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Title: The Sexual Life of the Child

Author: Albert Moll

Contributor: Edward L. Thorndike

Translator: Eden Paul

Release date: March 25, 2009 [eBook #28402]
Most recently updated: January 4, 2021

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SEXUAL
LIFE OF THE CHILD ***

THE SEXUAL LIFE OF
THE CHILD

BY

DR. ALBERT MOLL

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY

DR. EDEN PAUL

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

EDWARD L. THORNDIKE
PROFESSOR OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

NEW YORK

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1919
All rights reserved

Copyright, 1912,
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1912.

Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing Co.—Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

INTRODUCTION

Dr. Moll is a gifted physician of long experience whose work with those
problems of medicine and hygiene which demand scientific acquaintance
with human nature has made him well known to experts in these fields. In
this book he has undertaken to describe the origin and development, in
childhood and youth, of the acts and feelings due to sex; to explain the
forces by which sex-responses are directed and misdirected; and to judge
the wisdom of existing and proposed methods of preventing the degradation
of a child's sexual life.

This difficult task is carried out, as it should be, with dignity and frankness.
In spite of the best intentions, a scientific book on sex-psychology is likely
to appear, at least in spots, to gratify a low curiosity; but in Dr. Moll's book
there is no such taint. Popular books on sex-hygiene, on the other hand, are
likely to suffer from a pardonable but harmful delicacy whereby the facts of
anatomy, physiology, and psychology which are necessary to make their
principles comprehensible and useful, are omitted, veiled, or even distorted.
Dr. Moll honors his readers by a frankness which may seem brutal to some
of them. It is necessary.

With dignity and frankness Dr. Moll combines notable good sense. In the
case of any exciting movement in advance of traditional custom, the
forerunners are likely to combine a certain one-sidedness and lack of
balance with their really valuable progressive ideas. The greater sagacity
and critical power are more often found amongst the men of science who
avoid public discussion of exciting social or moral reforms, and are
suspicious of startling and revolutionary doctrines or practices. It is
therefore fortunate that a book on the sexual life during childhood should
have been written by a man of critical, matter-of-fact mind, of long
experience as a medical specialist, and of wide scholarship, who has no
private interest in any exciting psychological doctrine or educational
panacea.

The translation of this book will be welcomed by men and women from
many different professions, but alike in the need of preparation to guide the
sex-life of boys and girls and to meet emergencies caused by its corruption
by weakness within or attack from without. Of the clergymen in this

country who are in real touch with the lives of their charges, there is hardly
a one who does not, every so often, have to minister to a mind whose moral
and religious distress depends on an unfortunate sex history. Conscientious
and observant teachers realize, in a dim way, that they cannot do justice to
even the purely intellectual needs of pupils without understanding the
natural history of those instinctive impulses, which, concealed and falsified
as they are under our traditional taboos, nevertheless retain enormous
potency. The facts, so clearly shown in the present volume, that the life of
sex begins long before its obvious manifestations at puberty, and that the
direction of its vaguer and less differentiated habits in these earlier years is
as important as its hygiene at the more noticeable climax of the early 'teens,
increase the teacher's responsibility. Moreover, there is probably not a
teacher of ten years' standing who has not faced—or by ignorance neglected
—some emergency where moderate insight into the laws whereby the vague
instincts of sex are turned into healthy and unhealthy habits, and form right
and wrong attitudes, could have rescued a boy or girl from years of
wretched anxiety, or degraded conduct, or both.

The social worker, still more emphatically, knows his or her need of a surer
equipment for the wise direction of the life of sex in childhood and its
protection from the abominable suggestions of those who are themselves
sexually diseased or depraved. The casual questioning of medical or legal
friends, reminiscences of vague references in the Bible or classic literature,
and the miscellaneous experiences which life itself throws in one's way, are
hopelessly inadequate.

The conscientious practitioner of medicine, too, will gladly add to the
scanty, though accurate, knowledge of the sex-instinct and its pathology
which is all that even the best medical course can compass, the facts
presented by a specialist in this field. The easiest way for those parents who
accept the responsibility for rational guidance of their children in matters of
sex-behavior to discharge this responsibility is by the aid of the family
physician. For the physician in such cases to gain the child's confidence,
understand his individual dangers and possible false attitudes, and give
more than perfunctory general counsel, knowledge of the psychology of
sex-behavior, as well as its physiology, is necessary. In general, also,
modern medical practice must look after the prevention of bad habits and

unnecessary anxieties in respect to the sex-life as well as their cure; and the
science of preventive medicine in this field receives a substantial
contribution from this summary of the sex-life of childhood.

There are now many men and women who are dissatisfied with doing for
their children merely what outgrown customs decree, who are willing to
give time and study, as well as money and affection, in their service, and
who are eager to see or hear or read anything pertinent to their welfare. For
many such parents, if they are of the scientific, matter-of-fact type, Dr.
Moll's book may prove the means of answering many troublesome
questions and of prompting to a wiser coöperation with church, school, and
the medical profession in safeguarding their own—and, we may hope, all
other—children against blunders and contaminations.

One word of caution is perhaps necessary for those readers who are unused
to descriptions of symptoms of diseases, abnormalities, and defects. Such
readers are likely to interpret perfectly ordinary facts as the symptoms
which they have been studying. So the medical student at the beginning of
his reading, fears appendicitis when he has slight indigestion, and sees
incipient tuberculosis in every household! So the embryonic psychologist
finds 'degenerates' in every crowd of boys, 'hypnotic suggestion' in every
popular preacher, and 'aphasia' in any friend who forgets names and faces!
Dr. Moll gives more protection against such exaggerated inferences than is
commonly given in books on pathology, but many of his readers will do
well to be on their guard lest they interpret perfectly innocent behavior as a
symptom of abnormality. The mischief done by our present ignorance and
neglect of important features of sex-behavior should be prevented without
the incidence of mischief from exaggerated expectations and unwise
meddling.

It would be evasive to shirk mention of the fact that many of the most
devoted servants of health and morals object to public discussion of the
facts of sex. They discard enlightenment about sex as relatively unimportant
because a clean ancestry, decency in the family and neighborhood, and
noble needs in friendship, love, and marriage must, in any case, be the main
roots of healthy direction and ideal restraint of the sex-instinct. Or they fear
enlightenment as a possible stimulus to undesirable imagination and

experimentation. Or they dislike, even abhor, it as esthetically repulsive—
shocking to an unreasoned but cherished craving for silence about these
things—a craving which the customs of our land and time have made an
unwritten law of society.

Of the first of these three attitudes, it may be said briefly that the relative
unimportance of enlightenment is a fact, but no argument against it.
Modesty, austerity, and clean living on the part of parents will
counterbalance much negligence in direct guidance or protection. But the
former need be in no wise lessened by improving the latter. Of the second, I
dare affirm that if the men and women in America should stop whatever
they are doing for an evening and read this book, there would be less
harmful imagination as a result than from the occupations which its reading
would replace. Of all the causes of sexual disorder, the reading of scientific
books by reputable men is surely the least! The third—that is, the esthetic—
repulsion toward publicity in respect to the natural history of sex, I will not
pretend to judge. Only we must not strain at gnats and swallow camels. It is
no sign of true esthetic or moral sensitiveness for a person to be shocked by
'Ghosts,' 'Mrs. Warren's Profession,' or 'The Sexual Life of the Child,' who
finds pleasant diversion in the treatment of sex-behavior in the ordinary
novel, newspaper, or play.

On the whole, the gain from giving earnest men and women the facts they
need, seems likely to outweigh by much the harm done to such light minds
as will be misled, or to such sentimental minds as will be wounded, by
enlightenment about sex. No harm will be done to those men and women
whose interest in the welfare of children makes them eager to face every
problem that it involves, and whose faith in the ideal possibilities of love
between the sexes is too well-grounded to be disturbed by the facts of its
natural history.

EDWARD L. THORNDIKE.

May, 1912.

PREFACE

The number of books and essays dealing with sexual topics published
during recent years is by no means small; but although some of the works in
question have added considerably to our knowledge, the advance of sexual
science as a whole has not been proportionate to the extent of these
contributions. The reason is that insufficient attention has been paid to
special problems; and the majority of writers have either repeated what has
already been said by another, in identical or equivalent words, or else they
have published comprehensive treatises on the sexual life, which may,
perhaps, be of interest to the laity, but do not in any way enrich our science.
Further advances in our knowledge of the sexual life can be effected only
by the investigation of special problems. Such work is, indeed, laborious;
but that it is also fruitful, has been clearly shown, not only in the first
instance by von Krafft-Ebing, but more recently, above all, by Havelock
Ellis, whose special studies have contributed more to the advance of sexual
science than the work of dozens of other writers.

The recognition of the need for specialised investigations has led me, in this
province of scientific work as in other departments, to devote myself to the
elucidation of certain definite problems. For several reasons I determined to
study the sexual life of the child. In the first place, I believe that an advance
in our knowledge of the sexual life of the child will indirectly enrich our
knowledge also of the sexual life of the adult. In order to understand the
sexual life, the gradual development of that life must be recognised, and for
this purpose it is essential that we should study the sexual life of the child.
Moreover, the modern movement in favour of the sexual enlightenment of
young persons renders indispensable the possession of precise knowledge
of the sexuality of the child; and such knowledge is no less necessary to all
instructors of youth, especially to those to whom the psychical life of
children is a matter of concern. Judges and magistrates also, as we shall see
in the seventh chapter, are very greatly interested in this matter: it is, in fact,
hardly open to question that erroneous legal decisions and the unjust
condemnation of reputed criminals can only be avoided by giving our
judicial authorities the opportunity of obtaining sound knowledge
concerning the sexual life of children in all its modes of manifestation. By
all these considerations I have been induced to study the problem of the

sexuality of children from the most widely different points of view.
Although other writers, such as Freud, Bell, and Kötscher, have contributed
certain data towards the solution of these questions, no comprehensive
study of the subject has hitherto been attempted. My material does not
consist only of the reports of patients. In addition, in order to avoid a one-
sided dependence upon pathological considerations, I have accepted with
greater confidence the reports concerning the sexual life of children which I
have received from healthy individuals, both men and women. I take this
opportunity of tendering my most heartfelt thanks to all those who have
assisted me in this manner.

ALBERT MOLL.

CONTENTS
page
Introduction v
Preface xi
Contents xiii
chap.
I. Introductory and Historical 1

Subdivisions of the Period of Childhood--The Notion of
Puberty--Methods of Investigation.

Rousseau and Tissot--The Philanthropes--Medical Literature--
The Older Psychology--History of Civilisation--Studies of
Prostitution--Works on Zoology--Biographies--Belletristic
Literature--Erotic Literature--Studies of Sexual Perversions--
Recent Special Researches--Diaries.

II. The Reproductive organs--The Sexual Impulse 17

The Male Reproductive Organs--Erection--Ejaculation--The
Voluptuous Sensation--Female Reproductive Organs--
Menstruation and Ovulation--Peripheral Processes, Erection,
Ejaculation, and Voluptuous Sensation, in the Female--The
Reproductive Organs in Children.

Components of the Sexual Impulse--Excitement of the Sexual
Impulse--The Sexual Impulse and the Voluptuous Sensation.

III. Sexual Differentiation in Childhood 38

Secondary Sexual Characters--First Period of Childhood--
Second Period of Childhood--Psychical Differences in
Children--The Teachings of Experimental Psychology--The
Teachings of Empirical Psychology

(Erfahrungspsychologie)--Inborn Character of Sexual
Differences--Pathological Experiences--Criminological
Experiences.

IV. Symptomatology 50

Erections in the Child--Ejaculation--Origin of Ejaculation--
Voluptuous Sensation.

The Undifferentiated Sexual Impulse--Examples--Phenomena
of Contrectation in the Child--The Object of Desire--
Romanticism--Manifestations of Love--Jealousy--Love-Letters
and Love-Poems--Vanity--Shame--Differences between Boys
and Girls--Changes in the Object of Desire.

Interdependence of the Processes of Contrectation and
Detumescence--Temporal Relationship between these
respective Processes.

Masturbation--The Voluptuous Sensation--Modes of
Masturbation--Erogenic Zones--Comparison between Boys and
Girls.

Ejaculation as a Consequence of Feelings of Anxiety--
Pollutions--Madame Roland's Description--Individual
Differences--Sexual Phenomena in the Youth of the Lower
Animals.

The Teachings of Castration--Significance of the Reproductive
Glands--Theories.

The Years of Ripening--Retardation of Sexual Development.

V. Pathology 114

Pathologically Premature Menarche in Girls--Premature
Puberty in Boys--Conditions met with in Dwarfs--Sexual
Parodoxy--Examples.

Sexual Perversions--Premature Development--Congenital
Character of Perversions--Illusions of Memory--Disappearance
of the Perversions of Childhood--The Association Theory--
Criticism of this Theory--Instances in which Perversions could
be traced back to a very early Age--Origin of Sexual
Perversions in Non-Sexual Dispositions--Homosexuality and
Friendship--Sexual Cruelty and Cruelty of other Kinds--
Diagnostic Difficulties--Exhibitionism--Skatophilia--
Hermaphroditism.

VI. Etiology and Diagnosis 146

Family Tendencies--Abnormal Nervous System--Race--
Climate--Position in Life--Town and Country--Modern
Civilisation--Importance of Congenital Predisposition--

Seduction--Local Stimulation--Chemical Stimuli--Psychical
Stimuli.

Diagnostic Difficulties--Recognition by means of Observation-
-Erroneous Diagnoses of Masturbation--The Value of Physical
Signs--Value of a Confidant--Misleading Statements and
Conduct on the part of Children.

Non-Sexual Erections--Non-Sexual Manipulations--Sucking
Movements--Nail-Biting--Imitativeness--Impossibility of any
Definite Demarcation of Sexual Feelings.

VII. Importance of the Sexual Life of the Child 179

The Sexual Life and Morbid Hereditary Predisposition--
Hygienic Dangers--The Dangers of Masturbation in General--
Of Masturbation in the Child--Masturbation without
Ejaculation--Exaggerated Views to be Avoided--Amatory
Passion and Suicide--Freud's Theory--Infectious Diseases.

Ethical Dangers--Masturbation and Ethics--Social Dangers--
Social Degradation of Girls--Seduction of Girls--Forensic
Importance of the Sexual Life--Children's Evidence--
Circumstances affecting Culpability--Penal Responsibility of
Children--Intellectual Dangers--Sexuality and Altruism.

Sexual Perversions and the Choice of a Profession--
Punishments and Masochism--Curiosity of Children--Sexuality
and Art--The Question of the Offspring.

Importance of Tardy Sexual Development.

VIII. The Child as an Object of Sexual Practices 219

Pædophilia Erotica--Other Sexual Offences against Children--
Sexual Acts Performed on Children--Significance of each Acts
to the Child--Artificial Production of Sexual Perversions--False
Accusations--Statistics of Accusations by Children--Reasons
for Protecting Children----Injuries effected on Children by the
Law--Responsibility of Pædophiles.

Exhibitionism--Sadism--Newspaper Advertisement.

IX. Sexual Education 246

Limits of Educability--General Hygiene--Custom and
Morality--Inculcation of the Sentiments of Shame and Disgust-
-Influence upon these Sentiments of Habit and Example--
Morality and Nakedness--Excessive Sentiments of Shame and
Disgust--The Nude in Art--Morality in Fanatics--Erotic Books
and Pictures.

Co-Education of the Sexes--Children's Balls--Diversion of the
Sexual Impulse--Religious Education--The Bible--The
Confessional--Hypnotism--Psycho-Analysis--Counteraction of
Psychical Contagion.

Sexual Enlightenment--General Educational Interests--
Hygienic Reasons for Enlightenment--The Dangers of Venereal
Infection--Of Masturbation--Ethical Reasons--Forensic
Reasons--Social Reasons--Age at which Enlightenment is
Desirable--Place of Enlightenment; School or Home--The
School Physician--Importance of the Mother--
Individualisation--Mode of Enlightenment.--Reasons urged
against Enlightenment--Need that the Instructor should be an
Enlightened Person--Exaggerated Views regarding the
Importance of Sexual Enlightenment.

Physical Hygienic Measures--Stimulation by Means of the

Bed--Local Stimulation--Mechanical Measures--
Hydrotherapeutic Measures--Dirt--Sport and Games--Féré's
Method.

Pedagogy and Sexual Perversions--Dangers from Pædophiles--
Necessity for Heterosexual Influences--Dangers of Corporal
Punishment--The Right of the Teacher to Inflict Punishment--
Conclusion.

Index of Subjects 325

Index of Names 337

THE SEXUAL LIFE OF
THE CHILD

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY AND HISTORICAL

To speak of "the sexual life of the child" seems at first sight to involve a
contradiction in terms. It is generally assumed that the sexual life first
awakens at the on-coming of puberty (the attainment of sexual maturity of
manhood or womanhood); the on-coming of puberty is regarded as the
termination of childhood; in fact the term child is usually defined as the
human being from the time of birth to the on-coming of puberty. But this
contradiction is apparent merely, and depends on the assumption that the
on-coming of puberty is indicated by certain outward signs (more especially
the first menstruation and the first seminal emission), insufficient attention
being paid to the long period of development which usually precedes these
occurrences. And yet, during this period of preliminary development, the
occurrence of certain manifestations of the sexual life is plainly
demonstrable.

The period of childhood is subdivided into several sub-epochs, but the
delimitation and nomenclature of these varies so much with different
investigators, that to avoid misunderstanding I must first define the
subdivisions which I myself propose to employ. If we regard the beginning
of the fifteenth year as the termination of childhood, we may divide
childhood into two equal periods, the first extending from birth to the
completion of the seventh year, the second from the beginning of the eighth
to the end of the fourteenth year. I shall in this work designate these two
periods as the first and the second period of childhood respectively. In the
first period of childhood, the first year of life may be further distinguished
as the period of infancy.1 The first and second periods of childhood
comprise childhood in the narrower sense of the term. The years that
immediately follow the beginning of the fifteenth year I shall denote as the

period of youth. Inasmuch as the symptoms of this latter come to differ
from those of childhood proper, not abruptly, but gradually, the first years,
at least, of youth will often come under our consideration, and I shall speak
of this period of life as the third period of childhood. Although childhood in
the narrower sense comprises the first and second periods only, childhood
in the wider sense includes also the third period. It is hardly possible that
any misunderstanding can arise if the reader will bear in mind that
whenever I speak of childhood without qualification, I allude only to the
period of life before the beginning of the fifteenth year. For all these periods
of childhood, first, second, and third, I shall for practical convenience when
speaking of males use the word boy, and when speaking of females, the
word girl.

The use of this terminology must not be regarded as implying that the
distinctions indicated correspond in any way to fixed natural lines of
demarcation; on the contrary, individual variations are numerous and
manifold. Not only does the rate of development differ in different races (in
the Caucasian race, more especially, the age of puberty comes
comparatively late, so that among the members of this race childhood is
prolonged); but further, within the limits of one and the same race, notable
differences occur. More than all have we to take into account the differences
between the sexes, childhood terminating earlier in the female sex than in
the male—among our own people [the Germans] this difference is
commonly estimated at as much as two years. In addition, in this respect,
there are marked differences between different classes of the population, a
matter to which we shall return in Chapter VI.

It is also necessary to point out here in what sense I employ the term
puberty (nubility, sexual ripeness, or maturity), and the associated terms,
nubile and sexually mature. Much confusion exists in respect of the
application of these terms. Some use puberty to denote a period of time,
others, a point of time, and in various other ways the word is differently
used by different authors. Similarly as regards the term nubile; some
consider an individual to be nubile as soon as he or she is competent for
procreation, others speak of anyone as nubile only when the development of
the sexual life is completed. Obviously, these two notions are very different;
for instance, a girl of thirteen who has begun to menstruate may be

competent for the act of procreation, and yet her sexual development may
still be far from complete. The confusion as regards the use of the
substantive puberty is no less perplexing. One writer uses it to denote the
time at which procreative capacity begins, and believes he is right in
assuming that in the male this time is indicated by the occurrence of the
first involuntary sexual orgasm.2 I may point out in passing that there is a
confusion here between procreative capacity and competence for sexual
intercourse, for as a rule the first seminal emissions contain no
spermatozoa. But, apart from such confusions, the term puberty is used in
various senses. Thus, a second writer denotes by puberty the point of time
at which the sexual development is completed; a third means by puberty the
period which elapses between the occurrence of the first involuntary orgasm
and the completion of sexual development; a fourth uses the word to denote
the entire period of life during which procreative capacity endures; and
finally, a fifth includes under the notion of puberty the whole course of life
after the completion of sexual development. In this work I shall mean by
puberty the period of life between the completion of sexual development
and the extinction of the sexual life. The period during which the state of
puberty is being attained will be spoken of as the period of puberal
development, and I shall therefore speak of the beginning and the end of the
puberal development. The terms nubility, sexual maturity, nubile, and
sexually mature, will be used with a similar signification. As regards the
puberal development, let me at the outset draw attention to the fact that it
takes place very gradually; and further, as we shall see, that it begins much
earlier than is commonly believed. In the young girl, from the date of the
first menstruation to the time at which she has become fitted for marriage,
the average lapse of time is assumed by Ribbing3 to be two years. This is a
fair estimate, but it does not correspond to the totality of the period of the
puberal development. If we estimate that period from its true beginning its
duration greatly exceeds two years, for the first indications of the puberal
development are manifest in the girl long before the first menstruation, and
in the boy long before the first discharge of semen. The approach of puberty
is indicated by numerous symptoms, some of which are psychical and some
physical in character. In perfectly healthy children, as will be shown in the
sequel, individual symptoms may make their appearance as early as the age
of seven or eight, and further symptoms successively appear during
succeeding years, until the puberal development is completed.

What methods are available for the study of the sexual life of the child?
Three methods have to be considered: first, the observation of children;
secondly, experiment; and thirdly, reports made by individuals regarding
their own experiences. As regards the last mentioned, we must distinguish
clearly between accounts reproduced from memory long after the incidents
to which they relate, and accounts given by children of their state at the
time of narration. But both varieties of clinical history are defective. The
child is often incompetent to describe his sensations—think, for instance, of
the processes of the earliest years of life. Even when the child is able to
make reports, a sense of shame will often interfere with the truthfulness of
his account. Whilst as regards the memory-pictures of adults, recourse to
this method often fails us because the experiences are so remote as to have
been largely, if not entirely, forgotten. The autobiographies of sexually
perverse individuals have drawn my attention to the fallacious nature of
memory. Its records are uncertain, but that especially is recorded which has
aroused interest. Not only the interest felt in the experiences at the time
determines what shall be recorded, but also the interest felt later when
reviving these experiences in memory. Childish experiences are very readily
forgotten, either if they were uninteresting at the time, or if subsequently
they have become uninteresting. During childhood, a homosexual woman
has experienced sexual feeling, directed now towards boys, now towards
girls. Later in life, when the homosexuality has developed fully, the
memory of the inclination towards boys fades away, and her homosexual
sentiments only are remembered. As a result, we often find that the
homosexual woman—and the converse is equally true of the homosexual
man—declares at first, when inquiries are made, that she has never
experienced any inclination for members of the other sex; whereas, at any
rate in a large proportion of cases, a stricter examination of her memory, or
the reports of other individuals, will reveal beyond dispute that in childhood
heterosexual inclinations were not lacking.

A further defect of memory has been made manifest to me by the study of
perversions. Processes which in childhood were entirely devoid of any
sexual tinge, but which later became associated with sex-feelings, very
readily acquire false sexual associations also when they are revived in
memory. Consider, for instance, the case of a homosexual man. He
remembers that, as a small boy, he was very fond of sitting on his uncle's

knees, and he believes that the pleasure he formerly experienced was tinged
by sexual feeling. In reality this was by no means the case. His uncle took
the boy on his knee in order to tell him a story. Possibly, also, the riding
movements which the uncle imitated by jogging his knees up and down
gave the child pleasure, which, however, was entirely devoid of any
admixture of sexual feeling. But in the consciousness of the full-grown
man, in whom homosexual feeling has later undergone full development, all
this becomes distorted. The non-sexual motives are forgotten; he believes
that even in early childhood he had homosexual inclinations, and that for
this reason it gave him pleasure to ride on his uncle's knees.

Nor is observation in any way adapted to furnish us with a clear picture of
the sexual life of the child. So little can be directly observed, that in the
absence of reports much would remain entirely unknown. From the moment
when the children gain a consciousness, however obscure, of the nature of
sexual processes, they almost invariably endeavour to conceal their
knowledge as much as possible, so that we shall discover its existence only
by a rare chance. None the less, the results of direct observation are often
important; sometimes because we are able to watch children when they are
unaware of our attention, and sometimes because they do not as yet fully
understand the nature of the processes under observation, and for this
reason are less secretive.

The third method, that of experiment, is available to us only in the form of
castration. I need not dilate on the inadequacy of this application of the
experimental method, even apart from the fact that it subserves our
purposes almost exclusively in respect of the male sex—for in the case of
young girls, castration (oöphorectomy) is almost entirely unknown.

Thus we see that all our methods of investigation exhibit extensive lacunæ,
and further, that they are all in many respects fallacious; we shall therefore
endeavour to supplement each by the others, in order to arrive at results
which shall be as free from error as possible. Thus guided, we learn that
sexual incidents occur in childhood far more frequently than is usually
supposed. So common are they, that they cannot possibly escape the notice
of any practising physician or educationalist who pays attention to the
question, provided, of course, that he enjoys the confidence of the parents.

These latter have often been aware of such sexual manifestations in their
children for a long time, but a false shame has prevented them from asking
the advice of the physician. They have been afraid lest he should regard the
child as intellectually or morally deficient, or as the offspring of a
degenerate family. In addition, we have to take into account self-deception
on the part of the parents, who, indeed, often deceive themselves willingly,
saying to themselves that the matter is of no importance, and that the
symptoms will disappear spontaneously.

Having given this brief account of the terminology to be employed and of
the methods of investigation, I propose to sketch no less briefly the history
of the subject.

Casual references to the sexual life of the child are to be found even in the
older scientific literature. In the latter half of the eighteenth century, and at
the beginning of the nineteenth, interest in the subject became more general.
Two works, in especial, published almost simultaneously, attracted the
attention of physicians and educationalists. One of these, Rousseau's Émile,
discusses the proper conduct of parents and elders in relation to the
awakening sexual life, and what they should do in order to delay that
awakening as much as possible. The other, the celebrated work of Tissot,
depicts the dangers of masturbation, but deals chiefly with persons who
have attained sexual maturity. None the less, in consequence of this book,
much attention was directed to the sexual life of the child. Earlier works on
masturbation, such as that of Sarganeck, for instance, had not succeeded in
arousing any enduring interest in this question. But Rousseau's and Tissot's
books induced a large number of physicians and educationalists to occupy
themselves in this province of study. Thus at this early day many authorities
were led to advocate the sexual enlightenment of children, in order to guide
them in the avoidance of the dangers of the sexual life. An excellent
historical and critical study of this movement, written by Thalhofer, has
recently been published.4 Among the educationalists who took part in it may
be mentioned Basedow, Salzmann, Campe, and Niemeyer. The modern
movement in favour of sexual enlightenment originated chiefly in the
endeavour to prevent the diffusion of venereal diseases; but the earlier
movement, occurring at a time when much less was known about venereal
diseases, had a different aim. This was rather to prevent masturbation and

other sexual excesses, on account of their direct effect upon the organism;
an aim not neglected by the modern movement for sexual enlightenment,
though subsidiary to the object of the prevention of the venereal diseases.
Teachers of that day touched, of course, upon the subject of the sexual life
of the child. But this was done cursorily, for when instruction was given on
the sexual life, not the actual experience of children, but the sexual life of
mature persons, was the subject of discourse. This must be said also of the
works of those physicians who, like Hufeland in his Makrobiotik (written as
a sequel to the work of Tissot), spoke of the dangers of masturbation.

A few of the numerous medical books dealing with the puberal
development deserve mention in this place; for instance, Marro, La Pubertà
(first edition, published in 1897), and Bacqué, La Puberté (Argenteuil,
1876). A number of recent works on masturbation have also touched on the
topic of the sexual life of the child.

Apart from these recent special investigations, the older and the more recent
medical and anthropological literature contains numerous observations
which concern the subject of this book. More especially do we find reports
of cases in which the external manifestations of sexual maturity appeared in
very early childhood. Now we find an account of a girl menstruating at four
years of age, now an account of a three-year-old boy who exhibited many of
the external signs of sexual maturity. Even in the older, purely
psychological works we find occasional references to the sexual life of the
child—a fact that will surprise no one who is acquainted with the high
development of the empirical psychology (Erfahrungspsychologie) of that
day (1800). The Venus Urania of Ramdohr, for instance, a work on the
psychology of love, emphasises the frequency of amatory sentiments in
children.

In works dealing with the history of civilisation, we also encounter
occasional references to our subject. Take, for instance, the knightly Code
of Love (Liebeskodex), a work highly esteemed in the days of chivalry, and
legendarily supposed to have originated in King Arthur's Court. Paragraph 6
of this Code runs: "A man shall not practise love until he is fully grown."
According to Rudeck,5 from whom I quote this instance, the aim of the
admonition was to protect the youth of the nobility from unwholesome

consequences. Obviously, the love affairs of immature persons must have
been the determining cause of any allusion to the matter. We may also draw
attention in this connexion to many marriage laws, which show that the
subject has come under consideration, either because they expressly
sanction the marriages of children, or, conversely, because they forbid such
unions. At the present day, among many peoples (as, for instance, the
Hindus), child-marriages are frequent; and in many countries in which such
marriages are now illegal, they were sanctioned in former ages. Many
works on prostitution also touch on our chosen subject. Parent-Duchâtelet,
in his great book, refers to girls who had become prostitutes at the ages of
twelve or even ten years. I shall show later that in individual instances such
early prostitution is directly dependent upon the sexuality of the children
concerned. Many ethnological works also contribute to our knowledge of
the sexual life of the child, describing, as they do, in certain races, the early
awakening of sexual activity.

Remarkably little material do we find, however, in many works in which we
might have expected to find a great deal. I refer to works on education and
on the psychology of the child. In exceptional instances, indeed, as I have
already indicated, the educationalists have taken part in the movement in
favour of sexual enlightenment. But when we consider the enormous
importance and great frequency of the sexual processes of the child, we are
positively astounded at the manner in which this department of knowledge
has been ignored by those who have written on the science and art of
education, and by those psychologists who have occupied themselves in the
study of the mind of the child. Has it been a false notion of morality by
which these investigators have been withheld from the elucidation of the
sexual life of the child? Or has the reason merely been their defective
powers of observation? As a matter of fact, I suppose that both these causes
have operated in producing this remarkable gap in our knowledge.

A certain amount of material is to be found in a number of books on
zoology, and also in a few quite recent works on comparative psychology.
Among works of the former class I mention especially that of Brehm, who
has reported a considerable number of individual details; of books on
comparative psychology, one of the most useful for our purposes is that of

Groos,6 who gives us much valuable information regarding love-games of
young animals.

I may also point out that in the autobiographies, biographies, memoirs, &c.,
of celebrated persons, we find much information regarding premature
amatory sentiments. Goethe, in his Wahrheit und Dichtung, relates that as a
boy of ten or so he fell in love with a young Frenchwoman, the sister of his
friend Derones. Of Alfred de Musset, his brother and biographer, Paul
Musset, records that at the early age of four he was passionately in love
with a girl cousin. It is on record that Dante fell in love at the age of nine,
Canova at five, and Alfieri at ten. Well known also is the story of Byron's
love, at eight years of age, for Mary Duff. Möbius tells us of himself that
when a boy of ten he was desperately enamoured of a young married
woman. We are told of Napoleon I. that when a boy of nine he fell in love
with his father's cousin, a handsome woman of thirty, then on a visit to his
home, and that he caressed her in the most passionate manner. Belonging to
an earlier day was Felix Platter, the celebrated Swiss physician of the
sixteenth century, who tells us in his autobiography that when he was a
child he loved to be kissed by a certain young married woman. In Un Coeur
Simple, Flaubert describes the development of the love-sentiments. "For
mankind there is so much love in life. At the age of four we love horses, the
sun, flowers, shining weapons, uniforms; at ten we love a little girl, our
playmate; at thirteen we love a buxom, full-necked woman. The first time I
saw the two breasts of a woman, entirely unclothed, I almost fainted.
Finally, at the age of fourteen or fifteen, we love a young girl, who is a little
more to us than a sister and a little less than a mistress; and then, at sixteen,
we love a woman once more, and marry her."

Most charmingly Hebbel describes his first experience of love, when but
four years old. "It was in Susanna's dull schoolroom, also, that I learned the
meaning of love; it was, indeed, in the very hour when I first entered it, at
the age of four. First love! Who is there who will not smile as he reads these
words? Who will fail to recall memories of some Anne or Margaret, who
once seemed to him to wear a crown of stars, and to be clad in the blue of
heaven and the gold of dawn; and now—but it would be malicious to depict
the contrast! Who will fail to admit that it seemed to him then as if he
passed on the wing through the garden of the earth, flitting from flower to

flower, sipping from their honey-cups; passing too swiftly, indeed, to
become intoxicated, but pausing long enough at each to inhale its divine
perfume!... It was some time before I ventured to raise my eyes, for I felt
that I was under inspection, and this embarrassed me. But at length I looked
up, and my first glance fell upon a pale and slender girl who sat opposite
me: her name was Emily, and she was the daughter of the parish-clerk. A
passionate trembling seized me, the blood rushed to my heart; but a
sentiment of shame was also intermingled with my first sensations, and I
lowered my eyes to the ground once more, as rapidly as if I had caught
sight of something horrible. From that moment Emily was ever in my
thoughts; and the school, so greatly dreaded in anticipation, became a joy to
me, because it was there only that I could see her. The Sundays and
holidays which separated me from her were as greatly detested by me as in
other circumstances they would have been greatly desired; one day when
she stayed away from school, I felt utterly miserable. In imagination she
was always before my eyes, wherever I went; when alone, I was never
weary of repeating her name; above all, her black eyebrows and intensely
red lips were ever before my eyes, whereas I do not remember that at this
time her voice had made any impression on me, although later this became
all-important."

In belletristic literature, also, we find occasional references to the love-
sentiment in childhood. Groos refers to an instance which he thinks perhaps
the most delicate known to him, and one in which the erotic element is but
faintly emphasised, namely, Gottfried Keller's Romeo und Julia. "In a spot
entirely covered with green undergrowth the girl stretched herself on her
back, for she was tired, and began in a monotonous tone to sing a few
words, repeating the same ones over and over again; the boy crouched close
beside her, half inclined, he also, to stretch himself at full length on the
ground, so lethargic did he feel. The sun shone into the girl's open mouth as
she sang, lighting up her glistening white teeth, and gleaming on her full red
lips. The boy caught sight of her teeth, and, holding the girl's head and
eagerly examining her teeth, said, 'Tell me, how many teeth has one?' The
girl paused for a moment, as if thinking the matter carefully over, but then
answered at random, 'A hundred.' 'No!' he cried; 'thirty-two is the proper
number; wait a moment, I'll count yours.' He counted them, but could not
get the tale right to thirty-two, and so counted them again, and again, and

again. The girl let him go on for some time, but as he did not come to an
end of his eager counting, she suddenly interrupted him, and said, 'Now, let
me count yours.' The boy lay down in his turn on the undergrowth; the girl
leaned over him, with her arm round his head; he opened his mouth, and
she began counting: 'One, two, seven, five, two, one,' for the little beauty
did not yet know how to count. The boy corrected her, and explained to her
how to count properly; so she, in her turn, attempted to count his teeth over
and over again: and this game seemed to please them more than any they
had played together that day. At last, however, the girl sank down on her
youthful instructor's breast, and the two children fell asleep in the bright
midday sunshine."

In erotic literature we also occasionally find descriptions belonging to our
province, as, for instance, in the Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter. Indeed, a
certain kind of erotic literature, more especially pornographic literature,
selects this subject by preference. Thus, I may allude to the Anti-Justine of
Rétif de la Bretonne. In a certain section of such literature, improper
practices between children and their parents and other blood relatives play a
part.

Recently, in connexion with two different fields of study, attention has been
directed to the sexual life of the child. The first of these is concerned with
the abnormal, and especially the perverse, manifestations of the sexual life,
a study of which Westphal, and above all von Krafft-Ebing, have been the
founders. The other is the modern movement in favour of the sexual
enlightenment of children. As regards the latter, the literature to which it has
given rise has not, indeed, contributed much, beyond a few casual
references, in the way of positive material concerning the sexual life of the
child. But none the less, it is this movement which has made it of prime
importance that our subject should be carefully investigated. As regards
studies of the abnormalities of the sexual impulse, under the name of
paradoxical sexual impulse cases have been published in which that
impulse manifested itself at an age of life in which it is normally non-
existent—old age and childhood. Recent research has brought to light a
large number of cases of this nature. Among those who have reported such
cases, we must mention first of all von Krafft-Ebing, and in addition, Féré,
Fuchs, Pélofi, and Lombroso.

In addition to these various works, others must be mentioned which have
arisen mainly out of the recently awakened interest in the sexual life; for
example, works on puberty, the psychology of love, and similar topics. In
his Fisiologia del Amore (Physiology of Love), Mantegazza emphasises the
love-manifestations of childhood. The same may be said of many other
general works on the sexual life, and more especially, as previously
mentioned, of works on prostitution. Certain works on offences against
morality have also enriched our knowledge in this province.

It might at first sight appear from what has been said that the literature of
the sexual life of the child was extremely voluminous, but this is not in
reality the case. Almost always, this important question is handled in a
casual or cursory manner. A thorough presentation of the subject has not, as
far as my knowledge extends, hitherto been attempted. Freud rightly insists
that even in all, or nearly all, the works on the psychology of the child, this
important department is ignored. Quite recently, indeed, special works have
appeared upon the sexual life of the child, among which I must first of all
mention Freud's own contribution to the subject, forming part of his Drei
Abhandlungen zur sexuellen Theorie (Three Essays on the Sexual Theory,
Leipzig and Vienna, 1905).7 But what this writer describes as an indication
of infantile sexuality, viz., certain sucking movements, has, in my opinion,
nothing to do with the sexual life of the child—as little to do with sexuality
as have the functions of the stomach or any other non-genital organ. A
number of other processes occurring in childhood, which Freud and his
followers have recently described as sexual in nature, and as playing a great
part later in life in connexion with hysteria, neurasthenia, compulsion-
neuroses, the anxiety-neurosis, and dementia præcox, have very little true
relationship to the sexual life of the child. In any case, Freud has not
systematically studied the individual manifestations of the sexual life of the
child. I must also mention a small work by Kötscher, Das Erwachen des
Geschlechtsbewusstseins und seine Anomalien The Awakening of the
Consciousness of Sex and its Anomalies, Wiesbaden, 1907). Kötscher,
however, does not give any detailed account of the sexual life of the child;
he starts, rather, from the sexual life of the adult, and only as a supplement
to his account of this does he give a few data regarding the awakening of
the consciousness of sex. In the American Journal of Psychology, July
1902, we find an elaborate study of the sexual life of the child. In this paper,

A Preliminary Study of the Emotion of Love between the Sexes, the writer,
Sanford Bell, devotes much attention to the love-sentiments in childhood.
He discusses, indeed, only heterosexual, qualitatively normal inclinations,
and his essay deals only with the psychological aspects of the question. The
processes taking place in the genital organs do not come within the scope of
the writer's observations, and, indeed, are outside the limits of his chosen
theme. A great many other points connected with the question are also left
untouched. None the less, the paper is full of matter. The same must be said
of the works of the English investigator, Havelock Ellis, who is, in my
opinion, the leader of all those at present engaged in the study of sexual
psychology and pathology. Unfortunately his writings are not so well
known in Germany as they deserve to be, the reason being that owing to
their strictly scientific character they are not so noisily obtruded on the
public notice as are certain other widely advertised and reputedly scientific
works. In his various books, and above all in his six volumes entitled
Studies in the Psychology of Sex (F. A. Davies Company, Philadelphia, Pa.),
as a part of his general contributions to our knowledge of the sexual life,
Havelock Ellis records numerous observations relating to the years of
childhood; especially valuable in this connexion are the biographies given
in the third volume of the above-mentioned Studies.

A valuable source of data for our field of inquiry exists in the form of
unpublished diaries, autobiographies, and albums, which are not accessible
to the general public. I have myself had the opportunity of studying a
number of records of this nature, and have formed the opinion that a
quantity of invaluable material lies hidden in these recesses. I may add that
the records I have been able to use have not only related to living persons;
in addition, I have been able to study a number of albums and diaries dating
from an earlier day. These have remained unpublished, in part because they
appeared to be of interest only to the families of the writers, and in part
because many of them were in intention purely private memoranda, a
written record for the sole use of the writer.

Speaking generally, however, this province of research has received but
little scientific attention; and of comprehensive studies, intended to throw
light on every aspect of the sexual life of the child, not a single one is
known to me.

CHAPTER II
THE SEXUAL ORGANS—THE SEXUAL IMPULSE

A proper understanding of physiological functions is based upon anatomical
knowledge of the organs concerned. For our purpose, therefore, a
knowledge of the sexual organs of the child is essential. The proper course,
in this instance, appears to be to start with an account of the adult organs,
and then to describe the distinctive characteristics of the same organs in the
child. Let us, then, begin with the organs of the adult man.

The membrum virile or penis is visible externally, and behind it is situated
the scrotum. Within this latter are two ovoid structures, named testicles or
testes. Each testicle is enveloped in a fibrous capsule, known as the tunica
albuginea, from which fibrous septa pass into the interior of the organ, thus
dividing it into a number of separate lobules. Each lobule is composed of
seminiferous tubules, which are greatly convoluted and likewise branched,
the branches being continuous with those of neighbouring tubules, both
within the same lobule, and (by perforating the fibrous septa) in adjoining
lobules. In the walls of the seminiferous tubules the spermatozoa are
formed. The seminiferous tubules unite to form the efferent ducts (vasa
efferentia), about a dozen in number for each testicle; immediately passing
out of the testicle, these efferent ducts make up the epididymis, situated at
the upper and back part of the testicle. After numerous convolutions, these
unite at length on each side to form a single canal, which leaves the
epididymis under the name of the vas deferens; this is the excretory duct of
the testicle, conveying the secretion of that organ to the exterior. The vas
deferens traverses the inguinal canal into the abdominal cavity, and therein
passes downwards to the prostatic portion of the urethra (vide infra). The
anterior portion only of the penis is visible externally, dependent in front of
the scrotum; the posterior portion is concealed by the scrotum and the skin
of the perineum. The terminal segment of the penis is formed by the glans,
which is covered by the foreskin or prepuce. This last is sometimes
artificially removed: either on ritual grounds, as, for instance, among the
Jews; or for medical reasons, for example, when the preputial orifice is

greatly constricted. At the anterior extremity of the glans penis is the orifice
of the urethra (meatus). The urethra is a canal running through the entire
length of the penis, opening by its proximal extremity into the urinary
bladder, and serving for the passage of the urine from the bladder to the
exterior of the body. The main substance of the penis is composed of three
cavernous bodies, the paired corpora cavernosa penis, and the single
corpus spongiosum, or corpus cavernosum urethræ. These consist of what
is known as erectile tissue, a spongy mass within whose lacunar spaces a
large quantity of blood can, in certain conditions, be retained. When this
occurs, the penis becomes notably thicker and longer, and simultaneously
hard and inflexible. This process is known as erection of the penis, and is
requisite to render possible the introduction of the organ into the genital
canal of the female.

The proximal segment of the urethra is surrounded by the prostate gland.
The secretion of this gland is conveyed into the urethra by numerous short
ducts, known as the prostatic ducts. Behind the prostate, at the base or
fundus of bladder, are the paired seminal vesicles. The duct of the seminal
vesicle joins the vas deferens of the same side (both functionally and
embryologically the seminal vesicle is no more than a diverticulum of the
vas deferens); passing on under the name of the common seminal or
ejaculatory duct, the canal opens into the prostatic portion of the urethra
(the orifices of the two common seminal ducts are in the folds of mucous
membrane forming the right and left lateral margins of the prostatic utricle
or uterus masculinus). These ducts convey the secretion of the testicles into
the urethra along which canal it passes to the exterior. Behind the posterior
part of the urethra, but distal to the prostate gland, are situate also the paired
glands of Cowper, or suburethral glands, whose excretory ducts likewise
open into the urethra. There are glands also in the walls of the seminal
vesicles, the vasa deferentia, and the urethra; the urethral glands are
commonly known as the glands of Littré.

As previously mentioned, it is in the testicles that the secretion necessary
for the reproductive act is prepared. This secretion is evacuated during
sexual intercourse, and also during masturbation and involuntary seminal
emissions. The testicular secretion is a tenacious fluid. When examined
microscopically, it is seen to contain countless spermatozoa, structures

about 50 [Greek: m] (1/500 inch) in length, with a thick head and a long
filiform tail. They represent the male reproductive cells, which during
coitus are introduced into the interior of the female reproductive organs; a
single spermatozoon unites with the ovum of the female to form the
fertilised ovum. The spermatozoa are formed in the walls of the convoluted
seminiferous tubules. The cells lining these tubules are of several different
kinds (although in childhood they are not differentiated as they are after the
puberal development has taken place). One variety of these cells, the
spermatogonia, undergo an increase of size at puberty, and from these
spermatogonia, after passing through several intermediate transitional
stages, the spermatozoa are formed.

It was formerly believed that the sole function of the testicles was the
production of the spermatozoa; recently, however, the opinion has gained
ground that these organs have in addition another specific function, that of
internal secretion. Whilst the spermatogonia become transformed into
spermatozoa, other cellular structures of the testicle, more especially the
interstitial cells, produce, it is assumed, the internal secretion of the gland.
The constituents of this internal secretion, having been poured into the
general circulation, are supposed to give rise to the specific masculine
sexual development, and, in particular, to lead to the appearance of the
secondary sexual characters. This matter will subsequently be discussed in
detail, and here I shall merely add that perhaps none of the proper
constituents of the internal secretion find their way into the external
secretion of the testicle.

This external secretion of the testicles does, however, receive the admixture
of a number of other secretions, to constitute the semen as actually
discharged, viz., the secretion of the prostate gland, that of the seminal
vesicles, Cowper's glands, and the glands of the vasa deferentia, and
perhaps also that of the glands of Littré. The term semen is, indeed, often
applied to the secretion of the testicles alone; but to avoid
misunderstanding, Fürbringer8 recommends that only the mixed secretion,
as actually discharged, should be spoken of as the semen, and that this term
should never be employed to denote the testicular secretion alone.

In what has gone before, I have not only described the structure of the male
sexual organs, but have alluded also in passing to their functions. These
latter must, however, be described more fully. Let us begin with erection,
which, as we saw, is due to distension of the penis with blood. How is this
distension brought about? It results from stimulation of the erection centre.
Until recently, it was supposed that this centre was situated in the lumbar
enlargement of the spinal cord; but now, owing to the researches of L. R.
Müller, it is believed to form part of the sympathetic plexuses of the pelvis.
Stimulation of the centre leads to distension of the penis with blood, and
thus to erection of that organ. The stimulation of the centre can be effected
in either of two ways.

In the first place, by psychical processes. Thus, in a man, the sight of a
woman exercises such a stimulus, the stimulation proceeding from the brain
along the spinal cord to reach the centre. The psychical stimulus may also
consist of reminiscences. In this way the memory of an attractive woman
may be just as effective in causing erection as if she were actually visible at
the moment; reading erotic literature may have the same result. When the
sexual impulse is perverted, the ideas causing erection will naturally be
themselves of a perverse character. Thus, in the homosexual male, erection
occurs at the sight or remembrance of a man; in the fetichist, the idea of the
fetich is operative—in the case of the body-linen fetichist, for instance, the
idea of articles of underclothing.

In the second place, the activity of the erection centre can be aroused by
physical stimuli. To this category belong masturbatory manipulations,
stimulation of the glans penis and other parts of the genital organs. But
other erogenic areas exist, the stimulation of which produces the same
results. Among these areas, the buttocks must be particularly mentioned.
But individual peculiarities play a great part in this connexion. Thus, in
many persons, a slight stimulation of the nape of the neck, of the scalp, &c.,
has an erogenic effect. In all cases alike, the stimulus is conducted along the
sensory nerves to the erection centre, and it is the stimulation of this centre
which by reflex action leads to distension of the penis with blood and its
consequent erection. The physical stimulus leading to erection may also
result from some pathological process, such as inflammation of the penis or
of the urethra. Finally, certain internal physiological processes may be the

starting-point of the afferent physical stimuli leading to erection; for
example, distension of the bladder, and also of the seminal vesicles, and of
the seminiferous tubules of the testicle. In addition, it is probable that many
of the processes of growth occurring in the reproductive glands act in a
similar way. These internal stimuli all pass to the erection centre along the
afferent (sensory) nerves, and induce erection by reflex action; and it is
important to bear in mind that this effect may result without any direct
affection of consciousness by the originating afferent impulses.

Although either kind of stimuli, psychical or physical, acting alone, may
give rise to erection, experience shows that in most instances the two
varieties co-operate in the production of this effect. Thus, in the sexually
mature man, the accumulation of semen in the seminal vesicles gives rise,
not only to excitement of the erection centre, but also to voluptuous ideas,
and these latter, in their turn, further stimulate the erection centre.

Normally, during coitus, erection is followed by ejaculation. A special
nerve centre for ejaculation is also supposed to exist; and the ejaculation
centre, like the erection centre, was formerly believed to be situated in the
lumbar enlargement of the spinal cord, but recent investigations have shown
that it also most probably forms part of the sympathetic plexuses of the
pelvis. This centre also may be stimulated either by psychical or by physical
stimuli. In normal conditions, however, much more powerful stimuli are
needed to cause ejaculation than those which are competent to give rise to
erection. For this reason, erections often occur without leading to
ejaculation, whereas in normal conditions ejaculation hardly ever occurs
without erection. In fact, ejaculation in the absence of erection is almost
peculiar to pathological states, and may occur, for instance, in many forms
of impotence, in which the ejaculation centre still remains susceptible to
stimulation, whilst the erection centre is exhausted. Whereas stimulation of
the erection centre exercises its reflex influence through the vasomotor
nerves, thus leading to distension of the penis with blood, the reflex
impulses resulting from stimulation of the ejaculation centre are transmitted
by the motor nerves to certain muscles—those, namely, whose contraction
forcibly expels the accumulated semen. The contractions of the affected
muscles occur rhythmically, the stimulation of the ejaculation centre giving
rise to a series of contractions alternating with relaxations. True ejaculation,

resulting from the activity of these muscles, must be distinguished from the
appearance of a drop or two of fluid at the urethral meatus, which
occasionally occurs at the outset of sexual excitement—the so-called
urethrorrhoea ex libidine. This fluid runs out while the ejaculatory muscles
are quiescent. It was formerly believed that it consisted of the secretion of
the prostate gland; but Fürbringer, to whom we are indebted for the most
valuable researches in this province, has shown that this view is erroneous.
These drops are, he states, derived solely from the glands of Littré and the
glands of Cowper (urethral and suburethral glands).

Sexual excitement is accompanied throughout by a sensation of pleasure,
specifically known as voluptuous pleasure, the voluptuous sensation, or
simply voluptuousness (in Latin, libido sexualis). Several stages of the
voluptuous sensation must be distinguished: its onset; the equable
voluptuous sensation; the voluptuous acme, coincident with the rhythmical
contraction of the perineal muscles and the ejaculation of the semen; and,
finally, the quite sudden diminution and cessation of the voluptuous
sensation. Associated with the last stage we usually have a sense of
satisfaction, and simultaneously a cessation of the sexual impulse; a sense
of ease and calm ensues, and at the same time a feeling of fatigue. This
voluptuous sensation localised in the genital organs must, of course, be
distinguished from the general sense of pleasure produced in a man by the
idea of, or by contact with, a woman in whom he is sexually interested.

Now let us pass on to the consideration of the reproductive organs in the
female. The most conspicuous part of the external genital organs consists of
two large folds, situated on either side of the median line, and known as the
labia majora. Within these are two much smaller folds, the labia minora or
nymphæ. In the median line, in the space between the labia minora, we see
two apertures: the anterior of these is the urethral orifice (meatus), from
which the comparatively short and almost straight urethra of the female
passes upwards and backwards to the bladder; the posterior aperture is the
vaginal orifice. The labia minora, divergent posteriorly, converge as they
pass forwards like the limbs of a V; at the apex of the V is the clitoris; in
shape and structure this resembles the penis of the male, but it is much
smaller, and is solid, not being perforated by the urethra. It contains two
corpora cavernosa, which unite to form the body of the organ, whilst the

distal extremity is known as the glans, and is homologous to the glans
penis. Posteriorly to the clitoris, and beneath the mucous membrane on
either side, is an additional mass of erectile tissue, known as the vaginal
bulb, or bulb of the vestibule. Just outside the vaginal orifice on either side
are visible the orifices of the ducts of Bartholin's glands (known also as
Duverney's glands); these are homologous with Cowper's glands in the
male.

When we attempt to pass from the vaginal orifice to the internal
reproductive organs, we find that in the virgin an obstacle exists, the hymen
or maidenhead, consisting of a duplicature of the mucous membrane. It is
very variable in form, but in the great majority of instances it diminishes the
size of the vaginal inlet to such an extent as to render coitus impossible
until the hymen has been torn. Through the vaginal orifice access is gained
to the interior of the vagina, a tubular structure, but flattened from before
backwards, so that in the quiescent state the anterior and posterior walls of
the passage are in apposition. The uterus or womb is a muscular, pear-
shaped organ, with an elongated central cavity, which opens into the upper
part of the vagina. At the upper end of the cavity of the uterus are two small
laterally placed apertures, which lead into the Fallopian tubes (or oviducts).
These tubes pass outwards in a somewhat sinuous course towards the
ovaries, the reproductive glands of the female, homologous with the
testicles in the male, and situated on either side of the upper extremity of
the uterus. The shape of the ovaries is somewhat ovoid. They contain a
large number of vesicular structures, the ovarian follicles, the largest, ripe
follicles being known as Graafian follicles, whilst the smaller, partially
developed follicles are termed primitive ovarian follicles, or primitive
Graafian follicles. In the interior of each follicle is an ovum. In the sexually
mature woman, a Graafian follicle ripens at regular intervals of four weeks.
When ripe, the follicle bursts, the ovum is expelled, and passes through the
Fallopian tube into the interior of the uterus: here it is either fertilised by
uniting with a spermatozoon derived from the male, in which case it
proceeds to develop into an embryo; or else it remains unfertilised, in which
case it is shortly expelled from the body.

In the uterus, as well as in the ovaries, an important change occurs at
intervals of four weeks, characterised by an increased flow of blood to the

organ, culminating in an actual outflow of blood from the vessels into the
uterine cavity, and thence through the vagina to the exterior of the body; the
whole process is known as menstruation, the monthly sickness or the
(monthly) period. After the fertilisation of the ovum, during pregnancy, that
is to say, menstruation usually ceases until after the birth of the child, and
often until the completion of lactation.

I do not propose to discuss here the nature of the connexion between these
periodic processes in the ovaries and the uterus, respectively—that is,
between ovulation and menstruation. I shall, however, take this opportunity
of stating that, as careful investigations have shown, the periodic processes
in question are not limited to the uterus and the ovaries, but affect also the
external genital organs, which become congested simultaneously with
menstruation; and further, that the entire feminine organism is affected by
an undulatory rhythm of nutrition, the rise and fall of which correspond to
menstruation and to the intermenstrual interval, respectively.

I must now give some account of the peripheral processes occurring in the
female genital organs in connexion with the sexual act. In part, they are
completely analogous to those which take place in the male. I have already
pointed out that in many respects the clitoris in the female corresponds to
the penis in the male, In the clitoris, also, erection occurs, conditioned
partly by psychical and partly by physical stimuli. The psychical stimuli
consist of ideas relating to the male. The physical stimuli may, just as in the
case of the other sex, vary in their nature. Thus, the condition of the
reproductive glands may act as a physical stimulus to erection; also the
touching of certain regions of the body, especially the clitoris, the labia
minora, or other erogenic zones. Under the influence of such stimuli, the
venus plexuses making up the vaginal bulbs also become distended with
blood. In fact, speaking generally, sexual excitement is characterised by a
vigorous flow of blood to the genital organs. During coitus, in woman, as in
man, a process of ejaculation normally occurs, taking the form of
rhythmical muscular contractions, affecting not only the perineal muscles,
but also the muscular investment of the vagina, and occasionally, perhaps,
the uterus itself. These muscular contractions also favour the expulsion of a
secretion, but this secretion does not contain the reproductive cells of the
female, and consists merely of a mixture of indifferent secretions—the

secretion of Bartholin's glands, that of the uterine mucous membrane, and
that of the mucous glands of the vagina and vulva. In the woman also, even
at the outset of the sexual act, a secretion from the local glands takes place,
whereby the genital region is moistened prior to the actual orgasm. We have
as yet no precise knowledge as to which glands are concerned in the
production of this phenomenon, which is homologous to the urethrorrhæa
ex libidine of the male. In woman, as in man, the curve of voluptuousness
exhibits four phases: an ascending limb, the equable voluptuous sensation,
the acme, and the rapid decline. There are, however, in this respect, certain
differences between man and woman, to which von Krafft-Ebing drew
attention, and whose existence was confirmed by Otto Alder.9 Whereas in
the male the curve of voluptuousness both rises and falls with extreme
abruptness, in the female both the onset and the decline of voluptuous
sensation are slower and more gradual. There is an additional difference
between man and woman. In woman very often voluptuous pleasure is
entirely lacking; certainly such absence is far commoner in women than in
men—a condition of affairs which must on no account be confused with
absence of the sexual impulse. Even when the sexual impulse is perfectly
normal, the entire voluptuous curve with its acme may be wanting. In such
cases, the after-sense of complete satisfaction, which occurs more
especially when ejaculation has been associated with an extremity of
voluptuous pleasure, it is commonly also lacking. Finally, it is necessary to
add that in woman, as in man, the reproductive glands appear to have a
duplex function—such is, at least, the belief to which recent investigations
more and more definitely point. The ovaries, that is to say, do not only
produce ova; they also, like the testicles, furnish an internal secretion, and
the absorption and distribution of this secretion by the blood are supposed
to cause the development of the secondary sexual characters in woman.

Having now concluded our account of the structure and functions of the
productive organs of adults, let us turn to consider the differences between
these organs and those of children. In the child, the testicles are
considerably smaller; smaller also are the penis and the other genital organs.
In the adult, the root of the penis is surrounded by the pubic hair; this hair is
absent in the child. The most important distinctive characteristic, however,
lies in the fact that in the child the morphological elements upon which the
capacity for procreation depends, namely, the spermatozoa, are not yet

present in the testicles. The spermatozoa first make their appearance during
that year of life which is usually regarded as the year of the puberal
development. The microscopical appearances of the testicle, of which an
account has previously been given, thus naturally differ according as the
specimen under examination has been taken from a child or from an adult.
As regards the other glands considered to form part of the genital organs,
some of these secrete even in childhood. This matter will be subsequently
discussed in some detail.

In the female sex, also, there are notable differences in the condition of the
genital organs between the adult and the child. In the first place, the relative
sizes of the various organs differ greatly. But other differences are also
noticeable, not dependent, however, on differences in age, but on whether
there has or has not been experience of sexual intercourse, and on whether
pregnancy and parturition have occurred. When we compare a female child
with an adult woman, the first obvious difference is in the shape of the
external genital organs. In the child, the vulva is placed much higher and
more to the front, so that it is distinctly visible even when the thighs are in
close apposition. In the child, also, the labia majora are less developed, for
as womanhood approaches a great deposit of fat takes place in these
structures. Again, in the child, the outer surfaces of the labia majora and
that part of the skin of the abdomen just in front of the labia (the mons
veneris) are as hairless as the rest of the body, whereas in the adult woman
these regions are covered with the pubic hair. According to Marthe
Francillon,10 to whom we are indebted for an elaborate study of puberty in
the female sex, during the puberal development changes occur also in the
clitoris. The genital corpuscles of Krause and the corpuscles of Finger
(Wollustkörperchen), the terminals of the nerves passing to the erectile
tissue of the clitoris, undergo at this time a marked increase in size. The
clitoris itself, hitherto comparatively small, now attains a length of three to
four centimetres (1.2 to 1.6 inch), in the quiescent state, and of four and a
half to five centimetres (1.8 to 2 inches) when erect. In the virgin also, as
previously mentioned, the hymen is present, a structure of very variable
form. After defloration its remnants persist in the form of small
prominences around the margin of the vaginal inlet (carunculæ
myrtiformes). But, quite independently of defloration, in the child the
vaginal orifice is much smaller than in the riper girl. The uterus undergoes

remarkable changes. In the foetus, during the latter part of intra-uterine life,
this organ grows very rapidly; but immediately after birth its growth is
arrested, so that in a girl of nine it is little larger than in the new-born infant.
During the period of puberal development, however, the growth of the
organ is once more extremely rapid. Its shape also changes at this time. In
the child, the uterus is longer in proportion to its thickness; in childhood,
too, the comparative length of the cervix in relation to that of the body of
the organ is much greater than in the adult woman. We need only allude in
passing to the fact that later in life marked changes occur in the uterus as a
result of pregnancy and parturition. The hyperæmia and the bleeding that
take place periodically during menstruation lead to certain changes in the
mucous surface of the uterus. Ovulation, which in the sexually mature
woman recurs at four-weekly intervals, also gives rise to certain permanent
changes in the ovaries. The site of each ruptured Graafian follicle becomes
cicatrised, and in consequence of the formation of these little scars, the
ovary no longer retains the smoothness of surface which was characteristic
of the organ in childhood. From birth onwards the ovaries gradually
increase in size, but the growth is disproportionate in different diameters.
Thus, for instance, during the eighth year of life, growth is chiefly in
thickness, so that the ratio between the length and the thickness becomes
less than before. The structure of the ovaries also varies at different ages. In
a girl of three years, the primitive ovarian follicles number about 400,000;
at the age of eight it is estimated that their number has been reduced to
about 36,000. Certainly the majority of the primitive follicles come to
nothing. True Graafian follicles, of which an account has already been
given, are not usually formed prior to the beginning of the puberal
development; occasionally, however, they are formed in the ovaries of
immature girls.

Let us now pass to the consideration of the sexual impulse. We learn from
personal observation that two entirely distinct processes participate in this
impulse. In the first place, we have the physical processes that take place in
the genital organs; these are in part unperceived, but in part they affect
consciousness in the form of common sensations, or as ordinary tactile and
other similar sensations. In the second place, we have those higher
psychical processes by means of which man is attracted to woman, and
woman to man. In our actual experience of the normal sexual life, both

these groups of processes do, as a matter of fact, work in unison; but not
only is it possible for us to distinguish them analytically; it is, in addition,
possible in many instances to observe them in action clinically isolated each
from the other. A long while ago I utilised this distinction for the analysis of
the sexual impulse, describing the impulse in so far as it was confined to the
peripheral organs as the detumescence-impulse (from detumescere, to
decrease in size), and in so far as it takes the form of processes tending
towards bodily and mental approximation to another individual, as the
contrectation-impulse (from contrectare to touch, or to think about). The
distinction will become clearer to our minds if we familiarise ourselves first
with cases in which either process occurs independently of the other. The
detumescence-impulse is sometimes the sole manifestation of the sexual
impulse. Certain idiots practise masturbation as a physical act, because
sensations proceeding from the genital organs impel them to do so,
precisely as itching of an area of the skin impels us to scratch. They
masturbate without thinking of another person, and they feel no impulsion
whatever towards sexual contact with another person. Analogous
phenomena may be witnessed in the animal world also, in connexion with
the masturbatory acts of monkeys, bulls, and stallions. When a stallion
kicks its genital organs again and again with its hind-foot, and repeats the
action until ejaculation ensues, we are hardly justified in assuming that the
animal has the idea of a mare before its mind. We must rather suppose that
we have to do with a local physical stimulus, to which the stallion reacts in
the manner above described. The other component, also, of the sexual
impulse, the contrectation-impulse, manifests itself, occasionally, at any
rate, in isolation. Certain boys, long before the appearance of any signs of
the puberal development, are impelled towards physical contact with
members of the other sex, to kiss them, to think of them, although these
boys may exhibit no tendency whatever to masturbate, or to manipulate
their genital organs. It often happens, indeed, that such a boy is himself
greatly astonished to find, some day, that these ideas are reflected to the
genital organs, giving rise to erection; or, when he is embracing a girl, to
experience erection and ejaculation. In the sexually mature normal man, the
detumescence-impulse and the contrectation-impulse act in unison, and
hence he is impelled towards intimate contact with the woman, and is
ultimately driven to effect detumescence by the practice of coitus.
Nevertheless, we must hold fast to the idea that in the normal adult man the

sexual processes may also be theoretically analysed into these two
components.

This is true also of woman, in whom the processes in the genital organs are
equally separable from those which impel to contact with a member of the
other sex. But in woman, the processes in the genital organs do not
culminate in the ejection of the reproductive cells, that is, of the ovum, but,
as we have seen, in the ejaculation of indifferent secretions. In the woman,
also, the detumescence impulse is occasionally met with in isolation—for
example, in many female idiots. In the animal world, too, we encounter it as
an isolated phenomenon. Certain mares, when rutting, rub their hind
quarters against some object in their stalls. The contrectation-impulse may
also manifest itself in isolation in woman. It is then directed towards the
male, but is not in any way associated with the wish for a definite sexual
act. Most commonly, however, in woman also the two components of the
sexual impulse are united, and from this union results the impulsion
towards coitus. But to this extent the conditions in woman are apt to differ
from those in man, inasmuch as, in the former, voluptuous sensations are
more often in abeyance; or in woman voluptuous pleasure may not arise
during coitus, but may be produced in some other way, as, for instance, by a
masturbatory act.

The sexual impulse, and indeed either of its components, may be excited
either by bodily or by mental stimuli; but we must always bear in mind the
fact that in normal adults, both male and female, the two components are so
intimately associated that they can as a rule be separated only by artificial
analysis. The nature and mode of operation of the stimuli need not be
further discussed, since enough has been said about the matter in our
description of erection. Nor is it necessary in this place to deal with such
differences as may exist between the psychosexual life of the child and that
of the adult, since this matter will be fully considered in the fourth chapter.
In this chapter my aim has merely been to give a general description of the
sexual impulse.

Here I need allude to one more point only, a knowledge of which is
indispensable for the understanding of the sexual life of the child, namely,
the connexion between the central processes and the peripheral voluptuous

sensation. Let us ask, in the first place, by what means the voluptuous
sensation, the voluptuous acme, and the sense of satisfaction, are produced.
Various factors are here operative. A homosexual man, in heterosexual
coitus, by keeping present to his imagination the idea of coitus with a man,
may succeed in obtaining erection and ejaculation; but he does not
experience the voluptuous acme, nor does he feel the sense of satisfaction.
Notwithstanding the fact that the peripheral processes occur in normal
fashion, the sense of satisfaction remains in abeyance; because the act is in
his case inadequate, the sexual act in which he is engaged lacks harmonious
relationship to his sexual impulse. But the same homosexual man,
embracing a man with whom he is in full sympathy, will experience alike
the voluptuous acme and the sense of satisfaction. Mutatis mutandis, the
like is true of woman. Many cases which have been regarded as instances of
sexual anæsthesia would appear in quite another light if the woman
concerned were to have intercourse with a sexually sympathetic man. I have
myself known cases in which women were able to experience the
voluptuous acme in intercourse with men whom they earnestly loved, whilst
in intercourse with men to whom they were indifferent, the voluptuous
sensation and the sense of satisfaction were wanting, even though in some
of these cases the peripheral processes culminated in ejaculation. Such a
physically complete sexual act, without voluptuous acme or sense of
satisfaction, may occur when the woman, having intercourse with a man
whom she does not love, pictures in imagination that she is having
intercourse with her lover. Unquestionably, the psychical processes are of
the greatest importance in contributing to the occurrence of the voluptuous
sensation and the sense of satisfaction. On the other hand, of course, certain
peripheral conditions must also be fulfilled if the voluptuous acme is to
ensue. Among these conditions may be mentioned a certain anatomical state
of the skin and the nerves concerned. Experience also shows that in the
adult the voluptuous acme coincides with the act of ejaculation. Ejaculation
is effected by the rhythmical contraction of certain definite muscles, and
Otto Adler believes that it is these contractions which are principally
effective in producing the voluptuous acme, and that actual ejaculation is
not indispensable. He believes, that is, that the voluptuous acme may occur
in the absence of any discharge of actual secretion.

In any case, let us hold fast to the fact that in the adult, for the occurrence of
the voluptuous acme and of the sense of full satisfaction, certain central
processes are, in general, indispensable.

CHAPTER III
SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION IN CHILDHOOD

In the previous chapter, I have described the differences between the
reproductive organs of men and women, and between those of adults and
children, respectively. Man and woman are, however, distinguished one
from the other, not only by differences in their reproductive organs, but by
other qualities as well, some of these being bodily, others mental. Such
distinctive characters are spoken of as secondary sexual characters, in
contradistinction to the primary sexual characters, the reproductive organs.
Our terminology would, perhaps, be more exact if we were to regard the
reproductive glands alone, the testicles and the ovaries, as primary sexual
characters; including the rest of the genital organs among the secondary
sexual characters. Havelock Ellis11 distinguishes, in addition to the primary
and secondary sexual characters (as commonly defined), tertiary sexual
characters, by which he denotes those differences between the sexes which
do not attract our attention when we compare individual members of the
two sexes, but which become noticeable when we compare the average
male with the average female type. Among such tertiary sexual characters
may be mentioned the comparatively flatter skull, the greater size and
activity of the thyroid gland, and the lesser corpuscular richness of the
blood, in women. Especially distinct are the secondary sexual characters in
respect of general bodily structure. The form of the skeleton is different in
the two sexes. Thus, in woman the pelvis is wider and shallower than in
man. In the hair also there are notable differences: in woman the hair of the
head tends to grow much longer, and woman is much less liable than man
to premature baldness; the beard, on the other hand, is a masculine
peculiarity. In woman the breasts attain a much greater development. The

larynx is in man more prominent and longer; in woman it is wider and
shallower. Woman's skin is more delicate than man's. And so on.

Now what have we to say regarding these sexual differences in the case of
children? During the age which we have defined as the first period of
childhood, except in the matter of the genital organs, we can detect hardly
any important bodily characters distinguishing the sexes. Still, even at this
early age some differences have been recorded. Thus, the average weight of
new-born girls is less than that of new-born boys, the figures given by
Stratz12 being, for boys, 3500 grams (7.7 lbs.); for girls, 3250 grams (7.15
lbs.). According to a very large number of measurements, the mean length
of the new-born girl is somewhat less than that of the new-born boy, the
difference amounting to nearly 1 cm. (2/5ths inch). Craniometric records,
taken at the end of the first period of childhood, exhibit differences between
the sexes; in general, the measurements show that the girl's head is smaller
than the boy's in respect both of length and breadth. Further, dynamometric
records, taken from children six years of age, have shown that the grasp in
girls is less powerful than in boys. But if we except such differences as
these, which relate rather to averages than to individuals, and which,
moreover, are for the most part demonstrable only during the latter part of
the first period of childhood, we find that, apart from the reproductive
organs, very little difference between the sexes can be detected during the
first years of life. Many investigators have been unable to confirm the
assertion that even in the first year of life the hips are more powerfully
developed in girls than in boys. Fehling,13 however, declares that as early as
the fifth month of intra-uterine life, sexual differences manifest themselves
in the formation of the pelvis. However this may be, it is beyond question
that during the earlier years of the first period of childhood the differences
between the sexes are comparatively trifling. But towards the end of this
period, sexual differentiation becomes more marked. According to Stratz, it
is at this time that the characteristic form of the lower half of the body
develops. The thighs and the hips of the young girl exhibit a somewhat
more marked deposit of fat than is seen in the boy of the same age. To a
lesser extent the same is true of the calves. It is often assumed that even in
very early childhood the sexes can be distinguished by the formation of the
face. The girl's face is said to be rounder and fuller than the boy's; the
expression of countenance in the former, to be more bashful and modest.

Stratz, however, urges in opposition to this view, with justice, in my
opinion, that we have here to do only with the effects of individual
educational influences, or perhaps with individual variations, from which
no general conclusions can safely be drawn.

During the second period of childhood sexual differences become much
more distinct. Before considering these differences, I must say a few words
regarding the growth of the child, since in this particular there exists a
notable distinction between the sexes. Careful measurements have shown
that during certain years of childhood growth occurs especially in height,
whereas in other years the main increase is in girth. For this reason, it is
customary to follow Bartels in his subdivision of each of the two periods of
childhood into two subperiods. The age from one to four years is the first
period of growth in girth; from the beginning of the fifth to the completion
of the seventh year is the first period of growth in height; from the
beginning of the eighth to the completion of the tenth year is the second
period of growth in girth; and from the beginning of the eleventh to the
completion of the fourteenth year is the second period of growth in height.
During these periods there are certain differences in respect of growth
between boys and girls. Although in general the growth in height of the boy
exceeds that of the girl, there is a certain period during which the average
height of girls is greater than that of boys. From the beginning of the
eleventh year onwards, the girl grows in height so much more rapidly than
the boy, that from this age until the beginning of the fifteenth year the
average height of girls exceeds that of boys, although at all other ages the
reverse is the case. In our consideration of the differences between the
sexes, these differences in respect of growth must not be overlooked.

In addition to these, other important differences between the sexes manifest
themselves during the second period of childhood. In the first place, it is an
established fact that in the girl the secondary sexual characters make their
appearance earlier than in the boy, the boy remaining longer in the
comparatively neutral condition of childhood. We have seen that in the girl,
at the end of the first period of childhood, the lower half of the body begins
to resemble that of the woman in type. During the second period of
childhood, this peculiarity becomes more marked; the pelvis and the hips
widen, the thighs and the buttocks become more and more rounded; the

enduring feminine characteristics in these respects are acquired. More
gradually, the feminine development of the upper half of the body succeeds
that of the lower; the transition from the lower jaw to the neck become less
abrupt, and the face becomes fuller. The sexual difference in the growth of
the hair also manifests itself in childhood. Whether cut or uncut, the girl's
hair tends to grow longer than the boy's. Later, the typical development of
the breasts occurs. As early as the beginning of the second period of
childhood, the surface of the areola mammæ may become slightly raised;
but the typical deposit of fat, leading to the hemispherical prominence of
the breast, does not begin until towards the close of the second period of
childhood. Even later than this is the growth of the axillary and pubic hair.
Various answers are given to the question as to the relation in time between
the appearance of menstruation and the development of the sexual
characters just described. Unquestionably there are great differences in this
respect. Whereas Axel Key declared that the secondary sexual characters
appeared before the first menstruation, according to C. H. Stratz this is true
only of girls belonging to the lower classes; whilst according to his own
observations on girls belonging to the upper classes of society, the first
menstruation precedes the development of the breasts and the growth of the
pubic and axillary hair.

Concerning a number of sexual differences, during childhood, authors are
not agreed. As regards the type of breathing, for instance, in the adult man,
the abdominal type prevails; that is, the respiratory exchange of gases is
effected chiefly by movements of the diaphragm and the abdominal
muscles: whereas in the adult woman the respiration is costal, the
respiratory exchange being effected chiefly by movements of the thorax.
How unsettled our views are in respect of the types of respiration in
children is well displayed by the collection of opinions given by Havelock
Ellis.14 According to Boerhaave, sexual differences in the type of respiration
were manifest even in very small children; but his observations have not
been confirmed by others. Thus, Sibson states that the characteristic costal
type of respiration begins in girls at the age of ten, for which reason some
observers have assumed that the wearing of the corset is the cause of its
appearance; others, however, among whom Hutchinson may be mentioned,
deny this alleged causal connexion, stating that they have observed costal
respiration in young girls who have never worn any constricting garments.

Unquestionably, sexual differences in the type of respiration become
apparent in the later years of childhood.

I have already pointed out that in girls the secondary sexual characters
begin to make their appearance at an earlier age than in boys. In the onset of
sexual differentiation, the boy thus plays a more passive part than the girl,
inasmuch as he retains longer the childish type. None the less, in the boy
also certain secondary sexual characters begin to develop comparatively
early. Thus, in the second period of childhood, the boy's shoulders often
become wider, his muscles stronger, than those of the girl. Since at the same
period there occurs in girls the greater deposit of fat previously described,
marked differences result in the external contours of the respective bodies.
The boy's body is therefore much more angular and knobby, far less softly
rounded, than that of the girl. Towards the end of the second period of
childhood, an additional sexual character makes its appearance in the male
sex, namely, the voice breaks. The chief remaining differences, the growth
of the beard and the pubic hair, and the development of the
characteristically masculine larynx, usually manifest themselves after the
close of the second period of childhood—that is to say, during the period of
youth.

As children become physically differentiated in respect of sex, so also does
a mental differentiation ensue. Authorities are not agreed as to whether
mental sexual differentiation exists in the very earliest years of life. Many
assume its existence, and profess to have observed sexual differences even
in the movements of quite small children. On the other hand, it is urged that
the alleged differences are made up out of chance, auto-suggestion on the
part of the observer, and the results of education. There is, however, general
agreement as to the fact that during the second period of childhood mental
differences become apparent between the sexes. Such differences are
observed in the matter of occupation, of games, of movements, and
numerous other details. Since man is to play the active part in life, boys
rejoice especially in rough outdoor games. Girls, on the other hand, prefer
such games as correspond to their future occupations. Hence their
inclination to mother smaller children, and to play with dolls. Watch how a
little girl takes care of her doll, washes it, dresses and undresses it. When
only six or seven years of age, she is often an excellent nurse. As Padberg15

pictures her, she sits at the bedside of her sick brother or sister, resembling
as she does so an angel in human form. Her need to occupy herself in such
activities is often so great, that she pretends that her doll is ill. Chamisso, in
his poem Das kleine Mädchen und die Puppe (The Little Girl and her Doll),
describes this relationship between the child and her doll, one whose nature
is fully understood only by a mother:—
"Wie Du mit den kleinen Kindern,
Will ich alles mit ihr tun,
Und sie soll in ihrer Wiege
Neben meinem Bette ruhn.
Schläft sie, werd' ich von ihr träumen,
Schreit sie auf, erwach' ich gleich,—
Mein himmlisch gute Mutter,
O, wie bin ich dock so reich!"

"All you do for your children,
For my Doll I do instead,
And in her little cradle
She lies beside my bed.
When she sleeps, I dream about her,
When she cries, I wake up too.
My own, dear, darling Mother,
I'm just as rich as you!"

Once I saw a little girl of seven running up and down the room, carrying all
kinds of things as fast as she could to her doll. When I asked her what was
the matter, she told me that her doll had the measles, and she was taking
care of her. In all kinds of ways, we see the little girl occupying herself in
the activities and inclinations of her future existence. She practises
housework; she has a little kitchen, in which she cooks for herself and her
doll. She is fond of needlework. The care of her own person, and more
especially its adornment, are not forgotten. I remember seeing a girl of three
who kept on interrupting her elders' conversation by crying out "New
clothes!" and would not keep quiet until these latter had been duly admired.
The love of self-adornment is almost peculiar to female children; boys, on
the other hand, prefer rough outdoor games, in which their muscles are
actively employed, robber-games, soldier-games, and the like. And whereas,
in early childhood, both sexes are fond of very noisy games, the fondness
for these disappears earlier in girls than in boys.

Differences between the sexes have been established also by means of
experimental psychology, based upon the examination of a very large
number of instances. Although it must be admitted that some of the
acquirements of this school are still open to dispute, the data of these
collective investigations must not be ignored. Berthold Hartmann has
studied the childish circle of thought, by means of a series of experiments
which are commonly spoken of as the Annaberg experiments. Schoolboys
to the number of 660 and schoolgirls to the number of 652, at ages between
5¾ and 6¾ years, were subjected to examination. It was very remarkable to
see how in respect of certain ideas, such as those of the triangle, cube, and
circle, the girls greatly excelled the boys; whereas in respect of animals,
minerals and social ideas, the boys were better informed than the girls.
Characteristic of the differences between the sexes, according to
Meumann,16 from whom I take these details, and some of those that follow,
is the fact that the idea of "marriage" was known to only 70 boys, as
compared to 227 girls; whilst the idea of "infant baptism" was known to
180 boys as compared to 220 girls. The idea of "pleasure" was also much
better understood by girls than by boys. Examination of the memory has
also established the existence of differences between the sexes in childhood.
In boys the memory for objects appears to be at first the best developed; to
this succeeds the memory for words with a visual content: in the case of
girls, the reverse of this was observed. In respect of numerous details,
however, the authorities conflict. According to Lobsien, boys have a better
memory for numbers, words, and sounds. The same investigator informs us
that in girls the visual memory is distinctly better than it is in boys, this
indicating that girls' memory for objects is also better; but Netschajeff, on
the other hand, maintains that boys have a better memory for objects
perceptible by the senses. It is interesting to note that certain variations have
been shown to exist at different ages. During the first years of school-life,
boys' memories are in general better than girls', this advantage persisting up
to the age of ten; from this time onwards until the end of the years spent in
primary schools, girls excel boys in the matter of memory, but especially at
ages of eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen. Later than this, the boys
become equal to the girls, and still later surpass them. Very striking is the
fact, one upon which a very large number of investigators are agreed, that
girls have a superior knowledge of colours. Experimental investigations
made by means of Holmgren's test have shown that the superiority of girls

in this respect is remarkable, and these experiments are confirmed by other
lines of study.

There are additional psychological data relating to the differences between
the sexes in childhood. I may recall Stern's investigations concerning the
psychology of evidence, which showed that girls were much more
inaccurate than boys. I may also refer, on the other hand, in relation to
sexual differentiation, to the experiences obtained by Hans Gross by means
of observations on practical life, although his results are not entirely free
from certain sources of fallacy, and moreover have been disputed by other
observers as not generally applicable. Hans Gross, however, found a notable
difference between boys and girls, of which I shall later give a detailed
description. Here, I shall merely quote the comprehensive summary given
in his Criminal Psychology: "My results show that the boy who has passed
his first years of childhood is, if well trained, the best observer and witness
that can possibly be found, because he watches with interest all that goes on
around him, stores it impartially in his memory, and reproduces it faithfully;
whereas the girl of like age is often an untrustworthy, and even a dangerous
witness. She is inevitably this when, after traversing the stages of talent,
ardour, reverie, romanticism, and enthusiasm, she has passed into a
condition of Weltschmerz, tinged with tedium vitæ. This emotional mental
atmosphere is entered at an earlier age than is commonly imagined; and
when such a girl's own personal interests are in any way affected by the
occurrences under examination, we are never secure from gross
exaggeration and misstatement. Petty larceny becomes robbery with
violence; a trifling incivility, a serious assault; a harmless pleasantry, an
interesting proposal for elopement; and the foolish prattle of children
becomes a dangerous conspiracy."

I shall subsequently discuss in detail a psychical difference which is the
most important of all those connected with the sexual life, namely, the
direction of the sexual impulse, which attracts the man to the woman, and
the woman to the man. We shall see to what a considerable degree this
phenomenon manifests itself even in childhood.

It has been widely assumed that these psychical differences between the
sexes result from education, and are not inborn. To avoid misunderstanding,

we must, in our consideration of this question of education, distinguish
between two distinct classes of phenomena, those which are individual and
those which have existed for a number of generations. The sexually
differentiated qualities in any individual may be regarded as inborn, and yet
we may admit that the differentiation was originally the result of education,
if we suppose that in earlier generations in either sex certain qualities were
developed, and that gradually, by monosexual inheritance, the differences
became confirmed, until finally they became inborn. Others, however,
assume that the psychical characteristics by which the sexes are
differentiated result solely from individual differences in education. Stern
believes that in the case of one differential character, at least, he can prove
that for many centuries there has been no difference between the sexes in
the matter of education; this character is the capacity for drawing.
Kerschensteiner has studied the development of this gift, and considers that
his results have established beyond dispute that girls are greatly inferior in
this respect to boys of like age. Stern17 points out that there can be no
question here of cultivation leading to a sexual differentiation of faculty,
since there is no attempt at a general and systematic teaching of
draughtsmanship to the members of one sex to the exclusion of members of
the other.

Without further discussing the question, to what extent in earlier
generations there has been any cultivation of psychical differences, I
believe that we are justified in asserting that at the present time the sexual
differentiation manifested in respect of quite a number of psychical qualities
is the result of direct inheritance. It would be quite wrong to assume that all
these differences arise in each individual in consequence of education. It
does, indeed, appear to me to be true that inherited tendencies may be
increased or diminished by individual education; and further, that when the
inherited tendency is not a very powerful one, it may in this way even be
suppressed. Observations on animals which exhibit sexual differentiation
very early in life, also support the notion of the inherited character of
certain tendencies; for instance, the movements of male animals often differ
from those of the females of the same species.

We must not forget the frequent intimate association between structure and
function. This well-proved connexion would lead us a priori, from the more

powerful muscular development of boys, to infer the different inclinations
of the two sexes. Rough outdoor games and wrestling thus correspond to
the physical constitution of the boy. So, also, it is by no means improbable
that the little girl, whose pelvis and hips have already begun to indicate by
their development their adaptation for the supreme functions of the sexually
mature woman, should experience obscurely a certain impulsion towards
her predestined maternal occupation, and that her inclinations and
amusements should in this way be determined. Many, indeed, and above all
the extreme advocates of women's rights, prefer to maintain that such
sexually differentiated inclinations result solely from differences in
individual education: if the boy has no enduring taste for dolls and cooking,
this is because his mother and others have told him, perhaps with mockery,
that such amusements are unsuited to a boy; whilst in a similar way the girl
is dissuaded from the rough sports of boyhood. Such an assumption is the
expression of that general psychological and educational tendency, which
ascribes to the activity of the will an overwhelmingly powerful influence
upon the development of the organs subserving the intellect, and
secondarily also upon that of the other organs of the body. By the influence
of the will, it is supposed by this school, certain association-tracts in the
brain are developed; or at least certain tracts hitherto functionally inactive
are rendered functionally active. We cannot dispute the fact that in such a
way the activity of the will may, within certain limits, be effective,
especially in cases in which the inherited tendency thus counteracted is
comparatively weak; but only within certain limits. Thus we can understand
how it is that in some cases, by means of education, a child is impressed
with characteristics normally foreign to its sex; qualities and tendencies are
thus developed which ordinarily appear only in a child of the opposite sex.
But even though we must admit that the activity of the individual may
operate in this way, none the less are we compelled to assume that certain
tendencies are inborn. The failure of innumerable attempts to counteract
such inborn tendencies by means of education throws a strong light upon
the limitations of the activity of the individual will; and the same must be
said of a large number of other experiences.

It is, moreover, established beyond dispute that in certain cases, in
consequence of an inborn predisposition, contrary sexual inclinations make
their appearance, and that these represent a divergency from the proper

sexual characters. It is with these mental sexual differential characters just
as it is with the physical secondary sexual characters, any of which may, on
occasion, make their appearance in the wrong sex, or may be wanting in the
right one. We know that there exist women with beards, masculine larynges,
and a masculine type of thorax; and, on the other hand, men with feminine
mammæ, feminine larynges, and a feminine type of pelvis. Because we
meet with such atypical instances, we are not therefore justified in inferring
that it is by a mere arbitrary sport of nature that in the woman a great
mammary development is normally associated with the development of the
ovaries, and that in man the growth of the beard is associated with the
development of the testicles. But just as in these respects there are certain
exceptions, whose origin we are not always in a position to explain, so also
are there exceptional sexual associations in respect of the secondary
psychical sexual characters. Thus it comes to pass that many women exhibit
masculine tendencies, and many men exhibit feminine tendencies.
Unquestionably, the fact that psychical qualities, just as much as physical
characters, may occasionally make their appearance in the wrong sex, does
not invalidate the general truth of the statement that sexually differentiated
psychical tendencies are inborn.

Occasionally, indeed, even in late childhood, this psychical differentiation is
still but little marked. We must also bear in mind the fact that in many
instances the bodily development of the girl—apart, of course, from the
actual reproductive organs—differs but little, even during the second period
of childhood, from that of the boy; and that in such cases the specific
differentiation makes its first appearance later than is usual. We find boys
also who have entered upon the period of youth (see p. 1) without
exhibiting any trace of downy growth upon the upper lip or the chin; in
some, the first definite growth of hair on the face may not occur until
several years later. I remember also that I have seen boys in whom during
the period of puberal development an enlargement of the mammæ took
place, going so far that it was possible by pressure on the glands to expel
fluid from the mammillary ducts; at a more advanced age, however, this
mammary growth was arrested, and subsequently atrophy ensued.

But all these observations notwithstanding, the fact remains well
established that even in childhood notable sexual differences make their

appearance. Other observations, too, confirm this notion of sexual
differentiation—for example, pathological experiences.

There are some diseases to which women are especially liable, others which
occur by preference in men. To some extent, indeed, this is explained by the
special exposure of one sex or the other to certain noxious influences. The
neuroses that appear as the sequelæ of injuries are especially common in the
male sex, because the occupations of men expose them more than women to
injuries of all kinds. Of such cases, of course, we do not speak here. But
there are some unquestionably hereditary morbid tendencies which manifest
themselves by preference in one sex or the other, and such sexual
predisposition shows itself even in childhood. I propose to give instances of
this; some quoted from Möbius,18 some from other authors, and some taken
from my own personal experience.

Chlorosis is a disease of feminine youth, but very often makes its
appearance in childhood, especially towards the end of the second period of
childhood, at this earlier age, also, attacking girls in preference to boys.
Hæmophilia, on the other hand, and also certain hereditary forms of
muscular atrophy, occur chiefly in males, and this in early childhood.
Diabetes is principally a disease of adults, but occasionally it is met with in
children also; among adults, there is a considerable preponderance of males
affected with this disease when diabetes occurs in childhood, the disease
also exhibits a preference for the male sex, although at this time the peculiar
sex-incidence is less marked than in later life. Congenital defects of the
heart are commoner in boys, the proportion obtained from a very large
number of cases of this kind being 61.6 boys: 38.4 girls. Chorea (St. Vitus's
dance) affects girls more often than boys, the ratio in this case being 2.5
girls: 1 boy. In the case of whooping cough, we find that two girls suffer for
every one boy. As regards circumscribed facial atrophy, which usually
begins during childhood, a preponderance of the disease in the female sex is
also noticeable. Hysteria was formerly regarded as a typically feminine
disease, and although this view has now been shown to be erroneous, the
fact remains that girls and women are far more often affected than boys and
men. As regards hysteria in childhood, Bruns19 states that the ratio of girls
affected is to boys affected as 2:1. It is interesting to note that in the earlier
years of childhood, prior, that is to say, to the age of nine years or

thereabouts, no marked difference exists in the sex incidence of hysteria,
the cases being distributed in the proportion, 55 per cent. girls, 45 per cent.
boys; but after the age of nine, the proportion of girls affected with hysteria
increases, while that of boys diminishes. Eulenburg,20 indeed, records 17
cases of hysteria, affecting children at ages nine to fourteen years; of these
nine were boys, and eight girls. Clopatt, on the other hand, collected from
the literature of the subject 272 cases of hysteria in young children, 96
being boys, and 176 girls. Typhoid is commoner in males; and Möbius lays
stress on the fact, which he regards as especially striking, that the difference
in the sex-incidence of this disease is manifest even in childhood. As
regards colour-blindness, there is a notable preponderance among males,
and since we here have to do with a congenital affection, this
preponderance is as marked among children as among adults. Many defects
of speech also exhibit a notable difference in their sex-incidence. Hermann
Gutzmann21 has shown that in the case of stammerers we find 71 per cent.
boys and 29 per cent. girls. I take this opportunity of referring briefly to the
fact that, as Max Marcuse22 reports, certain diseases of the skin exhibit
sexual differentiation of type even during childhood. The disseminated
cutaneous gangrene of children is far more frequent in girls than it is in
boys; Broker, among twelve cases, found ten girls. Alopecia areata, on the
other hand, affects both sexes with equal frequency, but affects them at
different ages. Whereas during the first years of life girls are more
frequently attacked; when the age of twenty is passed, the relation between
the sexes in this respect are reversed.

Criminological experiences appear also to confirm the notion of an
inherited sexual differentiation, in children as well as in adults. According
to various statistics, embracing not only the period of childhood, but
including as well the period of youth, we learn that girls constitute one-fifth
only of the total number of youthful criminals. A number of different
explanations have been offered to account for this disproportion. Thus, for
instance, attention has been drawn to the fact that a girl's physical weakness
renders her incapable of attempting violent assaults upon the person, and
this would suffice to explain why it is that girls so rarely commit such
crimes. In the case of offences for which bodily strength is less requisite,
such as fraud, theft, &c., the number of youthful female offenders is
proportionately larger, although here also they are less numerous than males

of corresponding age charged with the like offences. It has been asserted
that in the law courts girls find more sympathy than boys, and that for this
reason the former receive milder sentences than the latter; hence it results
that in appearance merely the criminality of girls is less than that of boys.
Others, again, refer the differences in respect of criminality between the
youthful members of the two sexes to the influences of education and
general environment. Morrison,23 however, maintains that all these
influences combined are yet insufficient to account for the great
disproportion between the sexes, and insists that there exists in youth as
well as in adult life a specific sexual differentiation, based, for the most
part, upon biological differences of a mental and physical character. I have
referred to these criminological data for the sake of completeness, but I feel
it necessary to add that their importance in relation to our subject of study is
comparatively trifling, since most of the cases in question are offences
committed by persons who can no longer properly be regarded as children.

As we have seen, during childhood, and especially during the second period
of childhood, there exists a larger number of sexual differences both mental
and physical. Some of these are obviously discernible when we compare
isolated individuals; others only become apparent when we institute a
statistical comparison. And when such differences appear in childhood, we
find that they are quantitatively less extensive than the sexual differences of
adults. For the sexual life is in the child less developed than it is in the
adult. We shall learn that in the matter of the sexual impulse, the child
exhibits an imperfect differentiation. A similarly imperfect differentiation is
found in childhood in respect of a number of other qualities. Thus, there are
many diseases which later in life manifest a sexual differentiation, but in
childhood are undifferentiated. We observe a similar age-distinction in
respect of suicide, which occurs in Europe far more frequently in men than
in women, the ratio among suicides being three or four men to one woman.
Among child-suicides there is far less disproportion between the sexes.
According to Havelock Ellis, indeed, the suicidal tendency makes its
appearance in girls at an earlier age than in boys.

Such a marked differentiation as there is between the adult man and the
adult woman certainly does not exist in childhood. Similarly in respect of
many other qualities, alike bodily and mental, in respect of many

inclinations and numerous activities, we find that in childhood sexual
differentiation is less marked than it is in adult life. None the less, we have
learned in this chapter, a number of sexual differences can be shown to exist
even in childhood; and as regards many other differences, though they are
not yet apparent, we are nevertheless compelled to assume that they already
exist potentially in the organs of the child.

CHAPTER IV
SYMPTOMATOLOGY

The data recorded in the preceding chapter suffice to show that the activity
of the sexual life begins in childhood, for the secondary sexual characters
and the other sexual peculiarities which manifest themselves thus early in
life are dependent upon sex. We shall now proceed to the systematic
description of the direct manifestations of the sexual life, and we can most
usefully begin with the genital organs.

Erections occur during childhood; they have been observed even in infancy.
They sometimes result from external stimuli, especially of a pathological
nature, such as a strictured prepuce, or inflammatory states of the penis.
Occasionally in the child, as normally in the adult male, distension of the
bladder with urine leads to erection of the penis. Although in these cases the
erection is not induced by sexual processes, it is nevertheless not devoid of
significance in relation to the sexual life. The sensations in the genital
organs to which the pathological stimuli give rise are further increased by
the erection, and the child's attention is therefore increasingly drawn to his
sexual organs. His attention may, of course, be directed to his genital organs
by such stimuli as those we have described, even though these latter do not
lead to the occurrence of erection. By such sensations, the child is very
readily induced to manipulate his genital organs. Just as the little child soon
learns to scratch other itching regions of the skin, so also he learns to
scratch his genital organs when these are the seat of an itching eruption, or
when in any other way irritating sensations arise in this region. Pflüger and
Preyer24 have made investigations regarding the itching-reflex

(Kitzelreflexe), and although in many respects their results are divergent, yet
one point is clearly established by both, namely, that within a few months
after birth a distinct itching-reflex is in operation, inasmuch as the child
endeavours to scratch itching areas. Thus, by itching of the genital organs, a
child is readily led to practise masturbation; and this is not necessarily
effected by the hands, but sometimes by the feet, or by rubbing the thighs
against one another, this last being generally done when the child is in the
sitting posture. When erections occur in the child, we cannot always trace
them to external stimuli, for in many cases they are due to stimuli of other
kinds. Erection may, in fact, result from internal stimuli, connected with the
development of the genital organs, and more especially that of the testicles.
Moreover, such developmental stimuli may induce the child to manipulate
the genital organs, and thus give rise to masturbation, without in the first
instance causing erection. It appears that such stimuli leading to the practice
of masturbation occur, during the first years of childhood, chiefly, if not
exclusively, in children with morbid hereditary predisposition.

Such processes as these, viz., inflammatory stimuli originating in the
external genital organs, or developmental stimuli proceeding from the
testicles, may lead to the practice of masturbation without having directly
affected the child's consciousness. Just as in the pithed frog, if we stimulate
one foot with acetic acid, the other foot scratches the irritated area, so a
child may, with his hands or in some other way, scratch itching regions of
the body, and, above all, of the external genital organs, without its being
necessary for us to assume that he is fully conscious of what he is doing.
Further, as we have already pointed out, such masturbation may or may not
be preceded by a reflex erection. And just as the boy soon learns that itching
is relieved by scratching, so also he learns that by means of artificial
stimulation he may induce sensations of a voluptuous character. It is the
same with the little girl, in whom sensations occur in the genital organs, due
in some cases to developmental, and in others to pathological stimuli (skin
eruptions are an instance of the latter kind), and these lead to manipulations
of the genital organs.

In contradistinction to the cases just described, in which the child has
learned spontaneously to practise artificial stimulation of his genital organs,
are the cases in which seduction by others is the cause of masturbation.

Nurses sometimes touch, stroke, and stimulate the external genital organs of
the children entrusted to their care—boys and girls alike—either to keep
them quiet, or for the gratification of their own lustful feelings. In this way
the child, who in the case of all agreeable sensations has a natural desire for
their repetition, is gradually led to imitate the manipulations which have
given rise to the voluptuous sensations, and is thus seduced to the practice
of masturbation.

In the preceding passages I have spoken of all kinds of mechanical
stimulation of the genital organs, and also of erections25 occurring in small
children. I now pass on to consider ejaculation. Whereas during normal
intercourse in the sexually mature man and woman a fluid secretion is
expelled, nothing of the kind is possible in children, at least such is the
general opinion. Frequently, indeed, as regards the male sex, the end of
childhood, properly speaking, is supposed to be indicated by the first
ejaculation of semen. Matters are, however, by no means so simple as this.
We have seen that the testicular secretion, the most important constituent of
the semen, consists, as Fürbringer26 has pointed out, almost entirely of
spermatozoa. But how is it in the case of children? The spermatozoa may be
first formed at very varying ages. According to the investigations of
Mantegazza,27 they rarely make their appearance earlier than the eighteenth
year of life. Fürbringer does not unconditionally accept this view; but he
has himself, as he has personally informed me, examined boys at ages of
fifteen to sixteen in whom the ejaculation was entirely devoid of
spermatozoa. But, on the other hand, he has found spermatozoa in the
semen of a boy aged only twelve or thirteen years. I have myself examined
the emissions of boys in a considerable number of cases, and have
repeatedly found that, even in the case of boys of sixteen, the ejaculated
secretions contained no spermatozoa. The reports of other investigators also
show that as regards this point very wide individual variations occur.
Hofmann28 has contributed some data to this discussion. A case published
by Klose, in which pregnancy is alleged to have resulted from intercourse
with a boy aged nine years, is, indeed, regarded by Hofmann as probably
apocryphal. But he had personal knowledge of a case in which a woman
was impregnated by a boy fourteen years of age. He assumes that when a
boy's general development is advanced (masculine habit of body, large
penis, &c.), his reproductive capacity will also make its appearance at an

earlier age. But he has met with exceptions to this generalisation. Thus, in
the post-mortem examination of the body of a boy aged fourteen, whose
physique was still quite infantile, he found well-developed spermatozoa
both in the testicles and in the seminal vesicles. In the case of two boys
aged fifteen years, in whom the genital organs were powerfully developed,
he found in one abundant spermatozoa, but in the other none at all. In two
other boys, also fifteen years of age, in whom the pubic hair had not yet
appeared, spermatozoa were present. They were absent, again, in a young
man of eighteen years. Similar variations were found by Haberda. Thus, for
example, in two boys aged fifteen and seventeen years, respectively, he
found no spermatozoa, notwithstanding the fact that in both the pubic hair
had grown. On the other hand, in a boy aged 13¾ years, with an abundance
of pubic hair, numerous well-developed spermatozoa were present. Haberda
is of opinion that, speaking generally, the first formation of the spermatozoa
is associated with the appearance of the other indications of puberty. The
earliest authenticated age at which spermotozoa have been known to appear
is 13½ years; they have been found at this age by two separate
investigators, one in Paris, the other in Berlin. Notwithstanding the fact that,
as we have seen, such extensive variations occur, we are justified in making
the general statement that in the case of children in our own country no
spermatozoa are developed; if exceptions ever occur, they can relate only to
the last year or year and a half of the second period of childhood.

We must now proceed to ask whether it is possible for ejaculation to occur
in children at a time of life when the formation of spermatozoa in the
testicles has not yet begun; this question must be answered with an
unconditional affirmative. We have seen that the secretions of several other
glands intermingle with the secretion of the testicles. These glands are the
following: the prostate gland, the glands of the vesiculæ seminales and the
vasa deferentia, the glands of Cowper, and the glands of Littré. It is certain
that these glands begin to secrete at different times, and, above all, that
some of them begin to secrete before spermatozoa have appeared in the
testicles. Hence it is rightly believed that the capacity for coitus (potentia
coeundi) develops much earlier than the capacity for procreation (potentia
generandi)—a fact which was well known to Zacchias.29 Quae enim hanc
juventutem vel præcedunt ætates, vel sequuntur aut plane semen non
effundunt aut certe infoecundum aut male foecundum effundunt.

Strassmann30 considers that in our climate the capacity for procreation
begins at the earliest at the end of the fifteenth year, and the capacity for
coitus at the end of the thirteenth year. In a number of cases in which in
children I found stains on the underclothing, or in some other way obtained
specimens of the ejaculated fluid, the results of the examination for
spermatozoa were entirely negative. In a case which came under my notice
a long time ago, that of a child seven years of age, I had assumed that the
fluid with which the underclothing was stained was produced by
inflammatory irritation of the urethra consequent upon masturbation.
Subsequent experience, however, in conjunction with the observations of
other investigators, has led me to the firm conviction that even in our
climate we do not need to invoke the idea of such inflammatory irritation of
the urethra in order to account for the ejaculation of fluid by children—at
any rate when these are approaching the end of the second period of
childhood. In the case of twelve-year-old boys, I believe that such
ejaculations of fluid occur in quite a large number of cases. One instance,
which did not come under my own observation, but was communicated to
me by one of our best-known educationalists, relates to a boy only ten years
of age. This boy, endeavouring to climb over a fence, repeatedly slipped
back; while thus engaged, he experienced his first seminal emission. In this
way he then masturbated several times.31

Let us now consider whence the ejaculated fluid can be derived prior to the
age at which it comes to contain spermatozoa. In the first place, it is
possible that the testicles themselves, before they begin to form the
spermatozoa, may yet furnish an indifferent secretion, although in the adult
the secretion of the testicles consists chiefly of the spermatozoa. We have
also to consider the glands previously enumerated, whose secretions
normally form constituents of the semen. We possess, however, hardly any
trustworthy information regarding the time at which the glands of the vasa
deferentia begin to secrete. The glands of Cowper, as Henle32 showed many
years ago, begin to secrete within a few weeks after birth. He believed that
these glands secreted continuously, but that the secretion was retained for a
time in the ducts, and was discharged intermittently with the urine. For this
reason he believed that the glands of Cowper did not form a part of the
reproductive system. Subsequent investigations, however, have led us to
believe that the secretion of Cowper's glands is one of the constituents of

the semen. Another constituent is the secretion of the glands of Littré, and
these glands also perhaps begin to secrete at a much earlier age than the
testicles. We may regard it as certain that the seminal vesicles may contain
secretion before any spermatozoa are formed in the testicles. As regards the
prostate gland, it is supposed that this first begins to secrete at the
commencement of the age of puberal development or even later. According
to the data collected by Frisch, the prostate gland, comparatively small in
childhood, first begins to grow quickly at the epoch of the puberal
development. During childhood, the gland tissue is comparatively scanty,
although it already contains concretions. Only during the puberal
development does the prostate gland attain its full size; according to the
researches of Englisch, who observed 1282 instances, this does not occur
until after the full development of the testicles. Beyond question we are
justified, from the information at our disposal, in concluding that the
prostate gland begins to secrete comparatively late. But, on the other hand,
it is equally clear that certain glands whose secretion in the adult forms part
of the semen, begin to secrete long before any spermatozoa have been
formed in the testicles, and may in this way give rise to the formation of a
semen incapable of fertilising the ovum.

In respect of the extrusion of the fluid, we have to recognise two different
ways in which this is effected: first, ejaculation, due to a rhythmical
expulsive movement; and secondly, the urethrorrhoea ex libidine met with
in adults, of which an account was given in the second chapter (p. 22). In
my own investigations on the subject, I have been able to learn nothing
regarding the occurrence in children of any urethrorrhoea ex libidine; and
my information relates only to the true ejaculation of a fluid, I have seen a
few cases in which such ejaculation occurred in boys at the early age of
twelve years, although this is quite exceptional, and, as already mentioned,
in such cases the ejaculated fluid contains no spermatozoa.

In the case of women, what has been said of the glands of Cowper applies
equally to the glands of Bartholin, the homologues of the former both as
regards significance and development. The glands of Bartholin also begin to
secrete in sexually immature girls, and even in children. It must be added
that when ejaculation occurs in sexually immature girls, the products of
other glands are probably intermingled with the secretion of the glands of

Bartholin (mucous glands of the uterus, of the cervix uteri, the vagina, the
vulva, and perhaps also of the urethra).

I have distinguished the simple outflow of secretion from its forcible
expulsion—from true ejaculation. This latter demands the rhythmical
activity of certain muscles, such as takes place during coitus. The question
arises, whether such muscular activity can occur before any fluid has been
formed capable of being ejaculated. When I compare what is published in
the literature of the subject with what I have myself observed in this
connexion, I regard the following points as definitely established. There are
certain cases, and these in young persons of both sexes, in which typical
rhythmical muscular contractions take place in the child, although no
ejaculated fluid is discoverable. It remains doubtful, however, whether a
small quantity of secretion, overlooked by the observer, and perhaps not
even recognisable, may not, after all, be ejaculated. I consider it probable
that this is so. Moreover, we must not forget that the rhythmical muscular
contractions, which in the adult effect ejaculation, are able to expel the fluid
from the urethra only when this fluid is present in sufficient quantity. When
the quantity is minimal the fluid is retained for a time in that passage, owing
to the frictional resistance of the urethra, and is perhaps not expelled until
the next act of micturition. Some may, of course, object to denote such a
process by the word ejaculation; but I myself see no reason why the term
should not be extended to include the rhythmical muscular contraction both
in the child and the adult, even in cases in which there is not sufficient fluid
secretion in the urethra for this to be visibly extruded by these contractions.

What have we to say regarding the voluptuous sensation in children? It is
extremely difficult to form clear ideas about this matter, for the sources of
fallacy previously described (p. 5 et seq.) are here markedly in operation;
above all, in the case of little children, the voluptuous sensation, purely
subjective in character, is extraordinarily difficult to recognise objectively.
This much, however, may be said. It appears to me to be beyond question
that in childhood, and even in very early childhood, a sensation may
sometimes be excited of the same kind as the voluptuous sensation of adult
life. None the less, we must be careful not to assume too readily, in any
particular case, that such a sensation has actually been experienced. Certain
oscillatory movements on the part of infants and other small children have

frequently been regarded as an indication of the practice of masturbation,
and of the occurrence of voluptuous sensations; but in my opinion that view
is to a large extent erroneous. Such movements may be no more than the
expression of a general sense of well-being, without having anything
whatever to do with the sexual life or with the specific voluptuous
sensation. Doubtless the voluptuous sensation may be experienced by very
small children, and even by infants. When we see a child lying with moist,
widely-opened eyes, and exhibiting all the other signs of sexual excitement,
such as we are accustomed to observe in adults, we are justified in
assuming that the child is experiencing a voluptuous sensation. But what is
usually wanting in such cases, at any rate in young children, is the
voluptuous acme which in adults occurs in association with the act of
ejaculation. Cases have also been occasionally reported to me in which,
even in infancy, a voluptuous acme has occurred; and still more frequently I
have been told this in respect of somewhat older children, for example, at
ages of seven or eight years. I believe, however, that this voluptuous acme
is, at any rate in children, much less common than the equable voluptuous
sensation which can be aroused by all kinds of manipulations and
stimulations of the peripheral genital organs, and more especially of the
glans, the penis, the clitoris, and the labia minora. The older the child, the
more frequently is the voluptuous acme attained; in our own climate, during
the last years of the second period of childhood, this occurs comparatively
often; the voluptuous acme does not last so long as in sexually mature
individuals, but is in other respects described in identical terms. It is
experienced simultaneously with the occurrence of the rhythmical muscular
contractions which have previously been described. It is possible, as I
suggested before, that in such cases the ejaculation of a certain quantity of
glandular secretion always occurs, although, as I have also explained, this
secretion may sometimes be too small in quantity to be actually expelled
from the urethra by the muscular extractions. This point is, however, still
obscure. But it may be regarded as definitely established that the equable
voluptuous sensation, and more particularly the voluptuous acme, may
occur at an age at which, at any rate, secretion does not yet exist in
sufficient quantity to be expelled from the urethra, and the existence of such
secretion is therefore not unequivocally manifested. In exceptional, and
doubtless pathological instances, and above all in cases in which, owing to
the practice of masturbation, there has been excessive stimulation, instead

of the voluptuous acme, a painful sensation may be experienced. In general,
however, in children, just as in adults, the voluptuous acme is associated
with a sense of satisfaction, and with the subsidence of the previously
existing sexual excitement. This much is beyond question, that the
voluptuous acme and the sense of satisfaction associated therewith make
their appearance subsequent to the development of erection and the equable
voluptuous sensation in the genital organs. Mutatis mutandis, this is equally
true of both sexes.

In other respects, however, the voluptuous sensation and the voluptuous
acme exhibit in the child an important difference from the same phenomena
in the adult, to which we shall have to return later. To sum up, we may
regard it as certain that erections often appear many years before the end of
the second period of childhood; not infrequently, indeed, in the beginning of
the second period of childhood, and even earlier. These erections may very
early in life be associated with an equable voluptuous sensation, allied to
the sensations of itching or tickling.33 The voluptuous acme and ejaculation
do not make their appearance until later. These statements apply, in the first
place, to boys. The conditions in girls appear, however, to be analogous. But
here we must be most cautious in drawing conclusions, for the reason that
the sexual life of the girl is still much more obscure to us than that of the
boy; this difference in our knowledge of the sexes is no less marked in the
case of children than it is in respect of the adult man and woman.

Hitherto we have occupied ourselves with the description of the peripheral
sexual organs, and of the processes of detumescence. We must now pass on
to the second group of sexual phenomena, the processes of contrectation.
Even in childhood, these processes play an important part; indeed, they
generally manifest themselves at an earlier age than the processes of
detumescence. But first, let me briefly summarise Max Dessoir's account of
the stages of the sexual impulse—stages in which the contrectation impulse
is alone concerned. In its development, three stages may be distinguished.
One of these is the neutral stage, in earliest childhood, in which, speaking
generally, the processes of contrectation are not yet to be observed, and
during which the child does not feel attracted towards anyone in such a
manner as to make it necessary for us to assume the occurrence of any
psychosexual process. This stage is succeeded by the extremely important

undifferentiated stage, to which Max Dessoir34 has drawn attention. Its
principal characteristic is indicated in its name: the direction of the impulse
is not yet completely differentiated. It oscillates to and fro, and depends
upon the external objects which happen to be in the vicinity. This
undifferentiated stage is of profound importance; and owing to the fact that
its existence has been ignored in the study of sexual perversions, great
confusion has arisen. During the undifferentiated period, it may happen that
quite normal children exhibit homosexual excitement, whose importance is
apt to be greatly over-estimated by their relatives and others. During the
undifferentiated stage a boy may love one of his teachers or one of his
friends, and yet in later life be perfectly normal; many a woman, again, who
loves her husband ardently has earlier, during the undifferentiated period,
passionately loved a school-fellow or a governess. On the other hand,
during the undifferentiated stage a boy may exhibit an inclination towards
someone of the opposite sex, the governess or the girl-friend of his sister,
for instance; conversely, the girl may be attracted by a boy or a young man.
This inclination, whether homosexual or heterosexual, often leads to bodily
acts, to contact with the beloved person, embraces, and kisses, without the
necessary occurrence of any manifestations on the part of the external
genital organs, although such manifestations may at times ensue. The
undifferentiated stage is followed by the third stage, in which the
contrectation impulse becomes differentiated, so that in normal individuals
the sexual impulse becomes unmistakably heterosexual. Normally, this
differentiated stage endures until the time of the final extinction of the
sexual impulse.

I do not believe that an undifferentiated stage occurs in every one without
exception. On the other hand, I have absolutely no doubt that it occurs very
frequently indeed—far more frequently than is commonly believed—and
that it occurs in persons whose subsequent sexual development is perfectly
normal. Moreover, during the undifferentiated stage, in addition to
heterosexual and homosexual inclinations, perverse sentiments may make
their appearance. Masochistic, sadistic, fetichistic excitations of all kinds
are met with, and sexual inclination towards animals is by no means rare.
As regards the last named, the inclination is directed especially towards the
animals with which the child is most intimately associated, as, for instance,
a dog, a cat, a bird, a horse, and the like. Again, during the period of

undifferentiated sexual impulse all kinds of disordered ideas may become
associated with that impulse; for instance, an impulse may arise to touch the
saliva, or some other excretory product, of the beloved being, human or
animal, as the case may be, and even to take such a product into the mouth.
Many persons completely forget all these manifestations of the
undifferentiated sexual impulse which have formed part of their own early
experiences. The causes of such oblivion have been discussed in the first
chapter (p. 5).

Yet another reason may be mentioned for regarding a knowledge of the
undifferentiated stage of the sexual impulse as of great importance. In
works on the pathology of the sexual impulse we are frequently assured that
in this or that specific instance the perversion was inborn, because perverse
sensations have existed since the days of childhood. But the existence of the
undifferentiated stage teaches us that we are not justified in inferring, from
the mere fact of the primary occurrence of a "perverse" mode of sexual
sensibility, that this perversion is congenital; for the primary direction of the
contrectation impulse during the undifferentiated stage often depends to a
considerably greater extent upon chance than upon an inherited
predisposition.

The undifferentiated stage begins at very various ages. I have known
instances in which it could be traced back to the fifth, year of life. I regard it
as probable, however, that it may begin even earlier than this. But more
commonly it begins somewhat later; not infrequently at the age of seven or
eight, and very often at the age of nine or ten years. As previously
mentioned, I do not maintain that an undifferentiated stage is of universal
occurrence. When such a stage is absent, the symptoms of the differentiated
sexual impulse often make their appearance at the age at which in other
cases the undifferentiated stage of the impulse usually begins. In the case of
a large number of men, inquiry will show that at the age of nine or ten they
began to experience an inclination towards persons of the female sex; in a
good many this occurs even at the age of eight, and in a few yet earlier; as
regards women, mutatis mutandis, the same conditions obtain. In cases in
which an undifferentiated stage is well marked, its duration is likewise very
variable. In isolated instances it lasts until the age of twenty, or even a few
years longer. Ordinarily, however, the differentiation of the impulse

becomes manifest at an earlier age—between the ages of fifteen and
seventeen years. Beyond question, in the great majority of cases, the
"perverse" sentiments of childhood subsequently disappear spontaneously.
But when I come to discuss sexual perversions in detail, I shall point out
that this disappearance, in certain circumstances, fails to occur.

I take this opportunity of referring to a beautiful example of the
undifferentiated sexual impulse which is found in Wilhelm Meisters
Wanderjahren. In the twelfth chapter of the second book, Wilhelm describes
"one of the earliest incidents of his youth":—"The elder of these boys, a
year or two my own senior, the son of the fisherman, seemed to take no
pleasure in this sport with flowers. This boy, by whom at his first
appearance I had been greatly attracted, invited me to go with him to the
river, a fairly wide stream which flowed past at a little distance. We sat side
by side in a shady spot with our fishing-rods.... As we sat there quietly,
leaning towards one another, he seemed to grow rather weary of our
inaction, and he drew my attention to a flat stretch of gravel which extended
from our feet beneath the surface of the water. This would be a fine place to
bathe. At last, jumping to his feet, he cried out that the chance was too good
to be missed, and almost before I realised his intention, he had stripped, and
was in the water. Being a good swimmer, he soon left the shallows, swam
across the stream, and then back again into the deep water near the bank on
which I was sitting. My own mood was a strange one. Grasshoppers danced
round about me, ants crawled to and fro, many-coloured beetles hung from
the twigs, and brilliant dragon flies hovered in the air; my companion
caught sight of a great crayfish, flashing merrily out from its hole beneath
the roots overhanging the water, and cleverly eluding an attempt to seize it
by darting back into its lair. The air was so warm and moist; in the sunshine
one longed for the shade, and even in the coolness of the shade one longed
for the still greater coolness of the water. Thus it was easy for him to entice
me into the stream; his invitation, once or twice repeated, proved
irresistible, notwithstanding my fear of a scolding from my parents,
mingled with some dread of the unknown element. Soon I undressed upon
the gravelly bank, and ventured gently into the water, not too far down the
gradually shelving bank; here he let me wait awhile, swimming out himself
across the stream; then he returned to my side, and as he left the water,
standing upright, to dry himself in the bright sunshine, it seemed to me that

my eyes must be dazzled by the power of the sun, so blindingly beautiful
was the human form—far more beautiful than I had ever before imagined.
He seemed to look at me with equal attention. Dressing quickly, we stood
beside each other with all barriers broken down, our spirits were drawn
closely together, and with ardent kisses we swore eternal friendship."

Groos rightly sees in this passage a delicate intimation of sexual sensibility.
A little later we read how Wilhelm, having made an appointment with this
boy to meet him one evening in the forest, encounters a young girl, a little
younger than himself. "Spring flowers of all kinds were growing in the
beautifully adorned fields, among the grass, and along the hedges. My
companion was beautiful, blond, gentle; we walked trustingly side by side,
each holding the other by the hand, and seeming to wish for nothing better
in the world.... When, after the lapse of so many years, I look back upon my
former state, it seems to me to have been a truly enviable one.
Unexpectedly, in the same instant, I experienced the sentiments of
friendship and of love; for as I unwillingly took leave of the beautiful child,
I was consoled by the thought of explaining these ideas to my young boy-
friend, by the prospect of confiding in him, and of rejoicing in his
participation in these newly discovered sentiments."

The following description of the period of the undifferentiated sexual
impulse has been placed at my disposal:—

Case 1.—X. is now thirty-four years of age, happily married, with several
healthy children. He is himself a thoroughly healthy man, with normal
impulses, and free from all bodily and mental abnormality. His description
of the period of the undifferentiated sexual impulse may best be given in his
own words. "At the age of nine, when I was still living in the country, and
was being educated by a private tutor, a passionate affection for him took
possession of me. Generally speaking, he was good-natured and indulgent,
but was at times strict, I used my utmost endeavours to be near him as much
as possible. I was happy when he touched me. Gradually this inclination
increased; everything that he had touched, everything that he had warmed
with his body, I also wished to touch. If he had drunk from a glass, I
secretly drank from it myself, so that my lips might touch the very spot
where his had rested. At the age of ten I began to attend the public school in

the town, I sat beside a fellow-pupil who, like myself, came from the
country. Soon I conceived a fondness for him. He was not only my
playmate, I wished always that we should do our work together; whenever
he had any other companion than myself, I was profoundly unhappy. Was
this jealousy? I believe it was. When he left the school—it must have been
about a year after I had entered—I was at first very unhappy, but my
fondness for him was soon replaced by a passion for his sister, a girl about
twelve years of age. I had made her acquaintance through so often working
with her brother, and through visiting his parents' house. She was a pretty
girl. At first, after my friend had departed, I went to the house occasionally,
in order to hear some news of him, and of his doings in the school abroad to
which he had been sent. In the house that had been his home I had also an
indefinite feeling that I was near him once again. But gradually my liking
for his sister grew, and I was glad that her parents gave me renewed
invitations to the house, especially for the Sundays. To be with this girl, to
play with her, were to me an enduring source of delight; and I remember
that at this time I even developed a taste for girlish amusements, which had
hitherto been very disagreeable to me, and for which later also my antipathy
returned. Simultaneously with this fondness for the girl, when I myself was
about twelve years old I was attracted by one of the schoolmasters, a man
who ruled his classes very strictly. My sentiments for this master were of
exactly the same character as those with which my tutor had formerly
inspired me, but the conditions of our intercourse were different, for I could
see him only in school, and on very rare occasions out of school hours,
whereas in the case of my tutor, who lived with us when I was at home, I
could be with him as much as I desired. This fondness for my schoolmaster
persisted simultaneously with the passion for the girl. When her brother
came home for the holidays, I saw him for a few days only, for I also
returned home for the holidays. Although I was by no means indifferent to
him, my former passionate affection for him had entirely disappeared. My
passion for his sister and for the schoolmaster lasted for a long time. I also
fell in love with a somewhat elderly female cousin who chanced to visit our
house. Growing older, I at length attained the age of puberty, and
experienced definite erections; these occurred especially when I thought of
my friend's sister; or when she touched me, as occasionally happened,
without, I believe, any sexual feeling on her part. At this time also when
erections had already begun, I still felt definitely attracted by my

schoolmaster, and under the influence of this attraction erections
occasionally occurred. Somewhat later came the time when I began to
masturbate. I can no longer remember with certainty whether I was seduced
to this practice by any of my school-fellows. We sometimes talked to one
another about the matter. I continued at times to be influenced by the
inclinations previously mentioned, viz., that for my schoolmaster, and that
for my friend's sister. I experienced also transient passion for one of my
school-fellows, who was remarkable for his pleasing and delicately girlish
exterior. It was not until several years had elapsed, and the occurrence of
seminal emissions had shown that I had attained some degree of sexual
maturity, that all inclination towards the male sex disappeared, and the
inclination towards the female sex persisted in isolation. When I left the
town, in order to attend a different school, my fondness for my friend's
sister passed away. I was then sixteen years of age; from this time onwards
my sexual passion was exhibited exclusively towards members of the
female sex."

Case 2.—This case provides us with another description of the
undifferentiated sexual impulse. X. is thirty years of age. No morbid
condition is demonstrable in him. He remembers that the first sentiments
which he regards as sexual were experienced by him in the country. His
home was in a town, but during the holidays he was sent to board in the
country, in the house of a clergyman. He played much in the open air, and
he still recalls quite distinctly the passion with which, first of all, he
approached animals. "As if by an irresistible impulse I was attracted, now
by a goat, now by a dog, sometimes even by a horse. No excitement of the
genital organs was noticeable at this time, but I have no doubt whatever
now that these inclinations were sexual in their nature. Not only did I touch
the animals, but I embraced them and kissed them. The warmth and the
odour proceeding from such an animal, which is now as a rule distasteful to
me, was then a source of pleasure. When I left the country, I took these
memories away with me, but gradually they faded and became faint. Next a
fondness for one of my school-fellows became most marked, and this lasted
for a long time. I know not how to describe the feeling I had for him
otherwise than as an immeasurable, passionate love. I was unhappy when I
sat above him in the class. Occasionally we sat side by side, but not always,
since our places were determined by our performances in class. If I was

sitting next above him, it was a joy to me to fail deliberately to answer a
question, simply in order to enable him to take my place, and thus to give
him pleasure. This relationship continued undisturbed for several years; we
rose together from class to class and remained friends. Not until the
beginning of the true puberal development did this fondness begin to wane.
I began to learn dancing rather early, and in the dancing-class was a girl by
whom I was now greatly attracted. She was of the same age as myself—
fourteen years. As far as I can remember, my inclinations were now
confined for a time to my boy companion and to this girl. At first my
affection for the boy was the greater, but gradually my affection for the girl,
who was healthy and vivacious in appearance, became stronger. Still, this
passion was a fire of straw, for though, in the course of the next few years,
my fondness for the boy gradually declined, whilst my affection for the girl
grew stronger, yet later this girl was expelled from my circle of interests by
others, my inclinations changing rapidly from one girl to another.
Homosexual sentiments hardly existed any more. Very occasionally, indeed,
even up to my twentieth year, a certain interest was aroused in me by any
youth with a truly girlish, milk-white countenance. But subsequently this
homosexual inclination disappeared entirely, and my heterosexual
development was completed, so that I am now, I believe, in every respect a
healthy male."

Case 3.—Next we have the case of a woman, now married and twenty-six
years of age, in whom also the undifferentiated sexual impulse was clearly
manifested. From the age of eight to the age of fifteen years she attended a
day-school for girls, and subsequently, after receiving private tuition for a
time, went to a boarding-school. "In my earlier years I can recall no feelings
for my school-fellows beyond those of simple friendship. We kissed one
another, but no more intimate contact took place. In these kisses, I was not
aware of any sentiment exceeding pure friendship; and to-day when I
thoroughly understand the nature of the kiss of erotic love, I do not believe
that there was any erotic element intermingled with these first kisses. Such
simple friendliness towards my fellow-schoolgirls persisted unaltered even
after in my tenth year I first experienced a sentiment of enthusiastic
devotion. This latter was inspired by an actress, a remarkably beautiful
woman visiting our town—I lived then in a town of medium size—whose
pictures were displayed in all the shop windows. Although I realised later

that her talents were by no means of a high order, and notwithstanding the
fact that I never saw her on the stage, I conceived for her an enthusiastic
admiration. I tried from time to time, when I could do so without being
observed, to catch a glimpse of her in the street; almost the only possible
opportunity was when she was on her way to rehearsals. When the actress
went away, her place in my heart was occupied by a schoolmaster of
typically masculine appearance, with a full, fair beard. He gave us lessons
in history, literature, and German. Nearly all the class were fascinated by
him, and I by no means less than the others. This admiration lasted almost
the whole of the remaining time during which I attended the school. When I
went to the boarding-school, being now somewhat older, and regarded as
almost a young woman, I was allowed to witness a representation of Faust.
The part of Gretchen was played by an actress who is still of note to-day,
and she made a most enduring impression on me. To my great delight I was
unexpectedly presented to her, and she wrote a line or two in my album.
Unfortunately, the headmistress would not allow us to go often to the
theatre, a prohibition doubtless in part dependent on the high prices of the
seats. But I still remember quite distinctly how I trembled with joy
whenever I was allowed to go. I remember, too, that on one occasion, in
which it had been arranged that I was to go to see a play in which this
actress did not appear, I shammed illness in order to save up the price of the
seat, go that I might use it on another occasion, on which I should be able to
see her. This particular enthusiasm lasted as long as I remained at the
boarding-school. When later I grew old enough to marry, and when with the
approval of my parents a gentleman who appeared to love me (though, in
fact, I think he was influenced rather by prudential motives) began to pay
me his addresses, my fondness for the actress soon began to fade away.
Even at the present day, however, I esteem this artiste very highly indeed,
and the impression which she made on my imagination will never be
entirely expunged from my memory. If I were to see her to-day, I should
willingly kiss her hands, in thankfulness for the happy hours she has given
me; but I do not believe that any erotic element now remains in my feeling
for her. I may add that I do not love my husband passionately, although I
love him well enough. Physical contact with the actress of whom I have
spoken would not be positively repulsive to me, but such contact would, as
far as I am concerned, be entirely devoid of sexual feeling, and the idea of
sexual contact with a person of my own sex is very unpleasant to me;

whereas in sexual intercourse with my husband I am perfectly normal."
This patient does not belong to the class of sexually anæsthetic women; she
feels the impulse towards sexual intercourse, and in intercourse she
experiences normal enjoyment.

I shall now discuss some of the general phenomena of the contrectation
impulse in the child. Sanford Bell has published cases in which as early as
the age of two years psychosexual phenomena have been observed. But in
many of Bell's cases a sexual basis for the feelings of attraction does not
appear to have been adequately proved to exist. Unquestionably, however,
sexual phenomena are more frequently observed in proportion as the child's
age increases. Although in the case of children it is very difficult for others
to arrive at certainty regarding the sexual or non-sexual character of certain
manifestations, still, in the eighth year of life, the phenomena of the
contrectation impulse become so frequent—I am referring here to personal
observations—that at this time of life these phenomena must be regarded,
not merely as not pathological, but further, as not even abnormal. The older
the child becomes, the more are the phenomena of the contrectation impulse
complicated by those of detumescence. The processes of contrectation,
however, may continue to manifest themselves during the first years of the
period of youth in complete isolation from any apparent changes in the
genital organs. The manifestations of what is known as "calf-love"
commonly occur quite independently of any thought of sexual contact.

Very various are the objects of this early attraction. Often a boy is attracted
by a girl of about his own age; often, again, by a girl considerably older
than himself. On the other hand, as has been previously shown, when the
sexual attraction felt by the boy is exhibited towards one of his own sex, it
may sometimes happen that the object of attraction is a boy of his own age,
sometimes a man considerably older than himself. By no means rare are
sexual inclinations on the part of boys towards their masters—in some cases
a private tutor; in others, a schoolmaster. With girls similar variations are
observed. A girl may love another girl of her own age, and this is extremely
common in the case of girls at boarding-schools. But a boy, a friend of her
brother's, may be the object of a girl's affection. Frequently, again, a girl
may become attached to some one considerably older than herself,
commonly a master or a governess. Persons playing some conspicuous part

in life very readily inspire love: an artist, for instance; or an actress, about
whom all the papers are writing, and of whom everyone is talking. In many
cases, the personal appearance plays a considerable part in originating the
attraction. At times, indeed, affection is inspired by individuals devoid of all
personal charm. But, speaking generally, we shall find that to the child, no
less than to the adult, in sexual relationships beauty is by no means
indifferent. A pretty girl is more attractive to a boy than an ugly one. A
handsome master will charm a girl much more than one who is ill-favoured
or deformed. Other qualities besides beauty affect the issue. Effeminate
boys or tomboyish girls are apt to be repulsive to other children; they are
exposed to mockery and teasing of all kinds, and are very unlikely to give
rise to erotic sentiments in their companions. It is by no means rare for the
inclinations of children to be directed towards their own parents. In the case
of many children who are fond of "getting into mother's bed," sexual
sentiments lie at the root of the desire. Moreover, it is occasionally asserted
that sexual differentiation manifests itself in this connexion in very early
childhood, the little boy preferring to cuddle his mother; the little girl, on
the other hand, to be caressed by her father. In the chapter on diagnosis, I
shall consider the distinction of such sexual inclinations from other
sympathetic feelings manifested in childhood. It is a remarkable fact that
the first sexual inclinations are very rarely directed towards a child's own
brother or sister. I have, indeed, been able to observe a considerable number
of such exceptional instances, both homosexual and heterosexual in
character. But, I repeat, such cases are comparatively rare. We must not, of
course, confuse with genuine sexual inclinations and acts, cases in which
from curiosity alone brothers and sisters indulge together in obscene
conversation and even improper practices. Unquestionably, the lack of
sexual sympathy between brothers and sisters depends upon a deeply rooted
psychological causation. Above all, in this connexion, we have to bear in
mind the slight degree of influence each exercises on the senses of the
other, precisely in consequence of the long-continued, comparatively
unrestrained intercourse between them. Further, the conventional factors
implanted in mankind from earliest childhood play their part. Many,
perhaps, will see an additional cause in teleological considerations, aiming
at the avoidance of in-and-in breeding.

Many lovers incline to the romantic transfiguration of the object of their
affection, a process in which the imagination plays an important part; but
for this to be possible, it is, of course, necessary that an age should have
been attained at which the imagination is sufficiently active. The age at
which the child has learned to delight in fairy-tales is here of importance;
from the contents of such fairy-tales all kinds of ideas are transferred to the
sexual sphere. Romantic embellishment plays a great part not merely in
childhood, but also later in life; but in childhood, this tendency often exists
to an extraordinary degree. The person whom a boy loves must be very
highly placed; for example, during the period of the undifferentiated sexual
impulse, he prefers a boy of the highest possible birth. Similarly, a young
girl who loves a boy will invest him in imagination with every possible
attribute of distinction and high rank. Often the love is directed towards a
person of no concrete existence, or towards one who is unattainable.35 We
may sometimes be in doubt whether we have to do with sexual love, or
whether some other sentiment may not be in operation. For example, the
devotion to some saint of either sex may overpower all other feelings.
Where a child is enamoured of some definite individual, self-deception
occurs just as it does in adults similarly situated. The faults of the beloved
one are imaginatively transmuted into virtues, or any possible excuse is
found for them. Is a boy attracted by a girl known to be habitually
untruthful? Especially when himself unaware that his interest is sexual, he
looks out for every merit she may possibly possess, in order that his
fondness may be justified. Her untruthfulness is transfigured as caution and
cleverness; her vanity becomes neatness; idleness is excused on the ground
that she has to attend to more important duties; and the boy regards his
interest in the girl as exclusively friendly in character, and as justified by
her superlative excellences. Sometimes, in children no less than in adults, a
sexual inclination masquerades as an educational interest. Thus, under the
influence of sexual attraction, a girl becomes intimate with a boy endowed
with various bad qualities and impulses, and endeavours to utilise this
intimacy for the boy's advantage, in order that he may free himself of his
faults as he grows to manhood. Such a girl may succeed in persuading
herself that this motive is the exclusive cause of her interest in the boy. A
similar combination of educational and sexual motives is, moreover, often
encountered in the case of homosexual sentiments.

The child's sexual inclination may manifest itself in many different ways. It
seeks every opportunity of seeing, of being in close proximity to, of
touching, and of kissing the beloved person. Thus, many a boy takes part in
the common sports, solely because the girl whom he loves is one of the
players. Sanford Bell mentions numerous games in which children find
pleasure chiefly for the reason that kissing plays a principal part in them.
For kissing is one of the leading manifestations of sexual desire; and
another is the wish for close proximity to and for embracing the beloved
person. A mother who kept a close watch on her eight-year-old daughter
told me that when in play a boy of ten pressed close up against the girl; they
kissed one another somewhat passionately, and the boy broke out in the
naïve utterance, "You don't know how fond I am of you; I do love you so."
Not infrequently, indeed, children are really troublesome to adults in their
desire for close physical contact. I have known instances in which young
women or girls have been intolerably annoyed by boys eight or nine years
of age, who have continually followed them about and pressed up against
them; this has gone on for a long time without those concerned recognising
the sexual foundation of such conduct. Love on the part of children almost
invariably gives rise to the desire for physical contact of some kind. Of
course, other manifestations also occur. Besides the contemplation of the
beloved person, contemplation of his or her picture plays a notable part. A
sexual motive occasionally underlies the wrestling so common among boys
—in such cases it is the manifestation of a desire for intimate physical
contact with the beloved boy. According to Sanford Bell, a boy and a girl
may also wrestle with one another with the same end in view of attaining
intimate contact; and he states that children lift one another with the same
object. Moreover, children are induced to wrestle by sexual motives of a
somewhat different character; the wish is operative to be overcome by, or, it
may be, to overcome, the beloved boy. Herein we see displayed very clearly
those sexual feelings known to us in adults under the names of masochism
and sadism; the same feelings are occasionally observed also in childhood;
in some cases as manifestations of the undifferentiated sexual impulse, in
others as manifestations of developing sexual perversions.

The more intensely passionate the love of the child, the more fantastical is
its conduct. The child sometimes endeavours to imitate the beloved person
in every detail, often with the most ridiculous results. A boy's mode of

dress, even, may be influenced by his love for a girl, and still more by his
love for another boy. The child tries also to imitate the movements of the
beloved person, and in walking to tread in the same footsteps. The youthful
knight seeks in every possible way to become pleasing to the girl of his
choice, and to exhibit to her every attention in his power. He does all this,
not merely in imitation of the conduct of grown-up persons, but for the
gratification of his own impulses. Sometimes we are able to observe the
changes of mood that occur in the child when the loved one is present or
absent. The boy bubbles over with joy when the girl he loves draws near;
sorrow and depression overwhelm him when the hour of parting is at hand.
All kinds of fetichistic sentiments are also met with even in childhood.
Every object belonging to the loved one is covered with passionate kisses;
and everything which has been touched by the beloved, has been endowed
for the child-lover with a quite exceptional value. "Those lovely girls whom
kindly or cruel Nature has predestined to awaken desire and to call forth
sighs at every footstep they take, are often unaware that among the crowd
of their admirers are numbered boys also, who have hardly outgrown the
age of childhood, who kiss in secret every flower which their beloved has
let fall, who are happy if they have been able to steal like thieves into the
room in which the fair one has slept, who kiss the carpet where her foot has
pressed, to whom she is the most wonderful creature in the universe. And
when a young woman allows a boy to sit on the ground beside her, resting
his head on her knee, when her fingers play lightly among his curls, how
rarely does she know that his heart is beating furiously under her caressing
touch; when he throws back his curly head, and she sees that his face is
reddened, she does not know that this is not simply on account of the heat
of the fire, but that he is glowing from the effect of an internal fire whose
nature is a mystery even to himself—the fire of Love."36

Children have also ample experience of jealousy. A boy is tortured by its
pangs when he sees his much-loved friend conversing with another. A girl
of ten may suffer from sleepless nights when the governess she loves has
spoken affectionately to another girl. A child may wait for hours before the
door or in the neighbourhood of the beloved person, simply to snatch a
glance in passing. Speaking generally, it appears to me that children are
jealous of adults to a less extent than they are jealous of children of their
own age.

Very frequently even in childhood sexuality gives rise to enduring
imaginative sexual activity. There results that which Hufeland in his
Makrobiotik terms psychical onanism, viz., the imaginative contemplation
of a train of lascivious and voluptuous ideas. In many instances there even
results a poetical treatment of the sexual topic.

Among children, love-letters also play their part. Sometimes, indeed, their
contents is so harmless that the sexual motive remains unsuspected; but in
other cases, the child's sentiments are clearly displayed, even when the
whole character of the letter is extremely naïve. Sometimes the letter
appears out of harmony with the child's conduct in other respects. For
example, I have seen cases in which, though in conversation children spoke
to one another in an impassioned manner as "darling" and "my dear love,"
no such expressions were used by them in their letters. Verses are also
composed by comparatively youthful lovers. As we should expect, such
verses are commonly deficient in the matter of artistic technique. A lady
who, when twelve years of age, had been enamoured of her governess,
copied for me from her album the following verses:—

"Es gibt nichts schöneres auf der Welt,
Als wenn einem ein Wesen besonders gefällt;
Und fühlt man sich gezogen hin
Zu einer süssen Lehrerin,
Das ist ein Glück.
Und liebt man sie so inniglich,
Dann fürchtet wohl gar sehr man sich
Vorm Abschiedtag..."

"Of all things sweet beneath the sun,
The sweetest is to love but one;
And when the object of one's fondness
Is one's darling governess,
Supreme the joy.
And if one love her so intensely,
Then, of course, one dreads immensely
The day of parting...."

In this style the poem continues for some time, and occasionally we come
to verses showing that jealousy was felt:—
"O! Du Pauline sei kein Dieb,
Raub' mir nicht Fräulein ——'s Lieb'.
Die Eifersucht, die quält mich sehr
Und noch mit jedem Tage mehr.
Sie sucht mich heim selbst in der Nacht.
O Liebe, Du hast dies vollbracht."

"Pauline, you my anger move,
Stealing my Miss ——'s love.
From jealousy I've no release;
Day by day my pangs increase;
I've jealous thoughts too in the night.
Love, I suffer from thy might."

Many of the accompaniments of love may make their appearance the very
first time the passion awakens, such as the desire to please and to astonish
the object of affection, whether by mental or by bodily excellence, A
schoolmaster, of whom a child is enamoured, will frequently find that this
child is more obedient and more diligent than all the others, the child
endeavouring in every possible way to inspire a reciprocal admiration. I
remember a girl who during her first years at school was extremely idle.
Although by no means lacking in intelligence, all the efforts spent on her
failed to bring about a proper advance. All at once she became most
industrious; no task was too hard for her, and everyone wondered at the

sudden change, until after a time the enigma was explained. The child,
having conceived a great fondness for her schoolmistress, wished to please
the latter by attention to her lessons. In addition, she was jealous; afraid lest
the mistress should prefer some other girl. In many instances, where a
child's behaviour is puzzling, such a solution of the riddle will become
apparent when it is looked for. Boys, again, endeavour by feats of strength
to make the greatest possible impression upon the girls of their choice, in
gymnastic exercises, for example, in athletic sports, and games. Coquetry
also occasionally manifests itself very early in life. Girls try to please boys
by their dress, and in similar ways. In boys also similar phenomena may
often be observed.

Vanity, too, plays an important part, and this all the more because a child
often wishes to appear older than his years, and despises childish ways. If a
boy loves a girl several years older than himself, his sensitive pride will
suffer if, as usually happens in such cases, the girl treats him as a child.
Goethe, who at the age of ten was inspired by such a passion, describes it in
Wahrheit und Dichtung. "Young Derones introduced me to his sister, who
was a few years older than myself, a very agreeable girl, well-grown,
regularly formed, a brunette, with black hair and eyes. Her whole
expression was quiet, and even sad. I tried to please her in every possible
way, but could not succeed in attracting her attention. Young girls are apt to
regard themselves as greatly in advance of boys a little younger than
themselves, and whilst they look up to young men, they assume the
manners of an aunt towards any boy who makes them the object of his first
love."

The sense of shame makes its appearance in childhood. Havelock Ellis and
others indeed deny this, pointing out how readily shyness is mistaken for
the sense of shame. The error is common enough, but it certainly does not
apply to all cases, for even in childhood we often enough encounter distinct
manifestations of the sexual sense of shame. I shall not here discuss the
question to what extent this sense is innate and to what extent acquired,
since the matter will come up for consideration in later part of this book.
Unquestionably, during childhood, the sense of shame in respect of certain
processes may be awakened by means of imitation and education. Thus we
may observe that many children, boys as well as girls, are greatly

distressed, at any rate during the second period of childhood, at having to
undress in the presence of others, and especially in the presence of persons
of the opposite sex. It is interesting to learn that many homosexuals declare
that even during childhood they felt ashamed when they were compelled to
undress before someone of their own sex, whereas in the presence of a
person of the opposite sex they were comparatively unashamed.

Sanford Bell is of opinion that girl-children, although in them as in boys the
sense of shame awakens comparatively early, are yet more aggressive than
boys. I have not myself been able to observe any such difference. In the
earlier years of childhood I have been unable to detect any notable
difference in this respect between the sexes; but during the latter part of the
second period of childhood, boys are unquestionably more active. In
general, the girl-child, when in love, displays far less coyness and reserve
than the young woman. In this respect the difference between children and
adults is most marked. A girl of eleven, for example, will not make any
difficulties about the exchange of love-letters with the boy she loves, or
about appointments for secret meetings; whereas the young woman, at any
rate when well-behaved and well brought up, is cautious in such matters.
But none the less, I cannot admit that girls are more free in their behaviour
in these respects than boys. We must not forget that many typical sexual
differences do not develop until later in life; for this reason, if we observe in
respect of the sense of shame that girls seem somewhat defective, we must
contrast their condition with that which will subsequently develop as age
advances, and not expect to find prematurely in the girl a keener sense of
shame than is exhibited by the boy.

Sanford Bell believes that at a certain period during childhood, namely,
between eight and twelve years of age, manifestations of love are less
noticeable than either earlier or later. He alleges as the reason of this that at
this particular age the child tends to conceal its fondness from others, and
perhaps even from the person beloved; hence it is difficult during these
years to observe the phenomena. According to this view, the difference is
apparent merely, and depends only upon greater secretiveness. It may,
indeed, be regarded as proved that in the course of development, especially
in the case of boys, there are certain years during which children are less
inclined to seek the company of those of the opposite sex than either before

or afterwards. This occurs especially during the period of
hobbledehoyhood, during which boys take pleasure above all in rough
sports. It has, indeed, been suggested that this phenomenon has a
teleological significance, that nature is here pursuing a quite definite aim, to
minimise by means of sexual antipathy the danger attendant on the
awakening of the sexual impulse. We must not, however, over-value this
self-help of the part of nature [if it exists], since, if boys and girls avoid one
another, the perverse activities of the undifferentiated sexual impulse may
very readily appear in place of the suppressed heterosexual manifestations.

In the child, the moods of the amatory sentiment are exceedingly variable.
To-day, the love may be romantic in character; to-morrow, on the other
hand, rather sensual. To-day, a girl is enamoured of some friend of her
father's; to-morrow, she is in love with some little friend of her brother's, or
with one of her schoolmasters. A little later, a member of her own sex
becomes the object of passion, a girl-friend of her own, or some actress of
note. In general, especially, too, when the stage of the undifferentiated
impulse has not been well-marked, we notice that as the years pass the
inclination gradually comes to relate to older persons. Since the period of
childhood embraces a comparatively small number of years, it is naturally
not easy to establish this point with mathematical precision; but I have been
led to form such an opinion by questioning a large number of persons of
either sex. In this respect we sometimes observe that which, in the
Satyricon of Petronius, Quartilla said long ago, when young Giton is united
to the seven-year-old Pannychis. In free phraseology, Quartilla assures us
that she has no remembrance of ever having been a virgin. "When I was a
child, I made use of children for this purpose; as I became older, bigger
boys served my turn; and thus, from stage to stage, I attained my present
age."

Thus we can explain how it sometimes happens that a fondness conceived
in childhood may endure on into adult life, and may even culminate in
marriage. In large towns, indeed, such an occurrence is comparatively rare,
but in small towns and in the country, quite a number of instances have
been brought to my notice. As children, the two have grown up together.
Their reciprocal fondness originated long prior to the formation of any
conscious sexual sentiments; subsequently, when such sentiments have

arisen, and the sexual impulse has awakened, it is natural that sexual
relations should often ensue. Since in the country (in contrast with large
towns, in which prostitution is commonly rampant) premarital sexual
intercourse is comparatively frequent, we can readily understand that such a
relationship as has been described will often culminate in marriage, for in
the country marriage is far less often prevented by the occurrence of pre-
marital intercourse than it is in large towns.

On the whole, however, the amatory manifestations of childhood are of
brief duration. Separation at first gives rise to spiritual pain, but this is as a
rule soon forgotten; similarly when the beloved one is snatched away by
death, the child's grief is not enduring. Commonly such painful emotions
speedily pass away; and whether the parting is due to death or to other
causes, a new passion is apt shortly to replace the old. In exceptional cases,
however, the death of the beloved one, or separation otherwise effected,
may, even in the child lead to suicide or to severe nervous disturbances.

Hitherto I have spoken of the processes of detumescence and contrectation
as isolated manifestations. As regards the relationships between these
respective processes, there are various possibilities. In the first place, one
may exist when the other is absent, that is to say, the phenomena of
detumescence or the phenomena of contrectation may appear in isolation.
Secondly, the two processes may be in complete association each with the
other. A boy of thirteen years feels the impulse to draw near to a girl, and to
kiss her; when this close contact takes place, erection ensues. Of all the
cases known to me, the earliest age at which such a phenomenon occurred
is given in a case published by Féré.37

Two cousins, boy and girl, were playmates from the time they were both
about three years old. They played at being man and wife; and when they
were not actually together, the boy's imagination was occupied with the
subject. He thought continually about it, and when he was in bed at night
erection occurred, accompanied by an agreeable sensation. He went to
sleep, and dreamed that other persons got into bed with him and touched
him. Among these persons was the little girl, his cousin. Such dreams
recurred very frequently; the girl, moreover, was constantly in his waking
thoughts. As he grew older, his fondness persisted; but when at the age of

seventeen he made up his mind to tell his cousin of his love for her, she
became engaged to someone else. Consequently he suffered from severe
nervous shock.

In the third place, the two processes, contrectation and detumescence, may
occur simultaneously, without the detumescence being associated with the
object of the contrectation impulse. Thus cases occur in which boys
experience organic sensations in the genital organs leading them to
masturbate, and at the same time love someone; and yet when in the
company of, and even when embracing the beloved, such a boy will not
experience any specific sensations in the genital organs, nor will any
impulse arise towards sexual contact with the beloved person.

When the two processes are associated in such a manner that proximity to
the object of the contrectation impulse arouses the phenomena of
detumescence, sexual acts between the two persons are very likely to result
—provided, of course, that the affection is reciprocal. In this way many of
the sexual acts effected between children originate; and the same is true of
those in which children at times very readily lend themselves to the
gratification of the sexual passion of adults. We learn from experience that
in such cases attempts at actual intercourse may be made by children,
usually accompanied by erection, but in most cases without ejaculation. I
append a brief report of one case which came under my own observation.

Case 4.—X., twenty-one years of age, apparently sprung from a healthy
family, and at least free from hereditary taint, declares that his first
experience of sexual sensations occurred at the early age of five or six
years; at this age he became enamoured of a servant girl, who caressed him
very frequently, and pressed her genital organs against his body. Later,
when eight or nine years old, he fell in love with a girl of about the same
age, and made attempts at coitus. He remembers quite distinctly that he then
had erections, and also a kind of voluptuous sensation, but no ejaculation.
After continuing this practice for a considerable time, he became aware,
being very religiously brought up, that he was behaving very wrongly. He
therefore gave up all attempts at sexual congress, and lived quite chastely
until he attained the age of nineteen. Throughout this time he neither
masturbated, nor endeavoured to effect coitus, nor practised any kind of

sexual act. At the age of nineteen, however, the sexual impulse becoming
very powerful, he began to masturbate, and has continued to do so up to the
present time—- once, twice, thrice, or even four times weekly. Once he did
not masturbate for as long as three months, but this was the only prolonged
continent interval. He experiences a normal impulse towards members of
the other sex. Prostitutes are repulsive to him; he is attracted chiefly by girls
of exceptional intelligence. He feels quite certain that to kiss and embrace
such a girl would be very pleasurable to him, although he is not aware of
any definite impulse towards coitus. Masturbation has always been
practised by him as a purely physical act, unaccompanied, that is to say, by
any imaginative ideas.

In most cases, the complete association of the processes of detumescence
and contrectation, such as occurs in the impulse towards coitus, first takes
place at a somewhat later age. This is so even when the sensory element,
which constitutes a part also of the contrectation impulse, has been already
clearly manifested. The contrectation impulse does not consist solely in this,
that the boy experiences a purely spiritual love for the girl; it may rather
happen that certain definite sexual bodily peculiarities in a woman attract
him. When such a boy one day unexpectedly sees a girl's breasts, this may
exercise on him a powerful stimulus. Similarly, I have known instances in
which, in the absence of any evidence of definite seduction, a woman's
genital organs have excited a very young boy, without arousing any idea in
his mind of contact between his own genitals and those of the woman.
Conversely, on many girls, masculine attributes, and especially the male
genital organs, sometimes exert a stimulating influence. But in these cases
also, the complete fusion of the processes of detumescence and
contrectation occurs very gradually. Sometimes the boy himself is greatly
astonished to discover that close contact with a person whom he loves leads
to erection and even ejaculation. At the outset the impulse is much less
definite than it is in adults. It is by gradual stages only that the sense of
indefinite longing develops into the impulse towards sexual union in coitus;
at first the imagination contemplates pictures of a quite indefinite character.

Although, as we have seen, the processes both of detumescence and of
contrectation may manifest themselves primarily in childhood as associated
conscious sensations, by far the most common event is for the processes of

contrectation to appear separately, before those of detumescence. From an
inquiry relating to eighty-six heterosexual men, who to the best of my belief
were sexually normal, I ascertained that in more than 75 per cent., the
feelings of contrectation appeared first, and not until after this had
happened was the boy's consciousness attracted by sensations in the genital
organs. This appears rather remarkable, inasmuch as we must assume that
in the phylogeny of our species the processes of detumescence appeared
earlier. Originally, in the earlier ancestral types, reproduction was effected
by fission or gemmation (simple division or budding), without any
necessity for conjugation with another individual of the species; and
reproduction by gemmation corresponds to the processes of detumescence,
to the ejaculation of the spermatozoa by the male. But although in most
individuals the processes of detumescence make their appearance in
consciousness only in a secondary manner, it does not follow that in the
actual course of development they are also secondary. They do not, indeed,
enter so early the sphere of conscious impulses, but there is a considerable
amount of evidence to show that important processes are going on in the
external genital organs long before consciousness is directly affected by
these processes—consider, for example, the consequences of early
castration.

Case 5.—This is a typical example of the primary awakening of the
contrectation impulse, and the secondary superposition of the phenomena of
detumescence. The patient is a man thirty-two years of age, somewhat
neurasthenic, but, as far as I could ascertain, free from any other morbid
manifestations. "At the age of seven I went to school; at first to a private
school, in which little boys and girls were co-educated. In our playtime also
the sexes were not separated; the girls came as friends to my house, and I
visited them at theirs. Soon I became especially intimate with one of the
girls; we did our lessons together. Thus it went on until I was nine years old,
when I went to a school for boys only. My friendship with the girl at the
other school persisted, however; we met from time to time, and all the more
readily because a friendship had sprung up between our respective parents;
they used to make holiday journeys together, and we children went with
them. From the time when we were first at school together, this girl had
always been more dear to me than the others, I do not know what it was in
her by which I was particularly charmed. Was it that her general appearance

seemed sympathetic to me; was it her abundant fair hair, her clear blue eyes,
or her frank and natural manner? I do not know. But I remember quite
distinctly that this same girl was a favourite with the other boys also, that
they preferred to play with her, to have her as their companion. But it was to
me that the girl, and perhaps her parents also, gave the preference. There
was never any impropriety in our mutual relations; indeed, it is probable
that I loved her too much for anything of the kind to be possible. Every
night, before I went to sleep, I prayed to God to watch over this girl. As I
have said before, my fondness was reciprocated; we often spoke to one
another about our love, and of our dreams of the happy days to come, when
we should be grown up, and should become man and wife. This was quite a
settled matter; we had arranged every detail, how the wedding should be
conducted, and whom we should invite to the ceremony. With this girl I
shared all my possessions, although before I knew her I had been
considered close-fisted. I was often angry when in games with the other
girls she failed to win. In a word I can truthfully declare that I have hardly
ever since loved so fondly and so sincerely as I did then. When I went to the
boys' school, it was no longer possible for us to be together as much as
before. Thus it came to pass, that the less we saw of one another, the less
were my thoughts occupied with this girl. But I cannot remember that my
fondness for her was ever replaced by a similar passion for a boy; nor,
speaking generally, can I recall having ever at any time had any kind of
sexual inclination towards one of my own sex. I would not venture
absolutely to deny that this ever occurred; but, bearing in mind what I have
learned from you on several occasions, I have carefully taxed my memory,
and can only repeat what I told you at first, that I remember nothing of the
kind. Somewhat later, in my dreams, boys occasionally played a part, but I
cannot recall that these dreams about boys had any sexual complexion.
They were vague images of boys sympathetic to me, but these dreams were
not accompanied by any excitement of the genital organs, or by any other
sexual manifestation. When I was thirteen years of age, my parents and
those of my girl-friend had taken us to spend the summer at a seaside resort.
The girl and I played together on the seashore, and occasionally, though we
were now somewhat old for such an amusement, we dug sand-castles. As
small children we had from time to time embraced one another, but a kiss
had been the most intimate contact we had experienced. One day we were
playing on the shore—I remember it very distinctly—and were rolling

about together in the sand; thus occupied we came into close physical
contact, and thereupon I had an erection. I remember too that the sensation
of this was very agreeable. I cannot describe this agreeable feeling with
precision, but there was no sense of sexual gratification, nor definite
voluptuous sensation. From this time forward I always had the desire for
close bodily contact with the girl. Moreover she was continually in my
thoughts, and this to a much greater extent than formerly. It was my desire
to gain a harmless pleasure by being always with her; it was impossible for
me to imagine that we should ever be separated. I had naturally heard a
great deal about marriage. With these and with similar thoughts I was
occupied, but I cannot recall my thoughts in a more detailed manner. But to
this day I remember very clearly my desire that the girl and I should never
be separated from one another. We returned home, and in the ensuing
winter, as in previous winters, we met at intervals. Naturally, physical
contact was now much more difficult. One night I had a dream with seminal
emission. Then, as for a long time before, I had been thinking a great deal
about the girl; I dreamed of one of the scenes on the seashore which I have
just described; it was in this dream that I had my first seminal emission. My
fondness for the girl persisted. Only when she left the day-school in the
town, and was sent away to a boarding-school, did my passion gradually
abate. At first when she went away, I felt very unhappy and very lonely. My
parents forced me to go out for walks with other boys and to play with
them; I did so only with the greatest reluctance. Later, the girl did not
disappear completely from my circle of acquaintances, but I lost all interest
in her. From school I went to the university, having just before begun to
masturbate. From the time I went to the university until the present day I
have occasionally had intercourse with women, and my sexual development
has been perfectly normal."

In so far as in what has gone before I have described the individual
processes, there appear to be no important differences between the boy and
the girl, over and above those dependent upon the different structure of the
genital organs in the respective sexes. But one notable difference must now
be indicated. Just as in adult life in the female sex sexual anæsthesia is very
frequently observed, so that in coitus the specific voluptuous sensation is
wanting, and indeed often enough the impulse to coitus itself is actually in
abeyance (whereas in men the sexual impulse and sexual pleasure are very

rarely absent), so also in the case of children a similar difference between
the sexes is conspicuous. In female children the peripheral processes of the
sexual impulse are, comparatively speaking, far less active than in the case
of males. Thus it happens that, although in the girl the phenomena of the
contrectation impulses are hardly, if at all, less conspicuous than they are in
the boy, and appear at as early an age in the former as they do in the latter,
yet in respect of detumescence there is an important distinction between
girls and boys. A girl who has fallen in love with a boy will be greatly
interested in all his doings, and will gladly embrace and even kiss him; but
she will be far less disposed to proceed to actions in which the genital
organs play a part than would a boy with a like affection for a girl. The
same rule holds good when, in the undifferentiated stage of the sexual
impulse, homosexual sentiments and practices ensue. In such cases, when
girls are concerned, caresses of all kinds will follow, but the genital organs
will in all probability not be involved; whereas in the case of an analogous
fondness between two boys, manipulation of the genital organs is very
likely to occur. Homosexual intimacies between girls are far more often
platonic than similar intimacies between boys.

I have had occasion several times to allude to the practice of masturbation38
by children, and will now proceed to give a more detailed description. I
have previously alluded to masturbation as a manifestation of the
detumescence impulse. Much more frequently, however, it occurs in those
in whom the phenomena of the contrectation impulse have also been
previously manifested. Sometimes it is a purely organic act, the individual
masturbating in the entire absence of any imaginative sexual ideas; but at
other times the imagination plays a notable part in the process, alike in
children and in adults. When an imaginative idea is concerned in the
process of masturbation, it is the idea of the object of the contrectation
impulse; that is to say, the boy when masturbating thinks now of a girl, now,
again (and this especially during the undifferentiated stage of the sexual
impulse), of a boy, or in many cases of an adult; in the cases of girls who
masturbate similar relationships obtain, Just as during youth masturbation is
more commonly practised in association with than without imaginative
sexual ideas, so also is it in the case of children; and even though
imaginative activity may often be in abeyance when the masturbatory act is
begun, during the progress of the act the imagination usually comes into

operation. None the less, masturbation of a purely mechanical kind, in
which the imagination plays no part, is comparatively more common during
childhood than it is during youth. The peripheral processes of the
detumescence impulse and the central processes of the contrectation
impulse are not at this early age so intimately associated as they are later in
life. Even when the contrectation impulse is already awakened, as usually
happens before the detumescence impulse becomes active, when the
detumescence impulse finally manifests itself, its gratification by means of
masturbation without any imaginative activity is comparatively common in
children. In such cases artificial stimulation of the genital organs is effected
quite independently of the longing for intimate physical contact with and
the embraces of another individual.

In an earlier chapter (pp. 31, 32) I have explained that in the adult the
voluptuous sensation is closely associated with the psychosexual
perceptions, associated, that is to say, with the mode of the contrectation
impulse; I stated that as a rule the voluptuous sensation was experienced to
the full in those cases only in which the sexual act was one adequate to the
contrectation impulse of the person concerned. But when the association
between the processes of detumescence and those of contrectation has not
yet occurred, the voluptuous sensation is independent of the contrectation
impulse. This explains the fact that in the child both the peripheral
voluptuous sensation, and also the voluptuous acme and the sense of
satisfaction, are more frequently independent of the processes of
contrectation than is the case in the adult Gradually the two groups of
processes become associated with one another; and, as we have learned, this
association frequently occurs even in childhood. In the latter case, the
voluptuous acme and the subjective sense of satisfaction ensue only when
the sexual act or the sexual idea is adequate. But we must always remember
that in the child more often than in the adult the voluptuous acme and the
sense of satisfaction occur independently of the processes of contrectation.

An ejaculation of fluid secretions does not invariably occur when
masturbation is practised. Whereas in the adult masturbation ordinarily
culminates in ejaculation, in the child this is not usually the case; at any
rate, as regards many children the occurrence of ejaculation is not
demonstrable. I refer in this connexion to what I have already stated on

page 54 et seq. It is self-evident from what has been previously said that
during the second period of childhood masturbation is more likely than
during the first period to culminate in ejaculation.

The methods by which the artificial stimulation of the genital organs is
effected are extremely variable. The commonest way to masturbate is with
the hands, but this is by no means the invariable practice. All kinds of little
artifices are employed, partly to render it possible to masturbate unobserved
in the presence of others, and partly in order to increase the intensity of the
stimulus. Boys sometimes manipulate their genital organs through their
trouser pockets; some even make a hole in the pocket to enable them to
masturbate more effectually. In other cases, children, especially girls, lean
against some article of furniture—a chair or a table—apparently in a
harmless manner, but really in such a way that pressure is exercised upon
the genital organs, which are stimulated by pressure or friction. In some,
strong mechanical stimulation is required; in others, weaker stimuli suffice,
because the way has previously been sufficiently prepared by psychical
processes. In female children frequently, but less often in males,
masturbation is effected by rubbing the crossed thighs one against the other.
We learn from many girls that they tie a knot in the nightgown or chemise,
and masturbate by rubbing this against the genital organs. I must allude also
to horseback riding, working the treadle of a sewing machine, cycling, the
vibration of a carriage or railway train in motion; we must, however, be
careful not to attach undue importance to these factors of masturbation, for
in such cases much depends upon the individuality, and much also upon the
external mechanical conditions—- as, for instance, on the construction of
the saddle used in cycling and the like. In the case of the male genital
organs, the glans penis is the most sensitive portion, and mechanical
stimulation of this structure in especial is likely to induce the practice of
masturbation; in the case of the female genital organs, on the other hand, it
is the clitoris which is most sensitive, and of which, therefore, we have
especially to think in this connexion. But there is a tendency to overestimate
the proportion of cases in which stimulation of the glans penis, in the male,
or the clitoris, in the female, is the exciting cause of masturbation. In a very
large number of cases of masturbation, it is not the glans, but some other
portion of the penis, which is the focus of stimulation. In girls, also, in
numerous instances, masturbation is effected by stimulation of the labia

minora, and I am inclined to believe that the importance of the labia minora
is in this respect not inferior to that of the clitoris. In solitude, and above all
in bed, masturbation can naturally be effected much more readily. Some
little girls grasp a pillow between their legs in such a way as to give rise to a
masturbatory stimulus. Others introduce cylindrical objects into the vagina,
a practice much commoner among fully-grown girls than among children.
Still, physicians are sometimes called on to remove such articles from the
vaginæ of quite little girls. But it is an error to suppose that the hymen is
frequently ruptured by practices of this kind; the rupture of the hymen is far
too painful for it to be likely to be effected during masturbation.

Erogenic zones, that is to say, areas of the surface of the body whose
stimulation gives rise, directly or indirectly, to voluptuous sensations, are
met with often in early childhood. First of all we have those parts of the
genital organs mentioned in the last paragraph; secondly, other regions of
the body. Thus, in some individuals, stimulation of the anal and gluteal
regions gives rise to voluptuous sensations. Freud39 maintains that voluntary
retention of the fæces is utilised for this purpose, but this appears to me
very doubtful. In many children, however, gentle scratching of the anal
region or the buttocks, and also more powerful stimulation of the gluteal
region, such as occurs in flagellation, are associated with sexual excitement.
Some children, with this end in view, stimulate the anal region with the
finger or with some instrument. Other erogenic zones are also at times
found in children, but not often; whereas in adults such erogenic zones are
numerous, but differ greatly in different individuals. In this connexion, I
need merely allude to the production of voluptuous sensations by tickling
the nape of the neck.

Attempts have often been made to determine the comparative frequency of
masturbation in the two sexes. On one point at least all writers are agreed,
viz., that of boys an overwhelming majority masturbate occasionally. The
only point in dispute is whether there are any exceptions. For my own part,
I am confident that exceptions exist. I have received direct information on
the point from leading men of science, and from others whose absolute
veracity I have never had any reason to doubt. Healthy men, endowed with
a normal sexual impulse, are occasionally to be found who have never
masturbated at all. I go further, and believe that such persons are by no

means so rare as many authorities maintain. Nevertheless, as regards the
male sex, differences of opinion are, after all, not very extensive, since it is
only in relation to a minority that these differences exist. But when we pass
to the question of the extent of masturbation among girls, the differences
become more acute. On this point also I have endeavoured to obtain exact
information by means of numerous inquiries, with the following results.
Among girls, masturbation is less general than it is among boys. Among
those who have never masturbated during girlhood, we find women who as
adults have powerful sexual impulse. On the other hand, many girls who
masturbate do so very often. I believe, indeed, that cases in which
masturbation is performed twice or thrice in brief succession are relatively
commoner among girls than they are among boys. As regards this point my
own experience harmonises with that of Guttceit.40 On the other hand,
Guttceit's assumption that almost all girls who attain the age of eighteen or
twenty years without any opportunity for sexual intercourse practise
masturbation conflicts with my own experience. I am acquainted with a
number of women of a fairly ardent temperament who do not masturbate,
although they have no opportunity for sexual intercourse. Moreover, this
view is confirmed by the common experience regarding the relative sexual
anæsthesia of women; it is an admitted fact that complete sexuality is in
women far less readily awakened than it is in men.

I must take this opportunity of referring at some length to a matter which,
though somewhat obscure, is none the less profoundly interesting. In many
instances sexual excitement occurs in children as the result of a feeling of
anxiety; in boys such anxiety may lead to ejaculation, with or without
erection, and with more or less voluptuous sensation. A schoolboy informed
me that he had had a seminal emission with a slight sense of voluptuous
pleasure when in class he was in difficulties with a passage of unseen
translation, and he was afraid he would be unable to finish the passage
before the end of the lesson. Another reported to me a precisely similar
experience; he was overcome with anxiety during a written examination,
and had a seminal emission. A third had an ejaculation when, being detected
in some offence against school discipline, he was sent for by the
headmaster, and was afraid he would be expelled. Quite a number of similar
cases have been reported to me of sexual excitement occurring in childhood
as a sequel to anxiety. I have recorded the facts, and do not propose to

discuss exhaustively the theoretical aspect of the matter. Perhaps the
phenomenon is allied to masochism, since anxiety is to a certain extent
painful. We may also, in this connexion, think of the seminal emissions
sometimes observed in cases of suicidal hanging. Freud's theory may also
be mentioned, that the anxiety-neurosis is referable to certain sexual
processes; but we must not forget that Freud makes a similar assumption in
the case of other neuroses as well. Stekel,41 one of Freud's pupils, in an
elaborate monograph, also lays stress on the sexual factor of the anxiety-
neurosis. In my own view, however, Freud's generalisation is too
comprehensive; inasmuch as he symbolises all things in accordance with
his own peculiar preconceptions, the concept sexual receives, in his hands,
an undue extension. But I do not deny the occasional association of sexual
excitement with a sense of anxiety. Certain boys would appear to have a
peculiar predisposition to the occurrence of such processes; at any rate,
several persons have told me that during childhood they had frequently had
ejaculations as a result of feelings of anxiety. As a rule, however, each of
these persons has had such an experience either once only, or but very few
times. Two identical instances have been reported to me as occurring in
girls—ejaculation with an indefinite voluptuous sensation as a sequel of
anxiety. These girls were from thirteen to fourteen years of age. In one of
the two, the phenomenon recurred several times; and even at the present
day, when she is a fully-grown woman, she occasionally experiences
ejaculation in connexion with a feeling of anxiety.

Case 6.—A student, twenty years of age, described his experiences to me in
the following terms:—As regards his sexual development, he remembers
that he was sixteen years of age when he first experienced sexual
sensations. Before this time he had been told by other boys about sexual
intercourse, masturbation, and many other things. He had, however, never
masturbated, though he had once or twice attempted to do so. One day,
when he was in the Upper Second Class, a mathematical problem was given
out, and as he found a difficulty in solving it, he became anxious, all the
more because his chances of promotion to a higher class were largely
dependent on his success. When he had barely finished half the necessary
calculations, the master announced that there were only ten minutes left, at
the end of which time the exercise books would be collected. Thereupon his
anxiety became extreme, and simultaneously he experienced his first

seminal emission. He is unable to give a more detailed description of what
occurred, and does not remember having had an erection; but, as he
expresses it, the sensation was extremely pleasant. Subsequently, when in
the First Class, the same experience recurred several times, that is to say, he
had a seminal emission as a result of a similar feeling of anxiety. In other
respects his sexual development was normal. Seminal dreams were
accompanied by the idea of contact with a woman. On one occasion,
however, he had a seminal emission during the night in association with a
feeling of anxiety. He dreamed that he was being pursued by a mad dog,
when suddenly he became, as it were, paralysed and unable to run a single
step further. The consequent acute anxiety culminated in emission.

During sleep, sexually mature men and many sexually mature women have
from time to time involuntary sexual orgasms;42 these occur chiefly in
persons without opportunities for sexual intercourse, who do not practise
masturbation. In such involuntary orgasms the male ejaculates semen, the
female indifferent glandular secretions. As a rule, the ejaculation is
accompanied not merely by a voluptuous sensation, but also by a psychical
process corresponding with the mode of sexual sensibility of the person
concerned. A normal man during the orgasm dreams that he is embracing a
woman; a normal woman that she is embracing a man; a homosexual man
dreams of the embraces of another man. The dream-ejaculation is
distinguished from the waking act of intercourse to this extent, that in the
former the ejaculation usually takes place during the preparatory stages to
the act of intercourse—during kissing, physical contact, or the embrace—so
that the dream stops short of complete sexual intercourse. But in other
respects the dream ordinarily corresponds to the psychical processes of the
waking state. The same correspondence exists as regards sexual dreams that
do not culminate in ejaculation. Children also experience sexual dreams
either with or without orgasm. In those who have never masturbated in the
waking state, a sexual dream is commonly the cause of the first experience
of ejaculation; and this occurs more often than is generally believed. More
especially in the female sex I have come across many cases in which the
orgasm made a primary appearance during sleep. In both sexes alike it is
usual for psychosexual phenomena to manifest themselves before the erotic
dream makes its appearance; a boy, for instance, will during his waking life
have felt an attraction towards members of the other sex before he has

begun to dream of embracing a girl. We must not, however, forget that,
apart from those cases in which a dream beyond question first unveils to
consciousness the psychosexual life, dreams are forgotten very rapidly
indeed, especially when the memory is not stimulated by so vivid an
occurrence as the sexual orgasm. Hence, even though it is true that the
psychosexual life commonly appears to begin during the waking state, we
must admit that it is quite likely that psychosexual dreams may have
previously occurred and have been forgotten. Thus, in many individuals,
sexual perversions make their first appearance in dreams. It has even been
suggested that dreams may exercise a similar influence to that of post-
hypnotic suggestion; that is to say, that a dream may be the actual
originating cause of sexual perversion. This is a matter which I cannot
discuss further, more especially in view of the fact that the whole idea is too
hypothetical.

The earlier the age at which the child begins to ripen sexually, the earlier do
sexual dreams and nocturnal ejaculations make their appearance. I have
known of numerous instances in which children ten or eleven years of age
have had sexual dreams; occasionally, even, I have been informed of the
occurrence of such dreams in children of seven or eight years of age. In
children, as in adults, the object which is sexually exciting in the waking
state plays a leading part in the sexual dream. But in the sexual dreams of
children the imagination is even more active than it is in the sexual dreams
of adults. All kinds of perverse dreams may, in children, accompany the
emission, even when the corresponding ideas have no erotic association in
the waking state. Things of which the child has learned from fairy tales,
stories of robbers, of imprisoned or enchanted princesses, princes, fettered
slaves—all may play a part in the psychosexual processes of the dream-life.
Anyone unaware of the fact that in the great majority of children this
tendency disappears spontaneously in the course of the further development
of the sexual life might too readily infer the existence of some morbid
perversion. In such instances we must, indeed, bear in mind the possibility
of sexual perversion, especially in view of the fact that sexually perverse
adults are often able to trace back into childhood the memory of sexual
dreams characteristic of their peculiar type of perversion. Occasionally the
feelings of anxiety of which we have spoken above may, even in dreams,
lead to the occurrence of involuntary ejaculations. Thus we are told of

dreams of pursuit by robbers or by wild animals, or of dreams of missing a
train the dreamer has been running to catch, in which ejaculations occur. In
isolated cases the dreams of children which are associated with ejaculations
may be quite indistinct; in such cases, just as sometimes in the sexual
dreams of adults, it is impossible to recognise any definite relationship to
the psychosexual feelings of the waking state. In this connexion no
difference between the sexes can be shown to exist, except this, that, at any
rate as far as my own experience goes, nocturnal ejaculations are much
more often absent in girls than in boys. Occasionally, manual or other
artificial stimulation of the genital organs is effected during sleep; I have
myself known several instances of this, both in boys and in girls. In several
cases, at least, there were satisfactory grounds for believing that we were
not concerned with masturbation practised at night in the waking state, but
all the indications pointed to the fact that the processes wore carried on
unconsciously during sleep. In isolated cases I have had children watched
throughout the night, in order to clear up this point, and my conclusion was
thus confirmed that children do at times play with the genital organs during
sleep.

A classical description of her first nocturnal orgasm is given by Madame
Roland in her Mémoires Particuliers,43 written during the last months of her
life in prison in Paris at the time of the Terror. She menstruated for the first
time, she informs us, soon after she had been partially enlightened
regarding sexual matters by her grandmother. Even before menstruation
began, she had experienced sexual excitement in dreams. "I had sometimes
been awakened from a deep sleep in a most remarkable manner. My
imagination played no part in what occurred; it was occupied with far more
serious matters, and my tender conscience was far too strictly on guard
against the deliberate pursuit of pleasure for me to make any attempt to
dwell in imagination on what I regarded as a forbidden province of thought.
But an extraordinary outbreak awakened my senses from their quiet
slumber, and, my constitution being a very vigorous one, a process whose
nature and cause were equally unknown to me made its appearance
spontaneously. The first result of this experience was the onset of great
mental anguish; I had learned from my 'Philothea'44 that it was forbidden to
enjoy any bodily pleasure, except in lawful wedlock; this teaching recurred
to my mind; the sensations I had experienced could certainly be described

as pleasurable; I had, therefore, committed a sin, and, indeed, a sin of the
most shameful and grievous character, because it was the sin most of all
displeasing to the Lamb without blemish and without spot. Great
disturbance of mind, prayers and penances; how could I avoid a repetition
of the offence? for I had not foreseen it in any way, but in the moment of
the experience I had taken no trouble to prevent it. My watchfulness
became extreme; I noticed that when lying in certain positions I was more
exposed to the danger, and I avoided these positions with anxious
conscientiousness. My uneasiness became so great that ultimately I came to
wake up before the catastrophe. When unable to prevent it, I would jump
out of bed, and, notwithstanding the cold of winter, stand bare-footed on the
polished floor, crossing my arms, and praying earnestly to God to guard me
from the snares of Satan." She goes on to describe her subsequent attempts
to mortify the flesh by means of fasting.

I have hitherto described the individual sexual processes which are
observed during childhood, I have already explained that in some, one
process, in some, another process, is alone present, or, at any rate,
preponderates. For instance, a girl may be sexually attracted towards a boy
without the genital organs playing any conscious part in the attraction. But
the converse may also occur. Moreover, the strength of the sexual feeling is
subject to extensive individual variations. In some children the sexual
impulse is so powerful that scandalous misconduct can hardly be avoided;
on the other hand, we see cases in which the sexual impulse manifests itself
at the normal age, but is so weak that it can scarcely be said to play any
important part in the consciousness of the child. This is true of both
components of the sexual impulse, of the phenomena of contrectation, no
less than of those of detumescence. Formerly it was very generally believed
that in sexually perverse persons the sexual sensations awakened unusually
early in life. There is no foundation for this view. Normal sexual sensations
can be detected very early in childhood. The existence of these was ignored,
simply because the study of the normal was neglected for the study of the
perverse. Moreover, the strength of the sexual sensations has no necessary
association with the existence of perversions; these latter sometimes occur
without being particularly strong. On the other hand, qualitatively normal
sexual sensations may be associated with sexual hyperæsthesia, and they
may attain a notable strength even during childhood.

In the third chapter I showed that in childhood the sexes are differentiated
both physically and mentally, altogether apart from the genital organs and
the sexual impulse; and I pointed out that games in particular afforded
indications of mental sexual differentiation. Many games, indeed, may even
be regarded as direct manifestations of the sexual impulse, and I must
therefore now return to the consideration of this topic; but I shall confine
myself to certain phenomena observable in the animal world, since the
games of animals are, in this connexion, so much simpler than those of
children. Play constitutes a major part of the activities of young animals;
think, for instance, of a kitten playing with a hanging tassel or with a ball,
of puppies chasing one another, and of young birds playing with fluttering
wings. The games of young animals often exhibit the character of love-
games, and are in that case sexually differentiated. Various authors, and
especially Brehm, have recorded numerous examples of this; I give here a
few instances, quoted from Groos.45 The young male, even before its
testicles have developed, woos the female by movements, song, or other
characteristic sounds. The female, also sexually immature, responds
coquettishly to these advances of the male. Song, which Brehm regards as a
sign of the awakening of love, makes its appearance at an age when the
animal is still unfitted for the reproductive act.

"Young magpies (Corvus pica) address one another in September, and often
in August and in October, in consecutive clucking notes, and in this way
make exactly the same kind of noise that they are always heard making in
early spring just before the pairing season. The young male green
woodpecker (Picus viridicanus) sings in September as beautifully as in
April, as I have myself heard more than once; the young great spotted
woodpecker (Picus major) may even be heard at times in autumn, just as in
spring, making his characteristic tapping sound as he explores hard
branches in search of insects. Both varieties of creeper begin to sing before
they have changed their youthful plumage; their song closely resembles that
of the adult birds in spring, but the note is somewhat shorter and weaker.
Similarly, both the German varieties of crossbill commonly begin to sing
before losing the plumage characteristic of youth. Young house-sparrows
and hedge-sparrows not only chatter and swear at one another like the full-
grown birds at pairing time, but also like the latter the young birds distend
their throats, let their wings droop, peck at one another, and in fact behave

as exactly as they will next spring when fully grown. Young linnets also
begin to sing before losing their youthful plumage, learn to sing well during
the moulting season, and often continue to warble right on into the winter;
in a mild winter young linnets will sing just as well as old ones. The young
woodlark begins to sing as soon as its first moulting is nearly over, and not
only does this when perching, but flies aloft like the adult bird in the spring-
time, and soars for a long time, singing continually. Titmice all sing when
still quite young, but more especially the large crested titmouse and the
marsh titmouse; the notes of the young marsh titmouse are precisely similar
to those with which in spring the adult bird sings to his mate; and as regards
the crested titmouse, in October 1821, I observed a young male bird making
advances of a most marked character to a young hen, whilst the hen
drooped its wings and spread out its tail—in short, these two young birds
were behaving exactly as do the full-grown birds before pairing in the
spring. The young cock starling conducts itself precisely as if it wished to
pair. At the beginning of September, as soon as moulting is completed, this
bird returns to its birthplace, apparently in order to take possession of the
nest. It perches on the tree-top, just like the full-grown bird in March, and
sings almost for the whole morning. While still perching, it flaps its wings,
quarrels with and chases other young starlings; sometimes it even creeps
into the hollow tree or other hiding-place containing the nest in which it
was hatched. The yellow wagtail sings while still in its youthful plumage,
and the young birds chase one another about while in this condition; during
and immediately after the first moulting, these birds produce peculiar
trilling notes, identical with those with which in April the cock bird salutes
his mate, and they may also be seen in the remarkable fluttering flight
characteristic of many birds in the pairing season. The grey wood wren
begins to sing before the first moulting, but sings more powerfully during
and after moulting, right on into the month of October, singing like a full-
grown bird. At the same time this bird twists the body from side to side, and
moves the tail to and fro; it quarrels also with birds of its own species, and
quarrels, too, with other birds, sometimes with birds as much as four times
its own size. In August and September young mountain fowl and heath fowl
utter love calls to each other, not, indeed, so loudly as those of the adult
birds, nor in association with the characteristic movements of the body
made by these latter in the spring-time, but still unmistakable love calls....
According to Hudson, many kinds of American woodpecker carry on a kind

of duet, and they practise this artistic performance from the very earliest
youth. On meeting, the male and female, standing close together, and facing
each other, utter their clear ringing concert, one emitting loud single
measured notes, while the notes of its fellow are rapid, rhythmical triplets;
their voices have a joyous character, and seem to accord, thus producing a
kind of harmony. This manner of singing is perhaps most perfect in the
oven-bird (Furnarius), and it is very curious that the young birds, when only
partially fledged, are constantly heard in the nest or oven apparently
practising these duets in the intervals when the parents are absent; single
measured notes, triplets, and long concluding trills are all repeated with
wonderful fidelity, and in character these notes are utterly unlike the hunger
cry, which is like that of other fledglings."

In such cases as those just enumerated, actual copulation is not effected; but
animals still sexually immature may perform coitus-like acts, and Groos's
work contains observations of these made by Seitz and others. Seitz saw an
antelope six weeks old making copulatory movements. In young dogs such
movements may often be observed, also in young stallions and young bulls.

The view that in such cases the movements are imitative merely is
untenable, for young animals which have never had any opportunity of
watching the physical manifestations of love in older ones, will nevertheless
themselves exhibit such manifestations. At most it remains open to dispute
whether in these cases it is still permissible to speak of love-games, as do
Groos and others, or whether we should not rather speak simply of
manifestations of the activity of the sexual impulse. But the dispute does
not involve differences of opinion regarding matters of fact; it is purely
terminological. For, in the first place, Groos himself, who regards the
games of childhood as a form of training, suitable to the nature of the
individual, for its subsequent activities, recognises that games are sexually
differentiated. He believes that we have to do, not, as some think, with
imitative processes, but with preliminary practice, subserving the purposes
of self-development; and he considers that girls naturally turn to games
adapted to train them for their subsequent profession of motherhood, whilst
boys incline to games corresponding to their predestined activity as men.
Even if we accept this theory of Groos, we are compelled to recognise a
sexual element in the games of youthful animals. In addition, however, we

must note the fact that Groos gives a wider extension to the concept of play
than other writers, and that he regards as love-games processes which
others might perhaps describe as sexual manifestations. According to
Groos, caressing contact is to be regarded as playful when, in the serious
intercourse between the sexes, such contact appears to be merely a
preliminary activity rather than an end in itself. Here two cases are possible:
in one the carrying out of the instinctive activity to its real end is prevented
by incapacity or by ignorance; in the other, it is prevented by a deliberate
exercise of will. The former occurs in children; the latter, often enough in
adults. Whatever view we hold regarding this matter, the sexually
differentiated love-games of young animals must be regarded as a
manifestation of the sexual life. None the less, in sexually immature
animals, just as in the case of children, sexual differentiation is not always
so marked as it is in adults; and it may happen that the sexes may exchange
their rôles. Cases observed by Seitz have been published by Groos and also
by myself.46 I have myself watched a young cow which repeatedly
attempted to mount another young cow; I have also on several occasions
seen young bitches attempt to cover dogs. To this part of our subject
belongs the observation of Exner, that when dogs are playing wildly with
one another one hardly ever sees a bitch among them. But if an exception
should occur, the bitch is usually a young one. In animals, sexual
differentiation is not complete until sexual maturity is attained, and the
same is true of the human species, although, as I have shown above,
children already manifest sexual differentiation in their games, their
inclinations, and their general conduct.

I have thought it desirable to refer to the play of animals in this place, as
well as to treat of the subject in its direct relationship to the sexual impulse.
What is true of play is true also of the other interests and inclinations of the
child, many of which are also associated with the sexual life; these have
been described earlier, so that here I need merely allude to the matter in
passing.

Hitherto I have described the sexual life of the child in so far as it is the
subject of direct observation or can be recalled to memory. But it was
explained at the outset that there is still another way of gaining clear
knowledge of the subject, namely, by experiment; and it was shown that

castration may be regarded as such an experiment. Although the
reproductive capacity of the male is not developed prior to the formation of
spermatozoa in the testicles, nevertheless we learn from the effects of
castration that the testicles exhibit important functional activity much
earlier in life. This fact was long overlooked, and its importance is even to-
day largely underestimated, because we have been accustomed to regard the
provision of an external secretion as the only function of the testicle. But it
is now firmly established that these glands exercise influence in other ways.
We know that bodily and mental development are affected by the removal
of the testicles; and that the influence is greater the earlier in life the
castration takes place. A number of secondary sexual characters remain
undeveloped. The beard does not grow; in many instances a thick
panniculus adiposus is formed; there are changes in the growth of the
bones; the voice remains a soprano; and the other reproductive organs are
imperfectly developed, the penis and the prostate remaining comparatively
small An early castration does not, of course, result in the obliteration of all
differences between the male and the female; we must rather say that a part
only of the typical differential characters of sex remain undeveloped. The
earlier assumption, that the secretion of semen competent to effect
fertilisation influenced the development of the secondary sexual characters,
has of late been more and more generally abandoned. Many considerations
tell against such a theory, more especially a comparison of the three
following facts. First, if castration is not effected until after the formation of
spermatozoa has already begun, the familiar results of this operation are
either entirely wanting, or else appear to a small extent only, and are limited
to a small number of the secondary sexual characters. Secondly, the results
of castration are most marked when the operation is performed in early
childhood. Thirdly, when castration is effected in the later years of
childhood, but before the secretion of fertilising semen has taken place, the
results are intermediate in degree, being much less marked than in the
second class of cases, but more extensive than in the first. If the secretion of
a fertilising semen were the principal factor in the development of the
secondary sexual characters, we should expect the results of castration to be
the same whether the operation were performed early in childhood or late
so long as it was done before any spermatozoa had been formed.

The secondary sexual characters are, therefore, independent of the
formation of spermatozoa, and the appearance of these characters must
depend upon other processes, occurring much earlier in life. Thus, in
persons who were castrated in the eighth or ninth year of life, we note the
presence of definite secondary sexual characters, which are, indeed, less
strongly developed than in normal persons, but which do not appear at all
when the castration has been effected at a still earlier age. The varying
views of different authors regarding the influence of castration in early life
upon the development of the secondary sexual characters may readily be
explained with reference to the individual differences that may be observed
in the functional activity of the testicles in different males before the power
of reproduction has been acquired. Just as in boys the capacity for
reproduction, and in girls the function of menstruation, does not appear at a
fixed and definite age, so also in the case of the other processes that come
into being under the influence of the activity of the reproductive glands, we
have to reckon with such individual differences. For this reason, in persons
who have been castrated at the same age, the subsequent course of
development may vary to some degree, notwithstanding the apparent
identity of the determining factor in each case. In some, the pelvis, the
beard, the voice, and the mental qualities, develop in normal fashion; in
others, there is interference with the development of one or all of these
characters. In certain cases, the bodily structure is influenced by castration
at an age when the mental development is no longer affected. This explains
the fact that many oriental eunuchs, in whom castration is commonly
effected shortly before the seventh or eighth year of life, while they exhibit
the bodily configuration characteristic of the eunuch, are nevertheless
capable of experiencing heterosexual feelings, and even passionate love.

In Western countries we rarely have an opportunity of studying the full
consequences of castration, for with us the operation is hardly ever
performed so early in life as it is in the East; and the reports that are
available concerning oriental and other foreign eunuchs are to a large extent
untrustworthy. None the less, from such reports, and from accounts that
have come down to us from earlier days in the West (more especially in the
case of the boys who were formerly castrated in Italy for the preservation of
the soprano voice), we obtain evidence amply sufficient to justify the
statements made above. Even more convincing are observations made on

the lower animals. For example, in horses which have been castrated at a
very early age the sexual impulse remains undeveloped; but we have to
contrast with this the fact that a certain number of geldings possess a well-
marked sexual impulse, because in these animals, though they were gelded
while still immature, the operation was performed too late. All these
observations combine to justify the inference that long before spermatozoa
capable of effecting fertilisation are formed in the testicles, changes occur
in these glands which are of great importance in relation to the sexual life,
both in the human species and in the lower animals.

We cannot speak so positively as to the truth of this in the case of the
reproductive glands in women, the ovaries, because alike in the human
female and in the females of the lower animals oöphorectomy is less
commonly performed than is castration in the male. The literature of our
subject contains few references to this matter. What little information we do
possess, derived in part from travellers who have had opportunities for
observation in extra-European countries, and in part from students of
animal life, leads to the same conclusion as in the case of males, namely,
that long before the age commonly regarded as the commencement of
sexual maturity, important changes are going on in the reproductive glands.

No detailed discussion can be attempted here of the other observations there
may be on record to show the existence of such sexual processes during
childhood. We may merely refer, for example, to the results of the removal
of one testicle before the commencement of puberty; this is followed by a
compensatory hypertrophy of the other testicle—whereas removal of one
testicle after the attainment of sexual maturity does not lead to any such
hypertrophy of the remaining testicle, or if so, only in comparatively slight
degree.

Although from the facts just stated it appears that, alike in human beings
and in the lower animals, before the formation of the specific germ-cells
and sperm-cells has begun in the reproductive glands of the respective sexes
important processes take place in these glands, it still remains obscure what
is the nature of these processes, and in what manner they influence the
organism. One question complicating this problem, and one which is to-day
frequently discussed, is the extent of the influence exercised by the

reproductive glands on the development of the secondary sexual characters.
I can here do little more than state the difficulty. Whereas it was formerly
assumed that the reproductive glands exercised a direct determining
influence in this direction, more recently another view has been put
forward, among others by Halban.47 According to this theory, the stimulus
proceeding from the glands is protective merely, not formative, nor directly
stimulating the growth of organs. In the fertilised ovum, it is supposed, the
rudiment of sex already exists, likewise the rudiment of the reproductive
gland, and the rudiments of the appropriate sexual characters. That is to say,
the development of the secondary sexual characters is not determined by the
presence of the reproductive gland; but the sex of the reproductive gland
and the associated sexual characters are already determined by some
common cause at the moment of fertilisation. But this theoretical
controversy has no very important bearing on the problem with which we
are especially concerned; and the influence of the reproductive gland upon
the development of the secondary sexual characters is admitted as fully by
Halban as it is by other writers, the only difference between the two views
lying in the dispute whether the influence of the glands is of a formative or
a protective nature. The influence exercised by the reproductive glands on
the development of the secondary sexual characters can be adequately
discussed, even though the precise way in which that influence is exerted
remains in dispute.

As to the general nature of the influence, two chief theories have to be
considered, viz., the nervous theory and the chemical theory. According to
the former, we must assume that a stimulus originates in the reproductive
glands, the testicles in the male, and the ovaries in the female, and that these
glands excite a kind of reflex action—that is, that the stimulus passes to the
central nervous system, and thence is "reflected" to the periphery, where it
promotes, either the growth of particular parts of the body, e.g. the beard, or
the development of definite properties in certain organs, e.g. the
characteristics of the male larynx or of the female mamma. It is possible
that the reflected impulse stimulates trophic nerves. But it may be that in
cases of early castration the state of affairs is similar to that which obtains
when from earliest infancy one of the sense organs is wanting, as a result of
which the corresponding portions of the central nervous system are found to
undergo atrophy.48 On this assumption, the manifest arrest of the

development of certain organs which results from castration is to be
regarded as the sequel of a partial atrophy of certain portions of the brain.
Of late, however, the chemical theory, that the results of castration are
dependent on the lack of the internal secretion of the excised glands, has
gained ground at the expense of the nervous theory. The reason for this
change of view is that much which was unsuspected in former years has
recently been learned about the chemical activities of other glands. It
suffices to allude to the function of the thyroid body. According to this
chemical theory, chemical substances are prepared in the reproductive
glands, and these substances exert a specific influence in promoting the
development of the secondary sexual characters. The same theory has been
invoked to account for the alleged ill effects of sexual abstinence, it being
suggested that the reabsorption of glandular products properly destined for
excretion may give rise to toxic effects.49 If it be assumed that the testicles
can secrete substances upon the influence of which the development of the
secondary sexual characters depends, it is obvious that these substances
have nothing to do with the spermatozoa, inasmuch as the testicles exert the
influence under consideration at an age at which the formation of
spermatozoa has not yet begun. The substances that act in this way must be
of a different kind. As was pointed out earlier in this book (p. 19), recent
researches have shown that the testicles possess a twofold activity; and
some French physicians even go so far as to say that the testicle is not a
single gland, but two glands. They distinguish between the gland that
prepares the spermatozoa and the interstitial gland.50 Whilst the formation
of spermatozoa subserves the generative act, the function of the interstitial
gland is to prepare substances which pass into the lymph or blood-stream,
and give rise to the development of the secondary sexual characters. Thus,
the effects of castration are due, on this theory, not to the absence of the
formation of spermatozoa, but to the absence of the products of the
interstitial glands. French investigators consider that the assumption that
such an interstitial gland exists is justified by the results of experimental
work.

Whichever theory we accept, the chemical or the nervous, both theories
harmonise equally with the fact that in boys, before the formation of
spermatozoa begins, processes occur in the testicles which powerfully
influence the organism. Thus, we learn also from a study of the results of

castration how active is the sexual life even in childhood, since thus early in
life influences proceed from the reproductive glands whereby the
development of the secondary sexual characters is markedly affected.

The principal sexual processes occurring in childhood have now been
described. Although we have been forced to admit the fact that in the child
sexual processes are much more extensive than has commonly been
believed, we must, on the other hand, guard ourselves against the
exaggerations of those who interpret everything in sexual terms. In the
chapter on diagnosis it will be necessary to refer to these exaggerations
once again.

As a rule, of course, the manifestations of the sexual life of the child
increase from year to year, although not always by continuous gradations.
Thus, in consequence of misdirection, sexual manifestations may arise in
the child, and then, if these evil communications are cut off, such
manifestations may cease. But, altogether apart from deliberate seduction,
we may observe periods of more rapid and periods of less rapid sexual
development, the causes of which may remain obscure. Individual cases
vary to such an extent, that it is impossible to lay down a rule to which there
are no exceptions. This applies equally to both components of the sexual
impulse, to the phenomena of detumescence as well as to those of
contrectation.

But although as we have seen, the development of the sexual life is not
always by regular progression, yet on the whole the increasing intensity of
sexual manifestations from the years of childhood to the termination of the
period of the puberal development cannot be denied. Especially extensive
are the changes occurring at the end of the second period of childhood. At
this period we note more particularly the development of the outward signs
of sexual maturity. In the boy, we observe the growth of the beard and the
pubic hair, and a more rapid enlargement of the testicles and the other
organs of reproduction. In the girl, the breasts and the pelvis assume the
adult female type, and ovulation and menstruation begin. During this
period, also, the mental changes are extremely marked, even though in
many cases these changes may have begun considerably earlier. The
internal organic changes make themselves felt also in the sphere of action.

The years of adolescence in the male are characterised by an impulse to
travel, to adventures, but in addition to all kinds of ideal efforts and to
religious activity. The loftiest ethical ideas alternate with a self-conscious
bumptiousness. A change of disposition manifests itself which is sharply
contrasted with the behaviour at an earlier and a subsequent age. This is no
less true of the girl. That which formerly was no more than a vague
indication, now becomes a manifest quality. More and more does the
feminine mode of feeling display itself. The "tom-boyishness" so often seen
in girls during the second period of childhood disappears. The former
tomboy has become one51—
"In whose orbs a shadow lies
Like the dusk in evening skies,"

and we see her—
"Standing, with reluctant feet,
Where the brook and river meet,
Womanhood and childhood fleet!

"Gazing, with a timid glance,
On the brooklet's swift advance,
On the river's broad expanse!"

The considerations put forward in this chapter show us how necessary it
was to explain the conception of puberty at the very outset of this work. If
the period of the puberal development be understood to correspond to the
development and ripening of the sexual life, we see that this development
begins much earlier than is commonly assumed in books on the subject.
Writers have been too ready to identify with this developmental period the
appearance of certain external manifestations, more especially the growth
of the pubic hair in both sexes, the development of the breasts in the female,
and the breaking of the voice in the male; and the appearance of certain
definite outward signs—in the girl, the first menstruation, and in the boy,
the first ejaculation—has usually been regarded as marking a turning-point
in this development. But neither in the boy is the occurrence of the first
ejaculation a proof of capacity for reproduction, or a proof that the period of
the puberal development is completed; nor in the girl is the occurrence of
the first menstruation, which may long precede the establishment of the far
more important function of ovulation, characteristic in either of these

respects. Observations made on children, accounts given by children and
memories of childhood, and the results of castration (and oöphorectomy),52
all combine to prove the occurrence of sexual processes during childhood,
at least as early as the beginning of the second period of childhood. At this
time of life, the psychosexual in especial often plays a great part. If,
notwithstanding all these facts, anyone desires to associate the beginning or
the end of the puberal development, as was formerly done, with the
appearance of "the external signs of puberty," no one can prevent this usage.
But the scientific investigator, the physician, the schoolmaster, and the
parents, should all alike fully understand that such external processes
comprise but a small part of all that constitutes pubescence. A straining of
terminology may at times be permissible; but on no account must we allow
currency to so disastrous an error as the belief that the sexual life of the
child either begins or is completed with the appearance of these external
signs. The sexual life of the child begins long before, and the puberal
development is not completed till many years after, the appearance of these
external signs, which by most people are erroneously regarded as typical of
pubescence.

Although I have detailed a number of phenomena characteristic of the
sexual life of the child, it must not be assumed that these phenomena are
common to all cases, or that every individual symptom is invariably
observed. As I have previously explained, numerous exceptions occur. In
some instances, only one symptom is discernible; in others, another only.
The commonest early manifestations of the sexual life in childhood are, as
was said before, the psychosexual phenomena. Frequently, the individual
symptoms are so faintly marked that they can be detected only by a very
thorough and careful examination. I wish merely to insist upon the fact that
during the years of childhood which are commonly regarded as asexual,
manifestations of the sexual life can with care almost always be detected,
although at times their detection is by no means easy.

In conclusion, however, it is necessary to point out that there are a certain
number of children in whom up to the fourteenth year of life, and even later,
manifestations of the sexual life are hardly discernible; but we have to
remember that the results of castration prove, as has been shown above, that
even when, in early life, the occurrence of sexual processes cannot be

demonstrated, such processes are nevertheless going on. We meet with
individuals in whom, even during the first years of youth, the development
of the sexual life is extremely backward. There are boys of fifteen or sixteen
who from time to time have an involuntary seminal emission, but who
exhibit no other indications whatever of an active sexual life—neither
masturbation, nor any discernible psychosexual processes. Nevertheless, in
most cases of this kind, more careful observation will bring to light much,
besides the occurrence of the involuntary seminal emissions, which points
to an awakening of sexuality. Still, in some individuals, it is remarkable
how long entire sexual innocence may persist. This is doubtless due in such
cases, not to any specially rigorous natural virtue, but simply to the fact that
in these cases sexual development is much slower than the average. Those
concerned are thus devoid of all understanding of the sexual, just in the
same way as persons born blind lack all understanding of colour. In most of
the cases in which such retardation occurs, the sexual life subsequently
becomes entirely normal, showing that the only abnormality was the
exceptional delay in the occurrence of the various processes. I have myself
seen a number of cases in which the development of the sexual life was
delayed to such an extent that ejaculation during coitus was not effected
until towards the end of the third decade of life, although erections, and
even occasional nocturnal emissions, had occurred long before. I believe
that cases of this kind are to a small extent only, if at all, the result of
educational influences, and they are in no way dependent upon the so-called
sexual neurasthenia; we are concerned simply with a retardation of
development, dependent upon congenital predisposition.

CHAPTER V
PATHOLOGY

In the previous chapters I have from time to time mentioned some
phenomenon of comparatively rare occurrence; but for the most part I have
described those processes only which are regularly met with, which cannot
be regarded as exceptional peculiarities, and therefore must not be

considered to be pathological manifestations. It is true that much that has
been described comes within the province of the pathological; for example,
many of the active manifestations of the sexual impulse occurring during
the first period of childhood, such as the case quoted from Féré on page 81.
For practical reasons, however, such cases as this cannot always be dealt
with as members of a distinct pathological group. On the other hand, it is
necessary to give a separate consideration to the pathological aspect of our
subject. Many of the cases which must be grouped as pathological occur in
girls. Thus, we meet with cases in which menstruation becomes established
at the age of eight, five, two, or even earlier.53 Carus reports the case of a
woman whose medical history showed that she had begun to menstruate at
the age of two years, and that she became pregnant for the first time when
eight years old. In girls from ten to twelve years of age, pregnancy has
many times been observed. A French physician had under observation a girl
who when only three mouths old had well-developed breasts, and in whom
only a little later the pubic and axillary hair grew and menstruation began.
When twenty-seven months old, the child was again seen by the same
physician, and at this time menstruation was proceeding regularly; the
features had now lost the infantile type, and the body as a whole exhibited
all the signs of premature development. A collection of cases made by
Gebhard54 contains one case in which menstruation was established at birth;
in quite a number of the cases menstruation began during the first year of
life.

A case was reported from New Orleans in which menstruation began at the
age of three months and continued regularly thereafter. This was a case of
premature general growth; at the age of four years the girl was over 4 feet
high, and her breasts were the size of a large orange. As a general rule, in
these cases of premature development of the reproductive organs in girls,
the great size of the breasts attracts especial attention. According to Kisch
(op. cit., p. 78), these girls with precocious menstruation and premature
sexual development very commonly exhibit also a comparatively high
body-weight, great development of fat, and early dentition; they look older
than their years, and their genital organs also develop very early, with hair
on the pubes and in the axillæ; the labia majora and the breasts resemble
those of full-grown women, and the pelvis also has the adult form.

Commonly also the sexual impulse develops early, whilst in other respects
the mental development lags behind the physical.

In the post-mortem room, corresponding conditions are occasionally found
in the ovaries; and some writers express the opinion that such premature
sexual development is commoner than would appear from the comparative
rarity of reports on the subject. Unquestionably, examination of the ovaries
of young girls not infrequently leads to the discovery of ripe ovarian
follicles; in one case this happened in the body of a female infant born
prematurely. In a girl five years of age, fifteen follicles were counted in the
ovaries. Liégeois,55 in post-mortem examinations, twice found mature ova
in girls two years of age.

Similar cases of premature sexual development are occasionally seen also
in boys. For example, Breschet, in the year 1820, reported the case of a boy
three years of age who exhibited all the signs of puberty. His voice
resembled that of a young man of sixteen to eighteen. The length of the
flaccid penis was 9.6 cm. (3¾ inches), its diameter at the root was 7.2 cm.
(2¾ inches); the length of the organ when erect was 13.5 cm. (5¼ inches).
In the presence of girls or women the boy's penis became erect, his whole
manner became more vivacious, and his hands were directed towards the
genital organs of these females. Masturbation was never observed. The boy
showed many additional signs of premature development. For instance, the
central incisors of the upper jaw were cut at the age of three months.
Breschet also quotes a case published by Mead, in which a boy had
undergone the puberal development before the end of the first year of his
life; when five years of age, he died of pulmonary consumption, attended
with all the signs of old age. The same writer records another case, that of a
boy five years of age, whose genital organs were fully developed, who had
a well-grown beard, and exhibited, in short, all the (physical) characteristics
of complete sexual maturity. In accordance with the theoretical views of
that day, more especially as a result of the wide acceptance of the
phrenological doctrines of Gall, it was generally believed that an
exceptional development of the cerebellum (which was supposed by Gall to
be the seat of the sexual impulse) was the determining cause of such
premature awakening of the sexual impulse.

Contrasted with the cases just described, are those in which there is a
retardation of the whole course of sexual development, so that the signs of
sexual maturity are not manifested until an age greatly exceeding the
average "age of puberty." In respect of one symptom or several, many
individuals may remain throughout life in an infantile condition. This is
occasionally seen, for example, in dwarfs. It would be of great interest,
from this point of view, to make a careful study of the sexual behaviour of
dwarfs. In this respect, dwarfs appear to vary greatly. These differences
depend, in part, at least, upon the fact that many persons are classified as
dwarfs who do not, strictly speaking, belong to this category. This statement
applies more especially to those whose growth has been impaired by
rickets; for, properly speaking, those only should be designated dwarfs who
are, though small, generally well-proportioned; and the term should not be
applied to those in whom the defective stature is consequent on rachitis or
some similar disease. It appears doubtful, however, if the confusion of
terms just mentioned explains all the observed differences in the sexuality
of those commonly spoken of as "dwarfs." From data communicated to me
concerning a fairly large community of dwarfs, living in a single place, and
in whom the dwarfing appears to have no connexion with rickets, it would
seem that in the case of true dwarfs there is considerable variation in sexual
behaviour. This particular group of dwarfs constitute a society of persons
living and working together. Although they are all living in close
association, there seems to be a striking lack of warmth in their sexual
relationships. Notwithstanding the fact that they have been living together
for ten years, they still address one another formally as "Mr." and "Miss." In
the case of the male dwarfs, with one exception all had fully developed
genital organs; the exceptional instance was that of a member of the
community then thirty years of age, in whom the genitals were rudimentary.
All were endowed with normal sexual impulse, but this was directed
towards persons of normal stature. In one of these dwarfs, an Italian, the
genital organs remained undeveloped and hairless until he attained the age
of twenty-eight; then these organs underwent the normal degree of growth,
and at the same time pubic hair appeared. As already mentioned, the sexual
inclinations of dwarfs appear as a rule to be directed towards fully grown
persons, and I knew one dwarf twenty years of age who never missed an
opportunity of pressing up against a certain very pretty young lady. These
observations of my own regarding the sexual inclinations in dwarfs are

confirmed by other cases recorded in the literature of the subject, although
in isolated instances sexual attraction between a male and a female dwarf
has been observed to eventuate in the birth of a child.

This is the place in which to refer to those cases of which a brief mention
was made in the first chapter, to which von Krafft-Ebing has given the
name of sexual paradoxy. Activity of the sexual impulse is sometimes
observed at an age at which this impulse is normally quiescent. The term
applies alike to cases in which the sexual impulse becomes active in early
childhood, and to cases in which the impulse persists to an advanced age.
Whilst the cases in which the phenomena of contrectation alone occurred
have commonly been overlooked, considerable attention has been paid to
those cases in which the sexual impulse manifests itself by peripheral
changes, more especially by premature impulse towards masturbation or
towards actual sexual congress with one of the other sex. It was shown,
however, in the last chapter, that active manifestations of the sexual impulse
during childhood are not always paradoxical. If we examine cases which
have been published as coming under this latter category (I limit myself
here to cases occurring in childhood, and am not speaking of sexual
paradoxy in old age), we find that they are characterised more particularly
by the strength with which the peripheral sexual impulse manifests itself.
There is, in fact, a marked distinction between cases, according as we have
to do with an occasional general sensation in the genital organs, or with
masturbation to excess and with sexual assaults upon others. But we must
not describe as sexual paradoxy all manifestations of the sexual life
occurring in early childhood. A reference to the last chapter will show that
the cases of sexual paradoxy, when accurately studied, differ from the
normal rather quantitatively than qualitatively. During the first period of
childhood, and more especially during the first few years of life, a case in
which sexual activity in a child threatens the well-being of members of that
child's social environment is so sharply differentiated from the normal that
there can hardly arise even momentary hesitation regarding the paradoxical
nature of the manifestation. On the other hand, we shall do well to follow
von Krafft-Ebing in excluding from the category of sexual paradoxy those
cases in which sexual excitement is caused solely by peripheral
inflammatory stimuli, balanitis (inflammation of the glans penis),
threadworms, and the like. These are not instances of sexual paradoxy,

because the essential characteristic of the latter is that it originates centrally,
even though its manifestations take a peripheral form.

I will now recount three cases which I regard as pathological in nature, and
as examples of a paradoxical sexual impulse.

Case 7.—The girl X., six years of age, stated by the mother to be free from
all morbid inheritance, produces the general impression of being a nervous
subject. She is affected with facial muscular spasms, especially affecting the
corners of the mouth, the eyelids, and the neck. Her mental development, as
far as can be judged from my own observations and from the account given
by the parents, is perfectly normal; but attention is at once attracted by the
appearance of premature development. The mother states that in the second
year of life, owing to the carelessness of a nursemaid, the child fell out of
her cradle, without, however, sustaining any manifest injury. The mother
does not think there is any reason to suppose that the child has ever been led
astray in sexual matters. For the past two years or more, the mother has
noticed that the child likes to press up against articles of furniture in such a
way that her genital organs come into contact with narrow edges or corners;
for example, the back of a chair, and especially a small portfolio-stand in
the room. At first the child did this very often. Then the mother forbade it,
and the father whipped her several times for doing it; since then it has been
done more furtively, but the mother has none the less often seen it done.
When the child is in bed she plays with the genital organs with her fingers.
A definite orgasm occurs: there are spastic twitchings of the whole body,
the eyes brighten, the respiratory rhythm changes; all these changes,
occurring as they do in association with the artificial stimulation of the
genital organs, combine to prove that we have not to do here with a simple
spasmodic neurosis, but with the artificial induction of the sexual orgasm.
The process is, moreover, confined to peripheral manifestations. The most
careful observation failed to show the existence, in association with the
sexual excitement, of any especially tender sentiments towards other
individuals.

Case 8.—The boy Y. was brought to see me when he was eight and a half
years of age. From the second year of life he had been noticed to be subject
to masturbatory impulses, attended from the first with erection of the penis.

The practice of masturbation increased to such a degree that before the boy
was four years of age it was found necessary to keep him separate, as far as
possible, from his brothers and sisters to save these latter from being
corrupted by him. But notwithstanding this precaution, by the time he was
five years old he had begun to make sexual attacks on a sister one year
older than himself. He was cunning enough to arrange matters in such a
way that he was alone with his sister, at times when the usual safeguards to
keep him separate from the other children were suspended—for example,
when his parents were away, and when his governess (who had been made
fully acquainted with the circumstances) was keeping some assignation of
her own. (All this was fully elucidated at a later date. The distressed parents
were foolish enough to imagine that a child with inherited morbid
predispositions of this character could be adequately safeguarded by means
of hired help; they were painfully disillusioned when it appeared that the
hired assistant, instead of watching the child, was pursuing her own
pleasures—a point in which she merely imitated the parents, themselves
earnest pleasure-seekers, deluding themselves with the belief that
everything possible was being done for their child.) Although the parents
had known all about the boy's habit of masturbation for many years past, it
was only through a fortunate accident, and after the sexual malpractices
with the sister had been going on for a long time, that these at length came
to light. It appears that the boy had from time to time made sexual advances
to other girls than his sister. One day, while playing with the little daughter
belonging to a neighbouring family, he endeavoured to lead this child
sexually astray. The little girl told her parents what had happened, and these
latter consequently refused to allow her to play with Y. any more. This
prohibition led Y.'s parents to inquire into the whole matter with great care.
It was then discovered that for years past Y. had been engaged in sexual
misconduct with his sister, his usual method being to play with her genital
organs with his hands. In the girl, the frequent repetition of this act had
given rise to abrasions and local inflammations.

The following case, the leading features of which are the early age at which
seminal ejaculation occurred, and the marked hyperæsthesia of the sexual
impulse, may also be regarded as an example of sexual paradoxy. This
patient exhibits a number of different perverse modes of sexual sensibility,
some of which have persisted to the present day.

Case 9.—Z., now thirty years of age, admits prolonged sexual excesses, and
divides his sexual history into two periods: the first period extends from the
age of seven to the age of twelve, before he had learned the use of alcohol;
during the second period, from the age of thirteen to the age of thirty-years,
his sexual excesses occurred under the influence of alcohol. He gives his
own history in the following terms:—

"In very early childhood my imagination began to exercise itself
pleasurably in the pictured contemplation of the bodies of naked girls. I can
also remember distinctly that my dreams were chiefly concerned with
images of this character. In the later years of childhood (nine to twelve
years) I masturbated to great excess, often five to ten times daily,
sometimes actually while in class at school. Seminal emission had already
begun—I remember this quite distinctly at the age of ten, and perhaps even
at the age of nine years—but the quantity of semen was very small. I found
several schoolmates with similar inclinations to my own, and with these I
practised mutual masturbation. When I was eleven years old I became
acquainted with a boy somewhat younger than myself, and in this case the
proposal for mutual masturbation came from his side. At that time the
thought that there was anything wrong in the practice had never entered my
mind; on the contrary, I was always on the lookout for boys who would join
with me in mutual masturbation. Such were my sexual habits, until as a boy
of thirteen I for the first time had complete sexual intercourse with a
woman, a prostitute. Thenceforward, for a time, I had intercourse at
intervals of from four to six weeks, continuing in the meanwhile daily
masturbation. Subsequently I sought and found opportunities for intercourse
with women, married and unmarried, about once a week, for money. These
almost daily venereal excesses appeared to have no bad effects on my
physical health; my diet was at the time abundant, if not superabundant. On
the other hand, I lacked effective will-power to make a successful stand
against the promptings of my bodily lusts; nor was I able, though not
devoid of talent, to perform any arduous or enduring mental work. There
ensued also at this early stage a great infirmity of purpose, from which I
still suffer to this day. I would take up now one thing, now another, at first
with fiery zeal, soon to cast it aside in favour of some new undertaking, to
be abandoned with the like precipitation.

"Having command of abundant means, I now, at the age of fifteen, became
enabled to gratify my sexual desires without restraint with dependents of
the other sex; nor did any untoward physical consequences arise to impose
limitations. After a time, ordinary sexual intercourse ceased to furnish
adequate gratification; and I began to excite myself sexually by contact with
special parts of the body, most often the breasts. But the woman must not,
as had formerly been my desire, strip herself completely nude; for I found
the most powerful sexual stimulus was now exerted by her white drawers.
The display, intentional or unintentional, of this article of feminine attire
sufficed to arouse in me sexual feelings. For this reason I now came to
frequent the skating rink, in order to obtain a sexual stimulus from the
glimpse of a woman's drawers when putting on her skates. But even when a
girl was physically beautiful and elegantly dressed, if her drawers were not
white but coloured, she produced in me no sexual appetite whatever.

"As a result of long-continued excesses, attempts at ordinary intercourse no
longer evoked an adequate sexual stimulus, so that I now began the practice
of cunnilinctus. It was when the woman herself became excited through the
cunnilinctus, that I experienced the highest sexual gratification. In the
intervals, when I had no opportunity for sexual intercourse, I would
endeavour to secure sexual gratification by exposing my genital organs in
the presence of females, or when passing them in the street—especially
female children. I also sought every possible opportunity of watching
female dependents engaged in the act of urination. This gave me especially
great gratification if, when they were urinating, I could see their white
underlinen. I also procured pornographic literature, and masturbated
frequently while reading it."

The next period in this patient's history now begins. But I shall not recount
his case further, since the subsequent episodes have no bearing on the
questions with which we are especially concerned. It will suffice to remark
that Z. now exhibits numerous neuropathic and psychopathic
characteristics. But the various psychopathic symptoms, some of which are
very severe, lie altogether outside our chosen field of study.

Paradoxical sexual impulse is observed also in the lower animals. Weston
reports the case of a colt which when only six weeks old attempted to serve

its mother; when three months old this animal became so troublesome,
owing to its attempts to cover other foals and even calves, that castration
was necessary.56 The same author describes a case of masturbation in a foal
only two months old; the animal masturbated by arching the back to an
extreme degree, and pushing the hind feet forward along the surface of the
belly on either side of the penis.

Several allusions have been made in passing to the subject of sexual
perversions. A detailed consideration of these manifestations is now
necessary, owing to the fact that perversions exhibit peculiar relationships
to the sexual life of the child, such relationships being of two distinct kinds.
In the first place, perverse modes of sexual sensibility are very common
during childhood; and since erroneous views on the subject are widely
prevalent, the true significance of such perversions demands very careful
study. In the second place, it is maintained that certain influences affecting
the sexual life during childhood are competent to give rise to permanent
sexual perversions. We will discuss these two questions in the order here
stated.

Adult sexual perverts frequently declare that their first experience of
perverse sexual sensibility dates from the eighth year, or even earlier. Thus,
by homosexuals we are told that the homosexual inclination was felt in very
early childhood, in one case directed towards a school-fellow, in another
towards some near relative, or towards a resident tutor—- or in the case of
female homosexuals, towards a girl-companion or a governess. Moreover,
homosexuals often assure us that the homosexual inclination has been
persistent, and that it has never been interrupted by any manifestation of
heterosexual desire. The assumption that in homosexuals the sexual impulse
becomes active earlier in life than is normal, was one of several
considerations by which von Krafft-Ebing was led to regard homosexuality
as a degenerative phenomenon, consequent upon neuropathic or
psychopathic hereditary taint; and this author held the same view regarding
other sexual perversions—sadism, for instance. In opposition to this
opinion, attention may be drawn to the fact, which was fully considered in
the last chapter, that very commonly indeed the activity of the normal
sexual life can also be traced back into the early days of childhood. This
fact has hitherto to a large extent been overlooked simply for the reason that

recent investigations dealing with the sexual impulse have in most cases
dealt exclusively with morbid manifestations; whilst the psychologists by
profession, whose province it was to study the normal sexual life, have with
few exceptions (Max Dessoir, Binet, Jodl, and Ribot) completely ignored
this field of inquiry. For this reason many phenomena, e.g., early activity of
the sexual impulse, and hyperæsthesia of that impulse, have been assumed
to be characteristic of the perverse modes of sexual sensibility, whereas the
like phenomena may readily be observed in association with a qualitatively
normal mode of sexual sensibility.

The theory of the congenital nature of homosexuality was based for the
most part on the common assumption that the condition is primary and
premature in its occurrence, and that it is exclusive of the opposite mode of
sexual sensibility. But for several reasons the inference is not justified. For,
first of all, for many cases it is incorrect to assume that the homosexual
inclinations are thus exclusive in their character; as I have previously
explained, the adult homosexual's belief that from early childhood he has
never experienced any other than homosexual inclinations, depends in
many instances on an illusion of memory. Owing to the fact that in
consequence of the fuller development of homosexuality he is no longer
interested in the heterosexual, he is apt to forget any early heterosexual
inclinations. Secondly, the primary appearance of homosexual inclinations
does not prove that these inclinations are congenital; for in homosexuals, as
in heterosexuals, the specialised mode of sexual sensibility is preceded by a
period in which the sexual impulse is undifferentiated; and, in homosexuals
and heterosexuals alike, chance plays a great part in determining which
mode of sexual sensibility first manifests itself. The congenital nature of
heterosexuality is not disproved by the fact that one who in adult life
possesses a normal mode of sexual sensibility, may as a schoolboy have
first experienced sexual desire towards a school-fellow; just as little, then,
does a similar early history in one who in adult life is homosexual in his
inclinations, prove that his homosexuality is congenital. In the animal world
also, before the occurrence of sexual maturity, the love-games occasionally
display a similar confusion of rôles, so that the sexually immature female
animal may attempt to cover the youthful male. The congenital nature of
homosexuality is displayed, not by the primary appearance of this mode of

sensibility, but by the fact that when the puberal development takes place,
the homosexual sentiments persist, and are not replaced by heterosexuality.

The congenital nature of homosexuality has been assumed more particularly
in those cases which are described respectively as effemination and
viraginity. The former name is given by von Krafft-Ebing to cases in which
in homosexual men the entire system of feelings and inclinations is
influenced by the abnormal mode of sexual sensibility. Such a male
homosexual has a strong dislike for smoking and drinking, and for all
masculine sports; on the other hand, he delights in self-adornment, in art
and belles-lettres and even in literary affectations. The corresponding
condition in women was by von Krafft-Ebing termed viraginity. Such
female homosexuals do not merely experience sexual attraction towards
members of their own sex, but they also exhibit other peculiarities usually
characteristic of the male, such as dislike of ordinary feminine occupations,
a neglect of the arts of the toilet, and a rough and masculine mode of
behaviour. They exhibit inclinations for science rather than for art. They
sometimes attempt to drink and smoke in a masculine manner. Von Krafft-
Ebing and many other writers have assumed that the characteristics of
effemination and of viraginity are displayed in early childhood. We are told
that a boy with these tendencies prefers the society of little girls to that of
boys, that he likes to play with dolls, and to help his mother in her
housework. He takes naturally to cooking, sewing, and darning; and
becomes clever in the selection of feminine dress, so that he can help his
sisters in the choice of their clothes. Contrariwise, the girl who is destined
in later life to display the characteristics of viraginity will be found
frequenting the playground of the boys. Such a girl will have nothing to do
with dolls, but exhibits a passion for the rocking horse and for playing at
soldiers and robbers. It is indisputable that these descriptions apply to many
cases. But it is necessary here to repeat my previous warning against over-
ready generalisation; for we find that there is quite a number of boys and
girls who exhibit during childhood such contrary sexual qualities and
inclinations, and yet subsequently undergo a perfectly normal, or at any rate
a non-homosexual, development of the sexual life. During the period of the
puberal development, the normal heterosexual characteristics come to
predominate. The non-differentiated character of the sexual life during
childhood forbids us, from the mere existence at this period of life of such

contrary sexual tendencies, to infer that these tendencies will necessarily
persist, and that the subsequent sexual development will also be of an
inverted character. We must point out, in addition, that from childhood
onwards many women and many men fail to exhibit the psychical
tendencies appropriate to average members of their respective sexes,
without this justifying the conclusion that we have to do with
homosexuality. There are heterosexual men who are fond of needlework;
and there are heterosexual women in whom housework and the care of
children, and even in many cases the details of their own toilet, arouse no
interest whatever. Because we observe, in any individual, certain contrary
sexual tendencies of this character, to draw the inference that in such a case
we necessarily have to do with homosexuality, would be a most disastrous
error.

Apart from these considerations, we have, when there is a history of such
tendencies in childhood, to take into account the possibility of illusions of
memory just as much as we have in the cases in which adult homosexuals
assure us that in childhood they never experienced any other than
homosexual inclinations—a matter discussed in the first chapter (see pp. 5
and 6). A homosexual man, recalling his memories of childhood, lays
especial stress on all that appears to be connected with homosexuality; he is
apt to remember those instances only in which his conduct exhibited girlish
characteristics, and to forget all instances of an opposite kind. Finally, we
have to take into consideration the various interpretations which are tenable
of occurrences during childhood. An adult homosexual who as a child once
did some needlework for a joke, sees in this later a characteristic of
effemination. A girl who, for lack of companions of her own sex, was
accustomed to join in her brother's sports, comes to believe, when
subsequently she has developed into a homosexual woman, that her conduct
in childhood resulted from congenital perversion, whereas in reality this
conduct was the purely accidental result of her childish environment. On
the other hand, the withdrawal during childhood from the companionship of
members of the same sex is explicable in a converse fashion. Homosexual
adults often tell us that even in boyhood they shunned the company of other
boys, and sought girl companions, to join in the games of these latter—and
they endeavour to explain this conduct on their part as determined by
contrary sexual inclinations in early childhood. Yet, in many cases, boys

avoid those of their own sex, and seek the companionship of girls, not for
the reason just alleged, but solely because these boys thus early experience
erotic stimulation when associating with girls. In any case, we must
carefully avoid over-estimating the importance of what may appear to be
contrary sexual phenomena during childhood, and we must not be too ready
to accept the occurrence of such phenomena as a proof that sexual
perversion had manifested itself already during childhood. The general
possibility of this occurrence is, of course, not disputed; but the far too
common exaggerations of the matter cannot be too decisively rejected.

The case I have now to describe is that of a woman whose characteristics
during childhood were thoroughly boyish, and who at this time experienced
homosexual inclinations; during the period of the puberal development,
however, the homosexual tendencies disappeared, never to return.

Case 10.—Mrs. X., twenty-six years of age, happily married for five years
past, enjoys excellent health, with the exception of pains during
menstruation, has normal intercourse with her husband, experiencing sexual
impulse of full intensity, and a normal voluptuous sensation. The family
history is healthy on the whole; some of the mother's relatives are described
as "nervous"; but in so large a family, otherwise healthy, this is of trifling
significance. Most of her blood-relations are, so far as inheritable morbid
conditions are concerned, thoroughly healthy. As a girl, X. (whose
statements, in so far as I was able to inquire, were in all important respects
substantiated by her mother) was at first accustomed to seek the
companionship of boys only. She was continually playing with her brothers
and their friends, and was always the leader in their wildest games
including war-games, and playing at Indians. During childhood she was
almost always regarded as "the baby," although she had a sister two years
younger than herself, this sister being altogether girlish in her ways. Very
seldom did X. play with anyone but the boys; when she did on rare
occasions seek other companionship, it was always that of the sister of one
of her boy friends. The two girls had obviously great sympathy each for the
other, manifested when they were as yet only nine years of age, and
increasing as the years went on. The closer her association became with this
girl, the more did X. withdraw from the companionship of the boys, to
devote herself to her girl friend. The association became more and more

intimate; and when they were both thirteen years old their endearments
passed from kisses and embraces to manipulation of the genital organs. In
these latter, X. always played a passive part, not herself touching her own
genital organs nor those of her friend. Occasionally X. would feel drawn
towards some other girl, but such errant inclinations never lasted long. At
about the time when her fondness for the other girl began, that is to say,
during her tenth year, X., who was then accustomed to compassionate
herself for not having been born a boy, began to assume a more definitely
boyish behaviour. Under the pretence of "dressing up," she used to wear her
brother's clothes; occasionally she smoked, although in her home, and in the
circle to which her family belonged, smoking was disapproved of even in
grown women. At the age of fourteen, X. began to menstruate. The
friendship between the two girls continued until the seventeenth year of life.
Then X. gradually "came out," her homosexual tendencies disappeared, and
at the same time her feminine nature became apparent. The desire to dress
up as a man and the desire to smoke passed away, and have never returned,
although X. now moves in circles in which many women smoke. And, most
important fact of all, the homosexual relations were now completely broken
off. The two girls remained on friendly terms; but alike in X. and in her
friend the homosexual inclinations disappeared, and the improper sexual
practices were entirely discontinued. X. began to flirt, now with one man,
now with another, until when nineteen years old she fell in love with her
present husband, and married him after a two years' engagement.

This case shows that neither the existence of homosexual inclinations
during childhood, nor the simultaneous exhibition of other contrary sexual
mental qualities, necessarily foreshadows the development of permanent
homosexuality. On the other hand, we must not from the subsequent
appearance of heterosexuality draw the conclusion that this was first
acquired intra vitam, for it very often happens that congenital
heterosexuality first manifests itself during the period of the puberal
development. In an analogous case, in which the homosexual and other
contrary sexual tendencies and inclinations of childhood have persisted
during the adult sexual life, it would be equally erroneous in the absence of
further evidence to conclude that the homosexuality was congenital. I
recognise the existence of congenital homosexuality, but I consider that the
reality of this condition is established by other grounds than those just

mentioned. This question has been fully discussed by me elsewhere,57 and
cannot here be further considered.

Many investigators regard homosexuality as an acquired manifestation. In
cases in which the existence of homosexuality can be traced back into
childhood, they explain this on the ground that at a time when the
individual concerned was in a state of sexual excitement, some other person
of the same sex must have made a marked impression upon his imagination.
In this way, they suggest, is effected an association whose influence endures
throughout life. I will here say no more than this, that this association
theory does not suffice to account for the facts. The deficiencies of the
association theory will to some extent become apparent from the account I
am about to give of the other sexual perversions.

For the dispute to what extent sexual perversions are congenital and to what
extent they are acquired, prevails not only concerning homosexuality, but
also concerning sadism, masochism, sexual fetichism, &c. In the case also
of these latter perversions, some maintain that in those instances in which
the perversion began in childhood, some early association was the
originating cause; whilst others, from the very fact that the perversion
appeared very early in life and was apparently primary, infer that it must be
of a congenital character. For instance, a man experiences sexual
excitement whenever he sees a cook or other woman kill a fowl; and when
revived in memory, the corresponding ideas exercise a similar exciting
influence. On inquiry, we learn that when he was eight years old he by
chance saw a fowl killed, and then immediately felt strong sexual
excitement. Similarly, many masochists and sadists assure us that their first
experience of their peculiarly tinged sexual excitement occurred during
childhood; e.g., in the case of the masochist, when being punished with a
whipping, and so on.

Beyond question, the impressions of childhood may result in the formation
of enduring associations. From experiences during childhood may originate
terrors and feelings of disgust which are never subsequently overcome. A
child who for any reason has several times felt a strong loathing towards
some particular article of food, will retain throughout life a dislike to this
same substance. Felix Platter relates his own experience as follows. When a

child, he once saw his sister slicing rings of "boiled gorge" (see note,
below.), and sticking these rings on her finger. The sight was so unpleasant
to him that he had to go away. The disagreeable memory has been so
persistent, that ever since he has been unable to bear the sight, not merely of
such "rings of flesh," but rings of gold, silver, or any other material. A child
who has once been frightened by a dog, may ever after be terrified of all
dogs. An individual may also, by a kind of moral contagion, be affected by
the experiences of others. A child who has seen another child frightened by
a cat, may for this reason acquire an antipathy to cats lasting for the whole
of life. It is upon the undoubted fact of such experiences as these, that those
build their case who maintain that sexual perversions originate in chance
impressions during childhood or early youth. But weighty reasons can be
alleged against any such generalisation.
Note on the expression "Boiled Gorge."—This is a literal translation of the German gesottne Gurgeln,
an apparently forgotten article of diet. Finding no account of it in any German dictionary, I applied to
Dr. Moll, who writes as follows:—"Gurgel denotes a particular part of the neck, in human beings the
front part, comprising the hyoid bone, the larynx and trachea, the pharynx and the upper part of the
oesophagus, the thyroid body, and the adjoining muscles. As far as I am aware, this part of the animal
body is not now used for food. Presumably it was so used in Felix Platter's time, but I cannot say if
the 'rings' of which he speaks were cut from the trachea, the oesophagus, or perhaps the great blood-
vessels."—Translator's Note.

To return to the instance of the man who is sexually excited by the sight of
fowls being killed, it is true that on superficial consideration the case may
appear to support the theory that we have here to do with an acquired
perversion. We cannot assume that in this child the complicated image of
the killing of a fowl was inborn, and the first inference will therefore be that
his perversion is purely an acquired one. But on closer examination we
perceive that the matter is less simple than appeared at first sight. First of all
we have to inquire why it is that in this particular instance the sight of the
killing of a fowl induced such a perversion, when in hundreds of other cases
no such result follows the same stimulus. The assumption that in the
particular case there chanced to occur sexual excitement simultaneously
with the sight of the fowl-killing, is altogether inadequate as an explanation.
For, first, this assumption of the simultaneous occurrence of sexual
excitement is in most cases a pure supposition, quite unsupported by proof.
Secondly, even when the two processes, the sight of the killing, and the
sexual excitement, do occur simultaneously, it is still open to question

whether the latter may not have been determined by the former; that is to
say, it may be that the perverse mode of sexual sensibility previously
existed, at least as a predisposition, and that the connexion between the
phenomena is the reverse of what is supposed. Thirdly, moreover, the
chance view of some occurrence in association with sexual excitement does
not suffice to explain the enduring association of sexual excitement with
such an occurrence throughout the whole of life. Think of persons who have
masturbated during childhood. When they were masturbating, their eyes
have rested on various indifferent objects: underlinen, articles of furniture,
pictures, books, &c.; but this does not induce the association throughout life
of sexual excitement with the sight of any of these articles.

Apart from these considerations, the fact that some external process, such as
the killing of a fowl, has important relationships with the content of a
subsequent perversion, does not prove that this perversion is an acquired
one. We may rather suppose that in the case of one endowed with a
congenital predisposition to the excitement of the sexual impulse by the
sight of cruelty, the particular cruel act which will prove the determinant in
a particular case, must depend upon the chance circumstances of the
individual's life. On this view, if, in the case under consideration, the fowl-
killing had not happened, at the appropriate time, to awaken the sexual
impulse, it must be assumed that some other but similar process would have
been competent to effect this. In any case, the association theory alone will
not suffice to account for these cases; and the possibility cannot be excluded
that in cases of sadism there is a specific abnormal disposition of the sexual
impulse, and that the experiences during childhood influence the matter
only in so far as they may determine the special manner in which the
sadistic tendency will subsequently manifest itself. It is, in fact, very
remarkable how often some particular act of cruelty will, in a certain
individual, exercise throughout life a sexually exciting influence: in one
person the desire to strike may be associated with sexual excitement; in
another it may be the desire to stab or to cut; in one individual sexual
excitement results from the sight of a fowl being killed; in another, when
the victim is a fish, and so on. Although we encounter some in whom the
particular cruel act associated with sexual excitement changes many times
during life; yet, on the other hand, we find that there are many persons in
whom sexual excitement is aroused by some special sadistic practice, and

by that alone; and on careful inquiry we ascertain that even in childhood
such an act was associated with voluptuous excitement.

I will take this opportunity of explaining very briefly that there is still
another possible way of explaining these enduring associations as being
based upon impressions received during childhood, without the supposition
that these impressions of childhood are the exclusive determinants; this is
the assumption that there exists a congenital weakness of the rudiment of
the normal sexual impulse, and that it is owing to this primary defect that
the paths of nervous conduction involved in the activity of the normal
sexual impulse so readily become impassable.

No further discussion of such disputed problems of the sexual life can now
be attempted. What has been said should suffice, on the one hand, to prove
that the experiences of childhood have important relationships to the
occurrence of sexual perversions; and, on the other, to put the reader on his
guard against numerous exaggerations. I will merely add that whilst the
examples I have given concern only homosexuality and sadism, similar
considerations will be found to apply, mutatis mutandis, to other sexual
perversions.

Notes of a few cases will now be given in which more or less perverse
tendencies can be traced back into the days of childhood, at least in so far as
the memories of those concerned can be regarded as trustworthy.

Case 11.—X., thirty-one years of age, is a foot-fetichist. He believes that
his preference for feet dates from the age of six years, when he began to
regard with extraordinary interest the feet of a servant girl in his father's
house when she was engaged in washing the floor. From the age of six to
the age of eleven years, X.'s memories are somewhat confused.
Thenceforward, however, in the matter of his fondness for feet, his
memories are distinct enough. When he was twelve years old he saw in his
parents' house a young girl standing bare-footed before the kitchen fire; he
seized the opportunity of crouching down on the ground quite close to the
girl's feet, giving as his excuse that he wanted to bask in the heat of the fire.
While doing this, he yearned to touch or to kiss the girl's feet. Between the
ages of thirteen and sixteen he was crazy about the naked feet of girls and
women. He took every opportunity of seeing the servants' feet when they

were scrubbing the floors, and this sight sufficed to induce in him erection
of the penis. This foot fetichism has persisted, directed sometimes towards
the feet of women, sometimes towards the feet of men. Since he grew up,
X. has from time to time had normal heterosexual intercourse.

Case 12.—Y., twenty-five years of age, homosexual, with a special
preference for soldiers. In early childhood he noticed in himself a great
fondness for handsome men. When walking in the streets of the town as a
small boy, it was the soldiers, in especial, from among the men he met, who
made a strong impression upon him. He remembers that when he was seven
years of age, he allowed a soldier to take him on his knees, and that it gave
him great pleasure to stroke the man's cheeks. The roughness of the cheeks
gave him an extremely agreeable sensation, and he sought every
opportunity of renewing this sensation. He found cavalry soldiers especially
stimulating. From the age of eleven dates his peculiar delight in the well-
rounded nates of a cavalry soldier. As he himself puts it, with the lapse of
time, this has become to him a genuine fetich. Subsequently, young men-
servants also aroused his interest, but never to the same degree as cavalry
soldiers. The homosexual tendency has persisted into adult life.

Case 13.—Z., twenty-seven years of age, has several times been
prosecuted, on account of his attempts to spy upon women in public
lavatories. It is his custom, when in such a place he can observe the genital
organs of a woman in the act of defæcation, to masturbate. He states that
this tendency was well marked in him at the age of thirteen years. He
believes, indeed, that at this time he was inspired mainly by curiosity—by a
desire to see what the genital organs of a female were like. But he recalls
that when a child, at about the age of eight or nine years, he experienced
sexual stimulation when a girl cousin of six sat on his face; and he thinks
that when only five or six years old he crawled under the petticoats of a
servant girl, in order to lay his face against her nates. Even as early as this
he experienced great pleasure in the act.

Case 14.—X., is now twenty years of age. He always experiences sexual
excitement when he thinks of the act of whipping. It is unnecessary for him
to play any active part in this himself; and it is a matter of indifference to
him whether a man beats a woman, a woman beats a man, or an adult of

either sex beats a child. In all cases alike the sight induces sexual
excitement; and the imaginative reproduction of such a scene is his
customary stimulus during masturbation—this being a fairly frequent
occurrence. He traces back to childhood the stimulus exercised on him by a
whipping seen or imagined. When from seven to nine years of age, he
began to find such experiences sexually stimulating; by the age of ten, he
was quite clear as to the existence of this peculiarity in himself. At this early
age he struck himself with a stick, under the influence of an obscure
impulse to arouse voluptuous sensations by means of the blows; he did this
fairly frequently.

As regards his sexual sensibilities in general, he is by no means indifferent
to members of the opposite sex. He gladly seeks social intercourse with
females, and likes to kiss them; but he does not experience any definite
sexual impulse towards them, such as might culminate in sexual
intercourse. Three times he has had actual intercourse, but on each occasion
he has been able to effect erection and ejaculation only by means of all
kinds of artificial stimulation. It is a noteworthy fact that when he was
fifteen or sixteen years of age he became intimate with the members of a
homosexual circle, and only by considerable effort was he able to free
himself from these associations.

In autobiographical literature we from time to time come across accounts of
such perverse modes of sexual sensibility. Ulrich von Lichtenstein, in
whom masochistic inclinations were unmistakably present, relates that
when he was barely twelve years of age he became the devoted slave of a
grown woman; and he describes his sentiments, at this early age and
subsequently, towards this woman, who was well born, good and beautiful,
chaste in mind and body, and in every respect virtuous. Well known, too, is
the case of Rousseau, of which I shall have to speak again later; this writer
traces his masochistic perversion back to the seventh year of his life. I may
allude also to Rétif de la Bretonne, who was born in 1734, and certainly
experienced sexual sentiments in very early childhood. In his Monsieur
Nicolas,58 which must be regarded as an autobiographical work, Rétif
relates the beginnings, in the years 1743-44, of his fetichistic fondness
(which endured throughout his life) for women's feet and women's shoes. In
purely fictional works, analogous cases are also described. Thus, in his

Pour une Nuit d'Amour, Zola depicts a sadistic-masochistic relationship
between two children:—

"From earliest childhood Thérèse von Morsanne used Colombel as the
scapegoat and the sport of her caprices. He was about six months older than
she. Thérèse was a dreadful child. Not that she was wild and uncontrolled,
like the ordinary unruly child; on the contrary, she was extraordinarily
serious, with the outward aspect of a well-brought-up young lady. But she
had most remarkable whims and caprices, When she was alone, she would
from time to time utter inarticulate cries or angry howls.

"From the age of six she began to torment little Colombel. He was small
and weakly. She would lead him to the back of the park, to a place where
the chestnut-trees formed an arbour; here she would spring on his back and
make him carry her about, riding sometimes round and round for hours. She
compressed his neck, and thrust her heels into his sides, so that he could
hardly breathe. He was the horse, she was the lady on horseback. When he
was tired out, and ready to drop from exhaustion, she would bite him till the
blood flowed, and would cling to her seat so tightly that her nails sank into
his flesh. And the ride would thus start once more. The cruel queen of six
years old, borne on the back of the little boy who served her as beast of
burden, hunted thus on horseback with her hair streaming in the wind.
Afterwards, when they were with their parents, she would pinch him
secretly, and by repeated threats would prevent him from crying or
complaining. Thus in secret they led a life of their own, very different from
that which was apparent to the eyes of others. When they were alone, she
treated him as a toy, to be broken to fragments at her pleasure, simply to see
what might be inside. Was she not the Marquise? Were not people on their
knees before her? And when she was tired of tyrannising over Colombel in
private, she would take a peculiar pleasure, when a number of others were
present, in tripping him up, or in running a pin into his arm or leg, whilst at
the same time she forbade him with a fierce glance of her black eyes to
show even by the movement of an eyelid that she was to blame.

"Colombel bore his martyrdom with a dull resentment. Trembling, he kept
his eyes on the ground, to escape the temptation to strangle his young
mistress. And yet he did not dislike being beaten; it gave him a bitter

delight. Sometimes, even, he actually sought for a blow, awaiting the pain
with a peculiar thrill, and feeling a certain satisfaction in the smart when
she pricked him with a pin."

I have now recounted a number of cases in which the perversions observed
in adults can be traced back to early childhood. I have shown that it remains
doubtful, when the specific perversion first makes its appearance, whether it
results from a congenital predisposition which is merely aroused to activity
by an outward stimulus, or whether the outward stimulus is also the true
determinant. A further point has now to be considered, and it is one which,
as far as I know, has hitherto been completely ignored in the literature of the
subject. The majority of sexual perverts trace back the origin of their
perversion to a time at which the detumescence impulse had not yet been
awakened. Thus, the homosexual tells us of a peculiar impulse he felt in
childhood to kiss his tutor; we learn from the hair-fetichist that when still a
child he loved to play with girls' hair; and so on. And we are told that these
impulses, voluptuously tinged, occurred at a time when erection and
ejaculation had not yet taken place, and that there was not as yet any of that
peripheral voluptuous sensation which can be clearly differentiated from the
purely psychical voluptuous sensation. The question then arises, was this
voluptuous sensation excited during childhood of a truly sexual nature at
this early age? Was the boy's impulsive desire to kiss his tutor a sexual
impulse? From the fact that later in life such an impulse is unmistakably
sexual, the conclusion is often drawn that the earlier inclinations, and the
pleasurable sensations associated with the corresponding mental processes,
were also sexual. The inference is an obvious one, and is doubtless justified
in many instances. But the following point must be taken into consideration.
It is a fact that the psychosexual processes of the child are less sharply
differentiated from other psychical processes than is the case in the adult;
and it is therefore possible that the specific sexual perversions, and the
specific sexual sensibility, develop out of a corresponding sensibility in the
child which is not yet of a sexual character. The observation of Stanley
Hall59 that children display a peculiar interest, not only in their own feet, but
also in the feet of other persons, would appear to confirm this view. He
writes: "Quite small children often display a marked fondness for stroking
the feet of others, especially when these feet are well formed; and many
adults testify to the persistence of such an impulse, whose gratification

gives them a peculiar pleasure." It may readily be supposed, in many cases
of foot-fetichism, that this unmistakably sexual phenomenon has originally
developed out of such a non-sexual fondness for feet.

Unquestionably, many of the processes of childhood are not to be regarded
as sexual, although they are closely related to the sexual life. This statement
applies to many of the friendships between boys or between girls, such as
are formed during the period in which the sexual impulse is still
undifferentiated, or after its differentiation has occurred—and such
friendships must not be identified with sexual feelings. At this period of
life, we occasionally observe a desire in boys to form romantic friendships
with others of their own sex; and the same is true also of girls. In many
cases of this kind, there is no question of the presence of any sexual
element, and we have no right, therefore, to regard as manifestations of the
sexual impulse such instances of enthusiastic friendship during the period
of undifferentiated sexual impulse. Each case must be separately analysed,
in order to determine its nature. On the other hand, the sexual character of
an inclination may sometimes be recognised in the early years of childhood,
even in cases in which the boy's own genital organs are in no way involved.
It may happen that a boy of eight will display a marked interest in the
genital organs of youths or of men, and will seize every opportunity of
peeping at them; and in such a case we are as a rule justified in assuming
the existence of a homosexual tendency, even when there is no reflection of
sexual disturbance to the boys own genital organs. But we must guard
against the mistake of seeing a sexual element in every friendship between
boys.

As with human beings, so also with the lower animals, it is not always
possible to differentiate friendship from the sexual impulse. Robert Müller
has collected a number of interesting observations bearing on this matter.60
He states that the so-called animal friendships, friendships between animals
of different species, are in many cases determined by sexual feelings. He
mentions the case of a dog ten months old, which made sexual attacks on
hens, and thereby killed them; in another instance, a thorough-bred dog,
two years old, exhibited a similar perversion, and had a lasting sexual
relationship with a hen. He also quotes a case of which a man named P.
Momsen was the witness, in which a gander attempted to pair with a bitch.

These examples show that in the cases of animal friendship so often
reported in the newspapers, the existence of an element of perverse
sexuality is at least possible. But it does not, of course, follow that every
strange animal friendship is of a sexual nature.

This is true, also, of other perversions—of sadism, for instance. The
tendency to cruelty appears in early childhood, and it is only subsequently
that this tendency becomes definitely associated with the sexual life. But
even though this association (of cruelty with the sexual life) is demonstrable
in so many instances, we are not for this reason justified in regarding every
brutal act, all deliberate cruelty, as manifestations of sadism; and this
reservation applies no less to adults than to children. Thus, delight in the
sufferings of others, though it may be regarded as analogous with sadism,
has no necessary connexion with the sexual impulse. Just as little can we
assume that the deliberate ill-treatment of animals, whether on the part of
children or on that of adults, is necessarily the outcome of sadism.

Felix Platter relates in his autobiography that when as a boy verging on
maturity he had already chosen his future profession as a medical man, he
came to the conclusion that he ought to accustom himself to the sight of
disagreeable things; with this end in view, to habituate himself to see
without emotion the heart and other viscera, he frequented the slaughter-
house. Subsequently he experimented on a little bird, to ascertain if it had
blood-vessels, and if it could be "bled"; he opened a vein with a penknife,
and the little bird died. He did the same thing with various insects—stag-
beetles, cock-chafers, and the like. Actions of this kind performed by
children have, of course, no connexion with the sexual life. When a child
tears off the feet of an insect, or mutilates any other animal, the motive is
often simply that with which the same child will pull a watch to pieces. The
same act may result from various motives; and for this reason we must
guard against the misconception which might lead us, from every cruel act
performed by a child, to diagnose the existence of sadism, or the certainty
of a subsequent sadistic development.

In a case of rose-fetichism, which I have published elsewhere, the subject
was a philologist, thirty years of age, who had never masturbated during his
school days, and until he was nineteen or twenty had remained sexually

neutral, experiencing sexual inclination neither towards females nor
towards members of his own sex. But he had from an early age exhibited a
very great interest in flowers, and while still a child used to kiss them. He is
unable, however, to recall the existence in this connexion of any sexual
excitement. When about twenty-one years old he was introduced to a young
lady who at the time was wearing a large rose fastened into the front of her
jacket. Henceforward, in his sexual sensibility, the rose assumed
extraordinary importance. Whenever he was able, he bought roses, kissed
them, and took them to bed with him. The act of kissing a rose induced an
erection of the penis. In his seminal dreams, the image of the rose always
played a leading part.

This case is extremely instructive. A great love for flowers, leading to the
act of kissing, occurs in many children without any subsequent association,
when these children have grown up, of sexual sentiments with flowers.
Such persons will lay little stress on their memories of such occurrences in
childhood—indeed, in adult life these incidents are for the most part
forgotten. But to X., who when grown-up became affected with rose-
fetichism as a sequel of a specific experience, it seems that his sexual
fetichism is causally dependent upon his childish love of flowers—and
probably he is right in so thinking. But we must not for this reason assume
that his childish preference had any sexual character. It is more likely that
the abnormally great fondness for flowers, beginning in childhood, was a
favouring factor of the subsequent development of the rose-fetichism. What
applies here to a pathological instance, may also be assumed to be true of
the normal sexual life. That is to say, the experiences of childhood, which
have not as yet any relationship with sexual life, are nevertheless of great
significance in relation to the subsequent upbuilding of the sexual life, and
above all in relation to the development of the psychosexual sentiments.

For the sake of completeness I must allude here to two additional processes
which are also related to the sexual life of the child, viz., exhibitionism and
skatophilia. As regards exhibitionism, Lasègue61 describes as exhibitionists
those persons who display their genital organs to others from a certain
distance, without attempting any other improper manipulations, and above
all without making any endeavour to effect sexual intercourse.
Kovalevsky62 contends that the tendency to exhibitionism is observed in the

male sex especially during childhood at the approach of puberty, and in old
age. He records the following case: "The headmistress of a boarding-school
one day brought to see me a boy fourteen years of age, very well behaved
and intelligent, who experienced from time to time an irresistible impulse,
when he met one of the little girls of the school, to expose his penis. As a
rule he was able to withstand this terrible impulse, but occasionally he
yielded to it. He then experienced a sense of confusion in his head and his
vision, and his whole body seemed to become tense, whilst at the same time
he experienced a voluptuous sensation in the penis and in the body
generally. This state lasted for one or two minutes, and was succeeded by a
moderate sense of weakness and a very distressing sense of shame. The acts
of exhibition were never accompanied with seminal emission, although he
sometimes had such emissions during the night." I have myself hardly ever
observed this form of exhibitionism in children. Somewhat commoner,
however, is the mutual and perfectly voluntary exhibition of their genital
organs by children, generally boys and girls together; in these cases, as
previously explained (p. 71), the acts are determined rather by curiosity
than by the sexual impulse. It is necessary to insist upon this fact, as
distinguishing exhibitionism in children from exhibitionism in adults. A like
question arises regarding the skatological inclinations and interests of
children, which are assumed by Havelock Ellis63 to be intimately connected
with the sexual life. It is an undoubted fact that many children before
puberty are greatly interested in the excretions from the bladder and the
intestine. Stanley Hall,64 to whom Havelock Ellis refers, is of opinion that
"micturitional obscenities, which our returns show to be so common before
adolescence, culminate at ten or twelve, and seem to retreat into the
background as sex-phenomena appear." He distinguishes between two
classes of cases: "fouling persons or things, secretly from adults, but openly
with each other," and, less often, "ceremonial acts, connected with the act or
the product, that almost suggest the skatological rites of savages." I can
myself, as a result of numerous inquiries, confirm the existence of
skatophilia in children. But I have not yet been able to satisfy myself that
these processes always, or even usually, have any connexion with the sexual
life. Such a connexion unquestionably exists in some cases, but no less
certainly it is not an invariable one. Skatological acts—those, that is to say,
in which the more disgusting excreta play a part—arise in some instances
out of a masochistic mode of sensibility. In cases in which adult masochists

have such inclinations, it is often impossible to trace their existence back
into childhood. It rather appears, in most of the instances of skatological
inclinations which have come under my own observation, that these
inclinations have been superimposed upon other masochistic tendencies,
and these latter may sometimes be traced back to the days of childhood. But
in a few cases I have found skatological perversions to have originated very
early in life. A man with a university education, with an inclination to the
practice of cunnilinctus, assured me that this inclination began in childhood.
Another man, whose interest in the female nates and anus was
unquestionably not the result of any excesses, stated positively that he was
able to refer the origin of this inclination to a definite experience of his
childhood. When only seven years of age, he experienced the impulse to
look at the nates of a servant-maid; and he believes that this inclination,
which in his case was certainly generalised at a very early age, arose from a
still earlier experience, viz., the chance sight of his mother's nates, when she
urinated in his presence. His whole account of the matter suggests the
existence of a fetichism directed to the nates, impelling him to the most
disgusting acts, which he has several times performed. A similar case, but
on a homosexual basis, will be found recorded as Case 20 in my work on
Sexual Inversion.65

No detailed account of other pathological manifestations of the sexual life
will now be attempted, since this work professes to deal only with subjects
of a wide and general significance. We cannot consider those cases, for
instance, in which there is developmental defect of the reproductive organs;
those, for example, in which there is no discoverable development of the
reproductive glands. But some reference may be made to hermaphroditism.
In the human species true hermaphroditism is a very rare occurrence,
whereas apparent hermaphroditism, the so-called pseudo-hermaphroditism,
is comparatively frequent. The sexual life of pseudo-hermaphrodites has in
some instances been very carefully studied, more especially with reference
to the relationship of pseudo-hermaphroditism to the direction of the sexual
impulse. It appears that in a number of cases of pseudo-hermaphroditism,
not only did the secondary sexual characters exhibit an inverted or contrary
sexual development, but the sexual impulse was also inverted—was
directed, that is to say, towards individuals of the same sex as that to which
the pseudo-hermaphrodite really belonged. Beyond question, cases have

been observed in which pseudo-hermaphrodites with testicles have had
sexual inclination towards males; and pseudo-hermaphrodites with ovaries,
sexual inclination towards females. In many of these cases, such contrary
sexual tendencies could be traced back into childhood. We have, of course,
to reckon with the fact that in the case of pseudo-hermaphrodites the
diagnosis of the sex is usually based upon the formation of the external
genital organs, and without any expert examination of the reproductive
glands; thus they are often brought up as members of a sex to which they do
not really belong, and in consequence of this their education is sexually
inverted. In such cases it may reasonably be suggested that the
homosexuality is the result, not so much of a congenital inversion of the
sexual impulse, as of the contrary sexual education.

For a detailed treatment of the subject of hermaphroditism, reference should
be made to the special literature of the subject, and above all to the
exhaustive and laborious work of Neugebauer.66

CHAPTER VI
ETIOLOGY AND DIAGNOSIS

The last chapter dealt with pathological phenomena in the sexual life of the
child. From the considerations urged in this and in earlier chapters, it will
have become apparent that sexual manifestations in childhood are not
necessarily to be regarded as pathological. This conclusion does not conflict
with the assumption that certain factors influence the sexual life of the
child. The numerous individual differences suffice to indicate the existence
of such factors. Many of these are of a pathological character, but others
have no connexion with the domain of pathology. Among the factors thus
influencing the sexual life of the child, we can distinguish those affecting
the germinal rudiments from those which exercise their influence later.
Those of the former group first demand our attention.

In certain families, the early awakening of sexuality is observed with
remarkable frequency. These are often neuropathic or psychopathic

families, and moreover the early awakening of the sexual life is frequently
associated with neuropathic or psychopathic symptoms. But this is by no
means always the case, and often enough such persons belong to healthy
families and are themselves healthy. We are therefore not entitled to regard
the occurrence of sexual manifestations in childhood as a proof of
degeneration or of a morbid inheritance. But equally erroneous is the
opposite view, that the early awakening of sexuality is an indication of
exceptional endowments. It is true that in many persons of genius
premature sexual passion has been observed, and such manifestations are by
no means always confined to the contrectation impulse. We learn, too, in
our consulting rooms, that not infrequently the most diligent schoolboys
exhibit at a comparatively early age the phenomena alike of contrectation
and of detumescence. But the fallacy of drawing general conclusions from
this fact is shown by the additional fact that in idiots and imbeciles
premature awakening of the sexual life is also of common occurrence. In
cases such as were formerly described as moral insanity, but which in
Germany to-day are classed with imbecility, sexual assaults on others are
very common at an early age. This is true also of other forms of idiocy and
imbecility. In asylums for such patients, feeble-minded children not
infrequently make sexual attempts on nurses and on other inmates. In this
connexion, we have to consider both components of the sexual impulse, the
phenomena of contrectation as well as those of detumescence. In the case of
low-grade idiots, we often see the phenomena of pure detumescence,
without the accompaniment of any sexual inclination directed towards
another person; this is simply physical masturbation, performed under the
promptings of an organic impulse. But not only in imbeciles and idiots, and
in persons of genius, but also in those with perfectly normal mental
endowments, the sexual impulse, and more especially the phenomena of
contrectation, may appear at a very early age. Persons with artistic
tendencies develop in this way with comparative frequency. We must, for
these reasons, guard against the misconception that the early awakening of
sexuality is per se pathological. The fact that the study of the sexual life has
been undertaken chiefly by medical men, and above all by neurologists and
alienists, has inevitably introduced a certain bias into the results of the
investigation. Opportunities for the study of the sexual life of normal
persons have been comparatively rare; for those in whom the early
awakening of sexuality has been recorded have for the most part sought

medical advice and treatment for some other reason, and the physician has
taken the opportunity to make inquiries into the patient's sexual history. The
boundary-line between what is pathological and what is normal can be
determined only by an extended study of the sexual life in normal persons.
By very numerous inquiries I have done my best to effect this; and a careful
examination of the accumulated material leads to the above-mentioned
conclusion, that an early awakening of the sexual life is commoner in those
with an abnormal nervous system than it is in healthy persons: but it also
appears that an abnormal sensitiveness of a non-pathological character, such
as is exhibited by persons with the artistic temperament, and likewise a
disposition excitable to a degree which cannot yet be called morbid,
predispose the subjects to an early awakening of sexuality.

To attain to clear views on this question, it is necessary to bear certain
distinctions in mind: first, as regards the different periods of childhood; and,
secondly, as regards the two components of the sexual impulse
(detumescence and contrectation). My own investigations have led me to
draw the following conclusions. During the first period of childhood, that is
to say, up to the end of the seventh year of life, the occurrence of
manifestations of the sexual impulse must arouse suspicions of the existence
of a congenital morbid predisposition. But as regards the phenomena of
detumescence, which are confined to the peripheral genital organs, we must
make an exception to this rule if they do not appear spontaneously, but
result either from local inflammatory or other morbid changes, or from
deliberate seduction of the child to the performance of sexual
manipulations; at any rate, in such cases, the probability of the existence of
congenital morbid predisposition is greatly diminished. I am also forced to
regard as suspicious the occurrence of phenomena of contrectation during
the first period of childhood, although not to the same extent as are the
peripheral manifestation of the sexual impulse—and I hold this view
notwithstanding the numerous cases recorded by Sanford Bell. Passing to
the second period of childhood, the phenomena of contrectation may
appear at the very beginning of this period, that is, during the eighth year
of life, without justifying the inference that any morbid predisposition exists.
Regarding the phenomena of detumescence, we must not hold them to be
necessarily morbid when they make their appearance during the last years
of the second period of childhood; but when this occurs earlier, during the

tenth or eleventh year of life for instance, some suspicion may reasonably
be aroused. In this general survey of the material, it did not appear that any
important difference existed between the two sexes in the matters under
consideration; but I believe that in girls the phenomena of contrectation
often make their appearance somewhat earlier than in boys, whereas, on the
other hand, the occurrence of the phenomena of detumescence at an early
age is more likely to indicate the existence of congenital morbid
predisposition in girls than it is in boys.

In the delimitation of the pathological from the healthy, I have endeavoured
to lay down broad general lines. It must not be supposed that precisely at
the close of the first period of childhood, that is to say, at the end of the
seventh year of life, the sexual life, and our opinions as to the significance
of its manifestations, undergo sudden alterations. Our estimates as to the
significance of phenomena occurring during the early months of the eighth
year of life, will not differ materially from our estimates as to the
significance of the same phenomena when they occur during the last
months of the seventh year. My conclusions have no more than a general
application, based as they are on the recorded experiences and on my own
personal observations of numerous persons, healthy and diseased.

Let us consider further what are the factors favouring an early awakening of
the sexual life. I have previously mentioned the fact that in certain families
a remarkably early sexual development is quite common. This is true also
of certain races. But the data bearing on this question are not quite so
trustworthy as might be wished. The fact that among certain nations
marriage sometimes takes place at a remarkably early age, is no certain
proof of the early awakening of sexuality in persons of this nationality; for
the marriage may be a purely ceremonial affair, and may be effected long
before the individual is ripe for sexual intercourse or for procreation; and
the first act of intercourse may not take place until several years after the
ceremony of marriage. Among ourselves, marriage, especially in the case of
men, does not as a rule take place until long after the age of puberty, and it
therefore seems to us very remarkable when, in another race, men marry ten
years earlier; but this must not be taken as a proof that sexual development
occurs at an earlier age. We can gain some knowledge of the subject from
the statistical inquiries which have been made regarding the appearance of

that manifestation of puberty which is most readily available for such
inquiries, namely, the first occurrence of menstruation. Ribbing67 has made
a study of this question, and gives the following figures regarding the
commencement of menstruation in women of different nationalities in
various places: Swedish Lapland, 18 years; Christiania, 16 years, 9 months,
25 days; Berlin, 15 years, 7 months, 6 days; Paris 15 years, 7 months, 18
days, and 14 years, 5 months, and 17 days; Madeira, 14 years, 3 months;
Sierra Leone and Egypt, 10 years. From these data we should naturally he
led to infer that there would be great variations in the age at which other
manifestations of the sexual life first make their appearance, and experience
justifies this inference.

Some writers attribute to climate a great influence in this respect; whilst
others regard this view as erroneous, and believe that the differences
observed depend rather on racial peculiarities. By advocates of the former
view it is assumed that a hot climate leads to the early appearance of
menstruation, whilst a cold climate retards the development of this function.
Those who dispute the influence of climate bring forward instances of a
contrary kind. Thus, among the Samoyede Eskimos, menstruation begins at
the age of twelve or thirteen, notwithstanding the fact that they dwell within
the Arctic circle; whereas, among the Danes and the Swedes, menstruation
begins at about the age of sixteen or seventeen years. Again, we are told
that among the Creoles of the Antilles, as in France, menstruation rarely
begins before the fourteenth year, whilst in the same islands, girls of
African race begin to menstruate, as in Africa, at ten or eleven years of
age.68 These objections to the climatic theory are certainly serious ones. But
when we are considering the possible influence of climate upon
menstruation, we have to remember that it is possible that climate may exert
its influence cumulatively in successive generations, and may not produce
its full effect upon the age at which menstruation begins, until after the
lapse of several generations. We certainly lack evidence to show that in
isolated individuals a change of climate affects the first appearance of
menstruation. But it is not impossible that climate may exert such an
influence in the course of several generations. Such a view would appear to
receive support from our observations on animals, for the sexual life of the
latter is notably influenced by the seasons, and change of season resembles
in many respects change of climate. In most animals, and more especially in

those living in a state of nature, the sexual impulse becomes active at stated
intervals only, and these intervals are related to the duration of pregnancy in
such a way that the birth of the young occurs always at a season in which
the nutritive conditions are favourable. It is widely assumed that even in the
human species there remain vestiges of such a periodicity in the sexual
impulse. I have discussed this matter very fully elsewhere,69 and will here
do no more than draw attention to the fact that the poetry of spring, which
sings partly of love alone, and partly of the relations between love and the
annual awakening of nature, bears upon the influence of this season of the
year upon the sexual impulse. It seems that the spring also exerts an
influence upon the love-sentiments of the child. It is possible that
suggestion here plays a certain part, inasmuch as from childhood onwards
poetry and many observations teach that there is a connexion between love
and the season of spring. Sanford Bell considers that the importance of
spring in this connexion depends on the fact that at this season children
begin to meet one another in the open, subject to less restraint, and perhaps
more frequently. But he does not exclude the possible existence of an
inherited vestige of periodicity in the sexual impulse.

It is widely assumed that among the higher social classes the awakening of
the sexual life occurs earlier than among the lower. But it can hardly be said
that trustworthy statistics exist to illustrate this point; and the most we can
admit is that it may be true of the commencement of menstruation—though
even here the data available hardly suffice to afford proof of the thesis. It is
said that in girls of the upper classes menstruation begins on the average at
an earlier age than in girls of the lower classes; and also that menstruation
begins earlier in towns than in the country. Rousseau70 asserted this long
ago, taking his facts from Buffon, who attributed the fact to the sparer and
poorer fare of the country folk. Rousseau, while admitting that menstruation
began later in the country districts, considered that diet had nothing to do
with the matter, since even where (as in Valais) the peasants enjoyed a
liberal fare, puberty, in both sexes, occurred later than in the majority of
towns, in which an excessively rich diet was often customary. He believed
that the difference between town and country in this respect depended
rather upon the more enduring repose of the imagination in the country, this
latter itself arising from the greater fixity of customs in the rural districts.
Speaking generally, however, the question whether in the country the sexual

life awakens later than it does in the towns, cannot be said to have been
decisively answered.

Closely connected with the question of the alleged later awakening of the
sexual life in the country is the belief that in the country children are also
more moral and remain longer uncorrupted.

I myself do not believe that children are more moral in the country, or that
they here remain longer uncorrupted than in towns, whether large or small.
Nor is it proved that in former times the country possessed any advantage in
these respects, as compared with our own days and with the modern town.
The entire fable of rural innocence appears to rest, not upon an actual
comparison between town and country, but rather upon the more lively
interest felt in town life, and especially in the life of the great towns: in
towns, immorality has been more carefully studied and more often
described; and on account of the greater concentration of town life, it is also
more readily apparent. But any one who studies erotic literature and
descriptions of manners and customs, at any rate, anyone who studies these
without prejudice, will find ample ground for the opinion that even in
earlier times morality stood in the country on no higher level than in the
towns. The opinion that country life was more moral has existed from very
early times, and it is interesting to observe the way in which in erotic
literature we at times encounter a satirical use of this fact, describing the
painful disillusionment of a man who has hoped to find perfect innocence in
his loved one from the country, and has been bitterly disappointed.

I do not propose to give numerous examples of rural immorality in earlier
times; two will suffice, both dating from the eighteenth century, and both
bearing on the seduction of children. Laukhard,71 born in the year 1758, at
Wendelsheim, in the Lower Palatinate, tells us how, when six years of age,
he was introduced by a manservant into the secrets of the sexual life, so that
he was speedily in a position "to take part, with consummate ability and to
the admiration of all, in the most shameless lewd sports and conversations
of the menials of the household." And Laukhard adds in a note that, in the
Palatinate, obscenity was so universal, and among the common people the
general conversation was so utterly shameless, that a Prussian grenadier
would have blushed on hearing the foul talk of the Jacks and Gills of the

Palatinate. He also relates that he soon found an opportunity of practising
with one of the servant-girls what the manservant who had been his
instructor had extolled to him as the non plus ultra of the higher knowledge.
If we compare with this the descriptions given by Rétif de la Bretonne, who
was born in the year 1734 in the village of Sacy in Lower Burgundy, and
was the son of a well-to-do peasant, and if we study a number of similar
accounts of country life, we shall hardly be inclined to take a very roseate
view regarding rural morals in former days. We learn from Rétif,72 that
while still quite a little boy, only four years of age, he had the most diverse
sexual experiences with a grown-up girl, Marie Piôt, after she had induced
an erection of his penis by tickling his genital organs. These and numerous
similar accounts, which we find in the works of writers of previous
centuries, are not likely to sustain the conviction that rural morals were
formerly distinguished by exceptional purity.

But if this claim must be disputed as regards rural life in former times, it is
still more certain that we must deny that to-day a higher moral level obtains
in the country than in the towns, and this is true above all as regards
children. It is certain that sexual activity in children does not begin later in
the country. My views as to present conditions in the country are derived
mainly from information directly communicated to myself. From a number
of grown-up persons, now residing in the metropolis, but born and bred in
the country, I have received details of their own early sexual experiences. I
have in addition had opportunities for direct personal inquiries in rural
districts and in the smaller country towns. Lastly, I have received reports
voluntarily furnished to me by persons still residing in the country.
Combining all these sources of information, I am justified in asserting that
in the country sexual practices among children are of exceedingly common
occurrence.

Just as the recent increasing development of large towns has been regarded
as responsible for immorality and for premature sexual activities in
children, so also has modern civilisation in general been blamed for the
same results. There has always existed a tendency to depreciate the morals
of contemporary periods, and to exalt in comparison the morals of an earlier
day. In books of earlier generations, in those, for instance, which appeared
between the middle of the eighteenth century and the middle of the

nineteenth century, we find, just as we find in the writings of our own day,
lamentations upon existing corruption, especially as regards the morals of
children, and panegyrics upon the morality of an earlier time. But when we
examine the documents of the past, we find adequate proof of the fact that
morals stood at no higher level in former times than to-day, and, more
particularly, we learn that the sexual morals of children were no better then
than now. If this were otherwise, how could we explain the fact that, in the
year 1527, for instance, the Town Council of Ulm issued an order to the
brothel-keepers of that town that they were no longer to admit to the
brothels boys of from twelve to fourteen years of age, but rather were to
drive them away with birch-rods. This fact, with many others, is recorded
by Hans Boesch;73 and collectively they suffice to prove, not merely that the
children of former times were no whit more moral than those of our own
day, but also that the awakening of sexual activity occurred just as early
then as now.

But although I contest the alleged general influence of the life of large
towns and of modern civilisation upon the morality and the sexual activities
of children, I admit at once that peculiar conditions of place and time may
exert a great influence in these respects. Frequently, no detailed analysis of
these conditions is possible; but sometimes such an analysis can be effected.
Only by the assumption that these special influences exist can we
understand how it is that such marked differences exist at different times in
the same place. I know certain schools in Berlin in which masturbation, and
even mutual masturbation, are widely diffused; and I know others regarding
which in this respect no unfavourable reports can be made. I know, indeed,
of schools about which I have received from former pupils, persons whose
trustworthiness I have absolutely no reason to doubt, reports which prove
that a remarkably high level of sexual morality must have existed in these
schools. On the other hand, ex-pupils of other schools, attended by boys of
very various classes of the population, have informed me that at these
schools there was hardly a boy who did not masturbate. It is not always
possible to ascertain the causes of such differences. One child, perhaps, may
corrupt an entire class. But I believe also that the influence of the
schoolmasters, and especially that of the headmaster, may be of enormous
importance in this respect. Similar differences exist in the country. It is even
believed by some that there are differences between the Catholic and

Protestant inhabitants of the rural districts. How extensive may be the
differences even within a comparatively small area, is shown by an
example, which I will quote, from C. Wagner.74 One of the districts studied
by him was the Province of Jagst in Würtemberg, and he reports that there
is a striking difference between the Alt-Würtemberg and the Franconian
districts. The report states that in the former district the greater number of
parents appear to recognise it as their sacred duty to bring up their children
properly and to watch over their development. Moral depravity could not be
said to be general among the children of this region. Very different was it in
the Franconian districts, in which not only were the children cared for much
less perfectly, but in which also "the children saw and heard much too early
things which impair or destroy the innocence and purity of the heart." We
are told that shamelessness in the satisfaction of natural needs was general;
some cases of self-abuse were reported; and obscene and lascivious
conversation was common. The causes assigned for this in the report are:
overcrowding in the dwellings, there being in some cases but a single bed
for children of school age of different sexes; also that children had been
present when cattle were performing the sexual act. Often in the country we
are told that children have been corrupted by grown persons, through
sleeping in the same bed with the latter.

What has just been said bears upon the influences which at the opening of
this chapter I classed with the second group of the influences affecting the
sexual life of the child, namely, those that come into play only after birth.
But whatever degree of importance we may attribute to these, it cannot be
doubted that congenital predisposition plays a very important part in
inducing an early awakening of the sexual life. What we see in this case is
similar to what happens in respect of other qualities than the sexual. Some
persons are congenitally predisposed to a one-sided development; and in
some persons there occurs a phenomenally early development of certain
particular talents. It will suffice to remind the reader of children who while
still quite young can perform extraordinary arithmetical operations, and of
those who at six or seven years of age can play beautifully on the piano or
some other instrument. In these latter cases the most important feature is the
congenital predisposition, but this predisposition has, of course, to be
aroused to activity; and the same is true in the case of the sexual impulse.
This explains why it is that the most careful education often fails to prevent

the premature commencement of the amatory life; and it explains also, on
the other hand, why it is that even in the most unfavourable circumstances,
sexual phenomena do not always make their appearance during childhood. I
know of persons who have passed the years of childhood in a brothel, amid
surroundings obviously calculated to turn their attention to sexuality, but in
whom nevertheless during childhood no development of the sexual life
appeared to have occurred. The popular saying, "What is bred in the bone
will not out of the flesh," may be to some degree an overstatement, but
nevertheless corresponds to the actual facts. But we must not go to the other
extreme, and refuse to recognise the importance of the influences
surrounding the developing child. We must bear in mind that congenital
predispositions vary in strength; and a little reflection will convince us that
the awakening of the sexual life will be hindered by a favourable
environment, but facilitated and accelerated by an unfavourable one. In
cases of seduction, the congenital predisposition often plays no more than a
secondary part. Sexual acts in childhood resulting from seduction often
exhibit a merely imitative character, and do not appear to proceed from an
organically conditioned impulse; in such cases the sexual malpractices are
often discontinued when the seducing influence is withdrawn; but if this
influence is exercised persistently and systematically, it may have a
permanent effect even in cases in which the congenital predisposition is
slight.

This is all I have to say about the relationship between the congenital
predisposition and the external influences of life. Turning now to consider
these influences by themselves, we have to distinguish between those that
are somatic or physical and those that are psychical in nature. Influences of
these two classes may co-operate simultaneously, or may pass one into the
other; and, speaking generally, it is by no means always easy to maintain a
sharp distinction between them.

Seduction may in some instances arise largely by way of physical
stimulation, as, for example, when another person deliberately handles the
genital organs of a child. Nurses sometimes stroke or tickle a child's
genitals in order to put an end to a screaming fit. But in some cases—and
these are more numerous than is commonly supposed—nursemaids do this
under the impulse of their own lustful feelings. Such actions are not

necessarily the outcome of a perverse sexual impulse, although they may be
due to such an impulse in the form of pædophilia, as I shall have to explain
in detail when I come to describe that perversion. Frequently the offenders
are not in the least aware of the danger of what they are doing, and do it
merely in sport. In many instances the seduction is effected by other
children, and often at a very early age. Recently a case was reported to me
in which a boy only five years of age led older children astray. In schools, a
closet used by both boys and girls is by many considered extremely
dangerous. In the country, the fact that children have a long way to go to
school often gives opportunity for improper conduct; and this is especially
likely to occur if there are copses near the road in which the children can
conceal themselves from observation. When children in the country traverse
long distances on the way to preparatory confirmation classes, misconduct
is exceptionally likely, for such children are now at an age at which the
activity of the sexual life is becoming more manifest. Whether the seduction
be the work of other children or of adults, the child thus led astray is likely
subsequently to induce artificially as often as possible the agreeable
sensations with which it has now been made acquainted, more especially in
view of the fact that in children the imitative impulse is far more strongly
developed than it is in adults, in whom imitative inclinations are
counteracted by numerous inhibitions. What is true of seduction is true also
of the various affections of the genital organs which induce an impulse to
scratch, such as eczema, prurigo, urticaria, &c. Affections of regions
adjoining the genital organs may also lead to similar troubles—for instance,
threadworms in the rectum or the vagina.

Clothing, also, especially in boys the breeches, may give rise during
childhood to unwholesome stimulation. Hufeland, in his Makrobiotik, long
ago advised against the wearing of breeches by little boys. The
Schaumburg-Lippe body-physician, Faust,75 in a work published in the year
1791, strongly recommended that boys should not wear breeches.
Frequently the climbing of the pole in the gymnasium is regarded as being
the etiological factor in the induction of premature masturbation.
Experience shows that occasionally the first voluptuous sensations do
actually arise during the act of climbing the pole. A similar report is made
also in regard to the climbing of trees and of gymnastic exercises on the
parallel and horizontal bars. It is obvious that pressure on the genital organs

will very readily arise in these ways. But cases are reported in which the
child experiences sexual excitement from exercising on the horizontal bar,
not when he is straddling the bar, but when he is hanging to it by the hands.
It must in these cases remain doubtful whether the sexual excitement results
from the pressure of the breeches, or is a direct result of the hanging
posture. Where pressure is exerted on the genital organs, it is not always the
strength of the stimulus which is most significant. A nursemaid may do
much more harm by gently tickling a child's genital organs than by pressing
them forcibly. Nor have we to think only of the quality of the stimulus, but
also of its newness; for an unfamiliar stimulus may cause sexual excitement
simply because it is unfamiliar. Various stimuli have to be considered, in
addition to those previously enumerated. I may refer here to flagellation. It
is well known that in many children the first experience of sexual
excitement results from a whipping; indeed, a perverse mode of sexual
sensibility lasting throughout the whole of life may thus originate. I shall
return to this matter in the chapter on Sexual Education. I will merely refer
here to certain other stimuli which have in many cases aroused sexual
excitement for the first time. Penta reports the case of a girl twelve years of
age who first experienced sexual excitement during a railway journey.
Certain men have informed me that they became sexually excited for the
first time while driving over a rough stone pavement. It is obvious in these
cases that the rapidly repeated succussion stimulates the peripheral genital
organs, and that in this way sexual sensibility is awakened. Havelock Ellis76
reports cases in which boys first experienced sexual pleasure when
wrestling. Thus, a physician wrote regarding a boy of twelve or thirteen,
that he experienced an extraordinarily pleasant sensation whilst wrestling
with another boy, and that thenceforward he sought every opportunity to
wrestle, often three or four times daily, and continued to do this until he was
nearly nineteen years of ago. Whilst in this instance we are told that contact
of the penis with the opponent's hips was effected, and that probably the
sexual excitement was induced in this manner, I must point out that a
masochistic-sadistic form of excitement may also result from wrestling, and
that it is to this that we must refer the sexual desires and voluptuous
sensations that are aroused in many males by the act of wrestling.

Chemical stimuli must be regarded as a sub-variety of physical stimuli. It is
sometimes asserted that a diet too rich in meat or otherwise too stimulating

is dangerous in this regard. But an examination of the available material
will show that this opinion lacks foundation. There is no proof that the
sexual impulse can be prematurely awakened by a meat diet, or by any
other particular diet. I cannot regard such an assertion as proved even as
regards alcohol. Although I hold very strongly that no alcohol should be
given to children, this is not because there is any proof that in children to
whom alcohol is given the awakening of the sexual impulse occurs earlier
than in others. But once the awakening of the sexual life has taken place, it
is true that alcohol may have an exciting influence, and this in two different
ways. On the one hand, if so much alcohol is taken as to interfere with the
natural psychical inhibitions, sexual practices may occur that would not
otherwise have occurred. On the other hand, also large quantities of alcohol
may often induce an after-effect, after the intoxicating effects have
completely passed away, manifesting itself, it may be, in the form of sexual
excitement, but also, and chiefly, in the form of common sensations in the
genital organs. To complete the account of this matter it is necessary to add
that there are many persons who consume large quantities of alcohol, who
yet are extremely moderate in sexual relationships. But alcohol should not
be administered to children, for reasons altogether independent of its
influence upon the sexual life.

Psychical stimuli are perhaps even more important than physical stimuli.
Here also seduction has to be considered, especially during the second
period of childhood, in which danger may arise from playmates or school-
fellows. This applies equally to children of either sex. Danger may also
arise from adults, not only through systematic seduction on the part of
grown persons who deliberately debase the mind of youth, but also in other
ways. The conversations of adults often lead to sexual acts on the part of
children, who understand far more of what is said in their presence than
grownups commonly believe. While the child is to all appearance immersed
in a book, while a girl is playing with her doll, or a boy with his tin soldiers,
the parents or some other adults carry on a conversation in the child's
presence under the influence of an utterly false belief that the latter's
occupation engrosses his or her entire attention. Yet many children, in such
cases, are listening to what is being said with all their ears. Especially
foolish, however, are those parents who believe that by the employment of
innuendo they are able to conceal from any children who may be present

the true inwardness of their conversation. In these matters children are as a
rule far sharper than their elders are accustomed to believe. It is hardly
necessary for me to point out that opportunities for direct observation are
especially dangerous to children. I allude more particularly to the case of
children living in the same house with prostitutes; but the danger is hardly
less when the children have an opportunity of observing their own parents
engaged in sexual acts, or even in the mere preparation for such acts. Forel77
quotes the report of an experienced physician to the effect that the children
of peasants who have watched the copulation of animals often attempt to
perform such acts with one another, when bathing, or when any other
opportunity offers.

In the preceding portions of this chapter I have attempted to distinguish
individual influences from general influences, to distinguish congenital
influences affecting the germinal rudiments from environmental influences
acting after birth, and to distinguish psychical stimuli from physical stimuli.
But it is obvious that the maintenance of a sharp distinction in these
respects is very difficult, and indeed often quite impossible. A few
additional considerations will elucidate this statement. Let us consider, for
instance, seduction: here the separation of the psychical from the physical
element cannot possibly be effected, because, as a rule, in these cases the
two elements co-operate simultaneously. Let us consider the cases in which,
owing to a congenital racial peculiarity, the sexual life awakens earlier than
is usual among ourselves. In such cases, the manners and customs of the
race in which this early development of sexuality is usual will be found to
be especially adapted to attract the child's attention to sexual matters earlier
than is here customary. It suffices to remind the reader of the celebrations of
puberty and of the early marriages common among such races. Here it is
hardly possible to separate the congenital characters from the effects of
environment. But although, for the reasons given, the discrimination
between the individual factors may be exceedingly difficult, still an attempt
at discrimination must be made, more especially in view of the fact that a
purposive sexual education can be attempted only when due consideration
has been paid to the various etiological factors.

It would naturally be of the utmost importance to be able to foresee the
cases in which it is likely that the sexual processes of childhood would

undergo an exceptionally early development. But as a rule we are unable to
do this; and we must therefore be satisfied with the attempt to determine in
individual cases whether manifestations of the sexual life occur during
childhood, and if so, which manifestations. But even here we encounter
difficulties, which in many instances are insuperable, but in others arise
from the incompetence of adults. This is all the more deplorable because the
effectiveness of sexual education is minimised through the lack of insight.
Just as in the practice of medicine an accurate diagnosis is an indispensable
prerequisite to correct therapeutics, so also here. Since in the earliest years
the child has no conscious understanding of sexual processes, whilst
children in whom a sexual consciousness has begun to dawn conceal most
carefully from their elders all manifestations of their sexual life, diagnosis
is possible only through knowledge of mankind in conjunction with tact.

Let us first consider the phenomena of contrectation. We shall notice
sometimes that a little boy, perhaps seven years of age or even younger, will
withdraw from the society of other boys, and will seek the company of
some particular individual, for example that of a girl friend of his sister, of
about his own age. Similar phenomena occur in girls. A little girl in her
tenth year will frequently be noticed to find something to speak to her
mother about whenever a particular male friend of the family visits the
house. Even a shrewd and observant mother will often fail to take note of
the reason why on these occasions her little daughter invariably comes into
the room. The child will have every possible kind of excuse ready to enable
her to seek the company of this particular person. At times this goes further.
We then notice that the child endeavours to come into physical contact with
the object of affection, showing him great tenderness, and showering on
him caresses.

Such a desire for intimate physical caresses must always arouse the
suspicion that sexual feelings have now been awakened. We must not, of
course, assume that every childish caress is sexually determined; but we
should always bear in mind this possibility in cases in which the child's
desire to caress someone is well marked. If such feelings manifest
themselves towards the end of the first period of childhood or at the
beginning of the second, observation will be comparatively easy, for the
younger the child is the less competent is it to conceal its feelings. The

consciousness that there is anything wrong in the gratification of such
sentiments awakens as a rule very gradually indeed.

Similarly, it will be far easier in the case of children to observe peripheral
processes in the genital organs than it is to make such observations in
adults. Thus, even in the case of infants in arms, but more often in the case
of boys who are somewhat older, the mother or the nurse may be surprised
to observe erections when the boy is undressed for his bath or some other
reason, or when he has kicked off the bedclothes at night. In other cases the
child may be seen handling his genital organs, either openly or beneath his
clothing. Often, in the absence of manual stimulation, the child adopts some
other means of stimulating his genital organs. Thus, in girls the legs will be
crossed, and the thighs rubbed lightly each against the other. In other cases,
both in boys and in girls, the child will lean against a piece of furniture in
what appears to be a perfectly innocent manner; but in reality pressure is
being exercised on the genital organs, it may be by the corner of a table, it
may be by the back of a chair; and then the stimulus is strengthened by
various movements. In some such way children will effect masturbatory
stimulation and obtain sexual gratification, in the presence, not only of their
mother, but in that of quite a number of other persons. Guttceit78 reports the
case of a woman who squatted down so that her bare heel came into contact
with the genitals, and she then masturbated by rubbing the two parts
together. I myself have known the case of a young girl who sat with her legs
beneath her, and masturbated with the boot she was wearing. In many
instances we are enabled, by watching the child's movements, to ascertain
with such certainty what it is doing, that no confirmatory evidence is
needed. We notice, especially, that when the orgasm is approaching, the
movements change in character and rhythm. The eyes become bright, and
the face assumes an excited and voluptuous expression. This may be
observed even in infants in arms. Townsend79 reports the case of an infant,
eight months old, "who would cross her right thigh over the left, close her
eyes and clench her fists; after a minute or two there would be complete
relaxation, with sweating and redness of face; this would occur about once a
week or oftener; the child was quite healthy, with no abnormal condition of
the genital organs."

In the absence of these definite indications, it is necessary to be cautious in
coming to a diagnosis. Failing such caution, mistakes which may entail
serious consequences are likely to arise. Two cases are known to me in
which, after suspicion had rightly or wrongly been aroused, the child's most
harmless movements were regarded as masturbatory in character. If a child
becomes aware that its mother or some other person in authority is making
such a mistake, the effect will naturally be very unfavourable. We have also
to reckon with the fact that children who are somewhat older, from eight or
nine years upwards, hardly ever masturbate when others are present, but
only when they believe themselves to be unobserved—in bed, in the closet,
or when out walking. In such cases it is hardly possible to diagnose
masturbation with certainty; more especially in view of the fact that the
signs that may betray an older boy—stains on the shirt or other articles of
underclothing—are usually lacking during the first two periods of
childhood. It must be added that such stains on linen resulting from
ejaculation do not at first contain spermatozoa, and for this reason their
diagnostic value is greatly lessened (see pp. 52-56). Still, the possible
appearance of these stains is a matter to which attention should always be
paid, and this in girls as well as in boys. In many instances, also, our
diagnosis may be supported by the discovery of articles used for onanistic80
purposes. In the case of boys we shall seldom, comparatively speaking, be
able to do this; although, even in boys, operation is sometimes needed for
the removal of articles used for onanistic purposes, which have found their
way into the urethra or the bladder. In girls, such operations are more
frequently required. Hairpins, pencils, and various other articles used for
onanistic purposes, are from time to time removed from the vagina or the
female bladder. Other signs that are supposed to indicate the habitual
practice of masturbation are of little diagnostic value. It is traditionally held
that masturbation in girls leads to elongation of the clitoris, but there
appears to be no warrant in fact for this opinion. As I have previously
pointed out, laceration of the hymen does not in general result from
masturbation. Other signs, such as local irritation or swelling, are hardly
ever seen in boys, and in girls are seen only in cases in which they
masturbate to excess. In girls, moderate reddening of the external genital
organs has no significance whatever; and I take this opportunity of giving a
special warning against inferring from the existence of such reddening that
masturbation is practised, and also against attaching any importance to

this symptom in a case in which a sexual assault is supposed to have been
committed on a little girl.

Certain other signs which have been believed to support a diagnosis of
masturbation, do not even justify suspicion. Among these reputed signs may
be mentioned: black lines under the eyes, pallor of the cheeks, inflammation
of the eyes, &c. Generally speaking, it must be said that in sexually
immature children nothing but direct observation will justify a definite
diagnosis of masturbation, except in cases in which the child itself makes
confession to someone in its confidence. For the diagnosis of auto-erotism,
however, it is not necessary to establish the occurrence in the child of the
voluptuous acme; it suffices for this diagnosis if there occur signs of those
general voluptuous sensations which were described on page 58. In many
cases in which the practice of masturbation is diagnosed, and in cases in
which children themselves confess to masturbating thirty times a day or
more, we can hardly suppose that the voluptuous acme or orgasm is
attained.

It is sometimes maintained that the early appearance of the physical
manifestations of puberty is an indication that psychosexual processes are
also occurring prematurely. Thus, Kisch81 expresses the opinion that in
many cases premature sexual development manifests itself in children by
the enlargement of the breasts, and by the growth of the axillary and pubic
hair, in the absence of the commencement of menstruation, Kussmaul also
observed cases in which, in comparatively early girlhood, all the physical
signs of puberty were present although menstruation had not yet begun.
According to my own experience, we must be careful to avoid taking an
exaggerated view of such a connexion. Passionate psychosexual processes
may occur in young children in the absence of any physical signs of
premature sexual development. An impulse to masturbate may also arise
quite independently of the commencement of the adult development of the
external genital organs. Psychically determined erections may likewise
occur, although the physical development is by no means far advanced. We
shall therefore do wisely to avoid taking a narrow view of such a
connexion, inasmuch as it may be that the physical signs of puberty on the
one hand, and the phenomena of detumescence and contrectation on the
other, may occur in conjunction at a very early age, whilst, in other cases,

phenomena of the one class or of the other may occur in isolation. This
statement is true, not merely of the secondary sexual characters, whose
development by no means always affords a measure for the degree of
development of the sexual impulse, but it is true also of the reproductive
organs themselves. Halban82 reports the case of a boy six years of age,
whose penis was as large as that of a full-grown man, but in whom, apart
from the erection, all the characters were infantile. Still more often do we
note the independence in many young men of the individual symptoms of
sexual development from the growth of the beard, for this latter is often still
lacking at an age when the sexual life in general has attained an extensive
development. Still less importance must be attached to other occasional
signs. According to Marc d'Espine83 "puberty occurs early in girls with dark
hair, grey eyes, a delicate white skin, and of powerful build; late, on the
other hand, in girls with chestnut hair, greenish eyes, a coarse, darkly-
pigmented skin, and of delicate, weakly build;" but the evidence to justify
any such generalisation is lacking. It is possible that the opinion quoted is
supported to some extent by certain associated racial peculiarities, but we
must be on our guard against accepting inferences of too sweeping a
character. Still less, of course, are such peculiarities a trustworthy aid for
the diagnosis of the occurrence of sexual acts at an early age.

The safest way of obtaining accurate information as to the practice of
masturbation and other sexual acts is by means of confessions made to
some person in the child's confidence. Cases are known to me in which
children have very readily confided in some elder person. If this does not
often occur, the fault commonly lies with the child's elder associates, who
do not understand how to establish a truly confidential relationship with the
children under their care. If a child finds that no one will speak to it about
sexual matters, it must ultimately become secretive about its own sexual
life. The child sees very clearly that every word it utters about such things is
repressed as improper, and soon learns that the whole field of sexuality is
regarded as something unclean, about which not a word must be uttered.
The ordinary behaviour of adults inevitably produces this impression in the
child's mind, and it will readily be understood what an effect this has in
preventing us from gaining information about the sexual life of the child. In
many mothers, the abhorrence of the sexual is carried to such an extreme
that while in other respects they keep their children scrupulously clean, they

feel so strongly that the genital organs must not be touched, that they
neglect to secure the ordinary cleanliness of this region of the body.

The best confidant for a young child will usually be the mother, not only
because she sees more of the child than the father and because her
relationship is a more intimate one than his, but in addition because a
woman's insight into certain things generally excels a man's. As a matter of
fact, for the reasons stated, masturbation in young children is in most cases
discovered by the mother. It will be obvious that I speak here only of those
mothers who have real affection for and sympathy with their children, and
who share their children's interests; I do not refer to those mothers who
think they have adequately fulfilled their maternal duties by paying a nurse
or a governess, whilst themselves immersed in the pleasures of society—or
perhaps engaged in the preparation and delivery of lectures on the best way
of bringing up children, on the Woman's Movement, Woman's Suffrage, and
similar topics—or, it may be, attending these same lectures—those who, in
any case, prefer some other occupation to the care of their own children.

Above all, let not those who have the care of children be deceived, either by
diligence, or by conduct exemplary in other ways, or indeed by earnest
study of the Bible, by pious protestations, or by regular attendance at
church. I know a boy of twelve, reputed to be extremely religious, and
ostensibly on religious grounds going to church every Sunday; but whose
real motive in the church-going was the hope to meet the girl of whom he
was enamoured. Extensive experience of the conduct of adults should teach
us the necessity for extreme caution in these respects. I recall the case of a
gentleman whose reputation was that of a paragon of all the virtues. When
others of an evening went out to enjoy a glass or two of beer, or in search of
even lighter pleasures, he was supposed always to turn homewards,
ostensibly in order to work. Only after some years was the fact disclosed
that he was an habitual loose-liver, enjoying indiscriminate sexual
intercourse with unmarried girls and with his neighbours' wives, although to
his friends and comrades he had appeared to be a man of exceptionally
strict life, and this above all in sexual relationships. The same may be true
also of quite little children. Hebbel relates that in his first year at school be
sat next to a boy who appeared to be engaged in the most earnest study of
the catechism, whilst under the rose he was pouring into young Hebbel's ear

all kinds of obscenities, and was asking him if he was still stupid enough to
believe that children were brought by a stork or were found in a basket in
the cabbage-patch. Many parents, too, know so little about their children in
these respects, that they are utterly astonished when some day their eyes are
opened to the facts of the case by their family physician. I knew a boy of
fourteen who went regularly to church, and who in other respects was a fine
fellow, and a diligent pupil at school He was brought to see me because he
was affected with spasmodic movements. On examination, I found him to
be suffering from a severe attack of gonorrhoea, which he had contracted in
intercourse with his aunt's servant-maid. When I told his mother the truth,
she was at first extremely angry at what she was convinced must be a
mistake on my part; but further inquiry disclosed the fact that for a year or
more the boy had been intimate with prostitutes and other girls.

I have been writing of processes occurring in the reproductive organs, such
as erections, seminal and other discharges, and masturbation; and of the
means for the recognition of these processes. But it is necessary to
recognise that we must not assume without further inquiry that all processes
occurring in the genital organs are of a sexual nature, although in individual
instances the distinction between the sexual and the non-sexual may be
extremely difficult, or even impossible. Thus, of erections occurring before
the reproductive glands ripen, not all are of a sexual nature. We know, too,
that even in the adult, non-sexual erections may occur. The clearest
instances of this are met with in the form of priapism, the principal
characteristic of this condition being the occurrence of permanent erection
which has nothing at all to do with the sexual impulse. The same is true for
the most part of matutinal erections, the precise cause of which is not yet
determined. They are commonly referred to distension of the bladder, which
is supposed by reflex action to lead to distension of the corpora cavernosa
of the penis. It is certain, at any rate, that these matutinal erections are not
caused by sexual thoughts, nor as a rule do they induce sexual feelings. We
must distinguish between these processes; just as recently we have learned
to distinguish herpes progenitalis, the characteristic of which is its
localisation to the genital organs, from herpes sexualis, which is directly
dependent upon sexual processes. If we regard this distinction between
sexual and non-sexual erections as applicable also to erections in childhood,
we are justified in assuming that many erections, in infants-in-arms, for

instance, are non-sexual in nature, even though in appearance there is
nothing to distinguish them from sexual erections. In infants, erections may
arise from external stimuli or from distension of the bladder, which must be
distinguished from the erections which have a definitely sexual causation.
We must, of course, admit the possibility that such primarily non-sexual
erections may secondarily give rise to sexual processes; inasmuch as by the
stimuli resulting from the erection, the child's attention may be directed to
the genital organs. Just as we must guard against regarding every erection in
the child as a sexual process, so also must we be cautious in our estimate of
the significance of manual stimulations. Children often stimulate various
parts of the body. Some children will rub the lobule of the ear, others will
suck their fingers, or will stimulate their mouths in other ways. Some
children have the offensive habit of picking their nose; and it is evident that
many cases in which children stimulate the genital organs manually are on
the same footing with nose-picking and numerous similar habits. In such
cases we have not to do with a specific genital sensation to which the child
responds; but with a stimulus which may be pathological, but is not
necessarily sexual. In many cases, indeed, the stimulus is not even
pathological. We have to take the following point into consideration. As
soon as the child begins to become conscious of the existence of its organs,
it fingers them. It does this with its nose and its ears, just as it does with its
feet; and it is obvious that the genital organs will receive the same
treatment. A gentleman who had grown up in the country related to me that
as a child he had often been present when cows were being milked, and that
in the evenings, after he had gone to bed, he performed the milking
movement on his penis, and was greatly astonished at the fact that no milk
flowed forth. He assured me that the like experience had occurred to quite a
number of boys who had been his playmates in the country. It is certain that
such manipulations of the genital organs, entirely non-sexual in origin, may
lead to the practice of masturbation. But we must not immediately conclude
that every manipulation of the genital organs in a child is sexually
determined.

It is true that many investigators regard numerous movements on the part of
children as sexual processes, even when the genital organs are in no way
involved. Freud84 above all, discovers sexuality in the life of the child in
cases in which, I am convinced, sexual elements play no part whatever.

Sucking movements in children are regarded by Freud as sexual
phenomena. He considers that the lips and the fingers are erogenic zones.
With just as much reason, every movement might be regarded as sexual—
as, for instance, the clenching by a child of its little fists. As long ago as
1879, Lindner,85 of Budapest, published an able essay about the movements
made by children sucking their fingers, lips, &c., and suggested that there
was some connexion between these sucking movements and sexual
processes. He stated that many children, when sucking the lips, the fingers,
the back of the hand or some other part, or when sucking a rubber teat,
simultaneously rubbed some other region of the body—in some cases the
lobule of the ear, the nipple, or the genital organs; this was sometimes done
with one hand only, sometimes, if both hands were free, with both. This
statement is perfectly correct. It may happen that the child stops rubbing the
genital organs as soon as the sucking is interfered with; or, conversely, the
sucking may cease as soon as we withdraw the child's hands from its genital
organs. But, even in these cases, the friction of the genital organs does not
necessarily possess a specifically sexual character, since friction of the
lobule of the ear or of some other part of the body is an equivalent act. It is
certain that there is here no intimate connexion between the act of sucking
and the sexual life. Thus, there is no proof whatever for the view of
Lindner, which has recently been carried to a still greater extreme by Freud,
that this "voluptuous sucking" (Wonnesaugen) is a truly sexual process. We
may, indeed, assume, as does Rohleder,86 that such sucking movements
occur with especial frequency in children with a congenital morbid
predisposition, and that to this extent therefore it is connected with
masturbation. But in my opinion it is essential to regard the two movements
as clearly independent in character.

Certain other childish habits, such as nail-biting, have also been described
as sexual manifestations. What I have said of sucking movements applies to
this also. It is true that nail-biting and masturbation may both occur in the
same child, and French writers have maintained that there is a causal nexus
between the two processes. If we regard nail-biting as a "tic" occurring
chiefly in neuropaths, and if we assume that the neuropathic congenital
predisposition is the basis of the premature awakening of sexuality, it may
be supposed that to that extent there exists a relationship between the two
phenomena, inasmuch as we may refer both manifestations to a common

cause, viz., the neuropathic predisposition. But there is no justification
whatever for regarding, as some do, one manifestation as the direct
consequence of the other.

Speaking generally, we shall do wisely to exercise caution in defining the
limits of the sexual life of the child. If a boy runs after a girl, and if the two
flirt one with the other, it will often be merely from a desire to imitate their
elders. In many instances, even, in which the genital organs play a part in
such imitation, we must distinguish what is done from the sexual life proper
of the child. If children play at "father and mother," if the "midwife" comes,
and "childbirth" takes place, the play may certainly depend upon an early
awakening of the sexual life; but this is not necessarily the case. There may
be no more than innocent imitation of grownups, as the following case
shows. A number of little boys and girls, almost all under eight years of age,
played at being prostitutes, souteneurs, and men-about-town. The little girls
each demanded a penny when they had allowed the little boys to touch their
genital organs. It was an extremely characteristic fact that the leader of this
band was a feeble-minded boy, whose parents I had advised to send him to
an asylum, because, after various dangerous actions, he had attempted one
night to kill his little sister eighteen months old by inserting beans in her
nose. Such acts as that first described may, of course, depend upon a
premature awakening of the sexual impulse; and when a number of children
engage in amusements of this kind we not infrequently find that in the
leader and seducer the sexual impulse is already awakened, whilst the
others act merely in obedience, at first, at least, to an imitative impulse.
Certainly, I have known a few instances in which children with premature
sexual development very rapidly came to a mutual understanding, and in
whom their intimate association was dependent upon prematurely
awakened sexual impulses.

Just as sexual acts in which the genital organs play a part occasionally arise,
not from premature awakening of the sexual impulse, but from imitation
merely, so also, as previously explained, may this happen in the case of
more harmless processes. Braggadocio here plays a great part, and also the
desire to act like grown-ups. Thus, the boy who runs after girls, and makes
appointments with them, sometimes does this merely to show off before his
companions, and to produce in them the impression that he is a "manly"
fellow. We must take care to separate these cases, also, from those that are
genuinely sexual.

If it is difficult to separate the sexual from the merely imitative, no less
difficult may it be to distinguish psychosexual processes from others. If a
child lavishes caresses on mother, governess, or sister, it may be difficult to
discover definite characteristics enabling us to distinguish whether the
motive is or is not sexual. But, generally speaking, when a child exhibits an
intimate and caressive affection for its mother we shall not incline to think
of processes of the sexual life. We cannot dispute the truth of the statement
made by various authors, that in these caressive inclinations sexual
elements are intermingled. But this talk of the intermingling of sexual
sentiments arises in reality only from the fact that neither on theoretical nor
on practical grounds are we in a position to draw a clear line of demarcation
between the sexual and the non-sexual; and we must avoid stretching this
idea of the intermixture of sexual elements beyond the fact that a
scientifically based practical distinction is not always possible.

We have to admit that above all in the mind of the child the various feelings
comprised under the idea of "sympathy" (friendship, affection for parents,
love of children, sexual love) cannot always be marked off each from the
other after the manner of provinces on a map. Even jealousy, which is often
regarded as characteristic of the erotic sentiments, does not necessarily
possess a sexual basis. The boy, in his love for his mother, is jealous of his
father, jealous of one of his brothers or sisters, jealous even of a dog to
which his mother pays attention. How little jealousy may depend upon a
sexual motive, may be learned by the observation of animal life; a dog
becomes jealous if its master takes notice of another dog, or even pays
attention to his own children. In children, more especially, the extension of
jealousy is far greater than it is in adults. Whereas in adults this sentiment
is chiefly, if not exclusively, associated with the erotic feelings, in children
this is by no means the case. In the child, jealousy may clearly be associated
with every possible variety of sympathetic feeling. For this reason, it is
impossible for us to draw a distinction between sexual and other psychical
processes, simply on the ground of the associated manifestation of jealousy.

On what grounds, then, can we decide that certain processes are of a sexual
nature? In many instances, only the subsequent development will show that
one process was sexual, another non-sexual. If one day a boy, embracing, as
often before, his girl friend, has an erection, and then perhaps endeavours to

draw her towards him so that her body presses against his genital organs, or
even has an ejaculation with a voluptuous sensation, we may assume the
influence of a contrectation impulse, which has existed for some time, but
only now has for the first time been localised in the peripheral genital
organs. On the other hand, if in the same boy when he hugs his mother no
peripheral sexual manifestations occur, either now or subsequently, we must
assume that in the earlier embraces of his mother there was no sexual
element. But no such simple solution of the difficulty is really possible. It
may happen that in the case of feelings originally sexual their further
development is inhibited. A boy might experience sexual sentiments
towards his mother; but it is very probable that in such a case convention,
education, and perhaps also the very frequent association with his mother,
would repress the growth of these sentiments. This criticism is a sound one,
and in my opinion the materials are lacking to enable us to overcome its
force. For why should certain processes occurring in childhood—for
example, a boy's impulse to caress his mother—be regarded as non-sexual;
and yet the same processes subsequently be regarded as sexual, merely
because they ultimately become associated with the phenomena of
detumescence? Take the case of a boy seven years of age; he loves and
cuddles his mother; he is drawn also to a girl friend of the same age as
himself, and kisses her with equal pleasure. The boy grows older, and after
some years begins to have definite erections when he embraces and kisses
his friend; but nothing of the kind occurs when he embraces and kisses his
mother. Now, have we any right to assert, simply owing to the subsequent
appearance of these peripheral manifestations in the one case and not in the
other, that originally, when between the boy's inclination towards his girl
friend and his inclination towards his mother no clear distinction could be
drawn, the former was sexual, the latter non-sexual in nature?

The dilemma is unanswerable, unless we admit that, in the child,
sympathetic feelings, which we shall subsequently be able to classify
without difficulty, are, when they first appear, not always susceptible of any
such differentiation; and that for this reason we are just as little able to
distinguish a boy's love for his mother from has non-sexual friendship for a
little girl, as we are able to distinguish either from a sexual love for another
girl. To a very acute observer, certain slight indications may in many cases
give some idea of how the matter really stands; but we are here largely

concerned with subjective interpretations, rather than with distinctions that
are objectively demonstrable. The difficulty of drawing distinctions is all
the greater in view of the fact that in the case of non-sexual feelings
sexuality constantly plays a certain part. Our sentiments are complex, and
compounded of many and various elements; sexual contrasts play their part
in family relationships; and it is not by pure chance that harmony exists by
preference between father and daughter, and between mother and son. This
sexual contrast tends to manifest itself in all displays of family affection.
Thus, many men will tell us that in early boyhood they loved to kiss their
mother and sisters, rather than their father and brothers. In my experience,
the analogous sexual contrast does not show its effects so clearly in the case
of women as in the case of men. I cannot be certain if the differences I have
observed in this respect depend merely upon chance. It is certainly a fact
that men, in their confidences to me, have remarkably often reported
childish memories of the working of this sexual contrast. And conversely,
many homosexuals have assured me that in boyhood they kissed their father
with much greater pleasure than their mother.

Our diagnosis will, naturally, be greatly facilitated in those cases in which
the phenomena of contrectation are plainly reflected to the reproductive
organs. I, at any rate, believe that in practice such an association suffices
completely to establish the diagnosis. We can, indeed, recognise this also in
the dream life, at least as soon as the first nocturnal emissions have
occurred. In the first edition of my work on Contrary Sexuality (Berlin,
1891), I drew attention to the fact that those affected with perverse sexuality
commonly have perverse dreams; and Näcke has further discussed the
significance of sexual dreams for the diagnosis of sexual perversions. In
children also we shall find in their sexual dreams, especially when these
dreams have begun to be accompanied with seminal emissions, a certain
assistance in the delimitation of their sexual sentiments from other
manifestations of sympathetic sentiment. But this aid in diagnosis is not
available till comparatively late in childhood, i.e. not until ejaculation has
already begun. Even before this epoch dreams may have a sexual character,
and may be conditioned by sexual processes. But practically, before the
occurrence of ejaculation and orgasm in dreams, an exact diagnosis is
opposed by so many difficulties, that little of value can in this way be
gained.

In this chapter we have examined the considerations that must guide us in
our study and diagnosis of the sexual life of the child. It is, naturally, an
important question, whether signs exist pointing to an abnormal
development of the sexual life, and more especially to the growth of a
sexual perversion. This matter has been discussed with considerable detail,
and I need not, in conclusion, add anything to the emphatic warning
previously given, against making apparently perverse manifestations in
childhood the basis of a definite diagnosis or prognosis.

CHAPTER VII
IMPORTANCE OF THE SEXUAL LIFE OF THE CHILD

The problem of the significance of sexual phenomena in the child is
naturally one of great importance. We have here, in fact, two problems to
consider: first, whether the appearance of sexual phenomena in childhood
indicates a morbid or in other ways abnormal state; and, secondly, what are
the consequences of the occurrence of sexual phenomena in the child. An
example will help to illustrate the need for drawing this distinction. Certain
malformations of the external ear are indications of the existence of a
morbid degenerative condition; but from the malformation itself there is
nothing to fear. Similarly with the sexual life of the child, it may happen
that a manifestation indicates the existence of morbidity, although the
manifestation does not by itself entail upon the child any serious
consequences. On the other hand, sexual phenomena in the child deserve in
some cases the most attentive study, owing to the dangers likely to result
from their occurrence.

With regard to the first question, whether sexual manifestations in the child
indicate per se the existence of a morbid state, it is not necessary to say
much here, since the subject has been fully discussed in the section on
Etiology (see page 148). In any case, we must avoid exaggerating the
importance of sexual feelings in the child. Ribbing87 contends that we must
regard it as abnormal when a boy of thirteen or fourteen is obsessed (hanté)
by erotic ideas. This is true enough if there is real obsession by such ideas,

but it is not true if there is no more than an occasional uprising of sexual
feelings. On page 118 of this work, I explained that an over-development of
the sexual life in the child was an indication of the existence of a congenital
morbid predisposition.

Passing to the second question, as to the consequences of the occurrence of
sexual phenomena in the child, these consequences may be very various in
nature. They arise more especially in the hygienic, social, ethical,
educational, forensic, and intellectual domains.

First of all, then, let us consider the dangers to health.

The earlier the sexual impulse awakens, the earlier also arises the danger of
sexual practices, and more particularly of masturbation. Common
sensations in the genital organs, the feelings associated therewith, the
impulse to allay the unsatisfied libido—all these may lead the boy to handle
and rub his penis. The girl is affected by similar stimuli. In these cases, the
first act of masturbation does not depend upon the desire to enjoy a
voluptuous sensation, but results from the impulse to allay vague feelings of
uneasiness. Only subsequently, when the child has learned by experience
that mechanical stimulation of the genital organs induces voluptuous
sensations, or when he has been taught this fact by a seducer, does the
desire to produce voluptuous sensations become the mainspring driving to
masturbation. The danger, of course, increases, in proportion as the child
comes fully to understand that in this way it can produce agreeable
sensations, all the more because the child is either unaware of the injurious
consequences of the practice, or, if it has been informed of these
consequences, the knowledge cannot weigh in the balance against the easily
induced enjoyment. But, let me say here at the outset, the dangers of
masturbation have been greatly exaggerated. Chiefly since the publication,
at the end of the eighteenth century, of Tissot's book on masturbation, but to
some extent also even earlier, it has been usual to refer to masturbation the
occurrence of innumerable diseases, including mental disorders and
locomotor ataxia. I do not propose to reproduce the account given by
Tissott, and after him by Hufeland, and also by the innumerable quacks and
swindlers who trade in the "cure" of "secret diseases"—these latter, preying
upon the fears of humanity, declare that every possible affliction in both

sexes may result from masturbation, and recommend innumerable
miraculous remedies for these often imaginary ills. Disorders and
displacements of the uterus, ulcers and cancer, gastralgia and gastric
spasms, jaundice, pains in the nose, are supposed in women to result from
masturbation, as well as fluor albus, nymphomania, &c. There is hardly a
single organ of the body of which disease and destruction have not by many
been referred to masturbation. In reality all this is false. It is more than
doubtful whether, as far as adults are concerned, occasional masturbation is
necessarily more harmful than normal sexual intercourse. According to my
own observations, the principal question is whether, in masturbation, the
bodily and mental stimuli employed to obtain sexual gratification involve
an especial shock to the nervous system—a greater shock than results from
normal sexual intercourse. More powerful shock may, indeed, arise from
the fact that the masturbatory act is apt to be repeated with excessive
frequency; and we have to admit that the chief danger of masturbation lies
in the fact that there is so grave a risk of sexual excess. Owing, too, to the
frequency of repetition, a need will very readily arise for an increase in the
stimulation, and this may apply alike to the bodily stimuli and to the
mental; and the stronger the stimuli have to be, the more powerful also will
be the general effect on the nervous system. Thus the danger of shock to the
nervous system from masturbation will be seen to depend, first, upon the
frequency with which the act is repeated, and, secondly, upon the increasing
intensity of the stimulation. To this extent, therefore, masturbation may be
more dangerous than normal sexual intercourse; for this latter also, unless it
is to exert an unfavourable influence on the health, must not involve mental
and bodily stimulation of too powerful a kind. The good effects of sexual
intercourse depend upon its adequacy to the feelings, upon the absence of
any exhausting imaginative activity, and upon the absence also of artificial
bodily stimulation. But artificial stimuli and exhausting imaginative activity
are often associated with coitus also, in cases in which the stimulus evoked
by the personality of the sexual partner is inadequate. Again, the powerful
efforts which must as a rule be made by persons who desire to repeat the act
of intercourse several times within a brief period, will have a similar effect
upon the system to the powerful imaginative activity in cases of
masturbation. The resemblances, on the one hand, and the differences, on
the other, between masturbation and normal sexual intercourse, will be
apparent to those who carefully consider the facts just stated; and it will

also become apparent in what circumstances masturbation must be regarded
as injurious. This is all I have to say concerning masturbation in adults.

The idea that masturbation is, generally speaking, dangerous, is by many
restricted to the practice during childhood and youth, the belief in its danger
at this stage of life being based upon the view that the organs are at this
time insufficiently developed. But even this contention cannot be regarded
as fully established. I will, in the first place, consider those cases only in
which masturbation is practised after the formation of semen has begun, but
when the processes by which bodily maturity is attained are not yet fully
completed. To the theoretical assumption that masturbation is especially
hurtful in cases in which the organs are not yet adequately developed, we
may oppose the consideration that the completer development of organs is
favoured by exercise. We cannot further discuss such theoretical
speculations, which lack the firm foundation of experience. On the whole, I
agree with the estimate of the consequences of masturbation expressed by
Aschaffenburg,88 a man to whom we are indebted for the refutation of many
extravagant views. Experience teaches that almost all men, healthy and
unhealthy, moral and immoral, have masturbated for some years, once or
several times a week, towards the end of the second and during the
beginning of the third period of childhood. In view of this experience, what
right have we to maintain seriously that masturbation is, generally speaking,
dangerous to health. It is, of course, possible to contend that these persons
would have developed better if they had not masturbated. But there is equal
ground for asserting the opposite. We possess no evidence whatever to
show that those young persons who never masturbate are in after life
stronger and healthier than the others. I know some persons who have never
masturbated. In the case of some of these, it was because the impulse to
masturbate was lacking; others, notwithstanding the existence of a strong
impulse, refrained from masturbation under the influence of religious or
ethical motives. In both of these groups, I have seen persons exhibiting the
very morbid symptoms which Tissot and his followers referred to
masturbation; and I was quite unable to convince myself that abstinence
from masturbation secured any notable advantage. Whilst I do not assert
that the morbid phenomena which I observed in these individuals arose in
consequence of their refraining from masturbation, I consider that there is
no justification for the converse assumption in the case of those who did

masturbate. I believe that many of those patients who never masturbated
were the subjects of congenital morbid predisposition, and that, as a direct
consequence of this fact in many of them, the sexual impulse was of
minimum intensity or developed exceptionally late; I consider, therefore,
that the morbid manifestations in the domain of the nervous system were
dependent, not upon the fact that they did not masturbate, but principally
upon the congenital morbid predisposition.

Whilst I thus reject the view that masturbation in children is generally
dangerous, this must not be regarded as implying that I consider the practice
altogether indifferent as far as its influence upon health is concerned. In the
child, as in the adult, there is danger in the fact that the act is so easy that it
is likely to be repeated very frequently, and thus to become habitual. In
addition, the masturbator is apt to require strong physical and mental
stimuli, and this increase of the stimulus may become dangerous. A special
danger of persistent masturbation is to be found in the possibility that
impotence may result. The masturbator, being accustomed to stimulate his
genital organs by manipulations, and by various methods increasing in
intensity of stimulus, will often find subsequently that the normal stimuli,
acting in part in the form of the sensory processes in the genital organs, and
in part in the form of the normal psychical influences proceeding from
without, are no longer competent to induce the normal sexual reactions
(erection and ejaculation). This affects chiefly members of the male sex, but
in some instances the same is true also of women. It is true that in women
the sexual act is rather of a passive character, erection not being in them
essential as it is in the male; but in the case of women also, long-continued
masturbation, whether practised in childhood or subsequently, may bring
about so intimate a dependence of sexual desire, ejaculation, and
gratification, upon the artificial stimuli, that the occurrence of these
phenomena in normal coitus may be hindered or completely inhibited.

Some writers contend that sexual perversions, homosexuality, for example,
may be induced by masturbation, but I myself doubt this. For such a
development to be possible, it is necessary that very special influences
should be in operation, more particularly a congenital predisposition, or the
cultivation of the perversion by perverse imaginative processes—this latter,
indeed, occurring very readily in masturbators. But masturbation to excess

is far more likely to induce general neurasthenia than to give rise to sexual
perversions. When I speak of excessive masturbation, however, it must be
admitted that the term is a relative one. What is harmful excess in one
person is not necessarily excess in another. This is true of children as well
as of adults. I have seen children who, owing to premature awakening of the
sexual life, have begun to masturbate at a very early age, without any
serious effect upon health. Having seen such children again in adult life,
after the lapse of more than fifteen years, I consider that I have had
opportunities for forming a sound judgment upon this point. We have to
take into account the fact that when a youthful masturbator subsequently
exhibits nervous manifestations, these often result from the anxiety he has
experienced on being informed of the serious consequences of
masturbation. Not masturbation itself, but fear of the effects of the practice,
is here responsible for the resulting injury to health. Experience teaches that
a certain sort of popular literature has an especially unfavourable influence
in this respect. Moreover, in many cases, self-reproach on moral grounds, it
may be in childhood, but more often later in life, must in such persons be
regarded as the cause of the appearance of nervous and mental symptoms.
The dread of having committed a deadly sin, or an extremely immoral act,
explains a part of the results which are commonly referred directly to
masturbation. The dangers of masturbation must not be underestimated, but
exaggeration must equally be avoided. I do not believe that in children
masturbation is, generally speaking, more dangerous than it is in adults; but
I consider that masturbation resulting from a spontaneous impulse is less
harmful, than when artificial bodily and mental stimuli are freely employed.
And though the dangers are slightest when masturbation is not continued
for a long period, still, in this connexion, a period of a few years cannot be
regarded as so very long; at any rate, practical experience shows us that we
must avoid over-estimating the importance of masturbation even if
continued for several years.

A particular description must now be given of masturbation as practised in
boys before the formation of semen has begun—that is, before the
fourteenth or fifteenth year of life. Féré89 regards orgasm without
ejaculation as very dangerous, and compares its effects with the phenomena
of fatigue. The nervous discharge occurring in the orgasm may certainly
explain the depressed state of many masturbators, also their tired

appearance, dilated pupils, and languid movements. We note also mental
disturbances as well as physical, especially diminished powers of attention
and memory, and somnolence up to the point of narcolepsy. According to
Féré, the physical and the mental symptoms alike can be detected by precise
investigations. In children suspected of masturbation, dynamometric
observations disclosed a notable diminution, to the extent even of one-half,
when the children were not kept under constant observation and when other
signs of masturbation existed; and in these cases experimental observation
also showed a diminution of the power of attention. The test applied was to
erase some particular letter of the alphabet from one page of a book. When
such a test is employed, the practice of masturbation is said to have an
unfavourable effect, and to cause mistakes. I do not think that these so-
called precise investigations are of much value, for suggestion on the part of
the experimenter, who is sometimes prejudiced, may play a great part in
producing the results. Even when transient phenomena of fatigue appear,
and are demonstrable by experiment, it does not follow that any permanent
injury has been done, and just as little do otherwise transient manifestations
of fatigue necessarily indicate anything pathological, or foreshadow the
onset of any progressive morbid state.

The clinical material offered in support of the idea that masturbation is
especially dangerous in children too young to have an ejaculation should,
moreover, be carefully and critically examined. I myself formerly accepted
the view of most authoritative writers as to the grave danger of
masturbation in these circumstances. But we can no longer do this
unconditionally. The gradual change in my own views arose as follows.
From the commencement of my medical practice I was frequently consulted
about masturbation in children. Many of these cases date from ten, fifteen,
and even twenty years back. I have recently instituted inquiries as to the
present condition of my former patients. In so far as information was
obtainable, I have been astonished to learn how well boys, who from the
age of eight, nine, or ten had masturbated for several years, had developed
as youths and as full-grown men. I have had similar experiences in the case
of girls. Among my patients, I have had girls who masturbated at the age of
five or six years; and ten to twenty years later, when some of them have
married, I have gathered information regarding their subsequent
development, either from the patients themselves or from their associates.

Here also it was very remarkable to learn how rarely unfavourable
consequences have occurred from the practice of masturbation in early
childhood, notwithstanding the dangers commonly supposed to attend
thereon. Especially rare have ill consequences been in those cases in which
masturbation was not pushed to the point of inducing orgasm, but in which
the children have masturbated simply in order to procure agreeable local
stimulation. But in some instances also, in which orgasm without
ejaculation had been observed, no bad results have occurred. Such results
are, however, much more likely to follow in cases in which there has been
prolonged sexual excitement preparatory to the orgasm, whilst this latter
has been artificially deferred as long as possible. Where this has been
habitual, I have, in some of the patients, seen serious consequences, and
especially neurasthenic symptoms, result from masturbation. But the
persons thus affected were in many cases the subjects of such severe
hereditary taint, that it was impossible to decide to what extent their
troubles were due to congenital predisposition, and to what extent they were
referable to masturbation or to other noxious influences. It is, moreover,
probable that when the nervous system is less resistent in consequence of
congenital predisposition, the bad effects of masturbation will more readily
appear than in those whose inheritance is a sound one.

As a result of these experiences, I feel justified in coming to the following
conclusions regarding masturbation during childhood. It has not been
proved that masturbation during childhood, with or without ejaculation, is
generally dangerous. The possibility of danger resulting from the practice
is, however, increased by long-continued and frequently repeated
masturbation; also by the artificial postponement of the voluptuous acme,
and by congenital predisposition to nervous disorders. My notes of the
cases which I have seen during many years of medical practice show that,
even in children, masturbation does not necessarily do any harm.

Case 15.—The girl X., four years of age, was brought to see me because it
had been noticed that she frequently tried to handle her genital organs, and
also that she stimulated the same organs by means of rubbing movements of
the crossed thighs. Her mother had further from time to time noticed
rocking movements, associated with a fixed stare, which had aroused
suspicions of the occurrence of the sexual orgasm. Various methods were

tried to put a stop to these practices, but without result. Hypnotic treatment
was not tried, because the child was still too young and her attention
wandered too much. Mechanical methods of control were also fruitless. The
trouble continued for five years, during all of which time the child was
under my own observation. She went to school, where she proved a diligent
scholar, and was one of the most successful pupils; her physical condition
was also excellent. Thenceforward, for several years, I received no precise
information about the patient, although from time to time I saw some of her
associates. But after about eight years, I had an opportunity of learning her
later history. The child which had begun to masturbate when four years old
was now a young lady of eighteen. When fourteen years old she had for
some months suffered from chlorosis, but had never been troubled by any
other serious illness. I could not learn with certainty whether the habit of
masturbation had been discontinued; but there had been no definite
evidence of the practice of masturbation, or of any other artificial sexual
stimulation, after the age of nine. At the present time X. is perfectly healthy.

Case 16.—The boy Y. was brought to me when eight years old. It had been
noticed that at night, whether sleeping or waking, he very often handled his
genital organs. Erection of the penis had also been observed from time to
time. His mother and his governess believed that he masturbated every
night. When this had been going on for several years, the patient was
brought to me for suggestive treatment. Mechanical means were
simultaneously employed, his hands being fastened at night in such a way
that he could not bring them into contact with his genital organs. But he
speedily loosed himself from his bonds. The trouble abated in severity, but
continued none the less for several years. I saw the patient again when he
was twenty-four years of age. No abnormality whatever could be observed.
He had normal sexual potency, and was entirely free from neurasthenic
symptoms.

I have hitherto, in this chapter, spoken only of the dangers of auto-erotism.
It is hardly necessary to mention the fact that the nervous system of the
child may be injuriously affected by other sexual acts, as, for instance, by
premature sexual intercourse. The occurrence of such acts is naturally
favoured by a premature awakening of the sexual life.

We have also to consider the results of passionate love in children, apart
from actual sexual intercourse. In children with congenital neuropathic
predisposition, these results may be serious; and, as Bell points out,
symptoms of severe nervous shock may ensue, more especially owing to
separation from the beloved object, or in consequence of rejected affection.
The same writer even records several attempted suicides consequent upon
the death of the loved one; two of these occurred in boys of eight and nine
years of age respectively; two occurred in girls, aged nine and eleven years.
Eulenburg,90 who has made a special study of suicide and attempted suicide
during school-life, in his enumeration of the causes of such acts, mentions
several that are germane to our subject. Among these are the following:
becoming acquainted with the existence of a liaison on the part of the loved
one with another; unfortunate love; love for a married woman; neglect of
school work owing to a love-affair and consequent fear of expulsion; and,
finally, love-anxiety. It must, however, be freely admitted that Eulenburg's
cases relate to schoolboys who were fairly old. Thus, one of these cases was
that of a Catholic boy in one of the higher forms, who had formed a liaison
with a girl of sixteen in a neighbouring girls' school, and whose Director
had intervened, very judiciously, as it appears, on learning of the affair. The
other cases in which Eulenburg mentions the age of those concerned were
also those of boys no longer very young; in some of these, double murder or
double suicide resulted. In the other comprehensive works on suicide, and
even in those dealing especially with suicide in children, I have been able to
find comparatively little material bearing on this particular question. Brierre
de Boismont,91 indeed, tells us that children occasionally commit suicide on
account of jealousy; here, however, he does not refer to sexual jealousy, but
to jealousy of a more general character aroused by preference shown to
another child. Although such serious consequences occur chiefly or
exclusively in children who cannot be regarded as perfectly normal, it is
nevertheless possible for erotic influences to act as the final determinant.
But such serious results are certainly comparatively rare.

Just as in former times masturbation was believed to be the cause of all
kinds of illness, so to-day, according to Freud92 and his followers, the
general sexual experiences of children are responsible for various
subsequent illnesses. Four neuroses (neurasthenia, anxiety-neurosis,
hysteria, and compulsion-neuroses) are referred by Freud to all sorts of

disturbances of the sexual life, past or present. Hysteria and compulsion-
neuroses are regarded as a reaction to the sexual experiences of childhood;
neurasthenia and anxiety-neurosis are referred to later sexual experiences.
Freud originally assumed that during the childhood of hysterical patients
sexual seduction by adults or by older children played the chief part; but at
a later date he has advocated the view that the imaginative activities of the
days of puberty, which intervene between the sexual experiences of
childhood and the appearance of the hysterical symptoms, are responsible
for the occurrence of the latter. Quite recently, Abraham93 has insisted that a
sexual experience may be of some importance in relation even to the onset
of dementia præcox. But I do not consider that Freud's assumption is
justified, nor do I think that he adequately excludes the effects of hetero-and
auto-suggestion. It is out of the question that in every case of the above-
mentioned neuroses, sexual experiences should be the cause; and it is
equally erroneous to suppose that every sexual experience in childhood has
the effects which he assumes. It is true that Freud and his followers report
cases which they regard as proving their thesis. But I am by no means
satisfied with these clinical histories. They rather produce the impression
that much in the alleged histories has been introduced by the suggestive
questioning of the examiner, or that sufficient care has not been taken to
guard against illusions of memory. The impression produced in my mind is
that the theory of Freud and his followers suffices to account for the clinical
histories, not that the clinical histories suffice to prove the truth of the
theory. Freud endeavours to establish his theory by the aid of psycho-
analysis. But this involves so many arbitrary interpretations, that it is
impossible to speak of proof in any strict sense of the term. Dreams are
interpreted symbolically at will, and other definite objects are arbitrarily
assumed to be symbolic representatives of the genital organs. I detect the
principal source of fallacy in this arbitrary interpretation of alleged
symbols.

However this may be, there is no justification for the assumption that
hysteria or other neuroses are always, or even in the great majority of
instances, to be regarded as dependent upon masturbatory or other sexual
acts during childhood. We must on no account forget that an illness often
has a dozen causes or more; and although one or another of these may have
had a preponderating influence in the causation, we have no right arbitrarily

to select one of them as the efficient cause. I do not deny that occasionally
the sexual life during childhood plays a part in inducing a subsequent
neurosis; but this applies only to a comparatively small proportion of cases,
and we must guard against exaggeration in the matter.

This is all I have to say concerning the relationships of the sexual life of the
child to the occurrence of nervous diseases. The sexual life has, of course,
important bearings on health in other ways. The venereal diseases, in most
cases, result from sexual intercourse; and it will readily be understood that
since early sexual intercourse is rendered more likely by a premature
awakening of the sexual life, an increased danger of venereal infection will
thus arise. Although infection in children occurs comparatively seldom in
consequence of spontaneously practised sexual intercourse, and more
frequently as the result of the mishandling of children by perverted or
criminal adults, still cases are from time to time observed in which infection
with venereal disease arises in children from spontaneously sought sexual
intercourse. In Jullien's work94 we find a striking chapter on gonorrhoea in
children, illustrated with appropriate cases. He writes. "In other cases, little
boys, sexually premature, make early attempts at sexual intercourse. In
Paris we see hardly grown youths appearing at the specialist's clinic, quite
proud that they need to be treated for gonorrhoea. The very fact that they
present themselves so coolly at the places for the special treatment of
venereal diseases, suffices to show that they fully understand the cause of
their illness." In Jullien's opinion, venereal disease is especially serious in
children, because many of them conceal their condition as long as possible
in the hope of avoiding punishment. Barthélemy reported a case in which
the parents came to consult him because the boy was passing water every
few minutes, and because at school he was repeatedly asking to leave the
room in order to go to the urinal. Examination showed that he was suffering
from cystitis, and that this was a sequel of gonorrhoea. As regards children
of the other sex, I have myself seen cases of gonorrhoea in which sexually
immature girls have been infected in sexual intercourse of which they
themselves had been the instigators. In most cases, infection in children
results from intercourse with grown persons, but it sometimes happens that
children infect one another. Little need be said here about the dangers of
gonorrhoeal infection. Although in children the course of the disease
exhibits many peculiarities, the general results are much the same as in

adults, viz., pain, orchitis and epididymitis with atrophy, cystitis, &c.; and
in girls, more especially peritonitis. Other venereal infections may of course
also occur in children, such as soft chancre and syphilis. No detailed
account will be given of these diseases. Although we need further
information as to the results of venereal infection in children, in well-
informed medical circles the numerous and severe ill consequences of such
infections are well understood.

I have in this chapter spoken more especially of the dangers threatening the
child's health from the side of its sexual life. These are, of course, not the
only dangers; the moral and social dangers are even greater. First of all, in
this connexion, we have to consider the practice of masturbation; but in our
estimate of its effect upon morals, we must be careful to avoid
sanctimoniousness. The question why masturbation is regarded as immoral
has never yet been answered, declamation being here commonly mistaken
for argument. And yet reasons may be found for the belief that masturbation
may sometimes be a positively moral act; as, for instance, when one who is
dominated by a very powerful sexual impulse, avoids injury to another by
means of masturbation. Consider a case, for example, in which one who
masturbates would otherwise transmit venereal infection to another, or
would injure another by illegitimate sexual intercourse. In cases of perverse
sexual practices in which the offender's liability to punishment was under
discussion in the law court, I have more than once called attention to this
point. Take the case of a man whose sexual impulse is directed towards
children, and who finds great difficulty in restraining himself from sexual
malpractices against children. His action is assuredly a far more moral one
if he satisfies his impulse by the practice of masturbation, rather than by a
sexual assault upon a child! If, notwithstanding these considerations,
masturbation is generally regarded as an immoral act, the reason for this
opinion must obviously be sought in deeper and more general grounds. In
the first place, we have to take into account the fact that according to the
moral code of many persons, and certainly according to the official
theological code, the only kind of sexual intercourse that is morally
permissible is that which is known as "legitimate," i.e. connubial
intercourse; extra-connubial intercourse is stigmatised as immoral.
Masturbation, like extra-connubial sexual intercourse, is sexual indulgence
outside the limits of that which is alone permissible by the canons of

theological morality. Owing to the definite teaching of the Church in this
matter, the views of the common people are inevitably influenced thereby,
although the practical relationships of life are thus completely ignored;
above all, the fact is ignored that marriage does not as a rule become
possible until long after the awakening of the sexual impulse. The purpose
of the proscription by theological morality of illegitimate intercourse and of
masturbation is to effect the prevention of all varieties of sexual indulgence
except under the form of marriage, and, if possible, under the form of
marriage blessed by the Church. The importance attributed to receiving the
approval of theological morality is seen from the fact that in all strata of the
population, however much alike in private conversation and in political
assemblies they may protest against the dominion of the Church,
nevertheless almost invariably the ecclesiastical ceremony is superadded to
the civil marriage. In our moral estimate of masturbation, we have to take
another point into consideration. We have seen that long-continued and
excessive masturbation is dangerous to health; now every voluntary action,
and every action that is commonly believed to be voluntary, the effects of
which are injurious to body or to mind, is considered to be immoral, unless
it is performed in pursuit of some lofty aim—as, for instance, in the case of
the doctor who exposes himself to some deadly infection for the sake of his
patient's welfare. But these reasons do not suffice to account for the fact
that masturbation is commonly regarded as a more immoral act than
illegitimate sexual intercourse. Here, however, as so often happens, the
popular instinct contains a kernel of truth, which in this case relates not so
much to the individual ethical judgment as to the general interest. The
popular instinct, or we may rather say the soul of the people, commonly
regards that as immoral which, if approved, would entail serious general
consequences. In this ethical judgment we have, as it were, the
manifestation of an instinct of self-preservation on the part of the soul of the
people. We must not forget that the practice of masturbation is
extraordinarily easy, and that if it were recognised as a morally permissible
act, its frequency would be notably increased. The reason last given,
namely, the injury to health that may result from masturbation, explains one
way in which the practice is opposed to the general interest. But another
reason is still more important. The practice of masturbation naturally limits
the frequency of sexual intercourse, not only in its illegitimate, but also in
its legitimate form. The easier an act is, the more readily, if it is deleterious,

will popular sentiment build a protective wall around it. In individual
instances, such popular valuations are devoid of logical foundation, and for
this very reason it is often impossible to reject them on logical grounds. But
they are largely based upon considerations of the general interest, and for
this reason it is often just as well that they are impervious to logic. Hence,
although in concrete cases of masturbation physicians and schoolmasters
will not always take a severe view, and, in certain instances, as explained
above, it may even be considered that masturbation is a morally permissible
act, this will not affect the general disapproval, in consequence of which a
very large number of persons refrain from masturbation. Moreover, the
absence of such disapproval would lead to extremely serious consequences.
Merely in order to prevent interference with normal sexual intercourse
between man and woman, it is necessary that in the popular judgment
masturbation, as the greatest enemy of sexual intercourse, should be
condemned. In addition to these motives, there are others closely connected
with them, which in some cases operate unconsciously. Since masturbation
is practised in solitude, if masturbation were regarded as morally
permissible to men, the value of woman would diminish, since her wooing
and winning would be no longer necessary to man, Analogous
considerations naturally apply to masturbation in women. The need that
each sex should regard the other as indispensable is a powerful motive in
bringing about the popular condemnation of masturbation; and it must
further be remembered that the amatory life, and more especially its
psychical accompaniments, in truth only attain their fullest development
through the mutual intercourse of the sexes.

The general condemnation of masturbation is, in my view, most readily
explained on the considerations just outlined. However this may be, we
have certainly to reckon with the fact that masturbation is regarded as an
immoral act. But inasmuch as the early awakening of the sexual life, or at
least the early appearance of the phenomena of detumescence, leads almost
inevitably to the practice of masturbation, it will readily be understood that
the child is apt to be forced into a line of conduct which conflicts with the
generally accepted ethical code.

The social dangers of masturbation are very closely connected with the
ethical dangers, and we frequently find them appearing concurrently. In

isolated instances, as Lombroso and Ferrero have shown,95 premature
awakening of sexuality may lead to prostitution. In the chapter on Biology
and Psychology, a special section is devoted to sexual prematurity, and the
authors contend that in Italy this factor plays a greater part than it does
elsewhere. It is further characteristic that in erotic literature women who are
famous or notorious for their love-adventures are commonly described as
having been the subjects of premature sexual development. From the
beautiful Helen, who at the age of seven, according to one story, and at the
age of twelve, according to another, was deflowered by Theseus, down to
modern times, we find that premature sexual development is frequently
adduced as a characteristic of such women. Although it is true that in many
cases of the seduction of children there is no question of sexual prematurity,
still, for a part of the cases, premature sexual development is responsible.
For it can hardly be disputed that the crime of the child-seducer is greatly
facilitated, if the child meets the seducer halfway. In cases in which sexual
offences were committed on little girls, Tardieu96 made a special class of
those in which the offence was frequently repeated upon the same
individual. Of the 60 cases of this kind, 29 were in little girls under eleven
years of age, and 26 were in girls from eleven to fifteen years. He states that
in these chronic victims, he was first of all struck by the premature
development of the genital organs and the remarkable prematurity of
general sexual development, both of these conflicting with the age and the
development of the girls in other respects, Tardieu certainly paid especial
attention to the physical peculiarities of the genital organs, and he was
inclined to refer the premature development to the early experience of
sexual intercourse. But it is possible that the real connexion was the reverse
of this—and, indeed, many other observations support such a view—in that
owing to their sexual prematurity the children experienced a powerful
sexual impulse at an unusually early age, and that for this reason they
became the victims of sexual attempts much earlier than others. Kisch97 also
believes that in many cases of premature puberty, premature sexual
intercourse is observed, and parturition may even occur at a very early age.
He writes: "A girl in whom menstruation began at the age of one year, gave
birth to a child when she was ten years old (Montgomery). A girl who began
to menstruate when at the age of nine years, became pregnant very shortly
afterwards (d'Outreport). The well-known case recorded by Haller, in which
at birth the pubic hair was already grown, and in which menstruation began

at the age of two years, was also one of very early pregnancy, the girl giving
birth to a child when nine years old. Another girl in whom at birth the pubes
were already covered with hair began to menstruate when four years old,
copulated regularly from the age of eight, and at nine years became
pregnant, and was delivered of a vesicular mole with an embryo (Molitor).
A girl began to menstruate at the age of two, had a growth of hair on the
pubes and developed mammæ at the age of three, and became pregnant at
the age of eight (Carus). With these cases must be classed that observed by
Martin in America of a woman who was a grandmother at the age of
twenty-six. Lantier, in his travels in Greece, speaks of a mother of twenty-
five with a daughter of thirteen."

Whatever the real sequence of events—whether in a little girl the
occurrence of sexual intercourse is favoured by the spontaneous premature
awakening of the sexual impulse, or, conversely, it is the premature
intercourse which awakens the impulse and keeps it active thereafter—the
consequences of premature awakening of the sexual impulse are always
extremely serious, and often result in the permanent social extinction of the
girl concerned. Although in many cases she may be fortunate enough to
escape the fate of the prostitute, none the less in modern civilised countries
the loss of virginity is a serious disgrace, by which her future will be
affected altogether apart from the moral shocks resulting from sexual
intercourse in early childhood, and from the possibility of impregnation.
The case is much the same as regards children of the male sex. The fact that
a boy is sexually precocious, will greatly facilitate his being led astray by
grown females to whom his extreme youth acts as a stimulus. Moreover, his
sexual precocity may deliver the boy to the embraces of homosexual men,
an outcome which is rendered the more likely by the commonly
undifferentiated character of the childish sexual impulse. There are certain
homosexual adult males whose impulse is especially directed towards boys
still possessing the milk-white face of the child, and his encounter with such
a pervert may make all the difference to a sexually premature boy. Although
I have been engaged for years in the collection of facts bearing on this
question of homosexuality, I have recently been astonished to learn, in an
ever-increasing number of cases, how adult homosexuals, men of thirty
years and upwards, form homosexual relationships with schoolboys, and
regard their right to do this as practically self-evident. It is obvious that this

is likely to do grave moral injury to the boy—altogether apart from the fact
that the production of homosexuality is thereby greatly facilitated, however
much interested homosexuals may contest this assertion. It is clear, too, that
boys upon whom such relationships are imposed will sometimes tend to
grow up as male prostitutes, just in the same way as little girls prematurely
seduced in consequence of an early awakening of sexuality often adopt a
life of prostitution.

Children in whom sexuality has awakened are especially dangerous to their
associates, since they readily seduce others to sexual malpractices. Thus, it
sometimes happens, though happily not often, that children attempt sexual
intercourse with one another. A question in forensic medicine formerly
much discussed, is the age at which children are first able to effect sexual
intercourse. I have no doubt whatever that by the end of the second period
of childhood, in a comparatively large number of boys, spontaneous
erections occur adequate to allow the introduction of the penis into the
vagina to be effected; but no doubt it might be difficult for such a boy to
effect complete penetration into the vagina of a girl in whom the hymen
was still intact. Pouillet98 even asserts that all boys have the faculty of
erection in quite early childhood; and he places on record the following
experiment, whose repetition had better be avoided. If in an infant lying in
its cradle the edge of the foreskin be tickled with a feather, we shall at once
see the penis swell up and become erect, and the infant will grasp at it with
the hand. There is no doubt that boys in whom the sexual impulse is
prematurely awakened may be a danger to little girls through attempting
intercourse with them. More frequently, however, the danger lies, not in
attempts at coitus, but in other improper manipulations and contacts, which
may take almost every conceivable form. Mutual masturbation is fairly
common among children, or one child may manipulate the genitals of
another; such practices occur more often between two boys than between
two girls or between boy and girl. But experience shows that other and
more advanced sexual acts may occur, though fortunately less often; for
instance, pæderastic acts between boys, introduction of the penis of one
individual into the mouth of another, &c. Ferriani99 has collected a number
of cases of this kind, occurring in youthful criminals. In boys he
distinguishes two groups, those from the tenth to the fourteenth, and those
from the fourteenth to the eighteenth year of life. He made inquiries

regarding the sexual life in 69 boys belonging to the former group, and in
48 belonging to the latter. Of the 69 belonging to the former group, 48 were
found to masturbate, in 25 improper sexual acts with the mouth were
admitted, in 12 active pæderasty, and in 17 passive pæderasty. It is evident
that these data must not be generalised, for Ferriani's studies related to boys
who had been morally neglected from the earliest days of childhood, and
who had been sent to prison as thieves, beggars, and vagabonds. A great
danger attendant on sexual acts in which one child is led astray by another
is, of course, the moral harm which threatens the other associates of such
children. Girls and boys are equally exposed to such seduction, and the
seducer also may be of either sex. In cases of an altogether exceptional
character, danger threatens in this respect from a child's own brothers or
sisters. I alluded to this matter in an earlier chapter, on page 71. Among
cases which have come under my notice, I may mention one in which a boy
began to carry out all kinds of perverse sexual acts with his sister, who was
about eight years younger than himself, and continued to do this when he
had attained the age of twenty-nine years. Forel100 sees, rightly, as I believe,
especial danger in the leading of others astray by young homosexuals, alike
in boys' and in girls' boarding-schools. In some of these cases the seducer's
act is merely a manifestation of the early undifferentiated state of the sexual
impulse, but in others it is an early sign of a real homosexual development.

I append here certain cases from the literature of the subject showing the
great dangers that proceed from such premature sexual development. One
case reported by Forel101 was that of a girl nine years of age. "This girl
would stimulate sexually all boys of her own age or somewhat younger
whom she could induce to allow her to do so. She did this so secretly, that
by mishandling the genital organs of her two little brothers, both younger
than herself, she slowly brought one to his death, and in the other caused
serious injury to the bladder and urethra. With an older boy, she was
accustomed to have actual sexual intercourse in the woods. I could not, in
this case, gain any definite information regarding hereditary taint. Such
persons commonly become criminals in later life, or at least indulge in the
most shameless masturbation or give themselves up to prostitution."

A case which at one time attracted great attention in France may here be
given in the actual words of the report. "Leo, thirteen years old, demanded

the favours of eleven little girls, offering in return, as the girls confessed, a
small reward—a penny or a sweet. Many others must have been compelled
by their parents to make no complaint, in order to avoid a mortifying
publicity. Leo is the son of a good fellow, a shoemaker by trade, and also a
lamplighter. The mother having run away, and the father being often out at
work, the boy was left much alone. He would then entice into the house
little girls of the neighbourhood, one after another, in order to commit
immoral acts with them. One day he invited in a little girl of five. The girl's
brother peeped through the window, and saw Leo standing naked in front of
Mary, as if he posait pour le torse. Ultimately the matter was reported to the
police superintendent of the district, and it transpired that not less than ten
or eleven little girls of the quarter had been thus led astray. From time to
time he invited into the house a number of good-for-nothings of the same
stamp as himself, and here this youthful Casanova organised pleasure-
parties of a kind usually unknown to those of his age. The lad was bound
over to come up for trial if called upon. Such cases as this are commoner
than is generally believed; and perhaps commoner in the country than in the
town."

The way in which such practices spread by moral contagion is shown by a
report of Ferriani,102 who made inquiries of nine boys, at ages varying
between eight and twelve years, how they had learned to masturbate. I. had
been taught by a certain K., II. by I., III. by IV., IV. by I., V. by II., VI. by
III., VII. by IV., VIII. by VI., IX. by II. Not long ago, I myself came across
such an epidemic, in which there occurred, not only masturbation, but, in
addition, all sorts of mutual sexual contacts between boys and girls; a boy
of five was the primary seducer, having undertaken the sexual
enlightenment of a girl of seven, and beginning this process with the remark
that she need no longer believe that babies were brought by a stork. These
two went on to improper contact, and subsequently quite a number of
children were gradually corrupted by the two.

To the jurist, also, the question of the sexual life of the child is one of great
importance. I do not myself share the view of Ferriani and others, that the
sexual life of the child, when it awakes prematurely, is a common cause of
crime—although this may be true of certain special cases, presently to be
described. But the sexual life of the child is of importance from another

point of view. In cases in which children are the objects of sexual offences,
such as have recently so often come before the courts, the question of the
capacity of the children to give evidence frequently plays a great part. The
lawyer, who is often ignorant of the extent to which sexual imaginations
and sexual acts may prevail among children, is apt to assume that the child
is of necessity sexually inexperienced, and for this reason to put a trust in
childish evidence which is in many instances not justified by the facts of the
case, because the supposed inexperience may not really exist. If judges and
magistrates knew how much and how often children's brains are occupied
with sexual imaginations, without speaking of the sexual acts which many
children have engaged in while still quite young, they would be more
guarded than they are at present in their acceptance of children's evidence in
sexual matters. Not infrequently, when such a child describes the sexual
offence which is supposed to have been committed, it is assumed without
further inquiry that the child's account must be accurate, the grounds for this
assumption being stated as follows: "How could such an accusation be
invented? The poor child has had no previous experience of such matters;
what is now described must have actually happened, for it is impossible that
an inexperienced child could construct it all out of its own imagination."
But to anyone who has seriously studied the sexual life of the child, this
logic is utterly fallacious. Still, the argument is none the less a very
dangerous one; and as an expert witness I have assisted at several trials as
to which I remain convinced to this day that the judge has assumed the
offender to be guilty simply because he (the judge) was ignorant of the
nature of the sexual life of the child, above all as regards psychosexual
imaginations. Some years ago there was tried in Berlin a case in which a
wealthy banker was accused of misconduct with a little girl. In the end the
accused received a severe sentence. In that trial I was called as an expert
witness, and I believe that as regards the principal charge the banker was
wrongfully condemned. The principal witness was a girl twelve years of
age, and it was her accusation which formed the main ground of the
conviction, and this notwithstanding the fact that the child had subsequently
withdrawn her charges. In common with other expert witnesses, I pointed
out, in rebuttal of the girl's evidence, that the person on whom the alleged
offence had been committed was not, as the police magistrate and the judge
had both assumed, an inexperienced child, but one in whom sexuality had
prematurely awakened, and in whom strongly sensual tendencies were

manifest; we showed that in her imaginative activities the sexual life played
a leading part, and that the child herself had at an earlier date performed
some of the actions with which she charged the accused. But the child had
made so favourable an impression on the police magistrate and the judge
that they firmly believed her first statement, and held that her subsequent
withdrawal of her accusation was due to outside influence. It would be well,
in some cases of the kind, to insist upon a complete examination of the girl
who makes the accusation, this examination to include her bodily state, to
ascertain if there are indications of a prematurely awakened sexual life—for
example, any irritation of the genital organs by masturbation. We shall also
do well, in such cases, to endeavour to ascertain whether the child is already
fully informed concerning the nature of sex. We must always bear in mind
that things which may give an indication regarding this are usually kept
very secret, and that none of the child's associates may be able to give us
any information. Even though among the witnesses we have parents,
masters, or governesses all uniting to assure us that the child's mind is still
perfectly innocent, and that not a suspicion regarding matters of sex has yet
been aroused, the judge should not allow himself to be deceived. Sexual
imaginations often dominate the consciousness of the child, at the very time
when a display of shamefacedness in relation to such things deceives the
onlookers. In such trials, it is sometimes put forward as a defence, that
some third person, some police official, the examining judge, or even an
enemy of the accused, has reiterated the false accusation to the child, and
has, as it were, suggested it. Such an assumption is, for many cases,
altogether superfluous, even if we do not believe a word of the child's
accusation, for it completely underestimates the power of the childish
imagination. The French physician, Bourdin,103 in his work on Lying
Children, gives the case of a little girl who by her good behaviour and
affectionate disposition had won the love of her foster-parents. One day
they were reading aloud the report of a scandalous trial, while the child was
in the room playing with her dolls, and to all appearance paying no
attention to the reading. A few days later the foster-parents saw the little girl
putting her dolls together in an indecent posture. In answer to earnest
inquiries, the child said she was only doing what someone had once done to
her; she then went on to make detailed and serious accusations against
certain other persons. A clever and experienced physician was asked to
investigate the matter before any application was made to the law courts. As

a result of a physical examination of the girl, he declared that what she
described could not possibly have taken place; and ultimately she admitted
that the whole accusation was false. As a reason for her lies, she said,
"qu'elle avait voulu faire comme les dames que l'on avait mises dans le
journal." Such imaginative activity may occur in healthy children, but it is
in the case of those with a morbid inheritance that we have especially to
reckon with these possibilities. As with the grown woman, so with the child,
the degenerative form of hysteria makes those subject to it untrustworthy
witnesses. This applies above all to accusations of sexual offences. Feeble-
mindedness is also dangerous in this connexion, for its existence is apt to be
overlooked by the judge, although an expert examination of the witness—
who, in most of these cases, is of the female sex—would facilitate the
diagnosis. Among the feeble-minded, we find, not only sexually premature
individuals, but also persons with a tendency to pathological deceit, this
latter sometimes manifesting itself in childhood, and of course lessening or
completely abolishing the subject's credibility as a witness to the occurrence
of alleged sexual offences.

These considerations must not lead us to the opposite extreme, of altogether
discrediting the assertions of child-witnesses; but they should convince us
of the need for the recognition of a source of fallacy often completely
overlooked by parents, namely, the indulgence by children in sexual
imaginative activity, and the frequent existence of unsuspected sexual
enlightenment. To this extent only do such questions form part of my
subject. Following Hans Gross, I have on page 41 already drawn attention
to the fact that girls of a certain age are untrustworthy witnesses regarding
their own experiences. But to guard against too comprehensive a
generalisation in this respect, I must point out that during the second period
of childhood a girl may be a highly competent observer, and this precisely
for matters in which her interest has been aroused by the development of
her sexual life. I may quote from Hans Gross certain remarks bearing on
this.104 "We have to recognise that in the observation and understanding of
certain matters, there is no one cleverer than a growing girl. Her school-life,
and her personal experiences and occupations, do not adequately occupy
her energies. Sexual influences are beginning to become active, and half-
unconsciously the girl studies her environment in search of experiences
bearing, however remotely, on this sphere. The little interests and amours of

the nearer and further environment will be by no one discovered so speedily
as by a bright and lively half-grown girl. Every variation in the mutual
interest of the pair she has under observation will be noted by such a girl
with the keenest sympathy. Long before the two have come to an
understanding, she will be aware of their sentiments for one another. She
notes when they are drawing nearer together, and she knows at once when
they have given open expression to their love. Whether they become
engaged or whether they draw apart from one another, the little one knows
all about it before any of their intimates. Moreover, such a girl will take
note of all the doings of certain of her acquaintances. An interesting beauty,
or a young man living near at hand, will have no more watchful observer of
all their doings than a young girl of twelve years. She, too, will take note
more accurately than anyone else of all the changes of mood of those who
are under her observation."

But the sexual life of children is of importance, not only in relation to the
question of their credibility as witnesses, but also in respect of our decision
as to matters of fact. Sexual attempts on children under fourteen years of
age are legally punishable offences, and it is a matter of indifference
whether the offender or the child was the instigator. In determining the
degree of culpability it is, however, of important whether the child against
whom the offence has been committed was innocent and uncorrupted, or
was one with previous sexual experiences. In addition to this, we have also
to take into account the question whether the child incited to the offence,
under the influence of the spontaneous activity of its own sexual impulse.
All these considerations will make it clear that from many points of view
the sexual life of the child is a matter of forensic importance.

We must not forget that the child itself may be threatened with legal dangers
as a result of the activity of its own sexual impulse. The German legal code
decrees different degrees of penal responsibility at different ages. Children
not yet twelve years of age are not liable to criminal prosecution. A child
over twelve, but under eighteen years of age, must be exonerated if when
the offence was committed the child did not possess the knowledge
enabling him or her to understand its culpability. By the third paragraph of
section 176 of the German criminal code, any one who has improper sexual

relations with a person under fourteen years of age, or who induces such a
person to practise or suffer such relations, is liable to severe punishment.

If, therefore, two children of eleven engage in mutual misconduct, they
incur no liability to legal punishment. But two boys of thirteen are liable to
prosecution for the practice of mutual masturbation. Each of them has
performed an improper act with a child under fourteen years of age, and the
liability to punishment in each case depends upon the answer to the
question whether the offender possessed sufficient knowledge to enable him
to understand his culpability. This knowledge is not identical with the
knowledge that the offence was legally punishable; that is to say, either boy
would be liable to punishment, even though he had no idea whatever that
improper sexual relations with children under fourteen constituted an
offence against the law. All that is necessary is that he should possess a
sufficient degree of intelligence to understand his culpability, which is quite
another thing from his possessing knowledge of his legal liability to
punishment. Generally speaking, however, the public prosecutor is
disinclined to initiate proceedings in such cases, for the most part because it
is held that the necessary understanding of culpability is commonly lacking.
But such prosecutions have more than once occurred. In the year 1899, in a
little town in the Mark of Brandenburg, proceedings were taken against
eighteen school-children, boys and girls, and five pupil-teachers. These
twenty-three persons, who appeared in the dock, had all reached an age at
which they became liable to criminal prosecution; in the case of a number
of other boys and girls who were concerned in the affair, no prosecution
could take place. Ultimately, all the accused were discharged, as it was held
that when the offence was committed they did not possess the requisite
understanding of its culpable character. But by order of the court several of
the accused were transferred to a reformatory. Since a prosecution may take
place in such cases, a conviction is also possible. It is evident that as soon
as a child is twelve years old, it may incur legal liabilities in consequence of
the activity of the sexual impulse.

We must not overlook the fact that the intellectual side of development may
be influenced by an early awakening of the sexual life, the child inclining,
in this case, to occupy its mind with sexual thoughts, to the neglect of
educational opportunities. I have seen cases which were regarded as

instances of aprosexia,105 the lack of the power of concentration being
attributed to adenoid vegetations, but in which the defect might, with at
least as much reason, have been referred to the play of sexual ideas. To the
teacher, his pupil's inattentiveness is often an insoluble riddle, merely
because he ignores in the child the play of erotic imagination, and, in fact,
ignores the child's inner life in general. And yet, in such cases, the child's
failure to attend to the work of the class sometimes depends upon nothing
more than occupation with thoughts about a beloved person. In other
instances, the inattention is due, not to sexual ideas, but to sexual acts. As a
patient of my own put the matter: in boyhood, while in the Latin class he
was supposed to be learning his amo, amas, amat, he and his school-fellows
were studying the subject practically beneath the table. Naturally, the
stronger the child's sexual impulse, the more will the attention wander; and
although in most cases, in children, the impulse is comparatively weak, in
isolated instances it may from the first be abnormally powerful, entailing
dangers to the intellectual development as serious as those other dangers
previously enumerated. According to Sanford Bell, unfavourable
consequences to intellectual development cannot, as a general rule, be
attributed to the early amatory inclinations of childhood. All that is likely to
be noticed is that on days when the child loved by another is away from
school, the latter child will be less attentive than usual. But the
circumstances are somewhat different when the object of affection is not a
school-fellow. Bell speaks only of cases in which the child-lovers are
members of the same class, and he refers to heterosexual inclinations only.
In such cases, the results of early amatory inclinations may even be good.
Hebbel relates of himself, how zealously as a little boy he attended school,
simply in order to meet in the class the girl he loved. The presence of the
loved one may, in fact, powerfully stimulate ambition and the desire to
work. A little girl who has fallen in love with her schoolmistress or
governess, will strive to please the latter by hard work and attention; and,
similarly, a boy who loves a boy or a girl classmate, very often attempts to
make an impression on the feelings of the loved one by his performances at
school. Whilst we recognise the dangers attendant on the development of
sexuality in the child, we must not overlook the fact that this development
may have its good side.

For, just in the same way, a child's altruistic feelings may be stimulated by
love. We see cases in which a child tries to help the beloved schoolmate in
every possible difficulty or trouble. Such a love may also spur the lover on
to excellence in other fields than the mere work of the class. The boy, while
still quite young, seeks to make an impression on the girl by courage and
steadfastness, just as he will seek to do this somewhat later, when he has
attained early manhood.

A spirited description is given by Grünstein of boys engaged in a sham
fight. At first the contending parties are timorous, appearing afraid of one
another:—
"But when the girls draw near, to view
The slaughter of a stricken plain,
In mimic battle, at this cue,
The boys now join with might and main.

Under the spell of girlish eyes
Each strives his courage to display;
For wounds or death he may despise,
Who helps his side to win the day.

And as the factions join in strife,
They shout amid the battle's din;
Fighting as if for very life,
Each one will do his best to win.

Each hopes the victory to gain;
Each would the bravest warrior prove.
Hurrah! they cry, and each is fain
To win bright glances from his love."

As I have previously explained, the existence of sexual perversions may
sometimes be traced back into early childhood, although, in individual
cases, the experiences of childhood may throw little light on the subsequent
sexual life. But we saw that cases certainly occur in which the abnormal
tendencies of the sexual life are manifested in early childhood, and in
which, also, other tendencies of childhood are determined by the abnormal
sexual life. In such cases, the mental life of the child is also profoundly
affected. Such a child feels unhappy on account of its abnormal sexual
relationships. The boy would rather have been a girl, the girl a boy. In such
a case, the choice of a future profession will also be affected by mental

peculiarities closely associated with the sexual life. The homosexual ladies'
tailor, the music-hall artiste who makes a speciality of feminine
impersonations, the ladies' hairdresser, and others in like occupations, will
often tell us that the choice of their trade or profession was made while they
were still children. In this connexion, I may also refer to the sexual life of
Catholic priests. It is certain that some of these exhibit homosexual
tendencies. It is often suggested that it is their repulsion from heterosexual
intercourse which leads such men to take the Catholic vow of celibacy. But
there is another possible factor which must not be overlooked. It is not
unlikely that certain persons, not homosexual, but in whom sexual
inclination towards women is primarily wanting, may incline to enter the
priesthood. Yet another possibility is pointed out by a Catholic priest who
has written on this subject. He is of opinion that homosexually inclined
boys often exhibit even in childhood caressive tendencies; such boys early
attract the attention of priests, who make use of them in the performance of
various ecclesiastical ceremonies. For this reason, such boys come under
the influence of the priesthood at an exceptionally early age; and thus it
comes about that in an exceptionally large proportion of cases they
themselves enter the priesthood.

There are other sexual perversions, in addition to those just mentioned, by
which the inclinations and occupations of the child may be influenced. A
hair-fetichist, whose case I had occasion to study carefully when, at the age
of fifteen, he had to stand his trial on account of cutting off girls' plaits of
hair, informed me that for one or two years before he first committed this
offence, he had experienced a peculiar stimulus whenever he handled hair.
In other cases of fetichism which I have had under observation, the
abnormal fetichistic tendency went much further back. An underclothing
fetichist began at the age of seven to be greatly interested in his sister's and
in the maidservant's underclothing, touching such articles of clothing as
often as he could, and pressing up against them in a caressing way. The
choice of reading is sometimes determined by perverse sensibilities, the
sexual nature of which may often not become apparent until a considerable
period has elapsed. I know certain persons with masochistic and with
sadistic tendencies, who in childhood preferred to read stories about robbers
and slaves, the use of fetters and the descriptions of violence of all kinds
playing a peculiar part in their imaginations. It must be regarded as

definitely established that children sometimes deliberately incur corporal
punishment in order to enjoy masochistic sexual sensations. The best-
known instance is that of Jean Jacques Rousseau, who at the age of seven
was chastised by Mademoiselle Lambercier, and thereupon experienced
agreeable sensual feelings. He himself tells us106 how sincere was his
affection for Mademoiselle Lambercier, and his extremely tractable
disposition would have tended to prevent his deliberately seeking to commit
an improper act. And yet in spite of this the chastisement was repeated, and
again he experienced a secret stimulation. In a little erotic work of the
eighteenth century, Le Joujou des Demoiselles, we find under the heading
of "Le Fouet" ("A Whipping"), the following short poem, relating to a girl
twelve years of age:—
"A l'âge de douze ans, pour certain grave cas,
Que je sais et ne dirai pas,
Lise du fouet fut menacée
A sa maman, justement courroucée,

Lise repondit fièrement,
Vous avez tout lieu de vous plaindre,
Mais pour le fouet tout doucement,
Je suis d'âge à l'aimer et non pas à le craindre.

At the age of twelve, for a good reason,
Which I know, but will not tell,
Lise was threatened with a whipping.
To her mother, justly incensed,

Lise answered proudly,
You have just cause of complaint,
But as regards a moderate whipping,
I am of an age to enjoy and not to fear it."

The awakening of sex has further effects upon the mental life of the child.
Its curiosity is aroused, as soon as the phenomena of pubescence make their
appearance, either in themselves or in other children. Long before this, as a
rule, the navel has to the child been an object of curiosity. This part of the
body seems strange and perplexing, and even in early childhood the genital
organs may inspire similar sentiments. The child observes that in respect of
such things some reserve is the rule, that a certain shyness is manifested in
looking at and touching the genital organs, and for these very reasons the
child's attention is apt to be directed to these organs. But curiosity becomes

much keener when the signs of puberty manifest themselves. To many a
child, the looking-glass serves as a means for the thorough observation of
these remarkable signs of development. With amazement the child watches
the growth of the axillary and the pubic hair; and in girls attention is
aroused by the enlargement of the breasts. Curiosity then leads the child to
seek information about these things from various books, and especially
from an encyclopædia. It is a matter of general experience that the article on
Masturbation is eagerly studied by many children, even before the end of
the second period of childhood. A search is made for anatomical
illustrations, in order to see the genital organs of both sexes. In many cases
brothers and sisters arrange to satisfy one another's curiosity on this point.
Elder brother and younger, elder sister and younger, or brother and sister
will often seek to enlighten one another as to differences in bodily structure,
especially as regards the external genital organs, by means of mutual
inspection. Such childish curiosity may be, and often is, altogether
independent of the awakening of the sexual life; the real motive is then the
rationalist one, if the expression be permitted. But in other instances the
curiosity is determined, or increased, by the awakening of the sexual life.
Similar considerations apply to the observation of the sexual acts of
animals, for which opportunities occur more especially in the country, but
sometimes also in the town; in most cases, the motive for such observation
in the first instance is pure curiosity, independent of sexual processes in the
child. Parents who surprise their children thus engaged, usually regard such
investigations as signs of gross immorality; but it is unnecessary to take so
tragic a view. It is simply childish curiosity, on the part of those who see
nothing wrong in what they are doing. That which is immoral in the adult is
not necessarily immoral in the child, who is merely led by curiosity, and by
his astonishment at the changes taking place in his body, to study these
changes closely. It is not immoral for a child to wish to study in propriâ
personâ matters about which information has been withheld. Adults are far
too ready to interpret the actions of children in the light of their own
feelings—a mistake which cannot be too strongly condemned.

The curiosity of the child about his own body is often intermingled with
fear; above all in the perfectly innocent, completely unenlightened child,
the first seminal emission, whether it occurs during sleep or in the waking
hours, and in the girl, the first appearance of the menstrual flow, may

readily cause serious alarm. It must not be supposed that such alarm is of
rare occurrence. Even in large towns, which our moralists are apt to regard
as altogether corrupt, we sometimes find that a boy of fifteen or sixteen
may be greatly alarmed, on waking, to discover that he has had a seminal
emission, for which he has been prepared neither by experience nor by
instruction.

Additional wider influences of the sexual life of the child cannot here be
fully discussed. But when we see that in great poets and other artists much
of their creative work may be effected in childhood, and when, on the other
hand, we observe the connexion of many artistic productions with the
psychosexual sphere, we cannot fail to admit the possibility that the sexual
life of the child is to some extent related to art. Thus, we sometimes see
children endeavouring, however imperfectly, to express their feelings in
verse; and in cases in which nothing of the kind occurs, the erotic feelings
of childhood may still exercise influence later in life. As examples from
world-literature, I may mention: Heine, who was still a boy when he was so
greatly attracted by his Sefchen, the executioner's niece, whose personality
made a definite impression on the poet's maturer work;107 Goethe, whose
friendship with the sister of the little Derones, likewise had certain artistic
results; Dante, who first met his Beatrice at the age of nine years, and ever
thenceforward remained under her spell. If in such cases we inquire as to
the impressions of childhood, we unquestionably find, in poets and artists,
traces, sometimes of direct, but more frequently of indirect influences.

Mantegazza108 goes so far as to regard the premature development of
psychosexual sentiments as a peculiarity of richly endowed and talented
natures. An obscure, shamefaced feeling, by which the boy is drawn to the
girl, is, he thinks, manifest in such natures, even before sex has made its
profound impression upon the developing organism, and before the
reproductive organs have assumed their adult forms. He compares such
feelings with the rosy tint which appears on the horizon before the sunrise,
and he considers that in men of a lower type or less highly gifted by nature,
the new sentiments known by the name of love do not appear until after the
adult development of the reproductive organs. I do not believe that this
generalisation is well founded; although, as previously mentioned, I
consider that the alarm which is often caused in elders by the appearance in

the child of such early psychosexual manifestations is not warranted, as a
rule, by the facts of the case.

The question as to the quality of the offspring resulting from the sexual
intercourse of children, either of two children who are both sexually mature,
or of a sexually mature child with a grown person, has not, in Europe, any
great or immediate practical interest. With us, procreation is rarely possible
on the part of those who are still children, for the boy is hardly competent
for procreation before the completion of the second period of childhood,
and in the case of girls such competence is rarely met with till towards the
very end of the second period of childhood. But if we put the question in a
somewhat more general form, and study the quality of the offspring of
youthful persons in whom bodily development is not yet fully completed,
the matter becomes one of greater practical interest. But for a decision even
on this point, data are insufficient, notwithstanding the fact that, according
to Pauline Tarnowsky,109 among the Russians a young girl frequently
marries while still sexually immature, at the age of sixteen or seventeen,
when, in that country, menstruation has often not yet begun. But there is a
country from which data bearing on this problem can be obtained—data of
considerable, and, as some think, of decisive importance—viz. India. In
India, child-marriages occur with extraordinary frequency, and, according
to Hans Fehlinger,110 their number continues to increase. Originally almost
confined to the Hindus, these marriages have spread to the Mohammedans,
the Buddhists, and the Animists, notwithstanding the fact that religious
reasons for such marriages exist only in the case of the Hindus. In the year
1881, for every 1000 persons under 10 years of age, 99 were married, of
these 24 being boys, and 75 girls. In the year 1901, the number of married
persons under 10 years of age was 158 per 1000, of whom 20 were children
under 5 years old. This is an enormous percentage: and although Fehlinger
himself draws attention to the fact that marriage in childhood is not always
tantamount to the beginning of sexual intercourse, since in many cases
years will intervene between marriage and the commencement of
cohabitation, yet in many other instances no such interval exists. E. Rüdin111
also deals with the question of child-marriages in India, discussing it from
the point of view of racial degeneration. He states that, with one exception,
modern writers are agreed that the consequences of the Indian custom of
child-marriage are altogether bad—that not a single point can be urged in

favour of the practice. The solitary writer to urge anything in favour of the
custom of child-marriage is Sir Denzil Ibbetsson, who asserts that in the
Western Punjab, where child-marriages are exceptional, immorality and
assaults upon women are commoner than in the Eastern Punjab, where
child-marriages are the rule. Those who strongly disapprove of child-
marriages, point more particularly to the fact that when a girl-child is
married to an adult man, she often receives mechanical injuries in the act of
intercourse; and they contend, in addition, that child-marriage is injurious to
the offspring. For, by child-marriage, we obviate any possibility of sexual
selection within the limits of a particular caste, inasmuch as persons are
bound together in marriage whose defective constitution and inferior mental
endowments may not become apparent until long after marriage, and yet the
couple, tied to one another for life, will continue to procreate an inferior
stock. But, in this connexion, it must not be forgotten that in India puberty
is attained far earlier in life than it is in Western Europe.

Having dealt with the premature development of the sexual life, a few
words must now be allotted to the consideration of an abnormally late
awakening of sexuality. This latter phenomenon must, unquestionably, be
regarded as a morbid manifestation. In the course of my experience, I have
seen quite a number of people in whom the sexual impulse made its first
appearance very late; in childhood, and also later, some of these were
regarded by their associates as models of chastity. They had no intercourse
with prostitutes, because even at the age of twenty they had not yet
experienced any definite sexual impulse. They despised other young men
who practised irregular sexual intercourse, and they themselves had no
difficulty in refraining from such intercourse. But many such persons are
the subjects of a remarkable self-deception; for a long time they really
believe themselves to be exceptionally moral, and succeed in convincing
themselves that their abstinence from sexual intercourse is dependent upon
ethical motives, whereas often the real reason has merely been the lack of
inclination and of capacity for sexual intercourse. In most cases the real
nature of the case subsequently becomes clear to them, and they come to
understand that their previous sexual abstinence was not determined by
ethical motives. When we analyse such cases more accurately, we often find
that we have to do with abnormal individualities; abnormal not merely in
respect of the retarded development of the sexual life, but also as regards

other phenomena. Not infrequently we have to do with neuropathic and
psychopathic natures, and the reality of this is quite unaffected by the fact
that the superficial observer is convinced that such persons are
exceptionally moral. I possess a considerable number of autobiographical
case-histories of this kind, and it is quite usual to find that they state that
their associates have wrongly accredited them with peculiar virtue, whereas
in reality their apparently irreproachable conduct depended simply upon
abnormality of development, and the strict morality was an illusive
appearance. Many of them also produce an altogether unmanly, effeminate,
bashful, and timid impression. Although I have always honoured, and
continue to hold in honour, those young men who avoid illegitimate sexual
intercourse on genuinely moral grounds, the persons exhibiting the
peculiarities just explained must be regarded as pathological subjects. If our
moralists hold up to us as exemplary specimens such young men as these,
we have to answer that in that case sexual abstinence, and also chastity and
morality, may depend upon a pathological inheritance. Just as we are unable
to regard eunuchs as exceptionally virtuous individuals, so also must we be
cautious in our assignment of moral motives for the sexual abstinence of
young men of this nature.112

In the female sex, also, there are persons in whom the sexual life, and
especially the sexual impulse, awakens very late. This may happen
notwithstanding the fact that menstruation has begun at the normal age.
Both the peripheral phenomena of detumescence, and also the phenomena
of contrectation, may be thus retarded; and the former especially may
permanently fail to appear. We see girls who appear remarkably virtuous,
because, while other girls are rejoicing at having found an admirer, they
pass coldly along, in the streets and elsewhere, their eyes directed forwards,
and rigidly avoid exchanging glances with any male person. Although this
delayed sexual development does not arouse in us the same unsympathetic
feelings in the case of young women as it does in the case of young men, it
is none the less necessary to recognise the phenomenon in the female sex as
well, and this not on medical grounds merely, but also on educational,
ethical, and social grounds. In fine, in such cases, we have to do with
something very different from cases in which from a true sense of shame or
on moral grounds a girl maintains her mental and bodily chastity; different,
also, from the cases in which we have to do with women whose bodily

development is normal, but who in other respects resemble rather the type
of those in whom the reproductive glands have been removed.

I may take this opportunity of insisting upon the fact that the unduly
retarded awakening of the sexual life, or the complete failure of the sexual
impulse to appear, is not especially to be desired, and entails dangers and
disadvantages just as does a premature development of sexuality. I may
recall, in this connexion, certain earlier experiences. At one time it was
assumed that there was a mental disorder known as pyromania; the
pyromaniac was one with an irresistible impulse to light incendiary fires.
To-day, we no longer admit the existence of any such disease, and the
impulse to light incendiary fires, when such a morbid impulse manifests
itself, is regarded as a symptom of imbecility, of cerebral degeneration, &c.
But we may take this opportunity of reminding the reader that Henke,113 an
earlier investigator, regarded pyromania as due chiefly to arrest or
disturbance of the physical and psychical phenomena of puberty. Esquirol
himself appears to have shared this opinion; and although modern
psychiatry takes quite a different view of pyromania, we have none the less
to insist that unduly retarded development may, just as much as premature
development, give rise to undesirable consequences.

CHAPTER VIII
THE CHILD AS AN OBJECT OF SEXUAL PRACTICES

We have now to consider a matter which bears but indirectly on the sexual
life of the child, and yet may be of the greatest importance in relation to that
life; we have to consider cases in which the child is the object of sexual
practices by others. I have previously referred to instances in which one
child loves another. But the child may also be an object of sexual desire to
adults; for in certain men and women, sexual inclination is directed towards
children. By von Krafft-Ebing this state is termed pædophilia erotica.

Not all the cases in which sexual acts are performed on children belong to
the province of pædophilia. It is well known that in certain countries—

Germany is one of them—a superstition prevails among certain strata of the
population to the effect that venereal diseases may be cured by means of
sexual intercourse with children. Where this is the motive of the sexual act,
the case does not belong to the class of pædophilia; and many other sexual
acts in which children play a part must also be excepted from this class. It
sometimes happens that debauchees, after having practised all kinds of
venereal excesses, finally take to misusing children; nursemaids, again, and
other servants, will carry out all sorts of sexual acts on the children
entrusted to their care, sometimes merely in order to quiet the children,
sometimes "for fun." Von Krafft-Ebing refers to a special group of young
men who do not feel sufficient confidence in their sexual potency to attempt
intercourse with grown women, also to masturbators affected with psychical
impotence; such persons are apt to seek an equivalent for coitus in improper
contacts with little girls.

One very large group of cases belongs to the sphere of psychiatry. In quite a
number of congenital and acquired states of mental defect or disorder,
sexual acts performed on children appear as symptoms of moral and
intellectual degeneration. In this connexion may be mentioned, congenital
imbecility, progressive paralysis (paralytic dementia), senile dementia,
chronic alcoholism, cerebral syphilis, and post-epileptic dementia; with or
without these conditions, epileptic disturbances of consciousness may lead
to sexual offences against children.

None of these cases have anything to do with poedophilia erotica. And there
are yet other cases which it is desirable to distinguish from this class,
especially those cases in which a marked hyperæsthesia was the
determining cause of the sexual act. In such a case, it is to the person thus
affected almost a matter of indifference with whom the sexual act is
performed. Anything warm and alive will do, and inasmuch as a child is
often most readily available, a child often serves as victim, whilst in other
cases an animal is utilised.

Fritz Leppmann,114 to whom we are indebted for a full and excellent study
of cases of this kind, distinguishes the influences which are subjective to the
offender from those which operate from without. Among the latter he refers
especially to the Schlafbursch or night-lodger;115 it may be a young man in

his prime, sleeping in the same room or even in the same bed with little
girls; also to unemployment, which very readily gives occasion for sexual
excesses; to the practice of allowing little girls to run about without proper
supervision; to premature sexual development in children, which renders
these latter especially liable to be the subjects of sexual misconduct; to
child-prostitution, often at the instigation of the parents; to the lack of
proper sexual reserve; to obscenity, dances, and popular festivals, whereby
the sexual impulse may be stimulated; to unhappy marriage; and, above all,
to the effects of alcohol. Occupation and position have also to be
considered, for, in the case of many males, an authoritative position (that of
schoolmaster, priest, doctor, employer, stepfather, tutor) gives extraordinary
facilities for committing sexual offences against children.

Although children of all ages, and even infants in arms, may be the victims
of sexual misconduct, in the majority of such cases we have to do with
children who are no longer quite young; and this is true, more especially, of
most cases of pædophilia erotica. This latter passion may be directed
against children of the same sex as the offender, but more commonly it is
directed towards children of the opposite sex. Not infrequently, however,
the impulse in such persons lacks sharp differentiation, the pædophile
showing inclination, now for immature boys, now again for immature girls.
Occasionally, pædophilia is the only form in which sexual inclination
exhibits itself in the persons concerned; but in other cases the pædophilic
impulse alternates with normal sexual feelings, or with some other perverse
sexual manifestation. A homosexual man, for instance, may one day be
sexually attracted by children, the next by adult males. Less widely known,
although, as I think, far commoner than is usually believed, are the cases in
which women are sexually attracted by immature boys. Some of those cases
of which mention has previously been made, in which nursemaids and other
female servants seduce boys to the practice of masturbation, belong to this
category; but this does not exhaust cases of such a nature. It is not
necessary, when we see a woman caressing a boy, to assume at once and in
every case that a sexual motive is at work; but unprejudiced observation
will show that many of these cases are sexually determined. An interesting
case of this nature has been published by Magnan.116 It was that of a lady
twenty-nine years of age, with strongly marked hereditary taint, and
suffering from very various mental abnormalities, with five nephews, the

eldest of whom was thirteen years of age. At first, this eldest nephew was
the object of her desires. "The sight of him caused in her intense sexual
excitement; she experienced voluptuous sensations, which she was quite
unable to repress, sighed, rolled her eyes, and became flushed; sometimes
she had spasmus vaginæ, with local secretion." When this boy grew older,
the next brother took his place in her desires; and in succession these were
transferred to the other three. At the time when Magnan saw the patient, her
sexual inclinations were directed towards the youngest nephew, a boy three
years of age.

In many cases, the sexual inclination towards children is primary, existing
from the first appearance of the sexual impulse; or it may appear
simultaneously with other inclinations without there having been, as far as
can be learned, marked previous sexual excesses. There can be no doubt
whatever that in such cases we have to a large extent to do with morbid
personalities. No small part in these cases is played by a purely
psychological factor, namely, the innocence of the child. We know that also
in the case of the normal sexual inclination of the male, innocence on the
part of the female exerts a notable stimulus, in which connexion the
question whether we have to do here with a result of conventional opinions
or with an inborn mental disposition, must naturally be left open.117 But it is
a fact that just as the knowledge of a woman's immoral past, or obscene
remarks or gestures on her part, will in many men suffice to inhibit sexual
desire; so, on the other hand, for many men, innocence in the woman
heightens the stimulus. In many cases of desire for immature girls, the
physical stimulus of the narrow vagina may also contribute to increase
libido; but the part this plays is probably not considerable. Apart from the
fact that in many cases in which men have sexual inclination towards such
girls, immissio membri does not take place at all, this consideration would
in no way explain those not very uncommon cases in which adult women
experience sexual inclination for immature boys.

In connexion with this last point, it is of interest to recall the fact that in
former days dwarfs, as well as fools, were kept at many courts. In view of
the tender relationship which obtained between many ladies of position and
such dwarfs, it has sometimes been inferred that the inclination was a

sexual one, the small size and the undeveloped condition of the dwarf
exercising a peculiar stimulus.

The depraver of children satisfies his desires in very various ways. It will
readily be understood that the progressive paralytic (paralytic dement) will
act in one way, and the true pædophile in another. I shall not, however,
discuss these details here, but shall merely endeavour to give some general
ideas on the subject. Often, and especially at first, the depraver of children
merely seeks opportunities for seeing children; then he wants to touch the
children with his hands, and often to handle their genital organs; and while
attempting this, or while doing it, he has ejaculation. In other cases he
presses the child more and more closely into contact with himself, and
especially against his own genital organs. Finally, we may have more
complete sexual acts; and, especially when the child is a girl, there may be
attempts at intercourse, and even defloration; where the child is a boy,
pseudo-coitus may take place. The depraver of children gains his
opportunities by appeals to the child's peculiar weaknesses. He will, for
instance, tempt the child by the offer of sweets, and in this way will
obviously often gain his ends. Many such persons hang about in the
neighbourhood of a school or a children's playground, simply with this end
in view. Some years ago the police of a certain large town were informed
that "child-lovers" haunted a particular place. It appears that here the
children were in the habit of swinging on a chain suspended between two
pillars, and that the watchers waited to catch a glimpse of the children's
genital organs, or merely of their bare legs, when their petticoats flew up
occasionally in the act of swinging. Many pædophiles become sexually
excited at the mere sight of children sympathetic to them. In other cases, by
no means rare, men experience sexual excitement whenever they see a little
girl with short petticoats; these men will follow such little girls all over the
place, without, as a rule, speaking to them or interfering with them in any
way, being withheld from doing so either by the fear of punishment or by
moral restraint. To many the mere sight of the child appears to afford
sufficient sexual gratification; and to others the simple contact of their
hands with the child suffices, and nothing more is attempted. But, in other
cases, handling the child's genital organs plays the chief part, frequently
because the offender can himself obtain sexual gratification only through
inducing sexual excitement in the child and watching this excitement.

Sometimes, however, the offender has no interest in the child's genital
organs; far from being excited sexually by regarding or handling these
organs, he may even find them repulsive; but in such cases the sight of
general nakedness often induces sexual excitement. This is often associated
with sadistic feelings, and this alike in men and in women. In other cases, a
woman will make attempts at coitus with a little boy, having first induced
erection of his penis by manipulating the organ, by tickling it, or in some
other way. Finally, there are cases in which all kinds of other actions are
performed. To the more complex perversions I shall return. Here I shall
only point out that children may sometimes be utilised for the wildest
orgies. A case was formerly published by Tardieu, in which servant-maids
in conjunction with their lovers carried out with the children under their
care all sorts of perverse acts: cunnilinctus, masturbation, the introduction
of various objects into the vagina and the anus. Finally, it may be pointed
out that in the lack of an object, the pædophile will naturally satisfy himself
with the aid of imaginative ideas, masturbating the while, or he may be
content with purely psychical onanism. We must not forget that the
imagination usually suggests stimuli far stronger than those furnished by
objective experience, and this applies in a most marked degree to
pædophilia. Many pædophiles also satisfy themselves with the aid of erotic
and obscene literature, containing descriptions of the acts in which they are
interested, or with pictures of such acts. Among obscene pictures and
photographs, not a few depict sexual acts performed with children; and
there is no doubt that these are sometimes pictures taken from the life,
children having actually been photographed in such obscene attitudes. The
Latin countries appear to be the principal source of such pictures and
photographs.

It will readily be understood that the performance upon children of sexual
acts is a very serious matter for the children themselves, especially as
affecting their sexual morality. It is true that in many instances pædophilia
does not entail any consequences for the child, which completely fails to
understand that it has been made use of for perverse purposes. The offender
may know how to mask his actions, so that even a third person who is
looking on may detect nothing more than tender caresses, and may remain
altogether unaware of the existence of any sexual excitement. But in other
cases the consequences for the children may be extremely grave. Not only

is the child in this way prematurely introduced to sexual practices, but its
moral corruption may result. The danger to the child is greater in view of
the fact that the child depraver often fails to realise that he is trespassing
against the child's rights. I remember a gentleman who had been punished
with imprisonment on account of improper relations with a boy, and who
continued to assure me that he had done nothing wrong in touching the
boy's penis. In other cases, well-educated young men and women have no
idea that unchaste conduct with children is an offence which may entail
severe punishment, even in cases in which the child's genital organs are not
touched.

It should not need demonstration that such sexual malpractices on children
may have serious consequences for these latter. A girl may suffer most
severely, alike morally and socially, even though defloration has not been
effected. It is quite conceivable that in such a way a girl may be brought to
prostitution. Certain investigators have studied the question at what age
defloration had been effected in women leading a life of prostitution, and
have ascertained that in many cases this had taken place in childhood.
Martineau118 reports cases in which defloration had been effected at the age
of nine or ten years. Experience teaches that boys also, especially when
they have been seduced by sexual inverts, are very apt to adopt a life of
prostitution. It must also be remembered that girls may occasionally
become pregnant and give birth to a child even before they have themselves
passed the years of childhood—another source of social danger. In addition,
we have to reckon with dangers to physical health; among these we have
the direct consequences of premature misuse of the genital organs, and,
above all, the danger of venereal infection. In a great many cases, sexual
offences against children are brought to light only when, on examining the
child, gonorrhoeal or syphilitic infection is disclosed. Many authorities hold
that the superstitious hope of curing venereal disease by sexual intercourse
with an innocent child, is a comparatively frequent source of such infection
in children. Freud, to whose views I have referred several times before,
believes that sexual attempts on children may give rise in the latter to severe
neuroses—an idea which forms an important part of the etiological system
put forward by this author.

We must regard it as a peculiar danger of sexual relations on the part of a
child with an adult, that sexual perversion may be induced. I may refer to
what I said about this matter on pp. 60-62. The chief danger does not arise
from the fact that the child is occasionally utilised for a homosexual act, but
from the circumstance that in the period of the undifferentiated sexual
impulse, the child's sexual interest, and especially its contrectation impulse,
is directed towards one of its own sex, and that thereby a permanent
perversion may be induced. Edward Carpenter,119 indeed, considers that in
such homosexual relationships the younger partner makes the advances.
"The younger boy looks on the other as a hero, loves to be with him, thrills
with pleasure at his words of praise or kindness." In his general views on
this question, Carpenter takes a somewhat peculiar position. Unfortunately,
he overlooks the fact that the elder is not to be exonerated because the
younger made the first advances—at any rate, in cases in which the elder is
in a position to understand the true nature of such relationships. Everyday
experience shows that in many cases the elder person is of such an age that
there can be no doubt upon this point. And apart from this, it is not usual to
find that it is the younger person who makes the sexual advances. In most
of the cases which have come under my own notice it was unquestionably
the elder who began to lead the younger astray. The matter is not as
harmless as Carpenter makes out. The same considerations apply to sexual
intercourse with immature girls. Beyond doubt, there are many girls who
meet sexual advances halfway, owing to the premature development of their
own sexual impulse; and some such girls go more than halfway. A common
practice of pædophiles is to begin by arousing sexual excitement in the
child, either by manual stimulation, or else by showing the child erotic
pictures, or by reading to it from an erotic book. We must also admit that in
certain cases the child meets sexual advances halfway, not so much under
the stimulus of its own sexual impulse, but for other reasons; for example,
the child may be following the instructions of its parents, who regard their
child as a marketable commodity, either because they have been well paid
by the pædophile, or because they wish to use the child as an instrument in
a blackmailing scheme. The point last mentioned is one of great importance
—the fact that intercourse on the part of a grown person with a child under
fourteen years of age is sometimes deliberately instigated by the child's
parents or guardians, with the sole object of securing thereby a permanent
income from blackmail. In other cases, the instigation may not come from

the parents or guardians, or not directly from these, but from professional
procuresses, who have undertaken to satisfy the desires of sexual perverts. I
may refer in this connexion to the Pall Mall Gazette revelations of the
London of nearly a generation ago.

False accusations on the part of children, especially on the part of little
girls, who allege themselves to have been the subjects of sexual assaults,
have been mentioned in an earlier part of this work, but the matter is one of
such outstanding importance, that its further consideration will not come
amiss. An experienced Berlin lawyer has recently emphasised this danger.120
He shows that it is a regular practice to utilise the existence of certain
punishments as a means of getting undesired persons out of the way, by
bringing false accusations against them. Immediately after the Franco-
German War, these accusations dealt with offences against the laws
providing for the safety of the Empire and of the individual States of the
German Confederation. At a later date, persons seeking revenge made
frequent use of accusations of lèse majesté. Still more recently, it is the
section in the German legal code dealing with sexual offences against
children, which is chiefly utilised for such purposes, "The good-natured
householder who, because it is his birthday, presents a few sweets to
children assembled in the courtyard of his house, is suspected of an offence
against sexual morals;" when he finds it necessary to give warning to his
untrustworthy hall-porter, this latter revenges himself by lodging a false
accusation of this kind. It is a melancholy fact that an experienced barrister
should find it necessary to make the following comprehensive declaration:
"As a rule it is of no use for the accused person to call expert witnesses,
who give the court long lectures upon the significance of children's
evidence, and upon the import of evidence in general. In our own
experience one accused of such offences rarely escapes conviction. He is
hardly ever spared the terrible ordeal of examination and cross-
examination. On all hands we hear the loud complaints of such persons,
declaring that they have been wrongfully condemned." My own experience
in the law courts leads me to accept these statements without reserve, and I
regard as one of the gravest scandals of our present penal system the ease
with which a girl who makes a pretty curtsy to the court, and who appears
to be shamefaced when giving her evidence, is believed by the judge or
magistrate. The dangers involved in this are obvious to many, especially to