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. Ribbing[87]

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. Féré[89] 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 Freud[92] 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, Abraham[93] 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 work[94] 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, Tardieu[96] 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. Kisch[97] 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. Pouillet[98]

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. Ferriani[99] 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. Forel[100] 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 Forel[101] 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

us[106] 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.

Mantegazza[108] 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.

Rüdin[111] 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.