Read Ebook: The Sexual Life of the Child by Moll Albert Thorndike Edward L Edward Lee Contributor Paul Eden Translator

Font size: 10 px 15 px 20 px 25 px 30 px 35 px

Background color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Text color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Apply/Save settings

Ebook has 1107 lines and 129573 words, and 23 pages

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

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

Hitherto we have occupied ourselves with the description of the peripheral sexual organs, and of the processes of detumescence. We must now pass on to the second group of sexual phenomena, the processes of contrectation. Even in childhood, these processes play an important part; indeed, they generally manifest themselves at an earlier age than the processes of detumescence. But first, let me briefly summarise Max Dessoir's account of the stages of the sexual impulse--stages in which the contrectation impulse is alone concerned. In its development, three stages may be distinguished. One of these is the neutral stage, in earliest childhood, in which, speaking generally, the processes of contrectation are not yet to be observed, and during which the child does not feel attracted towards anyone in such a manner as to make it necessary for us to assume the occurrence of any psychosexual process. This stage is succeeded by the extremely important undifferentiated stage, to which Max Dessoir has drawn attention. Its principal characteristic is indicated in its name: the direction of the impulse is not yet completely differentiated. It oscillates to and fro, and depends upon the external objects which happen to be in the vicinity. This undifferentiated stage is of profound importance; and owing to the fact that its existence has been ignored in the study of sexual perversions, great confusion has arisen. During the undifferentiated period, it may happen that quite normal children exhibit homosexual excitement, whose importance is apt to be greatly over-estimated by their relatives and others. During the undifferentiated stage a boy may love one of his teachers or one of his friends, and yet in later life be perfectly normal; many a woman, again, who loves her husband ardently has earlier, during the undifferentiated period, passionately loved a school-fellow or a governess. On the other hand, during the undifferentiated stage a boy may exhibit an inclination towards someone of the opposite sex, the governess or the girl-friend of his sister, for instance; conversely, the girl may be attracted by a boy or a young man. This inclination, whether homosexual or heterosexual, often leads to bodily acts, to contact with the beloved person, embraces, and kisses, without the necessary occurrence of any manifestations on the part of the external genital organs, although such manifestations may at times ensue. The undifferentiated stage is followed by the third stage, in which the contrectation impulse becomes differentiated, so that in normal individuals the sexual impulse becomes unmistakably heterosexual. Normally, this differentiated stage endures until the time of the final extinction of the sexual impulse.

I do not believe that an undifferentiated stage occurs in every one without exception. On the other hand, I have absolutely no doubt that it occurs very frequently indeed--far more frequently than is commonly believed--and that it occurs in persons whose subsequent sexual development is perfectly normal. Moreover, during the undifferentiated stage, in addition to heterosexual and homosexual inclinations, perverse sentiments may make their appearance. Masochistic, sadistic, fetichistic excitations of all kinds are met with, and sexual inclination towards animals is by no means rare. As regards the last named, the inclination is directed especially towards the animals with which the child is most intimately associated, as, for instance, a dog, a cat, a bird, a horse, and the like. Again, during the period of undifferentiated sexual impulse all kinds of disordered ideas may become associated with that impulse; for instance, an impulse may arise to touch the saliva, or some other excretory product, of the beloved being, human or animal, as the case may be, and even to take such a product into the mouth. Many persons completely forget all these manifestations of the undifferentiated sexual impulse which have formed part of their own early experiences. The causes of such oblivion have been discussed in the first chapter .

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

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

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

CASE 3.--Next we have the case of a woman, now married and twenty-six years of age, in whom also the undifferentiated sexual impulse was clearly manifested. From the age of eight to the age of fifteen years she attended a day-school for girls, and subsequently, after receiving private tuition for a time, went to a boarding-school. "In my earlier years I can recall no feelings for my school-fellows beyond those of simple friendship. We kissed one another, but no more intimate contact took place. In these kisses, I was not aware of any sentiment exceeding pure friendship; and to-day when I thoroughly understand the nature of the kiss of erotic love, I do not believe that there was any erotic element intermingled with these first kisses. Such simple friendliness towards my fellow-schoolgirls persisted unaltered even after in my tenth year I first experienced a sentiment of enthusiastic devotion. This latter was inspired by an actress, a remarkably beautiful woman visiting our town--I lived then in a town of medium size--whose pictures were displayed in all the shop windows. Although I realised later that her talents were by no means of a high order, and notwithstanding the fact that I never saw her on the stage, I conceived for her an enthusiastic admiration. I tried from time to time, when I could do so without being observed, to catch a glimpse of her in the street; almost the only possible opportunity was when she was on her way to rehearsals. When the actress went away, her place in my heart was occupied by a schoolmaster of typically masculine appearance, with a full, fair beard. He gave us lessons in history, literature, and German. Nearly all the class were fascinated by him, and I by no means less than the others. This admiration lasted almost the whole of the remaining time during which I attended the school. When I went to the boarding-school, being now somewhat older, and regarded as almost a young woman, I was allowed to witness a representation of Faust. The part of Gretchen was played by an actress who is still of note to-day, and she made a most enduring impression on me. To my great delight I was unexpectedly presented to her, and she wrote a line or two in my album. Unfortunately, the headmistress would not allow us to go often to the theatre, a prohibition doubtless in part dependent on the high prices of the seats. But I still remember quite distinctly how I trembled with joy whenever I was allowed to go. I remember, too, that on one occasion, in which it had been arranged that I was to go to see a play in which this actress did not appear, I shammed illness in order to save up the price of the seat, go that I might use it on another occasion, on which I should be able to see her. This particular enthusiasm lasted as long as I remained at the boarding-school. When later I grew old enough to marry, and when with the approval of my parents a gentleman who appeared to love me began to pay me his addresses, my fondness for the actress soon began to fade away. Even at the present day, however, I esteem this artiste very highly indeed, and the impression which she made on my imagination will never be entirely expunged from my memory. If I were to see her to-day, I should willingly kiss her hands, in thankfulness for the happy hours she has given me; but I do not believe that any erotic element now remains in my feeling for her. I may add that I do not love my husband passionately, although I love him well enough. Physical contact with the actress of whom I have spoken would not be positively repulsive to me, but such contact would, as far as I am concerned, be entirely devoid of sexual feeling, and the idea of sexual contact with a person of my own sex is very unpleasant to me; whereas in sexual intercourse with my husband I am perfectly normal." This patient does not belong to the class of sexually anaesthetic women; she feels the impulse towards sexual intercourse, and in intercourse she experiences normal enjoyment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Es gibt nichts sch?neres auf der Welt, Als wenn einem ein Wesen besonders gef?llt; Und f?hlt man sich gezogen hin Zu einer s?ssen Lehrerin, Das ist ein Gl?ck. Und liebt man sie so inniglich, Dann f?rchtet wohl gar sehr man sich Vorm Abschiedtag..."

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

In this style the poem continues for some time, and occasionally we come to verses showing that jealousy was felt:--

Many of the accompaniments of love may make their appearance the very first time the passion awakens, such as the desire to please and to astonish the object of affection, whether by mental or by bodily excellence, A schoolmaster, of whom a child is enamoured, will frequently find that this child is more obedient and more diligent than all the others, the child endeavouring in every possible way to inspire a reciprocal admiration. I remember a girl who during her first years at school was extremely idle. Although by no means lacking in intelligence, all the efforts spent on her failed to bring about a proper advance. All at once she became most industrious; no task was too hard for her, and everyone wondered at the sudden change, until after a time the enigma was explained. The child, having conceived a great fondness for her schoolmistress, wished to please the latter by attention to her lessons. In addition, she was jealous; afraid lest the mistress should prefer some other girl. In many instances, where a child's behaviour is puzzling, such a solution of the riddle will become apparent when it is looked for. Boys, again, endeavour by feats of strength to make the greatest possible impression upon the girls of their choice, in gymnastic exercises, for example, in athletic sports, and games. Coquetry also occasionally manifests itself very early in life. Girls try to please boys by their dress, and in similar ways. In boys also similar phenomena may often be observed.

The sense of shame makes its appearance in childhood. Havelock Ellis and others indeed deny this, pointing out how readily shyness is mistaken for the sense of shame. The error is common enough, but it certainly does not apply to all cases, for even in childhood we often enough encounter distinct manifestations of the sexual sense of shame. I shall not here discuss the question to what extent this sense is innate and to what extent acquired, since the matter will come up for consideration in later part of this book. Unquestionably, during childhood, the sense of shame in respect of certain processes may be awakened by means of imitation and education. Thus we may observe that many children, boys as well as girls, are greatly distressed, at any rate during the second period of childhood, at having to undress in the presence of others, and especially in the presence of persons of the opposite sex. It is interesting to learn that many homosexuals declare that even during childhood they felt ashamed when they were compelled to undress before someone of their own sex, whereas in the presence of a person of the opposite sex they were comparatively unashamed.

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

Sanford Bell believes that at a certain period during childhood, namely, between eight and twelve years of age, manifestations of love are less noticeable than either earlier or later. He alleges as the reason of this that at this particular age the child tends to conceal its fondness from others, and perhaps even from the person beloved; hence it is difficult during these years to observe the phenomena. According to this view, the difference is apparent merely, and depends only upon greater secretiveness. It may, indeed, be regarded as proved that in the course of development, especially in the case of boys, there are certain years during which children are less inclined to seek the company of those of the opposite sex than either before or afterwards. This occurs especially during the period of hobbledehoyhood, during which boys take pleasure above all in rough sports. It has, indeed, been suggested that this phenomenon has a teleological significance, that nature is here pursuing a quite definite aim, to minimise by means of sexual antipathy the danger attendant on the awakening of the sexual impulse. We must not, however, over-value this self-help of the part of nature , since, if boys and girls avoid one another, the perverse activities of the undifferentiated sexual impulse may very readily appear in place of the suppressed heterosexual manifestations.

Thus we can explain how it sometimes happens that a fondness conceived in childhood may endure on into adult life, and may even culminate in marriage. In large towns, indeed, such an occurrence is comparatively rare, but in small towns and in the country, quite a number of instances have been brought to my notice. As children, the two have grown up together. Their reciprocal fondness originated long prior to the formation of any conscious sexual sentiments; subsequently, when such sentiments have arisen, and the sexual impulse has awakened, it is natural that sexual relations should often ensue. Since in the country premarital sexual intercourse is comparatively frequent, we can readily understand that such a relationship as has been described will often culminate in marriage, for in the country marriage is far less often prevented by the occurrence of pre-marital intercourse than it is in large towns.

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

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

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

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

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

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

CASE 5.--This is a typical example of the primary awakening of the contrectation impulse, and the secondary superposition of the phenomena of detumescence. The patient is a man thirty-two years of age, somewhat neurasthenic, but, as far as I could ascertain, free from any other morbid manifestations. "At the age of seven I went to school; at first to a private school, in which little boys and girls were co-educated. In our playtime also the sexes were not separated; the girls came as friends to my house, and I visited them at theirs. Soon I became especially intimate with one of the girls; we did our lessons together. Thus it went on until I was nine years old, when I went to a school for boys only. My friendship with the girl at the other school persisted, however; we met from time to time, and all the more readily because a friendship had sprung up between our respective parents; they used to make holiday journeys together, and we children went with them. From the time when we were first at school together, this girl had always been more dear to me than the others, I do not know what it was in her by which I was particularly charmed. Was it that her general appearance seemed sympathetic to me; was it her abundant fair hair, her clear blue eyes, or her frank and natural manner? I do not know. But I remember quite distinctly that this same girl was a favourite with the other boys also, that they preferred to play with her, to have her as their companion. But it was to me that the girl, and perhaps her parents also, gave the preference. There was never any impropriety in our mutual relations; indeed, it is probable that I loved her too much for anything of the kind to be possible. Every night, before I went to sleep, I prayed to God to watch over this girl. As I have said before, my fondness was reciprocated; we often spoke to one another about our love, and of our dreams of the happy days to come, when we should be grown up, and should become man and wife. This was quite a settled matter; we had arranged every detail, how the wedding should be conducted, and whom we should invite to the ceremony. With this girl I shared all my possessions, although before I knew her I had been considered close-fisted. I was often angry when in games with the other girls she failed to win. In a word I can truthfully declare that I have hardly ever since loved so fondly and so sincerely as I did then. When I went to the boys' school, it was no longer possible for us to be together as much as before. Thus it came to pass, that the less we saw of one another, the less were my thoughts occupied with this girl. But I cannot remember that my fondness for her was ever replaced by a similar passion for a boy; nor, speaking generally, can I recall having ever at any time had any kind of sexual inclination towards one of my own sex. I would not venture absolutely to deny that this ever occurred; but, bearing in mind what I have learned from you on several occasions, I have carefully taxed my memory, and can only repeat what I told you at first, that I remember nothing of the kind. Somewhat later, in my dreams, boys occasionally played a part, but I cannot recall that these dreams about boys had any sexual complexion. They were vague images of boys sympathetic to me, but these dreams were not accompanied by any excitement of the genital organs, or by any other sexual manifestation. When I was thirteen years of age, my parents and those of my girl-friend had taken us to spend the summer at a seaside resort. The girl and I played together on the seashore, and occasionally, though we were now somewhat old for such an amusement, we dug sand-castles. As small children we had from time to time embraced one another, but a kiss had been the most intimate contact we had experienced. One day we were playing on the shore--I remember it very distinctly--and were rolling about together in the sand; thus occupied we came into close physical contact, and thereupon I had an erection. I remember too that the sensation of this was very agreeable. I cannot describe this agreeable feeling with precision, but there was no sense of sexual gratification, nor definite voluptuous sensation. From this time forward I always had the desire for close bodily contact with the girl. Moreover she was continually in my thoughts, and this to a much greater extent than formerly. It was my desire to gain a harmless pleasure by being always with her; it was impossible for me to imagine that we should ever be separated. I had naturally heard a great deal about marriage. With these and with similar thoughts I was occupied, but I cannot recall my thoughts in a more detailed manner. But to this day I remember very clearly my desire that the girl and I should never be separated from one another. We returned home, and in the ensuing winter, as in previous winters, we met at intervals. Naturally, physical contact was now much more difficult. One night I had a dream with seminal emission. Then, as for a long time before, I had been thinking a great deal about the girl; I dreamed of one of the scenes on the seashore which I have just described; it was in this dream that I had my first seminal emission. My fondness for the girl persisted. Only when she left the day-school in the town, and was sent away to a boarding-school, did my passion gradually abate. At first when she went away, I felt very unhappy and very lonely. My parents forced me to go out for walks with other boys and to play with them; I did so only with the greatest reluctance. Later, the girl did not disappear completely from my circle of acquaintances, but I lost all interest in her. From school I went to the university, having just before begun to masturbate. From the time I went to the university until the present day I have occasionally had intercourse with women, and my sexual development has been perfectly normal."

In so far as in what has gone before I have described the individual processes, there appear to be no important differences between the boy and the girl, over and above those dependent upon the different structure of the genital organs in the respective sexes. But one notable difference must now be indicated. Just as in adult life in the female sex sexual anaesthesia is very frequently observed, so that in coitus the specific voluptuous sensation is wanting, and indeed often enough the impulse to coitus itself is actually in abeyance , so also in the case of children a similar difference between the sexes is conspicuous. In female children the peripheral processes of the sexual impulse are, comparatively speaking, far less active than in the case of males. Thus it happens that, although in the girl the phenomena of the contrectation impulses are hardly, if at all, less conspicuous than they are in the boy, and appear at as early an age in the former as they do in the latter, yet in respect of detumescence there is an important distinction between girls and boys. A girl who has fallen in love with a boy will be greatly interested in all his doings, and will gladly embrace and even kiss him; but she will be far less disposed to proceed to actions in which the genital organs play a part than would a boy with a like affection for a girl. The same rule holds good when, in the undifferentiated stage of the sexual impulse, homosexual sentiments and practices ensue. In such cases, when girls are concerned, caresses of all kinds will follow, but the genital organs will in all probability not be involved; whereas in the case of an analogous fondness between two boys, manipulation of the genital organs is very likely to occur. Homosexual intimacies between girls are far more often platonic than similar intimacies between boys.

I have had occasion several times to allude to the practice of masturbation by children, and will now proceed to give a more detailed description. I have previously alluded to masturbation as a manifestation of the detumescence impulse. Much more frequently, however, it occurs in those in whom the phenomena of the contrectation impulse have also been previously manifested. Sometimes it is a purely organic act, the individual masturbating in the entire absence of any imaginative sexual ideas; but at other times the imagination plays a notable part in the process, alike in children and in adults. When an imaginative idea is concerned in the process of masturbation, it is the idea of the object of the contrectation impulse; that is to say, the boy when masturbating thinks now of a girl, now, again , of a boy, or in many cases of an adult; in the cases of girls who masturbate similar relationships obtain, Just as during youth masturbation is more commonly practised in association with than without imaginative sexual ideas, so also is it in the case of children; and even though imaginative activity may often be in abeyance when the masturbatory act is begun, during the progress of the act the imagination usually comes into operation. None the less, masturbation of a purely mechanical kind, in which the imagination plays no part, is comparatively more common during childhood than it is during youth. The peripheral processes of the detumescence impulse and the central processes of the contrectation impulse are not at this early age so intimately associated as they are later in life. Even when the contrectation impulse is already awakened, as usually happens before the detumescence impulse becomes active, when the detumescence impulse finally manifests itself, its gratification by means of masturbation without any imaginative activity is comparatively common in children. In such cases artificial stimulation of the genital organs is effected quite independently of the longing for intimate physical contact with and the embraces of another individual.

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

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

I must take this opportunity of referring at some length to a matter which, though somewhat obscure, is none the less profoundly interesting. In many instances sexual excitement occurs in children as the result of a feeling of anxiety; in boys such anxiety may lead to ejaculation, with or without erection, and with more or less voluptuous sensation. A schoolboy informed me that he had had a seminal emission with a slight sense of voluptuous pleasure when in class he was in difficulties with a passage of unseen translation, and he was afraid he would be unable to finish the passage before the end of the lesson. Another reported to me a precisely similar experience; he was overcome with anxiety during a written examination, and had a seminal emission. A third had an ejaculation when, being detected in some offence against school discipline, he was sent for by the headmaster, and was afraid he would be expelled. Quite a number of similar cases have been reported to me of sexual excitement occurring in childhood as a sequel to anxiety. I have recorded the facts, and do not propose to discuss exhaustively the theoretical aspect of the matter. Perhaps the phenomenon is allied to masochism, since anxiety is to a certain extent painful. We may also, in this connexion, think of the seminal emissions sometimes observed in cases of suicidal hanging. Freud's theory may also be mentioned, that the anxiety-neurosis is referable to certain sexual processes; but we must not forget that Freud makes a similar assumption in the case of other neuroses as well. Stekel, one of Freud's pupils, in an elaborate monograph, also lays stress on the sexual factor of the anxiety-neurosis. In my own view, however, Freud's generalisation is too comprehensive; inasmuch as he symbolises all things in accordance with his own peculiar preconceptions, the concept sexual receives, in his hands, an undue extension. But I do not deny the occasional association of sexual excitement with a sense of anxiety. Certain boys would appear to have a peculiar predisposition to the occurrence of such processes; at any rate, several persons have told me that during childhood they had frequently had ejaculations as a result of feelings of anxiety. As a rule, however, each of these persons has had such an experience either once only, or but very few times. Two identical instances have been reported to me as occurring in girls--ejaculation with an indefinite voluptuous sensation as a sequel of anxiety. These girls were from thirteen to fourteen years of age. In one of the two, the phenomenon recurred several times; and even at the present day, when she is a fully-grown woman, she occasionally experiences ejaculation in connexion with a feeling of anxiety.

CASE 6.--A student, twenty years of age, described his experiences to me in the following terms:--As regards his sexual development, he remembers that he was sixteen years of age when he first experienced sexual sensations. Before this time he had been told by other boys about sexual intercourse, masturbation, and many other things. He had, however, never masturbated, though he had once or twice attempted to do so. One day, when he was in the Upper Second Class, a mathematical problem was given out, and as he found a difficulty in solving it, he became anxious, all the more because his chances of promotion to a higher class were largely dependent on his success. When he had barely finished half the necessary calculations, the master announced that there were only ten minutes left, at the end of which time the exercise books would be collected. Thereupon his anxiety became extreme, and simultaneously he experienced his first seminal emission. He is unable to give a more detailed description of what occurred, and does not remember having had an erection; but, as he expresses it, the sensation was extremely pleasant. Subsequently, when in the First Class, the same experience recurred several times, that is to say, he had a seminal emission as a result of a similar feeling of anxiety. In other respects his sexual development was normal. Seminal dreams were accompanied by the idea of contact with a woman. On one occasion, however, he had a seminal emission during the night in association with a feeling of anxiety. He dreamed that he was being pursued by a mad dog, when suddenly he became, as it were, paralysed and unable to run a single step further. The consequent acute anxiety culminated in emission.

During sleep, sexually mature men and many sexually mature women have from time to time involuntary sexual orgasms; these occur chiefly in persons without opportunities for sexual intercourse, who do not practise masturbation. In such involuntary orgasms the male ejaculates semen, the female indifferent glandular secretions. As a rule, the ejaculation is accompanied not merely by a voluptuous sensation, but also by a psychical process corresponding with the mode of sexual sensibility of the person concerned. A normal man during the orgasm dreams that he is embracing a woman; a normal woman that she is embracing a man; a homosexual man dreams of the embraces of another man. The dream-ejaculation is distinguished from the waking act of intercourse to this extent, that in the former the ejaculation usually takes place during the preparatory stages to the act of intercourse--during kissing, physical contact, or the embrace--so that the dream stops short of complete sexual intercourse. But in other respects the dream ordinarily corresponds to the psychical processes of the waking state. The same correspondence exists as regards sexual dreams that do not culminate in ejaculation. Children also experience sexual dreams either with or without orgasm. In those who have never masturbated in the waking state, a sexual dream is commonly the cause of the first experience of ejaculation; and this occurs more often than is generally believed. More especially in the female sex I have come across many cases in which the orgasm made a primary appearance during sleep. In both sexes alike it is usual for psychosexual phenomena to manifest themselves before the erotic dream makes its appearance; a boy, for instance, will during his waking life have felt an attraction towards members of the other sex before he has begun to dream of embracing a girl. We must not, however, forget that, apart from those cases in which a dream beyond question first unveils to consciousness the psychosexual life, dreams are forgotten very rapidly indeed, especially when the memory is not stimulated by so vivid an occurrence as the sexual orgasm. Hence, even though it is true that the psychosexual life commonly appears to begin during the waking state, we must admit that it is quite likely that psychosexual dreams may have previously occurred and have been forgotten. Thus, in many individuals, sexual perversions make their first appearance in dreams. It has even been suggested that dreams may exercise a similar influence to that of post-hypnotic suggestion; that is to say, that a dream may be the actual originating cause of sexual perversion. This is a matter which I cannot discuss further, more especially in view of the fact that the whole idea is too hypothetical.

The earlier the age at which the child begins to ripen sexually, the earlier do sexual dreams and nocturnal ejaculations make their appearance. I have known of numerous instances in which children ten or eleven years of age have had sexual dreams; occasionally, even, I have been informed of the occurrence of such dreams in children of seven or eight years of age. In children, as in adults, the object which is sexually exciting in the waking state plays a leading part in the sexual dream. But in the sexual dreams of children the imagination is even more active than it is in the sexual dreams of adults. All kinds of perverse dreams may, in children, accompany the emission, even when the corresponding ideas have no erotic association in the waking state. Things of which the child has learned from fairy tales, stories of robbers, of imprisoned or enchanted princesses, princes, fettered slaves--all may play a part in the psychosexual processes of the dream-life. Anyone unaware of the fact that in the great majority of children this tendency disappears spontaneously in the course of the further development of the sexual life might too readily infer the existence of some morbid perversion. In such instances we must, indeed, bear in mind the possibility of sexual perversion, especially in view of the fact that sexually perverse adults are often able to trace back into childhood the memory of sexual dreams characteristic of their peculiar type of perversion. Occasionally the feelings of anxiety of which we have spoken above may, even in dreams, lead to the occurrence of involuntary ejaculations. Thus we are told of dreams of pursuit by robbers or by wild animals, or of dreams of missing a train the dreamer has been running to catch, in which ejaculations occur. In isolated cases the dreams of children which are associated with ejaculations may be quite indistinct; in such cases, just as sometimes in the sexual dreams of adults, it is impossible to recognise any definite relationship to the psychosexual feelings of the waking state. In this connexion no difference between the sexes can be shown to exist, except this, that, at any rate as far as my own experience goes, nocturnal ejaculations are much more often absent in girls than in boys. Occasionally, manual or other artificial stimulation of the genital organs is effected during sleep; I have myself known several instances of this, both in boys and in girls. In several cases, at least, there were satisfactory grounds for believing that we were not concerned with masturbation practised at night in the waking state, but all the indications pointed to the fact that the processes wore carried on unconsciously during sleep. In isolated cases I have had children watched throughout the night, in order to clear up this point, and my conclusion was thus confirmed that children do at times play with the genital organs during sleep.

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

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

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

The view that in such cases the movements are imitative merely is untenable, for young animals which have never had any opportunity of watching the physical manifestations of love in older ones, will nevertheless themselves exhibit such manifestations. At most it remains open to dispute whether in these cases it is still permissible to speak of love-games, as do Groos and others, or whether we should not rather speak simply of manifestations of the activity of the sexual impulse. But the dispute does not involve differences of opinion regarding matters of fact; it is purely terminological. For, in the first place, Groos himself, who regards the games of childhood as a form of training, suitable to the nature of the individual, for its subsequent activities, recognises that games are sexually differentiated. He believes that we have to do, not, as some think, with imitative processes, but with preliminary practice, subserving the purposes of self-development; and he considers that girls naturally turn to games adapted to train them for their subsequent profession of motherhood, whilst boys incline to games corresponding to their predestined activity as men. Even if we accept this theory of Groos, we are compelled to recognise a sexual element in the games of youthful animals. In addition, however, we must note the fact that Groos gives a wider extension to the concept of play than other writers, and that he regards as love-games processes which others might perhaps describe as sexual manifestations. According to Groos, caressing contact is to be regarded as playful when, in the serious intercourse between the sexes, such contact appears to be merely a preliminary activity rather than an end in itself. Here two cases are possible: in one the carrying out of the instinctive activity to its real end is prevented by incapacity or by ignorance; in the other, it is prevented by a deliberate exercise of will. The former occurs in children; the latter, often enough in adults. Whatever view we hold regarding this matter, the sexually differentiated love-games of young animals must be regarded as a manifestation of the sexual life. None the less, in sexually immature animals, just as in the case of children, sexual differentiation is not always so marked as it is in adults; and it may happen that the sexes may exchange their r?les. Cases observed by Seitz have been published by Groos and also by myself. I have myself watched a young cow which repeatedly attempted to mount another young cow; I have also on several occasions seen young bitches attempt to cover dogs. To this part of our subject belongs the observation of Exner, that when dogs are playing wildly with one another one hardly ever sees a bitch among them. But if an exception should occur, the bitch is usually a young one. In animals, sexual differentiation is not complete until sexual maturity is attained, and the same is true of the human species, although, as I have shown above, children already manifest sexual differentiation in their games, their inclinations, and their general conduct.

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

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

In Western countries we rarely have an opportunity of studying the full consequences of castration, for with us the operation is hardly ever performed so early in life as it is in the East; and the reports that are available concerning oriental and other foreign eunuchs are to a large extent untrustworthy. None the less, from such reports, and from accounts that have come down to us from earlier days in the West , we obtain evidence amply sufficient to justify the statements made above. Even more convincing are observations made on the lower animals. For example, in horses which have been castrated at a very early age the sexual impulse remains undeveloped; but we have to contrast with this the fact that a certain number of geldings possess a well-marked sexual impulse, because in these animals, though they were gelded while still immature, the operation was performed too late. All these observations combine to justify the inference that long before spermatozoa capable of effecting fertilisation are formed in the testicles, changes occur in these glands which are of great importance in relation to the sexual life, both in the human species and in the lower animals.

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

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

Although from the facts just stated it appears that, alike in human beings and in the lower animals, before the formation of the specific germ-cells and sperm-cells has begun in the reproductive glands of the respective sexes important processes take place in these glands, it still remains obscure what is the nature of these processes, and in what manner they influence the organism. One question complicating this problem, and one which is to-day frequently discussed, is the extent of the influence exercised by the reproductive glands on the development of the secondary sexual characters. I can here do little more than state the difficulty. Whereas it was formerly assumed that the reproductive glands exercised a direct determining influence in this direction, more recently another view has been put forward, among others by Halban. According to this theory, the stimulus proceeding from the glands is protective merely, not formative, nor directly stimulating the growth of organs. In the fertilised ovum, it is supposed, the rudiment of sex already exists, likewise the rudiment of the reproductive gland, and the rudiments of the appropriate sexual characters. That is to say, the development of the secondary sexual characters is not determined by the presence of the reproductive gland; but the sex of the reproductive gland and the associated sexual characters are already determined by some common cause at the moment of fertilisation. But this theoretical controversy has no very important bearing on the problem with which we are especially concerned; and the influence of the reproductive gland upon the development of the secondary sexual characters is admitted as fully by Halban as it is by other writers, the only difference between the two views lying in the dispute whether the influence of the glands is of a formative or a protective nature. The influence exercised by the reproductive glands on the development of the secondary sexual characters can be adequately discussed, even though the precise way in which that influence is exerted remains in dispute.

Whichever theory we accept, the chemical or the nervous, both theories harmonise equally with the fact that in boys, before the formation of spermatozoa begins, processes occur in the testicles which powerfully influence the organism. Thus, we learn also from a study of the results of castration how active is the sexual life even in childhood, since thus early in life influences proceed from the reproductive glands whereby the development of the secondary sexual characters is markedly affected.

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

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

But although as we have seen, the development of the sexual life is not always by regular progression, yet on the whole the increasing intensity of sexual manifestations from the years of childhood to the termination of the period of the puberal development cannot be denied. Especially extensive are the changes occurring at the end of the second period of childhood. At this period we note more particularly the development of the outward signs of sexual maturity. In the boy, we observe the growth of the beard and the pubic hair, and a more rapid enlargement of the testicles and the other organs of reproduction. In the girl, the breasts and the pelvis assume the adult female type, and ovulation and menstruation begin. During this period, also, the mental changes are extremely marked, even though in many cases these changes may have begun considerably earlier. The internal organic changes make themselves felt also in the sphere of action. The years of adolescence in the male are characterised by an impulse to travel, to adventures, but in addition to all kinds of ideal efforts and to religious activity. The loftiest ethical ideas alternate with a self-conscious bumptiousness. A change of disposition manifests itself which is sharply contrasted with the behaviour at an earlier and a subsequent age. This is no less true of the girl. That which formerly was no more than a vague indication, now becomes a manifest quality. More and more does the feminine mode of feeling display itself. The "tom-boyishness" so often seen in girls during the second period of childhood disappears. The former tomboy has become one--

Share on: WhatsApp @Hash Facebook Tweet