[Reprinted from "Pacific Medical Journal," February, 1901. ] 
DR. HAVELOCK ELLIS ON THE PSYCHOLOGY OF 
' ' SEX. 
By R. W. SHUEELDT. M. D., Washington, D C. 
- ' ' Studies in the Psychology of Sex " is the latest book by 
one of the profoundest thinkers, one of the best and most 
lucid writers in the domain of sexual psychology now 
engaged upon that all-important subject, Dr. Havelock 
Ellis, of England. My thanks are due to his publishers, 
F. A. Davis Company, of Philadelphia, for a copy of this 
work, it having just come from their presses (1901). It is 
a neatly bound octavo volume of nearly three hundred 
pages of matter, the subject being introduced by an able 
author's preface (v-vn), and the " Studies" falling naturally 
under three.heads for treatment. These are: (1) " The 
Evolution of Modesty"; (2) "The Phenomena of Sexual 
Periodicity" (in Sections); and (3) ' 'Auto-Erotism: A Study 
of the Spontaneous Manifestations of the Sexual Impulse " 
(in Sections); the whole being completed by three masterly 
appendices, (A, B and C) contributed by Mr. F. H. Perry - 
Coste, and illustrated by his valuable diagrams (Charts 
l-xili); and finally, an " Index of Authors " and an "Index 
of Subjects." 
In stating the nature of these subjects in his "Preface," 
Dr. Ellis says that "The present volume coritains three 
studies which seem to me to be neceSsary prolegomena to 
that analysis of the sexual instinct which must form the 
chief part of an investigation into the psychology of sex. 
The first sketches the main outlines of a complex emotional 
state which is of fundamental importance in sexual psychol- 
ogy; the second, by bringing together evidence from widely 
different regions, suggests a tentative explanation of facts 
that are still imperfectly known; the third attempts to 
show that even in fields where we assume our knowledge to 
be adequate, a broader view of the phenomena teaches us 
to suspend judgment and to adopt a more cautious attitude." 
The aim of these very complete studies is primarily to 
aid in establishing a more comprehensive understanding of 
sexual phenomena-a field in both medicine and psychol- 
ogy, for various reasons, that has been largely neglected, 
and, although of first importance, we ha¥fiJl&.y.et so meagre 
an understanding of the facts iii ilL JlfJ (UllXck Which 
reference is made are too to reseajrchers. in the 2 
The Psychology of Sex. 
realm of psychopathia sexualis to need explanation here. 
They will, however, rapidly diminish from this time on, and 
of late years no single pen, no other worker, has accom- 
plished more to bring this to pass than the learned, logical 
and fearless writer who has just given us the book lam now 
considering. 
I cannot pass this point without noticing, as briefly as 
possible, the nature of some of these difficulties in our 
author's own words, for I consider the clearing of the 
ground of such deep-seated prejudices and pruderies is the 
first step towards a rational knowledge of the facts in sex- 
ual psychology. He says: "Yet, although we are on 
every hand surrounded by the normal manifestations of 
sex, conscious or unconscious, these manifestations are 
extremely difficult to observe, and in those cases in which 
we are best able to observe them, it frequently happens 
that we are unable to make use of our knowledge. More- 
over, even when we have obtained our data, the difficulties 
-at all events for an English investigator-are by no means 
overcome. He may take for granted that any serious and 
precise study of the sexual instinct will not meet with gen- 
eral approval; his work will be misunderstood; his motives 
will bd called in question; amoug those for whom he is 
chiefly working he will find indifference. Indeed the pio- 
neer in this field may well count himself happy if he meets 
with nothing worse than indifference. Hence it is that the 
present volume will not be published in England, but that, 
availing myself of the generous sympathy with which my 
work has been received in America, I have sought the wider 
medical and scientific audience of the United States. In 
matters of faith, 'liberty of prophesying' was centuries 
since eloquently vindicated for Englishmen; the liberty of 
investigating facts is still called in question, under one 
pretence or another, and to seek out the most vital facts of 
life is still in England a perilous task." (Pp. vi vii.) 
Personally, I know something of what has prompted Dr. 
Ellis to print these words, and more is the pity that every 
one of them is true, and being true, are we here in America 
entirely deserving of the handsome compliment they pay 
to us? I fear not altogether. Our large medical library 
here, for instance, nearly the largest in the world and under 
the direct control of the United States government, removes The Psychology of Sex. 
3 
from its shelves the work I am now reviewing and with 
some fifty others upon kindred subjects keeps it under lock 
and key in a separate case in the librarian's private office, 
where it is more or less of an inconvenience even for med- 
ical men to consult them. The significance of this is too 
obvious to require comment here. 
Again, a few years ago I published a brief brochure en- 
titled "On a Case of Female Impotency," to be used as a 
brief for experts in a lawsuit pending in the courts of this 
country at the time. Dr. Ellis has done me the honor to 
make use of what I said in that pamphlet in his book now 
being considered (pp. 172 and 177), but I doubt very much 
that he has the slighest .conception what the career of the 
printed history of that single case of sexual psychology 
came to be. Apart from anything else, it cost in the matter 
of civil and military courts some thousands of dollars, vol- 
umes of unnecessary scandal, and no end of judicial coun- 
tenancing of perjuries most flagrant and demoralizing. But 
with such matters I have to deal later on. 
One of the most comprehensive, clear and philosophic 
handlings of the question of ' ' The Evolution of Modesty " 
is to be found in this work in the chapter devoted to that 
subject. "Modesty," says our author, "which may be 
provisionally defined as an almost instinctive fear prompt- 
ing to concealment, and usually centering around the sex- 
ual processes, while common to both sexes, is more pecu- 
liarly feminine, so that it may almost be regarded as the 
chief secondary sexual character of women on the psychical 
side." So much for the definition of modesty, but in the 
treatment of its evolution and how human modesty came to 
be the human characteristic it now is, is the most intensely 
interesting research Dr. Ellis places before us. He carries 
his investigations as far back into history as history goes; 
he searches for facts and examples along the entire line of 
animal life, from the highest to the lowest organization; and 
he fearlessly interrogates the representatives of every scale 
of human society, from princess to prostitute, and among 
all nations, races and tribes, and then marshals his facts, 
and in paragraphs most convincing sets forth the origin and 
meaning, and the significance of modesty, and its place in 
sexual psychology, sexual pathology and sexual phenomena 
generally. 4 
The Psychology of Sex. 
It is shown that modesty is primarily based upon fear, 
though the sexual factor, however, is the simplest and most 
primitive element of modesty, while its manifestation in the 
female " becomes something more than a mere refusal of 
the male; it becomes an invitation to the male and is mixed 
up with his ideas of what is sexually desirable in the 
female." In other words, the very feeling of shame and 
the sense of modesty prompted thereby exist, and are made 
to exist, to be overcome. .And further on he has shown 
clearly the relationship existing between modesty and the 
feeling of disgust, and says " But I am more convinced 
than ever that the fear of causing disgust-a fear quite dis- 
tinct from that of losing a sexual lure or breaking a rule of 
social etiquette-plays a very large part in the modesty of 
the more modest sex, and in modesty generally." The dis- 
cussion of this phase of the matter is most highly interest- 
ing, as is the dealing with the factor of the ritual element, 
and especially the idea of ceremonial unclfianliness which 
even reaches a high development in savagery. Dr. Ellis 
finds modesty to be among savages far more radical and 
invincible than among the civilized, and that its subordina- 
tion as true civilization develops is certain, and through 
this development it is rendered " a grace of life rather than 
a fundamental social law of life." 
To fully appreciate this classic chapter on modesty, how- 
ever, one must read and study it from beginning to end, for 
it will only be through such a careful perusal that the stu- 
dent will come to comprehend the nature of modesty as a 
whole, and the relations of its various factors. The 
mechanism of blushing; the true origin and meaning of 
certain gestures; of the study of the face and of the sacro- 
pubic region as foci of modesty; shyness, clothing, orna- 
ments on the genitals, and forty other points of interest, 
are all ably considered here. 
Passing to the phenomena of sexual periodicity we are 
told that " throughout the vegetable and animal worlds the 
sexual functions are periodic. From the usually annual 
period of flowering in plants, with its play of sperm-cell 
and germ-cell, and consequent seed-production, through 
the varying sexual energies of animals up to the monthly 
effervescence of the generative organism in woman, seeking 
not without the shedding of blood for the gratification of The Psychology of Sex. 
5 
its reproductive function, from first to last we find unfailing 
evidence of the periodicity of sex." From this premise 
follows a complete discussion of the facts and factors hav- 
ing to do with this question. The influence of the sun and 
moon on periodicity; of the matter of rhythm throughout 
nature; the phenomenon of menstruation, and its counter- 
part in the male; weekly, fortnightly and annual rhythms 
in men and other animals in health and disease; seasonal 
influences; the regularity of periodic feasts and religious 
observances; and the underlying causes of all these and 
many kindred questions are entered up with very consider- 
able fullness, and with all the spirit of the true student and 
scientific investigator. This chapter brings a new light into 
the entire question of rhythm and rhythmic influences 
throughout the universe and their interaction and inter- 
relation, their effects and causes, and their manifestations, 
and it is certainly a very solid contribution to the subject. 
Nearly one hundred pages of this work of Dr. Ellis is 
devoted to that all-important and broad field of psychical 
phenomena, which he very aptly terms "auto-erotism." As 
a rule, the uninformed commonly take auto-erotism and the 
ordinary type of masturbation to be one and the same 
thing, which, to say the least, is a very unscientific view of 
the case. Now, to thoroughly understand Dr. Ellis, and to 
really know what he means by auto-erotic phenomena, I 
can do no better service to the profession-at-large than to 
quote him in full here. He says: " By ' auto-erotism ' I 
mean the phenomena of spontaneous sexual emotion gen- 
erated in the absence of an external stimulus proceeding, 
directly or indirectly, from another person. In a wide 
sense, which cannot be wholly ignored here, auto-erotism 
may be said to include those transformations of repressed 
sexual activity which are a factor of some morbid condi- 
tions as well as the normal manifestation of art and poetry, 
and, indeed, more or less color the whole of life." 
" Such a definition excludes the normal sexual excitement 
aroused by the presence of a beloved person of the oppo- 
site sex; it also excludes the perverted sexuality associated 
with an attraction to a person of the same sex; it further 
excludes the manifold forms of erotic fetichism, in which 
the normal focus of sexual attraction is displaced, and 
voluptuous emotions are only aroused by some object- 6 
The. Psychology of Sex. 
hair, shoes,* garments, etc.-which, to the ordinary lover, 
are of subordinate-though still, indeed, considerable- 
importance. The auto-erotic field remains extensive; it 
ranges from occasional voluptuous day-dreams, in which 
the subject is entirely passive, to the perpetual unashamed 
efforts at sexual self-manipulation witnessed among the in- 
sane. It also includes, though chiefly as curiosities, those 
cases in which individuals fall in love with themselves. 
Among auto-erotic phenomena, or on the borderland, we 
must further include those religious sexual manifestations 
for an ideal object, in which we may find evidence in the 
lives of saints and ecstatics. The typical form of auto- 
erotism is the occurrence of the sexual orgasm during 
sleep." 
Thus it will be seen that masturbation covers a very 
small portion of the auto-erotic field, and the latter, as a 
whole, is without doubt one of the most important depart- 
ments of modern medical research. There can be no ques- 
tion as to its importance as a study in the science of soci- 
ology. In studying animals-that is, vertebrated animals 
below man-we find that the practice of ordinary mastur- 
bation is very common, and more or less universal. The 
various methods of performing the act have been frequently 
observed in apes, monkeys and simians generally; in horses, 
deer, sheep, camels, bears, cats, dogs, elephants and any 
number of other forms. It prevails throughout the civil- 
ized world now, and has since the dawn of history; and, as 
Dr. Ellis says, "it is found among the people of nearly ev- 
ery race of which w'e have any intimate knowledge, how'ever 
natural the conditions under which men and women may 
live." 
Space will, however, absolutely forbid my discussing this 
subject here, or giving any part of the extraordinary details 
Dr. Ellis has gathered together for us upon this subject. 
Briefly, it may be said that he has treated the question of 
the masturbatic act and its numerous variations in very 
great detail for both sexes, and children of all ages and 
nationalities. He gives many instances of the very remark- 
able places, conditions and positions where the act is per- 
formed, and a long list of the objects of daily life, and 
'In this connection, see my paper "On a Case of Female Impotency " 
cited above, where a very peculiar case of "shoe fetichism" is noted (p. 10). The Psychology of Sex. 
7 
those specially manufactured for the purpose, by which the 
orgasm is produced or excited- In this discussion the bi- 
cycle, the sewing-machine, horseback riding, railroad 
travel, the " merry go-round " and many similar devices 
come in for treatment at the hands of this far-reaching ob- 
server. 
Then the wider and more general auto-erotic phenomena 
are next handled with an equally skillful pen, and every 
shade of the entire question is touched upon, and a most 
copious reference is made to the literature of the subject, 
both modern and ancient. In each instance a sufficient 
number of cases are given to illustrate the points as they 
are brought forward in turn, and these have all been care- 
fully selected. 
After a very complete discussion of the relationships ex- 
isting among anemia, chlorosis and hysteria, it is held that 
" we may thus, perhaps, understand why it is that hysteria 
and anemia are often combined, and why they are both 
most frequently found in adolescent young women who 
havp yet had no sexual experiences. Chlorosis is a physi- 
cal phenomenon, hysteria an auto-erotic psychic phenom- 
enon; yet both alike may, to some extent at least, be re- 
garded as sexual aptitude showing itself in extreme and 
pathological forms." (P. 164 ) 
In the third section of the work the widespread preva- 
lence of masturbation is taken up, and many questions re- 
lating thereto. After producing a great many opinions on 
the subject the universality of the practice all over the 
world is clearly established. This applies to both sexes 
and all ages at one time of life's career or another. It is 
held that in a very large proportion of cases its harmful 
effects have been very greatly over-estimated; in a few oth- 
ers it is of positive benefit; while in a considerable number 
it produces mental and physical impairment. "After ado- 
lescence I think there can be no doubt that masturbation is 
more common in women than in men. Men have by this 
time mostly adopted some method of sexual gratification 
with the opposite sex; women are to a much larger extent 
shut out from such gratification." It is pointed out "that 
if masturbation often does no more harm than sexual inter- 
course, it usually does less good." Its most harmful effect 
is the production in the vast majority of cases of a marked 8 
The Psychology of Sex. 
neurasthenia, especially where it is committed by tempera- 
ments wholly unfitted both by heredity and constitution to 
follow the practice. Its moral, social and other aspects are 
very fully entered upon, as well as the evidence for and 
against its being a primary cause of insanity or any other 
disease. 
The three appendices to this volume, furnished, as I have 
saic(, by Mr. F. H. Perry-Coste, are of great value; but, as 
I intend to touch upon these in another connection, I will 
only give their captions here. In the first he deals with 
"The Influence of Menstruation on the Position of Wom- 
en"; in the second with " Sexual Periodicity of Men"; and 
in the third and last, with "The Auto-Erotic Factor in Re- 
ligion." 
Personally, I was greatly interested by the discussion of 
this last topic, and for one reason in particular, for when I 
published my brochure " On a Case of Female Impotency" 
I took occasion to point out therein what Rosse had done 
before me when he said in his "Sexual Hypochondriasis 
and Perversion of the Genesic Instinct" that "many hypo- 
chondriacs pass for religious when they are only suffering 
from sexual neurasthenia; and it is a fact known to physi- 
cians that so-called religious and erotic debauchery often 
go together." (P. 12; of Rosse's paper, pp. 18, 19.) It 
appeared to me at the time that there were not a dozen sci- 
entific men in Washington who knew of this well-estab- 
lished fact, and it seemed simply to have the effect of di- 
recting the fire of all the old maids, the church people and 
others against me; an attack that was more amusing to me 
than it was dignified or scientific on the part of the assail- 
ants. 
Now Perry-Coste brings forward simply an overwhelming 
mass of evidence establishing this fact; but the best case of 
all he cites, demonstrating the relation between auto-erot- 
ism and religious exaltation, is that of a nun. It is recorded 
thus: "Recently Vallon and Marie have published a valu- 
able study of religious psychoses ('Des Psychoses Relig- 
ieuses,' Archives de Neurologic, 1897); one of their cases 
masturbated herself with a crucifix, believing that she thus 
sanctified the act." (P. 234.) It strikes me that this is a 
very fair illustrative example. 
It is perfectly safe to predict, I think, that the appear- The Psychology of Sex. 
9 
ance of this work of Dr. Ellis here in this country will ex- 
ert a powerful tendency in widening the views of the medi- 
cal profession in the fields of sexual psychology, while it 
will prove a very valuable addition to the libraries of all 
those who have already informed themselves in such mat- 
ters. 
From a medical point of view, as well as a socialistic one, 
it seems to me to be far wiser, when we have scientifically 
demonstrated the widespread existence of moral infirmity 
of any kind whatever to get at the bottom of it, and treat 
the cause-in fact, cure the ulcer-than it is to persecute 
the investigators of the facts and continually attempt to 
hide their good works in dark places.