The advocates of the magnetation method ask you to first analyse sexual
intercourse. They claim that you will recognise in it two distinct acts,
_i.e._, the social (or amative) and the propagative. Those who practise
the magnetation method content themselves with and prefer the social
act, unless the procreative act is desired. It is usually held that the
sexual organs have _two_ distinct functions, viz., the urinary and the
propagative. The advocates of the magnetation theory claim that the
sexual organs have _three_ distinct functions, viz., urinary,
propagative, and amative—_i.e._, they are conductors firstly of urine,
secondly of semen, and thirdly of social magnetism. Each one separate
and distinct in itself.
The organs of propagation are physiologically distinct from the organs
of union in both sexes. The testicles are the principal organs of
reproduction in the male, and the uterus in the female. Sexual
conjunction of male and female no more involves the discharge of semen
than of the urine. The discharge of semen, instead of being the main act
of sexual intercourse, is really the sequel and termination of it.
Sexual intercourse pure and simple is the conjunction of the organs of
union, and the interchange and flow of magnetic influences through that
conjunction. The seminal discharge can be voluntarily withheld in sexual
intercourse, or it can be produced without sexual intercourse, as in
masturbation, which demonstrates the fact that the discharge of the
semen, and the pleasure associated with its discharge, is not social,
since it can be produced in solitude: it is a personal and not a social
act.
The physiological analysis of the procreative act shows that the
pleasure of the act is not produced by contact and interchange of life
with the female, but by the action of the seminal fluid on the internal
nerves of the male organ. The desire and that which satisfies it are
both within the man, and may be obtained without sexual intercourse. The
amative function, or the simple union of two persons, is a distinct and
independent function, giving a medium of magnetic interchange superior
to that gained through the reproductive function. It is the presence of
the seed and not the absence of it that makes the bull superior to the
ox, and it is the stimulating, retaining, and absorbing the semen in the
man, and directing it into other creative channels, which make the
amative act of greater benefit and more healthful and vitalising than
the procreative act.
Most of us know that creative energy expressed through the sexual nature
is an instinct to perpetuate life; that it has its origin in and is
co-existent with life itself; that it is the power back of all purposes
and plans; that it is the self-pushing force that gives the individual
the ability and desire to do and to perform; that it is the impelling
factor and inventive genius in all man’s handiwork. That this force
operates in the multiplication of atoms and molecules, in the attraction
of germ to sperm cells. The process of growth and fulfilment of
functions is propelled by this energy, which is operative throughout all
Nature. It is the force back of and expresses itself through the
physical life of man and animal.
Atoms, cells, and plants are unconscious of this force, and animals are
conscious of it only in a slight degree. But man is conscious of this
energy, and is capable of developing a greater consciousness of it and
of its operation and utilisation to a remarkable degree. Like the
engineer who masters the engine by his knowledge of its construction and
the force that runs it, so can man master this creative energy and
direct it where he wills. Creative life can be expressed in other ways
beside parenthood.
Emerson says, “Work your passion up into poetry.” Passion is the sign of
creative power; it is the voice of creative life. If it were understood
and its powers realised, it would be elevated and worshipped instead of
lowered and debased, as the Comstocks would have us do. As creative
energy becomes understood and applied, men and women will grow in
strength of character and in strength of love, and will naturally devote
these powers to the interests and development of the human race.