen Phrynewas on trial in Athens for public prostitution she

tore open her dress , and, exposing the beauty ofher naked bosomto the Judges ,wasacquittedon sight . An amusing story is toldofthe celebratedcourtesan , Lais ofCorinth ,

who, on hearing a party ofgentlemen debating about the comparativ e beautyofwoman’shair , eyes , cheeks , breasts , etc . , andwhich part ofher is the best, smilingly calledthema

lot offools , asking— “Suppose I consent to giv e you that part ofmyselfyouwouldall

most desire,which should it be? Wouldn’t you all selectwhatnota singleone ofyou hasmentioned7


gabaluswas solemnlymarried to an athletic slave ; Nero, after castrating

young Sporns ,married himwith great pomp ; so ,with the Roman ladiescohabiting together, or playingwith theirwooden phalluses , and themenmarrying othermen, it is notmuch wonder thatMartial cried on

“0

Rome, are youwaiting for the fruit ofsuch unions?” 1

The number and nature ofthe other implementsOther Instrumentswhich women have resorted to in pursuit ofsexual

Employed gratification are simply incomprehensible. The bit:nana, from its suggestive size and shape, appears

to have been marked by nature for purposes ofmasturbation, and hasbeen very widely used. In the mythology ofHawaii is a legendwhichtells ofgoddesseswhowere impregnatedby bananas , sleptwith, or secretedunder their clothing ;

1and the undoubtedlywide use ofthis fruit, aswell

as ofthe cucumber, radish, beet, carrot and parsnip, for the purpose of

masturbation, is in a largemeasure unknown, fromthe harmlessness ofthearticles named, and the comparative infrequencywithwhich cu es ofinjuryfromthemare brought to the surgeon’s notice ; but it is not sowithmanyother articles employed. Pins, needles, hairpins , pencils, sticks ofsealing

wax, bodkins, knitting- needles, forks, toothpicks, almost every domesticor toilet article known under the sun, has been taken fromthe femalewomb, bladder and vagina ; andMirabeau gives, in his Erotika Biblion,

”

an extended list ofthe various objects used to obtain solitary sexual grati

fication in convents,which he describes as vast theatres ofsuch vices.

The frequency with which hairpins have been found in the femalebladder, the female urethra not being a seat ofsexual feeling, led Pouillet

to suggest that the glands ofthe meatus, and the erectile tissue ofthe

urethral canal, are capable of voluptuous sensations ; although themoreprobable explanation is, as has been suggested, that the articles enter the

bladder accidentally .

Formyself, I can offer no explanation whatever for the anomalies inthis line that I havemyselfwitnessed. I have extracted onmore thanone occasion, chiefly fromyoung girls

’wombs, hairpins , straightened out

and turned on one end, like a fish- hook, which, having been pushed intothemeatus, couldnot bewithdrawn , and had to be extricated by surgical

means . As therewas neither impregnation nor apparent design to use theinstrument criminally, in some ofthe cases at least, I can only repeat thatsuch phenomena, as well as many similar, are simply incomprehensible.

Sure ly pleasanter and less intricate and troublesome articles might have

1 nondumtibi, Roma v idetur Hoc satis l expectas numquid ut et

pariat?”(Lib. xrx, ep.

1 H. Ellis , loc. cit., r, 118.

386 Human SexualitySo common, however, is the use ofthese bizarre articles that a German

surgeon, in 1862, devised a special instrument for extracting hairpins and

other such articles fromthe female bladder; andDenuce, ofFrance, con

siders this formofaccident themost frequent one offemalemasturbation.

1

Griinfeld found 115 cases offoreign body in the bladder— 6 8 in menand47 inwomen ; but,while those inmenweremost commonly the resultof surgical accidents, those in women, as the latter were all profoundlyignorant of how they got there , were plainly the consequences of

masturbation.

1

Dr. R. T.Morris , ofNewYork, records the case of a lady, a devout

church-member, never allowing herself to entertain

Varieties of sexual thoughts concerning men, who masturbatedArtificial Erotismeverymorning , standing before amirror, by rubbing

her privates against a key in the bureau drawer. Mennever excitedher passions , but the sight ofa key in a bureau drawer alwaysarousederotic desires .

’

It is a fact, within the experience ofallmothers , that children derivesexual enjoyment fromhaving their genitalsmanipulated, both boys andgirls being frequently found rubbing themselves against chair- comers andprojecting parts offurniture , for this quite evident purpose.

H. Ellis says1 that girls in France are fond ofriding the chevaur-de

bois , or wooden rocking horses , for the sexual excitement aroused; and

also that'

in India swings are hung before the temples , inwhichmen and

women prepare themselves by swinging for the sexual congress. Duringthemonthswhen themen in those districts are away , it is said, also, thatthe girls console themselves for the latter’s absence by swinging ; and it

iswell known that, during the bicycle craze in this country, not a fewselfrespecting women were compelled to abandon the pastime on account of

the sexualexcitement thus produced.

The fact that horse- riding may produce sexual

Horse- riding pollutions was well recognized by the early Catholic

and the theologians ; and Rohleder, in his DieMasturbaSewing-machine tion,

” pp. 133, 134,bearswitness tothe samefact. Thetestimony ofPouillet to the erotic efl

'

ect on womenofoperating sewing-machines is worth quoting in full, on account ofits

peculiar andconvincing characterIn themidst ofthe uniformsoundproducedby some thirtymachines,

hewrites ofa v isit to a certain factory,“ I suddenly heard one ofthema

chinesworking fas ter than the others . I looked at the personworking it,1 H . Ellis , Zoe. cit. , r, 119 .

1WienerMed. Blatt., Nov . 26 , 1896 .

1 Trans . Am.Ass . ofObstetricians, 1892, V ol. v . Loc. cit., r, 120.

388 Human SexualityMartineauwas informedby a dressmaker that this formofmasturbation

is very frequent among mediates , its chiefrecommendation being that itcan be donewithout attracting attention; andhe relates the case ofan ironer

in a laundrywho habitually thus relievedherself,while atwork, by crossingher legs, bending the body forward, and supporting herselfon the tableby her hands, a fewmovements ofthe adductormuscles ofthe thighs beingsufficient to produce the orgasm.

‘

In the same way habitual prostitutes, and ram, instead ofthe natural

movements ofcoitus, clasp each other in a close embrace, the penis ofcoursewithin the v agina, and roll themselves laterally back andforth, thismotion,they claim, verymuch heightening the sexual pleasure.

By psychic erotismismeant sexual orgasmarising

Psychi c Erotismfrom voluptuous thoughts, and without materialcontact. The condition necessary to such a phenom

enon is inmost cases amorbid one, although the imagination is so strong

in certain persons, completely absorbing and dominating the entire being,that itmay take place in the absence ofeithermental or physical disease.

Thus , a somewhat eccentric pre acher once remarked toMr. Ellis—“My

whole nature sometimes goes out to certain persons , and they thrill and

stirme so that I have an emissionwhile sitting by them, butwith no thoughtof sex ; andMacGillicuddy records three cases of similar spontaneousorgasmcoming underhis notice inwomen !

Suchmanifestations, occurring without sexualmanipulation, or eroticthoughts, are unquestionably neuropathic, and limited almost entirely to

those who are made, either voluntarily or involuntarily, the v ictims of

sexual repression. Schrenk- Notzing speaks of one lady who was spontaneously excited, sexually, at eight ofa beautifulpicture , andupon hearingmusic, without feeling any psychical sexual emotion ; and oftwo others

who habitually masturbate in the street, or on railway trains,when theyhappen tomeet an especially good- looking andsympatheticman.

‘

I amconvinced, however, that neither these nor the manifestationsyet to followcan take placewithout a considerable degree ofhyperesthesia

The purest instances ofpsychical erotismare undoubtedly to be found

in that peculiar morbid condition known as day

Day- dreaming” dreaming. With some persons , bothmale andfemale,these reveries assume an almost entirely erotic charac

ter; men picturing beautiful nakedwomen, andwomen revelling in fancy

1 “Leeons sur les Deformations Vulvaires ,”Martineau , p. 64.

H . Ellis , lac ci t. , r, 124.

“Funct. Disorders of the Nerv . Systemin Women, p. 114.

“Suggestions- therapie,” p .l3.


with amorous and attractivemen. Delectatiomorosa , as the theologianscalled it, occupying themindwith sexual dreams, and images,was in theearly church the besetting sin ofthe neophyte in the convent, as well asthe postt for the priesthood. A perpetuation, doubtless , ofthe ancientmyth ofthe incubi and succubus,male andfemale nocturnal demonswhichwere supposed to consort sexuallywithmen andwomen in sleep,1 andwhichGarnier supposes to have blossomed out into the ecclesiastical pederastyofmedie val Italy , the day-dream, or sexual reverie,was an institutionwellcalculated to find ready acceptance, and full development, among a vast

number ofhot- blooded youths , ofboth sexes, shut out fromone another’s

society, and condemned to seek the sole gratification oftheir sexual passions

in psychological forms ; so that it is notwonderful, notwithstanding the

seemingly unsatisfactory nature ofthe act, to find a writer of the timessaying that

“not an abbey ofany celebrity could be found inwhich the

cloistered customs did not, on numerous occasions , snfier fromthe con

tagion ofshamelessness.

”

Day-dreaming has been very interestingly studied, in the shape ofthe

continued story , byMabel Learoyd, ofWellesley College— eu institution at

which, by the way, only recently , an incipient rebellion was started bythe refusal ofone ofthe faculty to continue his lectures on procreationto the young ladies; and inmost caseswhere refined romanticismis carried to the very greatest height itwill be found to have a strictly sexual

basis.

Pausanias has told us that the divine Zeus himselfwas notmore exemptthanmortals fromerotic orgasmduringwaking hours

'

Jove Himself and one ofthe conditions underwhichmasturbationSometimes Rods was allowed by the early Catholic Church was , to

complete a sexual act begun in sleep.

“ Luther advises

girlswho have either night or day-dreams tomarry , and“take themedicineGod has given them;” and Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell is authority for the

important (but improbable) statement that the reliefaffordedmen by thenocturnal emission,women find inmenstruation.

’

1 Vid. Tylor, Prim. Cult. , 11 , 189 , 190. Formal rites are specified in the HinduTantra ,which enable aman to obtain a companion nymph, byworshipping her, andrepeating hername by night in a cemetery .

”See also Jastrow, Religion ofBabylonia.

’Letter ofSt. Boniface to Pope Zachariah, (742 A. quoted by Buret, loc. cit

n , 82. Session 1904- 1905.

V id. Ellis , loc. cit. , r, 126 .

“Achaia ,

”Chap. xv rr.

St. Thomas even says Si pollutio placcat ut nature exoneratis vel allev iatio,

peccatumnon creditur.

”

Ellis , fromwhomI quote, denies this as flagrantly inconsistentwith facts Vid.

Studies,”1, 131 , note . Most authors , I think ,will heartily agreewithhim.

390 Human SexualityPitres records a case of a hysterical gitl, in one ofhis wards,wbo

accused the clerk ofcoming through thewindowand hav ing v iolent ints

coursewith hermsmany as tlwcc or iowtimcs in am’

ght; and the infiuence

ofether and chloroformin inducing sexual erethismin women , and nd

inmm, is a circumstancewell known to dentists and surgeons . In Ais

trelis ,Mr. Ellis says , amanwas chargedwith rape, found guilty , andsen

that it was quite impomible for those who heard her to disbelieve thenarration, although it was afterward shown to be inspired by puie

hallucination.

l

Thatwhat Dr. King calls sexual hysteria lies at the bas is ofmanyofthese phenmnena , seems to be an indisputable fact

Hysterical ErotisrnMoll recites the case of a nurse in a hospitalwbo,when she once had to amist a man in urinating

became so violently excited, sexually , that shewas compelled to lie downon a couch in the next roomwhile a convulsive orgamn took place; and

somany cases occur inwhich hysteria profoundly afl'

ects the sexualocenters

thatwe are in ameasure justified in accepting the theory ofSollier, tliat

sufferers fromthatmiserable malady are never (make, cmwdously, but livein a constant pathological sleep,which he happily calls v igilambulism.

Indeed, it was a very early belief, among the Greeks especially, that

hysteria was ofuterine origin ; and the Arabian physicians who carmdthe traditions ofGreek medicine to the East seemto have perpetuawdthe theory . Gilles de la Toure tte points out the relation, not difficult to

trace, between hysteria andthe “mcredmadness ” ofthe sibylline priestmssofBabylon andEgypt, aswell as ofGreece andRorne ; ‘ and if, as Aretzus

remarks, in accounting for the hysterical manifestations ofwomen, thewomb “

has an aversion to fetid smells , being like an animal within an

animal,“ the treatment by applying disagreeable odors to the nose; and

fragrant ointments to the privates , frequently alluded to by Galen,was nodoubt in strict accordwith the therapy ofthe times.The well- known susceptibility ofhysteria to manifest itself in sexual

desire and sexual hallucinations, giving rise to Laycock’s acute provsl

'b

Lac. cit. , r, 133 , 134, note.

“Libido Sexualis , r, 354

“Genese de l’Hystérie , 1898. V id. Plato’s“lin e ns.

”

“Traite de l’Hystérie ,

"

‘ Aretaem, On the Games and Symptoms ofAcute Diseeses, Indeed, this

peculiar viewofthewomb’a connectionwith hysteri cal seizures ,and the efficacyoffenddrugs , seems to be fairly borne out by the fact that there are fewdmgsmore fetidthsnasafetida , andfewmore commonly used

'msuch attacks .

92 Human Sexualityevery religion ofantiquity , there are few, ifany, religious beliefs ofthe

world, past or present, in which woman has not played an importantpart.

Bau was worshipped by the Babylonians as themother ofmankind;Isis, for her fertility ; theMohammedan peoples his paradise withvoluptuous, black-eyed houris ; the Paschal Feast ofthe Jewswas identifiedwith the bringing forth of their animals’ young ; andwith a large

section ofChristianity the reverence paid to the Holy Virgin is almost,ifnot fully, equal to that accorded to the SaviorHimself.

It is this customofassociatingwomen and sexu.

Woman the Type alitywith the great principle offertility and procreaofFertility tion, among ancient peoples ,which led to a perversion

ofits original import ; and the ascription ofobscenitytomany ofthe pagan rites ofworshipwhichwere entirely harmless and

unsexual. Thus , the priestesses ofIshtarwere prostitutes only to symbolizefertility as the primitive principle ofnature ; and the greatTammuz festivalwas celebrated in the spring, as the period atwhich the reproductive impulseis strongest in both animals andmen, aswell as in the vegetableworld.

Fromtheir commanding position in human life, love and religion go

naturally hand in hand; and the two mental states, intensified by an

enthusiasmwhich can belong to no other, and similar in their motives,ideas andassociations ,may verywellmerge, one into the other.

Thus Landry , in the Knight ofThe Towre,” tells his daughters thatno young woman , in love, can serve Godwith that unfeignedness which

she did aforetime. Such is the property of thismystery oflove that it isever at themomentwhen the priest is holding our Sav ior upon the altar

that themost enticing emotions come.

”

Schroder Van der Kolk very correctly observes , I venture to expressJastrow, “Religion ofBabylonia,” p. 485, at seq.

Shewas the Venus ofCyprus , theMinerv a ofAthens , the Cybele ofPhrygia, the

Ceres ofEleusis , the ProserpineofSicily , theDiana ofCrete ; the eternal,mysterious One,whose v eil nomortal has lifted; and the sexual concept concerningwhom, doubtless ,

inspiredCleopatra to dress herselflike the goddess , and to assume to be her reincarna

tion . (V id. Plutarch, dc laid. Osirid.; Herodotus , 2, 59 ; and Lucan , r,

Ewald andRobertson Smith have identified the PaschalFeast ofthe Jews, aswellas the great Ragab Feast ofthe Arabians ,with the young- bearing season ofcamels andotherdomestic animals ; and the hon- fires andfestivals ofEaster, or St. John

’s Eve, are

tracedby Grimm(“TeutonicMythology ,” p. to a similar source.

Quotedby H . Ellis , lac. cit. , 1 , 233—4.

I have been tmable to verifyMr. Ellie’s quotation in the original; possibly a difi

'

erent

print; but findin Rawling’s London Edition , p. 74, very similar sentiments in the storyofthe “YongeAmorouse Ladye”whowas seized by the Fiendfor her sexual thoughtsabout the priestduringmass.


my conviction thatwe shouldrarely err if, in a case ofreligiousmelancholy ,we assumedthe sexual apparatus to be implicated; andRegis lays it downas a principle that “there exists a close connection betweenmystic ideasand erotic ideas ; andmost often these two orders ofconception are associ

ated in insanity .

”

In one ofthe cases ofVallon andMarie awomanmasturbated herselfwith a crucifix , with a viewto sanctifying the act;

1and Krafit-Ebing,

Ball, Brouardel, and other psychologists , have dealt in detail with thatpeculiarmental conditionwhich alternates , as in the case ofMorel’s nun,between holiness and sexual profiigacy.

Felicula, the martyr, prefemd death and torture tomarriage with a

pagan; exclaiming on the rack Ego non nego amatoremmeum,

”etc.

Iwill not denymy lover,who formy sake has eaten gall, and drunk vine

gar, crownedwith thorns andfastened to the cross .

’ Andhers is only one

ofa thousand cases, in the lives anddeaths ofthe earlymartyrs , inwhichthe religious andsexualemotions are shown to be v icariously parallel.Casanova observed that

“devoutwomen aremore sensitive than others

to carnal pleasures ;” and speaks, in the same connection, of thatminglingofmysticismand concupiscencewhich seethes in a Spanish heart.” 1Feeling all the difficulty ofdissociating the sexual fromthe religious

emotions ; knowing the extreme narrowness of the line separating erotic

day-dreaming fromdevoutmysticism, and both, fromabsolute insanity ;

it is not hard to understand howthe convents ofthemiddle ages becamescenes ofa debaucherywhich eclipsedeven that ofRome in theMerovingiantimes ; andwhywe find the good old priest, Jean Gerson, canon ofNotre

Dame and Chancellor ofthe Church ofParis, saying Open your eyes,

and see ifthese convents offemalemonks do not resemble haunts ofprostitution ;

” “ impure receptacles ,” as another remarks, “where a youth,

which no longer knows a check, abandons itselfto all the tumults ofluxury ,in such amanner that nowit is the same either to cause a young girl to

take the veil, or to expose her publicly in a place ofprostitution.

” 1

1 Des Psychoses Religieuses ,”Archie. dcNemu, 1897.

1 “Acta Sanctorum.

”

1 (2q by H . Ellis , loc. cit. , 1 , 233.

1 DeclaratioDefectuumV irorumEcclesiast.1 Nicolas deClemenges , “De Corruptio Statu Ecclesiaa.Ultionswrites in one ofhis epistles that Pope Gregory ,when he sawsix thousand

skulls and bones ofdead infants taken froma fishpond, near a nunnery ,wasmuchgri eved, and retracted the decree against priests’marriages , the ev ident cause of

this slaughter ofthe innocents ,“purging himselfby prayer and repentance.

” “For

either you must allowthemconcubines , or sufier themto marry ,” writes another

(Georg .Wicelius ,“Inspect. 18)“for scarce shallyou findthree priests ofthree

394 Human SexualityBoth love and religion are founded in sacrifice.

Both Love and The samemental and spiritual qualitieswhichmakeReligion Based a woman an enthusiasticmissionary,willmake her ain Sacrifice goodwife, loving, true, and faithful; and, indeed, love

is so closely allied to its kindred passion that not onlyis erotic insanity , as Berthier points out,most frequently found in convents ,

but religious exaltation almost exclusivelymanifests itselfin both sexes atthe period ofpuberty ; declining in intensity ,with a uniformregularity, at

the climacteric inwomen, and the beginning ofsexual impotency inmen.

1

The very essence ofreligion, as it is oflove, is the repression ofnaturalimpulses . The promptings ofinstinct, at puberty, are wholly directed tosexual things ; and, ifchecked, are extremely apt to pass into the regionofmysticism; so that the intricate action and interaction between thetwo spheres , first pointed out by Friedreich, a German alienist ofremarkable penetration,2 become psychologically natural.In the early development ofChristian theology , this quite noticeable

invasion ofsexuality into itsmost sacred relations gave rise to sominute

obsession on the part ofecclesiastical schoolmen. Itwas found that theapparent antagonismbetween themwas only superficial; and that a careful

and discriminating study of the Scriptures disclosed a vein of sexuality

very closely identifiedwith that ofspirituality ; and that the formerwasonly condemned because of the exceeding danger arising fromthe fact

that it possessedwithin itselfthe potency,more than any other passion,to supersede the latter

!

And the fearwas not unfounded; for among all the enemieswhich havebeset the Christian Church, sexual passion has been the strongest. Yet it

has also accomplishedmighty goodwithin theChurch.

Without it as a basis , the love ofLoyola for the

HowSexuality Has Virgin could never have been strong enough to carry

HelpedReligion himforward to his sublime end. Without it, FrancisofAssisi could never have conceived thatwonderful

Song ofthe Sun, which represented the hymn ofpraise, the universal

epithalamiumofnature to its Creator;‘and it was in talking to a nun

thousand that are not troubledwith burning lust.

”On monasteries as centers of

sexual lust, and sometimes almost demoniacaldebauchery , as the subject is far toovastto even reviewhere the reader is respectfully referred to Calmiel, Langin, Kerchofl

'

,

Figu iers ,“LeMerveilleux ,

”and the “Hist. oftheWarfare ofSciencewith Theology ,

”

A. D. White , 11 , 142, et seq, and 1 , 332- 3 .

1 Bevan Lewis , “Text- Book ofMentalDiseases , p. 393.

1 “Systemder gerichtlichen Psychologie ,” pp. 266—68.

1 Vid. Hahn ,

“Demeter undBaubo,

” pp. 50, 51 .

1 Bonghi , “V ita di S . F. d’Assisi,

”1885.

CHAPTER NINE

THE SEXUAL CRIMINALS an introductory to this briefstudy , itmay be premisedthat thecelibate state ismore favorable to sexual, aswell as otherforms ofsocial delinquency , than the marital. Ofa total criminal population in the United States, in 1892, per cent.were single;

per cent. married, and the remaining per cent.were set downas widowed, divorced, or “

relation not stated; and statistics of other

countries, on the same matter,will not be found, I think, to vary materially fromthe figures given. This large percentage of criminality attachingto celibacy , however, will be found to involve other than psychologicalcauses . It necessarily includes that considerable period oflife, prior tothe marriageable age, in which emotional acts are momfrequent and

unrestrained; and, in relation to sexual ofiences, a period during whichthe genesic function is naturally themost active and imperious . I shall

not quote the statistics of rape, wduction , lust-murder, bestiality, andother sexual crimes , neither here nor elsewhere ; spacewill not permit;but in stating a generalfact,both here and subsequently , I trust the readermay do me the justice to assume that I do so only after having mademyselfthoroughly familiarwith the data supporting it; and that the sup

pression ofthe latter,with their tediousmasses offigures, is resorwdtoonlyas an aid to enforcedbrev ity .

Indeed, in this secondary study of the sexual character, as it relates

to criminal responsibility , it is notmy purpose to deal somuchwith crimein the concrete as with the abstract psychological conditions which promptand underlie it; and hence I shall be led in my inquiry into largely un

trodden fields , and paths quite divergent fromthose ordinarily pursued inthe study ofcriminal sociology .

Instinct plays a leading r61e in the psycho- physioInstinct logical constitution ofevery criminal, butmore espe

as a Factor cially ofthe sexual. It is the germofthe psychicin Sexual Crime organism; “

anterior, as Drahms well says , “to all

rational experiences ;” and lies , to a very great extent,

beyond the influences ofeducative agencies. Held in common with the396

The Sexual Criminal 397

lower animals , largely independent of volitional guidance, automatic inits varying cycles ofenergy and quiescence, it constitutes the true con

genital basis ofcriminal characterization. I amaware that this definitioninvolves themuch disputed question ofprenatal influences , the theory of

transmitted tendencies ,” and the bearing ofother primordial agencies on

the biogenetic basis ofdelinquent, as ofnormal, humanity ; but notwithstanding all that has been said, and all that ever shall be said, instinct

opens the gates oflife, and is the starting - point ofeveryman in hismysterious race toward the unknown .

As I have shown the sexual life to be the basis ofthe social life, closelycorrelatedwith it, and both responding sympathetically to the influenceswhich touch or afiect either, so it is not at all difficult to showthat it liesequally at the root ofthe indiv idual life ; being, next to the instinct oflifeitself, the strongest andmost dominant of the human organism.

As a normal sexual instinct can only exist in a normalman, and as an

abnormal sexual instinct is inseparable froman abnormalman, fromwhatever source of antenatal perversion, or inherited experiences,” it mayarise, the solution ofthe sexual, as ofthe physicalandmoralcharacters,mustbe sought in the simple lawoftransmission , bywhich individuals, normalor abnormal, perpetuate themselves in their ofispring. Hence has arisen thenowuniversally accepted doctrine of instinctive crime ; ofwhich Lombroso, notwithstanding his abruptness , andundeniable faultinemofmethodas a scientificwriter,must be accepted as the legitimate founder.

’

Heredity may be briefly designated as the sumof those qualities which our foreparents possessed,transmitted to us , and reproduced in suchmodifiwtions as are determined by our env ironments . Weiss

man calls it a property ofan organismby which its particular nature istransmitted to its descendants ;” andRibot tersely defines it as

“the ten

deney ofa being to reproduce itself in its progeny .

” These terms and

phrases mean little, however, save as a cloak for our absolute ignorance.

The truth is , as I have prev iously stated, themystery involved in the subtle,and seemingly interminable synthetic processes by which “ like produces

Vid. Lombroso,

“The Criminal;” Ferri, “Cnmm'

al Sociology ;” H Ellis ,

“The

Criminal;” Drahms , “The Criminal,” and various otherworks on Criminal Anthro

Itwas said ofthis giftedwriter, at the time hemade a critical application ofhis

nov el theories to a great number ofinsane persons ,while in charge ofthe department ofmentaldiseases at the University ofPavia, that hewas “

treating epilepticsby damningtheir ancestors , andmeasuringmadnesswith a yardstick . Nevertheless , in spite of

much ridicule, andcriticismofa similarly derisionalkind, hismethods andtheoriesmadepalpable progress , andare nowgenerally adopted in the scientificworld.

398 Human Sexuatlike ” being so impenetrable as to aflord little satisfaction to the biologicalreasoner, and is only dwelt upon here on account ofits intimate associationwith sexual perversion, fromwhich sexual crime almost invariably springs.

But in the potential germofprimordialprotoplasmlies the pa tern,woofandtexture ofhuman character.

Darwin’s theory of pangenesis, by which each indi

v idual germ- cell in the body gives offlesser ones , eachcapable of reproducing its kind; andWeissmann’s,

that the reproducing substance does not arise fromall the germ- cells ofthe

body , but proceeds froma single original cell; and Hreckel’s,whichmakesit consist in the spontaneous subdivision ofthe unicellular germ, are con

fined, it will be obwrved, to simple mechanical elucidation ; and, along

with being largely conjectural (and this is the precise point aimed at in

quoting them) , they do not in any appreciable degree bring us nearer to

a solution ofthe greatmystery ofpsychological transmission.

Nevertheless , talent, criminality , genius ,we do knowto be transmitted,with evenmoremarvellous accuracy , and far- reaching results , thanare the

physical characters themselves. Great intellectual powers of reason,

memory , imagination, volition, are handeddown fromgeneration togeneration, with the same certainty , and persistency , as are the criminal instincts .

Particularly are those forms ofv ice, sexualandmoral,which standmostclosely re lated with the nervous organism, apt to impress themselves ,through this lawofbiogenesis, upon the ofispring . Dipsomania, for lnstance, is a pretty certa in inheritance ofalcoholic parentage and whileMarro estimates over 40per cent. ofgeneral criminals as the offspring of

drunken parents , andwhile, in the body ofthis work , I have tried to layespecialemphasis upon the close relation ofalcoholismwithneurotic insanity ,aswell as the ao- called

“moral insanity ,” and various types ofsexual dis

orders, itmust not be forgotten, also, that all these neuroses are suweptrble

Onlymthis way can we account for imbecility ,mania, sexualerotism, or

inversion, appearing in the child as a direct result ofdrunkennem, epilepsy ,e . ,tc in the parent. It rs shown , very conclusively, that from“

one- half

to three-fourths ofdipsomaniacs are such by reason ofhereditary entail

ment; a defect which, on the best medical authority , is irremediable,since it implies moral and physical degeneracy , alteration ofnerve tissue ,

and decided nerve disorder.

”

1 This subtle species of transformation will, to some extent, substitute heredityin thematter ofsexual v ice. (See p.

Drahms, “The Criminal, p. 134.

400 Human Sexualityduct, represent rather a sexualmisstep in anthropological evolution, thanany result ofcriminal adaptation, or ofvolitionalwrong. It strikesme thatthe interpretation ofhis character, then, is a strictlymoral andmedicalone;his self- revelation, unlike that of the normal man , taking an unusual

path, and placing itself, both as to society and ethics, entire ly beyond thebounds ofordinary legal tests .

The educative and repressive agencies,which stand as the equivalents ofselection in social evolution, have little or no cfiect on the sexual oflender.

He is a child; a creature ofimpulse ; a product ofthe occipital center; ruledby volition alone, destructive, cruel sometimes , as are most children ; retaliatory ,mobile ofcharacter, vain, and,worse than all, simply contentwithlife as he finds it; the true test ofthe atrophied, or undeveloped,man.

This is the congenital sexual oflender. Nowwhat shallwe dowith him?“A natura hominis discenda est natura juris,”

Penology of remarked Cicero. True ; but is it the prov ince, orSexual Crime duty , ofeducated jurisprudence to apply natural law

to a being who does not possess the nature ofman?If repression has but an infinitesimal influence upon criminality ,” of

a non- sexual character, as asserted by Ferri (“Crim. p.

what cfiect will it have on a class of persons who neither care for,

nor understand, the mechanismof its operation? Or if they do under

stand it, imagine it to be founded on false principles? There is a profounddistinction between prevention and its penal substitutes ; between prevention by lawand prevention by knowledge. One seeks to destroy the germ,after it is hatched, the other to prevent the hatching . I think itwas Garofalowho, with Lombroso and his distinguished following ofmedico—legalists,constituted the positive school ofcriminal anthropology , deeply shocked at

the promiscuousmanner ofdealing with social crime, said, in substance,that civil and criminal judges ought to be wholly distinct; and that the

latter should give more study to anthropology , statistics, psychology and

sociology, than to Roman lawand Kent’s Commentaries.

Themore deeply learned the jurist in the classicalPartwhich lore of his profession—mere abstraction of reason,Medicine should with nothing but a viewto the juridical bearings

bear in Fixing involved— the less , possibly , is he qualified to estimatePunishment the character of the accused; civil lawconcerning

itselfleast ofall things with the physical, ormoral,nature ofthe individual. It entirely ignores the personal condition ofthe

criminal; the character ofhis environments , his heredity andmoral nature;and confines its attention solely to the legal status ofthe deed and the de

gree ofpunishment demanded. Therefore, should criminal Judges alone


dealwith human crime; and civil Judges, with civil oflences. But,morethan all, should psychologicalMedicine prepare herselffor the task, towhich, as all indications show, “ she will bemore andmore called in the

future administration of criminal law.

” 1

There has been an undoubted failure in the primitive attempt, on thepart ofthemedical profession, to harmonize the legal question ofcriminalresponsibilitywith ascertainedmedical facts ; and this failure should, and

doubtless will, direct attention in the future to the possibility ofreversingthe proposition, andmaking medicalfacts the stepping- stones to criminalrespmmbility. Itwill be easily apparent that this is the chiefend aimed at

in this postscript ofmy recent sexual study . The lawofretaliation is barbarous at the best but tomake it a part ofmedical therapeutics, as it hasalways been of social legislation, to the extent that even as late as the

seventeenth century , corpseswere publicly triedandexecuted, is to stultifyhuman intelligence ;and justify the v igorwithwhichTarde, andother thinking physicians, have attacked this blind relic ofprimitive barbarism. At

the InternationalCongress ofForensicMedicine, Paris, 1889, itwas enactedthat to guarantee the interests ofsociety, andofthe accused, in allmedicolegal investigations , at least two experts should be employed; these to beappod by the judge and it is safe to predict that the adoption of this“reasonable reform,

”as Ellis well calls it (“The Criminal,” p. shall

become a part ofall future criminal procedure.

Ifcommon sense didnot point to the propriety ofassigning to each indiv idual in society the conduct ofthosematterswhich pertain to his specialvocation, or trade ,which he is supposedbest to understand, a fewinstanceswillsuffice todemonstrate its advisability . Suppose a consumptive, staggering on the verge ofdeath, shouldbe brought into courton a charge ofrape.

Who knows, save the physician, the pathological sexual hyperesthesiawhich this disease so strangely induces, or the extent towhich the brain hassufl

'

ered by tubercular infiltration? Surely not the judge ; and still less thejury (see ante, p. Or suppose a girl, religiously wrought, commit asexual ofience, as is not uncommon ; do the law—books teach, or does theexperience of the laity suggest, those subtle psychological processes bywhich religious exaltation passes into sexual exaltation, the nun becoming aprostitute, andthe pure-mindedmaidenmasturbating herselfwith a crucifix

Austin Flint,preddential address on“The Coming Rble oftheMedicalProfession

in the ScientificTreatment ofCrimes andCriminals , NewYork StateMed. Association.

QuotedfromH. Ellis , date not given .

Although I have not yet been privileged to see it, Imy hope that the newFederalCriminal Code, authorized in April, 1906 , by the House Committee on Rev ision of

Laws ,may contain some prov isions, very urgently needed, on this andothermatters.26

402 Human Sexuatto sanctify the act? (see Savage, Insanity , 1886 , Archiv. dc Neurologie,

Should a great genius (Michelangelo) , lifted by the idealismof

Dr.Mary Walker,”OscarWilde, “Jack the Ripper,” and themanwho

steals your pocket- book, be accorded a treatment, and punishment, by thecanons ofjustice, differing in degree only, but not in kind?In anomalies oforganic central constitution, ofneuropathic tempera

ment, or ofpredisposition, such, for instance, as those ofradical sexual in

version orperversion, there are considerations involving the point ofcriminalresponsibilitywhich, so far fromentering into the equipment ofthe ordinarybusy jurist ,will sometimes baffle even the profoundest knowledge and ex

perience ofthe professed psychologist.

Whenwe invade the domain ofinstinctive beginnings, in sexual aswellas other human propensities,we find ourselves on toomisty and uncertain

ground for the dogrnatismoflaw. Onlywhenwe recognize that the average criminal is a person more or less congenitally abnormal, insensible tothose forms ofstimuliwhich ordinarilymove the preponderantmass ofsociety , and unduly susceptible to his own, shallwe arrive at rational conceptsas to his care and treatment. For, although Lombroso, Letourneau ,Garofalo andothers spentmuch time and thought in formulating a

“criminal

type,” andwhile nomanwho sympathizes with the arduous , patient, andfrequently thankless labors ofthe anthropologist, least ofall the presentwriter, cares to undervalue those labors, itmust stillbe borne inmindthatthere are probably as many criminal types as there are indiv iduals in

society ; andthat everyman is , undercertain circumstances , a potentialcriminal. It iswell known that the greatest crimes are committed by thosewho do not conformto the ao- called animal type ; and that many of the

latter type confine themselves almost exclusively to the perpetration of

onlyminor ofiences. Dallymaintained that the criminal and the lunaticare identical; both equally in esponsibk , and both demanding a similartreatment.

‘ Prosper Lucas showedhowdeeply rooted in the human organ

ismare themorbidtendencies to v ice and crime ; andMorel confirmed theprior conclusions ofLélut andVoisin as to the average criminal’s defects ofcerebralorganization ; but itwas Despinewho found the right path,whenhe invaded the domain ofpsychology in quest ofcriminal beginnings .

‘ In

occupying himselfwith the insanity ofthe sane”(the moralmadness of

social delinquents) , while perpetrating a paradox, since madness, being1 H. Ellis ,

“The Criminal,” p. 35.

“Traite philosophique de l’hérédité, 1847.

“Des Dégénéréscences , 1857.

“Psychologie Naturelle, 1868.

404

as a nation ofsexual ofi'

enders. So in France and Italy , easily foremostin the elucidation ofabstract criminal problems, sins against society , particularly sexual sins , have grown to monumental proportions . Whatthen? Are our legalmethods radicallywrong , in dealingwith this, aswithother forms ofcriminal delinquency? Many profound thinkers believe so;Rylands, one ofthemost noted legalists ofEngland, aswell as others, pronouncing our present punitive systemof keeping persons in prison cells

for a longer or shorter period oftime, society meanwhile keeping watch,with a bland smile ,while criminals are thusmanufactured in the very establishments designed to eradicate them,

”as one ofthemost colossalfailures of

history.

‘

To fight an enemy with success, it is necessary to knowhimbeforehand. Nowthis enemy, the criminal, the jurists do not know. In order

to knowhim, onemust have studiedhimfor a long time. It is to thosewhohave thus studied, that the future will reserve themission of harmonizingpenal sciencewith the supreme standardofsocialnecessity .

”(Garofalo)

Homogeneity between the ev il and its remedyFewCriminals ought to be fundamental in the treatment ofcrime.Mentally Sound Dumesnil has said that, as the criminal is amoral

(Ferri adds physical) patient,more or less curable,wemust apply to himthe great art ofmedicine. Pathological ills require pathological remedies ; and, ifthemaximofZwinglius be true, that original sin isnot sin but disease — originale peccatumnon est peccatumsedmorbum— a

maximwhich recentdevelopments along pwchological linesmore andmoreconfirm, possiblywemay live to see the daywhen the application ofcorrec

tionalmethods—the present hypothetical basis ofreformative penologyshall include an enlightened recognition ofman’s triple nature—mental,moraland physical; andthe conv iction that to inflict injury upon the secondand third components ofhis being , for a fault ofthe first, is to exceed theinherent prerogative of society, to stultifymoral perception, and to return

1 Crime: Its Causes andRemedy ," L. Gordon Rylands , London , 1889 .

The correctional school ofcriminal jurisprudence, first brought into prominence byRoeder, flourishing in Germany , less in Italy and slightly more in Spm

‘

rr, had only a

short existence as an independent school, being easily confuted in its teachings by the

close sequence ofinexorable facts. (Vid. Ferri,“Criminal Sociology ,” p.

The distinction between sin and crime is rather ofmodat than essence. One

concerns the individual, the other, society. When Adamdisobeyed, he sinned againstGod. When Cain slewAbel, he committed a crime against commrmal right. One

concerns ethics, the other concerns law. One is rudimentary to the individual, theother, complex , and relates to society ; so that every criminal act is at once a sin

against the private and the public conscience. Therefore the Quotation is apposite,since all crimes are ofnecessity sins.


to the barbarous les talionis ofthe feudal ages,which punished the servantfor the fault ofhismaster.

In this connection, the psychologicalone, a vastfieldofinteresting thoughtopens to themental v iew. But in the present chapter,written somewhathastily , and to satisfymere ly an after- thought ofthe publishers,while thebody oftheworkwas in press, space compelsme to be brief, and to confinemyself to the barest generalizations . The one thought which it is myaimto urge, throughout, is the relation ofpsychology to sexual crime.

For, after all, no arbitrary line ofdistinction can be drawn between sexual

and non- sexual offences, so far as they re late to the law. Common principles apply to both ; the one great point being, that as crime is a psychological and pathological, and not a physical norwhollymoralmanifestation,the ethics ofsociety demand that it be re legated to alienistic, rather than

to strictly legal, jurisdiction. Justice is anterior to law; andthe essence ofright, being an innate concept ofthe human soul, remains always unchangeable. It ismy firmconviction, based on some degree ofboth experience andthought, and supportedbymany distinguishedcriminologists , that in a vast

majority of concrete crimes— both sexual and non- sexual— there will befoundmore or less involvement ofthe cerebral centers; and that a careful

study ofcriminals will determine amarked frequency in the re lations of

their social delinquencies with certain forms of contracted or congenital

disease, as well as abnormal mental conditions of a pathological typedemonstrating the paramount necessity , in any attempt to dealwith such

cases, in conformitywith the established principles ofjustice, ofthe closestpossible coéperation between the sister sciences, LawandMedicine ; for, asDr. Paul Garnier well says, the special knowledge necessary for the inter

pretation ofpathologicalandpsychological facts, however brilliant and judicious a juristmay be, is entirely beyond the limits ofhis domain.

1 “An examination ofthe brains ofcriminals ,whilst it reveals in theman inferiorityofformandhistological type, gives , in a greatmajority ofcases , indications ofdisease

whichwere frequently undetected in their lifetime.— Enrico Ferri, Professor ofCrimi

nalLaw,Deputy to the Italian Parliament.M. Dally ,who, for upwards oftwenty years past, has devoted himself,with exceptional ability, to problems offorensical law, says ,without hesitancy, that “all the criminalswho have been subjected to autopsy (after execution) gave evidence of cerebral

injury.

”(ProceedingsMedico- Psychological Society ofParis ,

A notable example of the one-sided character of treatment which the criminalcommonly receives is furnished in the results of the Lombroso school of criminologists . In the work ofColaianni, for instance, three hundred and ninety

-four pagesare given to cranialmeasurements , physiognomy , atavismand anthropological classification , generally ; and only air: to the cri ticismofpsychological types. (Vid.

“So

cialismandCriminal Sociology ,

"Dr. Napol. Colaianni, Catania ,

406 Human Sexuality.

The contest oflawwith sexual crime is one ofthemost unequal imaginable . In the first place , a large proportion of such

Obstacles to delinquencies are wholly unprovided for in our

Prosecution for statute books ; and, secondly , those which are

Sexual Ofiences covered by the common laware so secret in their

nature , and perpetration, as to practically precludethe possibility ofproof. The social scandal, also,which the trial of suchcases necessarily involves , the newspaper publicity incident thereto, andthe well recognized tendency of vicious contagion to spread in a community fromthe latter cause alone, all act as deterrents to public prosecution , and as sources of immunity to the offender. Indeed, the dis

gusting details common to such inquisitions are so distasteful to a high

minded judiciary as to not infrequently prompt the peremptory , and

sometimes not altogether just, disposition, on generalprinciples,” ofcases

possibly involving grave pathological conditions, rather than that publicdecency should be offended by details which are usually both shockinglyimmoral and esthetically loathsome.

Only the medical expert in such contingencies is apt to occupy therightful position ; recognizing the re lation between such abnormalmanifestations and the physical andmentalmaladies (neuroses and psychoses)which are largely the product of our present social conditions ; and in

which, for reasons already sufficiently dwelt upon, the sexual instinct seemsto be preeminently involved.

But these deductions apply only to those minoroffences against chastity coming most frequently before our courts. When somemonstrous caseofsadisticcruelty , like that of the Indian half-breed, Bruce,

l

becomes the subject of legal inquisition, the psychopathic facts are laid

bare , and the public is shocked at the revelation ofa truthwell laiddownin one ofthe letters ofFrederick the Great to Voltaire: Touthomine a une

1 Following are some ofthe acts ofcruelty ofwhich Brucewas convictedat Easton,

Pa. , Feb. 16 , 1906 ; and forwhich hewas sentenced to fourteen years in the Easton

Penitentiary“Burning hiswifewith a smoothing- iron ; throwing her upon the floor;

kicking and striking her; pounding her head against thewall; burning herfeet andlegswith a hot poker; throwing her down and sitting upon her; tearing offher shoes , and

beating herwith the heelofa shoe, filledwith protruding nails ; cutting her breastswitha pocket knife; cutting her scalp ; dragging her skirts fromher; tearing 03 her nightrobe and burning her flesh,while he laughedwith fiendish glee.

” The sexual ele

ment involved in these v icious and dev ilish acts is sufficiently intimated in the statement of the police report, that the prisoner’s confession of the principal counts inthe indictment obviated the necessity ofmaking public the stillmorehideous details ofhis

408 Human Sexuatnormal growth ofpopular intelligence, sexual, as well as other forms of

crime dependent on pathological and psychopathic causes, are finding a

more rational and intelligent treatment.In

'mjuries resulting frombothmasochismand sadism, for quite obviousreasons, recourse is seldomhad to the courts. Both parties being willingparticipants, both are equally concerned, in case of physical injury , in thepreservation of secrecy . Thus, Blumrfider tells of a man who suffered

several severe wounds of the pectoral muscles, inflicted by a sadistic

woman in the frenzy of her lustful feeling , during intercourse ; but the

v ictim, rather enjoying than resenting these evidences ofamorous favor,had, ofcourse, no thought ofbecoming her prosecutor.

The samewriter (Friedreich’sMagazin far SedenLust-murder kunde, 1830, n , 5) directs attention, specifically , and

at some length, to the psychological relation be

tween lust andmurder; tracing that relation fromthe Hindu myths of

Siv a and Durga (Death andLust) , and showing , sufliciently clearly, that

no presentment of such homicidal acts can be legally ormorally correct

which does not give trueweight to the sexual element involved, and thewillingness ofboth parties to inflict and incur the injurieswhich such acts

so frequently entail.

As both love and anger are intense forms ofsthenic emotion, correlatedin their nature andmanifestations , both seek their

Love and Anger object, or purpose,with equal intensity ; andfor the

as lawto discriminate between them, in adjudgingMotives ofCrime criminal intent, and liability , is qu ite frequently a

matter involving very clear physiological and psychical perception. Thus , while lust frequently impels to crime, it can be

easily shown that crime sometimes impels to lust. Schultz records a re

markable case ofaman , aged twenty - eight, whowas totally incapable ofintercoursewith hiswife until he hadworked himselfinto a fitofartificialor natural anger; and there are states of supreme psychical exaltation,the religious one, for instance, where there seems to be an involvementof the entire psycho-motor sphere , andwhere none but the expert physician is capable of determining the precise degree of crime, or ofdiseme,involved.

The lawquite properly recognizes anger as a compatible concomitant ofcrime ; and love is , ofcourse, equally so, in so far as crime consists in theimpulse toward furibund destructiveness ; equally,with its congener, amenable to punishment, ifthe physician cannot, in justice, throwaround the

“Ueber Irresein , Leipzig , 1836 , p. 51 .

WienerMed. Wochenschrifl, No. 49 , 1869 .


unfortunate being the shield ofdisease, and separate his , or her, possiblehyperbulia oflust, and the desire to exercise themost intense effect upon theobject ofsexual passion, fromthe equally unconscious , or involuntary , cxcitation ofinnervation, which, in anger, sometimesmanifests itselfin blindviolence. Either condition, however, is entirely apart fromthat premeditated crime,which, in the process ofcommission,may growinto the semblance ofone or both ofthe last named types. But it is just here that theability to distinguish, accurately , between those terminal forms of sexual

aberrationwhich reach courts oflaw, instead ofthe sanitarium, or asylum,becomes of vital importance to the conscientious jurist.

The history of sexual crime is of secondary imBases of portance comparedwith the philosophywhich enables

Sexual Crime us to define the interrelations ofabstract sexual criminality with those peculiar anthropological phases of

sexual characterwhich,while abnormal, are not necessarily illicit. There

are somemen, for instance, in whomthe sex-element occupies so large a

share oflife that they can hardly be judged by the standardswhich applyto others , inwhomthe same element is small, or almost entire ly absent;whatwould be a sexual crime in one community , custommay render

quite non-criminal in another; and hence arise the difficulty , and not

infrequently the injustice, of enforcing arbitrary legal penalties as theyapply to sexual offences en bloc.

There is probably no circumstance in connection

with the life ofthe average sexual criminalmore impressive than the absolute ignorance, among bothmen andwomen, ofthe elemental conditions ofboth

social and individual life. In cases ofbetrayal, infidelity, divorce, abortion,illegitimatemotherhood, and the various other types ofsexual perversity,particularly among themore juvenile ofienders, itwill be found, I think,thatmost ifnot allofthemwouldhave been avoided ifthe subjects hadbeeninstructed in even themost rudimentary principles of right liv ing. Ifboys,reaching out towardmanhood,were kept in constant touch andcompanionship with their fathers, and growing girls with theirmothers, and neither

permitted to find out for themselves, in an irregular and haphazardmanner, those thingswithwhich theymust ultimately become, unfortunately ,acquainted, the ranks of social offenders, in our large cities , would bespeedily depleted and social purity enhanced.

To insure a clean and healthy boyhood, the physical, rather than thesociological, or even themoral, side ofthe question shouldbe dwelt upon. If

the pitiable extent ofthe impairment ofmental and bodily faculties , dueto illicit sexual indulgence, were broughtmore largely within themental

410 Human Sexuathorizon ofyouth, instead ofbeing kept in the background, as it is, I amradically convinced that the ev ilwouldbe greatly lessened. It at least promises better than the present systemofchas ing immoralwomen frompillarto post, and endeavoring to restrain, by legal enactments, a social habit

which is about as amenable to restraint as are the tides ofthe ocean. Physi

cal distress, disease, broken homes , blighted lives, are farmore compellingobject- lessons than are anymere ideals ofsocial anddomestic purity ; andto these the physician,whose business it is , should set his facewith a clear

mentalandmoral v ision.

The ao-called“white slave traflic is amyth. Nowoman need remain

an hour in a house ofprostitution, after she hasmade up hermindtoquit it;and ofthe prostitutes in the United States, not five per cent., it is

safe to say, are in the business by force ofcircumstances or againsttheirwills .

Outside the realmofpathology there is absolute free-will for everymanandwoman. I amaware that Lombroso advances thedoctrine that the horncriminal can be, for the greater part, nothing else; but the fact that he fre

quently does become something else, sufficiently disposes ofthe statement.

When awoman sells her body, she does it voluntarily; andwhen aman sells

his soul he does it equally voluntarily . There is no question ofcompulsion,so long as the normalwill power remains intact ; but thatmen andwomencontinue to do these things, in the face ofthemoral and physical sufferingboth acts obviously entail, is presumptive proofthat in a vastmajority of

cases themoralwill power is not intact and that the criminal is amentally diseased person. So that, while society today, like theMosaic Code,would stone the adulteress and fornicator, let us be exceedingly careful

about casting the first stone.

The constitutional criminal is a tainted indiv idualMental Status who, possibly , has the same relation to crime as the

of the epileptic to convulsions— he can’t help it.

l The legiti

Criminal mate reason of any abnormal act is abnormality of

brain ; andthis is proven by the fact that human crimeis as manifold in itsmanifestations as is the human brain in its structuralpeculiarities . Identically the same changes are observed in the criminalbrain as in that ofinsanity . In the latter, as in that species ofaberrationmanifested in sexual perversity, the character ofchange in the brain struc

turewill predetermine the character ofthe indiv idual— lunatic or criminal.There can be no fixed type ofcriminality anymore than there can be ofiasanity. But one thing is always fixed and certain— the correlation of

physical causes with mental andmoral symptoms . As pathology is physiDr.M. P . Jacobi, Proceedings ZIst Ann. Cong . Nat. Prison Ass Baltimore,

me , 1892.

41 2 Human Sexuatweakly constituted individual, than upon the strong man, in whomit hasoccurred as a traumatic or pathological sequence.

In those spinal neuroseswhich affect the erection- center, reflexly, fromperipheral sensory irritation, as in gonorrhea or directly , fromorganic

irritation ofthe brain ; or fromspinal disease ; or frominvolvement oftheerection- center itself, as in the case ofcantharides poisoning ; the symptoms are, ofcourse , peculiar to each case, andoughttooffer little diagnosticdifficulty to the competent physician. But it need hardly he remarkedthat they are all entirely beyond the scope oflegal training , or knowledge; and,evenwith the experienced physician , it requires unusual powers ofanalysis ,and physiological knowledge, to discriminate between, say , incipient paralyaia ofthe central nerve- tracts, and the milder formof impotence, or,more properly , diminished excitability of the sexual-center, due to over

stimulation, as in habitualmasturbation, or the excessive and prolongeduse of alcohol, bromides or other drugs.

There are special forms oflessened excitability , due to entirely natural

causes, in which the sexual- center responds only to

Psychic Inhibition certain kinds of stimuli. These failures are chiefly

psychic; as when a man with an abnormally smallpenis refuses to respond readily to a largewoman,with a correspondinglylarge vulva ; and, vice versa, the largewoman fails equally to respond to

the smallman. A large, healthyman will not be apt to feel desire for a

child; a virtuousman for a loosewoman ; nor themale libertine respondhalfso readily to his virtuouswife as to themore gross and libidinous solicitations of the prostitute . And these indices of sexual crime, thoughslight, should never be lost sight ofby the jurist. They are instances of

functional incapacity, however, resu lting simply fromcerebral inhibition;

and do not belong rightfully to the class ofneuroseswhich enter into thedomain offorensicmedicine. Commonly , they rather shownormal clearness ofmind as to cause and effect and should be relegated to that

category ofminor sexual defects due either to irritable weakness oftheerection- center, or reaction fromexcessive psychical excitement, as in thosecases of spinal neurasthenia inwhich ejaculation takes place, ante portam;or the converse conditions ofaspermia, and sexual anesthesia, inwhich theintensity ofthe pleasurable feeling depends on the degree of psychicalexcitement accompanying the act.

In paradoxis— sexual excitement not due to theFour normal physiological processes of tumescence in

Important Sexual anesthesia— entire absence ofsexual feelings ; in hy

Phenomena peresthesia— abnormally heightened sexual impress

ibility; and in paresthesia— either perv ersion or ia


verswn of the sexual impulse ; we have a quartette ofanomalieswhich,falling exclusively within the realmofpsychopathology , always involvingmore or less mental disturbance, and leading quite frequently to the commission ofovert, andeven criminalacts, are ofexceedingly great importancefromamedico- legal standpoint. They are all, however,more or less fullyconsidered in the text ; and the various phases of their manifestationshould be carefully studied by the jurist ; particularlywhere sexual lust isincreased, andbreaks through the barriers of normal restraint, during the

filiam(emulatione motus necaret et adspectu pectoris sciosi paella:moribundardelectaretur; as Krafit-Ebing so well demonstrates in his Text

Book ofLegal Psychopathology ,” sec . ed. , p. 161.

And again, wheremajor crimes are committed inActs Indicating the accomplishment, or pursuit, ofminor sexual purMental Disease poses, the question ofmental disease very naturally

arises. Thus Lombroso (Archiv .de Psychiatria, rv ,

has tabulated a number ofcases,with bad heredity , presenting this feature. Marc also records the case of a girl of eight years , of apparentlysound heredity , who, masturbating fromher fourth year, was seeminglydevoid ofall childlike ormoral feelings ; pursu ing her vicious course, and

gratifying her sexual propensities,with an utter disregard ofeverymoral,social orfilial restraint. She had even thought of killing her parents , in

order to become her own mistress, and free to prosecute her constant

liaisonswithmen.

1

In such cases,where the impulse to crime arises in the child as a result

ofpurely cerebral processes, andwithout peripheral stimulation, dementiais indicated, either with or without precedent degenerative neuroses, or

psychoses. So,when premature or perverse sexual desires aremanifestedin connectionwith other forms ofv ice— theft, leasing , or practices ofrevolting cruelty

— the same organic psychopathia may be suspected. Zambaco’s case 1882, r, will illustrate this condition. A

girl, at the age ofseven years, practised lewdnesswith boys, stolewhenever she could, seduced her four-

year- old sister intomasturbation, and, at

the age often , was given up to the most revolting vices. Even ferrumcandena ad clitoridern had no effect in overcoming her sexual tendency ,and she evenmasturbatedwith the cassock ofthe pri est,while hewas exherting her to reformation.

a

“Die Geisteskrankheiten , etc von Ideler, r, 66 .

The oldpopular saying ofwomen , in reference to this kindofgirl, that“she ought

to have her tail burnedwith a hot poker, is here shown to be of entirely scientific

Krafl'

t-Ebing , loc. cit. , p. 38, quoted.

14 Human SexualityBut itmust be carefully borne in mind that sex

Early Sex impulses , either in very early or very late life,mayManifestations be entirely normal; the point to be consideredbeing,Not Necessarily whether or not such manifestations follownatural

Abnormal or unnatural lines ; andwhether they present featuresof senile dementia in the late , or paradoxia in the

early , instances . The cases of sexualmanifestations in estreme old age,

however, are so comparatively rare as , in themselves, to excite suspicionof a pathological cause. Senectus non quidern annis sed virflms magiswstimatur, as Zittman very well remarks ; and Oesterlen further demonstrates the correctness ofthe position by his case ofaman, ofeighty- three

years, who underwent three years’ imprisonment at Wurtemberg for a

certain sexualmisdemeanor.

‘ Dr. C. G. Chaddock, ofSt. Louis , also te

cites the pathetic case ofa very infirmman, ofsixty years,who, underfavoring circumstances , made an unsuccessful sexual assault upon a girl of

eighteen. At his trial hemade full confession, andexplainedhis act as dueto ordinary sinfulness . Hewas the father ofa family , livingwith hiswife,and, up to that time, sexually blameless. Hewas sentenced tofive years athard labor, although totally incapable ofeven the lightestwork; and conver

sationwith him, while in jail, revealed to Dr. Chaddock the terrible fact

that hewaswell advanced in senile dementia .

’

This is but one ofa number ofsuch instances oflegal injusticewhichmight be cited; but, that even one such enormity may be committed, inthis enlightened age, ought to furnish grave food for reflection on the partofboth physicians and jurists.

In considering apparently lawless manifestationsSexual Crimes oflibido sexualis in the aged anddecrepit, attention

of the should be dire cted rather to the conditions , and cir

Aged and Decrepit cumstances , attending the act than to the act itself.

In senile dementia the diminution ofthemoral sensewill be found to bear an almost certain ratio to the diminution of sexual

power; and the publicity , or secrecy , ofthe act, or the attempt, is always avaluable guide in determining the degree ofcrime or ofdisease present.In beginning dementia, or in monomania, the intellectual processes maybe sufficiently intact to plan secrecy , or prov ide avenues ofescape ; butwhen the degenerative neurosis is fully established, all prudentialmotivesare lost sight of and the act is committedwith themost utter shamelessness and abandon. Thus, a gentlemanwhomI knew, sufiering fromdementiawith an exhibitionist impulse, had to be confined in an asylumbyMaschke , “Handbook , m, 18.

Dr. Chaddock is the American translator of“Psychopathia Sexualis ;” the above

appearing as a note in the Philadelphia (1904) edition ofthat valuablework.

16 Human Sexualityand emission are necessary for the conviction ofone chargedwith rape(Hale, “ Institutes,” 111 , 59 , 60) Every physician knows that rapes are

quite frequently committed by persons to whomemission is a congenital

impossibility. Ifthe learned jurist simply made “amistake,” as is now

generally conceded, he is amply excused, in the presentwriter’s judgment,by the utterly chaotic condition of legal phraseology , in reference to

sexual crimes, presented then, as now, by our statutebooks. With thisit ismy purpose to dealmore fully later.

Probably themost prolific cause ofsexual hyper

Sexual Acts of esthesia, and the overt sexual acts ofwhich it is soAlcoholic productive, 1s chronic alcoholism. Almost all the

Drunkards cases contributed by Lentz,2 Trilat,Magnan,‘ Em

minghaus ,‘s and Krafit- Ebing ,‘ to the records ofsex

ual psychopathology , have this , either as a primary or secondary condi

tion. The overt sexual acts resulting fromdistinct cerebral neuroses ,

such as dementia, senilis and paralytica , are necessarily as rare as the

lesions themselves ; but the priapism, and éréthisme general, which are

induced by prolonged stimulation of the sexual- center, are as common provocatives of sexual crime as drinking itselfis common as a sus

tom. Fortunately, however, the lawis so definitely framed, with regard

to drunkenness, as a defence in criminal prosecutions , as to require littlecomment here. It has been repeatedly ruled to be an entirely compatibleconcomitant ofcriminal intent in all cases , butmore especially in thomofa

sexual nature , so that it may be properly dismissed fromany extended

medico- legal consideration in the present connection.

Probably themost important subjectwhich I amFurther called on to notice in this briefsummary , is sadism

Examination of the association ofsexual lustwith active cruelty, and

Sadistic Acts the infliction of bodily sufferi ng upon the victim.

This category does not include, ofcourse, those per

sons oi highly excitable sexual temperament, in whomthere is, normally,a tendency to very furibund expressions of passion ; such as biting,

scratching , pinching andbru ising the partners oftheir intercourse ; yet allwithin strictly physiological lines . I allude to that deeper paresthesia of

sexual feeling where the two involved factors— cruelty and lust— are in a

1 Itmust be admitted, however, in strict justice to the learned juri st, that legalopinion has acquitted himofdeliberate intent in the statement, viewing it in the lightofa simple mistake. Vid. Eng . and Am. Encyclop . ofLaw, Art. “Rape.

” Comp ,

also, Hale, Anon. , 12 Coke 37 ; andrHale’s C. P. 628 .

Bull. de la soc. demed. legale de Belgique, 21 .

“Folio lucide.

Annal. medico-psychol., 1885. Psychopathologie.

“Psychopathia Sexualis and Text- Book ofLegal Psychopathology .

The Sexual Criminal 41 7

measure interdependent, the lustful emotion awakening the impulse tocruelty , and the exercise ofcruelty heightening and intensifying the sexual

Thus, in the case oftheman, Brady , awaiter, arrestedin St. Louis , Feb.

9 , 1906 , for stabbing women with a penknife whilepassing themin the streets, a somewhat remarkablesadistic conditionwas developed at the examination ;inwhich sexualpleasure resultedfromthe crueltyalone,

without any attempt at sexual contact. I quote fromthe records ofthe

police examination“ I just took that little knife, and stuck it into them,

” he said, in a high,

efleminate voice, andwith no showofemotion or excitement. I stabbed

most ofthemin the hip as theywere passing ; butwhen theywere comingtowardme, I stabbed themin front. When I stabbed these women itmademe feel good. I didn’t pick out pretty women, particularly . Mostofthe time I didn’t look at their faces at all. It didn

’tmake any difl

'

erence

so long as theywerewomen.

”

Despite the rigid questioning ofChiefDesmond, and Circuit AttorneySager, Bradywould not, or couldnot, give any lucid or logical explanation

ofhis action in attacking thewomenwith a knife.

“ 1 amnot a heavy drinker,” he went on,

“but onMonday night

(Jan. 22, 1906)“I had dmnk a gooddeal ofbeer,

1andwas suddenly seized

with a desire to stabwomen. I did notwant to kill them; just to stab

themslightly . Something withinme just droveme to it. I couldn’t help it.

I always held the knife so”(putting his thumb over the blade) “ so it

couldn’t go in too deep.

”

While there is no doubt of the sadistic impulse in the case, there is anapparent, or,more probably , pretended lack ofsexual lust ; this weaknessofthe psychosexual element, possibly , accounting for the expresseddesireto

“ just stab thema little ;” it being quite the reverse in the true hyper

bulia ofsadism, which prompts the individual to exert the most intenseefiect possible upon the person, or thing , evoking the impulse. As love and

anger are not only themost intense but themost active emotions ofthe

mind, it is equally easy for both to pass into the sphere offuribunddestructiveness ; andwhether sadismbe, as hinted in the text, an atav istic return

to the primitive force- principle of courtship, or a teratological and

pathological intensification of phenomena conditioned by normal rudi

Comp. previous paragraph on the SexualActs ofAlcoholicDmnkards.

It is interesting to note, as showing a large congenital element in all these per

versions , that Brady’s mother had, long previously , separated fromher husband on

account ofthe latter's sexual irregularities.

27

418 Human Sexuatmentary sex- life, it remains, so far as its legal aspects are concerned, one

to be dealtwith precisely as are similar crimes ofa non-sexualnature.

Andthe comctness ofthis positionwillbe readily apparent to the jurist.The fact that the vita sexualis only is involved, either pathologically or peychically , and that the abnormal instinct to v iolence and crueltymay co

de Sade , himself— robs the perversion at once ofthose claims to legal indulgence which belong , ofright, to the allied psychopathic conditions in

Froma forensic standpoint, therefore, sadismisonly interesting as furnishing a key to certain overt

actswhich— aswith those oftheman, Brady—mightotherwise prove extremely puzzling to the jun

'

st.

impulse to inflict pain upon one ofthe opposite sex, that impulse being at thesame timemociatedwith sexual thoughts andfeelings, furnishes no plea forlegal clemency , or pity , since every species ofcrime is more or less the

product ofjust such impulses ; unpremeditatedhomicide, itself, being but theoutgrowth ofthe psychomotorexaltation ofanger, as sadismis ofthe psychomotor exaltation oflust.

Where sadism, however, is potentiated as cruelty alone, or associated

Exception anthropophagy— eating the flesh of the victim, fan

to the

Preceding Rule intestines, strange associations of paresthesia and

hyperesthesia sexualis sometimes occurring — it is

proper andrational to suspect one or otherformofmentaldisease; although

in the case ofMenesclou (Krafit- Ebing, loc. cit. , p. characterized bysome ofthemonstrous anomalies alludedto, although post-mortemexamination revealedmorbid changes in the cerebral frontal lobes, and the secondtemporal and occipital convolutions, the report ofBrouardel, Laségue andMotet,who examined himas to hismental condition,was aflirmative, andthemanwas executed.Masochism, the sexual complement of the preceding perversion, on thecontrary , presents in almost every case pronounced symptoms ofmentalincompetency on the part of the subject. The masochist, indeed, lives ,

V id. Lombroso, Goldtdammer’s Archiv.;Mantegazza.

“Fisiologia del piacere,fifth cd. , pp. 394- 5 ; andLombroso, “Uomo delinquents ,” p. 201, for instances ofthese

monstrous perversions ; the secondnamed author describing the horrible sexual indul

gence ofcertain degenerateChinese,who committed bestialitywith geeseand chickens,

420 Human Sexuattional decency is yet too grave, the consequences too vast and evil, for thepractice to lightly evade the cognizance ofthe law.

Whether as an absolute psychical transmutatio sexus , as in that ofthe

Scythians, orthe anandreis oftheCaucasus (V id.Hippocrates, lac. cit. , p. 611 ;

and Klaproth, “Reise in den Kaukasus ,” Berl., 1812, v . whether inthe almost universal pederasty ofthe early Romans, practised in part forsanitary reasons , or the similarly v icious habits of our own day, homosexuality, bothmale and female— pederasty and lesbianism— is a v ice of

which the criminal lawofevery enlightened community takes rightful cognizance.

Under themeaningless and confusing captions ofsodomy, buggery , andthe infamous crime against nature ,

”itwill be found, however, that there

is an utter lack ofdiscrimination, in legaltext- books ,between cases ofgenu

inely inverted instinct and the pederasty which is practised frompurelyvicious impulses . And this is not surprising. Difierentiation of sexual

anomalies , even inmedicine, is only a very recentmatter; while in law,the same chaos which existed a hundred years ago seems yet to pervadethe whole realmofsexual psychopathology ; an attempt to clarifywhich,later on, is themain purpose ofthe present chapter.

The writer was asked only recently by a lawyerPrevalence of Are the cases ofthis character sufficiently numerthe Vice ous to justify any careful, discriminative, legal study

ofthem?Beyond the unquestionable fact that, if there were only one case, no

judgewouldbe justified in disposing ofitwithout adequate knowledge ofitsnature , and the degree ofcrime involved, the prevalence ofthis particularsexual anomaly inmodern society is such as towarrant its close study, not

only by the jurist but by the sociologist.Making no distinction between the acquired and congenital types, KarlH. Ulrichs states that, in the urban population ofGermany , there is oneperson ofcontrary sexual instinct in every two hundredmaturemen; makingone to about every eight hundred ofthe general population ; the percentageamong theMagyars and South Slavs being even greater. Kritische

Pfeile,” p. I amaware that somewriters regard these statistics as un

trustworthy (V id. Krafit-Ebing , loc. cit. p. but, fromthe statementofone ofthe latterwriter’s own correspondents , that in his native town

inhabitants) he personally knewfourteen cases , togetherwith thedeclaration ofM01] that, in Berlin , he hadhimself“known 700homosexualpersons , and heard of350 others

”(H. Ellis, lee. cit. , II , there seems

little ground to question the first author’s accuracy; at least as to

Germany.

The Sexual Criminal 42:

As to this country , I have found the estimation ofthe percentage of

homosexual persons an exceedingly involved and difficult proceeding ;partly fromthe element of secrecy already noted, and partly fromthe factthat the invert himself, fromhis habit ofaccepting casual indications as

conclusive ofthe abnormality , is not always a reliable guide. Kieman,Lydston, Hammond and others, while tabulating a great number ofsuch

cases , do not, as far as I amaware, attempt to establish a percentage ; but,frommy own research, I aminclined to think that in England and the

United States, half of one per cent. would not be an unfair estimation ;while in France, strangely enough, the number is probably considerably less .

The reports of cases in the English and American Encyclopzedia of

Law, based on presumable homosexual instinct, are sufficiently numerousto, at least, indicate a very widespread prevalence of the abnormality inboth countries named; and there are fewsessions ofour criminal courts,in large cities especially,which do notfurnish one ormore cases ofinversion.

Along with these, there are undoubtedly numerous instances ofdelayed,

or partial, development, inwhich the perverse impulse remains in abeyance

for years , possibly a lifetime ; and is stirred into activ ity— ifat all— only

by some accidental cause, traumatic, neurotic or circumstantial; the socialreprobation attending its manifestation being always a strong factor in

promoting its suppression, as the free-masonry of the clique rs in insuring

its secrecy .

In primitive times the punishment inflicted upon this unfortunate

class of felons was burning, or burying, alive ;

showing the degree of horror in which such acts

were held; but later,when the statutory punishmentfor allfelonies becamedeathby hanging ,pederasty , the

se- calledsodomy, or, as common- lawwriters stillmore vaguely termed it, the

infamous crime against nature,” 1 was visitedwith the same punishment,

without benefit ofclergy .

”In this country the penalty is nowstatu

tory ; the ofience being regarded, not as a capital crime, but, as amisdemeanor, and the punishment fixed at given terms ofimprisonment, rangingfromone year to a lifetime. In the criminal statutes ofboth England and

the United States, pederasty and bestiality are indiscriminately treated

under the head of“sodomy ; the law, usually so clear andexplicit,

’being1 “Contra ordinationemCreatoris et natura: ordinemremhabuit venereamdic

tumque puerumcarnaliter cognovit. (Anon. , 12 Coke,Blackstone, “Commentaries ,” 216 .

Bacon’s definition ofthis great social rule ofconduct, howev er, as “the perfectionofhuman reason, difiers somewhat fromthat ofan Irish friend ofthewriter, whoremarked that lawwas like groundglass, “it lets in a little light, but the div il himselfcouldn’t see through it. For its status in Roman, French, Austrian, Russian.German, Spanish, andPortuguese laws , see ante pp. 302, 303.

42 2 Human Sexuatcuriously vague in this respect, and suggestingwhat I havemore than onceintimated in these pages, the necessity ofsomemore orderly and systematicclassification ofsuch ofiences, for the use ofboth physician and jurist.

It is easy to determine crime. Who shall deter

Contrary mine the criminal? What is he? The legal asmrmpAttitudes ofLawtion, up to a comparatively recent time ,was that heandMedicine is a normal person, who wilfully commits abnormal

acts . We knowthis to be untrue in, at least, half

ofthe instances. Is the lawalone capable offixing the limits ofguilt in thislast half, or of even drawing a line of demarcation between the twoAssuredly not. What then? We dare not predicate conviction on

the confession ofthe criminal; for the diseased innocents , it iswell knownto the psychopathologist, are always the first to confess their alleged

crimes. The criminal by instinct rarely confesses, unless to escape a

severer penalty . Normal methods of judgment cannot apply to the

abnormal; and every indiv idual may be said to be abnormal whoseemotional, ormental, characteristics are so divergent fromthe ordinaryas to produce intellectual defect. It is difficult, if not impomible,to discriminate between these two elements of society with absolutecorrectness . ButMedicine, farmore nearly than Law, is capable of so

discriminating ; fixing the point at which an abnormality reaches the

boundary- line ofdisease ; whether the physiological processes are changed

in kind or degree; and the character andextent ofthe punitive andreformative remedies that shouldbe applied to each. These generalizations applyto sexual, as to other forms ofsocial crime. The conception ofpunishment,as Steinmetz haswellpointedout, belonging to a primitive group ofanimisticideas— lee talionis , etc .

— is especially faulty as it applies to sexual ofienders.It outrages, as a rule, every principle ofscientific criminology ; places thevictimonly in amore advanced school ofsexual perversion ; and fixes inhismind, as it doeswith every other species ofcrime, the idea that, insteadofany possible purpose ofreformation being involved in the punishment,itmeans wholly and simply squaring his accoun with society , accord

ing to popular vote— law, and going backwith a blank book to begin again.

Almost the whole machinery ofour courts— statutebooks, witnesses,precedents, rulings

— is brought into play to establish the responsibility”or irresponsibility of the prisoner; an obv iously unimportant point;since, in any correct systemof social jurisprudence, the purpose should

be, not to punish, but to bring the ofiender into such a condition that he

shall no longer be injurious to society— amisocial. Itmatters notwhether

his crime he the result of“atav ism,

” “epilepsy ,” “moral insanity ,” “de

generacy,” “

inborn obtusity”(Stumpfsinn) , “moral cretinism, or any

424 Human Sexuatquired. This knowledgewill necessarily include the heredity , antecedents,etc . , of the accused, with a v iewto prov ing , or disproving, the exist

ence of a neuropathic or psychopathic condition. There are circumstances , oi course,where but little knowledge is necessary . A sexual crimecommitted by a well- known epileptic , imbecile, or other mentally un

balancedperson,dispenseswith the necessity formedicalproof, butev idenceofthe prev ious existence ofsome anomaly ofthe vita sexualis ,without anyobv ious impairment ofthe mental faculties , necessitates careful exammation to determine possible psychical degeneration. Acquired perversities,to be pathological, or entitled to judicial clemency ,must be shown to bebasedon a neuropathic, or psychopathic condition ; many ofthemost aggravated forms ofsuch delinquencies being simply vices , grafted upon a sus

ceptible and immoral stock. In no case does simple physical infirmity , ordisease, destroy legal responsibility; themindmustbeaffected; but themindisquite frequently aflectedthrough physicaldisease ; therefore the necessity forcare. A neurosis, local or general,will frequently simulate , in itsmanifestetiche, a pronounced psychical condition and pronounced psychosesalmost as frequently existwith little or no abnormalmanifestations.

The dipsomaniac and the sexual exhibitionist

Responsibility'

1n both v ictims of irresistible impulse”— furnish parAlcoholisrn tialmanifestations ofa clinicalwhole— insanity ; the

dipsomania periodica being the impulse ofthe drink

appetite, as the other is ofthe sexual; both often accompanied by terrible anxiety , and both giv ing place, after realization, to feelings ofintense

relief but the fact that one is relievedbymaterial stimuli ,which is lackingin the other case, sufliciently shows that, while similar in theirmanifestwtion, they arisefromradically different conditions . And the two impulses?Are they both irresistible ? This is a quite proper test of insanity ; at

least to themedical mind. The question of Lord Bramwell, in the cele

bratedDove Case , Could he help it?” is not to be considered as a pos

sible cover for social or sexual delinquency , but as pointing to a grave

pathological problem,which it is the business ofmedicine rather than lawto solve.

2

It ought to be the lawofEngland, said Justice Stephen, that no act

is a crime ifthe personwhodoes it is, at the timewhen it is done, preventedby defectivemental power, or by any disease afiecting hismind, fromcon

trolling his conduct, unless the absence ofthe power ofself- controlhas beenproduced by his own default.

” It is obv ious that such a lawwould givethe shield ofirresponsibility to the sexual offender, in the two cases cited

Krafl‘

t—Ebing , lac. cit. , p. 390.

V id.

“Responsibility andDisease,” Lancet, July 28, 1888.


above, dipsomania and exhibitionism, andwithhold it fromthe drunkardwhichwould be in perfect accordance, in point offact,with the best interpretations oflaw, in its practical application to crime.

‘ With reference to

the question ofresponsibility in sexual oflences, conditions that are heredi

tary , or that tend to retard cerebral development in infancy , or earlyyears, rachitis , spinal disease, masturbation, or cigarette smoking, are

medico- legally important in fixing the degree of subsequent responsibility.

While these are largely habits ofvolition, they are, nevertheless , unlike thosefound in later years, the product ofimmature judgment, and hencemoredeserving of judicial clemency , aswell as ofpathological consideration.

The crime ofrape, associated in nearly every in

stance with some one ofthe degrees ofalcoholism,

and hence treated very appropriately here, presupposes such a powerful excitation ofthe sexual passion

as to temporarily cloud the judgment since it is highly improbable, asKraflt- Ebing remarks , that any man, morally intact, would commit sobrutal a crime.

” Still less probable is it, and this is what possibly thelearned professor meant to say, that any man, mentally intact, wouldattempt so nearly impossible a crime; forwhether the v ictimbe awoman or

a child, the accomplishment ofthe act is opposed by almost insuperableobstacles ; in the fierce resistance oflered in the former case, andthe physiological difliculties encountered in the latter. In point offact, rape ismostfrequently the act, either ofdegeneratemale imbeciles , pushed by central

influences to actswhich they only partially understand, or ofthosewhosemental powers are temporarily or permanently clouded by alcoholic or

drug indulgence. And, although the lawrecognizes, or sets up such difleronces, physiologically speaking there is little difierence between the two.

There are three forms ofrape, involving three separate degrees ofcrime.

Rape, following themurder ofthe v ictim; rape, followed by murder, toV id.

“EtudeMedico- Ie gale sur L’Alcoholism,

” Vétault, Paris , 1887, p. 237.

Responsibility is zerowhenever the crime belongs to the period ofacute , or subacute ,

deliriumin the alcoholic attack. It is zero, also,when the subject is a chronic alcoholic,inwhomdefinite cerebral lesions haveaffected the integrity ofthe brain. Responsibilityis lessened in individuals , offeeble intelligence, inwhomtolerance for alcoholic drinkshas diminishedon account ofthe conditions incident to the inferiority oftheir cerebral

organization. It does not disappear entirelywhere the individuals knowthat they cannotdrinkwithoutdanger. The responsibility is lessenedwhen it can be shown that theindividualwas involuntarily surprised by drunkennem. Responsibility wists fully indrunkenness ,where the delinquent had the power ofavoiding this condition . (MacDonald,

“TheAbnormalMan,

” pp. 125 !I twill be borne inmind that the aboverefers to French law; the American courts leaning, for the most part, to a muchgreater severity .

— Arrrnon.]Loo. cit. , p. 397.

426 Human Sexualitydestroy the evidences ofthe lemer crime ; andrape, precededbyminder-, asameans to the accomplishment ofthe sexual crime) The last, only, is hat

with the crime, ordinarily,would exclude it at once fromthe domain of

A point,which I have already noticed in the section on Rape (seeChmvn , pp. 352 is its associationwith certainfanMedical

Examination those ofthe Andreas Bichel case, first publishedbyin Rape Feuerbach in his Aktenmiimige Darste llungmark

and Lust-murder wfirdiger Verbrechen.

” After Bichel had raped his

victimhe performedwhat h ow has well calleddépécage

’upon her.

“ I openedher breastwith a knife,” he remarks athisexamination, “and cut through the fleshy parts ofher body . Then I ar

ranged the body as a butcher does beef, and hacked it with an axe into

pieces of a size tofit the hole l had prepared for it. Imay say thatwhileOpening the body Iwas so greedy that I trembled, and couldhave cutouts

piece and eaten it.”

I have alreadymentionedGoltdammer’s case oftheman, Philippe; butnot. I believe, under the heading lust-murder, the peculiar one recordedbyLombroso.

“A certain Grassiwas seized one nightwith sexual desire for

a relative. Angered by her remonstrances , he stabbed her several timesV id. Tardieu , lac. cit. , pp. 182 192 ; Haltaendorfi

'

,

“Psychologie desMarcia”Krafit-Ebing , lac. cit. , p. 398.

Dépécage (ded-

70mm, I cu t through) .Lacassagne, in his

“Du Dépécage Criminal,” published in the Arch. de l’Anthr.

Crim. , Paris , 1888, gives us a recordofforty casesmwhichdismemberment ofthe hody.subsequent to death,was resorted to for purposes ofconcealment. The advancementmademdetermining identity has enforced caution upon criminals. Thus, an assamnsays that ifhewere calledupon to kill anyone, hewouldfirst strike himsenseless ; than

skin hirn as hewoulda calf, cutofi his ears, put out his eyes, so that recognition by thernwould be impossible, and, cutting his body to pieces, scatter it here and there . The

crime is , ofcourse, rare, usually sexual, andfewpoints are necessary for the physicianto

teeth, surface ofbody , length and color ofhair, scars, tattooing , wounds ofdifi'

erent

weapons , indicatingmore than one operation; direction ofcuts, showing right cr left

handed person ;manner oftying knots , or sewing, in parcelling the flesh, indicating asailor or a woman; method ofdisarticulation, indicating cook , surgeon ormedicalstudent; bloody hands, rents in clothing , general disorder, location ofcrime, progress ofputrefaction, especially rapidin those succumbing under intense fatigue; top therwiththe flow, coagulation, and infiltration ofblood. Ifthere are traces ofinflmldia ,

or change ofcolor in the ecchymwes, thewoundsweremade during life.

428 Human SexualityThere are several ofthese anomalies which seemto hover about the

borderland ofinsanity ; andwhich,whilemore or lemOther associatedwith the sadistic impulse, can yet scarcelyManifestations be classified as cases oftrue sadism. Thus the im

ofCruelty pulse to injurewomen, to subject themto insult, andhumiliation,while itmay arise froma sadistic root,

may also be simply the expression ofa revengeful feeling, occasionedby someinjury , orwrong , inflictedby a particularwoman.

This I found to be the casewhere Iwas once called to testify as to the

nature, andmotive, ofcertain injuries and defilements inflicted upon a

young girl,who had beenmade the v ictimofrape and lust-murder; one ofwhich defilementswas the filling ofthe v ictim’smouth, and eyes,with thefeces ofthe murderer. In the defendant

’s statement before the court, as

well as in the subsequent private examination instituted to determine thequestion ofhis sanity , he manifested the utmost v indictiveness against

women in general a condition ofmind occasioned, as I afterward discovered, by the fact that the girl towhomhewas engaged to bemarried, andwhomhe professed to have loved very deeply , hadmade the unworthyreturn ofinfecting himwith gonorrhea . Themotivewas sufficiently clear.

Therewere no psychopathic features discoverable, and themanwas properly adjudged sane and amenable to punishment.

This impulse to defilemay occur, however, paraThe Impulse doxically , in certain forms ofsenile dementia ; as in

to Deflle thewcases recorded by Tamowsky 1and Kraflt

Ebing,’ in which women were compelled—one in a

brightly lighted room, and in her ball-dress— to endure defecation andmicturition into theirmouths at the command ofperverts ofthis filthy type.

An instance ofpathological novelty in overt sex- acts , illustrating the

same species ofperversion,was brought before a criminal court in Vienna .

’

Count H. , accompanied by a young girl, appeared in the garden of a

hotel, and by his actions there gave public oflence. He demanded ofhis

companion that she kneel down before him, and implore himwith foldedhands . Then she was compelled to lick his boots . Finally, he demandedofher, publicly , an unheard- ofthing : osculumadnotes; and only desisted

after she had sworn to do it at home.

Lac. cit. , p. 76 .

Loo. cit. , p. 80. See, also, Coffignon, lac. cit. , forfurther instances ofthese vile and

disgusting acts . Kraflt-Ebing , lac. cit. , p. 82.

‘The “unheard- ofthing is , alas , only too frequently heard in this country. I

mean, ofcourse, the vulgar and obscene expression representing the act. The case

cited is rather useful froma sociological than psychopathic standpoint, as exemplifying the intolerant arrogance ofthe

“horn aristocrat”toward the plebeian.


The legal point involved in this case as indicating sadistic tendencies ,though not necessarily mental incompetency, is the desire manifested topublicly humiliate the woman, no feature ofsexual perversion apparentlyentering into it. Inmy viewitwouldbe both safe and rational to treat all

such cases as themofsimple cru elty arising froma purely v icious basis .

I have scarcely a doubt that verymany cases coming under the notice

ofthe Societies for the Prevention ofCruelty to Animals are of sadistic

origin. The indiv idualthus perverted,deterredbyfear oflegal consequencesfrommaking his attacks uponwomen, and finding stimulation, or satisfaction ofhis lust in the dying torture ofthe lower animals , naturally selects

the latter, as not only oflering readiermeans ofconcealment, but, in someinstances , possibly , occasioning less oflence to his own conscience. But

sufficient has been saidmreference to the sadistic impulse, both here and

in the earlier portion ofthework, to establish, pretty clearly, its relation

to criminal law; amenability being determined by the degree ofcru elty inflicte

d, and the ev idence, or non-evidence , ofpsychopathic conditions present in each case. Broadly speaking, the sadist rs a criminal, in some one

ofthe degrees ofcrime, in proportion as the masochist rs a non-criminal,in allits degrees ; andto the extent the impulse to inflict pain is more frequently criminal than the impulse to sufier pain.

c msu is criminal only as it relates to theft,

Summary of indecency or petty assaults. HOMOSEXUALITY is

Psychopathic criminalwithin the limitations laid down in the statAnomalies ute- books . Evenwhere not accurately defined in the

common- lawcanon, it is still criminal in the sense

that it contravenes conventional decency , andmenaces the vested interestsofsociety. EFFEMINATION and VIRAGINITY are not criminal, per se, saveas they may become so in outraging themoral sense, or trespassing uponthe rights ofothers ; ANDROGYNY and GYNANDRY being properly included

Insncnrrr is obv iously non-criminal, in its sexual, aswell as other acts ;as is DEMENTIA also. The sexual acts ofEPILEPSY , and PERIODICAL IN

sam'r'r , are only non-criminal during acute attacks of the maladies ; atother times themind being , ordinarily , sufficiently clear to establish legal

responsibility. The sexual acts ofHrs'rnmamay , ormay not, be criminal,as the hysterical seizure takes on a cerebral, or purely seeual, character;

most ofsuch neuroses manifesting themselves in amorbid activ ity ofthe

sexual function ; Su masrs and Nm nouxma belonging to the same1 For numerous instances ofthese sadistic acts , see Hofmann,

“Text-Book ofLegalMedicine Lombroso, “Uomo delinquente Mantegazza, “I"isiologia del Piacere,”andKrafi

'

t- Ebing , lac. cit. , pp. 57, 58.

430 Human Sexualitygroup ofmixedmirro-

psychoses. Mas'rrmna'rrorr, as a vice, is criminal; as

a pathological symptom, it is non-criminal. The impulse to Exammox

propensities ; frequently producing the anomaly in indiv iduals ofother

quite frequently in cases ofweak ordisorderedbrainfundion. Fno'r'racs is

a neurotic anddegenerate foundation ; the latter conditioned, as KramEbing remarks , “by v iolent libido anddiminished v irility .

” It is therefore

non-criminal, for themost part, in itsmanifestations . RAPE and Lusr

rmnnsn I have already sufliciently defined. Vrona'rron is the act, in a

greatmajority ofcases, ofaman notmentaay butmorallyweak ; controlledby lust, and lacking in sexual power. In such cases it is invariably criminal.Many ofthe cases ofv iolation, however, do rest upon a pathologicalbasis; asin the case ofoldmenwho assault children. a '

rrm'rr rs nearly always

criminal; therefore little attention has ordinarily been given in medicaljurisprudence to this class of oflenders. Still, Krafft- Ebing recent

several cases where such oflenders were weak-minded; Kowalewfly,one who suffered fromecstasy and religious paranoia ; ’ and Boeteau, another who was physically degenerate, irresponsible , and an invalid,

not a criminal.’ The rule, however, is , notwithstanding what sane

writers have urged to the contrary ,‘ that bestiality is simply amanifests

tion oflowmorality , lack ofopportunity for natural indulgence, andglu tsexual desire . Nncnormu a is, presumably , always pathological and

non-criminal. beam is rarely due tomental disease ; being rather the

result ofalcoholic indulgence, intense lust, and defectivemoral educafion;andLnssrmsu andORASTUPRATION are included, in thiswork , under theheadofHorrossxuarrrr .

Having thus briefly glanced at the, presumed,criminal status (i the prin'cipal sexual acts, and before addreming myselfto

Proposed their more serious consideration, as they stand re

Glossary of lated to lawin the abstract, I take the liberty ofap

Sexual Terms pending a partial glossary of sexual terms, as theyare uniformly employed inmedical practice, andby

medico- legalwriters, hoping to live to see the daywhen they shallbe adoptedby the legal profession, andwhen a certain bill ofindictment in the nearfuturewill read— “You are charged in this bill ofindictmentwith having,on the first day ofJanuary , 1910, committed pederasty on the person Of

‘Loc. cit. , p. 405.

’Jahrb. f. Psych" vrr, Heft 3.

La Francemedicalé, 38th year, No. 38.

V id. Krauss,Maschka, Hofmann andRosenbaum.

432 Human SexualityViolation: Rape, lustful handling ,masturbation, or other sexually

defiling acts,practisedwith,orupon,sexually immaturepersons.Viraginity : Psychical sex

- transformation, fromfemale tomale.

The above terms are commonly used, not only by physicians, but bythe entire list ofmedico- legalists

— Lombroso,MacDonald, Ferri, Garofalo,Corre , Topinard and the rest; and it is only amarvel tome that the legalprofession has so long delayed such a revision, and amendment, in itsnomenclature ; not only urgently needed, but sanctioned by the best and

most authoritative usage.

The confusion heretofore existing in reference to the termsodomy, andits actual meaning, has occasioned more than one

Vagu eness of lapse ofjustice. The difficulty ofsustaining criminalLegal Definitions action on an ambiguously worded bill ofindictment

will be readily apparent to every legal practitioner;a typical instance being furnished in the English case, Reg . Brown,24, Q. B. D. 357. Here the charge was sodomy— sexual intercourse

with an animal— the animal” used being a duck .

‘ Counsel for the

defendant argued, very correctly, according to prev ious rulings, that

a duckwas not an animal within the meaning ofthe law; resulting in a

handing up ofthe cause to the Court for Crown Cases, and a consequentdelay ofseveralmonths in the proceedings. Thematterwillbebetterunderstoodwhenwe bear inmindthat, in England, a fowl is nota beast,within thecommon- lawdefinition ; but the learned judge ofthe Crown Court, takingthe very proper position that a fowl,when usedfor such a purpose,must beregarded as an animal,within themeaning ofthe statute, and that sodomymay be committedevenwith a bird, a tardy conv iction finally resulted.

Owing to the same vagueness ofsignificance as to the term, sodomy, onwhich the bills of indictment were framed, instead ofthe absolutely correct term, orastupration, itwas quite recently held in a Texas court,aswellas in an earlier English one, that sodomy had not been committedwherethe defendant had used the pathic’smouth; which, as amatter of fact,is true ; although,with a strange love for the ambiguous , the laws ofmostofour States persist in defining such acts as sodomy ,whetherbirds , bea tsor fishes be used, andwhether the defendant, in such a case as the above,“be or be not the pathic.

”

1 Sodomy , itwill be remembered, even in its suppositious sense, is the crime ofhuman pederasty— intercourse by the rectum— and birds and beasts can have no part

Prindle v. State, Texas, Crim. , 551. Rex Jacobs, R. d:R. C. C 33.

Vid. Kelly People, 192 Ill. , 119 . Also, Eng . andAm. Ency . ofLaw, vol. xxv ,Art. “Sodomy ; under which headwill be found numerous references to State re

ports, rulings, etc.


In cases of sexual hyperesthesia,with parasthesia of themoral sense,the tendency to crime, or to abnormal acts, is frs

Libido Nemia quently conditioned by libido nemia , in especiallyin passionate persons ; the point of contradistinction

Sexual 0fiences to be carefully observed in all cases of pederasty,froma legal standpoint, being between acts com

mitted by perverts of birth, and those of old and decrepit debauchees,who sometimes use boys for the heightened stimulus involved. The

pronounced urning , to whomnormal heterosexual intercourse is con

genitally disgusting, himwhomI have ventured to christen the “normal

invert,” will always be readily recognized. In such there are usually

found traces of both psychopathia sexualis and paronoiac taint; and,as I have intimated, the distinction is not usually difficult to makebetween this class of persons and thosewhomanifest episodic, or casual,

tendencies to contrary sexual acts.

Outside the condition ofsenile dementia, however,which should never

be lost sight ofas a possible factor inmoderately advanced life, formanymen are old in feelingwho are still young in years, the crimes ofpederasty,orastupration, sapphism, cunnilingus, masturbation and bestiality , whennot associatedwith those outré, fantastic, and silly concomitants already

alluded to,may very properly be considered as vices, pure and simple, andbe thus dealtwith by the law.

A clear distinction should always be drawn, in the consideration ofmorbid psychology , between habits which are the result

ofheredity and thowwhich growout ofsuggestion,

imitation or contagion ;1 for,while a goodman rarely

comes froma bad parentage, a badman quite frsquently comes froma good parentage. What I mean is that good

parentage is no prophylactic against vicious contagion, our study

of pathological sexuality hav ing already shown us that epidemiologyis equally as important an element in its causation as prenatal influence. Jurists, it seems tome, neglect a large portion oftheir fieldwhenthey study lawbooks instead ofstudying the criminal:for concrete crime,rather than points oflaw, constitutes by far the larger halfofcriminalBroadly speaking , there are only two classes ofcriminals: First, criminals by

occasion; and second, recidivists (Von Holder) . Sexual crimes fall, quite naturally ,under a similar classification ; but the “

spo ofacquisition always thrives best onthe stalk ofimpure parentage. In nature there are fewaccidents. All phenomena arethe efi

'

ect oflaw, and sexualmonsters are frequently only the product ofexaggeratedlaws .

V id.

“La Contagion duMeurtre, etude Anthropologique Criminelle,” Aubrey ,Paris, 1888, p. 184.

28

434 Human Sexuatprocedure . In the anthropometrical examination suggested by Benelli,Tambourini and Lombroso, which includes craniometry , esthesiometry(sensibility to touch) , algometry (sensibility to pain) , dynamometry (manual skill) , and anamnestic examination, which deals with the oflender

’s

family history , parentage, diseases, precedents ofeducation, character andoccupation, should be included, especially in thematters ofsexual deliu

quencies, a strict psychical inquisition into perception (illusions) ,Mention(hallucinations) , reasoning , will (impulse) , memory, intelligence, works(character of) , slang, conscience, sentiments , afiections , morality, religiousbelief, passions , instincts, etc. ; with a careful reference to the history of

sexual or other anomalies ; and the juristwho fails to avail himselfofsuchknowledge, through the skill of the physician, is but poorly equipped topamjudgment in themost triv ial case, ofa sexual character, coming beforeour courts.

Recidivation ofthe criminal, notwithstanding the recent refutation of

many of Lombroso’s deductions, is apparently the

Influence of rule ; reformation the exception. The sexual crimiEducation nal is a being unadapted to his present surroundings.

He is amonster; asmuch so as a two- headedman ;presenting traits and characters ofracial regression ; but, while atavistic

perversitywill probably continue to prevail against the influences of the

very best env ironments, the continual hammering of educational

influences furnishes at least a partial remedy, and the best hope for the

Physical examination ofthe alleged culprit shouldSexual include, of course, that of the genitals. This is ofMalformation especial diagnostic value ; since anomalies of these

parts lead quite frequently to the gravest sexual disorders; either directly, through interference with function, or indirectly,through themental conditionwhich is superinducedby a constant brooding

V id.

“La Criminologie, etude sur la nature du crime et la Théorie do Is. pénalité,”Garofalo, Paris, 1888.

While it is a common assertion ofmanywriters that education has little influencein decreasing crime (an opinionwhich Bushner, Beccaria and D’Olivecrona absolutely

contradict) , it certainly , at least,modifies it. Within the last fifty years the stealing

ofhorses and grain has diminished, while that ofjewels andmoney has increased.

Crimes against property are less frequent than crimes against the person; those againstchastity being conditioned,without doubt, by the emancipation ofthemind, previoudynoted, fromprimitive social conventions. While, according to Proal, “ instruction isnot suflicient to repress crime” (“Le Crime et la peine,” Paris , V ictor Hugo

liked to say that“hewho opens a school closes a prison .

” At leastwe do knowthatliterary andphilosophicalworks do farmore good than scientific ones, along these lines.(Vid. Nicolay ,

“Les enfantsmal éleves,” Paris ,

436 Human SexualityCharcot,Magnan, Lallemand, Tarde and Letourneau . At present theschool is divided into two parties ; one emphasizing the pathological, oratav istic, the other the psychological, and sociological, origin of crime .

The truth is, particularly ofsexual crime, that both these cliques— aswithrival schools ofmedicine and theology

—will probably very shortlymeet ona common ground,whencewe may more hopefully look for the true causeandtreatment ofsocialcrime to be evolved. Butwhenwe examine theworldabout us , and find it to be a vast organicmechanismofabsolute relativity ,one part touching another, the abnormal overlapping the normal, v irtuetrenching upon vice, and insane traits appearing in the nominally sane,werealize, very clearly , the difficulty , not only of distinguishing betweenhealth and disease, sanity and insanity , normality and abnormality, but,of projecting arbitrary lines ofethical distinction between whatmay beentirely proper and good for the individualmicrocosm, and thatwhich iswrong andhurtfulfor the socialmacrocosm.

Thus, on this very ground,much has beenwrittenLegal Status of in defence ofhomosexuality , bymenwhose knowledgeHomosexuality of individuals and society was profound and far

Continued reaching. Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, a deeply learnedGerman jurist, openly advocated it as neither the

result ofwillful depravity, hereditary disease, nor subversive of either

individual or communal rights. The abnormal instinct being, so to

speak, normal to the individual, an idea followedout inmy section devotedto the subject ofmale homosexuality , and the man or woman inspiredby it being neither physically , intellectually , nor morally inferior to

the heterosexually constituted indiv idual, he considered the attitude of

society, and oflaw, toward it as flagrantly unjust. He, verywisely, doesnot attempt to refute the utilitarian theory ofjurisprudence,which regardslawas a regulation ofthemajority formutual protection ; but startswiththe indisputable juristic assumption that each human being is born withrightswhich legislation, except for very grave reasons , should not attemptto abridge .

1 But such a systemofreasoning , ofwhich Ulrichs is by no

means the sole representative, as regards homosexuality ,wouldapply equallywell to other forms ofsocial vice ; the free- lover, the faith-curist, the dmnkard, the seducer, each justifying himselfon the ground ofindim’

dual right,

and absence ofconscientious scruples , being equally free to followhis particular course ofconduct.

While I amwilling to admit, in viewofwhat I knowas to the intimatenature ofsuch anomalies, that homosexuality, especially in its congenital

V id. H .Ellis, Studies, etc. , 11 , Ulrichs, lac. Spel,” “Inclusa,Formatrix,” “Kritische Pfeile,

”etc.


and somatic phases, appeals for a great degree ofclemency , particularly tothewell- informed anthropologist, it does not seem, at the present stage of

human evolution, eitherwise or expedient to erase it fromour statute

books ; giv ing it thereby immunity fromlegal restraint and punishment.There is probably, however, no department ofcriminal lawinwhich a closercofiperation between jurist andmedical expert is called for than in this

particular formofsexual delinquency. Andfor this reason. The circumstances surrounding the act, themotive ofthe act itself, the age, character,condition ofthe accused, can in no case authoritatively determine, to any

but awell trainedneurologist,whether that act lies , or does not lie,withinthe limits ofmental pathology.

While criminal statistics appear to prove that

Superficial sexual oflences are becomingmore frequent in society,Treatment of seemingly keeping even more than pace with the

Sexual Oflences march ofmodern intelligence, andwhilemany ascribeby Jurists this increase to the leniency oflawin dealing with

them, contrasting the fewmonths’ imprisonmentcommonly imposed with the burning alive, hanging, and quartering of

previous generations , I aminclined to think the cause should be sought in

an entirely different direction. Punishment has little terror for the con

firmed criminal, the recidivist.

“ It is a long quarter ofan hour to pass,”saidCartouche, speaking ofhis approaching execution.

1 The seaflold does

not suppress nor hinder those passions which are stronger than death

Lust, Vengeance, Jealousy . It only deters fromthe lesser crimes . Let us

seek a cause in the lawitself. To the eye ofJustice, in thematter ofsexualcrime, the efiect, as Ovidwell says , rather than the cause, is most frequently visible ? The superficial treatment ofacts which deeply concern

society,makes it easy , as a thoughtfulwriter remarks,3 to treat a delinquent,who is as dangerous to society as awild beast, or amurderer, as amerecriminal; locking himup for a specified time, and then turning himloose toprey upon society again ,without the slightest attempt to analyze hismental condition or provide a cure for the social evil. The truer knowledge of

the psychopathologist, in such a case , after examination had establishedthe fact that reformationwas impossible,would prompt the remov al, permanently, of such a degenerate, both sexually andmentally perverted, notfor punitive but preventive reasons.

As prev iously stated in these pages, it is always important to bear inmind that a perverse sexual act by nomeans always indicates perversityofinstinct. Normal sexual acts are quite frequently performed by pronounced inverts ; and abnormal, andeven flagrantly criminal, acts, are just

Franck ,“Philosophie du Droit Penal,” Paris , 1888, p. 174.

Causa latet,m’s estnotissima ,Met. lx , 207. Krafl'

t- Ebing, loc. cit., p. 379.

438 Human Sexualityas frequently performed by persons ofwholly soundmind and sexuality .

But, evenwith perversity ofinstinct, itmust be clearly shown that the specific actwas ofpathological origin to entitle the oflender to legal clemency.

And this brings us back to the initial premise— that all such abnormal actsought, in the strictest justice to both culprit andhumanity, to bemade thesubject ofcareful preliminarymedical examination.

Periodical recurrences ofthe same ad , under the

Further Points same circumstances , favor a presumption of patholnMedico- legal logical causation ; provided always that the act is

Diagnosis referredto the psychologicalmotive, rather than to any

necessary to showthe neuropathic cycle, or psychic periodicity of

certain thoughts, feelings or impulses, without regard to external

impressions ; even the secual ad taking on widely diflerent significancewhen performed at diflerent times , or by diflerent persons

—as , for

instance, by an epileptic, a paralytic, a drunkard, or aman ofsoundmind.

But,whilemedical science ought to be called into requisition in every case ofsexual crime, it ought not to be difficult for the legal practitioner, properlyread in the literature ofsexual psychopathology, to correctly relegate an

oflenderofthis type to this or that category ofsexual perversion.

I thinkmuch confusion has been occasioned, and

Confusion Caused much difficulty placed in the way, by the unfortu

by Faulty Legal nate andmisleading legal nomenclature already al

Phraseology luded to,which charges aman in a bill ofindictment

one could just as readily be named. Thus, even in the currentworkson medical jurisprudence, as well as in the lawbooks themselves , underthe three general heads of Sodomy, lewdness and Indecent Exposure ,we have bestiality, buggery , fornication exhibition, “ lascivious

cohabitation,” and a whole host of similarly meaningless, or equivocal

terms , each accompanied by limitations and conditions which onlymakethe sense stillmore problematicaland obscure ;when a simple definite term,

which shouldbe of common significance to both lawandmedicine, couldjust as easily be employed, and thewhole field oflegal technicality cleared

at once ofa uselessmass ofetymologicalrubbish.

To showfromwhat amiserable root this confusion and vagueness of

verbiage have arisen, I quote fromthe English and American Encycloptedia ofLaw, Art. Lewdness ”: No particular definition ofwhat constitutes gross lewdness is given in statutes prohibiting it. The indelicacy

ofthe subjed forbids it, anddoes not require ofthe court to statewhat particular conductwill constitute the ofi

'

ence. The common sense ofthe com

440 Human SexualityWhile careful investigation ofthe species facti , in each particular case,

will necessarily involve variations in the above classification, andwhile, toprevent the cloak ofdisease frombeing thrown over purely immoral acts,such investigation should attend every case ofalleged sexual crime, itwillbe found, I think, that the table given constitutes a fairly accurate starting

pointfor the jurist. Cases ofsexualdelinquencywhich cannot be relegated,immediately , to the third section ofthe diagram, butwhich present, at thesame time, certain psychopathic peculiaritieswhichwould seemto call for

especialconsideration,may, in the hands ofa competentmedico- legalexpert,

by certain circumstances in the antecedent history, or temperament oftheindividual, usually be transferred fromthe first to the second, or fromthesecondto the third, place, as to legal responsibility .

Not the act, but the volition accompanying itFurther Guides the intent— constitutes the crime, in sexual, as well

to the Subdiv ision as other cases. The habitual sexual criminalmay ,ofCriminals ormay not, possess a larger number ofsexual anoma

lies than the normalman ; but they are stronger;

or the latter is stronger to subdue them; andwhile themoral sense ofhumanity has no cerebral localization, being simply one ofthe adaptations ofhuman life to social environments, without it, men cannot help becomingcriminals . Thus the various strata of society are distinguished, not bywealth, education nor refinement, as is popularly suppomd, but by frontal,parietal, or occipital cerebraldevelopment. In society theoccipitalclass is themost numerous ; comprising , as it does, thosewho act fromvolition alone.

The “frontals”are the thinking class ; the

“parietals ” those ofimpulse,character, dignity, who make up the great world of commercialindustry . Thuswe have the categories ofcriminals corresponding to this

fairly accurate physiological division. (1) Criminals ofthought (Frontal) ;criminals ofcaution (Parietal) ; criminals ofvolition or instinct (Occipital) .These latter are the real, or true, criminals ; inwhich are found a vastmajority ofall sexual ofi

'

enders. The class is especially passionate, showingby their acts, not a resurrection of atavism, as Corre, Albrecht andLombroso taught; but simply spontaneous and involuntary deviations

fromthe normal type. To no other class ofpersons does Locke’s aphorismsowell apply : nihil est in intellectu , quad non antea fusfat in sensu .

They knownothing but what the senses teach them, and even that, only

imperfectly.

by its previous general history , rather than by specific acts ; supersaturated sexual

libertines , andmorally depravedmarriedmen, frequently resorting to the filthy habit,

aswell as to pardicatiomulierum, for purposes ofincreasedstimulation, or to avoidim


A correct schema ofcultivated sexual crimewouldThe Criminal probably be a triangle, two sides ofwhich are bad

Triangle habits and deficientmoral sense, converging into degeneracy, and the base line I would unhesitatingly

pronounce, alcohol. The close relation of alcoholismto sexual crime,as well as to certain forms of insanity, is well shown in thewritingsof the great alienist and neurologist, Krafit- Ebing . Drunkenness is

artificial. It begins with slight maniacal excitation. Thoughts flowlucidly the quiet become loquacious ; the modest bold; there is need of

muscularactivity ; the emotions aremanifestedin laughing, singing ,dancing .

E sthetic ideas andmoral impulses are lost sight of; theweak side ofthe

individual comes to the surface; his secrets are revealed; he is dogmatical,cynical, dangerous ;

“hewants to create a sensation ; insists that he is not

drunk , just as the insane insist on their sanity and in this condition, the

inhibiting restraint ofthe will being withdrawn, innate tendencies which,under normal conditions,might have remained in abeyance for a lifetime,are permitted to growandexercise their sway ; boys fall into idleness,meninto crime, and girls into prostitution. Alcoholic intoxication does not

make better norworse the sentiments ofaman ; but it lets loosewhatever isin him andwe all knowwhat thatwouldmean in any society.

” The

alcoholic is insane because he drinks ; the dipsomaniac drinks because he isinsane Monin , Paris, 1889, p. The alcoholic is

it is that, in my triangular schema ofcultivated sexual crime, Imake alcohol the base line. Ifwe eliminate a large number ofmoral defections fromthis cause in society today, both sexual andother— thosewho could reformiftheywould try— a large number yet remains onwhomsocial, educational,or religious influences have no cfiect. For these there is no help exceptforcedrestraint, in special asylums ,where they can havework, air and suit

be usedfor their support. (See, on this subject, “The Public andtheDoctorin Relation to the Dipsomaniac,” Dr. Daniel Clark, Toronto, 1888 ;

“Die

Trunksucht und ihre Abwehr,” Dr. A. von Baer,Wien und Leipzig, 1890;“L’Alcoolisme, sue consequenze morali e sue cause,

” Dr. N . Colajanni ,Catania, 1887 ; and “EtudeMedico- Légale sur L

’Alcoholism,

” Dr. V.

Vétault, Paris, 1887

Sexual criminals, belonging to the occipital class, are criminals ofimpulse alone. The negro killswith little or no premeditation ; always obeyshis sexual appetite ; is seldomguilty of infanticide, or any atrocious sup

pression of progeny ; makes no provision for the future ; has fewneeds ,

and is incapable ofplanning elaborate enterprises, either business or crimi

442 Human Sexuality

type ofthe entire class ofcriminals .

‘

As to the class itself,while fewanomalies, ordeviations fromthe normal,have been found in the brains ofundiseased sexual criminals, the followingpoints,with respect to their craniology may be noted: There appears tobe amore frequent persistence ofthemetopic, or frontalmedian, suture ;efiacement,more or less complete , ofthe parietal, or parieto-occipital sutures ; the notched sutures are themost simple ; there is a notable frequencyofthe Wormian bones in the regions ofthemedian posterior fontanelle;and also in the lateral posterior fontanelles ; there is considerable development ofthe superciliary ridges,with efiacement, or even frequent depression, ofthe intermediary protuberance, and abnormal development ofthemastoid apophyses . There is also, as a rule, backwarddirection ofthe planeofoccipital depression ; left- handedness is common ; the general sensibilityis low; sensibility to pain, andtodisagreeablemental impressions, is equallyso; which explains thewant ofpity, cruelty, andgeneral selfishness ofmostsexual criminals ; but more particularly of sadists, v iolators, and lust

cranialmeasurements, ofthe recidivistic class of criminals, generally, itwill be seen that there are many distinguishing difierences. In the latter,

there is usually small cranial development; receding forehead; abmnce ofbeard (which is commonly heavy in the sexualist) ; abundance of hair

are, as a rule, handsome, soft and refinedlooking .) Educatedmen, amongother classes ofcriminals are rare ; among sexual criminals they are strik

ingly common ; a point exceedingly important for the jurist to remember,when the public, andthe press, take up the oldstereotyped cry , in referenceto an alleged criminal: “What ! thatman commit an assault upon a little

girl? So gentlemanly, so refined— I don’t believe it.

”

The greatmass ofsexual criminals are ratherweakGeneral than wicked. Education itself, as we find it in the

Characteristics physician, the lawyer, the teacher, being largely only

ameans to an end, adds little to the innate powers ofthewill, or the ability to conquer passion. This explains the otherwisepuzzling fact that, with writers on sexual psychology, professional per

1 “Le Crime en Pays Creoles ,” Cor-re, Paris , 1889 . I ampleasedto findmyselfinaccordwith the above distinguishedmedico—legalist as to negro sexuality ; Dr. Cone

explicitly stating , in thework above quoted, that it is influencedfarmore by the blackman'

s social condition than by any racialfactor.

444 Human Sexualitynature ofwhich, in the vast majority of cases, is entirely unknown tothem?Thus , somemisdemeanors are punishedfarmore sevemthan felonies,

although nominally the lesser ofiences and a personmay ofier for sale a

flock ofsheep or a drove ofoxen, obtained by false pretences , andgo quietlyon hisway, no peace officer daring to arrest himwithout awarrant; while aman ofiering for sale a piece oflead pipe supposed to have been stolen,maybe apprehended on sight Crim. LawConsolid. Acts,

”Greaves) . This

greater facility for arresting the criminal formisdemeanor than for felony(practically the only two degrees or forms ofcrime known in this country) ,is as fundamental as it is vague andmischievous ; and is only citedto showthat certain amendments ofour criminal statutes, suggested as to sexual

crime, are not inapplicable in othermatters . In assigning penalties, thereshould be no thought of retaliation, nor of terrifying the offender bymaking himan

“example to others

”(an idea only too frequently observ

able in recent court decisions) ; which deprive the culprit ofwhateverself- respect andmoral sensemay yet remain to him; but the chiefpur

pose should be to dealwith his moral and intellectwl nature ; and to pre

vent, by every means possible, further contamination, by contact withthe hopelessly immoral and vicious . Then, if a person be found hopelesslyirremediable, absolutely unfit to live, life should be withdrawn fromhim,

While the importance ofthe preservation ofsexualApplication of chastity in a society can hardly be overestimated, itLawin Cases of being probably one ofthe earliest causes ofcommunalSexual Crime legislation, that society cannot be too careful in its

function as the defender ofmorality, to avoid committing amoralwrong . It is one ofthe clearest facts, in connectionwiththe treatment ofsexual criminals, that punishment exercises not the slightestinfluence upon them. Ifaman be the v ictimofpsychical sexual inversion,

it certainly cannot improvematters, nor prevent the indulgence ofhis habits, to remove himfromthe possibility ofmaterial contact; andto imprisonamasturbator, is only to afiord himthe solitude he somuch seeks to practise his v ice . Themoralist, and particularly the physician , sees in these

sadfacts startling evidence, not only oftheweakness ofhuman nature , but

the absolute helplessness ofhuman lawin dealingwith thatweakness.

Lawcannot determine,when the normal sexual desire has been so in

tensified as tomanifest itselfin criminal v iolence,whether that intensification is due to congenital or acquiredmentalweakness ; butthe physician can.

Lawcannot determine,when that desire is so increased,whether it is dueto psychical exaltation or toweakenedmental inhibition ; but the physiciancan.


Lawcannot recognize,when the sexual instinct is reversed, and social

ofiences are committed, shocking to society andwholly beyond the limitsofordinary experience, that psychical degeneration is present; but the phy

Lawcannot identify those instances ofmoral defect, and sexual delin

quency,which ought never to be condonedon the groundofirresponsibility ;

Lawcannot tell, transitions froma neurosis to a psychosis being easy

and frequent, what elementary sexual disturbances are common to the

former, andwhat to the latter; but the physician can.

Hence, it becomes not only oflegalbut ofethical importance that sexualacts, undergoing trial, shouldbe examinedby the jurist through the eyes ofthemedico- legal expert.

Themanwho committed suicide in Chicago (April, for love ofa

statue ofV enus ,would doubtless have been pronounced, by nine out oftenjurists, as simply insane ; and yet our study ofsexual pygrnalionismhasshown us that brain disturbance in such cases is quite the exception, and

that the erotomania is closely related to thatwhich is engendered by theallurements ofsimple feminine beauty. Inanimate, aswell as living beauty,possesses a powerfulcharmfor the culturedmind; andthe idea ofindecency,which certain persons associatewith the nude human form, is always thatofthe ignorant and uncultured. The fact that, in the case mentioned,the lovewas sufliciently strong to prompt self-destruction, only proves itsstrength, not itsmorbid character, nor cerebral origin. To determine thatdemands, also, the skill ofthemedicalexpert.

And, as to the inverted sexual instinct,while theCures and cures so considerably exploitedwithinrecent years,

Punishments of by Dr. von Schrenk- Notzing and others,1rest upon

Sexual Inverts a stillmore uncertain andmisty basis than even chloralandmorphine cures,

”and these aremisty enough,

still, it is conceded by all that lawis not the remedy, and that preventioncan have but small influence.

” The idealwhich the physicianmust alwayskeep before the invert is amoral one ; the change ofinstinct being onlyaccomplished by moral and psychologicalmeans , and the constant fixing

For some problematical instances of these cures, see“Physical Treatment of

Congenital Sexual Inversion,” ReviewofInsanity andNervous Diseases , June, 1894.

In this connection, also, the opinion ofRafl'alovich is quiteapposite, that “the congenital invert,who has never had relations withwomen, andwhose abnormality is aperversion andnot a perversity, ismuch less dangerous and apt to seduce others than

corrupt libertines are who have run the gamut of sexual vice. (V id.

“Uranisme et

Unisexualité,” 1896 , p.

H . Ellis , Studies, etc., 11 , 193.

446 Human Sexuafityin the patient

’smindofthe idealofchastity. Hiswagonmust be hamemed

to a star.

1

lessly against homosexuality forupwardofa thousand years, the sacrilegiousofienders being handed over to the Church to be burned. As late as 1750

two pederasts were burned alive in the Place de Gréve, Paris. But,

theywere burned, that rs all; withoutmthe slightest diminishing the disorder, any more than the burnings for heresy , at about the same time,diminished the number ofheretics. Thus, probably, it came about that

the Code Napoleon omitted to punish pederasty , regarding it as an ecclesi

astical oflence; the later French laws alwaysmaking a clear and logical

distinction between vice and irreligion, and taking cognizance only ofthe

former. It would seemthat most nations condemned homosexualitychiefly, ifnotwholly, on socialistic grounds ; as preventing the growth of

population; and so furiouswere the Incas ofPeru against the habit, for thiscause, thatwhole townswere ordereddestroyedwhere itwas known to prevail. Legislation against pederasty began in England under Henry VIIIhimselfsuspected in some quarters ofhaving indulged the habit; and in

Belgiumand Holland, as well as Spain and Portugal, laws were enacted

against it, embodying the chiefprovisions ofthe French code. It is a penalofl

'

ence, however, only in Germany, Austria, Russia and England; beingso severely legislatedagainst, in the first named country , only since the consolidation ofthe present empire . In Austria the lawapplies equally, andquite properly, to bothwomen andmen ; and in Russia the punishmentinvolves Siberian exile, and forfeiture ofciv il rights. The lawin Englandis especially severe .

“Carnal knowledge per anumofeither sex, or ofan

animal, is felony , punishable by penal serv itude for life, as amaximum, and

ten years as aminimum.

”(24, 25, Vict. , C. 100, Sec. It is amisde

meanor in the UnitedStates , thefine or imprisonment, orboth, being at thediscretion ofthe court. In early ages the crimewas sacrilegious ; later, itwas economic ; nowit is simply esthetically revolting ; neither one ofthese

objections , however, asMr. Elliswell remarks, lending itselfvery appropriately to legal purposes.

It is not the business ofa secular court to consider an act in the light of

contravening ecclesiastical canons , nor as re pressing population, nor as

V id. Fere “L’Instinct Sexuel,”1899 , pp. 272, 276 .

In the Swiss Code lately formulatedby a commission ofexperts, at Berne, ofiencesagainst public decency , precisely as in our own laws, are punishable by fine and imprisonment; and those guilty of“unnatural practices” (1) (widernaturliche Unzucht)with aminor, are punishable by imprisonment for at least sixmonths. Homosexualpractices , as usual, are not specificallymentioned. (

“V orentwurfzu einemSchweizerischen Strafgesetsbuch,

” Cap. v ,

448 Human SexualityMy task is finished. If I have laid bare the

hidden penetralia of human deprav ity , revealing

depths ofvice and infamy ofwhich, happily, the greatbulk ofmankind have never even dresmed, it wasnot done through any desire to exploit debauchery

and lust, nor to revel in the filth of literature ; but that the thought

germs of a better seed might possibly be sown , and a little added, if

only a little, to that coming harvest ofgoodforwhich theworld anxiouslywaits.

No intelligent physicianwilldare to suggest a remedy untilhe thoroughlyunderstands the disease ; and, indeed, a correct diagnosis oncemade, common sensemay generally be relied on, as I purpose relying upon it here,to prescribe the cure .

Having pointed out the misery , horror and suffering of drunkenness,itwould be supererogatory to enter into a long philosophical argument toprove that drunkenness is an evil. The fact is self- ev ident. Sowith theseforms ofsexual v icewithwhichwe have been concerned; and, although it

wasmy first purpose to devote some space to a physiological examinationof the nature of the mischiefs wrought by them, a fuller consideration

has convincedme that these are set forth sufficiently clearly, in the historyof the v ices themselves, to render unnecessary any further elaborationor argument.We have seen that the penalties attaching to every outrage ofnatural

laware ineluctable and autogenetic ; that the abused sexual life, alcmgwith being more speedily and prematurely exhausted, and requiring , dayby day, fresh andeven unnatural agencies ofstimulation, not only yieldsa scantier harvest ofpleasure , but brings in the train of its exces ss an

innumerable host ofboth physical andpsychological ills, “ buying themerrymadness ofan hourwith the long penitence of later years that there

aremen whose temptations to v ice, as Lecky well says,‘ either fromcir

cumstances or inborn character, seemso overwhelming that, though wemay punish andeven blame,we can scarcely look on themasmore responsible thanwildbeasts ; that, unlike Goethe’s hero, they possess but one soulthat ofSatan ; and,while it is not the purpose ofthis book toeither preachormoralize , it is its distinct purpose to present psychopathic processes and

results ; and, in doing so, ifawarning be conveyed to the v ictims ofsexualsensuality

— those whom we can love at a distance, but never close at

hand;”

that the instinctwhich the Creator implanted in the human heartfor the purpose ofpeopling earth, and reproducing the race, can only be

1 “Map ofLife,” p. 72.

“Zwei Sealenwohnen , ach, in dieser Brust !”— Faust.Dostoiefisky ,

“Brothers Karamausov ,” p. 325.

Conclusion 449

outraged and perverted at the peril, andwith the penalties, attending every

other infringement ofnatural law; what ismissed in didacticmedicinemaybe verywellgained in decentermorals .

What the original purpose ofthe Diety was inmaking sexuality paramount in the complex group of impulses which constitute life, and in

diflusing sentient being through the remotest parts ofHis universe, is not

our present concern ; but, until the prediction ofComte come to pass, andwomen be fecundatedwithout the help ofmen,

‘ with the laws which so

accurately regulate the relative numbers ofthe sexes , their support,mutualrelations, and the immutable conditionswhich govern, or ought to govern,their sexual commerce,we have verymuch concern.Man is the only animal ever found violating Nature

’s laws. The only

onewho, as awitty Frenchman observes,’“drinkswhen he is not thirsty,andmakes love at all seasons.

” Insects, birds and the higher animalshave a stated andfixed periodfor the sexual congress, aswell as the other

phenomena attending the function of procreation ; but man, with the

knowledge ofgood and ev il ever before him, is constantly playing ther61e ofthe first Adam; constantly committing in his sexual enormities a

fourfoldcrime against himself, his v ictim, society andGod.

While I do not presume to disparage the claims ofheredity , withincertainwell- defined limits, I do hold that illicit and excessive indulgence,

joinedwitha constantdemandfornovelty , is the strongestfactor in producingthosemonstrous practices of sexualdiabolismwithwhichwe have recentlybeen confronted; also the neuropathic conditionswhich engage so large a

share ofthe practitioner’s attention ; and certainly , the vasthost ofvenerealandnervous diseaseswhich are not only destroying health, home andhappiness , but gravely imperiling the very foundations ofsociety.

Nor can there be instituted, as some have fondly imagined, and ad

vocated, any cordon sanitaire for v ice. The demons of passion, unlike

those of the Gadarenes , cannot be tied down with the shackles of law.

Sexual vice impregnates the very air of every large city ; and I con

sciously v iolate no canon ofprofessional ethics, nor assume the character

of a fanatical moralist, when I say that Theodore Roosevelt had

less than half a truth in his mind when he uttered his nowfamousaphorismon

“race su icide. Sea-ual license, far more than any other

one cause, at this close of the nineteenth century—more than drunken

ness , celibacy , or themuch- abused woman’smovement — threatens the

perpetuity ofmarriage , and ofour American manhood.

Books of this character do good, whether the Church believe so or

“LittréAug. Comte et la Phil. August, 1863 .

Beaumarchais, LeMarriagede Figaro,

”n , xxl .

450 Human Sexuatnot. Make a thing secret andmysterious , and it attracts the youth of

both sexes as honey does flies. Make it public, and they immediatelylose interest. Ignorance is the foster-mother ofvice. The greatest enemyofman isman ; ready to do evil not only to others, but himself; homohomini lupus , homo homini daemon; as Ovid truthfully says.More men have ruined themselves than have ever been destroyed byothers.

‘ As JudasMaccabeus killed Appollonius with the latter’s own

weapons,’ sowe armour own passions against ourselves. Makemen seehowthey are ruined, and you lessen the danger. Do not, through a false

modesty , or stillfalsermorality , preserve the fatal secret untilthe inevitablefirst act is committed, and the young life launched on the road to ruin.

As there is no subject inwhich the youth ofboth sexes are so profoundlyinterested, there is equally none ofwhich they are so profoundly ignorant;and no department of human knowledge and education presses , today,with halfthe force andurgency ofthe sexual.We are not responsible for the faults ofour fathers . What is past

cannot be undone. Clotho cannot weave again, nor Atropos recall.”

But for the future,MEDICINE and RELIGION— twin curators of body and

soul— andby no secretmethods—must assume the task ofinstruction. That

task is yet far fromcomplete , God knows . Sin re igns ; Epidemics rage ;Pain racks ; Death is victorious ; the Desire oftheWorld cometh not. The

Rape of the Sabines still goes on. Womanhood is abused, led astray,

seducedby lust, andfalse ideals ofhappiness ;manhoodis degraded; societyis a glittering sham; the home is desecrated. But the principle ofa betterknowledge, I think , is beginning to diffuse its light through the densesodden mass of humanity. The leaven is slowly leavening the lump.Man has made the momentous discovery that he holds his destiny in

his own grasp ; and a divine optimismis turning himagain to virtue, as

Yes, the beautifuldreamof the Hindu legendwill come true. Ormuzdwill vanquish Ahriman. Satan shall be cast fromthe battlements ofourbodily heaven, even as hewas ofoldfromthe spiritual and the NewEarth

- i'ts temples glorified by the hands of a div iner priesthood— shall arise

fromthe ashes ofthe old; inwhich, as one beautifully says,‘ that youngestterrestrialTrinity— Father,Mother andChild— shall blossominto the gloryofthe Elder, and the romantic dreamofthe Greek— the perfectibility ofman— be realized.

Shall you and I live to see it? Perhaps ;who knows? But ifwedo,we shall live to seeKNOWLEDGE , andTRUE RELIGION , seated upon the

1 Sir John Lubbock . 21Mace ,m, 12.

Lucian. WinwoodReade, TheMartyrdomofMan.

AUTHORlTlES QUOTED OR REFERRED TO IN

THIS WORK.

Ame Am,M. The Personal LawoftheMohammedans,” London, 1880.

Amen , R“Zur Volkesklmde der Juden,

” Leipzig , 1881.

Anoas , G. F“Savage Life andScenes inAustralia andNewZealand,” London, 1850.

Arrears, H. C., in ZeitschriflfarEthnologic, Berlin, 1898.

Am man, “Deipnosophiste ,

” Trans. , Dindorf, Oxford, 1827.

BAILEY , J.,

“An Account ofthe WildTribes ofthe Veddahs ofCeylon,” Trans. Bthu .

Soc., N . S. 11, London, 1863 .

Bans, Au ra , The Emotions andtheWill,"London, 1880.

a ,8.W “TheNileTributariesofAbyssinia,”London, 1868

“TheAlbsrtN’yanza,

Great Basin oftheNile, andExplorations oftheNile Sources ,” London,1868.

Bars -01m, E“Cyclopedia ofIndia andEastern andSouthern Asia,” London, 1885.

Bananas-r, H. H . ,

“Native Races ofthe Pacific States ofNorth America,” NewYork,1876 .

Baaamo'rort, GEORGE , “History ofNewSouth Wales, London, 1810.

Bannow, Jorm,

“Account ofTravels in the InteriorofSouthern Africa,” London, 1804.

Bu rrs , Human e ,

“Reissn und Entdeckungen in Nord undCentral-Afrika,” Goths ,

1858.

BABTIAN , A. ,

“Inselgruppen in Oceanien,

” Berlin, 1883.

Barcme a, Jorm,

“TheAinu ofJapan,” London, 1802.

BEAUN IS , H., Les Sensations Intemes,” Paris , 1881.Batman,W. A.,

“Chariklss,” Leipzig, 1840.

BIBLE , Revised, andSt. James V ersions . Also, Reprint fromLatinRendering ofHebrewText in the Bibliothéque Nationals , Paris .

c n, IWAN , Beitrage surAetiologic derPsychopathia Sexualis ,” ErsterTheil, 1902.

BLUNDELL, H “Researches in Physiology andPathology ,” London, 1825.

Bonner , L. A. C.,

“The Lives ofHaydn andMozart,” London , 1818.

Bouma andLE Vnnmnn, “The Canarian, or Book of the Conquest and Conversion

of the Canarians, in the year 1402, byMessire Jean de Bethencourt; ”Trans .,Major, London, 1872.

Borrwrcx, J.,

“Daily Life andOrigin oftheTasrnanians,” London, 1870.

Bonu s , J. G “Scatalogic Rites ofAll Nations ,” London, 1801.

453

454 Human SexualityBOYLE , F. ,

“Adventures Among the Dyaks ofBorneo,” London, 1865.Baum, A. E “Thierleben,

”Leipzig, 1880.

BRE’PI‘,W. H The IndianTribes ofGuiana, London, 1868.

BUcn ,Max ,

“Die Watjaksn,” Stuttgart, 1882.

BUCHANAN, J. ,

“Sketches oftheHistory ,Manners andCustoms ofthe NorthAmericanIndians,

” London, 1824.

BURET, F. ,

‘Syphilis in Ancient andPrehistoric Times,” Philadelphia, 1801.BURTON ,R. F. ,

“TheCity ofthe Saints, andAcross theRockyMountains toCalifornia,”London, 1861 ;

“First Footsteps in East Africa,” London, 1856 .

BURTON , R.,

‘TheAnatomy ofMelancholy ,” London, 1801.Oman, J. ,

“Commentarii de BalloGdlico,"London, 1856.

CAI PBI LL, H“The Sexual Impulse inWomen,

” London, 1801.

CANDOLLE . ALrnONsn DE ,“Heredit‘ ds la Colour dos Yeux dims l’sspscs Humaina,”

CARPENTIEB, ADRIEN ,

“TraitsThéoretique et pratique du divorce,” Paris, 1885.

Game, J. ,

“Travels in NorthAmerica,” London, 1781.Cassams , E .,

“The Basutos,” London, 186 1.GwahN ,M. A. ,

“Nordiska reser och for-Mr, Trans Helsinglors, 1858.

Cam , C. , Illustrations oftheManners,Customs andConti tionoftheNorthAmericaIndians,

” London, 1876 ; Last Ramblu Amongst the Indians of the

RockyMountains and the Andes ,” Edinburgh, 1877.

Csnvarsm, S.M. de, “Don Quixote," Jarvis , London, 1848.

0mm , J.,

“Travels in the Interior ofSouth Africa,” London, 1868.

CHAVANNE , JosEIr,‘Die Sahara,

” V ienna , 1870.

CHEVALIER, J“De l’inversion de l’instinct sexual,” Paris, 1885.

CLEMENT, ALEXANDRINUB, “Predogogus,” Dindorf, Oxford, 1869.

Cream , H.,

“Osphrésiologie, ou Traits des odeurs, du sens et des organes de l'Olfac

tion,”Paris , 1821.

ComaNON ,

“La Corruption 9. Paris,” Paris, 1806.

COLQUHOUN ,A. R. ,

“Among the Shams, and Burma andtheBin-mans, London, 1885;COOK, J. ,

“Journal ofa.Voyage Round the World,” London, 1800.

Comm, J. ,

“Science ofa NewLife,” Chicago, 1860.

Cum,D. ,

"History ofGreenland,”London, 1820.

CRAWFORD, J.,

“History ofthe Indian Archipelago,” Edinburgh, 1820.

CRAWLEY , E ., TheMysticRose,” London, 1002.

CUNNINGHAM, J. D “Notes onMoorcroft’s Travels in Ladakh,” etc., in Jour. As. Soc.

Bengal, xiii , l , Calcutta, 1844.

CURB , E.M“Australian Races ,” London, 1886.

DABRY , P“LaMédécin chea les Chinois,” Paris, 1863.

DALL, W. H . ,

“Alaska and Its Resources,” London, 1870.

DALTON , E. F. ,

“Descriptive Etymology ofBengal,"Calcutta, 1872.

456 Human SexualityFaAssa, J. G. ,

“Totemism,

” Edinburgh, 1887.

Fau na, J. G “Golden Bough,” London, 1001.

Parnas s us , E Dss Recht der Eheschliessung in seiner geschichtlichen Entwichlung, Leipzig , 1865 .

Farrsca , G “Die Eingeborenen Siid Breslau , 1872.Man, A. , Burma, Past andPresent,” London, 1878.

GAana a, J. S “The Nations ofRotuma,” Jour. Andi . InstMay, 1808.GAaNma, P.,

“Célebat etCélebetaires,” Paris , 1887.

CAM,

“Usher die sexuellen Ursachen der Neurasthenie und Angstneurose,V ienna, 1808.

Gwaa, E . G “Civilisation ofthe Eastern Iraneans in AncientTimes, London, 1886 .

Gnorraor , Sr. Human,“Histoire Generals et particuliere des anomalies de l’organi

sation ches l’homme et les animaux ,

” Paris , 1837.

Gnoaox, J. C.,

“Beschrcibung aller Nationen des russischen Reichs ,”St. Petersburg,

1776 .

GmaON , E“History ofthe Decline andFall ofthe Roman Empire, London, 1885.

GLAssON , E.,

“Lemariage civil et ls divorce,” Paris, 1880.

GOBINI AU, A. D.,

“Moral and Intellectual Diversity ofRaces,”Hots , Philadelphia,

1856 .

ConnoN ,D. A. ,

“De I’espéceetde races dans les etree organises,

” Paris, 1850.

000m , A. Y . ,

“The Origin ofLaws, Arts andSciences,” Edinburgh, 1761.

Common , Rm on,“Le Livre desMasques,” and“Culture des Idees,” Paris, 1000.

Gan , J. H. ,

“China: A History ofthe Laws,Manners and Customs ofthe People,"London, 1878.

Gaoos, K.,

“Die Spiele derMenschen , und Die Spiele derThiere, Berlin, 1800.

Gunman, “Dictionaire de Physiologie,” Paris , 1804.

Gun O'r, F.,

“The History ofCivilisation,” Trans . , Hazlitt, London, 1846 ;

“History of

France,” NewYork , 1885

HAHN , E“Demeter undBaubo,” Berlin, 1808.

HALL, C. F.,

“Arctic Researches andLife Among the Esquimaux,

” NewYork, 1865.

HALLAN , F. VON ,

“Viewofthe State ofEuropeDuring theMiddleAges ,” Paris, 1840.

Hu man ,W. L “The Loucheux Indians,

” Smwom'

an Report, Washington, 1866 .More, D.W “AJournalofVoyages andTravels in the InteriorofNorthAmcrica,”Andover, 1820.

Hw nswoa'ra , J“An Account ofVoyages in the Southern Hemisphere,” London,

1775.

Hax'rln usm, A. VON ,

“The Russian Empire, London, 1856 ; Transcaucasia ,

London, 1854.

B u rma, 8 “Journey fromPrince ofWales Fort to the Northern Ocean, Dublin, 1706 .

HEARN ,W. E

“The Aryan Household,”Melbourne, 1870.

HaLLWALD, F. VON ,

“Diemenschliche Familie,” Leipzig , 1880.

Humor, G “Travels Through the Canadas,” London, 1807 .

Authorities Quoted or Referred to 457

HOLDEN , W. C.,

“The Past andFuture oftheKailir Race,” London, 1866 .

B ureau andMAUs , “Essai sur lo Sacrifice,” L’Annee Sociologique, 1800.

HUGO , V LesMiserables,” Paris, 1862 .

HUMBOLD’I‘, A. VON ,

“PersonalNarratiVe ofTravels to the Equinoctial Refions oftheNewContinent,” London, 1820; “Political Essay on the Kingdomof

NewSpain,

” London, 1811.

JAumsoN , G “Translations fromthe GeneralCode ofLaws ofthe Chinwe Empire ,China Review, Hongkong , 1882

JnLLrNeaAUs, T“Sagan Sitten undGebrauohe derMunda-Kolhs in Chota Nagpore,

Berlin, 187 1, Zeitschr. f. Ethn. , vol. 111.

Jorms'rON , H. H“The Kilima- njaro Expedition,” and“The RiverCongo,” London,

1886 .

JUaaL-RaNor ,“V ie Professionelle etDevoirs duMédécin,

” Paris, 1868.

Kums , H. H“Sketches ofthe History ofMan,” Edinburgh, 1813.

Km , J“Commentaries on American Law,” Holmes, Boston, 1873.

KmaNAN , J . G “PsychologicalAspects ofthe SexualAppetite ,

” Alienist andNeurol

ogist, 1801, April; “Responsibility in Sexual Perversion,

”ChicagoMed.

Soc. ,March, 1802.

Kme , P. P “The IntellectualCharacter ofthe Esquimaux, Jour. Ethn. Soc., London,

1848.

KOLBEN , P“The Present State oftheCape ofGood Hope, London, 1731.

Ku rt's -Esme , R. VON ,

“Psychopathia Sexualis, with Especial Reference to Con

trary Sexual Instinct,” Philadelphia, 1004.

Kau amnmrxorr , S . P. ,

“History ofKamschatka andtheKurilski Islands ,with theCountries Adjacent,” Trans. Grieve, London, 1764.

Karma , F. S . ,

“Sitte undBrauch der Siidslaven, V ienna, 1885

LABrLLAaDraas , J. J “Voyage in Search ofLa Perouse, London, 1800.

LABOUR'I ‘, L.,

“Recherches Hist. sur les Infans Trouves," Paris , 1868.

LACABSAGNE , A“De la Criminalité ches les Animaux,

” Revue Scientifique , 1882.

LAND, E. W. ,

“An Account oftheManners andCustoms oftheModern Eg ptians,London, 1840.

m m, H . ,

“Through Siberia,” London, 1881.

LANosDoar , G. H. VON ,

“Voyages andTravels in Various Parts ofthe World,”London,1814.

LAUanN'r, L“De Quelques PhenomenesMécaniques produits anmoment de laMenstruation,

” Annalee des Sciences Psychiques , Sept. andOct. , 1807.

h wanNcn, W “Lectures on Physiology, Zoology and the Natural History ofMan,London , 1823 .

Lacxr , W. E. H“History ofEuropeanMorals fromAugustus to Charlemagne, Lon

don, 1864.

m naa, J“Bibliotheca Classics ,” NewYork, 1842.

458 Human Sexualitye ouaNEAU , Ca

“L‘Gvolution drrmariage du la famile,” Paris ,“Sociology BasedUpon Ethnography ,

” lamb s , 1881.Lae n, D. ,

“Among the Zulus andAmatongas ,” Edinburgh, 1875.Law , T. H .,

“WildRaces ofScumEastern India,” London, 1870.

Lun a, H.,

“The Ancient Laws ofWales,” London, 1880.

Lumen , U“A Voyage RoundtheWorld,

” Londnn , 1814.

LIV INGS'IO N‘

I , D“Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa,

” London ,

LODO , J. ,

“AVoyage to Abyssinia,” Pinkerton

's Calledion, London, 1814.

Locxn, JOHN ,

“Thoughts onEducation,

”London, 1812.

Lonaaoso, C. , L’Uomo Delinquente,” NewYork , 1896 .

Louaaoso , C. , andFamao ,

“La Donna Delinquente, la Prostitute , e la Donna Nor

male,” NewYork, 1806 .

LONOroaD, J. H “Summary ofthe Japanwe PenalCodes,” Yokohama, 1877 .

Low, H.,

“Sarawak,” London, 1848.

LUBBOCK, J“The Origin ofCivilization andthe Primitive Condition ofMan,” London, 1880.

MACDONALD, D. ,

“Africans ,” London, 1882.MAcm m, T.,

“Studies in Roman Law,” Edinburgh, 1886.MAINE , H. J. S . ,

“Ancient Law,” London, 1885.MAJOR, GuAaLm,

“When KnighthoodWas in Flower, Philadelphia, 1004.Mmmms , P . ,

“Rio de la Plata e Team-ifs ,” E lm, 1867 ;“Fisiologie dall

’Amer-e,”Jena, 1887 .

MARQUARDT andMomm,

“Handbuch der remischen Alterthfrmer,” Leipzig, 1882.MAaao , A. ,

“La Puberta,” Turin, 1808.MAasDaN , W.,

“The History ofSumatra, London, 1811.

h uma n , W. E.,

“A Phrenologist Among the Todas ,” London, 1873.MAa'rm, J“An Account ofthe Natives oftheTonga Islands ,

” London, 1817.MAa'rrUs , C. F. Pa . VON ,

“Beitrflge zur Ethnographic und SprachenkimdeAmerika’ssumal Brasiliens,” Leipzig, 1867.MAranw, J “The Australian Aborigines,

” London, 1880; Joar. Roy. Soon, NewSouthWales.MATIGNON , J. ,

“A Propos d’un Piedde Chinoise; ” Arch. d’Antb. Grim, 1808.MAYER, S . ,

“Die Rechte der Israeliten, Athener, undRemer,” Leipzig , 1866 .MnDaUas'r, W. H .,

“Marriage, Affinity , and Inheritance in China; Trans. Roy. As.

Son , Hongkong, 1855.Mm as , C. ,

“Verleichung des filters , andneuern Russiandes, Trans. Leipzig , 1708.MEROLLA DA SoaanNm, Jason ,

“A Voyage to Congo andSeveralOther Countries ,”Pinkerton

’aCollection, London, 1814.Mar ina, H . E. A “Manners and Customs ofthe Aborigines ofthe Encounter Bay

Tribe ; Wood’s“Native Tribes ofSouth Australia,

” Adelaide, 1870.

460 Human SexualityPownns , S .,

“The Tribes OfCalifornia, Contribution to North Am.M., vol. 111,Washington, 1887.

PM , W. H .,

“History Ofthe Conquest ofPeru ,

” Philadelphia, 1802.

a naux, H .,

“Life ofMohammad,” London, 1607.

Putnam, C., Historical, Political andStatisticalAccount ofCeylon,

” London, 1840.

Parme s an, W. F.,

“Polynesian Reminiscence,” London, 1866 .

Pnoran'r, L. B.,

“History ofLoango,

”etc P inkerton

’s Coll., London, 1814.

Pu n -Hou r, the Precepts of, Records ofthe Past, V irey , vol. 111.Postman, C.W., Nature, Aug . 15, 1805.

Quarmaom, A. DE ,“The Human Species, London, 1870; Hommes fou lies at

homes sauvages ,” Paris , 1884.

Qomu rr, A“ATreatise onMan,” Edinburgh, 1842.

Rum , T. S.,

“History ofJava,

” London, 1830.

Rama, A.,

“Essays Upon Heredity andKindredBiologicalProblems,” Oxford,M,

“Homo sapiens ferns Oderdie Zustande der Verwilderten,

” Leipzig , 1885.

RawnmsON , G “The Five GreatMonarchies oftheAncient Eastern World,"London,1871.

Ru ns , W “TheMartyrdomofMan,” and “Savage Africa, London, 1863.

Ru n , J. J.,

“Japan:Travels andResearches,” London, 1884.RM, Tm,

“L'hérédité psychologique,” Paris , 1882Rlconn,M., “Letters on Syphilis,” Paris, 1860.

Rom , G.,

“Henry Noél von Bagermi,” Zeitechriflfiir Ethuol Berlin ,m, 255.

Roman , C.,

“Roman History ,” London, 1848.

Ross , J History ofCores ,Ancient andModern, Pasley , 1870.

Rossmcn . A.,

“ (Inte l-suchungen i'

lber die rOmische Ehe,” Stuttgart, 1853 .

Roux , Joamrr , “Psychologie de l’Instinct Sexual,” Paris , 1800.

RUBl UIs , G. nn,“Travels Into Tartary andChina,

” P inkerton’s COIL, London, 1811.

Sam, G “The Koran,


Savaon, G. H., Insanity ,

”and “Marriage and Insanity ; ” Tuko’s Dictionary ofPsy

chologicalMedicine.

SAXO Gam a-n ous ,

“Historia Danica,” Ed. P. E .Mueller, Copmhagen, 1858.

Scanner, F“Sitten und Gehrfluche bei Hochzeiten, Taufen und Begrabnissen in

Thi'

lringen,

”Trans Weimar, 1863.

Sonooncnu 'r, H. R “Historical andStatisticalInformation, etc., Ofthe IndianTribes

OfNorthAmerica,” Philadelphia, 1860.

Seaman, O,

“Prehistoric Antiquities oftheAryan Peoples ,” Jevons , London, 1890.

Scnwnmon'm, G. ,

“Heart ofAfrica,” Leipzig, 1874.

Senor, P“Dolore e Piacere,

” Trans . , Philadelphia, 1808.

Stnmvx, P.,

“Recherches cliniques sur les anomalies de l’instinct Sexue Paris , 1888.

Susan , J.,

“The GreatAfrican Island: Chapters onMadagascar,” London, 1880.

Authorities Quoted or Referred to 461

Sm 'r , W. W.,

“MalayMagic,” London, 1900.

Su mmit, D.M., “The LoyalKarens ofBurma, London, 1887 .

Sm ,W. , andCans-mm,

“ADictionary ofChristianAntiquities,” London, 1880.

Sm , R. B “The Aborigines ofV ictoria, London, 1878.

SOUTH“ , R“History ofBrazil,” London, 1819 .

SPENCER, H“Essays , Scientific, Political and Smculative,” London, 1883 ; “The

Principles ofSociology ,

”London, 1858.

Srmcnn andGau nt,“Native Tribes ofCentralAustralia, London, 1872.

SPIEGEL , F“ErAnischeAlterthumskunde,” Leipzig , 1878.

80013 3 , E. G “The States OfCentralAmerica ,” London, 1858.

Q uantum,

“The Psychology OfReligion,” London, 1899 .

Summon, C.,

“DuodecimCe sares ,” Thompson, London, 1872.

TACITUS , “Germania, London, 1860.

TArr, L.,

“Diseases ofWomen ,

”London, 1901.

TM , G.,

“The Narrinyeri,”in Wood’s “Native Tribes OfSouth Australia,

” Ade

laide, 1879 .

TAnnmU , A.,

“Des Attentats auxmoeurs ,” Paris , 1878.

TARNOWBKY ,

“Die krankhaften Erscheinungen des Geschlechtssinns , Berlin, 1886 .

TAU'rAm,

“Ethnographic des IlesMarquises ,” L’Anthropologie, 1896 ; “Etude sur loMariage chez les Polynésiens ,” L’Anthropologie, Nov .-Dec . , 1895.

TAYLOR, R.,

“Te Ika , aMaui ; or NewZealandandIts Inhabitants ,” London, 1870.

Trauma, L.,

“L’Instinct Sexual chez l’hommes et chez les animaux ,

” Paris , 1889 .

Tm , J. E. ,

“Ceylon,

” London, 1860.

TERTULLIAN ,

“De cultis feminarum, and “De Pudicitia, Oxford, 1883.

TRI AL, G.M. , “History ofthe Emigrant Boers ,” London, 1888.

Trimmer , A. ,

“Narratives oftheMerov ingian Era,” London, 1845.

Tnucrnmns , “History ,” Crawley , London, 1876 .

Tscnonr, J. J. V ON ,

“Reissen durch Si'

ldamerika , Leipzig, 1869 .

Tm , H“Dictionary OfPsychologicalMedicine,” London, 1884.

Tums , G.,

“Samoa a HundredYears Ago andLong Before ,” London, 1884.

Unmcns , K. H“Memnon: Geschlechtsnatur des mannliebenden Umlage, Schleiz,

1868.

m nar , H.,

“Die primitive Cultur des turko- tartarischen Volkes , Leipzig, 1879 .

“m 0, the Institutes of,” Julius Jolly, Oxford, 1880.

WArl'z, Tm,

“Anthropologie der Naturvolker, Gerland, Leipzig, 1872 ; Introduc

tion to Anthropology ,” Collingwood, London, 1863.

WAnn a, A. ,

“Beauty ,” London, 1846 .

WALLACE , A. R “TheMalay Archipelago,” London, 1869 ; “Contributions to the

Theory ofNaturalSelection,“Tropical Nature andother Essays,”

London, 1878.

462 Human SexualityWanna , E . VON ,

“V ier Jahre in Afrika, Leipzig , 1878.

Wmnnnnn, J “A Voyage Toward the South Pole," London. 1825.

Wmnonn, K. ,

“Altnordisehes Leben, Berlin, 1856 .

William , A. ,

“Essays on Heredity andKindredBiological Problems ,”Oxford, 1880.

Wm m acx , E. ,

“The History ofHumanMarriage,” NewYork , 1901.

Wm , C. ,

“United States Exploring Expedition,


Wrmum, G. A. , in Bijdragen tot de taul- land-eu nolbcnbundem Neda -landech- Indic.

Trans . , The Hague, 1886 - 9 .

WILKINSON , J . G. ,

“Manners andCustoms ofthe Ancient Egyptians,” London, 1878 .

Warsaw, J., A Narrati ve ofMiasirmary Enterpr-ises in the Southsea Islands, London.

1837 .

WILLIAMS ,M., “IndianWisdom,

”London, 1876 .

WILLIAMS andCALvnar ,

“Fiji andthe Fijians ; andMissionary LaborsAmong the Cannibals ,

”London, 1870.

a x, J.MJournal ofEducation, 1801- 2.

WM A.,

“Oflentlig ri tt Familial-an: aktenskapdlindren ,

” London,Trans.,was.

Wm ,M., “On a Comparative Study ofIndo-European Customs ,with SpecialReference to theMarriage Customs,” Trans . Internal. Folklore C'sna. ,

London, 1892.

YA'rn,W.,

“An Account ofNewZealand,” London, 1835.

211mm ,W. F. A., Die Inseln des Indischen undStillenMeeres, Berlin, 1865 .

Zrnononm,M. vorv, “DieMutter bei den VOlkern des arischen Stammes,”Munich,

464 Index.

Aura -lon

g. Eno'rrsu , vari

eitiestgf, 386—392

ores - riding an e sewmgmaehinem, 386 , 387thigh

- friction. 387, 388psychic, 388days

-dreammg9

a formOf, 388,

the hysterical formOf, 390religious, 301 , 395beauty , 76 , 77penis , 383 , 385

cunnus, 383, 385Assam, Nagawomen Of, theirmodesty , 42Association Ofthe sexes an instinct, 29

ofmenstruation with Phallic Observances , 56

ofbody- paintingwith Phallic Observ

ances, 56Atgfihments , platonic, between women,

Australia ,modesty in , 39 , 40girl painted, to indicate when she isread for the copulative act, 56

Azimba and, initiation Ofyoung girl tosexualmystery in, 28

Baal- Poor,whoredomOf, 280signification Of, 289

Babylon, themother ofharlots , 10Bacchantes , their prostitution in theFloral Games , 370Bacchus,worship of, 370

Bachelors, taxing of, in Rome,00chief actors in great drama Ofdemption, 122Balloon- fly , love-making ofthe, 208Barrenness , sexual, a reproach, 114

ancient rule for determining , 114Bath,Roman, prostitution ofthe, 28, 20Clement ofAlexandria on indecencyin the, 28MaryWortleyMon on the, 64Bathory , Countess , case 0 the, 330, 331Bawdy- houses , sign of, in Rome, 45Beauty , physical, 71- 83theme ofpoetry and romance, 72racial types Of, 72what is it, 82, 83Samoyede, 76aids to , 78Sinhalese 75Hume’s definition Of, 71Egyptian, 76

concepts of, 72, 73E ji, 76soul, 73Caucasian standards of, 74, 75 Calvinism, influence ofon female naked

artificial, 76 , 77 ness , 63painting the body as an aid to, Castration , 182, 18654, 55, 78 various forms of, 182, 1834

Beauty, physical, ofwoman the productOfevolution, 32, 33

universal desire for, 77, 78conquests Of, 78Darwin’s views on, 80influencedb

ay civilization, 83wer of, 7

emale short- lived 133female, heightenedby dress , soBest-man, O ofthe, 121Bestiality , 3 359

Betel-chewing in Japan , theandother countries , 55

Bmorm ,MARRIAGE, Drvoncs , 87- 153

adult, 02, 03liberty ofchoice in, 80, 90savage, 88, 89Hebrew, 07inAustralia ,Tahiti, NewGuinea ,NewZealand, China , Japan, and thePhilippines , 88- 90

E tian, 80Gree 92among other nations 02, 03

Biarmi , high riests in Calicut,functions 0 the, 214Birth custom, curious, in Africa , 05Bisexualit ofman, original,Bleach blonde,

” proto of, 54Blushing, physiology of, 6Body , disgust for certain parts of,Bororos, trumai ofthe, 41Boté , the, and schl’lpan, 252, 253Botocudos , strange customs of, 53Boy prostitutionmChina. 252

castration, trade Of, 183seduction, case oi

z233

Brad case ofthe sadist 417, 418Braz method for lengthening thepenis, 41Breasts , female, as source of sexual at

traction , 73 , 74sucking ofthe, as a sexual stimulant,157

Bridget’s potatoes as a remedy for sterility , 114Brown-eyedwomenmost attractive, 53Browning , in an unsavory connection, 310

Brownies,” slang sobriquet

prators , 310Brother and sister, incestuous intercourse

of, 107, 108Bruce, case ofthe sadist, 406 ,407

Index. 465

Castration, as practised in Rome , 182, 183 Crime, sexual, heredity considered as a

attitude of Roman ladies toward, factor in, 307183 love and angermotives of, 408,

onl true destroys sexualpower, 185in emales , 185 186

in relation to choral singing , 183spadonic increases sexual efficiency ,183’1821 f 185as a rem y or negro- rape,

Catherine deMedici , sexual inversion of,

Celigacy, a violation ofcreative purpose,

1

Change, sexual, causeofdesirefor, 134, 135Chastity andearly religion, 120, 121

among sav 210in Greece, 1 121

d, power offather over the, 80, 00dren, immodest of, 64betrothal of, 01

compulsorymarriage of, 03a factor in divorce, 142laws governingmarriage of, 01—03

Chinese women, modesty of, centers infeet 62

Chg

medimval, sexuality the basis of,Christianity , the sav ior ofwomen, 11

Church,3

asx‘ral abuses fostered by early ,

1 1

Tertullian on chastity in the, 50Cimndi, 47Clasdfication, new, suggested for sexualinversion 301, 302

Climate, influence ofonman, 80Clothing , as related tomodesty , 30- 43

ofsavages, 30—40as

53means ofattraction , 30, 41 , 58,

rimitive kinds of, 58, 50, 60tion, love- lures of, 67, 68

and sexuality , 220, 221and sexual abuses, 50, 51

Cad- pi“ , thO, 58Color as a sexual incentive,Conception, prevention of, 174, 178Conceptions, immaculate , ofhisto 120Conclusion ofthewhole subject, 8—451Conditions influen sexual choice, 117Coii

iggal devotion 0 Romanwives, 145,

Consumptives , great lustof 200Cosmetics, evil efl‘ects of, 77CogneiigfTrent,woman’s position defined

y ,Courtship, early, practices in, 62, 63Crime, sexual,mstinct as a factor in, 306 ,

the celibatemore than themarital state favorable to, 306

penology of, 40030

ac

?éndicatingmentaldisease

'

in ,

1

in the agedanddecre'

t, 414ofdementedfrequen y shown inrifl

empting impossible acts,

in alcoholic drunkenness , 416heredity and suggestion in, 433,

application oflawin 444, 445thge

ér

s

ies ofDarwin andBaeckel on,

neuroses inciting to, apt to be transformed in the process oftransmission, 308

drunkenness as a basis of, 398partwhich medicine should bear indetermining , 400

action of International Congress ofForensicMedicine, 1880, on ,401

instances in whichmedical sciencealone is qualifiedtoact,402

phases ofrel' '

o- sexual, 411impotence an sexual 411four im rtant thological points insexu 412, 13

Gunmen ,m Saxon , 306—447instinct m

as

s;be transmitted to 06

thgpinn

gtinctiv e, 300, 400penol 400responsi ility , failure to

withmedical facts , 401andlunatic identical in brain struct

ure, 402the sexual, influences afiecting , 434the, first to be considered, 423 , 424

Criminology , rival schools of, 399ultimate purpose of403psychic inhibition in sexual, 412contrary theories of,435,436

Criminals, guides to the subdivmon0

ofthe occi italclass ,441 ,442

general teristics of, 442,

LélutandVorsmon theircerebraldefects, 402, 403

fewmentally sound, 404Cundum, 175, 176

the “frilled, 328Cunnilingus, the use ofthe tongue insteadofthe penis, 47

Cunnus , the artificial, 383- 385its advantages , 383, 384

Cure, pepgier 210, 220

Cutpurse o case of, 317

466

Daikon, Japanese, formasturbation, 383Dance, the, in Floralian and DionysianGames, 43

in Australia , 211most sexual favored, 212in Tahiti and among theMinnetareesandKafirs, 213, 214

in Senegal and on the Ivory Coast,215, 216Mendafianwedding , 213mng as a sexual stimulant, 210

as a love- lure 60- 6 2the ur oflust,” 6 1imm est African, 214, 216Dion sian in Rome, 43call by the Albigenses the

“Devil’s

seri’

ual chzgaic”62

fter o amo sav

212—216

ng ages

in Australia,Mobierrie andMindarie,211, 212

in Greece, 61Dandy not admiredbywomen, 69

a Babylonian, 17Day-dreaming , sexual, 388, 380Death and life shall yet be understood bymen, 451Debauchee, suppositious hellfor, 35Debauchery, sexual, inRome,45,47Decoration, Bunjogee hair, 55personal,man forms of, 53—50

DemOf21863 1131!pulse to legal]e, rm y con

sidered.428 , 4Defemination, case of, 207Definitions , vagueness oflegal,432Destiny,man

’s rn his own grasp,450

Delhi , inscription on te of, 4Dementia , rts se aspects , 188- 101,284—286 , 341- 343

Diin

éra

isAfrican, exceeding cleanliness of,

Diogenes, praiwd by Chrysippus formasturbating , 21

Dionysia , sexual orgies in connectionwith, 20

Dildo, derivation ofname, 383Discord, domestic, from polygynousmarriage, 136

Disease, venereal, spread by Phallicworship, 44, 290

Divorce, historical rev iewof 139—152in savage life, 140

c dren a factor in , 142savage limitations of 143disease as a cause of, 152in China, 143, 144in Japan, 144in Turkey , 144in India, 144, 145in Spain and Italy , 145

Index.

Early Christian Church, sexual vicesfosteredby, 14

savage races, sexuality of, 32

East, sexuality in the, 16 , 17Education , influence ofon

Efiemination, psychical sex- transformation, 300Eu , a bad,

” 241- 243Ejaculation, seminal, 16 1, 162

center,where situated, 162, 163 , 164Epidemics

,venereal, howspread, 280, 200

Epilepsy, rts sexual aspects , 342,Erection , duration of 155

influence of auditog

and olfactoryperceptions on, 1Eros, 70

the Godoflust andpassion, 25Erotism, artificial, 366

- 305

hfiiisss

'

sed by Rey pri manfor sexual capability , 183

great honor paid to in Persia andGreece, 184

of, 184, 185l

Evangelism“

sexuali in religious, 50, 51“Evacuation theory considered, 180, 181Eve and her fig - leaf, 38

traditionary curse of 20Evil, the Social, 400, 410Eviration, delusional sex change,male tofemale, 264

Exhibition as a sexualperversion, 340- 351

pathology of, 340- 351

Eunuc

Divorce, in early Rome, 145, 146howinfluencedby Protestantism, 147in other European States, 147sterility a cause of, 143in South America and among Jews,among Hindus andearlg

Teutons , 147causes of, 148, 151, 15mutual deceptions ofwife and husband, 148, 140

itsprobable future , 150

Doll ardens,”slang termfor orastu

pra rs , 310Douche, coldwater, to prevent177, 187

Dreamy expression ofsexual inverts , 321Dress , female beauty heightened by , 37

Tubori, 63Droit du r, 213, 214Drunkards, ecbolic, sexual crimes of,416Dubarry ,Madamc, political power of, 37Duration ofsexuallife inmen, 7 8

Dwarfs)? giants , intellect andsexuality

o 7

468 Index.

Hzp

omenes andAtalanta , 70ppokratee, apolosie dee,

”

transformation, 323Hobby , a scientific, considered,Home, sexuality in the, 23Homosexuality, suggested sons of, 260

its causation considered, 260—263forgé

sically considered, 410-422,436

prevalence of, 420, 421statutory punishment for, 421, 422legal status of 436 , 437among rulers, 256 , 257in anti

qu ity, 250, 251

Ulrichs s views on, 270spurious, 250early development of, 287- 291congenital, 268- 274dangers of, 303its heredity considered. 270- 274, 287masturbation its ordinary forerunner,202, 203

ne

gr

ozclassification of suggested, 301,

acquired, 288—204nearly always cultivated, inRome,201normalmale, 301—3 12

female, 312—13124

f tlgrrls'

ations requen yva

gue rather than vicious,

31 317Freda Ward ” “Tillier Sisters,

”and CutpurseMoll” cases 317

influencestending to, 315, 316general remarks on, 287Jealousy in, 316sometimes present inwomenwithout the subject’sknowledge, 318

Hospitable restitution , 33 , 290Hume’s (1 '

tion ofphysical beauty , 71Husband

s?causes ofunfaithfulness among,

1

their troubleswith oungwives, 135Hyperesthesia sexualis , 1, 202Hysteria, sexualmanifestations in, 346

13331, passionless, a sexualmyth, 194, 3

Imbecility , sexual aberration in 340, 341 Intellectual refinement does not inhibitImmorality , sexual, in guiseofreligion, 43 sexual vrce, 2144, 256—260

chrl lInbeatiallrgencg

,

3

influence of on physicalImmodest of dren startirng

’

exame, uty ,

64y p

Invs nsron or m Saxon . Inn-man,Impolite to look too closely at privates, 244- 323among Eu s, 41 a theme ofpost andromance, 245

Impotence an sexual crime, 411, 412 as a scientific stu 245- 2471mregnation and its prevention, 165, the “ instinctive test

” for, 206

78 among the ancients , 250, 251

Impulse, sexual, religion andthe, 224- 226first awakenin

gof, 186—188judgment the cc of, 328

Impurity§4sexual, influence ofchristianity

on,

Incentives , sexual, color, sound and odoras , 209 , 283

Incest, instinctive horrorofinhuman race,107, 108, 360

ofP0 Alexander VI andhis daughter ucretia , 258, 259

cas

le

ogf, inbrotherandsister,Author

’s,

paghfiglogical sexualmanifestations in,

Roman laws regarding , 109in China, Japan and India, 109, 110

Ilggl

u

abi and Succ

gbae, note, 300

15marriage capture in, 1Lingamcereriionies in, 44mamage, 08, 00divorce 144, 145

Indra andMitra, sexuat of, in theVedichymns, 18

Infantmasturbation, 387Infants ,damnation ofunbaptised, 167, 168Infanticide, 165

- 178Infibulation, description of, 30

tedinmodernmarriage, 30agai n ]miracle in connectionwith,Influen

ggofcivilization on female beauty,

ofclimgge on human physiology, 79,

on human stature , 79Inhibition, sexual, a prolific source ofsex

ual abuses, 21

psycgic, forensically considered, 412,

Initiation ofyoung girl into sexualmystery , 28

Insemination,modus o randi of 160Instinct, associa

.

th

in

22°

1

1

2130 sexes an, 29

E lma-8° an , r

as a factor in sexualcrime, 396 , 307grcigs

th ofmodern polygynous , 137,is sexuafity an? 170, 180

Instruments usedin artificialerotism385

Index.

Inversion,masturbation in, 202among animals,23among savages ,its21

grphology and

in Greece,Rome andGermany, 251reversedstandards ofbeauty in, 277270

in Egypt andtheEast, 251among the early Hebrews, 200as

za

siproduct ofnational luxury , 251,

as associatedwith intense iMsm,

255, 256

insu lt?Of’to2‘55-

relig126

'

ld ralityrn re ran on an mo

248, 240classicalcase ofcultivated, 206 , 207theories and cases of, 263—266

cal

Mantegassa’s theory of, 272

early vrews oftheol on,

ins2t

7a

pces ofassum congenital, 274

in Italy , 260, 265proposed “zone

”of, 260

elsewhere, 246 , 265sex hallucinations in, 263- 265among rulers , 256 , 257general views ofontiiel

jggtdefined 267

,268ma su

’s own ’

e as congenitality , 270

religio-mystical, 323hoarse, raucous voices sign of, inwomen, 321

Invert, sexual,CatherinedeMedici, 333Inverts , sexual, on

’s

of, 310, 311romanticismof, 255, 256coteries ofin cities, 311asexual, 253 , 254involved in anti- vice crusade inPhiladelphia, 310

slang sobnquets of, 310lesser types of, 265, 266Brownlng , anecdote of, 310intellectual status of, 248normal love incomprehensible to,266 , 267

distin ed in Rome, France, Italyan gland, 255

grandmask - ball” of, 311 , 312a schoolSardana of, 280—282fondofbright co ore , 283

physicalmasculinity offemale, 320‘cures

”and punishments of,445- 447

society’s attitude toward,447

469

Ewe, influence ofmoral teaching on,

Irrumator, the, in Rome, 47, 48

Jack the Ri per, a sexual sadist, 332Japan, to y in, 48, 40

noesthetic sense ofthenude in,48masturbation in, 382, 383female prostitution a preliminary tomamage in, 16divorce in, 144cleanliness ofthe bawdy-houses in,48

Joan ofArc masculinity of,Judgment thefeeofimpulse, 328Jus prim noctis , 51Justlce anterior to law,

Kama Sutra, mles in, to stimulatesexualpassion, 326

Kiss, probably a modification of theprimitive love- bite, 326

Lady -men , slang sobriquet for orastu

prators, 310Lady, the stout, 74Ladies, a coupleoffastidious, 313Lambere, 47Law, confusion caused by faulty phrase

ology of, 438, 430origin andgrowth of, 443,application of, in cases of sexualcrime, 444, 445

ofopposites , 52ofsexual desire , 170- 243ofthe first nightwith the bride, 51ofprocreation , 13ofsexual selection, 51ofopposites , 52ofnature not always possible offulfilment, 249contrary attitudes of, in relationwithmedicine, 422, 423

growth andorigin of, 443, 444Laws, Roman, regarding nakedness , 40

ec

glesiastical, relating to sexual vice,1

shouldapply

alike tomale andfemalefor sex Ohm, 34, 35

fgoverning com ry mamage 0

children , 03,84Roman, regarding incestuous marriege, 109 , no

physlological, ignorance ofa sourceofsufierin 6

Legal phraseo ogy , confusion occasioned

y faulty , 438, 430Legend, Pelewfiofthe creation ofman,40Lengthening e penis in Brazil,41

470 Index.

ofsexual inverts 265,Papia Popg

ea , the, 101, 121Libidonemia in sexualo ences,433Life, sexual, ofwomen, 224Light- bringers, howthe worldthem, 2

Lingam-worship in India, 44, 45, 56 , 368Literature , sexual inversion in, 245masturbation in , 278, 286

Lombroso, causes of female homosexuality , 320

theory ofcriminal atavism, 390Love and religion , a plea for, 305

attempt to define, 26howpainted by Hebre us , 133inmost cases simply sexualdesire, 84,85

lure, danc'

as a , 60. 62lures ofci tion , 67, 68

other practices as, 60, 6 1makin“

ig, Aranean , 207 208

0 birds andquadrupeds, 204,savage practices in, 62, 63

marriagewithout, 86nature of, 157basis ofmediaaval chivalry , 23 , 25ofHoovi, in the ZendAvesta ofZoroaster, 10

physicga}andmental disparities fatal

to ,

sexual in the home, 23ins

9

iredthe suras ofMohammed,ofstatues and pictures , 36 1, 362ofsavages , 85 , 86

ao- calledplatonic amyth, 25sometimesmelanchohc, 163test, severe, Do

ggolowees , 70

Lust-murder, 425 , 4ofconsumptives , thelux conducive to,

sometimes a species of iasanity , 36

Luxury , sexual, of the Romans , 100,101

Lycurgus , Institutes of, prescribednakedness forwomen,49

Male prostitution inRome, forms of,45—48in China, 252See Sexual Inversion, 243- 324Malformation, sexual, as related to crime.

434, 435Magistrate , a shrewd, 100Man, influence ofclimate on , 80env ironment on, 81, 8

2

sexual life of, 7 , 8only created in God’s image, 20polygamous ,womanmonogamous , 36

Man creates all that is charming inwoman, 32, 33

inhumanity of, towoman , 43 , 44more sensual thanwoman, 35—37was he originally bisexual? 270, 27 1Manhood- restorers

”to the rescue , 22 , 23M

ag:destinywithin his own grasp, 450,Mania, sexualmanifestations in, 344- 346Manifestations , early sex , not necessarilyabnormal,413, £

4161

4Marriage, onsmo

compulsory ofchildren, 93without love, 86causes

iii“ decadence in Rome, 00

ofits decline inAmerica, 101 , 102obstacles to, 104outs ide the clan or tribe, 31

ph'

cal incompatibility in, 104, 105of dred, 107

—111

Roman laws rding, 10penalties for,$110race extinction resulting from,

110, 111reasons for its avoidance, 111among savages , 111, 112

not always a lifecontract, 14incestuous , 100, 110as a sacrament, 122endogamous andexogamous , 111, 112influence ofsocial caste on , 112, 113Melr

fgith

’s Ten-

year, no novelty , 68,

with heathen prohibited, 113 , 114rites andceremonies , 118—120barrenness in, a reproach, 114in the Philippines, 07Bridget’s potatoes in sterility , 114compulsory among early Hebrews , 07by capture, 115, 116by purchase, 116

ruling prices ofwives, 116 , 117conditions ofhappy , 84early among savages , 102rites andceremonles , 118—120an

fitinctwithman andanimals, 122,

1

compulsory , 06 , 97 , 08enforced by the Lex Julia et PapiaPo pea , 101

as a tats ordinance, 06 , 97amo early Jews , 07

ohammedans, 08Hindus , 08

a sacrament, 122a civil contract, 122

endogamous , 111, 112exogamous , in various countries , 111112

CouncilofElvira on, 113

472 Index.

andlust-murders of. 800362—365in sexual ofiences , 433

Nero, lewdpictures in his chamber,40NewHebrides ,modesty in, 40“NewWoman” as awife, 105, 107Nogi Tatars, sex aberration in, 323Normal sexuality , 267, 268male homosexuali 301—312

female hom '

ty , 312- 324Norman,Mrs . , no inversion in her

“Woman’sAdventurers ,

”321

Nolrthémerican Indrana' modesty among,

1,Nun, strangemania of, 301Nuznir

geries as theatres ofsexual vice.257,

Nympbomania, 345, 346

Oath,Hippocrates’s, 3, 45Obesi t female, as a charm, 74

Obstac as to prwecution for sexual of

cenm'

1106

aking f 207topus , ove-m o

Odoras a sexual stimulant, 2000Onamsm' 175

hm brastupration as a punis ent in oys’

lplay , 284, 285

as - performed, 285Organs ofgeneration, 158, 150ofreproduction, activ it ofthe, 154Orgasmandejaculation, 16Orgies , sexua

l, in guise ofreligion, 43, 44,

ofearly popes, 250, 260Orientals, sexuality of, 125- 120and savages sexuallyweak , 125Origin ofmasturbation, 368—370Originalunity ofsex infetus , 182, 240bisexuahty ofman, 270, 271OscarWilde, sexual inversion of, 255Osiris, 18

Predicones, the, 47Page, sexual themedimval, 24Painting the aidto beauty , 54,

associatedwith Phallic rites , 56amongGuaycurus , Australians,

an other tribes , 54as practised bymen, 57, 58among various savage races , 54

the face , a factor in divorce, 148, 140the nis , 54

Palang , t e, ofBorneo, 327, 328Papuans ,mutilations ofthe, 53Paranoia erotica , 347—340Parent, war ofover child, 80, 00, 01, 02Parent support ofchildren, 04, 05

Pagntalpartnership, origin ofthe family,

Parsnips ,masturbationwith, 385Parthenon, called the V irgins

’Temple, 120Passion, human, turbulentwaters of, 21ligg

ionless Ideal,”a sexualmyth, 104,

Pathici, 47Pathol ofmasturbation, 375Paulde egla , traduction de, 14PelewIslands,modesty in the, 40

legend ofthe, 40Penis,fgé

nparative sizes ofinmen, 161,hiders . See Phallocrypt, 30engagment ringworn on the, 62tattooing the, 62instruments worn on the, in sexualintercourse, 327, 328

artificial, adjuncts ofthe,inmasturbation, 314, 315, 383,its advantages over the natural,

ivory andebony ,Bra

zilianmethod oflengthening the,

pre in};c

l>fthe, inAustralia,forthe

00,

Pep ure for undue sexual desire in

gimp , 220Period, suckling , with reference to impregnation , 177

Personswho shouldnotmarry , 151, 152Pravnnsron or m Saxon .Moran,

Phall ts , pems' -hiders, of Northern

ngmnd, 30 40Phallus , sign ofthe brothel in Rome andother Italian cities , 45

Philadel his , anti- vice crusades in 10041005, 10

Philip ofOrleans a pederast, 260Philippines, wives hired by Americanarmy oficers in, 80

Philosophy , Greek and Roman, in relation to sexualvice, 21

Physician, indifference ofthe, to funalenakedness, 50

sexual experiences ofa, 235, 236Physiology ofthe sexualact, 153

—155offecundation , 158- 166

Pheidas, a sexual invert, 248Phrgzr

e, the prostitute, 200, 384Pin a sexual invert, 248Plant- life, sexuality in, 203, 204Plato

’smyth on the ori ofsex , 271

Fla boys’

, sucking e penis as a pment in, 284, 285

Poet ,

l

sexuality and love, themes ofartan 5

Index.

Polygyn and concubinage, 123—130In China, 127relative rank ofwives in, 127Mormons regard it as divine, 124influence ofChristianity on, 128

among savages , 125, 126

among Jews , 126in t, 123

in In“

a

gd123

(1 allrestrain in Assyria an amongScandinavian races , 123, 124, 125

allowed in Russia, 124rose first among sexuallyweak races,

124, 125among early Teutons, 124in Turkey andArabia , 127 , 128am the early Roman cler

g,

t eMerovm Kings,domestic disco in , 136

causes favoring, 137St.12riliugustine did not condemn it,

modern growthofthe instinctfor, 137 ,138

Polyandry , 120, 130comparatively rare, 120among various savage races, 129 , 130m ofV ili andVe 130

Popes aul II , 8ixtus Iv, Innocent VIII,andAlexander VI , all 257

Pogr

alation, native-born , of, 172,

1

Porte

ésfintoinette, Bouvignon de la, case

0 r

Position ofthewife, primitive, 33Precocity , sexual, 230, 233

degtrjl

rctive tohealth andmorals ,Prelimin d

iagnosis ofsexual crime, an

aidto ,

Premature indulgencefibulation, 30, 31

Prevention ofconception, 174- 178Priagju

a

s , festivals of, 44, 45tory of,43 ,44

Priests always the devil’s targets , 236Princes Eugene andConde, sexual inverts,

Principle ofchivalry amon savages, 51Processions ,Bacchic and oralian, sexual

orgies in, 43 , 45, 369 , 370“D

33

7?“religious ,masturbation inthe,

Procreation, lawof, universal, 1adivine p 13

Progeny ,man’s ire for, 135Prophets , Hebrew, character of, 13Prostitution, causes of, 10, 11, 148

boy, in China, 252relof

prevented by in

'

ous and tribal, 213- 210

yme andLeis, 290

473

Prostitution, Dion Chrysostomprobablyfirst to advocate its suppression bylaw, 125

among Jews, {280, 200in Brazil, 61in Rome or

ges of, 258, 259 , 260290hos itable,

maie, forms ofin Rome, 45, 46 , 47,257, 258, 291

first temis ofVenus built fromtax

on, 16patronizedby the Church, 259 , 260among sexual inverts , 272- 300Midianitish, 289sor

l

n

ggimes religious in character, 161,

function, 220

State, 37Prmishment, novel, in boys’play , 284, 285

forunchastity in the Roman121

Purchase,marriage by , 115, 116Purity , female, the lawof, 34

Tertullian on, 50Pygmalionism, love ofstatues, 361, 362

Quick -step, a disagreeable, 204, 295

Races, early savage, sexualit of, 32modest among,

Rais,Marshall illes de, 330Rape andlust-murder, 352- 356

scwonal influence on, 354- 356alcoholismand, 425, 426andlust-murder,medicalexaminationin 426 , 427midzr

go- legal examination in , 426

Realisticnovel, sexuality in , 192 , 103

Reic

égivists , sexual, howbest considemd,la, Traduction de Paul de, 14emgn

l

t

t,

ssexual anomalies a product

0 r

ofintellect and refinement ofmoralsquite diflerent 21

Religion,Mohammedan, andwoman, 7

art andliterature, influence ofsexuality on , 15

and sexuali d amic relation between, 22 227

Christian, the savior ofwoman , 10

and prostitution in the RomanChurch, 258- 201

474 Index.

Religion, sexual vice fostered by earlyChristian , 20—22

andsexualexaltation, criminally considered, 401 , 402

andchastity , 120, 121Reggigr

as

ge

l

stramts , secret v ices promotedy r

Reproach, sterility a 114Reproduction, lawof:179

a part ofgrowth, 20Repulsiveness offemale genitalia , 218Restraint ofsexuality a nccwsity, 16Revulsion, social, against contraryhabits , 22

Ililin- no- tama, 382

118 20'

tes ,marriage, 1

Rome, sexual dc ravity in, 28, —48,182, 185, 7—260marriage andbetrothal in, 02, 93Cato ainst sexual v ices of, 99taxing belora in, 00lawsregardingmarriage in , 92,03

58°divorce in, 145, 146homosexuality in , 46 - 48libertinismand conjugal devotion in,145, 146

luxury ofthe libertine in, 100, 101prostitution in , 250, 09 , 100Romance, sexual inversion a theme of, 245

queen ofbeauty andlove in, 24Rotuma, sexual customs of, 40,41Rulers , homosexuality among , 256 , 257

Sabinemaidensmade faithfulwives, 86Sacher-Masoch, 324—334Sade, De, 328, 330Sadism, 324- 334

definitions of, 324, 331 , 343theories ofMarro andSchafer on, 324robable causation of, 325—327Ellie’s v iews on , 320, 330

Schafer’s theory examined, 331forensically considered, 418Alton’s case, 332V erzeni’s case, 332theMenesclou case, 332inwomen, 333Messalina and Catherine dcMedici 333strange sexualappliance in, 334associatedwith anthrop

cgphagy , 418

Sadistic acts , further forensi examination of 416- 419moa, clothing in, 41

Sapphism. See Normal Female Homosexuality , 312

—324influences tending to, 315, 316among prostitutes , 310, 320methods ofgratification in , 314, 315

Sapphism, increase of, in the UnitedStates , 319probable causes of, 320, 321

Sarimbavy the, 253Satyriasis ,historicalcases of, 202, 203, 345,

intermittent, case of, 202, 203Savage discord, domestic and stickingplaster, 136wooing not themostable, 31

Savages, inversion among ,monogany among, 137, 138mutilations of 53polyandry among , 120, 130polygy

ny amon 125 , 126

sexu y injured y contactwith civil

ization, 6

chivalry among, 51love of, 85, 86betrothalof, 88, 80n

ézlrriage of,04—100

94ousy rare among, 100

Sc22mm, sex

- hallucinations ofthe, 205,

Seketra, the, 253theénes,faults andmerits ofwriters on ,

life, a large element inwomen, 254normalfeebleness of, 102

point ofdeflection in, 254Flateau

’s researches into, 266

original unity of, 182 , 249impulse, stages ofthe, 223

Sexes , association of, an instinct, 20difl

'

erentiation of, 249one lawfor both , 35 , 36

apparent modern antagonismbetween the, 150, 151

numerical parity ofthe, 130

Saxon .Sense-nononm Lawor52—87

abuses fostered by the early Grumh,20—22

choice, conditions influencing , 68

selection, lawofopposites in , 52, 53

liberty of, in primitive times , 171force the strongestfactor in, 205,

relation, themoral andsocial aspectsof, 134 1

vice, attitude ofGreek and Romanphilosophy toward, 21

development, a hiddenworldofidealsin’if'

“i f 153 166act. 1! reio osy 0 .

car

;41

;be performedduring sleep?

impulse, rversions of, 324- 365deve opment of, 186—188

stimulant, smellas a, 155

476

Sexualit the basis ofsympath 15, 16ofMllhammedan heaven, 1ofcivilisation, 220

Shyness s eex phenomenon, 38, 30Slav wi e feels hurt ifnot beaten by herhusband, 325

Smell as a sexual stimulant, 155Soci

]?caste, influenceofonmamage,’

112,l

Sodoma (Bazzi) , case of, 225Sollo

zr

gon

’s Song,male ideal described ia,

Spadones , sexual power of, 183Soul- beauty , 73Sperma, the, 159 , 160Stature, causes influencing , 70

in relation to intellect, 70St h inmcn admiredbywomsn, 69Stupi animalsmost sexual, 103Succuba ,myth ofthe, 300Suctmstu tio, 157Sucking t thumb, evilof, 64Sibsyg

rléinc priestesses erotically hysterical,

Tahiti, nakedness in, 41Tassel, pubic, Australian“Taster,

”slang sobriquet

ualist, 310among, 323

tion regarding, 55

55in Samoa andNewZealand, 56 , 57

Tein

ogerament, peculiarities ofsexual, 162,

Theodora, 15Theophilus , 15Theory , evacuation, considered, 180, 181Thyra, 15Théglsi -friction, in artificial erotism, 387 ,

Thought, ethical, and the prophetic character, 13, 14

Tickling as a sexual excitant, 228, 220“TillierSisters ,” case ofthe, 317Triangle ofsexualcrime, 441“Tribades,

”Lesbian- lovers in Rome, 150

Trinity, the new— Father,Mother, Child,TrocaderoTheatre , anecdoteof, 313Tupis andKaribs, the uluri ofthe, 41Turkey , divorce in, 144Types oflesser inverts, 265, 266

Index.

Uncle,”slang sobriquetforfemalehomosexualist, 300

Umty, congggal, root of, 87

sex, 1 240Utility, savage selects hiswifefor, 32

Vanity, relative, ofthe sexes, 37 , 38Venus, temples of, inRome,43,44Verlaine, a sexual invert, 255Vear

gr

liica, Juliani, strange eroticmania of,

Vestals, sanctity oftheRoman, 121punishmentfor unchastity in the, 121society of Parisian sapphists, so

named, 159V ice, no cordon sanitaire for sexual.440V isa)

, description ofRoman sexual, 252

as .

Voices, hoarse,raucous, inwomen, typicalofinversion, 321

Xantippe, 37

Walker, Dr.Mary, case

Wife-beating inChina, 86 , 87ran

ging in India and the

early position ofthe, 33Wives rulmg prices of, 116- 118Whistling , a ofinversion inWhitman ,W t,was he tainted

Winckelmann, a sexual invert, 255“Woman, The New,” as awife and as a

mother, 105 - 107first conc

ept ofheruse,00,01

sexual en urauco of, 202. 237loves above herself, 68, 60the type offertility, 302Women s chattel in Oriental countries, 16Council ofTrent on, 10Christianity , savior of, 19

can th love twice? 36how coted by Christianity , 50, 51

masturbate by theChurch,

conjugaldevotion amongRoman, 146

movement in America,not created in God’s 20

against, thwEm’s sin,

fathers oftheChurch on, 20

Human Sexuality - Forgotten Books

Documents

Transcript of Human Sexuality - Forgotten Books