S EX A ND TH E S EN S ES

BY

J AME S 3 gm TE SLAAR
.

( Fo r sale only to M ember. o f

RIC HARD G . BADG ER

m mm m m m
 The data and observations whi c h form the basis
for this w o rk ha ve been gat he red in the c ou rse o f
severa l years The actual writing o f co urse, ha s
.
,

t aken only a very sho rt time .

The pres e nt v ol ume is part of a w ork given over

to a subj ect of univers al impo rtance I have dwelt
.

at su ch great length upon a utoerotism as the p ra c ,

tice o r habit o f masturbation may be p roperly

c alled for the reason tha t it is one o f the most
,

obs cu re as w ell as one o f the most significant and

c hara c teristic manifestations of mental life Per .

haps no other habit apparently ingrained and so

,

widespre ad is so badly misunderstood even by those

,

who take a pro fessional interest in it On account .

of the uni vers al 1 gn o r a n ce regarding its signifi c a nce,

this habit like all others whi c h result from undi
,

r ec ted eroti c t re n ds is the center of endl ess difi c u

, l
ties and gives rise to numerous perso nal pro blems o f
an intimate and ve ry troubles o me c hara cter .

We hea r on all sides wa rnings aga inst the evil

consequen ces o f the misunderstanding of the fa cts
o f sex There 13 perceptible 1 n our midst a growing
.

mo vement for enl ightenment on the subj ect But .

for the m ost pa rt pa pular knowledge 1 8 as yet very

unsatisf act o ry .The information c urrently
lo ited 1s still large ly a herit age of that sc ien
p p ie -

tific d ogma ti c attitude whi c h ha s gene ra ted the

,

78 3 4 1
4 P reface
well known a nd futile system of a priori moral pre
ce pts rega rding sexu a l physiology a nd hygiene ,

mostly of a bundle of t a boos sympt omatic o f p rej u

dice and fear .

Fo rtunately we a re also wi tness ing a t the p resent

the development of a true s cience of sex h a ving its
roots in bio logy and geneti c psychology Al re ady .

the desc ripti ve meth od is being replaced by this

newer method o f appro a c h whi c h pro mises to yield ,

at last a satisfacto ry and helpful underst an din g o f

,

the fac ts of human sexu ality .

The plan for the present work ha s been incuba ting

in my mind for a long time But it would have been
.

useless to attempt to do j usti ce to the subj ect befo re

famili arizin g myself with and testing out for mysel f
, ,

the techn ique of the geneti c method o f appro ach .

It is the appli c ation o f this method to , the in te rpre

ta tio n of mental problems and to the an alysis o f
ma n s psychi c endowments that we owe to Freud
’
,

Ste kel and the other pioneers of the new psy c holo g .

The w o rk o f H a velo c k E llis Moll Liepmann Lo e

, , ,

w en feld and the other leading sexologists o f co urse , ,

has also been indispensable .

S ex and the S enses is one of a series of simil ar

studies on rela ted te pic s whi c h will be issued a t in
tervals depending o n the pressure from other work
as well as on the measure of interest these studies
may ro us e among those who as physi c ians or edu
,

c a t o ra, a re pro fessiona lly con c erned with the subj ect .

J a m 8 Van
. Tu n as;
B roo kli ne Ma ss
, .

Dec ember 1 2 1 922

, .
 CON TEN TS

PART !
n o

I . Pro h an Oar-cur o f Touc h —Distrflmtlon — Dlfi

II . Dlm ctn c ss and l mme dlacy of Touch — Lac k o f ln

Ch arac tc r l onch
' ‘
of

Pleamn —
valuc m Function al-fln luc of Scn n fion s

A tw a n —G en etic Aspects
n
for Sexual Union — N utritio n
in the U nlcelln la r Organisms

Dermal Q ualities as E rotic mlte o n —Description s

Touch Cravings and Higher B rain

Scu mid Inm

-
resslo ns fro m M u
f cous Ma n brancs
— Parasitic Beginnin “
h e l ntra ute rtne gwa m type of Feellng
- s - b

Ove r valuation of the Emm a Zoo s

-

5
6 C o n tsn ts
PM

V III . b
Review of Su j ect : Prhno rdlal Q ualities of u m
g
— V arlatlon s ln Feelin of Frea ll — Infl uen c e
o f Factors o i —
f Civil sation Physic pp eal o f A

Forms c i n ema
Are as Dermal ;
—

X
. Ec tobl astlc Ori in o kin an B ra — assive
g f S d mM
Reality o f Ik rmaJ Sensatlo ns o eel fF
l etap ysica o m ula tions
M h l
M
n and l hln k ln
M
' ‘

ln Mysfl cal n k lng m

lesc mt a unnel s lh w arte d Se xual Instln c t
'
ol

C n act Sens E ro tic Connota tlon s

of o t e —
of Touc h G unes Se nsltl”vc n ss to Toud x— Al
— e
l Cla rac te r R ending Through H andshak e
“

d of
XIII.

Th e Maternal Ki s — n s ti I fan le T e o f
yp Kl ss
8ac r amen ta l and Rel g o s s
i i u K i s— A Ca se I l s
l u
tratin g AM xture o f Ervtk re ll glo us Cr avln gs
s -
99

ness at or be f o re Pube rty .

 Co n tents

XVIII . h e Meaning

m
Origin of E rotic Crav — In fan tile nanis m
R ressio n 0 f Es i
p
g
g
a
S ex uality p
of asturba tio n— I ncitin g F u turist -

tion o f Self abuse as A uto erotism— M echan

-

lc al Exc ita tion o r Masturbation Proper

,

Obse rvstion s on Present Sta te o f Sex Knowl

edge Re ason for the Perseveranc e o f False
b

Teachin gs Unscie n tlflc V iews Regarding the

Consequence s o f M asturba tion Fear and
—
Emotional Over valuation o f Sex The Rev
- -
“

e ren tlal A ttitude Perversion vs Para

”— “ ”
.

The Prevailing Dual A ttitude towards

t. Of o ve
'

PuM r Myth Rest rdi s g rl ChlmB

al M
”

—The A uto erotic and th N arc l atic A tti

id n
-
e
tu de— Po l d a ce of M otives—Oversight o f
n
I n fan tile rotlsm— E vil Consequences o f the

E rotism an d M uscular Sense — Erotic Value o f

the Spec ial Senses— Fixation o f A uto erotic -

Te den e Rep ess on I What Sense an d

n c i s— r i — n
to W hat Extent is Sel f abuse M o rbid and -
,

Possibly Dangerous to H ealth

,

XXI II Self abuse and Nervo usness—G eneral Charac

.
-

o f the Psycho neuroses— The Ne u

'
’
te r ro tlc s
-

Difi c ulti — Symbolic C haracter o f A uto

es
erotism— The Neurotic s S t
w
’

lam P ttern type o f Confl icts t not the

. a a -
,

Cause o f Psycho neurosis -

XXIV .
 r m

XXV .

th e Ac t of

XXVI . A uto erotism nd Creative Ability— The Mean

-
a
l Self abuse as a H ab it f Exc eptional
c -
o
!dun— Sexual Precocity— The Need o f
Wilful D irecti n o f Desire—Mastu
o
Cr eative

XX VII Some Reasons fo r the Persistence o f False

.

Notions Regarding Masturbation and its

m
Conseq en es The Prevalence o f th Habit
u c — e
o m “ a n d H e lfil y I ndividu
a als
The E vils o f Self abuse—Perception o f
-

Social Val ues the Tru S tandard f G rowth

, e o
— Ine ompatib o f B rod er Stan dar ds with
A uto erotism - tive I mmaturi o f the
Average Man s Ideals and S tands o f L ife
’

XXV III .

erotism in Private and Public Life as the

Exp ression o f an I n fantile
tic Onanism — Its S
tion o f the H ahi — The

E rotic D reams— Nocturnal Pollutions—Other

I volu
n n tary Seminal Losses— The Evil o f
Fea Other C ryptic Forms o f Onanism
r —
Po ll utions and Masturbation Fainting

Pr actice of Mastur
 C on ten ts
r m

XXXI I F ear n U nde airahle Educational Weapon

. , a
The D uel E fl ect o f Fear— Substitutio o f n

C ha acte of A uto emtism— Note

r r -

ti the l l abit
—
Sex Essen tial l de ntity

Sense of W
0

The P dominance of Oi
l— re
fac o amo g
ti n n Verteb rata n d
Lo wer a
Mammals P evale e of Odo s in Nature
— r nc r

o f C ita tion—Abs trac t Speculations an d

Mystica l Rep resen ta tio ns .

Odo sr as t mu ts
lan Racial an d Ind ivid”ual
i S —
The Od r o f S nctity
Dif ere nc ea — “
o a

t r n m
O he Ab or al Manifestat n s C harac
io —

utatio n
XXXVIL Siae an d Fo rm o f N osh The

P
m Biob gy od —
orr Pe rfumes an d
Odors in N ature S emal
—
10 C on tes t:

r un
of Perfumery
Artificialevalence — Pr
of nah E rotic Significance of M usk
—
Odor f Leather I dividual Sensitiveness
o s -
n
— F agrance f Flowers— Universal P ev
r o r
alence f Se"xual Od rs— Essenti l I dentity
o o a
of N tu al d Body Odors— C haracter
“
a r an

XXXIX . Pb olo gical Psychology o f Per fumes

o rs as Stimulan ts Sexual Rale of O
— l

Hea rin asic G a rnet“ o f

B
ady c e try an d D n c in
, M usic a Fo rm
a ,
o f M o tio n— Experiment Dat Eup ho ric a-

Q uality o f M u sic an d Vo cal R hy thm— Son g

Interest in Music rie f Clinical Accoun t

Visi n — o f B ea uy — U til itarian Ch

W
o A t
cte
a r Bea ty Assoc iation o f Beauty
o u —
n d H eal th — I nc re se o f R
a ial Beauty
a ac

G radati n Curv ture o a

ascu ii n d Femi ine Types o f B eau
a ty
n
—G race —S moothness— F o m n d r a
Subtlety o f Co lor G radation— Pe
and Appeal of Po rm

XL III . The Contrast o f Colo radati ns an d Co n

r — G o
— De n nal Pigme tation and n

D rk R ces C lim ti Infl

a — a a or of c
H a an
i rd E Br ne tte
u Blond An
— ct
cient an d odern Prefe ences 0 1am of
.

r —
E m
P and Esthetics of Motion— Th e
the H u
man Foo Rel ative Size o f F rs
t— Sec i t and
on d Toes A rtistic Tradition— Role o f
—
SEX AND TH E SENSES

C HAPTER I

Eve ry sen ti en t being dwells in a w orld m ade up of

externa l re ality a nd of its own sensa ti o ns Much of
.

the co mple xity of hum an existe nce is due to thi s

double a spect o f life .

We pe rceive the exte rn al wo rld in which we dwe ll

and ha ve our physical being in the first place thr o ugh
the ins t rument ality of o ur senses Touch is the
.

sen se w hich yi elds the earliest information co ncern

ing the rea lm of existen ce whi c h exte nds beyond
the se ntient bo dy . It is the sense which sta nds at
the bott om of the sca le of animal existence .

In its biologi c aspects life is a matter of nutrition

a n d re productio n Both fun c tio ns depend on the
c apac ity of the living o rga ni sm to rea ct t o excita

tion s fro m the ou tside The speci al senses mediate

.

these function s Reac tion to c ontact o r touch is

.
, ,

the fi rst o f the speci al senses to make its appea rance

upo n the a nima l scale o f sentient existen c e The .

sensitiveness o f plant life is chiefly chemical ; that

12 Sw M tt m
ea

t ures m mnes mo re
, a nd mor e definitely the p eculi
a ritiea whic h we asso c ia te with sen tien t life aa a

p ro c e ss in u
na t re .

One of the strikin g c ha ra cter istic a o f to n e h is its

p ra ctic all y co ntinu o us with ge ner al sensibility upo n

whi ch depends loco m o ti on o r the ability of sentien t
,

beings to cha nge po sition in sp a ce Sensibility of .

,

W
course is the alph a of anim al re spo nse to excita
,

tio ns o r exter na l stimuli hile it can n o t be denied

.

tha t so me forms o f vegetal life ma nifest this ca pa city

in alam mta ry fo rm, fo r p ractic al pu rpo ses it ma y
be sa id tha t a nimal life as dis tinguished fro m vege
,

tal, begins with gener a l sensibility an d l o c o mo ti on .

The tou ch sen se is widely dist ributed The o uter .

la yer of the simpl est a nimal fo rms whic h con sist

me rely of a l ump o f livin g p ro topla sm already ma ni
fests sharp aenaitivenesa o n co ntact with exter n al
obj ects The very ca pa city of these simple living
.

fo rms to nourish themsel ves a nd to av o id d ange r

depe nds almo st who lly upo n this sensitivene ss In .

quasi tech nic al te rms the o utermo st lay e r o f p roto

-
,

pla am , th e sligh tly thick e ned c o vering of a ll un ic el

lula r organisms, is spe c ially sen sitive to extern a l
stim uli Tha t i s perha ps the first adumbra ti on o f
.

“ ”
the pro cess c a lled di fferenti a tion o f f unctio n
w hich leads eventually to the pe rmanent establish
ment of bodily pa rts or o rga ns a s c arriers of specific
fun ctio ns But the f uncti on all y undifieren tiated
.
’
 Pro tec ts Cha ra c ter of Touch 18

mass o f living pro toplasm the am ba p ro teus for

, ,

insta nce ca rries on the primal fun c tions cha racter

,

istic o f living bo dies as a unit o f which every pa r

ticl e is equ ally adapt e d to these p rimal functions .

The a mc ba is a uni c ellula r o rga nism unendo wed with

an extern al layer specia lly sensiti v e to exter n al
stimuli Its interna l mass is eq ually sen si tive and
.

“ ”
there is no difl er e n tia tio n of vi tal functio ns
'

Indeed as it changes positi o n in spa c e this little

,

speck o f living protopla sm e xt ends from within its

mass a prol o nga tion and with this or with s ever al ,

such as a so rt of fulcrum it ca rries its whole mas s

,

forwa rd Thus inte rnal po rtions of its ma ss be

.

come exter n al and reve rsely , in turn Even t ually

, .

every particle of its bodily mass co mes int o co ntact

with the extern al wo rld and e xhibits the sa me sen
sitive ness t o cont a ct .

The impo rtant po int fo r us to c o n sider is tha t

a t this lowermo st level of sentient existen ce respo nse
to co nt act is difl used th roughout the living mass :
'

t o uch the fir st ad umbration of psychic life becomes

, ,

pr a cti ca lly identic al with the innermost essence of

life Reality sentient exist ence , being alive m ean s
.
, ,

ma ny things to us At the bottom of the s cale of life

.

it means viewed fro m o ne aspect the ca pacity to

, ,

r espo nd t o stimuli a nd th a t in turn st ripped of dc

,
b

ta il s means sen sitiven css t o contact Abolition o f

, .

this se nsitiven ess means the ce ssa tio n o f in di vidu al

existen ce . W
e sha ll see la te r the bea ring of this
14 S ea: an d the Senses

psycho bi o tic fact upon the n atural his t ory o f hu

ma n ins tincts an d emo ti o ns .

But in o rder to ma ke clea r the general sta te

ments which foll o w I must po int out that touch re ~

ta ins thr o ugh out the animal scale in cluding the hu

,

m a n species all the quali ties and values which it

,

bea rs from the beginning as the most fund ament al

cha racteristics o f sentient - stence .

Ina smu ch as the important consequences of this

simple fa c t may not be easily grasped by those who
are unfamiliar with the recent advances in the bio
lo gica l sc iences and pa rticularly with the geneti c
standpo int in psychology it seems desirable to ex
pl ain a t the o utset that the persisten ce of the primo r
dial chara c teristi c s o f tou ch is pa rt of the general
te ndency in vi rtue of whi ch all prim al endowments
and ins tincts persist and endea v or to perpetuate
themselves This basic tenden cy to persevere has
.

be en largely overlook ed until re c ently ; at any rate

it is sca rcely mentioned in some works on general
biolo gy a nd not at all in the textbo oks on psy
c ho lo gy
. On the o ther hand there has been s uc h a
,

tremen do us empha sis given to the fa c ts which dis

pla y the obver se tenden c y to t ransformism and
cha nge that mo st perso ns a n d I surmi se even so me
, ,

o f our weighty te ac hers of biology an d psy c hology ,

entertain an erroneous no ti o n regarding the wo rkings

of ao ca lled evol uti on
-
.
16 S ear an d the S ome:

o f the old Vi ewed in its developmental course the

.
,

life u rge p re s ents the apparently mystifying pe

cu lia rity of the bu rning bush which cons umes n o t ,

for in spite o f numer o us evo luti on a ry transf or ma

tions it also re t a ins thro ugho ut sentien t existen ce ,

its pr im al forms of exp re ssi o n .

Moreo ver psychic life presents a pec uli ar ca p a c

,

ity to revert in pa rt or even wh o lly to the earlier

, ,

and a r ch aic forms o f exp ressi o n It is n o t physi

.

c ally po ssible for a frog to tu rn back into a t adpole

bu t it is a m ost co mmo n o ccurrence fo r an adult
huma n being t o revert to childish ways of respo nding
to life s requi rem en ts In fa ct pro gressio n forward
’
.

is ps ychi c ally not as e asy as regres sion ba ckwa rds .

The d ownward pull is often stronger than the for

w a rd u rge N o r d oes every change impl y evoluti o n
. .

Involutio n is distressingly co mmo n .

Psych obioti c evolution is c har acteri sed among ,

o the r fea tures by the regula r persistence of all pri

,

ma rdial and archai c forms of rea c ting to stimuli

a l on g with the relati v ely mo re recent modifications
o f beh a vior Cultural man retains the c hief charac
.

ter istics of the p rima l phyletic endowments which

his speci es sh a res with all other living crea ture s .

There is so much emphasis placed upon the fa c ts of

cha nge it i s time to give due c o nsidera ti o n t o the
 Pr o ton s Char a c ter of Touc h 17

truth th a t ba sically hum a n na tu re remains the sa m e

in s
pite of all c ultur al histo ry . Ther e is no co n

lusive evidence tha t evoluti o n ha s efiected thus far a

'

single significant or pe rma nent cha nge m the natu re

o f ma n although as a mere the o reti c hypo thesis the
,

grou nd is open for the contenti o n that evolut io n may

po ssibly be directed in that ge neral sen s e Fo r the .

present all we are j ustified to co nclude positively is

tha t the human species has n o t e volved away fro m
its abo rigin al matrix en o ugh t o l o se the lea st of the
p rimordial ch aracteris tics of a nim al life ; ma n s ’

abo r i
fi n a l reactions and fee lin g
~a ttitud es have be

co me modifie d ; they ha ve undergo ne numer o us t rans

fo rma tions a nd culture p resents hum a n na ture as
app arently ve ry co mplex ; but ba ck of the ma nifold
difieren tia tio ns ba ck of the r a nge o f a ll cultural
'

“ ”
complexities whi ch a re mostly but skin dee p
, ,

ma n still exhibits the aboriginal life cravings in their

raw fo rms and wi th all the primordial impera tiveness
typic al of the lower species If we ch oo se to ignore
.

this fu nd amental fact it is possible to constru c t a

h uman psychology very flattering to ourselves a nd
to build upon it fan c iful notions regarding man s ’

“ ”
uniqueness in the scheme of n a ture The plain .

an d so bering truth howev er is tha t man is neither

, ,

ver y unique nor in any valid sense outside the laws

which gove rn all life Ou r ki nship to the other liv
.
»

in g species in na t ure is b ut s tren gthen e d by thi s

 Sex an d the Senses
pe rsi sten ce within cultura l ma n o f the chi ef en d ow
m en t s o f life in th e ir a bo rigin a l r a w fo rm Th e re in
.

lie s the real t o uch ma k es the“

w o rld
 CHAPTE R II

The de rmal s ense retains even in cultural man

ever y vital feature whi ch it displays at the bott om
of the animal s c ale It is the most di ffuse of the
.

senses Every po rtion of the bodily surfa ce is sen

.

sitive to conta c t though parti c ular region s are spe

c ia lly se nsiti v e
. The prim al t o u ch sense is also dif
fere n tia ted into a number of special sen sations It
.

has un dergo ne important modifi c ations . But

th ro ughout all sen tient existence tou c h retains its
—
character of directness and media cy and ge ner ,

“ ”
ates the m o st intense feel ing o f being alive .

Indeed th is quality o f di rec tness belongs t o all

,

the special senses but to none in such intensive

mea sure as to derm al co ntact Ther e are quali ties
.

or degrees to the feeling o f reality ; these depen d on

the functioning of the special senses ; and to uch o r ,

conta c t is the basis o f the stronge st sense of the

, ,

most intimate fee ling o f rea lity Orga n isms end owed
.

also with visual olfactory and audit o ry senses de

,

pend ver y large ly o u the testimo ny of these senses

fo r the gener al feeling of being alive But the simple
.

organisms whi ch structur ally show n o such di fferen

tiation o f fun c ti o n s ev en down t o the unicell ul ar
,

19
20 S ec ond tlw S m“
st ructu res sh are in s ome me asu re this aliveness
, ,

an d they d o so s o metimes who ll y be c a use they are

endowed with the conta c t sensatio n Indeed for such .

o rganisms contact response as al ready intimated

, ,

repre sents the very essence of be ing a li ve Develop .

mentally the co nta c t sensation is the earliest the ,

most a rchai c the most diff use ; fun c tionally from

, ,

the stan dpoint o f biology and psychology alike ,

t o uch is the most fundamental of the senses All the .

o ther spe cial senses ha v e dev eloped as m odifications

o f it Tou c h then or the contact respo nse is the
.
, , ,

ma t rix of psy c hi c existence .

Co untless observations from all the spheres of

huma n life show that tou ch re ta ins its basi c chara c
ter istic s
. It is ratio na lly the least intellectu al and
emotionally the most powerful of the specia l senses .

The c ar es s the kiss the embrace are m odifications

, , ,

of contact ; the o rdin ary hand shake is a form of it .

The testim ony o f touch is c raved in a thousand ways

and in con n ec tions distin ctly eroti c often not thought
o f consci ously o r deliberately as I shall ha ve abun
,

da nt oppo rtunity o f proving in the page s whi c h

To uch is the l ea st intellec tual of the sens es partly ,

perh aps chiefly becau se it antedates the development

,

o f in t ellectu al proces ses by ma ny aeons In the de .

velo pm e n ta l histo ry of life on ea rth the who le peri o d

,

o f in tellectual as cendan ce si nks in to insignifican ce

 Cha ra c teris tics of Touc h 21

by c ompariso n with the ages during whi ch to uch

reigned nea rly al o ne as the a rbi ter o f li fe Wha t .

t ou c h la Cks in intellectual shadings it more th an

makes up in its feeling v alue and for the same reaso n
-
.

Sens a ti o n feeling and emo ti o n a re so cl os ely linked

,

tha t po pula r l anguage still co nfuses these terms .

Re s p o nse to stimuli is loosely called feeling and the

s ame term is applied to the primal emotions The .

free inter c hange of these te rms may be somewhat c o n

fu sing but it must be admitted that po pul ar usage
in this connection has some j ustification The vi ew.

here implied that feeling states rise out of general

,

—
sensitiveness that the two are pra c ti c ally identica l
, ,

— is suppo rted by the d evelopmental history of

life At the bottom of the scale we fin d a difiuse a nd

'

po werful co nta ct sensitiveness ; that comprises prac

tically all there is to the sen se of being alive a t
that lev el o f sentient existence ; it is the first f aint
fo reshadowing of psychi c life Through the ma ny
.

de velopm enta l phases whic h unfold life to uch remains

the o nly and for a time the c hief arbite r of sentient
existence A philosopher reflectin g on life may sta rt
.

with the premi se cogito e rgo mm I think the refo re

,

I a m But the sense of being alive is probably no

.

less suffusing and c ompelling amo ng the forms o f

'

life limi ted chiefl y to co ntact sensiti veness Life .

has its roo ts in a rea lm o f vague feeling devoid of

—
sel fh ood , as a c ra ving blind, inch oa te difiuse bu t
, ,
'
22 8 63 t Sense s

gripping and of tre mendous swa y Tha t feelin g or .

cravi ng finds its inarticul ate fi rst cha o tic exp re s

,

si o n in derm al sensitivenes s .

In the h um an spe c ies the p ro te ctive role of th e

skin is the one obvious fun c tion usually emphasized .

Indee d the dermal co vering is parti c ularly well

ad apted to protect the underlying so ft organs and
deli c ate st ructu res The skin is tough elastic im
.
, ,

pe rvi o us du ra ble resi sta nt to electri c c urrents

, , ,

Woods H utchinson c alls it one of the toughest and

most dange r proof substances in the th r ee kin gd o m
-

”
o f na tu re . It regulates the heat of the body and
promotes or retards c ircul a tion thus a c ting like a
,

“ ”
kind of skin h ea rt
-
As an ex c retory orga n it ful
.

fills a functi on second in impo rtance only to the

kidneys which embry o logically a re a d evelopment
, ,

of it.

The dermal cove ring is recognized of c ourse as , ,

the seat of the sense of to uch but formal psychology

,

thus far has failed to take into cognizan ce pro pe rly

the role which the dermal sense plays in daily li fe .

The geneti c viewpoint has been adopted only recently

in the study of this and allied psy chologi c p roblems ;
but it has opened up a l ready a wide sphere of knowl
edge con c e rning the practical problems of daily life .

We are on the threshold o f a new science of huma n

Fu nctio n ally the skin m a nifests a cert ain bi o tic

,
24» Sw aa d tl ma
ta in i
o f ex sten ce as to uch, in p
site of its lack o f
intellectual p recisio n .

S ta n ding closest to the fans at origo o f life, tou ch

holds a peculia r sway o ver sentient exi s tence It .

i s the first and rem ains fo r th a t re ason the most po

“ ”
tent tes timony of be i ng a live ; in this sense the
“ ”
sa ying tha t to feel is to be alive fin ds gen etic co r
ro bo ra tio n.

“
The whole c ra ving fo r life the will t o live ”
,

about which so much is said and written sums itself ,

up most po tently in the conta ct sense To uch tends .

to ove rshadow either in its raw f o rm o r in s o me of its

,

en dless ramificati o ns the coexistent c ravings ge ner

,

a ted by the other senses ; it in trudes upon the higher

intelle ctual faculties fu rnishing the gro und pattern -

fo r co miderable mystical an d abst r act thinking .

Our speci al senses do not merely supplement each

other they n o t only contribute t o the sum tot al of
,

exci ta ti ons a n d respo nses which make up the life

o f the organism ; each of them also tends to function
qu asi auto matically Perhaps none is c apable of
-
.

ho lding suc h complete sway as the conta c t sense ,

be ca use t o uch as al ready mentioned is the most ar

, ,

cha ic the most di f

, fuse and in many ways the mos t
,

vit a l exp ress ion o f the life u rge .

 CH APTER III

A s the e arliest respo nse t o stimuli t o u c h sen sa r

tion s are the fi rst to pro ve pleasurable The co nta ct

.

se nse a pprises the simplest orga ni sms of the presence

of food All primitive life revolves aro und co ntact ;
.

and the sensa ti o n o f t o uch rem a ins the m o st vit al

arbiter o f gra tificati o n in all the chief co n ce rns of

individual existence The human speci es is no ex
.

c e tio n
p H ere
. t oo the
, skin r
,efl ex e s appe ar bef o re

bi rth The child s ea rliest feeling a ttitude towards

.
’

the mo th e r is do ubtl ess determined first by conta ct

with the b reast a nd by the pl ea s ura ble sensati o n
evo ked in its lips wh en plac ed in co ntact wit h the

All p rima l functions are end o wed with pleasurable

“
sen sa tions The speci al senses are not mere func
.

”
tions ; they also have a distin ct p leasu re value -
.

The senses therefo re ha ve a double v alue fo r the

, ,

in di vidu al E moti o nally they subse rve ce rtain biotic

.

needs . Psychi c ally they gen er ate at the s ame time

the sensation o r feeli ng of plea s u re a nd gra tifica ti o n
.

To uch o f cou rse stan ds forth as the a rch aic bea rer
, ,

o f all the sense of pleasu re of whi c h the lower species

a n d all individu als o f h igher speci es du r ing thei r

25
26 S ex an d the S m“
earlier pe ri ods of development are capable F or .

the newbo rn infant conta c t with the mother s nipple ’

is the source of sup reme gratifi c ation .

The pleasure v alue is distin c t fro m the functi o na l

-

v alue o f senso rial ex citation The individual may be

.

most intensely aware of the pleasu re end and but -

dimly if at all of the functional value of his sen

, ,

so ria l experiences S exual gratification t o po int o ut

.
,

the mo st co nspi c uous example in biology is car ried ,

on among the lower o rganisms enti rely on account

of the plea surable Q ualities of the tou c h exc ita tions
in vol v ed H ere S chopenhauer s contention that the
.
’

“ ”
in dividual is pra c ti c ally t ricked by na tu re int o
subserving the needs of his spec ies th ro ugh a p remium
in the fo rm of individual pleasu re is partia lly true .

The t rend of the senso rial excitations to repeat

and perpetuate themsel ves is perc eived subj ec tively
as craving The an imal c ravings are the abo riginal
.

endo wm ents of life They o we thei r intensity to their

.

archai c o rigin Fo r numberless aeons long before

.
,

any orga n of cons c iousness ma de its appea rance

within the anim al k ingdom the repetitive trend o f
— —
senso rial ex c itations the cravings represented
, ,

the sum of existence What all living beings par

.

ticular ly a nd spec ifically crave is the plea sur e feelin g

o r the sense of gratification a fio rded by the func
'

tio n al use of the special senses The functional v alue

.

o f se nso rial excita tions is ra ci a l individua l ; thei r

-
 Plsa mr e Value vs
. Fun c ti o nal Value 27

pleasure v alue is individual racial By this co nj an e

-
.

“ ” “ ”
tion o f the terms raci al and indi v idual in reverse
o rder in the two ins tances I m ea n to indicate that
fro m the sta ndpoint of the individu al o rganism the
pleasu re value if anything takes precedence while
, , ,

fro m the sta ndpo int of the species the function

is what primarily counts the pleasure v alue bei ng
,
-

signifi cant only bec a use it is a n efiec tive mea n s o f

'

insuring the interest o f the individ ual 1 n the respec

tive function .

The infant a t the brea st fee ds we say beca use , ,

it is hungry But the pro cess is not indu ced in a

.

nega ti v e way merely as a means to overco me the

,

un pleasant sensation of hunger Feeding is also a .

s o urce of positive ple a sure on a cc ount of the c ontact

excitations involved Fo od is often c raved as an
.

indulgence apart from hunger Children and even .

ad ul ts do not eat merely when they are hungry .

“ ”
They a lso eat be cause things taste go od and be
c ause the a ct of e ating is pleasu rable .

The tenden cy of sensory excita tions to f un c tion

auto ma tic ally is due t o thei r pleasu re value The .

exc itations are cra v ed on a cc ount of the gra tifica

tion they yield rega rdless of their fun c tional v a lue
,

and o ften in excess of the physiologic needs o f the

organism In this sense the individual exploits the
.

racial en dowmen ts of his spe cies f o r his in dividual

gai n as plea sure y ieldin g so u rces Tha t is the o h .
( Eve ry bio logic truth like eve ry oth e r
, t r uth h as , a t
le ast two sid es ) .

The co nsumma ti o n o f sexu al uni on bio l o gically

,

spea kin g has be en des c r ibed a s c o nsisting of a

,

speci a l adaptation of the sense o f touch It mea n s .

cont act intensified to the po int o f highest pleasure

summati o n .

It is not ea sy t o draw distinctions of degree or

qu ality in feelings which have the s ame o rigins and
which are expres sed senso rially in the same ma n
ner The identity of origin and the similarity o f
.

somatic expression defin itely po int to an essenti al

unity pe rha ps identity of fee lings o r sen sa ti ons
, ,

which ar e sometimes co nsidered distinct fro m o ne

an other Sexual gratifi c ati o n and nut ritional grati
.

fica tio n a re ce r tainly difieren t in many ways

'

The y .

a re not v ery di f feren t from the st a ndp o int o f the

ultima te rfile which the respective fun c tions f ulfill
in the eco n omy o f life For the individual conce rn ed
.

the pleasu re value of the functions o f nutritio n a nd

-

re p ro du c tio n is prac tically the same ; a t any rate the

tw o s o u rce s of pleas ure are clo sely in te rdependmt ;
an d the pleas ure val u e o f life s fundament a l f un c
’
-

ti ons is a blind ra w primal feeling within which n o

, ,

valid distinctions ca n be drawn Intellect is either .

t oo subtle or not subtle enough fo r the t a sk Ap .

p a te ntly the prim al sense or feelin g w hich mo ves

 “ ”
senti en t existence on the inte rnal o r
side is pleasure or gratification Dys .

ginning as a mild degree o f un plea sa n tm

ha ving one of its ro o ts in a sense of ow
the o bve rse of the pleasure principle ; it
degree s and manifests v arious stage s
culminating in actual pa in The avoids )
.

the ind ulgen ce in st a te s and excita ti on s

—
yieldi ng pleasu re o r gra tifica tio n g tha t
l ogic ally t o be the tw o fa ceted ma inspr in
-

The only gradati on of plea su re kn o wn

species is quantit ati ve Food is good u
.
,

better an d so also with s ex The quanti .

ma ti o n of the pleasure v alue of sens ori a

-

is n a ture s means of insu ring the interest

’

vidual in the functions whi ch perpetuate

Conta ct be ing plea surable the ple asu ,

con tact raised to the nth degree as it w ,

the mo st fitting and at one time w as the

able mea ns fo r secu ring the pe rpetua
i

Sexual cra ving is ultimately a cra ving

for tha t most intense form of excita tio n 1
co nta ct sense is ca pable The craving
.

so mewha t similar Nut rition t oo inv !

.
, ,

tensifica tio n of to uch sensat io ns to ge the

ous m odificati o ns The pleasu re value 01
.
-

in gs i s pra ctic ally iden ti cal j ust as at,

o f the sc ale o f life the tw o f und amen t a

30 Sw an d the S enses

n ut ritio n and rep roducti o n merge int o o ne an other

, .

In ce rt a in impo r ta nt re spects nut riti o n and repr o

duction bal a nce and check each o the r This ho lds
.

t rue not only in the eco nomy of nature but within

the realm of individua l existence as well Meta zoa
.

a tta in sex ual ripeness only after the individu al h as

rea ched a certai n stage of physical growth In the .

simpler protoz oa reprodu c tion is directly co mple

menta ry to nutrition The amoeba , f o r insta nce t o
.
,

take a gain the m o st el emen tary i llust ra ti on grows ,

by abso rbing suitable substances f rom the extern al

w orld It depends wholly upon the sensitiveness o f
.

its su rface for findi ng the appropriate pabulum .

There is therefore a certain ratio be tween its bulk

, ,

and the square of its su rfa c e When the ammba

.

att a ins a ce rtai n size the su rface is no longer ade

quate to pla c e it in tou ch with suffi c ient nutritive
m ater ial to maintain itself The dispropo rtion be
.

tween its su rfa ce and the square of its mass i s

pro bably one of the inciters whi c h sets into m o tion
the c hange s le ading to a division of the amm ba into
two masses or lumps of living protoplasm Thi s .

divis io n besides reducing the mass app ro ximat ely

one h alf in c reases the total su rface area It is a
,
.

nut ritive o r tro phi c function and at the s ame time

insures the rep rodu c tion an d perpetuation o f the
species . One indi vidual h a s beco me two ; ea ch
daughter ammba th rows o ut its ps eudop odi a or
feelers seeking f ood with rej uven a t ed en ergy The .
 CHAPTER IV

Gre a t emph asis is l a id by w rite rs upo n the der

m al qualities as inciters t o l o ve I do not refer here
.

to physiologic des c riptions but to the place which

refe ren ces to the skin occupy in bell es lettre s .

Novelists and ro mancers and poets alike have de

v o ted so me of thei r most impassi o ned flights o f
ima gin ati o n to a ttempts ad equately to des cribe the
ero tic appea l of a bea utiful skin It is a subjec t
.

whi ch has taxed the ingen uity of many writers but

no one has yet given a description adequa te and
,

comp reh ensive o f its appea ling powe r Lite r atur e

, .

cont ains me re suggesti o ns and fl a shes o f insight here

and there It 1s an inexhaustible to pic and even in
.
,

ou r ove r so phistica ted pro saic age it rem a ins a

-
,

so urce of i nspiration t o po et and ro mancer .

The typi cal co mpa ri sons o f skin with velvet silk , ,

m arble and other obj ects natur al or manufactured

, ,

ar e strikingly inadequ a te In sh ort inspira tio n

m
.
,

fail s here ; the writers are ha ed ; they feel unable

to do j ustice to the t re m endo us eroti c a ppe al o f the
skin On few subj ec ts is so clea rly felt the force
.

“ ”
o f the t ruth that to desc ribe is t o limit .What
the des c ripti o ns o f the skin gain in sumstivene ss
32
 Craving for Co n tac t M
through co mpari so ns with other obj ect s is mo re
th an canceled by what the skin l oses by su ch c om
pariso n no matter ho w ad roit The whiteness o f
, .

skin is not that of ma rble ; its c olo r ha s been de

“ ”
scribed also as o f peaches and crea m but even,

th a t co mp ariso n though more eff ective fails to

, ,

evoke the se nse of warmth a nd life of softn e ss and

,

pli ability whi ch to uch reveals In short eve ry co m

.
,

parison f alls sh o rt .

This inadequ a cy o f desc ripti o n is partly due t o

the limita ti o ns o f l anguage W o rds a re symbo ls
.

whi ch ar e intended to ev oke a nd s uggest spec ifi ,

cally even to delinea te at times ; their descriptive

powe r is ve ry limited In the c ase o f the skin a t
.
,

tempts a t descr iption in v ariably fail and a re likely

to pro ve inadequate pa rticularly when the attempts
ar e intended to express the p rimordial appeal of the

to uch sen se The appeal of t o uch is inexpressible

.

preci sely on acco un t of its a rchai c character S kill .

ful w riters a ttempting to put in language a nd to

express the feelings ge nerate d by the contempl a ti o n

of an obj e ct whi c h a wakens the most intimate and

p rimordi al emo tions limit themselves to ev oking and
sugge sting ; they d o no t a ttempt c o mp re hen sive dc
sc rip tio ns.

The sexu al embrace rep re sen ts a spec i al adapta

tion an inten sifica ti o n of to uch sens a ti ons a s a l
, ,

ready sta ted ; but dermal sensa ti o ns are ca pa ble of

34 S em an d tlw S euss:

exp res sing innume rable grad a ti o ns of feeling Mo re .

over a ll de rmal sensations are endo wed with ero tic

,

qualities The gist of to uch is c ont act ; nut riti o n

.

requi res it reprodu c tion utilizes it ; contact in fa c t

, , ,

is the keyst o ne t o both fun c tions The physiologic

.

craving for c ont act and its conco mita nt pleasure

value has evolved gradua lly the mechanism of the
who le body ; in the last analysis it is the founda ti on
of thought and of all the forms of expressivity
whi ch we meet in the ani mal kingd om All animal .

fo rms ha v e ev ol ved in response to the need of grati

fyin g the c raving for c onta c t nutrition al and sexu al
, .

Indeed it may be said that the c ontact h unge r o r

, ,

rather the c ra v ing for its gratifica tion is neither ,

who lly nut ritional no r who lly sexual : it is bo th a t

o nce This c raving for c onta c t and uni o n is the
.

expression upon the psy chi c realm of the essen tial

“
unity of the life urge Thus hungry fo r l ove is
.
”
,

not mer ely a figure of speec h ; it has a deep bio

geneti c found a tion ; and the referen ce to sexu al p ro
p ens ity as an appetite is mo re than a co inc ide w e ,

more tha n a chan ce ass oc iati on o f ideas .

I have alre ady referr ed to the primacy of the

“
derm al sensations their intense reality o r imme
,

diac y ”
. These qu a lities have an M po rta n t beari ng
on hum a n nature and specifically on the characte r of

—
human a fiec tio n s particula rly l ove
'

, .

Every emotion has its dermal equival ents Feel .

ings and yearnings when most intense a re expre s sed

 Bio gm sis of E mo tio ns 35

p re ferably in ter ms sugges tive o f im ageri es derived

f ro m the realm of touch sensations Tou ch sensa .

ti o ns the grada ti o ns o f feelings which they evo ke

, ,

and the figurative langua ge whi c h they generate are ,

cap able of expressing every gradati o n of a fiec tio n

'

fro m fo rmal acqu aint anceship to a l ove yea rning s o

t remendous that no o rdina ry te rms are adequate t o
exp re ss the sta te o f feelings Perso ns who d ream
.

of l ove whether human o r divine often d raw upon

, ,

the nut ritional realm fo r terms with whic h t o ex

press a t l e ast approxi mately their cons uming de
, ,

“
si res They revel in such terms as fusion with the
.

”“ ” “ ”
divine g e,tti n g in tune with the infinite o nen ess , ,

et c Above all love is exp ressed either figura tively

.
, ,

o r literally as a longing fo r union That of c ourse

, .
, ,

denotes the geneti c background of the feeling in

ques tion Biologically the c raving a nteda tes the
.

literal o rigin of its figurati ve expression : the sub

j ee ta exp ress themselves more fittin gly tha n they a re
awa re In the last analysis all love c ravi ngs
.

reverbe rate physi c al sta tes and include the physi c al ,

e ven when the re is no subj ec ti v e a wa reness o f thi s

f act .

8 0 deeply i ngrained a biologi c t rait is this c ra ving

for un ion that in the hu ma n species so highly ao ,

p histica te d it breaks, out in all so rts o f c o nn ecti o n s

a pparently non sexu al and ha ving little or nothing
-

to do with nut ritional needs But a proper a pp re

.

ciatio n of the geneti c bea ring of the mo re so phisti

36 S ex t Sm “

ca ted fo rms of human yea rning: a nd feelings s how s

tha t these to o have the ir ro o ts in the ba sic needs o f

Conta ct i s the p relimin ary step to tha t fusi on ,

tha t u ni o n which is the physical and vis ible exp retr

si on of the gratific a tio n of hunger Co nt ac t spe
.
,

c ialized intensified is a ls o the quint essence of the

, ,

physical act o f sexu al ind ulgen ce The craving for

.

union for oneness fo r identifica ti o n with this or

, ,

—
that ideal whethe r c o rpo realf a cr ea ture of flesh
,

— —
and sinew o r abstra ct, a divinity, h as the s ame
—
,

ge n etic ba s is .
 C HAPTER V

Man i s p ro ne t o cl aim allegiance to invisible

po wers Writers trained in theol ogi c institutions
.
,

professio n al religionists and others who a r e unac

q u a i
n te d with ge neti c psycho biology point t o this
pe culia rity as pro of that man is essentially o r as , ,

“ ” “
one writer expre ssed himself inco rrigibly a re
, ,
”
ligio us animal . The inferen ce that man is a
io ns being may be proper but it c annot be so on
the gr oun d indi c ated above fo r the reas o n that ma n s
’

tendency to revel in phantas es which often but

i — ,

—
n o t alwa y sr t ake a religious tu r n is expl a inable on
,

simpler gro unds .

M an turns his min d t o abs tra ct fee ling o bjectives

-

broadly speaking either to cover cons ciously or

, ,

unco ns ciously the re al obj ec tive s of his feelings o r

,

else because the re al obj ectives a re una ttainable ,

unknown perhaps awe inspiri ng ; and here a gain

, ,

thei r un a tta inable character may be re alized but

dimly subco ns ciously or not at all Indulgence in
, .

a bst ract feelings mean s that a porti o n of the human

cravin gs fin d no di rect o utlet Man conj ures up
.

more or less elabo ra te fan ci e s f o r vica ri o usly ih

dulgin g in the gra tifica ti o n o f instinctive c ra vings .

37
38 Sw aa d the S enses

This is o ne o f the c hief psy chobi o tic functio ns of

man s faculty of fan c y wea ving o r day d rea ming
’ -
,
-
.

Whenever he indulges in this soa ring into the sub

j ec t ive r e a lm o f d r eams and fan c ies he is impelled by
his instin c ti v e c ravings ; the phantasies are but a
d ress perhaps a mask for his c ravings ; and whe n
,

he reve rts to earth and attempts to give his d reams

a form he is prone to re ve rt to figu rative exp ressions
bo rr o wed fro m the realm of the senses and p a r ticu
la rly to those suggested by dwelli ng subco ns ciously ,

o r otherwise upo n the pleasurable touch sensati ons

, .

Mystica l dreaming is full of refe rences to union ,

fusi o n oneness and the like The high est flights o f

, .

ecstasy of whi ch man is capable pla ce him in a

s t at e o f blissful self sufi c ien c y p recisely like that
-

suggested by the e fio r tless gra tifi ca tion o f the pri

'

mary fun c tions of living as for instan ce du ring the

, , ,

intra uteri n e stage of existe nce This is a s ubj ect

-
.

to which I shall ha ve occasion t o re fer at grea ter

length in the cou rse o f the pr e sent study .

The sense o f t o uch is do ubly difiuse : it is dis

'

tributed o ver the whole body although certain der ,

mal regions are specially sensitive a nd its m assive ,

vaguen ess the lack of intellec tual qualities stands

,

in st ro ng contrast to its tremendous emotional ap

peal Indeed in the la st an alysis nothing see ms so
.
, ,

real to the living o rga n ism as what it ca n touch and

grasp The testimony of tou ch is the ultima te wit
.
40 Su an d the S m“
ser vient to it ins ofa r as the y a re no t o bliter a ted .

'

In other words the pl ea sure value of sens o rial ex a ta

,
-

tions a sserts its p rima cy o nce mo re thus repro ,

duc in g a very pr im o rdi al state whi c h fin ds its p a ra l

lel o nto genetica lly in ea rly in fan cy ; phyletic ally we
must look for the parallel of this condition f a r ba ck
“ ”
in the pale o nto logi c past o f the human psyche .

A f a irly c o rre ct interpretatio n o f m a ny o f the

cm npla in ts which f a ll from the lips of hypo cho n dri

a cs and other n e uro tics is the following : These per

so ns all o w thei r dermal a nd other sensori al c ravings
t o go vern thei r thin kin g and feeling Lite rally as .

well as figur a tively their cravin gs more or less

, ,

“ ”
e l a bo ra ted
, m o re o r l e ss masked run a wa y with
,

thei r higher bra in functi o n s .

The intellectual va gueness of the derma l se n sa

tions is due in pa rt to th eir biolo gic anti quity .

Touch is the oldest en dowment of a ll living organ

i sms It anted a tes the rise a nd de velopme nt of the
.

brain by many aeo ns .The dermal stimuli have

roused the states of feeli ng which ha ve go verned life
long before the fee lin g states w ere ac compa nied by
-

any cogniti v e or other intellec tu al elements Intel .

lect contr asted with the pleasure value of de rm al

,

excitati o ns is an ups tart ; o ften it is t re a ted a nd

,

pe rceived as a usu rpe r The natu ral histo ry o f the

.

intellec t ca rries us back only for a sh o r t pe ri od ,

while the evolutiona ry his to ry of the de rmal sen sa

ti on s and of thei r pleas u re v alue rea ches fa r in to
-
 My s tic al LO W 41

to all crea tion more intimately th an any o ther o f

o ur psychic endowments The s ensati o ns a n d feel
.

in gs evolved by the activities of the skin re p resen t

the pal eo ntologic realm of psy chol ogy the p rehis
,

to ric phase of the natural history of the mind Fe el .

“ ”
ing attitudes of a tou ch character form the pa t
-

te rn types with whi c h all life s impressions upon the

-
’

intellec tual and higher emotiona l spheres are un co n

sc io usly c ompa red and co nt rasted .

Biologists ha ve po inted out that a lth ough untol d

age s ha ve passe d since m a n s ancesto rs have as s ume d
’

the e re ct p osition the human o rga nism i s st ill but

,

poo rly adapte d to the sitting or sta nding postures .

Other biologists taking a bro ader perspe ctive for a

,

su rve y of human evolution ha ve concluded that ma n s ’

“ ”
lungs constitute orga ni cally his we ak spo t be
ca u se the human spe c ies has no t yet become th o r
o u ghly a cclima tiz e d as a dry land i nhabita nt and

ma n i s but a poor a nd imperfect ai r brea thing ani

-

mal . Pu lmo na ry di sease s still lead among the

ca usa tive fa c tors of physi c al illness and de a th The
.

g e netic psychologi st is sim il a rly j ustified to conclude

tha t the rise of a b rain and particularly of the
highe r intellectu al cen te rs is rela tively so recen t that
ma n is as ye t but ill adap ted to his n e w c orti cal
cente rs The dish armo nies betwee n bra in and the
.

behavio r which was custo m ary be fore the ad vent of

the highe r corti cal ce nters are re spo n sible fo r m o st
42 S ear an d the S m“
o f the disharmo nies in ou r s o ci al a nd individ ual life
.

Some pe rsons propo se t o so lve the disharmony by

an o vervaluation of the brain and parti c ula rly of
,

the in te llec tu al functi o ns at the expe n se of the ia

,

stin cts
. But the instin cts are not an epheme ral
gro wth ; they are the ro ot a nd found a tion of life ;
“
they may be partly re fined o r sublimated and in tel
”
lec tua lized but supp ressed alto ge ther they c a nn ot
be P e rso ns who attempt to deny the instincts only
.

fin d themselves sooner or later the mo re deeply en

meshed m them Most pro cesses of in tellec tua liza
.
“

”
tion carried out without a co rre ct understan di ng
o f the ge n eti c aspect of the ta sk pro ve ineffective and
o ften down right harmful .
 C HAPTER VI

The gas tro in testinal t ra c t is also lined with a

-

highly sensitive covering the mu cous membra ne

, .

The psychi c accompaniments of the activities o f the

nut ritiv e tract are obs c u re in the ext reme ; but as in
,

the ca se of the de rm al sensations the intellect ual

,

vagueness of the nut riti ve s enso rium stands in ex

treme c ontra st t o its massi v e feeling v alue thro ugh
-

out the anim a l world If what the skin tou ches on the
.

outside is extremely re al to the living o rganism h o w

mu ch mo re so that which the inner specialized skin
,

fold the mucous membr a ne hugs close and pro ceeds

, ,

to inc orpo r a te as pab u lum o r food into the body

, ,

p rop e r In a sense the external covering outside

.

“
but se rves the li ning within The skin is the rudi
.

”
men ta ry brain which links the lower forms o f a ni
mal life with thei r envi ro nment ; the mucous mem
bra ne lini ng the nutritive tra c t when the latter
,

evo lves and makes its appea ran ce fo rms the rudi
me nta ry wor ld of inner sensation The a rcheo lo g
.

o f the psyche rea c hes ba ck o v er aeons and sp re ads

“ ”
o ver these tw o regions The feelings generated by
.

skin a nd mucous membra ne c onstituted the world of

psychic re a lity fo r the living forms through o ut the
43
M Sm a ud the S m

appear ance in the animal world .

Among the m a mmals during the int ra uter ine ex

,
-

isten ce the nutritive pabulum is absorbed di re ctly

from the maternal body thro ug h the ci rc ulation .

All life begins with parasiti sm and no li v ing form

ever fully abandons its parasiti c c ha racter al ,

though it is quite p o ss ible tha t ma n s ev olutiona ry ’

co urse makes for a decrease o f parasitism The .

state of passive abs o rption of fo od generate s its

o wn psy c hi c accompan imen t and pleasu re v alue
- A .

certain rudiment o f psy chic activity a feeling at ,

le ast o f well being no matter how incho ate it may

,
-
,

be from the standpoin t of intellect ca nn ot be denied ,

to the fetus in a tm The infant is devo id o f any

.

intell ectu al o r cogniti v e faculties but em o ti onally it

“ ”
must have a tremendous sense of aliveness from
the fi rst Betwee n the infant and its envi ro nme nt
.

there can exist at first no break of co ntinuity The

, , .

world so far as the infant is in c onta c t with it is its

, ,

oy s ter Tha t is the ess en ce o f parasiti sm What is

. .

good is good to eat There is no othe r pleasu re

.

value po ssible in parasiti sm In other wo rds for .

,

the infantile rudimenta ry psy che only tha t exists

which is c apable of c o nt ributing to its eupho ria and ,

enhan ce its state of well be ing of satiety Fro m the

-
, .

sta ndpoint of parasiti c existen ce ( of which pred a

t o ry existence late r is an outgrowth ) there can be
, ,

“ ” “ ”
n o s ense and no v alid reality to anything else .
 Pa tte rn -
types of F ee i
l ng 45

W
ha t we in ou r,

the wo rld of rea lity as distinguished from the i nn er

subj e ctive wo rld the infant like a ll other lower or
, ,

primi ti ve fo rms of life must perceive as a continuum ,

a s a mo re o r less ha rmo nious perfect wh ole The , .

whole o f existen ce is for it o n e continuum So l o ng

’
.

as the nutritional processes kee p up their pa rasitary

co u rse th ere is no break in the continuity and o ne
,

ne ss o f the infant s world At birth unpleasant or

’
.

n o vel sensati o ns su c h a s the on rush o f the co ol air

,

upo n its de rmal surface an d the in rush o f air into

the lun gs caus ing them t o expa nd a nd setting the
pulmona ry a nd auto matic circul ato ry functi o ns int o
action ge nerate the fi rst infantile rea c tion usu ally
, ,

an out c ry o r a series of o ut c ries having o f cou rse , , ,

nothing to d o directly with nut r ition .

The c hild s first outcry at birth has been a sub

’

j cet of considerable speculati o n Some obse rvers be .

lieve it is po ssibl e to detect in that out c ry a n o te

of protest of anger o r resentment aga inst the dis
, ,

tur ba n ce o f its customa ry int ra uterine existen ce -

.

Und oubtedly the a ct o f bi rth co nstitutes a se ri o us

tra uma n o t witho ut its psychi c co nno ta tions
,
.

The inf a nt contin ues to liv e as if it still w ere in

its intra uterine world for so me t ime afte r bi rth It
-
.

is covered wi th wa rm blankets placed in a dark ened ,

roo m and the c onditions o f its prena tal existence

are reproduced by the careful nurse and a tten dants
as cl o sely as po s sibl e The t ra um a o f bi rth over,
.
46 S ea- muf fin: S ame:

the n ewly bo rn inf ant f alls bac k into its cust omar y
sta te of cat alepsy o r sleep Its fi rst c ry o f h unger .

brings it in contact with the mothe r s warm br east ; ’

the infant s lips inaugura te thei r nutrition al func

’

ti o n A new life has begun of whi c h the infa nt is

.

unaware and o f whi ch he co ntinues t o be igno rant .

The infant c arries into extra ute rine life its pre -

natal psy c hi c attitude if we may thus designa te

,
-

the primordi al inchoate massi ve int ra uterine feel

, ,
-

ing state The latter constitutes the pa ttern type

-
.
-

after which the infant regulates little by little its

n ew life .

That persisten ce of the intra uterine pattern type - -

of feeling during ext ra uterine life is typi c al of a

-

se ries of similar o ve rla ppin gs in late r life The child .

similarly preserv es its infantile ways and ca rries

along in to post adoles cen t ad ulth oo d its childish
-

feeling states ; old age c ont inues also to show strong

-

traces of all p revio us stages if it d oes no t reve rt

wholly t o them This co e xistence of various levels
.

or pha ses of psychic states is one of the most im

portant fa c ts of life The dis c ov ery of this t ruth
. ,

fir st formulated by S igmund Freud in a pra c tic al

form constitutes one of the most impo rtant steps in
,

the advancement of our knowledge concerni ng hum

nature When its impo rt is fully app reciated it
.

will rank as o ne of the most b rillia nt disc o ve ries of

science .
48 8 6:0 t S e nses

thre a ten s to break up the infantile pa radi s i a c ex

isten ce The infant s hunge r cry is at the same time
.
’

a n ote of protest a ch al lenge rese ntment again st the

, ,

drea dful unkn o wn unkn owa ble s o mething that

, ,

th reate ns to bre ak up the perfect sphere of its ex

iste n ce
. Thus when rea lity fi rst dimly begin s to
bre ak in upon the infantile feeling s ta te it is met -

with aversion and resentment because it u shers in a

dysphori c note the un plea s an tness and gnawing
,
-

pain of hunger H en cefo rth r eality beco mes in ex

.

t ri c ably linked with dysph o ria and eve ry unplea sant

feeling is refe rred to the rea lm beyond tha t so me ,

thi ng unk n o wn an d therefo re dre adful .

The infa nt p r oba bly gra sps the nipple wi th so me

thing o f alarm because of the new feeling it expe ri
en ce s ; a t the breast it finds aga in its cust o ma r y

gratificati o n replenishment s a tiety safety bliss

, , , , .

The infan t is a gain waited to the mo the r Its own .

feelin g sta te is probably o ne o f reintegration co m ,

“ ”
p le t io n ra ther than un io n ; the sen se of union
co mes very much later At any ra te the th rea t
.

en ed break in the continuity o f the infantile pe rfect

w o rld of existence is the o ccasion fo r the i nfant s ’

fi rst dyspho ria and a larm R eintegration o neness

.
, ,

becomes its c herished first want beca use contac t with

,

the mother is its ea rlies t a nd mo st plea su ra ble, sat

isfying experien ce .

Ce rt a in dermal are a s bec ome ea rly en dowe d with

a st ro ng pleas ure v alue for the infant These are
-
.
 Pa tter n types
-
of F ad in g 49

the ao -
c a lled cro gw o u
zo nes a nd thei r enhan ce d
s

leasu re value de v el o ps at first in co nn e ction with

p
the nutritive functions The lips na tu ra lly are the
.
, ,

fi rst eroge n o us zone The de rm al parts a rou nd the

.

exc reto ry can als also become endowed fro m the fi rst

wi th tremendo us pleasure v alue on account o f the -

relief fro m o verdistension asso cia ted with the parts .

Generally spea king all lines of c onta c t betwee n skin

a nd mucous membrane i e an orifices are specif , . .
, ,

ica lly erogen o us Certain h abits in infants a nd

.

children en d ow o ther dermal parts with enha nced

pleasure value -
Thus various skin a reas bec o me
.

cente rs of particular interest Eventu ally a ny .

bodily organ o r region may thus be the seat an d

source of er oti c c ra vings .

The specialised intensified pleasu re value o f the

,
-

v a rious erogenous zones may subside in la te r life .

More often it is preserv ed either in its raw fo rm o r ,

if that be in c ompatible with the individual s ethi cal ’

standa rds the pl easure v alue is p reserved under

,
-

forms whi c h mask f rom co ns c i o usness the fa c t tha t

the ero ge no us cravings of inf an cy and e a rly child
hood a re still asti r .

The di re ction ta ken by the pleasu re value o f the -

v ari o us derma l a nd other e roge nous zones determines

in la rge mea su re the t ren d of person ality and one s ’

feelin g s ttitude t owa rds life H ealthy growth re .

qui r es that all sensorial ple a sure va lue should be

co me rest ra ined within the limits of physiologic
50 Sa c -J ib “

me a d an intin ate cha ra cter . A t fir st sta n din g

in the s ufice of mtfifio mla te r in life so me o f the

a sense the m -
e o va tio n an d u hanc emen t of the
M ol ds -d ad o the r m gc no us ar eas ,

-
are n ine 0 33 m
of the e- m zon es during adult life
is due in la rge pa r t to the fac t tha t c ultur a l de ve lo p

o f sex. Wm hen r in stin ctive cra vin gs a re dep

ma l co ndition s re pr esen t mere ly the initi al stage o f

fea re d o r a voi a , so
d l emgen o us zo nes may re
pla ce

in plea sure -
value the u
se x al o rgan s p ro
pe r . Re
j ec tio n of the facts o f sex, no ma tte r o n what

l ea ds to a co rr espo ndin g de prec ia ti o n of the sexual

organ s Perso n s ca nno t be asha med o f an with o ut
.

be in g asha med of the ir u

sex al pa r ts a t the same
time . But sex an d the o rgan s which represen t it a re
 Pa tte rn -
ty pes of F oo lin g 51

back ed up so to speak by the whole phyl etic h i s

, ,

t ory ; ontogeneti c ally the whole body is a prepara

tion for the proper functioning o f sex The plea s
.

ure value whi ch belongs to the fun ction of sex i s

-

partially anti c ipated as fo re pl easure thro ugh the

-

er ogenous zones When sexual gratifi c ation is de

.

p rec ia te d o r avoided its plea sure v alue rem

-
a ins dis

tribu ted mo re o r less pe rm an e ntly a mo ng the va ri

The m o st in tense cra vin s o f sex may find a fairly

g
appr o priate exp ression vicarious anti cipato ry a t
, , ,

times al so compe nsato ry in the pleasu re val ue of

,
-

the derma l e roge n o us zones Unless normal sexual

.

gra tification takes up for its own enhan c emen t and

abso rbs the pleasure v alue generated by the va rious
-

ero ge n o us zo ne s the l a tter c ontinue to ho ld sw ay .

 C HAPTER VII

In ci den t ally the p rim ac y o f the derma l sensa ti o ns

is shown a ls o by the fact tha t so me of the ea rliest
re miniscences s o metimes c enter aro un d to u c h Of .

course such reminis c en ces would be even mo re com

,

mo n but for the fact tha t ta c tile memo ries com

mingle with others a nd a re easily t ra nsposed Pure .

tac tile memorie s are rel a tively rare But I h ave

.

sec ure d a number o f da ta showing th at they a re

s o metimes ve ry signific a nt ; the role they play in the
emo ti on al life o f ce rt a in perso ns c a nnot be easily
overestim a ted Un do ubtedly ta ctile memories play a
.

fa r grea ter role in the life o f all pers ons than ma y

be t ra ced th ro ugh ordina ry rememb ran c es .

A y o ung man thi rty o ne yea rs of age of a rtistic

,
-
,

bend rel a ted am o ng hi s early memories the fol

,

lowing

The fi rst re collecti o n o f myself stands o ut with the

clearness of a sha rp e ngr aving in the midst o f a
ba c kgro und lost in da rkn ess .

I rush int o the ho use ; m oth e r ho lds me with o n e

'

of her hands She be nds over me and wi th her other

.

h an d under my clothes she feels my skin She de .

c xdes that I a m no t dressed w armly enough t o go

52
 Ea rly Dermal M emories 53

o ut The tou c h of her wa rm soft h ands upo n my

.
,

cool fla nks produces a most exquisite th rill !

At the tou ch of mo ther s hand I beli ev e I alm o st
’

swoo n ed with delight At a ny ra te it rem ains in

.

my memo ry as a most exquisi te experience ; I sh all

probabl y never forge t it .

It s eems I had entered the house to fetch so me

obj ec t which we childre n wanted to use in ou r game
ou —
t o f doo rs
-
But I forgo t at on ce the object of
.

my appearance in the house and most ha ppily sub

mitted to being dressed up in w a rmer underclo thes
by mother I do not reca ll the precise wo rds she
.

used while she coaxed me to sta y ; but I know her

words so und ed divine to my ea rs and fille d me with
a so rt o f solemn awe My sent imen t was on e of
.

mixed adoration and love su ch as only children a re

capable of fee ling and it a ro se sponta neously sud ,

de nly o ve rwhelmingly in co nnecti on with that ra the r

,

trivial act of mother s Tr i vial tho ugh it was the

’
.
,

touch of her hand symbol of p rote cti o n and ser vice

, ,

upon my c ool skin thrilled me bey ond expres sion

, .

This was so powerful a feeling that suddenly it

o ccu rred to me how mu ch I was dependent on her ,
—
how much I needed her th o ugh this was n ot so ,
“ ”
mu ch a deliberate thought as a feeling and it
presen tly melted into a bigger sense of l ove an d
devotion .

I did not go out all of tha t day ; I hung about

m other s apron under the spell of the awe inspi ring
’ -

sense of depen den c e on her whi ch had suddenly a ri sen

within me looking mutely up to her tho ughtful face
,

a s she went abo ut the rooms and kitchen doing he r

It was pe rha ps the first time tha t I had perce ived

54 S ex mad the S o me:
a sen se o f a differe nt personality t o mo ther sen sed —
,

that she was a being apa rt f rom me yet some o ne on ,

whom I was dependent The condition was no t any

.

thing new o r novel of course but when I a woke to

, ,

an awareness of i t this fa ct stru ck me with the

,

suddenness of a re velati o n .

R egarding the a ge at which this o ccurrence t ook

pla ce the young man s tates :
My own impressi o n is tha t I must h ave bee n under
Can that be po ssible ? I am unable to
trace the date of the o c cu rrence exce pt indi rectly .

I re member fo r insta n ce the ho use where we lived

, , ,

tho ugh I recall little or nothing about the house and

o nly o n e other in ciden t connec ted with it This .

in cident looms up in my m a n ory as the next earliest

childh oo d episode which I am able to rec all It is .

o f signifi can c e pa rtly be cause it corrobora tes the

e a rlier epis ode emotion a lly and pa rtly because it

enables me to t ra ce the date o f the latte r at lea st

a ppro xima tely ”

Al m o st diago n ally acro ss fro m the road whe re we

lived there was a small empty house ; we w e re go ing
t o move into that One morning mother wen t th er e
.

with broo m and m op to cl ean the pla ce We chil .

d ren of c ou rse tagge d along We t ried to help and

, , .

st a rt e d to cle an a big old fashione d bri c k oven I

-
.

must have to uched some red pepper seeds which h ad

been left on the oven p resen tly I bega n ga sp
ing f or breath and stamping the fl oo r in al a rm .

Mother came t o my aid I was unable t o utt er a

.

wo rd nor did I know wha t had happened I c o uld

, .

no t b reath e . The o ther child ren stood a ro un d

56 Sw an d thc So me:
him hideo us t o me But the thing f or which I di s
.

liked him mo st was his wrinkled face

’
The w rinkl e s.

w ere not due to age His skin w a s

. iar ; it ha d
the appea r ance of cu rled up pa cu t and was
mottl ed all over his face a nd neck I ha d nightma res
.

H andling silksand satin was my chief delight .

Fathe r knew it ; and once when I had to nsillitis and

was c ro ss wi th him over some t r ifle he bro ught home
,

a n armful o f silk goods enough fo r a number of

,

d resses I made up with him qui ckly enou gh

. .

I grew int o that perha ps through my ea rly love

of pets . Ca ts were my spec ialty I lov ed to .

stroke thei r fur ; nothin g so pleased me as a sm all

child I gathered a ll the little kittens in our neigh
.

bo rho o d fed them and brushed them c lean At night

, .

they would dis appear Father put them o ut of the

.

wa y ; but was careful n o t to let me see him do it .

To this da y I bu ry my fa c e in fur and love to stroke

it ; a nd t o uching silks gi v es me almost the s ame
feeling o f mo st ex quisi te delight I had a s a child .

A Fren ch w riter h as d efined l o ve cynically a s

“
l echan ge de deux phantasies et ls contact de deux
’
,
”
épidermes This statement is partially true De r
. .

m al sensati o ns are capable o f expressing n o t only

lo ve itself but every degr ee of emotion l eading up to
it Th e a ttitude of many persons towards the mino r
.

sensory excit ati o ns of skin is often determined not

by the t r ivi al ch a ra cte r o f the de rmal sensations in
question bu t by something greater that the latt er
st a nd for The d ammed up fee lings whi ch in their
.
-
 xvm io n to C on ta ct 57

backwash en dow the sen sorial excita ti on s with ia

c rea sed pleas u re va lue are usually derived f ro m the
-

sexual sphe re The reaso ns for tha t a re obvious

. .

Sens o rial excita ti o ns be c ome the j argo n th ro ugh

which mo re vital cra vings expre ss the m selves .

N ovelists a nd sho rt story w riter s have skillq y

-

drawn out the voluptu o us conn o tations of even o r di

n a ry t a ctile conta cts ; and this fact ha s also been
recognized by the medieval church .

Man y pe rso ns a re ave rse to the intima cy of to uch .

Th is is so st ro ng a ch a r a cte ristic a nd the sexual

co nno ta ti o ns of thi s a versio n are so obvious tha t
Willi am J ames , for insta nce has been led to infer
,

the p resence of a dis tin ct an tisexu al ins tinct which

“
he expl a ins fu rth er as co nsisting of the act ua l na
pulsive n ess to us of the idea of immediate co n ta c t

with m o st of the pe rso ns we m eet , especi ally th o se

”
of o ur ow n se x. This is a ha sty co ncl usio n on the
pa rt o f the f am o u s Ame rican psychol ogist and upo n
closer analysi s it proves un ten a ble The repul sive .

ness o f the id ea o f immedia te co nta ct espe ci ally with ,

pe r so ns o f o ur own s m c a n no t be ta ken as p ro o f
o f an antisexu al ins ti nct an y m ore tha n the even
,

grea ter r epulsivmess o f the idea o f incest can cels

the f act of sexua lity Avers i on and mpulsiveness
.

are very l a rgely defen sive m easures with which the

individu al o ften instincti vely sur ro unds himself
aga in st the p ossibility o f tempta ti o n e see this . W
clearly for ins ta n ce in the c a se o f the m a ny per
, ,
58 S ea: an d me:
the S a

son s o f bo th sexe s whose re ac tions against the in

timac y o f t o uch invo lved in ordin ary relations is
m orbid either in the di re ction of ex c ess or morbid
in the sense that the cont ac t necessary during o r
din a ry soc ial interc o u rse as in the formal ha nd
,

sh ake is un duly unple asa nt and ev en painful

, .

I a m acqua inted with a ma n fo rty two yea rs o f

,
-

age o ccupying an important position as a n offi ci al

,

in hi s native t o wn who regarded the habit of ha nd

,

“
sh aking a s l ascivi o us a reli c of days when folks
,

w ere m o re f o rward tha n they should be .

”
This man
h a s ende avo red on several o ccasi o ns to start a ca m
a i n for the abo lition of the custom
p g . H owev er,

he w as ca reful t o j u st ify his a ttitude on the gro un d

tha t like kissing the ha bit was unhygienic a nd
, ,

da nge ro us t o health After submitting to a co u rse

.

of ps yc hoanalysis this man lost his aversi on to

han dsha king as w ell as va rious other co mpuls ive
idea s and ma nne ri sms P robably no agitation fo r
.

the aboliti o n of h a ndsha king coul d en li st h is inte res t

.
 CHAPTER VIII

As I ha ve alre ady pointed o ut th e fi rst striki ng

,

f e a ture abo ut tou ch as a sensati o n is its p rimordial

cha ra cter The sen sa tion invoked by cont act of the
.

sur fa ce of the li v ing organi s m wi th another bo dy is

th e m o st ar ch a ic Upon the lowest animal scale thi s

.

c on t a ct determines the cho ice of fo od a nd the a vo id

,

a nce o f dan ge r .It serves also as the initial pr o ces s

in sexual uni on Nea r the bo ttom of the scale of
.

life sexual union a nd the c ontact involved appea r to

be a nut riti o nal resp o nse Thus at one st age o f life
.

fo od and sex urge are very nearly one process ; in

- - -

both ca ses the re spo nse of the orga nism depen ds o n

This primo rdi al cha r acter of immedi a cy is a

qua lity which the tou ch sense preserves thro ughout
the an imal sc ale For ma n touch geneti c ally 18 the
.
, , ,

ea rlie st s o urce of pleasure ; as an infant man i s

large ly gover ned by it Touch is the first sense
.

a ro used after bi rth In fa c t it is commo nly under

.

sto o d tha t the infantile skin is c apable of responding

to touc h stimuli before birth During the in tra .

ute rine existence the infantile br a in is already the

rec ip ien t o f sen sori al stimuli through the skin On .

59
60 S ea: an d the S ears:

the whole these imp re ssi o n s must be pleasurable in

quality This inference is j ustified when we co n
.

sider h ow wel l the growing fcztus is pro t ected du ring

its pa ra sitic existence within the womb a nd how
co mpletely its nut ritional nee ds are a uto ma tic a lly
sa tisfi ed d uring that st age .

The touch sense becom es ea rly speci alized aroun d

parti cular a rea s o f skin a nd muco us mmbra ne .

F irst the pleas ura ble sensitiveness of the inf ant s ’

lips is enhanced by co nta c t with the mother s n ipple ’

.

The lips be come an erogeno us zo ne chiefly conce rned

with nutrition . But the pleasurable sense with
which they thus be come en d owed is later placed at
the service of sex .Nutritio n and sex the two levers
,

whi c h go ver n all manifestations of life on the lower

pla ne preserve their intima te relatio nship th ro ugh
,

out life .

The whole skin is se ns itive to touch though its ,

pa rts are sensitive in varying degrees The inf a nt .

a t first naturally ass oc iates its own de rmal sensa

ti o ns with the presen c e of the mothe r It is she o r
.

the nurse who in h a ndling a nd feeding his body ,

gen e ra tes all the pleasura ble feelings of whi ch the

infant is capable The infa ntile qu a lities impa rted
.

to the sense o f touch by the early impressio n s and

experi e nces are never wholly lost Thc . we grow
in to manhood or woma nho o d thr o ugh our skin sen
,

c ations ( and in ot her w a ys ) it is possible fo r us to

p roj ect o urselves ba ck to o ur o wn inf antil e s ta te o f

 Prima c y of Feelin g 61

p l e as u ra ble existence under

, many conditi ons O u r .

dermal sense enters into the texture o f min d and

pers o nality in ways which are no t obvious to the
superfi c ial observer If we should tra c e the dee pest
.

layers o f our impressions of the physical w o rld and ,

if we would follow the most subtle ramificati ons o f

o ur metaphysical emse of rea lity back of bo th
,

ext remes we should find reverber a tions of the derm al

,

sense The wo rld t ruly exists for us not becau se we

.

think but because we feel Thought after all is .

, ,

imperson a l Feeling on the c ont ra ry is perceived

.
, ,

as specifi cally individual The poet the writer and

.
,

the phil osopher a im to make us feel the sen se of

rea lity a s they expe rien ce it The n eurotic t oo .
, ,

describes his numerous co mplaints in great detail ;

but lacking self co nfiden c e he is not satisfied that
,
-
,

he h a s m ade us see the things as he fee ls them

pa rtly be ca u se he perceives hi s feelings to be indi
vidual and ex clusive he doubts the possibility o f
t ra nsferring a knowledge of them to another mind .

Things may be des c ribed you may think abo ut a n

,

o ther s fee lings but the question is : can a nother s

’
,
’

fe elings become intimately you rs ? Most neuro ti cs

and many crea ti ve w riters are obsessed with scepti
ciam They fear that they ca n not fully express
.

themselves And i n truth the best o ften remains

.

uns aid bec a use it cannot be adequately exp ressed .

Wha t sugge sts this ominous sense of the in ade e

q u a c
y o f expre ssi o n ? The answer to this questi o n
62 S er aa d thc S m “

h a s to d o with the archaic cha ra cte r o f o u r sen ses

and with the impo rtant role to uch p lays in the early
stage s of our in dividu al exis tence .

The dermal sense is the mo ther of a ll o ther sen ses .

It forms the earliest substratum of mental life in

the animal world The ea rliest pleas u rable impre s
.

sions the most a rcha i c memo ries the rudimen ts o f

, ,

all mental life consist of data furnishe d by the skin .

S in c e co nta ct of extern al obj ec ts with the derm al

surface is the fi rst sen se to a waken the feeling o f self
as a physi c al entity apa rt fro m nature we o we t o ,

the derm a l sensations the earliest adumbra tion o f

the feeling of a sepa rate physical selfh ood or entity .

The feelings first of identity with all existence then

, ,

of a bre ak or sepa rati o n betwee n self and no n self -

as two aspects of exis te nce a rise nea r the beginnings

,

of our in dividual existence, repea ting in co nden sed ,

form the similar stage s of exp re ssion thro ugh which

,

the huma n race has p assed in the co urse of its e vo

lutio n a ry history .

On ac c ount of the lesser co mp lexi ty o f the i r me nta l

mechanism the lower spe cies undoubtedly p res erve
,

a m o re direct s e nse o f re ality The external

.

wo rld is so to speak m or e m assive to the a ni

, ,

mals of the lo we r spe c ies In that respect infa nts

.

and ch ildr en resemble them Like the lower animals

.
,

the huma n infant ca r ries on its mental proces ses

and its activities o r m o ti o ns on a fai rl y straigh t
64 S ex a nd the S m“
N evertheless it w o uld be an erro r to conclude tha t
,

civiliza ti o n thus fa r has changed in any essential

pa rticular the ba si c nature of man Ci vilization .

d oes n ot abo lish the instincts which man sh a res in

co mmo n with all li ving c reatu res nor the cravings t o
,

which they gi ve rise ; c ulture alters merely thei r

mo de o f expre ssion and the ma nner of gratifyi ng
them Far from abo lishing o r substa nti ally modi
.

fy in g a ny instinct civilization sha rpens an d rein

,

fo rces the mo st essential c ravings of animal life A .

number of these c ra vi ngs have beco me detached fr om

the p rimary instin c ts to whi ch they pe rtain in the
first place a n d have a cq ui red a quasi auton o mo us -

function under our s o cial system This subj ect will .

be c o nsidered more fully in another v olume in co n

motion with a study o f the aberrations of the sexu al
instinct upo n the s o cial and eco n omi c sphere .

De rm al sensations whether in the servi ce o f nut ri

,

tion or sex are capable of pleasurable summati o ns

,

out of all proportion t o the size of the ori gin al

stimuli . The sight of a beautiful cl ea r skin is ,

always pleasurable probably because of the an gges

,

tion it mum of pleasu rable possibilities of co ntact .

We admi re i rresistibly a skin that is clean fresh ,

and p re sents the glow of health There is appa r .

ently no self seeking in the c ontemplation of such a

-

skin But the exa c t nature of the feelings ro used

.

by the co ntemplation of a beautiful ski n depe n ds on

ma ny particula r circums tances .
 Appeal of Skin 65

An attra ctive skin acco rdin g t o the testimo ny of

,

many answers to a questionn a i re on the subj ect ,

volves the idea o f girlish innocence A woma n s .

’

fa ce cann ot be co nceived as be autiful no matter h ow ,

re gular the features may be unless the skin be c lea r

,

and preferably with o ut a blemish On the o ther .

hand the sta teme nt comes from many others that

,

no thin g presents so bea utiful a sight in the whole

realm of nature a s a wo man s skin in the glow of’

go o d health and that no thing is so exqui site as the

,

tou ch of su c h a skin .

The testim o ny of novelists and poets is certa in ly

co rrobo rative on this point They la vish thei r
.

highest pra ise upo n the skin and turn to the thm e
again and again But in cont rast to the abundance
.

of literary references and the exalted descripti o ns of

its bea uty we n o te a rema rkable poverty of adj ec
tives a nd qualifying terms The skin has been com
.

pared respecti v ely to ma rble sn ow alaba ster milk ,

, , , , ,

crea m ivo ry silk velvet and other s ubsta nces fro m

, , , ,

all the t hree ki ngdoms of nature But the writer s .

th e mselves indi cate tha t c om pa riso ns fail to conve y

an adequate id ea of the att ractiven ess of the skin .

This living st ru c ture is unique in na tu re and e ndowed

with limitless a ffec ti v e connotations .

N ovelists and poets are bafile d when they a ttemp t

t o desc ribe the w o nders and be auty of skin The .

sta te of feelings generated by the c on templati o n o r

t ouch o f a beautiful a is well kn o wn ; but it re
66 Sea: an d the SM

ma ins yet to be e xpl a ined or even sa ti s f a ct orily

The appa rent in adequa cy o f l a nguage to express

the lu re of skin is due to the f act tha t dermal stimuli
and the pleasurable sen sa tions to whi c h they give
rise belong to a pha se of life antedating the re alm
,

of ordina ry speech De rma l se n sa ti o n and its p sy

.

c ho lo gy belong pro perly t o the pale o ntologic fringe

o f the mind These the mes we ha ve al ready bri efly

.

The co ntempl ati o n o f an a tt ra ctive skin a nd inti

mate conta ct rouses an appe a l archaic and in ex
pressible be ca use of the primordi al cha ra cter o f the
,

sens atio n Mo reo ver the instinct to which a simple

.
,

act of touch refers itself automa ti call y under cer

tai n c ircumstances as will be expl ain ed later , is de ep
,

and i rre sistibl e

.

Lovers see k to keep within ea ch o the r s sigh t a nd

’

during enfo rced a bsen ce s think and drea m most a r

den tly of re union But a meeting of lovers is sa tis
.

f actory only when the se nse o f contact is also

brought into play The ca ress th e hands hake and
.
,

the kiss stand in the se rvice o f afiectio n f ri endship

'

The skin is no t merely a pa ssive re cipien t ; to uch

also prov okes feeling D reams o f l ove o ften revo lve
.

ve ry largely aroun d t o uch The l o ve embra ce is

.

typical o f uni on .

L et u s s c rutinize a little more cl osely the mea n in g

 Cravin g for Co n ta c t 67

of these universal f acts in the light o f compa rative

bi o lo gy a nd psychology .

Why does l ove require the p rese nce of the bel oved
perso n ? Why is absence pa inful ? Why is mere
presen ce of the belo ved perso n not enough ? Why
does the conta ct sensation come in to pl ay even in
ma te rn al love plato nic f rien dship and o ther st a tes
,

o f feelin g n o t obvi ou sly sexual ?

The longing for a belomd pe rs o n i s a mixed
c rav ing
. It involves more th a n the an ticipated
gra tifica tion of the visual sense for as mentioned
, ,

the l onging is no t gra tified by the mere pre sen c e o f

the bel ove d person This s ugge st s the inference
.

tha t to uch co mes nearer the aim of whi ch the longing

is a m anifestation Visi on se rves ; bu t to uch ans we rs
.

more fittin gly the cryptic y earnings of a fiec tio n and

'

lo ve
.

Thi s sta te o f thin gs ma y be expressed either in

—
physico psychi c or psycho physi cal terms
-
. In
eithe r ca se we a rrive bu t at an app ro ximati o n , a
p arall el for this realm of feeling antedates the p re
,

cision s a nd del in eations of language . As near as we

c a n express the state we say that the lo ver longing

fo r the most intima te uni o n with the beloved is h a rk

ing back to a primordial state of feeling ; he is really
l o nging for that m e asu re of gra tification which is
e xperien ced du r ing the st age of developmen t when

there 1s n o psychi c break 1 n the continuity of pleas »

c rable sen se and its sour ce . Clearly this i s the in

68 Sm an d tlw S a me:
fan tile sta ge of existence .Lo ve re aw akens the
desire for that oneness whi ch is lost when the physi
c al self becomes deli neated from the extern al world
a nd we a cqui re the sense of an internal wo rld of ou r
o wn The c raved uni o n with a beloved person o r
.

idea l ma y be thought of in te rms of spirituality ;

“ ”

but the physic al sense is the basis of that longing ;

without the latter the dream of union remains in
M p lete and the ill usio n o f oneness fails .

The desire for oneness the wish to melt one s iden

,
’

tity with that o f the belo ved person or with s o me

symbo lic ideal is based on infantile remin iscmce It .

harks ba c k t o the primitive state largely through

—
,

the a rchaic j a rgo n of dermal sensation The te sti

.

m o ny of physi c al co nta c t is c rav ed as a means of

enhancing that illusion of o neness and of resto ring
,

thus the abo riginal feeling of continuity where in the

distinction of self and non self is lost
-
.

This considerati o n gives us a key for the expl a n a

tion of many fa c ts pe rt aining t o the role o f derma l
stimuli in lo ve a nd sex.
 CHAPTER IX

Ten d erne ss is a special qu ality of a fl ec tio n The

'

te rm is deri ved from the j argo n of tou ch as is ,

sh o wn by the v ery o rigin fo rm and uses of the w o rd

, .

Tactile imp ressions react upon the whole personality .

All gradations of a ffection a re represented in

to uch The ordinary handshake is a c on ventiona l
.

symbol o f good will and friendship At the othe r

.

extreme the sexual embra c e in vol ves the most ex

,

q u isite s e n sa tions of tou c h through the excitation o f

speci a lly sensitized dermal a re as . Between these
ext remes the s exual and the non sexual merge im
,
-

pe rceptibly into each other Mu ch that pe rt a ins to

.

cuta neo us sensation and is i nexpli cable on the sur

face beco mes clear the momen t we l ook fo r the sexual
co nno tations A grea te r knowledge of the sexual
.

connot ati o ns o f derm al sens ati o ns will discl o se the

m eaning o f m a ny obscu re and cu ri o us aspe cts o f
h uman n a tu re .

Indee d to u ch symbo lism l oo m s up in mo st unex

pected co nn ections This is a v ast subj ect upo n
.

which o ur i n forma ti o n is as ye t scant and un sa tis

facto ry ; but what little is al ready kn own discl ose s
tremend ous he arin gs o n pra ctical life .

69
70 S ex a nd the S enses

Ma ny inves tiga tors regard the sense o f t ou ch as

o cc upying fi rst place in the gen esis o f se xual emo
tions The sexual embrace has been called a speci al
.

adaptati o n o f the sense of to uch and the sexual o r

g a sm a
, summati o n of t ac tile gratific a tio n .

Touch means c ontact ; contact involves in timacy .

Eve rything in human spee ch which implies intima cy

suggests also the possibility o f sexual intere st To .

ay for insta nce that a man is in timate with a ce r

, ,

tain woman has come to mean mo re than th e s ame

expression ordinarily implie s about the relations of
members of the same sex This is not acci dental
. .

The fl uidity of langu age a nd the wide el as ticity in

the meaning of words is due to sensory image ries a nd
associations The wh o le gamut o f a fiec tio n is played
'

upon and co ntain ed in to uch Words expressive of

.

touch are currently used to describe the gro ss est

sexu a l deeds as well as the loftiest emo ti o ns o f l ove ,

huma n and divine .

Trivi al acts and m anne risms beco me pa cked with

meaning under pa rtic ular ci rcumsta nces Because .

touch in evitably approa ches the threshold of sexu al

ex c itation any form of derm al contact may invoke
the latter A fli cker upon the lips or n eck o r ear
.
, ,

lobe ro uses eroti c feelings in so me w o men The

, .

breasts of co u rse, are specially sensitive Du ring

, .

an out o f doo r game a ce rtain y o ung w o man was

- -

playfully perha ps accidentally to u c hed ac ross the

, ,

kn ees by a m a n wh o m she admired grea tly ; this

72 S e: a nd the Sc um
la rly after childbi rth the breasts devel op stro ng
,

erogen o us qua lities in many women who were not

aware of any sexual feelings in the breasts befo re
that time .

Ordinarily our memory rea ches as far back as the

fifth or possibly the fourth y e ar The rec all of any .

thing beyond that age is rather ra re and un certain .

In m a ny respects the thi rd 1 8 one of the most impo r

tant years of c hildho od for around that age we be gin
to be impressed with the requi rements of our social
environment Ex c ept in rare instan c es the ea rliest
.

steps in our adj ustment to social life a re ca rried on

during a peri od of which we h a ve no dis tinct rec o l
lection .

We know n o thing of c ourse of our e a rly derm al

, ,

impressions We enter into the life of consciousn ess

.

Minerva like with our primordi al impressi o ns and

-—
,

feeling attitude all fo rmed The ta ctile sens a tions

-
.

merge ea rly into and beco me pa rt of our c o mplex

mental c ontent When we inquire into the origin
.

of skin sensations and endea vor to t ra ce their bio

logic rfile in man s s exu al life we ent e r a re alm bese t
’

with dih ulties but one of fundamental impo rt a nce .

The recall of memo ries helps only in pa rt beca use

ordinary m a no ry does not rea ch ba ck far e nough .

In fact the rec ollection of ta ctile imp m sio ns is too

difiuse a nd v ague even for the peri ods cove re d by
’

i
o rd n ar
y memo ry . It is an open questio n whether
 F orms of Con ta c t 73

tactile memo ries o r an y sen so rial impressi o ns per

,

sist in pure form .

A fe w testimo nials and s ome answ e rs which I have

re cei ved to a questionna ire show that o c casionally a
cuta neo us imp re ssi o n is to be fou n d among the
e arliest c hildh oo d expe riences subj ect to spo nta ne

ous re c all
.

Ce rtain t o uch co nta cts between persons h a ve be

co me co n vention alized by cu stom and tradition a nd
on the su rface they bea r no sexu a l connotations .

Th e kiss as an o rdinary gree ting between men a nd

women was ve ry co mm o n in anti quity a nd during
early Christianity It pe rsi ste d in some co untries
.
,

as in F ra nce do wn to the middle o f the seventeenth

,

c entu ry and later The convention al kiss on the

.

chee k is still mainta ine d between friends a nd rela

tives am o ng some Europe a n inhabitants . But that
is to be distinguished from the kiss o n the mo uth
which is a c ustom a mo ng l overs o nly and also be
tween wo men .

The most typic al and widesprea d co nven tional

form of to uch co nt act is the handshake But even
.

this slight and wh o lly formal co nta c t is c apable of

sugges ting or rousin g erotic excitement . So me
women are very sensitive when sha king hands wi th
so me o ne they admire and men are s a id to be ev en
more so under similar ci rcumstances One wo man
.

( a wi do w , thi rty nin

-
e y ears o f a g )
e o f e xcellent
74 S ex an d the S enn a

tr aining a nd u nimpe ach a ble p rin ciples in the con

ven tio na l sense confesses havin g exper ienc ed a mor
,

tifying exci tatio n un der such ci rcumstances The

.

experien ce of another woman was simila r ; du ring a

prolonge d ha ndshake with a man for whom she bo re
the gre a test admi ratio n she fo und herself overcome
with emotion a nd involunta rily she sma cked he r lips ,
as in kissi ng much t o her disco mfiture The m a n in
, .

the ca se o verlooked the incident altho ugh she think s

that he must have pe rcei ved by he r blus hing and
t rembling what ha ppen ed and for thi s she w as ver y
grateful But she was alw ay s un comf o rtable in his
.

p rese nce afte r tha t in ciden t .

 CHAPTER X

The s kin devel o ps f ro m the o ut er embr yo nic la yer,

— the ao -
c alled ecto bl ast The n ervo us system co n
.

sisting of the most highly difieren t a ted anim al tissue

'
‘

is al so o f e cto blastic o rigin .Thus b rain and spinal

co rd o we thei r o r igin to the s ame em br y o nic skin
fold Ge ne ti cally the brain as a porti on of the
.
,

ecto der m m , a
y b e said to be in the l
, as t an a lysis
,

a portion o f skin tissue highly spe ci alized in struc

,

tur e and pla ced within a bo ny vault fo r co mplete

p ro te cti o n .

Thi s embryol o gic fact ha s its psycholo gic c om

p lem a xt . In the unice llul a r o rganism s the surface
al o ne re ceives all the stimuli Respo nse is deter .

mined p ro bably at the po in t o f contact with the

stimul us The protop lasmic covering pla ys the role
.

of a bra in a nd is the earliest rudiment of one S ki n .

or ect oderm an d brain th o ugh fa r apart in structu re

,

and app a rently in function have psy chi c ally a

, , ,

great dea l in common Thei r kinship is a lso shown

.

by m any fa cts o ther tha n their co mm on em bryoni c

o rigin .

Ma ny phys ic al dis o rders the exan th ema ta fo r

, ,

insta nce, affect the n ervous system and the skin a t

76 S at and the Sm “

Perhaps the mo st typica l ex ample o f a disor de r

atta cking both systems the neural a nd the den ia l
, ,

is syphilis .

B riefly there is an embry o l o gic a physi ol ogic

, ,

a nd a pa tho logic kinship between br ain and skin .

The psychologi c kinship betw w n the two though ,

little unde rst ood and only parti ally worked o ut as

yet is fully as strong a nd eq ua lly signifi c ant
, .

Senso rial impressions deri v ed fro m the skin fu r

-

ni sh the ea rliest raw mate ri al upon whic h the br ain

mechanism sets to work During the ea rliest period
.

of o u r indi vidual life the pattern type o f thinking

-

is la rgely dermal ( po ssibly also kinesthetic or ,

muscula r ) Our sense o f rea lity is co nditi oned in

.

l a rge measure by the physical impa ct of exter n al

na ture upo n sentien t skin One o f the a rgume nts
.

of the S co tch c ommo n sense s ch oo l of phil oso phy

-

against the idealistic theory is ba sed on the v alidity

of sens o rial impressions such a s ski n sensati ons
,
.

“
Wha t proof do you demand o f the re ality of ex
”
tern al na ture ? the realists argue with those who
“
deny the latter would y o u be satisfied o nly if the
,

ea rth pressed aga inst the soles o f you r feet with

grea ter impact ? Or is the touch of y o ur skin
”
aga inst the coo l r ock o r wall not rea l enough ?
‘ ’

Although touch is the least intellectual of o ur

speci a l senses upo n its test imony rests a great deal
of o ur habitual feeling attitude towards reality In
-
.

dividua ls o f weak muscul a r co nstitution with a feeble ,

 Types of Feelin g 77

der mal sa me and pe rhaps other defi c iencies o r ih

, ,

fir m ities pro bably fail to acq ui re so keen a sense o f

,

the validity of the external world as those who ha p

p e n t o be endo wed with st rong e r se nsorial apparatus .

Thus reality may not be equally r eal to all persons .

S ome aspects of re ali ty are probably not so fresh to

any o f us during the later stages as it is at fir st ,

during that go lden age of childhood and adol escence

when we are more tho roughly abso rbed in the life of
the senses .

There are types o f thinking feeling and doing

,

corresponding to the pa rticular special sense which

pla ys a p redominant pa rt in the blend of all senses .

The visual type is fa irly common and relatively intel

lec tu al
. At any rate it is a higher type and rep t e
sen ts a mo re effective form of thinking than that
which w ou ld be represented by the predomin ance o f
de rm al impressi o ns Whenever we cra ve the testi
.
~

mo ny o f t o uch this is due to a reverberation of the

most p rimitive type of thinki ng and feelin g Philo
.

so pbic theo ries of knowledge a re lofty inte llectual

st ru ctures but weak a n d unsa tisfact ory because they

,

are so phistica ti o ns an d in c apable of reproducing for

us th a t basic feeling whi c h alone informed us origin
ally of the primary qu alities of matter and external
re ality Traditional philosophy does not satisfy all
.

“
seeke rs a fter the ultim a te rea lity .
”
Many pe rso ns
feel con st ra ine d t o const ruct systema of their own .

I ha ve ha d o pport u nities to examin e a number o f

78 S ec o nd tt m ss
metaphys ical syst ems formula ted by person s liv ing
under an irresistible urge to sol ve the deeper riddles
of existence M any of these formulations by per
.

sons unacquainted with the histo ry of philo sophic

thought c ompare favo rably with the concepts o f
tradition al philosophy Most of these seekers di s
.

play a keen des ire mo re pa rticularly to s olve the

“
an c ient philosophic riddle of the many an d the
”
one o ver whi c h many experts have brooded with
,

dubious results In other wo rds the chi ef interest

.

“ ”
of these seekers after ul timate truth is to recon
—
c ile separa te existences with uni versal h armo ny to ,

restore for themselves the primordial onen ess o f life s

’

beginnings .

If reasonably pursued this interest constitutes a n

ex c ell ent intellectual exercise But the problem is
.

still as it was in the da ys of H eraclitus o ne of the

, ,

standing philosophi c enigmas The v a rious systems

.

of thought which ha ve been formul a ted by some of

the keenest minds in the histo ry of the ra ce fu rni sh
a suffi cien t v ariety t o satisfy every type of min d .

Therefore when some in dividual without any p a rticu

lar tr ainin g in philosophy finds himself impelled t o
“ ”
spin a new system out of his inner c onsci o usness
the suspi c ion is j ustified that the in dividual in ques
tion is responding to an urge to rev ert in some
manner bac k to so me p rimiti ve world view to some
— -
,

stage or o ther of his inf an tile pa st Philosophic .

 S ea: a nd the S en ses

w o rld o f ality i t o sel f a nd no n self Mysticism,

re n -
.

fa r fr o m be i n g a st ep fo rwa rd fro m i n telle ct ualism

 CHAPTER XI

All love symbo li sm includes to uch el em ents For

.

tha t m ea n any division of lo ve into strictly sexual

and n on sexual must rema in a rbit ra ry Lo ve is
-
.

sens oria lly co nditio ned and foste red from o ne end of
the gamut to the o ther i rrespective o f the function
,

it fulfills , the depths t o which it may plunge , o r the

heights it may rea ch The texture of love is the
.

same tho ugh it serve a va riety o f purpos es a cc ording

“ ”
to ci rcums ta nces. The re a re ma ny arts of l ove ,

“ ”
s a id La Ro chef ou cauld but there is only one l ove
, .

The ero ge no us zo nes a re seco ndary sexual cen ters .

They a re roused to thei r highest pitch as a p re

limin ary pha se of the sexual embra ce P revious to
.

the ma turity of sexual orga ns pro per stimulation of

the e roge n ous skin z ones is c ra ved me rely fo r the
sa ke o f the re sulting gra tifica ti o n .E ro ti c gra tifi
tion which does n ot sub se rve the inte rests of repro
ducti on bec omes an end in it s elf The normal pro
.

cess is for sen suo us gratifica tion to converge t o wa rds

the act of rep rodu c tion and to find its highest sum
ma tio n in the sexual embra c e Physical and m en ta l
.

he alth is influ en ced la rgely by the ch ara cter and

cou rse of this c onverge nce t owards the supreme
u l go al
sex a .
82 S c: a nd the S e nses

The thw arting of the mating ins tin c t , so widely

pr evale n tx n i
civilization and a ggra
, v ated by economic
co nditions as much as by ignoran ce about sexual
matters leads to a number of disorders For one
, .

thin g the secondary sexual centers of the skin and

,

the e ro genous chara c ter of other sensory functions

be co me unduly empha sized Thw a rted along its .

p rimary channel the sexual instin c t breaks forth

,

through the secondary centers under va ri o us dis

guises The prima ry fun c tion o f the sexual instinct
.

is to insu re reprodu c tion Thwa rted in that dirce

.

tion gratifi c ation of the instin ct procee ds along the

customa ry i nfantile preadoles c ent chann els The
, , .

erogenous zones bec ome the bearers of the sexual

fun c tion This is the psy chobioti c mec han ism
.

whi ch underli es many o f the ao c a lled perversions of

-

sex Perversion is merely a pa rticular form of the

.

thwa rted or misdi rec ted portion of an instinct .

There are n umerous so c ial and ec o n bmic causes which

foster the thwarting of the s exual instin c t and a re
direc tly respo nsible for mental ill health But .

numero us aberrations of instinct are brought abo ut

through the oper ation of subtle peculi a rities o f o u r
psychophysi cal co nstitution whi c h bec ome settled
du ring early life Of c ou rse here too the social and
.
, ,

economi c substratum is not without its influen ce si n ce

our psychophysi c al c onstitution is in turn largely
a pr odu c t o f envi ro nment .

Derm al ero ti sm fo rms the oldest senso rial sub

 L ona Sy mbolism 83

stra tum o f the mind ; the pleasurable sensa ti ons de

ri ved from the ski n are responsible for the earliest
m o uld of the infantile psyche First the lips in suck
.

ling become the seat of the highest gratifi c ation

known to the inf a nt Su c kling is a mus cular a c
.

tivity but to u c h plays an impo rtant role Both lips

.

and t o ngue are invol ved The sensitiveness of the

.

lips is as exquisite in the infant as the co rrespo nding

sen sitiveness of tongue and fau c es and thro ugh the
,

ass oc iated movements durin g feeding this sensiti ve

ness extends downwa rds o ver the throat It is not .

a ccidental that this region beco mes later more inti

mately a ssociated with the feelin g of self than any
other The classi c al description by William James
.

of the sense of self as an awareness of th roat head ,

and ass o ciated parts is a typi c al illustration .

The mouth is not the only o rifice whi c h becomes

early en do wed with erotic qualities The outlet of.

the gastro intestinal tra c t a chieves the preferential

-

po sition of a n e ro ge n o us zone sec ond in impo rtance

°

o nly to the inlet The eva c uation of the bow els pro
.
~

du ces a sense of relief distin c tly pleasurable to the

infant ; asso ciated with this physiol ogi c relief are the
pleasu rable sensations engendered by nurse and
mother ha ndli ng cleanin g and washi ng the parts
, .

The a nal region becomes a se c onda ry erotic cen ter

o f highest impo r ta nce .

All bodily orifi c es sh ow the same transition of

skin a nd mucous membrane A p rocess of i rradia
.
84 S e: a nd the 8 m
tion eventu a lly endo ws ev ery orifice o r bodily a pe r
tu re with erogenous qualities In gene ral the line
.

of c o nta c t between skin and muco us

wherever found is the seat o f intense a nd speci alize d
,

eroti c sensations The bu c cal a nd a na l muco cutan e

.
-

ous a reas are the most impo rtant beca use they a re ,

the earliest eroge nous zo nes The nasal o pen ings

.

attra ct children s attention much later

’
Ma ny .

children show a great deal of interest in the nasal

sec retions and acqui ring the habit o f boring with
their finge rs or sticking bea ns butto n s seeds an d
, ,

other obj ects into the no se The habit indica tes the
.

e rotic v alue of o rific ia l co nt a cts and its ir radi a ti o n

to other than the ope nin gs a round which the senso

ria l ple as u res are fi rst ro used .
 C HAPTER XII

The desi re of lovers to t o uch ea ch other rec alls

tha t geneti ca lly the co nta ct sense is the one which
precedes all others Physic a l embrace be comes the
.

symbol for the most complete union Du ri ng the .

ea rli er stage s of co urtship the to uch conta c t ma y be

eve r so light but is enough to produ ce the de epest
em o ti on al reverbera tions The falli ng in lo v e of a
.

yo ung man with a girl w ho m he has to carry in his

arms o r saved from falling or from drowning o r
, , ,

with whom be otherwise comes into a cc idental touch

c onta ct is a hackneyed short sto ry theme which con
tin ues to fin d its illust ratio n s in daily life .

Sexual em o ti o n in cre a ses derma l sensibility ; it

rouses so metimes a distin c t dermal c ravi ng somewha t
an al ogo us to the well kno wn light hunger localized
- -
,

in the eye of the newly blind a nd ma y be called skin

,

hunge r And j ust as o rdinary appetite ha s its

.

v aga ries so this new skin hu nge r manifests itself in a

number of ways which are distin c tly peculiar .

The sk in hun ge r o f sex is but a fia ring up of the

ea rlier der ma l erotism It indicates the c o nvergmce
.

of the va rious de rmal and other pleasu rable e xcita

tions towa rds the a dult sexual go al It ari ses .

Q5
86 Sw an d tiw S e n es s
whenever the love instinct calls upo n all se nses fo r
reinforc emen t .

The more or less delibera te co nta ct th rough t ouc h

under circumstances whi c h make the o ccurrence
appear a c ciden tal is a pla y often sta ged a s a mea n s
of ro using pleasurable emoti o ns A y oun g man
.

bru shes his ba nd ever so lightly over a l ady s hand

, ,
’
,

and begs her pa rdo n explaining it was an ac c ident

, .

The young lady bl ushes as she a cknowledges the ex

c use In c identally this triviality has bro ught them
.

close r ; thei r acquaintan c e may bl ossom more rapidly .

So far as ordinary awaren ess is c oncerned manner ,

isms and games le ading to accidental or i n nocent and

playful tou c h conta c t a mong persons of both sexes
contain nothing eroti c ; but al though little appea rs
,

upon the surface the lightest touch may be full of

,

meaning A minimum o f touch is capable of ro usin g

.

a maximum of emotion u nd e r certain c ircumstan ces ;

the typi c al emotion aro used in that way is distinctly
erotic It is not too far fetched to state that fro m
.
,

the standpo int of the psychology of its deeper impli

c ations the most t rivial t ou c h potentially is not
,

without its sexual conn otations All games between

.

young people invol ving the sense of tou ch are highly

pleasurable Often the se games are favored p re
.

c isely bec ause they a re c rypti c forms o f eroti c ex

c itation It is during su c h ga mes tha t frequ ently

.

adolesc ent girls first become aware of the eroge no us

 A w o ma n o f my acqua inta nce declares th a t she
could never like c ertain pe rso ns afte r fin din g their
fi rs t ha nd grip unsa tis fact o ry So me perso ns att ra ct
-
.

her f ro m the very fi rs t by the w armth and friendli

ness of thei r ha n dsh ake She belie ves tha t in these
.

ma tters her se nse almost never deceives her ; a n d is

“ ”
always willing t o trust to her hand imp ressi o ns .

At time s she h a s delibe ra tely so ught the opp o rtunity

to s a h ke han ds with me per so n as the one best
so

mea ns fo r her to appr a ise tha t perso n s character ’

.

This is a sen sitivene ss abo ut which much ha s been

sa id It d oes not de serve all the emph asis which
.

s ome perso ns mostly lacking scientifi c training a re

, ,

inclined to place upon it As a t est o f characte r the

.

h a n d grip has slight value ; empirically it may be

-

po ssible to use it to some exten t No do ubt so me .

pe rso ns a re guided delibe rately as this wo man claims

,

to be or otherwise by the impression which the

, ,

handshake makes upon the m But this d oes no t.

“ ”
prove that the test is reliable .

The ha ndshake invol v es the co nta ct o f palm and

fingers between two pe rsons It registers not only
.

somethin g about another perso n but something abou t

’ “ ”
one s self as well The ao c alled impression we
.
-

re ceive at the moment of sh aking ands with some

h
 Med ica tion of Touc h 89

subtle men t al facto rs and its preci se em oti o n al t o ne

i s determine d by the cha racter of nume ro us re mote
experien ces And we must bear in mind tha t in its
.

wide sen se o ur pa st experien ce incl udes innume ra ble

,

elementary imp ressions o f which we w ere un awa re at

the time of thei r occurrence but which n evertheless
be co me pa rt an d pa rcel o f o ur emotion al m ake up -

and to a grea t extent go vern o u r subsequent rea c

tion s The first sight o f a pe rso n ma y be eno ugh to

.

rouse a nt ago ni sm or sympathy ev en without a h and ,

sh ake This is no t a sixth sense Ther e is n o thing

. .

my ste ri o us abo ut it n othing unc anny o rl supe r

,

na tu ral . Fir st impressions wh ether brought o n

,

th ro ugh a ha nds ha ke o r merely visu al denote o u r ,

inner rea cti o n to an object o r per so n as representa

tive o f a type with which we have ce rt ai n em o ti o nal
a s so ci a tio ns Fi rst impressio n s belong first t o the
.

type and subsequen tly to the individu al co nce rned .

Furthe rmore first impre ssions register our emo ti on al

attitude ; but these imp ressions tell us no thing o bj ec '

tive un less o ur previous expe ri ences ha ve a ccu ra tely

in o ur mind some obj e c tive realities This .

is rarely the ca se Ou r fi r st imp res si o ns may be

.

the result of p rej udice We do n o t alw ays di s tin

m
.

guish between prej udice a nd kno wledge Fi rst i .

pre ssi o ns ther efo re den o te only emo ti o n al p redis

, ,

po siti o ns ; no thing is mo re un t rustw orthy as a guide

to o bj ec tive knowledge .

An idea lised a s ec t o f
p the impulse to to uch o ne
90 sex t S ca res

another so common among lo vers is expre ssed by a

l ady in a le ngthy communi cation of which the fol
lowing is a pass age :
“
To me to u ch symbo li ze s ch aste l ove I ha ve al .

ways been sensiti ve in this respect As a small child

.
,

when I saw little a nima ls a nd even big ones I was

, ,

not happy until I was all o wed to appro ac h and

stroke them I have once been bitten vici ously by a
.

do g who m I approa ched to ca ress in that way ; in

spite of the pain I still remember though I must
, ,

ha ve be en a v ery small gi rl at the time that my feel ,

in gs were hurt mo re tha n I minded the pain ; but I

could not make that cl e a r to my elder s They s aid .
,

after the wo rst was o v er that if the experien c e wi ll

,

cure me of the habit of seeking out a nd petti ng every

stray animal it will be a good lesson but it did not
, ,
.

I found the dog that had bitten me ( he bel onged to

a dist ant farmer ) and my sense of triumph was great
when bribing him repeatedly with es ta bles he allowed
me at last to ca ress him .

“
Du ring school yea rs it w as remarked that I loved
to touch pretty thi ngs A st ro ng habit of mine was
.

to test the smoothness of every small o bj ect by rub

bing its surface ligh tly under my c hin I have tested
.

in this way every flower in field and garden and every

kin d of leaf ; my recollection of most flowers and
many other obj ects to this da y evokes the sensati o n
o f the exquisite smo o thnes s pecu liar to them .

“
When I fi rst learned abo ut sexual matters I was ,

ten yea rs old I have t ried to recall what my notions

.

were on this subj ect before that time but I remembe r

n othin g
. I know I held st rong to the co nvicti on tha t
 Idsaliza tion of Touc h 91

rep roducti o n in the human ra ce is not the s ame as

amo ng a nimals m spite of numerous evidence to the
con trary which must ha v e c ome within my range of
observations I still find the t ruth abo ut th is dis
.

co u ra gin g and degrading I app re ciate that t his 1 8

.

an emotion al reac tio n Intellec tually I am able to

.

perceive that the human ra ce is but one of the speci es

of animal life on ea rth ; and I rec ognize that there is
probably no warrant to consider reproduc tion any ,

mo re than digestion o r any othe r pro cess different

, ,

in ma n than in the lower animals But in spite of .

eve ryt hing I find myself c lin ging stubbo rnly to the
beli ef that it is possible to humanize this as well as
every other fun c tion which stands under human co n

t rol so tha t all brutal ra w animal like aspects o f

, ,
-

life sh ould be abo lished almost c ompletely if not

wholly And yet what little I ha ve l ea rned about the
.

experiences of some of my ma rried women friends

does not j ustify me to hold any favorable opinion o n
the p mspe c ts of subj ugating passion .

“
I can conceive howev er the sexual embrace as an
, ,

intense fo rm of the exquisite delight I have so often

experienced even long before adoles ce n ce when ca ,

ressing obj ec ts or persons I loved It should be pos .

si ble to lo v e a body as o n e lo v es a flower and with

the same s a tisfa c tion . Do I make an in vo lun
ta ry co n fession here and does this make my pre
,

adoles cent experi en c e precociously sexual

The w rite r of the abo v e exce rpt is a c ollege gradu
ate, single , wh o has furnished me with a number of
ve ry interesting rec o rds con c erning the ero tic role of
touch ga the red among her fri ends, be sides a desc rip
tio n o f her own experiences .
 Th e kiss is a subj ect to which I ha ve a lrea dy made
slight referen ce The act of kissi ng involve s more
.

th a n the mere conta ct of two muco cutane o us sur

-

faces beca use the lips represen t the ea rliest ero ge

,

no us zone and are mo st sensitive The ki ss is rein

.

fo rced by the muscular cha ra c te r o f the lips j e st as

its signifi c an ce is due t o thei r e roge nous quality.

The displa c ement of se xual excita tion from the

primary sexual area to the erogenous lip zo ne i s
o ften found in ao called sexu al frigidity A w oman
-
.

ma y respo nd with passionate kisses and ha ve no

desire whatever of go ing any fu rther if the co nver
,

gence of the seconda r y erotic excitations tow ards the

p rima ry sexua l goa l is inhi bited In such a c ase the
.

seconda ry er o ti c excita tions assume a p rima ry sig

nifican ce although naturally n o substitute is ca pable

o f gra tifying adequately the sexual c ra ving Thus.

an a fiec tio na te warm kiss d oes not necessarily den ote

'

a passiona te w oman as is commonly but erroneo usly

believed It may in dica te a wom a n in who m the
.

prima ry sexual go al is blo ck ed so that she is in

ca pable o f either en j oying o r to lera tin g the su n al
 The Kiss 93

The kiss is a n a nci ent exp ression of love It i s n o t

.

witho ut its pa r allel am o ng the lower species The .

ca resses among various insects as ca rried o ut by

me ans o f thei r antennae du ring the sexual emb ra ce
ha ve been c ompared to the kiss That may be fa r
.

fetched ; but the billing and cooing of bi rds du r ing

thei r love season is undoubtedly a form of cares s ,

a s is a ls o thei r nibbling a t and p re ening o f ea ch

other .

Licking with the tongue o r merely to uching with

the lips as a sign of a ffecti o n o r pleasure is comm on
amo ng mo st mammals The human infant instin o
.

tively c arries to its m o uth ev erythi ng it touches ;

probably a rea cti o n induced by its nut ritional habits .

The infant may also li ck the peo ple it likes ; that is

one of the m o st p rimitive ways of showing affec tio n
since it is found also amo n g the lower animals .

Afiec tio na te children ha ve been known to lick the

'

neck fa ce ha nds o r any other exposed su rf a ce of

, ,

tho se whom they wish to care ss ; in thei r tu rn they

lo ve t o be li cked by animals That this t endency is
.

a re verberation in the huma n ra ce o f an old anim al

impulse is sh own by a great m any isolated fa cts a nd
observati o ns which oth e rwise remain det a ched a nd
unexplained Th e ha bit of co u rse is widesp read
.
, ,

among the l ower species Mo st female m a mm als lick

.

t he ir newly born o fisp ring a nd the suckling y o ung

’
.

This t o ngue kiss as it ma y be c alled un doubtedly

, .

gen era tes pleas u rable feelings n o t o nl y in the y oung

94 Sea M -
ike S m“
bu t in the n ursing mo ther She ma y be .

t o lick her y o un g in the firs t pl a ce by the desire

ed W
herself to feel the resulting gratifica tion and on ly
incidentally by the desi re to bes t ow a s imil ar pl easure
upo n her o ffspring .

Under the stress of str o ng sexual feeling this re

markable impulse to use the tongue ma y break fo rth
in human adults male o r fem ale
, .

The impulse to bite d uring the sexual emb ra ce be

longs to the kinesth eti c or mus c ular catego ry of
ero ti c excita tions but as it also has its cutan eo us
,

substratum it may be considered here briefly .

It has been pointed o ut that d uring intercourse

m any a nimals use thei r teeth a nd birds their bill to
gra sp and steady more fi rmly the fem ale But the .

analogy is feeble In man the impulse to bite pro b

.

ably breaks fo r th to enhance the lover s illusion ’

of complete union with the sexual partner and po s

sibl aids in generati g the ill usion of su c h a uni o n
y n

by bringing into play an addition al highly sens itive ,

surface a n d set of mus c les .

Bites as substitutes for kisses may be observed in

the relation between mother and o ffsp ring as well as
between lo vers Li terature both an c i ent and mod
.
,

ern contains numerous referen ce s to this subj ect

, .

It has been mentioned by Catullus H ora ce Ovid , , ,

Petronius Propertius Plautus Plutarch and othe r

, , , ,

Ro ma n w riters . The Indian K ama S utra of Va n gu

y a na an
, o riental Classi c on the A rt of L o ve con ,
96 S ca M tl m es
In a sho rt tim e the y o u n
g ma n appea rs and is
ca ught in the a ct o f bitin g chnn k s of wo o d o ut of

the barrels Co nf ro nted by the bride s father he

.
’
,

co nfesses th a t he too k this me ans of thwartin g the

impulse to bite his bride The i rate father de cla res
.

him t oo d ange ro us a l o ver and a nn ounce s tha t he

would u his te nder da ughter
n o t en tr st to the mercies
o f su ch a man .

B u t the b ride is p res ent durin g the scene hidd en ,

a nd u nobserved S he slipped out of the festiv al roo m

.

when she s a w her father m ake his way to wards the

cel lar ; fo r nothing th a t was go ing o n esc a ped her

Whi le the groo m p ro tests tha t he w ould be as

c areful a fte r ma rriage a s he h as been d uring the
brief hours o f c ourt ship not t o hu rt his bride the
y ou ng gi rl appears a nd t hro wing herself into hi s
arms reque st s him t o ta k e her a way with him then
a nd the re To her a sto nished father she explains
.

tha t sh e had kn o wn all along abo ut the habit h aving

tra cked he r l o ve r a nd w a tched his vicari ous l ove bites -

o n tho o cca si o n o f his visits bu t that she wants him

the m ore on a ccount o f the ma nly stren gth o f hi s
lo ve .

A cco rding t o a nother version o f the same sto ry

the gro om ca rries the b ri de t o his ho me and she re
turn s l a to r with the sid e o f her fa ce and both lips
bitten clear o ff Conf ronted with the evidence of his
.

c ruel ty the y ou ng man co nfesses tha t it w as the re

 The L ove Bite 97

sul t o f a n accident Fo r a number o f da ys a nd

.

nights he h ad been running t o the cella r wh enever the

impuls e to bite his bride c ame irresistibly upo n him
a nd show ed d o zens of ba rrels with hundreds o f h o les

bitten o ut o f th em as evidence Finally one night be

.

delay ed too long and hit hi s bride bef ore he c o uld

The in cli na ti o n to bite i s mo re co mmo n amo ng

than a m o ng men bo th as a n exp ressio n of
lo ve and of anger This is a lso true of children who
.

o ften bite pla y q y those whom they lo v e but also

bite a nd scrat c h viciously when angry During the .

first teething per i od biting is merely a reflex acti o n

,

induced by the de si re to re liev e the swoll en hot ,

gingiv al s urface of the uncomfo rta ble feeling of

p res s ure by a n a ct of c o unter pressure But-
the .

tenden cy to show a ffection by biting is ma n if ested

very s oo n afterwa rds The bite finds its fullest ex
.

press i o n du rin g o fiensive defensive fighting a nd a t

'
-
,

the climax of sexu al ex c itement especially in w o men

, .

A slight p ressure o f the teeth against any part o f

the body appea rs to be an intensiv e form of kissin g
bu t f ro m this the impulse shows all gradati o ns ;
fin a lly it leads to very pa inful and ev en da nge ro us
bites This aspect of the subj ect will be co nside red
.

in an o th er volume in co nnection wi th the study of

,

the impulses t o vi olen ce in sex o r algo la gssia

, .

Biting like the kiss ma y beco me a substitute for

, ,
 S ea and the Sen ses
the sex u al embra ce I n ste ad o f bec o mi n g c on een
.

tra ted up o n its goa l the sexu a l impul se remains di

verted in o ne o f its se co n da ry cha nn els pers i sti n g
,

the rein with the a tten ua ted po we r o f a thw a rted

in s tin c t.
1 00 S ea: an d the Sen ses

no t a n adult type o f lo ve ; nevertheless it is a form o f ,

ten de rness which fo r obvious rea s o ns is speci ally

c raved by so me men .

Next to the ma ternal st ands the infantile type o f

kiss This is the kiss which m a nifests that co mfl ete
.

sen se of dependence upo n and t rust in the pro te ct

ing o r nourishing adult characteristi c of the early
s tage s of childh ood A great deal of this attitude
.

is invo ked also by the sexual kiss The passion dis .

played in the adul t s kiss may belong to the infantile

’

level of emotion Th is is nearly always the case

.

du ring the ao c alled calf lov e stage The emotion

- -
.

really va cillates between the infantile and the adult

type between the go al less eroti c and the typica lly
,
-

sexual .

The infantile el ement in the lo ve kiss is also fos

terad by the p redo min a nce of c urrent inhibitions re
garding the sexual instin ct The lo ve kiss o f many.
-

wo m en is o f inf a ntil e type beca use these women have

not attained the emotio ns of adult love ; they fea r
a nd dread the c onsequences of yielding to all the de
mands of the larger all inclusive love and c ling ih
,
-

stead to the forms of eroti c gratifica ti o n to be

achieved by c aressing kissing and other means with
,

whi c h they ha ve be come familiar during th eir p re

a doles cent and presexual period of life The marit al .

experien ce of su c h women is necessarily un sa tisfa c

tory They are inclined to bl a me marri a ge or th ei r

.
 Kiss S y mbo lism 1 01

husba nds for their unhappiness As a ma tter of .

fact igno rance alone and fail ure to gro w up em o

,

tio n ally is re sp o nsible for the inco mpa tibility o f

mo st mar ri ages whi ch tu rn out unhappy .

The s acr ament al kiss was very widesp read at o ne

ti me and it survives in m any religious ceremonials
it is undo ubtedly of infantile o rigin The sa cr ed kiss .

is a testimony of reveren ce Whether found in An

.

cient R ome among the primitiv e Arabians who wor

,

shipe d their go ds with a kiss or as a fraternal greet

,

ing a mong the early Ch ristians the sacred kiss sym

,

bo lizes the same attitude The holiness of the kiss

.

is a c reed which su rvives among ou rselv es in that

legal procedu re whi c h req uires the kissing of the
Bible in oath taking The c hurc hes preserve the
.

custom in various ways The images of the gods

.

whi ch were reverently kissed by the ancient G reeks

are replaced with relics and images of saints a nd
for these reveren ce is shown in the same ma n ne r .

Kissin g the foot o f the po pe a nd the hands of bish

ops is also a n established religi o us c usto m .

The religious kiss d oes not di ff er essen tially fro m

the vassa l s kiss o f his suzer a in ; it is like the sa m e
’

t ok en o f reverence and re spect for the parent on the

pa rt of the child Next to the m o ther s kiss of her ’

o fis rin g the infantile kiss of subj ecti o n a nd rever

’

p
ence is the oldest Like the latter it signifies sub
.

mi ssion a s sent depend ence even awe ; the gra da tio n

, , ,
1 02 S ex an d the S M

upwa rds o f the em o ti on which a cco mp anies the ki ss

increases its pleasur a ble effect .

The gro wth of the c hild cha nge s the cha ra cter o f
its kiss j ust as the obj ec t sought in kissing shifts
in th e fro m the bro adly e ro tic to the specifically
s exual gratifi c atio n In the s a me way the h oly kiss
.

shifts by imperc eptible degrees losing its p ristin e ,

’
mystical c ha ra c ter In many a religiou s pe rs o n s
.

fancy a t least the kiss atta ins a fai rly co n crete

, ,

sign ifi c ance The religious exhortation to love the

.

Savior has been taken in a v ery literal sen se by many

saints of bo th sexes thus rousing in them m a ny of the
physical con c omitants of sexual l ov e Ext reme in .

sta n c es o f this kind have been recognized by the

“
chu rches By far the la rgest number are bo rd er
.

”
land experien ces The transition from spiritual
.

and religious to physi c al and sexual love is very

obvious as may be observed during reviv als A .

w o ma n physician w rites me as follows

Ihave come to the vi ew m odern psychologists
h o ld if I understand you a right that betwee n the
, ,

sexual and the religious emotions the path is con

tin uo us and there is no bre a k I am now ha ving .

under observation a girl who has undergone recently

a severe shake up on a c count o f the breaking up of
-

her engagement A scan dal aro se and the young

.

man thought be st to leave For sev eral months after

.

that the young woman li v ed like a r ecluse She kept .

herself aloof a nd was mentally unapp ro acha ble .

Finally sh e too k a spo ntaneous interes t in church

1 04 S ea: a nd the S en s es

For one thing I see the c onnec tion between the ero tic
,

and the reli gious emotions in a new light I no w .

begin to un derstand why religious my sti c s felt suf

fused and physically o verc ome when c ontemplating
union with Christ M any of them must ha v e cra v ed
.

li terally what they were dreaming about and thei r

c raving c onj ured up ta c tile and other hallu c inations
.

The Divine tou ch apparently is not an abstracti on

, , .

The yea rning mind may make it v ery real when the
”
earthly t o uch dis a ppo ints or fails .
 CHAPTE R XV

The si ght a nd t o u c h o f the fem ale breas t rouse

in tense sexual em o ti o n alth o ugh bre ast a nd nipple
prima rily serve the needs of infantile life The sec.
~

o n da ry sexual role of this region c ontains a tinge of

its prima ry nutrition al f un c tion The erotic sens i

.

tiven ess of lips is developed in the first place th rough

conta ct with the mo ther s brea st The great in e li
’
.

nation du ring love to c aress tou ch or kiss the breas ts

,

must be recognized in light of their prima ry bio

logi c fun c tion The brea sts symbolize womanh ood
.

ideally and physically They are the source of the

.

ea rliest known senso ria l gra tificati o n being func

tion a lly an integr al part of the infant s mecha nism
’

of feeding The infant takes to the breast instin o

.

tively ; the lover craves contact with it partly o n

ac co unt of un c ons c ious associ ations Conta c t with
.

the breas t repr odu ces the state o f infantile bliss .

Du ring the later stages of pregnancy the breasts

au tomatically prepa re th emselves to assume th ei r
function The changes whi ch a re ta king pla ce in the
.

b reasts a re bro ught about through the influence o f

the nervous system as well as thro ugh the blood .

1 05
1 06 S ex an d the S ense:

The altera ti o n in fo rm structure and a ppea ra nce

,

o f the breasts st a nd in most in timate connecti o n

with the ch anges in the sexual organs p roper .

Even before pre gna n cy the brea sts under go

ch a nges in ha rmony with the state of de velopment
of the sexual o rgans The sw elling and ten der ne ss
.

of the breas ts at pube rty a re chara c teristic A cer.

tain amount of tenderness i n the bre asts is also fai rly

c ommo n in girls at or near the time of menst ruation
showing a strong asso c iation between breast and
w omb With the onset of pregnancy the b reasts
.

become the seat of a c tive changes which contin ue

thro ughout the peri od and be co me more ma rked
t owa rds the end of p regn a ncy .

The pri ma ry pu rpo se of these cha nges is to p re

pa re the breasts to re c ei v e and nou rish the infant .

In some women the act of su ckling produ c es vo lup tu

ous sensations Many women find su c kling a deli
.

c io us se nsati o n o cc asi o nally shared by the sexu a l

organs proper The breasts often figure as a s ub

.

stitu te for the sexual organs or as a symbo l o f

femininity in folk lore myth an d daydrea ming
-
, .

The nipple is a highly s nsiti ve pseudo erectile

e ,
-

orga n Unlike the c lito ris whi ch it suggests and

.

slightly resembles it c ontains no erec tile fibers of its

own Origin ally ma mmse and nipple were developed
.

by the gro uping together of a number of gla nds dif

1 08 S ex a nd the S a me:
i
s o nal ly
a very slight m amma ry secretion and dis ~

ch a rge is found at puberty ; thi s is known to o ccu r

even ea rlier though rarely
, .

The attitude t owards der mal hai rs raises an inter

esting problem in sexu al biology The impulse to .

remove the hai rs is almost univers al yet it has re

cei ved unsatisfactory expla n ations thus fa r True.
,

the desire for smoothness may be o pera tive ; but this

is n o t enough to explain so widesp read a peculi arity
of ad oles cence The tendency t o defila tio n in bo th
.

sexes bea rs some relation to the desi re t o m a int ain

a smooth and pleasing skin .

The loss of hai r fro m the human body is a phy

letic process to whi c h c o rresponds the l o ss o f the
lan ugo of the fetus The increased growth of ha ir
.

at puberty is a pa rti al revers al of the p ro cess of

natural selection The sexual significance of this
.

revers al is indi c ated by the fa c t that the a xilla ry and

pubi c regions a re the seat o f the most abunda nt
growth of hai r .

Under the influence of the sexual im pulse the po st

adoles cent attitude towards hair bec omes bipolar : it
amounts to an aversion and a new love at the same
t ime Young men sh ave their f a ce girls pull out
.
,

their superfluous hairs At the same time ha ir be

.

comes also an objec t of admiration : there a rises a

n ew love of c o ifiu r e ; although alongside th a t th ere
'

ma y be noted in some girls an impulse t o cut thei r

 Dermal C on s ciousness 1 09

c ra t es a new skin c o nsc i ousness ; thi s c enters pa r

tic ula rly o n the erogen o us z o n es such as b rea sts ,

lips neck abdomen et c as developed during earlier

, , , .
,

life an d eventually shifts o v er to the se xual orga ns

proper Ado lescen ce is bubbling ove r with the desi re
.

to t ouch stroke c a res s pat embr ace c la sp ki ss

, , , , , ,

and to reasse rt in every pos sible wa y the primo rdi al

sup re ma cy o f skin sens a ti o n s .

The h abit o f picking the skin so o ften observed ,

in children breaks forth anew during the pe riod when

,

sexual co n scio usness asse rts its elf The re is a keen .

d esi re t o rem o ve s cabs or pimples and to rub out

erupti ons amounting at times to a new kind of der ma l
hypersensitivity The least roughness beco mes in
.

tolera ble to to uch The s c abs of a c cidental inj uries

.

to face or h ands a re removed again and again befo re

they can perform thei r healing fun c tion so that not
inf req uently per ma nen t sca rs a re formed H ang .

nails blister s and c allosities are t orn o f o r cut

, ,

o ften unskillfully ; in short the least brea k in the

,

smoothness and co ntinuity o f the skin is un bea rable .

 CHAPTE R XVI

The skin h a s its hygiene , its t o ilet and its cult .

Child ren are not pa rti c ula rly sensitive ; at first the
hygienic requi rements of the skin must be drilled int o
youn g peo ple But sexual awakening brings about
.

a new der mal consciousness It is du ring a dolescen ce

.

that the care of fa c e and h an ds beco mes a c ult Even .

the der mal appen dages ha ir and nails acqui re a

, ,

new inte res t The lw k ing glm is b ro ught into u se

.

as a n indispensable adj un c t to the to ilet No d ress.

ing ro om is co nceivable without it .

The pleasure that the adol esce nt girl begins to

take in the ca re of he r co mplexion rea ches dee per
than any co n scio us elements of that feeling The .

to uch of her own faci al skin in rubbing massaging ,

and applying c reams skin to ni c s rouge astringents

, , ,

and other medi camen ts so metimes is in itself pleasur

able aside o f the benefits fancied or rea l of the
, , ,

practi ce Of cou rs e in the ba ckgro und of the y oung

.
,

woman s mind as she attends to her facial toilet

’
, ,

may be only the thought that she is following cu s t om

and doin g her duty ; to appear at her best is the
pri vil ege and duty of every woman and she m ay be
una wa re o f any o ther co nsidera ti o n But there is
.

1 10
112 Sm an d ths S a m
adepts o f ea rly Christia nity bathing and skin
, ,

cleanliness gene ra lly became synonymo us with las

,

c ivio usn ess The Chr istians of the fi rst c enturies

.

c on sidered neglec t of the ski n a religious duty .

Du ring the Middle Ages personal fil th bec ame a cult

a nd a vi rtue .

—
This dual attitude the Ro ma n o r p aga n cult o f
,

the ba th and the medi e val religious abhorrence of

—
skin cleanliness as id e nti c al with las c i vi o usness is
richly illust ra ted in the private life of peculiar per
so n alities On the larger so cial scale the obj ecti o ns
.

of ea rly Christi anity aga inst bathing ha v e be en over b

c ome alth o ugh bathing establishments hardl y attain

the splend o r whi ch c ha racterized these institutions
durin g the pe ri od when the s o cial life of pagan R ome
.

was at its zenith The custom of ba thing is as char

.

acteristic o i m odern c ivilization as the cult of per

sonal fil th was characte ristic of the Middle Age s .

Cold ba ths and swimming are prescribed du r ing

ad olescen ce as measures for curbing the tendency to
self abuse Nothing so quickly re duces the engo rge
-
.

ment of the sexual orga ns as a plunge int o cold

water At the s ame time we must recognize all
.

fo rms o f bathing as ca pable of ro us ing d e rmal cx ci

ta tio n to a degree of s ensuousness but thinl y ve iled
from the ero tic excitation proper The success o f.

the K n eipp a nd Kuhne hydro therapeuti c meth ods

 Ba thin g 113

a nd of their numer o us m odifi ca ti o ns res ts largely

upon the extent to whi ch the dermal sen se is rous ed
and stimulate d The effic a c y of gymnasti cs mas
.
,

sage and passive mo v ements of limbs as practiced fo r

therape uti c purpo ses also reveals a de m o ero ti c -

qu ality underlying these pra c ti c es

.

Cold bathing is highly c ommendable o n ac c o unt o f

its physiologi c effec t but the exten t to which it is
pra c ti ced by some pers o ns amounts to abuse The .

best po ssible toni c for skin and dermal circ ulation is

the rea c tion which follows brisk rubbing with a
co arse towel after the cold plunge or showe r The .

pressu re o f the water o ver the whole dermal su rface

during immersi o n drives the bl ood away from the
surface a nd the co ld further c ont ra c ts the dermal
capillaries as well as the underlying v essels and tis
sues Under this in fluen ce the eliminati v e clea nsing
.
,

action of lungs and kidneys is pro mo ted and po ssM y

also the function of the digestive apparatus The .

reac tion following co ld bathing is benefi c ial to all the

n o n stri
o
a te d or involunta ry muscles of the body ,

swimming being the best exercise fo r th em H ea rt.

and bl ood vessels a re stimulated thereby the proc

,

esses of excretion are helped ci rculation and brea th

,

ing a re quickened and the skin is reliev ed and c lea red

,

of its debris The general to ne of health is undo ubt

.

edly imp ro ved by j udici ous ba thing .

The custom of plunging into c old water reduces

senso ry overtendern ess ; it m akes for stu rdiness o f
1 14 S ee and the S en ses

s pirit . Swimmer s awa re at times o f a

a re

gra tific a tion deri v ed from the a ct of sup

porting the body in deep water Immerse d in wate r
.

the body bec omes the i nstrument of volition in a new

sense for it is lighter more gra c eful and yields a
, ,

gre a ter sense of f re edom The m o ral value o f the

.

ne w fee ling a fl ec ts vari o usly diffe ren t per so ns

'

.
116 S ex a nd the S en se s

the li ving organi sm in its search for food o r shelter .

In man the ti c kle reflex persists as a stra nge su rvival

from bygone age s It re minds us how vigorousl y
.

lower organisms respo nd to the slightest stimuli from

the surro unding world H ighly difl e ren tia ted struc
'

tu res and a multipli city of orga ns ea ch subserving ,

a parti c ular and specifi c need eventually bring about

,

a better ada pta tion of the living organisms ; but the

subdi v ision and splitting up of functions results als o
in a certain loss of keenness The intensity of feel
.

ing in conn ection with some vital pro c esses is prob

ably not the same in the higher as in the lower organ
i sms But the primal instincts c oncerned with foo d
.
,

a n d sex undoubtedly preserv e their primo rdi a l keen

,

ness th roughout natu re ; and man is not an ex c ep

tion It is characteris tic of man s sexu al c ra vings
.
’

tha t they break forth with all the abo riginal in ten
“ ”
sit
y o f wh a t is called animal desi re The int
.su

sity of the sexual feeling rehearses the intensity of

life du ring the earlier stages It is not surpris ing

. ,

therefore to find that sex c alls into play all the

,

sensory ex c itations in turn Natu ra lly the tickle

.
,

reflex as an a rchai c su rvival and a spec ial mo dific a

,

tion of the tou ch sen se enters into the ero tic life
,

and plays a sexual role .

The minimal tou ch excitations have been c ompa red

“ ”
to the tentacular experience in the insect world
and even to the tou ch s ens a tions of the a mmbo id o r
sms
an i Indeed the te t a cles hai r antenn an d
g .
, n , , a
 The Tic kle Reflect 117

othe r p roj ecting fib rils wherever fo und in the a nim al

wo rld a re highly se n sitise d The whole o rga nism .

respo nds to their slightest c ontact with extern a l

o bj ects thus sugge sti ng the tickle re flex in ma n .

Lower orga ni s ms respo nd with intense agitation to

the slightest tentacular stimula ti on as p a rt of the
basi c scheme of life The co nta c t signifies ei ther
.

d ange r o r f ood ; it produces a state of alarm in the

o ne case a nd ro uses a sen se of gra tifica tio n in the

Al ready a t bi rth the inf a nt sh ows a ve ry m a rked

tickle refl ex along vari o us bodily regi o n s such as ,

the soles of the feet etc Thi s sensitiveness un d o ubt

, .

edly excite s mus c ular activities which k eep the fe tus

in the po sition most favorable for its gro wth dur ing
the intra uterine pe ri od
-
As pro of o f this it h a s
.

been p ointed out tha t exci ta tion o f the ti c klish parts

o f the skin te nds t o produce the cu rled up flexed -
,

po sition of limbs and body which is the typic al intra

ute rine position .

Self ti c kling is n o t po ssible

-
Neither the adult .
,
.

nor the child in whom the ti ckle reflex 1 s highly de

,

velO e d c a n pro duce the reactio n

p up o n him s el f .

This fact appa rently trivial corresponds with the

, ,

impo rta nt biologi c fun c ti o n of the refl ex ; for titilla

tio n wo uld be ro bbed o f its role if the lower o rga n

isms failed to distin guish in so me way the self gen -

er a ted de rmal stimuli fro m the stim uli induced by

118 S sm and the S ame:

co nta ct with the exter n al w orld The po int m ade by

.

H a v elock Ellis that absen ce of self tickling indi cate s

-

a men tal elemen t in the p ro cess c annot be main

ta in ed : quite the reverse seems to be the c ase The .

n eed of pro tection a ga inst atta ck and of warn ing

against dange r which must ha ve developed ti c klish
ness in the fi rst pla ce under the influence of natural
“
selec ti o n involves the ne cessity of a min im al excita
”
ti o n produ cing a m aximal e fl ec t as H a v elock Ellis
'

“
hims elf remarks and this end w o uld be defeated if
,

it involved a simple reac tion to the c ontact of the o r

a nism with itself
”
The abs e nce o f self tickling is
g
-
.

a biol o gic ada ptation ; it cannot be taken as proo f

th a t the ti c kle reflex involves some intellectual ele
ment of a gr ade unrepresented in the tou c h sens e
ge nerally.

In the absence o f any definite kn owledge of the p re

cise mech a nism respo nsible for the ti c kle refl ex the
theory of the summa tion of stimuli seems reason able
enough as a pro vision al explanation That the o ry .

is based o n experiment al fa c ts and has been prove d

true in connection with other processes of the ner
v ous system Briefly it is as follows : All reflex rea o
.

tions are the re sult of wave like stimuli o r repeat ed ,

shocks to the ne rve c en te rs The response rep re

~ .
5

sents really a summation of these wave like successive -

ex citations of the c o r ti cal center In other words

.
,

a sin gle external stimulus is transmitted by the ne rve

fi bers a s a succes sion of excitations and the c umu
1 20 Sex an d the Senses
diminishes in women mo re so than in men Sen si
—
, .

tiven ess t o titillation remains stro ng aro und ce rt a in

skin a rea s ; it is particul a rly p reserved , a nd pe rh a ps ,

in some ins ta nces heighte ned aro und the sexual

, ,

parts proper ; but the reflex is no longe r dispe rsed

p racti cally over the whole skin Thus for instance
.
, ,

“ ”
women who befo re ma rriage were t oo tickli sh to
to lera te the slightest t ou ch o n the breasts o r un der ,

the arms fin d these parts less sen s itive aft er the

,

es ta blishment o f m a rita l rela tio n s .

In the un ma rried w oma n the tickle re flex is also

ass o cia ted with modes ty This sugge sts a pro teo
.

tive mecha nism against aggressio n spe cifically

,

against sexu al atta ck The esta blishmen t of ma r

.

ria ge relations ca ncels the n eed f o r this p rotecti o n ;

sensitiveness t o tickling co r resp o ndingly dec reases .

When a woma n yields thro ugh love her bo dily pa rts

als o yield ; she n o l onge r needs th e prote ctio n agains t
co nta ct with the male involved in the tickle refl ex .

The subtle co nnecti o ns betwe en the tickle refl ex

and sexuality betr ay themselves at times in ro un d
abo ut ways as in the following inst ance :
B L a w o ma n of twen ty five unmar rie d co m
.
,
~
, ,

pl a ine d of v arious pa resthe sias involvin g pa r ticu

larly the brea sts L a rge a nes thetic patches were
.

found upo n the t run k as w ell as upon the limbs par ,

ticula rly o n inn er side of the thighs .

 The Tic kle Reflee 1 21

So me o f her c ompl aints we re as follows : She had

t o w a tch and guide by a co nsci ous e fl o rt every mo n
“ ” “ ”
sel o f food bec a use her lips were all gone
, dead , ,
“ ” “ ”
un reliable . The dea d feeling w as slowly c ree p
in g fo rward o ver tongue a n d throat ; befo re lo ng she
would be un a ble to feed her self or will cho ke
, .

Worms and bugs and other c reatures too sm all to ,

“ ”
see were creeping j ust ben ea th her skin fill in g
, ,

c reatu res have crawled in th rough her no se ; the y

a re multiplyin g a t a n a l arming ra te H e r conditio n
.

is rapidly gro wing worse .

Fin ally according to her acco unt so me on e h ad

,
~
,

made a n attempt to assault her so me time p reviou s

to the o nse t o f these nume ro us sympto ms She wa s .

very indefinite as to the ci r cumstances of this al

leged ass a ult It seems she was retu rning o n a night
.

bo at ; while lying in her be rth she felt s o me o ne be nd

ing over he r or ra ther she per ceived a w a rm bre a th
,

striking her in the face She had to make a gre a t

.

e ffo r t in o rder t o o pen he r eyes It seemed to her she

.

was being drugged At l a st she raised her hea d and

.

opened her eyes in time to see a col ored fellow one ,

of the porters o n tha t boa t h as til y making his way

,

out thr o ugh the win dow She raised an alarm Nu t

. .

mo rning all the negro ro ust abo uts on that bo at were

li ne d up and she was asked to identify the ma n .

She tho ught she reco gnized him but as she was not
1 22 S ex an d the S en ses

quite ce rtain she re fu sed t o ta ke any actio n again s t

him Nevertheless she was t old th a t the yo ung negro
.

would be di scha rge d at once .

R etu rning home she did not disclose her experi ence
to her fa mily or to any of her friends unt il s o m e
weeks ha d pa ssed Meanwhile her sympto ms devel
.

ope d one by one a nd she h ad bee n gro wing steadily

During her brief visit to N ov a S co ti a she h ad

taken a grea t fan cy to a y o ung man whom she al
l owed ce rta in liberties with her person H e un but .

t o ned her w aist and she allowed him to c a ress a nd

kiss her breasts Once he attempted t o raise her
.

s kirt ove r the knees but this she violently res isted ;
there upon he hit her playfully on the inner side of
the thigh thro ugh the c lothes and next c lin ched hi s
, ,

teeth on her breasts That night she used witc h

.

hazel H e r skin discolors and bruises easily and she

.

wanted to avoid the m arks which she w o uld not kn ow

ho w to explain away .

S urely eno ugh soon thereafter a gi rl friend ques

,

tio n ed her about the patches of dis c olo ration whi ch

she n oticed upon her breasts and arms She told a .

m or e or less fan ciful story abo ut falling down a

sta i rway in the dark It was a clumsy explanati o n
.

a nd in o r der to make it appear mo re plausible she

ad ded that indeed she h ad noticed fo r some time
, ,

that her skin was no t as resistant as forme rly and

sli ght bruises leave l asting m a rks Thi s she h ad
.
,
1 24 S ex and the S M :

pa rt s of Sl a vs fo r
,
“
insta nce to say o f a girl that one may poke safely a
,
”
finger a t her ribs is equi v alent to a reflection up o n
,

he r inn ocence in sexu al ma tte rs .

The young woman whose case I ha ve men tio ne d

above had reformulated and a pplied in he r o wn c ase
this bit o f fo lkl o re
.
PART II
1 28 S ex an d the SM

beco me pa rt an d
pa roel o f this wo rld in e ver y sen se

as soo n as bo rn On the contrary for a long time

.
,

its br a in functions co ntinue in a state which in every

essen ti a l rese mbles intra uterine existen ce -
.

Anima l fun cti o n s ao c a lled ca rry themselves out

,
-
,

with o ut any di rective control Man y of th em like .

,

si mulation digestion et c
, rema in automa tic
, .
,

th rougho ut life while othe rs like bo wels and the

, ,

bl adder functi o ns are placed gradua lly under co n

,

t rol B u t d u ring the pe ri od when the la tter still

.

rema in automatic like the othe r anim al functi on s

, ,

the infa nt s relatio nship to them is not one of pa s

’

sivity On the co ntrary these animal functi ons

.
,

p roduce a keen sen se of sa tisf action the feeling that ,

”
“
all i s well I n co nnecti o n with the bo wd and
.

bladde r functi o ns the plea su re sen se is proba bly

mos t k ee n du ring the infantile sta te Dur ing tha t .

sta te t oo the re is as yet n o percepti on of func

, ,

tion al need S a fa r as thc infan tile mind is m r s

.

the fw tio m exist for the salts of the ple a sur e the y
ie ld Only much later an d ve ry gr adu ally d oes the
y .

growing infant le a rn t o adapt its bodily fun c ti o ns to

physi o logi c nee ds Me anwhile it craves repe titi o n
.

merely on a cco unt of the sensori al satisfaction the

functi o ns yield Fo r a long time the pleas u re p rin
.

c iple ov ers ha d ows co mpl etely all o the r guiding p rin

ciples.

The infan t s ps ychic life rudimentary raw and

’
, ,

in choa te tho ugh it be, is ste eped in wha t adult con

 M ea ning of S elf Abus e-
1 29

sc io usn ess perc ei ves e ro tism All p rimitive life

as .

“ ”
is so t o speak ma terialis tic a nd se nsuous
, , The .

infantile pe ri od of the human race is n o excepti o n .

In the last analysis infantile life rep res ents but a

continuous cy cle of bodily n eeds and satisfacti o ns
following in rota ti o n a nd a ut omati cally ! The sub
j ec tive aspe ct o f this st a ge o f existence c o n s ist s
chi efly of the perception of sensu o us gra tifica tion s .

If the infant s bra in perceives anything at all before

’

birth it must be a di ffuse all is well se nse ; fo r life

,
- -

within the womb is parasitic efio rtless well p ro

'

, ,

tected — an existence wherein the growing infant s

’
,

needs a re aut omatically s a ti sfied Intra uterine ex .

-

isten ce pro bably fu rnishes the psycho physica l re

ve rbera tion respo ns ible fo r most pi ctures o f para

After bi rth the first efio rts of the inf a nt s mind

'
’
,

a re probably directe d towards conti nuing the exist

ence to which it is ac cust o me d The spe ci al sen ses

.

must begin thei r development v ery la rgely a s me a n s

to perpetuate the illusio n o f intra ute rine bli ssful -

existence The infant s brain is keen to seize upon

.
’

the pleasure feel ing th a t belongs to skin and to all

-

the other sen ses whi c h have devel o ped out o f the
sen se of t ou ch in the c o urse o f animal evoluti on .

The pleasu re sense is pa rti c ularly keen in c o nne c

-

tion with c e rtain skin and muc o us membrane a reas .

The disco very of the great role which these and

o the r bodily parts pl a y in the devel opment o f me ntal
1 80 S am an d the S enses

fun ctio ns is one o f the rece nt achievements o f pay

c hol o gic research .

The bodily o rifi ces and the muco c uta ne o us a reas

l
su rro unding them the lips the t o ngu e the sphin c
, , ,

ters and all co nstricting m uscl es are en dowed with

powerful pleasure gen e r ating qualities The se the
-
.

inf an t early dis co vers for him self and in thei r turn
determine t o a great extent the inf a nt s m e ntal de ’

The infa nt is co ncerned wi th nut riti o n a n d

growth ; but subj ectively he is do minated by the
sen se of gra tification and s a tiety .

The proc esses of elimination play a mo st sign ifi

cant rfile fro m the st a ndpoint of this p rin ciple .

A round these operations no less than during the

,

ta king in of food the pleasure yielding c ra vings a re

,
-

rliest devel o ped .

Thus the in fant s ea rliest perceptions are n o t de

’

te rmin ed by any principle of br oad utility su c h a s

go verns later life In its quasi hallucinatory st a te
.
-
,

which is probably the typi c al infan tile attitude the ,

inf a nt perceives at fir st no break in the continuity

o f existen ce ; n o difieren c e between self and non se lf
'
-

is p os sible because the sense of self does not dev el op

till much l a ter The external w o rld of reality a nd
.

the internal wo rld of fee li ngs are for the i nfa nt a

co ntinuum The mother s breast a nd its own lips
.
’

ha ve the same function , the sa me pleasu rable qu ality

a nd a re n on divisible Eve ry obj ect bel on ging to
-
.
1 32 S ac an d the Sa me:
E arly th e child di s c ove rs its extern al sexual c c
ga ns a nd these ex c ite as high an interest as o the r
pa rts o f the body pa rtly on acco unt of the allied
bla dde r function The infant discovers its body
.

part by pa rt With ea c h discove ry its inter est and

.

cu ri o sity a re newly a ro used Just a s it plays with

.

its finge rs and to es when it first perceives them it

will touch and perhaps attempt to play wi th its
, ,

ge nital pa rts upo n disco ve ring them Incidental .

occu rren c es such a s ec zema tous conditions a ro und

the parts inj uries ch a fing of the skin a nd the n ece s
, ,

sary medicina l and soo thing appli c a tions often

ce nter unduly the child s attention to these part s
’
.

B u t even if that is n o t the case a s the sea t of ,

plea surable gratifica tio ns o n acco unt of thei r asso

cia tio n with the excre t ory functions and a s object s

o f early cu ri o sity the gen ito urin a ry pa rts play a

,
-

ve ry impo rtant role in the child s fancy Child ren ’

.

a lm ost neve r f ail to sh ow grea t interest when first

discovering these pa rts The exc retory processes
.

pa rticula rly ro use thei r curiosity because to thei r

mind these f un ctions appea r self dependent and yet -

somehow related t o their body .

Pleasurable sensations such a s are a roused dur

ing the fulfillment o f certain physiolo gic nee ds a re
pro bably a quality o f every function and of every
organ of the body The infant s psyche is m ade up
.
’

o f l oosel y inte rrelated eupho ri c sensations and c rav

ings . E v ery physiologi c pro c ess every extern al ,
 Ple a sure -
Va lue 1 83

excita tion cont ributes its sha re to the i n f ant s

,
’

ge neral eupho ria .

The ple asure quality of o rga nic functi o ns be co mes

of seconda ry importance in later life ; but during
inf ancy tha t qua lity is preeminent and becoming
split o f the function is c raved for its own sake In .

other words during infancy physi ologic role and

,

subj ective function beco me disso c iated Any o rgan .

o r bodily a re a may be incited to enhan c e the pleasure

sense which it is c apable of yielding i rrespec ti ve o f
physi ol ogi c requirements Thus the ea rliest type
.
,

The dissociati o n occu rs in two ge neral ways

the infant l ea rns to c ra v e pleasurable sensati o ns
ro used by the a nima l f unctions and excites them by
re pea tin g the fun ctions beyond physi o logic requi re

ments o r by va rio us mechani cal mean s ; or it dis

the pleas u re yi elding quality of functio n s
-

whi ch wil l develo p a t a later per iod a nd mea nwhile

indulges in the new pleasure sense The latte r is
-
.

a c ase o f sens uo us gratifi c ation an ticipa ting the

fun cti o n The fun c tion whic h thus c asts its sha dow
.

ahe ad is the sem i .

Pube rty is the pe riod during which the sexual

o rgans undergo the change s preparing them to a s
sume their physiologi c role But the psychi c se
.

co m a nim t o f th functi o n is split ff : pa rt of the

p en e o

l asure sen s e whic h s m al ac ti vit i c a p able o f

p e y s
-
in a s e a rly as during the in fa n tile pe riod . As: a

pleas ure yieldi ng sourc e the sex ual pa rts are said t o
-

be disco vere d soon after birth at least in ce rta in

,

It is import a nt t o bear in mind that pl ea su ra ble

sensa ti o ns hav e the same value for the infant i rre

spec tive of so u rce The growing bo y o r gi rl s oo n

.

learns that certain bo dily pa rts and certain func

” “ ”
tions are consider ed shameful or degrading ; but
“

not so the infant At first nothing int e rferes with

.

the latte r s indulgen c e in mechanical excitations as

’

a mea ns of pleasurable gratification Pressing to .

gether of the limbs while holding the low er abd o minal

mus cl es in tension ca rrying out rh y thmic up and
,
-

down mo vemen ts with the same set of mus cles suck ,

ing movements o f the lips apa rt from nutritional re

u i em ts playful biting o f to ngue or cheeks and
q r e n ,

simila r infantile mann er isms are co mm o n The asso .

c ia tio n of cert ai n skin areas with important func

tions a c t ual o r anti c ipated renders these a reas

, ,

specially sensitive to i rritatio n s of any kind .

The question ma y be asked : Why is it pro per to

consider all pleas urable sen sations arising out of
bodily fun c tions as erotic ? The answer is obvious .

E rotism means the exe rcise of a pleasurable se n sa

tio n for its own sake or of a useful f unction for its
,

ple asu rable quality o nly rega rdless of physiologic

,

req uirements or of a ny cons idera tions whi ch appeal

1 36 Sex an d the S enses

The in fa nt of co u r se is no t ca pable o f a nything

of the so rt H e is absorbed ex clusively in his own
.

bo dily needs and sensati o ns Th ese go vern his

.

whole outlook a nd a ttitude Fo r the c hild the v alue

.

o f all obj ec ts pe rtaini ng to the world outside its

immediate realm of sensati o n s is dete rmined by the
s ame sta ndard n amely the degree of pleas u rable
, ,

gratifi c ation those obj ects are c apable o f yielding .

Inferen tially the infant s acceptan ce of the w o rld

’

ma y be designa ted as in strumen ta listic ; to the in

fan tile mind the world is m ade up o f a limi ted n um
ber of things includin g per so ns such as mother
, ,

nu rse father etc who are useful because they con

, , .
,

tribute to its eupho ria and o f other obj ects such

, ,

as fire sharp edges and co rne rs et c which a re

, , .
,

hu rtful ; or su c h entities a s br o thers and sisters who ,

compete with the child fo r the pare nts a tten ti o n an d ’

a re therefore a ntago nistic .

The infantile attitude co r respo nds with th a t o f

the primi ti ve man or savage Con ta ct with new .

obj ec ts whether pe rso ns o r things sugge sts first of

, ,

all the fo llowing c apital questi o ns which must so me

how lurk in the ba ckground of infantile a nd sava ge
“ ”
mind alike : firstly Wi ll it hurt me ? and se condly
, ,

“
Ca n I ea t it ? ”
( P a renthetic a lly I m a y rem ar k
tha t a m ore sophisti c ated form o f the la tter infan
tilistic question a ppears in c o mme rci al a nd po litic a l
sphere s under the well kn own pra ctic al questi o n
-

“
Wha t is there in it fo r a nd tha t the fi rs t
 Plea sure Val ue 1 37

“
questi on typical of the infa n tilistic attitude Will
, ,
”
it hu rt me ? is also formulated in numerous ways
a nd a cts as a go verni ng princi p le in the life of adults
who se infan tilistic tre nds are dominant ) .

A n ew obj ect may be hurtful if not it should be

°

—
c apable o f yielding pleasure 1 t must be made to
,

co ntribute to the subj ective state of well bei ng ; -

o therwi se it f ails t o c on vey any meaning and the

,

reason fo r its existence el udes the grasp o f the in

The mind o f sa v age and c hild alike gauges all life

fro m a s tandp oin t that is at once utilitarian instru ,

mentalistic and sensuously self c ente red ; the mind

-

go ve rned by in fa n tilistic pri n cipl es is essenti ally

ma tte r o f fa ct and practica l in a narro w sense
- -
.
 C HAPTER X IX

The aut o ero tic sensations of infants bec ome

-

ro u sed first in the course of nut ritio nal gra tifica tio n s
a nd in c onnec tion a ls o wi th the excreto ry functi o ns .

The mother s bre ast or the nipple is one of the

’
, ,

ea rliest obj ects of interest because yielding the

grea test sen se of sa tisfaction o f which the infa nt i s
c apable .

The end p rodu c ts o f nut rition the excreta be

, ,

c o me asso c i a ted with the pleasura ble sens atio n s

localize d in certain pa rts The sensations inciden t
.

to ha ndling by mother o r nu rse are also a pro lific

sou rce of infantile pleasure Sensuo us gratifi c ation
.

e vokes a c r aving for its r epetition Later it leads

.

the growing c hild into the habit of handling o r o the r

wise mechani cally ex c iting its anal gen it o urina ry
,
-

or other eroge n ous parts Mastu rba ti o n is n o t

.

unusual du ring infan c y Thi s is not alway s obvious

.

on the surfa ce bec ause the functional imma turity o f

the pa rts fro m the physiologi c standpo int obscures
, ,

the m eaning of some of the infant s habits ’

.

Besides the aversi on of adults pa rti c ularly

, ,

pa rents is so grea t against recognizing these habits

,

tha t they pa ss unn o ti ced Occ asi o na lly however

.
, ,
1 40 S ea- a
n d the S m es

in fant nou rishing a t th e breast to the point o f

’
s atiati o n a nd then f alling exhausted in the mo the r s
a rms with head th rown back or to one side f a ce ,

flushed eyelids drooping etc has al so bee n de

, , .
,

s c ribed as signifi c ant in this co nnecti o n Finall y .

,

va ri o us other sensu o us indulge nces lea ding to a

vica rious c limax ha v e been describe d as pa rt o f the
ma stu rbation type of indulgen ce
-
.

S ignifi c ant in this co nnection a re the pla yful a t

tempts a t co itus said to be commo n a mong children .

The extent of this o c curr ence ca nn ot be easily de te r

mined Usually older children not alw ays the male,
.
,

“ ”
introduce the y o unger o nes to the game No .

ma tter h ow young they may be children seem a wa re ,

that they must not relate to thei r elders anythin g

abo ut these occu rren c es Th a t is o ne rea s o n why it
.

is not possible to determine exactly how widesprea d

“ ”
th is fo rm of play may be Acc o rding to some .

observers h owever the practice is almost un iver sal

, ,

— a t least in c ertain loc a lities .

Children be c ome c ontaminated with the h abit ve ry

rapidly On ce the ga me is int roduced it sp rea ds
.
“ ”

until sooner or later it comes to the attention o f

parents when it may be cu rbed by seve re p uni shmen t s
o r threats .

When excitati o n of th e s exual parts is ro u sed in

older children it is likely that infantile ero tism ,

ha vi n g st ro ngly prepa red the path the u su al ,

 Auto
-
E ro tism 1 41

th rea t s a nd puni shments o nly co mplica te matters .

Masturba tory pra c ti c es are c a rried out sec retly .

This ea rly sexual period is so on forgotten It .

becomes c overed up against rec all durin g later years .

The childho od in cidents ha vin g to do with sexual

self abuse a re large ly repre ssed But the fa c ts
-
.
,

insign ificant in themselves though they be continue ,

t o influence conduct thro ugh per sistence in the n u

con scious They play an impo rta nt rfile in the
.

de velopment of ce rtain characte r traits P sych o .

ana lyti c research disc l o ses that this ea rly peri od of

vicari o us sexu al activity dete rmines neurotic symp
to ms and plays an equally importa nt rfile in the
formation of pecul iarities of condu c t .

Furthermore psy c ho analysis sh ows tha t memory

,

can reach far back and bring to light represse d epi

so des ; though o rdin arily not present in co nsciou s

ness these hidden and appa rently forgo tten bits o f

the pas t continue unco ns c iously to influen c e conduct
an d mental health Inquiries regarding the p reva
.

lmce o f mastu rbation du ring the prea d ol es cen t

pe ri od are far from trustworthy if based o n o rdina ry
memo ry If on the other hand we resort to spe ci al
.
, ,

me thods a nd take into c onsideration the testi mony

of persons who ha ve had oppo rtunity to bec ome se
q u a in te d with their un c ons cious we find
, that the
h abit is more widespre ad than is generally admitted .

Taking the preadolescen t peri od a s a whole vari ,

1 42 S ea: an d the Senses

o us investigators ha v e c alculate d the a verage n um

ber of children ma stu rbating all the way f rom eighty
eight to ninety sev en per cent
-
.

As l ong ago as 1 876 Be rger in the co urse of his

sta tisti cal inquiry fo und masturbation a c kn owl
—
edged in eve ry case he investiga ted a res ult amount
‘
ing to o ne hund red pe r cent S ome recent investi
.

ga to rs co rrobo ra te thi s res ult one o f the m o st ,

promin ent among them being Will i am Stek el of ,

Vienna .

Mastu rba ti o n must be a fa i rly universal p ra ctice

if we ta ke int o conside ra tion the many hidden forms
o rdinarily ove rlooked The ero ti c char acte r of
.

p ractices and habi ts amounting to m as tu rba ti on is

co ve red under the plea of necessity .

The habit of scrat ching erogenous area s for ia ,

stance may be brought about th ro ugh an un c on

,

sc io usl
y d e te rmined aut o ero ti c impulse
-
Ec zem a .

to us co nditi on s involving the anal region in boys a nd

adults or a ro und the pubic area in the fem ale o ften
, ,

ma sk an unde rlying tend ency to sensuous gr a tific a

tion In su ch ca ses the eczematous condition proves
.

refra ct ory to ordinary t rea tm ent The eczema may .

amount to no thin g mo re at first th a n the uncon t rol

“
l able desi re t o scra tc h the parts for relief from
”
it c hing In the co urse o f time the co nstant irrita
.

ti on bri n gs about some loc al changes which m thei r

tu rn j ustify the subj ec ts beli ef that so mething is
’

‘
Arch .
f
.
mm vo l
. vi.
 S at an d the 8 mm
pro mptings a nd if so will persist l on g afte r the
physical c auses have been successfully elimin ated .

The persons con cerned are at first inclined to

sco rn the idea that their habits ha ve anything to do
with erotism In self d efense they po int o ut for in
.
-
,

stance tha t the sexu a l organs proper a re n o t in

,

volved They a re not aware t hat it is po ssible

.

un con sciously to sidetr ack a telltale sign or symp

“ ”

t om ; also to substitute one eroge n ous a rea fo r nu

—
othe r if the true meaning of the indulgen ce i s t o
,

be kept o ut of consciousnes s .

Patients are willi ng to a c kn ow ledge the o ccur

rence of spermatorrh e a Tha t is s omething over
.

which they ha ve no control and it is , moreo ve r ,

something whi ch they point out far fro m yi elding

, ,

any gratifi cation di sturbs them bec a use it may be

,

an indication of a we a kness of the s exu a l organs ,

etc .

It is signific ant however that when sexu al ac tivi

, ,

ties a re frankly indulge d in the sperma torrhea oft en

dis appe a rs In c ertain c ases ordinary sexu al inte r
.

co urse relieves spermato rrhea The signs of allege d .

sexual weakness disappea r At any rate the ah . ,

sen ce of detumes c en ce doe s n o t disprove the sexual

character o f a n act .

This makes nec essa ry a definition of the m eaning

of on anism o r masturbation
, Every one is fa .

mili a r with the term but there exists a wide diver

gence of opini o n as t o w hat it sh ould in clude The .
 Masturba tion 1 45

m ost co mmo nly accepted vi ew is tha t o n anism is a

sexu al act brought about not thr ough the regula r
uni o n of per so ns of opposite sex but by mechanical ,

self di rected means S ome o bservers would rest rict

-
.

the definition to in c lude only a c ts that actua lly lead

to o rga sm in both sexes and ej aculation in the ma le .

Tha t is of course an unn ecessary re st rictio n

, , .

Many persons who practice onanism cut the a ct sh o rt

of reaching the clim ax They beli eve that to carry
.

out the a ct to its fulfillment would be hur tful to

health o r they have an aver si o n to seeing the dis
ch arge Others j ustify such r est ricti o n by ass uming
.

”
that the seminal fiuid is an impo rtant vit alizer
“

a nd must no t be spe nt or lost except fo r purpo ses

o f procrea ti o n .

But even as it stan ds this definition is un sa tis

,

f acto ry It do es not take into co nsidera tion ero to

.

ge netic p ra ctices which are ma sked and whi ch con

stitu te by f ar the mo st co m mon fo rm of mas t urba

B riefiy , amo ng the masturba t ory indulgen ces with

o ut mec ha nical i rritation we may distinguish the
,

foll owing ge neral varieties ea ch o i whi ch presents

, ,

in turn numerous subdivisio n s : ( 0 ) on a nism th rough

,

indulgen c e in obscene re a ding and the contempla ti o n

of las civi ous pi c tu res ; ( b) obsce ne ta lk ; ( c ) the
mas king of e ro tism under v a rious st ro ng emo tions ,

parti cular ly a nxi ety attacks : ( d ) fina lly and this

,

is the mos t import an t an d m ost widesp read vari ety ,

1 46 S ex and the 8 mm
indulgence through s elf gen e ra ted f an cie s
-
, so -
c alled

Mechani cal exci ta ti on as an aid masturba ti o n

to
is also subj ect to v a rious forms In the first place
. ,

w e h a ve s een that mech anical excitation may be

p artly j ustified ( need of me di ca tion etc ) and there
, .

is n o aw arenes s of the me aning of the act These .

a re illustrati o ns of unc o ns c i o us ona nism The ex .

cita tions ma y be carried out without the aid o f any

phanta sy pictures If any tend to appear they a re
.

suppres se d o ut of co nsciousness More often ce rtain

.

sexua l pha ntasies are cl ea rly a c knowledged and

accompa ny the mechani cal pro cedures Fancies and .

mechanical means aid each other a nd foster the a t

ta in men t of the ero tic satisfa c tion Fanci es ma y
.

initiate the a c t o f masturba tion o r they ma y be

invoked tow ards the en d of the mech anical excita
tion .

The p re valence of onanism as a n unco nsci o us

practice ren ders the older definiti o ns unsa tis fa cto ry .

E ro tic self abuse is a pleasure c ra vi ng indulge nce

-

which spea rs more often under va rious c rypti c forms

a s psychi c onanism without any physi cal a c co mpa ni
men ts .The ero tic s a tis facti o n itself may be
thw a rted distorted or disso ciated f ro m co nscious
,

ness the s a me as the erotic fa nci es

, .

S trictly spea king self abuse consists of a n a ct

,
-

whereby so me bodily o rgan or fun c tion witho ut sub

se rving a ny useful purpo se is m ade to yield gra tifi
 C HAPTER XX ‘

Pa cts illustrating the o cc u rrence o f o na ni sm dur

ing childhood are obvious The qu e stion arises :
.

H o w was it po ssible for the equally obvio us infantile

on an ism to ha ve been so gen er a lly o ve r lo o k ed in the
pas t ?
The o versight of infantile o n a nism is no t acci
de nt al It is pu rposi v e a c or o llary of ou r p ast
.
—
,

a ttitude towards the whole subj ect of sex .

While popular inst r uction has rea ched a fai r

degre e o f efficiency on many subj ects relating to
health and gene ral welfare the state of popula r
,

informa ti o n abo ut sex is most unsatisfactory The .

igno rance and superstitions still pre vailing abo ut

s exu al psy chology a re a st riking anach ronism in our
age In pa rt that ha s been inevitable Sex kn owl
. .

edge is o nly n ow bei ng shaped into a distinct scie n

tific bra nch of study . Meanwhile popular info rma

ti o n on the subj ect remains full of misconcepti o ns
a nd disto rtions Sex life stands to da y as perha ps
.
-

the m o st o bs cure and least understood aspect of

huma n existence so far as the po pular mi nd is co n

The emotio nal a ttitude of mo st pe rsons towa rd s

148
 Emo tion al Over -
Val ua tio n 1 49

sex makes the spread of sci entific info rmation diffi

cult . The current po pula r notions on the subj ect
sh ow tha t sex h as n o t y et emerge d from the earliest
o f the sta ges thr o ugh which Auguste Comte the ,

Fren c h founde r of po sitivism h a s pointed out th a t

,

all subj ects must pass befo re they en ter the sc ie n

tific ph ase According to Comte every subj ect of

.
,

human intere st first has its mytholo gy and meta

physics ; then it passes thro ugh a dogmatic religious -

phase and lastly rea ches the stage of s ence r o f

, ci —
kno wledge ba sed o n experien ce obse rva tion and t e
,

From the Comtian st a ndpoint it may be s aid

tha t so far as popular kn owledge is con c erned
, ,

sex ology still stands between the metaphysi c al

mythic a l a nd the religi o us d o gma tic phas es Po pu
-
.

la r knowledge is v e ry unr eliable bec ause many of the

writers who assume to instruct the publi c have n ot
y et f reed themselves fr o m o l d prej udice s a nd are

the refore unable to view the subj ect with that emo
tio nal detachment and obj ectivity that sci entific ,

c and o r whi ch is essenti al to efiec tive work

'

.
,

In the cu rrent flo w of sexological literatur e many

popular supe rstitions a nd o ld erro neous beliefs
still find representation Numero us cu rrent va ga r ies
.

about sex owe their popularity to the fact that a u “

”
tho rities suppo r t the views and exploit them in
thei r oral an d written pro pa ga nda This gives.

th o se erro rs the semblance of established scientific

1 50 S ex an d the Se nses

co nclusi ons It ha ppens that often the authorities

.

th emselves a re ha ndica pped by their own confli cts

a nd therefo re unable t o con sider all aspects of the
subj ect in th eir t rue be arings Fo r a writer to strike
.

out co urageo usly after making su re of his ground

, ,

and record his co n clusi o ns regardless of p revious un

sci entifi c notions on the subj ec t whi ch con cerns him

i s not uncommon exc ept when the subj ect ha ppens

,

to be the sexual instin c t On that subj ect w riters

.

a re few wh o dare t o dis regard prej udi ce s ; and fewer

yet who purge themsel ves of their own prej udi ces
,

while takin g up the subjec t with the intentio n of

a rriving at s cientific co nclusions .

This does not mean that writers on sexo logy de ~

liber a tely appeal t o cu rrent prej udi ces It would be

.

a s imple matter if it were so But the w riters in

.

question unwittingly bring c urren t prej udi c es into

th ei r w ork They rea d into the subj ect the c on
.

e lusions which they we re prepa re d to fi n d in vi rtue

o f thei r o wn emotion al predispositions .

If an ardent den o min a tio nist were to attempt an

“ ”
h pa rtial histo ry of some antago nisti c denomina
ti o n sect or chu rch due a llowan ces would be made
, , ,

for the author s preco nceptions and pa rtisanship

’
.

But in sexolo gical literature the predispositions

which most writers reflect and display a re p re cisely
tho se sha red by the publi c to whi ch they address
th emselv es The u n critical reade r is pl eas ed to find
.
1 52 S ex: and the S en ses

la u an d ( )
c th
fin ally ,
t ll w w d i t b i
p g e a a e n s o e n

fo rme d o r ra ther s cared of the terrible c onsequences

, ,

of these evils and they will be abolished .

In the course of the present v olume I propo se to

sho w that the ev il s as c ribed to masturbation ha v e
been exa ggerated ; that so me of the m ost important
c onsiderations regardi ng masturbation have been
largely overlooked and to po int out the reasons for
,

this rema rkable o versight ; finally tha t the education ,

thro ugh fear plan upon which the social hygiene

-

mo vement seems largely ba sed is faulty and cannot

bring abo ut any real impro vement in the c ustoms
of our generation .

Why ha ve the evils of masturbation been magnified

and why have these exaggerations found a utho ri
ta tive suppo rt ? Why have some obv ious facts been
o v erlooked ? All this is due to the faulty attitude
of past ge nerations transmitted to our own and
a ccepted un c riti cally Sex uality has been con c eived
.

as evil the abo riginal fl a w in human nature the cause

, ,

of man s fall and banish men t from paradisaic exie

’

ten ce Everything per taini ng to sex has bee n co n

.

ce ived as tai nted with impurity immorality and ,

perhaps degeneration This fee lin g a ttitude be

.
h

co mes ingrained du ring the fin p re ssio n a ble per iod

when ha bitua l attitudes a re formed All subsequent .

information on the subj ect is re ceived in the light of

the feeling attitude thus formed durin g the earlier
-

peri ods o f life Facts concern ing sex bear the mean
.
 Emo tiona l Ge of f Valua tion
-
1 53

ing we read in them by rea son of emotional preco w

c e tio ns
p .M edi cal o bservers edu c ation
,
ists a nd
others d o not escape the determinati v e influence o f
c u rrent social prej udgments about sex They ap .

p roac h the subj e c t for the most pa rt with the

, ,

pre con ceptions c ha ra c teristic of the age and genera

tion to whi ch they belong Sex is not a subject on
.

which a c cu ra te scien tifi c thi nking is possible on the

pa rt of those who a re the victims of ero ti c c onflicts .

In vi ew of current prej udi ces the safe co urse fo r

,

“ ”
sexologists who crave popularity is along the pa th
of established publi c opin ion The plai n truth is :
.

mank ind is still a f ra id of car This fea r is fo ste red

.

an d m in t by m a ny so cia l cu sto m s p ra c tic e s

,

Sexu ality is a subject app roa ched with reluct a nce

in the abstra ct because o ur o wn sexuality makes us
—
uneasy We fear sex the gen er al attitude toward s
.

the subj ect c ann o t be cha racte riz ed mo r e simply and

—
fittingly tha n as fea r bec a use we are afraid of our
own sexuality Reticence betrays lack o f self
.

ma stery and is a c onfession of fear .

In wh a t sense is o ur attitude t owa rds sex a co n

fessio n of fea r ? In the s ame sense precisely in which
any po wer is feared whether belonging t o us o r
,

out side oursel ves abo ut who se exten t and po ssibili

,

ties for go od and evil we are in the dark We .

appro ach sexuality with the instincti vely ingrained

fea r o f the unknown Onl y the occasi o nal few the
.
,
1 54 S at an d the S cu m
excepti on al perso ns wh o ha ve achieved sexual po ise
thr o ugh insight into the meaning po wers extent , ,

and po ssibilities of sexuality in thei r own life a re able

to co ns ider the subj ec t also in the abs tract with o ut
“ ”
fear or prej udi c e .

Fea r an aggrav ated form of uncert a inty and

'

do ubt, like the latter b rings abo ut emotional ove r

,

v aluati o n When we are in a doubting frame of

.

mind uncertain or perplexed we do not j udge calmly

, , .

Our rea s o nin g p roces ses are disturbed ev en mo re

seriously by fea r In su c h a state of mind our
.

emo tion a l intensity atta c hes itself to the matte r

under co nsideration The obj ec t of the fear be

.

co mes o f obsessi v e impo rtance .

E mo tional o verval uation always lea ds to a du a l

a ttitude F ro m the standpoint of its c onsequences
.

fea r is a dual o r bipolar feelin g a ttitude It l ead s

~
.

on the o ne hand to sco rn o r hate on the other, it , ,

beco mes the fount a in spring of venerati o n The-

.

unknown like the unknowable we either sc orn or

, ,

m e ra te ; and sometimes under the domination of

uncerta inty doubt apprehension o r fear our atti
, , ,

tude includes both ext remes .

This is ri chly illustrated in o ur attitude towa rds

the sexual instinct F o rmally sex and its ma n ifes
.

ta tio ns are be rated s c orn ed co nsidered evil and

, ,

degrading yet it would not be far fet ched to am r t

,
-

tha t in pra ctical life if we t ake int o c onsidera ti on

,
1 56 Sex an d the Senses

It will then not be necessa ry to bo rro w the religi o us

“ ” “ ”
j argo n of holiness o r the language of scientific
,

invective including such terms as degeneration per

, ,

ve rsi o n et c Fo r that rea son I p ropose that we

, .

shall forego thei r use The term perversi on for

.
,

insta nce has lost its o riginal meaning whi ch made

, ,

it a fitting s c ientifi c expression It h as been .

“ ”
weighted down with tremendous mora l c onn o ta
tions As un d erstood nowadays the term belongs to
.
,

theo logic dogmatism and no longer to s c ience I .

sh all adopt instead the terms propo sed by I S . .

“ ”
Kra us p a r a p hilia in the sense of in verted instinct
, , ,

a s ha s been done already by the Viennes e scientific

w riter Willi a m Stekel
, .
 CH APTER XX I

Th a t the p op ular attitude to wards sex is one o f

emoti on al bipo la rity is shown am o ng other things
by the charac teristi c ove rvaluation o f the pl easu res
of sex and the extreme con trary attitude bre aking
out side by side Often the extremes of indulgence
.

a n d a sceti cism alte rnate in the sa me pers o n While .

ove rt sexual a c ts a re scorned c ryptic subs titutes

,

become obsessive .

The reformer crus adi ng fo r purity is o ften a

victim of this dua l attitude Eve ry excessive c on
.

cern with nega tive aspects be trays a mo rbid in terest

in the subj ec t The individual who becomes over
.

a nxious regarding pu rity only crea tes for himself

thereby the oppo rtunity he secretly c raves of dealing
with impurity It becomes his self impo sed duty
.
-

to f requent da nce halls wat c h musi c shows dete rmine

, ,

the degree o f bodily exposure permi ssible on the stage

and at the ba thing beac h ; he s c rutinizes p rinted
ma tter for all traces of suggestive a nd ero ti c allu
sio ns ; a nd ge n erally he is the first t o scen t and
dwell on the m o rbidly sexual the erotic the l ewd an d
, ,

la scivious in wha tever fo rm it p resents itsel f to the

,

attenti on of the curious The c rus adi ng purist must

.

1 57
“ b h- m
i a i n ing “ !

m
a g

M i m m , ffi u d the

m
u To M ” r

chi ld
'

m
M an I nga o f p rity . It would be j

to it with a ny
all “ o f inf a n tile l ife 13 “ sw u

M I t fi rs t a nd o nly
mtha t
Wassumpt on o f
ite sta te.

i inf antile pu rity is ve ry

least l a ths flrst pla ce it has res ulted from the
1 60 S r: a nd the S ame:

hence the illusion of a ll po we rfuln ess so intima te ly

v

and insepa rably linked with the ea rliest stage s of

existence Infantile life is sensuous and is per
.
,

ceived as self su fi c ie n t a utis ti c

-
, The infant carries .

on an existence steeped in auto e rotism -

.

The fadin g out of the a uto e ro tic attit ude is ve ry

-

du — o — o
g ra a L a life long pr cess and never c m pl e te .

—
During the next phase the N arcissus like atti
,
-

—
tude the sense of reality is a wakening but all ex ,

tern al obj ects are still perceived as so mehow depe n d

en t upon self as the c enter and sourc e of exi stence ;

that is the feeli ng of all p owerfulness persists In

,
-
.

fact this feeling c ontinues througho ut the cou rse o f

,

subsequent ph ases of development th o ugh it under ,

goes various sec onda ry refin ements It m a y never .

be given up altogether .

At any rate the sense of being the center of life

,

a nd the pivo tal point of one s Co smo s is acted out

’

emotionally long a fter the illusi o n is formall y

Fo r a long time the external world a nd all the

objects the rein are perceived as mirro ring in one
way or another aspe c ts of o ne s self The child ’
.

sees a reflec tion of its own emo tions and powers in

every natur al phenomenon Infantile relatio ns are .

similarly c on c ei ved ; to the child its pa rents are

replicas and pi c tu res of itself j ust a s the forces of ,

na tu re when it first learns to o bserve them stand for

its own moods and feeli ngs Paren ts furnish the
.
 The Purity My th 1 61

Imago — the gro und —

aro und which the ch ild
picture
through its fancies p roj ects itself pla y q y int o all
directi ons testing new d imensions of power an d
,

c ategori es of existence But the prim o rdial er o tism

.

fu rnishes the fi rst stand a rds by which v alues are

co mpared and co nt ra sted .

It is du ring this pha se o f existence tha t na tu re s

’

forces a re subjectivi ze d The wind murmurs , the

.

sto rm is angry thunder a nd lightning speak in

,

a ccents o f fury the sun goes to bed at night etc

, , .

The child p roj ects its own m oo ds and p owers and

iden tifies them with na tu re The whole Cosmos mi r
.

ro rs its mo ods and po wers The sto ry of Narcissus

.

embodies a mythi c al rep re sen tation of this a ttitude

which for tha t reason has be en called na rcis tic .

The auto erotic and the narcisti c attitudes ten d t o

-

persist in their origin al fo rm That be c omes mo re

.

and more difficult The chil d adapts itself to the

.

so cial wo rld in the midst of which it has to find its

place as a member of so ciety ; and gradually acqui res
the app erceptions characteristi c of adult existence .

Neve rtheless some features o f the ea rly st age s persist

as emotion al predispositions Every st age bey ond
.

—
the ea rliest infantile is mixed that; is old a nd ,

recent attitudes c oexist and struggle for suprema cy

even while the n ext stage begi n s to make its appe a
ance Psychically therefo re we a re not o f a uni
r
.
, ,

form age ; in so me respects we a re like child ren ; in

other respects we m ay be adv anced for our age .
1 6£ S eat an d the S m :

Ju st a s du rin g mental deterio ration in o ld a ge ,

fo r ins tan ce the rece nt memories are lost first while

,

childho o d memories a re the most persistent so during ,

mental gro wth the ea rliest stages proj ect the lon ge st
shadows in front of them Infantile w ays of think
.

ing persist th ro ugh o ut life tho ugh the ir master y

,

o ver mind gradually dec reases a nd they assume a

negligible role in those whose mental growth corre
sponda to their physica l development H um a n .

behavior is complex mainly beca use at many po int s

it is the reaction of many di vergent phases o f psy chic
life
. Adult behavior is po lyvalen t it combines -

W
many motives in every a ct .

e do not rec ognize the functional polyvalen ce

o

of ou r motives because ce rtain aspects of our ea rlier

existence are repressed Our c hildhood experience
.

is partly forgotte n but mu c h more beco mes a c ti v ely

,

suppressed from m emory Most if n ot the wh ole

.
,

of our fra nkly eroti c ex perien ces during childh oo d

a re c ompletely forgotten later The tendency to .

push o ut of memo ry and apparently forge t is one of

the infantile ways of dealing with what is disagree
able ia life We a ffec t not to see whatev er proves
.

too unpleasant o r painful if we c an at all manage

t o do so .

A typical example of repression fro m consci o us

ness pr oducing a psy c hic in ability to see is the
oversight of infantile erotism We do not see the .

sen suous features of the a c tivities o f children because

1 64 S ex a nd the S m
ten dencies in h um a n na ture o r di sre gard them en
,

ti t ely
.

In edu c ation the minds of children are the ma te ri al

built upo n ; there fore every mental cha r acte ristic
sho uld be given its p roper sha re of rec ogniti o n .

Wha t co uld be expected if our co nst ruction enginee rs

we re unfamiliar with s ome o f the important p ro p
e rties of the materials th a t enter in the building o f

foundatio ns ? We loo k to our educa tional syste m

to build the foundation of future huma n so ciety ,
therefo re we should not dis regard any aspect o f
mental life ; our emotional p redispo sitions o ught n o t
to be allowed to influen ce our educationa l work .

If children a re to be bro ught up aright the purity

myth should be abolished We must rec o gnize and
.

t ake into consideration all primiti ve tren ds of the

human psy c he It is possible to make use of these
.

t re nds a nd to build upo n th em a fi rmer foun dati o n .

 CH APTER XX II

We h ave seen that the pleasure sense is the guidin g-

principle the mainsp ring of a c ti vity du ring infan c y

,

and early childh ood The persistence of the pleasu re

.

p rin ciple and the avoidan c e of all others bring about

a mental conditi o n whi ch is in c ompatible with many
aspe cts of reality Childho od s mann er of thinki ng
.
’

and pe rceiving clashes with the adult s sense of duty ’

and o bligation Parents themsel v es often endeavor

.

to prolong the period of childhood and to make

thei r o ffspring care f ree as long a s possible At the
-
.

same time thei r own re pressed erotism makes them

o vera nxious t o ro ot out any manifesta tion of sex
uality in thei r children But habits ha ving the same
.

pleasure yielding qu ality a re easily interc hange d

-
.

The child dep rived of certa in gra tifica tio n s by com

mands threats or punishmen ts turns fro m th em t o
, , ,

o thers whi ch thro ugh ac cident o r otherwise it has

, ,

discovered as ca pa ble of supplying the s ensuou s

excitati o ns it seeks .

No matter h ow far ba ck we go int o the life histo ry

o f inf ants we find functiona l acti vity a nd e ro tism '

co mbined a nd we find also ero tic activity in depen d

,

—
ent of physiologi c need the indulgence in a c tivity
,

fo r the sake of its pleasu ra ble quality al o ne .

165
1 66 S ex an d the S m“
The ear liest purpo seless mo v ements of infan ts a re
undoubtedly associated with a pleasurable mus cle
sense The rolling of the eyes from side to side even
.
,

befo re a ccomm od a tion to vision beco mes esta blished ,

the bending and st retching of the limbs the va rious ,

changing postures of the body are capable o f an,

intense pleasu re summa tion .

S ome infantile bodily mo vements are anticipated

during int ra uterine existence just a s ce rt a in typic al
-
,

po stures especi ally during sleep recall the infant s

, ,
’

uterine position Numerous links unite intra ute rine

.
-

existence to the infantile phase of extra ute rine life : -

p y
s c hic ally ma n y of the s e lin k s c on tin ue th ro ug h

The belief is current amo ng ce rtain peo ple that

a child is likely to be very neurotic if the pregnan t
mother continues ma rital rela tions up to the last
stage of pregnan c y Like many another belief
.

merge d in supersti tion this th ought ma y not be wi th

o ut a ce rtain foundation of fact It may be that .

the reflex exci tation of the uterus in creases the mus

cul a t movements of the fetus itself and p repa res it
for kinesthetic erotism But in the present state
.

o f o ur knowledge a direc t influence upon the rudi

mentary m ind in utero through the operation o f the
mother s mind is an unwarranted assumpti o n
’
.

Not only mus c ular and skin sensation but eve ry

one of the special senses is invested with pleasu rable
qualities In time eroti c manifestations display
.
1 68 Ses aa d the Sm ee

len ce o f the pleasure prin ciple as the governh g

standard du ring the ea rliest ph a se of me ntal dev el
o m en t lays the foundati o n fo r l a te r er otism
p , .

Auto e roti c indulgen ce s in later life re pre sen t

-

emotional flxa tio n a at infantile levels S uch fixa tio n s .

a re respo nsible for the be llo wing out of adult

beha vi o r into symbolizatio n s of infantile cravin gs
a nd lead t o numerous repressio ns The adult ca nn ot
'

apply himself t o the pro bl ems su rrounding him or

meet those problems adequately if his emo ti o ns a re
fixed to poin ts of interest characteristi c of the in fa n
tile pha se of existence H e is held down and tied to
.

his own past by bo nds which prove st ro nger tha n the

powe rs of mere intellec t The determination to
.

stri v e fo rward and away from the inf a ntile a ttitude

is thwarted by the primacy of aut o e rotic impulses -
.

The latter must be sublima ted before the a dult c a n

att ain the full stature of menta l growth .

Many requ irements of adult living seem h arsh ,

cruel and find us unprepared to adapt ourselves to

them because of the hidden strands tha t bind us to
ou r tender eas e loving childho od Growth is im
,
-
.

d ed be c ause we are unwilling to part with our own

p e

pa st We bring into adult age infantile w ays We

. .

c ling to mannerisms and pe culiarities meaningl ess in ,

themsel ves useless and even ha rmful because they

, , ,

a re memen toes of infan c y and childho od to whi c h we

a re atta ched by ties which mere intell ec tual per cep

tion cannot dissolve The odds and ends carefully
.
 Ero tism 1 69

“ ”
p reserved in the a tti c o f h o me and fro m which
“ ”
the old folks c annot make up their mi nd to p a rt
have their c o unterpa rts in the human brain The .

mi nd has an old curiosity shop of its own Remnan ts .

of auto eroti c experien ces determine c hara c ter t ra its

-

and influen c e co nduct long after the infantile stage

is past in point of yea rs The outwa rd manifesta
.

tions of the auto eroti c habits undergo va ri o us t rans

-

positions and disto rtions thro ugh which their true

chara c ter is hidden from c o ns c iousness But h ow .

r c over ed up the y may be it is po ssible to get

,

at them thro ugh analysis Cravings once a roused

.

may be diverted fro m their o rigi n al po ints of fix a ~

tion ; they ma y be transformed into powers with

which to build and acc omplish the fulfillmen t of aims
useful in a higher sense ; but they cannot be stifled
th ro ugh being denied c usto mary channels for exp res
axon.

The auto e ro ti c fo rms un de r wh ich instinctive

-

cravings first manifest them selves a re pa rticula rly

difficult to ma nage in later life on c e they become
unduly fixed Auto erotism represents probably the
.
-

lo ngest peri od in the biologi c history o f man a s it

is phyleti c ally the most arch a i c type of existence .

The mental components of auto erotism bei ng the -

mo st a rchaic are the most difi c ult to st a te in terms

of o rdi nary consciousness Primitiv e men tality
.

abo unds in c o ntrary perc eptions incongrui ties of ,

“ ”
logic amora lities pe rve rs io ns etc Tho se who
, , , .
1 70 S ex a nd the S en ses

are a cq uai nted o nly wi th the ope rati ons o f cons ci ous
ne ss find the whole subj ect ha ing m .

Rep res si o n of ix fa n tile c ra vin gs str engthe ns the

determi na tion to disregard their role whe n it beco mes
impo ssible longer to ignore thei r presence Thus .
,

f or ins ta nce it is said that the disco v eries o f

,

psy c hoanalysis h old true of m o rbid me ntality but

that norm al min d is difiere n t As a ma tter o f fact
'

this assumptio n is c ontrary to the prin ciple long ,

recognized that there is no b reak in the pro cesses o f

,

mind during health and disease The evolutionis tic.

con ception of s c ien c e applied to the study of mind

, ,

reveals that the ma n ifestations cha racteri stic of

mental disorder a re bu t end pr odu c ts of the sa me
-

infantile tenden c ies with whi c h ev ery human bein g

struggles in the cou rse of mental dev elopmen t .

The infantile tenden c ies being partly rep ress ed

and partly sublima ted ( they are nev er wholly one o r
the other ) gi ve rise to peculiarities or symptoms
,

v arying with the strength and lev el of the confli c t

all the way from trifling mannerisms to psycho
neuroses cha ra c ter impairment dissociation of per
, ,

so n a lity and insanity .

Oc casionally with the breakdown of the barriers

set up in the c ou rse of repressions the dammed up ,

infantile attitude rev eals itself to the ex clusion of the

sense of re ality .

If the suppression of the sense of reality is co m

p le te and lasting adj ustment to the external world
,
1 72 S ee: and the S M

A grea t er ro r in the past has been the failur e

to recogni ze that in itself mastu rba tion need no t be
, ,

dangero us It is but a passing manifesta tion In

. .

its aimless wanderin g before beco mi ng fixed upon the

pro per go al and befo re atta c hing itself to fun ction
ally useful purposes the e rotic sense m ay sho w itself
in the form of self abuse -
On a nism may be l oo ked
.

upo n as a fo reshado wing o f the latter functi o ning

of the sex ua l inst inct In the light of the well
.

“
kn own f ac t tha t grea t events cast their shadows
be fore them the appea rance of mast urba ti on ne ed
”

not be ala rming .

There is nothing strange in the fo re sha do wing of

the sexu a l h pulse du ring the pread ol escent stage .

So me aspects of that f o res hadowing are subtle othe rs ,

gro ssly physi c al ; nei ther the one nor the other type
need be h armful if it d oe s n o t lead t o fixa tion At .

the proper time if all go es w ell a u to ero tic tre nds

, ,
-

c o nverge tow a rds the proper sexual obj ect .

On anism presents a seri o u s aspect in its t endency

to become fixed apa rt fro m the functi on which er o
ti am is intended to subserv e in later life when it sho uld
enha nce the sexual and other obj ectives As a ligh t .

a nd pa ssing phase on a nism proper is not a sign o f

mo rbidity or degenerati on unless a fo reshad o wing o f
the sexu al instinct ca n be loo k ed upo n as m orbid .
 C HAPTER XX III

The asso ci ati o n of sexu al s e lf abuse a nd nervo us

-

nes s is common The widespread o c c urren c e of both

.

mak es their coexisten ce a fac t of every da y observa

tion All forms of nervous derange ment ranging
.
,

fro m slight instability t o the gra ver ma nifestations

of neurosis have been ascribed direc tly to the habit
,

of self abuse The tw o a re considered as st anding

-
.

in a c a use a n d e fiec t relationship

'
-
.

In the light of m odern kn o wledge thi s vie w still ,

dely preva lent is no l o nge r ten able A relation

, .

ship between neurosis and self abuse exists but it is

-
,

not one of ca use a n d effect In order most co n vin c

.

in gly to bring into view the true relationship

betwee n the two it woul d be necessary to gi v e a
co mplete ac count of the signific ance o f neu rosis its ,

psy c hic mechani sm and histo ry But this is a vast

.

subj ec t on whi c h there is much to be s aid that is

no vel Per haps the rea der is unacqu a inted with the
.

latest developments in psychology Sta tements on .

the subject ought to be accompanied at eve ry step

with the proofs of the respective assertions But to .

do so is n o t p ra c ti c al within the limits of the pre sent

w ork It beco mes necess a ry the ref ore to ma ke cer
.
~

1 73
1 74 S ex mad the S M :

tain asse rtio n s of ge ner al prin ciples in a m a n ne r

pe rhaps more po siti v e th an the status of ou r kn owl
edge wa r rants at the present time But fo r the sak e .

of brev ity t his is permissible especially as I a sser t

,

at the ve ry outset that in w riti ng of the psychic

mechanism of neurosis I am aware of t readin g on
ground that is v ery c omplex The reader is warned
.

to con s ider the quasi dogmati c form o f some o f

-

the assertions as di c tated by the need fo r brevity

ra ther tha n as flow ing out of certitude .

Limiting oursel ves to the most obvi ous gen er al

chara c teristi c of neur osis it is plain tha t a neu ro tic
,

pers o n is o ne whose psy chi c energy whether in the ,

form of interest love dev otion stri ving et c does

, , , , .
,

no t fl o w freely outwa rd and fo rward A n eur o ti c .

is a perso n having difficulties with himself on acco un t

of whi ch he does not ge t along well with others The .

instin ct of self assertion prev ents such a person fr om

-

seeing himself in the wrong H e blames others for

.

all his in con ve n ien ces misfo rtunes and trials But
, .

whi chever way the person c on c erned l o oks at it the ,

situation in whi ch he finds himself is largely the result

of his failure to c ome up to the requirements of the
envi ro nment in whi ch he li v es .

I am far from asserting that the e nvironmental

requi rements are always right and the individual in
the wrong On the contrary the en v iro nment is
.
,

seldo m what it should be and its requi rements are

ofte n unj ust prepos terous But the pe rson ade
, .
1 76 S ex an d the S a me:
fo r gra nted H e is uneasy about himself The
. .

young man who masturbates is also uneasy H e h a s .

a secret to keep H e has hea rd that mastu rbati o n

.

lea ds t o terrible consequen ces ; therefore he is

alarmed E v ery t ime he indulges in the habit he
.

promises himself that it shall be the last Imme .

dia tely afterwa rds he has a feel ing of guilt which

causes some depression The habit returns : the.

cy c le of self reproa c h repeats itself over and over

-
.

Self abuse on c e established becomes a test of

-
,

st re ngth between himself a nd ta n pta tio n E v er y .

time he yields to the temptation his mind is a p re y

to remorse
Is this y o ung ma n a neuro ti c ? N ot yet perh
.

aps , .

But he 1 8 on the way of be co ming one H is rela tion .

ship to the environmen t in whi ch he li ves the manner ,

in which he meets his p robl ems will decide that ques ~

tion .

It is q uite p o ssibl e that he may pr o ve fai rly efi

cient in meeting the world and its requirements .

H e ma y be a fair s cholar du ring his study years and

later as he takes his pla c e in the world at la rge he
, ,

may acquit himself effic iently of his duties .

But the chances are that the struggle between the

“
temptation a nd himself because of its urgen cy
”
, ,
’
dura ti o n and sec re cy establishes in the y o ung man s
psyche a pattern type of attitude whi ch he ca rri es
-

o ut in all his relations an d problems That is what .

h a ppe ns mo st commonly E very task or probl em at

.
 Self Aba ss
-
a nd N ervo umess 1 77

schoo l o r in the h o me o r in s o ciety beco mes a

, , ,
“ ”
t e st
. Wil l he be equal to it ? H e begins to be
“ ”
uneasy at the thought The idea of a test reca lls
.

asso c iatively that in a ce rtain respect unknown t o ,

o thers he is weak Will others find out his weak

, .

ness ? That they should not he must pass the test

, ,

whatever it is But c an he ? H a s he the st rength ?

.

H e must not show himself we ak befo re othe rs ! But

is he equal to it ? Of course he thinks he is ; but
how ca n he make su re ? Another tho ught : Is the
test fair ? Is it really up to him to d o whatever is
r equired of him at the t ime ? In this manner n ot ,

o nly important matters bu t the simplest a nd most

,

insignificant details bec ome t roublesome .

A youn g man who bri ngs himself into su ch a state

of mi nd ha s go ne a long way in the di rection of
ne urosis The question a rises : is the habit of self
.

abuse responsible for the condition in su ch a ca se ?

That the habit ha s a great deal to do with the
mental c ondition is undeniable But it does no t .

follow that it is the c ause Self abuse in its turn

.
-
, ,

is but a manifestation of a prio r mental sta te It is .

a mement o a reli c of infantile life Wh a t stands in

, .

the y o ung man s way when he attempts to meet c u r

’

rent situations is the infantile attitude which he has

preserved and of which the sec ret habit is a st riking
manifestation As an infant he was self sufficien t ;
.
-

he in dulged in the illusion of all po we rfulness -

.

Ma sturba tion serves t o p re serve that attitude a nd

1 78 S ex an d the Sm “

is an expressi o n o f it H e clings to the habit bec a use

.

he has not outgro wn the i n fantile attitude .

When facing a problem our hypothetical y ou ng

ma n fails to meet it p roper ly on its own terms hé
ca use the inf antile outlook is yet too stro ngly in
gra ined in him H is onani sm is a habit through
.

which hi s a ut o ero tic phase of existence perpetuates

-

itse lf In the propo r tion that his auto er otism per

.
-

sever es the young man is unable ad e quately to mee t

his pro blems It is not onanism therefore tha t

.
, ,

brings abo ut his difllc ultie s but the inf antile sta tus
, ,

the self center ed attitude of w hich o nanism is but a

-
,

ma nife station .

But the auto ero tic t enden cy m ust not be co nceived

-

as the c ause of n eurosis either To co nceive it so

, .

w ould be an error lik e considering youth the cause

of m a turity or childh ood the cause of y o uth The
, .

auto ero tic and na rcisti c phases a nteda te the peri od

-

of adoles c ence The persistence of the psychic cha r

.

a c ter istic s of the e a rli er phases int e rferes with the

complete development of the later phases of ment al

e vo luti o n . Th ere is a co nflict betw ee n youth an d
maturity This conflict is often observed within the
.

family circle a nd lead s to a breach between pa rents

and o ffspring The struggle in soc iety be twmn the
.

o ld genera ti o n and the ne w is an eviden ce of the s a me

conflict between differen t life id e als .

But the conflict be tween the old and the new d oes
n o t sta ge itse lf o nly betwee n difl eren t perso ns
'

It .
1 80 S ex an d the S ear s:

To co nclude we a r e j us tifi ed t o ma inta in th a t

,

onanism aggra vates mental c onfli cts by fu rnishing

them po ints of fixation It is not and ca nno t be in
.

itself the c ame of neu ro sis .

The neu roti c c lin gs to the habit of onanism be

c a use it rep resents to his un conscious that whi ch he
intima tely holds ( probably unbeknown to his co n
s c ious self ) as the l ine of least resistance in life .

The pra c ti c e of onanism is signifi c ant not o n a c

count o f its physi c al consequen c es so much as on
a c count of its psy chic connotations On a nism 81 g .

n ifies self su
-
fiic ien c y — the derivati o n of plea su re
,

without the co iipe ra tio n of another person It po r .

trays a c losed cosmic ci rcle the aba ndo nment o f

—
,

the outside wo rld and again raises self as the suffi

,

cient sou rc e o f one s pleasu rable satisfactions It

’
.

perpetuates the infantil e illusion of a ll powerfuln ess -

and of the supreme worth of our sensuous self .

In every respect onanism draws the psyche back

wa rds towards its primo r dial expressions Fo r the .

neu ro tic it beco mes therefore an impo rtant sta ff to

lean upon in his struggle against unpleas ant a nd
exa c ting en vironmental req ui re ments .

Onanism plays an M po rta n t ré1e in neurosis

be c ause it lends itself c onveniently as a vehi cle for
the figura tive expression of one s infantile aversion ’

to the external world It permits readily a with

.

dr a w al from the uncerta in indiffe rent and perhaps

,

“
partly antago nistic wo rld back to the safe and
 S elf Abuss
-
a nd Nm amas”
ce rta i n ( though illusory ) self
. The
so u
“
l c ry o f the n e uroti c is ba c k to the pa r adisa i c
exi st e n c e of c a r e fre e i n f a n c y !
-
”
On a n i sm h elp s him
t o a tta in thi s ill uso ry go al .
 C HAPTER XXIV

The re l a tionship of self abuse and certain ca se s o f

-

ment al disorder is well kn own Indeed a gre a t va

.

r iet
y o f mental disorde r s have been asc ribed directly
to onanism An understa nding of the t rue relation
.

ship between th e two reveals that this no tion to o , ,

is fa r fet ched As in the c ase of neu ro sis menta l

-
.
,

breakdown and insanity when not due to physi c al

,

c auses a re the res ult of psy chic c onfli c ts in which

,

onanism plays indeed a signifi cant rfile but with o ut

, , ,

being the cau s e .

In the first pla ce mental disord e r is not of sudden

o rigin The outbreak may be sudden ; but the
.

u nderlying fa c to rs a re at work long before they

become no ticeable on the su rface .

B riefly stated e very mental state may be said to

be the result of conflict betwm di fferent psychic
forc es The m anner in whi c h the confli c t of psy chic
.

fo rces is solved determines whether the resulti ng

“ ”
mental status will be health neurosis or insa n ity
, , .

But the re sult is not always clear c ut for the rea son
-

that the co nfli c t is ne ver completely solved On the .

cont ra ry the confli c t o f psy chi c forces goes on

,

co ntinually within us Mentally we fluctuate be

.

182
1 84 See an d the S enses

with res pect t o our men t al qu alities even while we

pass beyond the stage of adoles c en c e in po int of
years And thro ughout life we preser ve certain in
.

fan tile chara cteristi c s o f the mind th ough the ex

,

tent o f this clinging to the past v aries in di ffere nt

pe rs o ns .

Not nec essarily as a physi cal fa c t but by re as o n

,

of its psy c hi c qu a lities and fun c tion on anism belongs

to the ea rlier phases of mental ev olution Under o ne .

form or a nother the h abit becomes the embl em o f

self indulge nce and self sufficie n c y in later life
- -
.

Plea sur able tenden c i es thwa rted in their outwa rd fl ow

retu rn to sel f as obj ect This is pa rti c ula rly likely
.

“ ”
t o happen during the sto rm and stress pe ri od o f
ad olescen c e It is d uri ng ad olescence too that va ri
.
, ,

o us fo rms o f men tal disorder fi rst manifest them

selves The period during which the physiol o gi c
.

sexu al a c tivity is drawing to a close is also one of

“ ”
sto rm and stress ; du ring tha t peri od too ment al , ,

brea k down is relatively frequent

-
.

Thes e facts need o n ly to be stated to reveal the

t rue na tu re of the re lationship between onanism and
insanity Where such r elationship exists the habit
.

merely exhibits the ine vitable di rec tion of the mental

conflict With o ut bei ng a cause it has impo rtant
.
,

di agnosti c v alue fo r the ps ychi a t rist if prope rly ,

a n a lyzed a nd inte rpreted .

The a vera ge pers o n s o lves partially the conflict

betwee n his psychic tenden c ies by adopting fo r the
 Men tal Diso rde r 1 85

pu rp ose vari ous c ompro mises between inf a ntile in ,

stin c tive tenden c ies and the re qui rements o f so ci ety .

The exceptional per son oc casionally suc ceeds in t e

fining o r sublimating a great po rtion of his in fan
tilism But the a v erage perso n usu ally does no m ore
.

“
than repress the infantile tenden cies out o f sight
”
a nd out of mi nd , in so f ar a s this is possible .

Th o ugh repression is an expedien t an imperfect

,
“ ”
way of settlin g with the pa st it pro ves e ffecti v e
,

so long as no great c ris is suddenly rous es the re

pres sed tenden c ies into a c tivity For pra c ti c al pur
.

po ses a person adj usted to the demands of adult

existence on the basis of repressi o n may become
“ ”
fairly eflic ie n t a nd su ccessful . In the midst of a
society co mpo sed o f individu als for the most part
simil a rly rep ressed he may even a chiev e le adership
by playin g upon the hidden emotions o f his co
tempo ra ries .

In passing I ma y rema rk that the avera ge per

so n notwithstanding his fitness to the envi ronment
,

and his efficien cy is not necessarily healthy ; ra ther

, ,

he dwells on the mental bo rderline of health and so

long as repressi o ns exist the po s sibility of tro uble
is not too far o ff .

Mo reover from the sta ndp o int of so cial evolution

,

the en vi ro nment to which the a verage man adj usts

hims elf may itself be primitive and vile Fitting into
, , .

such an envi ro nment is a na rrow end and an achieve

ment of d o ubtful value It is a poo r preparation
.
1 86 S ex a nd the S a me:
fo r meeting the requi r ements of a s o ciety in spi red by
more mature ideals .

Nevertheless the fa ct remains tha t he who through

sel f k n o w ledge acqui res mastery o v e r his o wn psychi c
o

reso urces is best prepared to master also the fo rces

o f an enviro nment ethica lly like himself He d o e s .

not have to go thro ugh so lengthy and painful a

peri od of adj ustment as less pra ctical tende r ,

minded members of so ciety The sin gle tra c lc prac

.

tic al mind saves itself tremendous wear and tear ;

for the many sided mind is often a mind divide d
-

aga inst itself The p rac ti c al man is impressed with

.

the ad va ntages of adhering to the standa rds set by

the enviro nment H e kn o ws tha t only by limit in g
.

the qu a lity of his as pi rations to the stand ards set

by the so ciety in whi c h he lives may he achiev e what
“ ”
i s p o pularly c a lled success while pu rsuing his
,

pers o nal ends .

The average successful leader of public o pini o n

d oes n o t question the beliefs prej udices or taboo s
,

of th o se whom he leads H e a ccepts th em ; that is

.

why he in turn is a cc eptable as a leader S ucces s .

wit hin a given envi ro nment is predi c ated on the

re adines s to a ccept its standa rds The peopl e
.

c l amor for a leader willing to be led For a passing .

hou r su c h a one is a c co rded the homage of hero

wo rship S oon another tak e s his pla c e one ca pa ble
.
,

of appe aling to the re pressed pa ssions of the po p u

la ce fro m a slightly new angle In wo rshiping its
.
1 88 S ea: an d the S enses

emotional ties so intimately pa rt and parcel o f hi s

inner mo st sense of selfho od that he canno t rea dily
yield to the demands of mature existen ce and co nse
quently every little while he be co mes entangled in
bitter mental confli c ts To the tender minded neu
.
-

ro tic the ha rsh world o f reality a ppe a rs an o c ean

of merciless strife ; he thrusts himself upo n it over ,

con fident perhaps in his abilities and knowledge but ,

“ ”
witho ut having rea lly lea rned how to swim Un .

able to en du re the ha rdshi ps he meets his psy c hi c

infantilism forc es him ba ck to the world of his o wn
reveries and a c custo med emotion al tenderness In .

other w o rds he reve rts for a time t o a previous

,

ph a se of psy chi c evolution Bec a use he c annot be

.

a man after the world s fa shion he c lings with in

’

c reased tension to his past ; psychically he becomes

mo re a nd mo re a grown up infant .

Onanism as I ha ve already po inted o ut is a habit

, ,

that ac centuates this ficti v e reversal of the dir ection

of the growth of person ality It preserves the a t
.

ta in me n t of pleasu re satisfactio n
-
dmied or un
reac hable o therwise .

Oc c asionally infantile tendencies per sist in a form

too stro ng to permit even that tempo ra ry makeshift
o f co mp r omise whereby the neuroti c at least man
ages to keep swingi ng between partial failure an d
health A person in whom some primitive psychi c
.

t rend breaks fo rth in a form distortedly resembling

an ins tin c tive phase o f existence to the complete
,
 Mmto l Disor der 1 89

excl usio n of rea so n an d common sen se is said to be

,

The ins ane pers o n is o ne wh o instead of adj u sti ng,

himself to the requi rements of reality th ro ugh the

expedien t of compromises completely abo lish es the
externa l wo rld with its requi rements by withdrawing
into his o wn fanciful archaic world of subj ective
,

e xist en ce
. H e ma y do this with referen ce to every
thing pe rtaining to the external world or with re
spect o nly to th at p arti cular phase of it which he
finds unbearable .

This psychi c mech an ism is not difficult to under

sta nd H e who with infantile notions o f his own
.

powers or w o rth sets out to conquer the world o nly

to find it unre spo nsi ve and unappreciati ve ; he wh o,
fo r oth er lesser rea sons though sim ilarly infantil e
, , ,

finds life to o harsh unplea sant painful an d unbear

, ,

able is ill prepared to withst a nd an un usual st rain

-

or crisis When such a c risis occu rs the ma n wh o

.
,

loves himself too much t o put up with defeat o r it s

co nse qu ences still has a weapo n left with which t o
,

fling his defiance at the world That weapon is the .

supreme withdrawal of himself from its midst and

a ss umes the fo rm either of insanity or sui c ide .

The character of suicide as a withd rawal from the

world is clear Less obvious on the surfa c e bu t
.
,

equa lly t rue with respect to its underlying psychic

me ch a ni sm 1 8 the rfile of insa n ity Both serve the .

sa me pu rpo se It would not be far fetched to co n

.
-
1 90 S ex an d the S en se s

cide r insa nity a chro ni c suicide Insanity ae co m

.

lishes ex a ctly what suicide d o es The l a tte r d ra ws

p .

do wn the fin al curta in on the world The forme r .

fen c es o ff the mind aga inst the wo rld or against the

mo st unbea ra ble po rtion or fe atur e of it In eithe r .

c ase the result a nd the psychic stage s tha t prece de

it a re the s ame .

Once the ba rrier of insanity is r aised the pers o n

involved h as partly o r wh o lly insula ted himself fr om
rea lity and is out of reach j ust as the a v erage per
,

so n ma y be with reference to a pa rticular subj ect

“ ”
o n which he has his prej udices The mechanism o f
.

insanity i s p ractically the same as that of psychic

—
blindnes s , the unc onsciously determined unwilling
—
n ess to see o f the average perso n .

I have a lre ady sta te d tha t insanity does not de

velo p suddenly th ough it s o ut b reak may be su ddm .

Lo ng before the outbre ak the histo ry o f ev ery case

,

s hows num ero us attempts a t adj ustment The v ari .

ous compromis es betw een co ntr a ry ten d e ncies d o n o t

la st The ba ckw a rd pull pro ves st ro nger th an the
.

fo rw ard u rge the a rch aic tendencies m o re po werful

,

th an later guiding p rin ciples Under the st rife the

.
,

mind reve rts back to its ea rlier self a s it were ; the ,

co nflict is settled at las t by a flight away fro m the

unknown and pa inf ul ( the wo rld rea lity ) and ba ck
,

to the kn own ( it self the world o f the unco ns ci ous )

, .

The fo rm of in sanity appea rs t o be dete rmin ed

largel y by the l evel t o which the individu al s min d ’
1 92 S car an d the 8 mm
It is inconceivable th a t a habit will opera te in o ne
ca se and fail to oper ate in another under iden tic al
,

c o ndi ti o ns
.

The questi o n does self abuse lead to feeble mind

,
- -

e du cas ? must be c onsidered as one engendere d by

igno rance It can be positi ve ly asser ted that feeble
.

mindedness does not result from the habit The .

popula r superstition that it do es has so mething t o

,

do with the fanciful notions which w e re once p reva

lent regarding the mira cul ous fun c tions o f the semi
nal fluid in the bodily e conomy It is easy to t ra ce
.

a sembla n ce of rea son for the popula r po st ho c ergo

p p
r o te r ho c e r ror in this c o nne c tion Fee bl e
. mi n d -

educas a t least some st riking fo rms of it is the re

, ,

—
sult o f faul ty b rain structure o cc asi on ally o f
,

brain disea se and possibly inj ur y , during early

,

c hildh oo d or i n fan c y At any rate it is in mo st

.

c a ses a fixed condition tha t begins with bi rth or s oo n

afterwa rds though it may remain unrecognize d for
a long time bec ause du ring the first yea rs of life the ,

ment al development of the feeble minded ma y be -

v ery much l ike that of the average child Even .

when the peri od of arrested development is rea ched

it may c ontinue for some time before it is n o ti c ed .

Meanwhile the feebl e minded c hil d having discover ed

-

onanism indulges in the p ractice with the exce ss

c ommon wheneve r the o rdina ry checks a re absent .

On e of the c har a cteristi cs o f feebl e mindedn ess o f ,

co u rs e, is t he feebl enes s o r abs ence o f inhibiti o ns .

 Fa ble
-
Mendocino “ 1 93

Unde r the circumsta nces o nanism will be indulged

in openl y whereas the c hild of normal gr o wth would
know enough to c urb or hi de its in c lination .

Discovery of the habit in the child m a y be the

first o r at any ra te one of the ea rly signs i n ducing
, ,

the dist ressed pa rents t o seek medic al ad vice Q uite .

likely the physician finds upo n ex aminati o n o ther

indign antly rej ect the idea They regard it as a

.

reflection upo n th ei r unstained family escu tch eo n .

They go to another physician who perha ps en c o ur

age s thei r belief that onanism alone is respo nsible for
the c hild s ba ckwardness if some mo re definite signs
’
,

of the c ondition ha ve c ropped up by that time .

When the feebl e mindedness makes itself clea rly

a ppa rent at la st and the pa rents effo rts t o cu rb the
’

ha bit pro ve u n su cc essful the notion that masturba

,

tion is the c ause of the misfortune takes dee p root .

Incidentally the belief absolves them from the pa in

,

ful task of searc hing thei r family tree fo r an her edi

tary blot It is a pro tective idea a nd under the
.

ci rcumsta nces it is somet imes difficult to convinc e

parents proud o f their an cest ry and ge nea logic his
,

to ry that their child s feebl e mindedness may be

,
’ -

conge n ital o r hereditary They prefer the more

.

comforting beli ef that the habit al one is respo n

sible.

Absence o f o rdina ry inhibi tions makes indulgence

in self abuse co mmo n amo n g the feeble mind ed a s
- -
1 94 S ea: an d the S ca m
w ell as a mo ng certain ins an e In many if not m ost
.
, ,

inst a n c es o f bo th catego ries the ha bi t an teda tes the

recognition o f the c o nditi on .

Popul a r belief ha s e r ro neously ascribed to self

abuse the role o f a ca use This belief has been up
.

held in the pa st by a po rti o n at least of the sc ien

, ,

tific world . The time h as come f or this err o r to be

abo lished.
1 96 S ex a nd the S a m
his bl ood still The i nstin cts pe rsist very mu ch in
.

their abo rigin al form What we ha ve learned thus

.

far abo ut ma n lends support to the view tha t hum a n

natu re ha s undergo ne no change as the result o f the
influence of civilization o r c ulture Man has dive r .

sified . H is o riginal ment a l endowment a ppear s

under ma ny refined fo rms But the instincts tha t
.

prompt man do not always a ppea r u nder the re fined ,

sublim a ted forms they have pa rtly ass umed in the

cou rse o f centu ries of c ultur e In spite of their
.

c i vilized expressions the ins tincts still oper ate in o u r

midst under thei r naked forms .

Inf ancy a nd ea rly childhood re pea t the e arly

cycles o f ma n s ra c ial evolution Repre ssi o n sets in
’
.

to curb the raw instin cts in fa vo r of their mo re re

fined cultu ra l formula tions The sexual instinct is
.

arly pl a ced under the influence of repression This

e
.

i s not the place t o into the historic cult u r a l a nd

g o ,

individu al reas o ns fo r that The fact is so clear

.

tha t the statement requi res no j ustifi c ation .

One o f the effects of repressing sexuality has been

the overlooking of infantile erotism I have al ready .

dwelt briefly on t ha t Pa rents edu cato rs and all

. ,

o th e r adults prefe r to o v erlook the o cc urren ce o f

o na nism du ring ea rly life The repressi o n f rom
.

memory o f the c o rre sp o nding phase in thei r o wn life

makes this n ecessa ry Instin c t and repressi o n is the
.

key to the intrapsychic st ruggle with which ma n has

 Persisten ce of Men tal Traits 1 97

to co ntend more or less thr o ughout life and in tha t

struggle onanism acquires ea rly a symbolic r61e .

Take for example the qu a lms of cons c ience the

, , ,

self reproa ches ge nerall y associated with the habit

-
.

A great deal of tha t is due no doubt to the false

, ,

tea chings on the subj ect to the lu rid fear of the

,

co nsequences su ch as insa nity fee ble mindedness

, ,
-
,

etc to which the habit is po pula rly suppo sed to l ead

.
, .

But the self reproaches it must be recogniz ed a re

-
, ,

no t alw ays bro ught about thro ugh such outside in

flu en ces . Th ey a re self gen era ted much mo re fre
~

qu ently tha n they are the result of sugge sti on The .

o verstatements of purity pro pagandists the stresse d ,

wa rnings of soci a l hygiene c rusaders the threa ts of ,

pa rents and teach ers often only aggra v ate the evil
,

by inc reasing the p oo r victims fea rs without p re

’

pa ring them to give up the habit thus adding per ,

ha ps grea ter inj u ry th an the habit itself invol ves .

For as we shall see later , the sudden abo liti o n o f the

habit is no t without its serious dangers .

Those who p ractice self a buse ha ve a troubl ed

-

conscience The inhibitions standing between in

.

stin c t an d its expressi o n constitute the psychic

fo rce called c ons cien ce Tro ubled consci en ce mean s
.

in hibiti o n under st ress tension , In the ca se of

.

on anism the sta te of tension the troubled conscience

, ,

is due to the fact tha t the i ndividual concern ed is

aw are tha t his beha vio r does n o t a cco rd with the
1 98 S ex an d the S ea m
ethi cal standa rds of ou r present c ultu r al level Chil .
e

dren too percei v e that they run co unter to their

, ,

pa rents will S tra nge ly enou gh they so metimes

’
. ,

sense this fa c t befo re they ha ve ever been warned

aga inst the ha bit Children seem to per ceive at a
.

ve ry early age th a t between some o f their inna te

predispositions and what is expec te d of them the re
exists a ga p When they begin to re alize tha t fact
.
,

do they immediately co nform themselves t o the re

q u irem e n ts of their elders ? They may make some
effo rts t o ha ve it appear so but in reality childre n ,

a re inc lined mo re stro ngly to follow the bent o f thei r

instin c tive cra vings They lea rn to p ra ctice o n a n
.

ism in sec re t hence the feeling of guilt that it ge n

,
e

c rates Very rapidly onanism beco mes the symbol

.

of mu c h that is forbidden , s ecret and speaking ,

broadly unsoci al , .

Ma n is a gregarious being tending to become ao

c ial . It is doubtful whether he has always been of
that type Judging by the un so c ial character of his
.

early psyche and the self limit ed cha racter of his -

instincts it is most likely that du ring so me ea rly pre

histo ri c age he was not only p reyed upon and sub
j cet to terrors on tha t ac c ount but tha t he was , ,

“ ”
himself a beast of p rey red in too th and cla w
, , ,

like nature .

“
H owever that may be it is certa in tha t the s ocia l
,
”
sen se is a relatively late development in the huma n
psy che if psychologic o bserva tion is a sufficient c ri
,
900 S cr an d tt e um

Events co mparable to grea t s o cial uphea val s t ak e

place in the life of ev ery person The events ma y .

not be impo rtant in themselves j ust as the p rec ipi,

tating ca uses o f grea t revolutions a nd wa rs a re o ften

t rivi al But the passions those t rivial oc c u rrences
.

u nfold a re far fro m insignificant They repre sen t .

man s reversion to his primo rdial sa vage instinctive

’
, ,

In it self as a physical act ma sturba ti o n is pro b

, ,

ably trivi al But like many other i r relevant ha bits

.

an d mea ningless peculiarities of conduct sy c ho lo i

p g
c ally it ma y beco me most signifi c ant .

Not the least impo rtant featu re of ona nism o r

mastu rbation is its fun c tion as a symbo li c and the re ,

fo re vica rious representa tion of the unsocia l trait in

,

human nat ure .

What is merely un so ci al a t o ne age be co mes cl ea rly

antiso c i al at a later age The reve rse of tha t ma y
.

also be observed and is pa rti cularly commo n in the

histo ry of s oc ial co nve ntions It may be unsoci a l
.

for a pers o n living in a small co mmunity to abs t a in

f rom going to chu rch when all his neighbo rs do It .

was c onsidere d an a c t distinctly antiso ci al during

puritani c times To day confo rmity in church ma t
.
-

ters is left to individual cho ice but it is strictly eu

,

j oined in o ther matters .

The re are many pe rsons who preserve the unso ci al

a ttitude cha ra cte risti c o f the p red o min a nce o f in
 Acac ia ! Ty pe: 201

i
st n ctive c ravings over reason and wh o are innately
,

n on c o nfo rmistic so to speak They ha ve stro ng

-
, .

antis o cial ten dencies Many such persons fin d in

.

on anism a substitute for the ca rryi ng out of thei r

a nti so cia l acts Through the medium of self con
.
-

ceived fancies they po rtray themselves as c arrying

out acts to which they feel themsel ves impelled but ,

which their inhibitio ns prevent them fro m ca rrying

out in re a lity As a c ompro mise between the ten
.

dene y to do certa in a cts and the di c tates of co n

scien ce a gainst doing them the antisocial a cts in
,

questi on a re thus carried out vi c ariously in the sub

,
’
jeet a im a gination This may be done wi th or with
.

out the ac c ompaniment o f physical masturba to ry

a c t s In either case the pl ea sura ble excitati o n is
.

pra c ti c ally the same .

Ma ny o f these ph anta sies have to do with a cts o f

cruel ty o r vi olence The extent to which perso ns of
.

mild temper and of exempla ry so cial behavior i n dulge

in fan c ies of this c ha rac ter is certainly remarkable .

It shows that the need for the vica ri ous execution of

anti social acts is widespread for it is und eniably a
,

fact that on a nisti c fan c ies of this character repre

sent a safety valve for the preventio n of overt a c ts .

Many fo rms of cruelty a n d c rime a re indulged in

during onanistic o rgies There a re perso ns wh o se
.

libidin o us c ra vings a re satisfied only with pictures

in which the y po rtr a y th emse lves as the l eaders in
202 S ea: an d the S a me:
the perpe trati o n o f deed s whi ch wo uld ro use the envy
o f a Nero .

The specifi c pi c tures a ccomp an yi ng the ona nistic

act or rep resenting it ( in the a bsen ce of exci ta tion
by me cha ni cal means ) determine the role which
onanism plays in the psyche of a particula r pe rs on .

Judged by that c riteri on onanism appears to be

frequen tly a vicarious o utlet for the tenden cy to
vi olen ce immorali ty a nd crime
, .

But this mus t not be taken in too literal a s ense .

S o metimes th e onanist tortu res an d kill s o ff his

criti c s enemies and antago nists ge ner ally
, B ut
.

often when he indulge s in orgies o f bl oodshed his ,

imaginary victims a r e indifferent person s and he

do es it with the same e ro tic satisfa ction to him self .

It is the sense o f pow er o r ra th er the craving fo r

,

all powerfulness that come s t o exp ression thro ugh

-
,

these onanistic fanci es The exhibition o f bl oodshed

.

a nd wholesale murder is in cident al The s ame is true

.

of the n ume ro us devices for to rturing thei r im agi

nary vi c tims whi c h many persons c onj ure up during
on anisti c indulge nces Torturing others is a means
.

of heightening one s own sen se of po wer

’
.

Psy c hic onanism lends itself re adily as a means for

expressing and vi ca riously executing all sorts of anti
so ci al tenden c ies Its c o n necti o n with crime is du al
.

in the fi rst pla c e it heightens the imagina ti o n in the

di rection o f antisoci al deeds if the onanistic fa n cies
,

ha ppe n t o ta ke that turn ; but at the same time it

 CHAPTER XX VI

An en o rmo us mass of
p ro o f te nds to sho w that
self -
u
ab se mo n g tho se who in late r
is widesp rea d a

hfe distinguish themselves thro ugh c rea tive ability in

lite ra ture an d a rt. These c hild ren sho w e ve n at an

ally gifted cms to be n o excep tio n to the

hild see

a lmost univer s al pra c tice o f on a nism .

This raises the questi on o f the re la tio nship be

tween the habit we are cousi
ment o f th ose excepti o nal qu alities gen eric ally desig
u sted as t alent .

Fo r a long time the co mmo n vi ew has bee n that

self abuse destroys the higher qu alities le
-
ia ,
“
stea d to aberrations and perversions The sca re .

”
lite ra ture of former gen erations designated to cu rb
the p rac ti ce and partly still cu rrent records n umer ,

ous a llege d insta n ces of pro mising lives mine d

through onanism Sto ries of this so rt ha ve a st rong
.

effec t upo n impressionable youth They fu rnish .

co ncrete reasons fo r self reproach a nd for the feel

-

ings o f guilt a nd the de press ed m oods with which

youth is struggling t ow ards an adj ustme nt of its
instinctive p ro mptin gs a nd early habits Su c h w rit .
 Crea tive Ability 206

ings do a gre a t de al of ha rm ; it is doubtful whether

they d o an y go o d .

Re gard ing the a lleged influ ence of self a buse as a

v

hindrance to the development of ex c eptional trai ts it

c an be definitely asserted tha t the noti o n is ba sed
on fa ulty deduction The ha bit d oes not necessa rily
.

inhibit talent The truth is exceptional children

.
,

pa ss through a pha se during whi c h they perceive

the i r inhi bitions more sha rply than c hildren of the
av erage cl ass Pr ecisely this in creased sensiti v eness
.

and inwa rd tension marks c er tain children a pa rt

from others ; it is close to the root of precocity .

The preco cious c hild is one whose psy c hi c growth

does not pro ceed within the mo uld determin ed a nd
pro vided by ordinary edu c ational form ulae .The
qua lita ti v e di fferen ce is determined largely by the
f act that a greater amount of the primal instino
tive fo rce tha n ordinary stan ds at the dispos al of the
exceptional child ready to be c onverted into any
activity function or interest This ex cess may be
, .

utilized in one of N o ways : the child either learns

to co nvert that primal urge into useful acqui sitions
o r turns it into c ustoma ry c hannels for the atta in
ment of plea sur e Whether the c hild will do one or
.

the other in a given insta nce depends o n too many

varia ble fa c tors to be predi c ted befo reha nd with
ac cura cy but the choice though un consciously de
, ,

termin ed so far as the child is c on cerned may be

,

p ro pe rly di re c ted if tho se who h av e the child in

,
206 Sar an d thc S en ses

c ha rge understa nd thei r task and are p re pa re d t o

a c quit themselves fait hfully of thei r duty .

Pre co city an in c rea se in the prim al urge ma ni

, ,

fests itself as ex cessi v e c uriosity interest ten de rness , , ,

will t o domineer to learn etc In whatever form it

, , .

shows itself prec o c ity may lead either to a rapid

development along desirable be cause so ci ally useful, ,

li nes or to an equally rapid shifti ng in the opposite

dire c tion Subjec tively there is no wilful deliberate
.
,

choi c e of direction On the contrary so far as the

.
,
“ ”
c hild is c on c erned it is as natural or easy f o r it
,

to drift in the direction of un s o cia l or even ant is o ci al

c ha r a c ten tr a it development as to assume q ua lities

c ente ring around the sense of soci al obliga tion in its

wider range ( pa rents family c omr ades co mmunity
, , , ,

home c ountry
, , Although infantile habits tend
to predominate the per suasive influen ce of the right
,

enviro nment and to a lesser degr ee form al education

, ,

dete rmine higher c hannels in to whi ch the spec ially

gifted children turn th eir enthusias m and intere st ,

thei r will to be o r do .

Our educational system d oes not meet the needs

of the ex ceptional child As a co rolla ry of o ur n o
.

tions of dem o c r acy our s chools are dedicated to the

interests of the imaginary hypotheti ca l ( and I may
,

add parentheti c ally chimerical ) average child

, , .

“
The current educatio nal slogan seems to be the
”
co mmon s chool for the c ommon c hild ; enl argement
of our dem ocratic idea ls will s ugges t an a dditi o nal
208 Su a nd tha S ma
in childh ood o r youth l o se their way and fail to live
up to the earlier expecta tions This is a distinct and
.

great l oss Innate inclinations should be recogn ised

.

and c ultivated There sh o uld be a cho ice of direc

.

tion and this o ught to be brought about in such a

way as t o enlist ea rly and efl ec tively all the child s
'
’

fo rces making for gro wth and u n foldme nt .

In the absen ce o f a willf ul di recti o n of prim al

energies of a pro cess of sublimation properly
,

gr aded carefully adapted to in dividual c onditions

, ,

the child exceptional or otherwise is bound to re ve rt

, ,

often to the c usto ma ry pleasure yielding attitude -

cha ra cteristic o f the ea rly stages of life as the line

of lea st resistance .

There is no t much mo re tha n that needed t o ex

—
pl a in the prevalence o f ma sturba tion a habit that
—
ten ds to prolong the instinctive lif e a m o ng the ex
ce tio n al childr en
p .

The ex c eptio n al child comes frequently into c on

flic t with the inha rmo nious the r ough the arbitra ry
, ,

and downright unfai r c o nditions which adults in

their self c on ceit impose upon children in the a t
-

tempt not always and cert ainly not unifo rmly c o m

,

mendable of moulding the new gener ation in its o wn

,

ima ge The instinct of the child is at tim es unerring

.

in its rebelli o n against the kind of life invoked and

h eld forth as ideal by the ruli ngs of the older gen .

cra ti o n.

Escape fro m the inharmonies of the w orld as made

 Crea tive Ability 209

up by the arbitra ry dema nds an d exp ectations of

othe rs is re a dily p ossible thro ugh a withdrawal into
one s own world Mo reo v er one s own world has
’
.
’
,

cl a ims o f its o wn fo r pe rpetuation The exceptional .

child is one least likely to aba nd o n that world o r

fo rego lightly its claims .

The ex c ep tional child is made excepti o nal th ro ugh

the wea lth and u rgency of his inner resourc es .

Una ble to transmute all these resources into useful

activi ties from the fi rst a great part of them are
utilized in the weaving o f f a ncies The subj ec ti v e .

wo rld is enriched thereby and out of it are deri v ed

satisf a ctions whi c h la ter i f all goes well will be
, ,

sought m o re and more in the world of achievemen t

and of externa l reality Th e se gra tifica tio n s thro ugh
.

the use of one s fancy a re necessa rily sensuous as

’

well as self c entered Not only do they resemble the

-
.

overt physical mastu rba tory acts functi o n ally the ,

tvm are identical .

Ma stu rba ti on the physica l a ct a s co ntrasted with

, ,

ona nism , the psychic indul ge nce in the same habit

th rough the abuse of imagina tion ha s no special sig ,

nifica n ce
, broadly speaking apa rt f rom its psy chi c
,

co nno ta tio ns A clea r cut distincti o n between these

.
-

tw o forms or varieties o f the s a me habit such as

s ome investiga t o rs h ave a ttempted is neither po ssi
ble s in ce the tw o o ften co mmi ngle no r necessary fo r
, ,

a ny p ra ctical reaso ns If anything the abuses of

.
,

imagin a ti o n being mo re subtle and elu sive pla y a

, ,
21 0 S ea: an d the S m“
much mo re significa nt role They are the ver y
.

abuses tha t ha v e been la rgely o verlooked by th o se

who c ampaign against sexual self abuse -
.

The predomi nance and subtlety of ps ychic a ut o

er otism is ri chly illustra ted in the in timate l ife his
to ries of persons possessing c reati v e abilities Ex .

cep tio n al child ren those who show ea rly a stro ng

,

inclination toward artisti c or litera ry de velopment ,

e xplo it the habit of de r i ving extreme gratificati o n

th ro ugh the exercise of purpo seless d rea min g to a

higher degree th a n the average Childho o d with its
.

ways and moods clings to them longer an d mo re

vividly than to o the rs Persons of unusual crea tive
.

ability re main un usual a nd reta in thei r c rea tive

a bility best so long as the reservoir of fo rces -exer
c ised through fan c y weaving does n o t fail them It .

is only necessary for them to give some soci ally use

ful or pleasing form to their subj ective c on c eits .

Ability to t ranslate int o ha rmonious symbols o f

sound language or into plasti c material the sti r ,

rings fro m beyond the realm of c onscio usness ma kes

the true artist H e who is maste r of the medium
.

chosen for exp ression is on the w ay to beco me als o

master of his art ; but unless he has overco me his
repressions sufficiently to be able to keep in easy
tou ch with the re sources of the unco ns c i ous he ca n
n o t be c o me one . The exce pti o nal type of perso n
in a ny field of c re a tive work p re serves many feat ures
chara ct e ris tic o f childh ood a nd youth but fo r the
,
21 2 S ex and the Sa me:
line o f demarka ti o n between the early u se and late r
abuse of ero tism it does not necessa rily follow tha t
mastu rba ti o n is ever desirable True it is no t a s
.

“ ”
po ten t o f ha rm as the p rofessional sc ar e ra isers
would ha ve us believe But prolonging any pleas u re
.

yielding o therwise useless indulge nce only wea ken s

, ,

resista nce a gainst self ind ulgence The artist above

-
.
,

all must co ns erve his res o urces and lea rn that the
,

path of c rea tive w o rk l eads always away fro m self

thro ugh identifi ca ti on with soci ally usef ul a ctivity
.
 CH APTER XX VII

In ancient Greece the holy bro therhood o f h eale rs

were proud of the rEsc ula pia n Temple on the island
of Co s to which merchants s a ilors and other wander
,

ers flocked before undertaking perilous j ourneys in

o rder to lay their o fferings befo re the shrine of the
grea t health di vinity and thus secure the good will o f
the mira cle w o rking medi c al priest c raft
- But a .

humble sailor refused to allow himself to become

dazzled by the mountains of precious gifts he saw
piled up before the altar of zEsc ula p ius ; and when
told tha t those were free will o fferings of sailors and
-

other grateful voyage rs who had been protected

agains t dis e ase and shipwrec k he asked the wat c hers
,

o f the Temple to show him also the o fferings of those

unfo rtunate sailo rs and sea fa ring travelers who did
-

perish th rough sickness on the high se as n o tw ith

sta nd ing thei r gifts ; for su rely he said thei r gifts
, ,

mus t be as co stly a nd mo re n umerous That sailor

.

w as a distu rber of pea ce ; in modern times he would

be bra nded an undesi rable citizen .

Th ose with whom the belief in the dange rs a nd

evils o f on a nism is an article of faith are a s dis

turbed o ver the p roo fs that their beli ef is f al se as

21 3
lous preventi ve and healing powers o f free will fl er
'
-
o

N eve rtheless the co mm o n s ense co n clusion fl o win g

-

out of the a ctual fa cts is tha t m as tur ba tio n in itself

induces no su c h evils a s have been asc ribed to it Is .

no t the pr acti ce widespread among tho se who carr y

o n an ordin a ry a verage healthy life ?
, ,

Ona ni sm is not incompatible with a certa in de gree

o f health Its wide prevalence amo ng those who p a ss
.

fo r healthy alone proves that the habit does not

necessa rily undermine he a lth But m any of the older
.

notions regarding onanism do cont ribute to mental

ill h ealth We must distinguish betw een the evil
.

effects of false beliefs about ona nism and the di rect

co nsequen c es o f the habit itself Tho se wh o in o ne
.

way o r another su c ceed in riddin g them sel v es of the

false beliefs popularly cu rr ent regarding the evil
‘

efl ec ts o f self abuse ma na ge to go thro u gh the pe ri o d

'
-

when the practi ce is quasi habitual with least harm

-

to th emselves They outgro w the habit as other

. ,

habits a re outgrown when their inward urge for

,

pleasura ble excitation finds other useful outlets , .

Th o se who entertain superstitious be liefs rega rding

o n a nism for that ve ry reason fi nd it harder to get
rid o f the habit ; and wh en they apparently do all ,

they ac complish is exchan ging m asked forms o f se lf

abus e fo r un plea s ant o vert acts o t m as t urba ti on.
21 6 SM and

almos t unive rsal prevalen c e among all cl asse s co upled

with the equ ally widesp read belief in its allege d ha rm
ful consequenc es H ere as in many other sexu al
.

matters pra c tice and belief are at vari ance The .

belief in the ha rmful effects of onanism is denied

in pra c ti c e Th o se who take cu r re nt beliefs a nd
.

superstitions s erio usly pay the pen alty ; o thers

e s c ape lightly Po pula rly the no tion that m astu r
.

ba tio n is ruin o us to health amounts to an a rticle of

f ai th .

The evils o f onanism d o not co nsist of a ny alleged

consequen ces Onanism may beco me ha rmful because
.

it constitutes a misdirection of inst incti ve tendencies ,

a n abuse of pleasurable summati on s intended to sub

serve useful pu rposes But that is a feature which
.

least interests the average individua l H e belongs .

to the average class exa c tly bec ause being practical ,

minded he is not likely to abandon a pleas ure yield

,
- ~

ing habit so long as there is so mething in it f or

,
“ ”

him H is kee n pra c ti c al sense e nables him to pierce

.

through the misty v eil of soci al prohibitions and

tabo os with whi ch in dulgen c es a re surrounded The .

same prac tical sense automati cally inspires him t o

divert suspi cion from himself by u pholding all cur
rent sex taboos .

Certa in evil efl ec ts are bound to follow the bipo la r

'

—
a ttitude towa rds onanism the widespread di ver ,

ge nce of belief and p ra ctice Pr eaching o ne thing .

 Con s eque nc es of S elf Aba se
-
21 7

and p racticing an o ther cann o t be but evil This .

double attitude be c omes a habit It leads to sophis .

tica tio n— the formal adheren c e to c urrent socia l be

liefs with a great show of loyalty whi ch is not

The practical minded is c erta inly o ver so phisti

-

os t ed .As a matter o f poli c y be is ready to len d ,

mo ral and financial suppo rt towards the maintenance

of antiquated beliefs dec repit in stitutions noisy
, ,

c am a
p gi ms doubtful
, causes etc ab o ut which he
, .
,

really does not care at hea rt .

In c urrent po litics religion s o cial a nd s exual

, ,

ethi c s the double attitude is almost univ ersal

, .

w here it is deliberately pra c ticed it is j ustified on

i

the supposition that the antiquated i nstitutions and

obs ol ete beliefs et c m ust be preser ved to hold the
, .
,
“

”
l ower classes in c heck The pl ea is always tha t it is
.

“ ”
fo r the other fellow ; he needs it But so phistica .

tion in the end fools him who indulges in it as o ften

“ ”
as it d oes the other fellow At any ra te it m a kes
.

one dishonest with himself insin c ere formal and , ,

shallow At bottom su c h a pe rson beco mes dual and

.

he preserves his hold on himself only so long as it

does not become necessary for him to look withi n .

He lives the shallow life o f appea ran ces He cannot .

a fio rd to rea c h out towards the c enter o f the things

'

whi c h make life wo rth w hile in the larger sense But .

so long as the tinsel sh ow and pretenc e of which his

,
21 8 S cr a ud the Se um

life is m ade up has so cial cu rre ncy he is ha ppy In .

“ ”
sho rt he is the typical a v erage successful per son
,

in bus iness industry or politics

, .

S exual ethi c s is the sphere within which diver gen ce

be tween pra cti ce and belief is first generated and
from it the double attitude sp reads to all o ther
human relations as a delibera te p rac ti c e This as I .
,

have alr eady po inted out m a kes the subj ect of sex
,

of capital importa n ce beyo nd its own immediate

s
It requi res strength of cha ra c ter t o appre ciate
that m a sturbation ought to be aband o ned because it
di verts into useless ch annels c ra v ings intended t o
subserve higher aims than one s phys ica l self We
’
.

“ ”
live in an a ge when being pra c ti c al is raised to a
high virtue fo rgetting that pra c ticality ha s its de
,

grees a nd u nmindful tha t this do c t rine has a ruino us

a spect It is prec isely the p ra c tic al min ded perso n
.
o

who requires mo re practi c al deterrents tha n broad

c onsiderati o ns of s ocial utility H e must think that
.

onanism leads to ins a nity ; that it is a cause o f

feebl e mindedness ; and he must believ e that at best , ,

onanism is robbing him of something material physi ,

c al by indu c ing a weaken ing of his sexual powe rs

, ,

for instance befo re he feels wa rn ed A c co rdingly

, .

ordinary social hygiene pro p aganda is based on be

liefs whi ch are likely to appeal to this type of mind .

The a v erage person is not suffic iently so c ial minded -

t o be moved by c onsiderations of bro ad and ge neral

220 S em a n d tl m
e

one type of mind may be but the oc ca sion for co n -

fiic t to another mo re adult type

, Ment al hea lth
.

has its leve ls as well as degrees Better health me a ns

.

adj ustment on a higher lev el of understanding .

There is little in the in fa n tilistic featu res of mas

tur ba tio n t o c onfli c t with the aspirations of the a ver
a e pe rson when the habit is reduced to its physic a l
g
limits The a verage pe rso n is not given to indulging
.

in the more subtle fo rms o f aimless dr ea ming and

thinki ng For the m o st pa rt his in fa n tilistic in
.

dulge n c e s are gro ssly physi cal ; su c h psychic ac co m

p a n im e n ts as may exist are enti r ely un c o nsci o u s ;
h e is at all times ready to protest tha t they a re no n
existent .

R educed to its mechani c al physic al aspects with

-

little o r n o c onsc i o us psy chi c a cco mpaniments m as

turba tio n ha s been pra c ti c ed for years app a rently
with o ut an y visible eff ects upon health ex cept for
such consequen ces as may be due t o the no tions with
whi ch the h abit is cons c iously asso c iated in the sub
j ec
’
t s mind But this
. does not m e an tha t the habit
is wholly inno c uous For one thing it st rengthens
.
.

certain chara c ter traits like overso phis ti c ation a l ,

ready mentioned whi c h prevent the full gro wth of

,

personality by c rippling ma n s so cial sense

’
.

Wh en in the c ourse of his psychic growth an indi

vidual becomes attached to so me in fa n tilistic phase
a s shown by the persiste n ce of onanism the dev elop
ment of his personality beyond that fixation poin t
 C onseque n ces of S elf Abuse
-
22 1

is co rrespo ndin gly crippled A pe rso n so tied down

.

to some emo tio n al level of his own pa st if he does

,
“ ”
n o t gro w up a solita rian develops but little be
yo n d gre ga riousness True so c ial sense requires that
.

we sh o uld outgrow the primo rdial forms o f our

cravings Out of our past we must ca rry into the
.

present only that whi ch is ca pa ble of bei ng t ra ns

muted into terms of so c ial utility .

The a verage person is prev ented by his re pressions

fro m gr owing to the full statu re possible for hum an
perso n ality to attai n even in the midst o f existing
s oci al and eco no mi c conditions One still clinging t o
.

the in fa ntile lo n gin gs and in effective ways o f a chiev

‘

ing en ds rem ai ns self c entered at bo tto m in spite of

-

any gregari o usness to whi ch he be co mes accus to me d .

Formally c ringing from anything which involves

self bet ray al neve rtheless be secretly feels impelled
-

to hold on to everything whi ch enha nces his in fan

tilism This is the breeding ground for the mastu r
.

ba tio n habit a n d for all forms of cryptic o na nism .

It is idl e to p rea ch on the evils o f self abu se to

-

tho se wh o hid e the fact of self abuse f ro m their own

-

co ns ci o usn ess . The real ev il is the self centered -

ch a ra cter of the gratification so ught ; but pre ci sel y

tha t is wha t makes the ha wt s o valuable to the ave r
a ge ma n wh o is p reemin en tly self cente red
-
.

In sh o rt the average perso n is n ot likely to be

frw d o f on a nism thr ough fe ar ; n o r is he lik ely to
ou tgro w the habit me rely thro ugh realizi ng th at it
222 S ee: and the S ein e:

m a k es him more det e rmin edly self cen tered When

-
.

Lo ui s XIV c ri ed o ut Ap rés mo i la déluge he

,
“ ”
,

e cho ed the in fa n tilistic a ttitude whi c h but ligh tly

,

buried, lies in the h ea rt o f the a ve rage ma n .

224 S ex a nd the S a me:
m a nifesta ti o ns ; the latter bewildering in thei r corm
,

p le xity , are but s o many aspe c ts of the few b a si c

instincts that make up life The infinite va riety o f

.

huma n ch a ra cter is made possible through the in fi

nite va riations in the shadings of the instincts fro m
the prim ordi al a nd raw t o the re fined their fusi on ,

and refinement .

The primordi al cra vings in man pro mpt him a t

m
fi rs t to reach out by the sim est paths for the a t
ta in men t of gra tific a tio n s and to ignore all othe r
poss ible ends But out of that raw fo rce th e in
.
—

stin c te — e v entually there develop trends whi ch lea d

man t o ac cept higher guidi ng prin ciples while the

gra tification m o tive is retai ned merely as seco nda ry .

Lo ng befo re man becomes aware o f any othe r

guiding m o ti v es long before the need of adj usting
,

hims elf to the w o rld of external rea lity impresses

itself upo n him sufi cie n tly to compel him to curtail
the suprema cy o f the gratifi c ation principle the ,

sense o r instinct of play rea ches supreme develop

m ent : and at fi rst as I have had o c casion to reitw
,

ate frequently in the co urse of this work man s ,

’

own functions and bodily parts furnish his play

te risl
. Auto erotism is the e arliest step a nd fur
-

nishes perhaps the fi rst nursery lessons in play .

I have already made clear I trust that onani sm

, ,

gradually shade s into all sorts of activities co loring

with its own infa n tilistic hue the interest which binds
adult s t o thei r t a sks C o nve rsely adult preocc upa
.
 m an Trends 225

ti o ns are the result of a refining or sublima ting pro c

ess whereby the primordial eroti c craving is with
drawn fro m the onanistic phase wi th its emphasis o n
gra tifica tion as the only guiding prin ciple and be
co mes elaborated into s o c i al values with the princi
ples of usefulness beauty and la rge r servi ce as guid
,

ing mo tives In short the highest we find at the to p

.

of life is a refinement fro m below That is the sense .

o f evolution as a pro gre ssion upwa rds But fro m .

the lowest to the highest level the transi tion is grad

ual ; no sha rp lines of demarcati o n act ually exist a t
any po int .

Therefore when an in stinct like the infantile

,

pleasure motive or ero tism is viewed in a c tion as in

, , ,

on a nism it beco mes necessary to consider the em o

,

tio nal level at whi c h it manifests itself as well as its

setting That means that we must study the indi
.

vidua l s developmental histo ry ; and in o rder to ac

’

quire a true perspective of our parti c ula r subj ect

we must also acquire some und e rstanding of the
di recti o n towards whi ch the indi vidu al s growth is ’ ‘

tending in vi rtue o f the q uality of the manifest form

of his instin c ts Neither ona n ism nor a n y o the r
.

peculia rity of human beha vio r ca n be co nsidere d

fully apa rt of the who le ma n I fou nd it necessary .

la rgely for tha t reason to go at so me length into a

numbe r of subj ec ts such as neuro sis feeble minded ,
-

ness insa nity etc in the co u rse of the p revi o us

, , .
,

chapters in order to make clea r the particular sub

,
226 S ew a nd tt ma
jec t whi c h c o ncerns us at pr e sent Tha t t oo is
. the , ,

rea son why I limit myself in this vo lume to ge ne r al

and p relimin ary c o ns iderati o ns .

I propo se n o w to take up s o me o f the commo n e r

v arieties of ma sked onanism in o rder to illust ra te
th ei r subtlety and the great nee d for psych ol o gic
ins ight H ere t oo I shall deal wi th the subj e c t
.
, ,

ti on a re of such speci al characte r that it see ms best

t o t ake them up in co nnecti o n with studies of the
,

co ncrete sexua l co nditi o ns in separa te vo lumes

, .

We ha ve lea rned t o di stinguis h s ome chara cter i s tic

t raits of on anism and we ha ve observed tha t these
chara cteristics belong to a large numbe r of da ta ,

bo th physical and ment al whi ch a re n ot reco gnize d

,

o rdinarily as ona nisti c The absence of any dis

.

tin guishin g line between the va rio us levels o f gro wth

an d the ea se with whi ch an old f o rm assumes the

fun c tions of a mo re adult expression make it po s ,

sible fo r infantilism with its characteristic auto

,

erotism to persist thro ugh every phase of life wi th

, ,

out betra ying its t rue char acte r exce pt , of co urse ,

to the exper ien ced psych ol ogist l

.

We have seen that o n anism has an i ns idio us

s o ld n l de n ot only the scientific student o f mind but
I h u i c u
also thear s who approp ri
ti t
fo r his prov e The artist ss te chn ique whatever his medium
inc

m
'
.
, .

does not depend on a systa n atiaa tio n of the knowl

ac hievement portrays ; but his 6
sight nature re o ften su erior to the ro fessional
a
p p
22 8 S ex an d the S m“
linked with una ttain able f ancie s ; o namsm in
'

not

thei r ca se is no t the expression o f pro mptings whi c h

ca nn o t be a c tu ali zed by some other route The y .

ha ve n o s c ruples aga ins t reaching out for what they

crave ; and for what they cannot quite attain they
fin d mo re s a tisfa c to ry substitutes th a n o rdi n ary
ma sturbation o r excessive psy c hi c self abuse
-
.

But even per sons of this type do not alway s get

rid o f the habit as co mpletely as they fan c y they do .

Fo r one thing the a c ts which fo r the most part

repla ce the habit may not belong psychogeneti cally
to a higher s c ale than the ha bit they have re placed .

A change inv olving little or no qu alita ti v e di ffer

ence does n o t co nstitute progression a way fro m the

o ld path.

That su ch pe rsons a re still victims o f the habit

under some vicarious form or other is frequently
shown by thei r un e asin ess whenev er the subj ect is
bro ught up in its relation to other people s liv es A
’
.

subject that u nduly excites a person is a subj ect o ver

whi ch that perso n ent e rta ins some co nfli ct F reedo m
.

f ro m sexual confli ct implies the ability to c o nsider

sexu a lity without bec oming unduly sti rre d Agita .

tion ove r trifl es is symptomatic in the same sense .

Lack of emo ti o na l bala nce betrays the char acteris

tic distress o f a psychic co nflict .

More frequ ently onanism is giv en up if at all on ly

, ,

after a struggle In such c ases if it is given up for

.
,

ethical o r health rea so ns and es peci all y if this i s

,
 H a me n Trends 229

the re sult of wa rnings and admo niti o ns the habit i s

,

no t truly abo lished It is merely transposed and

.

overt acts be come compulso ry ce rem on i als and habits

appa rently meaningless Physic al ma sturba tion be
.

co mes psychic o nanism The physical aspects o f the

.

act are suppressed ; the psy c hic counterpa rts be

come disto rted and otherwise disguised under the
compulsion of fear and the individual s pl ight is
,
’

worse than f o rmerly beca use the supp re ssion into

the unconscious l eads to various c ompensatory man
n er ism s compulsions a n d mo rbid impul s es ; distinct
,

psy c honeuros es are eventually thus fo rmed .

The struggle aga i n st ona nism unaided by p sy

,

cho lo gic insight and understa nding leads to various

,

co mp romises ; these in turn determine certain mo re

or less distin c t chara c ter trai ts The habit which the
.

“ ”
inf an t acquires in the cou rse of its innocent ex
plorati o n o f the only w o rld known to it— the wo rld
—
o f its own sensation s begins as a playful indulge nce
of childh ood a nd beco mes a te st o f will power du ri ng
youth It stands at all age s a s the symbo lic l a n
.

gua ge o f ma n s co nflict with himself over the ch o ice

’

o f fo rce s with which he sh ould identify hi s fut ure life.

 CHAPTER XXIX

E rotic dreams o f c ou rse are not subj ect to c ont rol .

One s vo lition h as no thing to do with dreams In

’
.

deed the dreamer is likely to treat disdainfully his

nightly experiences during slee p as somethi ng t r ivial
,

and irreleva nt The more absu rd dreams seem the

.
,

stronge r they violate the dreamer s notion of pr o

’

p r ie ty a nd his ethi c al sense the greater is his co n

,

tempt for them Yet one of the impo rtant re vel a

.
,

ti o n s of mo der n psy chology has been the disclosure

of the significan ce ou r dreams bea r as symbols o f
un c onscious cravings The dream life is part o f
.

existen ce It belongs to that po rtion o f our exist

.

ence of whi ch we are o rdinarily least aware namely

,

the unco nsci o us .

One way in whi ch the incompatibility between co n

sc io u sn ess and the unconscious manifests itsel f is the

forgetfulness o f dreams Many eroti c dr ea ms a re

.

recalled m o re or less brokenly but other s l eave o nly

,

vague shadows upo n awakening The will to exclude

.

self in criminating ero tic fan cies from consc i ousness

-

leads no t only to a suppression of the d ream mem

ory ; it also throws a veil over noc turnal pollutions
f o llowing erotic dr eams of an unusual char a c te r A .
232 Sw an d tt ma
ality be comes somehow linke d wi th un a tt a in a ble
ph antasies It is al so thot
. tha t the loss o f semi
n al secretion mea n s loss of vit ality weakness ner , ,
'

vous drain drying up of the chord et c

, , .

Ordin a ry explanations do no t allay these fea rs .

Even whe n the victims minds a re ea sed by the ex

’

pl a na ti ons given thm they remain unco nvinced ; the

good effect is t ransito ry They ta ke up and try in
.

tu rn spe ci al dietin g physical cultu re hydrotherapy

, , ,

hypno tism and many other systems of treatment in

,

“ ”
the endea vor to overc ome o r cu re thei r wea kness .

Every pollution ra ises anew their do ubts a nd fears

every repetition o f the m asturba to ry a ct plunges
them aga in into despa ir .

It canno t be a mer e coinciden ce that po llu ti o ns

very f requently follow the giving up o f o n a n ismun ‘

der the co mpulsi on of fear It w o uld appea r tha t

.

the pollutions at least in a goodly number o f such

,

t ake the place of the old habit fulfilling the

sa me role th ough unc o ns ci ously The vi ctims a tti
, .
’

tude towa rds the new c ompl ica ti o n is p re cisely the

same as towards onanism except tha t now his plight
is even more seri o us sin ce the c onditi o n is beyond his
wilful contro l .

The pro paganda of fea r still wid ely prevalen t

, ,

brings abo ut su c h substitutions of o ne evil habit fo r

ano the r The young m an wh o th ro ugh fe ar aban
.

dons a bad habit is not impro ved there by If the .

h abit is vit al it cannot be shak en o ff by an afio rt

'
 Ero tic S ymbo lirm 238

of will merely because l o gi c directs it Th a t which

.

part akes of the in stinctive in life is stro nge r than

logic a nd must be dealt with on ly th rough subli
—
mati o n in t o somet hing useful not by the nega tive
,

po licy o f decreeing its suppression .

“ "
A young ma n who swore 0 6 after li stening to
“ ”
a most con vin c ing scare lectu re w a s dri ven to de
spai r wh en he discovered that pro fuse no ctu rn al
po llutio n s followed his absti nence After a det ailed
.

expl a nation of the physio lo g and psy chology of

the occurren ce it was possible to convin ce him at l as t
tha t the losses c annot h a rm him and to relieve hi s
,

mind on that sco re . The pollutions pr a cticall y

ceased after a rel a tively brief ana lysi s .

There is nothing gained if th ose who a re se ard

away from onanism are thereby d riven to deeper
despair over conscious o r unco nscious substitutes ,

su ch as pollutions True those wh o prea ch o n the

.
,

great e vils of mastu rbation usu ally take the p reca u

tion t o state that pollutions a re ha rmless But a t .

this po int the logi c of their arguments against onan

ism breaks down o r else thei r sta tement abo ut the
alleged harmless chara c ter of po llutions is likely to
be met wi th inc redulity The view is self c o n tradic
.
-

to ry M any fail to see why seminal l o sses should

.

be harmless and at the same time the caus e o f t erri ble

da ngers depen ding en tirely o n the trifling ci rcum
,

stance whether the l oss is involunta ry or induced .

Th ose who se own unea siness o n the subj ect is al

234 S er r md tt ma
re ady gra ve ch oose to believe the wo rst o f wha t they
hea r o r read on the subj ect a nd dis count the re st .

They a re ready to believe the w o rst about the evil s

of self abuse ; and by an al o gy they ascribe the same
-

e vil con sequences t o polluti o ns notwithstanding as

surances to the co ntrary .

We often thus select our beliefs to fit in with o ur

pre co n ceptions and emotional p redispo sitions Un til .

recently most o f o u r beliefs and opinions re ga rding

sex ha v e been the result of the selective a ction o f ou r
emoti o nal predispositi o ns For many persons it is
.

not easy as yet to dis rega rd thei r precon ceptions ;

as one must d o if one is t o acqui re a t rue under
standing o f sexu al matters .

The relationship o f er o toge netic factors to sleep

lessness is va riously determined Dread of pollutions
. ,

o r of dreams whi ch ma y l ead to them shows itself in ,

the form o f sleeplessness long befo re the real ca use

is kn own to the subj ec t himself Erotic fancies of a
.

very pa rti c ular type or rath e r the st ruggle against

, ,

them keeps the mi nd in a state that prevents sle ep

, .

Wor ry or depression sleeplessness and loss o f

, ,

weight when not o therwise a ccounted for j ustify the

, ,

suspi c ion that a knowledge of the intimate and n u

consci o us po rti o n o f the subj ect s psy chic expe ri
’

en ces will rev ea l the c ause and point the way to a

cure Of c ou rse an inqui ry o f this characte r requi res

.

the skill o f a speci alist t ra in ed in psychology .

Again it cann o t be m erely a co incidence that

,
236 $
it t

bear in mind that po llutions in which or ga nic cau ses

have been excl uded may be relieved upon the reveal
,

men t of the specifi c phanta si es with whi ch they a re

ass oci a ted o r which at any rate govern the sufiere r s
'
’
, ,

mi nd His typical phanta sies bear the same rela tion

.

ship to po llutions as to o rdina ry fo rms of onanism .

Witho ut mastery ov e r the unco nscious pha ntasi es

nei the r co ndition ca n be overcome su c cessfully ; that
is attainable only through a dissecting analysis of
the uncons c ious fan c ies whi c h keep them up .

That this is not always easy to a ccomplish e very

psychoa n alyst will attest S ubj ects find thei r fan
.

“ ”
cies too ethereal and elusi ve The eroti c impo rt
.

of dre a ms is hidden their significa n ce distorted

, .

Fo r psycho the r a pic pu rpo ses a knowledge o f the

subj ect s d reams and fanci es is most useful almost
’
,

indispensable A ca r eful analysis of the content and

.

a study o f the mea ni ng of the subj ect s dreams with ’

regar d to his inner life may be ex pected to furnish

the info rmation nece ssary for o v ercoming any p ay
c ho ge n e tic trouble .

Certain hysteri cal and pse udo epilepti c attacks-

,

fainting spe lls and sudden lassitudes with or with

, ,
~

out l oss o f co nsc i ousness lasting a few minute s or

,

less are frequently induced th rough aut o ero tism

,
-
.

This fa ct seems pa ra doxi cal Ordinarily it is not

.

understoo d how it co mes about that su ch episodes ,

the reverse o f pl ea surable to the subj ect should in ,

re ality represw t vic a rious gra tific a tio n s o f infantile

 E ro tic Fo n d a 237

cra vings B ut the truth o f this has been establishe d

.

bey o nd do ubt It may be prematu re t o as sert that

.

all such a tt a cks and spells are er o t oge neti c in the

“
specifi c sen se of serving to c o ver up ona nistic
”
sprees ; but thei r psy chic character isti c s rese mble
tho se o f crypti c onanism sufi c ien tly to suggest that
they a re in fa n tilistic ou tbreaks of the same o rder .

It is proba bly a f act that in the ca se of women

, ,

sho rt fainting spell s and certa in ch a ra c teristic sh ort

a bsen ces serve vi c ariously the sa me purp o se as p o l

luti ons often do in the m ale But sudd en inf a ntilis

.

tic regre ssi o ns in the fo rmo f psy choleptic att a cks

are common to both sexes .

The fun c tional fainting spells may o r m a y n o t be

a c co mpa nied by physical evidences o f onanism In .

either case the asso ciated fan cies as rev ealed thr ough
,

psy cho a nalysis leave no doubt a s to the sign ifica n

,

of the attacks and the fun c ti o n the la tter fulfill in

the subj ec t s uncons c i ous
’
.

S pells of this c h a racte r a re t ro ubleso me They .

interfere with the pursuit o f o rdina ry preoccupa

ti o ns The ment al states imm ediately f oll o wing them
.

are cha ra c teristic of the fanci es with which they are

linked in the un c ons ci ous Usually the subj ects feel
.

dej ec ted depressed and fa tigued Briefly the sta te

, .

“
of mind may be desc ribed a s a vaguely floating sen se
”
of guilt in cho a te but a t times o verwhelming The
, , , .

se nse is bedimmed since th e re i s no awa ren es s of any

rea s o n for entert aining such a feeling : neve rtheless
238 8 03 t S am :

”
“
guilty co nsci e nce seems the suitable descr iptive
term whi ch by analogy may be applie d t o the st a te
of bewilderment and depression f o ll owi ng th w e spe lls .

The vi c tims themsel ves are oc c asionally awar e of thi s

fact A cl a ssical inst a nce is Dosto evsky s maste r ly
.
’

desc ription of his ment al condition f ollowing hi s

epilepti c atta cks H e states tha t the po st epilepti c
.
-

depression resembles n o thi ng so much as the sen se

of guilt one w o uld feel after co mmitting
mentiona ble ho rrible c rime
, .

It is n o tewo rthy tha t the s ame incho a te feeli ng

a nd sense of depression often follow o rdin ary mas
turba tio n , a fact whi ch h as natu rally fo r tified the
-

po pul ar be lief tha t the a c t itself is dange rous In .

the dep ression and feeling of guilt as sociated wi th

ma stu rba ti o n the victims of the habit fin d th eir
worst fea rs cor robo rated The un conscious elements
.

to which these efiects a re rea lly due stand beyo n d the

'

threshold of ordina ry awa reness The fanc ies t o .

which all auto eroti c a c ts an d spells relate themselve s

-

a nd of whi ch they beco me ungo v erna ble outw a rd ex

pressions a re dee ply repressed ; but in vi rtue o f their
—
a r ch aic infantile and from the standpo int o f adult
,

—
consci ousnes s immo ral unethi cal even criminal an d ,
,

perverse chara cte r the inner pro mptings unta med

, ,

a nd unco ntrolled give rise in co nnection wi th their

, ,

symbo lic expressi o ns t o those v a gue but overwhe lm

,

ing feelings o f depres si o n fear d o ubt o r guilt , “

, ,

the c ase ma y be which a re typic al al so of on ani sm

,
.
240 S ec o nd thc S ca m
en han ce s fea r since eve ry un res o lved co nflict te n d s t o
grow and enlarge its spher e .

On the other ha nd the po wer of a uto stm tio n

should n o t be overestima te d Autos ugge stio n fun c
.

tions only wi thin the limi ts made possible by the sub

j s
’
ec t s conflict .Autosuggestion is not re spon sible
for the co nfli ct proper ; the latter is due t o the cl a s h
of mo tives a nd forces .

The a nxi ety and w orry resulting fro m c on fl i ct

ma y also be disguised i n th eir tu rn That serves
, .
,

appa rently as an additional protec tion aga in st the

,

t rue mea ning of the co nflict piercing thro ugh a n d

into the field o f co nsciousness The simul a ti o n o f
.

emoti o nal sta tes is th us a pro tec ti ve function But .

it may als o ha ve a self punitive functi on ; or it ma y

-

combin e bo th .

These facts a re little kn own t o the general p ra c ~

titio n er a nd will pro bably appea r mo st strange ; but

t o the trained psy ch ologist they a re ma tters o f
eve ryda y observation .

Two such exa mples o ne o f a p ro tective simula

,

ti o n the othe r co mbining self punishmen t and p ro

,
-

tec tio n as the unco nsci o us moti v e for the sim ul a ti o n

o f organi c disea se ma y be menti o ned b riefly
, .

The first is the ca se of a very intelligent a nd un

usually talented young l ady a musici an of wide ,

reputa tion wh o se professional c a reer was seri ously

,

threa tened by a ve ry painful c o ndition involving her

right hand She had been treated by nerve spe ci al
.
 Mosked Aa to E ro tism -
241

ists f o r a long time He r co ndi tion grew worse and

.

she ch anged trea tment m aking the rounds of vario us

,

c ure s and cults including n ew thought hypn o tism ,

and Christian S cien ce electrical trea tme nts a nd

,

“ ”
ne rve to uic s having fa iled to sh ow any results .

Every new t rea tment helped for a while But the .

imp ro vement did n o t l a st : a nd ea ch time she l o st

in the end more ground tha n she had gained She .

t u rned to psy ch oa nalysis as a last reso rt .

It w as fo und tha t this young woman s tro uble had ’

c ome o n sho rtly after re so rting to ma stu rba ti o n a ,

ha bit which she had struggled against and h ad given

up repeatedly Inqui ry into the exa c t circumsta nces
.

and an alysis of the ass oc ia te d fancies revealed tha t

the painful contrac tions of the hand aro se as a
mea sure o f protection against mastu rba tion It .

“
w as so to speak an act of revulsion against sli p
, ,
”
pin g back . This seemed the chief unconsci o us m o
tive a lthough ther e was also a n elemen t o f se lf
,

p unishment in the transferen ce of the conflict f ro m

the psy c hic to the physica l sphere As a child she .

ha d been left o nce in the ca re of her a unt who m she ,

“ ”
hate d and wh o threatened to cut o f her hand as
,

puni shment for a trifle which to her mind and prob ,

ably t o the a unt s had di s tinct ero tic co n no ta ti ons

’
, .

Tha t incident she ha d never forgo tten .

So l o ng as th is y o ung woman s fea r of the couse

’

q u en ces of m a stu rb a tion and feelings o f s hame a nd

guilt persisted the co nditi o n o f her hand pro ved re
,
fra c to ry to t rea tmen t Wi th the fears and the se lf
.

dep reci a tory feelings pa rtly allayed the h an d im

proved somewha t but the t ro uble returne d aga in a n d
aga in us ually after m asturba ti on h ad been ind u lge d
,

in After a time during which the a ssociate d f an cie s

.
,

were revealed and subj ected to c are ful analy si s the ,

masturba ti o n habit a nd the tro ublesome co nditi o n

of the h and disa ppea red a like, this time pe rm a nen t ly .

In the other ca se the self puni tive ( lamtatio mr )

'

-
,

motive was p reemin ent The pa ti ent a young man

.
, ,

had bee n treated for a n obstina te co ndi ti on w hich

in the end p roved to be a hyst erica l pseudo t abs -
.

The tro uble was t raced to fea r and to the inte n

“ ”
tion to b ring upo n o ne s self deserved punishmen t
’
,

a wo rking out of the sense of retributi ve j usti ce

which often ta kes pla ce symbolically , as one as pe ct
of the conflict .

In his anxiety t o rid himself o f the m astu rba tio n

habit against whi ch his mind h ad been inflamed ( me
evening by a popula r lec turer he went out tha t ve ry
evening to seek the c ompa nionship of a pae lla p ublica
as perhaps the lesser o f two evils An infec ti on
, , .

“ ”
foll owed a slight pimple or ulcer which he, a
,

young bo y at the tim e and too abashed to se ek

medi c al aid t reated secretly From that time o n
, .

he never cea sed to wo rry E very ache eve ry pain

. , ,

eve ry sympt o m that de veloped no ma tter f rom wha t

ca use ma de him think o f his misfo rt une He turn ed
, .
244 S ex a nd the Se nse:

c lusivel y by physical me ans where as under the cir

, ,

cu msta nces the co ndition requi re s a combin e d me

,

dicina l and psychic course of t rea tme nt .

The erotic c harac ter of the gra ve r hyster ica l an d

psycholeptic attacks is deepl y masked a nd ca nno t
be rec o gnized on the su rfa c e Those who s till a t
.

“ ”
tach faith to su rfa c e psychology an d w ho ign o re
-

the deeper mechani sms fail to unde rs ta nd these c o n

dition s Th ey miss the orgastic summa ti o n o r e ro tic
.

c limax cha racteristi c of o n anism they find n o pe r

,

cep tio n of a ny sense of gratification since the

p a ,

tien ts on the contrary complain of dis t re ss an d

, ,

from a surface ex amination the conclusi o n is rea ch e d

th a t the spells ha ve little or n o thing in common with
ero tic gra tification With fore plea sure disguised
.
,

end pleasure suppressed and the spell re vealing only

-

fatigue torpo r wearin ess and distress the re is

, , ,

nothing left by whi c h to identify the c ha racter of

the atta c k so far as surface appea ran c es are co n
ce rned But an exami nation of the deeper mech a n
.
~

isms shows th a t genetically these atta cks a re sub

stitu tive forms of auto eroti c indulgences
-
.

Wh enever infantile unwel c ome and forbidden l o ng

,

ings break to su r face in the form of some sens o ry o r

moto rial ex c ita tion it is subj ectively percei ved as
“ ” “ ” “
pa inful ; in su c h c ases pa inful means forbid
”
den ; on ly thus masked d o infantile p ro mptings o f
a certain a rch a ic type find sen so ry mo to r expression-
.

Again I must point o ut th a t th ese various psychic

 Mmk sd A to E ro tica!
u - 245

mecha ni sms are t oo co mplic a ted to be o utlined in

ge ne ral terms in su ch a way as to adeq uately co ver
the particulars of every ca se which may come under
obse rvati on In additi o n t o the gener al rules briefly
.

mentioned herein whi ch sho uld prove helpful ea ch

, ,

ca se presents peculiarities whi ch must be c onsidered

with relati o n to the pa rticula r co n ditions of that
ca se on the basis of a tho ro ugh familiarity with the
p rinciples and technique of the ne w psychology .

The questi on wheth er ma sturba tion is po ssible

with o ut the att a inment o f a pleasurable c limax mus t
be a nswe re d in the affirma ti v e Just as the un co n
.

sc io usly s ought advantage s mask themselves und er

pa inful sensations so the summati o ns may be rep te
sented symboli cally by pa ro xysms o f pa in fainti ng,

spells co nvulsions etc

, , .

Naturally victims of such seri o us diso rders kn ow

little about bo dily functi o ns and much less abo ut
mental mech a nisms They are likely to find such
.

views wide of the mark H o w can so unpl ea sant an

.

in ciden t as a fainting spell or a co nvul sion be c on

side red in any way related to eroti c promptings ?

They argue that the assumption is unj ustified be ,

cause su rfa ce appea rances a re against it .

But these co nditions and their psychic mecha nism

n eed no t be t o pi c s for argumen tati on It is not
.

necessa ry to a rgue with a patient Let him induc

.
,

tively as he p ro ceeds from fa ct t o f act di sco ver

, ,

for himself the ir inte rnal rel a ti o ns hip a nd meani ng .

246 Sw an d tl m sr
The an alyst aids him in ge t ting at the fa cts in hi s
o wn a se ; the pa tien t do es the rest an d in time
c
pe rcei ves the i r a ll embracing co nnection
-
.

The sensatio n s of skin and mucous membr an e fu r

ni sh the earlies t e rotic ma teri al and they re m a in
a mong the mo st powerful infan tile indulgen ce s w hich
under va ri o us forms guises a nd t ransfo rma tions may
,

pe rsist th ro ugh out life .

co nditions is but a slightly v eiled auto ero tic fo r mu -

lation E c zema is proba bly as often erotoge n etic a s

.

induced by o rga nic c o nditions Even when due to .

distinct physi cal causes itching may i n cite erotic

are as ; on ce it bec o mes complicated in that way o rdi ,

n ary means o f treatment pro ve futile The re fra c .

v

t ory na ture of many skin troubles i s due t o the ag

gravation of the physi cal causes by ero toge netic
factors if the latter a re no t wholly responsible fo r
,

the co ndition Fo r that reason it is no t eno ugh to

.

find definite physical causes an d t o argue tha t the

trouble whether dermal or invol ving o ther at mo
, ,

tures is wholly amenable to physi c al meth od o f t re a t

,

men t Lo ng after the physi c al in c iti ng fact o rs dis

.

appea r the trouble may persist ; it often does ; a nd

in su c h cases the t rained psy ch o analyst ca n render
v aluable service .

S pe rma to rrhea is ofte n a tr o ublesome c o nditi on .

I ts relationship to sexual abst inen ce is significan t .

I t h as been ascribed to a l arge v a riety of cau se s ,

248 S ex and the Same)

quen tly i n cite thi s highly se n sitive a rea an d fla r e up

a dorma n t ten den cy to shift a uto e roti sm upo n the
-

a n al sphe re The sphin cte r pl ay s a ve ry impo r t an t

.

r61e in thi s co n n e ctio n a n d by substitutio n th r o ugh

an alogy a ll othe r bo dily sphi n ct e rs a nd const rictin g

mus cles may bec o me in volved .
 If we t ake into co nsidera ti on forms o f cryptic
independent of mecha nical proc edu res ,

—
psy chic onanism proper we open up a subj ect o f
endless vari ety It w o uld not be po ssible t o treat it
.

fully within the limits o f the present vo l ume More

.

over the subj ect has not been subj ected to scientific
,

scrutiny until recently although intuitively man y

artists a nd w riters ha ve given wonde rful flashes o f
insight into it a nd devo tional religious lite ratu re is
repl ete with da ta o f highest interest ; our knowl edge
is f ragmentary and no systematization o f data has
yet been attempted The time has not yet arrived
.

for a co mpletely ro unded o ut statement of all the

aspects which psychic o nanism pres en ts f o r c ritical
s crutiny.

In view o f the p res ent s ta te o f our knowl edge o n

the subj ect I shall record here only a few ge ne ral
observations These will serve to indicate the sub
.

tle ty a nd ext reme co mplexity of the subj ect Its.

p ra cti cal impo rtance can ha rdly be ov e restima ted .

In the fi rst place it has be en known for a long

time that da y drea ming reveries an d the like lead to
-
, ,

ec s t asies no t unmixed with er o tic co lo ring

. Pe rsons
250 Su md ma
the S

o f both sexes are o ften quite clearly awa re o f the

“ ”
eroti c c ha racter o f the i r purposeless reflectio ns
and reveries This h abit has a st rong h old np o n
.

them p recisely because o f the ero ti c in dulge n cc s

whi ch it per mits so freely .

But sexual topi c s do not always appea r f rankly a s

such du ring the reve ries Rega rd for the di ctate s o f
.

co ns ciou sness leads to most el a borate dis to rtio ns

—
whe reby the a ut o ero tic chara cter and especi all y the
arch a ic degree of the infantil e fixa ti o n is hidden a nd
suppress ed .

Religious formul a ti on s fu rni sh the widest ra nge o f

subs titutions and co vers for auto ero tic indulgen ce s
-

o f this type When the pent up impulse s are ex

.
-

trem el
y a rch a ic and overwhelming they le a d to w
stati c states whi ch un der religi o us fo rmulati o ns a re
”
asc ribed to saintliness and in the absence of such
“

formula tions are f rankly re co gni se d as psycho

In either ca se the s ubj ec ts are unawa re that their

ec s ta tic preoc cupations a re libidinous in the infan
tile sense For that reason they find it possible to
.

indulge the pent up erotic promptings and these

-

bre ak fo rth in symbo li c manifestations .

E c stasy is a state of suppressed c onscious nes s ; i t

is sha rply divided from o rdinary c o n scio usness a nd
re p resents a typi c al regression to some l e vel o f in

fa n tilistic hallu cinosis ; it is a break in the co ntinuity

o f co nsci ousness making possible the reena ctment of
25 2 S car mad the S m
the differe n ce may lie enti rely in the symbolic fo rmu
latio ns and in the interpreta tio n s forma lly gi ven
,

them In all these va rious cases the eroti c cha ra c

.

ter of the symbo lism beco mes appa ren t the mome n t
inquiry pro cee ds beyo n d surface appea rance s .

Lov e will not be den ied ; it c raves expressi on i t ,

demands gra tifica ti on ei the r m its attenua ted o r i t s

,

gross fo rms The c o existen ce o f difl e re n t grade s

'

. ,

so to speak or m o re properly the appos ition o f

, ,

various levels of love a gainst ea c h other within the

individual ea c h craving supremacy each demandin g
, ,

the individual s whole capa city b rings abo ut co n

’
,

flicts religi o us m oral and s o ci al

, , .

If certain c usto ma ry c ha nnels are dammed up by

the individual s gro wing sense of mo rality and if he
’

still rema ins an infa nt psychically he will find ,

religious formulations not o nly a substitute but a

pa rallel path for the ill uso ry atta inment of infantil
istic cravings Religion is an ideal so po rific to co n
.

“ ”
sc io usn ess and fi rst aid t o the unco nscio us The .

religious minded virgin wh o is den ied a n ea rthly

lo v er the unhappily married woman who canno t be ar
,

the disappoi ntment the w o man fittin gly mated but

,

whose cravings pers ist upo n so a r chai c a level that

their satisfa c tion is unattain able beyond the peri od
—
o f ea rliest infan c y all such victims of emoti on al
,

fixa tio n s may tu rn to a l over mo re p re ci ous than any

earthly companion and with him ente r into ecstatic
“ ”
j oys unknown t o th o se wh o do n o t po s sess religi on .
 Psy chic Auto -
Ero tic ": 253

The erotic m a nifests itself under vari ous degre es

o f primitivity There are levels of ero tism s o in fan
.

tilistic so a rcha ic in ch a ra cter , as to disre gard a ny

,

ba rriers of age co nsanguini ty o r o ther rel a tion

, ,

ship The m ore a rchaic the infantile c raving the

.

less go vernable it prov es B ut to wha tever level

.

auto erotism bec omes fixed it is equally ins a ti able ;

-

adult means do not fully c rea te a sen se of sa tisfa c

ti o n so long as the lo ve c raving rema ins inf a ntile .

The c raving su rpassing all means o rdina rily av a il

,

able fo r its gratifi c ati o n compels the adult to resort

,

either overtly or thr o ugh the use of the ima gina ti o n

to measures and mea ns w hi c h a re n o t pe rmissible
du ring ordina ry relatio n s be twee n pers o ns These .

ext rao rdina ry means enhance the illusion of gra tifi

ca ti on ( though o nly fo r a time ) They a re either .

”
what are c a lled unna t ural pra c ti ces if o vertly
“

c arried out o r supe rna tu ral experiences if fo rmu

,
“ ”

la ted in phantasy un der the guidan c e o f r eligio us

doctrines and symbo lisms The fo rmer co nstitute
.

the subj ec t matter of sexual pathology while supe r

-

natural experien c es a re kno wn as spi ritualism mys ,

ti c love rel igious e cstasy a n d mysti c ism ge nerally

, .

B oth classes of phen omena re present in large pa rt

a berrations of the ero tic instinct .

Under the guise of religious fervor t here are open

t o the predispo sed individual a venues for in fa n tilistic
expression whi ch would be intolera ble otherwise .

Wh a t is mo re the respect able standing o f religi o u s

,
 8t
'
264 t

mystici sm pro te ct s the individual s co nsciousn ess a n d

’

a t the sa m e tim e pla c es him in an advan ta eo n s si

g p o

tion with refere nce to so ciety A c haste vi rgin ma y

.

“ ”
a band o n he rsel f t o the mo st go rge ous love spr e e s-

t aking her divi ne spouse into copa rtne rship a n d ,

du ri ng her ecstasies go th rough expe rience s un

,

known in the ordi na ry marital state S he atta ins .

saintliness ; while her irreligi ous minded sister fin d s

-

c ie t
y in ar ms a ga inst her .

Many favo rite old t ime go spel hymns and re viv al

songs pa rallel the ero tic image ries of fol kl ore an d
mythology Th ose who a re deeply moved by the s e
.

songs and by simil a r religious fo rmulations are un a

ware o f the c ha ra cter of the deep lying moti ves that
-

stir the m Thro ugh indulgen c e in su c h symbols ther e

.

a re co nj ured up in qu asi h allucina to ry form re ver

,
-
,

ies and feelings well defined in psy c hopathology bu t

which the aver age man or w oma n wo ul d find m ost ia
tensely re pulsive in the absence o f the religi ous a t
mo sphe re and symbo lism .

Fr equen tly ero tic p reo ccupati o ns a ss ume overtly

the form of extre me ave rsi o n This is a well
.

known m ental pro cess — rep resentation by oppo sites

, .

Thwarted love turns into ha tred of the unattain a ble

obj ective Persons whose in fan tilistic fixation a s
.

sumes this guise become zealots in the prosecution o f

alleged offende rs They are m ost vo c iferous de
.
i

fend ers o f publi c mo ra lity Their repressions so

.

stro ngly se nsitize them tha t they are able t o disce rn

25 6 S ea: a nd the Senses

B u t the purity crus ader wh o dea ls in p romo tes or ,

delibe ratel y invites vi o lence whose meth od is to sti r

,

up exa ggera te prosecute suppress etc bet ra ys

, , , , .
,

thereby an in ner compulsion which he obeys blindly ,

as all vic tims of confli c ts cannot help doing .

Obsessive p reoccupation with su ch a t opi c as sex,

whe ther o n its po siti v e or reve rse a spect under the ,

fo rm o f ext reme a version fulfills psy chi cally a simi

,

“ ”
la r functi o n Excessi ve c once rn with pu rity rep
.

”
resen ting figu ratively the o bve rse o f sexu ality
, ,
“
,

is in truth an e rotic obsessi o n .

Compulso ry acts thoughts and impu l s es owe their

,

sci o us which invests them wi th a hi gher degree of

imper a tiv eness th an their o wn significa nce w arrants .

When t ra ced within the individu al s psyche s ooner ’

o r l a ter they a re found linked to y o uthful indisc re

tio n s or infan tile habi ts whi ch the vi ctims a re aux
ious t o get rid of o r a t on e for th rough exces sive
, ,

zeal in the opposite di re cti o n Wh en th ese f acts

.

ba se d on the psychology of unco ns ci ou s pro cesses

sha ll be more commo nly known men a nd w o men will
,

hesi ta te to ma ke public confessi o n of the i r ungove rn

able inne r conflicts by enga ging in spe ct a c ul ar cru
sades to improve o r pu rify o the rs .

Fear do es n ot a c t as a dete rrent s o much as it

drives its victims to ado pt substitutes The habit .

of masturba tio n is f re quently aba ndon ed through

fea r, so fa r as appea rances ind ica te but this inv a ,
~
 Psy chic Auto
-
Ero tica: 25 7

ria bly lea ds t o latent neuroses which break o ut

sooner or later upo n a slight pro v o c ation.

As an educative weapon fe ar is worse th a n use

less Young people ha ve been seriously abused an d
.

inj ured th ro ugh the employmen t of methods which ,

in the last a nalysis are but refinements of violence

,

and fea r Lea ve o ut o f cur re nt sex instruction the

.

statemen ts intended to inculcate fear and what is left

“ ”
c o n sists of ma udlin t a lk about the sacredness o f
“ ”
marria ge the holin ess of se x etc Se x educa tion
, , .

a s exploited to day is the most obscu re and the lea st

-

sc ientific subj ect The first edu cational steps in the

.

right direction a re yet to be devised S o far as po p

.

ul ar inst ruction is conce rned the subj ect is in its

p i-
e sc ie n tific ph as
. e
 It is a fa ct well kn ow n t o ma ny o bser ve rs th at
the ma sturba tion ha bit when abandoned un der the
compulsion of fea r is not really cu red . S udd e n
abandonme nt of the habit may cause v ario us ne r vo us
distu rba nces and ma y mark the beginnin g of a neu
ro tic outbreak Whenever this happens it sh o w s
.

th at the individua l concern ed has be en pr e vaile d

upo n or ha s forced himself t o gi ve up the habit
, ,

bef ore he w as prepa red and for the wr ong re a s o ns

, .

It is always for o n e of the v ery worst reasons if the

mo tive is fear Ethi cal and hygienic argumen ts o f
.

themselves do n o t poss ess the po wer to abolish the

ha bit
.

Indee d a cert ain amo unt of fear only strength e ns

,

the hold that the habit h as upo n its vi c tims It .

enh ances the sense of pl a ying with dange r This is

.

sho wn fo r ins ta nce in the fa c t that the relative

, ,

h a rmless chara c ter of mastu rba tion itself is an

se rva tion whi c h leaves most victims incredul o us .

They are unwillin g to a c cept the idea This is so

.

partly be c ause they cra v e the s ense of danger itself

as so mething which enha nces the unco nscious role
masturba tion fulfills in their ca se .
260 S es asd ths S ma
In time o na nism lin ks itself to many ncc essa r y a c ts

a nd also initiates substitutiv e habits o ther wise me an

Of the many examples suggesting the mselve s , the

well kno wn er o tic excita tion value of certa in me th ods
- -

of t re a tm ent may be mentioned as a typ ical ill ust r a

”
ti on Not o nly irregula r practices but diagn o stic
.
“

and the rapeuti c procedures of recognized va lue

a nd sta nding are somet imes effecti ve chiefly on se
co unt o f their excitati o n value Many p ro ced ure s
-
.

and ma nipulatio n s a re tempo raril y efl ec tive be ca use

'

in ways unknown to physic ian and patien t alike they ,

a mo unt to a kind of psychosexual pa lliati o n Wi th .

out ta king into considerati o n the pa tient s unco n ’

scious attitude it is not always po ssible to gauge the

reas ons why certa in therapeuti c measures fail in on e
group o f cases and meet with gra tifying succe s s in
a similar group unde r circ umst a nces apparen tly
iden tical .

Experienced gen er al practition e rs and spe ciali s ts

have lo ng known tha t ce rtain necessary proced ure s ,

di agn o stic as well a s ther api e are capa bl e of appeal

,

ing to the pa ti e nt fo r other tha n stri c tly p ro fes

sio na l reasons .

The physici a n s attitude is strictly pro fes sion al

’

i n the co ns ulting ro om Proba bly no other p ro fes

.

si o n has achieved a simila r degree o f obj ective de

ta chmen t But this o bj ecti ve deta chmen t is n o t re

.

c i ro ca l
p In
. the eyes of his p atients the physician is
 Medic al F a ds 26 1

also a ma n to a gre a ter o r lesse r exten t. The pa ~

tient a unco ns cio us attitude towa rds the physi cian is

’

deter mined by co nsiderations whi ch inc lude also as

pee ts o ther than the merely pro fessi o nal rel a tion

There is a most impo rtant chapter as yet n u ,

w ritten whi c h belongs to m edical prac tice : it sho uld

,

“
be entitled approximately the Auto erotic Value
, ,
-

and Function of Di agnosti c and Therapie Pro ce

”
dures . S u c h a study would have to take into co n
sidera tion many of the instruments and appli a nces
in the s urgeo n s a rmamen tari um : many if not most
’
, ,

of the various therapie procedures which ha ve had

their day ; and a co nside rable number of current
practices The study would reveal that pa tien ts
.

“ ”
use thei r physician and his medi c ines in more than
one sense ; also that they re cei ve more tha n the
physi cian untr ained in psychology is aware o f

S ea rch fo r new auto erotic ex cita tions is l a rgely

-

respo nsible for the rise of no v el c urati v e pro cedures

a nd for the resuscitation of old pra c ti ces under new
names The dema nd exists and it is bei ng supplied
. .

The ther apic proof is a poo r test of v alidity .

Almo st anythi ng may c ure for a while H ydro -

.

therapy magnetism Eman uelism and other p ro ce

, ,

dures h ave had thei r day and may swing around

a gain In its da y so me scoffed at m agnetism for
. ,

in stance as enti rely outside the rank of ea rnes t

,
history o f magnetism One of the most in te lligen t
.

wom en of the nineteenth centu ry H arrie t M arti

,

nea u was cu re d of serious in validi sm through m ag

,

n e tism an d in gratitude t oo k up its defense .

a hl
y any one of a numb e r o f o th e r meth o ds
have proved equ ally efl ec tive .

Let us recognize frankly tha t the li bidinous ot a v

ings which pati ents un co nsciously seek to gra tify
may seize upo n any therapic pro cedure as a mean s .

a
guiding fo rc e will be p ro pe r
r cia ted medi c a l
ly a pp e

pra ctice and the rapy will undergo a radic al tr an s

264 S ex an d the SM

anchored a nd dissol v e the ba nds that tie hi m do wn

to his own infantili sm In the pro porti on in which
.

he succ eeds in d oing so the pernicious habit disa p

pea rs As he lea rns to gi ve up infantile at titude s
.

tow a rds adult pro ble ms infantile habits cease ha ving

a tremendous hold upo n him ; the conflict loses its
Thus the logic al and most e fl ec tive
'

strength .

therapi e pro cedure is refeduca tio n thro ugh self

'

knowledge .

It is not en o ugh t o explain to t ro ubled s ubje ct s

tha t thei r worry over the habit is la rgely self
ge nerated Even if they should be induced t o see
.

this they c annot help it a nd it does not improve

,

their t rouble They m a y feel tempo rary relief

. .

B u t the habit persists S ooner or later th ey are.

in as ba d a co ndition as formerly or wo rse .

Onanism may be l oo ked upon as a reser vo ir habit

which ta kes in fancies the cons c i o us co unterpa rt of
whi c h is remo rse and self depreciation The se fan -
.

cies and vague promptings mu st be tra ce d by the

analysis o f the s ubj ect s unconsci ous Nothing sho rt
’
.

o f self mast e ry achiev ed thro ugh a knowledge o f

-

o ne s un consc ious promptings h olds o ut the pro mise

’

o f an effec tive a nd lasting cure .

There are many i n stances of co urse in which the , ,

pr a ctice of o nani sm is gi ven up a fter a tiln e with out

an y rec o u rse to special measure s But tha t ha ppens .

o nly in c ases in which the habit is no t weighted d o wn

by excessive self rep ro ach In the absence o f a guilty
-
.
 Therapeutic N a tes

c onsci ence ge ner a ted by the a c c reti o n o f n ume ro us

in fa n tilistic promptings o f most a rchai c cha ra cte r ,

the ha bit simple and uncompli c ated in itse lf is

, ,

ea sily outgrow n or bec omes transposed int o a ut o

erotic excita tions readily tolerated .

Cu ra tive reedu c ation must take into conside ra

tion the basi c fa c t that in the human species the
sexu al insti nct in addition to fulfilling a racial
,

fun c tion is als o the primal instinct aro und which

,

the soc ial se nse tends to a chi eve its highest exp res
si o n In o ther words the eroti c h pulse is the raw
.

material o ut o f which the individual s wh ole lo ve life ’

un folds itself The higher the f o rms under whi ch

.

we l ea rn to exp ress the instin c t that is the fa rther

, ,

away f rom its infantile type we sublimate o ur ca

a city for l ov e the healthier stro nger a nd m o re
p
m
, ,

e c ie n t o ur social relations bec ome ; old habits l o se

thei r m a ste ry over us in the propo rtion that we

become ma ster of ou rsel v es through the understan d
ing of our psy chi c resour c es .

As with all o ther sensuous indulgences the tro uble

with onanism is that it leads to o versaturation a nd
l o ses its pleasurable chara cter That is one reaso n
.

why it brea ks o ut in so many fo rms The pl eas ure .

craving instinct ba ck of it seeks an enhancement of

gra tifi c ation through new channels But the new .

c hannels do not represent anything re ally new In .

crease in stimulation als o o ffer s n o satisf action after

a time Mo re of the s ame kind o f stimulation under
.
,
no ma tte r wha t new f o rms dulls ra ther than sati s fie s
,

a n d brings on un rest That is why subj ects ex

.

p e rim e n t,cons ciously or o therwise wi th,new au to

eroti c mea ns and a re never fully satisfied Tha r

'

“ ”
infantile cravings drive them to beco me va rie tists ;
but so long as the cravings are maintained upo n the
infantile level they remain unsatisfied because adult
existence d oes not pro vide adeq uate mea ns beside s
impo s ing require ments of its own The only fl c ien t
.

way of dealing with cravin gs is to 1mm to transmute

them into expressions which suit the adult level o f
exis tence .

Inf antile o na nism requi res n o speci al t rea tme n t

it dis appe a rs o f itself except in ra re instances and
, ,

in such cases the app ro priate pro phylactic measur e s

depend on pa rticular circumstances a subj ect—
,

which I ca nnot take up at present In o rdin a ry .

ca ses it is o nly nece ssa ry to take gen er al precn a

ti on s It is advisable for instan ce to limit the han
.
, ,

dling o f the infant t o what is strictly neces sa ry for

cl eanliness and to avo id all excessive fondling Im .
'

medi ately foll owing weaning from the breas t or milk

bottle there 18 generally no ticed a strong fla ring up
of the auto ero ti c in dulge nces There is nothing
-
.

alarming abo ut that Weaning represents a ra ther

.

serious psychic chan ge which ma y am ount to a

trauma if the inf ant s whims are unduly met by an
’

overfond mo th er o r nu rse That must be guarded

.

against A child s chara cter t raits a re moulded

.
’
,
 CHAPTER XXX IV

The inchoate blind d ri ve standing a t the co re o f

all sentient existence c lose to the bott om o f the
,

sc ale of a nimal life splits into f ood a nd sex h un ge r .

Thencefo rth c raving fo r f oo d and sex hunge r c c

exist each bl oss oming into c omplex ma n ifes tati on s
,

as we ascend the scale of life At the same time.

these prim al drives maint ain innumerable po ints

o f identity thro ughout sentient existence In the .

hum an ra ce sex and food hunger expres s them

,

selve s a nd a re described metaphoric ally un der simi

l a r s ymbo lisms The l angu age of hunger whe the r
.
,

food or sex hunge r is frequently the s ame

, .

The co mmon exp ress ivity o f sex a nd fo od hunge r

has a broad genetic bac kground The fert iliza tion.

o f the egg among the higher metazoa like the split ,

ting up of the amo eba into two daughter cells, i s

bu t a highly specialized form of the nutriti o n a l
pro ce ss The body of the higher animals bea rs the
.

s a me relation to ovum and spermat o zoo n respec

tive ly a s the parts of pl a nt and flo wer d o t o st a men
,

and pistil .

Indeed the anim al body is a n envel o pe o r rather

, , ,

a seri es of outer l ayers co vering protec ting and

, ,

se rving the physical bea rer of racia l surviva l The .

 Hun ger an d S ea: 269

br ain the wh ole nervous system as I have already

, ,

h ad oppo rtunity t o mention is but a highly spe

,

c ialized de velopmen t of the ectoderm or extern al ,

embryonal layer ; it is a part of the outermost layer ,

folded in and en cased in a bo ny structure for its

own protection so that it m a y in turn serve m o re
, , ,

effic iently .

With the da wn o f in tellectu al fa c ulties a nd o f

self cons ciousness the primal life urge fo od and
-
,

sex hunger split up in to a bewildering c omplexity

,

but the two forms of c ra ving stil l retain their c om

mon modes o f symbolic expression Thei r bas ic .

unity is at no time completely lost .

The language of Co urtship and Lo ve reflects and

vi ca riously expresses also the nutritional cra ving .

This is t rue of all forms o f lo ve in cluding the ,

pa rental When th e emotion of lo ve is very tense

.

it is apt to bo rrow the jargon of anthropo ph agy .

“
The lo v er who tells his sweetheart that he could
”
eat her is n o t rare The lo ving mother often
.

“ ”
pl a yfull y threaten s to ea t the baby bec ause she
l oves it so mu ch or feels like c rushing it in her
,

a rms It is an old jargon an old feeling o lder

.
,
—
,

th an the human race by many ae ons Like many .

other reverberations from the dim past of life s his ’

tory su ch exp ressions a re a c c epted as perfectly

natural They ha ve been indulged in and accepted
.

all over the ea rth This j argo n older than a ny

.
,
270 841 00 4 !t

spoken l anguage finds its pa rallels among a ll p e o

,

ples and races It is pa rt of our common he rita ge

.

a nd belongs to the fee lin g ma ss tha t sta nd s lin k e d

b

t o o ur physical st ructure .

The po int of fusion betwe en the nut riti on al libid o

and the sexu al urge is respo nsible genetic a lly fo r , ,

much of the mysticism with which l ove toge ther with

its irradiations is surrounded .

Lo ve is c oncei ved as a cra ving for union a nd

idealized under that form The craving for unio n
.
,

of course has its ideal aspects and the hum an

, ,

r a c e is in the pro c ess of evolving them but the ,

j argon often represents but a harking back t o the

biologic beginnin gs of love ; only excepti on ally d oes
it express the on c oming form of love between hum a n
beings .

The typi c al and most universal attac hmen t is

that of the infant to the mother and next to the , ,

father This attachment the matrix of all l ov e

.
, ,

is dist in c tly prompted by the need for food and

prote ction but it forms the foundation out of which
,

later all other forms of love are evol ved The sense .

of satiety and the feeling of security is what the

infant s lo ve grows upo n Furthe rmore the infan t s
’
.
,
’

relation to the pa rents its feeling attitude is often

,
-
,

influ en c ed by subtle or trivia l incidents ; but in the

long c ourse the latter a ffec t its whole subsequ ent
,

life history j ust a s a spa tial difie ren ce o f a few

'

,
272 Sa aa d tt m cs
subj ec tive and obj ec tive a re one The momen t .

when it becomes awa re ever s o dimly of a n in n e r

, ,

an d an outer world of self and non self an d p a r

,
-
,

tic ula rly the manner in w hi c h this awareness bloo ms

,

fo rth during the early stage s a fl e c ts fo r go od o r

'

evil the subsequent devel opment of human pe rso n .

It is usu ally during the third year of life tha t

this aw a reness devel o ps a l o ng with the sense o f
self although that great di c hotomy whi c h i s the
,

moti f of all philosophy and of all religion ma y c as t ,

its shadow earlier Along with the dawn o f sel f

.

co mes the knowledge of other selves pa rticul a rly ,

the feeling that m o ther father other children, c a t

, , ,

dog e ven objec ts are entities apa rt from self

, , .

What is the child s feeling attitude towa rds this

’ -

dawning vast world of obj ecti ve reality filled wi th

other re al a nd ima gin a ry sel ves ? Whate ver it ma y
be in a specifi c case that feeling attitude is dete r
,
-

mined spec ific a lly by the c hild s early relations t o its

’

parents The infant ile sense of all powerf ulness

.
-
,

necess a rily present so long as the dichotomy be

tween self and non self is non existent gives w a y
- -
,

slowly perhaps haltingly or even protestingly t o

, , ,

the newer sense of dependen c e On the other hand .

the c hild m a y adopt v ery read ily the new feeling

attitude Its t reatment by the parents or nurse
.
, ,

or educator decides the course that the child s de

,
’

velo pme n t takes at th is c riti c al and most impo rt a nt

 H an ge r an d S ac 273

peri od The harm that may be do ne a t this peri od

.

in a sho rt time may not be c ompletely undone later

by years of c orrecti ve eff orts It is at this period .

that the development of the personality o f the c hild

is largely determined and gi v en permanent di rec tion .

At the time of its dawning sense of self the child

may preserv e the feeling attitude that the parents -
,

f ood a nd pro tec tion a re still somehow pa rt of self

, , ,
.

Exce ssi ve tenderness wrong and untimely display

,

o f a ffection the weakness often disp layed by parents

,

towards the first or the youngest or the only child

, , , ,

in c idents su ch as an illness often turn the s c ales

, ,

in the wro ng di rec tion Under su ch c irc umstan ces

.
,

the c hild lo v es its parents if at all not through a , ,

sense of dependen ce but with the feeling th a t they

are lesser parts of its self and later as lesser ,

selves B riefly the primal feeling o f all powerful

.
,
-

ness tends to pers ist The infantile world outlook

.
-
,

so to speak is not gi ven up but only modified

, .

The lo ve of such a c hild is like the lo ve of a Jeho

va h for his c reatures Jeho v ah is a typi c al infantile
.

God j ust as Ch rist po rtrays the obverse infantile

,

—
divinity the dependent type Jeh ov ah a nd Chris t
, .

a s types are fairly a cc urate po rt rayals of the early

two infantile stages .

The illusion of omnipoten ce typi c al o f ea rly in ,

fan tilism is en han ced by the automatic manner in

,

which the infant s nut ritional needs are s atisfied

’
.

Livin g a pa rasiti c existen ce the infant is depri ved ,

274 SM M Wm S a

o f a ll se nse o f efl o rt
’

move mefl s a nd o ut
fl a ter its
cries rouse the ill usion o f all powe r fulne ss be c a use -

they lead so qui ckly to s a tisfacto ry resp on se the y ,

appa ren tly c onj ure up c omfort and food M o ther .

a nd the nu rse are q ui ck to interpret the chil d s n u ’

to ma tism s and to antic ipa te its needs An outc r y .

means the brea st or the milk bottle or a w a rm

, , ,

dry ch ange o r s ome other comfort The in f an t

, .

associates with its outcries all these improveme nts

in its feeling s tate It need on ly dimly perce iv e a
-
.

w ant a n d it is fulfilled : Go d s aid Let there be ligh t ; ,

and there was light !

The ge netic identity o f sex cr av ing an d flo o d

hun ger and the interch ange able cha ra cter of the ir
symboli c expressions in human life a re in p ar t r e
sponsible for the persistence of love upon imm a t u re
levels alth o ugh of co urse o ther factor s pl a y
, , ,

impo rtan t role in the ench a inmen t o f l ove t o

appetite .

A being bringing into adultho od the sens e o f all

po werfulness reflec ts th a t feeling a ttitude in his -

lo ve relations as his fi c tive ideal A m an o f s uc h .

type loves his sweethea rt or wife as he loved his , ,

—
mother wh en he was an inf ant as a reflection o f ,

sel f The self centered lo ver loves himself in others

.
-
.

His chosen belo v ed is to him but a means for

self enhancement fo r reintegra tion upo n the ah
-
,

c ient infantile level In turnin g to his bel o ved he

, .
,
 CH APTER XXXV

The sense of smell is the first to arise a s a sp e c i a l

mea ns of adaptation out of the difl use tactile se n si
'

tivity . It M ame o f ext reme significa nce in c o n

n ec tio n with the trans ition o f anim al life f r o m
aquati c to terrest rial existence For info rm a tio n
.

regarding their environment the lower vertebr a te s

“
depend upo n smell whi c h is a species of co nt a ct a t
,
”
a distanc e as mu ch as upo n ta ctile sensiti vi ty
, .

Tou c h is physi cal olfa c tory sensibility chemica l

, ,

“
but their f un c tion identic al . S mell is chemic a l
”
touch . In the c ase of the snail to mention a ty p i
,

c al inst a nce illustrating the phyletic histo ry of the

sen se smell seems di ffused o ver the w hole surf a ce
, .

The sn a il m a y be said to smell with its w hole body .

In other species the highly spe cialized antenna o r ,

feelers are sensiti ve alike to touch a nd smell G r ad

, .

ua lly the sense of smell becomes differentiated a nd

a cqui res specifi c organs of its own .

The lower vertebrates a re largely go verned by the

sense of smell in sec u ring food a vo iding da nger
,

a nd ad a pting themsel ves generally t o the environ

ment Thei r brain c ons ists c hiefly of the olfactory
.

a rea thus sho wing the preponder a nce o f smell sen

,

276
 The S en se of S mell 277

sa tio ns o ver the functions of the c ortex Most m am .

ma le too pos se ss a highly de veloped olfactory area

, , .

Their c erebr al ac tiviti es must present a c orrespo nd

ing olfactory tone The information they deri ve
.

thro ugh the sense o f smell is very sharp and deli

,

c ate ; olfaction is c apable o f yielding informa tion

rega rding remote dangers as well as dist a nt pros
p e c ts for food . It is the sense up o n which m a ny
a nimals depend to rea c t in time to the objects that
c oncern them The primiti v e b rain has been called
.

primarily an appendage of the smell app a ratus .

Am o ng the vertebrates below the ape all the opera

tions of the impu lses expressed in a c tivity involve
, ,

olfa c tion At many of the lower levels life is largely

.

gove rned by olfaction .

The predo minan ce of olfa ction among the verte

brates in v ol ves intima te asso c iations between the
sense of smell and the function of sex Among m ost .

m amm als s exual asso c iations are chiefly olfactory .

The stimuli whi c h result in sexual ex c itement a c t

never so unfailingly as when they a re invoked by
the sense of smell .

AmOtig the higher apes the prepo nderance of

smell is rapidly lost H ere vision assumes the po si
.

—
tion of first impo rtan c e n e xt to general sensiti ve
,

ness Man is distin c tly visual Nevertheless even

. .

in the human species the sense o f smell is not with

out a certa in sexual value It has been found tha t
.
278 Sw an d flw S oma

no reaction known in na tu re not even che mi c a l , re

a c tion or spectral an alysis is as delic a te a s he

, ,
t

be sensiti ve in an esthetic sense They are a w a r e o f .

subtle vari ati o ns of od o rs which they a re o ften c a

pahle o f interpreting .

Od ors , go od and bad are universa lly p rev a len t

, .

Nearly everything in nature ha s its cha racteris tic

odor either al o ne or in combinatio n Met a ls when
,
.
,

perfectly clean and free from trace s of co nt a ct

with skin or salt solutions are s aid t o be fre e of ,

odo r but under the conditions of moist ure th a t

,

p revail in nature even metals yield c ha racteris ti c

,

olfactory reactions We a re c ontinu ally bathed in

.

an o cean of odors j ust as we are immersed in a

,

sea of air Perha ps if the sense of s mell w e re

.
,

abo lished alto ge ther human life would contin ue

,

very much as it is but a t one time in the dim p a s t

,

this was n o t the c ase In is olated inst a nces the

.

sense of smell co ntinues to this day to play a v er y

predominant role The nati v es in some regi o ns co n
.

tin ue to display unusual keen ness of smell This 18 .

by no mea ns cha ra c teristi c exclusively o f primiti v e

peoples .

With referen ce to the development o f the sense o f

smell the indi vidual pa sses through v ari o us pha s es .

The child is at first insensiti ve to the odors whi ch

a re l a ter perceived a s unplea s ant It may even .
280 Su and the Sfl -
sa

No wonder Roussea u co nsidere d smell the m e of

the im agination and a n eccent ric Germ a n l a ger
, , .

wro te en thusiastically on smell rega rdin g it a s the

,

essence of the so ul .

While sexu al selectio n a mo ng othe r mamma ls is

governed la rge ly by olfaction in man the s ense !if
,

smell ha s l ost th is fun ctio n At the same tinn e it is

.

probably true tha t the role of olfa c tio n in hum an

life is un de r val ued This is certainly the case with
v
.

the rcle o f the sense o f smell in the sel e cti on a nd

enj oyment of food The sense of tas te is cre dited
.

with the pe rception o f nume rous flavo rs As a m a t .

~

ter o f fac t taste covers only four chief se n sa tio ns

—
of ga st ronomic v alue s w ee t s o ur bitter a nd sa
,
, , ,

line
. All other fla vors a re in reality odo rs We .

appraise fo od c hiefly and first by its odor tho ugh

, ,

we think we tell its qualities by the taste alone .

With its appeal to imagination the sense o f smell

has suggested innumerable fan c iful notions re ga rd
ing lo ve a ttra ction Chemi cal a ffinities an d com ic
.

att rac tion ha ve been specula ted upon as f orm s o f

love : S hak espea re s :
’

Purple the sails and so pe rfumed tha t

,

The win ds were l o ve sick with them

-
,

strikes a responsive chord . And W

o s rd worth
’
s

’
T is my faith , that every fl ower
Enj oys the air it brea thesr
 The S ome of S mall 28 1

is as eas ily understood S uch specul a tions are

.

am o ng the m o st typi c al in dulgen ces of the ado les

cent mind and go ba c k e ven farther to the inf a ntile ,

custom of personifying the obj ec ts and forces o f

na tu re The classic al philosophi c systems of Greece
.
,

fro m Thales to Plato are formulations typical of

,

the fan c y weaving mind o f youth The Empe do

-
.

clean system for instance redu ces the fo rces of the

, ,

whole universe to the bi polar passion of the hum a n

-

so ul
, Lo ve a nd H ate The four primordial ele
.

ments Earth Water Fi re and Air are mingled

, , ,

harmoniously under the supreme rulership of Love

, .

A c co rding to Empedo cles H ate intervenes bring ,

~
,

ing abo ut separate forms The individual as

.
,

against the cosmi c harmony is a product of H ate , .

First plants a re formed then animals or rather, , ,

sepa ra te o rga ns uniting later with one another .

The res ult of these haphaza rd unio n s are strange

combina tions human heads on the bodies of anim als
, ,

or horned heads on the bodies of men anim als of ,

double sex Th ese monstrosities disappear while

.
,

the harmo n ious combinations more fittin gly ad a pted ,

to thei r en vi ronmen t ten d to survive an d multiply .

This is the essen c e of the Greek pre D a rwinian ,

-

theo ry of e v olution based specul a tively on the

,

operation of a n alleged cosmic principle o f Love

and H ate .

In the c hapter o n Lo ve in his Anatomy o f Melan

“

”
c ho ly , B ur ton q u otes fro m an Ita li a n treatise which
282 Sw an d tl m cs
appea re d in the X VI Centu ry in R ome un der the , ,

ti tle Dialo ghi di Ama r a by J ud ah Leo or as he is

, , ,

called upon the title page Le on e Md ic o di n o xious , ,

B hrao e di po i fa tto c n stia m It is a str ange

’

.
,

medley of met a physics theol o gy , ast rolo gy M

, ,

cal erudi tion and medie val speculation l ik e m o st o f ,

the writings of the tw o do ze n autho rs who m Burton

quotes on the subj ect of An c ient a nd Medieval lo ve .

The speculati on s of this author a re as typical of

the ebullien t adole scent age as they a re c har a cter
istic of the Mediev al type of min d Like E mred .

o c le s Le o speculates on c o smic att r ac tion and iden

,

tifies it with lo ve H e disting uishes three deg re es

.

in the prin c iple of lo v e,— na tural sensible and ra , ,

~

tio n a l . Natural love is that whi c h attracts obj ects

in nature holds the stars in their c ourses m akes the
, ,

“
rivers fl o w to the se a etc H o w c omes a l oa d
, .

stone t o draw iron to it the gro und t o c ove t

”
showers but for love ? asse rts B urton and add s :
, ,

no stock no stone that has not so me feeling

, ,

”
of love .Sensible love is th a t whi ch prevails a mong
anim als while the highest form ration al lov e, i s
, ,

sha red by God angels and men , .

The tendency t o speculate and to s oa r int o the

re alm of myth building while c o n sidering the sub
-

j ec t of love is not the

, prerog a tive of a particul ar

type of mind Even so pronounced a materialist as

.

Ludwig B iic hner author of the famous K mfl t a n d

'

S to fl which a ttracted c o nside rable a ttenti on

'

,
284 S ex a nd the S ense s

tenable conten tion that the children of tw o sou ls

mated in lo ve inherit the worthy cha racteristics o f
the latter Pe rhaps more than any other wo rk this
W
.

novel along with Goe the s S orr ows of

,
’
erthe r is ,

respo nsible for the persisten c e and pop ul a riza tio n o f

“ ”
the notion of l ove a ffinity in modern times .

S pecu latio ns of this type involving the principl e

,

of lo ve a n d embra cin g the whole of na ture ar e n o t ,

uncommon among those whose s ense of smell pl a ys

a n impo rtant part as an in c enti ve to the use o f the
ima gi n ation Go e the as is well kno wn was dee ply
.
, ,

sensitive to odors especially perfumes an d flo we rs

, .

A remarkable fusion of the nut ritiv e an d sexual

fun c tion of odor in nature was re vealed when
S prengel first dis c o vered the pro cess of the fertiliza
ti o n o f flowers by insects The insects a re a ttra cte d
.

to the flowers by their color and perfume While .

S pren gel observ ed th a t the insec ts brush o ff the ir

wings and feet some of the fert ilizing pollen th us
carrying it to the pistil part of the flo wer it w as ,

Da rwin who first c learly per cei ved the rfile that the
insects thus play in the c ross fertilization of pl a nts .

The mutual adaptation of flowers bees butte rflie s , , ,

humming birds et c is one of the most fascinating

-
, .
,

c hapters in biology The operation of this prin ci

.

ple depends large l y on perf ume o r smell as we ll , ,

as on c ol o r and tas te .
 CHAPTER XXXVI

The stimula ting po wer of odo rs has been reco g

n ize d empiric a lly long before it bec ame the subj ect
of s cien tific interest Numero us aromatics c onta in
.

ing volatile oils have been used to aid dige s ti o n and

circulation as well a s stimulants for the nervo us
system Th at olfacto ry sensations h ave a strong
.

influence upo n the v ase moto r system thus re acting

-

up on the emotions has long been popular ly recog

n ized. Certa in odors a re strong stimul a nts but in
large doses pro du c e depression through a kind of
senso ri al intoxi c ation In former times when the
.

me di c in al use of odorifero us substan ces was wide

spread it was ba sed on their stimula ting eff ect upo n
bo th the in vol untary and v olun tary mus culatu re
, .

In this therapeuti c practi ce has but fo llowed

,

—
popul ar us age the knowledge amassed empiri c ally
,

th a t odors and specifically the body odors in fl u

, ,

en ce the feelings It is a widespread popular belief

.

tha t the specific odors of the body under cert a in

,

ci rc umstan c es play a tonic and sexu al rfile

, .

Not o nly are all men and all women odoro us

, ,

this univers al pec uliarity differs among the va rious

r aces acc ording to age ha bits sta te of health and
, , ,
other circums t ances Clea nline ss ma y do awa y w ith
.

o fl en sively in trusive odors

’
But it is a n e rro r t o
.

a ss ume tha t the bo dy o do rs a re due to ha bits of un

clea nliness alo ne .The po we rful body o d o r o f
negroes for instan ce is a c hara c teristi c w hich n o
, ,

a blutions or other hygieni c measures can a bo lish .

It is s a id that members of the diffe rent c o lor e d

t ribes ma y be disting uished by their cha r acteristic
odor The So uth Am u ioan India ns ha ve a lso a n
.

odor peculiar to that race which ma y be f ur the r,

distin guished a ccording to the tribes .

The odor of the Caucasians is less punge nt tha n

tha t of the da rker ra ces but is not wholly absen t
,

e ven among the whitest pe o ple The white pe o ple .

are considered as a ra ce more odoro us th a n the

, ,

Japanese .An interesting study of the odor o f

Europea ns w a s made twenty years ago by Ada d i ,

a Ja panese anthropologist who des c ribed it as a

,

sweet o r bitter pungent penetrating smell absen t

, , ,

before adoles c en ce an d in the aged and ce nte ring ,

c hiefly around the arm pits .

Strength of body odo r depends on the number and

size of the sweat glands the amount of hai riness
-
, ,

the degree of pigmentation a nd the sta te o f bo dily

,

activity Thus numberless variations are possible

. .

As a rule persons are n o t so sensiti ve to the odo rs

c haracte risti c of their own nation ality or ra ce a s
they a re to the odors of others Many observe rs .

are su rprised to find that the Chinese for inst ance, ,

288 S ex a nd the S a me:
s ain ts Body odo rs a re stro ngly infl u ence d by
.

nervo us states so that at one time od or w as c o n

side red of diagnostic signific a nce i n me nt a l d isea s e .

The body odor is complex It is m ade up o f a .

number of sepa rate odo rs with different degre e s of

intensity th at blen d a nd fu se a c co rding to acti vity
, ,

age an d emotional sta tes There is in the fir st

, .
,

pl ace a general derm a l od o r which is a faint a nd

, , ,

on the whole agreeable fragra nce n oticea ble p ar

, ,

tic ula rly a fter washing The hair and s calp h a ve

.

an odor o f their own whi c h is ch a racteristic The

, .

odor of the arm pit v arying from a faint aroma t o

,

m
a p ungent smell and the odor of the brea th are als o
,

ore or less distin c ti ve In cert ain person s the .

od o r of the feet is markedly intrusive In bo th .

men a nd women the perineal region is richly en

,

dowed with sweat gla n ds an d exhudes a stro ng o dor .

There a re in addition the odors characte ristic o f

, ,

the sexu a l pa rts in the male that of the preputia l

,

smegma in the female the combin ed odo rs of the

,

vulvar secretions and of the v aginal mucus and ,

lastly the c haracteristi c menstrual odor E ven in

, .

cleanly persons most of these odors may be det ec ted

under normal c onditions perhaps faintly except , ,

under ex c itement when the od o r is intensified

, .

The intimate associ a ti o ns between the body odo r

a nd sex is revealed fu rther by the fact that they
d o not assume their c ha ra c te ristic qua lity and pun
'

gen oy un til puberty an obse rvation we owe to H ip

,
 Olfa c tion 289

po c ra tes. The inf ant s body odor is whk unlike

’

tha t o f the adult It is said that cert ain observ ers

.

are able to distinguish the age o f a person within ,

ce rta in limits through the testimony of smell al o ne

, .

Mothers often suspect the onset o f adol escence in a

girl by the a ppe a rance of a specific od o r in c on nec
tion with the excre ta The girls th emselves some
.

times no ti ce a pungently stro ng smell about their

body as the first w a rning of the a pproa ch of men stru
ation The body odor cha racteristi c o f the adult is
.
, ,

a persistent secondary sexual manifestati o n in spite

of the loss o f significance o f olfa c ti on as a fa cto r in
sexu al selection Emotional states and parti e n
.
,

la rly sexual ex c itation st rengthens some of the ,

body odors Thi s is very marked both in men a nd

.
,

in women , during sexual intercourse During the .

sexual embra ce men are said to gi ve forth a t times

an odor tha t h as been vari o usly des c ribed as o f ran
c id butter or resembling chlorofo rm and a s pro
, ,

c ee din
g from the b re a th a nd fro m the skin Con .

tin e n ce in the male is also said to be asso c iated with

a cha racteristic o do r not unlike that o f animals in
,

hea t A certain saint is c redited with having been

.

able to re c ognize c h astity in the m ale by smell alone .

Just before the onset of menstruation wo men

o ften exhale a ch a ra c teristic odor not unlike chlor ,

oform or violets sometimes described a s a smell of

, ,

leather an d this a pa rt fro m the od o r o f the men

,

stru al fluid This od o r is at times very strong

. .
Ce rta in investiga to rs m aint a in that in a dditi o n to
,

their fun ction as lubricants the gl a nds ar o und the

,

vulva r orifice gi ve o ff an odo riferous sec reti o n p o s ,

sibly a s a n a tt raction to the ma le The aro m a tic

.

odor given o fi by the vulvar secretio ns during sex

'

ua l excitemen t at times ma y be st ro ng and pun gent

en o ugh to permea te the whole roo m An cm t writ~ .

bed this pe c ulia rity as a go a ty smell

er s ha ve desc ri
“

”
pro duce d by v enery a nd t hey went so fa r a s t o
rega rd it as cha racte ris tic of the newly married
women o r as a sign of deflo r a tio n R ecen t obser v a
.

t io ns tend to show that nymph omania is f re quen tly

ass o cia ted with keen ol fa c tory sensi tiveness .

The body odors a tta in their adult quality only

with the onset of puberty The odors persist a n d
.

undergo v ariations in ha rmony with sexual develo p

ment The state of sexual excitation has a m arke d
.

influen ce upo n the quality and intens ity of the odo rs .

Briefly the odors of the body beha ve in m o st t e

,

spec ts as a sec ondary sexual c har a c ter It is n o t

.

“ ”
surprising therefore to find that strongly sexed
, ,

persons show the c hara c teristi c odors while the b ody

odo rs of the eunu c h for instance are less marked
, ,

than those of a ma n with norm al testicles Where .

the primary s exual c ha racters are weak the sec o n ,

dary sexu al characters are also below the a verage .

It is sign ificant th at a cc ording to Fér é the im

, ,

poten t m ale finds sexual odors most repugnant This .

was noticea bly the case also in an inst ance o f

.
o rgan is to o u
o bt se , to mell to ta k e p re c e
en a ble s

den c e of sight Nevertheless in many pe o ple it is

.
, ,

proba ble tha t ce rta in odors especi ally tho se t ha t

,

a re c orrelated with a healthy and sexua lly desi r a ble

pe rson tend to be agreeable they are fo r tifie d by
, ,

their associatio n with the loved perso n s o m e t ime s

,

to an irresistible degre e and their po tency is do ubt

,

less inc reased by the f act th a t m a ny

in c luding so me bodily odors are ne rvous ,

”
lants.
 CHAPTE R XXXVII

N ose a nd sex have been v a ri o usly ass o ci at ed .

There has always been pre v a lent a widespread ten

deney to c orrel a te the size of the o lfa c tory organ
with the degree of sexu al matur ity or with the size ,

of the sexual organs A l a rge nose has always been

.

taken to signify a large male organ in popular ,

thought There is in fact a marked in c rease in

.
, ,

the septum of the nose normally du ring puberty

, , .

Certa in intimate connections between the olfac tory

a n d sexual regions ha ve also not fa iled to attract

po pular attention .

The belief that a large nose means a la rge male

orga n was well established among the Ro ma ns and
is expre sse d by O vid : N o scitur a naso quan ta sit

ho sts viro M a n iagcr : E mpe ro r of the E ast con

’
.

t ains a referen c e to this belief specifically a ref

,

erence to sexual a rd o r in the fema le as m ea s ured ,

by the len gth of the n o se :

H e r nose whi ch by its length assur es me
,

Of sto rms at midnight if I fail to pay her

The tribute she expec ts .

( Act II S c ene 1,)

At fi rs t gl ance the correla ti o n seems physical But .

the belief implies also the function of the nose as the

29 4 S ar t md thc S ea m
olfac tory orga n The reference is specific ally to
.

the function al role o f the o rga n the size being but ,

a measure o f functional efi c ien c y in sexual selec

“
tion In the past physi ognomists and o ther char
.
,

”
acter re aders d own to phren ol ogists ha ve m ade
, ,

a gre a t dea l of the size o f the n ose as a n in dex to the

a rdo r m a lis
s . The belie f is wide sp re ad to this

nose a nd sex .

“
The fate o f innumerable girls h as been de cided
”
by a slight upward o r d o wnwa rd curve of the n ose ,

sta tes S c ho mha w P ascal s remark tha t if Cleo .

’

pat ra s nose had been but a trifle large r the who le

’
,

po litic al geo graphy of o ur planet might ha ve fol

lowed a difl eren t co urse is o ne of the histo ric bo a
'

mo ts .

Length o f nose un iver sally ad

is by no means
mi red . Not only did the ancient H uns , dur ilig the
age of Attila fla tten the n oses of the ir inf ants with
,

“
ba nd ages for the sake o f exagge rating a natural
,

”
co nformation but to this d ay to be called Lon g
, , ,

no se is considered an ins ult among the Tahitia na ,

the Malaya of S umatra the H ottentots the natives , ,

of B ra zil and certain n egro tribes Flat noses are .

a physical characteristi c and therefore the fashion

amo ng the Esquimaux among Chinese whose no se , ,

is depressed as a whole and among the Mala ys, ,

whose no se is dep ressed o nly in the lo wer ha lf .

29 6 S an a nd the Sensor

and A rethus a have well f o rmed and re gul ar fe a t ure s

but I am qui te sure that if yo u lo ok at them wit h
out prejudice you will thin k neith e r re a che s e ve n
,

the a verage sta nda rd of pretty English girls The .

Ven us Urania suggests at first the ide a of a ve r y

c harming person but you will find there is no rea l
,

depth nor sweetness in the co nto urs looked at cl o se ,

ly. And remember these are ch osen ex ample s ; the

,

bes t I ca n find o f a rt cu rrent in G reece at the grea t

time ; a n d ev en if I were to ta ke the celebr a ted
statues o f whi c h only two or three a re ext ant , n ot
,

one of them ex c els the Venus of Melos ; a nd she as ,

I have al re ady asserted in The Q uee n of the Air ,

has nothing notable in feature ex cept dignity a n d ,

simpli c ity Of Athe n a I do not know one authen tic

.

type o f great beauty You need only l oo k a t

.

two o r three v ases of the bes t time t o ass ure y o ur

selves that bea uty of feature w a s in po pul a r ar t , ,

not only unattained but un a ttempted ; a nd fin a lly

,

this you may a c cept as a conclusi ve proo f of the

Greek insensitiven ess to the most subtle beauty
there is little evidence e ven in their litera ture a nd
, ,

none in their a rt of their having ever perceived a ny

,
”
beauty in infancy or ea rly c hildhoo d .

Nevertheless though the ideal of G reek be a uty

,

w a s the masculine youth for the divine nose the

,

Greek artist turned to the contours of childh ood ;

the Greek nose so called is one th a t forms a st ra ight
,
-
,

line with the forehead and is a lso st ra ight in it se lf .

 Ths N ow 29 7

N o h oll ow a t the ro ot where n o se j o ins forehead

, ,

is t oler ated by the Greek artist But absence of .

that hollow is c hara c teristic of early c hildh ood It .

gi ves the whole fac ies an expression of etern al y o uth

and perhaps that was the intent o f the Greek a rtist .

“
H en ry T Fin e ]: st a tes : the Greek s admiration of
.
’

such featu res as are naturally assoc iated with youth

ful masculine beauty no doubt led him in choos ing ,

a wi fe to gi v e the preferen c e to similar fea tu res ,

,

including the G reek nose Yet in the absen c e of

‘ ’
.

opportunities for cou rtship S e xua l Selec tion could

,

not operate very extensi vely ; hence it is probabl e

that ungainly noses though not so ext ra v agant as
,

a mong the Semiti c races were c ommon enough in

,

G reece as in Rome In the Dark Ages hideous noses

.

must have pre vailed everywhere as might be in ,

ferred from the fact that Ro ma ntic Lov e w as n u

known and physical bea uty l oo ked o n as a sinful
,

po ssession ev en if the painted and sculptu red po r

,

tra its did not prove it to our eyes in most instances .

Regarding m odern noses it may be said that

the nose is such a prominent fea ture that mo re has
been done for its improvement through the agency ,

of Lo ve or S exual Selec tion than for the m o uth

, , ,

”
o r any o ther feature ex cepti ng the eye
, .

Fin e !: finds the average Englishman s nose to day ’ -

“ ”
a tolerably shapely organ though the S axon ,

an cest o rs were admittedly far from distinguished fo r

beauty o f n ose a nd quotes on this po int G A S im
, . .
sos Sa c ad fl c Se am

p ro port ion s of sn ub n ose s -

and pug oss
-t
, but when

ten ded to be be a k ha wk s bea k th a n

’
a ( ra ther a an

ea gle s
’
) , while the S axo n n o se te nde d to be a
p 1
-
o

In bo th men a nd women there h as been deh tely

asce rta ined a rema rka ble relati onship be twe en the
o lf a cto ry porti on of the mucou s membr an e o f the
no se a nd the fun ctio ns o f sex. The two sbo w a re

cipro c al m
y p
s a the tic in fluen e e so tha t c han ge a in
the geni ta l sphere a fl ec t
'

the n a s al mu c o us m m
a nd rever se ly . Tbe ex a c t me an iug a nd the mechaa
ism o f this ass oci a tion rem a ins conj e ctural It has .

been c alled the no se gen it al reflex a nd seems mo re

-

prevalent am on g wome n .

Th is cu rious relationship sets in early ; in fa ct

it begins with the age o f puber ty During the time .

when the sexual gl a nds u n de rgo the ch a nge s o f m a

turity blee ding o f the nose is a f requent o ccu rren c e
and may assume ann o ying propo rti ons In the .

female after the onset of menst ruati o n the flo w ,

sometimes is displaced by a profuse epistaxis a — ,

vic ari o us menstruati o n Bleeding o f the n ose h a s

.

also been known to o c cur durin g sexual exci temen t ,

o r du ring inter cou rse a s well as d uring o r a fte r , ,

mast urba tion For a time it wa s the fa shi on a m o ng

.
,
300 S ama nd the S en ses

h allucina ti ons a re pa rticul a rly pro n e t o o ccu r due ,

to the presen ce of u terine t ro u ble, o r t o the fla ring

up of sexu al c raving .

Mental a berr ations assuming a religious t urn a re

ver y often assoc iated with hallucina ti o n s of the
c hemi c al senses smell and t aste A su rprisingly
, .

large number of religious lea de rs, such as F ran cis

of Ass i
,si Las sa rc tti K a tha rin a E m
, me ric h a nd ,

many of the chief Anaba ptists ha ve been victims o f ,

olfa ctory ha llu cinations This is also t rue o f

.

E ma nuel c dmbo rg .

The nasal congestion at the peri ods of sexua l

a ctivity or excitation as d uring menst ruati o n or
, ,

during the sexual embrace and all the as s o cia ted ,

fa c ts which constitute the ao c alled n aso gen ita l - °

reflex may be a reverbe ration in the huma n ra ce o f

,

that intimate conn ec tion between smell and sex o h

served throughout the animal world .

There are endless va riations in the olfa cto ry sen ‘

sitiveness of persons all within the ra nge o f physi o

,

logical proces ses .In some persons the se nse o f

smell is so keen and the olfacto ry im ages so vivid
that they may be c onside re d a type ap art not unlike ,

the better known visu al auditory o r psychomoto r

, ,

types of mind The mental and emo tio na l li fe o f

.

these persons has a st ro ng olfa c tory tone Un de r .

certain conditions of emotional stre ss o rdina ry

persons likewise ma y become sharply sensitive t o
olfactory infl ue nces A rt ists a nd w riters f requently
.
 The No e
s -
Genital Reflex 301

displa y su c h pec uli a rit ies The em o ti o na l appeal

.

o f odors has bee n stro ngly emphas ize d by poets of

the dec adent s c hool like Baude laire and by n ovel
, ,

ists of the naturalistic branch of the re alistic s ch ool ,

like Z ola and in his earlier work H uy sman s

, , .

Just as the function al ripening of the sexua l

orga ns increases olfactory acuity in the young s o
the w an ing of the s exual powers in the old is frs
quently associated with a fla ring up o f the sense of
s mell Men in whom sexu al desire is stro nger than
.

the virile po wer may find vic a rious gra tificati o n in

sexual odors Olfacto ry fetichism is not r a re Not
. .

only the company of women but the odo r o f wo ma n s ’

ga rments f requently gra tifies those who lack sexu al

vigo r and m a y be c raved with the ardo r of pa ssion .

The odo r of woman yields a vica ri o us gratification

to th ose wh o are inc lined to wards olfacto ry feti c h
ism The fetichism o f cl o thes a nd a rticles o f wea r
.

often invol ves an olfacto ry element S ome feti c hists

.

a re attra cted only by w o rn a rticles such as c o rsets ,

bodi c es under garments st ockings garters o r

,
-
, , ,

glo ves making a collectio n of these A cl assical

, .

instan c e of this form of attraction through perso n al

odors is G oethe s well known confessi on tha t o nce on
’

l eaving Weimar for an o flicia l j ourney of two da ys ,

he took along a bodice of Frau von Stein s so as to ’

ca rry with him the scent of her body B odily odors .

play also a decis ive role in the obj ect feti chism o f
h o mosexuals The excha nge o f pe rso n al a rticles o f
.
802 Sw aa d tt mn

may ha ve an olf acto ry basis Most sc a t o l ogic al .

t rends interest in urine in the fe ce s etc r ev o lve

, , , .
,

almost wholly a round the sense of sme l l The se .

tr ends mo re widely per sistent amo ng a ll cla sae s

a re

than 18 generally recogni zed The app ositi on o f the

.

lips to the s exu a l pa rts cunn ilin gus an d fell a tio

, ,

respe ctively is the expres sion of a t a ctile c ra vin g f o r

,

union but among those wh o practice this fo rm o f

sexual ca ress the pleasure is enhan ced by the excit a
ti on of the olfactory sense tho ugh in so me c a se ,

smell pl a ys no pa rt in the a ttra c tion .

As a sexu al stimul a nt od o r is ove rsha do w e d by

the impressions a roused thro ugh the othe r se n ses ,

parti c ularly vision ; nevertheless it is no t W itho ut its

significance and in certa in c ases it may a s sume a
preponderant role O rdina rily in man the sense
.

of smell is too blunt to ass ume an ything lik e the

significan c e it plays in sexu al attraction a m on g the
o ther a nimal species But that od o r influe nces likes
.

and dislikes that it occasionally makes o r mass

,

relations between the sexes is true no t o nl y of ,

primitive peoples but o f all cl asses of hum a n s o cie ty .

Lovers among primitive peoples exch ange the ir ga r

ments partly beca use they desire to be bat hed in the
body odors of the beloved In the barba ric st age s o f
.

so ciety the prepo nderance of odors in sexu al s e le c

ti o n is c learly re cognized and deliberately cul tiv a te d .

Pe rso n al odors a re dwelt upo n in cou rtshi p a n d in

 CHA PTE R XXXVIII

The use o f ar tifi ci al pe rfume s , which w as ra i sed

to a great art among certain peo ples has a ris en o ut
,

o f the desire t o heighten or disguise the na tu ral b ody

odors a c co rding t o the existing st anda rds and f ash
ions Incidentally this has led to the devel o pme nt
.

of a very re fined esthetic s ide to olf acti o n Wh ile

.

a rtificial perfumes a re intended to enh ance pers on al

cha rm in general they act specifically as sex ual
ex citants This is l a rgely due to the fact th a t the
.

perfumes derived fro m nat ural products a re m o s tly

the sexual odors of the anim al wo rld in va rious de
grees o f refinement They a re not unlike the per
.
~

son al odors they a re intended to heighten or disguise

by subtle variations and substituti ons The p er
.

fumes produced t hro ugh chemi cal synthes is in the

laboratory for the most pa rt duplicate the sex ual
odors foun d in nature Musk is obt ained f ro m the
.

preputi al seba ceo us glands of M o sc hus mo schifm s .

Ci vet is obtained from the glands o f the male a n ima l

of that n a me and castoreum is a similar p roduc t
of the male beaver Nearly all the widely known
.

perfumes were a t one time of anima l o rigin ; a fe w

were derived fro m flo wer s In m odern times chem
.
 Psy cho Biology of Odor s
-
305

iatry dis pla ces these sources with synthetic l ab

orat o ry p rodu c ts But all pe rfumes whether o f
.
,

anim al o r vegetal origin a nd all the syntheti c pro d

,

ucts may be said to be sexual in their a ppe al

, .

The perfume of flowers is given 0 5 to a ttra ct the

insects on whose v isits the respective plants depen d
fo r cros s fertili zation
-
The odo rs o f the an im al
.

glands whi c h yield the mu c h prised perfumes a re dis -

tin c tly se c onda ry sexual chara cters The produ c ts .

of the chemical labo ra tory imitate or even impro ve ,

upo n the odoriferous substances found in nature

, .

These odo riferous essences pervading bo th the animal

a nd the v egetal world stand distin c tly in the service
of sexu al selection The fund a menta l identity of
.

odor links the plant world with the animal w o rld

and bo th with the huma n species Through the rea lm .

of olfaction nature a c hiev es a subtle functional unity .

The body odors of m an ha ve much in c o mmon with

the odors of the animal world and with those of the
v egetal w o rld .The realm of olfaction is one
througho ut nat ure I t links all existence The
. .

human odors normal as well as abnorm al a re con

, ,

stan tl
y c ompared with a nim a l and pl a nt o dors ,

su c h as chloroform musk or violet because they

, ,

h ave a co mm o n qu ality .

It is not surp ris ing therefore t o find th a t per

fumes play the sexual r61e p rimo rdi ally possessed
by the body od o rs “
. Me n o f st rong sexual tempe ra
men t Man tegna “: observed l o ng ago , in his F isio
,
”
306 S ex d the
an Sen se s

the s exu al p a rt s ha s, bee n at one time

disguise the natural body odors Ain o n .

wh o regard absence o f body od or a bl

wo mm have natura lly t ried to o ve rc o m

uni v ersal c usto m in ancient times a nd m

the pe rfumes preferred by women we re g e n

strongest those most distinctly sexu al
, ,

mus k civet and

, T Q f these ,

chief of the O do r ss gro up w ,

to the c apryl gro up of odors is sexu all y

signifi cant has a very signifi c ant hist o ry
, .

a ncient per fume Its name is Pe rsian like

. ,

of all our chief perfumes whic h are si the ,

o r Persian thus showing their 0

,
or

the word is tra cea ble t o a Samk rit root 8

“
testicle.
”
Musk odo rs a re widel y di
thro ughout the a nimal and vegetal wo rld .

H e mloc k Ellis holds is in dic std by the f

“
,

with which the w o rd musk f orms part o f t

‘ ’
308 Sa ma riu m
en tirely to the exhala tio n s of the muaky bo dy

m
.

u
The spec ial signific a n c e o f musk . . lie s no t o nly

in the fa ct tha t we ha ve here a perf e wide ly sca t ,

te rad th ro ugh o ut na tu re and often in a n agre e a ble

form whi ch is at the s a me time a ve ry fre quen t
,

pers o n al odor in man Mus k is the odo r which no t

.

o nly in the a ni mals to whic h it ba s given a na me ,

but in m an y o thers has a specifica lly sex ua l o do r

, ,

c hiefly w itted during the sexu al season The sex ual .

odors in deed o f most a n im als seem to be modifica

, ,

tions o f musk The S phinx m o th has a musky odo r

.

which is confined to the m ale and is doubtle ss sexu a l .

So me li zards have a musky odor which is heigh tened

at the sex ual seas o n c roc odiles during the pairing
,

se ason emit fro m their submaxillary gl ands a musky

od or which perv ades their haunts In the s a me way .

the eleph ant emits a musky od o r from his f a cial

gl a nds during the rutting seas o n The od o r of .

the musk duck is chi efl y confined to the breedin g

-

seaso n The musky odor of the negress is s aid t o

.

be he ighten ed d uring sexu al excitement .

“
The predomi n a nce o f musk as a sexual o do r i s
ass ociated with the fact that its a ctu al nervo us in
fiuen ce apart from the presence of sex ua l a ss o cia
,

tions is very considerable

,
In former time s
.

musk enj oyed a high reputation as a cardiac stimu

lant ; it fell into disuse but in recent yea rs its use in
,

asthenic states has be en revived and excellent re ,

su lts it has been claimed, h av e fo ll owed its ad

,
 Psy oho -
Biology o f Od o rs 809

mini str a tion in c a ses of collapse from Asiati c ch ol

era For sexu al to rpo r in w o men it still h as ( like
.

va nilla and sand al ) a certain degree of reputati on ,

though it is not often used and some of the o ld ,

Arabian physicians ( especially Avic mna ) rec o m

mende d it with c as to reum and myrrh for a men o r
, ,

rhe a Its powerful action is indicated by the ex

.

p e rien ce of E squir ol who st a ted th a t he h,a d s ee n

cases in whi ch sensory st imulation by musk in women
du ring lactation h ad produced ma ni a It has always .

h ad the reputa tion more especi a lly in the Moham

,

medan East of being a sexual stimulant to men ;

,
‘
the noblest of perfumes it is called in El K tab a nd ,
’‘
,

that whi ch most pro v okes to venery ’

.

“
Not only is musk the most cherished perfume of
the Isl amic world and the speci al fa vo rite o f the
,

Prophet himself who greatly delighted in perfumes

,

( I‘
lo v e yo ur world he is repo rted t
,o ha ve s a id in
’

old age for its women and its

,
‘
it is the
o nly perfume generally used by the women of a l a nd
in whi c h the refin ements of life ha ve been ca rried so
far as Japan and they receiv ed it fro m the Chinese
, .

Moreover musk is still the mo st po pul a r o f

,

”
Euro pean perfumes .

associ a ted with the love o f perfume

S trongly
stands the attra ction felt by cert a in per so ns fo r the
odor of leather The latter has a curi o usly st rong
.

sexu al infl uen ce upo n ma ny men and women Per .

81 0 S ec o nd m
ths S c

haps the odo r o f l e ather is intermediate be twe e n the

n a tural body odors and the perfumes di s tille d fr o m
the anim a l glands or prep a red syn theti cally in imita
tion of them Glo ve and shoe fe tichism as p revious ly
.
,

menti o ned in v olves the o lfac to ry sense B a fif a; la

, .

B r e tomw who was a shoe fetichist enj oyed the o dor

, ,

of the leather but his fetichism was pro ba bly n ot

,

wholly olfa c tory It is s aid that Peau d Espa gne a

.
’
,

very fa mous perfume and the favorite of ce r ta in

sensuous classes c onsisting of w ash lea ther stee pe d
,
-

in v ari o us oils and subsequently sm ea red with m usk

a nd ci vet suggests faintly the odor of leath e r a n d
,

a t the s ame t ime resembles mo st cl osely the scen t

of a wo man s skin It is s aid that the o dor o f
’
.

leather suggests that of the sexual orga ns and men

stru a tin g girls sometimes give o ff a scent des cribe d
“ ”
as lea thery .

H o od oo !: E llis h as re c orded the c a se of a y oun g

“
w oma n enti rely norm al in sexual and othe r re
,

spe c ts who is cons c ious of a consid e ra ble degre e o f

,

pl easurable sexual ex c itement in the p resen ce of the

smell o f leather objects more especially of leathe r ,

bo und ledgers and in shops where leather obj e cts

are sold She thinks this dates from the peri o d
.

when as a child of 9 she was sometimes left alon e

, ,

for a time on a high stool in an o fiic e A p oss ible .

explan ation in this case lies in the suppos ition th a t ,

on o ne o f thes e early o c cas ions sex ual excitemen t ,

812 Sw o ad tc ma
Flowe rs, o f co ur se, a
pp
ea l a lso by the be a uty of

thei r color and fo rm bu t never so much as whe n the se

qu alities a re a ss o cia ted with a cha r acte ris ti c sce n t .

“
Shelley s de s c ripti o n of the lily of the va lley who m
’

”
y o uth m akes so fair a nd pa ssion s o pale is a tribute ,

to color but a sexual co nn otation is dis tin c tly im

plie d In deed the o do r o f lilies suggests the sexua l
.
,

re alm t o s ome perso ns and it is interesting t o note in

this co nnecti o n th a t the vulva r sec retion o f the
Po dsoiai or pe rf ec t w o man h as bee n described
. ,

rh apsodically in the K a ma S a tra o f Va tsyo y ama a s ,

“ ”
perf umed like the lily tha t h as newly burst , dur ing
sex ua l interc o urs e .

S ubtle characteristi c s link the a nim al a nd vege tal

o do rs a fl ectin g huma n beings in a distinctly sexu al
'

sens e This is t rue als o o f the deli c ate scents wh ich

.

a ppa rently d o n o t suggest the body odors On the .

o ther ha nd ce rt a in men and w omen ha ve been kn ow n

,

t o exh ale so metimes t o a very marked degree va ri o us

, ,

od o rs o f pl ants and flowers ; reversely as ce rt a in

pl ant odo rs rec all n o t o nly gener al body odors but ,

the od ors s pecific ally sexu al On this po int H an s.

“
loc k E llis writes : A ra re ga rden weed , the stinking
goo sefoot Chen o po dium vul va ria it is well kn o wn
,
-
, ,

pos sesses a her ring brine o r putrid fish od o r d ue —

,

it a ppea rs t o p ro pylamin whi c h is also found in the

, ,

flowe rs o f the co mm o n white fl owe r or mayfl ow e r

a gu aa tho ) and m a ny other s o f the
( C r a t s or ya c
—
Ro sa c ete whi c h rec alls the odor of the a nim a l a nd
 Psy cho Biolo gy of Odo r:
-
81 3

hum an sexu al regi o ns The re as o n is tha t bo th plant

.

and a nimal odo rs belong chemically to the same

gro up of ca pryl odors ( Lim b Odo rs: hir cin i) ,

so called from the go at the m o st impo rt ant group of

,

odors from the sexual po int o f view Cap ro i c a nd .

c apryl acid are contain ed not only in the od o r of

the go at and in human s wea t a nd in a n im al products
,

as m any c heeses but als o in va ri o us plants such as

, ,

H erb R obert ( Gera n ium r o bcr tio msm) and the ,

S tinking S t John s w orts ( H yperio u s» hir c ia a m) as

’ -
.
,

well as the Cheno po dimn Z waa rdcmo kcr considers

.

it prob able th a t the odo r o f the vagina bel ongs t o the

same gro up as well as the odor of sem en ( whi ch
,

H o ller c alls odo r a phrodicio cus ) whi c h last odor is

,

also found as Cloque t po inted out in the flower s of

, ,

the c omm o n ba rberry ( B er bsric vulga ris ) and in the

chestnut A very rem a rkable a nd significant ex ample
.

of the same odor seems to o ccur in the case o f the

flowers of the henna plant the white flo we red La w
,
-

sonia ( La wsoa ia ine rmis ) so widely used in some

,

Ma ho medan l a nds fo r dyein g the n ail s a nd o ther

parts o f the body .

As to the odor characte ristic o f the se me n it re

sembles that given o ff by certain veget als New .

mown hay and various flowers give o fl a fr agra nce

'

of cuma rine whi c h has a dist in c t sexu al effect on

some pers o ns A strong resemblance between the
.

s c ent of semen and that o f flowering gr as ses has been

po int ed o ut by a l ady who wro te to H o od o o]: E llis :
81 4 S ex an d the S M

m e first time l beca me a wa re of this rea unuan e e

it ca me on to me with a r ush that here was the ex

a tion of the ve ry exc itin g e fl ec t o f a

'

pla n fle ld of

acen ts o f o ther m right I suppo ae

flowe rs . If I a ,

flower s cents sh ould a ffect w omen mo re po werfully

than men in a aex ual wa y . I do no t thin k an
y o ne

wo uld bc likely to no tice the o do r o f se men in thia

the exc itin g efl ec t o f the po llen of the grasses . I

”
had o ften notice d it and puzzled o ver it .

N ume rous personal idi osync ra sies and pec ulia r i o

ties o f olf action sho w that the unity whi c h run s

81 6 S at a nd the S ew :

abnorm alities but ret a rding the gro wth o f the a m

,

bryo s that rem a in norma l .

Perfum es and scents a re still relied upo n to so m e

extent t o enh ance sexu al c harm but even in the ,

most primiti ve ra c es of mankind the sense o f smell ,

has declined in impo rtan ce The grosser allu re men t s

.

by smell belong to a remote pa st th o ugh they still

retain latent possibilities which a t time s m an ife s t
themselves m c ertain pers o ns .

We have inherited from our a ncest o rs an organ iz a

tion ca pa ble of c alling into play the sense of sm ell
in co nnection wi th which it is o rdin ar ily un o btr u
sive Thus olfa c tion m ay pla y a very predomin a nt
.

rfile in the mental processes o f certain proces ses a n d

in their vita s oma tic S uch persons are fre que ntly ,
.

th ough n o t necess a rily psychopathi c Artists po et s

, . ,

and other sensiti ve nervous orga nizations are prone

to be p a rti c ularly sus ceptible to odo rs The inver ts .

a re notoriously so H omosexuality and coprophilia

.

are often associated .

Odors n o longer play the rifle they may ha ve o nce

held in the sexu al selection of man Though t a ste .

and smell a re the most deli c ate tests known in nature ,

m a n s sense of smell is relatively blunted Long be

’
.

fore olfaction comes into play visi on exercises the ,

function of sexua l selection But in the intim ac y

.

of the sexual embra c e olfaction frequently enters

,

into play and if n o t t oo striki ngly obtrus ive may

, ,

enhan ce the feeling o f gra tific a ti o n .

 Psy c ho Bio lo gy
o

of Od or s 817

Personal odors are c apable of in fluencing sub tle

nu an ces of feeling or like and dislike of others
,
.

There is no end to the po ssible variations in this

respect From complete in difl e r e n c e or light sensi
'

tive ness pers o nal idiosyncrasies range all the way to

,

the distin c ti vely olfa c tory type of persons The .

maj ority of people not belo n ging to the olfactory

,

type are swayed rarely if at all by their olfacto ry

, , ,

sensations in their vita s omatic .

On the who le as has been al re ady st a ted m an s

, ,
’

life would be pra ctically un c hanged if olfa c tion were

abolished At the same time it c ann ot be denied
.

that sm all though its rfile be in hum a n sexua l

,

selecti o n it is not negligible

, .
 Hearing including the apprec iatio n o f music
, ,

rests on the sense of rhythm In its turn rhythm is

.

not only a fund amental qua lity of all ne uro musc ul ar -

a c ti vity but in vari o us subtle ways it is pa rt o f the

harmony a nd order o f natu re Ever y func ti o n a l
.

activity is rhythmical Ci rcula tion and respir a tion

.

ha v e their cadences . Kinesthetic sensations a re

evol ved by the ryhthmic co nt ra ctions of the musc ula r
fibres.

Rhythm is bas ic t o the sense of hea ring and in a

deeper sense is intertwined with the whole of sen ti en t
existence .

Rhythm stimul a te s a ctivity The vo c al rhythmic

.
,

a c companimen t t o w o rk is said to be the o rigin o f

human song though there are v ario us o ther c o n flic t
,

ing theories regarding this subject Probably not the.

irregular primitive work but the rhythmi c a ctivity

,

o f mus cles in dan c ing fi rst suggested voc al a e c o m

,

p a n im en
. t The work of primitive ra c es was f a r
from systematized o r regula r enough to lead to a
sense o f peri o dicity and rhythm and to suggest song .

Whenever work is done invol ving even regul a r , ,

pe ri odic muscula r m o ti o ns it bec omes coordina t ed

31 8
ity o n sound down to the pe rio d whic h h a s in a ug u
a ll m
“
r a ted the ne we r physics, dec la r ed e lo d i
e s a re
”
mo ti on s The mo t o r stim ulus o f soun d ha s be en
.

J ust as sc music so
ulp ture ha s been c alled fro ze n ,

musi c in its tu rn has been desc ribed as a fo rm o f

, ,

mo ti o n Go ble t sta tes ( Rev Philos ophique

. .
,

“
S ung o r play ed mel o dy figures to the ca r s a suc
,

cessive design a m o ving arabesque We ta lk o f

, .

ascendin g a nd desc en d ing the ga mut o f high n o te s ,

o r low n otes ; the higher v oi ce of w om a n is ca lle d

sopra no or abov e the deeper voi ce o f ma n is c a lle d
, ,

ba ss Gra ve to nes were so c alled by the G re e ks

.

ward Sounds seem to be subj ect to the ac tic n o f

.

gra vity ; so that s o me rise and o thers fall .

B a udela ire speaking of the prelude to Lo hmgrin

, ,

re marks : I felt myself delivered from the bonds

W
‘

o f weight And when agne r sought to rep re sent

.
’
,

in the highest regions o f celestial spa c e the appari ,

tion of the a ngels bea ring the H oly G rail t o ea rth ,

he uses ve ry high n o tes and a kin d o f ch o rus

played exclusi vely by the violins divided into eight ,

parts in the highest notes of thei r register The

, .

desce nt t o ea rth of the celesti al cho ir is rende re d

by lowe r and lower notes the pro gressive disappea r
,

an ce of whi ch rep resen ts the reas censi on t o the

eth erea l regions .
 H ca ring 32 1

“
S o unds seem to ris e and fall ; that is a fa ct It .

is difi cult to expl ain it So me h ave se en in it a h abit

.

derived fro m the usual n o ta tion by whi c h the height

of a note correspon ds to its height in the sco re .

But the impress ion is t oo deep a nd ge ne ral t o be

expl a ined by so superfi c ial and re c ent a c aus e It .

has been suggeste d also that high notes are gen

e rally produced by sm a ll and light bodies lo w n o te s ,

by hea vy bodies But that is n o t alw a ys t ru e It

. .

h as been said again th a t high n otes in n atu re a re

, ,

usu ally produced by highly pl a ced obj ect s while ,

low notes a rise fro m caves and low pl a ced regions .

But the thun der is heard in the sky and the murmur ,

of a spring or the so ng of a c ri cket a rise from the

ea rth In the human voi ce aga in it is s aid the low
.
, , ,

notes seem to resound in the c hest high n otes in the ,

head All this is unsatis factory We c annot expl ain

. .

by su ch coarse an alogies an impression whi c h is very

precise and m o re sen sible ( this fact has its impor
,

t ance ) fo r an interval of hal f a to ne tha n fo r a n ih

te rva l of an o cta v e .

“
Nea rly a ll our emotions tend to produce m ove
ment But edu ca tion renders us eco n omic al o f o ur
.

a cts Most of these activities a re repressed espe

.
,

c ia lly in the adult and c ivili sed m an as harmful , ,

dangerous or merely useless Some are not c om

, .

p le te d o thers are
, reduced to a faint incit a tion whi c h
externally is sc a rcely perceptible Enough remains .

t o c onstitute all th a t is exp ressive in our gestures ,

pulses of m ovement , whi ch even whe n rep re ssed
, ,

lea ve behind interna l sens a tion s a nd m ot o r ima ge s .

It w o uld be po ssible t o study the se fa c ts e x p e r i

ment a lly if we h ad at our disp osi ti o n a h uma n be in g
who , while reta in in g his sensa ti
o n s an d the ir mo to r
reac ti o ns w as by speci al circumsta nces ren de re d e n
,

tire ly sponta neous like a sen siti v e aut o m a t o n w h os e

, ,

movements were neither intentionally produ ce d n o r

inte nti o nally rep ressed In this way mel o di c in ter
.
,

v als in a hypnotized subject might be very in st r uo

”
tive.

Experiments of the kind s ugges ted above ha ve be en

c a rried out repea tedly but with results too v a gue
and va rying to lead to any de finite c oncl usions The .

influence o f music o n mus cular performan ce in pa r ,

tic u la r h as been studi ed by means of the ergo gr a ph

,

a n d dynamometer .On the whole these expe r imen ts

but co nfi rmed the gen e ral observations and co nc l u
s ions tha t had been m ade or arrived at empiri c ally :
sl ow mus ic in a minor key depresses q ui c k lively , ,

mus ic accelera tes w o rk and ev en removes tempo rarily

the feeling of fa tigue ; maj or keys are stimulati ng :
min or keys and disco rd s depress ing except un de r
, ,

fa tigu e when the infl u en ces o f the maj or a nd mino r

keys seem to be re versed .

Mus ic stim ulates bo th the vol untary a nd the in

vol unta ry mus cul a r s t ru ct ures ; a ll s o rts of muscul a r
824 c ad t Sm a

of birds but of in sec ts as well. Bir da a re aa id to

sho w in terest in the singin g o f o the r s e c ea.
p i S im?

la rly the song o f the Cic ada is app re cia te d by o the r

ge nera o f insec ts The re la tion of singin g to c o ur t
.

ship a m s m
“
o ng birds i o re tha n a re la tio n o f c o n
”
co mitance , as H e rbe r t S penc er ma int ain e d a n d ,
”
his overfl o w of energy hyp o thes is prove s un sa tis
“

fact ory Musical sounds o f insects and the so n g o f

.

birds pla y a decis i ve pa rt in bringing the sexe s t o

gether Usually the m ale is the o ne tha t c ha rms its
.

partner with so ng but amo ng cert ain inse cts it is

the fem ale tha t thus attrac ts the m a le .

With rega rd to the higher ve rtebra tes the f ac ts a re

somewh a t ba fllin g Nearly all anim als are ma rk e fl y
.

sensitive to musical sounds and meloches neve rthe less ,

the higher m a mma ls show no influen ce o f m usic up on

their sexu al life True the mal es of m ost spe c ie s
.
,

use thei r voc al powe rs chiefly du ring the bre e din g

“ ”
se as o n bu t
, we have n o t as yet any good evidw o e,
“
rema rk s D a rwin th a t these organs a re used by
,

m al e m a mmals to cha rm the fem ale ( Desc mt o f

,
”
.

Ma n. p . In his S pica dc : Ma n chu Groos als o .

po ints out that it is doubtful whether hea ring plays

impo rt ant role in the cou rtship of m ammals .

Sexual perver sions ba sed on the sense of he aring

n o doubt are ext remely rare as has been pointed o ut
,

l ong ago by Féré in his S tudy of the Sam ! Ins tin c t

,

of M a n ,but ero tic repressi o ns a nd p s ychic t ra u

mata o f a s exual ch ara cte r in vol ving music or the ,
 The Voice 825

h um a n vo ice a re rela ti v ely commo n Falling in l ove

, .

with a voice o r being sexua lly a roused by the qu al

,

ity of a speaking or s inging v oice is a n experience

cor roborated by numero us testim o ny Ale xa n der .

Duma s S r rela tes the case o f a yo ung w oman wh o

, .,

fell in love with the y o ic e of a friend who happen ed

to call o n him while she was in the next room She .

asked to be introduced a n d the acquaintan ce quickly

ripen ed into a l asting a tt achment In dis c ussing the
.

sexua l appe al of the voice Mall maintains that the “

stimul ati o n recei ved through the ca rs is much grea ter

”
th an is us ua lly believed and he quotes with s p
,

prov al M an tagazsa s remark that the vo ices of

’ “

”
some w omen ca nn ot be heard with impunity .

The rela ti o nship o f vo ice and sex is furthe r sh o wn

by the ch a nges in the larynx and voc al c ords which
a re induced by the ad vent of puberty In boys the .

l arynx nea rly doubles in si ze the voice usua lly

,

brea ks and becomes lower by a whole octave o r mo re

, .

The femin ine l a rynx in c reas es in the propo rt io n

of 5 to 7 o nly and the changes in the chords a nd in
the voice are correspondingly sma ller The v oice .

of eunu c hs who have thei r tes ti cles remo ved early

reta ins its pre pubertal qua lities
-
.

Infa ntile memo ries of the mother s vo ice a re a ’

potent fa ctor influen c ing the choi ce of lo v e objectives

in l ater life It is thus tha t men o ften associ a te
'

thei r boyh ood ide als of love with w omen sin ging or
pl a ying musi cal in st rume nts . H an d o c k m :

ten ds tha t fin the se ‘

ca ses it will alwa y a be fo un d ths
the fas cina tion w as ro ma ntic a nd se n time n ta l ,
”
not specifica lly er o tic but this is a dist in c tio n tha
,

doe s not hold any l o nger in the light o f ge n e ti

psychology Music of a definitely sexua l a p pe a l i
W
. a

f requently s o o n a cco unt of its associ a tio ns ag .

s Tris tan with its dis tinctly ero tic o ve r t on e

’
-
M
“
u this e fl ec tin pa r t fro m the
'

re ally p ro d ces a sso cia

” “
ti on with the sto ry , st a tes H a velo ck Ell is
a n d in ,

part from the intellectua l re a lisa tion o f the c om

p ose r s efl o rt t o tr a nsla te passion into es the tic
'
’

terms : the actual efl ec t o f the music is n o t se x ual

'

a nd it c an well be believed tha t the results o f ex p er i

ments as r egards the sexual in fl uence of the Tri sta n
music o n men under the influen ce of hypn otim ha ve
”
been a s repo rted nega tive
, On the other h an d a
, .

co n siderable porti o n of the popular j azz m usi c o m

its popul arity to its clearly erotic con notati on s ,

th o ugh it l a cks any intellectu al elemen ts .

Men a nd women are v a riously influenced by music .

On this po int H a vd o ck Ellis s umma rises the f a cts

as foll ows :
“
I have found little evi den ce to show th at m usic ,

except in oc c asional c ases exerts ev en the slightest ,

specifi c a lly sexual effect on men whether mu sic a l o r ,

unmusi cal But I h a ve ample evidence tha t it ve ry

.

frequently exerts to a slight but definite extent s u ch

a n influenc e o n women even when quite no rma l , .
 In order t o illus t ra te the emoti on al ho o ky b o n d -

which sometimes leads to the fixa tion o f a ty pic a l

inf an tile attitude toward musi c I gi v e this br ie f
outl ine o f a lengthy psycho biogra phic a c c oun t o h
-

ta in ed f ro m L .a very success ful a rtis t in the

,

course o f psych oan alysis :

As a child she was neither speci ally t al en ted n o r
p reco cious She too k up mus ic probably bec a use
.

“ ”
the soc ial set to whi ch her f amily bel onged ex
e c ted ch ildren t o re ceive music al t ra ining S h
p . e

felt n o incentive t o st udy and practice wa s irks ome

to he r The p ra i s e o f her father wh om she grea tly
. ,

ad o red was her chief compens a tion for the ha rd w or k

,

of d ril lin g when she would ha ve p referre d to pla y

g ames .

La te r a s the result o f ove rwo rk an d bus iness w or

,

ri cs her fa ther bec a me an in valid She had j ust

.

re a ched the ad olescent stage H e req ui red spec i al

.

c are fo r a time a nd w as staying in the hous e .

“
It wa s his special delight du ring th a t per i od o f
invalidism to have me play a nd sing fo r him sta te s
,
”

"l hls rie f clin ical

‘
b
analytic R eview, Vol .
 In terest in Music 329

“
L B
. an d I loved to do it We spent m any eve .

ninga together he lying down o n a co uch clo se by

, ,

I at the piano pla ying my own a ccompa n iments

while singing Occasionally he pa tted my hair in
.

approval Once o r twice he kissed me I was sur

. .

feited with ha ppiness My re al lo v e for musi c dates

.

fro m that period ; I believe I o we to the em o ti o nal

experien ces of that stage of my life the development
of whatever musical talent I may po s sess I w a nted .

to play to please father as mu c h as I ever wanted

to succeed in a fter yea rs The fact that m usic .

seemed such a comfort to him o pened my eyes for the

fi rst time to the meaning of the a rt Bef ore .

that time I played mecha nic ally .

“
Once l o oking up towards him I saw tears welling
, ,

up in father s eyes This m oved me bey on d expres

’
.
~

sion I sto pped playing an d threw my arms around

.

him He murmured s o mething abou t the charm of

.

music I took the co mplimw t to refer to my pl ay

.

ing S uddenly I reali zed that mastery o f the a rt

.

means the power to charm I resolved then and .

there that I would sp a re n o amoun t of work to make

.
—
father happy I felt I must succeed for his s ake .

That was the highest ecstasy of lo ve I had exp eri

en c ed up t o tha t time It seemed to li ft me out o f
.

myself .

“
An other time overc ome with e motion I blu rted
, ,

out : Father I sh all ne v er never lea ve you What

‘
, , .

—
eve r ha ppen s let me st a y by you a lways .
’
,
330 S ew aad ths Ss m
“
It was n o t a ll l felt ; but it was a ll I co uld think
of saying .

“
He t ried to m ake light of my sentimen t th ough ,

I could see he w as plea sed ; my ha ppines s wa s c o m

p le te .

“
Per haps be ca use I was in a specia lly sen sitive
m ood a t the time every wo rd a nd eve ry deta il o f tha t
period is deeply graven hi my mem ory F o r ia .

s tance he said to me o nce : Y ou have y ou r own life

,
‘

to live I did n o t like it ; father w as n o t like him

.
’

self when he made the sta temen t I felt hurt ; .

I did n o t wan t him to say o r think tha t S omethin g .

else he sa id tri vial on the fa ce of it s omeh ow ga ve

, ,

me the impres sion tha t he felt lonely or s o me th ing ; ,

also that he w as unhappy Tha t t oo is a men o r

, .
, ,

—
a ble occ asi o n and o h h ow I lo nge d to p ut my
, ,

a rms a ro und him a nd melt a w a y his lo neline s s his ,

unhappiness ! I do not know what ma de me hesit a te .

Just then fa th e r spok e up aga in t urnin g t o the

, ,

pi a n o
C o me n o w pl a y s omethin g ; I am ha ppy when I
‘
,

hea r you pla y .

’

“
This see ms a trivi al inciden t in the tellin g ; it
seems now s o even to me in ret rospect But t o , .

these few words coming fro m my fa ther under t hose

,

ci rcumsta nces I tra ce my artistic awakenin g The

, .

in c ident so simple a nd appa rently commonpl a ce,

,

stands forth as one o f the stro ngest epis odes , a

332 S ea: a nd ths Se ms
father w as a way a grea t deal of the time ; y e t it ,

w as m o re o ften to him tha t m

y he a r t w en t o ut in

sympa thy when a quarrel arose between the m in my

presence In my childish mind I contra ste d mo th e r s
.
’

nagging high pitched qua rrels o me tone with f a the r s

,
-
,
’

deep toned melodi o us well c adenced vo ic e w hic h

-
, ,
-
, ,

ev en when raised du ring the hea t o f a do me s tic

qua r rel seemed to me l o vely
, .

“
Fro m being m o ther s fa vorite I bec ame fa ther s
’ ’

— before I reali zed the change Whether mo the r .

c ooled o ff toward me fi rst a nd I having learne d t o ,

depend o n so mebody s l ove turned to father as the

’
,

nea rest person to whom I co uld atta ch mysel f I

do not know ; but I believe the p a th had been la id
”
during e arliest childh o od ( H ere foll o w num e rou
. s
in c idents and reminiscences of early em otion al t e
“
a cti o ns ). By the time I had a c hieved pr o
fic ien c y in music mother tu rne d distin ctly h ostile
to me and even m o cked my a rtis tic a mbitions .

“
Intellectu ally I was ra ther sl o w P o ssibly .

mother was disappointed in me pa rtly fo r that rea

son Looking bac k I now see foolish as this thought
.
,

ma y seem that she must ha ve been jeal o us beca use

,

of father s great interest in me Notwithstanding

’
.

her antago nism t oward father I ca nnot help think ,

ing now as I refl ect upon the past with mo re ma ture

,

understanding that she was ! , ( I o mit here the

a cco unt of nume ro us incidents appa re ntly c o rr o bo
ra ting this co nclusion ) Yet during the who le pe r iod
.
 In teres t in Music 333

of my childh ood I do not reca ll tha t she ever dis

—
played an y tenderness toward him not even la ter ,

during fathe r s long and serious illness altho ugh

’
,

there were then m any oppo rtunities .

“
Father of c ourse was unhappy I ought to be
, , .

thankful I suppose th at duri ng the impressionable

, ,

period of my early adoles c en ce I did not f ully ,

app recia te his mental suffering Dearly as I loved .

him this would have c rushed me Ins tead I w a s

, .

abs o rbed in the thought of my lo ve for him In .

what I conceived to be signs of inner unrest on his

pa rt when I grew o lder I saw merely the same sort
,

o f vague stirrin gs which assailed me for as a young , ,

girl I was impressio n able dreamy not o verbright

, , , ,

I must admit a nd I must also confess except for

, , ,

my a rdent attac hment to fa ther rather self cen ,

-

tered . My limited mental grasp was a mer c iful dis

p ens a tio n for alas
, I ha v e si,n c e tossed many sleep
less nights a nd many hours I ha ve paced the fl oo r
kn eading my hands in de spai r and bitterly rehea rs
ing eve ry minute p articula r o f father s unfo rtuna te ’

The deta ils , I omit

lth ough here and the
ar e they , ,

ha ve a bearing upon the ris e and de velopmen t of the

woman s artistic cons c i o usness
’
.

“
We alwa ys had an ex cellent piano in the house .

Mother never tou c hed it I did not know until long

.

a fterw ard tha t before marriage she had been quite

, ,

a n acco mplished musici an Father told me After . .

330 Sw an d the S ma
the bir th of the first c hild ( it was a bo y , and it died
at thre e yea rs o f a e,
g be fo re l w as bo rn ) ahe had

Fro m h er fa the r L B learned also tha t be r

. mo th
er s s
’
kill musician had attrac ted him a s
as a muc h
as he r
pe r so na l c ha rm H e ha d .to w o r k h a r d as a
y o ung m a n a n d t he re was no c han c e fo r him to
ind ulge in the devel o pment of his musical in c l in a ti o n .

In fact he did n ot become seriously in te r e ste d in

music until he h ad secured a business f oo t in g fo r
himself and then it w as too late For his n e gle c t .

of the a rt he ston ed vica riously by m ar ry in g a

—
musici an and of this he seeme d ve ry p roud ; but
after the fi rst ye a r of ma r riage music w a s seldo m
he a rd in the house until the daughter t ook it u p .

The m a rriage tu rned o ut an unfortun a te a ff air .

As to the cause of the incompatibility be twe en th e

parents the psychoan alyst is justified to fo rm a
genera l idea fro m what little ha s alre ady tra nsp ire d .

L B is v ery explicit with her details and her memor y

. .

serves her well Even if he r fan c y wea v ing int ru de s

.
-

here and there it does not change the v alue o f the

test imony as an index to the trend of her o wn
emotion al rea ctions toward the home life She her .

self concludes her lengthy ac co unt of the p a te rn a l

inco mpatibility as foll ows :

“
These inciden ts and I could add many othe r s
, ,

lead hither and thither Wha t at the bott om o f

.
,
 80 M tic 8 m“
the salt o f life to me

with grea te r ac ln an d lo n elin eu in

for I tho ught I sho d d

in music .

w o uld kee p awa y fro m one anothe r for M

L B rapidly de veloped toward the
. . t o wh o m

but I put the th o ught out of my mi n d aga in an d

again saying to myself He is no t like fa ther , he
, ,
‘

’
dese rves it ! a nd I kept re pea ting t his to mys el f
 In terest in Music 337

and sa ying over a nd over H e is not like father he

,
‘
,

is not like fa ther he is n o t like father as if j us tify

, ,
’

ing to myself the h ostility I felt a ga inst my bus

”
ban d .

The perso nal co mmunications fro m which m os t of

the above excer pts are taken reac hed me while L B . .

co mpelled to interrupt her psy c hoanalys is o n

acco un t of a tra nscontin ental j ourney Upo n her .

retu rn the a nalysis of he r psyc ho bio gr aphic accoun t

w as resumed I ha ve gi ven abo ve only the briefest
.

o ut line and I ha ve touched only a few of the signifi

cant revelations s o that it would be out of pl a ce to
reco rd here all the conclusions rea c hed through the
a n alysis But the few data I ha ve included in the
.

br ief outline m a y furnish some basis for the a p

p recia t io n o f the foll o wing po ints beari ng o n ,

music :
L B s l ove of music a rose o ut of her l ove for
. .
’

her fa ther ; her lo ve prese rved its infantile c harac ter ,

devel oping but little beyond that stage ; therefore ,

her a ttachment to musi c preserved the s ame ch a r

a cter .

“ ” “ ”
The subs titution musi c fo r father after her
, ,

fa ther s dea th was an incomplete sublimation Be

’
, .

“ ”
ca use her love preserv ed a great deal of its in
fan tile charac ter in spite of its transference to musi c ,

the sublim a ti on failed after a time At that c ritic al .

j un ct ure c ame the offe r of marri age .

to be lo ve d an d ad mired ( whic h wa s, in he r e a se.

stro n ge r tha n the c omplement ar y c r a vin g t o lo ve

and admire ) precipita ted her in to th e n e w e xpe ri
ence . . with an ala c r ity tha t a sto n ishe d n e
whe n I re co ve red my
But the w om an w as unp repare d to a c c e p t tim
soluti o n j us t as she w a s emo tio nally un a bl e to live
up to the dema nds fo r sublim a tion Child h o o d ex
‘
.

p e rien ces un co nsciously mould and fix in o ur m in d a

numbe r o f inf antile fictions which be co me the go ver n
in g prin ciples in o ur em otion al li fe a s a dults S o me .

of the unco n sci ous a ttit ude s which sh a p e d the m

selves a nd beca me fixed du ring L B s in fa n cy a n d
. .
’

ea rly childh ood ma y be approximately exp r e sse d in ,

adult terms by mea n s of the foll owing equa tion s :

,

Father s marri age wa s unhappy : It wo uld be dis

’

“ ”
loy al ( or unrea l ) to be happily ma rried .

Father loved n o o ne bu t me : Mother w a s j e a l

“

” “
ous : I must love no one but fa ther ; he is n o t like
”
fa the r : I must n o t l ove him .

“
Fa ther is not like himself : You ha ve y o ur o w n
”
li fe to live : I must live my own life : neglec t of
“
music : Life beca me
why sh o uld I live to ple ase others ?
This of course is but a p a rti al acco unt o f the
, ,

unco nscious ment al pr ocesses discl o sed in the c our se

of the ps ycho a nalysis That the results and c o n
.

c lu sions led in the right di recti on is s h o wn a mo ng ,

 C HA PTE R XL II

Visi o n am o ng the special senses is the m os t im

, ,

po rtant means for sexual selec tion ha ving grad ,

ually replaced in ma n man y of the uses of all the

other special senses Its infinite range the capa city
.
,

of storing up con c rete pi c tures the infinite va riety

,

of its assoc iati o ns easily render vision the m os t im

po rt ant of the special senses as well as the m os t
,

esthetic .

The appe al of bea uty ea rly transcends the service

o f sexual selection But the origins of ou r ideas o f
.

bea uty a re undoubtedly linked with the n a tu ral

history of sex H a velo ck Ellis sta t es : Prac tically
.
“
,

so far a s man and his imme diate ances to rs are c on ~

cerned the sexu al and the extra sexu al fact o rs o f

,
-

beauty ha ve been interwo ven from the fi rst The .

sexu ally beaut iful objec t must ha ve appealed t o

fundamental physiologi cal aptitudes of rea cti on :
the generally beautiful objec t must have share d in
the thrill which the specifica lly sexual object im
parted There has been an inevitable acti o n and
.

rea ct io n throughout Just as we have foun d tha t

.

the sexual and the nonsexual influences of agree able

od ors through o ut na ture are in ext ric a bly mingled,
 Vision 341

so it is with the m otives th a t ma ke an object bea uti

-

”
f ul to our eyes .

Th ro ughout na tur e beauty is a utilitarian q ual

“ ”
ity. It is a matter of easy demons tration sta t es ,

Ruskin ,
“
tha t setting the characters of typic a l
,

bea uty as ide the pleasure a fio rded by every o rganic

'

form is in propo rtion to its appea r a nce of he althy

vit al energy ; as in the rose bush sett ing aside a ll
-
,

co nsiderations o f gradated flushing of color and f a ir

folding o f line whi ch it shares with the cloud or the
,

sno w wreath we find in and through all this cert ain

-
,

signs pleasant and a c ceptable as signs of li fe and

enj oyme nt in the pa rti c ular individual plant itself .

Every leaf a nd stalk is seen to ha ve a fun c tion to be ,

co ns tantly exercising that fun ction and it seems , , ,

solely for the good and enj oyment of the pla nt It .

is true that reflecti o n will show us that the pl ant is

not living for itself alone that its life is one o f
,

ben efaction that it gi ves as well as it recei v es but

, ,

no sense of this whate ver mingles with o ur pe rception

o f physical beauty in its forms Those forms which .

appear to be nec essary to its health the symmetry ,

o f its leaflets the smoothn ess of its stalks the vivid

, ,

green o f its shoots are looked upo n by us as signs

,

o f the pl a nt s own ha ppin ess and perfection : they are

’

u seless to us except a s they give us pleasu re

,

and if we see a leaf withered or shrunk or w o rm

eaten we say it is ugly a nd feel it to be most painful
, , ,

not bec a use it h u rts us but bec ause it seems to hurt

,
3 42 S am a nd the S ense s

the plant and con veys t o us an idea o f pa in and

,
”
dise ase an d failure o f life in it .

Everywhere in the anima l world as well as in the

,

plant wo rld vitality a nd vigor are m a nifested in

,

forms th a t subjectively a re per ceiv ed by us as the

m ost be autiful Beauty depends on hea lth The
. .

choicest females among the a nim als prefer to ma te

with the males o f the spe c ies sh owing the grea te s t
degree of vigo r a nd he alth and tha t inci den t a lly
,

mea n s beauty Sexual select io n o perates in the di

.

r ection of a gre a ter refinemen t of the mea ns through

which the perpetuati o n of the species is insure d .

It ins ures ra cial hea lth and v igo r th rough its de

d e on beauty whi c h is but the visu a l expres
p en e n c ,

sion of qualities in dispen s able fo r the pe rpetu a ti on

o f the species .

In the course o f its development the human ra ce

has improve d in hea lth vigo r beauty and in the
, ,

c apacity for as well as in the re fin eme nts o f love

, , .

Many among the a rtists and writers wh o displa y

unbo unded admiration for Gree k bea uty fail to a p
i te that the fine statues whi c h have c ome d ow n
p r e c a

t o us are ideal representa tions and did n ot embody

the common type of Greek bea uty E ven amon g the
.

G reeks of the G olden Age beauty was not as gene ra l

as it has beco me s in ce True the admira tio n o f
. ,

bea uty was r ai sed t o a cult a nd the Greeks seeme d

to believe th at the procreatio n of bea utiful chil d ren
co uld be p romo ted by the di s t ribu ti o n of p rises but ,
844 S ar an rl tt ms
s

the face of the ea r th than sin c e he ca me o n the stage .

Were the bea uti ful vo lute and co ne shells o f the

E o cene epoch and the gr a cefully sculpture d a m
,

mo nites o f the Seconda ry pe ri od created tha t ma n

m
,

might ages afterwards admi re them in his c a net ?

Few objec ts a re mo re bea utiful than the minute
silici ous cases of the dia to mac ee : were they crea te d
tha t they might bemined an d admire d un de r the
exa

higher po we rs of the mi c rosco pe ? The bea uty in

this la tter case and in m any others is apparently
, ,

who lly due to symmet ry of gro wth ”

O
( g r i in o f .

S pe cie s ch VI )
, . .

The l a w of symmetry h o lds t rue of the anim a l

and the vegetal as well as o f the miner al w o rld an d
, ,

man is no except io n .

Bea uty depends als o on gr ada tion Re garding .

this la w of na ture Rusk in h as written very imp rec

“
sivel
y : Wh a t cu rv a ture is t o line s gra d a tio n is t o ,

sh ades a nd col o rs For inst ances of the c m

.

lete a bsen ce of gr adati o n we must look to ma n s

’
p
work to his dise ase and dec repitude Compa re the
, .

gradual colors of the ra inbo w wi th the stripes of a

t a rget a nd the gradu al c oncentra ti on o f the you th
,

ful bl ood in the cheek with an abrupt patch of rouge,

or with the sharply drawn vei ning of old a ge -
.

“
Gra da tion i s so insepa rable a qua lity o f all na t
ural sh ade and co l o r tha t the eye refu ses in art to
unders ta nd anything a s eithe r which a ppears withou t
it ; while on the other hand ne arly all the grada tio ns
, ,
 The La ws of B e a uty 345

o f n a tu re are so subtile and between degrees o f

,

tint so s lightly sepa rated that no human hand can

,

in any wise equal or do anything more than suggest

,

”
the idea o f them .

Next to symmetry a nd gr ad a tion stands curva

“
ture : That all forms of a c kn owledge d bea uty a re
co mpo sed excl usi vely of cu rves will be at once al
” “
lowed states k
, in ; but that whi ch there will
be more especially need to prove is the subtlety and
,

c o nstancy of c urvature in a ll natural forms whats o

ever I believe that except ia c rystals in ce rta in
.
, ,

mountain forms admitted for the sake of sublimity

or cont rast ( as in the slope of debris ) in rays of ,

light in the levels of c alm water and alluvial l an d

, ,

and in some few organic dev elopments there a re n o ,

lines on surfaces o f na ture without c urvature ,

tho ugh as we befo re s a w in cl ouds more especially ,

in thei r under lines towa rd s the ho rizon and in v ast ,

and exten ded plains right lines a re often sugge sted

, ,

whi c h are not a ctual Without these we should no t

.

be sensible of the value of contrasting curves ; a nd ,

while therefore for the most part the eye is fed

, , ,

in na tural forms with a grac e of c urv ature whi ch no

hand nor instrument can follow other means are ,

provided to gi ve beauty to those surfa c es which a re

admitted for contrast as in water by its reflecti o n
,

”
o f the gradations whi ch it po sses ses n ot itself .

The u n i versality of cu rvature a s a quality of

beauty is reflec ted also in the physical differen ces
8 46 S ee a nd the S enses

between ma n a nd woma n The questi o n which is .

,

the more beaut iful form an Apo ll o o r a Ven us p re , ,

”
sents n o difi c ulty t o the a rtis tic eye “
W oma n . ,

says Prof K o llma n is smaller more delic a te but

.
, , ,

also softer and m o re graceful in fo rm in her bm sts , ,

thighs and c al ves No line of her body 18 sh o rt a nd

, .

sha rply angul a r ; they a ll swell or vaul t themselves ,

in a ge ntle curve The neck a nd the rounded

shoulders a re connec ted by gra cefully curved line s ,

whe rea s a m a n s nec k is placed more at a right angle

’

to the m o re straight a nd a ngula r shoulders .

The hair is softer the skin mo re tender a nd t ra ns

,
~

p a rent All the forms are co vered over more fully

.

with adipose tissue and connecte d by tho se gradu al

,

transitions whi ch produ ce the gently roun ded o ut

lin es ; whereas in a man everything muscles sinews
—
, ,

—
bl ood vess els bo nes is m ore con spic uo us
-
”
.
,

The difie ren ce betw een the mas culin e and femin in e
'

types is also re ve aled by the gre a ter delica cy and

grace o f the w o m a nly body So me a rtists go so fa r .

as t o insist that the s uggesti o n of vigo r a nd st ren gth

is prej udi c i al to rea l beauty while an appearan ce of ,

delica c y even of fragility is alm o st essenti al

, , .

“
G race says J A Sy monds is a striking illust ra
”
,
“
. . ,

tion of the uni o n of the tw o p rinciples of simil a rity

a nd va riety For the sec ret of gra ce ful action is
.

that the symmet ry is prese rved th rough all the varie

”
ties o f pos ition While Burke decl ares : The
.
“

beauty o f w omen is conside rably owing to their wea b

 C olor 349

an animal usually f ade during disea se o r w eakness ,

while robust health a nd vigor adds to the intensity .

In all quadrupeds a dull coat is indic a tive of

‘ ’

ill health o r low con dition ; while a glossy coat and

-

spa rkling eye a re the in variabl e ac c ompaniments of

hea lth and energy The sa me rule applies to the
.

feathers of birds whose colors are seen in their

,

purity only during perfect health ; a nd a similar

phenomen on occ urs among insects fo r the bright,

hues o f ca terpilla rs Mgm to f ade as s oo n as they

beco me ina ctive prepa rato ry to thei r undergo in g
,

t rans fo rma tion Even in the Veget al Kingdom we

.

se e the s ame thin g ; for the tints of foliage are dee p

est a nd the c olors of flowers and fruits richest

, on ,

those plants which are in the m ost he althy and

”
v igorous c ondition .

Regarding the grea te r subtlety o f col o r as co m ,

“
pa red with form Ruskin de clares : If we look at
,

N a ture c arefully we sh all find that her colors a re in

,

a s ta te of perpet ual co nfusion a nd indistinctnes s ,

while her forms as told by light a nd sh ade a re in

, ,

v ariably clear distin ct and spea king The ston es

, , .

and gr avel of the ba nk cat ch green reflections from

the boughs above ; the bushes recei ve grays and yel
lows fro m the ground ; every h airbre adth of polished
surfa ce gives a little bit of the blue of the sky o r ,

the go ld of the sun like a sta r up on the l oc al col o r ;

,

this l oc al color ch angeful and uncert ain in itself

, ,

is again disguise d and modifled by the hue o f the

350 S er e nd tt mm
light o r que nche d in the gr a y o f the shado w ; a nd the
con fusion an d blending of t int is altogether so great
th a t were we left to find out what obj ec ts we re by
their col o r only we would scarcely in l a ce dis
,
p
tin guish the boughs of a tree from the air bey on d
them or the gro und beneath them I kn o w that peo .

ple unpra cticed in a rt will no t be lieve this at first ;

bu t if they ha ve a cc urate powers of obs erv at io n they ,

ma y soon as c ertain it for themselves ; they will fin d

th at while they can s car c ely ever determ ine the
,

exact hue of anythi ng except when it o cc urs in

,

large masses , as in a green field or the blue sky the

, ,

form as told by light and shade 18 always decided

, ,

and evident and the s o urce of the chief chara cter o f

,

”
eve ry object .

But in spite of the greater pre cisi on o f con t our ,

or form it is sc a rcely l es s a ppealing tha n color in
,

that intimate sense whi c h in vests impressi ons with a

feeling v alue f using subj ect and object and sug
-

ge st in g a quasi mysti-
c al higher wo
, rld of re a lity .

The perception of form is complex t a ctile impres ,

sions , o r images also enter into the experien ce The

, .

perception o f color shadings is perhaps more subtle

and perh a ps for that reason it is a later devel o p
ment The n o mencl atu re o f c olors w as rel a tively
.

undevel oped in an c ient Greece while be a uty of form

,

h ad attained a high d egree of appreciati on Cer .

ta in ly H ome r h ad little to say about color This has .

led to the suspic ion tha t he was co lor blind .

352 San an d the S ense s

protective coating for the true skin or cutis It is , .

the unde rskin tha t con tains the ner ve ends fat ce ll s, ,

sudorife ro us gla nds and the delic ate blood vessels.

a ll embedded in an e lastic s o ft network o f co nnective
,

tissue On a ccount o f its tra nspa rency the c uti cle

.
,

all ows the c ol o r o f the bl ood to be perceived as

th rough a veil The lower layer of the cells forming
.

the cuticle contains the yellowish brown or bl a ck , ,

pigmen t cells whi c h give the brunette bl a ck yellow , , ,

or red complexion acco rding to their number and

,

degre e o f pigmen ta l saturation The upp e r horny .

,

layer o f the epidermis is c olorless On sole and .

pa lm thi s laye r is so thi ck tha t the pigment ary la yer

ca nnot be seen th ro ugh it and that is why the pa lm
o f the negro s h a nd for ins ta nce is whiter th a n the
’
, ,
‘

rest of the body .

Pigmentati o n o f the skin is a bio physical p ro ce ss -

.

The ques ti o n why the ra ces vary so grea tly in

the co lo r o f the ir skin ha s given rise to a n umbe r
of anthropologica l conjectures It is obvio us th a t .

pigmenta ti on is a pro te cti ve device The pa rts o f .

our body that are c o nst an tly exposed t o sunlight

ha nds fa ce and ne c k f —a re da rker th an the rest of
,

the body Simil a rly the races which inh abit the
.

t o rrid regi on s of the ea rth a re the ones tha t sho w

the gre ate s t pigmenta tion In Eu ro pe as we pass
.
,

fro m the s unny S o uth to the cloudy No rth the c om

pl exi on as well as hai r and eyes gro w lighter
, , .

So uth Ge rm a ns a re darke r th an N o rth Ge rm a n s .

 Ra cial C omplexion 353

The Pru ssia ns ha ve a light complexion , but the

Swedes a nd N o rwegians are still lighter Tha t is .

true als o of a ll other pa rts of the e arth Even the .

“
Chinese who a re rega rded indis c rimin a tely as the
,

”
yellow race are fo und to show every gradati on f ro m
,

a light to a d a rk copper color as one travels f rom ,

Pekin towards Canton and travelers through the

,

A rabia n dese rt do wn towards Yemen meet every ,

shade from oli ve color to bla c k The a ristoc ratic .

cl a sses of Chin a and Japa n pa r ticul a rly the l adies

, ,

pride thems elves on their light co mplexi o n The .

labo ring c lasses a re o f a da rker tint .

Difl er en ces in co mplexi o n once they h a ve been

’

established thro ugh bio physica l ca u ses a nd clima tic

-

influen ce s ten d to become fu rther ac centuated

,

“ ”
through the agency of sexual sel e ction : We know ,

Da rwin sta tes that the color of skin is re

m
,

garded by the men of all races as a highly i po rtant

element in thei r bea uty ; so th a t it is a c ha ra cte r
tha t would be likely to have bee n modified thr o ugh
selec tion as has occu rred in innumerable inst a nces
,

with the lower a nimals It see ms at first sight a

.

monst rous supposition that the jet bla c kness of the -

negro should have bee n gaine d th ro ugh sexual sele c

tion ; but this view is suppo rted by various an alogi es ,
”
a nd we know tha t negroes admi re their own color .

Origin a lly the skin o f primitive man must h ave

hem light There is pra ctic ally no coloring ma tter
.

in the skin o f a negro child befo re birth The c olor .

 Ra cial Comple xio n 8 57

io n but the general co nstitution o f the d a rk type

were superior to tha t of the bl ond type .

Color tint smoothn ess deli c acy all the tests

, , , ,
-

of beauty are fa v ored by a uni form mild c lim a te , .

The hair has always been valued as an o rnament .

Light hai r is finer an d softer than dark hair but is

,

perhaps less resistant to diseases and mo re difficult

to keep in good shape .

The color of eyelashes a nd eyebrows mo st admired

has always been bla ck In that regard brunettes
.

have a great ad v ant age over the bl o nds While .

man y women possessin g hair of dark or uncertain

hue are anxi o usly experimenting with means to gi ve
thei r ha ir a blond c olor all women who pa int their
,

eyebro ws at all paint them so as to have them a p

,

pear much darker than they really are But many .

“ ”
natural blo nds have na t urally dark la shes and

Black ie also the eye colo r most admi red ; the iri s
.

is often a blue or violet but of s o deep a hue as to

be taken for bla ck What is called a black iris is
.
,

usually a very deep bro wn An eye blue or gra y a p

.

pea rs shallow v ague superfi c ial and is not as ex

, ,

pressi ve as a bro wn iris The deeper the hue o f

.

brown the st ronger the contrast between the iris and

the white of the eye The plant belladonna is s o
.

c alled because its pois on o us cherry like berries ha ve

-

the e fl ec t of ch anging all eyes into black eyes by

'
358 Su aa d tl M

en la r gin g the pupil . Ma n y a wo ma n ha s aap ire d bo

a c o n c o c tio n o f these be r r iea .

“
Yo un g men a re le d to
” “
propose c hiefly in the eve n in
g , sa id Finc h , bec a use
the twilight mla rges the pfl pfl i thus ao t o n ly bea uti

eyes o n u
s ch an o c ca sion a pp ea r to be a ll u
p p il

or six different c ol o rs The re fermce in po pul ar

.

pa rlance is exclus ively to the iris B ut the to ugh .

scleroti c co s t or white of the eye which exten ds

, ,

o ver t he grea ter part of the eye ba ll also s hares in ,

the impression made by the eye The s c lero tic co a t .

is o ften tinge d with blue or y ell o w . These tin ts a re

p r o d cued by va rio us c o n ditio ns o f hc alth a nd the y

l owe r the esthetic appeal of the eye . The yell ow ish
tin t, mal in the negro is a sign o f ill health
no r , ,

o r dis tu rbed met abolis m in the Eu rope a n The

,
.

bl oodsh ot eye suggests in tero peranc e and unre

st ra in ed passi ons It may be due ho wever to over
.
, ,

w ork eyestr ain and other physical ca u ses

, .

The iris is the po rtio n of the e ye to whic h the

o rgan owes its distincti v e color Lo oked a t f rom a .

dis tance th e i ris appea rs of one c olo r B ut when .

860 S ex a nd the S ears:

Sexu a l selecti o n has u ndo ubtedl y ope ra ted in the

same sense We see signs of this to the pre sen t day
.
,

in the admira ti o n and sexu al a ttra cti on o f the co lo r

ful ey es .
 C HAPTE R XLIV

B oth sexes h a ve alw ays been s e nsitive regarding

the size of their feet Am o ng refined pe ople sm all
.

feet and sma ll hands ha ve always been considered

, ,

a mark of delica cy Perso ns who culti vate person al

.

v anity a re parti c ularly sensitive a s regards the size

of their hands and feet Byron s life w as made mis
.
’

crable by the morbid consc io usn ess of his club foot .

One o f Tall eyra nd s witti c isms that struck home and

’

st ruck deeply a mong the ma ny he perpetrated

,

aga inst M me de S taél was the sta temen t th a t he

.
,

always recognized her by the pied de S taél And it .

was with reference to her general m asculine bearing

that he addressed he r on one o ccasi o n with the fa
m o us remark : They tell me Madame that both o f
“
, ,

us figure in your recent no vel disguis ed a s wo me n ”

.

“
The length of a woman s ski rt 18 di rectly pro por
’

”
tio n a l to the size of her feet a writer remarked
, ,

somewhat fa c etiously a number o f yea rs ago ; a nd

,

“
he added th a t women with large feet are alw a ys
sho cked a t the frivolity o f those wh o have nea t
a nkles and coquettishly allow them to be seen on
oc casi o n ; no r d o they see an y beauty in Sir J ohn
S u c kling s lines ,
’
362 Sa a nd the Se m
“
Her feet ben eath her pe ttic oa t
Like little mi ce sto le in and o ut,
”
As if they fea red the light .

Tbe c usto m o f co ve rin g the fo o t has l ed to the

exaggera ti on of two vis ible fea tures in the be a uty
of its fo rm si ze and a rched instep In th a t re
— .

gar d m ode rn fashi o n h as tempered down to a level

o f co mmo n sen se when compa red with the medie val
f ashi on when the Venetian l adies for insta nce ao , ,

cording to Ma rinello at one time wore soles and

,

heel s a foo t o r m ore in height ve ritable stilts so tha t

, ,

on go ing o ut they wer e always ac co mpanie d by a

retinue of servan ts to prevent them from f allin g .

In ancien t G reece the feet we re frequently expo se d

to view ; hence in the descriptions of bea utiful per
sons the feet a re sometimes men tioned in w ords of
praise .

S ma ll feet are ess en tially a hum a n c haracter istic .

It w as S cho pen ha ue r who first drew attention to the

“
fact po inting out that in no animal are the t a rsus
, ,

a nd metatarsus together so small as in m a n a pe ,

cu lia rity connec ted with his ere c t attitude : man is

”
pl antigrade But size alone does not de termine the
.

ch a rm of a foot ; from the es thetic standpoint there

are other equally impo rtant features notably the , ,

ar ched instep whi c h besides intr oducing the be a uti

,

ful curve in place of the straight line in c re a ses the

foot s ca pa c ity for carrying a nd m aint a ini ng the
’
a n d en ds. To o s mall feet wo uld be un e a tbe tie u
as

feet that are to o large . Beauty imp lie s fun c tio n al

fitness a strict and pa rsimoni ous co rr e sp o n dence
,

vi ce .

The relative sise of the first an d sec o n d to e s is

perhaps the fea tu re tha t distinguishes mo a t str i

in gly the feet of men a n d a pes. In this m p e c t th e

feet of primitive peo ple s represent, as it w e re , an
inte rme dia te stage . The gm t to e it se e mmis still

in the process of undergo ing evolution .

Man y a rtists h old tha t the second to e S ho uld be

longer than the first This seems to be the Gr e e k
.

c an o n of beauty perh a ps co pied from the E gy p tia n

,

and ac co rding to some investigato rs the st a n da rd

, ,

is pro bably derived o r ig ina lly fr om the ne gro In .

deed a mo ng the cult ure d pe oples o f our time it i s

exceptional to find the seco nd toe the longe st The .

obverse is t rue of the feet o f children before their

feet are deformed by modern foo tgea r a nd of c ourse ,
it is also true of adults A shorter first t oe is ch ar
.
»

a c te r i
stic of apes — in fact in all other anim a ls the
, ,

first toe is co n siderably shorter th an the sec o nd .

In following the old G reek canon artists ha ve o ver

lo oked that a long fi rst toe seems t o be the t rue
 The Toes 365

h um an cha r acte ris tic a nd ha ve departed f ro m

,

cu rrent obs erva ti o n .

It ma y be that the long second t oe a ffected by

man y English artists w as impo rted from Italy ra ther
than fro m Greece as a writer t ried to prove some
,

yea rs ago ( J P H a rrison in J oa r of the An thr o

. . , .

p o lo gic al I nstitute of Gr ea t B rita in vol XII I , .

,

Among the Italia ns it appea rs a l o nger

, ,

sec ond t oe is far from ra re .

displa y the grace a nd bea uty of thei r form Among .

the a ncients da ncing includ ed cha rming gestures and

poses o f all pa rts of the body but sed a te d ancing
“ ”—
is chiefl y an affair o f the l ower ext remities an ,

exercise of the to es .

The ba ll roo m and d ance h all ha ve been called

-

Cupid s mo de rn camping gro un d The rfile of d an c

’
.

ing in c ourtship and sexu al sele ctio n h as been uni

ve rsall
y a cknowledg e d D a rwin .h a s given us a m as
ter fu l desc ription of the l ove a ntics a nd da nces of
“
birds They glide through the ai r with quivering
.

wings whi ch make a rapid whi rring sound like a

, ,

child s rattle , other bi rds remain ing on the gro und

’ ”
,

“ ”
flutter with a fitful a nd f a ntasti c m otion ; others
, ,
“
a ga in thro w themselves into indescribably odd a tti
,

”
tudes whils t courting the fema le .

Amon g s a va ges the da nce st an ds in the se rvice of

hun t ing and wa r as well as co u rtship There is little.

refinement of emo ti on in the primitive dance The .

366 Sav aa d tt e um
-

a trivi al accomplishmen t Y o un g me n a .

were not allowed to meet free ly a n d da

left to a special class of women o r sl a ve ,

flute girls Although the G reek go d s a r e

.

joy m en t c a m e t o be regarde d a s b e n e a t h
n ity an d especially a mong the Ro m a n s ii

garded as a sign o f efl emin a c y C ice r o

'

“
No m a n who is so ber da n ces u n leas he is ,

mind either whe n al o ne or in decen t so c

,

da ncing is the c o mp anio n o f w anto n c o n

”
dissoluten ess a nd lux ury .

The cust om o f l ooking down upo n in du]

dance w as perha ps a n Egyptia n in fl uen c
ancien t Egypt the upper cl asses were n ew
da ncing Am o ng the Chinese t o this da y ds
.

regarde d a s ridiculous a pas time in co mpa tl

,

a man s dignity
’
.

The modern c ra ze fo r d ancing reverses

attitude Even the older f ashi o ns the Po l
.
,

sourk a a nd p ol onaise the S panis h fan da t

,

Parisian c ancan the Vienn ese waltz had thei

, ,

in the need which was felt o f evo lving new an

urable me an s for more intimate co nt a ct be h

Regarding the evol u ti o n o f d ance m usic

Fin d: ( Ro ma n tic Lao s and Personal Bea u:
mill an 1 9 1 2 p 867 pa ssim ) w rites : The
, , .
“
 B10 W”M
, int ro d uction ; the sig n s in the m
C

indica ting an accele ra ted or reta r de d te mpo whm

the walt: is played a t a concert w he r e the un ifor m
z
,

ity of ha ll room mo v ement is not ca ll e d fo r ; n ote

-

w ha t s ubtle use he makes of a ll the o the r tn e a n s o f

exp re ssing amorous feeling wide me l o d ic in ter
—the
vals the piqu ant stirrin g ha rmo nie s the e xq u isitely
, , ,

mel ancholy fl ashes o f inst rument al c o l o r in g a lte r ,

v

nating with c hee rful moments sh o wing a subtl e pay ,

cho lo gic art of t ra n s la ting Mixe d Mo o ds o f Love

into the language o f ton es .

“
In the waltzes m a zo urkas a nd po lo n a is es o f
,

Cho pia we see still mo re strikin gly tha t th e m

function of da n c e music is amo ro us E ve n as .

Dan te s l ove for Beatrice w as t oo supe r sen sua l bo o

’
-
,
’
e the re al for this world so Cho pin s dan c e p ie c es a re
, ,
-

too subtle too full o f delica te n uances o f texnp o an d

,

Love epis odes to be adapted to a ba ll r oom wi th

,
-

o rdina ry mortals G ra ceful fai ri es al o ne could d an ce

.

a Chapin waltz ; mo rta ls a re t oo hea vy t oo cl ums y

.

, .

They can follow an amorous Chopin walt z wi th the

imagination alone whi c h is the abode of R om a n tic
,

Love To a S trauss waltz a hundred couples ma y

.

make love at o nce hence he writes fo r the o rchest r a ;

,

bu t Cho pin wro te fo r the pa rl o r pia n o beca u se the ,

feelings he utter s a re t oo deep to be realised by mo re

th an two a t a time one wh o pla ys an d o ne who
—
 Dan cin g 369

lis tens till their s o uls dance t ogethe r m a n e cs ta tic

,

embrac e .

It 18 perhaps mo re th an a coincidence tha t Vienn a ,

whi c h at o ne th e was s aid to ha ve the mo st beauti
ful women in a ll Euro pe was als o the h ome of ,

Joha nn S tra uss the prince of w altz ; a nd it w as a

,

Vienn ese writer who wr o te most interestingly o n the

“
psy chol ogy of the w altz d a nce : The waltz h as a
c reative , rej uven a ti ve power which no o ther dance ,

possesses The skipping po lka is ch a ra cterized by a

.

certain stifin ess a n d angularity a rhythm rather

'

sober an d old fashioned The ga l o p is a wild hur ri

-
.

c ane whi c h m oves along rudely and threa ten s to

,

blow over everythi ng that c o mes in its way ; it is

the most brutal of all dances an enemy of all tender ,

and re fined feel ings a ba ccha n a li a n rushing up and

,

dow n .

“
The walt z therefore rema ins as the only true
, ,

and real dan ce W altzing is n o t walking skipping

.
, ,

jumping rushing raving ; it is a gentle fl o ating an d

, ,

flying ; from the heaviest men it se ems to take away

some of their materiality to raise the most massive ,

woman from the ground into the air True the .

,

Viennese alone know how to dance it as they alone ,

know how to pl a y it The w altz insists on a

.

personal mon o poly on being lo v ed fo r its own sake

, ,

a n d pe rmits no vapid side rem arks the couple

glide along h a rdly speaking a word An d yet .

is this mute dance the m os t el oq uent the most ex ,

370 S et a nd the Sen ses

p ressi ve a n d n o ti o n a l the mo st sen suo us tha t c ould

,

be ima gin ed ; an d if the da n ce r ha s an ythin g to sa y

to his pa rt n e r let him mute ly c on fide it to her in
,

the swee t w hirl o f a w a ltz fo r the n musi c is his

,

a d v o c a te then e ve ry ba r ple a ds fo r him eve ry n o te

, ,

is a bille t d o ux e v e ry b rea th a dec la ra ti o n o f lo ve

-
, .

Jea lo us husba n ds do n o t all o w the ir wives to wa l tz

with a n o the r ma n The y a re right fo r the wal tz is
.
,
”
the D a n ce o f Lo ve .

The e ro ti c significa n ce o f dan cin g c o uld n o t be

exp resse d m o re c l e a rly ; a n d th ese re ma rks ho ld true

e ve n in stro n ge r m e asu re with re ga r d to the m o de rn

c ra ze fo r j a zz m u sic a n d da n cin g .
872 Iadce

mental 1 79 1 89 l fl 188
. , , .

Co nscience 1 97 901 964

. , ,

C onsciousness 1 70 1 71 1 91
, , , ,

M 1 49 , “
Ed uca on ti , 906, 957, 9
Criminality 1 99 ,

Cris is mental 1 85
, , , 1 91 Efficiency 1 76 ,

Emb race 85 ,

C ruel 901 Emotion ( d e r ma l

C rusa purity ) , 955 la its ) 84 ,

Cu lture , 1 99 , m l. 85

En d pl c asurc, 944
Dance, 81 9, 865 Enemss. 947
Dan ger , 958 n ironment, 46, 1 74,
E v
1 85
E
Da y D reamin g 1 46 949 , , 50
Degene r tion 1 56
a . E rotic 1 85 955
, ,

Dep reci tion ( o f sexual

a or E rotism 1 69 pa n ic
, , ,

De pressio n , 1 76, 988, 9 59, 968

Dermal e ro tism, 89
sense difl usio n o f, 1 9
,
‘
E
fi v
?
E ol on uti
d

,
809

1 70,
eness
sen sitiv , 99
D t c m t, 960
e a h en M 15
 Index

Exaltation . 95 1
E xcita tio n . 901 , 944, 96 1, 964 G n datio n. 844
G ro tiflc a tio n, 5 1 , 81 , 1 99, 909,
Experienc es supernatural 958
mu m
, ,

Eye s 85 7
, G reek beauty ( ) , ,

F ain 1 89 987 , none 99 5,

Fear . 956 95 8 , evolution 98 1

meu,
F
of
ac tio n -
m
W1 58, po n ies
sex,
e ber , 1 15

Fec blc lnded ness, 1 99 , passi

law
G re gar lo u
0 1 003 , 8 1 9, 89 4
Gr ow h
t , 1 68, 1 88. 1 88, 905
98, 99 1

Feel ng a
i ttitu . 1 7, 40, 41 , de 1 98, 968
6 1 , 79 , 76, 1 59
ob ec tives, 8 7
su j ec tiy e , 1 80
Feel ng a de n fan le
i - ttitu . i ti , 971 H abits , M C: 1 87,
F M , 990, 81 5
Fer il sa on of owers
t i ti ( fl ) , 984 substitution , 9 60
F e ch s olfac o
ti i m, t 801 H air 855,

F in als, $ 7, 855 , 866 Hairs 1 08 M , , a

F a on
ix ti , 1 79, 1 80, 997, 958,

Handshake, 58, 66, Q , 78.

Fro M 88
m
.

H ar o n , J P , 865 . .

H t a red, 954

H m lo c k E 1160, 1 1 8, 1 47,
8 1 0, 8 19 , 81 8, 395,

H eal th, 1 88, 849

E
61
3
ast,
o r bid en es ala tal mental 9 19
p
. . ,

o rc ple as re, u 944 re a o

l ti n to ue i n , 91 4 o na
Fo ge fulness
r t ( o f d reams ) , ea
H rln 8 1 8
-

H ear
t we ek ) ,
Form 847 H o 01, 850
n u
.

Formul tions ( religious )

a , H a d o t , 890
F unction acc essory ( nutri
. H emo rrho ds, 1 48, 947
E m e ita , 78 l
H or ric k , 8 m
H om e, 94
H uman na ture, 1 99
enetic n dpoln t ) 14
S
G ,

7 1 81 H as ma n 801 ,

G o ble t, 890 H ro the rap y. “ 1

Go e the , 988, 984. 801 Hy iene, men tal, 967
g
Hysteria, 944
874 In dus

Imp maio nl M ). Q
2
m
l nade ln acy of expreaaion ),
o i
a . a6 m
In fancy 1 59, , 1 5, pan ic
I n fan t 97
mo
,

In fan tile 67 , , 79, , 1 69, I”,

1 70, 1 78
I f l m
n a nti is , 996, 964 Magn etism 961 ,

hb
I n i itio n, 1 99, 1 97, 1 99 Mannerisma, 70, 1 87
I
I
nsa nity, 1 71 , 1 8 1 , 1 88
nstin c t, 49, 1 96, 1 99, 958, 959
Ma d a m
Marriage 79
$16, 8 1 1, a s,

m
,

Inatrn m talla , 1 86 Mar tian s. H ar riet ” 1 ,

I ell
nt a al h s
ect ( n tu r i to ry ), of
40
In te llectualiaation, 49, 45 Massage 1 19
m
,

I ntim acy, 70 uteri ( self) . r i-n.

o f to u c h, 58
I ntra u te rin e
( existen ce ) , 45, M asturbation 1 88, 1 45, 1 41 ,
,

59, 1 98, 1 80, 1 88 1 5 1 , 1 79, 1 77, ”0,

I ris, 859 M atin g instinc t, 89
Ml d
e o y, 8 1 9
emo ies, in an ti , 895
l a y e r, 979
J a mes, W
, 57 , 88
.

l e
M
Mem
Me
r
o r , 79, 1 41
ly
f
f
le
l m
J e ho va typ e ( o f ov 973 n ta ty ( n an ti e , p ri i
i
J o ya, ec sta tic, 959 e
tiv ) , 1 8 1 , 1 09
M h
eta p ysic a syst l
s, 78 em
h
K in s ip ( b r ain an d ak i n) , Me tazoa ( re p ro u d
ctio n ) , so
76 M d
in ( iso d
rd e rs ) , 1 89 , of
K ip lin g, R 1 75 p an ic»
Kiss, 66, 78, 87, 99, po rtion M d
o e sty, 1 90
f l
in an ti e , 1 00 H all , 895
ma te rn a , 99 l M o tio n , 89 1
sac ra m n ta , 1 01
e l M e
o tiv s, so ci , 91 8 al
K o lhna a , 346 Mo ve m n ts ( p u pos ess) , 1 66
e r el
K ne ss, 70 M usic, 890, 899, passion , 867
K ra f t- E wing, 1 89 , 999 M usk, 806
376 Indw
Reflex action 1 1 8 ,

Re fo rm ( sex ) 955 .

Re am -ion 1 6 . .

Rein forcement 1 87 ,

Religion 959 ,

Remo rse , 1

R e p resen ta tion b
( y oppo
sites ) 954
m
,

c n saio 1 69 , 1 68, 1 70, 1 85,

W
l “ . 99 1
Re rod c on
p u ti . 1 1 , 80. 8 1 S to ke l, . 14
.9 , 1 5 8,
Resourc es inner S tre am, J oha n n, 8 6 9
m
, ,

Response primal 1 5 , , , 91 , 75 u imati ,

S bl on , 1 70, 965
Reveries 999 pa n in
, ,

Superstition 1 66
mmi n su saa m
,

“ Ha
Sanity” 1 71
,
“
Scare literature ,

abuse us , , 1 76, 1 81, passion ,

904, 9 1 1
pun ishmen t ( unconscious ),
rep roac h,
see ng
ki , 64
1 97 $2 c tile
Talen t,
memo rig
s)
ush»
16
53 , 79
p
su fl cien cy, 1 80 TM 861 ,

Sensa on feel ng
ti ( i Taste, 1 67
on
ti ) , 9 1
Sens b l
i i ity, 1 9
abol on o f
iti , 18 minded, 1 88
Ten der—
Sense real
of ity, 6 1 , 76 Tenderness , as
Se al co a ons
xu nn ot ti , 69 Test 1 77
,

c av ng
r i . 99
Touch, 1 9. 1 4, 90, 69
Trans formism, 1 4, 1 5
Truth, ultimate, 78
T aits ( charac te
r r 967 Vicar iousness ( cl imax) ,
Tran s ference 1 8
, V iolence 901 ,

7 V irginity 1 98 .

V ision 89 67 840 , . , ,

Typ es ( male and female ) , 846 Vital craving 57 .

functions 8 1 ,

Unc onscio us 68 968 964

, , , Voice 895 ,

94 vs,
W o rdswo rth, n o
Wor c e
k , r a tiv , 9 1 1 e
Worr y , 940, 964
of ernal world 76
ext ,

Val ue ( social ) 91 9 $5
, , Zo la , 801
standards 1 ,