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WASHINGT 
 
Eugene Becklard, M. D. 
The Pel!- :tion of Female Form
4541 
 
            PHYSIOLOGICAL

MYSTERIES  AND REVELATIONS

                    IN

  LOVE, COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE ;

AH  INFALLIBLE  GUIDE-BOOK FOR HARRIKD
    AND SINGLE PERSONS, IN MATTERS OF
      THE UTMOST  IMPORTANCE  TO
           THE  HUMAN RACE.

     BY EUGENE (BECKLARD, M. D.
Translated from  the  third Paris  edition,  wjth
    the revision and additions of the sixth
               Paris edition,
         BY PHILIP M. HOWARD.

Among the things duly considered in this work
  are matters of serious importance to single and
  young married  persons—The causes  of,  and
  cures for Sterility—The art of Beauty  and
  Courtship—The danger of  solitary practices,
  and how the habit may be removed—The causes
  of Love and Jealousy, with a remedy for eradi-
  cating from the system the seeds of a hopeless
  or an unhappy passion—Offspring, including
  modes for the propitiation or prevention there-
  of—Tests ifor knowing the sexes  of unborn
  children, and procuring others according to
  choice —Intermarriage—Persons who ought,
  and ought not to marry—The most auspicious
  season for wedlock, km., &c.

    ILLUSTRATED WITH 16 ENGRAVINGS.

              NEW YORK:
        HOLLAND & GLOVER.
                   18U 
H4


J34S
 C>t_____
Entered according to Act of Congress, in 1844, by
          PHILIP M. HOWARD,
 la the Clerk's office of the District Conrt for the
       Southern District of New York. 
DEDICATION.
 To .M Jules Guertn,  Professor in  the
         Hospital of Invalids.

  But  from  the long and well established
friendship which  subsists  between us, I
should  hesitate to dedicate this work to you
lest it should be supposed that I did it less
out of  respect to you than for  the sake of
the advantage to be gained through con-
necting it in  any way with so distinguished
a name.  And yet I cannot think of any
one to whom it  could be so appropriately
dedicated; as, more than any physician in
France, you have made the  most important
of the  subjects it  treats of, the  study of
your life, and have acquired, in  connection
with them,  the brilliant reputation which
you so  universally enjoy, and  so well de-
serve.  You  will see throughout  the work
that I  have profited largely from conversa
tions held with you, at  various  times, on
physiological and other  matters: and  th*t
I have  not forgotten your advice regarding
the mysteries of love, jealousy, and repro-
 duction.
              EUGENE BECKLARD
   October, 1841. 
 
 TRANSLATOR'S ADVERTISEMENT

  Dr. Becklard, the erudite author of
Wis deeply interesting, novel, and all  im-
portant work, is one of the most eminent
physicians of France,  and probably  the
most distinguished physiologist of the age •
and in the present—his last, and master
production—he has laid the human family
under  obligations to him which will  not
be soon or easily  forgotten.  If popularity
be the chief test of merit, this little volume
is almost without a rival:  the avidity with
which it  has  been circulated throughout
the civilised world being perhaps unprece-
dented in  the annals of literature.   For in
stance  : scarcely six months have  elapsed
since its first appearance in  Paris,  and yet
it has been translated into  no less than four
languages ; and  was,  by the last accounts,
being traduced into the Russian, by order
of the  Autocrat;  which is a singularly pe-
culiar  honor; and one that is never accord-
ed by  that monarch to  any foreign book— 
/
                   VI
especially a French one—unless from a full
conviction of its rare and  surpassing excel-
lence.   I esteem myself extremely fortunate
in being the  first— at  least on this  side of
the Atlantic—to give an English version of
such an important work; and I have only
to add that it has been done with the most
scrupulous regard to the author's text.
               PHILIP M.  HOWARD 
PREFACE.
  I have  but few  prefatory  remarks to
offer.   In  the body  of the  work must be
looked for the elucidation, of its arguments;
and I  leave it to stand or  fall by its own
merits.  It may be as well to remark, how-
ever, for the information of persons residing
out of Paris, that I can scarcely be called as
officious or upstart medler ia the mysteries
of physiology, inasmuch  as  I  have studied
it with unremitting  attention for nearly
thirty years, and have written several works
upon it, both anonymously and under my
own name, which have received general
favor with the public.  My practice in the
lying-in-hospital too, has also given me fa-
cilities of  information in certain functions
and mysteries, not  enjoyed by  many who
have written on  subjects  which  may be
found  amply  discussed in the following
pages.   With no desire to obtain  for my-
self the character of an  innovator, I  have
thrown over-board  many  theories which
have been received as axioms  among medi-
cal men of limited  practice, or else those
who preferred to take their authorities on
trust, to the labor of giving them their own
serious consideration; but I have done sf
in no  instance on my own individual re 
Tin
sponsibility;  but on  fact  after fact,  case
after case, and experiment after experiment,
all  submitted to the opinions of the  first
phvsicians  in France ; amongst whom  I
may mention Drs.  Guerin, Velpeau,  Du
Bois, and the venerable Baron Larrey.
  As  this book was written rather more
for the information of the public, than  the
faculty, I have adopted a popular and fa-
miliar style,  and omitted medical terms
when ever I could hit on substitutes which
would explain the meaning without mysti-
fication.  I have also been careful to  ex-
clude all objectionable words, which, owing
to the nature of the work, I found a matter
of no  little difficulty.  Still I so far attain-
ed my object, that,  if I have erred at all in
the premises, it has been on the side of deli-
cacy ;  for my principal aim was to produce
a volume on the subject discussed, which—
though amply explicit in all its relations—
the most fastidious persons might admit
into their families for promiscuous reading;
and I  flatter myself that I have  succeeded
  This is so important a feature of my book
and calculated to effect so much good  in  /
society,  that I must impress it  on the read-
er's attention.  I maintain that thu follow-
ing pages should be  perused,  not only by
every adult,  but also by  every child  over
ten years old, especially if ihey are residents
of  populous  places, where habits are  con 
                   IX
tracted which frequently make life misera-
ble ; and where the sexes should be brought
to know, by such rules as may be laid down
on the  subject, who to affect and who to
i hun in their matrimonial engagements;—
ihat is: which parties  are  physically and
mentally constructed to make each other
happy in domestic life.
   Many parents, from feelings of false mo-
desty, may perhaps endeavor—while they
themselves profit by this volume—to keep
their  children in ignorance  of the import-
ant lessons it teaches.  But is this  right
and parental ?  Nay is  it not  rather injus-
tice and cruelty to deprive them of a know-
ledge, the want of which may involve them
in unhappy  marriages, or leave  them the
victims of habits—(about whose evil effects
they have never  formed an  idea,) which
may terminate in consumption, imbecility,
and even madness ?  Yea, it is not too much
to say, that there are hundreds of imbeciles
and maniacs in this single city, and in every
large  city, who, had  the  subject matter
herein  discussed been  made  known to
them  in the days  of  their  youth, would
have  been now "healthy  and  reasonable
creatures.   Hereafter, should insanity, id-
iotcy, or imbecility be produced by igno-
rance, the parents of the sufferers cannol
be held blameless, as the means of preven-
tion   is herein  laid before them.   How 
X
strange the reason that would prefer a des-
troying  ignorance, to a saving knowledge,
and call it morality!
  The principal authorities I have  con-
sulted in preparing this  volume are my
own experience, and the verbally expressed
opinions  of many practical members of the
faculty, for whose valuable assistance and
information I hereby  return my most  cor-
dial thanks.  I am also indebted for casual
hints  to  the writings of Hunter,  Blumen-
back, Swammerdam, Dubois, Goad, Buffbn,
and others, but  in  cases where there was a
point at issue between us, I trusted more to
my own  experience, than to their theories
But taking in view the sentence I commenc-
ed with,  I have written too long a preface,
and accordingly I  shall  at once  close  it,
with a highly  relevant motto from Virgil,
to wit;—"Jideo in  teneris  consuescere
multum  est" 
Becklard's  Physiology,
             CHAPTER I

    Must man be born of a woman ?
  According  to  Adrastus  and  others ne
need not.  Adrastus contends that every
living species the world contains has been
from all eternity;  and hence, that the time
has never been when there  was no  man or
woman;  so that,  according to Ws system,
the human race cannot be the offspring of
one general mother.  And  he further in-
sists that the meanest reptile that crawls,
is the representative of an equally everlast-
ing line of ancestry.  The last assumption,
however  has been set at nought by experi-
ments in modern  chemistry, .hough with-
out  showing  the necessity  of original
parents ;  for they not only argue that living
anim.als of perfectly original construction
may be produced at pleasure, and indepen-
dent of the usual  modes of generation; but
they have actually so produced them.
  This I know, has been stoutly denied by  ,
men of powerful authority on such a subject 
12      BECKLLARD'3 fvysiology
They contend that the animalculae seen in
such cases, and supposed  to be then crea-
ted—if I may be allowed the expression—
were in a  state of torpid  and  impalpable
existence before ; and were merely roused
into action by the galvanic shock; but they
argue  in the face of the fact,  for animal
life has been produced by foreign means,
in a situation which rendered it impossible
that it could have had a previous existence
in any fcrm
   For instance, De Barre, Beckwith, and
others, melted flint by a powerful chemical
process,  and  immediately  as  it  copied,
before any  insect had time to deposit its
eggs in it, brought their battery to bear on
the inanimate dust; and possessed millions
of the  particles  with a sentient and busy
organic life!  And  further, to show that
these   substances were perfect  animals
Professor Beckwith  placed some of  them
in a glass bgx, where he fed them on dust
from their parent flint; and, as he antici-
pated, soon discovered that they wera ca-
pable  of reproducing their kind, in « man-
ner more agreeable to the common laws ol
nature, than that of their own birth.  These
animals had a family resemblance, but no
affinity in form with any of the insects ai
Linnaeus
  Nor is this altogether a new discovery,
for the ancients also claimed  to be manu- 
        becklard's physiology.      13
farturers of animals; an assumption for
which there is some bible authority, vide
the plagues of Egypt, as recorded in Genesis
   But though  insects have been  originated
by a process so unnatural, can it be so with
the  human race?  A  sect  of the learned
Buddites  answer in the aflii .native, and
point to themselves as beings, who were
produced by artificial  means.  And there
is a school of philosophers in China, who
are said to hold the same opinions.
   Many of the ancient sages had equally
curious, but more plausible notions  of the
origin of man.   Pysastras contended that
in the beginning he  grew on a tree—Michas
that he is merely a  cultivated insect, whom
the gods  brought to his present size and
state of perfection by ages of care, just as
gardeners, by good management, produce the
finest apples from  the  pits of the  veriest
crabs;  and in  answer  to  the question,
where did the original insects come from i
Michas tells us:  that atoms or rather mo-
nads pervade space, and are  from all time ;
that every monad is  a principle  of life,
and that  from them  all  things, but  the
gods, are derived.   Thus  he  maintains,
that inanimate objects, such as  rocks and
trees  are composed of matter rife  with a
dormant  living   principle;  and  indeed
certain modern naturalists go farther in re
spect of the vegetable kingdom, and assuim 
14      becklard's  physiology
that all plants and trees feel their existence
and have sensations of pain and joy; and
that the pollen, or fecundating dust of the
male, causes the female to thrill with pleas-
ing emotions, and to become feelingly fruit-
ful.   A  Spanish writer,   whose  name  I
forget, affirmed that he felt pulsation  in  a
lime tree;  and Wordsworth, the  English
poet, beautifully says;
    * 'Tis my belief that every flower
       Enjoys the air it breathes,'
which  is so poetical a faith that 1 am half a
convert to it; but still, while it is suffici-
ently  demonstrated  that  plants  or trees*
cannot have issue but through communica-
tion of the sexes, I  am not prepared to
admit  that they feel  their  being in such a
degree as  to be sensible of the emotions of
love.
  The theory of Epicurus, of the  origin of
the human race, is  at least as natural as
either of the foregoing.  He says, that men
were first produced from the ground like
grubs or mushrooms.  The primitive earth,
he believed to have been  fat and  nitrous.,
and that the  sun's heat'covered  it with
tumours  or blisters, which burst on matu-
rity, suffering  little animals of the tadpole
formation, which had been generated inside
to escape like chickens from egg shells.
And these  animals, he  tells iis, gradually 
        BECKLARD'S PHYSIOLOGY      1&
 developed themselves, and became human
 brings; and  finally, that when the earth
 left off bearing children to the sun, they
 were gifted with  the organs necessary  for
 reproduction, but by what medium he does
 not inform us, further than that it was not
 through  the agency of the gods; for  he
 would not admit that these beings ever con-
 descended to interfere in the matters and
 things of this world.
   And these, or such as these, are the only
 efftitive   arguments that  have  been,  or
 prolmbly can be adduced against the prim-
 itive  history  of the human race as written
 ny Moses.  Consequently  I  make light of
 rhem, and am  persuaded that  from  Adam
 downwards, all men have  been, and must
 ue born of woman.
   This preliminary chapter bears a negative
relationship   to much  qf  the subsequent
matter of this work ; but it was principally
written to correct  a notion which seems to
prevail in the  community,  that I am a
convert to the (to me obnoxious) doctrines
of Madame George Sand 
 
 
 
CHAPTER II.
    Causes of,  and cures for Sterility.
  " Be ye fruitful and multiply" is a com'
mandment which should be cheerfully obey-
ed by the children of men; and in fact, it
would seem to be the principal end, if not
the only one, of man's earthly existence; and
so imperative is the voice of nature in the
matter, that the universal mind of the hu-
man race  is  more  concentrated  on  the
feeling that leads to the consummation de-
sired,  than on  all the other attributes  of
oeing  put together.  No two men are ex-
actly agreed on any other subject; no two
differ on this.  The ambitious, the humble,
the fierce, the gentle, the high, the  low,
the barbarous and the cultivated;  however
widely opposed  may be their  general  na-
tures,  are united in the  desire which finds
its  accomplishment in the reproduction of
their kind.
  Whereir. "Res the mystery of this ?  Set-
ting revelation aside, it sec^s natural to
             P 
19     becxlard's physiology
suppose, that it may be to the end of sup-
plying other worlds with spiritual inhabi-
tants,  there to carry out some  great and
manifest object of their creation in this;
for it is but reasonable to judge that nothing
has been made in vain; whereas, were  to
be born and to die the only result of our
being, the human race were a vanity,—naj
a very cruelty and  a curse,—for  matter
would progress as well through the realms
of space without it, so that the cares, pains,
and vexations  incident on man's existence
might be dispensed with ;—yea, and would
De  dispensed  with,  (for  the Power that
created him is as merciful  as  almighty)
were  there  no higher service required of
him than  to flatter  himself with hopes,—
which are as natural  to him as the air he
breathes—-that were never  to be realised,
and to grovel  in  the dust with  which  he
has such little sympathy. All living things
on this planet are apparently in their pro-
per sphere of action, but man ; they require
nothing artificial  to  reconcile them to  it;
nature supplies them with  all they want;
and their instinct—so much more perfect
in a  limited  sense  than  reason—guides
them  to it.  Hence they are happy, and
in their proper home.   But man is naked
here, and at enmity with  the  sphere  he
moves in,—he is less perfect as to his wants
ted means of supplying  then*, than  the 
        BECXLARD's PHYSIOLoffr      19
meanest animal that crawls;—his faculties
are unsuited for his conditions; and he  is
forever spurning the present, and anchoring
his hopes on the future, and in a sphere of
existence more suitable to his  ideas, which
surely would not happen were the earth
our proper parent; for in that case it were
natural that we  should cling to her with
an  immortal fondness,  nor  yearn  to  be
separated from her in life, nor yet in death.
Yes, though she gives him his body, she is
not the mother of the mind of man; for she
does not, and  cannot supply  it  with the
high nourishment which it requires.  And
these things duly considered, and taken in
connection with its mysterious aspirations,
are, it seems to me, an infallible argument
for the immortality of tha soul; and  to pur-
sue the idea farther, it strikes me, that the
earth may be the nursery of the solar system,
and that souls  proceed from one planet to
another until they finally arrive at the sun,
there to perceive the utility of their being
and  glory  in a world without  a  grave.
Thus every sun would be the heaven of its
own system—the realization of the spirit's
hopes   And may not this be the secret of
their stupendous attraction ?
  But whether  the intention is, or is not,  to
supply  heavenly worlds with inhabitants,
there is nothing more certain than that it
is one of the first duties of the human race 
20      becklard's physiology
to increase  and multiply;  and the  man
who leaves the world without having obey-
ed the  injuction, can scarcely be  said to
have fulfilled the great end of his existence.
  " But" perhaps replies the reader," many
men are so constituted that  they cannot
have offspring?"  This I  deny,  tor  ,all
men who  are not evidently of monstrous
conformation, dr who have not been seri-
ously injured by artificial means, are equal
to the task of reproduction ; indeed, with-
out  the parts and  means  necessary to  re-
production, he could scarcely  exist at all,
and would-be no more a human being than
if he were  deficient  of heart or  brains
Such things, they tell us, have been; but I
have never seen any proof of it; and I be-
lieve it will be conceded to me, that I have
had  as much anatomical experience as any
man in France.   I am also convinced  that
there is no  such thing as natural  barren-
ness in natural women, and that the causes
which  are supposed to render  women so,
can, in  ninety-nine cases out of a  hundred
be removed.
  However, it cannot be denied that a vast
number of married persons are unblessed
with offspring, whose exertions are undoubt
ed, and who would give much  that it wer*
otherwise;   and for  the  benefit  of such
this  chapter was principally written.
  The  causes of unfruitful marriages  are 
        BECKLARD'S PHYSIOLOGY       21
 numerous.   One is the mutual coldness of
 the parties; another the mutual intensity of
 their desires; a third their unfitness, in con-
 sequence of the difference of their physical
 construction, for sexual intercourse; besides
 which may be mentioned leucorrhira, dis-
 gust, timidity, irregular menstruation, great
 lowness of spirits, extreme indulgence, &c.
 Also the obliteration of the vaginal  canal
 or  absence of the  ovaries or uterine tube
 in the female; but  these latter are  of such
 rare occurrence  that the parties so afflicted
 may be put down as vagaries of human na-
 ture, and therefore monsters;  and  women
 so situated, if they know their afflictions are
 altogether unfit  for the  duties  of married
 life; and are guilty of a  serious offence  in
 smuggling themselves within its pale. How-
 ever, one female in  every million is not thus
 circumstanced, and  consequently one out  of
 every million is not of necessity barren.
  I said  unfitness  for intercourse  is one
 cause of unfruitfulness.   It is, however, a
 rare one;  for young married persons, pro-
bably in  the ratio of five hundred to one,
become physically  adapted to each other,
even though there should be some seeming
barriers at  the   commencement   Never-
theless, it frequently happens that a couple
will have no offspring, and yet being divor-
ced, and forming other connections,  both
will have children, which indicates an un- 
2*3      beckllard's physiology.
fitness for intercourse in the first instance
Thus it was with Napoleon Bonaparte and
Josephine—who though unfruitful in con-
nection—gave proof that the deficiency did
not lie in either, but only in their relation-
ship to each other.   I do not think, how-
ever, that this marriage w as unfruitful from
the cause indicated; I am impressed with the
idea that both were  too highly intellectual
to produce the excitement necessary  to the
end desired ; or as I may say, that the cold-
ness of each as to amorous pleasures, repuls-
ed  the other.   Therefore  it  is probable,
that proper stimulants would have excited
a mutual warmth of feeling, and given  an
heir to the throne of France.   Baron Larry
expressed the same  opinion ;  and I have it
from  good authority that the Emperor felt
this, and resorted to borax, marjorum and
even  Verrey's tincture of  Magninimity,
though without effect; which  (offspring
being  the dominant desire of his heart)
induced him to  repudiate a wife whom  he
dearly loved, and to marry one of stronger
desires, to counteract his own absence  of
animal  feeling.  And  that  Maria  Louise
was such an one as his case required, her
amative  phrenological  developements bear
sufficient proof, to say nothing of the birth
of the duke of Reichstadt But had Magnins'
Lucina Cordial been introduced  into the
world previous to the act  of repudiation, I 
        bechlard's physiology.     23
have no doubt that  the grand desire of the
great Conqueror's soul  might  have been
gratified  without  forsaking the  nuptial
couch of his first consort.
  Very rarely, as  I remarked in  other
words, are married people so anatomically
constructed as to be unequal to the consum-
mation of the nuptial rights.  When they
are, the best remedy is separation.  But it
is  to  be  confessed, that  a  preventive
were  better; that is, a fore-knowledge of
the fact—a discovery previous to marriage
that there was a physical disagreement be-
tween the parties ; a circumstance, which
•sight be easily  learned on  enquiry,  did
the custom of society permit  such a pro-
ceeding ; and I have no hesitation in adding
that  the false modesty  which  interdicts
it,  is the medium of much unhappiness to
married   people.   However,  in  another
part  of this work, relative to  the  mode
of choosing a partner, I have laid down such
rules,  as, I  think, may prevent  people
from  marrying   blindfold.   But  still  I
could wish to see  common sense taking th«
place of a mock delicacy in  this  matter
and  that it  were  permitted  us to  be ai
particular concerning the choice of a  bo-
som's partner, in a thing of so much impor-
tance, as  we may be in the choice of a
horse,!
  A couple, of full habits, and strong am©- 
24     becklard's  physiology
rous  propensities will  be likely  not to
have children ; and much too, to their own
surprise,  as  they conceive,  that  they are
especially qualified to bring about differ-
ent  result.   They little dream that haste
is not speed in this matter; and  that  a
slower pace  would be a  readier means of
getting  to the end  of their journey!   In
other words,  there is too much intensity in
their devotions,  for  what  they produce,
they  destroy !  Time, however, by quali-
fying their ardor, usually remedies   this
defect; but  should it fail to do  so,  the
necessary moderation may be  produced by
light vegetable diet, cooling medicine,  and
occasional trios to the sea shore—for  the
sea air, I susp«ct,  has but little effect in
the way desired,  upon those who reside
constantly  within its influence.—Again,
conjugal  enjoyment  on  the  part of  the
female,  should be followed by repose^ as
but  very  little  motion,   or  agitation, in
persons of warm temperaments, is sufficient
to arrest the ovulum on its way to the place
assigned it.   And  furthermore, when  it is
supposed conception may have taken place
the parties would do well—at least for  a
month or  so—to put a bridle on their  de-
sires ; for the spasmodic  agitation, conse
quent on the  embrace of a very  amorous
couple, is calculated to disturb the embryo 
        bbcklard's  physiology      23
in its earlier state of existence, and  hence
co occasion abortion or miscarriage.
  But, says several great authorities, among
whom may be found Baillie, Swammerdam,
Larry,  and the venerable  Dubois, " the
great and leading cause of sterility is  weak-
ness or debilitation on the part of the male
or female, or both;"  "and" adds the last,
" if this  matter were duly  attended  to,
nine-tenths of  the  people  who are now
pining for heirs might be blessed with nu-
merous progenies."
   This weakness  or  debilitation may  be
in some  instances natural, but it is  gene-
rally an artificial result, produced by  severe
labor, libertinism, long residence in an un-
healthy climate, secret habits mostly ac-
quired at  school, and other causes.   This
is the case when the man  is in fault; and
to the same causes, or nearly such, may be
attributed the deficiency in the other sex
Immoderate  love  of  dancing  and  tight
lacing may also produce an artificial  steril-
ity  in women, by causing a looseness and
lassitude of system, the  consequence  of
which is an inability to respond to the ac-
tion of the male by the sympathetic pressure,
which is, no doubt, necessary for the convey-
ance of the otmlum to the chamber prepared
for  its reception and  nourishment.
  I shall now proceed to give such instruc-
tions in the premises, as I know from moet 
26     becklard's physiology
ample experience  on ray own  part, and
also  from the experience of several emi-
nent aceouehers and others, must be of the
utmost value and importance to  that order
of married people  who are most  interested
in the subject in hand.
  Debilitation in man—for absolute impo-
tency  is a thing of such rarity,  as to be
almost  out  of  the  question-  is  mostly
owing to derangement of that part of the
system  connected  with the functions of
generation.   The result of this, as a great
writer affirms,  is,  that the semen is not of
a teeming and busy nature, and likewise,
that it is not imparted with a force suffici-
ent, at the site of fecundation.
  Hence a stimulant is necessary;  but it is
also requisite that this stimulant should
strengthen without much exciting, or the
latter evil only, will be corrected; that is,
the  requisite force will be obtained,  but
not the nourishment required by  the  re-
productive principle.  Indeed it is known,
that  drugs  of merely  exciting qualities,
rather impoverish this principle than other-
wise ; which accounts for the disrepute in-
to which Spanish  flies, tincture of lyttse,
and essence of marjorum and  arrowroot
have fallen  of late years.  Syrup  of pine
apples and port wine, mush-rooms roasted,
and steeped in salad oil, or borax  are better;
but in these,  neither  the  excitement or 
        BXCKLARO'S PHYSIOLOGY.     2*7
 the nourishment is sufficient.  And indeed,
 I  known of none of the older remedies
 that combine the requisite qualities, in a
 degree, to warrant me in saying, that they
 may be depended on with much confidence.
   Consequently, the subject has occupied
 the minds of the most eminent of the med-
 ical faculty, at least from the days of jEtius,
 who, about the year 495, wrote a large
 volume on the subject, in which he stated
 that the Ancients, were no doubt in posses-
 ion of a preparation adequate to the removal
 of sterility; but that it had been then lost
 for several  ages.  Hermias  was the next
 writer  of  authority who  went  into  the
 matter  largely; and he  was followed by
 Khilhoff,  Heraldus,  Bliss,  Ludwig, and
 others.  And again in the year 1682, Re-
 naud published his " Theory on the  myste-
 ries of fecundation," in which he contended
 that   he had  discovered  the   anxiously
sought desideratum ; but it does not  appear
that  he made any use of it in his own prac-
tice or that he divulged the secret to  others
   And so things remained until the appear-
ance of Verrey's Tincture, which is doubt-
lessly  a compound  of much  merit;  but
which was soon destined  to be thrown into
the shade by the discovery by Dr. Magnin,
of his far-famed Lucina Cordial, that leaves
nothing to be  wished for in the premises,'
but is  so admirably adapted to the use in- 
28      BECKLARD'S PHYSIOLOGV
tended, that .r not oniy excites and nourish*
es to an equal degree, but it is followed by
no  reaction, which is the  consequence of
all other artificial stimulants.
  I have taken great  pains to analyze  this
most  excellent  preparation, but without
Deing able  to arrive at a knowledge of all
»ts component parts.   I should judge, how-
ever, by various experiments, that  its in-
vigorating  and enriching qualities are as
six to one in comparison with eggs, and as
nine to two with  oysters, while it begets a
strength to  eject  the fecundating principle
fully equal  to that of Battey's decoction, and
consequently superior  to that or any other
nostrum with which the modern ages have
been  acquainted.  Cold and impoverished
must be that nature which cannot be warm-
ed by it into the glow and  ability neces-
sary to  fruitfulness; and there is but little
hopesof the fertility of the nuptial couch
which remains unblessed under its auspices
  Within the range of my own practice I
could cite  at least one  hundred  cases, in
which the  Lucina Cordial has been admin-
istered with the most eminent success, and
a number of my medical friends bear equal-
ly decisive evidence to its worth ; and I
can now add, with another  writer on the
subject, that." a great many  of my  fair
patients are now in a fair way to add fur- 
        bzcklard's physiology       29
 ther  testimony in the establishment of  ita
 reputation."
   Many curious, and interersting stories are
 told of the effect of this cordial;  such as
 the disappointment of family expectations
 by the appearance of unexpected heirs;
 ind so  forth;  but they are of a nature too
 (elicate for admission  here ; the  more so
 s I wish  to make  my book as grave and
 mexciting as  the nature of such  a work
 vill allow  but one anecdote, which I copy
 rom  an erudite contemporary,  is too good
   be omitted
   After giving many instances of the po-
 ency of the cordial, he  says, " I  was ap-
 plied to by an Irish  gentleman and  lady
 (both of very cold natures) who were bless-
 ed with offspring after  the mutual use  of
 five bottles.  And by the way, I can tell a
 laughable   anecdote in  connection with
 this case.  The gentleman and lady alluded
 to, shortly afterwards  returned to Ireland,
 having in their possession several unopened
 bottles of the cordial.  In the neighborhood
of their residence  there dwelt a farmer's
 wife  who  was anxious  for children, but
 could not  succeed in the great  end of her
 desires; and  was,  therefore, accounted
 barren, and pronounced so by her attendant
 physician.  This person was once  lament
 mg her situation  to my  patient's nurse,
 when  the  latter (a shrewd woman by the 
30     becklard's physiology
way) immediately proposed to remove the
difficulty for a  certain  compensation,  •
part to be paid in advance, and the remain
der when  appearances made success evi-
dent.  The bargain was immediately struck,
and in a few months afterwards the farmer's
wife was in  an interesting situation, she
having received from the nurse two bottles
of Lucina Cordial, which the latter had
obtained from her mistress.  The farmer's
wife notwithstanding,  refused to pay the
balance of her agreement, and was imme-
diately summoned for the amount before a
magistrate;  who, upon a full statement  of
all the facts, before a crowded court, al-
lowed the amount of the claim ;  which was
paid accordingly.  These particulars were
furnished me by the girl's master; who add-
ed that the defendant  finally admitted the
potency  of  the  cordial, but thought she
had paid   enough (five pounds) for the
child."  This mixture is -also unrivalled as
a remedy in leuchorraa, fluor albus ; and,
in fact, in nearly all diseases occasioned by
the weaknesses which are incident to par-
ticular functions.
   While on this subject, I will mention *
list of other remedies  said to contain fer-
tilizing virtues; but  as  I  am inclined  to
think, rather on the authority  of popular
opinion than on the test of actual experi-
ence.  They are water-cresses, duckweed 
       becklard's physiology      31
carrots, dandelions, artichokes, figs, pota-
toes, shell-fish, peaches, hemp-seed, eggs,
oysters, calves' feet jelly, &c, all of which
are no doubt, incentives to amorous propen-
sities;  but, as I indicated, I  have no faith
that  their  influence extends any farther.
Again, the females of some countries, says
Ludwig, swallow spiders, flies, ants, crick-
ets, and even frogs, to promote fecundation;
and in Spain they sip  dew from the olive
leaf for the same purpose.
  Certain  political economists, who have
been  so eloquent on the evil results to be
expected from the—to  them—alarming in-
crease of  population,  may find fault with
me for being so explicit  in this matter;
but notwithstanding, I think that society
in general will  hold  me  excused for  the
writing of the current chapter, and a large
portion of it, regard me as a friend and true
benefactor; moreover, I am  confident with
Lisfranc, Roux, and many who have adopt-
ed  the same sentiment,  and in the same
language, that when  children are wished
for they  are necessary.  And when they
are not, the advice here given will not be
followed and consequently can do no harm
   The following  hints may be of impor-
 tance.
   Morning is undoubtedly the most auspi-
 cious  to generation.
   More children arc born in the spring of 
32      BBCKLARC'S  PHYSIOLOOf
the year, than at other seasons, which is a
proof  against the  popular  opinion  that
** spring is the season most fertile of fruit-
ful embraces."
>  When a  female with  a low womb, is
married  to  a  very masculine man,  they
must correct the difficulty by a means that
may seem obvious, or they probably will
have no offspring; for if the  seed is plant-
ed beyond the soil designed for it, how can
it bear fruit  ?  When  the case is directly
otherwise, a stimulant  might be  necessary
to secure it from falling short
  It is a popular error that there  is a mode
by which male or female  offspring  may be
produced at will.  No consequence whose
theory of the  mysteries of reproduction is
correct, they are agreed on certain points,
which shews this to be impossible.  There
are tolerably conclusive rules, however, for
telling the sexes of children before they are
born; and were I to be guided entirely by
the  testimony of my own experience,  I
would say, that these rules were infallible.
Ladies experience more sickness with boys
than with girls, probably because they are
generally larger and  more lively.  Their
foreign appetites  are also of a  stronger,
better defined, and more natural character
For instance,  with the one they will long
for meat, spirituous liquors, &c.; with the
other, for  chalk, isinglass,  and   varioiw 
         becklard's physiology.      33
  ubstances, which would be quite  repug-
 nant to her at other times.   Again  round-
 ness of form promises a boy; whereas when
 the tendency is nearly all to the front, and
 the hips and back give but little evidence of
 the lady's situation,  the great probability
 is, that the little stranger is a girl.  At all
 events,  these  indications  never  deceived
 me  Old women say, that boys lean to the
 right side and girls to the left;  also, that
 Doys improve the beauty of  the  mother's
 countenance,  whik girls detract from it
 notwithstanding  the  latter cause them the
 least sickness-  But these signs  I. hold to
 be  mere fables, as  I never  could  see
 their  philosophy  established.   On  the
 whole, when a lady in  the  family  way is
 prone to sickness in  the  morning—longs
 for  food  of an invigorating quality—and
 carries  her increase  of form  rather  all
 round  her,  than  in  any particular  place,
 the  chances are  altogether  in favor of a
 boy—perhaps,  indeed,  imperatively  so,
 whereas, if  her symptoms are otherwise,
and as described above, she will  in  all
probability  be delivered of a girl.  I claim
 to be original  in these discoveries, as I am
 not  aware  that  any  other physician  has
 studied, or written on the subject.
   When stimulants are considered necessa-
 ry to aid  in reproduction,  they should  not
 dc used  carelessly, but should be assisted
             3 
34      BECKLARD'S PHYSIOLOGY
by diet, repose, airy location, &c, or the
advantage derived from  the nostrum may
be  rendered  nugatory   At such  times,
cheerfulness  is a great auxiliary, and all
indue excitements, or troubles from pecu-
niary or other  embarrassments are to be
avoided.   Also, amorous intercourse should
be but sparingly indulged in.
  And nothiftg further need be said on the
main subject of this chapter, for it covers
the whole ground of the  question at issue,
and  if its  contents  are  abided by,  can
f carcely fail of being of advantage to thos*1
persons whose conditions it discusses, and
for whose  guidance  and benefit  it  wa»
especially written. 
CHAPTER III
     On the Prevention of Offspring.
   While  all  must admit  that the repro-
 duction of our kind is the evident intention
 of the sympathy of  the  sexes  for each
 other, it is  equally certain, that there  are
 numerous cases in all countries, wherein
 such a consummation were better avoided.
   For example; indigent people cannot be
 very anxious for numerous  offspring to rear
 up in poverty: very fruitful females must
 find it very  unpleasant to be nearly always
 in a state of pregnancy: and it is not to be
 supposed that  married persons,  who  are
 afflicted with hereditary diseases, can derive
happiness from bringing  into  the  world
beings, whose  existence may, in all proba-
bilitity, be a burden to them.
  Again, many females are so constructed
as only to be able to give life to others at
 the sacrifice, or at least, the imminent risk
of their  own.   And furthermore, it   fre-
quently happens that young unmarried fe- 
36      BECK-LARD'S PHYSIOLOGY
males, in a moment of excitement, fall into
errors,  from  the  consequence  of  which
they might probably recover, were  a law
lui and crimeless mode left open to them
for  avoiding the ban  of the  public, and
burying their shame in their own bosoms.
  I am  aware that in the latter case there
is this  objection—that by  removing  the
chances of detection, we may  tend to pro-
mote the commission of crime.  But even
here, the moral view of the case is in my
Havor,  for if in some  instances I may re-
move  a barrier from the consummation of
forbidden  pleasures, to compensate for the
evil, I  may say that I abolish the crime ot
infanticide altogether, and also  check the
growth of another crying evil in this, and
the majority of large communities—namely,
the increase of illegitimate children.
  "It  may," says  a celebrated  writer on
population, "be urged, that to prevent
pregnancy is an act in  opposition to  the
rule  of the Creator;  but  this  charge is
easily set aside, or else we must take it for
granted that every human  discovery and
invention  that has been made,  were  so
many sins against heaven.  The Creator in
the beginning, left roan in a state of nature,
without anything, the gift of reason except-
ed, to conduce to his comforts, more than
the beasts of the field.  If,  therefore,  the
principles  of those who may censure  my 
        BECKLARC'S PHYSIOLOGY    /  37
theory are correct, the very building  of
houses must be considered  a crime,—yea,
and a  great crime too, as it is a primeval
one, and hence, relatively speaking, one of
the causes of all the  other sins of human
improvement.'  Carrying this principle
out would upset all the artificial machinery
in the  world—give  instinct a preference
over reason—and  drive the whole human
family to  the  woods for food  and protec-
tion.   The  march  of  events, however,
proves that the great Architect intended,
that man should make use of his reasoning
and inventive powers for the improvement
of his station, and he who would oppose this
axiom, must base  his theory upon the pre-
sumption  that reason is a vanity  in  man,
and has been  bestowed on him as a curse,
inasmuch as it moves him to the  commis-
sion of things, which,—if viewed through
that medium—it would be a sin to commit
But the very command of the Creator him-
self would upset this shallow  hypothesis;
for has he  not expressly  ordered " that
temples should be built in his honor and
glory."                                •'
   For myself  I love children—but woulw
certainly  rather  not see them at all, than
see them  crowding  into  the world to con-
tend with incurable diseases, or against the
horrors of poverty, and semi-famine, which
13 the fate of at least a third of the oflapnng 
 38     BECKLARP's PHYSIOLOGY.
 of the lower orders, even in the proud city
 of Paris.  And from all we can learn, the
 children of the poor in English cities are
 yet more  unfortunate; for  there they are
 not only half starved, but worked in facto-
 ries fourteen and sixteen hours a day, like
 mill  horses; and often brutally whipped
 for  the  nonfulfilment  of tasks,  which
 through sheer  bodily debilitation the little
 sufferers are unable to perform.
   Political  economists who are tinctured
 with  the absurd notions of Martin, Liceto,
 Stultz,  Louis,  Malthus, and many more of
 that class, who wrote so much to prove
 they knew so little, may suggest that there
 is a way of correcting  the evil better than
 the one I proposed;—that is, by laying a
 heavy  tax  on marriage,  which  would
 amount to about the same thing as prohi-
 biting it  altogether  among the  majority
 But  would  this have the desired effect ?
 —Nonsense !—Nature would laugh at such
 laws; and the  result would be, that there
 would be  no virtue—so to  speak—among
 the poor;  while we would have as  many
children as ever, and fewer people to take
care of  them.  Besides, the  rabid  advice
of these dreamers  dare not be  broached,
much less acted upon, by the legislators of
any country, claiming the slightest know-
ledge  of civilization.
  Hence, as people under all  circumslan- 
         becklard's physiology.       39

ces, whether  they are poor, or  afflicted
with  diseases, or  so organised  as to risk
life in reproduction, will get married, I
feel that I am doing a good  thing for the
public, in showing how nature may be  al-
lowed the free exercise of her rights with-
out being productive of the evil complained
of.  Two other medical writers have treat-
ed of this subject, but owing perhaps to its
delicacy, or their own want of experience,
have  not gone into it with sufficient per-
spicuity or fulness.   I  will-endeavor to  do
both,  and in language which,can give  no
offence to the most fastidious.
  Any exercise calculated to disturb  the
embryo within twenty-four hours  after  in-
ception maybe sufficient to prevent offspring.
Dancing about the  room, before repose,  for
a few minutes, might probably have that
effect. But trotting a horse briskly over a
rough road on the  following day, would
ensure it.   The cause of this is simple;
it merely extends to  the agitation of  the
ovum  before it has duly secured a  place in
the chamber provided by nature for its re-
ception.
  If,  besides dancing, an emission could be
effected through the urinal canal, the ovum
could not well escape destruction. At all
events,  the chances  are  so small, that
ladies adopting  these  precautions  must
necessarily  have  email  families. 4. If they 
40      becklard's physiology.
fail once in every five  years it will be  a
matter  rather  to be  wondered at  than
otherwise.
  All attitudes of enjoyment but the natu-
-al one, are inimical to fertility.  However,
they are not  to be depended  on; and  be-
sides, it has been contended that they  are
frequently  the  means of monstrous  con-
ceptions.
  Strong cathartics would be likely so to
agitate, as to dislodge the  embryo, even a
month  after  the intercourse.  It  might
however,  only  injure  it, so that  it is  a
rather hazardous experiment.   Swammer-
ing says, that this is one of the causes ot
malformations.
  For an obvious reason too,  all stimula
ting fluids that  pass  off" freely  are arnti-
reproductionists.   Indeed, repose  should
be indulged in,  and drinking avoided  as
much as possible, at certain times, when
offspring is desired.  Hence, victuals that
promote thirst, combined with excitement
and exercise are great enemies to generation
Dr.  Foshay knew a gentlemen  who dis-
covered, after marriage,  that his wife had
a disposition tending  to  insanity.   Not
caring  to have   offspring  thus afflicted,
when occasion required, he u.sed to dance
with her  and make her cat  salt  viands,
and they newr had  any  children.   And  J
have,, in  my practice, recommended  the 
 
 
             becklard'b physiology.      41
     same course  of conduct with much suc-
     cess.
       If the  conjugal act were not carried to
     the ultimatum, but by  a  great  mental
     effort terminated before, the probabilities
     would be a thousand to one  against child-
     ren.   Such a  system,   however,  requires
     too much presence of mind, and self-sacri-
     fice to be generally followed.
♦   The sea .air assists fecundation   On the
     contrary,  bathing  in salt  water,  or  any
     other water  soon  after  coition, militates
     against it.
       A fine sponge of an inch and a half or so
     —according to circumstances—in diame-
     ter, and fastened to a silk string by which to
     withdraw it,  by absorbing  the  generating
     fluid,  would effectually prevent a certain
     result.
       An oiled silk  covering  worn  by  the
     male, and sold at most of the toy shops of
l     this city (Paris), would necessarily have the
     same effect.  This plan may be implicitly
     relied on.
       Food,  made stimulating  by  spices—is,
     though  exciting,  extremely innutritions,
     and therefore promotive of sterility.
       Water,—if warm, so much  the better-
     used with a syringe, soon after the  act, is
     almost  certain to secure the end desired-
     one or two drops  of vitriol in the  water;
     would make  this system infallible—three 
42      becklard's  physiology
or four syringefols  used energetically will
be  a  sufficient guarantee  from  dancer;
nay,  even to procure abactus  (artificial
abortion)  during the  first two  months.
The latter, however, I hold  to be a species
of infanticide; and moreover, it must be
attended  with  danger  to   the  patient's
health.
  There is a  tree called by the learned
the  Vitex agnus  castus—by the vulgar
the Chaste Tree, the seeds whereof, make
an excellent  anaphrodisiac, and were for-
merly much used  for that purpose.  It
being  discovered,   however,  that  they
sometimes had  a precisely opposite effect,
they got into disrepute ; it  not being then
understood that the very qualities  which
reduced some  natures below moderation,
were  the precise mediums to tone others-
otherwise  too  ardent—to  their  proper
temper, for certain  demonstrations.  For
instance; a couple of immoderately warm
desires  are  not  apt  to  have  children.
Hence, to  such the seeds  of the  Chaste
tree would be an invaluable corrective, if
they were desirous of offspring.
  Malformation in the female, or diseases
which  produce certain effects,  such  as
contraction of the vagina, cohesion of  its
sides,  citracis  occasioned by ulceration,
fluor  albus, and so forth,  unless carefully
attended to, will protract fecundation, and 
       becklard's physiology.     43
tnay even prevent it altogether.  The va-
gina it may be well to state, is  the jaaal
which leads  from the external  orifice  of
the female pudendum  to the uteris, and is
endowed in a certain degree with .contrac-
tive and expanding  powers.  At  times,
however, as  I  have  indicated,  it  is not
possessed of  these powers, but remains
nearly close and rigid, and hence incapable
of action, until remedies have been applied.
These remedies  are  various. The, usual
ones are  emollient applications,  and to dil-
ute it to the proper size with a sponge—
or else by bungies—thin long instruments,
with or without caustic  according  to cir-
cumstances—which  are  to  be changed
from time to  time, still a larger succeeding
a smaller bungie, until the orifice has been
sufficiently extended.   Elastic gum is the
best thing that these  instruments  can  be
made of, but wax ones are in general use-
When caustic is used, it is formed in a thin
roll in the middle, to the end of  destroying
the stricture, or  any  part  with which  it
comes in contact.  Females  under treat-
ment  for contractions, wculd do well  to
live separate from their husbands for some
time; or both   may be injured.   Should
emollients—the bungie—and such methods
fail, the lancet will have to  be resorted to,
which is a certain alternative.  The other
 means, however, are preferable, and with 
44      BXCXLARD'S PHYSIOLOGY
patience are certain of success.   On  the
contrary, when the orifice is too open  and
th% contractive power deficient, stimulants
are the  best remedy, whether the object is
to produce   pleasure,  negatived  by  the
supineness of the  vagina, or to propitiate
offspring; for the process of impregnation
is as follows—(at least it is the most pro-
bable one, for there is still  some  mystery
about it)—the  uterus  or womb  opening
during the act, draws in the semen by as-
piration, and directs it to the ovarium by
means of the Fallopian tubes, the extremity
of which  closely  embraces  that organ
Thus, unless the  female vagina is  in  a
busy, active state,  there is but little appre-
hension of offspring.  Let  me  add  that
this  supineness, even in the most healthy
females, is a sure   attendant of disgust or
abhorrence;  therefore, I have  no faith in
the stories of women, who are said to have
borne children as the consequence of rape
or violation.   Indeed, the thing is impossi-
ble, unless the parties are agreed, for the
muscular effort, to  the action of which the
uterus responds, is voluntary  on the  part
of the female, and is only called in  plaj
in moments of enjoyment.   What  then
follows ?  Why that if pregnancy follows a
rape, the act was  not without  pleasure  to
the  victim,  which is an idea  that  seems
difficult of admission 
       BECRLARDi  PHYSIOLOGY      45
  But I am getting rather away from  the
main  subject of this chapter.  It is  the
proposal  of plans  for  the  prevention of
offspring,  and  I have  submitted  to  the
reader all that I ever knew to be efficacious.
  The reader, I trust, will do me the jus-
tice to say that I have treated the subject
matter of  this chapter as delicately as it
could possibly be handled, yet without in
any way mystifying the meaning intended
to be conveyed.  A fow  of  the remedies
set forth in it have been practised by others,
but many of them, and especially those
for destroying  the embryo by the promo-
tion of thirst, or by bathing, which  are the
simplest of all,  and about as  efficacious as
any, were discovered by myself, and this is
the first  time  I  have made  any  general
communication of the  important  secrets,
not that I  was selfish of them, but that I
wished to test  their virtues before I made
them public 
fj 
CHAPTER IV
Hints and facts of much importance to
               both sexes.
  The knowledge contained in this chap-
ter is the result  of many years research,
thought,  and  experience.   It  contains
much that will be new to the reader, but
nothing is authoritively advanced, the truth
of which  I  have not fairly tested.  Young
physicians will be pleased to find so much
that they should know in a few words, for
the chapter contains nearly  every  thing
worth  seeking  for,  connected  with  the
subjects it treats  of; and many things not
considered,  or even hinted at, by previous
physiologists.   Dr. Guerin did me the honor
to say, after looking over it in manuscript.
that he never read so little matter with so
much profit
   On   Physiology.—Physiology  is  the
bcience of life—life itself being an aggregate
of ohenomena, which manJfest themselves 
«U      becklard's physiology.
in organized bodies; some  philosophers
nold the opinion that it is merely the effect
©f the play of the element on certain com-
binations of matter,and that there is no such
thing as a living principle.  This theory,
however, is easily disproved; but not by
the substitution of any which explains the
mystery of sentient existence.
  Renewing Life.—In  1667,  France was
thrown into a state of great excitement, by
the publication of a theory of life by a phy-
sician named Richard Lower, who contend-
ed that life might be renewed and pro-
longed  indefinitely,   by transfusing  the
blood of young into  that  of  old people.
The  system was first tried on dogs, with—
according  to Lower—the most successful
results.   However, it not only failed with
men, but in some instances it came nearly
killing  those,  who  were  candidates  for
immortality; owing  to  the difference  of
temperament  between  the  receiver  and
giver of the blood.  Nevertheless, the doc-
trine continued to be steadily  maintained
by some visionaries, with this saving clause,
that  the party who received the vital fluid,
must have been of the  same habits, tem-
perament,  state of health, &c.—when  at
the same age of him who yielded it
  Lone Courtships.—Beware of long court
ships, for there are so many slips twixt the 
        BECKLARD's PHYSIOLOGY.      49
 cup and the lip, that it is almost as well to
 marry in haste, and repent at leisure.
  Period of Child-bearing.—Women may
 be ten,  eleven, and even twelve months in
 a certain condition, the ignorance whereof,
 causes  much domestic trouble,  and  has
 occasionally  been  the  means of divorces
 On the  contrary, full grown children, may
 be born in the seventh month after concep-
 tion, and some say in the  sixth, or even
 less, but I doubt them.  At least, out of all
 my experience, [ never had personal know-
 ledge of a case of the sort, but  one,  and
 then  I  had my  suspicions,  grounded on
 various  circumstances,  apart   from  the
 main one,  which  were rather unfavorable
 to the lady's character.  The  law, which
 rarely, if ever, suffers itself to be guided by
 exceptions, holds it a proof of illegitimacy
 if the period of child birth  is delayed until
 the tenth month  after the husband  and
wife have lived together.—Armande.
  Obstructions.—Should any  unexpected
barriers be  discovered to the  consumma-
tion of the rights of marriage,  a physician
should be consulted without delay.  A false
modesty in such cases,  may be productive
of the  most serious consequences.   The
Duchess de Berri, is a case in point. After
being married about six weeks, she was on
the eve of  separating  fromjjfir hiisfeand,

                    ✓ 
SO      BECKLARD'S PHYSIOLOGY.
when one of the ladies of the court learned
the cause, and prevailed on her to consult
a member of  the faculty, who soon set all
to rights.  However, both   the duke and
duchesse had suffered much through their
delay or ignorance.
  The fiuitful  months.—It is estimated
that  the healthiest children are  born in
February, March,  April, and May.   Con-
sequently,  May, June, July, and August
must  be the  months most  auspicious  for
conception.   This  is merely the popular
opinion, but Dubois, La Bache,  and a skil-
ful writer in Le Temps  assert that  their
experience corroborates it.

  Twins.—A female may have  tw ins, the
offspring of different  fathers.    Thus, a
woman in North America, being delivered
the same day  of a black and  a white infant,
acknowledged, that nine months before, she
had been on  the same day with her hus-
band, and a negro slave.  In births where
one child precedes the other, for one or two
months, it is  fair to suspect adultery; and
indeed, the infants  themselves  mostly give
evidence of a different male  purentage.

  Red Haired Women.—Fail haired ladies
claim to make the most affectiftuate wives;
but he who marries a red  fcmved  woman
would do well not to be remiss m his atten» 
        BECKLARD's PHKSIOLOGJT.     51
 tions, for they woo warmly, and expect to
 be warmly wooed.  A  French  woman
 with  red hair is  a rare occurrence; but
 wherever there is  one, love has a decided
 votary.

   Marriage and Poetry.—Marriage blunts
 the  imagination.   A  married writer .of
 fiction  must  hold Hymen in check, or
 weary his readers; and poetry is almost
 irreconcilable with  the   state  of  wed-
 lock.   Schiller observes, that  one cannot
 woo his  wife and the muses; and there is,
 no doubt, much philosophy in the assump-
 tion.   Thus  it would seem that  poetry  is
 the escape  of love when  not otherwise
 directed.

   Ideas of Beauty.—Men  of  poetical oi
 Banguine  temperament prefer   the beautv
 of the facev  Those  of stronger animal
 propensities, the beauty of form.  The lat-
 ter make the  most attentive husbands, as
 they are most  content with  the realities oi
 life.

  Habitual  Miscarriages.—The  force of
 habit  is such in  women, that  when a fe-
 male  once miscarrias she will be always
 liable to miscarry  when the same stage oj
pregnancy occurs.  The knowledge of this
fact may produce the care which will pre-
 rent su- h a reb'ult 
    52      BECKLARD'S PHYSIOLOGY
       The  Hymen.—The  existence  of the
    hymen in women is no certain evidence  of
    virginity—neither is its absence of deflora-
    tion.  Young females may be deprived  of
    it by illness; and  it has been found  in
    ladies at the period of delivery.  However,
    these are the  exceptions, and very rare
    ones.  As a general rule the hymen indi-
    cates the maiden; and vice versa;  so  that
    a man missing it on marriage may have good
    grounds for  suspecting his wife's chastity,
    unless she can otherwise explain the cause
    of its absence.
      JVutritive  Tubes.—Every  animal from
    man to the polypi  that clings to the rock,
    has a nutritive tube  open at the extrem-
    ities ! Hence, the  sponge (if an  animal)
    being differently constructed, may  be con-
    sidered  of a lower order than  the polypi.
       Coquetry.—Beware  how  you marry a
    confirmed  coquet; for her  manners  are
    not so much the result of affectation as the
    actual changes of her mind;  and her phre-
    nological developments  will  show  that
    constancy  is not in her  nature.   Baillie
    had,  no doubt, good grounds  for saying,
    that a confirmed coquet would rather have
t   any man than her  husband,  after the first
    six months of marriage.  A little,  well di-
    rected  coquetry, however, is the  spice of
    courtship 
        becklard's physiology.     53
  Living Bodies.—All living bodies spring
from a  germ which was  part  of another
being.  This rule holds good  throughout
the vegetable and animal kingdom.

   Violation.—Conception  cannot   take
place under feelings of horror  or  disgust.
Hence, no woman  ever became  pregnant
from a rape committed on her against her
inclination.

  For  and Against.—Consumption  in
either sex has been corrected by marriage.
The  chances,  however,  are in favor  of
females;  for it has  been known to  bring
the decay of men to a hastier climax.

   Cure for Epilepsy.—Marriage is the
only certain cure for uterine epilepsy.

  Matrimonial Regret.—Men are liable to
regret their marriage on the morning after
its consummation, and to sigh for the free-
dom they have lost.  But this  is  only an
evanescent  feeling, partially attributable
to the fact, that, at the commencement the
realities of love are usually found to be un-
equal to the anticipations.  A week corrects
this  uneasiness, and contentment mostly
occurs before the end of the honey moon.

  Transfer of Passion.—Love is partially
the effect of mental, but more so of physi-
cal  feeling.  This is  especially the case 
i)i      becklarp's  PHYSIOLOGY.
with  men ;  and hence, when they despair
of the consummation of one passion, they
can always  relieve it,  or escape from it al-
togethci, by nourishing another.
  Hermaphrodites.—There  is  no  such
thing on record as a  genuine  hermaphro-
dite.  It is true, doubts  have arisen as to
which sex individuals belonged, who seem-
ed to exhibit the attributes of both; but in
all cases it  was proved that the parties,
were  either men or women; and that the
mixed appearances which caused the doubt
were the consequence  of malformation.

  Longing  Jbr  Marriage.—Young ur-
married ladies,  from the time  they arrive
at the age of puberty,  think and talk about
little  besides  love,  and  its attributes.
Young men, however, though  they have
other objects of pursuit, are more carried
away  by the passion. When crossed in
love, a woman becomes melancholy, a man
insane.
  Bad Habits.—There is but one mode in
which the  sexes  of  the human race can
know each  other without the sacrifice of
pleasure and probably risks of yet greater
importance,—and  that mode  is dictated
by nature.   Valsalva and others  assumed,
that monstrous births were often occasioned
by  shunning the advice of  nature in thjf
particular 
       becklard's physiology      55
 'Medium of  Reproduction.—Irritation
and excitement  seems  to  be the  great
medium of reproduction in all organized
beings.
  Loves of Plants  and Animals.—It is
the received opinion that all sentient beings
are susceptible to the passion of love, and
derive enjoyment from the communications
of the sexes.  And  many claim  the same
distinction for the inhabitants of the vege-
table  kingdom;  so  that the  loves of the
plants may be no fable.

   Intercourse of Trees.—Trees may" have
intercourse,  though  at a great  distance
frem  each other, their pollen or fertilizing
powder being borne by the wind.  Other-
wise, the  act  of  reproduction  in trees,
plants, &c. is carried on in much the same
manner as among locomotive beings.

   Effects of Bad Temper.—Constant bad
temper in a wife will wear away the affec-
tions  of the most  devoted husband; and
they  can never  be  renewed!  A man  of
lymphatic  temperament, whose nature is
difficult  of excitement,  is alone  proof  to
the ceaseless bickerings of  an irritable
woman.
   Use   of  Cleanliness.—Cleanliness  in
youth is a corrective of puberty.   So are
meagre diet, light clothing, and hard beds. 
 86      BECKLARD S PHYSIOLOUY
   Difference  in the  Sexes.—There is a
 ■rriking analogy  between  the organs of
 veneration in the sexes, the chief difference
 Being that they are nearly external in man,
 and all internal in woman
   The Eyes.—Soft  languid  eyes  are  an
 evidence of voluptuous—or at  least,  of
 amorous  dispositions.   In  women  they
 assist beauty, and  may be  the effect of a
 gentle and affectionate  heart, under the
 influence of a virtuous desire; but in men
 they are effeminate,  and if  united with a
 protruding mouth, and heavy lips,  denote
 a  libidinous disposition, and a want of
 manly fidelity.
   Color of the Skin.—The  complexion of
 the skin depends on that of the rete mu-
 cosum,  a glutinous   substance  that  lies
 between the under and outward skin.  In
 blacks this membrane contains  an  inky
 fluid, which is  ascribed to carbon and the
 increase   of bilious   secretions  in  hot
 climates.
  Puberty.—At the  time of  puberty the
 blood of both sexes tends towards the parts
 subservient to reproduction,  which  causes
 these organs to  awake from their  torpot
 and to expand.

  The  Hair.   A profusion of  hair  is a
sign of an amorous disposition, as is also a 
BBCKLARD's  PHYSIOLOGY.     57
 rough husky  voice.  When a man is cas-
 trated he loses his  beard,  and his voice,
 grows  feminine.   He is  also  liable  to
 periodical hcemorrhages, like the other sex.
 Likewise  he  becomes artful, depraved,
 and foolish.
   Resemblances.—Children should resem-
 ble both parents, or there may be a fair
 doubt of their legitimacy   However, not-
 withstanding the theories of Straus, Guillett
 and Walker, the rule  is  not imperative ;
 for I, and others, have seen infants who, in
 face or form,  bore not the slightest simili-
 tude to their female parents;  which must
 be taken as proof positive in the premises
 Still, this so rarely occurs as to be only the
 exception to the sule.

   Signs of Pregnancy.—To an experienc-
ed observer, a woman's  eye betrays her
condition, when she is in a certain  way,
before her form gives any  manifestations of
ihe fact.  The symptoms may be partially
concealed by the use of snuff, which corrects
tiie glassiness  of the optics  consequent on
 he earlier stages of  pregnancy.

   Total  Abstemiousness —It  has  been
 frequently  maintained that total abstemi-
ousness,  from sexu;il indulgencies,  would
invigorate the  mind, and  exalt the genius
Facts, however, prove otherwise, for per 
 58      beck lard's physiology.
 sons sworn to chastity grow weak in intel-
 lect ; while  eunuchs become foolish.  Ne-
 vertheless, a man who wishes to distinguish
 himself, must not give loose to his  sexual
 passions,  for excess of indulgence  greatly
 impairs the faculties of the mind.  Still, it
 is better to give way to nature, no matter
 how rashly—if diseases are avoided—than
 to resist her altogether.  The former only
 injures—the  latter  destroys.  It was  the
 belief, with a certain school of alchymists,
 that he only who  was perfectly  chaste,
 could discover the philosopher's stone.   A
 perfect man,  capable of being so, is as rare
 a thing  as the philosopher's stone itself;
 and could he  possibly  obtain the  object  ol
 his desires, it is more than  probable he
 would find the stone a dear  bargain  at the
 price he paid for it.
   Excesses.—Beware of youthful  excesses,
 for sooner or later they have to be paid for
 A great English philosopher truly says,
 " the debauches of youth, are so many con-
 spiracies against old age."
   On  Climate.—Married persons desirous
 of offspring, and who have been disappoint-
 ed therein,  should,  if  they seek a change
of climate,  choose  one colder than that
which they have been  used to.   It need
scarcely be remarked, that races inhabiting
moderately  cold, are  mere  fruitful  than 
        becklard's physiology      59
those who dwell in hot climates.  There
should be but little hope of becoming pa-
rents, in  persons  who  cannot accomplish
their desires by the aid of warm stimulants,
in a cool bracing climate.
   Menstruation.—Obstructed  menstrua-
tion may be effectually cured by the root of
the  rubia tinctorum, or  madder,  but it
should  be taken under  advice, as  injudi-
ciously used, it is calculated to injure the
system.
   Cause of laborious menstruation.—One
of  the most active eauses of laborious or
obstructed menstruation is disappointment
in  love,  and a  transfer of the  affections
would work a cure without any  other re-
medy

  Superfluous Menstruation.—Emetics of
ipecacuahna  and cold sea bathing are the
best remedies for  this complaint.   Either
may do: combined they can hardly fail ol
being effective.

  On Puberty.—The age of puberty is not,
by an universal rule, earliest in warm cli-
mates.  In the  inhospitable latitudes  of
Siberia, for instance, the women  of  the
Mongolian race, feel its influence in  their
twelfth year, and a contemporary writer
gays, that  they  are marriageable at that
age;  buttbi*  •« T>r*»i>o«ieinu*  thf-.y are no 
||     60      BtCSiLARD's PHYSIOLOGY
      more fit to encounter the duties of married
Jf     life, than a precocious boy, who  may say
      smart things in a drawing room, is qualified
''     to undertake the multifarious, and practical
HI     duties of manhood.  The same may be said
      of the Esquimaux women, the women  of
      Lapland, and  indeed, of  the  inhabitants
*:     generally of the  polar regions; which  is
II     attributed by some authors to the smallness
h     of their  stature, and their fish diet.  But
      this  argument  is easily set aside,  for the
      same precocity exists throughout all the va-
      rieties of the Mongolian race; whether they
      reside in warm or cold climates—are short
      or tall—or live on fish, vegetable or animal
      diet.  What then is the cause of this early
      precocity ?   I  am unable to answer.  But
      from the excessive development  of the
      vital system, of the north-eastern people,
 ;,    and  their peculiarly voracious  appetites, I
      am inclined to  think, that it  lies, in the
 •!    admitted fact,  of  their being the least in-
      tellectual, and  consequently,  most animal
      of the human  family;  for it cannot  be
J      denied, that the mind has a great effect on
      the bodily functions ; and if so, why may
      not the desire for certain enjoyments, ripen
      into early action the organs from whence
      they emanate?   However, this physical
      precocity is in general the effect of the
      warmth of climate, and may be accelerated
      any  where, by the free  use of  stimulating 
        becklard's physiology.      01
meats, aromatics,  coffee,  wine, and other
aphrodisiacs.
  A writer of some note, though visionary
in many of  his  speculations,  says—" in
taking a general view of the period of pu-
berty, it appears that  in Europe,  women
reach  it later  in the  north  than  in  the
south.   In some elevated northern regions,
it does not occur until after twenty years of
age.  In England  it occurs from fourteen
to sixteen in girls, and  from sixteen  to
eighteen in boys.  In most parts of France,
puberty in women commences usually at
fourteen years of age, and  in the southern
departments  and great towns, at thirteen.
In Italy, it takes  place at twelve.   This is
also the case very generally with the Span-
ish women, and in  Cadiz  they very often
marry  at that age.  In Persia, according to
Chardin, it occurs at nine  or ten.   Nearly
the same is  the case in Arabia,  Barbary,
Egypt,  Abyssinia,  Senegal,  and  various
parts of Africa.  Thus, puberty in women
commences generally, in tropical climates,
from nine to ten."  But still, no  matter
how early it  may commence,  or in what
climate,  the desires it creates cannot be
gratified without injury to the  health, un-
til all the other parts of the system have a
corresponding development.
  Period of Gestation.—It is impossible
that a mature child can be  born before the 
62        becklard'k physiology.
seventh month after conception.  The ma-
turity, however, should be amply  proved,
before a child born  within the  seventh
month should be  considered illegitimate.
And  this cannot  be ascertained  by  the
weight, for  some  healthy children weigh
but eight,  while  others weigh eighteen
pounds when they  come into the world.
  Suckling.—A feeble woman should not
suckle her infant, or it will partake of her
own debilitation.   Lowness of spirits, pas-
sion, &.c, have corresponding effects on the
milk, and consequently must make it in-
nutricious.
  Exercise.—Too  much rest during preg-
nancy is injurious to both mother and child.
Hence ladies so circumstanced should be as
active as at other times, and take as much
moderate exercise in the open  air as they
can.
   Strengthening  Milk.—Porter milk  is
the strongest  that a child can be suckled
on,  but it is  apt to  make  them sleepy and
peevish  on  being  disturbed.  The nurse
will alsp be  advantaged by a  moderate al-
lowance of bottled Porter.
  The best JVivrse.—Hartsoeker contended
that a child would  thrive better   on his
mother's milk, than  that  of a stranger.
Natural,  however, as this  may seem,  I
eaunoi say  that it  is borne out by facts 
becklard's  physiology      ■»
  Diet.—Milk diet, though it enriches the
blood,  moderates the desires.   It might be
advantageously adopted by married persons
of warm dispositions, who cannot have off-
spring ; and which is the usual result, in
such cases, of intensity of enjoyment.  Vio-
lent love is but rarely fruitful love.

  Consummation.—Albeit man is the ac
tive and  woman the passive agent in the
consummation of marriage, the latter is sup-
posed to enter more fully into the intensity
of its enjoyment. This, however, is an hy-
pothesis  which  can never be  clearly de-
monstrated. 
 
Terrors of Absolute Continence. 
 
CHAPTER V
   Advantages of Marriage.— Terrors of
          Absolute Continence.
   I fully agree with a certain famous physi-
 ologist, that " matrimony, as established in
 christian  countries, greatly contributes to
 the  health and happiness  of the human
 speciesj" but I am not so  sure that he is
 right, when he says, that " men before they
 are married are always discontented."  My
 conviction is, that a bachelor, even beyond
 the hope of matrimony, is  not so  discon-
 tented a being, as  a man who is married;,
 Dut  hot to his mind.   And the same rule
 will apply, even more forcibly, to the other
 9ex ; for men- have a  partial corrective,
 which, if not sanctioned, is at least winked
 at, by  society; whereas women have none
 but the one which involves their destruction
   Consequently, great care should be taken.
1 n the  chaice  of a partner for life, not onlj
as regards beauty, habits, manners,  &c. bul
 t. hysical construction and desires.  It is i 
66      becelard's physiology
great error in society, that which compels
people to marry, while so much in the dark
on certain subjects in  which  they  are  so
vitally concerned.  For instance, it is not
to be expected that m«ch happiness can
attend the union of a lymphatic man, jrsri
a  sanguine  woman,  or vice versa; and
equally, or even more  disagreable  is the
result, when a wedded  couple discover that
their physical conformations are unsuited
to each other; and that, hence, they cannot
duly realise the  most important of the en-
joyments of wedlock.   It might be well for
millions, if the manners of the age permit-
ted inquiry on those subjects ; and it might
be  accomplished   through  relations  or
friends, without  any great sacrifice  of mo-
desty.  At all events,  the mode of taking
each other, for better for worse, blindfolded
is in nine cases out  of ten the cause of un-
happy marriages,  divorces,   elopements,
desertions, and so forth ;  for if a couple are
physicallv and mentally agreed,  content-
ment is  the  natural  result;—otherwise,
matrimony is not to them the thing they ex-
pected, and  hoped for, and each pines for
enjoyments which they find it impossible
to convey to the other.
  I could furnish many illustrations of this,
with the  names  and especial  causes; and
it might be well for society, if society allow-
ed of such a proceeding   I have  a  friend 
        becelard's physiology      67
 who  married a woman he loved, and who
 leved him.  She was cold, he was the re-
 verse.  After a time he  shunned her so-
 ciety, and used to sit moping in his study •
 and then he often  informed  me that he did
 not think he was  calculated for  domestic
 life, as  he felt no  sympathy with what the
 world called its " endearments."  Well, a
 little time  elapsed,  and  this  ill-assorted
 pair—for  a reason which  I  do  not care to
 make public—were divorced, and for some
 months thereafter my friend continued to
 revel in his single blessedness.  At length,
 however,  he grew weary of it,  and united
 his destinies to a lady, who is, to an exter-
 nal observer, decidedly inferior in personal
 attractions to the  one he parted from;  but
 nevertheless, she  is  the realization of all
 his desires; for he is never  at  ease when
 she is out of his sight; and from being a rail-
 erat hymen, he has become one of the most
domestic persons in the world.   Now had
reasonable questions been put and answered
befor* marriage,  my friend would never
 hav^  trusted  himself in  bonds which he
 was sure to break, nor be now compelled to
 live with a lady he adores, without having
 the privilege of making her his  wife
  Again, one of the most  beautiful, and
 not the least respectably  connected ladies
 in Paris, has lately become the victim of  a
 marriage, which gave promise  of being  •» 
6S      becklard's physiology
happy one, but turned out—in consequence
of the opposite temperaments of the parties
—to be the reverse.   I do not  mean in
their manners, for they were both amiable,
and attached, and so far got on very well
together;—but  the wife was devoted and
amorous,—the husband careless of love's
dalliance—the result  of  which  was that
the lady made a slip,  was discovered,  and
(as with women there is no half-way house
between  honor,  and  infamy,  which  the
public will permit them to retire to) is new
lost to respectable  society.  Had this  fe
male taken care to  have chosen a  husband
of a temperament as enthusiastic and love-
able as her own,  she would have found at
home, the sympathy her nature yearned
for, and thus been saved the commission of
an error,  that  resulted  in a  destruction,
which, under the circumstances, she could
scarcely resist.
  I would almost prefer the old Scotch fash-
ion of " hand fasting  "for a time,  to that
of taking  things on chance, withou.  anv
future honorable alternative.  The meuod
spoken of is simply this.  When a coupie
became affianced, they were  " hand fasted;"
that is to say, they lived together for some
time as man and wife, and at the expiration
of the period agreed on, if they found they
were  duly qualified to make  each other
happy, they were married; but if not, they 
        BECK.LARD-3 i-HYSIOLOGY      69
shook hands  and parted to try their for-
tunes elsewhere.- And it  has happened
that ladies in  high life, were  three times
hand fasted before they were wedded.  And
if, as it sometimes would  happen—one  of
these limited marriages was productive of
issue, the child was provided for by the
father, and regarded as no discredit  to  its
mother's fair tame.   This may have been
carrying matters a little too far; but it at
least afforded chance of amendment, which
is not the case with our more refined, and,
I suppose I must call it, more moral system
of wedlock.
  However, marriage in any mode,  is  far
oetter than  no marriage  at  all; for  to
say nothing of its  immorality—promiscu-
ous intercourse enervates  the  system, op-
presses  the brain, and blunts  the appetite
of desire.  Variety,  in fact,  counteracts
healthy  and  vigorous excitements, for  its
stimulations are but as the passing mo-
ments of unnatural strength,  during the
crisis of  fever.  Hence,  men who  have
been  renowned for  their amorous propen-
sities, according to their own  admissions,
derived  but  little  enjoyment, yet  great
prostration from sexual intercourse; and
their children, when they had any  whom
they could vouch for,  have been in most
cases, weak, puny, and imbecile.
  Thus the laws of hymen do not restrict, 
 70      BECELARD'8 PHYSIOLOGY
 but actually promote sexual pleasures, and
 are the only certain road to them; for such
 is the state of society, that  without legal
 vows  fidelity  can hardly  be expected.
 Cupid may visit other places, but with all
 its drawbacks—and that they  are  many,
 .here is no denying—he rarely  find's him-
 self truly  at  home but  in  the marriage
 couch.
   M. de Hansierck argues with eloquence
 in favor of polygamy.   He insists that it is
 agreeable to the original intention, and re-
 fers to certain customs amongst the ancient
 Jews in  evidence.  He further insists, that
 no man can be satisfied with  one wife; but
 that four, differing in disposition, and style
 of  beauty, would bound his  desires.  And
 several distinguished German philosophers
 are of the same opinion.  But I hold them
 to  be  in error, for  jealousy  must  be  the
 sure attendant of polygamy;  and indeed it
 would seem one of the principal intentions
 of this vigilant sensation, to make one man
 and one  woman faithful  to each other.
 However,  in some  nations—China for in-
 stance—a plurality of wives is said to pro-
duce no unpleasant  domestic  results ;  and
 the Chinese novelists,  when  they wish to
 have their  heroes  in  a state of extreme
conjugal  felicity,  usually give  them  two
wives, of opposite temperament and style
of beauty,  who art  as  tenderly attached to 
        becklard's physiology.     71
each other, as they are to their common
husband.   But in all such cases, the women
must rather be  regarded  in  the light of
slaves than of bosom partners; and if they
had their own will in the  matter, I doubt
not, they would alter the system ; for every
female  is a natural despot in the affairs of
love, and will, of her own consent, permit
of no rival near the throne.  At  all events,
I am satisfied that the doctrine of plurality
would not answer in civilised  countries,
where the sexes are more on a par in gen-
eral privileges; for there, if the men insist-
ed on two wives, there is nothing more
certain,  than that the women would com-
promise the  matter,  by providing them-
selves,  legally  or otherwise,   with  two
husbands.
  Furthermore,  " in places where a plu-
rality of wives are allowed," says  an emi-
nent  writer,  " the carnal  appetite grows
surfeited, and  occasionally  so  depraved,
that other objects become  yet dearer to it
than the female sex.   Thus the monarchs
of the celestial empire, have been known to
indulge  in the  most unnatural  excesses,
many of them preferring  male  to female
favorites.   Hence," continues   the  same
author, " if we would escape evil, marriage
is  not only a  benefit, but  a  necessity."
Let me add that while marriage, as  legal
in most parts of  Europe, promotes  sexual 
 72     BECELARIYS PHYSIOLOGY.
 pleasures, it secures constant moderation,
 which  is necessary  for the  health  of the
 body—yet more so for that of the mind
   When  persons  alike  eschew  marriage
 and libertinism,  unnatural indulgence—to
 which  I have devoted a chapter  elsewhere
 in this book—is,  in  nineteen cases out of
 twenty, the  consequence; and  where it is
 avoided, and absolute continence persisted
 in, the party will  have to purchase the pe-
 culiarity by a life  of anxiety, sorrow,  and
 suffering.  Among the effects of the latter
 are ferocity, determination of blood to the
 head, indigestioH, inordinate desires, heart
 throbbings, inability to divest  the mind
 Srom the  prevailing  passion, partial insan-
 ity, and early death.   Besides, to be conti-
 nent is not  to be chaste, as it is sure to
 engender  a constant  change of voluptuous
 images, and  untameable desires,  which it
 would be  difficult to   reconcile with  strict
 purity.  By  long  and  severe fasts,  and
 shunning the society of the female  sex,  I
 have no doubt  that men may  greatly sup-
 press their animal desires;  but they  can by
 no means obliterate them; and  clergymen
of the most austere orders, have admitted
 this, whenever they chose to speak  freely
«n the subject.
  An ecclesiastic in  Bordeaux, finding it
impossible to starve  out  his  desires, shot 
        becklard's physiology      73
 himself through the  heart,  where lay the
 seat of his disease.
   Pope Gregory the 1st,  admitted the diffi-
 culties, in this respect,  that celibacy  im-
 posed on its votaries, but argued  that were
 it otherwise, continency would be no virtue,
 and sexual  intercourse no sacrifice.
   Monsieur M. an ecclesiastic, wrote mora
 particularly on the subject.  He  said, that
 at the age of thirty-two,  being bound by a
 vow of celibacy, he began to feel the action
 of the reproductive organs very intensely;
 and that  his health was thereby injured.
 At this period  he  fixed  his  eyes on  two
 women, who made such an  impression on
 him, that they appeared  to be illuminated,
 and to glitter with an electric fire, so that
 he  retired, thinking it was an illusion of
 the devil.  He had then violent contraction
 and tension of the limbs, which were suc-
 ceeded by delirium; and afterwards his im-
 agination  was assailed by obscene images,
 suggested by the desires  of nature.   In a
word, continence to  his body, was obscenity
to his mind, and made him most miserable.
  The confessions of Father Anselmo,  an
 austere and virtuous man, are further emi-
nent illustrations to  the same  effect.   Also
the memoirs of Abbe Catineau.  And like-
wise  the  admission  of an exalted  father
of the christian church, Saint Jerome, who
 exclaims, " 0 !  how  often have I,  when 
   74      becklard's physiology
   settled in the desert—in that vast solitude,
   which burned up by the solar heat, affords to
   monks a horrid habitation—how often have I
   imagined myself to be for a moment in  the
   midst of Roman pleasures.  But I sat alone,
   because my heart  was full of wo and bit-
   terness.   My  members, deformed as they
   were,  abhorred the sack which invested
   them,  and my shrivelled flesh endured  the
   thirst of ethiopic  fire.  Daily tears—daily
   groans, were mine; and if deep sleep  op-
   pressed me,  I slid my scarcely  adhering
   bones down upon  the  naked ground, and
*  my mind was full of dreams  at variance
   with my vow.  I,  therefore, who for feat
   of hell, had condemned myself to such  im-
   prisonment ; the companion only of scorpi-
   ons, and wild beasts, did often, in imagina-
   tion, find myself amid the choirs of maidens
   Pallid was I with fastings; and in a frigid
   body, yet my mind burned  with desires—
   the* flesh being dead before the  man,  the
   fires of lust alone boiled up ; and thus must
   it be with  all who, like  me, endeavor to
   sacrifice the flesh to the spirit."
    Nor  is  the  case better with the  other
   sex.   Indeed, if  any thing, the images  ot
   the mind of woman are more intense, as  she
   has fewer objects to distract her  attention,
   and hence, she is  the greater  sufferer  by
   absolute  continence.  Thus,  it is  rare in
   man, out not  in woman, to die  tor love. 
        becklard's physiology      75
 Languor, melancholy,  uneasiness, and ha-
 ziness of the eyes are  the  earliest symp-
 toms of  suppressed desire in females; then
 chlorosis; and then probably death; unless
 her passion finds vent  in marriage,—or in
 a solitary practice, the  evils of which are
 fully considered farther on.
   Having thus, in the difficulties of conti-
 nence, illustrated the necessity of marriage,
 I will now proceed to  give some instruc-
 tions as to the best mode of choosing an ap-
 propriate partner; and  these  instructions
 may easily  be taken advantage of, unless
 where matches are  made in an  indecent
 hurry.   I may be told  that love is blind,
 and will not be  advised or taught, to see
 on such a subject.  I insist,  however, that
 he would be advised, if he knew before-
 hand that  thi  parties inspired by  him
 were physically and  mentally disagreed, to
 such an extent,  that the objects for which
 they  were chiefly brought together, could
 never be duly consummated.   This may be
 a good place to  state that nymphomania,
uterine epilepsy, uterine cholics, virgin con-
 vulsions,  hysterics,  and other  morbid af-
 fections are cured by marriage, and effectu-
 ally so by no other remedy.   Nor is this all,
 for marriage purifies the complexion, re-
 moves blotches from  the skin,  invigorates
 the muscles, makes  the carriage erect and 
76     becklard's physiology.
free, and the voice full and firm; and  in
fine is the principal medium through which
nature makes the human species tranquil,
healthy and happy 
CHAPTER  VI.
 Soma  instructions in the chocsing of a
      partner—Intermarriage, Sfc.
  When two persons of parallel dispositions
 or appearance are united, it is common to
 observe that they are a well-matched cou-
 ple   In fact,  however, they are  not; and
 the very resemblance which seems to claim
 admiration,  is a strong ground for  saying
 that they are unsuitable companions.  The
 profound physiologist will readily admit the
justness of this assumption; and  that mar-
riages are most happy, and most productive
of healthy and handsome offspring, when
the husband and wife differ, not  only in
mental  conformation, but in bodily con-
struction.  A melancholy man should mate
himself with a sprightly woman, and vice
versa; for otherwise they  will  soon grow
 weary of the monotony of each other's com-
 1>any.  By the same rule, should the cho-
 eric and the  patient be united; and the
ambitious and  the humble; for the oppo- 
 78      becklard's physiology
 sites  of their natures not  only produce
 pleasurable excitements, but each keeps the
 other in  a wholesome check.  Had Mac-
 beth been married to a person of a disposi-
 tion less aspiring than his own,  he would
 never have murdered King Duncan.  Is the
 size and form of the parties, the same prin-
 ciples hold good.   Tall women are not the
 ideals of beauty to tall  men; and if they
 marry such, they will soon begin to ima-
 gine greater perfections in other forms than
 in those of their own  wives.  And  this is
 well  ordered by nature to prevent the dis-
 agreeable results which are almost certain
 to grow out of unions where  the parties
 have  a strong resemblance.
  For instance: tall parents will probably
 have  children taller than either j and men-
 tal imbecility is the usual attendant of ex-
 treme size.   The union of persons prone to
 corpulency;  of dwarfs, &c, would have
 parallel  results ; and so, likewise, that of
 weakly or attenuated couples.   To  use a
 lucid  but  a  homely  phrase,  the "breed
 should be crossed," to make it good.  Thus
 the tall should  marry the short—the cor-
 pulent the lean—the choleric the gentle—
 and so on; and the  tendency to extremes
 in the parents, will be corrected in the off-
spring.   I do not mean to produce any ridi-
culous associations in the reader's mind, by
advancing  that  Brobdignags should marry 
becelard's physiology      7fl
 Lilliputians; man-mountains become unit-
 ed to shadows; but that the choice of part-
 ners  should be so regulated  as not to pro-
 pitiate the birth of semi-monsters; for pa-
 rents prone to corpulency beget flabby and
 shapeless infants;  where the  parents are
 alike of cold and unexciteable natures their
 children are likely to be subject to idiotcy;
 the  issue  of a very ill-tempered  couple,
 will probably be a semi-brute;  and melan-
 choly  fathers and mothers produce hypo-
 chondriacs and subjects for suicide.
   Apart from these serious  considerations,
 there are reasons why persons of the same
 disposition should not be united in wedlock,
 and which I have before hinted at,  but not
 as explicitly as the subject deserves.  An
 amiable wife to a choleric man, is like oil to
 troubled waters;—an ill-tempered one  will
 make his life a misery and his home a hell.
 The man of studious habits should marry a
 woman of sense and spirit rather than of
erudition, or the  union will increase the
monotony of his existence, which it would
be well for his health  and spirits to correct
by a little  conjugal excitement; and  the
 man of gloomy temperament, will find the
 greatest  relief from the dark forebodings
of his mind, in the society of  a gentle, but
lively  and  smiling partner.   Further, in
 wedlock,  " like love not  their like," so
 well  as  something of an  opposite nature 
SO      BECKLARD'S PHYSIOLOGY.
to excite them.  Timid maidens  are  most
affected  to  brave  men: sages, to good
house-wives, who love their domestic du-
ties better than books; and men of blunt
dispositions can best appreciate the graces
of refined wives.   In a word, the affections
of antipodical natures  sympathise  most
dearly; a partial illustration of which may
be seen in the fact that the greatest philo-
sophers find their sweetest relaxation in the
prattle of childhood; and a  yet apter one
in the equally incontestable fact, that the
bully of  the school and the gentlest of the
boys, usually select each other for com-
panions.
  However, in some particulars the dispo-
sitions and constructions of married people
must assimilate, or they  will  have but
few  enjoyments in common.   The man of
full habits and warm nature had  better re-
main single than unite his destinies with a
woman whose heart repulses the soft ad-
vancements of love; and the sanguine  fe-
male in whose  soul  love is the  dominant
principle,  should  avoid marriage  with a
very phlegmatic  person,  or  her caresses,
instead of being  returned in kind, will ra-
ther excite feelings of  disgust.   Thus tne
discriminations to be made in the choice  ot
a  partner  are  extremely  nice,  and can
hardly be explained in writing ;  but nature,
assisted by the  foregoing  hints, will be a 
        becklard's  physiology      81
 sufficient guide   Lest the  reader  should
 say, you  first advise persons of opposite
 dispositions to marry, and then advise them
 otherwise, let me add, that the opposite
 natures must be those that excite, not shun
 each other.   Thus  the  bold and  timid
 will sort well in wedlock, as their natures,
 though opposed in their general features,
 may unite in  love; but the very lymphatic
 and the very sanguine should by no means
 come together, as they can have no sympa-
 thies in common on the point  which is
 matrimony's  principal  charm  and  grand
 consummation.
   But nature generally assists art  in  the
 choice of partners.  We  instinctively seek
 in the object of our desires, the  qualities
 which we do not possess ourselves.  To the
 fair of both sexes the brunette complexion
 is the most engaging, and vice versa; and
 the  same  principle governs throughout,
 alike in the physical and  moral conditions
 Thus the slender affect the plump; the tall
 the shorter;  the impassioned the mild;
 the boisterous the  calm ;  and so  on to  the
 end of the chapter.
   And this is a most admirable  arrange-
 ment of Providence, as  it establishes  an
equilibrium, and ore vents people from tend-
 ing to extremes: . f.-,r it is known that unions
of dwarfs are fruitful of dwarfs; that giants
proceed from the  embrace of giants; and
           6 
 32        BECKLARO's PHYSIOLOGY
 that the offspring of parents alike irritable,
 alike passive; alike bashful; &c, inherit
 the prominent qualities of both, to  such a
 degree  as to seriously interfere  with their
 prospects in the world.
   It  has another advantage.  Through its
 means," every eye forms  its own beauty;"
 hence,  what one person rejects, is the beau
 ideal of another's  conceptions; and thus
 we are  all provided for.
   This  difference of tastes has been a stum-
 bling-block with writers in all ages.  They
 could not divine why an object that  was
 beautiful, or the reverse, to  one, was not
 the same to all.  But had they thoroughly
 investigated the matter,  they would have
 perceived  that a  manifest design was  at
 the bottom of it, and that in this variety of
 tastes   nature was wisely  accomplishing
 her own ends, and producing harmonies.
   Many physiologists have argued that like
 does not produce  like; but  the testimony
 of all experience is against them.  See, for
 instance, the  children  of red-haired  pa-
 rents ; of  those who have supernumerary
 toes, &c; and the  reader will  require no
further  evidence of the invalidity of their
doctrine.
   But the  main proof of my assumption,
and the  grand argument in favor  of uniting
opposites, is to be found in the evil conse-
quences attending marriages  among  blood 
        BECELARD'S  PHYSIOLOGY      83
 relatives.  Here there is generally a moral
 and physical resemblance between the par-
 ties,  which is almost certain to entail suf-
 fering on their offspring.  This  is strongly
 illustrated in the degeneracy of royal and
 noble  families who marry  amongst each
 other.  In Spain, where the proud old Hi-
 dalgos carried this absurdity to its greatest
 height, the race at length became so ugly,
 puny and imbecile, that to be dwarfish and
 hideous was considered an evidence of no-
 bility;  and  when  strength and  beauty
  traced  the offspring of rank, the mother's
  delity was  more than suspected.  The
 Hidalgos, to avoid all risk of ignoble admix-
 ture, not only married their own blood re-
 lations, but  confined  their choice to first
 and second cousins; nor was the sad result
 to be  seen alone  in decrepit offspring, but
 also in the birth of hopeless idiots.   Royal
families take  a  wider range, but still not
sufficient to ensure bodily and mental vigor
Hence they are for the most part  afflicted
with hereditary diseases; but  more than
all with scrofula, which  is one of the most
 offensive  that pertains to human nature.
All the  Bourbons suffered  thus;  so the
 reigning family of Holland  and Austria;
 and the present occupant  of the  British
 throne has, as I have been informed on suf-
 ficient authority,  a running evil between
 her shoulders. 
 S4      becklard's  physiology
   The injurious results of a union between
 persons having a close moral and physical
 resemblance, will be augmented, if there is
[.also a close kindredship of blood.  The
 fruits of such a marriage must degenerate,
 if, indeed,  it should be fruitful at all; but
I here nature again kindly steps in to arrest
 the evil—for married relatives, near of kin,
| have rarely, if ever,  numerous progenies;
! owing probably to the fact,  that, being for
, the most part of a like form and disposi-
 tion, the one cannot frequently cause in the
 other that state of excitement which is ne-
 cessary to the ends  of reproduction.
   In fine: with man,  as  with animals, the
best way to improve the breed is to cross
it—for the intermarriage  of like with like,
and relative with relative, not only causes
man to degenerate, but,  if the system be-
came universal,  would in time bring  the
human race to a termination altogether.
   But to the main subject of this chapter,
namely, the choice of  partners.
   A male or female with a very low fore-
head should carefully  avoid marriage with
a person of like conformation, or  their off-
spring will, in all  probability, be weak-
minded, perhaps to  partial idiotcy.
   The system of crossing  is so perfect, that
marriages between persons, natives of dif-
ferent countries, are likely to be pleasant
andfiuitful.  Speaking on this subject, an 
        becelarps physiology      85
English writer says: " The Persians have,
been so improved by introducing foreigners
to breed from, that they have completely
succeeded in yashing out the stain of their
Mongolian origin."  And the same author
adds, to the effect than in those parts  of
Persia where  there is  no  foreign  inter-
course, the inhabitants are  sickly  and
stunted ; while in those that are frequented >
by strangers, they are large and healthy.  ,
  To make  what  is called a  " handsome
couple," the female should be about threej
inches less than the male;  and  if the par--,
ties are proportionably developed through-j
out their  system,  this selection may  bel
found of advantage in other matters besides
appearance.                             ,
  Wide haunches in a man,  as well as being*
a deformity, argue  flabbiness,  and a  weak
overgrowth in the procreant functions.  Onj
the contrary, they are a beauty in woman,;,
and a proof  that the reproductive  organs
are well  developed.  Hence, a strong andj
amorous man would not do  well to marry a
female with narrow haunches; for thouga
such a pair  may be equal to the  consum-
mation of marriage, there is almost certain
to be a difficulty at the time of delivery,
especially if the child should be robust  in
proportion witr  the father.    In another
chapter I have explained the reason of this
ft may be as well  to say here,  that  a fe« 
r
f!    86      becklard's physiology
     male with narrow haunches should unite her-
     self with a person of delicate  bodily con-
     struction, not only  in reference to  certain
f.    rights,  but  because the  offspring of such
i    a person is likely to be small,  and  hence,
     suited to the peculiarity  of  her conforma-
     tion.  This may seem, to the general reader
 ii   a little thing to be so especial about; but it
 |$   involves advice of great importance to those
     for whom  it  is intended.  For instance,
 I   a woman with narrow  haunches  always
 '-    suffers much  on delivery; the giving birth
 f   to large children seriously affects her health
     and wrecks her  constitution; and it con-
     stantly happens in such cases, that delivery
':"   cannot  be effected  at all, unless by opera-
1X   tions which must destroy the life either of
     the child or  the mother.   No matter how
     delicately formed   a female  may  be in
     other  parts,  if  her haunches are  wide,
     and the attributes   thereunto  pertaining
     tegular and proportionable, she need not be
     afraid to marry a giant.   I use  the word
     haunch in its largest sense—that is,  to ex-
     press the hip, and fore and hinder part; or
     in other words, to take in the  whole cir-
     cumference of the pelvis
       " A well-formed woman,"  says a modern
     physiologist, "should have her head, should
     ders  and chest small and compact; arms
     and limbs relatively short;  her haunches
     apart; her hips elevated;  her abdomen 
       BECKLARD'S PHYSlOLOOtR,     87
large, and her thighs voluminous.  Hence,
she should taper from the  centre  up and
down.  Whereas, in a  well-formed man,
the shoulders are more prominent than the
hips.   Great hollowness of the back, the
pressing of the thighs against each other in
walking, and the elevation of one hip above
the other, are  indications of the malforma-
tion of the  pelvis."
  From the same writer I take the follow-
ing, which is  applicable here.  It is very
correct in  its  estimates of beauty in both
sexes
  The length  of the neck should bepropor-
tionably less in the male than the female,
because the dependence of the mental sys-
tem on the vital one is naturally connected
with the shorter courses of the vessels of
the neck.
  The neck should  form a gradual transi-
tion between the body and head—its ful-
ness concealing all prominences of the
throat.
  The shoulders  should slope  from the
lower part of the neck, because the reverse
shows  that the  upper part  of  the chest
owes its width to the bones and muscles of
the shoulders.
  The upper part of the chest should be
relatively short and  wide,  independent of
the size of the shoulders, for this shows
that the vital organs which it contains are
sufficiently developed. 
83      becelard's physiology
  The waist should  taper little  farther
than the middle of the trunk, and be mark-
ed especially  in the  back and  loins, by
the approximation of the hips.
  The waist  should be narrower than the
upper  part of the  trunk and its muscles,
Decause the reverse  indicates the expansion
of the stomach, liver, and great intestines,
resulting from their excessive use.
  The back  of  woman should be  more
hollow than that of man; for otherwise the
pelvis  is not of sufficient  depth for par-
turbation.
j»> Woman should have loins more extended
than man, at the expense  of  the superior
and inferior parts, for this  conformation is
essential to gestation.
  The abdomen should be larger in woman
than in man for the same reason.
  Over all  these  parts  the cellular  tissue
and  the  plumpness  connected with it,
should obliterate all distinct projection of
muscles.
  The surface of the  whole  female form
should be  characterised by its softness,
elasticity, smoothness, delicacy, and polish,
and by the  gradual and  easy transition be-
tween the parts.
  The moderate plumpness already  de-
scribed, should bestow on the organs of the
woman great suppleness.
  Plumpness is essential to beauty, espe-
cially in mothers, because in them the ah- 
        BECKLARD'S PHYSIOLOGY      89
domen  necessarily expands,  and  would
afterwards collapse, and  become  wrink-
led.
  An excess of plumpness, however, is  to
be  guarded against.  Young  women  who
are very fat are cold,  and prone  to  bar-
renness.
i In no case should plumpness be  so  pre-
dominant  as  to  destroy  the  distinctness
of parts.
  A male and female formed  on the above
models  would be  well matched, and have
fine children.
  If a female  throws her  feet much to the
rear in  walking,  her knees  are inclined
inwards.  A woman that marches, rather
than wal&s,. has  large hips,  and  a  well
developed  pelvis.   If  she moves along
trippingly  on her tip-toes, a large calf and
strong  muscles are indicated.  The  foot
lifted in a slovenly  manner so as to strike
the heel against the back of the dress, is a
sure sign of a small calf and narrow pelvis.
A heavy  walk, when there is but little
spring on the  toes, evidences  a slenderness
and weakness of limbs.  When  the  foot
and ankle assume a bony  appearance, and
the heel strikes the ground, before the ball
or  edge of the foot, they indicate that a
female  has passed  the meridian  of  life,
no  matter  how other appearances  may
weigh against  then 
 90     becelard's physiology.
   Blue eyes should  marry black; for w.iea
 persons both having blue <w«s  are united,
 their offspring are apt to have very light
 hair and a tendency to Blindness.  When a
 person is of consumptive habits, this is a
 peculiarly important consideration, for it
 is  known that  in  consumptive  families
 hazel  and black-eyed children  die, while
 the blue-eyed live.  Hence,  a man or wo-
 man having dark eyes  and  a consumptive
 tendency, should choose a blue-eyed part-
 ner.  However, I by no means advise con-
 sumptive persons to marry at all; that is, un-
 less the disease be artificially produced, and
 not hereditary; for in the former case matri-
 mony maybe of service, and has been known
 to produce a thorough cure, when all other
 appliances had failed.             **>.
  The person  who  studies this book tho-
 roughly will not be  easily deceived in  the
 make,  form, or  internal  conformation of
 either  male or female, though  having_ to
judge of them  outside their  dress.   The
 moral  qualities  are  matters  to be  disco-
 vered by  parentage, time and  conversa-
tion.   And thus advised,  there   cannot
be much difficulty in bringing about mat-
rimonial arrangements, so  as  to  "cross
 the  breed," which,  as  I  have   clearly
shown,  is  a consideration  of much im-
portance in married  life 
CHAPTER VII
At whai Jge marriage should be consum-
                 mated.
   Very early in life—varying from ten to
sixteen years—begins to be felt the anxiety
of the sexes to be together; and were peo-
ple as robust  as they might be—did  they
live in a simple state of nature, and with-
out suffering  the fatigues  and hardships
generally experienced in  savage life,  the
chances are that  their desires might  be
consummated as well then as in after years,
and without the incurrence of physical in-
jury.   As it is, however, there is a serious
day of reckoning for early indulgence ; for
precocious persons—unless their constitu-
tions are as powerful as their desires—who
give way to their passions at their first ex-
actions, barter their youth for their enjoy-
ment,  and are old and weary  of the world
at an  age  when people of more  moderate
habits are only in the meridian of pleasure
and existence. 
 92      BECKZARS-S PHYSIOLOGY.
   It has been written over and over again,
 that in  Arabia,  and other warm climates,
 girls of twelve,  and boys  of  fourteen, us
 ripe enough  for marriage.  In their affec-
 tions they may be—for therein, a warm cli-
 mate effects  an undoubted influence; but
 otherwise, they are unsuited for  such i
 change of life; for early communion of the
 sexes is as productive of physical prosu*
 tion in sultry latitudes as in other placet.
   The proper age to marry,  all the woild
 over, is between twenty-five and thirty for
 men, and nineteen and twenty-five for wo-
 men ; and in fact,  previous  to the ages d
 twenty-five and nineteen they are, as a gen-
 eral rule, inadequate to the requirements of
 matrimonial intercourse.   Some young ma
 who imagine that early development of tin
 passions is a proof of manhood, will not N
 ready to admit this; but I can tell than
 that their  strength  to accomplish does not
Keep pace  with their will to dare !  Hence
boys who marry derive but little enjoyafflt,
from  the connubial  state; and ladies iS'
unite themselves  with  juveniles  becdne
disappointed,  and suspect their husbao*
of incapacity—(I  dare not give it a mow
appropriate title)—whereas, the only thing
they are deficient in  is age.  Many a sepa-
ration, and even elopement, has been thui
occasioned; and the offspring  of such mar-
riages is usual1;  puny and consumptive. 
1        BECKLARD'S PHYSIOLOGT.      93
„  Further, men who marry too young, un-
 less they are of cold and phlegmatic con-
stitutions, and thus moderate in their con-
duct, become partially bald, dim of sight,
jind lose  all elasticity of limb, in  a  few
,/ears; while women,  in a like position,
"Rarely have  any bloom in  their cheek or
.ire in their eye,  by  the  time they are
>venty-five.  And all  profound physiolo-
gists  agree that, from the same cause, the
mental faculties suffer in the same ratio.
   A medium, however, is to be observed.
It is not well to defer till middle  age the
period of connubial  intercourse;  for too
'tedious a spintership is as much calculated
'to hasten  the decay of beauty, as too early
ja  marriage.   Hence, there is  rarely any
freshness to be seen in the maiden of thirty;
while the matron of that age, if her life
has been a happy one,  and her hymenial
condition of not more than ten years stand-
ing, is  scarcely in  the  hey-day  of  her
charms.  And  the  same  rule  will apply
with equal force to the other sex; for after
the first prime of life, bachelors decay, and
  g'ow old much faster than  married men.
  ence says the poet,
 " Connubial pleasures keep men in their prims,
   While those who ibun them, wither ere their
       time."
  The rich are qualified for marriage before
the poor   This is owing to the?superiority 
 94     becelard's physiology
 of their aliment; for very nutritious food,
 and the constant use  of wines, coffee, &c,
 greatly assists in developing the  organs of
 reproduction; whereas the  food  generally
 made use of among  the  peasantry of most
 countries,  as  vegetables, corn, milk, &c,
 retards their growth.  Owing to this dif-
 ference of diet the daughter of a man of
 wealth, who keeps a good table, will be as
 adequate to certain duties  of married life
 at eighteen, as the daughter of an humble
 peasant at twenty-one.  Singular as  it may
 seem, it is none the less true,  that love
 novels, amorous conversations, playing par-
 lor games for kisses, voluptuous pictures,
waltzing, and in fact all things having a
 tendency  to  create  desire assist  in pro-
 moting  puberty,   and  preparing  young
 persons for early marriage.   Those who
 reach  this estate,  however,  by  artificial
 means, and much before the natural period,
 will have to suffer for it in after life.
   Maidens  suffering from  peculiar  dis«
eases,  as nymphomania, uterine  epilepsy,
green sickness, (which is mostly the result
of love,) virgin convulsions, &c, should be
married as soon as possible, thoughthey have
 scarcely passed the term of puberty; for
 marriage  is a certain cure in  these  com-
 plaints, and cannot, at this  period,  do ai
much evil as it will effect good.
   The female who marries before the com- 
        becklard's  physiology     * 95
pletion of her womanhood—that is,  before
her  puberty is  established—will cease to
grow, and  probably become pale and deli-
cate ; the more especially if she becomes
ptegnant  soon after  marriage.   A  person
thus circumstanced will  also be liable to
abortions,  and painful deliveries.  In fine,
unless under very peculiar circumstances in-
deed—such, for instance, as maybe involved
in the afflictions noticed  in the preceding
paragraph—marriage should not take place
until two or three years after the age of pu-
berty.   Let me, therefore, advise the male
reader to keep his desires in leading strings
until he is at least twenty-five; and  the fe-
male not to enter within the pale of wed-
lock until she is past her eighteenth year;
but after those periods,  marriage is their
proper sphere of action, and one in  which
they must play a part, or suffer actual pain,
as well as  the loss of one of the greatest
of earthly pleasures; for Nature is a tyrant,
and will not be  deprived of this,  perhaps
the most imperative  of  her claims, with
impunity! 
 
CHAPTER VIII
 Solitary  Practices, with their best mode
              of treatment
   Many physicians of high authority have
 maintained, that  two-thirds of the diseases
 to which the human race is liable, have had
 their origin in certain solitary practices; or
 to call things by their proper names—for
 I wish  to make myself, thoroughly under-
 stood, so that I may not weaken the effect
 of what I  am about to say, by  catering to
 an affectation of false modesty—in onanism
 and  masterbation.  Some writers use the
 terms synonymously; others apply the first
 to the "act in males, and the latter in fe-
 males ;  and for the sake of  perspicuity  I
shall follow  the  second rule.   I say that
 many physicians  of high  authority  have
maintained, that two-thirds of the diseases
to which  the human race  is liable,  have
bad their origin in these habits.  I cannot
go so far as this;  but I am convinced that
 they entail great  calamities  on  all  who 
98      becelard's physiology
indulge in  them  to excess, and that  con-
sumption,  impotence,  and  lunacy,  are
among their fearful effects.
  Parents are delicate in speaking to their
children on this subject; nay, owing to the
ignorance or miserable policy of the majo-
rity of physicians, they themselves, though
perhaps sufferers  by the  habits spoken of,
are ignorant of their effects.  Need I say
that this is wrong, and should be corrected
altogether ? Need I say that it is better to
warn  a  child  against certain practices
which are  demoralising  him,   and under-
mining his  health—nay,  his very reason—
than  to remain silent from motives  of a
most absurd modesty,  and let him pursue
his ruin, unconscious that he is doing  any
thing wrong ?   I have no hesitation in say-
ing that the parent who would do so—that
is, who would leave his unconscious child
wooing  his own  destruction, rather than
caution him against the practices he is in-
dulging in—isjbonsigning him to many dis-
eases—some of them perhaps  incurable—
and probably to an early death
  Those solitary habits are considered ol
such  importance that they are  denounced
in Holy Writ, .(see 9th verse of 28th chap-
ter of holy Genesis)—and have  been the
occasion of several medical convocations in
Paris, to propose means for remedying their
effects'   But   the  medical  convocations 
        becelard's physiology      98
went  to work  the  wrong  way.   Instead
of making a mystery of the matter they
should have made a public statement that
" onanism, &c. carried to excess engendered
diseases, for which  there was probably no
remedy ;" which would have destroyed the
effects  by putting  an end  to  the cause
And in such cases, the reader will be will ■
mg to admit the truth of an old adage, thai
an ounce of prevention, is  better than  «
pound of cure.
  It is easy to discover when young persons
are giving way to these habits.  The first
sign is a fondness  of being alone and of
going  into solitary places.   Subsequently
they sigh very frequently; the skin general-
ly, but  the forehead especially, breaks ou*.
in pimples.  They  become  idle, sluggish,
and listless; their breath is offensive and
their eyes grow dull, and retreat into their
sockets.  Other symptoms are, loss of appe-
tite, timidity,  and  depression of spirits
In fact, excess of onanism or masturbation
enervates the whole bodily a»d  mental
systems, and not unfrequently leaves them
a total wreck
  Again, they arrest the growth of stature '
and,  while they stop the  growth of the
organs, and the development of the vari-
ous functions,  bring  on  early puberty,
that is, they produce an artificial ripeness
which must soon wither and dry up 
100     becklard's physiology
  Moreover, he  who thus greatly indulges
himself when a  boy, will,  when a man,
derive but little  pleasure from sexual in-
tercourse. Indeed,the confirmed onanist be-
comes incapable of consummating the rights
of marriage; and is, in consequence, com-
pelled to continue the system of self sacri-
fice ; for as  Dubois says, " forbearance at
Jus  stage is out of the question; as  the
slightest circumstance, such as the sight of
a female bust, a picture, or a pretty foot,
is sufficient to awaken erotic desires."
  Men who have practised  this habit to
much excess are incapable of giving life to
robust children.
  Speaking  of solitary indiscretion, Boor-
haave says, " it causes convulsions,  emaci-
ation, and pains  in the  membrane of  the
brain ; it  deaaens the senses—particularly
the sight; gives  rise to dorsal consumption,
and various other mental and bodily disor-
ders."  Guerin denounces it as the curse of
youth; and maintains that it would be bet-
ter to indulge in  open  debauchery.  Good
speaks of  it as an offence most injurious to
health and  morality; and  Lallery affirms,
that it is a powerful promoter of lunacy-
  Young girls are as much addicted to this
offence as boys, but  are not perhaps, equal
sufferers by it.   It does nd drain their
system, and hence,  cannot cause  them so
much debility; but  then, it interferes'with 
becelard's PHYSIOLOGY      101
their giowth, causes blotches on their skin,
disturbs the economy of the uterus, not un-
frequently deprives them of the mark  of
maidenhood, and while it augments their
desires—in fact, renders them almost insa-
tiable—it begets in them almost an aver-
sion to  the other sex.  Cooper is my
authority for the  last assumption; I will
not venture an opinion on the point myself;
but  this  I know that  young women who
make  use of large foreign substances  to
procure pleasure,  cannot, for obvious rea-
sons, derive  as  much  enjoyment from
rights  sacred   to  the  married  state,  as
other females.
  About the age of puberty  this habit  is
generally commenced.  However, it is not
uncommonly  practised  by  children   at
school, which is apt to make the effects yet
more deplorable, than when it is delayed
to a  later period.
  It  is supposed by many that this habit is
learned,  and that  no person would com-
mence it  from the simple dictates of nature
And in the case of juveniles, this argument
no doubt holds good, as  they are frequently
known to be guilty of it, long before they
are under the influence of sexual desires.
  Sufferers  from this offence,  says a late
eminent writer, may find relief in cooling
purgatives ; and in extreme cases, in blood
letting, and leeching, cold bathing,  acia 
102     becelard's physiology
fruits, nitre, and a spare diet; but that,
where the patient is not too far gone for
the administering of such a recipe, the only
sufficient remedy is marriage.
  Another argues against medicines, and
proceeds.  "When conviction of the ex-
istence of bad habits is acquired, it becomes
necessary to speak to the subject of  ther:
mildly, and rationally,  respecting his in
jurious practice, and to place  in his hand
some good work which  treats of its evi>
consequences."
  " In   such  cases,"  says   this writer,
" exciting and superabundant food is high-
ly injurious.  The  diet should be chiefly
vegetable, and no spirituous drinks should
be permitted."
  Yet another  advises against suppers,
down beds, hot clothing, &c,  and to keep
exciting  works  of  fiction   out  of the
patient's hand.
  My advice in the premises  is this.  To
speak  to the  party  suspected  in  confi-
dence ; to tell  him that he cannot  offend
without being discovered,  as  it marks him
all over; to warn him of  the  dreadful re-
sults that must inevitably follow the prac-
tice if persisted in; to  inform him that  it
will  impair his  beauty, and  stop his
growth;  and finally, to put this little vol-
ume in  his hands, a perusal of  which, by 
       BECELARD'S PHYSIOLOGY.     103
clearly informing him of his  danger, will
effectually cure him of his bad habits.
  Should injury have already resulted from
the practice, I know of no better medicine
than occupation, and meagre diet; but still
would suggest the  propriety of consulting
a respectable physician.
  The above advice will also  apply to fe-
males, and  would  no  doubt  be effectual
with them, for it is scarcely to be supposed
that any  of  the  sex, would persist in a
practice, which, apart from its other atten-
dant  evils,  would  mar  her  beauty,  and
render her an unfit subject for marriage.
  To avoid all  mistakes on this important
subject, the meaning of the words onanism
and  masturbation  are  given   in  another
part of this voluae 
 
CHAPTER IX
 Matters of importance connected  wttk
   conception, Sfc. seriously considered.
   Woman has less strength but more mo-
 bility  than man; less  intellect,  but a
 quicker apprehension ; and her sensibility
 is more exquisite than  that  of her male
 companion ; but she does not receive such
 lasting impressions.   The  common opin-
 ion that woman differs  from man in her
 genital organs only, is therefore a common
 error ; in fact she differs from him in every
 thing, not only in her anatomical construc-
 tion  which  shows a line of demarcation
from first  to last;  but in the impressions
conveyed to the mind  from an examination
of the same objects.  I said the anatomical
line of distinction  was visible from first to
last.   This may not always be the case,
when the bones are  separate ; but I have
never found it otherwise  when  seen  in
their  natural connections;  that is, I have
never seen the skeleton of one sex, no mat- 
 106     becelard's physiology.
 ter what parts might be hidden from me, tha
 I could mistake for the skeleton of the other
 I have always found, for  instance,  the fe-
 male chest shorter but more expanded thai
 that of a male of the same altitude—the
 clavicle  less curved—the asperities of the
 bones less prominent—the pelvis larger—
 and the  thigh bones more oblique.  It is,
 however, in the pelvis that the corporeal
 distinction between the sexes is most com-
 plete ; and  that anatomist must  have but
 little skill in his profession, who cannot at
 once tell the one  from the other.  In the
 child the pelvis consists of many parts;  in
 the adult of but four bones.  In the  male
 it is large and strong, with a small cavity,
 narrow  openings,  and bones  of  greater
 strength.  In the  female  it is narrow and
 wide, with  a  large  cavity, and slender
 bones, and  every  peculiarity which  may
 conduce  to the easy passage of the child.
 And this is a thing of great importance,
 for  the circle of the brim of the pelvis sup-
 ports the impregnated womb, keeping  it up
 against the pressure  of labor pains;  and
 sometimes this brim has been so sharp  as to
 cut across the segment of the womb, which
 thus,  by separating the womb from the va-
gina,  has rendered  delivery  impossible;
for  the consequence is that  the child es-
capes into the  abdomen,  and the woman
dies   I  need scarcely  remark  that  tha 
        becelard's  physiology.    107
pelvis is  that part of the  ffame which
unites the human  trunk with  the lower
extremities; or  that it contains all the in-
ternal organs of generation.  It is necessary
to beauty  of form that a woman's pelvis be
well developed;  and it will be well for tne
man who  marries a female with a contract-
ed one to be diminutively organised in nis
corresponding functions.  This is a thing
that people should be very  particular in,
when  about to  make choice of a partner;
the largely developed man who marries the
smally developed woman will suffer much;
but the risk on the woman's part is greater
still;  for  she will be likely to have large
children,  which will impose on her in-
tense  labor pains,  and may cost her  her
life.   The reason of this  is so obvious,  that
I need pursue the delicate investigation no
further.
  It  may be  inferred from above that a
skilful accoucher is necessary at the time
of delivery, especially if it is the first child,
when  the peculiarities  of the  pelvis are
unknown.   In general cases it is true,  but
little  knowledge is required in assisting
child birth, as nature leaves art scarcely
any thing  to do; and therefore a competent
midwife night snswer all purposes; but in
the evt.it  of any new feature developing
itself, not  having studied the anatomy of the
organs of  reproduction, ^he -vould be  at « 
 106     becklakd's  physiology.
 loss how to act,  and perhaps assist in des-
 troying life, which might have been readily
 saved by a good practical accoucher.   In a
 most  extensive   practice  of twenty-five
 years,  I  have never  lost either  child  or
 mother, and  I have had hundreds of cases,
 which,  in unskilful  hands, would  have
 been eminently dangerous.  I will here add
 a word of advice that is founded on experi-
 ence.   When a lady has any reason to ap-
 prehend a hard delivery, let  her not trust
 implicitly to her family  physician, or the
 physicians of greatest note in the city, but
 send for the  accoucher who  has the most
 practice, in  some poor and populous dis-
 trict, and she may  depend  that her  case
 will  be properly attended  to.  Napoleon
 Bonaparte understood this; and hence, when
 his Empress  was  about to be confined, he
 did not trust  her with his court physicians,
 who had  but little personal  experience  in
 such  matters, but procured for her the at-
 tendance  of   a man,  whose  practice lay
 amongst the poorest residents of the city,
 and  who was famous  for bringing more
 children into  the world than half  the ac-
 couchers in Paris.  Napoleon knew that a
 pauper and an empress required the same
 treatment in  this  matter, and in choosing
 for the partner of his throne, the physician
of his humblest subjects, he wisely secured
tr her the practice th.it makes perfect 
        becelard's PHYSIOLOGY     109
   Notwithstanding  the great  anatomical
 distinction  that exists between the sexes,
 I agree, with Galen and others, that there
 is a striking analogy between  their organs
 of generation, and that they appear to those
 who give them but little  consideration, to
 differ only in  their position, being internal
 in one, and external in the other.  Never-
 theless they differ almost  as essentially in
 their formation, as in their mode of  opera-
 tion, in which each of them fulfils functions
 perfectly  distinct, though  of reciprocal
 necessity.
  It has been denied by many able physici-
 ans, that the female  secretes  any seminal
 fluid, which, if true,  would give her but
 jttle to do in  the business  of reproduction,
 farther than to supply a covering for the
 embryo; but the fact that children general-
 ly have an equal  resemblance of either pa-
 rent sets  this  argument at nought,  and
 proves that the foetus is the result of a mu -
 tual contribution.  In  fact  it has been as-
certained beyond question,  that the female
does secrete a prolific fluid.   And perhaps,
the difference of family likeness may be
accounted for in this  way,  that the  child
bears the strongest resemblance to  that
parent who has been  most bountiful at the
time of conception.  I introduce this to set
aside a very general, but equally erroneous
impression,  that men who are anxious for 
110    becelard's physiology.
 robust children require more  nourishment
 than their  wives.  There is nothing more
 certain than that each has to furnish about
 an equal portion of the embryo; and hence,
 that to ensure faultless offspring they should
 be equally  vigorous.
   Women  conceive  more  easily  a short
 time after menstruation, when the mouth of
 the uterus is less exactly closed than usual.
 The mouth of the  uterus, be it known, is
 very narrow—so narrow in fact, that the
 fecundating principle would not enter it,
 but that it craves it,  and inhales it by real
 suction—a  proof, by the way, that a rape
 can never  be productive of* offspring, for
 unless there is pleasure, and reciprocation
 of feeling, there is no action of the uterus
 and consequently no absorption oi the pro-
 ductive fluid.   I am inclined to think that
 two or more children are the effects  of ex-
 traordinary  distension and attractiveness of
 the  uterus, for  intellectual females very
 rarely have twins, or any  but those who
 have large  animal  developments,  and
 strong  erotic desires.   Galen  assures  us,
 that some women preserve  so much sang
froid as to feel the act of conception.  How-
 ever, I can attach no importance to such an
 assurance, though women who have borne
 many children, may possibly make a good
 guess if the act has been successful, by per-
 ceiving sensations similar to those which, 
        becelard's physiology     111
under the same circumstances, she  had ex-
perienced before.  At such a moment, if
offspring is desired let the female remain in
a  state of perfect composure, and  avoid
making any great exertions for the subse-
quent week,  for any thing that  heats the
body, is calculated  to expand the uterus,
and thus to permit the  embryo to evolve
itself, which otherwise would have ascended
gradually to  the place which nature had
assigned for its reception and sustenance.
   Should a different  result be desirable,
vigorous bodily exertion, or the other rem-
edies set forth in a previous chapter, should
be at once resorted to.
   During the period of gestation and suck-
ling, women should  be more than usually
careful not to cut or bruise themselves,  or
injure  any  of their bones; as at such pe-
riods the affected parts heal or unite with
great difficulty.  The cause of this I am un-
able to state, as I attach but little credit to
the hypothesis that it is owing to the quan-
tity of earthy and cohepive matter drawn
by the fatus from the parts that surround
it.   However, the effect,  which is the
principal thing the public have to do with,
is  as I have stated; so ladies would do we!
to comport themselves accordingly.
  As the fcetus is nourished by appropria-
ting to itself whatever is suited to its na-
ture in the blood brought to it by  the ves 
 112     becelard's physiology
 sels of the uterus, it stands to reason that a
 well-regulated diet in the  mother  must
 exert a beneficial influence over the child.
   Some writers, endeavoring to account for
 twins,  say that the multiplicity of fcetusea
 in the same pregnancy, is occasioned by the
 presence of several vesiculae, ready  to oe
 detached from the ovaria, and consequently
 ripe for fecundation.  But even admitting
 this, I  maintain  that more  than  one wiu
 not be removed,  unless a more than  aver-
 age quantity of the fluid be admitted by the
 uterus, as must be evident to any person
 who has duly studied the mysteries of repro-
 duction, and made himself acquainted with
 the position and economy of the ovaria.
  Thus, as we have seen,  the uterus is a
 most important organ.  Indeed, it may be
 said to govern the woman, for it has a place
 in all her thoughts, but especially  in those
 which  are  occupied  with  love, jealousy,
 vanity  and beauty; hence  it  may be said
 that the reproduction of the species is, in
her, the most important object   in  life.
 And hence, in many of the Eastern nations
 they assign her only a mortal existence, ar-
guing that she would have no sympathies
with, and be of no use in a  world, where
she could no* fulfil  precisely the same end
of being that she does in this.  Far differ-
ent, however, is my opinion os the subject, 
 
 
       becelard's physiology     H3
ior woman's love is more pure and exalted
than that of man—and what than pure and
exalted  love can be more  etherial, or a
greater evidence of the immortalir/ of the
soul?
i      * 
 
CHAPTER X
 Optnwns, suggestions, and information
   on matters connected with the general
   subjects of this work.
   Parturition.—When the  child  is per-
 fectly formed,  and fit for its reception in
 the   world,  manifestations,  which  are
 thought by many  to be voluntary with it-
 self, are given of its desire  to  leave the
 womb.   Some say, however, that labor is
 produced by the reaction of the fibres of the
 uterus, thus causing  a great  distension,
 which makes it compulsory on the fcetus to
 evolve  itself; and others, again, form opi-
 nions quite at variance with either of the
 above;  so  that nothing is actually  known
 of the cause or causes which are the imme-
 diate means of parturition.  After confine-
 ment the  uterus  immediately closes and
 falls into a state of repose, from which it
 is not well to disturb it for at least a month,
 in which time it recovers from the effect of
its recent £ .igr.a and eiaj'iom-. 
 116     becelard's phvsiology.
   Twins.—The proportion of twins to sin-
 gle births are computed as being about one
 to eighty-five ; of three children,  as one to
 seven thousand; and of four or more, as one
 to a  million.  I  attach no importance to
 these opinions.   The probable  cause of a
 plurality of fetuses is the unusual disten-
 sion of the uterus in some women over most
 others, and the profusion of  semen which
 is thereby drawn into the ovaria at the time
 of inception.   This,   by detaching more
 tnan  one ovum would account for the mys-
 tery  best;  but  still  it is merely an  hy-
 pothesis, and cannot be too securely relied
 on ; for with all the exertions and discove-
 ries of modern physicians, the assumption
 of Leewenhock,  that  the embryo  was a
 perfect living being, furnished exclusively
 by the male parent, has  never been set aside
 by proofs to the contrary.  In fact, it can-
 not be denied that animalculse formed like
 tadpoles  exist in  the.  prolific fluid, which
 it seems  possible  may be human beings in
embryo ;   but  the  great probability, as I
 have  before stated, is,  that twins are  the
 result of  an unusual flow of semen into the
ovaria, and the  detachment  tnereby  of
more than one ovum.  Hence, cold, dispaa-
sionate women  rarely have twins, nor any
but those who are  fully developed in the
 {•elvis, and  its attendant organs.   I have
 ikewise  remarked, that  the mrthars  oi 
 117    becelard's physiology.
 twins, are  usually of  short stature, which
 seems to indicate that this rare degree  of
 fruitfulness nay be propitiated by brevity
 of distance between  the extremity of the
 pudendum and the womb.  In the  case  of
 twins the children are independent  of each
 other, each having its own umbilical cord.
 However, they are enveloped in one cho-
 rion, though having a distinct amniom, and
 floating in a separate liquor.  Having spo-
 ken of the system of Leewenhock regarding
 conception, I will give it in full.   He ar-
 gued that the seed of the male contains a
 multitude  of spermatic  animalcules,  all
 capable  of becoming,  by   development,
 beings similar to  their father.  These ani-
 malcules, he says, push  forward along the
 tubes, upon  the ovaria,  where a  general
 engagement takes  place,  wherein  all are
 slain but one, who, master  of the field, finds
 the triumph  of  his victory within the
 ovum which has been prepared for him.
 According  to  this system, then, the sur-
 vival of more than one of the combatants is
 the cause of twins.   Twins, may be detected
 by motions in  more  than  one- part of the
 body at  the same time.  Also by a  greater
 listension of  form than  on  ordinary oc-
 casions.

  Gestation.—The urinal discharge—ow-
ing to the bladder,  then  under oompres- 
118     becelard's  physiology.
sion, being unable to contain it in any quan-
tities—is very frequent towards the period
of gestation; hence,  females  at this time
should live well, so as to prevent an undue
impoverishment of the  system.  Bounett,
recommends  nutritious  drinks,  such  as
gruel,  to which I would add, when  the
parties can afford it, calves feet jelly, cus-
tards, and a little light wine.
  First Life.—Towards  the  seventeenth
or'eighteenth day after  intercourse,  the
ovum begins to assume a determinate struc-
ture,  and to show a  pulsation of the heart
and  circulation  of the  blood.  From  this
period it  is  difficult to procure abortion,
unless by  the insertion  of   instruments.
The law in  relation to the quickened foetus
is all nonsense; the  fetus being quickened
from the first moment of conception.
  The Sexes.—Nothing is more ridiculous
than the notion that the sexes may be pro-
created at pleasure.   Some writers argue
that the two  testicles and the two ovaria
contain the separate germs of males and fe-
males, in  each case the males to the right,
and the females to the  left, so that by  ar-
tificial means the  sex required might be
propitiated.   But this  theory  has  been
completely demolished  by facts, for men
who have lost one of the organs mentioned,
have procreated the sexes  indifferently, 
becelard's physiology.     119
 and sc  have women who were known to
 nave an ovarium deficient.  Girls are gen-
 erally the  first fruits of wedlock,  though
 more boys  are born into the world.  It has
 been remarked that robust  parents  have
 most boys, and delicate parents most girls,
 which  has suggested the  idea  to some
 physiologists, that the more intense is the
 enjoyment  of intercourse, the more chance
 is there that the  result will be a male;
 I  have  seen so many  proofs  to  support
 this theory, that I  advise parents who have
 had many girls, and wish to vary, to assist
 nature with a stimulant.   The fact thai
 illegitimate children are in about two cases
 out of three boys,  is another great support
 of this theory, for such offspring are usually
 the result  of healthy systems and warm
 passions.

  JVursing.—A pregnant woman should not
 ?;ive suck.   If she does, the infant robs the
 betus, and the fcetus  robs the  infant of its
due share of nourishment.  Nor does  the
 mother  escape  without injury  between
them.  Nature herself endeavors to correct
this by  making the  milk at such times
offensive  to the nursling.  And when the
infant refuses the  breast or takes it with
reluctance, it is a good evidence that con-
ception has taken place, as  also,  that  the
infant ought to be weaned, or transferred to 
120     becelards physiology
another nurse,  as it will  derive but littl*
nourishment from the breast of its mother

   Abortion— Causes,  Preventives,  and
Cures.—An  exclusion  of the fcetus  six
weeks after marriage is called a miscarriage,
between that and six months an abortion,
and between that  and  nine, a premature
labor. •  Dancing, riding, and other violent
exercises, chiefly indulged in for pleasure,
during  the  honey  moon, often  produce
miscarriages, by unduly agitating the em-
bryo.   Sometimes  the fault  lies  in some
deficiency on   the  part of the ovum,  in
which  event it will be  expelled by the
uterus,  as an useless and foreign body.  It'
occasionally takes  weeks,  however, and
even  months  to   effect  this  expulsion,
though  the fcetus is dead from the time of
separation.  Abortion  may be caused  by
the inability of the uterus to distend jtseif
beyond  a certain size; and in subjects thus
affected the separation will generally, if ijot
always take place about the same period of
pregnancy.  Tight lacing, a fright, a shock,
ablow  on the  abdomen,  an irritable dis-
position, severe labor, violent excitement
of the passions—pleasurable or otherwise—
and a variety of other causes, as even ex-
cessive  indolence,  and  lying in soft beds,
&.c. may likewise occasion a separation anu
expulsion  of the  foetus  before  its time. 
Female Form as changed by Tight Lacing; 
 
        becelard's physiology.    121
The symptoms, before it takes place,  are
a hoemorrhage from the  vagina, with tran-
sitory  pains  in  the back.  The patient
should then be placed in a recumbent  po-
sition,  and examined;  and  if mental or
bodily  exertion has been  the  cause,  she
should be blooded in the arm, and a gentle
laxitive, or injection administered.  Then,
unless in cases where plethora prevails, a
full dose of  opium—say of thirty or forty
drops—should  be  given;  but when  the
disease  originates in plethora, free purga-
tives, such, however, as will reduce with-
out weakness, are  the best remedies.  By
this treatment, the  separation of the ovum,
already commenced, is  often put  a stop to
The patient  must  then be careful of  her
diet  for many weeks,  partaking  of none
but such as  is light and sparing; and  it
exercise is allowed it should be very mod-
erately  indulged  in,  and through such  a
medium as  an easy carriage, or sedan chair,
with short poles  and carried slpwly  and
with great caution.  Then cold sea bathing,
or indeed any bathing, is of great service ;
and should  there be any  issue of blood from
the vagina, it should be prevented by injec-
tions  of cold water, or any of the usual
applications  in such cases.   Should  the
Patient  be a vigorous  person,  soft  be«
clothes,  and  stimulants must be  avoided,
and also too soft a couch; if otherwise wine 
122    BECELABDS PHYSIOLOGY
may oe permitted and bitter tonics ; but in
either case all intercourse with the husband
must be avoided for several days.   A re-
cumbent position is generally the safest at
these times.   The above remedies,  as  I
indicated, are for  the prevention of abor-
tion; but when regular and contractile pains,
accompained  with  a considerable degree of
hcemorrhage, show that the separation of
the fetus  has already taken place, then the
best thing to  be done- is to assist nature in
its  expulsion, which should always be ac-
complished under  the  direction of  a  skil-
ful physician,  as it would be dangerous to
tamper with  the received  remedies, many
of which, might  be highly advantageous
in one case, and highly injurious in anoth-
er.  Habit may occasion abortion  at the
same period  of pregnancy; but when  a
person has  frequently^ been a sufferer in
this way,  some defect of the uterus  may be
fairly suspected 5$.    (
   Moving of the fatus.—It has been ar-
gued and  passed into a general  belief with
physicians, that the fcetus never moves in
the womb.   But all mothers know to the
reverse of this; and, moreover, the umbili-
cal cord, when of unusual length, has often
been found  twisted several times around
the child's neck, which is a proof  positive
that the  theory referred to is wrong, and
 the mother's right. 
       becelard's  physiology     123
  Food.—The fcetus absorbs a portion of
all the aliments  the  mother partakes of;
how necessary, therefore it is for pregnant
women to be careful of what they eat and
drink.  It has, however, been recommend-
ed to women who  are difficult of  delivery
owing to the smallness of|the pelvis, &c. to
live low, so as to prevent the over-growth
of the child.

  Protracted Gestation.—Haller gives re-
ference to  women  who have  carried the
foetus for fourteen months.  1 do not believe
them, nor, I think, did Haller either.  By
the code  Napoleon, the legitimacy of a
child born three hundred days after a disso-
lution of marriage  may be questioned ; but
this is almost as far in error the other way.
Women,  about   whom  there can be no
doubt,  have gone  ten months, and in the
book of the Apocrypha, entitled the " Wis-
dom of Solomon," that period is allowed.

  Love.—Love  is  principally made up of
desire; and without desire there  would be
but little tendency of  the  sexes for each
other's society.  Thus nature was compell-
ed to  make  love a selfish pleasure  to the
end of population.

  Time.—" Morning " says Ryan " is more
auspicious to fruitfulness than day or night."
"And  the offspring so  generated,"  adds 
 124    becelard's  physiology
 Larry " will  be generally robust, healthy,
 and handsome."  For my own part I can-
 not go so  far, but  rather imagine that all
 hours are  alike, and that the choice of time
 depends upon circumstances.

   Suppression of the  Mensus.—This di«
 sease, if the patient "is not plethoric, may
 be relieved by a hemdrrhage from the nose
 which is  easily effected.  And indeed in
 any case must do more good than harm.

   The Mensus.—The mensus  in  robust
 and amorous  wowen last longer  and  flow
 more copiously than in others.   Young wo-
 men who  have this mark will derive but
 little comfort from  consorting  themselves
 with delicate  or phlegmatic husbands.

  Difference of Sexes.—Menstruation gen-
 erally  ceases  between the  forty-fifth and
 fiftieth year, as  also the powers of concep-
 tion, and after that, no matter  what  may
 nave been  written to the contrary, the great
majority of women care but little for the
other   sex, further  than in   friendship.
There can be  very few, if any,  exceptions
to this rule, for menstruation is necessary to
libidinus desires.  Men,  on  the contrary,
though on  the aggregate shorter lived than
 women, have feelings which  incline them
 towards the other sex, and are capable of
reproduction to a very  advanced age. 
        becelard's physiology.    125
   Labor.—Labor pains are not generally so
 severe with females who continue to live
 with their  husbands,  as  with those  who
 have  separated from them sometime  pre-
 vious to confinement.  There is no occasion
 whatever for  married people  separating
 during the   latter  stages  of pregnancy
 There  may be, however, for  a  time after
 conception, so as to ensure fruitfulness.

   Milk.—The  milk  determinates to tha !
 breast in proportion to the irritation produ- '
 eed by the infant on the nipple.  Hence, ■
 women with strong children secrete the
 most  milk; and hence, also  virgins have
 been able to suckle children, the  infant
 drawing the  nourishment  to the breast,
 which would otherwise have passed through
 a different channel.  The milk taken by a >
 healthy infant equals in weight  about a
 third of the food taken by the nurse, whom
 it  is obvious,  should prepare herself for
 such a disbursement, or both will suffer.

  Disguise.—A female who wishes to dis-
guise the marks of pregnancy, might pre- :
vent the flow of the milk to the breast by
an artificial irritation of the uterus.   Hence
voung mothers  who have any  affections, or
suffered recent injury in the latter, can fur- |J
aish their infants with but  little breast
milk.
1 
 126    becelard's physiology
   Sensations.—Infants  laugh towards the
 middle of the second month, which shows
 that they begin at that period to be  capa-
 ble of agreeable sensations.   Not to  smile
 at  that time,  or very  soon after,  may be
 taken as an evidence of sickness.

   Teething.—The  small molar teeth ap-
 pear between the age of eighteen  months
 and two years, and then the first dentition
 is complete, and the life of the child more
 secure.  Convulsions and diarrhoeas are the
 most fatal accidents attending dentition, and
 call for all the nurse's  care.   Teething
 children are often lost by neglect, or ill ad-
 vice.   Perhaps  the  best  of  remedies is a
 good open, bracing air, and hence, children
 thrive much better  in the country  than in
 towns or cities-

  Green Sickness.—Suppressed catamenia.
 excessive   menstruation,  dyspepsia,  and
other causes,  occasionally  produce green
 sickness which may be  detected  by the
 pale,  lurid, and greenish cast of the skin;
 but the leading cause is dissapointment in
love, or in  other v\ ords inability to obtain
the object of one's  desires; for it rarely
effects either sex until after the age of pu-
berty ; and then it is known to have a man-
ifest   influence  over the prolific  organs.
 For this disease when occasioned by  lover
cooling aperients, the daily use cf a bidet 
        becelard's physiology     127
 of cold water used unsparingly, and meagre
 diet may be of advantage ; but a more cer-
 tain remedy will be found in a subsequent
 chapter.

  lmpotency.—In  a  previous chapter  I
 have spoken at length  of this complaint,
 and given  a variety of remedies.  I will
 here add a  few more, which  are used  in
 many places, but of the efficacy of which 1
 have had no experience, and heard no proof.
 They are ginsing—which is in high favor
 with  the  Chinese—blisters,  setons, and
 caustics, also friction with  amoneated oil
 or  spirits,  and stinging or flagellating the
 loins with  nettles.  I have likewise heard
 high praise of electricity.  But I have no
 doubt  that the  Lucina cordial is a more
 effective remedy  in the premises, than all
 others put  together.

  Uterine  Septem,—When conception has
 taken  place, the membranes  produced  in
 the  uterus  form a bar to the descent of any
 subsequent flow of the prolific fluid, so that
 a female cannot conceive twice, unless, in-
 deed,  the   act be  consummated   twice
 in  the  same  day, before the membrane
 has  had  time  to  form.    This  is  an
 axiom not  to be  interfered  with,  by the
fact that twins are not  always born  at the
 same time 
/2S     MECKLARrA PHYSIOLOUf.
  Leucorrhaa.—There is nothing so good
for Ieucorrhcea in advanced  age, say from
forty and upwards, as emetics, sea-sickness,
and change of Glimate, and afterwards  to
tone the  stomach  with  some  nutriticua
stimulant.

  Seminal  Flux.—When  produced  by
local causes  inherent  in the  body  may
be cured by  severe  exercise, purgatives,
and low diet; but  marriage is the only
certain and lasting remedy 
 
 
                                «

              CHAPTER XI

 The art of Coutship—Remedy for Love Sfc.
  Marriage being the natural state of social
 life, and the only one in which human be-
 ings can be really settled, and content, the
 science  of obtaining partners should be
 well understood, not only as relates to the
 choice  of form and  quality,  but also the
 mode of ingratiating ourselves  into the
 favor  of those who take our affections cap-
 tive, or  whom we  may think so constituted
 as to be capable of making us happy   And
 yet this science—for it were doing it injus-
 tice to distinguish it by a less imposing title
 —is but very imperfectly understood by the
 mass; a fact which occasions millions and
millions of unhappy marriages; for men and
women, for the most part, not being able to
obtain the objects of their desires, and which
they had set their hearts on, take what they
can get in despair,and are therefore but rarely
suited according to their wants, and I might
»dmost add their necessities.
         9 
130     BECELARD'B PHYSIOLOGY
  Did men know how  to go about  making
love, as it is called, or women to comport
themselves so  as to charm the  man they
prefer  above  others,  this  evil  would be
corrected; and I  think I can give them
such instructions  in the premises, as will
leave such knowledge  a  mystery to them
no longer.
  To begin, let me impress it  upon the
reader, that to  be natural is the great secret
of success in  love making.   To disguise
one's nature, and study affectation in court-
ing, is the very error of the moon. Pretend
to t>e what you are not and you are nothing;
and hence, sympathy not. knowing how  to
take you, does  not take you at all.   Appear
as you are, and you will be  to some one,
and that one just the being most qualified
to make you happy, the very  perfection of
her desires; disguise your nature and you
set her affections al fault, while your imita-
ted character will  have but  little impres-
sion on the hearts of those, whom  such a
character, were it  genuine, and  possessed
of the mysterious attraction of truth, would
be sure to captivate.   Besides, if you ob-
tain a wife by deception—that is, by assu-
ming a nature  that is foreign  to  your own
—you obtain one that may cause you much
domestic uneasiness; and you cannot blame
her, for she takes  you  for that which you
are not, and which, if you were, would have 
       BECELARD'S PHYSIOLOGY.     131
 insured happiness to both.  Thus two con-
 pies  will be  married, and lead wretched
 lives, whereas, had  each been united to the
 other's partner, they would all have enjoy-
 ed domestic felicity,  The  word  should
 not be " that woman is  a bad wife,  or that
 man  a bad  husband," but " she or he are
 badly mated,"  for were either  united to a
 person of different  disposition, the proba-
 bility is, that that which is bad in this
 case,  might be  good in  that.  And this
 propriety of selection is a matter of mucn
 more importance than is involved in mere
 domestic bickerings, for were all married
 people  merely sympathetically matched,
 there would be but few elopements and
 little adultery in the world, and married
 men  would feel  more  assured  that they
 were the fathers of their own children than
 many of them do at present  Therefore,
 reader I again  urge  you to woo in truth.
 When your  heart is affected  to a lady go
 boldly forward and  plead your cause with-
 out affectation,  and your eye will  have a
 fire, and your cheek a fervor and a beauty,
and your tongue an eloquence that affec-
tation never knew.   Besides, if the maiden
be one that can reciprocrate your love, the
 mutual electro magnetic union of minds
 will be at once established between you,
 and that accomplished, no power, no rival-
 ry, no coercion,  can tear  your affections 
 132     becklard's PHYSIO LCCi
 asunder—nay, all foreign  agency to disu-
 nite them,  will  but the more effectually
 harmonize their  links,  and-bind them to-
 gether.  Thus if a woman truly loves you,
 get but her guardians and friends  up in
 judgment against you, and the more she
 will love you.   Moreover  truth  disarms
 coquetry—or  in other  words  truth  begets
 truth; for when a woman sees a man's soul
 looking out  of his eyes, if her soul is of a
 nature to mingle  with it, all power of dis-
 simulation is lost, and  she  stands  before
 you the willing captive  of your untutored
 passion.  Again,  affectation is  not  always
disguise, for women are keen  sighted and
 sharp witted, and can detect the counter-
feit, the consequence of which is that they
play on, and probably despise the  suitor,
even though they may yield to their  solici-
 tations.
  In fact, truth  with a  true maiden, and
most maidens are true, is one of the most
powerful  of  love's  auxiliaries—perhaps,
indeed, the  most powerful of all.   Rank
and riches, however they may dazzle the
 mind, are as  nothing to it in forcing theii
 way to the affections. Let  two  men equal
in appearance and education pay their ad-
dresses to one woman; but let the one be
rich and woo affectedly and with dissimu-
lation, and the other be poor but free  from
 any art—save that '"•f using no artifice—and 
        becelard's physiology      133
 throw his whole undisguised  soul  into the
 contest, and my life upon it the latter wiL
 carry the day.
   Let me  not be understood as dissanction-
 ing flattery.  True lovers cannot flatter, for
 they feel all they say.   On the contrary, if
 you imagine the  lady you have set  your
 heart on, to have the gentleness of a dove,
 and the beauty of an angel, and the  perfec-
 tion of all the graces, tell her so, for to do
 otherwise were to disguise your sentiments,
 and thus  disobey  the advice I  give you.
 But you may ask will the lady believe you ?
 She  will—at least she will  believe you
 mean what you say, which is all that is re-
 quired as it proves your devotion, for what
 comes from the heart goes to the heart, and
 is measured, at least in love,  according to
 the standard of the motive that dictated it
 Flatter, however, without feeling what you
 say, and your praise falls to the ground, for
 then it is flattery; and  though such words
 may strike pleasantly on  a maiden's ear
 they  cannot penetrate  through the  barrier
 of her affections. And how is this ? Because
 there  is no soul  in them,  and soul  sympa-
 thises with soul, and not with words.   Or,
 in other words, love is like electricity, and
truth  and falsehood are its  grear conduc-
tor and  non-conductor; so that they  who
trust  their  passion to the latter,  mostly
scatter it to the winds; whereas those who 
 134    becelard's physiology
 are guided by the  former,  rarely fail to
 strike home, and secure a victory.   This
 system may seem strange with  men wbose
 faith  it is that women are mere gossamers,
 to be caught by every summer breeze; but
 I can tell them that  it is men who are the
 gossamers;  or  rather  that  men—male
 lovers, by affectation hide the true coin, to
 pass the counterfeit, which is  mostly  de-
 fected ; and this is the process by  which
 coquettes  are generally manufactured, for
 maidens—and they are fully justified in so
 doing—will put on  masks  to  the end of
 meeting deception  with deception.  Trust
 me, reader, that there could not be a more
 appropriate motto  selected for the escut-
 cheon of Cupid than the following, to wit:
  " Truth is powerful and must prevail."
  After truth, probably the most powerful
minister in the Court of Love is  determina-
tion, united with constancy.   This will of-
ten turn  the scale  against men  otherwise
better qualified  for success, but who have
less energy.  Let a lover, if he knows that
he has touched a single chord in the heart
of the maiden he affects, never give way to
adverse circumstances—but be up and do-
ing,  up and doing, up and  doing.   " He
should not," says a contemporary, " sit
down and brood and pine under what  im
only a common-place misfortune—a mere
trial of his energies—but rather make it 
        becelard's physiology     133
 the means of insuring  a victory, and en-
 hancing the glory of his triumph."  His
  Jilan is to be always present when he can.
  f this is impossible he  must write to  the
 lady and  if necessary fight for  her.  He
 should be a scaler of nunneries, and a storm-
 er of domestic  fortifications.  He must as-
 sume a claim on  the  maiden superior to
 that of parent, guardian, brother, or rival-
 In a word, he must be constant, determined.
 importunate,   and  courageous,  and  his
 chances for success are twenty to one ovet
 all rivalry; and  yet the more  so,  if  the
 object  of his regard be  independent  and
 high souled.  Many marriages are brought
 about  by  the opposition on  the part of
 guardians and  others which lead to those
 developments, that would not have other-
 wise taken place, for  they give lovers an
 opportunity of proving qualities  which all
 ladies admire, and which but few can resist.
 The Marquis de----locked up his daughter
 from communicating with Monsieur L ——
 whom, as it  was subsequently  ascertain-
 ed she then cared little about.  Monsieur
 took advantage of his position to  prove  his
devotion, by climbing to her over the house
top, and shooting a rival who had previous-
ly stood as well with the maiden as himself;
and the consequence was, a ladder of ropes,
and  an elopement.  Thus  constancy and
its adjimcts not merely  enabled  Mons. L. 
136    becelard's physiology
to hold his own, but actually to make cap-
ital out  of the  means  employed  for his
discomfiture.   And cases of the sort are
occurring every hour, and will so continue
to occur until  the  end of the chapter
Those who make use of this advice, how«
ever, should in the first place, make sure
that the lady is  not altogether indifferent
in the premises, or  all their labor may be
vain.
  A s'rong line of demarcation must be
dra-vn  between determination  and assur-
ance ; the latter hinders,  almost as much
as the  other  promotes  success.  That is,
the assurance that is akin to recklessness;
that appearance of self-confidence which
seems to assume for the party governed by
it a superiority  over all others, and will
not permit him to unbend himself  even to
the lady of his love.  A  person who wooes
thus, will often woo in vain; for maidens
love to be sued to,  and neither bullied into
matrimony, or asked to consent in  a take-
me or leave me just as you please sort of
manner ; for the one indicates a tyrannical
disposition, ar d the other carelessness; and
women, who have their passions more un-
der control than men, will not often marry
those who either evidence a disposition to
be  lord and master, or else who care but
little about them.  Hence we should never
tusuiud  an overbearing semi-ruffianism of 
 
 
        becelard's physiology.    137
 maimer—which some  men  call  indepen-
 dence OL character—to the lady we would
 marry; and neither, at any time treat her
 cavalierly—unless she is a confirmed coquet
 —for women will treasure up manners, and
 glances, and words spoken, that do not
 please them, and often use them to the dis-
 advantage of one lover in favor of another.
 However, I only condemn  the assurance of
 recklessness or  insolence;  for a modest as-
 surance, that  unites confidence with re-
 spect,  is what no man should be without,
 and what every woman loves.
  Bashfulness  is  the  other  extreme, ana
 should, as much as possible,  be avoided.
 It prevents men from coming to the point
 at once; and ladies in general  detest long
 courtships; besides, it is often taken for
 cowardice, and  to be known as a coward, is
 almost to be read out of  love's calendar
 Men who hang back through bashfulness,
 will often  have the cup of their hope and
 expectations snatched  from  their lips by
lovers  of less power  to please, but  also
 less timidity than themselves.  This  same
 bashfulness is one of  the  great  causes  of
old bachelorship, and hence, of old maiden-
ship, inasmuch as ladies must wait to  be
asked.   You will find that three fourths  of
 the bachelors of  your  acquaintance, have
minds formed for matrimony, but a timidity
in ladies' society, which has still kept them 
13S     becklard's physiology
from procuring a wife.  In company witn
their  own sex, it  is true, they will  talk
largely enough ; but  set  them in a room
with  a  young and handsome female, and
their  courage is gone—they can no more
make love  than they can fly.  I speak of
old bachelors of middle age, for when they
get beyond  that,  their bashfulness gives
way to crustiness, and then they can speak
fast enough; but it is then to late to answer
any good purpose.
  A strongly marked diffidence cannot be
altogether removed, but it may be corrected,
especially when it is made clear to a lover
what  he may lose by it.  A  case which
illustrates the evils that may be effected by
bashfulness occurs to me   An acquaintance
of mine visited the house of another acquain-
tance for a  long period, but never  spoke of
love; though it seems he was enamoured ot
our mutual friend's sister.  Another person
solicited her hand and obtained it, and died
five years after.  Then, through some acci-
dent,  my bashful  acquaintance, who  still
cherished a passion  for  the  lady, made
known the state of his heart, and soon after
led her to the altar, having been previously
informed that had he only spoken in time
he might have been the lady's first husband
Another case, of a more melancholy charac-
ter, appeared a few years since in the news-
papers : " Monsieur Jaquillard, of Lyons, 
       becelard's physioz-ogy      13S»
was for four years intimate in the family of
the beautiful  but unfortunate Agnes Dela-
field, and had conceived for her a passion
of the purest, and deepest nature.   His
bashfulness, however, prevented a declara-
tion of his feelings until it was too late, for
before he could muster courage for a confess-
ion of his sentiments, Monsieur Guizot (his
inferior in both person and circumstances,)
was introduced to the  lady, and made her
his wife.  Jaquillard was  at the wedding,
and being observed by the bride to be in
tears, she questioned him on the subject,
when a full acknowledgment of his situation
took place, as also an admission on the part
of the lady,  that she had loved him all
along—had frequently rejected suitors for
his sake, and only consented to marry an-
other  under the  conclusion that he  cared
nothing about her   The result was that in
a few weeks after the marriage, the husband
caught his wife  and her paramour  in the
act of adultery,  and killed them both on
the spot.
  Let no-man be deterred from making
love to a handsome woman through home-
liness  of person,  If he has the other re-
 Suisite virtues, he will suffer but little from
 lie want of  beauty.  Men who throw all
their reliance on their personal appearance
for conquest, are  usually defeated when a
rival of stamina  enters the arena along witn 
140     BEC21LARD-6 PHYSIOLOGY
them.   Of  course  good look3 are .useful
auxiliaries, but not  to be altogether relied
on, unless with some silly unskilled speci-
men of the other sex, (of whom, to its hon-
or be it spoken, there are not many) who
were better lost than won.  The, reason is
obvious ; women may like beauty in a lorer
but they prefer manhood; and much beautj
and much manhood, connected in one per-
son, rarely go together.
  To a  man of any nerve there can be but
little difficulty in, what is generally termed
•' popping the question."  Before he comes
to that point, however, he should ascertain
that the person he addresses h«>3, at least, a
general regard  for him; for tnere are men
who have too much nerve in this business;
that  is, who are, as it were, " poppers of
the question"  by  profession, as  they  are
scarcely introduced to a lady before they ask
her to marry them; and these general woo-
ers rarely  obtain good matches.  Theirs is
haste without speed; though the method
has often been known to be eminently suc-
cessful.   For  instance,  that  celebrated
heiress and beauty, Mademoiselle de Fleury,
married a gentleman one  morning, whom
she had never seen till the day  before;
had he, therefore, not been quick to " pop
the question,"  it is not probable  he would
have been the husband of one of the most
rbarming women, and wealthy heiresses in 
        becelard's physiology     14.
 France. Still unless under very peculiar cir-
 cumstances indeed, I think a man should
 be three months acquainted with a maiden
 before  he asks for a betrothment; but to
 delay the period of proposition much longer
 than that, is to argue  the  lingerer, and to
 trifle with destiny   Lovers should always
 remember that life is short, and that they
 can never begin to enjoy it thoroughly until
 they are married.
   Making love by flowers, as they do in the
 East, is a very beautiful mode, and saves
 much embarrassment.   However, there is
 nothing half so distressing about asking the
 question, for the first time, as most young
 men imagine.  It is like a plunge into a
 bath, where all the apprehension is over,
 the  moment after  you  touch  the water
 There is no  use in having a set speech
 ready, for in the agitation of the  moment
 you  will forget every word of  it.  Hence
 a man will be studying his part for a year
 or two, and when the time arrives, he finds
 that he  has to trust to nature—which, by
 the way is  a very excellent dependence,
and seldom forsakes us in such cases, when
we have need of her.  Therefore, reader,
when you are about, to make a declaration
 of your sentiments,*take no heed as to what
you  shall say, or how you shall  act,  bvt,
 arra^d with  love  alone, go fearlessly to
 your  task, mutter something by  way of 
142     BECKLARD'S PHYSIOLOGY
preliminary—no matter what, for neither
yourself, nor the lady will be in a way to
understand it—and your  hands, lips and
arms will  do  the rest,  and that, too, more
effectually than all the words in the world.
I here speak  of an occasion in  which the
lady is willing.  Should she be otherwise,
and repulse your advances in a way that
cannot be mistaken, the shock, though it
may wound, will completely disembarrass
you, and not only beget in you  sentiments
appropriate to  the  circumstances of your
case, but also a ready  eloquence  to give
vent to them.   The reader may  have every
confidence  in what I  am saying,   for I
speak  from the experience of hundreds,
sustained by an intimate knowledge of the
human  heart and  mind whan  under the
influences and conducting the affairs of love
In cases where, from circumstances, a man
is desirous of professing an attachment to a
lady who  is  almost a  stranger to him, a
writer  on  matrimony gives the subjoined
advice, which  is  not  amiss, provided it
could be remembered at the time when its
assistance  is lequired;  and indeed in the
cases it is recommended for, as they  do not
involve a  full and ripened passion,  which
loses memory and all  things in itself, it
probably might.  It is as follows:  " When
the gentleman  has  somewhat familiarized
himself with the lady, and perceived that he 
BECELARD'S PHYSIOLOGY.     143
 Is, at all events, not an object of aversion or
 ridicule, he should seek a favorable oppor-
 tunity, and speak to this  effect:  ' I have
 come, lady, to take a probably final leave of
 you.'  The lady will naturally ask the rea-
 son ; and then, if the lover be a person of
 any  feeling, the occasion may give a depth
 to his tone, and an effect to his eloquence,
 that may turn the beam, though it wavered
 before, in his favor.  ' Because, lady, I find
 that your society has become so dear to me
 that I fear I must fly to save myself, as  I
 may not dare  to hope that the suit of a
 stranger  can  be crowned with success.'
 The lady thus honestly addressed will feel
 herself bound to give a fair answer, espe-
 cially as  coquetting at such  a time might
 be dangerous, providing the gentleman has
 found favor in her sight; she will there-
 fore, if her heart is  in  the affirmative,
 blush and tremble, and hesitatingly declare
 that  the question has come  upon her una-
 wares—that one cannot give a decided an-
swer ; and  this, of course,  would  amount
to an unqualified  assent.   If however, she
stands the announcement without agitation
and informs her suitor that under such cir-
cumstances he had better remain away, as
she can only see him as a friend, &c, the
 wisest thing he can do is to follow her ad-
 vice, as the result would prove that he had
 made no impression on her, and accordingly 
144     becklard's physiology
would stand but a poor chance of doing sc
in future; it being an established principle
that if a woman's heart is not influenced at
a first or second interview, she but rarely
surrenders it on a maturer acquaintance."
The writer admits that this latter rule may
have its exceptions, as women have been
known  to become enamoured of men who
had previously excited their contempt,  and
even aversion;  and also as  there are  in-
stances on record of married ladies who
eloped with men whom they had rejected
in favor of their subsequently despised hus-
bands ;  but he contends—and I agree with
him—that these cases are one in the thou-
sand, and cannot affect the  philosophy of
Voltaire, who exclaims :—
" If women's hearts men's earliest vows disdain,
All future efforts there will be in vain."
  Procrastination in courtship is shameful;
and a man that makes love for a number of
years, wasting  the time  of  a maiden in
anxiety and suspense, which should be em-
ployed in domestic pleasure and usefulness,
deserves, when he would fain change his
;ondition, either to be  sentenced  in  his
turn to a longer period of unwilling bach-
elorship, or even to be rejected altogether
However, ladies in such cases, are some-
times to blame, for if they find it to be the
natute of their lovers to linger, it will be
their fault if they do not  spur them  into 
         becelard's physiology     145
 an immediate arrangement, by a little well
 directed coquetry with another person, or
 else by some yet ^more decided means, as
 calling them to account for their tardiness;
 a course of proceeding, which under the cir-
 cumstances, prudence and  modesty would
 hold them fully justified in making.
   Men remain bachelors for various causes,
 among which  may be mentioned  as fore-
 most, bashfulness,  which keeps them from
 courting;  the  dread of not being  able  to
 maintain a family; or some hereditary  af-
 fliction, ;,as the scrofula, which they are
 afraid they might entail upon their offspring
 The latter do well  to remain single, but
 there is no excuse for. the others; for bash-
 fulness may be  easily conquered by deter-
 mination ;  and it is almost as easy to sup-
 port  a family  as a  single man ;  indeed,
 perhaps more so, for the necessity of labor
 mostly produces the facilities necessary to
 accomplish it.  I may safely add,  that no
 man is single from choice,  and an affection
 for his solitary condition.  On the contrary
 the single  throughout  envy the happily
 married.
  A great  deal has been said against love
 at first sight.   My  conviction is that it  is
 the surest,  purest, and most lasting of all
love;  and in proof of this it may be adduced
that persons who have missed the first
 object of their affecticns "xurely find them-
         in 
146     becelard's  physiology.
selves  suited in the  second.  There is  a
mystery—aD  action of nature—in love at
first sight which the nshnydo not  under-
stand.   They generally attribute  it to the
effect of a pretty face,  ancle, &c,   and
argue that it would be foolish to indulge
in it, and that it is a chimera which will
soon be obliterated from the mind.  In fact
however, and as a general rule, the  case is
far otherwise, for first sight love is iirnine-
teen cases  out  of .twenty the effect  of  a
mysterious agency acting on two  minds
naturally suited to each  other, but which
have never before come within each other's
influence.  It is  not animal passion,  it is
mental  magnetism.  It is  the mutual at-
traction of two souls, that occasion in each
other sensations  of ecstacy which they had
never before experienced.   It is, in fine,
nature endeavoring to effect a union, where
sympathies would be united, as well as
hands.   I would further maintain,  that
love at  first sight,  when it  can be truly
called love, is always mutual.  True, either
man or  woman may be smitten  by a per-
son seen but on a single  occasion, where
the feeling has not been reciprocated.   But
time soon conquers such a passion, and the
object of it is either forgotten or remembered
Without pain.  When however, the feeling
lasts, and grows, and shows no tendency to
decay,  then it is  certain thtt   a  mental 
        BECELARD'S PHYSIOLOGY.     147
chain exists between the two minds, how-
ever far they may be apart, keeping them
still in connection*
  It may not, however be  always well to
give way to love at first sight.  There may
be something in the  character, position or
person of the party that  inspires it, which
would make her an unsuitable wife, and
therefore a little inquiry before the passion
had rooted  itself, might save a great deal
of subsequent vexation. Let any man nurse
a passion for any length *>of time,  and no
matter what he may subsequently discover
amiss with the object that occasioned it, ne
will  find it very difficult to withdraw him-
self from her snares.  Thus men have be-
come enamoured of women, whom they first
presumed to be as chaste as they were fair;
and  have  subsequently married  them—
though discovering in the mean time that
they were no better than they should be—
owing to the fact that they were unequal to
the task of  conquering their affections.  A
book was published some years ago in Bor-
deaux which was strongly illustrative of my
position.  It gave an account of  twenty
marriages which occurred between respect-
able men and licentious women, the former
being aware of the previously evil courses
of the wives they were taking to their bo-
soms, but not able to escape the unhappy
passion  they had been inspired with, by 
 l48     BECELARD'S PHJfSIOLOGY.
 the females  before  they discovered the
 error of  their ways.  This book was called
 the " Freaks of Hymen," and was said to
 have been the experience of an ungowned
 clergyman.  And one of the marriages itre-
 corded, I remember, had been consummated
 between  one of the most brilliant lawyers
 in France, and a theatrical supernumerary of
 infamous character, whom  he  became en-
 amoured  of at a little village where she had
 oeen on a summer excursion, and where she
 passed for the niece of an  old lady—the
 widow of an officer as she said—but whom
 he subsequently ascertained to be no better.
 than a retired procuress. However, notwith-
 standing  that he discovered  all these mat-
 ters in time  to have profited  by  their
 knowledge, the arrow had penetrated too
 deeply to be withdrawn; and thus an eminent
lawyer married a courtezan, knowing her
to be such, though when he first wooed her
it was under the presumption that she was
a virtuous  maiden.  Another  remarkable
 case is mentioned in the work of a learned
physiologist.  It is as follows, Count D----
 of L----saw a lady at a fashionable milli-
 ner's, and became smitten with her almost
 superhuman beauty.  He learned that  she
 was but a few davj  in the city, and resided
with her brother at a certain hotel.  Thither
he went and obtained an introduction; and
   r a brief  acquaintance, during which 
becelard's physiology.    149
 the lady's wit and loveliness had completely
 captivated him, he proposed for her hand—
 the fervor  of  his fascination being such,
 that  he had not the prudence to make in-
 quiry as to rank or  character.  The lady,
 however, would not consent, though seem-
 ingly half willing, but at length, being weary
 of his solicitations, informed him that  she
 was Mademoiselle L----the most celebrat-
 ed and beautiful courtezan of the day;  and
 added that the gentleman along with her was
 not her brother, but her friend.  Of course
 the Count was thrown all aback, and he fled
 from  the false goddess of his adoration; but
 he could not fly from her influence, for in
 two months afterwards he was at her feet,
 and  extorting from her a  promise that she
 would sin  no  more—which  promise  she
 faithfully kept—made her his lawful wife
 My own experience, too, is rife with such
 cases  ; and also of cases where men married
 ladies afflicted  with incurable mental or
 bodily diseases, the existence of which they
 were  not aware of during the earlier period
 of courtship, though duly  informed  of
 them  before matrimony.
  Consequently, it behooves a man to look
well before he leaps,—that is, before he lets
his passion  get the master  of him,—for
afterwards he may be too blind to see  the
subject clearly.   However, there are reme-
dies  for  love, even when at  the worst— 
150     BECELARD'S physiology
remedies  which  can  counteract  despair,
Drevent suicide, and restore the mind to its
natural equilibrium.   One is abstinence
any moderate passion may be starved out;
and  it must be more  than moderate, if it
can  resist a  northern latitude, and a  low
diet. Cathartics and blood-letting, or either
will assist the cure, during which warm
bed  clothes,  must  be  dispensed  with as
much as possible.   At such a time excitiMj
books, especially novels, should be avoided,
and  stirring pursuits, whether of business
or pleasure, indulged in.  Men, when they
are crossed in love, generally fly to intoxi-
cating drinks, which cross them ten times
more.  The wine stoup, sharpens desire and
memory,  instead of producing apathy  and
oblivion;  and so must any  thing which
warms the blood, and  increases the chyle,
for most love is a passion less of  the mind
than the body.   Sea sickness  is also a great
moderator of the passions, and often has a''
lasting  effect.  But a low vegetable diet,
medicine, business occupations—or manly
pursuits of pleasure—and  an  avoidance of
all excitement likely  to  produce erotic
feelings—unless they are  indulged in—
are remedies sufficient for the generality of
disappointments in love.
   When,  however, the disease has taken
too deep  a roof* to be eradicated  by such
remedies, there is another that cannot fail 
        becelard's PHYSIOLOGY     131
 That is,  cure one passion  with another!
 Methinks I see the rejected lover laughing
 bitterly at me  through his despair, for ad-
 vising him to do a thin-, which he feels to
 be impossible.  Rapt up in his idolatry and
 his torture,  his  mind cannot look beyond
 the object of them;  all women are homely
 and valueless in comparison with that one ,•
 and it is utterly impossible to adore at ano-
 ther  shrine.  So  thinks  the rejected  and
 despairing lover.   But lover, rouse yourself,
 and you will soon not only discover your
 mistake, but probably rejoice in your present
 rejection.   Rouse yourself, I say, and rush
 into society—go from promenade to theatre,
 from concert to ball room—if the object you
 are in quest  of may not  be seen  in the do-
 mestic circles of your friends—and you will
 soon find some one that (in the language of
 the great English poet, whose hero, Romeo,
 burning with  despair at  his rejection by
 Roseline, finds more than consolation in the
 beauty of Juliet) "will soon  make you
 think your stoan a crow."  And should you
 not succeed  in becoming  the subject of a
 sudden  captivation,  select any  handsome
 lady of a nature suited to your wants, and
 make  love to her with perseverance and
determination; and, no matter how indiffe-
rent she may be to you at the commence-
ment, if she has beauty and worth, she will
so grow int* your heart that  in a little 
152     BECKLARD'S  PHYSIOLOGY.
while you would not change her for tin
woman that repulsed you, and a  double
dowry to boot.   And not only may one
passion be corrected  by another,  but the
deepest despair ever produced in the mind
of man by the pangs of disappointed  love,
may be effectually conquered and dispelled
by a brief life of libertinism.   Far be it
from me, however, to advise such a remedy;
and yet,  perhaps, it might be justified in
cases where  the sacrifice might  be the    ■'
means of preventing suicide.                ^
  I have  given  little  or no advice to the  ™
female sex in this chapter, and but little is
necessary. They are natural adepts in love
making—or rather, they are the passive
principle, which has little to do in the
affairs of  courtship, but  to respond to the
action of another.   Woman's province is to
attract; and this she can  generally do best
without the assistance of  artifice, unless
that  permissable artifice which enables her
to set off her beauties to the best advantage.
Here, too, she is generally perfect, know-
ing  the  colors, the  attitudes,  and the
costumes, that are most becoming to her;
but as some ladies  often  display a want ot
taste, in  these  particulars, I  have given
some instructions  on the subject, which
may prove useful, in a chapter on the art of
beauty.  Ladies  may also profit by what I
have said on the choice and  selection of 
       BECELARD'S PHYSIOLOGY.    153
partners, but probably not so much as the
other sex,  for they  are  quick witted and
keen  sighted in such matters, and  could
generally pick out a partner suited to their
nature, and adequate to  their wants; and
if it frequently happens  that they are not
mated so well as they might wish, it should
be remembered that the fault is not theirs,
as it is not so much their province to choose
as to be chosen.   It is true,  the power
of rejection is mostly in their hands;  but to
reject the person they do not  care  for is
not exactly obtaining possession of the one
they would have preferred above all others ;
and so, not being able to  suit themselves so
well as they could wish, they compromise
the matter by suiting themselves as well as
they can.
   There  is  but little to be added to thisi
department; but to  sum it up let me ob-
serve that first love, when founded on a
worthy object,  should be cherished  above
all others, as it is, in fact, a sort of mental
magnetism drawing two souls  of suitable
qualifications  together;  that  truth and
honor are love's most powerful  auxiliaries;
that perseverance and  determination may
carry the day .against great  odds;  that a
brazen assurance disgusts women, while a
confidence united  with  mtodesty, delights
them ; that to woo a coquet a man must be
s coquet—or  else, if his  position  in her 
154     becelard's physiology
affections be such that he has no fear for it,
and indeed in any case, the effect might be
good—to compel her to decorum by a little
gentle severity; that bashfulness is the bane
of courtship and must be corrected;  and
that the best thing all bachelors and maid-
ens, two or three years over  the  age of
puberty, can do, is to get married, as there
is no such thing, in this state of existence,
as single blessedness 
CHAPTER XII.
 Resemblance between  Parents and thetr
                Offspring
   A late physiological writer  in  England
 has published  a work,  nearly taken  up
 with an attempt to prove that all human
 offspring bear an equal resemblance to both
 parents.  I  have read the work, which has
 the disadvantage of being too prolix—that
 is, of containing so many words, and so few
 original  ideas, that the latter are nearly
 buried and  lost in the  former;  but not-
 withstanding, many of its  arguments are
 ingenious, and some  of them, as I am in-
clined to think, new.   The general theory,
however, is  as old as the hills—has  been
written on repeatedly—and is  familiar to
every midwife of much practice—not, per-
haps, through books,  but through  the test
of their own experience.  Guy de la Brosse
wrote and lectured on it in Paris, in the
beginning of the seventeenth century.  John,
Gasper  Gevartitius, the  celebrated critic, 
 J 56    becelard's  physiology.
 reviewed  an ancient  manuscript on  it,
 which he  found in a library at Antwerp.
 Diascorides, a Greek physician of  the lime
 of Nero, spoke of it, and said that Theoph-
 rastes, a distinguished philosophical botan-
 ist, was  a  firm  believer  in the theory.
 And perhaps twenty other writers of autho-
 rity, with whose  works we are acquainted,
 have either maintained  or alluded to it, at
 different periods,  so that the assumption by
 the English writer, that it  is " a newly
 discovered law," is, on his part perfectly
 gratuitous, and not more  gratuitous  than
 untrue.  Perhaps, however,  he made the
 discovery by himself, not having previously
 heard of it or seen it  in print; but if so, it
 strikes me that  he cannot  lay claim to a
very extensive reading  or  conversation on
physiological subjects.  Nevertheless, as I
have  indicated,  the English writer  has
advanced, as I think,  some new points,
 which he deserves credit for, for if they do
not exactly establish principles—and I am
not prepared to say they do  not—they at
least evidence consideraole ingenuity.
  The received opinion is that every infant
 bears in'his  face, form, and  even mental
system a mixed up resemblance of both pa-
rents.  This mutual resemblance is often so
confused as to obliterate any distinct re-
semblance to either, though  containing in
itself the assurance that the child is legitt- 
        becelard's  PHYSIOLOGY.     10?
 mate.  Sometimes the mother will predom-
 inate in the form, and the father in the face,
 and vice versa.  And again, the upper part
 of the countenance will show its derivation
 from one parent, and the  lower from the
 other.  Magnin, in his work on  Offspring,
 endeavored to perfect this system by show-
 ing that at the time of intercourse,  the
 most active party—that is, the party whose
 energies were dominant—gave the upper
 regions, from the head to the breast,  the
 latter inclusive; and the  other the  re-
 mainder.  But this systennis manifestly er-
 roneous ; as children generally,  if not al-
 ways, have a likeness to both progenitors
 in their countenance.   Dr. Guenn's opinion
 is, and he is sustained in it by many able
 physicians and physiologists, that no matter
 how striking the resemblance of the coun-
 tenance may be to one parent, the features
 are always so modified as to have an expres-
 sion of the  other; and thus a likeness is
often observable between   a parent  and
child, though  their faces, to a casual ob-
server, may be of an  entirely opposite form
and character
  Without  arguing against  this system, I
must confess that I am no convert to it, for
I have  seen children who  were the very
image of the father, without bearing  any
resemblance either in form or expression—
at least that I could detect—to the mother 
 15$     becelard's physiology
—which seems to be proof positive against
it, for where the likeness is between the
offspring and the male progenitor, it leaves
no suspicion of foul play.   However, I
may possibly  have been deceived by my
own eyes; for one person will often observe
a resemblance between two people, which
cannot be discovered by another; but men
generally believe what they  see, or think
they see ; and therefore I may be held ex-
cusable for my want of faith in this feature
of the theory of connexional resemblances,
notwithstanding«the eminence and respon-
sibility of the parties who propagate and
support it.
   I here speak of mutual resemblance, as
it  unites in the face, for I hold it to be an
axiom that an infant never was born who
did not bear more or less a likeness to both
parents;  and so thoroughly am I convinced
of this, that  were a child exhibited to me
in whom no resemblance in  face or forma-
tion to its assumed male  progenitor might
be traced, no argument could  convince me
that the husband of the mother was the
father of the child; that  is,  unless an at-
tempt was made to saddle the parentage on
another person.
   The theory of the English writer,  which
he calls new, but which is  only new i*
part,  is equally liable to objection.  He
says, that one parent contributes  the ante- 
         becelard's physiology     159
 rior and upper middle part of the head, the
 osseus,  or bony part of the face, the forma
 of the  organs  of  sense (the external ear,
 under lip, lower part of the nose, and eye-
 brows being often modified), and the whole
 of the  internal nutritive  system; the re-
 semblance to this parent being consequent-
 ly found  in  the forehead,  and  the bony
 part of the face, as the orbits, cheek bone?,
 jaws,  chin, and teeth, as well as the shape
 of the organs of sense,  and the tone of the
 voice.   And that the other parent commu-
 nicates the posterior and lower middle part
 of the head, the cerebral situated within the
 skull/' immediately above its junction with
 the back of the neck, and  the whole of the
 locomotive  system—i. e., the  loins, liga-
 ments, and muscles or fleshy parts.
   According  to the system I am  speaking
 of, parents may contribute these distinctive
 sets of features indifferently;  that  is, eith-
 er parent may give either species under
 this  provision, that the most  intellectual
 parent will mostly furnish the anterior, and
 the other the  posterior parts of the head
 However the writer is not very clear in the
 elucidation  of his hypothesis,  but  leaves
 one  apparently  to  infer,  that, where  the
parties   are  nearly balanced  in  mental
qualifications, at one time one may give the
anterior, and another, the other, the issue
depending on the relative degrees of devel- 
160    becelard's physiology.
opment in which the intellectual organs ot
the parents were at the moment of orgasm;
or in other words, if the father's mental
organs were then most excited, he would
communicate the anterior parts; and vice
versa.   " As a general guide in such obser-
vations" (observations to discoverr esem-
blance)says the English physiologist, whose
name I forbeat to introduce, as ne saw  fit
to extract over thirty pages from my work
" On the Crossing and Breeding of Domestic
Animals"  without   acknowledging  the
scource they  were obtained from.  " As a
general guide in  such, observations "  says
this writer " it may be noticed  that when
the forehead, and consdered generally, the
face viewed in  front, resemble one parent,
the whole head viewed in profite will furnish
the parts of resemblance to the other parent;
namely, the backhead, ear, under lip, &c.
The front view," he  continues, " best dis-
plays the observing faculties, and the pro.
file view  the active ones."   He  further
says " the thinking faculty may be derived
(an idea which he might have found  in
Surgeon Velpeau's lectures on the Anatomy
of the Brain,) one parent giving one portion,
namely, those of sensation and observation
and the other parent giving the  other por-
tion, namely those of passion and volition;
while the intermediate middle part is alsc
divided  Thus to re-state the law in an« 
        becelard's physiology.     161
 ether and a briefer form, the thinking or-
 gans are, in equal and distinct portions, de-
 rived from both parents;  while one gives
 the whole of the nutritive, and the other
 the whole of the locomotive organs."
   The reason he gives for this union of the
 thinking faculties, and which, I  believe,
 originated with himself, is, " that in all the
 voluntary acts of animals the thinking  sys-
 tem must take  the lead, and that in the act
 of re-production there are also functions of
 that system—passion and  volition, which
 must excite the locomotive system, to ful-
 fil the  purposes of the nutritive  system
 and hence, in  reproduction,  the apparent
 predominance of the thinking system."
  He goes yet further.  He says to the ef-
 fect, that the different expressions in  the
 features of children who yet  resemble the
 same parent, is to be accounted for, by the
 assumption  that  this  parent  manifested
 these dissimilar expressions, at  the various
 periods of intercourse which produced the
 offspring, which, by the way is  an idea ot
 much felicity,  and may have some  foun
dation in truth  : for it is not  more certain
that children will have different  expressions
of feature, who yet resemble the same  pa
rent, than it is, that the same countenance
will greatly vary its expression, under dif-
ferent  modifications of pleasure,  and  in
fact one may be the  result of the  other
        11 
162     becelard's physiology
Explaining this to a lady the English wri-
ter very neatly  says,  "Observe that  all
fhese  differences  in  the  faces of your
children are mere  modifications of your
0Wn—such  modifications as you yourself
might assume under  the influence  of dif-
ferent emotions — such modifications  as
you  actually have assumed, and therefore
in these very  instances  communicated."
" For, can it be  doubted," he asks, in the
econdpage " that the peculiar state  of the
organization, and the peculiar exercise ol
every function at the moment of orgasm
must exeri. the most powerful and most un-
divided influence over the organizations and
functioos of the  delicate,  susceptible, and
plastic ens,  (mixed essence,) then,  and  by
these very acts, called into existence i"
   My answer is that it cannot be doubted
Wy answer is, that the mental  organs of
children are greatly influenced by the frame
of mind in which the parents, or either of
them may have been in at the period of re-
production !  Hence, as is generally known,
men of genius seldom have gifted offspring;
for being rarely of high animal natures,
their minds are given to wander even at
the  climax  of coition, which,  it  is very
probable,  interferes with the reversion of
intellect to the embryo; and this is wisely
ordered of nature, for othewise  we would
have too many geniuses and too  few work- 
        becelard's physiology     163
men.   Should anger, jealousy, love, or any
other passion of the mind predominate  at
the moment, I have no doubt a proportion-
ate effect on the offspring will be the re-
sult ; and thus do we  see choleric parents
have choleric children—grave, grave, &c,
like producing its like in probably all cases
but genius, where the ruling principle  is
iiable  to cause a wavering state of mind—
at a time when all the /acuities shouldJbe di-
rected  to one focus.  When of parents, the
one is passionate, and the other  mild, the
children generally occupy a happy medium
between both; but when any of them savor
in their disposition  one parent more than
the other,  the inference—I  might indeed
call it a certainty—is, that the party, whose
temperament predominates in the child was
in the highest state of orgasm at the period
of intercourse.   A  strange  illustration  of
the truth of this system may be found  in
the fact that in the vast mass of men, the
animal greatly predominates over the in-
tellectual ; for,  witji  but few exceptions,
in proportion to me whole, the  animal
greatly predominated over the intellectual
in the parents at the times ivhen they were
tailed  into  existence.   It is no answer to
this, that men  of genius, though mostly
wanting  in  strong  erotic passions, do not
produce beings  oi faculties  corresponding
with  their cwr,, but in fact it is strongly 
 164    becelard's physiology
 corroborative of the theory,  for  such  pa-
 rents, at the time of intercourse, are not in
 a state of intellectual excitement, but ot
 mixed feeling, not sufficiently concentrated
 on any idea or subject to give a decided bias
 to it, and consequently the children of great
 poets, of great generals,  great  statesmen,
 fcc,—unless where  the mothers were wo-
 men of unusually strong and decided char-
 acter, have been, in the main, imbecile and
 vacillating persons, alike deficient in high
 mental or animal qualifications.
   But while I not only admit this theory of
 mental influence, but  am, in fact, the first
 physiologist that indicated its general rami-
 fications, and established it, as above, I have
 no faith  in the hypothesis of resemblance
 as maintained by the  English author.   In
 fact I am convinced it rests on a very slen-
 der foundation, if, indeed, it has any at all.
 And that his exertions to establish it are
 chiefly the  result of an ambition o pass for
 the founder  of  a new system.   Pteobably
 however, what he fondly deetiied might be
 so, he fondly believes is so;  for notwith-
 standing that he abstracted from me without
acknowledgment, upwards of thirty pages
of matter, which cost me  at  least  six
months of  considerable labor to study and
digest, I cannot believe that he would wil-
lingly lead the public in error to the end of
 establishing himself in  a false position. 
        BECELARD'S PHYSIOLOGY     165
 and this, the more especially, as his system
 if acknowledged, might lead to serious con-
 sequences.  For instance, a man relying on
 it, might repudiate his wife, and disinherit
 his child, because he might  not be able to
 discover in the backhead or forehead of the
 latter, features and developments conforma-
 ble witn  his own.
   My theory  of the resemblance  between
 parents and their offspring, as I indicated, is
 this.   Each must assist in modelling the
 embryo after their own form and likeness
 The parent who is most energetic and exci-
 ted at the moment of sexual action imparts
 the most distinct features  of resemblance.
 And this  combined resemblance is not im-
 parted by one  to one part, and by the other
 to another, but in undefinable union governs
 the whole frame, with the distinction how-
 ever already noticed, that the quality of one
 parent may preponderate,  though  that of
 the other  equally pervades the entire sys ■
 tem.
  In fact, as it is with color, so is it with
form.  The issue of a black  and white
person is not piebald, but of a uniform
complexion tending to that of the  parent
whose orgasm  was highest during the act
that  formed him: or occupying an  exact
medium,  if the  parents'   energies  were
equally balanced.  And until, as a general
rule, black and white parents designate the 
166     BECELARD'S PHYSIOLOGY
influence of their separate complexions ov
various parts  of  their offspring's face and
form, instead of establishing them all over
by general suffusion, the hypothesis that
one  parent gives to children the back of
the head, and the other the front, instead
of mixing their  peculiarities,  will never,
as a general rule, be accredited.
  The subject of this  chapter is one of
great importance, and I flatter  myself that
I have handled it in a manner  which ren-
ders it perfectly explicit.  It may produce
some trouble in .the world, as from it men
will learn that children, who do not resem-
ble them in some degree,—if not percepti
bly in the countenance,at least faintly strug-
gling against the ascendancy of the mother's
reversion  of developments, in  the general
outline of the  form—cannot be  theirs ; but
it may also be the means of a great deal of
good  in   preventing  incontinent  married
women from indulging in illicit passions,
which, through its means, may be subse-
 Suently discovered.   It is obvious, the use
 iiat might be made of this law of resemb-
lance in  testing  the  male  parentage of
illegitimate children, and saving men from
the hardships of being compelled to support
offspring who have no filial claim on them
It will also show married people the advan-
tage  that  m-»y  be  derived from keeping 
167     BECELARD'S PHYSIOLOGY.
themselves in a proper frame of mmd, and
attending judiciously to the  business in
nand on certain occasions; and likewise the
evil effects that are likely to follow a con-
trary course of behavior 
♦ 
CHAPTER XIII
 Beauty, with some instructions in the art
             of promoting it
  There is no such thing as a general stand-
ard of beauty ,in organic bodies  Every living
object of natural proportions is no doubt per-
fectly beautiful in itself, and the preference
we give  one thing over another, is merely
the effect of an arbitrary taste   The senses
are the mediums of perceiving beauty ; and
they are  all independent organs, acting for
themselves, and  without  any reference to
fixed rules   Thus, the smell of camphor
might be delightful  to  one person,  and
obnoxious to another; to  some ears music
is rapture, to others but a discordant noise ;
and the senses of sight, taste, and touch, are
equally variable in their estimates  of the
qualities of things that hold influence over
them.  Again,  the same set of senses  fre-
quently changes in their predilections, or
are converted from their natural  tendency
by the force of association  or habit  Thus, 
170     BECEXARD'S PHYSIOLOGY
the ear, on whieh music had an unpleasant
effect in the beginning,may afterwards grow
to be a connoisseur in sweet sounds; the
taste that rejected tobacco may afterwards
oecome a slave to it; and the eye, to which
a black person was repugnant, may in the
end, though this rarely happens, see a beauty
in the  dark skin of the Ethiopian, superior
to any  that had ever attracted it  in that of
a person of fairer complexion.
  Beauty therefore—according to the usual
acceptation of the term—*s nothing  in  it-
Belf, but only as it conforms to the ideas and
impressions of another person.  " Ask a
toad,"  says Voltaire, " what is beauty, and
he will answer you that is a female with two
large round eyes,  projecting from her little
head, a large flat throat, a little belly, and
a round back."   Women  in the Hottentot
empire are considered beautiful in propor-
tion to the size of their ears, the flatness of
their noses, and the projection of their lips.
And in the Island of Otaheite,  what we
call grace,  is regarded as  deformity, and a
female so fat and unwieldy that she can't
even waddle, but  is compelled  to lie, and
swelter in her flesh, is maintained to be the
pinnacle of loveliness.  From this it would
appear—and to pursue the subject were on-
ly to gather testimony to the same effect—
that beauty is a term indicating nothing in
an object,  but involved,  in the  apprecia- 
        BECELARr'S PHY6I0L0GY.    Ill
tfon of the sense that  perceives  it; and
hence that the maxim that " the cause or
a wrong taste is a defect in judgment," is
a vulgar error—taste having no standard to
guide it,  being a  thing  arbitrary in its
main features, but still, in a great measure,
dependent on conventional usages, the con
formation of the senses, association,  habit,
and country.
  The foregoing argument will help to ex-
plain the  grounds  on which the same fe-
male may seem beautiful to the sight of one
man, and homely to that of another; it wil'■
also illustrate the wisdom of nature, which
causes every, eye to form its own beauty.
and thus leaves no sentient object without
an admirer to derive pleasure from its con •
remplation
  Leaving the  abstract consideration  of
what is  meant by the terms taste and beau-
  ,  1 shall speak of them as they relate to
  e human race  in tnis  country, and ih
most others of the civilized world.
  It is an  evidence  of taste to  derive plea-
sure from  the contemplation of  a human
*ace and form,  cast after a classic model;
and in these classic models human beauty
acknowledges its most perfect representa-
tives.
  As ninety-nine persons in a hundred will
unite in opinion as to the general beauty of
a particular person, it is a sign of a correct
S 
172     becelard's physiology
 taste not to be peculiar in one's notions of
 excellence.
   A fine-looking man (the word handsome
 detracts from the idea of beauty in the male
 sex,) is above the medium height, but con-
 siderably under the colossal (about five feet
 ten inches  is the  perfection of altitude);
 his forehead is high and rather square;  his
 sack head is well rounded, but not too full
 of animal development; his eyes are dark,
 bright, and fairly set in their sockets, nei-
 ther tending to recede  or protrude;  his
 hair inclines to  a curl; his  eye-brows  are
 rather spare than bushy, and leave a space
 of about three-quarters of an  inch between
 their inward extremities; his nose is a me-
 dium between Roman and aquiline;  his
 cheek bones are not prominent, but still
 well defined; his  cheeks neither lank  nor
 so rounded as to indicate fatness or infla-
 tion ; his mouth  moderately small; his lips
 firm, compact, but not thin; his whiskers
 are well back on  thecheek; his complexion
 is uniform, between brown and fair, with a
 slight tendency to ablush, but not sufficient
 to warrant him  in being  called  "rosy-
 cheeked ;"  and  the  whole  countenance
well, or even strongly marked; for a smooth
round face, where the features are all regu-
lar,  and without any  characteristic for a
limner to fasten  on, is incompatible with
manly beauty  Then his neck is of mode- 
becelard's physiology      173
 rate .ength. and inclines  to thickness;  his
 throat is free from that protuberance com-
 monly called the apple of Eve; his breast
 is fairly full; his snoulders square, but not
 abruptly so,  and sufficiently broad to just
 over-hang his  hips;  his arms  are  of a
 length to leave about eight inches between
 the tips cf his middle fingers and his knees;
 there is  a gradual decrease inwards from
 the hip and shoulder to the waist; his hips
 and posterior are well  defined; his back is
 free from the least tendency to roundness,
 but is not  thrown very much  to the rear;
 his thighs are  full, but  not clumsy;-his
 knees small; the calves of the legs so that
 they just touch, without pressing against
 each other; his shin  rather  slender;  his
 ankle small; his instep high,  and his foot
 slightly hollowed, and  of a size correspond-
 ing to his height—for  too small  a  foot  in-
 terferes  with that elasticity of step,  and
 firmness  of carriage, so essential in making
 up  the perfect tout ensemble of a  well-pro-
portioned man
  A person, such as the above, with man-
 ners in accordance  with  his external ap-
pearance, and  a moderate share of confi-
dence, prudence, and  intellect,  would, if
he  set himself about it, inflame any female
heart, and should not be afraid to strike  for
the highest rank  and   fortune,  no matter 
174    becelard's  physiology
what nis own circumstances might be ; for
with him, to venture were to win.
   Men of larger  or  smaller dimensions,
proportionably formed, may be as  pleasing
objects to the sight as the above;  but alti-
tudes of more than six feet,  or less than
five feet six, though ever so imposing or
pretty,  cannot be so prepossessing.
   The male sex have but few advantages to
expect from art.   Their costume, to be ele-
gant and becoming, must be plain.  A suit
of black—black  hat and all—with a snow
white, starch stiffened cravat, plain diamond
pin, unruffled shirt bosom, and low collar,
scarcely reaching to the chin, is the perfec-
tion of taste and neatness.   Any deviation
from this is  injurious to  appearance.  A
black handkerchief, however,  and turned
down shirt collar, so  that  the latter  does
not indicate  too much  precision and for-
mality, are not unbecoming; and when the
countenance  of  the  wearer is of a high
florid complexion, they may be prudently
substitute* for a white cravat.  Of all party
colored dress coats, blue is least objectiona-
ble ; but too great a display of metal buttons
should be  avoided, at the same time  that
none but metal buttons look  even tolerable
on this color.  The  pantaloons  worn with
a blue coat should be either black or white;
also the vest;  and indeed parti-colored
vests or trowsers  are  never in good taste. 
        becelard's physiology     175
 An  elegantly made man,  however,  may
 wear coats of all colors indifferently, and
 look elegant  in  each;  but a person not
 remarkable  for beauty of form cannot do so
 without injury to his personal appearance.
 A white cravat must be nearly as thin as a
 sheet of paper in its thickest fold, and free
 from all blemish and wrinkle, or it were
 better  avoided.  A  plain gold ring may be
 worn; but any display of jewelry beyond
 that and  the diamond pin, if I except an
 exceedingly fine guard chain, is likely  to
 beget  in  the  wearer an air of vulgarity
 Great  care  must be taken in the cut and
 finish of one's boots.  Moustaches or impe-
 rials should not be  cultivated, unless they
 are generally worn, nor even then,  except
 they are black, or of a shade scarcely 're-
moved from it. And to sum up, the entire
costume must fit easily and without stiffness,
or else the wearer may  look over dressed,
and consequently not quite the gentleman
As to the cut of the clothes it must be dic-
tated by the prevailing fashion; for, rail  at
fashion as  we may,  a marl cannct be well-
dressed, or  look elegant, unless  he com-
ports himself in accordance with her laws
By the »way, a dark  complexioned man,
with a  strongly marked beard, who wears a
black  stock or handkerchief,  should not
omit the shirt collar; and  men  would do
 well to remember that whiskers composed 
176     becelard's  physiology
of straggling hairs, are a deformity to the
face.   A roundness of .shoulders, or con-
traction of chest may be corrected  by the
use of dumb-bells; but the broad-sword ex-
ercise is a far better remedy—in fact, a cer-
tain one, if taken in time
  The standard of beauty in women is much
less imperative than in men.  A woman of
any height,  from the  petite almost to the
gigantic, may be perfectly beautiful; and of
any complexion, from the  darkest brunette
to the fairest  lily.  The  medium height,
however,  is  generally, preferred; but the
complexion is a matter that entirely de-
pends  on individual taste; nor  can-it-be
even decided on thus ; for the same  person
would  be likely to waver in choice between
the darkly beautiful maidens of  Spain and
the seraphically fair daughters of Circassia.
Nevertheless, though the shades of com
plexion, from the Spanish olive to the Cir-       I
cassian white, or the varieties of altitude,
from the  petite Cleopatra, to that  of the
towering Roxana, matters  but  little, there
are many  things  arbitrarily  essential  to
perfect beauty in women.
  I shall describe a beautiful  woman, tak-
ing her at the medium altitude, which  is
generally  preferred.  Her height is  five
Feet five inches; her hair is luxuriant, and
of any  color that agrees with her complex-
ion ; her forehead is rather low, and as free 
        becelard's physiology     177
 from freckle or wrinkle as a  piece  of Pa-
 phian marble; her bvows are dark, arched,
 narrow, and strongly defined; her eyes are
 large, rather languishing  than bright, and
 of either of the usual colors,  for the grey
 eyes of Mary of Scotland were not less cap-
 tivating than the raiven  orbs of the  Queen
 of  Sheba;  her  eye-lashes  are  dark and
 long; her nose  is a mitigated acquiline—
 that is, an acquiline  curtailed  of its  sever-
 ity ; her lips short and small, and yet, with-
 al full and pouting ;  her chin is very slight-
 ly developed; her ears are small, thin, and
 with the tip on a line with the eye-brow;
 her complexion varies with the emotions of
 her mind, and the  blush  that tinges her
 cheek  is delicate, and  loses itself in her
 face, so as to indicate no perceptible out-
 line;  her  features  are  exactly  regular,
 though made to  appear otherwise by the
 ever-varying expression of her  lips  and
 eyes,  and the fluctuations of  the rosy tide
 that ebbs and flows  beneath  the  transpa-
 rent surface  of her skin ; her smile indicates
sweetness of disposition,  blended with  a
gently-proud expression, dictated  probably
by the consciousness of  her own worth and
beauty;  her neck is flexible, moderately
slender,  of  medium  length,  and  pure as
alabaster; the fall from her  neck to her
shoulder-tips i9 gradual; her  bosom is a
gentle swell, so  clear that the blue veins
       13 
 17S    becelard's physiology
 are visible;  her shoulders almost verge on
 broadness, and press backwards; her pos-
 terior is full;  her hips  so well developed
 as to extend  slightly beyond the shoulders;
 her waist is small, to show the proportions
 of her hips  and shoulders, but is not too
 taper; her arms are rounded; her  hands
 delicately small, and figers rather long and
 tapered; her thighs and calves, without be-
 ing flat, indicate plumpness; her instep is
 high,  to secure a  good  arch to the foot,
 which secures  grace  in walking;  and her
 knees, instep, and feet, are as small as they
 can possibly  be without subjecting them to
 the character of diminutive.
   The above is the outline of a magnificent
 woman—such  an  one as might vie  with
 Helen of Greece, or dispute the palm of
 beauty with the Venus de Medici; such an
 one as all men  must adore !  And yet we
 have many in Paris* that would lose nothing
 in comparison.   All tastes would probably
 unite in being excited and captivated  by a
 woman like the foregoing, but informs and
 faces  less transcendently  excellent,   they
 vary:  many loving the slender; more the
•lightly enbonpoint; some cKosing the pet-
ite; others the lofty; those the dark—
these the fair; and so on, till  nature is sat
  Ta4B»LAron'i Not*.—And not a few in th» «i»f
»f New-York 
        becelard's physiology     179
fsfied, and every eye has singled out its own
beauty.   I have  insisted  on regularity of
feature in my outline of perfection.  How-
ever, it  sometimes happens  that  females
with great regularity  of  feature  are  not
much admired, while others without this
advantage, are highly captivating.  This
is caused by the influence of internal prin-
ciples—by an  expression  proceeding from
the mind; for n* all cases where it occurs,
it will  be found that the regular-featured
lady is a dull,  insipid  person, whose soul
gives nocharacter to her face, unless through
its inanity or absence ; and that the other is
a lady of buoyancy, good-nature, and intel-
lect.

  The following are  admitted, by writers
in general,  to be  the three  species  of
female beauty, of which  all  the  rest are
varieties.
  No. 1.  Face, round; eyes, soft  azure;
neck, rather short; shoulders, moderately
broad and gently rounded ;  bosom, luxuriant
and  seeming to portrude  from  the  space
allotted  for  the arms; waist,  sufficiently
marked,  though encroached on as it were,
by  the  enbonpoint  of  the  contiguous
parts; haunches, gently expanded; thighs,
proportionably large;  limbs   and  arms,
tapering  and  delicate;   hands and  feet,
small; complexion, rose, struggling with 
180     becelard's physiology
lily;  hair, luxuriant flaxen,  or auburn;
eyes, blue; and the whole figure extremely
soft and voluptuous

  No.  2.   Oblong face; neck,  long and
tapering; shoulders,  broad and delicate,
without being angular; bosom, moderately
developed;  waist,  somewhat  resembling
an inverted cone;  haunches, moderately
expanded; thighs,  proportionable ; limbs
and arms, rather long and tapering; feet
and  hands,  rather  small;  complexion,
mostly dark;  hair, abundant, dark, and
strong;  and the  whole figure,  precise,
striking, and brilliant.
  No.  3.   Oval face;  high, pale intellec-
tual forehead;  eye, expressive, and full of
sensibility,  also  indicating modesty and
dignity; hips and  bosom,  not  very well
developed,  but withal,  her  motions are
characterized by grace and  elegance

  It may probably seem presumptuous on
my part to offer any advice on the  dress of
ladies  ; but still it can do no harm, and the
following  hints may  be found  useful  in
many  cases, for it is  not every female that
knows how  to develope her beauties or
correct her imperfections.
   When there are a great variety of colors
 in a lady's costume,  it may be imposing,
 but can hardly be elegant   Uniformity of 
        becelard's  physiology.     181
 color is more  advantageous to the beauty
 of the  countenance, as may be learned by
 the supernumerary charms that a quaker's
  §own  and bonnet  gives to a pretty face.
  till, if the contrasts  are well chosen a va-
 riety of colors look rich on a tall, majestic
 woman;  but a  petite one should  avoid
 them, as they will make  her look  less than
 she is.
   If jewelry  is  disposed of with taste, a
 lady may wear any quantity, and  catch an
 additional lustre from every gem.  Other-
 wise,  a profusion of  glittering stones, will
 give her costume the air of tawdriness,which
 may be a serious  draw-back on her fas-
 cinations.
   Females with drooping shoulders, should
 as far as fashion will  permit them, eschew
 short waists.
   Jewels  should  form  centres; flowers,
 unless  when worn as  a wreath or coronet
 —and feathers should  be worn on  one side.
   Too   narrow a face is improved  by a
 *>onnet  with a  wide  front which exposes
 the lower part of the  cheek.  Too broad a
one, by a bonnet with  a close front.  And
wide jaws will  diminish in appearance
under a bonnet sloping to the point of the
chin.
   Too  long a neck may be corrected by the
•Back of the bonnet descending,  and tho 
182    becelard's physiology.
 collar of the dress rising so as to leave but
 little space between them.
   When the shoulders are  narrow,  the
 shoulders of the dress should be formed on
 the outer edge of the  natural shoulder, be
 very full, and both the bosom and back of
 the dress should run in oblique folds from
 the middle  of the bust to the point  of the
 shoulder.                               4
   A large waist should be  rendered less
 before by a stomacher, and behind by a
 corresponding form of the dress, making the
 dress  smooth  across  the shoulders and
 drawing it  in plaits to a narrow point at
 the waist.
   When the bosom is small, it may be made
 to seem otherwise, without suspicion, by a
 dress with  oblique folds  gathered above
 There are many means of remedying this
 defect, but the above is the best.
  If the lower posterior part of the body
 be too flat, it  may be  most naturally ele-
 vated by  the skirt being gathered  behind
  When  the lower part of the body is too
 prominent before, the best correction is an
 increase of the bosom, a shortening of the
waist, and the establishment  of  a corres-
 ponding projection behind.
  When  the haunches are narrow, so also
should be the bottom of the dress, unless
 recourse is had to padding. 
        becklard's physiology     183
   Short women should wear a moderately
 narrow skirt, very long, and with the floun-
 ces  low.    Tall  women,  on the contrary
 should wear a wide skirt, and several floun-
 ces,  which will apparently  reduce  her
 height.
   Ladies should be careful to pay every at-
 tention to the  arrangement  of the hips,
 and to correct any deficiency by the use of
 those foreign additions which fashion  and
 habit  allow, and in  fact, which ladies ol
 the most perfect symmetry use, as the na-
 tural proportions of the region of the pelvis
 are not sufficient to satisfy  the  public eye,
 which has been used  to, and grown fasci-
 nated of superior developments.
   When the face is too yellow, the  bonnet
 should be lined with yellow, which, by con-
 trast, will  cause the  red and blue  to pre-
 dominate.  And red lining will  cause  the
 yellow and blue to predominate,  and thus
 relieve a red face.  And if the face has too
 much red and yellow, the effect will be re-
 moved by a lining of orange.   Some faces,
again, are too blue, and should hence wear
blue, to bring out the red and yellow.  And
in short, when any particular color  in  the
face  predominates, so  as  to mar beauty, a
bonnet lining of the same shade will render
its superabundance undiscernable. The ad-
justment of the lining, so as not to  be too 
184    becelard*s physiology
 much in view, is a  matter  that must be
 left to the lady's judgment.  It may be as
 well to add here from a source to which I
 am indebted for much of the above infor-
 mation, that dark faces are best effected by
 darker colors, because they tend to render
 the complexion fairer;  while fair faces
 should avoid dark colors inasmuch as  they
 occasion too strong a contrast.
   Washing  in   hard  water roughens  the
 skin  as also the use of  coarse  towels.
 When soap is applied to the face neck and
 breast it should be  in  small quantities.
 Goats' milk softens and smoothens the skin
 A good digestion must be kept up or the
 countenance will suffer by it.  Cold water
 bathing  is  a most powerful  promoter of
 beauty.   Guerin says  it even improves the
 shape  and  features;  but  at  all events it
 removes all  impurities from the skin more
 effectually than any thing else, and freshens
 the complexion.  Moderately rich "diet,
 occasionally  corrected  by gentle  appe-
 rients, has a fine effect upon  the skin and
 complexion ; while low diet—though con-
 trary to the opinions of some—impoverishes
 the"hlood, makes the complexion  dingy,
 and the skin coarse, and occasions blotches
 on the face.  And very tight lacing,opera-
 tes injuriously on the  countenance, to say
nothing of its other attendant evils 
       becelard's physiology.     185
  The usual arts for promoting beauty, or
shadowing defects being sufficiently under-
stood,  it is not  necessary to ennumerats
them; nor  does it occur  to me that any
thing of importance can be added on either
subject 
 
CHAPTER  XIV
 Revelations and opinions, connected with,
  and incidental to, the various subjects
     of all the foregoing  chapters.
  External Signs.—Beauty is said to be
the external  sign  of goodness  in  women
I shall admit the  proposition, when I can
duly appreciate what  beauty is.  Judging
of it  by the general standard of taste it is
manifestly wrong,  for the worst women are
generally very beautiful, and in fact make
their  beauty the  medium of their vices.
However, beauty of parts evidence good-
ness ; as a handsome leg indicates a good
leg, a fine forehead, a  fair  intellect; and
so forth.
  Procreation.—An author  says  that to
 {»rocreate is in effect to die to one's self and
 eave one's  life in posterity.  Nonsense.
Continent men in  the average die sooner
than those who are married.  Moderate in-
tercourse  deprives the  system of  nothing
but what it is healthful to lose. 
1SS     BECELARD'S physiology
  Love Matches.—It is  an old saying, that
love matches are  seldom or never nappy
By this rule hate matches would promotl
the pleasures of matrimony.  The idea it
absurd.   Unless there is love before mar •
riage there  is seldom any feeling warmer
than moderate friendship afterwards.

  Double Uturus.—Some  women have  a
double uturus; and in such persons a double
conception may take place, and the foetuses
oe excluded  at different  periods—occasion-
ally several  months apart.  In such  cases
the foetuses are not twins.

  Disease.—It is  not too much to aay that
three out of every five  women  of a cer-
tain  class, are the ceaseless  victims  t f an
infectious disease.  How severe then must
be the price which libertines pay for their
unsatisfactory indulgences

  Courting—In  Wales and Holland the
young people  have a way of  cou'ting  in
which they go to  bed together, and discuss
the preliminaries  of marriage.  The Welsh
and Dutch cbntend for the morality of this
fashion, and maintain that it never results
in any thing wrong.  This may be; and  it
cannot be denied that the mode must be ex-
tremely agreeable to to those whom it may
concern, and calculated to make lovers ac-
quainted with each other's dispositions: but 
        becelard's physiology     189
 ■till* I antafraid it might be a dangerous ex-
 periment to be attempted in France.

   Sex.—I have been often inclined  to
 think,  and  have  consulted  with  many
 whose opinions are valuable, and who were
  Sreatly struck with the theory,  that the
  ominant party at the time of intercourse
 —that is, the parent who is most prolific—
 governs the sex of  the child

  Early  affection.—Young men  of sala-
 cious habits,  should commence as  soon  as
 possible after the period of puberty to di-
 rect their feelings within the channels of a
 virtuous courtship ; for this alone can chas-
 tise their desires, and insure them an un-
 broken constitution

  Modesty.—Were people  to go perfectly
 naked it would be a  benefit to morality
 " The rest of  the  body," as a celebrated
painter truly  ooserved, " not navmg advan-
tages  in common with the face, would soon
satiate the eye, were it to be constantly ex«
posed, nor would it have more effect than a
marble  statue."  Perhaps  it would have
less, as it would be likely to be less fault-
lessly developed.  It is not the natural form
 that excites erotic desires so much as the
art which women use to make it look attrac-
 tive 
 90     becelard's physiologv
  Lottery.—It has been argued by eminent
philosophers that if men and women drew
partners in lotteries,  there would be about
as many suitable matches in the main as
are provided by the present system.  This
may  have been  the  case,  but  I sincerely
flatter  myself  that  a correction  of  the
difficulty may be found in this book.
  Protracted   Fertility.—Good  argues,
that moderation is necessary to reproduction;
that  is  that the feelings must  not be  too
much excited; and he relates the following
case in point.  " I remember many years
ago a healthy young couple, who continued
without offspring for seven  or  eight years
after marriage, at which period the lady
for  the first  time became pregnant, and
continued to add to her family  every year
till she had six or seven children ; and in
  rofessional conversation with the  father,
  e has clearly made it appear to me, that
the  cause  of sterility, during  the  above
period, was the mutual warmth which ex-
isted between  him and  his  wife.   Time,
that by degrees, broke  the vigor of the
encounter, effected at length a radical cure,
and gave him an offspring he  had   almost
despaired of
   Children.—The children of aged parents,
 or where one is old,  and  the other is young
  re  usually delicate and spare of form, and
  re  rarely well organised.
I 
       becelard's physiology.     191
  Sympathetic Love.—In courting, a great
deal depends—if simple truth fails—in stu-
dying a woman's character.  " Six  men,"
says a writer," will be making love  to one
lady; the first a title; the second a fortune;
the  third a beauty; the fourth a talker;
the fifth  a flatterer;  and the sixth a man
with apparently no advantage, who will sit
apart in a corner and sigh, scarcely noticed
the while by his more showy rivals.   After
a time, however, the lady is married, and
under such circumstances it usually turns
out—to the surprise of all concerned but
the principal parties—that  the  gentleman
of the  forlorn hope in the corner, has been
the successful candidate.   Indeed a silent,
intellectual-looking  man,  who  sits  apart,
sighs deeply, and occasionally looks  at the
lady as if he was praying to her, or for her,
is generally a dangerous rival.
* Sign of JVurstng.—The right shoulders
of mothers  and nursery  maids  are  larger
and rather mere  elevated  than the left,
which forms one of the principal objections
that fashionable ladies have against nursing
their own children.   Could the nurseling
be carried  in each arm alike, this inequality
would not  be occasioned.
   Chastity.—Chastity adds to the force of
love—to the vigor of the organs—and is a
sure means of  fecundity 
192     becklard's physiology
  Celibacy.—" If men," says Dubois," are
not prone to choose a life of celibacy for its
intrinsic merits, women  are less so; and
the cause  is obvious, for the very unjust
usages  of  society render it much more
convenient for the one to do without a wife
than the other  without a husband. The
unjust  usages of society  are those  which
tolerate libertines,  but cannot pardon error
in women "
  Loveage.—The leaves  of loveage eaten
m salad are as good in cases of obstructions
of the  mouth by discharge as any thing I
know of, and I cannot  account for its ha»
ing gone into disuse of late davs 
Before the Effect. 
 
 ONANISM AND  ITS CtJRE,

   AN INFALLIBLE TEXT BOOK
for the cure of all diseases in the
    MALE  OR  FEMALE,
        PR ODUCED BY
OVER INDULGENCE, ONANISM, OR
     MASTURBATION.
    Translated from the French of
HENRIOT, TISSOT, DESLANDES, AND
          BECKLARD,
       BY JAMES OUIERSON
    NEW-YORK.
HOLLAND & GLOVER
       1845. 
 
ONANISM AND  ITS  CURE,
  The public may have the most implicit
confidence in every thing set forth in this
Utile work.  It is the result of the united
labors of M. Henriot, M. Tissot, M.  Des-
landes, and myself, and is the essence, with
additions of great importance, of what we
have all separately published on  the  same
subject under our own names.  I now give
it to the world with  the sanction of those
distinguished authors and physicians, who
in respect  to my advantage in years, have
awarded to me the principal agency in the
publication.
              EUGENE BECKLARD
  Paris, July 7th, 1843.
  The authors avoid going into the disgust-
ing detaihvof diseases produced by onanism,
&c, considering them  of  no importance
whatever but to take up space which might
be better occupied with remedies  for the
evils, than with a nauseating display of the
evils themselves. Other writers on the sub-
ject  seem to have thought differently, for 
196     BECELARD'S PHYSIOLOGY.
while they take great pains to point out the
effects of the crimes in the cases of their
victims, they exhibit but little industry,care,
or knowledge in showing how these effects
may be eradicated.   This little  work con-
tains  all that is  necessary for patients to
know, and all that has yet been discovered
in  the premises  by the most skilful  and
laborious physicians.
  There  are some  maladies, the cause of
which it is difficult  exactly to ascertain,
and therefore equally so to point out and
regulate the treatment; but which are easily
enough cured when we have done so; this
is not the case with dorsal consumption.
We know  what the  complaint is, we are
acquainted with its cause, it is, as says M.
Lewis, " a peculiar kind of consumption,
the immediate cause of which is a general
weakness of the nerves ; the symptoms are
easily recognized and we therefore can have
no hesitation as to  the  treatment;  but the
Dest frequently fails; which is  another rea-
son why we should rigorously fix its de-
tails   The general relaxation of the fibres,
the weakness of the nervous  system, and
 the corruption of the fluids are the causes
 of it."
   It depends on the weakness of all the
 parts; their  strength must he restored to 
        becelard's physiology.     197
them, that is the plain and easy course.  It
has its subdivisions derived from the dif-
ferent  parts, weakened; but,  as the same
remedies are applicable  to the whole, it is
useless here to repeat them, as they have
already been mentioned in the course of this
Work.
  Those who are entirely ignorant of medi-
cine, and  who yet speak of it more  confi-
dently than those who are acquainted with
it, will believe  that it is very easy to act
upon this indication, and that by the aid of
nourishing food, and of the cordials with
which our shops abound, it is  very easy to
restore the exhausted  powers; sad expe-
rience, on the contrary, has convinced the
greatest physicians  that nothing  is more
difficult.
  " It is  very easy," says  Gotter, " to di-
minish the strength; we have scarcely any
means of  renovating it."  We shall easily
comprehend it,  if we reflect that the ali-
ments and remedies are but the instruments
employed by nature  to support itself to re-
pair its losses, and remedy the derangements
which takes place in the body!  and what
else is nature,  but  " the aggregate of the
bodily powers harmoniously distributed"
   It is the vital force respectively distribu-
ted in the different parts.
   When the powers are exhausted, it is then
 that nature is at a loss; it is the working
 architect who no longer peiforms his func- 
193    BECELARD'S PHYSIOLOGY
tion3; give him as many materials as you
will, he is unable to  employ  them.   You
may bury him with his building; under
stone, wood, and mortar, without his re-
pairing  a single inch  of wall.   It is the
same with complaints resulting  from the
destruction of the physical powers; aliments
do not repair,  and remedies do not act.
  I have seen  stomachs so  weakened, that
the food underwent no  more preparation in
them than in a wooden vessel.  Sometimes
they there arrange themselves according to
the laws of their respective gravity; and,
when at length a fresh dose, by its weight,
irritates  the stomach,  we  see them  by a
slight effort successively ejected, entirely
distinct  from  each other.  At other times
by remaining longer, they become corrupt-
ed, and  are  vomited  forth such as  they
would be, had they been left to  spoil in a
silver or porcelain basin.   What can we
hope from any aliments, in such cases as
this.
  The  exhaustion is not equally great in
all; there  are some cases  in which the
powers  are only weakened, without being
totally destroyed; aliments, and even reme-
dies are not then without their use.   That
part of nature which remains, derives  some
benefit from the first, and the last ought to
be such as have been remarked fit for re-
animating  the  principal of vital  action.
Which is being extinguished; these are the 
BECELARDS PHYSIOLOGY.    199
 external succors with which we  assist the
 architect to enable him to proceed with his
 work, in expending the least possible por-
 tion of his strength;  at other times it is the
 touch of the spur we give to a weak horse,
 for him to make an effort to extricate him-
 self  from the  clayey soil.  But what skill
 and prudence does it require, to know how
 at a glance to judge of the depth of the
 mire, the strength of the animal, and to com-
 pare them with each other.
  If the work is above  his strength, it  is
 true  the spur will oblige him to make an
 effort; but, if  that effort cannot extricate
 him, it will only totally exhaust him.
  The weakness produced by masturbation
 presents a difficulty  in  the choice of the
 remedies not met with in other cases; that
 is, to avoid with the utmost care, any stimu-
 lus,  which, by irritating might  re-awake
 the lust of the flesh.   It is a law of anima-
 ted mechanism, so different from inanimate,
 and so little subject to the same rules, that,
 when the  movements augment,  the  aug
mentation is more considerable in the parts
most susceptible of them; with masturba-
tors  it  is the genital parte ; it is therefore
in those parts  that the effect of irritating
remedies will most sensibly  manifest itself;
 and the dangerous consequences of that ef-
fect cannot render us too circumspect in the
 means we employ.  What then ought they
to be ?  That is what I shall examine, after 
200    becelard's physiology
detailing the  regimen.   In this detail,  I
shall follow the ordinary division of the six
non-natural things; the air, the  aliments,
sleep, motion, the  natural evacuations, and
the passions.
               THE AIR.

  The air has over us an influence similar
to that of the  water upon the fishes, and
even a much more considerable one.
  The weak have  more need of the  aid of
a pure air than others; it is a remedy which
acts (and perhaps the only one) without
the concurrence of  nature,  without em-
ploying its  powers, which makes it of the
utmost importance not to neglect it.   That
which best suits  a general atony, is a dry
and temperate air ; a damp air, a too  warm
air are pernicious.
  I know a patient of that kind, whom very
warm weather throws into a total exhaus-
tion, and whose health during  the summer,
alternately varies  according as  the days are
more or less warm.
  A too cold air is much less  to be feared*
as it naturally ought to be.  The heat relaxes
the fibres already too lax, and dissolves the
humors already too much melted; cold, on
the  contrary,  remedies  those two  evils.
When the Caribs, after thie terrible convul-
sive colics they are subject to, are attacked
with  paralysis  and cannot be  sent to the
warm baths in  the north of Jamaica, they 
becelard's bhysiology    201
content themselves  with  removing  to  a
colder country  than their own, and this
sole change of air always operates favorably.
Another essential quality of air is that if
it be not loaded with noxious particles, for
by proceeding from inhabited places, it has
lost  that kind  of vivifying quality which
alone renders it of any efficacy, and which
might be called the  vital  spirit, as neces-
sary to plants as to animals, and such is the
air we respire in an open country, abound-
ing with herbs, trees and shrubs.
  " Let the patient," says Aretaeus, " re-
main in the  neighborhood of  meadows,
fountains and rivulets; the exhalations ema-
nating from them, and the gaiety inspired
by the sight of them, strengthen  the mind,
reanimate the strength and re-establish life.
The  air of  town continually inspired and
respired, filled with infected vapors, or ex-
halations, unites in  itself  the  two  incon-
veniences of having less of that vital spirit,
and of being loaded with noxious particle3.
That of the country possesses the two op-
posite qualities; it is a virgin  air, and an
air impregnate  with everything the most
volatile, the most  agreeable, the  most cor-
dial which emanates from plants, and with
the vapor from  the  earth, which is itself
extremely salubrious.
  But it would be useless to choose a dwell-
ing in a good air, 'f we don't breathe it.  The
air of rooms, it  not constantly renewed is 
202     becelard's physiology.
nearly the same in all; to pass from a close
chamber in town, to a close chamber in the
country is scarcely changing it at all.  It is
snly in the open fields that we enjoy all the
salubrity of a healthy atmosphere.   If in-
firmities or weakness prevent our riding or
walking in them, we ought to renew the air
in our room several times  in a day, not by
merely opening a door or a window, which
renews but little of it, but  by making a cur-
rent of fresh air pass  through the room, by
opening all at once, in two or three places
and in opposite  directions.  There is no
complaint which does not  require this pre-
caution, but then  the patient must not be
too much exposed to the draught.
  It is also extremely important  to breathe
the fresh air of the morning.  Those who de-
prive themselves of it to remain in a stifling
atmosphere between four curtains, volun-
tarily renounce the most agreeable, and per-
haps the most strengthening of all remedies.
  The freshness of the night has restored to
it all its vivifying principle;  and the dew
which  evaporates  by little and little, after
impregnating itself with all the balm of the
flowers upon which  it has rested, renders
it truly medicinal.  We  walk in the midst
of an essence of plants we are continually
inspiring, the good effects of which nothing
else can supply.  The comfortable feeling,
the freshness, the strength, the appetite we
experience,  is  a proof of  it  within every 
becelard's %>HYSIOLOGY.     203
one's reach, stronger  than all I could add
I have lately witnessed the most sensible
proofs of it upon some valetudinarians, and
especially upon those  who were hypochon-
driacs ; they, in the most marked manner,
experienced that if they breathed the air at
sun-rise, they  felt  themselves much more
lively all the  rest of the day;  and their
friends associated by  their gaiety of mind
knew at once at what hour they had risen.
How  important then  must that effect be
upon those ill  of dorsal consumption, who
are so frequently hypochondriacs.
  The return of good  spirits  alone, invin-
cibly demonstrates a general amendment in
the health.
           THE ALIMENTS.

  We ought to be guided in the choice of
of the aliments, by these two  rdlcs :
  First.  To  take only such  food as, in  a
small compass, contains much nourishment,
and is easily digested
  The following is an aphorism of Sane-
tor ius ;  " after immoderate  coition, tak»
light  wine and succulent viands in smah
quantities."
  Second.  Avoid all those possessing acrid-
ity.   It is important to restore  all its strength
to the stomach, and nothing  more destroys
the powers of  the animal fibres, than forces
extension; thus, dilating the stomach by the
quantity of aliments, daily weakens it.  Be- 
204      becklard'% physiology.
sides, if  it is too full, weak persons feel an
uneasiness, pain, weakness and melancholy
which augments all their complaints. Those
two inconveniences are prevented by choos-
ing such food as I have pointed out, and by
taking but little at once, though often.
  It is  essential  that  their  nourishment
should be easily evacuated.  The stomach
not being in a state to digest what is diffi-
cult of digestion, and its action, extremely
languid,  would be totally destroyed by ali-
ments either too hard, or of  a  nature  to
diminish its strength. .
  We may, from these principles, form the
catalogue of what is suitable in  this case,
and what we ought to exclude.
  The last class comprises all viands  natu-
rally hard and indigestible, such as those of
swine, all old and tough meats, those which
art has preserved, by the means of salt and
smoke, a preparation which renders them
at the same time acrid;  all those which are
too fat;  all other greasy substances, which
relax the fibres of the  stomach,  diminish
the already too feeble  action of the diges-
tive juices, which remain  undigested, ana
tend to obstruction, and acquire by their re-
maining  too  long, a  character of acridity
which,  constantly irritating,  occasions un-
easiness, pains, restlessness, spasms, fever.
In short, there is nothing from which per-
sons subject to indiges'.ion, ought so care-
fully to abstain from as fat substances 
         becelard's physiology.     205
    Unfermented  pastry,  above  all  when
 kneaded with butter &c. is another kind of
 aliment much too strong for a weak stomach.
   Vegetables, by producing flatulency, which
 distends it and at the same time interrupts
 the circulation  in  the neighboring parts,
 are equally injurious too ; such in general
 are all  kinds of  cabbages, pulse and herbs
 which  have an  extremely acrid taste  and
 odor ; the last quality rendering them hurt-
 ful, independent  of their causing flatulency.
   Fruits, which are so salutary  in acute
 and inflammatory disorders, in those of the
 liver, and in several other complaints, are
 never proper in this disease;  they weaken,
 they relax, they enervate the  powers of the
 stomach, they  augment the dissolution of
 the already  too watery blood; imperfectly
 digested, they ferment in  the stomach and
 intestines, and that  fermentation developes
 an astonishing  quantity of air, which pro-
 duces heavy indigestion, which absolutely
 deranges the course of circulation.   I have
 seen that effect so considerable in a woman
 from  eating ripe fruit, four  and twenty
hours after a safe delivery, that the belly
was stretched to  such a degree that it  be-
came  livid;  she  was somniferous, with a
scarcely perceptible  pulse.    Fruits  also
leave an acidity in the first  passages, calcu-
lated  to produce several distressing symp-
toms
   Salads, raw roots, vinegar, verjuice, have 
206     becelard's physiology.
the  same  inconveniences,  and  must be
equally excluded.
  Although the list of prohibited aliments
is long, that of permitted ones is still more
so.   It comprises the flesh of all well fed
young animals,  above all that of  calves,
lambs, young oxen, pullets, pigeons, turkeys,
partridges.    Larks,  thrushes, quails,  and
other game, without being absolutely inter
dieted, yet  cause inconveniences to those
who do not permit their daily use.  Fish is
in the same case.
  We ought not  only to  be extremely care ■
ful in the choice of our viands, but we must
also cook them accordingly.  The best way
is to roast them by a gentle fire, which pre-
serves their juices, and which does  not dry
them up, or to boil them slowly in as little
water as possible.
  Those boiled in too much water give out
all the nourishment they contain  to the
broth and no longer possess any themselves,
they frequently remain  mere  fleshy fibres^
juiceless, impregnated with water,  equally
insipid to the taste, and  indigestible to the
stomach.
  Whatever care may be taken in  the cook-
ing of meat, there are  some persons who
can't digest it; and we  are forced to give
them only  its juice, expressed after being
half boiled, but  as it would easily  become
corrupted,  a little lemon  juice, or  a small
quantity of wine; such mixture is the most 
            rlard's physiology .     207
 nourishing we can employ.   Lobsters first
 boiled and then crushed in the broth heighten
 its flavor and render, it more strengthening,
 hut they have the double inconvenience of
 being somewhat heatening, and of rendering
 the broth more susceptible of a prompt cor-
 ruption; thus we must be on our guard in
 those two respects.   Bread and garden stuff
 have not the advantage of containing much
 nourishment in a small compass; but the
 use of them, of bread above all, is absolutely
 indispensable  to  prevent  not only the  dis-
 gust the use of a too animal regimen would
>produce, but moreover the putridity whieh
 would result from it, if unmixed with vege-
 tables.   Without that precaution, spontan-
 eous alkali would soon  be produced in the
 first passages, followed by all its train of dis-
 tressing symptoms.   I have  seen the great-
 est accidents produced by this regimen in
 weak persons, to whom it had been ordered
   One of the commonest symptoms is exces-
 sive thirst; they are  forced  to drink,  and
 drink weakens them; besides, it with  diffi-
 culty mixes with the  humors, because this
 mixing depends upon the action of the ves-
 sels, which is extremely languid, and if, by
 misfortune very common to  those who take
 but little exercise, the action of the loins
 diminishes, the liquids pass into the cellular
 tissue, and form at first edema, and then hy-
 dropsies of every kind.
Mc 
203     becelard's physiolog^^
  These dangers are  prevented by always
joining a vegetable with an, animal regimen.
  The best herbs are thepender roots, with
endives, artichokes, and asparagus.
  There are others which, though very ten-
der, incommode, become too  refreshing ;—
they blunt the powers of the stomach.
  Farinaceous grain, prepared and boiled in
cream, then mixed with broth, is not to be
despised, it unites the most nourishing sub-
stances of the two reigns, and the union pre-
vents the danger of each aliment given alone;
the broth prevents  the flour  from  turning
sour, the flour hinders the broth from putri-
fying.  Upon reading the cases with a little
attention, we  easily perceive that the dis-
eases in the north of Europe are more ma-
lignant than in the middle: may not this pro-
ceed from more meat and less vegetables  be-
ing there eaten ?
  What I have previously said of fruit, does
not prevent, when the stomach  still pre-
serves some strength, our occasionally al-
lowing  a small  quantity of the'best kinds
and fully ripe; the most  watery are  those
which are the least proper.
  Eggs  are an aliment of  the animal kind,
and an aliment extremely  useful.  They  are
very  strengthening, and easy of  digestion,
provided they are slightly or not at all boil-
ed ;  for as soon as the white becomes hard,
it no longer dissolves, but becomes heavy,
indigestible, and affords no nourishment; it 
The Last Stage. 
 
becelard's physiology.     209
then becomes the aliment fit only for sto-
machs which digest  strongly, and hot for
those which scarcely  digest at all.
   The best way of eating them, is to  swal-
low them as they come from the hen, with-
out boiling, or to eat them in the shell, after
merely plunging them three or four times
into boiling water, or diluted with  milk
warm broth.
   In short, milk is the best kind of aliment;
uniting all the desired qualities, without any
of the inconveniences we fear.
   It is the most  simple, the easiest to as-
similate  and  that which assists the  most
quickly;  ready prepared by nature, we run
no risk of spoiling it by artificial prepara-
tions ;  it nourishes the same as the juice of
meat, and is not susceptible of putridity; it
prevents excessive thirst; it  stands in the
lieu of food and of drink; it keeps up all the
secretions ; it disposes for quiet sleep ; in z
word, it is calculated to fulfil all the indica-
tions in this case, and M. Lewis has seen it
produce the best effects.   Why then not al-
ways employ  it, and substitute  it for • all
other aliments ?   By a reason peculiar to it,
which frequently neutralizes its effects, and
very often causes it to produce a very differ-
ent effect from the one hoped for, and which
there were grounds for expecting.
   That reason is the kind of decomposition
to which it is subject.  If it remains too long
in the stomach, or if without long  remain-
             14 
1   210     becelard's physiology.
   ing, it there finds matters calculated to has-
   ten  that decomposition, it then undergoes
   the same changes we see it go through un-
   der our eyes.   The buttery parts, the cheesy
   and serous parts separate; the whey some-
   times occasions speedy  diarrhoea ; at  other
   times it passes through the urinal passages, I
   or by transpiration, without nourishing; the %
   other parts, if they remain in the stomach,
   are not long  in deranging its functions, in
   occasioning maladies, swellings, nausea, co-
   lics. If the patient does not find himself in-
   commoded at once, it is because  they pass -
   into the  intestines, where it is true, they
   may remain sometime, without producing j
   any sensible injury, but where they acquire a j
   singular acridity, and at the end of a certain I
   time  they produce  symptoms which  delay j
   has'not rendered less dangerous, and when
   we, in serious cases, order milk, we may es- $
   tablish as a law which ought to  render us \
   .extremely circumspect, that if it  is an ali- |
.  xtent the most  easy of  digestion, it  is also
   irue that the indigestion, of which it,is the
   cause, is the most distressing.   We have be-
  fore seen the  difficulties  experienced by
  "Boerhaave, in  the  use  of it; but however
   great they may be, the  advantages we  may
   derive from it, are  considerable enough for
   us to endeavor too  seek out every possible
   means of surmounting them, and fortunately
   there are such.   We may arrange  them un-
   der two classes ; the intentions of the regi- 
becelard's physiology.     211
 men, and the remedies; I shall reserve the
 examination of the latter until we  come to
 one of the succeeding articles.
   The intentions of the regimen are—lstly;
 the choice of the milk, whatever may be the
 kind determined upon, the female which
 furnishes it ought to be strong and  healthy.
 In the second place, while taking it, all ali-
 ments which curdle it must be avoided, and
 such are all fruits, prepared or raw, and in
 general every thing acid;—2ndly:  we  must
 take it at some time before or after any other
 food ; all admixture with it is bad ;—3rdly:
 take but little of it at once;—4thly:  have the
 stomach, the abdomen and the legs extreme-
 ly warm;—Jrthly : we must above  all  (and
 without thig precaution all the others would
 be useless).be extremely moderate  as to the
 quantity, even of the most appropriate ali-
 ments.   While  taking milk, the  stomach
 must not be subject to the least exertion ;—
 the slightest over-load, the least indigestion
 leaves in it a germ of corruption which im-
 mediately corrupts the milk, and may trans-
 form the most wholesome of aliments into a
 poison, sometimes violent and at least, al-
 ways injurious.
  But what milk ought we to prefer ?  The
only milk now employed is that of woman,
 the ass, the goat, and the cow.
  Each of them possesses different qualities.
 It is the  comparison of those qualities and
 the indications presented by the complaint, 
212     becklard's physiology.
which ought to determine the choice we
make of the one or  the  other.  There  are
few cases indeed, in which  cow's milk may
not stand in lieu of all the others.   That of
women is generally believed to be the more
strengthening; such at least  is the opinion of
the greatest physicians, but  they  support
this  opinion upon a ruinous foundation,
which is, the use woman makes of  meat,
without reflecting that they at the same time
give the preference to the teats of  a robust
country woman, who  eats none, or at least
very little,  and who only lives upon  bread
and vegetables.  I however  believe  it  might
be successfully employed; the fine cures to
be effected  by its means leave no doubt as to
its efficacy  ; but it has one  peculiar incon-
venience, that it must  taken-immediately
from the breast; a precaution which was al-
ready known to Galen, and in  ridiculing
those who were unwilling  to  submit to it,
he sends them away  like  asses,  to  asses'
milk; but would not the means  excite de-
sires we wish to blunt, and  should we not
be exposed to witness a renewal of the ad-
venture of  the prince, whose  history is re-
lated to us by Captivaccio?   Two nurses
were given to him, and  the milk produced
such  good effects that, at the end  of a few
months, it enabled them to furnish him with
still fresher supply, should he have need
of it.
  It is believed that asses' milk is mors 
        becelard's physiology.    213
analagous to that of woman; but allow me
to say, that is an assertion of opinion more
than of experience.  It is the most serous
and therefore the most relaxing;  it is a fa-
tal  error to believe it more strengthening.
  The contrary is demonstrated by daily ex-
perience, and proves that it is not only not
the most effacious, but that it is perhaps the
least so.  I have not always  seen good ef-
fects, and I am not the only one;  " it seems
to   e," wrote Mr.  Haller,  " that Asses'
milk rarely answers the purpose we require
of it!"  Uselessness is a very great fault in
a remedy upon  which the cure of the most
serious maladies is founded.
  Hoffman recommended it in a case where
there was both exhaustion and lust.
  There is no need to insist upon what eve-
ry one  must feel, how impossible it is for
every  different  aliment to undergo perfect
digestion in the same time.  This mixture
is one of the causes  which ruin the health
of the strongest, and which kill the weak ;
it can't be too carefully avoided.
  Another attention equally neglected,  is
perfect mastication ; it  is  an  assistance
which  the stomach cannot long be deprived
of  without being  sensibly affected,  and
without which, digestion, in weak stomachs,
must  be extremely imperfect.  It requires
attentive and long observation  to form an
idea how important careful  mastication  is
to health.  I have seen the most obstinate 
214     becelard's physiology.
complaints of the stomach.'and the most in-
veterate languors removed merely by this
eareful attention.  I have on the other hand,
witnessed persons in good health fall into
infirmities, when  the decay of the teeth no
longer permitted but an imperfect mastica-
tion, and  only recover their  health when,
after the total loss of their teeth, their gums
acquired a sufficient degree of  hardness to
enable them to perform the functions of the
teeth.
'  But can we pay too much for health?
How well are we indemnified for our sacri-
fices, by the pleasure of enjoying it,  by the
charm it  sheds over every moment of our
lives.  "Without health," says Hippocrates,
" we can  enjoy nothing; honors, riches and
every other advantage are useless."
   Besides, these  sacrifices  are much less
than they are believed to be.  I can  pro-
duce several  witnesses, to whom, in order
to adopt  a plain regimen, it costs nothing
 even on the  first day, to renounce the deli-
 cate fare, and high seasoned dishes they had
 been accustomed to.  A simple regimen is
 pointed  out  by nature, and is pleasant to
 well-constituted organs.  A  healthy palate,
 with all  the sensitiveness it ought to have,
 can  only relish  plain food;  compounds,
 made dishes are insupportable to it; and in
 the least savory aliments, it finds a flavor
 which escapes blunted organs; thus, those
 whom their  health obliges to have recourse 
becelardVphysiology.     215
to plain food, may be certain, in proportion
as they recover their health, to find in those
aliments, delights they never suspected.
  A delicate ear distinguishes that slight
difference between  two  tones, which es-
capes an ear less sensitive ; it is  the same
with the nerves of the organ of taste; when
exquisite, they perceive the slightest varie-
ties of flavor, and are proportionably grati-
fied or disgusted by it; water drinkers find
some  kinds  of it which  delights  them as
much as the most exquisite Falernian, and
others, which are not equal to the wines of
Brie.
► In  short,  even should there be no hope
of finding pleasure in a regimen (it is easy
for any one to accustom  himself  to that I
have pointed out), the satisfaction of feel-
ing,  that by subjecting ourselves  to it we
fulfil a duty, would be a most powerful mo-
tive, a most  flattering recompense for those
who can appreciate the value of self-esteem.
  The drink is a part  of the regimen almost
as important as the aliments.
  All those  ought to be interdicted which
can augment the  weakness and relaxation,
diminish the little  digestive power which
remains, carry acridity into  the  humours,
dispose the nervous system to a mobility al-
ready too considerable.  All the warm wa-
ters have the first  fault—tea includes all,
coffee the two last; it ought to be totally
abstained from. 
116     becelard's physiology.
  Spirituous  liquors, which, at the  first
glance, appear proper, as their operation is
directly the reverse of that of hot or warm
waters,  the danger of which they really
diminish, if joined to it in a small quantity,
have  other great inconveniences  which
ought to make them be rejected, or render
the use  of them, at least, extremely rare.
Their action is too violent and too transient;
they irritate more than they strengthen; the
weakness which succeeds  them is  greater
than before using them ; they, besides, give
to the papillce of the stomach  a hardness
which deprives them of the degree of sen-
sitiveness necessary to give an appetite, and
they deprive the digestive liquors of the de-
gree of  fluidity they ought to have in order
to aid that sensation; thus spirit-drinker9
are unacquainted with it.   " The persons,"
says M. Thierry,  " who every  day drink
liquors after their meals, with the view  of
facilitating digestion, could scarcely take a
better means of doing exactly the contrary,
and of destroying the digestive powers."
  The best drink is pure spring water, mix-
ed  with an equal  part of wine, which  is
neither smoky nor acid; the first sensibly
irritates the nervous  system, and produces
a transient rarefaction in the humors, the
effect of which is to distend the vessels, and
then  leave them more relaxed,  and to aug-
ment the dissolution of the humors; the
second  weakens digestion, irritates,  occa- 
        BECELARD'S PHY9I0L0GY.     211
sions an abundant flow of urine, which ex-
hausts the patient.   The  best  wines are
those with the least spirit and salt, the most
earth and oil,  which form what are  called
Moelleux (strong and pleasant), wines; such
are some of the red wines  of Burgundy, of
the Rhone, of  Neufchatel;  the  old white
wines of Grave, the choice wines of Pontac,
Spanish wine,  Lisbon, Canary;  and when
they can be procured, those  of Tokay, per-
haps, for their salubrity and  flavor, superior
to all the wines in the world.  For  com-
mon use there  are none preferable to those
of Neufchatel.
  In places where the water is not good, it
may be corrected  by filtration,  by putting
iron rust in it,  or by the infusion of  some
agreeable aromatics, such as  cinnamon, ani-
seed, lemon peel.
  Common beer  is hurtful.   Mum, which
is really an extract from grain, as nourish-
ing as it  is strengthening, may be of  great
use; rich in spirits, it re-animates as much as
wine, and nourishes more—it may stand in
stead, both of drink and food.             i
  We ought to place chocolate amongst the
useful drinks,  though we might, with more
justice,  consider  it as an aliment.  Cocoa
contains   much nutritive  matter in itself,
and the admixture of the  sugar  and spicee
prevents its being injurious as oily.  " Milk
chocolate," says M. Lewis, "taken  so  as
not to overload the stomach, is an excellent 
218     BECELARD'S PHYSIOLOGY.
breakfast for persons in a consumption.  1
know a child three years of age, who was in
the last stage of that disorder, given up by
its  physician, and which its mother re-es-
tablished by only giving it small  but fre-
quent doses of chocolate;  and it cannot be
too strongly recommended  as a remedy to
weak persons."
  There are many of them to whom it would
be highly injurious.   A general rule  is to
take as small a quantity of any drink what-
ever as possible, for liquids weaken diges-
tion by relaxing the stomach, by  diluting
the digestive juices, by disposing to urine or
sweats which exhaust.  I have seen mala-
dies produced by atony considerably dimin-
ished, by no other means than retrenching a
portion of  the drink.

                SLEEP.

  We comprise what we  have to say re-
specting sleep under three heads;  its dura-
tion, the time to take it, and the precautions
necessary to enjoy it  undisturbed.
  Seven  hours of  sleep,  or  at  the  most
eight, are sufficient for all adult persons ; to
sleep more, and remain longer in bed, is not
without danger,—the latter  occasions the
same evils  as excessive repose.
  If any might give themselves up to it for
a longer time, it  would be those who take
much and  violent exercise during the day;
but those are not the persons who  do it, on 
        becelard's PHYSIOLOGY.     219
 the contrary—it is those who lead the most
 sedentary life ;  thus we must never exceed
 that term, unless  reduced to such a degree
 of weakness as  leaves  us without  the
 strength necessary for remaining long up—
 in that case  we must keep so as much as
 possible.  " The  less we sleep," says Lew-
 is, " the sweeter and more refreshing is our
 sleep."
  It  is demonstrated that the air of night is
 less salutary than  that of the day, and that
 the sick are  more susceptible of its influ-
 ence  in the evening than in  the morning;
 we  must  then  consecrate to sleep, during
 which we are  confined to a very small par-
 cel of the  atmosphere,  which we also can-
 not avoid conupting, the time when the air
 is the least healthy, and  that when the in-
spiration of ales3  healthy air would bo more
 hurtful to us;  thus we must go to bed in
good time, and rise early:  it is  so  well
known a precept,  that it is, perhaps, trivial
to repeat it; but it is  so neglected, people
seem so little to feel its importance, which
is much greater than they believe, that  we
are almost justified in supposing it to be un-
known, and to remind them of its impor-
 tance, above all to valetudinarians : " If we
 retire to bed at ten  (we ought  never to be
 later)," says  Lewis, "we ought to rise in
 summer at four or five, in winter at six or
 seven.  It is absolutely necessary to forbid
 persons attacked with this  disorder  from 
»20     BECELARD'S PHYSIOLOGY.
lemaining in bed after eight in  the morn-
ing."
  He even would wish persons to habituate
'.hemselves to get up after the first sleep,
and affirms, that however difficult of adop-
tion that custom may be in  the  beginning,
it  will soon become  easy  and agreeable.
Several examples .prove  the  soundness Ot
his advice.   There are several valetudina-
rians who feel quite comfortable  on waking
rom a first quiet and deep sleep, and who
•xperience great uneasiness if  they suffer
ihemselves again  to fall  asleep; they are
$« sure  to pass  the day well, if, whatever
■nay be the hour, they rise after their  first
sleep, as they are to pass it disagreeably if
they give themselves up to the second.
  Sleep  is  only quiet  when there is no
cause of irritation, thus we ought to en-
deavor to prevent any; three of the  most
important things to be attended to are—1st.
Not to be in a warm air, and to have neith-
er too many nor too few bedclothes; 2nd—
Not to get into bed with cold  feet, an acci-
dent very common to  weak  persons, and
which is injurious to them for several rea-
sons.   We ought, in  this respect, to con-
form  exactly to the rule  of Hippocrates—
to sleep in an airy place,  and be careful ta
cover ourselves; and  3rd, which is  still
more  important, not to have  the stomach
full; nothing in the world so much disturbs
our sleep, renders it uneasy, painful, unre- 
         BECELAnD's PHYSIOLOGY.      221
 .reshing, as difficult  digestion during the
 night.  Lowness of spirits, weakness,  dis-
 gust, ennui, incapacity of thought and ac-
 tion the next day are its inevitable results.
   Nothing on the contrary more efficacious-
 ly contributes to procure a quiet, continu-
 ous  and refreshing sleep than a light sup-
 per.  The freshness,  agility, liveliness of
 the next day are the  necessary consequen-
 ces of it.
  " The time pf sleep is that of nutrition
 and  not  that of  digestion,"  says  Lewis,
 " and he therefore requires from his patients
 the  strictest obedience   to  his  injuctions
 respecting their supper; he  forbids them,
 and  most justly, from eating any kind of
 meat in the evening ; he only permits them
 a little milk, with a slice of bread, and that
 two hours before going r0 Ded> that the first
digestion may be finished before sleep.
  The Arcantes,  who were  unacquainted
 with animal food, who never ate anything
that had been possessed  of life, were cele-
brated for the tranquility of their sleep, and
knew not what it was  to dream.
                MOTION.
  Exercise  is  absolutely  necessary—it is
 painful  to weak  persons to take any; and if
 they are  inclined to  be  melancholy, it is
very difficult to determine them to move
 themselves. Yet nothing is more calculated
to cause the evils proceeding from debility 
222     becelard's physiology.
than inaction: the fibres of the stomach, of
the intestines, of the vessels  are relaxed,
the humors  every where become stagnant,
because the solids have not the power to
impress the proper movement upon them;
stagnation of the humors, chokings up, ob-
structions, effusions arise ; digestion, nutri-
tion, the secretions do not take place, the
blood remains watery, the strength dimin-
ishes, and all the symptoms of the complaint
become aggravated.
» Enercise,  by increasing the circulation,
prevents all those evils; all the functions
are performed as if the  machine possessed
real powers, and this regularity in the func-
tions it is not long in giving them ; thus the
effect of motion is to substitute powers, and
to re-establish them.  Another  advantage,
independent of the increased circulation, is
that of enjoying air always  fresh.  A per-
son who does not move, soon spoils that
which encircles him, and injures it; a per-
son in action is continually changing it.
  Exercise may frequently stand in lieu of
remedies; all the remedies  in the  world
cannot stand in lieu of exercise.         *|
  The fatigue of the first days is an obstacle
which the feeble courage of many patients
is unable to  surmount; but had they suffi-
cient  to overcome  this first difficulty, they
would find it to be really the case in which
the first step is the  only one  which costs
anything. 
        becelard's physiology.     223
   I have, myself, been astonished at seeing  ;
 to what a degree,  those, who had not been
 discouraged,  acquired  strength.   I have
 seen  persons,  fatigued  by  a walk  round
 their garden, succeed in a few weeks to go
 as far as two leagues without feeling fatigued
 on their return.
   Exercise  on foot is not the only exercise
 to be recommended,—that taken  on  horse-
 back  is even  much better for  extremely
 weak persons, or  for those who  have  the
 viscera of the abdomen and chest impaired;
 in cases of still greater debility, riding  in a
 carriage is to  be preferred, provided it is
 not too gentle.  When the season prevents
 going out, exercise must be taken in doors,
 either by some not very fatiguing occupa-
 tion,  or by some recreative  game, such as
 battledore and shuttlecock,  which equally
 exercises the whole body.
  The return  of the appetite, of sleep, of
vivacity, are the necessary results of  mo-
tion ;  but we must  take the precaution nev-
er to take  a  rather violent exercise imme-
diately after meals,  and not to  eat when
heated by exercise, which ought  to  be ta-
ken before meals,  and some minutes given
 to repose before eating.
        THE  EVACUATIONS.

  The evacuations become  deranged with
the other functions, and their derangement
increases the disorder of the  machine ; it is 
224     becklard's physiology.
therefore, important to make them the ob-
ject of our earliest attention.
  The evacuations which principally re-
quire our notice, are the stools, the urine,
the transpiration, and the ejection  of the
phelgm.   The best method of keeping them
regular,  or  of bringing them back  to the
point where they ought to be, is to restrict
ourselves to the precepts I have given upon
the other purposes of regimen;  when we
are in good health, the  evacuations, the
greater  or less regularity of which  is the
barometer of the good  or bad state  of the
digestion, are pretty regular.
  The most important, as being the most
considerable, is the transpiration,  which in
weak persons is very easily deranged.  We
assist it  by having the  skin  very, regularly
rubbed with a brush or flannel; when it is
very languid, the surest way of reanimating
it, is ttijhave the whole body immediately
coverect»with wool.   Too  warm clothes
ought to be avoided, in case of sweating,
which is always injurious to transpiration;
the  couloirs (strainers) being forced,  re-
main weaker, and then  perform their func-
tions less perfectly;  light,  or  too little
clothing ought also  to be avoided, which,
equally stops all cutaneous evacuation. The
parts which every one, and weak persons
above all, ought to keep the  warmest,  are
the feet; this so very easy precaution would
not  be   so muck  neglected  were  persons 
Before the Effect. 
 
           becelard's physiology.     225
   aware how much  the preservation of the
   whole machine is interested in it.
     Frequent coldness iu the  feet disposes
   the frame-to the most distressing chronic
   maladies; there are a great number of per-
   sons upon whom it promptly produces  bad
   effects; but those above all who are subject
   to complaints of the chest, to colics, to  ob-
   structions,  cannot guard  themselves  too
   carefully from  those dangers.  The sacrifi-
   cers who always  walked barefooted on  the
   pavement of the temple,  were frequently
   attacked by  violent  colics.
    The saliva,  sometimes,  very abundantly
   separates itself in weak persons'; the relax-
   ation of  the saliva organs predisposes them
   to that copious secretion;  if the sick per-
  sons spit it out continually, two evils result
  from  it:—the  one—exhaustion, occasioned
  by that  evacuation;  the  other—that  this
  humour, necessary  in  the progress  of di-
  gestion,  is  wanting,   and  thus renders it
  painful and bad.
    I have sufficiently pointed  out the dan-
  gers  of imperfect digestion,  to  render it
  needless  for me to dwell upon those of an
  evacuation  which renders  it  so;  it is  for
  this  reason that Lewis strictly forbids  his
  patients to smoke; smoking, amongst other
. inconveniences, disposing to abundant sali-
  vation, by the  irritation it produces upon
  the glands which furnish that secretion. 
226     becelard's physiology.
            THE PASSIONS.

  We have before shown the close union e'f
the mind with the body.  Our readers have
comprehended how much the well-being of
the former  influenced that of  the latter;
they have heard the sinister effects  of de-
jection ; thus it is  almost  useless to add,
that we cannot too carefully avoid all tor
menting  sensations of the mind, and  that it
is of the utmost importance to inspire it
with none but agreeable ones  in all com-
plaints, and above all in those  which, like
dorsal consumption,  of  themselves dispose
to depression of spirits,  a depression  which
considerably aggravates every symptom. It is
bad to occupy the mind on one subject; con-
sequently all things that contribute to a di-
versity of thoughts are beneficial.
  That the patients should  never be abso-
lutely alone, that they should be left aban-
doned to their own reflections,  that neither
reading,  nor any mental occupation  should
be  permitted them;  all these causes, he
says, exhaust the spirits  and retard the cure.
I do not think with him, that  all reading
ought to be interdicted.   They  ought to be
prevented from reading too much at once,
on  account of the weakness of  their  sight;
we ought to forbid them all reading  which
demands  application; we ought strictly to
interdict all books calculated to call to their
souvenir ideas, to their imagination objects, 
         becelard's physiology.    227
 the memory of which it would be desirable
 to make  them  lose;  but there are some
 which, without much fixing the attention,
 or recalling dangerous images  agreeably di-
 vert  their thoughts from themselves, and
 prevent the  terrible  dangers  of  listless
 ennui.

            THE  REMEDIES.
   I shall  follow the  same order as  in the
 preceding article.  I shall, before speaking of
 the remedies we ought to employ, point out
 those  we ought to avoid.  I have already
 indicated a certain class of them we ought
 to exclude—the irritating, hot, and volatile
 ones.  There is a second, very opposite  in
 its effects,  and yet equally injurious—evac-
 uants.
   I have already said, that sweating,  saliva-
 tion,  abundant urines, exhaust the patient.
 I shall not again speak of those evacuations;
 it must be felt that all the remedies which
 excite them ought to be  prohibited; it re-
 mains for us to examine venesection and the
 evacuation  of primae via?.  The indication
 being to re-establish the diminished pow-
ers, in order to judge whether they are
proper, the question  is  to know  whether
those  evacuations are calculated to  fulfil it
I shall be  brief.  There are two cases in
which bleeding re-establishes  the  bodily
 powers;  in the  others  it takes  it  away;
either when there is too much blood—that 
328     becelard's phisiology.
is  not the case with persons in consump-
tions—or when the blood has acquired an in-
flammatory density, which, rendering it un-
fit for its uses, quickly destroys the animal
powers;  that is  the  disorder of vigorous
persons, of those whose fibres are firm, and
circulation strong; our patients being in
precisely the  contrary  case,  bleeding can
only be injurious to them.
  The remedies  which evacuate the sto-
mach, strengthen, when there  is collected
in it matters so considerable, that, by their
mass, they interrupt the functions of all the
viscera;  or when it, and the first intestines,
contain  putrid feculae,  the usual effect  of
which is a great weakness.  In those cases
we may employ evacuants, if  nothing for-
bids us, if there are no other means of re-
lieving the stomach, or if there is danger  in
not promptly evacuating  it.  These  three
conditions are rarely met with in persons in
a consumptive state, in whom the weakness
and atony of  the primae viae is a counter in-
dication  always present to purgatives and
emetics.
   There is most  frequently another means
of procuring  their successive evacuation, by
employing non-astringent tonics; such are
a great number of bitters, which, in restor-
ing their play to the  organs, produce the
twofold  good effect of digesting what can
be so, and of evacuating the superfluity.
   Is there no case, it will be said, in whicft 
        becelard's physiology.    229
emetics and purgatives can be administered
in  the  complaints  I am treating  upon?
Doubtless there are some, but very rare;
and great attention  must be paid not to let
ourselves be deceived by the signs  which
seem to indicate the use of evacuants, and
which  frequently  depend  upon  a  cause
which requires quite different remedies.  1
shall  not enter into the details of that dif-
ference,  they would here be out of place;
and it is sufficient for me  to have  given
warning that  evacuants ought rarely to  be
employed in  this complaint.   Lewis  be-
lieves that a  gentle  emetic may usefully
prepare the stomach for  the other remedies,
but he  is not willing  to go beyond that,
several  cases  have  taught  me that we can
and ought to  do without it.  Good sense
alone, without  experience,  persuades  us
that a retnedy which occasions convulsions,
must but ill agree with complaints which
are the effect of reiterating convulsions.
  It is  in combating the  cause that we
eradicate the evil; if we every day remove
some portion  of it,  we are sure that the ef-
fect will disappear without  any fear  of  its
return.   If we  act  only on the effect,  the
work of each day is not only useless to the
succeeding day, but almost always hurtful.
  After  pointing out what we  ought  to
avoid, what ought we to do ? I have before
stated the characteristics which the reme-
dies ought to possess; strengthening with- 
230     becelard's physiology.
out irritating.  There  are some of them
which may answer these indications—the
quinquina  and cold  baths.   The  first ot
these remedies has, for  near  a century,
been considered, independent of its febrifuge
virtues,  as  one  of the most powerful
strengtheners, and as a sedative.  The most
celebrated modern physicians look upon it
as a  specific in nervous complaints.   We
have  before seen  that  it formed  part of
Boerhaave's prescription; and Vandermonde
made use of it with much success in  the
case of a young man, whom  excesses with
women had thrown into  an alarming state.
Lewis prefers it to all other  remedies,  and
M. Stehelin, in the  letter I have  several
times mentioned, says—he believes it to be
the most efficacious of all.
  Twenty centuries of experience have de-
monstrated that cold baths possess the same
qualities.  Dr.  Baynard  has  proved their
utility more particularly in  the disorders
produced by masturbation and venereal ex-
cesses—above all, in a case where, indepen-
dent  of impotence and  simple  gonorrhoea,
there was such great weakness  augmented,
it is  true,  by bleeding  and purgatives, that
the patient was considered on the brink of
the grave.
  The  union  of  the quinquina and cold
baths is indicated by  the  purity of their vir-
tues : their effects are the same, and, when
comoined, they cure  complaints which  all 
        becelard's physiology.     231
the other remedies would  only have made
worse.  Strengthening, sedative, and febri-
fuge, they restore the powers, diminish the
febrile and nervous heat, and calm the irre-
gular movements produced by the spasmodic
disposition  of the  nervous system.  They
cure  the  weakness of the  stomach,  and
quickly remove the pains which are the re-
sult of it.   They restore the  appetite, they
facilitate  digestion  and nutrition; they re-
establish all the secretions and transpiration
above, which renders them so beneficial in
catarrhal  and  cutaneous complaints;  in a
word, they are  eminently beneficial in all
the maladies occasioned by debility, provid-
ed the patient is attacked neither by indis-
soluble obstructions,  inflammations,  ab-
scesses, or internal ulcers; conditions which
only  exclude, even necessarily, the cold
baths, but which frequently permit  the use
of the quinquina (bark.)
  When I have  employed  bark in a liquid
form, I have ordered the decoction ot one
ounce in twelve ounces of water, or, accord-
ing to the  symptoms, in |red wine, three
ounces to  be taken -three  times a  day.  I
leave  the cold baths till the evening, when
the digestion of the dinner is entirely finish-
ed ; united, they procure a tranquil sleep.
I have seen a young masturbator, who passed
the nights in the utmost  restlessness, and
who,  every morning, was  bathed in coli-
qualine sweats;  the night  after the sixth 
232     BECKLARD'S PHYSIOLOGY.
bath, he slept five hours, and -rose in the
morning  without the  sweat, and  much
better.
la Preparations of iron are a third remedy,
too generally employed in all cases of weak-
ness, to make it necessary for me to insist
upon its efficacy as a strengthener ; as there
is nothing irritating in them, they are ex-
tremely expropriate in the complaints I am
trea'tmg?nr<jn.  They are given in substance,
or even z   'fusion ; but the  best prepara-
tion is  ti. „- mineral waters, prepared  by na-
ture, and above all, the waters  of Spa, one
of the most powerful tonics we are acquaint-
ed with, and a tonic  which  very far from
irritating, mitigates whatever there may be
of too great acridity in the humors.   Gums,
myrrh,  bitters, and the mildest  aromatics
are also of great use.
  The   choice of these different remedies
ought to be decided by circumstances. The
nrst^have pointed out, generally deserve
the preference ; but there may be cases met
withHrjjh require others; we may in gene-
ral  cho4|e them from the whole class  of ner-
vift^sAguiding ourselves in the selection by
the precautions 1 have before pointed out.—
If it is  a complaint of the nerves, it ought
to be treated as such: and it has frequently
been so when success  has  been the  result,
although the medical  attendant was  ignor-
ant of the cause ; true it is, and incontesta-
ble observations have demonstrated it to me' 
3711�3�718 
 
                                      {
        becklard's physwlogy.    233
that the  ignorance  of that cause, and the
consequent neglect of fhe precautions it re-
quires, has, at other times, rendered fruit-
less, what seemed in appearance  the  most
opposite treatment, without the physicians
being able to discover the cause of this want
of success.
   A young man of a bilious temperament,
led into evil at the age of ten, had been, ever
since that time, weak, languishing, cacochy-
mous; he had some bilious complaints which,
with difficulty, he had got the better of; he
was extremely meagre, weak, pale, and de-
sponding.   I ordered him cold baths, and a
powder, with cream of tartar, iron filings,
and a very little cinnamon, to be taken three
times a day.   In less than six weeks he had
acquired a strength he never before had been
acquainted with.
  One great advantage  of the  Spa waters,
and of bark, is, that the use of them makes
the milk pass through.   Hoffman prescribed
asses' milk, with a third of Seltzler water.
  M. de la Meurie has transmitted to us a
fine case of Boerhaave's.
  An amiable duke placed himself out of
the pale of marriage; I replaced him within
it by the use of the  Spa water  along  with
milk.                            .
  The weakness of the stomach, which ren-
ders digestion too slow, the acids, the little
activity of the bile, the  chokings  up of the
viscera of the abdomen, are  the  principal 
234     becelard's physiology.
causes which prevent the digestion  of the
milk, and forbid its use.  The waters which
remedy all these causes, can only facilitate
its digestion, and  the barks which  are  in-
tended for the same purpose, ought also to
amalgamate  easily with the  milk.
  These remedies may be employed either
previously, to prepare the way, which is al-
most always  necessary, or at the same time.
  In 1753, I completely re-established a
foreigner, who  had  so  exhausted himself
with a courtezan, that he was incapable  of
an act of virility ; his stomach was also ex-
tremely weakened, and the want of sleep
and nutrition had reduced  him almost to a
skeleton.  At six in the morning he took
six ounces of the bark decoction, to which
was added a spoonful of  Canary; one hour
afterwards he drank six ounces of  milk,
warm from the goat, to which was  added a
little sugar, and an ounce of orange  flower
water.  He dined on cold  roast fowl, with
bread, and a glass of excellent Burgundy,
with as much water.  At six in the evening
he took a second dose of bark; at half-past
six he went  into a cold bath,  where he re-
mained ten minutes, and then retired to bed.
At eight he  again took the same quantity of
milk, and rose in the morning between nine
and ten.   Such was the effect of these reme-
dies, that at the  expiration of a week, he
joyfully called out to me, as  I entered  his
chamber, that he had recovered the outward 
        becelard's physiology.     235^r
sign of virility; to make use of an expression
of Buffon's.   At the end of a month he had
almost   entirely   recovered   his  former
strength.
<■  Some absorbent powders, a few spoonsful
of mint water, frequently the  mere addition
of a little sugar, a few pills of the extract
of bark may also  contribute, to prevent the
degeneration of the milk.   We might also
employ the gum introduced into some places
in  England,  under the  gummi  rubrum,
44 Cambiense," and on which there is ashort
dissertation in the medical observations and
enquiries—vol. 1, p. 36.   This strengthens
and softens, which are two great  points in      '
the maladies in question.
  In short, if, notwithstanding every care,      ;
it is impossible to bear the milk—buttermilk
might be tried.  I have given it with success
to a young man, for whom a principle of hy-
pocendrialgy made me fear the pure milk.—
The bilious drink it with  pleasure, and al-
ways  prefer  it to milk  whenever  there
is much heat, a little fever, an irysipelateous
disposition, and it is above all of great use,
when venerian excesses produce acute fever,      i
such as  that Raphael died  of.  Notwith-      (
standing the debility, tonics  would be in-
jurious;  venesection  is  dangerous; the
famous Jonston who died Baron de Zieben-
dorf, positively forbade it in this case, more
than eighty years ago ; remedies too refresh-      j
ing  are  unsuccessful,  as   Vandermonde 
236     BECEtLARD S PHYSIOLOGY.
proves, and as I have myself witnessed; but
buttermilk, provided it is not  too fat, suc-
ceeds very well.  It cools, dilutes, it softens,
it quenches, it refreshes, and  at the same
time nourishes and strengthens, which, in
this case, is very important, as it is impossi-
ble to lorm an idea of  the promptitude with
which the patient loses his strength.  Gil-
christ, who has no great reliance upon milk
in " ethisie," greatly praises buttermilk in
the same malady.
  The genital parts are always the slowest
in recovering their powers ; they even fre-
quently do not recover them at all; although
the rest of the body seems to have recover-
ed its own, we may, with confidence, pre-
dict in this case, that the part  that has sin-
ned,  will be that which will perish.
  I have  always found greater  facility in
curing those who have debilitated them-
selves by great  excesses in a short time,
when men,  than those who,  in the  long
run,  have exhausted themselves by less fre-
quent pollutions, but  commenced in early
youth,  and  which have  prevented  their
growth, and have never permitted them te
acquire their due strength.  We may con^
sider the former as having had a very vio-
lent  illness,  which  has wasted  away all
their bodily powers ; but though the organs
have suffered greatly, yet having acquired
their full  perfection, the  cessation of the
cause,  time,  regimen, and remedies  may 
becelard's physiology.     237
  re-establish them.  The latter having never
  permitted their temperament to form itself,
  how could they re-establish it ?  It would
  be art to perform in mature age, that which
  they have prevented  nature  from  accom-
  plishing in childhood and in puberty; we
  feel how chimerical is that hope; and daily
  observations prove to me, that the young
  persons who  have given  themselves up to
  that  practice  in their childhood,   at the
  period  of the development of puberty, a
  critical  period  which is a crisis of nature,
  and requires  all its  powers;  observations
,  prove to me, I say, that those young persons
  ought not to  hope ever to become robust
  and vigorous,  and  they are very fortunate
  when they can enjoy tolerable health, ex-
  empt from serious pains and maladies.
    Those who  only repent late, at  an age
  when the frame has arrived at full maturity,
  but when it is with difficulty repaired,  nei-
  ther ought they to have great hopes; when
  past forty, it is rare again to become young.
    When I order  the bark  with wine,  I do     ■
  not make the patient  live entirely upon
  milk, but make him take the  remedy in the     j
  morning, and the milk in  the evening.  :     ,
  have  met with  some patients, for whom
  have been forced to invert that order—wine     f
  taken in the  morning  constantly making     ^
  them  vomit.                                  ,;
    When I employ the mineral waters, . 
238     becelard's physiology.
make them drink some bottles pure, before
mixing them with milk.
  When the complaint is moderate, it com-
monly degenerates  in cacochymy, which
must be destroyed before attempting to re-
establish the strength ; it is in this case that
evacuants  are sometimes indispensably ne-
cessary, and very efficacious.  Strengthen-
ing,  nourishing  remedies—milk ordered in
these cases, throw the patient  into a slow
fever, and he loses  his strength in propor-
tion  to the use he makes of it.
  When sudden excesses all at once  throw
persons into such great weakness that there
is  reason  to fear for  their  lives, we must
have recourse to active cordials, give  Span-
ish with  a little bread, succulent broths,
with  fresh eggs; put  the -patient to  bed,
and apply  flannels dipped in wine, theriaca
warmed to his stomach.
  In the cases where venerian excesses have
brought on acute fever, bleeding ought only
to be employed  when it is indicated by the
fulness and hardness of the pulse,  and it is
better to order  two small quantities  to be
drawn at twice, than the same at once.
  The white decoction (i. e. barley water,
with a little milk,)  a teaspoonful of  nitre;
some glisters, with a decoction of good man's
flowers; some tepid baths,  and  for drink,
tkickened veal broth, are the true remedies,
an*  those which have  most quicklv  sue- 
         becelard's physiology. "    239
 ceeded in the cases where I have employed
 them.
   The symptoms rarely call for particular
 treatment, and yield to the general treat-
 ment.  He may, however, sometimes, give
 external strengthened to the internal ones,
 when we wish more particularly to strength-
 en one part; and  I have  frequently, with
 success,  advised epithemias,  or  aromatic
 {ilasters on the stomach ; and it is not use-
 ess to envelope  the testicles in fine flannel
 soaked in  some strengthening liquid, sup-
 ported by a suspender.
   Gotter says—" I have sometimes  cured
 paralysis of the eye, occasioned by venerian
 excesses, by employing internal strengthen-
 ing medicines, and nasal cephalic powders,
 which, by the slight irritation they pro-
 duced, determined a greater  afflux of  the
 animal spirits upon the optic nerve."
   It  would be useless to enter into more
 copious details respecting the method of the
 cure ; however I might extend them, they
 could never serve as a guide to the patients
 without the assistance of a medical man, to
 whom they would be superfluous.
1  I have  dwelt longer upon the  regimen,
because,  when the disease has not made
great progress, it alone joined to the cessa-
tion of the cause, may effect  a cure, and
that  all  can, without any danger, restrict
themselves to it.  In order  to terminate 
JJ40    becelard's physiology.
this part, there only remains for me to add
the preservative cure.
  A strict regimen is of great service.  Let
those  who deny that the difference of the
aliments  renders  some  temperate, others
dissolute; some chaste, others incontinent;
some  courageous,  others cowardly; those
mild,  these quarrelsome; the former modest,
the latter presumptuous; let  those, I say,
who deny that truth, come to me ; let those
who follow my advice as to their food and
drink. I promise that they shall derive from
it great  assistance in moral  philosophy ;
they shall acquire more  genius, more me-
mory, more prudence, and  more diligence.
I  will also  tell them what drinks,  what
winds, what  temperature of the  air,  what
countries they ought  to  avoid, or choose."
   Before closing this article upon the  treat-
ment of this malady, I  should warn the af-
flicted (and this advice  equally regards all
those who have any chronic disorders, es
pecially  when accompanied by  debility,*
that they must not expect that evils, the re-
sult of years of error, can  be cured  in  as
many days.   They ought to be prepared fa
a wearisome tedious cure, and must scrupu»
lously conform to  all  the rules of the pre-
scribed regimen ;  if they sometimes appear
 trivial and minute, it is because they  are
 unable to feel their importance ;  and they
 must continually repeat  to themselves that
 the torture of the  most rigid course of treat- 
        becelard's physiology      2*t
 orient is far inferior  to that of the slightest
 malady.  Let me here be permitted to say,
 that if  curable diseases are not met with,
 which because they are ill-treated,  are not
 cured ; we also see  a great number which
 the impatient temper of the patient renders
 incurable, notwithstanding the most  judi-
 cious treatment on the part of the physician
 Hippocrates required, in order to insure
 success, that the patient, the physician, and
 the nurses should equally perform their duty;
 were this concurrence  le"»3S  rare, the fortu-
 nate terminations would  be more frequent
 " Let the patient," says Areteus, " be cou-
 rageous, and let him conspire with the phy-
 sician against the disease.  I have seen the
 most obstinate complaints  yield to the es-
 tablishment of this harmony; and very re-
 cent cases have demonstrated to me, that
 the  ferocity even  of  cancerous maladies
 yielded to  methods,  perhaps, prudently
 combined, but  executed, above all, with a
 docility and regularity, the success of which
 forms their eulogium."

   GENERAL ADVICE—CASES, &c
  The seminal liquor,  has so powerful an
 influence over the  body, and the digestions,
 that  physicians  believee   the  loss  of
one  ounce of that liquor to be more weak ■
ening than  that of  forty ounces of blood
An idea of  its importance may be  formed
from  observing tfee effect  it produces as
             16 
242     becelard's physiology
soon as it commences to form itself.  The
voice, the physiognomy, even the features
of the face change; the beard appears ; the
whole body frequently assumes another ap-
pearance, because the muscles  acquire  a
thickness and firmness which form  a sensi-
ble difference between the body of an adult,
and that  of a youth who has not passed the
age of puberty.  All these developments are
prevented by taking  away the organ which
jerves to separate the liquor which  produ-
ces  them and  observations founded upon
facts, have proved that the amputation of
the testicles, in the age of virility has pro-
duced the loss of  the beard, and the return
offlsn infantine voice.   Can we after-that
doubt the power of its action over the whole
body, and not feel from that very circum-
stance  how many evils a profuse emission
of so precious a humor must give rise to ?
  In some cases of illness it escapes from the
seminal vessels.  It may be lost involunta-
rily during lascivious dreams.  The author
of Genesis has left us the  history  of the
crime of Onan, doubtless to transmit to U9
that  of its punishment;  and we learn by
Galen that  Diogenes  sullied himself by
committing the same crime.
   Hippocrates believed that the  animal
liquor separated  itself from the whole of
the body, particularly from the head.   " The
seed of man comes," says," that distinguish-
ed character among the anciants." from all 
         becelard's physiology.     243
 parts of the body; it is tne most important
 part of it."
   What proves it, is the weakness experien-
 ced by those who  lose it by carnal union.
 no matter however small may be the quan-
 tity they lose.  There  are veins and nerves
 which communicate with the genitals from
 every part of the body, and when the latter
 become full and heated, they experience an
 itching which communicating itself to the
 whole body, gives to it a warm and pleasura-
 ble feeling; other  humors enter into a kind
 of fermentation which  separates from them
 their  most precious  and  balsamic essence,
 and which thus separated, is carried by the
 marrow of the spine to the genital parts.
  Nothing can  be  more frightful  than^he
 picture left us by Areteus of the evils pro-
 duced by a too  abundant  evacuation of the
 semen.   Young men take the  looks,  and
 have  the infirmities c old men; they be-
 come  pale, effeminate,  benumbed,  lazy,
 cowardly, stupid and even imbecile; their
 bodies bend, their legs refuse to bear them;
 they are disgusted with  every thing, and un-
 fit for any thing;  many  of them become
 paralytic.   In another section of this work,
he places the pleasures of love in the num-
ber of the six causes productive of paralysis.
  Lomnius in  his celebrated commentaries
upon the  passages of Celsus, I have quoted,
supports  the testimony of that author by
tic own   observations.  " Frequent  emis- 
244     becelard's physiology
ions of  semen relax, dry up, weaken, en-
ervate and produce a crowd  of  evils; apo-
plexies, lethargies, drowsiness,  epilepsy,
loss of sight, tremblings, paralysis, nervous
attacks, and the  most  painful  kinds  ol
gout."
  The Memoirs of " the Curiosities of Na
ture," mention a loss of sight. The case de
serves to be inserted entire.  " We are igno
rant, says" the author, " what sympathy the
testicles have with the whole of  the body,
but above all with the eyes."   Samuth has
seen a learned hypochondriac become mad,
and the brain of another man dry up so pro-
digiously, that it was heard to shake within
his skull;  both through having abandoned
themselves to excesses of the same kind.
  In short onanism or masturbation, origin-
ate the one half of the most serious evils
whichthe human frame has to contend with.
  As soon as the father of a family remarks
any alteration in the disposition of his chil-
dren, he ought before  all things to suspect
onanism.
  I know that it is very repugnant to many
parents, to  suspect the innocence of their
daughters above all; but let them persuade
themselves  that there  are  many to  whom
nothing has been taught,  who sometimes
give  themselves up to masturbation from
their tenderest years.   It is in most cases
useless to question them ; the  peculiar ob-
noxious nature of the practice  prevents it • 
<*
        becelard's physiology.     245
the .guilty with_difficulty own a fault  they
themselves blush at c ommitting.
  To watch them, rarely produces  a satis-
factory result; you then must learn in their
physiognomy what their mouths would long
be silent upon.
  In a child which has practised onanism
only for a few days, we  do not commonly
remark any change of manners.   Her gaiety
may remain undiminished, her eyes  as live-
ly as before -r but if he or she persist in such
solitary enjoyments an attentive observer is
not long in suspecting them.  The eyes be-
come glazed, without expression ; the pupil
is constantly dilated;  they are seen every
morning filled with  film.  The  child be-
becomes cross and never looks full at the
person who interrogates it.  It no longer
takes any delight in the noisy pleasures of
its  age; sometimes  complains  of palpi-
tations or pains in the head;  little pimples
are perceived on the  forehead, on the tem-
ples, round the nose,  and on  the  breast.
Very frequently, a slight discharge from the
genitals stains the linen, and ought particu-
larly to attract the attention of mothers.
  If, after  remarking some of these signs,
it is thought fit to question the child believ-
ed  to be guilty, let  it be  done  with that
mildness which persuades and  gains confi-
dence ; we  reveal our faults to a friend, we
endeavor to  conceal  them from a judge.
Should after that, any vague answers leave 
246     becelard's physiology.
the least doubt in the minds of the parents
or instructors,'I« do not hesitate to advise
them carefully to  examine their child or
their pupil; the inspection  of the genitals
will then prove in the most evident manner
what they ought to think with  respect to
the subject in question; but it is first indis-
pensable for them  to consult their medical
attendant, who will furnish them with de-
tails I cannot permit myself to enter into.
It is for young persons particularly that  I
write, and  such details would be more in-
jurious than useful to them.
  The masturbator, notwithstanding an ex-
cellent appetite and copious repasts, is com-
monly thin ;  he is pale, weak, morose ; he
remains short and puny.  He is frequently
 ormented by palpitations of the heart, dif-
ficulty  of breathing, horrible pains,  head
aches, and pains in all his limbs.  The slight-
est exercise is disagreeable  to him,  he de -
tests walking, and every where  bears  with
him a depression of spirits he is unable  to
account for.
■   If he persists in his  habits and abandons
himself to  it  with excess, consequences
much more serious may succeed,  the  least
alarming of which are always loss of memo-
ry, indifference and sometimes aversion fot
the pleasures found with a person  of the
other sex, which love excuses if it does not
legitimate.
   In women  pains in  the  stomach, and 
        becelard's physiology     247
whites are, I may say, inseparable from on-
anism.
  I will  here  observe tolny young readers
that all these signs are never met with sim-
ultaneously in the  same individual.  But
let  them not then believe  themselves ex-
empt  from the  penalty  attached to  their
faults, should they be subject neither to pal-
pitations nor loss of memory;  let it suffice
then to know that there is not the least exag-
geration in what they have  been reading.
  I give a few brief cases :
  Mr. Miege, a celebrated physician  ;ol
Basle, known in  the world  by his excellent
dissertations, and to whom his country owes
the innoculation, has communicated to me a
letter from Professor Stehelin,  in which I
have found some interesting and useful ob-
servations ; some of which  I reserve for the
latter end of this work where they will  be
more  appropriately placed; but I here  in-
sert two other cases.   A youth of fourteen
years  of age, died of a kind of epilepsy, and
in convulsions, which originated entirely in
masturbation ; he was  in  vain prescribed
for by the most celebrated physicians of
Paris.  I am also acquainted with a young
lady from twelve to fourteen  years of age,
who, from this detestable practice,  has
thrown herself  into a consumption, with
her belly swelled and tense,  accompanied
by  whites, and incontinence of urine.
  A young man of Montpellier, a medical 
248     becelard's physiology.
student, died through excess in those de-
baucheries.  So affected was his mind with
this idea of his, that he died in a delirium
of despair, imagining he saw hell open be-
side, and ready to  receive  him.  A boy of
that town, six or seven years of age, tutor-
ed, I believe by a servant girl,  masturbated
himself so frequently, that the slow fever it
occasioned, soon carried him off.  So great
was his fury for that act, that he could not
be prevented from it to the last day of his
life.
  A boy, not yet  sixteen,  had abandoned
himself to masturbation with such fury, that
at length, instead of  sperm, he  only forced
out blood, which  was soon followed by ex-
cessive pains, and inflammation of all the or-
gans of generation.   Being by chance in the
country, I was called in, and  ordered ex-
tremely emollient cataplasms  which  pro-
duced  the effect I .expected from them ; but
I have since learnt that he died a short time
after of the small pox, and I have no doubt
but that the shocks  he had given his tem-
perament by his infamous  mania,  greatly
contributed to render his illness mortal.
   Some women have frequently been  seen
to love girls with as much ardor as the most
impassioned men, and even to conceive the
greatest jealousy against those who seemed
to have an affection for them.
   These unnatural desires are  produced by
exces.*i\e masturbation 
05 
 
becelard's physiology.     249
  It is unnecessary to  enumerate   more
eases.  The subject is too  disgusting to be
prolonged with any advantage to the general
reader; and those  most deeply interested
will require no evidence other  than their
own feelings,  and sufferings  to convince
them   of the  sad effects  of masturbation
Much  better is it for patients to study tha
remedies, so plainly and amply set forth in
this little volume, and to put them in prac-
tice, than to add to their  fears and despon-
dency by reading  in horrid detail the fearful
results of  cases  similar with their  own.
This section  of  the work is  given  to the
public  in the fullest confidence, based upon
the most ample practical experience of its
merits, and in the certain assurance  that it
must be the means of doing a great deal t>i
good.
»» 
APPENDIX.
NEW  EXPERIMENTS RELATIVE  TO
            GENERATION.
     BY  AH EMINENT PHYSICIAN.

           Experiment One.
  Havingboughttwo castrated boars, one
of which lost by castration only the  right
testis,  he proposed to  convince  himself
whether there was any foundation in the
ancient doctrine about the difference of the
seed in the right and  left testicle.   H<.
therefore purchased a young sow, whom h
carefully inclosed in the month of Augusl
and after  finding  her  pregnant, he got ir
December eight female pigs.
           Experiment Two.          t
  In March, the same sow was impregnate
by the  same boar, and delivered in July oi
eleven female pigs.
           Experiment Three.
  He had three dogs castrated of the right
testicle, and  inclosed  each of them, afte.
being perfectly cured of the operation, w'
a bitch, and obtained of  the first  eighty '
the second seven, and of the third four <*■
male whelps.
           Experiment Four.
   He repeated with two of the above-men 
         BECELARD'S PHYSIOLOGT.     231
 tioned half-castrated dogs and bitches thu
 experiment, and got again of the one five,
 and of the other seven female whelps.
             Experiment Five.
   He castrated three rabbits of the right.
 testis, and after being cured, shut them up
 with females; he then got through the sum-
 mer, every five or eix weeks, young rabbits
 all of the female  kind.
             Experiment Six.
   He deprived two dogs of the left testis,
 and provided them with bitches  carefully
 inclosed, from one of whom he  obtained
 six, and from the other, eight male whelps.
           Experiment Seven.
   The  same experiment was made  with
"rabbits, whose left testicles  were cut out,
"'and with the same result.
           Experiment Eight.
   He cut out by the assistance of  an  able
 man from several  bitches, the right tuble
 \nd ovaria,—of bitches thus castrated,  only
 two survived, who after being inclosid with
 a dog whose right testicle had been  pre-
 viously  cut  out, were impregnated,  and
 brought forward, the one five, and the other
 seven little bitches.
           Experiment Nine.
   One oi the above bitches was afterwards
  icked  up with a perfect  dog, and  she
 orought only female whelps.
             Experiment Ten.
   The other  of the above bitches was in- 
252     becelard's physiology.
closed with a dog who was  previously de*
prived of the left testicle, but she never be-
came pregnant.
  Each of the above mentioned experiments
has  been  many times repeated, and  has
never once been known to fail in producing
the same results.  From which result we
draw the following  conclusions: 1st, that
each testicle has a power to secrete a pecu
liar kind of semen, different from that of the
other : 2d, that each ovarium contains eggs
peculiar to itself; and different from that of
the other ovarium, viz., the  right ovarium
the male egg, and the left the female ones :
3d, that only the semen of the right testicle
is able to impregnate the eggs of the right
ovarium, and on the  contrary, the semen of
the left testicle is only enabled to impreg-
nate the eggs of the left ovarium: 4th, from
these experiments  the  same useful infer-
ences might be  made to husbandry, it being
in our power to produce male or female
animals according to our wants.
  Not satisfied  with  these experiments on
animals, he carried his  views  farther, and
some curious observations on man, of which
I shall here subjoin  a short abstract: 1st,
That each testicle secretes a peculiar semen,
and carries the same to  the  vesicula semi-
nalis of the  other side:  2d, That  the se-
creting  duct,  of  each vesicula seminalis,
opens into the  urethra without communica-
tion with the excretory duct of the other, 
becelard's physiology.     253
 and that the orifice of each of them is per-
 fectly separated from the other :  3d, He
 farther thinks it to be ascertained, that the
 semen  in  each ficum  regulates  coition,
 evacuated only from the vesicula seminalis
 of one side.  He proves this new and per-
 haps seemingly paradoxical opinion,  to
 those who have not proven it  by experi-
 ment, by a new  observation of a fact hither-
 to overlooked or entirely unnoticed,  viz.,
 he observed  that in each such coition one
 of the testicles is drawn up, particularly at
 the  time  of  the evacuation,  and he  is  of
 opinion that this contraction happens in the
 testicle of the side  on which the vescular
 seminalis  is evacuated.   ^The cause of this
 contraction of the testicle and consequently
 of the excretion  of the semen of the vesicula
 seminalis of the same side, he attributes to
 the  tensions of the neighboring  greater
 muscles and the influence of this action
 upon the  cremaster.  The contraction of a
 particular and  one  testicle only, in  each
 coition he found to  be  a constant fact, not
 only in himself but in several others, and in
 confirmation of this, several of his friends
who by his advice and by means proposed
by him, procured for  a length of time the
evacuation of one particular testicle, found
after a short time a remarkable defect of the
seminal liquids,  which, on changing by his
advice the posture  they had hitherto ob-
served in  coition, into another whereby the 
254     becelard's physiology.
other testicle was drawn up during coition,
was followed by a copious discharge of se-
men.  One of his intimate friends who had
been married for several years without hav-
ing had a  child, got his wife immediately
with child by assuming a particular posture
which  he advised him.  Whereas the ac-
tion of the largest muscles and consequent-
ly of the cremaster, may depend on many
accidental causes, the contraction  of the
cremaster of the right and loft side, is gene-
rally and hitherto has been accidental ; the
generation of boys and girls in consequence
was likewise accidental, or out of the powei
of man to change, but from his experiments
and observations he thinks it in his power
and in  that of everf man ior the future  to
generate the one or  the other  just as he
chooses, and proposes for the purpose the
following rule : If it be the intention to get
a boy the man ought,  during coition, to ob-
serve a posture by which the whole right
side of his body is in  a greater tension  than
the left, and thus the contraction of the right
testicle will be facilitated or given occasion
to.  If, however, notwithstanding by some
accident or overlook the left testicle  should
be drawn up, this may be easily and with-
out  any pain  drawn down and the right
be assisted by the hand to rise up, and  thus
be sure of obtaining the point in question.
If the intention be  to get a  girl, just the
contrary must be observed.  It is to be un« 
         BECELARD S PHYSIOLOGY.     255
 derstood that the coition in the above men-
 tioned posture,  must be repeated till the
 woman finds herself pregnant.   In confirm-
 ation of  the above experiments he brings
 forward two curious observations.  A vete-
 rinarian observed that every year some of
 the  mares of a Dragoon regiment which
 were left out upon the  grass for the sum-
 mer, returned pregnant, although it was as-
 certained that no other  horses  could come
 into the field except those of the regiment,
 among which there were no stone horses.
 The foals obtained from these  mares were
 all of the female kind.  Grooms were  put
 and  all other measures taken  to discover
 how the mares were impregnated; at last it
 was  found that the impregnation was owing
 to one of the horses who, on examination,
 had the left testicle remaining.  The other
 more interesting fact  is the following: on
 opening the calava of a woman who died on
 delivery, and who had-« borne before,  nine
 boys without ever having  a girl, the right
 ovarium was in  a perfectly healthy state,
 but the left was very flaccid and small, like
 a texture of dried up membranes.  He next
 addressed the following observations, which
seems to be against the theory he  meant to
establish.   Sharig, Vangreas,  Wedel,  and
other physicn»is, mention men with  one
testicle who, we are told, procreated child-
ren of both sexes, but  these accounts are in
many respects defective and unauthentic- 
256     becelard's physiology.
ated, for it. is uncertain whether, in those
cases, the person had really but one testicle
or whether the other was not in the abdo-
men of which there are numerous instances;
perhaps, also, (an observation by Paul Teh-
cus) the vessels of the two  testicles were
concreted  together—besides,  it  may be
doubted, whether the wives of those" men
were so much secured from society,  as th*
animals were in the experiments from whic>
the proof is drawn.
THE EWD.