C968 1530 'mmm Tl $■■-'> 1$ I II 1 Surgeon General's Office I ^^M3>^% M> '© ^4* <_S trite u, No./ £/jL: / isaa'QgQigojgQ^gQQQgag'ac^^QQ-aQi 3$l m >SELF PRESERVATION, IN v> M MANHOOD, CAUSES OF ITS 1 PREMATURE DECLINE, BEING FACTS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE TO THE MARRIED AND UNMARRIED; ALSO USEFUL HINTS TO m LOVERS, HUSBANDS, AND .V «©'LIBRAE -..AJ BY R. J. CULVERWELL, M. D., Member of the Medical Institutions of London and Paris, NEW-YORK: Sold Wholesale and Retail, 98 Nassau Street. Ha C Ws (830 INTRODUCTION. The greatest moral Writers, as well as medical authors of all times, have laid down certain rules for the preservation of health, and it were well for mankind in general, if that great system could be made to form a more per- manent feature of modern education. The Spartans and the other warlike people of ancient history inured their offspring, from earliest infancy, to those laborious exercises which gave a tone of healthful energy to the mind as well as to the body; hence originated that Strength of intellect which was the glory of those ages, and which commands the admiration of our own times. The connecting sympathy between the mind and the body renders each the repository of the other's maladies; and a shrivelled emaciated frame is seldom stored with a mind of gigantic energy, because the habitual infirmities of the flesh, its ailments and agoniesj naturally engender, something like a corresponding imbecility in the intellectual faculty. There are many excep- tions to this rule, but the theory is perfectly maintainable. Luxurious habits effeminize the body and unfit the mind for the noble exercise of its functions; they are the mildews which feed upon the blossom of intellect, rendering that distorted which was originally perfect, by destroying at the same moment both the Vis VitcB and the beauty which gave it embellishment. In truth, the foundation of a flourishing maturity, and healthful old age, may*--- " be easily laid, and it does appear to us, that this basis is the province of the guardians and tutors of young persons, proper explanations of the causes which create disease and shorten life, enforced by the judicious blending of such examples as are best calculated to impress the memory, awaken the fears, or to excite the disgust of the pupil, could not be otherwise than produc- tive of a beneficial change in the habits of the rising generation. On the con- trary, while the juvenile mind is carefully kept in ignorance of the baneful consequences of those practices and indulgences which are too common amongst youth, (and which, " like a worm in the bud," feed upon the consti- tution, even whilst it is forming itself,) the few apprehensions which may now and then arise are treated as mere speculative terrors, and gradually die with- out producing any efFoft to check the insidious mischief. To the neglect, however, of those explanations and admonitions which would exhibit atone view to the young votary the nature of his indiscretions, with the long chain of evils extending to the- last stage of protracted existence, may be charged the awful catalogue of human victims who have sunk under Complicated maladies, the source of which was confined to their own bosoms. To the same cause, also, may possibly be attributable, the many unfortunate beings, who, in the very meridian of their years, with all the florid appear- ance of health and promise of a lengthened age, have been suddenly arrested, as by some hidden canker, and precipitately reduced from the high career of vigorous enjoyment to the extreme of vital impotency. How many are the instances of premature decrepitude ; how frequent are the examples of man- hood sinking gradually to the grave, while the natural web of life is yet but half spun; how numerous are the youths who are chained to obnoxious indo. 1 2 lence by a general imbecility, which medicine, in its general application, can scarcely reach, and which sympathy has no power to relieve. Surely, then, the attempt to introduce a method of prevention of all those lamentable evils cannot be unworthy the notice of those, upon whom devolve the formation of the minds and morals of the growing community. Excesses likewise of every kind are injurious; it is an abuse of that reasoning faculty with which a benevolent Providence has endowed us to suffer it to remain an inert privilege, while the passions run riot and wanton in the most mischievous prodigality of appetite. Instinct directs the beast of the field and forest when to indulge and When to refrain, and he submits himself to its dictation ; how does man, therefore, degrade himself in the scale of animal creation, when, with all the faculties of taste and judgment, he acts utterly regardless of consequences, in direct opposition to the suggestions of his intellectual self, and falls into absurd- ities from which irrational nature is free. The moral and political consequences of vicious indulgences open a very extensive field for philosophical discussions, but they come not within the im- mediate scope of the objects of our attention ; we wish only to note the effects they produce upon the body, and also the mind, as far as regards its influence Upon corporeal disease. The reader will find in the subsequent pages a classification of the disorders growing out of youthful indiscretion, or imprudent maturity, for it is not to be concealed, that erring man cannot always, in his growth in wisdom, keep pace with his increase of years; on the contrary, we have had an occasion to' observe, that age is no security for indiscretion; nor can the moralist com- mand a greater privilege of indemnity from the consequent maladies than the youthful prodigal. It is to be remarked, however, that where the foundation- and fabric of the constitution have been well laid and tempered, disease must certainly take a slighter hold, and produce less important changes. As we proceed in one undertaking it will be seen, that our object is not to promote empiricism, or the circulation of any new or equivocal remedy. The medicines we employ and endeavour to make efficacious, are those of long established reputation, and such as are regularly administered in the practice of men of science and incontrovertible skill, under whose professional auspices our own knowledge of their effects has been auquired, and by whose kindness our subsequent medical education has been assisted. The only merit to which we lay claim is, an originality in their application; and as our peculiar treat- ment has acquired a reputation which amply rewards our labours, we have been induced to offer the present observations to the notice, and we hope to the commendation of the world. PART I.—SECTION I. On Debility. PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.-—MUSCULAR ACTION.-^DIET, &C. Every individual who presumes to call the attention of the community to a system, which is scarcely considered as entitled to a scientific distinction from hs more general subject, Medicine, ought to feel convinced that its theory and 3 practice are likely to accord—and, secondly, that if they should be found to harmonize, the adoption of such a system is likely to promote the welfare ol society at large. We shall endeavour to show, in a publication confined to the subject, that the venereal disease can be removed, even where its inveterate and appalling grasp has nearly annihilated the victim; but the main and important truth that we wish to impress on the minds of our readers is, that under the present effectual and mild arrangements of medical science, that disease may be said to exhibit such rare instances of its former malignity as almost to allow the contemplation, at no very distant period, of the obliteration of such a curse from the endurance of human infirmity. Certain it is, in our extensive prac- tice we have found this prospective satisfaction gradually ripening itself into an assurance of reality. May not an endeavour, then, to remove, or rather to correct, sexual debility, be equally conducive, especially in all those instances where self-depravity has nearly immolated its victim. We shall attempt to prove, that sexual de- bility can at all events be materially, if not entirely, remedied; and as muscular action may be said to be the prolific basis on which the animal economy de- pends for its support, we shall enter into some observations respecting it. Plutarch, speaking of Herodius, says, "being a school-master, he had also an opportunity of introducing into his academy the art of Gymnastic Physic ; that is, of exercising the body into health ; and having observed that this art might be divided into three parts, the Military, the Athletic, and the Medicinal, he left off the two former, and applied himself to the study of the latter, pre- scribing rules to be observed, and setting down particular exercises to be adapted to particular cases; and we find also from the writings of Galen and later authors, that the practice was found so beneficial in removing various chronic debilities, that sumptuous edifices were erected for its cultivation and improvement. * % When we reflect that among the various functions the human body has to perform, scarcely any can be accomplished without the aid of muscular action, and that not merely the secretions and excretions, but the equally important offices of respiration, perspiration, and vision, nay, that the formation of chyle and the circulation of the blood are intimately connected with, and depend on, muscular action, it would be needless to dwell on the necessity of general exercise. The learned Sydenham remarks, " In writing the history of chronic diseases, I occasioned the worst fit of the gout I ever had ; for so often as I returned to study, so often the gout also returned,"—&c. Sic. Feeny and Dr. Cheyne ceincide in this effect; and the fathers of medicine have advanced their opini- ons also in favour of exercise. Galen remarks, that we must sometimes rouse the timorous from their beds, and force the lazy and the sluggish. Hippocrates says, exercise gives strength and firmness to the body, and vigour to the mind. Cornaro has observed, that we must give an equal life to all parts of the body, and not apply to the fluids, and neglect the solids ; for the grounds of most mistakes in the practice of Physic may be imputed to a want of thia diclinction. But Sylenham goes to say, " In nervous cases, I never saw any success without exercise ; it is the sovereign remedy in relaxation." Addison says, " As I am a compound of soul and body, I consider myself as obliged to a double scheme of duties, and think that I have not fulfilled the 4 business of the day when I do not employ the one in labour and exercise, as well as the other in study and contemplation." In fact, the healthy observance of exercise will, by distributing the blood through the minuter vessels, excite perspiration; it improves the health by removing fulness and morbid congestion. Having premised the utility of exercise we must observe, that there is a great necessity for its classification ; here we shall borrow from Dr. Wallis's opinion, he says, " for those who are subjects of gravelly affections or indi- gestion, riding on horseback will be most salutary, but to those who are liable to gout, &c, walking is recommended. " Such as have a strong muscular stamina, with a sluggish circulation, and coldness of the extremities, derive benefit from the exercise at cricket, tennis, fencing, or running, whilst for those who are subject to melancholia or hysteria, hunting, shooting, driving, dec, are recommended as diverting the mind to pleasing associations." The second most important point will be, to direct the attention to diet. Kow wonderful it is to reflect on the power of the stomach, in so quickly dissolving, assimilating^ and disposing of the aliment. But extend the re- search, and the conception of these processes will become as sensihle as striking; and we shall find that the purpose of aliment is not merely to ad- minister to the growth and repair of the body, but by its bulk and peculiar stimulus, to maintain the exercise of the organs essential to life. Our primitive nature would make man the heritor of a strong and power- ful instinct, to direct his intelligence to the adoption of what is most salutary to him; and this instinct would also protect him from all injurious food; simpler laws than what reason and philosophy enforced would have sufficed, had not the tyrant, civilization, opposed the laws of nature, and left him at the control of artificial refinements. The benignant author of our creation has accommodated the nature of man to every species of aliment, and if he travels into different regions, he will readily accustom himself to the diet, or rather, to the produce of the various .countries. Yet, his nature will yield to quantity, which, if insufficient, his strength decays—if excessive, disease attacks him. Although simple diet be trie best calculated for supporting the body in health, yet, variety may be occasionally indulged, provided the appetite does not range beyond the limits of temperance. Through the wonderful agency of the digestive organs, animal and vegetable substances of discordant natures are happily assimilated into one bland homogeneous chyle ; but these organs themselves will soon indicate the effects of abuse, and prompt an immehiate return to simple regimen. It will be even found that what may be con- sidered wholesome at one time will be injurious at another; so true is the old maxim, " Modus utendi ex veneno facit medicamentum; ex medica- niento venenum." "The manner of using makes poison medicinal, or medicine poison." Invalids are often subject to a false appetite, owing to the morbid piquancy of the juices in the stomach, urging them to eat more than nature requires. Bread, meat, vegetables, and light pudding, may be all ea^en at a meal- provided the sum total does pot exceed the quantity necessary for digestion. Fruits, destined for our pleasure as well as comfort, should not be taken after a meal, but instead or part thereof. Wine should be allowed, chiefly, during a repast, and the bottle dismissed Immediately on the conclusion of it. Sir William Temple had a saying to the following effect, as a rule for drink- 5 ing: " The first glass for myself—the second for my friends—the thjrd for good humour—and the fourth for my enemies." Beer, if mild and well brewed, may be retained as a beverage, when it agrees, but water is the valued privilege of our natures, and should be preferred. Spirituous liquors, except as an article of medicine, ought to be scrupu- lously avoided. Tea and coffee have their several claims upon our notice—and, being generally introduced, have become necessaries of life.—Neither of these should be used strong nor sweet. On the state of the stomaGh will depend the quality of supper, which, in some valetudinarians, may be recommended—-but its rejection from general custom is among the improvements of the present generation. The powers of digestion differ in various persons—some are seldom incom- moded with quantity, or the most heterogeneous qualities of their food. But how often are medical men consulted by complainants of this or that diet, when perhaps it is the unnatural load of variety, rather than the disagreement of a particular food that causes their sufferings. Could Diogenes (the philosopher, who on his way home met a youth going to a feast, and took him to his friends —declaring that by such conduct he had saved him from imminent danger), but witness a modern meal, consisting of soup, fish, fowl, flesh, salad, pastry, confections, fruits, and the almost num- berless et cetera that are offered to the pampered appetite of a fashionable party, he would quickly discover the prolific source of gout, apoplexy, fevers, dec, dec. Doctor Reed has the following judicious remarks on over-feeding. "When the table may be said to groan under the load of luxury, it is no wonder that the stomach should also feel the burthen; what are called dispeptic and bilious diseases may, for the most part, be attributed to some error in diet, or excess in epicurean indulgence. They are to be found principally amongst persons who sin against the stomach, an organ which always sufficiently re- venges itself on those who impair or trifle with its texture." Hippocrates tells us, that he who eats and drinks little will have no disease. By receiving too much into the stomach we obstruct the process of assimila- tion, and the general frame may be thus stawed by an excessive as well as by a defective quantity of the ingesta, Doctor FothergUl reduces the varieties of necessary diet to the how much, and the too much—leaving the patient to regulate himself by what agrees with him. The doctor relates a conversation between a medical man and one of the first Earls of Macclesfield, who frequently interrogated his friend on the sub- ject of diet, "Doctor, is this wholesome ? " " Does your lordship like it ? " " Yes." «' Does it agree with your lordship 1 " "Yes ! " " Why then it is wholesome ! " This, perhaps, is the best direction that can be given, provided we can cau- tion the inquirer against the too much. SECTION II. On Sexual Debility in Men. Its causes—natural or acquired by Onanism or Intemperate Indulgences, and its baneful effects, as producing Impotence <$fc, described. ' " Sperate miseri carete felices,.'' " Let those who weep cast off the weight of care, And those secure of happiness, beware." The following are among the more general causes of sexual debility:—• 6 1st. Tlie excessive indulgence in venereal engagements ; or the compulsive abstinence from (hem altogether, until circumstances shall wear an appear- ance more favourable to indulgence, or inclination become more potential ; but when this period arrives, the effect of so long and unnatural an interdiction ex- hibits itself in incompetence. 2d. The frequency of JYocfurnal Emission* 3d. Venereal Disease; where the treatment has been injudiciously con- ducted, removing the disorder itself, but leaving the grander functions of nature exposed to the effects of mercurial influence. Gonorrhea, by the mis. management evinced in those who cure themselves, is made a precursor of sexual incompetence, from the organic changes it produces under such inaus- picious attempts. 4th. Constitutional Imbecility, 5th. Peculiar Formation. 6th. Intense Study, 7//j. A long residence in warm Climates. Sth. All the preceding causes, though not unfrequent in their occurrence, are rare instances, when compared to the multitudinous victims of impotence, who owe their degradation to the solitary intemperance of passion, which is more generally known by the term Onanism. This, therefore, is an acquired disease. SECTION III. Excesses are alwa3rs criminal, because they are always injurious ; that gift when moderately used, is fraught with advantage, when abused, becomes the prolific source of mischief. Drunkenness, gluttony, lewdness, are but ex. tremes of certain duties, which, within a prudent scope, are beneficial and even necessary to existence. But those particular excesses are productive, per- haps, of a greater latitude and severity of misery to the human frame, than any other of which man, in the abuse of his intellectual greatness, has been convicted. Nature is sufficiently explirit as to the legitimate purposes for which the seminal liquor \\as given ; and she has been no less perspicuous in defining its proper end than she is severe in the punishment of its abuse; visiting any mis- application or excess by a variety of inflictions, well calculated to effect the object of future impotence. The consequences of excessive venery in newly married persons have been copiously discussed and aptly remarked upon, by many writers—in such a manner as to repress every disposition to excessive indulgence in all those persons who are endowed with sound judgment, and capable of appreciating the following sentiment of Celsus. "Rarus concubitus corpus excitat; frequens solvi.tS'f Deviations from this grand rule stand on record as beacons over the graves of those who have been sacrificed on the shrine of passion. He to whom nature or education has given a lascivious disposition, ought to be perpetually on his guard to repress its slightest emotions, and to oppose desires with a resolution founded upon a view of the consequences that inevitable .vait upon exuberant gratification. The sanguine temperament and habit c" youth, indeed, present a formidable obstacle to the exercise of judgment) v > infatua- * Termed by Dr. Cullini, Gonorrhea dormientum. * The bodily powers aie excited by occasional coition ; by frequent repetition they become relaxed. "While temperate pleasure spurs the lazy blood. Excess unstrings the nerves, and dries the flood." 7 tion must be most firmly rooted, if it cannot be arrested by observation of the dismal calendar of those who have destroyed themselves by excess. Hippocrates describes the effects of excessive lasciviousness in young mar- ried persons in a manner sufficiently alarming. A slow but gradual waste of the bodily and mental power, perpetual spasms, a spontaneous discharge of the seminal liquor, even during the evacuation of nature, an inability to procreate, excessive fatigue up'flYi the slightest exertions, shortness of breath, disorders of the head, deafness, and, to finish the tragic enumeration, to all these succeed the Tabes Dorsalis, or consumption ; thus completing the sad catastrophe. Surgeon Morris details, as some of the attendant evils, disorders of the brain and nerves ; and instances a case of a sudden fatal termination of life, by excess of venereal indulgence on the night of marriage. Pliny also adduces two instances of death in the act of coition. Aillius numbers this excess among the causes of palsy ; and gives a gloomy picture of its more immediate effects. In short, it is not possible to exemplify the diversity of dreadful comp;ajnt9 arising from so fruitful a source of evil; afflicting the sufferer with such agony as to make an appeal to death the only relief from torment. JVf. Tissot is undetermined whether to identify the seminal liquor with the animal spirits, or to consider them as distinct from, although invariably acting upon, each other. It does appear, from many facts which observation furnishes, that they have scarcely a separate existence. Examples have been quoted of persons, who, on arriving at the age of puberty, and having their testicles re- moved, return to the situation of childhood, losing all energy of mind and activity of character, and becoming, suddenly, objects of pity to those very indi- viduals who had before sought and esteemed their society. The following instance furnishes a striking evidence to show the clear con- nection between the animal spirits and seminal liquor :— A young gentleman, endowed with all those qualities which attract the love and respect of mankind, became an inmate in a family of the first respecta- bility. In this situation, the elegance of his person and the superiority of his mental acquisitions had so influenced the affections of a young lady, a niece of the master of the house, that a proposition of marriage was made to the sub- ject of this anecdote, through the medium of the uncle. Sensible of the advan. tageous nature of the connection perhaps, and actuated by a reciprocity of esteem, the youth betrayed a strange but powerful emotion. It had been frequently ob- served, that, in the midst of the most agreeable parties, this young gentleman would often fall into fits of abstraction and melancholy, which, with bis constant habit of avoiding all explanation of the cause, convinced the uncle of the lady that he was the victim of some potent, but mysterious sorrow. One evening, a pleasant party had assembled, among whom was the young lady designed for his wife ; but on this occasion he was unusually abstracted, nor was any attempt to rally his spirits crowned with success ; he retired in a state of melancholy, and in the morning his patron received a letter from him covered with blood and a portion of his brain. The mystery was, in that letter, developed—he was impotent!—and a sense of his distressing situation, under the peculiar circumstances in which he was placed, impelled him to suicide. Some writers have asserted, that, by a postponement of venereal enjoyment until the individuals have reached an advanced period of life, the common mis. chief which results from excessive venery would be prevented :—they tell us, it was in consequence of the intermarriages of the ancient Germans never taking place until the thirtieth year, that those people excelled in bravery, energy, and 8 endurance, every contemporary race of man. - And as a proof of a!n opposite, system, the same writers instance the indolence and effeminacy of the Asiatics, who contract and consummate marriage at the age of ten or twelve years. It is clear, however, that nature has defined the age at which sexual intercourse may be indulged with impunity, and as she herself has imposed the checks and penalties of excess, she is the best authority to be consulted, and reason will uniformly support her decision, be it what it may. The effects, however, of wicked propensities may, as far as regards bodily in- convenience, be, in a measure, counteracted by a uniform habit of temperance, and a strict regularity of diet and medical regimen. The mischiefs which are laid to repose by a pertinacious adherence to this plan; are revived and re- produced by every excess. An indulgence in bacchanalian pleasures, where the constitution has been seriously injiired in early life, is like the application of poison to a sore, entailing upon the individual who indulges, a series and suc- cession of evils, from the influence of which it will require a long interval of temperance to renovate him; Very many discussions have taken place upon the nature of the seminal liquor and the causes which render its too frequent, and too copious emission, productive of such important consequences to the human frame. "The seed of man" said Hippocrates, " arises from all the humours of his body; it is the most valuable part of them." The fluids, from every part of the human frame, appear to rush to the genital organs, to give greater effect to the first act of nature. All the powers of the body seem concentrated to one point during the time of coition. Galen Says, when a person loses his seed, he loses, at the same lime, the vital spirit; so it is not astonishing that too frequent coition should enervate, as the body is thereby deprived of the purest of its humours. It has been described by Aristotle us the excrement of aliments, having the faculty of reproducing bodies like that which produced it. Others have described it to be a portion of the brain, and have pointed out certain ganglions which form the communications between it and the testicles; it is termed by Plato, a running of the spinal marrow j and by Epiciirus it is called a part of the soul and body. The distribution of the seminal fluid is said to extend to all the nerves of the body, like the animal spirits of the brain ; and again it has been termed the essential oil of the animal' liquors ; and a number of organs are placed in requisition, as ducts and channels, to Convey it from the source to the object of its secretion. The office of the testicles is to separate the seed from the blood, each side receiving one artery from the aorta, a little btelow the emulgents, which, unlike all other arteries, arise small and dilate in their progress, that the velocity of the blood may be sufficiently abated for the secretion of so viscid a fluid as the seed ; the vasa defererttia are excretory ducts, passing from the epididymes of the testes to the Vesiculee Seminales, or seminal reposi- tories, for the purpose of conveying the latter, the elaborated seed. In the vesiculse seminales themselves, the seed is reposited against the time of co- ition, during the process of which, it passes from the vesicles through the prostate gland into the urethra; and the urethra itself is lined with several glands for the purpose of guarding it from the action of the fluids which pass through it. It thus appears clearly, from the complicated machinery employed in the conveyance and distillation of the seminal fluid, that nature has intended its importance to be fully understood by those, for whose use and pleasure it was created. Now, in the too frequent and prodigal emission of this liquor, it is 0 manifest, that all this variety of organs must be called into unnecessary action; and in nature, as in art, the constant friction of the minuter parts of the machine must tend to its rapid waste. The seminal fluid is sometimes forced back into the bladder, there conse- quently results not only much difficulty, but a painful labour in the Qeslerum Venerum, attended with a very slow as well as a deficient ejection of the remaining semen. The irritation in the bladder from the seminal fluid causes much uneasiness. In a healthy, man the secretion of this liquor is constantly made in the testes; it repairs to the reservoirs, the limits of which are very confined, and cannot, perhaps, contain all that is sceerned in a day; nevertheless there are continent men who do not evacuate for whole years. What would become of it, if it did not continually return into the ves- sels of circulation ? a return which is very much facilitated by the structure of all the organs, which assist in the secretion of this humour in conveying it into the proper channel, and in its preservation. The veins are then much more considerable than the arteries ; and this in a proportion that is not found so great elsewhere, so is it probable, that this return is not only made in the Vesiculae Seminales, but that it previously took place in the testes, in the epi- didymes, and in the vasa deferentia. Holler says, " the semen is kept in the vesiculse seminales until the man makes use of it, or nocturnal emissions deprive him of if. During all this time, the quantity which is there detained excites the animal to the act of venery ; but the greatest part of the seed which is the most volatile and odoriferous, as well as strongest, is absorbed into the blood, and it there pro- duces, upon its return, very surprising changes; it makes the beard, hair, and nails to grow, it changes the voice and manners, for age does not produce these changes in animals ; it is the seed only that operates in this manner, and they are never met with in eunuchs." Cases have been known, in fact, where individuals, after arriving at the age of puberty, have undergone amputation of the testicles—and what were the consequences? the beard disappeared, the voice, from manly strength, return- ed to the shrill piping of childhood, and all the properties and definitions of manhood disappeared. This circumstance tends to place in a strong point of view, the importance of the seminal fluid, as regards its influence upon the whole frame; and that, in its absence, the vessels want their natural stimulus, the fluids are more slow in their motion, the circulation is more lan- guid, nutrition more irregular, and the other functions are performed with less order. The sensations which accompany the emission of the seed may be adduced as another evidence of its vast importance ; all other evacuations are easily expelled, when the frame is in a state of sanity ; but a sort of epilepsy attacks the whole system when this liquor separates from it. A general motion, a convulsion of all the parts, an increased quickness in the circulation of all the humours, is necessary to give it freedom. The languor which immediately succeeds emission shows how much the body loses when it parts with this im- portant fluid ; all the energies of rnJhhood are necessary to replace it, and in- stances have been frequent in indwldlbls who have reached a very advanced age, when, in consequence of a den#|eifby of animal fluids to supply the loss sustained in coition, instant death ensued. It is not many years since that an old gentleman, who had suddenly taken offence at the whole circle of his relations, resolved, notwithstanding his ad- vanced age, (being no less than eighty,) to marry, in the hope that he might have an heir to inherit his property. His wealth and respectability soon in. id duced a young female, scarcely of age, to acquiesce in the proposals he made to her. The union took place, but so violent was the exertion made by the hoary bridegroom in the act of coition, that he expired immediately after its comple- tion ; the remainder of the anecdote, although somewhat irrelative to this essay, deserves mention. The relations, among whom was the heir at law, in default of a natural heir, were not a little delighted at the result of the old man's mea- sure of vengeance, and a claim was immediately put in for the family estates ; their intentions, however, were doomed to a severe disappointment. The widow proved with child, and nine months after the marriage and death took place, a natural heir made his appearance, and put the question at rest forever. Plateros gives an instance of a magistrate of a Swiss city, who married a second time, at an advanced period of his life, and when he was endeavouring to consummate his nuptials, he was obliged to discontinue. The like acci- dent happened to him every time he made the same attempt. He applied to a variety of quacks. One assured him, after he had taken several remedies, that he had nothing further to apprehend. He ventured a fresh essay, upon the faith of his iEsculapius. the event was immediately the same as before, but being resolved to go through with the operation, he died in the very act, in the arms of his wife, These instances are sufficient to confirm the position, in cor- roboration of which they are quoted. There is a danger, however, which is not peculiar to age, which arises out of the increase of the quantity of blood in the cranium, during the act of coition, the consequence of which has been apoplexies, in some in- stances ; and where it fell short of that mortal extent, it sometimes produced insanity. The influence of this accumulation of blood in the head is striking- ly felt throughout the whole nervous system, which becomes proportionably weakened, and incapacitated from lending its support under the extraordinary exertions of the body. One of the most common effects of excess is a deprivation of the digestive powers, which are gradually diverted from that regularity of action which is essential to health; and when the task of digestion is inadequately performed, it is impossible specifically to define the disease which may ensue. The powers become gradually diminished ; the memory and the understanding refuse to perform their functions; every description of Chronic disorders is produced; and all the bodily faculties are impaired and hurried to premature decay. To prove the truth of this assertion, and to evidence the consequences which result from indigestion, it is only necessary for the reader to recur to his own observation, and to recall to mind the symptoms which, under such circum- stances, have passed before his eyes. All the powers of the frame seem to be suspended, and the universal weakness is materially aggravated by a general restlessness of imagination. But as M. Tissot says, « What is the least to be comprehended, or rather what is quite inconceivable, is the prodigious weakening of the faculties of the soul. The solution of this question must arise from another, which we are incapable of solving, that is, the influjAof the two substances, one upon the other, and all we can have recouJBI, is the observation of the pheno- mena. W e are equally ignorant of th^rfature of the spirit, and the nature of matter; but we know that these two parts of man are so intimately united, that all the changes which the one undergoes are felt by the other. A circu- lation more or less of our aliment, the same quantity of one aliment before another ; a dISh of coffee instead of a glass of wine, sleep more or less inter. Jupted, a stool a little more or less abundant, too strong or too weak perspira- 11 tion, change our whole manner of seeing and judging of objects. The revo* lution of our machine from one hour to another makes us feel and think quite differently ; and as they prompt us, vice and virtue change their nature, and fresh principles take place. That many instances of sexual debility owe their existence to causes totally foreign to the preceding, does not admit of a doubt, and, when compared, are hardly to be considered disease, although they trespass severely upon the comforts of domestic happiness when they occur in married life, and darken the prospects of such as are entering into that blissful station. SECTION IV. OF GONORRHEA, DORMIENTIUM OR NOCTURNAL EMISSION. Some glands act independently of the will, while others will be greatly ex- cited by it, as the Testes ; perhaps there is no man desireless of the sexual compact, and this very wish is a stimulus upon the generative organs. As the seminal vessels will not allow distension, emission becomes a natu. ral wish of secretion, and nature will sometimes relieve herself of the super- abundance by nocturnal efforts, the frequency of which is prejudicial. JYocturnal Emission, as the natural act of healthy vessels will in those who are continent, and live in a state of celibacy, happen occasionally, such dis- charge then, is not to be termed disease. It is only the frequent occurrence of it which demands medical attention, because, in that case alone it is likely to interfere with the functional tone of the generative organs. When this is the case, cautious measures must be taken to regulate the system, as other- wise a seminal gleet will inevitably result, giving rise to a most perplexing series of symptoms analagous to Gonorrhea,—as mucal discharges, die SECTION v. VARIOUS OTHER CAUSES OF DEBILITY, Sexual debility, arising from Venereal diseases, or from Gonorrhea, is to be removed only by a very discriminate reference to such source ; it is, however, to be cured, and generally is more easy of relief than any other cause of in- competence. Incompetence to hymenial rites arises sometimes from constitutional imbe- cility, as well as from intense study. It is only to be observed, in such in- stances, that a weak habit may be strengthened and improved into the more vigorous relations of health. Here it will be found that the patients labour under frequent nocturnal emissions. A well arranged regimen, both of diet and medicine, will soon produce convalescence, and unless aggravated by the effects of Onanism, the patient very soon recovers. Sexual debility may arise from Organic Malformation, in which a know- ledge of the peculiar circumstances can alone allow an opinion to be hazard- ed ; as to the likelihood of relief, all that can be said, is, that in many instan- ces the natural actions may be materially assisted ; and although it is imprac. ticable to metamorphise the aberration of nature in perfection, yet the healing art is competent to render the generative functions both susceptible and com- municative of mystic enjoyment under almost any impediment. Intemperate living, and long residence in warm climates, are amongst the frequent causes of loss of procreative energy. We have studied the change of atmospheric influence in various climates, and we feel sufficiently acquaint. ed with the circumstances that tend to depress the energies, so as to offer ef- fectual relief to such as labour u|der any of these disorders. is Gonorrhea Laxorum, so termed by Dr. Cullin, is a pellucid discharge from the penis while the mind is under the influence of venereal thoughts when awake ; its presence argues a weakness in the muscularity of the organs, and is usually attendant on the studious, or those who have been enervated by the effect of warm climates. SECTION VI. ^ | OF ONANISM. But if the effects of excess be thus dreadful, still more so are those which emanate from the practice of unnatural pollution, to which the youth of all ages and countries are too fatally addicted. The opinion of the All-Wise upon the enormity of this offence against reason and nature, this dereliclion of the legitimate purposes of man's existence, is sufficiently marked by the signal punishment of Onan, the second son of Judah, in old times, and needs no comment. The origin of this abuse has by some been referred to the idolatrous wor- ship of the northern Venus, named Frego or Fraga, in oblation to whom her votaries were accustomed to shed their seed. The importance of a well-regulated youth to the production of a vigorous old age, was generally remarked upon in the introductory chapter to this work, and a reference made to those prevailing practices of the rising genera- tion which tend to the demoralization of all the facullies of body and mind ; leading, by a slow but unerring progress to those fell diseases which first un- dermine all the enjoyments of existence, and finally make life itself yield to the torture with which it is assailed. That learned physician, Boerhaave, has given a touching account of the effects of these excesses, which, although frequently quoted, we cannot omit in this place. In the 776th section of his institutes, he says, " The loss of too much semen occasions lassitudes, debilities, and renders exercise difficult; it causes convulsions, emaciation, and pains in the membrane of the brain ; it deadens the senses, particularly the sight, gives rise to dorsal consumption, indolence, and various other disorders therewith connected. I have seen a patient decay inasmuch as to destroy the whole corporeal frame—he felt a pain even in the membrane of the brain—a pain which patients call a dry, burning heat, and which incessantly burns internally the most noble parts. I have also seen a- young man afflicted with dorsal consumption, his person was very agreeable ; and though he was frequently cautioned not to give way too much to pleasure, he nevertheless yielded to" its impulse, and became so deformed before his death, that the fleshy substance which appears above the spinal apophysis of the loins was entirely wasted; the brain itself in this case appeared consumed. Patients in this disease grow stupid. I never perceiv. ed such loss of power brought on by any other cause; and the eyes became dull, even to the loss of sight." Other instances have been quoted from authority, where violent pains in the limbs have been succeeded by extreme inward cold, inasmuch that while the external skm preserved its natural heat, the patient was complaining of the bitterest sensation of shivering, and could not be compelled to leave an immense fire, even during the summer season, but this sensation of cold was accompanied by a singular feeling, viz. the continual rotation of the testicles in the scrotum. The loss of memory is not the least remarkable symptom in the history of this peculiar debility. Young men who, previous to the influence of sel£ 13 pollution, were gifted with a retentive memory, have been afterwards sud- denly deprived of its use, and instead of communicating the interchange of social reflection, have been metamorphised into characters little above actual idiocy. What a gloomy object of contemplation to the susceptible mind is a youth, in the full vigour of life, and apparently in the perfect possession of his facul- ties, enduring the complicated and dreadful consequences of this wretched in- fatuation, a mass of animated fatuity, exciting the compassion of those who are unacquainted with the cause of his decay, but attracting only the contempt of others, who, either from information or suspicion, impute the malady to its real source. To himself, on the other hand, his situation is still more disgust- ing than to others. Deprived of all the internal powers of consolation, the anchor of his hopes lost, the prospects of existence clouded, a blank, a blot in creation, upon what resource can he draw for strength and fortitude to re- sist the gigantic encroachments of despair, or to dissipate the horrors of a mind wrecked on the billows of impious passion. Does he fly to his books for solace ? Alas! they can afford him neither amusement nor instruction, his memory has no power to retain the impression it receives, and morbid ima- gination identifies with its ovyn situation every circumstance of gloom and despondency which passes beneath his notice. The melancholy which dis- turbs him in the closet, haunts him in the banquet-room—the spectres of his deceased, his murdered energies, rise upon his fancy—even when the dance is jocund and the revel loud, and every struggle to emancipate himself only serves to rivet the spell of misery which enchains him; for him there is no interchange " in the feast of reason and the flow of soul," he is compelled therefore to shrink within himself, and what awaits him there? A blasted heath on which no fruit of genius, no flower of intellect can grow, where the atmosphere is poisoned with disease, and the soil parched up with unwhole- some and unnatural heat, rendering it barren and obnoxious to the eye. Here then appears the blessed intervention of loss of memory,—what a bur- then of additional misery is prevented, for on the surface of that memory, what a tide of horrific images would rush—the very anguish would beguile philosor phy itself of its reason, and existence could not be tolerated. Fraught as this portraiture is with horror, it is by no means overcharged ; it has its originals in existence ; even at this moment it is impossible to walk the streets without being surrounded with corroborating truths. How many young persons do we meet sinking into the grave apparently beyond the reach of human aid, at a period too when life is usually developing all its vigour? Without insinuating an illiberal prejudice against the unhappy subjects of dis- ease who may chance to cross our path, is it not possible that many of them have been the victims of their own vices and follies ? This infamous prac- tice of self-pollution occasions the sacrifice of more human beings than the fabled hydras and centaurs of antiquity; men must be offered up in heca- tombs at"its shrine, until some mighty moralist shall arise, by whose energies the monster may be destroyed, and humanity be once more rescued from the degradation to which, by its vices, it has been reduced. Were not the extent of the punishments which never fail to follow the commission of crime well understood, it is possible that the monition thereby conveyed might be suf- ficient. In whatever manner the seminal fluid is wasted, the waste naturally calls all the energies of the main body into action to repair it; and it is reasonable to infer that when those energies are applied to the reparation of a superfluous^ and criminal flow, they are completely diverted from their legitimate course of 14 operation ; and the purposes of natural nutrition, as well as the support of corporeal functions are entirely neglected. When this is the case, the mind and the body, sympathizing together, experiencing a complete deterioration of their powers; the intellectual functions of the former, in the first instance lose their activity, and move indolently and inefficiently, until at length they become suspended, and the patient is plunged into a state of irretrievable le- thargy. The bodily powers are influenced by a proportionate impulse ; the juices are dried up, the sap of existence withers in its trunk, the faculties lose their acuteness, and the whole frame becomes the melancholy subject of an incurable decay. An indulgence in this horrid and unnatural propensity, also begets a sensa- tion very near akin to actual aversion from all the usual enjoyments of life ; and so completely is the devoted victim subdued by the wretched infatuation, that although perfectly sensible of the rapid change that is taking place in his system, he appears to have lost the power of applying a corrective to the ma- lady, or of making the slightest struggle to check its destructive progress, he is led away by his passions which exercise the most complete tyranny over his reason, and is virtually degraded to the level of the irrational part of the creation. Feeling the utter impossibility of participating in the pleasures of society, and deriving from the natural communion of the sexes any of those extatic feelings of delight for which for wise purposes Providence has con- nected it, he imbibes a gradual, and at length rooted dislike to all conversa- tion with his species, bids adieu to the circle of mankind, and, imbued with a gloomy misanthropy, the result of his own vicious conduct, secludes himself from the world, and, from a useful and perhaps estimable member of society, becomes the solitary sacrifice of a lust horrible in the sight of God and man, and totally repugnant to all the laws of nature. In fact, it is not at all an un- frequent termination of the tragedy, that the wretched victim, weary of life, which no longer teems even with the hope of future pleasures, and wanting resolution to refrain from his malpractices, and to strive by penitence and re- formation to restore his mind and body to something like their original com- posure, profanely raises his hand against his own existence, and finishes his career of offences by rushing with awful temerity into the presence of that Bei^g whose precepts he has disobeyed, and whose wise purposes, in the ob- ject of his creation, he has most impiously and unpardonably thwarted.* Yet, notwithstanding the enormity of this offence is so obvious to the mean- est capacity, and notwithstanding the records of the thousands and tens of thousands, who down the precipice have fallen into destruction, the univer- sality of the practice is rendered every day more clear. It is by no means confined to the unlearned and thoughtless part of society ; genius and learning arealike infected with its influence, and the most expanded capacity of exalt- ed rank, and the highest qualifications of mind are no fences against this miserable infection. Professor Zimmerman, whose name and character bear with him the admiration of mankind, and whose authority is not to be contro- verted, informs us of an individual of uncommon attainments and profound genius, brought upon himself a settled epilepsy, a fit of which immediately fol- * Even the heathen abhorred self-pollution, as would appear by the following lines from Martial: " Hoc nihil esse putes ? scelus est mihi Crede : sed ingeus quantum vix animo concipis ipse tuo." " You think 'tis nothing—'tis a crime indeed, A crime so great you scarcely can conceive." IS (owed every nocturnal emission, as well as every act of self-pollution; imme- diately after the fit he was attacked by very violent pains in the reins. He was induced, however, by a representation of his true condition, to discon- tinue this baneful practice for some time; but this resolution was insufficient to support the change, and in a short time he renewed his vicious habits with more violent fits, and was found dead in his chamber. Although consequences to this melancholy extent do not occur to every one who addicts himself to this unnatural offence, no person who is guilty of it is allowed to escape without a greater or less degree of punishment; the result is materially influenced by the frequency of the acts, the strength of the con- stitution, (which, in some cases, enables a patient to bear up against a con- tinued series of attacks,) and a variety of other circumstances. The general effect, however, is first a complete depravation of the stomach, which occa- sions it to reject all manner of food, and to allow the aliment which is forced into it to pass through without effecting the purposes of nutrition ; in other cases, where digestion does not take place in any degree, it is attended with the most violent and continued pains, frequent vomitings follow, and no medi- cine which is administered W'hh a view to check them, produces any beneficial change, until the practice itself is discontinued. In the next degree it pro- duces a difficulty of respiration, occasioned by a weakness in the organs; and this is soon succeeded by coughs, a complete change in the tones of the voice, which becomes weak, shrill, and piping, and a shortness of breath upon the least extraordinary exertion. Thirdly, it gives occasion to a complete relaxa- tion of the nervous system ; from these causes, proceed an innumerable rami- fication of diseases which affect the animal economy in all its parts, and which have been described as follows : A considerable diminution of the powers; paleness in a greater or less de- gree ; sometimes a slight jaundice, which, however, is continual ; afterwards pimples, which go away only to make place for others, and which continually reappear all over the face, but particularly on the forehead, upon the temples, and near the nose ; remarkable leanness ; surprising sensations at the change of the seasons, particularly in cold weather; a languor in the eyes ; a weak- ness of sight; a considerable decay of all the faculties,—particularly of memory. One of the common attendants of the baneful propensity is Hypochondriasis, and it is worthy of observation, that when this consequence begins to exhibit it- self, the cure of the unhappy patient becomes a subject of hope rather than expectation. This effect, indeed, appears to be the termination to which all others combine to arrive. Hypochondriasis is, in these Cases, frequently accompanied with fits of frenzy,- —which so feed upon the brain, as well as upon the bodily faculties,—both of which have been previously reduced to so lamentable a state of imbecilily as to' leave scarcely any thing for death to accomplish. History gives us many in- stances of melancholy men, rendered so by the excesses and abuses which have been before described, who on the application of stimuli of any kind,- have been driven into all the wild ravings of insanity, which have terminated in Consump- tion. Epileptic effects are still more Common, and in both sexes taive been known to be produced by acts of venery, as well as masturbation ; and when they appear in the last case, the disorder is incurable. The neck and spine have frequently been attacked with a suddenness and severity which have rendered medical aid totally inefficacious. And from those parts the stiffness has rapidly ran through the whole frame, arresting the pliancy of the different members of the body, and terminating in death. Instances of this kind are 16 rare, but where they have been quoted* they are pretty fair and conclusive. We read of one young man who, for some time before death put a period to his sufferings, could bear no other posture than that of lying on nis belly in bed, without the power of moving his hands or feet, or of taking any aliment but such as could be introduced into his mouth without any agency of his own. We read of another in whom the disease first assumed the appearance of in- toxication, making him stagge*- ^s he walked ; subsequently it weakened his legs so much as to render them perfectly useless—at the same time so affect- ing the hand and arm that he could not, without assistance, use either; his voice was then attacked, and it was with difficulty that he could make himself understood. Soon afterwards, his head fell upon his breast, the extending muscles having entirely given way. He was now obliged to pass the whole of the night and day upon a settee in a reclining position, his head dropping every moment upon his breast, with a person perpetually at his side, raising his head, supplying him with food and snuff, wiping his nose, and giving atten- tion to him while he endeavoured to articulate, by pronouncing each letter separately. Previous to his death, he confessed that masturbation was the cause. One probable cause of the fatal termination which too generally waits upon these excesses is, the secrecy which shame imposes upon the lips of the patient with respect to the real cause of this disorder. The victim of his own imprudence, rather than admit the real source of his ailments, is perpetually anxious to mislead his medical advisers, who are, in consequence, induced to attribute the variety of deplorable symptoms which exhibit themselves in his case to causes very remote from those which have actually produced them. From the misunderstanding which here takes placeman improper mode of treatment is naturally adopted, while the disorder daily makes head against the falsely-directed attacks made upon it, and reaches a fatal height of influ- ence before the unhappy patient has acquired a degree of resolution sufficient to carry him through the shame of an avowal. It is true, indeed, that some medical men, by the unexpected application of pointed questions, have extracted the fatal truths from the lips of the sufferer, in sufficient time to be enabled to adopt the course of treatment prescribed by nature and the most approved experience. But, generally speaking, medical men are apt to content themselves, (where the symptoms are not immediately alarming,) with a superficial view of the case before them. Acute disorders are declared to be very fatal in those who addict themselves to the practice of self-pollution ; and Fonseca expressly asserts, that when the body is weakened by venereal excesses, if at the same time it labours under any acute disorder, there is no cure for it; and,he instances several cases of robust persons in the full vigour of you'h who have not been cured without the utmost difficulty. No sooner has this uncleanness ffot the master over the heart, but forthwith it pursues the man everywhere, and keeps its possession of him at all times and in all places ; upon the most serious occa- sions and in the very acts of religion, he ever and anon finds himself trans- ported with lustful conceptions and desires, which incessantly follow him, and take up his thoughts. The inclination to commit this offence increases with the frequency with which it is committed ; it is that kind of lust, or appetite, which grows on what feeds it; and as soon as the infamous practice becomes established, the soul unites with the body to court the repetition of the crime. All the faculties of the body become ready panders to the depraved disposition of the mind ; every bbject of ..the feminine grace and attraction, by a strange perversion of legiti- 17 mate effect as it passes through the diseased organs, incites to this unnatural propensity ; so that even the active desires, thoughts, and inclinations, with which nature has endued us are completely changed into passions and dispo- sitions which brutify the species by tending to gratifications equally at war with nature and reason. When the practice of self-pollution has acquired a complete ascendancy over all the natural feelings of the heart, one of its immediate effects is to d;sgust the individual with those very objects in which Providence has fixed the centre of social and moral enjoyment. The thirst after natural coition is first weakened, and gradually destroyed, in proportion as the taste becomes vitiated, and the bodily organs incapacitated for its enjoyment; for, the per- petual waste of the seminal liquor rapidly leads to impotency both of inclina- tion as well as bodily ability, although the former, in numberless cases, has long survived the utter destruction of the latter. An exhibition of early symp- toms and infirmities may indeed, sometimes, by alarming the fears and check- ing the impetuosity of the infatuated youth, particularly check him in his infa- tuated career, but the moment these providential warnings disappear, appre- hension gradually decays, and the unnatural lust returns to its empire with added power, to tyrannize over the weak judgment. Conceive the situation of a youth devoted to this horrible practice, when circumstances lead him to the formation of a matrimonial connection, and he is called upon to exchange his habit of filthy propensities for the pure enjoy- ments of the nuptial couch ; in this case* how forlorn is the situation of both individuals. The husband, perhaps experiencing an excitation of a new but extremely powerful description, essays to fulfil the chief end of his union, his passions are inflamed to the highest degree, every faculty appears alive to a sensation of exquisite rapture; but alas ! at the moment when he is about to unloose the virgin zone of his expecting bride, a spontaneous emission takes place, the excitement retires, all the lively emotions prematurely decay, and the animal functions suddenly become palsied and utterly incompetent to fulfil the end to which they were excited. ------" Et intus Palleat infelix, quod proXima, Nesciat uxor." " Something in his breast Lurks the dark secret not to be cxprest,- There must it lurk, there gall his wretched life, Nor be imparted to his bosom wife." The nuptial bed, instead of teeming with a hallowed, extatic, and indefina- ble delight, is converted into a scene of blended mortification, disappointment, and suppressed anger; and it is now that the mistaken bride is first penetrated with those suspicions which are too soon corroborated by subsequent experi- ence; and if, under such circumstances, the unfortunate female fell a prey to some artful seducer, her offence is not altogether without a justification, and the injured husband may accuse himself as the cause of her unhappy deviation. Those who are guilty of venereal excesses by addicting themselves to wo- men, have a manifest advantage over the agents of self-pollution, for the joy which the heart experiences, and which is very distinct from that volup- tuousness which is merely corporeal, is said to aid digestion, to animate circulation, to accelerate all the functions, and to restore strength and rs support. Sanclorius says, " After excessive coition with a woman that is be- loved, a man is not sensible of the lassitude which should follow this excess, because the joy which the soul feels, increases the strength of the heart, fa- vours the functions, and repairs what was lost." Another ancient writer asserts, "that communication with an ugly woman exhausts much more than with one that is handsome." St. Chrysosiom says, " That, when we excite ourselves against the laws of nature, the crime on that side is much greater man on the other." Nature herself, indeed, becomes in a measure the advo- cate of those who follow her dictates, inasmuch as she stands forward the stern accuser of all those who act in hostility to the plain impulses which she has sanctioned. Disorders of the nervous system affect the mind with a rapidity the most astonishing; fits of epilepsy very soon produce total imbecility; the brain is very quickly attacked with an extraordinary weakness ; and all the faculties Buffer in a proportionate degree. Loss of sight is one of the early conse- quences to be dreaded, where epileptic symptoms have displayed themselves. In strong minds, as the individuals have surpassed the age of childhood, and the empire of reason has reached a certain established strength, their pro- pensities have doubtless been frequently checked and subdued before they have produced any of those dreadful consequences which have been detailed in a former part of this treatise; but even in these cases, it rs impossible to ascertain the boundary of the mischief which may have been done to the con. stitution. It is in maturer years that this secret will be developed, When the natural energies of the body begin to decay, it is then that the effects of a well-regulated or misapplied youth exhibit themselves, either producing a wholesome and natural decline, cheered with the recollection of moral obliga- tions performed and domestic duties fulfilled, of a youth of promise and a manhood of useful energy; or infecting the autumn of life with troubles arid tortures of the sternest complexion, and embittering those hours of more ad- vanced life, which require a serene tranquillity to support the shattered frame of humanity to its last receptacle. Indolence is, unquestionably, a great cause of the increase of this as well as other vicious propensities; when the faculties are busied in some particular pursuit, and employed in an industrious calling, the temptations that lead to fhese practices lose half their force for the perpetual recurrence to habit* which require secrecy, and during the indulgence of which the bosom must be the seat of continual apprehension from the fear of intrusion ; for votaries to this abomination have confessed the subserviency of soul under which they laboured during the tyranny of its overwhelming influence, by which the tem- per of the intellectual economy has become callous to any appeal of nature or religion. It is to be lamented that the effect of this disorder has been commonly mis- taken and treated as symptoms of other diseases, which, in fact, have in them- selves been symptomatic of this grand and unnatural aberration. This fault, however, lies usually with the patient, who, having made up his mind to receive io'me relief, describes a few most irksome sensations, but conceals the true ecAirce of his ailments; the effect of this partial communication is to deceive the practitioner, who, without troubling himself to institute that careful investi- gation which is frequently necessary to wring from the sufferer a candid acknowledgment, imbibes a speculative opinion, and administers more with a view to experimental result than to the application of speedy and effec- tual relief. Upon the minds of physicians, themselves, there have been great doubts, as to the proper mode of treating the effects of self-pollution, 10 even when the true source of the evil has been made known. Various methods have been recorded as successful, but it may be doubted whether the credit of the victory over so malignant a foe was really due to the narrator, or whether nature herself had reasserted her rights, and by the discontinuance of the iirac tice, the patient, under such powerful assistance, had regained a portion of his faculty, and in some measure became enabled to make a successful stand against the disease, and had gradually recovered a part of his original soundness and vigour. The modes of cure pointed out are various, from the first institutors of me- dical regimen to the present day; but they are not borne out by any conclu. sive effects, probably from the limited attention bestowed by the profession trpon this state of disease. The causes which induced the great medical characters of our time to show so little regard to distempers of this descrip. tion are fit subjects for discussion. It has been alleged in justification of their apathy in a matter of such grasping importance, that empiricism having taken possession of this branch of the medical department, the regular faculty cannot, without professional degradation, descend to enter into competition with unqualified pretenders. This is a false, not to say an inhuman, mode of reasoning, when the life of man is to be outweighed by the silly scruples of professional delicacy ; but allowing the momentary weight, were the rays of medical talent to be concentrated to this point, how soon would all the shallow mystery of quackery be penetrated and exposed ; were professors of skill and science to apply themselves to the development of this disease, in its causes and through its effects, how very soon would such impostors be driven from the field and disabled from ever renewing their devastations within the sphere of professional science. We are not without hope that as accidental discov. eries have furnished medical annals with many of the principal specifics in the cure of diseases, the promulgation of the baneful consequences of self-pollu- tion in this work may direct the notice of the medical world to the subject; and if so, is it likely that ignorant empirics can long withstand the united com. petition of ihe science, skill, and the principles of integrity, which form the sub- stantial foundation on which a just practitioner claims to establish a reputation for useful respectability and scientific distinction. Let us then, in all cases of this nature, distinguish between reason and re- port ; vulgar opinions and the sense of capable judges, the practice of quack- ery, and the principles of physical deduction. True it is, that some popular remedies have found their way into the establishedspharmacopeia, and deserve to be there retained, because men of learning and sound sense have sanction- ed their admittance. In Physic, as in Chemistry, the effect is often a matter of experiment, upon which wise men reason and assign the use, although the first discoverer of the remedy may have been an individual of whose profes. sional acquaintance they might have felt ashamed. It is one thing to pre. scribe rationally, and another to be lucky in cures. Hoffman and JBoerhaave were the most opposite persons to Paracelsus and Van Helmont, who, notwithstanding, have been justly recorded as extraordi- nary men. The truth is, that by far the larger part of the practice of physic is empirical, being founded upon collections of observed facts, happy discov- eries, or perhaps, upon instinctive propensities. To ourselves it is a matter of congratulation that our professional studies nave been directed to this decried and neglected branch of practice, and much credit do we demand for the success which has, almost exclusively, been the result of our own efforts; because, in the first principles of medical education, professors seem purpo.sely to exclude even a reference to the subject. The 20 fruits of our long and industrious application we now lay before the world, ac- tuated by the broadest motives of general philanthropy. For some time we beheld victims consigned to the desperate grasp of unprincipled quackery, before we could mature our intention to interfere between the ignominious empiric and his prey, and to make at least an attempt to snatch from destruc- tion a portion, however diminutive, of our fellow-beings. At length we carried our purpose into operation, and the most decided, the most extensive^ and the most eminent success has crowned our exertions. But artifice was indispensable to the accomplishment of our object; it was neces- sary to foil these would-be members of the medical art with their own wea- pons—in public advertisements we have asserted our qualifications, as being educated to the profession and authorized to practise it. And the consequen- ces have been such as to bring no discredit either on that education or on that authority. Numbers have been snatched from the error of their way, and re- established in health and energy; and the impression made upon public mo- rals by our exertions, has been, we hope, in an equal proportion. Certain it is, that such horrible instances as a few years since came daily under our knowledge, are becoming gradually less frequent. Patients of this descrip- tion require the most anxious participation in their feelings ; a wounded mind is not to be goaded by reflective monitions; the medical consolation must flow from hope, that cheering beacon to a throbbing heart; for only by sympathy of common feeling can the anguished soul be beguiled qf its torment. When this maxim is made the rule of professional conduct, the case soon displays symptoms of improvement; but where this delicate consideration for the pa- tient's feelings is neglected, the medical attendant injures more than he re- lieves. The shaft of envy, however, has assailed our successful attempt ; yet there is a self-satisfaction which is at all times equal to repel any invasion of just principles. It has been insinuated that our reliance is upon stimulants, but the method of treatment on which we have so effectually relied, from the com- mencement of our medical career, is directly opposed to that system of per- nicious excitement which has been so often productive of the most disastrous effects; and against which we have entered our decided protest. The application of stimqlants may cause a spurious resuscitation of power, a momentary revival of the nervous energies, but reason will show that such an impulse is evanescent; that instead of communicating benefit, it actually contributes to the rancdusjpf disease, by impelling an accelerated operation, as an expiring fire may be made to emit a luminous exhalation, hut the very effort tends to its speedier extinction, and it dies, as the unnatural flame subsides.* We surely cannot be required to go farther into such a sub- ject. Parents and tutors should have a strict eye to youth ; recollecting, that upon its purity depend all the future prospects in life, in every po::.i of view. It is by this practice of Temperance, not merely in eating and dr:.:iki:.or, but in other sensual pleasures ; and by a total ignorance of, or absti:io.,ce from the sinful practice of self-pollution, that at the commerce. mt of.;- the con- stitution is so settled and strengthened, as to bear up ... gains, .he storms 7/nich occur during the winter of age ; this maxim can ?e too cs^My en- forced on the minds of the aged, that it may be by them ; ^ .cr,:?i L . _\e un- derstanding of the young. We ?.f!» here alluding to a systematic employment of stimuli, and not to their occ*., eional use. 21 And further, when there shall be observed by those to whom the care of youth be entrusted, any sudden changes of the complexion, any morbidity of the system, any dereliction of the faculties, any abstraction from usual habits, or any alteration of disposition : let them reflect that the effects must arise from some cause; a few artful questions, apparently undesigned, will soon detect the mischief, especially if critical observation be psid to the countenance of the suspected individual. For this purpose parents, and guardians, and in- structors, ought to be well acquainted with the symptoms here detailed, and it is a duty imperative upon them to apply early assistance, that, while they them- selves impress upon the youthful mind the religious and moral obligations which demand its restriction from a practice so degrading to all social duties, they may, at the same time, adopt a method to assist the constitution by an immediate check, and ultimately restore it by the extinction of this propen- sity. SECTION VII. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, OR VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL LIFE, MENTAL IRRITATION, AS AFFECTING THE VENEREAL ORGANS. Physical observations concerning the generation, nutrition, organization, life health, sickness, and death, of animated nalvre, would lead to more discussion than is here convenient; we shall therefore b/iefly advert to some particular points connected with our immediate object. We cannot help quoting a lew lines on the subject of generation from Dr. Scouler's very ingenious paper on this most intricate subject,—its simplicity removes much of the difficulty which many previous disputants have raised,— " Generation (writes Dr. S.) or the production of a living being, consists, if we separate it from all accidental circumstances, in the separation of a portion of the parent animal, which is endowed with independent vitality. This por- tion is formed in the ovarium of the female before she has any intercourse with the male, and the principal effect of the spermatic fluid is to excite the dor- mant powers of the germ into action, and to modify its form." Physiology is that branch of physical science which treats of the different functions and properties of living bodies, or such as are by a certain organiz- ed structure, enabled to grow and propagate their kind. By this definition, physiology must necessarily have for its object the explanation of that internal organical economy in plants and animals, which nature has provided for the preservation of the individual, and for the continuation of the species. These functions and* propeities are generally classed under the following heads, viz. digestion, nutrition, circulation, respiration, secretion, generation, irritabi- lity, and sensibility, Attending minutely to a body which has escaped from the seed, the egg, or membranes of the parent, and which must for the future depend upon the ope- ration of its own organs, we may observe, that in order to live it must be allow- ed the free use of air or respiration ; in order to grow, it must have an adapt- ed supply of food, which is to be prepared by d'gestion, taken up by absorption distributed by circulation, assimilated by nutrition, and the whole carried on by secretion. To these things we may add, that these functions are all de. pendent on a general principle, irritability, by which the system is rendered, through stimulus, susceptible of motion, accommodates itself to different cir- cumstances by habit, alters its form by successive transformation, produces the species by generation, and when the business of life is finished, becomes, after anv a languid affection from the influence of sleep, at last subjected to the iate of all living bodies—death. Nature, in her gift of active life to vegetables, exhibits the power of percep. tion very forcibly. Many plants turn, with abhorrence, from thut which is hurtful to them ; others experience convulsions of their stamina, upon being slightly touched. The class called Heliotrope, in daily presenting their sur- face to the sun, seem as desirous of absorbing a nutriment from its rays, as a bed of muscles doth from the water, by opening their shells upon the afflux of the tide. 44 '1 he roots of trees, in approaching the foundations of a wall or rock which they cannot penetrate, turn aside at a short distance, before they arrive at the obstacle. If a tree stand by the side of a ditch, the roots will not pursue their usual horizontal course so as to become exposed ; but they suddenly dip down perpendicularly on approaching the bank, until they get below the bottom of the: ditch, when they resume their horizontal tendency. The leaves of the Dionda Musicapa are beset with thorns, and their surface secretes a sweet liquor, very attractive to flies ; at the instant when the insect touches the surface, of thistreacherous apparatus, the two lobes of the leaf approximate, and the thorns, crossing each other, pierce the unfortunate fly in a manner analagous to that execrable engine of selfishness and cupidity, the man-trap." It seems, too, that a communication of sexes, in order to produce their spe- cies, belongs to vegetables as well as to animals. Anatomists, like botanists, dispute as to their respective views of conception, whether it be accomplished ab ovo femello, or a vcrmiculot in semine maris, in reference to animal pro- duct; or the peculiar manner of the Perina fecundans, as contributing to vegetable existence—these doubts are unimportant. An egg,—unless the fe. male hath had commerce with the male—cannot become vivified by incubation ; nor will plants grow unless fecundated by the pollen of the male. The pu- berty of plants is indicated by their efflorescence, when they become capable of propagating their kind ; the flower, or corolla, being analagous to the pubes of animals; and Linnaeus, persuaded of this analogy, intended also to have classed the varieties of the animal kingdom according to the s:ructure of their generative organs. A regard for decency alone prevented him. In the most noble animals there takes place a change in the functional force of or. gans—and a revolution of instincts and habits, at the epoch of puberty__ which bears some analogy to the metamorphosis of insects, when the intestinal power gives way to the generative influence which then regulates the morals of the animal. Still the "prerogative appears to exist in the female, (both of the vegetable and animal kingdom,) of producing that, which, when excited by the male, becomes capable of continuing active in eventually forwarding the birth of a living being. How wonderfully has nature classed her subjects, giving them the strongest propensities, but limiting those propensities to individuals of the same class. Sne has also made mules, in general, unprolific, that her laws may be clearly defined. In animal life, the sexual organs are excited by temporary causes ; hence we have the breeding season, and other objects of our particular obser- vation. "The luminous secretion of the female glow-worm is a supplement to the defect of wings in its organization, to obviate the impossibility of its seeking the male in the regions of the air." But, in women, the peculiarity of the monthly uterine secretion is indeed an important subject. The most philosophical physiologist of his age* has justly • The Great Surjer.n, Abcmcthy, of London. 23 inferred, that while it relieves uterine irritation, it mitigates the extreme of sex- ual desire; thus enabling thern to conform to the laws of morality, and the so- cial compacts that are established betweeh us." In the sacred volume are strong admonitions on the immorality of sexual intercourse during this monthly sickness ; the penalties by the Mosaic laws are awfully great—they will be found detailed in the book of Leviticus, ch. 20; and by the Prophet Ezekiel, ch. 18. Repose is as necessary to the mind as to the body. The exhaustion of muscular power in effecting bodily fatigue will cause a debility of mental energies; and, by a parity of reasoning will the exhaustion of nervOus pow- er, by debilitating the mind, weary and fatigue the body. Alternate mo- tion and rest, as well as sleep and watching, are necessary conditions to health and longevity, and should be adapted to age, sex, and temperament, dsc.j the source of disease being the excess on either hand. Thus we observe many persons bloated and relaxed with slothful indolence, and others emaciated by watching, fatigue, hard labour, and exposure to atmos- pheric transitions. Born into a world-^exposed to sorrows—-our bodies liable to various suf- ferings—of what importance it is to possess a spirit, firm, vigorous, and manly, and which tends to produce self-possession and inward strength 1 Yet stoicism, by enjoining resolute self-denial, establishes the dominion of the mind over sense, and thus often fails in elevating the passions to their noblest objects. To accolmt for the union of the soul and body would agitate innumerable chimeral questions; we know, however, that the rnind is a powerful agent in bodily impulse. In early life this union is not so intimate. It gradually ripens itself, but has interruptions; to which may probably be referred numer- ous contrarieties, the positive source of which is hitherto concealed from hu- man explanation. The affections of the mind must therefore be accounted as most essential to life—the due regulation of the passions contributing greatly to health and longevity. The enlivening emotions, such as joy, hope, love, &c., when restrained within due bounds, gently excite the nervous influence, pro- mote an equal circulation, and, by preserving the essential spirits, conduce to strength ; while the depressing passions, such as anger, rage, jealousy, fear, grief, and despair, produce a contrary effect, and lay the foundation a[ violent diseases. A morbid state of the mind will readily engender a Corresponding effect in the body, yet self-examination may easily correct the evil. In the stories of American life, by Miss Mitford, there is one applicable to our views :—it is called, " The sick man cured," from which we make the following extract: —"I used to feel very faint on drawing a cork out of a bottle; my new monitor, experience, whispered that this was nothing but apprehension, which, When it becomes a habit, and gains a certain mastery ovei the mind, produces a sensation allied to fainting. It embarrasses the pulsation, and that occasions a feeling of swooning; the mental causes the physical sensation. I was never so happy in my whole life, as when I received this lesson of experience. I was no longer afraid of dying off-hand of the exer- tion of drawing a cork." This quotation is a happy commentary upon the experience derived from exertion ; perhaps, however, the talented authoress is hardly aware that many a person has severely suffered by the extreme force that is sometimes required in drawing a cork. So powerful an instance of the sympathy of the body and mind cannot be 24 adduced as in the generative economy; for, as the animal spirits and the se- cretive powers of the testes may be considerably identified, there is a union of energy necessary for due effect. The mind is often childishly capricious, and the auction of the body, though naturally vigorous, wilh become literally sub servient to the impulse of fear. The very idea of not being able to perform sexual duties will render a man incompetent to the attempt. In the same reasoning, a man's perfect confidence, under the proud impression of his ability, will so redouble his power, as to give an increased gratification, to the object of his enjoyment. We here witness the consequences of allowing the mind to invade the powers of instinct for a state of nature. The amative pas- sion would probably in man, as in other animals, require to be excited by the piesence of the female. I> will be necessary to distinguish between cases of impotency which de- pend on the mind, and those resulting from the want of correspondence in the actions of different organs. The parts of generation in man are either essen- tial or accessary; the Testes are the acting,—the Membrum Virile the accessary. If these correspond, health is denoted. The want of corres- pondence is two-fold ; where the accessary acts without the essential,—as erection of ihe penis, in which, neither the mind nor the testes coincide—and where the testes perform the act of secretion without the erection of the penis. Hunter says, " Copulation is an act of the body, the spring of which is in the mind, but it is not volition ; and according to the state Of the mind, so is the act performed." How necessary then it is to investigate the feelings of this powerful auxiliary, for many cases may be charged wrongfully to a want of bodily power ; nay, so contradictory are, frequently, the circumstances of fail- ure in coition, that the very wish to please, especially a selected object, operates in the reverse; yet the same man may leave a woman, so selected, for a stranger whom he can powerfully enjoy. It has been strongly recommended, by former writers, to employ the per- spiration of young girls, in case of sexual debility occurring in advanced years. King David is said to have received his health by sleeping with a young female.* Mr. Philip Thicknesse particularly recommends, that old men should sleep with young and healthy women, for the purpose of renovat- ing their vigour. For this assertion he was much ridiculed by the ingenious authority of " The pursuits of Literature." But, it niay be asked, if the per- spiration of young women is able to effect this great change in the constitution of aged persons, on the other hand, does not the unwholesome perspiration re- ceived by the female from her bed-fellow prove to her an injury more than adequate to the benefit she imparts? This, however, is taking up the subject in a controversial point of view, and must be left to those who wish to enter into those topics; the remedy, as a restorative, has abundantly succeeded in some instances, whilst, in others, it has produced no visible change. Bi.t if must be remarked, that whenever thi^ restorative has been employed, it was in cases where the extreme debility of the man completely removed all apprehension, and indeed, possibility, of an abuse of the restorative by coition. An act of coition, under such circum- * But the King knew her not. 1 Kings ii. It has been secretly recorded, that a young virgin so taken can recall heat and life into an old man; but if he should use this artificial vigour as though it were a natural one, he may possibly give life to another, but it will be at the expense of his own. (Vide page 1—7.) Nature here warns us that there is a time to abstain, on the same indulgent purity of feeling that she has previously stimulated man to the procreation of his species. 25 stances, would not merely counteract the object for which the trial was sug- gested, but might probably prove immediately fatal to him who had the temerity to attempt it. If, in a case of health, an effort of this kind has been mortal, how much more likely is it to prove so under an emaciated state of debility 1 (vide page 17.) In another work we have noticed the causes and effects of sexual debility in women; and as many cases admit of a mixed opinion, a pe- rusal of that work will be useful in removing doubtful inferences. On all her animal and vegetable subjects, the bounty of nature has bestow- ed the power of reproducing its own species. In the minor classes, the ap- plication of this power is operated on by mere instinct. In man, the monarch of the whole, the propagative effort is an act resulting from intellectual and corporeal combination, an effect as much spiritual as sensual, a full and com- plete reciprocation of mental as well as bodily energy, for the perfection of that superior order of beings, to which Heaven has delegated the visible govern- ment of the whole. By this economical arrangement, the All-Wise has provided for the con- tinual maintenance of the universe, without the necessity to a perpetual re- currence to that immediate interference of his own power, which first erected inert and unconscious atoms into the noble edifice of man. With this active faculty he has united, in the human frame, a controlling judgment to direct its operation, and to detect all those abuses of its energy which would degrade and destroy it. The preceding pages sufficiently develope the punishments attending the prostitution of virility—punishments awful enough to deter those in whom virtue is not an inanimate principle; so wisely, indeed, are the generative or- gans constructed, so intimate in their union, so sympathetic in their action, so responsive in their susceptibilities, so connected, so complicated, so co-opera^ tive, and Withal so sensitive, as to be simultaneously affected by every error and excess. The matters advanced in the the preceding " Commentary " and which may be considered as copious explanations of the truths now laid down, are by no means to be received as the wild hypothesis of a speculative mind; they are the results of long and laborious experience. We profess not to have discovered any new modes of venereal infection ; we have added none to the catalogue of symptoms generated by it. If we may be allowed to arrogate any . uperiority of medical attainment, it is in the more intimate acquaintance with the causes, progress, and effects, of that constitutional debility, which results from either local causes or habitual imprudences, and to which is at- tributable that distressing inanity which too frequently mildews the happiness of the matrimonial state. In this department of disease, our efforts have gradually restored the ex- hausted fluids, regenerated the depressed functions, reinvigorated the impotent Organs, and reproduced that healthful vigour which is essential to the fulfil- mefit of the great purpose of existence. A more perfect knowledge of this sub j?ct has been, and continues to be, a desideratum, but in seeking that know- ledge, (as we have before hinted) the student in medicine will receive but little ibelp from those professional tutors, whoc e pride and apathy prevent them from exploring this almost untrodden field. His researches, tike ours,- will derive *o no light from the reflecting lustre of the talents which surround him ; his path lies in darkness and difficulty. In confirmation of our position, even Professor Gregory, in his observations on the duties and offices of a physician, pp. 16, 17, observes, "It unfortu- nately happens, that the only judges of his merit are those who have an in- terest in concealing or depreciating it." And the well-known remark of another celebrated ancient author still applies in the present day, that " a physician, in a great city, seems to be a mere play-thing of fortune ; his de- gree of reputation is, for the most part, totally casual; they that employ him know not his excellence—they that reject him know not his deficiency."* In cases of this description, the cure must always be attempted with a reference to the cause of the disorder ; not that the symptoms and effects may essen- tially differ, but that relief may be greatly facilitated, by operating on the mind may be made the chief agent in the expulsion of the corporeal disease alto- gether, and in the complete resuscitation of the virile faculty. In a former part of the work we took occasion to express our hostility to the system of stimuli. Violent impulses for the moment, produce violent ef- fects ; they coerce nature beyond the limit of her legitimate nobility, and the inevitable consequence of this unaccustomed impetuosity is a subsequent de- pression in the exact rate of the elevation which preceded it; it is in fact, to use a commercial figure, an anticipation of the resources of the system to meet an immediate exigency, leaving a perpetual deficiency in those means which nature had provided for the future support of the animal economy. This mode of treatment is very properly reprobated by all men of talent and re- spectability, although it may be the subterfuge of quackery and empiricism. There are, however, situations where it is necessary to adopt the judicious and careful use of stimulants ; but a very little experience in medicine will qualify an individual to discriminate; in fine, as a system, the application of stimuli is to be deprecated, but as an occasional resource, where gentle im- pulses alone can force their natural functions in their legitimate courses, it is frequently advisable, and indeed indispensable. The preceding pages of this work are generally devoted to the description of the various diseases which originate in the imprudence of youth ; without entering into minute details of the various modes of relief, we have abstained from the recommendation of remedies, because we consider medicine in the hands of the timid, the irresolute, or the ignorant, as more likely to produce evil than advantage. The salutary properties of medicine are only elicited by the most judicious proportions, and skilful preparation. Medical men are sceptical in regard to the efficacy of remedies, in the correction of morbid affections, for they are often disappointed, and their prognostic, are foiled by * It is lamentable to see the extent to which imposition is carried on in this city, and how much public credulity facilitates, nay, encourages such glaring and barefaced proceed. ings. It is enough, it would seem, for the Mock Doctor to pass a long eulogy on himself in the public prints, and to offer to the unfortunate hopes of a speedy cure, whereas in nine- teen cases out of twenty those wretches yclepted Drs. par excellence, have been brought up to mechanical pursuits, but from a want of innate honour which would induce them to continue at an honest calling, together with a loafing, lazy disposition—they play on the weak side of human nature and commit their daily homicides without reserve. We pro- pose to give a full detail of all the quacks in this city in an appendix to our treatise on Ve- nereal, just now going to press; we shall point out their previous occupations, whether ■Mehaaicel or loafing, each under its distinct head. 27 so many opposing circumstances, that some even consider a salutary change more as a fortunate accident, than as a result of the substances employed; yet surely such result need no more be doubted, as an expected favourable event, than the proof of a chemical test shall be questioned in producing any particu- lar combination. By adopting our treatment to each series of disease, the science of medicine may be effectually rescued from the degrading reproach of vulgar, uneducated, quackery or the equally dangerous and unfeeUng sophistry of regular empiricism.* We wish to point out, that independent of the arrangements we have made for the convenience of personal consultations, our peculiar attention to these diseases will allow us to cure patients at a distance from the city, on a proper explanation of their symptoms ; and this is a highly important feature in our arrangements, for when it is considered that the multifarious engagements of a coun ty practitioner naturally prec'ude that minute attention to so important a subject, which can alone secure to the patient a certainty of health, it is of double utility by the secresy which it offers and the relief it ensures. Our modes of treatment are by no means speculative, but grounded on a profes- sional education, a closj attention to experiment, an elaborate study of the the- orv of the human constitution, and to crown all, by an extensive and success. ful practice. We have no pretensions but such as are borne out by extensive testimonies, and we have no testimonies which we desire to withhold, or into the authenticity of which inquiry will be shunned ; but we have verified in our experience the sincere pleasure which results to the philanthropic practitioner, from the conscious feeling that disease has been removed, the pangs of the suffering relieved, and the withering child of affliction snatched from the bed of torment and decay, to be restored to health, to comfort, and to society. * The too frequent occurrence of mistakes similar to the following, is one great cause of our preferring to supply our patients with medicine, instead of prescribing for them. The late Dr. Good, in his history of Medicine, published in the year 1795, relates the following story. A physician prescribed for the son of a poor woman, labouring under a dyspnoea, the following draught to be taken at bed-time—R. Syr. Papav. Alb. drachmam, Tr. Opii. C, drachmas duas Aq. distillat drachmas quinque M. Unfortunately the person to whom the prescription was brought, not being acquainted with the new name for the paregoric elixir, and not attending to the C, (for camphorat,) made it with drachmas duas Tincturae. Opii; and, though he advised the woman to give the patient only half the draught, it proved suf- ficiently strong to deprive him of life before the evening of the following day. The same author relates a story of a prescription being sent to a drug-store to be made up, wherein the ignorance of the compounder was the occasion of some trouble, but not such fatal consequences as in the former instance. A gentleman of Worcester, who does not practice pharmacy, prescribed for his patient as follows: R. Decoct. Cascarillae uncias sex, Tincturae ejusdem unciam Misce. The shopman who had the principal care of the business, having sought for a bottle labelled Tinctura ejusdem (Tincture of the same,) in vain, not being able to consult his employer, who was gone to attend a labour some miles off, he sent to some neighbouring shops to inquire for it, and not succeeding, he at last took the prescription to the gentleman who had written it, to know what he should substitute ia its stead, as he could not procure any Tincture of Ejusdem in any of the shops in the whole city.—[Good's History of Medicine, Appendix, page 14. Consider for a moment the feelings of a patient (for whom a prescription may be written,) labouring under a most delicate, though severe indisposition, how must his feelings be by this unwarrantable exposure of the nature of his complaint.—[Chambgr. laine't Tyrociixium Medicum. - 28 The undue loss of seminal secretion in a natural way, that is, frcm too frequent intercourse with the other sex, is productive of dire evils, but .vhere resulting from self-pollution, no language can describe the nature of those sufferings which violated nature is compelled to endure. All tlvj intellectual faculties0 are weakened. The man becomes a coward ; sighs and weeps like a hysterical woman. He loses all decision and dignity ot character; is unfitted for any mental or bodily occupation ; and becomes a disgusting burthen to himself and others. An incessant irksome uneasiness, continual anguish, or alternating with fits of unreasonable and childish merriment, depressed or excited without adequate cause--these form some of the conse- quences resulting from the pernicious practice., Loss of sleep, or inability to repose calmly until fairly wearied out, mid- night watchfulness, and dull sluggish unrest upon waking, with troubled, frightful, or lascivious dreams; such is the history of the hours of darkness. Mid-day passes gloomily away; the lazy victim of solitary vice requires much sleep, in some measure to atone for the loss of power and to rtrruit exhausted sensorial energy. Left to himself, he is often found at th•.• hour still breathing the impure, stifling atmosphere of his own chambci, 011 that bed from which he feels no cheerful alacrity to rise. An indefinable muddy dizzy oppression of the brain haunts his waking hours, hh brow is often contracted, and his look betrays either the vacancy of his soul, or that his polluted mind is wandering after some indulgence that imagination has con- jured up to his disordered fancy. He eats with avidity, sometimes ravenous- ly, for in this way only can the enormous drain upon the seminal fluid be partially supplied ; at length the nervous power essential to the digestive process begins to fail; then slow fever rapidly emaciates his wasting frame. Previously, even, 10 this, we may note that the skin assumes that pale or vi- olet hue, easily cognizable by the practiced observer, especially around the eyes; pimples appear on the face, of course defying for their removal the or- dinary remedies; the powers of the body decay; the shortest effort at a sed- den race, which once formed the exulting display of youthful agility, is now followed by br'eathlessness and fainting, the muscular system becoming strangely enfeebled and wasting away. AH his fire and spirit are deadened by this detestable vice; he is like a faded rose, a tree blasted in its bloom, a wandering skeleton; nothing remains but debility, languor, livid paleness, a withered body and a degraded soul. A youth endowed by nature with talent and genius, becomes dull or totally stupid; the mind loses all relish for virtuous or exalted ideas; the con- sciousness of the purity and essential holiness of the Creator, operates as a bar against any approach to Him, or the appropriation of any of those con- solations under suffering, which Religion is destined to afford. The whole life of such a man is acontinued succession of secret reproach, painful sensations arising from the consciousness of having been the fabrica- tor of his own distress, irresolution, disgust of life, and not unfrequently self- murder. Nay, what in effect is this but the consummation of slow self-des- truction? Could we but lift the veil of the grave, how should we startle at the long train of the victims of Sensualism I A gentleman of high connections, and apparently possessed of every re- quisite to make life happy, was found unexpectedly dead in his bed: a pistol, the instrument of his death, was clenched in his hand; none could account for the rash act; and doubtless, but for his own revelation, it would have passed away as unaccountable as the " temporary insanity'1 of the newspa-. 29 pers. Upon a piece of paper, in bis own handwriting, were discovered the words, " I am impotent and unfit to lire." Scarcely a day passes that deaths by suicide are not recorded, where no cause is assigned for the deed, but which, from the result ol experience, I am strongly inclined to believe, could we explore the secrets of the gloomy pris- on-house, would be easily explained by masturbation. There is in this class of patients art exquisite sensitiveness to external im- pressions: the slightest change of weather affects the sensualist most severe- ly : he cannot pereeive the correctness of the remark that ours is a temperate climate, for with him the seasons are always in extremes; the summer scorches him into lassitude, or he becomes peevish at the continuance of the cold. Such individuals are excessively prone to catarrhal affections, they take cold from trifling causes, their bodies becoming as keenly delicate to exter- nal and atmospheric agencies, as the most perfect barometer. We find, that in them, the lining mucous membrane of the nostrils and eyes is peculiarly irritable, fits of long continued sneezing annoy them on getting into a cold bed,.or on the sudden approach of a strong light. The eyelids become strangely hot and irritable at night, the handkerchief is in fre quent requisi- tion, and a continual winking and pressure together of the lids is then ob- servable. The most acute pains form another feature of the aggregate mala- dy. These are sometimes referable to the head, or limbs, but more common- ly to the stomach, forming the index to that form of Indigestion, resulting from the drain upon sensorial energy. Many miscalled Rheumatic diseases are solely dependent upon this prac- ice. The organs of generation participate also in the misery of local depri- vation. It is a singular fact, that th t habit of selfpollution is connected with an inevitable diminution of the size of the penis. The. author has had frequent occasions to verify this statement. Of nocturnal emissions, semi- nal weakness, diseased testicle, and gleet, as the consequences of masturba- tion, I shall speak separately. The diminution of the size of the penis, is one of the first and most obvious effects of litis bad habit. The virile organ becomes shrunk into less than half its former outline, and what is worse, the power of perfect erection is altogether destroyed. This is not wonderful, if we reflect upon the diversity of operation between the natural and sexual act and the vile friction of the masturbitor. With him, even if the seminal vesicles be not sufficiently distended with that natural stimulus which pro- vokes erection, he can produce by friction a higher degre.i of irritation than is natural, and he can command the sensation, when it would be impossible to maintain the requisite firmness of the organ for coition. Thus then a va- riety of evils are engendered. The testicles are called upon suddenly and violently to secrete, and the execretory canals to discharge, a thin, effete, un- prolific semen, and the nerves of the penis ore rendered susceptible of an agreeable titillation without the naturally inseparable adjunct—firm erection of that organ; hence when the masturbator tries to indulge in coition, he can- not assume the requisite solidity to effect penetration ; or if he partially effect an entrance into the vagina, it is followed by a premature emission. The oro-ans have been accustomed by a vicious perversion, to excrete without erection; or if the penis swell for a moment, the genitals of the female do not grasp the whole length of that organ with the rude and forcible friction %l has suffered from the human hand. \ I enter into these details, for the purpose of proving, if indeed it were neces^ JiJ sary, that my statements of the consequences arising from self-pollution form no imaginary, or overcharged picture, and that these results are susceptible of rational explanation. The reason why masturbators are debilitated more than those who indulge in natural sexual intercourse, is, that independently of the emission of the seed, the fiequcncy of the erection (though imperfect) with which they are afflicted, greatly weake.is them. Every part that is in a state of tension exhaustt the power, and they have none to JosQ; the spirits are conveyed thither in greater quantities; they are dissipated, and this oc- casions weakness; they are wanting in the performance of other functions, which is thereby only imperfectly dene. The concurrence of these two causes is attended by the most dangerous consequences. Another reason why this habit is more certainly destructive, is the unre- strictpd and indiscriminate ruin it inflicts upon the whole moral and mental constitution of man. No sooner has this uncleanness got the ascendancy over our passions, but forthwith it pursues its slave every where, and retains possession of him at all times and places, and upon the most serious occa- sions' and in the very acts of outward devotion, he ever and anon finds him- self transported with lustful conceptions and desires, which incessantly fol- low him and take up his thoughts. I remember one, who confessed to mc that he could not converse with a female for a few moments, without rushing to some place of secresy, and there giving way to his vile propensity. His gratification arose from fancy- m.T that he was enjoying sexual intercourse with her. Can any state be more disgustingly degrading? The misturbator is subject to all those dis- oielers which arise from application of the mind to one single thought, upon which all its energies are concentrated. In this way, though exhausted by perpetual excitement, such persons are liable to all the disorders incidental to primary affections of the brain, a state which places man beneath the brute creation. Still anothor reason why masturbation is more pernicious than coition, arises from the state of mind during the two acts. The onaist, and here we allude only to those who have some ideas of sexual intercourse and low, having no material object which is t '.e beginning and the end of his pleas- ures, the imagination must supply and invent it. This mental labor renders the sensations stronger and the body more disposed to feel them. Added to these, the onanist is desirous of prolonging his feeling, and having under his control certain circumstances which in sexual intercourse hasten the denou- ment, he retards it. Thus with fatal skill he gives to this destructive vice all the power it can possess, and experiences all the evil which this vice can cause. Tissot, one of the most intelligent and scientific of the physicians of France, has arranged under six distinct heads, the evils which arise from self-pollu- tion ; and his description accords precisely with my experience, during a long practice. He observes,— First—"All the intellectual faculties are weakened, loss of memory en- sues, the ideas are clouded, the patients .ometimc-s fall into a slight madness; they have an incessant irksome uneasiness, continual aoguish, and so keen a remorse of conscience that they frequently shed tears. They are subject to vertigos: all their senses, but particularly their sight and hearing, are weakened; their sleep, if they can obtain any, is disturbed with frightful dreams." Secondly—" The powers of their bodies decay; the growth of such as 31 abandon themselves to these abominable practices, before it is accomplished, is greatly prevented. Some cannot sleep at all, others are m a perpetual state of drowsiness. They are affected with hypochondriac, or hysterical com- plaints, and are overcome with the accidents that accompany those grievous disorders,—melancholy, sighing, tears palpitations, suffocations, and faint- ings. Some emit a calcareous saliva; coughs, slow fevers and consump- tions, are chastisements which others meet with in their own crimes." Thirdly—"The most acute pains form another object of patients' com- plaints; some are thus affected in their heads, others in their breasts, stom- ach, and intestines; others have external rheumatic pains ; aching numbness in all parts of their body when they are slightly pressed." Fourthly—"Pimples do not only appear in the face, (this is one of the most common syniptoms) but even suppurating blisters upon the nose, the breast, and the thighs; and painful itchings in the same parts. One patient complained even of fleshy excrescences upon his forehead." Fifthly—" The organs of generation also participate of that misery, where- of they are the primary causes. Many patients are incapable of erection ; others discharge their seminal liquor upon the slightest titillation, and the most feeble erection, or the efforts they make when at stool. Many are af- fected with a constant gonon hesa, which entirely destroys their powers, and the discharge resembles fcetiei matter or mucus. Others are torment* d with painful priapisms, dysurioc, s; rauguaritr,, heat of the urine, and a difficulty in rendering it, which greatly torments many patients. Some have painful tumours upon their testicles, penis, bladder, and Spermatic cord. In a word, either the impracticability of coition, or any depravation of the genital liquor, renders every one imbecile, who has for any length of time given way to this crime.'" Sixthly—" The functions of the intestines arc sometimes quite disordered ; and some patients complain of stubborn constipations ; others of hoemorrhoids, or piles, and of a running of feetid matter from the fundament." Such are some of the sufferings closely connected with these libidinous ex- cesses and perversions of nature. This vice then of self-pollution, compromises both the present and future health of the body; the present by the diseases with which it is accompanied, and the future by those for which it prepares. Hence if the young man es- capes with life, he is as it were loaded with a tribute of ills which he must pay before long, and perhaps always. Thus the indirect influence of onan- ism in producing human suffering is enormous. I consider it even as greater in proportion than that of the most immediate consequences of this fatal habit. This is confirmed not only by daily observation, but it cannot be otherwise. How much then do those deceive themselves, who seek for the diseases of masturbation without believing in their existence,"and who continue to indulge because they do not see its abuses! If premature indulgence causes so much injury, it should be one of the most interesting duties of humanity to prevent children and young persons from abusing themselves. The age at which the vener°l power enters into full action, and when its natural exercise is attended with the least detriment, has been generally de- termined on two dis'snet ground^* second, the general state of- the organiza- tion. The marriageable age has been fixed at an earlier period, according as legislators have assumed one or the other of these bases. The first serv- ed as foundations for the matrimonial laws of the Romans: and probably the 32 second served as a guide to Lycurgus, who prohibited men from marrying before the uga of thirty-seven, and to Plato, who recommended that every child born of a female younger than twenty years old, or begotten by a man less than thirty years, should be branded with infamy. J. J. Rousseau, too, reasons in the same manner: "until the age of twenty," he says, "the body grows and has need of all its substance; continence is natural, and if not observed it is at the expense of the constitution." It may be deemed an exaggeration, when it is stated that full three-fourths of the insane owe their malady to the effects of masturbation: but the asser- tion is corroborated by one of the first writers on medical jurisprudence, and is fully borne out by the daily experience of proprietors of lunatic asylums. The practice of self-abuse usually has its origin in boarding schools, and other places where young people congregate in numbers; and there are few persons who may have observed the vice practised, (although it may be unpleasant to avow as much,) that could resist the contamination. " One sickly sheep infects the flock, And poisons all the rest." It is not only in private schools that this sin rages: our public seminaries and colleges are not exempt from it. The heads of our universities are par- ticularly scrupulous in driving from their neighborhood the frail fair, lest they should contaminate the votaries of learning: whilst a vice far more degrading in its practice, and infinitely more baneful in its effects, rages within the very sanctuaries of classic lore. Many a brilliant genius has sunk into faturity beneath its degrading influence. Loss of memory, idiocy, blindness, total impotence, nervous debility, paralysis, strangury, &c. are among the unerring consequences of an indulgence in this criminal pass- ion. An American writer says: Called at one of the New-England Insane Hospitals, and by the kindness of the gentlemanly superintendent, I was taken over the establishment and shown some of its wretched inmates.— Among those were pointed out a number who had been brought there by the effects of Masturbation, of whom the Superintendent informed me, there were twenty or twenty-five in the institution at the time. He remarked also, that persons of all professions and classes of society were among the victims cf this habit. Connected with the Hospital there is a spacious green en- cVstd by a high fence, where .he insane are permitted to take exercise and tho fresh air in pleasant weather. In this yara were ten or fifteen persons, most of whom had become insane by this indulgence. One of these, a man of bloodless countenance and vacant gaze, was promenading back and forth as fast as his feeble limbs could bear him. This man was educated at one of our first literary institutions, and was a member of the learned professions. Oh I how fallen from the talented and accomplished young man he once was! Another degraded and ghostly looking object had also been an active and intelligent professional gentleman. Others there were, companions in degradation—once promising young men, now like the unreasoning brute, except in form alone. Instead of the speaking eye and intellectual counte- nance, their sombre brows, their haggard and wo-begone faces, cast around them a gloom that might also be felt. It rendered the place truly horrible, and reminded us that we were among the living dead. I will now draw the veil to disclose the revolting scenes presented by those who are wholly 33 abandoned to their vicious habit, nnd who have neither shame nor reason left to restrain their disgusting indulgence. Would that every lad and young man might take one view, such as may be seen in this and every other hos- pital. It must surely leave an impression never to he effaced. When tempted to this fatal vice, he would read in characters horrid as if traced by the skeleton finger of death—Beware. Numerous instances are mentioned by medical writers, Avhere this horrid habit of masturbation has been implanted in the young, when infants, by nurses and servants, who to still their cries, or prevent fretfulness, would ti- tillate the genital parts. What a responsibility rests upon parentsj to see that no such vile and destructive outrage is perpetrated upon their children! "The indications," says Dr. Woodward, ''by which parents and friends may be led to suspect this vice, are ill health* especially debility* paleness* with a down cast look and a disposition to retirement and seclusion—-a jeal1 ousy and suspicion of those in whom they used to place confidence, and who were former associates and friends. The individual becomes feeble, is una: ble to labor with accustomed vigor, or to ajraly his mirtd to study; his step is tardy and weak, he is dull, irresolute, e,ifflM., m n^3 sPorts Wl^ ^ss en- ergy than usual, and avoids sociil intercojawpf I never see a pale, sickly lad, from 15 to 20, especially if he he shy, ?w|&e-faced artd retiring, btlt what I susppct him of this vice: and among a^B&indred that 1 have ques- tioned, I have rarely been mistaken.'' ™ How intensely important that patents and guardians should reflect Upon the source whence the vilest habits niay be introduced, with secret impUnity* among their infant charge, of either sex! If they may be deceived in the choice of those to whom they entrust the important task Of forming the minds and dispositions of their pupils, what is ther>) not to fear from their proximi- ty to domestitiSj whd are examitied chiefly for the display of their corporeal talent?, and are frequently hired without its being known whether their morals are irreproachable, or their minds not grossly polluted and vicious? In the majority of these deplorable cases; a servant maid; gross, luxurious* and previously Unaccustomed to abundance of godd food, has been the guil- ty instigator of a propensity which* however her coarse Organization might bear with impunity, has produced effects of the most deplorable character On the sensitive frame of a girl, whose habits mode of thought, reading, and powers of fancy, render her the easy prey of a fascinating and Overwhelm- ing delusion. Let the community be enlightened On this subject, and let the young knovr that if they indulge in this odioUs vice,- the secret will out; arid that not only their physicians, but their friends, will know the shameful caUse of their dis- ease md it will operate as a powerful restraint. It should be remark ed, how-vir, that these indications are not always infallible, and we should not form a hasty judgment. On the other hand, disease may be preying upon the brain and nervous system, while the flesh, the countenance, and the appetite indicate g.ood health. Iri the latter stage of the habit, its ravages are matrked by more frightful symptoms—such as are enumerated in some of the cases before presented. Predisposing causes should be removed. Let the diet nnd regimen bo such ns to prevent premature development of the passions and all physical precocity. If children are brought up in an idle* effeminate, and luxurious manner, their persons are, like tinder, ignited by the first impark that falls Up* 34 on them. If the laws of physiology were obeyed, and external excitemenfo removed, the sexual appetite would sleep on, as nature designed, till the transition from boyhood to manhood, instead of being forced into action at from five to ten year? of age, as we have seen. Dr. Rush says the exciting causes of the dsieased appetite are, excessive eating, more especially of high-seasoned animal food, intemperance in drink- ing, and idleness. Hence, to allay the passion, he prescribes a simple diet, abstinence from all strong drinks, constant employment in bodily labor or exercise, the cold bath, and close application of the mind to business or study. *, Milton, after speaking of the puie, ethereal flame of love, says, "As for that other burning, which is but as it were the venom of a lusty and over- abounding concoction, strict life and labor, with the abatement of a full diet,, may keep that low and obedient enough." The remedies, therefore, proper in these cases, may he enumerated as follows : Total abstinence from the voluntary practice is insisted on as in- dispensable, and in most cases it will effect a recovery without the aid of spe- cial means. But it often happens that the evil is continued in the form of involuntary emissions, in sleep. These are often dangerous and difficult to check; they arise from two causes—a polluted imagination, and a relax- ed, debilitated, and irritable state of the body, especially the parts most abus- ed. A Roman physician observes, "If nocturnal emissions continue any. time, the necessary consequences are consumption and death—for the most balsamic part of the humor and animal spirits is dissipated; the whole body falls away, and particularly the back ; the patients become feeble, dry, and paie; they languish in slow, melancholy agony;" The mind is probably the exciting cause. In unsound sleep, the thoughts busy themselves with the libidinous images of the waking hours. Hence,. the mind must be purified; by watchfulness and perseverance,,the thoughts may be restrained and turned from their wonted channel. To aid in this, check the first risings of impure ideas, and avoid everything that may excite them ; closely apply the mind to business or study and useful reading; or engage in some absorbing subject, or enterprise, in which self will be for- gotten. Shun solitude, seek the restraints of company ; lust evaporates in the presence of chaste and virtuous society. Avoid idleness, especially all vacuity of mind—"The idle man's brain is the Devil's work-shop." If other motives fail to cure the voluntary practice, consider the dreadful consequences of continuing in it. Last, and most important, cultivate abiding religious impressions, and a sense of the presence of God, and consider his threatnings against all impu- rity. To restore the health and vigor of the body, "the regimen," says Dr Woodward, "must be strict, the diet should be simple and nutritious, and sufficient iu quantity; it should be rather plain than light and abstemious; no stimulating condiments should be used, the suppers should be particular- ly light, and late suppers should be wholly avoided. All stimulating drinks even strong tea and coffee, should be discarded; cider and wine are very pernicious; tobacco, in all its forms, not less so." • Cold bathing is an important auxiliary—friction of the skin with a coarso towel or brush ; labor or other exercise in the open air is absolutely neces- sary to increase the strength, and cause an equal circulation of blood ; the amount must not be too great, hut sufficient to produce such a degree of fa 35 fcigue as will favor quiet rest. Let the bed be hard—the covering not too warm. Avoid all mental and nervous excitement in the evening, and every- thing that might prevent undisturbed repose. Retire to rest, not till inclined to fall asleep, and arise as soon as awake. This course must be persevered in, and health will gradually return. If the exigency of the case demands active medicines, they should be prescrib- ed by an experienced physician ; but these are to be considered only tempo- rary auxiliaries. The only ground of hope is the strength of will and ling- ering power of goodness in the individual. Mr. Combe, in his work on " The Constitution of man," remarks as fol- lows: " The organ of Amativeness is the largest of the whole mental or- gans; and being endowed with natural activity, it fills the mind spontaneous- ly with emotions and suggestions, the outward manifestations of which may be directed, controlled, and resisted, by intellect and moral sentiment, but which cannot be prevented from arising, or eradicated after they exist. The whole question, therefore, resolves itself into this, whether it is more benefi- cial to enlighten the understanding, so as to dispose and enable it to control and direct that feeling; or (under the influence of an error in philosophy, and false delicacy founded on it,) to permit it to riot in all the fierceness of a blind animal instinct, withdrawn from the eye of reason, but not thereby de- prived of its vehemence and importunity; The former course appears to me to be the only one consistent with reason and morality; and I shall adopt it in reliance on the good sense of my readers, that they will at once discrim- inate between practical instruction concerning this feeling addressed to the intellect, and lasciviuus representations addressed to the propensity itself; with the latter of which the enemies of all improvement may attempt to con- found my observations. • Every function of the mind and body is instituted by the Creator; each has a legitimate sphere of activity; but all may be abused; and it is impossible regularly to avoid the abuse of them, except by being instructed in their nature, objects and relations. This instruction ought to be addressed exclusively to the intellect; and, when it is so, it is science of the most beneficial description.'' These remarks abundantly explain the motives, which have led to the publication of the present work. Surely no rational person can read them, and doubt the importance of making these facts familiar to the young. We really believe there would not be half so much lewdness in the world, but for the attempt to throw a mystery over these subjects, purely physiological as they are, and vitally affecting the moral and physical welfare of man. The secretory glands of the human body form an apparatus, the action of which is unvarying and constant. The liver is perpetually employed in the formation of bile, the kidneys in the separation of urine from the blood. In fact, .ill the secretions are derivable from that living and vitalising fluid.— The gall bladder is provided, as the temporary receptacle for the bilious soapy fluid secreted by the liver, and as the wants of the system require, it is poured into the first intestine to assist in the separation of the nutritive por- tion of the partially digested aliment. Precisely analogous is the action of the testicles, pouring their appropriate secretion into the receptacles denominated the " vesiculce seminales, or seed bladders," not to be absorbed again into the system, but rather to be excreted as indispensable to the reproductive act. Hence the stimulus arising from the distention of these vessels, become a pleasurable impulse to the necessa- ry multiplication of the species, as if sexual desire were susceptible of graii- 36 ficalion only as the result of instinct; if depraved man instead of lashing his genital organs to exertion by filthy conversation, lewd and impure imag- inations, and the various causes which are entirely absent among the brute creation; if like them he were content to follow the dictates of his unerrino organization, diseases arising from excess would be unknown, equally among us as with them; and their proverbial and almost certain fe- cundity be but the type of our own. As the seminal vessels (like the gajl bladder) will not allow of extraordi- nary distention, the thinner portions of the semen become partially absorbed, and though thereby the bulk of that secretion he lessened, yet the residurn becoming more aprjd and stimulating, the impulse to excretion is thus ren- dered unconquerable J and so nature, (in the absence of the act to v hich the stimulating impulse tends) occasionally relieves herself of the superabundant secretion. Qf this act men are mostly unconscious; if, however, it arrest attention, \\s frequency and its consequences, are the circumstances that rouse the proper and natural fears of the sufferer. Nocturnal emissions occurring more frequently than at intervals of twenty- One days, are a decided proof of debility, and the certain harbingers of apr preaching impotence. Jn many instances the sleep is not broken, and it is comparatively difficult to ascertain how often the evacuation occurs; the consequences of the loss of the seminal fluid are, however, sufficiently evi-; dent, Occurring more frequently than can be fairly ascribable to the dis^ tension of healthy vessels, the most energetic measures are instantly requis- ite tq avert the identical mischief, which would arise if the loss of the semi-. flal secretion were solicited and voluntary. A popular author on this subject observes,—"The causes of these nightly Of 'wet dreams' as they are called, are numerous. In the first place, the tes^ tides must have acquired, through the practice of Onanism, (for in ^luntary emissions rarely assume the formidable character here depicted, o^cept in- duced by masturbation,) a morbid sensitiveness, that, on the slightest local or neighboring irritation, they put in action their secreiive powers. Infactx the infirmity might not iwplly be termed a consumption of those glands.— Consequently, the causes may he at this period, piles or haemorrhoids, con- stipation, indigestion, irritability of the bladder o,T kidneys, frc. &c.; for they all more or less, are present, and, perhaps, severally aggravated by fctimuli of one kind or other, taken during day or previously to rest. The semen of a person tormented with this infirmity, is thin, watery, sick \y odored, and rarely prolific. Although \ have already depicted the con- sequences of unnatural indulgences in the previous pages, the following passage, from a more able pen, exhibits so well the desolating effects alluded to, that it is too useful to my purpose to neglect ::-^"-The muscles of the youth become soft; he is idle; his body becomes bent:, his gait is sluggish, and he is scarcely able to support himself. The digestion, becomes enfee- bled, the breath fqstid; the intestines inactive; the excrements hardened in the rectum, and producing additional irritation of the seminal conduits in its vicinity. The circulation being no longer free, the youth sighs often ; the complexion is livid, and the skin, on the forehead especially, is studded with pimples. The corners of the mouth are lengthened, the nose becomes sharp; * fhe sunken eyes, deprived of brilliance, and enclosed in blue circles, are cost down; no look of gaiety remains—the very aspect is criminal. General sensibility becomes excessive, producing tears without a cause; perception i§ weakened, and memory almost destioyed. Distraction or absence of mittd. 37 renders the judgment unfit for any operation. The imagination gives birth only to phantasies and fears without grounds; the slightest allusion to the dominating passion produces motion of the muscles of the face, the flush of shame, or a state of despair. The wretched being finishes, by shunning the face of men, and dreading the observation of women. His character is en- tirely corrupted, or his mind is totally stupified. lnvoluntaiy loss of the re- productive liquid takes place during the night, and also during the daily motions; and there ensues a total exhaustion, bringing on heaviness of the head, singing in the ears, and frequent faintings, togtther with pains, convul- sive tremblings, and partial paralysis."' In reference to the physiology of the seminal receptacles, it is carefully to be borne in mind that the stimulus of the sexual orgasm is the only ir- ritant which naturally they me destined to obey; hence, whatever foreign to this is sufficient to louse the chain of action producing emission, must un- doubtedly operate most detrimentally to the whole animal economy; in ref- erence to the generative organs themselves, imposing upon them tendencies repugnant to their natural agency, which at no distant period inevitably and completely abolish their living power. The reproductive power may not be entirely destroyed by that state of generative debility which is engendered by nocturnal emissions, and yet veTy painful consequences of another character may unquestionably arise. A healthy female may become piegnantfrom the feeble, yet exhausting effort, of a man whose constitutional power is seriously broken; yet it would be unfair, unphilosophical—unsupported by any analogy drawn from the his- tory of the lower animais-— to expect that this circumstance would not tell most powerfully and detrimentally upon the offspring. The opinions of the learned, in all ages, have not varied widely on this subject. Sexual ability in man is a mysterious compound power, requiring a per- fect association in the action of the secretory organ of the seminal secretion, and the instrument of its ejaculation and discharge. Anv functional irreg- ularity, oi want of correspondency between the action of the testicles and penis, is therefore an unquestionable state of disease: for since both are so closely and intimately dependent on each other, the least want of exactness in their adaptation might be the cause of impotence. Whatever be the mode in which this deviation from the healthy and nat- ural action of the parts is first induced, it is not difficult to trace its inevitable effect in the production of seminal debility, and the ultimate destruction of gexual power. Irritation, however engendered, rapidly propagates itself along the urethra, and chronic inflammation of the prostatic and most s< nsi- live portion of that canal is rapidly established, and the muscles surrounding the membranous division of the urinary passage are sympathetically affected with irregular spasm, The irritation extends itself by continuity ofsuiface to the seminal vesicles, and even to the testHes, producing in the former unnatural evacuations, and in the latter an exaggerated thin secretion, too rapidly elaborated, and therefore, far all the purposes of generation, worth- less. Among individuals so affected, (on attempting intercourse with the sex,) the emission is too quickly discharged, noctuinal pollutions are lrequent, (in- deed these are often the immediate precursors of seminal weakness,) or the semen is expelled during the evacuation of the bladder and bowels. With some there is mote or less complete extinction of venereal desire, the erec- tions become few and feeble, incomplete, or absolutely ^impossible. The 33 seminal fluid may dribble away without pleasure, without erections, with out the natural ejaculation, and its loss, when occurring in this manner, gives rise to the same or infinitely greater evils, than those which occur from mere sexual excess, or what is worse, from selfpollution. There have not been wanting some writers, who have contended that not the semen, but only the mucous of the canal or prostatic fluid, furnishes the discharge in these deplorable cases. But this is far from being a correct view of the pathology of the disease; mere chronic inflammation, arising from common causes, may be accompanied with simple mucal discharge; but seminal weakness is, in the majority of instances, the ultimate conse- quence of self-pollution, which, in the first instance, brings about that irri- tability which evinces itself in nocturnal discharges, and subsequently in complete debility of the whole generative system. The seminal fluid, such indeed as it is, weak, thin, effete, and devoid of all fructifying agency, is un- doubtedly the fluid which the organs suffer to escape; and to prevent its further flow, as well as to give healthy tone to the secretory and retentive organs, ought to form our first care In the early stage of seminal weakness, different persons are variously affected: some are incapable of procuring a discharge of semen into the cav- ity of the female genitals in a natural way, though they may effect tempo- rary erection, whilst others cannot perform the act of copulation, from emis- sion taking place too quickly, and before the proper firmness of the male oii; a has enabled it to effect the requisite penetration. Li some instances the power of the male genitals is not altogether des- troyed, nay, impregnation may occur, in a healthy female, from the labori- ous embraces of one whose constitutional vigor is almost entirely destroyed. But the offspring—can it be rationally expected that the child of such a father should be otherwise than puny, feeble, and predisposed to those dis- eases which, under the most favorable circumstances, destroy so large a proportion of children under five years of age ? We know that there are diseases peculiar to childhood. The process of dentition is accompanied by much irritation, and sweeps annually its thousands into the grave. Measles, hooping-cough, and most especially inflammatory affections of the lungs and mucous membranes of the bronchial cavities, form the sad catalogue of evils through which, as through an armed troop, the poor little sufferers are doomed to run,—and only the minority pass the ordeal. Is constitutional vigor of no importance, in enabling children to resist harmlessly the certain attacks of those diseases, to which they are undoubt- edly obnoxious? The seminal secretion, which in a certain sense commu- nicates life, oris at least the agent, without which the embryotic rudiments of a new being cannot assume active and progressive vitality, is itself alive; and if from excessive evacuation of this fluid, seminal weakness ensue, it is not unreasonable, but highly philosophical, to suppose that, in the event of procreation occurring from actual sexual congress, the offspring will bear enstamped upon it the physical characteristics derived from parental debil- ity. The term impotence is applied as relative to that inability or incapacity to the performance of the sexual act, which may arise from a variety of caus- es, but from none so frequently as the excesses of sensualism, more espe- cially the secret, vicious, and solitary indulgences of self-pollution. It is important in a practical point of view, that we do not confound this condi- tion ofthe geneBative system with sterility, inasmuch as a male who is 39 sterile, or a barren female, may possess a perfect aptitude for coition, though for all the purposes of procreation absolutely incapable. In impotence, there is a temporary or permanent destruction of those powers which are absolute- ly essential for generative purposes. Sterility may, therefore, be defined as inability to propagate the species, though not to effect the sexual congress; while impotency, in either sex, whether natural or acquired, whether as the result of disease or malformation, entirely precludes its performance. Some, from constitutional frigidity, are impotent; thus we. read that Ze- nobia, Queen of Palmyra, only admitted her husband's embraces once a month, and then solely in relation to posterity; it is doubted whether, under such circumstances, her sense of duty would atone for the absence of incli- nation, Excessive venery, and the profuse discharges offluor albusox the whites, are susceptible of completely destroying all power of excitement in women ; hence prostitutes, from over-stimulation of the generative organs, seldom conceive. Transient impotence is often the result of mere apprehen- sion. Too eager desire, too ardent imagination, the ecstatic effect produced by the sight of a beloved object, extreme nervous susceptibility, are often suf- ficient to produce temporary impotence. It is not unusual to meet with instances of married people becoming quite indifferent to each other's embraces: a patient of mine confessed to me his inability to complete the sexual act with his wife, unless by an effort of the fancy. With regard to age, it has been seen that it is most natural to the young man to admire beauty of the locomotive system ;—to the middle-aged man, to admire beauty of the vital system;—and to the older man, to admire beau- ty of the mental system; but that, as woman is more precocious than man, she becomes more advanced in reference to sex, than man at the same age; and consequently to be duly matched to her husband, the wife should be the younger. As the average stature of woman is two or three inches less than that of man, and her whole figure is more slender, these proportions are naturally preferred. Women, indeed, who are too tall, are generally awkward; and a low stature is far less objectionable. Man has the shoulders wider than those of Avoman; woman has the haunches more capacious than those of men. The upper pirtofthe body also projects less anteriorly and the lower part projects more in woman than in man. The haunches of woman are more apart; and her thighs more voluminous. And as, with these proportions and developments, all the functions most essentially feminine—impregnation, gestation, and parturition, are intimate- ly connected, such proportions and developments are naturally preferred. In woman, consequ- .itly, as an object of choice, the head, shoulders and chest, should be relatively small and compact; and the arms and limbs should be relatively short, and should taper as they recede from the trunk, while the hands and feet should be small. Thus her body should taper up- wards, as her limbs taper downwards. Owing, then, as we have seen, to smaller stature, and to gre-at<;r size of the abdomen, the middle point of the figure, which is at the pub s in man, is higher in woman; and this also he prefers in her, as an object of choice;— as well as that her members be, as naturally they are, more rounded, less hard, her form less angular, and her traits finer. Man naturally and necessarily seeks next, not for qualities which fcse his 40 own, but for those of which he is not in possession—something new, some- thing capable of exciting him ; this conforms to the fundamental difference of the sexes; and those marrijges in which such qualities exist are always more prolific than others. Mr. Knight says in corroboration of this, that the "most powerful human minds will be found in offspring of parents of different hereditary constitu- tions,1' and that he has witnessed the bad effects of marriages between two individuals very similar to each other in character and color, and springing fom ancestry of similar character." Amidst these differences, it is evilent that we should profit by rendering the m the means of correcting faulty organization, and of annulling in chil- dren th i eff cts of hereditary predispositions. INow, on this important point, the reader is aware that, according to the laws of resemblance, the qualities of the father and mother are communica- ted to their progeny, not in various and minute fractional parts, but in halves —in the anterior, or the posterior, series of organs, and in no other way; that man, however, has to do only with the law of selection, because by its means he can achieve every influence upon progeny ; and that, by placing himself in suitable relation to an appropriate partner in intermarriage, man, unless all the most undisputed facts of breeding be false, has (precisely as the* breeder has among the lower animals) the power to reproduce and to preserve either series of organs—the best, instead of the worst portion of his organization. The reader will probably remember the observation of Dr. Pritchard, that "II the same constraint were exercised over men, which produces such re- markable < fleets among the brute- kinds* there is no dcubt that its influence would be as great;" while he has seen the establishment of those natural laws of which neither such writeis, as they themselvts avow, nor the bree- ders of animals, had any Conception. In these general observations, it remains only to remind the reader, that the organization of the woman destined to reproduce, should be of the best kind : and that maturity, exercise and perfection in every function, are equal- ly essential; for, as are these and their idaptation to the male, so will be the perfection of the progeny. In society, however, we see persons not only regardless of imperfect or- ganization and function, but of actual disease. Some, consequently, are cfiildless; whilst others become the parents of beings destined to a life of suffering. Laws assuredly ought to prescribe proper means for insuring the natural conformation and health of both parties, and should foibid marriage before each had furnished a certificate vouching for these. Monstrosities and diseases capable of being transmitted by generation* should iils-j be regarded as so many physical causes of divorce. By this means, not only sterility and deformities, but degeneration of the species, would be avoided. With regard to the age of woman in matrimony, if that labor of nature which is necessary for the completion of the organization be troubled by premature marriage, the woman remains always of small stature, weak and pale. If pregnancy ensue, breeding will still more Interfere with the develop- ment of her structure and strength; she will be liable to abortions and flux- es; and the pains of childbirth may destroy her. 41 If she becomes a mother, she cannot afford to her offspring a sufficiency of nutritious milk; her children will be weak and ailing; she must submit, m rearing them, to attentions and vigils exceeding her strength; and her youth will be passed in anxiety and grief, which inevitably bring on prema- tuie old age. Moreover, to the due performance of the duties of the married state, the greater or less development of another order of faculties—those constituting mind—-must be taken into consideration. For alt these reasons it is prudent to allow an interval of at least two years to take place between the appearance of the catamenia and marriage; for it is then, generally, that they have reached regularity—that woman reaches the period of her full growth—and that there is a surplus of vital power necessary for the reproduction of the species. The age from twenty to twenty-five is the period at which women in Englari- and the United States appear best adapted for becoming moth- ers. It may here be observed, that when a man past sixty marries a young girl, as is sometimes the case, he often pursues only the shadow of a pleas- ure of which he can no longer seize the reality: and the misery entailed upon a young girl by marriage with an old man, should alone be a sufficient reason for legal opposition to such a union. A well -organised woman, on the other hand, is not indifferent when the catamenia have ceased. This occurs only in countries where, as in France, the vital system is bad. But it may perhaps be doubted by some, whether the marriage of a female in whom the characteristic sign of fruitfulness has ceased, should be suffered by law, seeing it is injurious to the state to deprive it of that portion of the population that could have been furnished to it by the young husband whom she usually appropriates. Dionysius, the Tyrant replied to his mother, who, at an advanced period of life, wished to marry a young man, " It is in my power to break the laws of Syracuse, but not those of nature." I believe that Dionysius was wrong: and that these women are essential to the economy of nature. No circumstance, in choice, is more important than the form of the pelvis in woman ; for upon this depends her own fate and that of her infant. That several national varieties exist in the form of the pelvis, appears to have been first clearly shown by Dr. Vrolik of Amsterdam, whose observa- tions have been reviewed by Professor Weber, of Bonn. In Weber's opin- ion, the most frequently occurring form of pelvis among Europeans is the oval; the most frequent in the American nations, the round; the square in people resembling the Mongolians; and the oblung in the races of Africa: and there is a correspondence between these diversities and the shape of other parts of the skeleton, and even of the skull. In intermarriage, the size of the pelvis is of vast importance. It is evi- dent that the head of the foetus, which is generally five inches in diameter, cannot be expelled through the inferior aperture, if that is only about one half that diameter. A woman thus formed, if unfortunately she become pregnant, will be un- der the necessity of undergoing the Ceesiirian operation, or the section of the symphysis pubis, or of witnessing the sacrifice ol her child by theaccouch- er. These malformations can in general scarcely be.known without an exam- ination which is opposed by modesty; and their existence, consequently. 42 is most generally a secret till after the first accouchemer.t. We may, however, suspect malformation of the pelvis says a recent writer, " when the hollow of the back is so great as to force the last lumbar vertebra into the or>per part of the cavity of the pelvis; when the irregularities f the hip-bones elevate it too much on one side; when the thighs press too much against each other in walking; and whenever there remain any tra- ces of rachitis, such as crookedness in the long bones, or any extiaoidmary development of their extremities. _ It is observed nevertheless, that "there are some very deformed women in whom the pelvis possesses its natural proportions, so that they aie ueliveied with ease; whilst there are many who, with the appearance of regular ccn formation, have some malformation that lenders their fiist accouchement al- most inevitably mortal. "What space of pelvis," says Dr. God, is absolutely necessary to enable a lieh'gchild, at its full time, to pass through it,hasnot been very accurately bet ltd by obstetric writers—some ruaintaining that this cannot take place where th-'conjugate diameter is less than two inches and a half, though it may till we re; ch this degree of narrowness ; and others, that it cannot lake erect under three, inches. The difference in the size of the head in differ- ent children on their birth, and of the thickness of the soft parts within the pelvis in different women, may easily account for this variation in the rule laid deiwn. It is clear, however, from the acknowledgment of both parties, that if the dimension of the pelvis be much under three inches, delivery can- not be accomplished without the loss of the child." " It is the duty of medical attendants and relatives,'' says the writer before quoLed, '' to poinl out to a female whose pelvis is ill formed, that, in marry- ing, she exposes herself to suffering which may end m death." It would, however, be well, if a law were in existence, that no girl should marry when any malformation, diriy attested by medical men, renders deliv- -•/ physically impossible without imminent danger to the mother, or to both. To allow marriage bttween a healthy and active person and an infirm or deformed being, is to attack the happiness and health of the former, or the life of the latter. Into choice, the consideration of the signs of virtue next enter. These are principally the presence of the hymen, and some appearance of the sa/iguineous fluid at the first union. The hymen is a membrane of semilunar, or, occasionally, of semicircular form, which is stretched across the orifice of the vagina, leaving only an ap- erture sufficiently large to permit the catamenia to pass. It appeals to be merely a duplicate of the membrane which lines the interior of that canal; and it diminishes in width until it is obliterated by exercise of the part. The importance of this sign is not the same among all nations. Amongst the greater par; of the nations of Asia, and in some of those of Africa, and even among barbarous hordes in Europe, proofs of virginity are required on the marriage night. Among others, on the contrary, an oppo- site estimate is formed. Conolly tells us, that among the Toorkmans, " for a man to marry a wid- ow is a difficult matter ; for, unlike the Arabs, who consider marriage with widows ill-omened, the Toorkmans prefer them on account of their superior knowledge of the menage, they being of course Letter acquainted with house- hold dot)p« than unmarried girls. In Arabia, only half price is given for a widow; but the Toorkman relicts 43 are generally at a considerable premium. It was related, as an instance of a man's great generosity, that he gave his daughter, a widow, to the brother of his deceased son-in-law, when he might have gotten to the value of_____ I am afraid to say how many tomauns for her. The hymen exists in the foetus, and in women in whom it has not been destroyed by circumstances connected or unconnected with defloration. It has not, however, been bestowed exclusively upon women, as Hailer imag- ined, as a distinctive mark of virginity. All females of mammiferous ani- mals, monkeys particularly, and even cetacea, exhibit the hymen more or less developed. This duplicature may be wanting from original malformation; the first catamenia, if the aperture be small—or an accident, as a fall—or disease, as an ulcer, may destroy it. Its loss, for the most part, is no proof of the ab- sence of virginity. On the other hand, the presence of this membrane cannot constitute a sign of virginity. Zacchias observes, that 't is not rnptrred when it is thick and hard, when there is a disproportion between the orgf ns, or when fee sexual union has taken place only at periods of great relaxation. Cravard found it perfect in a female thirteen years of ag<\ .vho was labor- ing under syphilis. Even conception has occurred, in some acses, without the destruction of this membrane. Ruysch me tions ,n iccciehement which could not becompleted without dividing a doubi-: iiyaien, which had net interfered with impregnation, but which prevented the exit of the child. The female who was the subject of this case, had been long making useless effoils for her delivery, when Ruysch was called in. He perceived a first obstacle—a very thick and strong hy- men: and he divided it. A second obstacle appeared ir-f second mem- brane; and a second incision was requisite. The delivery was tu.p accom- plished. Baudelocque says, "It is well known that the hvmen is not uavnys torn in the first union ; and that it has been found entire in some women at the time of laboi, 1 can myselfadduce two examples." The first wes that of a young lady, who assured him that she had not allowed perfect access. In this case, the hymen shut the vagina very closely, and left but a very small opening. She nevertheless became pregnant; and the parts were so found at labor. In the other, the membrane alone resisted, for half an hour, all the efforts of the last periods of delivery. Dr. Blundell says "Four impregnations, in which the hymen remained unbroken, have fallen under my notice—the diameter of the vaginal orifice not exceeding that of the smaller finger ; and this, too, though the male or- gan was of ordinary dimensions." And again, "I know of three cases in which the organ was not suffered *n outer the vagina at all, and where, nev- ertheless— 1 suppose from the mei lis tuition of the reproductive liquid up- on the vulva—impregnation toe'v place An anthropological fact which stits this question completely at rest is this, which 1 have myself observed in the dissecting room, namely, that the hy- men is re-formed in women who abstain from sexual indulgence. This was found to be the case in the body of an old woman who bore evident marks of having been the mother of children. Marc, in the Dictionnarie des Sciences Medicals, says, " A young female, severely afflicted with syphilis, was brought to La Pitie. The hymen was altogether wanting, the vagina greatly dilated, and the external ieproductive 44 parts diseased. She was cured; and, to the astonishment of the medical ob- servers, a well-formed semilunar hymen was found." Any flow of the sanguineous liquid is a sign equally uncertain. "The bright red color of the nipples," says Beck, "the hardness of the mama?, and the general appearance of the female, all deserve attention, but they they can seldom be of any practical utility in determining the point un- der examination." As to the increased size of the neck, it is certain that indulgence may mo- mentarily cause it. Hence the Romans were in the habit of measuring the thickness of the bride's neck with a thread, both on the morning of marriage and the following one, and of thence concluding concerning her change of condition. We may, however, reasonably doubt the infallibility of this sign, as circumstances unconnected with marriage produce the same phenome- non. The lobe of the ear is asserted by some to be most frequently of a very bright and lively red. ConsiAring the whole of these signs, the faculty of medicine at Leipsic has declared that there does not exist any true and certain sign of virginity : and Morgagni is cf a similar opin on. II there be few or no signs of virginity, it is far otherwise with signs of the habit of child-bearing, which I have described in the work on Beauty, The more minute indications of this kind are the streaks of fissures left on the abdomen and mammae, owing to their previous distentions ; and others which affect the reproductive organs, but which need not here be described. The absolute causes of impotence in the male, or those for which there is no known relief, principally originate in some malformation or defect in the reproductive organs; and these may be either natural or artificial. To this class may be referred an absolute want of the penis; the ureters terminating in the perinseum, or above the os pubis. In some subjects has occurred an amputation of the virile organ. There are many cases of the penis being impervious. Tn an unnatural perforation of the penis, or in other words, the extremity of the canal of the urethra terminating at some other place than the natural one, the possibilty of impregnation may depend on the distance to which the orifice is thrown back. A case is related by Mr. Hurd, in which the pa- tient had been relieved by complete amputation; there was only a very small protrusion of the organ on pressure; yet he had, subsequent to this, two children. The natural want of both testes, provided that ever occurs, or their artifi- cial loss, must be a cause of impotence. The loss of one of the testes, if this were compensated by a healthy condi- tion of the other, would be no ground of dread. But if the remaining testis be small and extenuated, or have becoms scirrhous or scarcinomatous, or even if the epididymus be tumefied nnd hard, it gives reason to expect impo- tence. In woman, there are various malformations that form obstacles to concep- tion. Cases of congenital deficiency of the vagina, though very rare have oc- curred. An obliteration or thickening of the sexual organs, so as to prevent any access occurs. Congenial brevity of the vagini would seem to be occasionally an incura- 45 ble cause, so far as relates to the pain caused by coition, although possibly it mav not be accompanied with sterility. Dr. Hunter, being consulted by a lady in a mask, thus circumstanced, told her that she was the most unfortunate partner a man could have, as there was no cure. Dr. Dewees appeais to have met with two cases. In , the whole distance to which the finger could be passed, did not exceed one inch or an inch and a half: in the other, it was apparently connected with an absence of the uterus, as the vagina terminated in a cul de sac. The absence of the matrix occurs. Columbus states that a female who suffered acute pains when she indulged in pleasures, exhibited, on a post mortem examination, only a slight swelling or pad at the extremity of the vagina. The ovaries may be so feebly developed as not to be in a condition to re- ceive the impression of the fertilizing liquid. They have been sometimes found originally wanting. Morgagni men- tions a girl who exhibited no vestige of them. Such, too, was the case men- tioned in the Philosophical Transactions. The woman's stature was about four feet six inches, having ceased to grow at ten years of age, and she died at the age of twenty-nine. She never had any catamenia; her mammae and nipples never enlarged more than in the male subject; there was no apptar- nce of hair on the pubes; and she never showed any passion for the n.ale sex. Mr. Pott removed the ovaries in a case of sanguineal hernia, by a surgi- cal operation. Before this period, the female (aged twenty-three) was stout, large-breasted, and had the catamenia regularly. Afterwards, although she enjoyed good health, she became thinner, her mammae were gone and she never had the catamenia. Such are the incurable cases. The curable are very different. Elongation of the nymphae and clitoris are both susceptible of cure, and do not present any obstacle to conception. Even with regard to these, how- ever, it should be remembered that accidental monstrosities, malformations and changes produced by habit and education, either in forms or qualities, pass from the parents to their posterity. Exterior imperforation may sometimes be remedied by the surgeon's skill.—Dupuytren in his Fssay on the Laceration of the Perinaeum during Labour, mentions two cases. He delivered a young woman secretly. The perinaeum was ruptured, but by the use of the suture it again united. Seve- ral years afterwards, a man and woman visited him: the husband was un- able to consummate his marriage. ' On examination, the aperture of the va-> gina wras found very narrow, and a cicatrix was on the perinaeum. It was his old patient. He advised patience; and in a short time, the female be- came pregnant, and was safely delivered. In a parallel case, the husband deemed it a most unequivocal proof of previous purity. The contraction of the conduit itself may be enlarged by gradual dilata- tions. Should pregnancy intervene, dilatation gradually lakes place before the period of delivery; this occurs more readily in young females than in those of advanced years. In a case reported by M. ViUaume, the hymen was present, but there wns merely a mass of cellular tissue in the place of the vagina; and by an ope- ration, an opening was made to the matrix. Dr. Physic is also stated to have operated with success in a case where-the vagina was entirely closed up fo a considerable distance within the os externum. 46 The obloquity of the matrix merely requires some management in the act of re production. In men, mutilations, or severe wounds of the reproductive organs, carci- noma of the testes or penis, and a schirrous or a paralytic state induced by injury to the nervous or muscles of the parts, ,are all likely to prevent cohab- itation. Owing tocomplete and constant abstinence from coition, the internal sper- matic organs, as well as the penis, often shrink, and become inert, constitu- ting impotence. As an infant, says the canon law, is unfit for marriage be- cause it is unable to perform its duties, in the same manner as men who are impotent, have no right to contract this obligation. It is moreover an act of deceit and felony. In this case, even a desire to live with a fair fame should induce the deceived wife to claim the dissolution of a contract entered into with imposture and fraud. With regard to both sexes, everything that tends to diminish the energy of either, as debauchery, is at variance with reproduction. Thus, in very voluptuous women, conception may sometimes have really tiken place, and its product be, immeeliately after its arrival in the matrix, destroyed by sanguine and other exhalations produced by frequent and ex- cessive indulgence. Women who marry late in life conceive always less readily, and those who exercise the mental organs severely hnd continually are in most cases barren, while in others they become subject to serious accidents in pregnan- cy, because they carry all their powers toward the brain, and deprive the sexual organs of their natural energy. There exist general diseases which are so injuriously influenced by mar- riage, that they constitute grounds of celibacy. Pulmonary phthisis is one of those, of which pleasure, as a powerful stim ulant of the circulatory system, must histen the progress. Among the curable causes of impotence in men may be enumerated the following:—retraction of the penis, originating from stone in the bladder, or some other urinary disease; obliteration of the canal of the urethra, from stricture or other causes; malformation as to the place of the urethra; a natural phymosis, confining the glans in such a manner as to prevent the emission of the reproductive fluid ; atony of the parts arising sometimes from local disease or external injury, and others from masturoation; inability to propel the liquid out of its' vessels—this is frequently an absolute cause, but more generally it is a curable one. Among the diseases that are considered compatible with the act of repro- duction, are asthma and the early stages of phthisi'srpulmonalis. In manly chlorotic girls, marriage would tend to develope the attributes of their sex; but, to marry a choloric girl of fifteen or sixteen, with a view to favor the development of pubeity, and especially of the catamenia, is not only to subject her to dangerous risks, but to desire a wife and daughters with similar tendencies to disease. A state of exhaustion of the uterine system produced by excessive excite- ment, and added to this the most perfect indifference, explain why courtesans rarely conceive. In the female addicted to bad habits, the relaxation of the uterine organs and us consequence, an inability to retain the reproductive liquid, render all who yield to these habits barren: 47 Long-continued haemorrhage, recent prolapsus of the matrix or v?