RC 
 
 881 
 

 
 & 
 
 
 
 
 c? <1» 
 
 * ^ 
 
 * <& 
 
 «? 
 
 %> 
 
 
 .^°- 
 
 > 
 
 ■0 
 
 <i>*' 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 % ^ * 
 
 
 «> ^?ft 
 
 
 <v^ 
 
 
 V* 
 
 .«5 a, 
 
 «5 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 J* 
 
^ v 
 
 %* 
 
 ^ 
 
 % 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 ^<fe 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 95. */ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 ^ ^> 
 
 1 ;* . , 
 
 9? "' 
 
 ^c* „\ 
 
 r ^p 
 
 
 
 o-> ^ 
 
 s~- 
 
 9x *-. 
 
 
 ^6 
 
 %# 
 
 &. ^ r 
 
 <£ ^ 
 «£ ^ 
 
 •>* 
 
 
 
 
 - r> 
 
 
 c-,.% »: v ^ 
 
 ^ <& 
 
 ^ 
 
 * «^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 9, '♦; ^" 
 
 \ # 
 
 > ..rS? 
 
 
 % 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 5» « « %> r$ 
 
 ^ °- 
 
 ^ <3* 
 
 \T~ 9> # %, 
 
 ^0 V 
 
 
 
 
 :\'' 
 
 
 # 
 
 ^'^<: ,:<*:'" ■'/ -.%" >". 
 
 %. ^ 
 
 - ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 . s ,^-' 
 
 c 
 
/ 
 
itome-Cnatment 
 
 EFOR 
 
 SEXUAL ABUSES. 
 
 1 |5rnrtiral €nat'm 
 
 ON THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF EXCESSIVE AND UNNATURAL SEXUAL INDUL- 
 GENCE, THE DISEASES AND INJURIES RESULTING THEREFROM, WITH THEIR 
 SYMPTOMS AND HYDROPATHIC MANAGEMENT. 
 
 By R. T. Teall, M.D. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 FOWLERS AND WELLS, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 Clinton Hall, 131 Nassau Street. 
 
 Boston U2 Washington rt. ] 1853 [London, No. 142 Strand. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by 
 FOWLERS AND WELLS, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
 
 District of New York. 
 
 NEW YOEK STEREOTYPE ASSOCIATION, 
 
 201 William Street. 
 
Z-. ' 
 
 % n i x d ft n 1 1 i n n . 
 
 Notwithstanding the causes and conse- 
 quences of undue excitements or abuses of the 
 sexual passion have been ably treated by sev- 
 eral eminent physiological and medical writ- 
 ers, prominent among whom are Graham, 
 Alcott, Hitter, Gregory, Deslandes, Lallemand, 
 and others, there is still an increasing demand 
 for information on the whole subject; and, 
 especially, as regards the particular diseases 
 and infirmities resulting from this source, and 
 the means of recovery* 
 
 Since the true theory of organic trans- 
 mission has become generally understood by 
 
iv Introdu ction. 
 
 well-educated people, the abuses of tlie sexual 
 function, and the diseases of tlie generative 
 organs, have assumed their just importance in 
 the estimation of physiologists and physicians. 
 The reproductive function not only lies at the 
 foundation of existence itself, hut its integrity 
 is essential to the proper development of the 
 individual, as well as to the propagation of 
 healthy and vigorous offspring. Nor can the 
 individual in any way more rapidly waste his 
 or her vital energies, nor more surely induce 
 nameless diseases and anomalous infirmities, 
 nor more certainly hasten on the period of 
 decrepitude and decline, than by excesses or 
 irregularities in the indulgence of the sexual 
 appetite. 
 
 The reason is obvious: probably to the 
 reflecting mind self-evident. The very inten- 
 sity of the sexual orgasm, when legitimately 
 exercised, is sufficiently evincive that it is not 
 to be promiscuously nor too frequently excited 
 with impunity, while the important purpose 
 
Introduction. 
 
 it is ordained to accomplish in tlie economy 
 of creation, is conclusive of the necessity of 
 restraining its exercise within certain limita- 
 tions. 
 
 Few persons are aware of the extent to 
 which masturbation or self-pollution is prac- 
 ticed by the young of both sexes in civilized 
 society; and none but those whose peculiar 
 position or professional confidence brings them 
 into advisory and intimate relations with the 
 victims of unnatural indulgences or venereal 
 excesses, can have an adequate conception 
 of the evils thence resulting. None but the 
 experienced medical man can trace the de- 
 plorable consequences to feeble, malformed, 
 puny, and imperfectly-organized offspring ; 
 and no one but the profound physiologist can 
 clearly see all the external marks of exhausted 
 vitality and premature decay, stamped in- 
 delibly on thousands of our young men and 
 maidens, otherwise in the bloom of youth, 
 health, and beauty. 
 
v: Introduction. 
 
 Says a writer on this subject: "The hollow, 
 sunken eye, the blanched cheek, the withered 
 hands, and emaciated frame, and the listless 
 life, have other sources than the ordinary 
 illnesses of all large communities." 
 
 Lallemand observes : " When a child, after 
 having given proofs of memory and intelli- 
 gence, experiences daily more and more diffi- 
 culty in retaining and understanding what is 
 taught him, we may be sure that it is not 
 only from unwillingness, from idleness, as is 
 commonly supposed. Besides the slow and 
 progressive derangement of his or her health, 
 the diminished energy of application, the 
 languid movement, the stooping gait, the 
 desertion of social games, the solitary walk, 
 late rising, livid and sunken eye, and many 
 other symptoms, will fix the attention of every 
 intelligent and competent guardian of youth." 
 
 Nor are many persons sufficiently aware of 
 the ruinous extent to which the amative pro- 
 pensity is indulged by married persons. The 
 
Introduction. vii 
 
 matrimonial ceremony does, indeed, sanctify 
 the act of sexual intercourse, but it can by no 
 means atone for nor obviate the consequences 
 of its abuse. Excessive indulgence in tlie 
 married relation is, perhaps, as much owing to 
 the force of habit, as to the force of the 
 sexual appetite. I have had patients who, 
 in their ignorance be it said, had provoked 
 the sexual crises almost every night, after the 
 consummation of the marriage contract, for 
 periods of ten, fifteen, and twenty years. The 
 result was, of course, in general terms, pre- 
 mature old age. They were as dull, languid, 
 stiff-jointed, weak, and infirm, at forty and 
 fifty years of age, as they should have been at 
 seventy and eighty. I have often seen the 
 head u silvered o'er" not with age, but with 
 white hairs, at forty-five and fifty, and the 
 whole expression of face and features wearing 
 the impress of more than "threescore and 
 ten." But whenever I have had opportunity 
 to examine the historical data, I have inva- 
 
viii Introduction. 
 
 riably found tliat the suicidal indulgence which 
 so fearfully anticipated the natural period of 
 the " sere and yellow leaf," was not so much 
 attributable to the violence of the passion 
 itself ; it was, to a great extent, a mere habit, 
 and the pleasure derived was rather negative 
 than positive— the allaying of a kind of fever- 
 ish or inflammatory uneasiness, rather than 
 the exquisite pleasure and satisfying enjoy- 
 ment which always rewards its legitimate 
 exercise. If these same persons had com- 
 menced the journey of matrimonial life with 
 but a monthly or semi-monthly indulgence, a 
 habit far more in accordance with the rules 
 of temperance, chastity, and reason, would 
 have become established ; the amatory pro- 
 pensity would have been as well and even 
 better satisfied, and far more pleasurably 
 gratified, while the present health and future 
 vigor of both parties to the connubial con= 
 tract, and also the well-being of the offspring, 
 would have been duly regarded. 
 
ItfTRODUC T I O N. ix 
 
 More lamentable still is the effect of inordi- 
 nate sexual excitement on tlie young and 
 unmarried. It is not very uncommon to find 
 a confirmed onanist, or, rather, masturbator, 
 who has not yet arrived at the period of 
 puberty. Several cases have come under my 
 observation, and many such cases are related 
 in the books, in which young boys and girls, 
 from eight to ten years of age, were taught 
 the method of self-pollution by their older 
 playmates, and had made serious encroach- 
 ments on the fund of constitutional vitality, 
 even before any considerable degree of sexual 
 appetite was developed. Here, again, the 
 fault was not in the power of passion, but in 
 the force of habit. Parents and guardians 
 of youth can not be too mindful of the char- 
 acter and habits of those with whom they 
 allow young persons and children under their 
 charge to associate intimately, and especially 
 careful should they be with whom they allow 
 them to sleep. 
 
 1* 
 
Introduction. 
 
 It is very true, however, that the sexual 
 propensity is often prematurely and preter- 
 naturally developed. Perhaps a majority of 
 the children of civilized society are not exempt 
 from some degree of a forced, unnatural, hot- 
 house cultivation of sexuality, both bodily and 
 mentally, to the great disadvantage of both 
 body and mind ; a misfortune at least as prev- 
 alent in the "higher circles" of luxury and 
 refinement, as among the " lower orders" of 
 poverty and external degradation. 
 
 It may, peradventure, surprise and startle 
 some of those fathers and mothers, who, in 
 their fond and partial confidence, do not dream 
 it possible that their sons and daughters can 
 be in danger of injury or contamination from 
 this cause, when I assure them that there is 
 hardly a day in the year in which I am not 
 consulted, personally or by letter, by one or 
 more " debilitated young persons," whose de- 
 bility commenced and increased with the 
 practice of self-abuse. And when it is con- 
 
Introduction. xi 
 
 sidered that there are many other physicians, 
 "regular, irregular, and defective," who prac« 
 tice extensively in this class of diseases, be- 
 sides several advertising quacks and medicine- 
 selling charlatans in all our large cities, who 
 drive a profitable trade in peddling out " res- 
 torative" nostrums to these deluded victims, 
 some idea may be formed of the prevalence 
 of the secret vice among us; and, as just 
 intimated, the refined, the educated, and the 
 accomplished, are as frequently the ruined 
 subjects and wretched slaves of the abomi- 
 nable habit, as are the low, the vulgar, and 
 the illiterate. 
 
 It is customary to designate self-pollution 
 as among the " vices." I think misfortv/ne is 
 the more appropriate term. It is true that, 
 in the physiological sense, it is one of the very 
 worst " transgressions of the law." But in the 
 moral sense it is generally the sin of ignorance 
 in the commencement, and in the end the 
 passive submission to a morbid and almost 
 
xii Introduction. 
 
 resistless impulse. An intimate acquaintance 
 with the history of many cases has satisfied 
 my mind, that the practice usually commences 
 without the remotest idea of criminality, either 
 moral or physiological ; but, as with every 
 other unnatural or inordinate habit or pro- 
 pensity, when it does become a habit, it is 
 exceedingly apt to triumph and tyrannize over 
 reason, judgment, and conscience. 
 
 The time has come when the rising genera- 
 tion must be thoroughly instructed in this 
 matter. That quack specific " ignorance," has 
 been experimented with quite too long already. 
 The true method of insuring all persons, 
 young or old, against the abuse of any part, 
 organ, function, or faculty of the wondrous 
 machinery of life, is to teach them its use. 
 u Train a child in the way it should go," or be 
 sure it will, amid the ten thousand surround- 
 ing temptations, find out a way in which it 
 should not go. Keeping a child in ignorant 
 innocence is, I aver, no part of the " training" 
 
Introduction. xiii 
 
 which lias been taught by a wiser than Solo- 
 mon. Boys and girls do know, will know, and 
 must know, that between them are important 
 anatomical differences and interesting physio- 
 logical relations. Teach them, I repeat, their 
 use, or expect their abuse. Hardly a young 
 person in the world would ever become addict- 
 ed to habitual self-pollution if he or she under- 
 stood clearly the consequences ; if he or she 
 knew at the outset that the practice was direct- 
 ly destroying the bodily stamina, vitiating the 
 moral tone, and enfeebling the intellect. No 
 one would pursue the disgusting habit if he 
 or she was fully aware that it was blasting all 
 prospects of health and happiness in the 
 approaching period of manhood and woman- 
 hood. 
 
 Certain well-meaning but most unphilo- 
 sophical " moral reform" writers, have very 
 absurdly advocated the plan of keeping the 
 youth of both sexes as much as possible out 
 of each others' society, and cultivating a spirit, 
 
xiv Introduction. 
 
 not of inquiry, but of sfoupidity, as the great 
 panacea for repressing libidinous thoughts, and 
 restraining precocious licentiousness, " Girls 
 and boys should never be allowed to thinh 
 that there is a difference in the sexes," says 
 one of this class, who advocates the Ttnow-noth- 
 ing remedy, and who seems " to think" that 
 virtue and chastity are purely negative quali- 
 ties. 
 
 Superlatively nonsensical as are all such 
 and similar ideas of improving the rising 
 generation, they have been, until recently, 
 the rule of action with the great majority of 
 teachers. There is no prevention of the evils 
 we are considering, short of correct physio- 
 logical education. There is no cure for their 
 numberless ill consequences, save in strict con- 
 formity to organic laws ; and all who have 
 been so unfortunate as to have become dis- 
 abled, diseased, or infirm, by any misuse of 
 the genital organs, must exercise great patience 
 and determined perseverance in living in all 
 
Introduction. xv 
 
 respects in conformity with the laws of life 
 and health, or they will assuredly fail of a 
 perfect restoration. Happy indeed should all 
 such persons be, if but a few years of correct 
 habits and rigid self-discipline are required to 
 recover the vital powers from the shock of 
 early dissoluteness. 
 
 There are no specifics in nature which work 
 in opposition to the laws of nature. There 
 are no drug-shop preparations which can 
 reverse her laws. Nor are there any magic 
 drops, nor enchanted powders, nor nervous 
 antidotes, nor invigorating cordials, etc., etc., 
 which can dissever the effect of any act or 
 habit from its cause. Every pretender, there- 
 fore, who advertises his specific for " debil- 
 itated or impotent young persons" is a cheat, 
 and his only desire is to defraud the unfortu- 
 nate and often weak-minded victim out of his 
 money. He is wisest who has least to do with 
 the nostrum-venders. 
 
 I must repeat, that, in my judgment, few, 
 
XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 very few young persons would ever defile 
 themselves by self-pollution, were they aware 
 of the consequences ; or, were they rightly 
 instructed in relation to the reproductive 
 function, notwithstanding all the exciting causes 
 — and their name is legion — in operation. 
 They would resist the allurement and the 
 impulse almost unto death, rather than so 
 debauch and disorganize themselves, if they 
 understood the subject in its true light. " Who 
 then," says Graham in his Lectures to Young 
 Men, " would yield to sensuality, and forego 
 the higher dignity of his nature, and be con- 
 tented to spend his life and all his energies in 
 the low satisfactions of a brute ! when earth 
 and heaven are full of motives for noble and 
 exciting enterprise ; and when time and eter- 
 nity are the fields which lie before him, for 
 his achievements of virtue, and happiness, and 
 immortality, and imperishable glory ? 
 
 " It is by abusing his organs and depraving 
 his instinctive appetites, through the devices 
 
Intkoduction. xvii 
 
 of his natural powers, that the body of man 
 becomes a living volcano of unclean propen- 
 sities and passions." 
 
 I will conclude these somewhat desultory 
 introductory remarks, with a couple of ex- 
 tracts from the numerous communications re- 
 ceived on this subject. The first is taken 
 from a letter of recent date, written by an 
 intelligent school-teacher in a Western state, 
 and is a fair sample of hundreds I have 
 perused. The other is a part of a communi- 
 cation addressed to the late Sylvester Graham, 
 by a distinguished teacher and philanthropist, 
 of Manchester, England, Both are full of 
 instructive admonition. 
 
 44 1 was poisoned with drugs in my cradle, 
 and contaminated with swine-flesh in child- 
 hood. In my very first lessons on the subject 
 of eating and drinking, I was taught that 
 pork, ham, sausages, lard, in fact all parts of 
 the filthy hog, were the best possible aliment. 
 I learned to regard coffee, cider, and even 
 
xviii Introduction. 
 
 whisky as necessary beverages ; and the ben- 
 efit or propriety of using water, either inter- 
 nally or externally, was left wholly to the de- 
 cision of perverted instinct, until, by chance, 
 I got hold of a stray number of the Water- 
 Cure Journal. Had I been blessed with a 
 perusal of such a glorious messenger of truth, 
 and purity, and health, ten years sooner, I 
 should now have been true to my nature, 
 pure and healthy, instead of the victim of a 
 loathsome habit, which had sadly wasted my 
 fund of life, and caused me to look on the 
 past with unutterable disgust; while I can 
 hardly refrain from bitterly reproaching those 
 who, instead of l training me in the way 
 I should go,' allowed me, yes, absolutely 
 forced me, to travel down the broad road of 
 physiological transgression to the very brink 
 of perdition." 
 
 " I need not tell you how much such a work 
 is needed (on advice to young persons). I 
 can, however, fully assure you, from my own 
 
Introduction. xix 
 
 experience, having been a tutor in our public 
 schools and colleges for a long period, that the 
 practice of self-pollution is as prevalent in our 
 land as you have stated it to be in America. 
 My experience has been principally with boys, 
 and it is its awful prevalence among them 
 that concerns me most. Not one in one hun- 
 dred ever think that it is morally wrong or 
 physiologically dangerous, until the habit has 
 become too strong to be overcome. 
 
 " If we would arrest this evil, we must begin 
 with boys. With many young men it is 
 already too late. For some long time past I 
 have spoken to nearly every boy I have had 
 any intimate acquaintance with, and am struck 
 with the universality of (or at least a knowl- 
 edge of) the practice, their utter ignorance 
 of its nature, the gratitude with which they 
 listen, and the often tearful earnestness with 
 which they regret not having been warned 
 before. Often is the question asked by them, 
 4 Why did not my parents tell me this V 
 
xx Introduction. 
 
 "I am convinced that if the parent or 
 teacher would just take the lad aside at a very 
 early age, previous to contamination, and 
 affectionately and simply explain to him its 
 results, not one in one thousand would ever 
 form the habit. Youth and young men would 
 not then, could not, give up with passions 
 morbidly excited and almost irresistible, and 
 thus prostitution would receive a death-blow." 
 
€tt\\tint$. 
 
 Kntrotructiou. 
 
 Evils Resulting from Sexual Abuse— Physiological Marks— Pathological Indica- 
 tions — Suspicious Symptoms — Sexual Abuse in the Married Relation, Attrib- 
 utable to mere Habit — Premature Decay — Important Advice — Prevalence of 
 Masturbation — Children Addicted to the Secret Yice — Premature Development 
 of Sexuality — Its Effect on Body and Mind— Impositions of Quacks — Self-pol- 
 lution, a Misfortune rather than Yice — The Rising Generation must be Instruct- 
 ed — The True Method of Removing the Evil — Instructive Communications., iii 
 
 ^j&apter ©tie. 
 
 EXCESSIVE SEXUAL EXCITEMENT. 
 General Causes— Improper Nursing— Dosing — Drugging — Their Effects in Infan- 
 cy Illustrated — Animal Food specially conducive to Morbid Amativeness — 
 Flesh — Fish — Fowl — Mixed Dishes — Alimentary Abominations — Mothers at 
 Fault— Medical Men in Error — Salted Meats especially Obnoxious — Ruinous 
 Advice of Physicians — Concentrated Food — Error in regard to Fish as com- 
 pared with Butcher's Meat — Salt Injurious — Erroneous Opinions of the Nutri- 
 tive Yalue of Flesh — Constipation — Hardened Foeces — Piles — Hemorrhoidal 
 Tumors — Affects G-irls more than Boys — Improper Drinks— Obstructed Skin — 
 Improper Clothing — Sedentary Habits — Mental Culture, how Abused — Self- 
 abuse in Schools — Testimony of S. Graham — of E. M. P. Wells — Obscene 
 Books — Lewd Conversation — Gross Eating and Vulgar Thinking Naturally 
 Associated — Testimony of Dr. Paley 23 
 
 <&f)K$t2X 2Ttoo. 
 
 GENERAL CONSEQUENCES. 
 Pathological Phenomena — Vital Exhaustion, usually mistaken for Specific Dis- 
 eases — Symptoms as described by Graham — Symptoms mentioned by Dr. Hill — 
 External Indications described by O. S. Fowler — Signs of Self-abuse by the 
 same Author — Signs of Excessive Indulgence in Married Life — Cases Illus- 
 trative — Symptoms of Masturbation described by Deslandes — Ordinary Course 
 of Symptoms 49 
 
xxii Contents. 
 
 Chapter 2Tf)ree. 
 
 SEMINAL EMISSIONS. 
 
 Spermatorrhoea— Source of Constitutional Injury— Effects of Loss of Semen.-— Se- 
 cretion of Seminal Fluid— Remarks of Christian 'flitter, M.D.— Prevalent Errors 
 — Frequency of Involuntary Emissions— Morbid Sexuality transmissible 71 
 
 <£|)apter jFour. 
 
 GENERAL TREATMENT. 
 
 Moral and Mental Management — Bodily Exercises — A Desideratum — Diet — 
 Drink— Sleep— Bathing— Wet-Sheet Packing— Half-Pack— Half-Bath— Hip, or 
 Sitz-Bath— Foot-Bath— Rubbing Wet-Sheet— Pail-Douche— Stream-Douche— 
 Towel or Sponge-Bath— The Wet-Girdle— The Chest-Wrapper— The Sweat- 
 ing-Pack—The Plunge-Bath— The Shower-Bath— Fomentations— Injections 
 — General Bathing Rules — Mechanical Means 81 
 
 Chapter $ibc. 
 
 PARTICULAR CONSEQUENCES. 
 General Debility— Weakness of the Joints— Neuralgia— Spinal Irritation— Early 
 Distortions or Curvatures — Paralysis of the Lower Extremities — Hypochon- 
 dria, or Mental Despondency — Fickleness of Temper — Irresolution, etc. — In- 
 sanity — Early Superannuation — Epilepsy — Apoplexy — Tetanus and Locked- 
 Jaw — Chorea, or St. Titus's Dance — Hysteria — Spitting of Blood — Disordered 
 Vision — Impaired Hearing — Sleeplessness — Pimples of the Face — Inflamma- 
 tion of the Eyes — Chronic Diarrhea — Colorless Stools — Priapism — Satyriasis 
 and Nymphomania — Loss of Sexual Appetite — Impotence — Permanent Mor- 
 bid Sensibility — Shriveling or Diminution of the Genitals — Barrenness — Abor- 
 tion — Leucorrhcea — Menorrhagia — Prolapsus Uteri — Gleet — Eruptions about 
 the Genitals — Prolapse of the Testicles — Swelling of the Testicle — Enlargement 
 of the Spermatic Cord — Irritation of the Urethra — Scalding Urination — Can- 
 cer of the Uterus— Tabes Dorsalis 101 
 
0iiu-Cratmntt 
 
 SEXUAL ABUSES. 
 
 CijaptEt (ID lit 
 
 EXCESSIVE SEXUAL EXCITEMENT. 
 
 General Causes. — It were easy to say, in general 
 terms, that wrong educational habits — bad " bring- 
 ing up" — is the common cause of the early prurien- 
 cy of the genital function so prevalent in the world ; 
 but the mere announcement of the fact would serve 
 no useful purpose. People are not all agreed, and 
 medical men differ widely, as to what are good and 
 what are bad educational habits. Hence the neces- 
 sity for dealing in reasons and specifications. 
 
 It may be asserted, in general terms again, that 
 all methods of bodily or mental culture which give 
 
24 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 an early preponderance to the lower range of the 
 animal propensities, conduce directly to the prema- 
 ture development, and hence liability to abuse, of 
 the sexual passion. And on this principle we are 
 obliged to arraign no inconsiderable part of the or- 
 dinary system in which children and youth are doc- 
 tored, fed, clothed, exercised, and schooled, as phys- 
 iologically wrong. And if we trace the series of 
 errors back to their starting-point, we shall not stop 
 in many, nor in a majority of cases, until we reach 
 the infant in its cradle. 
 
 Improper Nursing. — Let us try to understand 
 how the slopping and drugging, by the nurse and 
 the doctor, even in the first days of infancy, may 
 rank among the prominent causes of sexual deprav- 
 ity in after-life. The bowels and kidneys are excre- 
 tory organs, designed to expel from the body waste 
 and effete solid matters, and saline and earthy par- 
 ticles held in solution. The presence of these 
 excrementitious matters excites, in the natural and 
 proper manner, the expulsive action of the bowels 
 and bladder. But doctors generally, and nurses 
 frequently, making Dame Nature every thing in 
 
Improper Nursing. 25 
 
 theory, but nothing in pratice, act as though these 
 functions were forever in need of their meddlesome 
 assistance ; so that hardly an infant, save those few 
 60 fortunate as to be born under hydropathic aus- 
 pices, escapes dosing with herb teas, hot slops, 
 warm infusions, sweetened liquors, and drugging 
 with still more injurious agents, in the shape of opi- 
 ate cordials, castor-oil mixtures, antimonial syrups, 
 calomel pow T ders, pink and senna decoctions, etc. 
 
 Now all this may seem like a small matter to the 
 attending physician or presiding nurse, but none 
 of these things are trifles in the mind of the intelli- 
 gent physiologist. He can perceive, even here, the 
 germs of disease and disorganization, and he can 
 trace their effects onward to really disastrous con- 
 sequences in the future. 
 
 The bow els and kidneys, whose natural irritability 
 when normally excited is sufficient for all healthful 
 purposes, are by these extraneous drug-slops preter- 
 naturally irritated and debilitated, and hence over- 
 acted, weakened, and exhausted. Frequent repeti- 
 tions of the same or similar causes of irritation cre- 
 ate a habit of preternatural irritability, and a con- 
 dition of debility and correspondingly increased 
 
 2 
 
26 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 susceptibility to impressions of all kinds. The 
 nervous energies of the whole system are thus dis- 
 proportionately directed to the point of irritation, and 
 are there wasted to a greater or less extent, in a war- 
 fare against the causes of irritation, which are there 
 expending their force. Of course, the other excreto- 
 ry organs, the skin in particular, can not have their 
 due supply of nervous energy, and their functional 
 power collapses, becomes torpid, so that the weak- 
 ened bowels and kidneys, while disabled from well 
 performing their own proper functions, are urged to 
 do vicarious duty for the skin and other organs. 
 
 The genital apparatus being in immediate prox- 
 imity to this unnatural excitement, must partake 
 of the general irritation, and hence a morbid sus- 
 ceptibility becomes eventually established in them ; 
 and when such an excitable or preternaturally sus- 
 ceptible condition of the parts becomes a habit, 
 who can say that it will not continue, unless over- 
 come by counteracting physiological discipline, a 
 leading habit of the organism, until the superadded 
 excitement incidental to the period of puberty 
 causes it to break out in violent and destructive 
 self-abuse ? 
 
 
Animal Food. 27 
 
 The principle I am aiming to develop is com- 
 pletely illustrated in a very familiar but very sig- 
 nificant fact. Boy-babies, in their cradles, after 
 having taken cathartic medicine, and after having 
 drank freely of warm sweetened w T ater, or of medi- 
 cated slop of any kind, if careful attention is not 
 paid to causing them to urinate frequently, are often 
 affected with priapism, or erection of the penis, a 
 condition indicative of extreme irritation. With 
 girl-babies the effect of these things is evidently 
 equally injurious, though not in the same way 
 apparent. It requires but a moderate degree of 
 intelligence to understand that the frequent repeti- 
 tion of the same or similar irritants will ultimately 
 induce a permanent morbid sensibility of the organs 
 thus affected. 
 
 Animal Food. — But the young child is destined, 
 under the ordinary circumstances of birth or early 
 education, to experience still worse influences, as it 
 emerges from the cradle, and begins to run about. 
 It is the unanimous opinion of all writers on this 
 subject, that the early employment of animal food — ■ 
 flesh, fish, and fowl — is not only highly pernicious 
 
28 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 to the moral and intellectual development of the 
 child, but peculiarly injurious in giving undue 
 ascendency to the lowest propensities ; yet we find 
 the great mass of civilized society, led on, too, by 
 their medical advisers, stuffing and gorging their 
 little ones on the foulest kinds of animal matter, 
 which, in an alimentary sense, deserve no other 
 name than carrion. Even before taken from the 
 breast they are not unfrequently forced to swallow, 
 against the instinctive loathings of their yet but 
 partially depraved appetences, meat, broths, fish, 
 soups, pork-gravies, shell-fish stews, and taught to 
 suck fat bacon rinds, salted fish-skins, boiled tripe, 
 and other alimentary abominations. Calculating 
 from such a beginning it need not be surprising that 
 a year or two later should find these dietetically- 
 abused children perfect epicures in the choice of 
 strong meat dishes, oyster-stews, clam-fritters, mince 
 pies, fried sausages, and a variety of other edibles 
 in which the strong, rank odor of the animal pre- 
 vails. 
 
 Many children, under such mismanagement, be- 
 come so fond of animal food, that, when left to their 
 own depraved appetites, they will make almost the 
 
Animal Food. 29 
 
 entire meal of flesh-meat ; and all persons who ob- 
 serve closely the "manners and morals" of such 
 children, will find them, generally, gloomy, morose, 
 peevish, irritable, or pugnacious, just after eating, 
 except when they gormandize to the extent of pro- 
 ducing blank stupidity. This really abnormal con- 
 dition will usually manifest itself in the mental and 
 moral deportment, as well as in the disturbance of 
 the bodily functions, during a considerable and 
 often the whole time in which the digestive organs 
 are laboring to relieve themselves of their oppress- 
 ive and unnatural burden. 
 
 The mothers are grievously at fault ; or, rather, 
 their education is greatly to blame. Being pro- 
 foundly ignorant of the physiological properties of 
 food, and its relations to the human body, and in 
 most particulars misled by the fashions of society, 
 and mistaught by the medical profession, they are 
 continually depraving the appetites of their infants 
 and young children, and tempting and stuffing them 
 with various animal dishes, until they are absolutely 
 forced to love and desire that which they by nature 
 instinctively loathe and abhor. 
 
 Medical men differ very much as to the period 
 
30 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 of life at which children should be allowed the free 
 use of flesh. I think it is not difficult to indicate 
 an infallible rule — the later the better. But those 
 parents who do not or can not understand this sub- 
 ject, and who will commence feeding their infants 
 on animal food, and who will also persist in its em- 
 ployment during childhood and adolescence, should 
 know that, in choosing the hinds of animal food, 
 there is a wide field for discrimination — a great 
 choice of evils. Some kinds are much worse than 
 others, and all of the worst or most injurious kinds 
 are bad in exact inverse ratio to the age of the 
 child. Here, again, we can readily lay down the 
 invariable rule of health. The plainest, least fatty, 
 and freshest pieces of flesh-meat, are always com- 
 paratively the best ; and the best qualities of ani- 
 mal food are evidently those derived directly from 
 the herbivorous animals — deteriorating in almost 
 the exact degree that the animal's dietetic habits 
 depart from this standard. 
 
 Salted Meats. — A very great error pervades the 
 public mind with regard to the use of salted meats — 
 beef , pork, ham, codfish, mackerel, herring, etc. — and 
 
Salted Meats. 31 
 
 this delusion, like most other delusions affecting 
 the subject of eating and drinking, and the health 
 of the community, seems to possess as completely 
 the minds of medical men as of non-professional per- 
 sons. Salted meats are usually regarded as pecu- 
 liarly healthful, as compared with fresh meats, 
 whereas, in truth, they are peculiarly pernicious ; 
 and their deteriorating influence on young, rapidly- 
 developing children, can be regarded no better than 
 absolutely poisonous. And the rule just mentioned 
 as applicable to the use of all flesh-food by young 
 children, is emphatically applicable in relation to 
 salted flesh. It is injurious precisely in proportion 
 to the infancy of the child. 
 
 It is another common mistake, in which medical 
 men are as deeply involved as non-medical, that 
 salted meat is merely the animal nutriment pre- 
 served in salt ; that is to say, flesh with the addition 
 of salt. It is something very different. It is, in 
 reality, a third substance — a chemical compound, 
 possessing properties quite unlike salt and flesh — 
 either or both. This fact is evinced by all of its 
 effects on the vital tissues. Let a person eat five 
 ounces of salted beef or salted codfish, in which 
 
32 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 there is just half an ounce of salt, and he will ex- 
 perience five times the amount of the " fever of 
 digestion," and feel many times the degree of thirst 
 that would result frem eating an equal quantity of 
 fresh beef or codfish, to which half an ounce of salt 
 had been added in the process of cooking. 
 
 All salted or pickled "fish, flesh, or fowl," or 
 shell-fish, is intensely irritating to the animal mem- 
 branes, highly inflaming to the whole mass of 
 blood, and extremely putrescent to all the secre- 
 tions. Why it is so is easily explainable on both 
 chemical and physiological principles, as I have 
 more fully shown in another work (Hydropathic 
 Encyclopedia). 
 
 During the past summer bowel complaints, the 
 dysentery in particular, have prevailed extensively 
 and fatally in many towns in New England, where 
 all the means and materials of health exist in abun- 
 dance. As usual, too, the Allopathic medical jour- 
 nals, in allusion to the prevalence of these diseases, 
 have teemed with wondrously wise sayings on the 
 subject, and, as is their custom, have recommended 
 almost every thing in the world, except the things 
 which would be useful. One of the latest of their 
 
Salted Meats. 33 
 
 writers of the school recommends, or re-recom- 
 mends — for a hundred others have done the same 
 before — as a preventive of dysentery and kindred 
 ailments, " a moderate use of salted meats, or salted 
 fish" — the very articles which are peculiarly liable 
 to produce the diseases. This unfortunate and 
 ruinous error not only runs through nearly all the 
 "old school" medical writings of the day, but per- 
 vades their standard books, and influences the pub- 
 lic mind to a great and greatly destructive extent. 
 
 But, as if to add " insult to injury," in the phy- 
 siological sense, salted meats are almost always 
 used in connection with superfine flour. Some 
 strange perversity of both instinct and reason seems 
 to have rendered coarse flour, or wheat-meal, as 
 generally disliked as though its branny portion was 
 a rank poison ; and hence we find, especially in the 
 summer season, that salted codfish and fine biscuits 
 are the leading articles of diet throughout a large 
 portion of our country — a combination which 
 makes one of the most putrescent, irritating, and 
 inflaming aliments known. 
 
 Many persons, too, feast themselves and feed 
 their children freely on fish-flesh, when they will 
 
 2* 
 
34 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 not themselves eat, nor give their children butcher's 
 meat. I know not from what source the hallucina- 
 tion which influences such a choice is derived, but 
 such persons ought to examinate a matter of so 
 much importance to themselves and to the ris- 
 ing generation, with a strict regard to scientific 
 facts, physiological principles, and human expe- 
 rience. Should they do so, they will find that fish 
 diet, instead of being, like the old woman's clam, 
 "an excellent vegetable," is still further removed, 
 in the alimentary sense, from a vegetable nature, 
 than is the flesh of herbivorous or graminivorous 
 animals. 
 
 The fact that salt, in contact with animal mem- 
 brane, abstracts from it a portion of its water of 
 combination, leaving its structure so far dry, rigid, 
 and inelastic, and, in fact, to some extent disorgan- 
 ized, is proof positive of its incompatibility. 
 
 There is yet another common error in relation to 
 salted meats, which is, that they are highly nutri- 
 tious. Quite the contrary is the fact. Those per- 
 sons who use salted flesh-meats so freely, would be 
 almost as well sustained, so far as the mere amount 
 of nutriment is concerned, if they would eat the 
 
Constipation. 35 
 
 same quantity and variety of farinacea, fruits and 
 vegetables, without the flesh. 
 
 The particular manner in which salted flesh-meat 
 conduces to premature, perverted, or preternatural 
 sexuality, is by irritating the digestive viscera and 
 whole alimentary canal primarily, and through them 
 sympathetically exciting the genital organs ; and by 
 loading the circulating fluids with a greater amount 
 of saline and eftete matters to be excreted by the 
 urinary passages. So far, also, as it tends to induce 
 constipation, it adds directly to the general total of 
 causes which inordinately irritate and inflame the 
 sexual apparatus. 
 
 Constipation. — There is another very common 
 and very general source of precocious sexual devel- 
 opment and inordinate excitement, as well as a 
 common cause of disease in the sexual organs, and 
 premature decline in their functional pow r ers ; and 
 I dwell on it more particularly, for the reason that 
 it is scarcely hinted at in any medical work with 
 which I am acquainted. I mean fine or concen- 
 trated food, and, indeed, all kinds of food which 
 tend in the least to produce constipation of the 
 
36 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 bowels. Costiveness may be said to be the general 
 condition of the people, old and young, in civilized 
 society ; those who are blessed with a free and 
 healthful action being the exceptions to the rule. 
 Hardened foeces in the rectum or bowel, and piles 
 or hemorrhoidal tumors, which are the common 
 consequences of constipation, by the incessant ir- 
 ritation and perpetual inflammatory excitement 
 which they occasion in the immediate vicinity of 
 the sexual organs, are powerfully provocative of a 
 feverish yet exhausting activity. The very act of 
 dejecting the feculent matter, when hard, dry, 
 scybalous, and only to be expelled by dint of pain- 
 ful effort and severe straining, produces great con- 
 gestion in all the blood-vessels of the genital parts. 
 They become turgid, over-distended, highly suscep- 
 tible, and in a physiological condition, very nearly 
 resembling that preceding the sexual crisis when 
 legitimately provoked. 
 
 Very little reflection is necessary to convince any 
 one how readily this condition, when excited daily 
 for months and years, may prematurely develop 
 the sexual appetite, and aggravate, to a degree well- 
 nigh resistless, the impulse to unlawful indulgence, 
 
Improper Drinks. 37 
 
 or self-abuse. I have had occasion to advise pro- 
 fessionally, many otherwise promising young lads, 
 whose masturbating practice was traceable to the 
 habit of straining at stool, more than to all other 
 causes combined ; and in some cases, as far as I 
 could ascertain, it was the only exciting cause — con- 
 stipation and its attendant circumstances constitut- 
 ing the predisposition. 
 
 This evil — constipation — it should be noticed, 
 affects girls generally much more than boys, for the 
 reason that the habits of the former are more in-door 
 and sedentary ; hence it is not surprising that the 
 way of self-abuse is sometimes learned by them, 
 with the aid of no other teacher than the inordinate 
 solicitation of their own morbid sensations ; and the 
 temporary relief experienced, or pleasure enjoyed, 
 causes a repetition of the act, until a habit is formed 
 which rapidly lowers the whole moral tone of the 
 mind, deranges the intellect, and wears away the 
 vitality of the whole organic constitution. 
 
 Improper Drinks. — All forms of hot, relaxing, 
 or stimulating drinks, especially all kinds of " spirit- 
 uous or malt liquors, wine, or cider," and all other 
 
38 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 sorts of alcoholic beverages, "whether enumerated 
 or not," by weakening the abdominal organs, and 
 irritating the kidneys, tend to induce a permanent 
 debility, and keep up perpetually a degree of pre- 
 ternatural susceptibility in the genital organs. Cof- 
 fee, though less irritating and inflaming to the gen- 
 eral nervous system than alcoholic drinks, seems to 
 be even more exciting and debilitating to the sexual 
 apparatus ; while tea is very far ixoni being innocu- 
 ous. 
 
 Obstructed Skin*. — There is yet another very 
 great error in the ordinary management of young 
 persons, which is, inattention to bathing. A foul, 
 obstructed skin, whose seven millions of pores are 
 choked up continually with effete, perspirable mat- 
 ter, adds to the causes of irritation which are per- 
 petually expending their force upon the urinary 
 and genital organs, by throwing the putrescent 
 matters of the body disproportionately upon the 
 kidneys. In an artificial state of society, and with 
 the numerous enervating circumstances which 
 abound in civilized life, nothing less than a daily 
 cool or cold bathing or washing of the entire sur- 
 
Sedentary Habits. 39 
 
 face can keep it in a vigorous and healthy condi- 
 tion, and enable it to completely perform its own 
 appr< priate part of the work of eliminating all 
 gross and waste particles from the body. 
 
 Im> ropek Clothing. — A few words under this 
 head may not be amiss. All tight, burdensome, 
 and over-heating clothing is exceedingly objection- 
 able. The under-garments of girls, and the panta- 
 loons of boys are frequently so thick, coarse, and 
 heavy in material, and so bungling and irritating in 
 fit, or rather misfit, as to prove sources of no incon- 
 siderable degree of weakness and relaxation of the 
 abdominal and pelvic viscera, a condition which 
 contributes to render the genital organs preternatu- 
 rally sensitive or morbidly prurient. 
 
 Sedentary Haeits. — Among the more wealthy 
 classes, and occasionally among the poorer, we 
 find sedentary habits a frequent source of sexual 
 pruriency. Idleness is as incompatible with bodily 
 as with mental or moral health. If the constantly 
 accumulating energy of the nervous and muscular 
 systems is not expended in regular and appropriate 
 
40 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 exercise or labor, it will seek an outlet in some less 
 natural way, and very frequently in fitful and vio- 
 lent commotions of the sensitive and excitable sex- 
 ual organs. A precocious development of brain is 
 extremely liable, in sedentary persons, at or near 
 the period of puberty, to produce, as it were, by a 
 kind of metastasis, or revulsion, intense and dan- 
 gerous excitement ; for, as the time approaches for 
 the full development of the reproductive function, 
 a very little inordinate irritation, superadded to its 
 naturally susceptible condition, may lead to disas- 
 trous results. And all plans, indeed, which force 
 the mind to educational exercises, while the body 
 is left inactive, and comparatively torpid, have the 
 same tendency. 
 
 Mental Culture. — It is most true — and a most 
 important practical point it is, too, in the physio- 
 logical training of young persons — that proper men- 
 tal culture — a correct course of study — and even 
 active and persevering application of the mental 
 powers to the acquisition of useful knowledge, is 
 among the best and most efficient means for repress- 
 ing the force of all causes of undue sexual excite- 
 
S k l f -Abuse jn Schools. 41 
 
 nient, and of enabling the individual to restrain 
 either its natural or morbid importunity within 
 due bounds ; yet, as already intimated, a method 
 of education which merely stimulates the mind to 
 exertion, without regulating the direction of its ef- 
 forts, nor regarding the physiological necessities of 
 the bodily constitution, often reacts with terrible 
 and fatal force on the morbid irritability of the sex- 
 ual organs. 
 
 Self- Abuse in Schools.— It would astonish and 
 appal the fathers and mothers of many beloved and 
 promising sons and daughters, who are pursuing 
 the usual routine of an educational course at our 
 colleges, academies, and boarding-schools, to be 
 made fully acquainted with the awful ravages made 
 by " the secret vice" there — in the very places 
 usually regarded as peculiarly exempt from profli- 
 gaey or sensuous excesses of all kinds. 
 
 In relation to the cause of the debasing habit of 
 self-pollution, Sylvester Graham has written — I fear 
 with no more force than truth : 
 
 "But the most fruitful sources of instruction in 
 this vice, are our public schools — and especially 
 
42 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 boarding-schools and colleges. The extent to which 
 this evil prevails, and of the mischief resulting from 
 it, in most of these institutions, is beyond credi- 
 bility; and none but those who have thoroughly 
 investigated this subject can have any just appre- 
 hensions of the difficulties in preventing it. The 
 utmost care, and vigilance, and precautionary 
 measures, have sometimes failed to keep it out of 
 public institutions for the instruction of youth. 
 
 " It is enough to make a parent's heart recoil with 
 horror, when he contemplates the danger to which 
 his child is exposed, on becoming a member of a 
 public school ! And they are greatly deceived who 
 suppose that a majority of the boys who enter 
 these institutions escape the contamination ! Nay, 
 indeed, the parent who will suffer his son, under 
 any circumstances of life, to pass his twelfth year, 
 without keeping a most vigilant eye upon him, with 
 regard to this pernicious vice, and seizing the first 
 indications of this depravity to give him proper in- 
 structions concerning it, is very guilty of a danger- 
 ous neglect of parental duty. 
 
 " The common notion that boys are generally ig- 
 norant in relation to this matter, and that we ought 
 
Self- Abuse in Schools. 43 
 
 not to remove that ignorance, is wholly incorrect. 
 I am confident that I speak within bounds, when I 
 say that seven out of every ten boys in our country, 
 at the age of twelve, have at least heard of this 
 pernicious practice ; and I say, again, the extent to 
 which it prevails in our public schools and colleges 
 is shocking beyond measure ! I have known boys 
 to leave some of these institutions at the age of 
 twelve and thirteen, almost entirely ruined in health 
 and constitution by it, and they have assured me 
 that, to their certain knowledge, almost every boy 
 in the school practiced the filthy vice ; and many 
 of them went to the still more loathsome and crim- 
 inal extent of an unnatural commerce with each 
 other !" 
 
 In corroboration of the above testimony, Rev. E. 
 M. P. Wells, a very celebrated and successful 
 teacher of Boston, wrote, in 1837 : 
 
 "From an intimate acquaintance with about 
 seven hundred boys for the past nine years ; from 
 the recollections of a pretty extensive acquaintance 
 in boyhood ; and from information derived from 
 gentlemen of the highest distinction and most emi- 
 nent success in the great subject — not of learning 
 
44 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 only, but of education — in my own country, 
 and from several nations of Europe, I am fully 
 convinced that the practice of the self-gratifica- 
 tion of the sexual desires is more common than 
 any other indulgence which we consider at all 
 wrong. There are fewer exceptions to the uni- 
 versality of the practice than there are to most 
 general rules. I think, also, the practice is full 
 as common, more excessive, and more injurious, 
 in those who do not labor, and who live easily 
 and luxuriantly, than in those of opposite hab- 
 its of life. This, I suppose, is caused by their 
 food being too stimulating for their exercise. Be- 
 sides, the hardy mode of living and labor of the 
 opposite classes of society keeps their desires in a 
 more natural and healthful condition. Thus the 
 easy and luxuriant are excited to an excess to 
 which their less hardy constitutions makes them 
 the more easy prey. Many of our delicate consti- 
 tutions, consumptions, and our low and melancholy 
 spirits, are to be attributed to this excess. The 
 laborious and the poor have less of the desire, and 
 are better able to bear the effects of its gratifi- 
 cation." 
 
Obscene Books, etc. 45 
 
 Obscene Books and Conversation. — There re- 
 mains to be mentioned two other prominent sources 
 of youthful depravity and contamination — lewd 
 conversation and lascivious books. Obscene novels 
 and fictitious writings, specially addressed to the 
 amative propensity, full of lewd images, impure 
 conceptions, and lust-engendering narratives, and 
 only interesting or amusing on such accounts, are 
 abundant in our literary markets. And, I am 
 pained to be obliged to add, some of our most " re- 
 spectable" and wealthy publishing houses do their 
 full share in scattering broadcast over the land vile 
 and corrupting "light literature," in the shape of 
 trashy romances, exciting seduction stories, narra- 
 tives of dissolute characters, and fictitious histories 
 of imaginary debauchees, whose deeds of sensuality 
 and depravity are detailed with all the minuteness 
 and circumstantiality that can arrest the attention 
 and inflame the passion of the youthful and sus- 
 ceptible mind. And this kind of mental food, like 
 improper aliment for the stomach, is pernicious in 
 proportion to the youthfulness of the person who 
 partakes of and appropriates it. 
 
 Young persons ought especially to be confined 
 
4:6 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 to books whose subjects are the practical arts and 
 sciences, histories of nations, biographies of good 
 and virtuous persons, etc., and such fictions only as 
 are directed to the intellect and higher sentiments ; 
 leaving the details of heroes and heroines, whose 
 greatest achievements were in the line of gluttony, 
 and revelry, and profligacy, and debauchery, to the 
 period of life when the judgment is mature, and 
 when imagination and passion have come under 
 the dominion of intellect, if, indeed, such works 
 must be read at all. 
 
 Still worse in its depraving influences on the 
 youthful mind, because more prevalent, is the gen- 
 eral habit of low, vulgar, loose, and meretricious 
 conversation. It is hardly possible for children, 
 now-a-days, to associate freely with their seniors 
 in age, without having their plastic minds filled 
 with wanton and libidinous ideas and images. 
 Much of the common talk with which thoughtless 
 people of nearly all ages and callings amuse them- 
 selves and each other, and make pastime for their 
 idle hours, is based on perverted ideas and depraved 
 images relating to the sexual organs, and to sexual 
 commerce. With the gross and vulgar-minded this 
 
Obscene Books, etc. 47 
 
 is the ever-present theme of the joke, and repartee, 
 and anecdote, and song, and often, also, of fiction 
 and falsehood. And too frequently do men, in the 
 middle period of life, married men, and men who 
 are fathers of sons and daughters, indulge, in the 
 field, in the workshop, behind the counter, and even 
 around the family hearth, in a style of lascivious 
 hints, inuendoes, etc., relating to the sexual distinc- 
 tions, in the presence of young, but not listless nor 
 unobserving children ; little dreaming, and perhaps 
 little thinking, or little caring, that every profane 
 expression, and each vulgar allusion, is exciting a 
 prurient curiosity which may ere long become the 
 initiative step toward the final fall of some one or 
 more of the youthful hearers. 
 
 I believe it to be a general and an almost univer- 
 sal rule in society, that its individuals are more 
 vulgar and lecherous in their conversation, as they 
 are more gross and gluttonous in their personal 
 habits ; and the critical observer of men need not 
 err greatly in choosing associates or instructors for 
 his children, very much in reference to their volun- 
 tary, especially their eating and drinking habits. 
 While for the pure all things are pure, to the im- 
 
48 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 pure-minded all things are filthy. These will apply 
 or misapply any ambiguous expression or obscure 
 remark to the degrading theme which is so generally 
 uppermost in their own minds. 
 
 Dr. Paley has well remarked that "habits of lib- 
 ertinism incapacitate and indispose the mind for 
 all intellectual, moral, and religious pleasures." 
 Some great libertines do, however, manifest a re- 
 spectable degree of intellectual capacity, but are 
 peculiarly and strikingly deficient in their percep- 
 tions of the moral bearing of any question ; while 
 they become so thoroughly selfish as to seem inca- 
 pable of acting upon or even entertaining any 
 problem of social weal or general philanthropy. 
 No human beings are more besotted and miserly, 
 sordid and mercenary, in all the relations of life, 
 than the slaves of lascivious thoughts and practices, 
 and most of their ways, manners, habits, pursuits, 
 and resolves, are remarkably wayward, erratic, 
 fickle, and fantastic. 
 
Cjjaptn Ctnn. 
 
 GENERAL CONSEQUENCES. 
 
 Pathological Phenomena. — The effects of either 
 self-pollution or excessive sexual indulgence, ap- 
 pear in as many forms and phases as there are indi- 
 vidual subjects; nevertheless, there are, in the 
 great majority of cases, symptoms enough in com- 
 mon to constitute a general family resemblance in 
 morbid manifestations. All evince cleccr and unmis- 
 takable evidences of nervous or vital exhaustion. 
 And if this condition is aggravated to a fatal result, 
 the victim of self-murder is commonly supposed to 
 die of dyspepsia, consumption, debility, decline, 
 spinal disease, etc., etc., because, as the vital pow- 
 ers decay, and death approaches, the leading phe- 
 nomena simulate, more or less closely, the symp- 
 toms of some of the maladies usually designated 
 as above. 
 
 The various pathological results of this waste of 
 3 
 
50 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 vitality have been noticed more or less by physi- 
 cians, physiologists, and philosophers, in all ages 
 of the world, since medicine became a profession. 
 And within the last quarter of a century they have 
 been described and explained by many eminent 
 educational and reformatory writers, with remark- 
 able exactness and accuracy. 
 
 "It would seem," says Graham, in his Lectures 
 to Young Men, " as if God had written an instinc- 
 tive law of remonstrance, in the innate moral sense, 
 against this filthy vice ; for however ignorant the 
 boy may be of the moral character of the act, or 
 of the physical and mental evils which result from 
 it, though he may never have been told that it is 
 wrong, yet every one who is guilty of it feels an 
 instinctive shame, and deep self-loathing, even in 
 his secret solitude, after the unclean deed is done ! 
 And that youth has made no small progress in the 
 depravity of his moral feelings, who has so silenced 
 the dictates of natural modesty, that he can, with- 
 out the blush of shame, pollute himself in the pres- 
 ence of another, even his most intimate companion. 
 Hence all who give themselves up to the excesses 
 of this debasing indulgence, carry about with them, 
 
Pathological Phenomena. 51 
 
 continually, a consciousness of their defilement, and 
 cherish a secret suspicion that others look upon 
 them as debased beings. They can not meet the 
 look of others, and especially of the female sex, 
 with the modest boldness of conscious innocence 
 and purity ; but their eyes fall, suddenly abashed, 
 and the glow of mingled shame and confusion comes 
 upon their cheeks, when they meet the glance of 
 those with whom they are conversing, or in whose 
 company they are. They feel none of that manly 
 confidence and gallant spirit, and chaste delight, in 
 the presence of virtuous females, which stimulate 
 young men to pursue the course of ennobling re- 
 finement, and mature them for the social relations 
 and enjoyments of life; and hence, they are often 
 inclined either to shun the society of females en- 
 tirely, or to seek such as is by no means calculated 
 to elevate their views, nor improve their taste nor 
 morals ; and if, by the kind offices of friends, they 
 are put forward into good society, they are con- 
 tinually oppressed with a shrinking embarrassment, 
 which makes them feel as if they were out of their 
 own element, and look forward to the time of retire- 
 ment as the time of their release from an unpleas- 
 
52 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 ant situation. A want of self-respect disqualifies 
 them for the easy and elegant courtesies which 
 render young men interesting to the other sex; 
 and often prevents their forming those honorable 
 relations in life so desirable to every virtuous heart, 
 and frequently dooms them either to a gloomy celi- 
 bacy, or an early grave. 
 
 "This shamefacedness, or unhappy quailing of 
 the countenance, on meeting the look of others, 
 often follows them through life, in some instances, 
 even after they have entirely abandoned the habit, 
 and become married men, and respectable members 
 of society." 
 
 Dr. Hill, in his Eclectic Surgery, has well de- 
 scribed the symptoms of excessive masturbation as 
 they are presented in a great majority of cases. 
 
 " In some cases, the only complaint the patient 
 will make, on consulting you, is, that he is suffer- 
 ing under a kind of continued fever. He will prob- 
 ably present a hot, dry skin, with something of a 
 hectic appearance. Though all the ordinary means 
 of arresting such symptoms have been tried, he is 
 none the better. 
 
 " Your patient will present no evidence of organic 
 
Pathological Phenomena. 53 
 
 disease. His lungs are sound, and his liver appears 
 to perform its office tolerably well. On strict in- 
 quiry, however, you will find that he is generally 
 inclined to be costive, and has probably been in the 
 habit of taking some kinds of aperient pills. Dys- 
 peptic symptoms, also, are not uncommon, in con- 
 nection with excessive languor and debility. The 
 languid or tired feeling is especially manifest, with 
 trembling in the limbs perhaps, on first rising from 
 the bed in the morning. 
 
 "The sleep seems to be irregular and unrefresh- 
 ing — restlessness during the early part of the night, 
 and in the advanced stages of the disease, profuse 
 sweats before morning. There is also frequent 
 starting in the sleep, * from disturbing dreams. 
 The characteristic feature is, that your patient almost 
 always dreams of sexual intercourse. This is one 
 of the earliest, as well as most constant symptoms. 
 When it occurs most frequently, it is apt to be ac- 
 companied with painful priapism. A gleety dis- 
 charge from the urethra may also be frequently dis- 
 covered, especially if the patient examine when at 
 
 * This starting in sleep, I think, is peculiar to those affected with 
 costiveness, whether they have seminal emissions or not. 
 
54: Sexual Abuses. 
 
 stool, or after urinating. This may be more fre- 
 quent with those who have had gonorrhoea, but it 
 is ~by no means confined to such. 
 
 " Tour patient may confess to being a very nerv- 
 ous subject. He has not only frequent attacks of 
 nervous headache^ but occasional sensations of gid- 
 diness, or vertigo* ringing in the ears, etc., with 
 perhaps a fixed, dull pain in the hack of the head, 
 w r here a preternatural heat may almost always be 
 discovered. Connected with this will be a stiffness 
 in the muscles of the neck, and darting pains 
 through the forehead. Extensive spinal irritation 
 is a frequent accompaniment. Some patients will 
 speak of a peculiar aura, like water running over 
 the body, or a sensation resembling the crawling of 
 insects under the skin, especially down the outside 
 of the thighs. Weak eyes (as well as weak back) 
 are among the common symptoms. But, as might 
 be expected from the direct implication of the 
 nervous system, the moral and mental symptoms 
 are perhaps more to be relied on than any very 
 obvious bodily peculiarities. The disease is well 
 
 * Giddiness, vertigo, and headache, are common effects of cos- 
 tiveness, however this may be induced. 
 
Pathological Phenomena. 55 
 
 known to be one of the most frequent causes of in- 
 sanity, and one of its earliest symptoms is inca- 
 pacity for concentrated attention. If the sufferer 
 attempts to pursue any mathematical study, he will 
 fail. He manifests, moreover, an excessive want 
 of confidence in his own abilities, even where they 
 do not seem to fail him. He has very often ' no 
 mind of his own.' He is much afflicted with awful 
 forebodings, though he can not tell of what. Some 
 indescribable evil is always about to befall him. In 
 this and several other particulars, the disease very 
 closely resembles delirium tremens. It may be 
 confounded with hypochondria. 
 
 " One very frequent, and perhaps early symptom 
 (especially in young females) is solitariness — a dis- 
 position to seclude themselves from society. Al- 
 though they may be tolerably cheerful when in 
 company, they choose rather to be alone. 
 
 "The countenance has often a gloomy and worn- 
 down expression. The patient's friends frequently 
 notice a great change. Large livid spots under the 
 eyes is a common feature. Sudden flashes of heat 
 may be noticed passing over the patient's face. He 
 is liable also to palpitations. The pulse is very va- 
 
56 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 riable, generally too slow. Extreme emaciation, 
 without any other assignable cause for it, may be 
 set down as another very common symptom. If 
 the evil has gone on for several years, there will be 
 a general unhealthy appearance, of a character so 
 marked, as to enable an experienced observer at 
 once to detect the cause. In fact, I recognize such 
 a case at the first glance, as readily as a banker 
 does a counterfeit bill. In the case of onanists, es- 
 pecially, there is a peculiar rank odor emitted from 
 the body, by which they may be readily distin- 
 guished. One striking peculiarity of all these pa- 
 tients is, that they can not look a man in the face ! 
 Cowardice is constitutional with them." 
 O. S. Fowler, the phrenologist, observes : 
 "Now, by a law of things, whatever impairs the 
 physical sexuality, thereby impairs the mental sex- 
 uality ; and as over-indulgence does this, therefore, 
 whoever gives way to this passion proportionally 
 impairs his manhood, or else effaces the charms of 
 the feminine. The man lays down his nobleness, 
 dignity, honor, and manhood, and is no longer 
 bold, resolute, determined, aspiring, dignified, but 
 becomes depreciated, irresolute, undetermined, 
 
Signs of Self-Abuse. 57 
 
 tamed, and conscious of his degradation. No 
 longer comprehensive in planning, efficient in exe- 
 cuting, correct in judgment, full of thought, strong 
 in intellect, courteous in manner, noble in mien, 
 and gallant to woman ; but he becomes disheart- 
 ened, uncertain in his plans, and inefficient in their 
 execution, and a drone to himself and society. So, 
 too, the female, diseased here, loses proportionably 
 the amiableness and gracefulness of her sex, her 
 sweetness of voice, disposition, and manner, her 
 native enthusiasm, her beauty of face and form, 
 her gracefulness and elegance of carriage, her looks 
 of love and interest in man, and to him, and be- 
 comes merged into a mongrel, neither male nor 
 female, but marred by the defects of both, without 
 possessing the virtues of either. No more the wo- 
 man till her female organs are restored, and her 
 accompanying mental sexuality thereby re-estab- 
 lished." 
 
 Signs of Self- Abuse. — In relation to the " signs 
 which come to the surface" of the self-fornicator, the 
 author above quoted remarks: "The private sen- 
 sualist may be further known by his pallid, blood- 
 
 3* 
 
58 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 less countenance, and hollow, sunken, and half- 
 ghastly eyes, the lids of which will frequently be 
 tinged with red ; while, if his indulgence has been 
 carried very far, he will have black and blue semi- 
 circles under his eyes, and also look as if worn out, 
 almost dead for want of sleep, yet unable to get it, 
 etc. He will also have a half wild, half vacant 
 stare, or half lascivious, half foolish smile, especially 
 when he sees a female. He will also have a cer- 
 tain quickness yet indecision of manner ; will begin 
 to do this thing, then stop and essay to do that, and 
 then do what he first intended ; and in such utterly 
 insignificant matters as putting his hat here or 
 there, etc. The same incoherence will characterize 
 his expressions, and the same want of promptness 
 mark all he does. Little things will agitate and 
 fluster him, nor will he be prompt, or resolute, or 
 bold, or forcible; but timid, afraid of his own 
 shadow, uncertain, waiting to see what is best, and 
 always in a hurry, yet hardly knows what he is 
 doing, or wants to do. Nor will he walk erect, or 
 dignified, as if conscious of his manhood, and lofty 
 in his aspirations, but will walk and move with a 
 diminutive, cringing, sycophantic, inferior, mean, 
 
Signs of Self- Abuse. 59 
 
 self-debased manner, as if depreciated and degraded 
 in his own eyes ; thus telling you perpetually by 
 his shamed looks and sheepish manner that he has 
 been doing something low, mean, contemptible, 
 and vulgar. This secret practice has impaired 
 both his physical and mental manhood, and thereby 
 effaced the nobleness and efficiency of the mascu- 
 line, and deteriorated his soul, besides having ruined 
 his body. 
 
 "He will, moreover, be dull of comprehension, 
 incorrect, forgetful, heedless, full of blunders of all 
 sorts, crude and inappropriate in his joke 3, slow to 
 take the hint, listless, inattentive, absent-minded, 
 sad, melancholy, easily frightened, easily discour- 
 aged, wanting in clearness and point of idea, less 
 bright than formerly, and altogether depreciated in 
 looks and talents compared with what he would 
 have been, if he had never contracted this soul and 
 body ruining practice." 
 
 Excessive sexual indulgence in the marriage bed 
 not only destroys the health, temper, and disposition 
 of the wife, rendering her gloomy, peevish, hyster- 
 ical, and querulous, but often destroys the happiness 
 of the family circle entirely. The following anec- 
 
60 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 dote, with many similar ones related by Bosch, is 
 in point : "In traveling I accidentally made the ac- 
 quaintance of a merchant, whose humor and intelli- 
 gence soon made him a most agreeable companion. 
 In our conversation we casually turned upon 
 women, and I noticed immediately that his vivacity 
 had vanished, and a dark cloud was spreading itself 
 over his mind. ' Yes, woman,' he exclaimed, after 
 a long pause, < who can fathom the mysteries of her 
 nature?' He was silent again, and his face ex- 
 pressed tb 3 working of his heart. I interrupted his 
 meditatio i by asking, ' Do you really find woman 
 so mysterious? 5 This brought our conversation 
 fully upon the subject, and I learned, in the course 
 of it, that for six years he had been acquainted with 
 the daughter of a merchant, and that a union could 
 not be effected between them, the parents of the 
 lady being opposed to it. She pledged him her 
 fidelity to remain single until all obstacles were re- 
 moved, affirming that she would marry none but 
 him ; and, finally, their mutual fidelity triumphed 
 over every difficulty, and they were married. 
 Shortly after their marriage the lady's disposition 
 changed entirely, and he soon became convinced 
 
Signs of Self-Abuse. 61 
 
 that her former kindness was but assumed in order 
 to deceive him. The scenes which daily occurred 
 deeply affected him, and she robbed him of all do- 
 mestic comfort, by a perverseness which, according 
 to his ideas, was totally inconsistent with female 
 character. 
 
 "She presented him with a fine boy, and only 
 for about two months, during and after his birth, 
 did he enjoy a cessation from confusion ; and then 
 the turmoil was resumed, and continued throughout 
 one year and a half of unhappy married life, when 
 he separated himself from her. 
 
 "After this she resided in a small town, at about 
 fifty miles distance from him. His relatives re- 
 proached him bitterly for having taken such a step, 
 assuring him that she was respected by every one. 
 He insisted that he had not acted without deep re- 
 flection — that he had anticipated nothing but ruin 
 in this hell of matrimonial life. ' Is it not an un- 
 fathomable mystery?' he exclaimed, after having 
 finished his story; 'how do you explain these 
 things V I then gave him a key by which he might 
 solve the difficulty, and spoke upon the subject, and 
 illustrated clearly to his mind how his own lively 
 
62 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 temperament, and the passion with which he desired 
 to possess her, had produced the very evils of which 
 he complained. He manifested a deep interest in 
 my exposition of his case, and became convinced, 
 that not his wife, but himself, had occasioned the 
 domestic misery he had suffered. 
 
 " c Great God!' he exclaimed, 'and these things 
 not a part of man's early education ! kept ignorant 
 of a subject on which his happiness so intimately 
 depends, while the law commands an abuse which 
 destroys families, and makes the best miserable! 
 It is horrible !' 
 
 "We separated, and after a year I received a 
 letter from quite a different part of the country. 
 The honest man had made good his former errors 
 by repairing early to his wife's residence, and com- 
 municating to her the new light he had obtained, 
 and asking her forgiveness. 
 
 " She entertained no ill-feeling toward him, 
 having previously ceased to reproach him, and now 
 could not comprehend what foul demon had inter- 
 posed between them and interrupted their happi- 
 ness ; and when he requested her to return to him, 
 her only objection was to join him in the place of 
 
Signs of Self-Abuse. 63 
 
 their former abode, fearing the reproaches of their 
 former acquaintances. He assented to relinquish 
 his business, and together they removed to a distant 
 part of the country, to make for themselves a para- 
 dise which till now they had not enjoyed. Since 
 then, knowing the path of duty, they walk in it and 
 are happy." 
 
 Many women, on being sent away from their 
 husbands, rapidly recover health ; and lose it again 
 as rapidly on returning to them, as the following 
 case, quoted from the last mentioned author, in- 
 structively illustrates : " A Mend of mine married a 
 healthy young lady of gentle and truly woman-like 
 deportment. Soon after their marriage she became 
 sick, and from the commencement of her pregnancy 
 had a great deal to suffer. I recollect she was very 
 much afflicted with vomiting, spasms, and a chronic 
 headache. I was at that time a student of medi- 
 cine, and had too little insight into such things to 
 be at all surprised. The physician who was consult- 
 ed decided it to be a natural consequence of her 
 delicate situation — a condition to which her system 
 was unaccustomed, and for which nature was pre- 
 paring her with an extraordinary struggle. This 
 
64 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 explanation was received, and the poor woman was 
 punctual in swallowing the prescriptions, but with- 
 out the desired effect ; at last, with great effort, she 
 gave birth to a boy. My own pursuits led me away 
 from that place. My friend, whose business re- 
 quired him frequently to travel for six months at a 
 time, always called upon me whenever he came to 
 the place of my residence — sometimes coming from 
 home, sometimes returning. I naturally inquired 
 after the state of his health and that of his wife, and 
 invariably learned that when he came from home 
 she was sickly, but, on his way returning, he always 
 assured me of having received intelligence that she 
 was well. He finally died ; and when, a few years 
 afterward, I saw her as a widow, she enjoyed perfect 
 health." 
 
 Deslandes, in relation to the external signs of 
 excessive masturbation, remarks: "The counter 
 nance, instead of the vermilion glow of health, is 
 pale and without freshness, or of a yellowish, earthy, 
 leaden, and livid tint ; the lips lose their color ; a 
 bluish circle surrounds the eyes; the eyelids are 
 puffed out with oedema ; the flesh is soft and flaccid ; 
 the pulse is small and feeble; upon the slightest 
 
Signs of Self-Abuse. 65 
 
 motion, or during sleep, the forehead, chest, and 
 palms of the hands are bathed with profuse perspi- 
 ration ; in some patients the hands and feet are 
 oedematous ; in short, the symptoms are those of 
 general atony, which is attended with a slow, 
 hectic fever, denoting that the economy does not 
 yield without reaction to the destructive vice." 
 
 The dyspeptic symptoms usually noticed in per- 
 sons addicted to the secret vice, are thus described 
 by the above author, who, after remarking that the 
 appetite is often temporarily increased at first, 
 continues: " But such a state of things can not long 
 continue ; numerous signs soon show that excesses 
 in venery may act on the digestive tube in another 
 manner than by rendering the appetite more keen 
 and the digestion more easy. In fact, the appetite 
 does not long resist excesses in onanism; it first 
 diminishes, then disappears, and is often replaced 
 by a decided disgust for every kind of food ; in some 
 patients it becomes irregular, capricious ; in others 
 it remains. The latter have most cause of com- 
 plaint, for it continues longer than digestion is 
 performed. 'My appetite remains,' writes an onan- 
 ist to Lissot, 'but it is a misfortune, as eating is 
 
66 Sexual Abus.es. 
 
 followed by pain in the stomach, and my food is 
 rejected.' Many onanists feel pain of a similar 
 character after eating. In otheis there is a sense of 
 oppression, or fullness, in the epigastric region. In 
 some there is a gnawing feeling resembling that 
 produced by a want of food ; this symptom is very 
 common in girls, who, in consequence of secret 
 practices, have become affected with leucorrhoea. 
 In some the face and cheeks present a redness which 
 contrasts remarkably with their habitual paleness. 
 Onanists are frequently affected with headache, 
 vertigo, flushed face, etc. In some the slowness of 
 the digestion is indicated by eructations, which 
 occur long after taking food ; or the belly is tense 
 and filled with wind. Food, which formerly digest- 
 ed with ease, is now oppressive; and the list of 
 articles of diet is shortened every day. Some 
 onanists have been known in these cases to indulge 
 in ardent spirits, with the vain hope of exciting their 
 appetite, and regaining their strength. Repeated 
 vomitings, constant pain in the belly, and a slow 
 fever, are also frequent symptoms of the deep-seated 
 affections of the digestive organs. In many patients 
 the intestinal canal is more liable to be affected by 
 
Signs of Self- Abuse. 67 
 
 venereal excesses than the stomach. Obstinate 
 constipation in some, diarrhea and borborygmi in 
 others, are the usual signs of the affection of this 
 canal. 
 
 " Many authors have repeated after the statements 
 of Hippocrates, that individuals affected with con- 
 sumption arising from venereal excesses, have no 
 fever. This is an error ; they die, as we have 
 already stated, with true hectic fever, which is 
 caused by the state of the different organs, and 
 particularly by that of the genital system. Of this, 
 numerous instances might be cited. The following 
 is related by Dr. Federigo, the Italian translator of 
 Portal's work on consumption: 'I knew,' says he, 
 1 a female who was affected for many years with 
 extreme debility and entire loss of appetite ; a slow 
 fever every evening had rendered her extremely 
 thin ; her eyes were pale and sunken ; her skin was 
 very hot ; and it was highly painful for her to stand 
 erect ; a profuse discharge weakened her still more ; 
 and she was in an advanced state of marasmus. 
 All the active remedies, as preparations of iron, 
 decoctions of cinchona, and mineral waters, were 
 tried without success. She died in a most deplora- 
 
68 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 ble state of consumption. I attempted, by question- 
 ing her as to her mode of living, to discover the 
 cause of this disease, but unsuccessfully. A month 
 before her death, however, she told me with tears in 
 her eyes, that she brought her debility upon herself, 
 by indulging constantly and for many years in a 
 secret and murderous habit!' " 
 
 Ordinary Course of Symptoms. — One of the most 
 constant symptoms is the tendency to emaciation. 
 The loss of flesh is often imputed to rapid growth, 
 over- work, or other causes, when it is owing wholly 
 to masturbation ; and when the bodily bulk can be 
 readily regained on abandoning the habit. This 
 wasting of the body is usually attended with a 
 craving, and often quite voracious appetite ; in some 
 cases the craving is insatiable, and the patient wants 
 to eat constantly. The leanness of the body is par- 
 ticularly noticeable about the hips and lower part 
 of the abdomen. The thighs fall away, as it were, 
 and the abdomen is drawn in toward the back, ap- 
 pearing quite concave externally, instead of convex, 
 as in the normal state ; some persons become reduced 
 to a mere skeleton, and then the morbid craving 
 
Okdinaky Course of Symptoms. 69 
 
 abates, to be followed by little or no appetite for 
 food, and not unfrequently a total disgust for aliment 
 of all kinds. In many cases the loins, hips, thighs, 
 and lower extremities exhibit a remarkable degree 
 of emaciation, even before the constitution is really 
 broken down; in these cases the usual flesh and 
 strength are soon acquired after adopting a correct 
 hygienic regimen. Often the head is bent forward 
 and the trunk of the body curved as in old age. 
 The patient feels indolent and stupid; his heart 
 beats violently on slight exertion ; and he is easily 
 put out of breath. At first the countenance is pre- 
 ternaturally flushed, but soon becomes pale, dull, 
 leaden, or livid, loses its freshness, and the expres- 
 sion is without sprightliness ; the lips at length lose 
 their natural color, a bluish semicircle surrounds 
 the eyes ; the eyelids are often puffy or oedematous, 
 the pulse is small and feeble, and usually frequent 
 at first, though as the habit continues it becomes 
 slow and languid. The flesh is soft and flabby. As 
 the debility increases, the hands and feet become 
 puffy, and the forehead, chest, and palms of the 
 hands, sweat profusely on slight exertion. 
 
 The bluish circle around the eyes, though common 
 
70 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 to masturbators, may be produced by other causes ; 
 hence all persons manifesting this symptom should 
 not be charged with this vice unless other corrobor- 
 ating circumstances are present. 
 
 The rank odor which often exhales from the 
 bodies of masturbators, is peculiar, and exceedingly 
 disagreeable. When once distinctly recognized by 
 the sense of smell it can not easily be forgotten. 
 
 The fetid breath, too, with which many of them 
 are affected, is unlike an offensive breath from 
 almost any other cause. With some persons, espe- 
 cially those who have been uncleanly in other 
 respects, or whose dietetic habits have been gross, 
 every expiration of air from the lungs is horribly 
 disgusting, rendering it a most undesirable and 
 sickening task to converse with them. 
 
Ctjaptn tfjim. 
 
 SEMINAL EMISSIONS. 
 
 Spermatorrhoea. — In males the common and 
 most prominent result of excessive sexual excite- 
 ment, or of irregular indulgences is, involuntary 
 emissions^ technically called spermo?*rhcea, or more 
 properly, spermatorrhoea. In the early stages, 
 when the constitutional tone is not very greatly 
 impaired, they are usually attended with lascivious 
 dreaming, and generally a degree of pleasurable 
 orgasm, which awakens the patient from sleep. 
 But as the debility progresses the discharge takes 
 place with little or no sleep-disturbance. In the 
 early stages of the complaint, erection of the penis, 
 partial or complete, precedes the emission ; but 
 w^hen severe inroads have been made upon the or- 
 ganic vitality, it frequently occurs almost uncon- 
 sciously. 
 
72 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 Some masturbators, especially those subject to 
 habitual costiveness, experience a constant irrita- 
 tion of the sexual parts, and pollute themselves 
 upon the least exciting cause ; while others so wear 
 out the susceptibility of the organs, that an emis- 
 sion is impossible without great effort; but with 
 either class of persons the habit of self-pollution is 
 equally the ruling passion. 
 
 Female masturbators evince something like a cor- 
 responding derangement in the menstrual function. 
 It is often premature in appearance, excessive in 
 quantity, too frequent in its periodical recurrence, 
 and alternated with leucorrhoea, and generally 
 attended with occasional bloatings of the abdomen, 
 violent palpitation, or fluttering of the heart, great 
 weakness in the back, and not unfrequently severe 
 prolapsus, or falling of the womb. 
 
 Source of Constitutional Injury. — The injury 
 resulting to the constitution is not so much from the 
 mere loss of semen, or other fluid, as from the abso- 
 lute waste of vital power through the inordinate 
 nervous excitement. Unquestionably the loss of 
 the seminal fluid is in itself a source of considerable 
 
Secretion of Seminal Fluid. 73 
 
 vital exhaustion ; for all experience shows that its 
 presence in the organism is essential to full and 
 perfect development and vigor ; yet the preternatu- 
 ral excitation of the nervous centers is the direct 
 cause of a still greater waste of the fund of life. 
 The excitement of venereal indulgence is more uni- 
 versal and more intense than that of any other pro- 
 pensity, and attended, consequently, with greater 
 commotion and disturbance of all the functions of 
 the animal economy. Indeed, the end contemplated 
 in the institution of the sexual passion, requires for 
 its proper fulfillment, that all the operations of the 
 organic machinery, animal, vital, and mental, be 
 for a brief period, as it were, concentrated in the 
 reproductive function. Hence the waste of vitality, 
 when the sexual crisis is frequently provoked, with- 
 out the circumstances which render its exercise 
 natural and legitimate, is immense and incalculable. 
 
 Secretion of Seminal Fluid. — A general error 
 has prevailed among young persons, that the semi- 
 nal fluid, after the full development of the sexual 
 apparatus, is constantly accumulating, and that, 
 unless it is occasionally or periodically discharged, 
 
 4 
 
74 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 its superabundance will produce injury. The fact 
 is, the semen, in its perfect state, is never secreted, 
 except during the period of sexual excitement. Its 
 elements may pervade the whole circulating sys- 
 tem, be diffused throughout the entire organism, 
 and any detrimental excess may be deterged 
 through the various excretory functions ; but it is 
 only during venereal excitement that they are 
 secreted by the proper organs in the form of semen. 
 Says a German writer — Christian Eitter, M.D. : 
 "We sometimes meet, in common life, with sto- 
 ries of the terrible evils which have befallen young 
 persons on account of their excessive chastity ; 
 nay, we have been told that the seminal fluid has 
 even occasionally entered the brain of one or an- 
 other of these unfortunate beings, and rendered him 
 insane, with many other things equally silly and 
 equally untrue. Chastity can never be excessive. 
 It is always advantageous; it always promotes 
 health and happiness ; it never will nor can become 
 the cause of injury or disease. Yet there are to be 
 found impudent wretches who invent and propagate 
 these and similar falsehoods, in order to seduce the 
 pure and blooming youth into the path of vice. I 
 
Prevalent Errors. 75 
 
 can, however, assure my readers that if there were 
 even a single possibility of disease from total absti- 
 nence, it could only befall those individuals who 
 overload their system with nutritious food or heat- 
 ing drinks, or who indulge in excess of sleep, in 
 idleness, etc." 
 
 Prevalent Errors. — Dr. Alcott remarks, in an 
 editorial note to the above paragraph of Dr. Bitter : 
 "The author says, in a caption to the present chap- 
 ter, which is so long that I have chosen to omit it, 
 that the notion which he has been there so success- 
 fully combating, viz., that the retention of the semi- 
 nal fluid sometimes induces disease, has been 
 encouraged even by physicians ! A most un- 
 doubted fact ; for what monstrous error in habit or 
 practice is there which some weak-minded physi- 
 cian may not have connived at, or even encour- 
 aged ! 7 ' 
 
 Dr. Graham argues that the great debility result- 
 ing from venereal excitement or self-abuse, is not so 
 much to be attributed to the mere loss of semen as 
 to the peculiar excitement of the nervous system. 
 He observes : " Hence, therefore, sexual desire, 
 
76 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 cherished by the mind and dwelt on by the imag- 
 ination, not only increases the excitability and 
 peculiar sensibility of the genital organs them- 
 selves, but always throws an influence, equal to the 
 intensity of the affection, over the whole nervous 
 domain, disturbing all the functions depending on 
 the nerves for vital energy — which is thereby 
 increased upon or distracted from them — and if this 
 excitement is frequently repeated, or long con- 
 tinued, it inevitably induces an increased degree of 
 irritability, and debility, and relaxation generally 
 throughout the nervous and muscular tissues, and 
 especially the nerves of organic life. And hence 
 those lascivious day-dreams and amorous reveries in 
 which young people too generally — and especially 
 the idle and the voluptuous, and the sedentary and 
 the nervous — are exceedingly apt to indulge, are 
 often the sources of general debility, effeminacy, dis- 
 ordered functions, and permanent disease, and even 
 premature death, without the actual exercise of the 
 genital organs ! Indeed, this unchastity of thought, 
 this adultery of the mind, is the beginning of im- 
 measurable evil to the human family; and while 
 children are regularly though unintentionally trained 
 
P B E V A L B N T E R R O R S . 77 
 
 to it by all the mistaken fondness of parents, and 
 all the circumstances of civic life, it is but mockery 
 in the ear of Heaven to deprecate the evil con- 
 sequences, and folly little short of fatuity to at- 
 tempt to arrest the current of crime that flows 
 from it." 
 
 Concerning the supposed necessity for seminal 
 emissions, the same author says : " Health does not 
 absolutely require that there should ever be an 
 emission of semen from puberty to death, though 
 the individual live a hundred years, and the fre- 
 quency of involuntary nocturnal emissions is an 
 indubitable proof, that the parts, at least, are suffer- 
 ing under a debility and morbid irritability, utterly 
 incompatible with the general welfare of the sys- 
 tem ; and the mental faculties are always debil- 
 itated and impaired by such indulgences. 
 
 The frequency of involuntary emissions, when re- 
 sulting from this debilitating practice, varies greatly 
 with different individuals. In some they occur 
 once or twice a week ; in others but once in two or 
 three weeks. As a general rule, the more fre- 
 quently they occur the greater is the degree of de- 
 bility and exhaustion experienced by the patient on 
 
78 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 the following day. With those who are extremely 
 debilitated, the irritated sexual organs sympathize 
 with every disturbance of the stomach or brain, and 
 every casual excitement induces an involuntary 
 amission of a crude and watery, or muco-seminal 
 fluid, not unfrequently discolored and bloody ; and 
 sometimes there is a continued dribbling of a muco- 
 purulent or gonorrhoeal matter. Many husbands 
 and fathers have become so irritable in the genital 
 organs, in consequence of self-pollution in early 
 life, that the least approach to familiarity or ca- 
 ressing with their companions, has induced an 
 emission, in some cases rendering them utterly im- 
 potent. 
 
 Morbid Sexuality Transmissible. — There can be 
 no manner of doubt that a debilitated and irritable 
 condition of the sexual apparatus may, like all other 
 morbid conditions of the parents, be transmitted 
 from father or mother, or both, to the offspring. I 
 have had patients who have been subject to emis- 
 sions on the most trivial occasions of excitement, 
 from the period of puberty, and even before ; and 
 this without having been addicted to masturba- 
 
Morbid Sexuality Transmissible. 79 
 
 tioii at all ; and a young man was under my treat- 
 ment two years ago, who assured me that he had 
 been afflicted with involuntary emissions from a 
 child. 
 
 This organic inheritance explains, in part, the 
 very great difference we observe in the effect which 
 seminal emissions, or the causes of them — self-pollu- 
 tion or venereal excesses — have in different persons. 
 Some are worn out and crippled in a few months, 
 while others maintain, apparently, a good degree of 
 constitutional vigor for years, under the same kind 
 and degree of self-abuse. 
 
 Those who were born with a good constitution, 
 and have been addicted to masturbation from the 
 period of puberty, or even before, have been known 
 to hold out after the vital powers were so prostrated 
 that the miserable sufferers were confined to their 
 beds for years ; and I have known many cases in 
 which the drain of vitality was so great, from an 
 almost constant seminal, or rather muco-seminal 
 dribbling, that the patients were unable to sit up ; 
 and in several instances the patients lingered in this 
 condition for a number of years after the power of 
 speech was lost, unable to turn over in bed without 
 
80 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 assistance, and only able to communicate by tlie 
 language of signs. In most of these cases, too, 
 neither parents, friends, nurses, nor physicians, sus- 
 pect the real nature of the debility until it has pro- 
 gressed beyond all power of medication. 
 
 Of some hundreds of young persons whom I 
 have advised professionally, not half a dozen ever 
 received the first syllable of instruction, in relation 
 to this habit, from the various physicians to whom 
 they had previously applied ; nor did those physi- 
 cians seem to have the least idea of the nature of 
 the malady for which they were prescribing blue 
 pills, preparations of iron, tonic bitters, etc. Yet 
 so prominently did the indications of self-abuse 
 appear, that I could readily detect the fact in 
 almost every case, at the first glance at the patient. 
 
CJraptu ^nttr. 
 
 GENERAL TREATMENT. 
 
 As the sufferers from inordinate sexual excite- 
 ment present all possible degrees of local debility 
 and constitutional injury, so will the degrees of 
 health they are capable of regaining be correspond- 
 ingly various. But there is one pre-requisite in all 
 cases. The first condition of recovery is a prompt 
 and permanent abandonment of the ruinous habit. 
 Without a faithful adherence to this prohibitory 
 law on the part of the patient, all medication on 
 the part of the physician will assuredly fail. The 
 patient must plainly understand that future pros- 
 pects, character, health, and life itself, depend on an 
 unfaltering resistance to the morbid solicitation ; 
 with the assurance, however, that a due perseve- 
 rance will eventually render, what now seems like 
 a resistless and overwhelming propensity, not only 
 
 4* 
 
82 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 controllable but perfectly loathsome and undesir- 
 able. 
 
 In treating of the causes of morbid sexual excite- 
 ment I have already intimated the negative manage- 
 ment — the things to avoid. In the present chapter, 
 therefore, I need only treat specifically of the posi- 
 tive medication — the things to attend to. 
 
 Moral and Mental Management. — It is essen- 
 tial that the mind have occupation ; something to 
 dwell upon besides the adulterous images which are 
 ever crowding themselves into the thoughts. Yet 
 it must not be severely studious nor fatiguing. 
 The patient should seek to throw the current of his 
 cogitations as far from himself and as much on 
 other subjects as possible. Let him endeavor to 
 look far onward into the future, and overlook all he 
 can of the past and present. He may find conso- 
 lation and encouragement in the reflection, that a 
 few years devoted to physiological regeneration, 
 may add twice or thrice that number to a later, and 
 better, and happier period of existence. 
 
 Nothing serves so well to strengthen and sustain 
 the young person who has resolved to attempt self- 
 
Bodily Exercises. 83 
 
 reformation, as a lively interest in the various re- 
 forms of the day ; and in becoming a laborer in the 
 cause of temperance reform, health reform, moral 
 reform, etc., he finds himself surrounded by an 
 influence which seems to buoy him up, and give 
 him energy and fortitude to accomplish his own 
 particular and personal renovation of habits. His 
 reading, and studies, and reflections, should be 
 carefully directed to practical and not to specula- 
 tive subjects. I do not mean that he should become 
 a leader among men in any sense, nor go forward 
 as a champion in any cause ; this requires all the 
 vigor of body and energy of mind that we find in 
 those who have never wasted any portion of their 
 vitality; but that he seek such persons as asso- 
 ciates, and try to identify himself with and interest 
 his feelings in the principles which they advocate. 
 
 Bodily Exercises. — But mental occupation should 
 never be considered as in any sense a substitute for 
 bodily exercises. The vital energies which have 
 acquired a habit of wasting themselves through the 
 sexual apparatus, must be made to expend their 
 forcS on the muscular system. The morbid irrita- 
 
84 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 tion must be diffused, as it were, over the whole 
 body. Hence all the exercise the patient is able to 
 bear, short of absolute fatigue, is useful. 
 
 There is, however, a great choice in the kinds of 
 exercise adapted to individual cases. As far as 
 possible, they should seek such as will harmonize 
 with the mental exercises, and serve in some way 
 to interest and amuse. In cities, a moderate course 
 of gymnastic exercises is advantageous, especially 
 to those who are studious or sedentary in their ac- 
 customed avocations. Walking is, in the great 
 majority of cases, the very best general exercise for 
 those who do not labor. It is not very material 
 whether the exercise be of the work or of the play 
 kind, provided it is appropriate in degree, and taken 
 moderately yet frequently. But some light busi- 
 ness occupation is usually the best, for the reason 
 that the mind recognizes some immediate object, 
 some profitable return, independent of the capital 
 to be acquired in health, over which some degree 
 of doubt and uncertainty will always hang. It is in 
 human nature, in both its healthy and its morbid 
 aspects, to labor with more zest, cheerfulness, and 
 satisfaction, for "small profits and quick returns,'' 
 
Bodily Exercises. 85 
 
 than for larger profits with a more distant realiza- 
 tion. And this principle should be kept in view 
 in the management of the cases under considera- 
 tion. 
 
 There ought to be, connected with some of our 
 hydropathic establishments, a farm, vegetable gar- 
 den, and workshop, where invalids of this class and 
 of other classes, may work their way, or a part of it ; 
 that is, wdiere they can do some kind of mechanical, 
 or out-door labor, and have pay for all they do. 
 This plan would give the patient a double advant- 
 age ; for in taking the exercise necessary to his 
 recovery, he would have a sure reward as he goes 
 along, and a prospect of an accumulating good in 
 the future. 
 
 For those who are not greatly reduced in 
 strength, moderate and steady labor on a farm, or 
 in a mechanic's shop, is not objectionable ; in fact, 
 it is often the very best kind of employment. 
 Young men whose home-attachments are not strong, 
 and who are of a roaming disposition, often do well 
 as traveling agents for good books and periodicals. 
 In this way the mind can be sustained on a three- 
 fold object — the recovery of health, a moderate 
 
86 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 compensation for the time spent, and a better 
 knowledge of the world. 
 
 Diet. — This can hardly be too plain and simple. 
 It must be strictly vegetable, as well as abstemious. 
 Every kind of animal food must be prohibited, and 
 even milk can seldom be used without injury — 
 never at the evening meal. Good brown bread, 
 wheat-meal, water biscuits, Graham crackers, 
 wheaten grits, or boiled wheat, and hominy, are 
 the best articles of the farinaceous kind. It is 
 especially important that a good proportion of the 
 food be solid, so as to secure slow- and perfect 
 mastication. A majority of patients are troubled 
 with a morbid craving, and feel an inclination to 
 eat altogether too frequently, and some are never 
 satisfied with all they can swallow. Dry solid food 
 tends to correct this morbid appetite, and also 
 guard against the tendency to overload the stomach. 
 The evening meal should be very light, and taken 
 entirely without drink. A hard cracker, or a 
 crust of bread, is amply sufficient ; and unless the 
 dinner is moderate, no supper should be eaten 
 at all. 
 
 The morbid appetite, or continual craving for 
 
Diet. 87 
 
 food, will never subside so long as the stomach is 
 habitually gorged with all the food it can swallow ; 
 but may be surely overcome by a persevering ad- 
 herence to the dietetic plan here recommended. 
 
 A moderate proportion of the best fruits and 
 vegetables may be taken to advantage, but many 
 kinds should never be taken at the same meal, nor 
 in the same day. As perfect a dietetic course as 
 can be laid down is, perhaps, the following : Morn- 
 ing meal — Dry toasted bread, baked apples. Din- 
 ner — Wheat-meal water cakes, one boiled potato, 
 one raw apple. Supper — One small hard cracker. 
 
 The particular articles can be varied without 
 affecting materially the simplicity or healthfulness 
 of the whole. For examples : Breakfast — Cracked 
 wheat mush, eaten with a very little syrup or 
 sugar, a crust of bread. Dinner* — Baked potatoes 
 and bread, with plain rice pudding. Supper — A 
 dry crust of bread. Breakfast— -Hominy and hard 
 crackers, with stewed fruit. Dinner — Graham 
 bread, boiled cabbage, squash, peas, beans, or 
 parsnips, and a boiled apple for dessert. Supper — 
 A wheat-meal biscuit. 
 
 The patient should ever bear in mind that the 
 
88 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 principal danger in variety is from the excess of 
 quantity, while there is no danger of simplifying 
 too much.* 
 
 Many invalids will no doubt fear starvation on 
 the " meager diet" above indicated, and their ap- 
 prehension will be aggravated by the feelings of 
 depression which they will more or less experience 
 for a time, on abandoning a stimulating diet. But 
 I can confidently assure them that that is the least 
 of all the dangers to be apprehended. I have 
 known quite a number of young men, and several 
 young ladies, adopt a dietary even more strict, and 
 persevere in it, despite the advice of doctors, the 
 remonstrances of parents and relatives, and the 
 entreaties of friends and neighbors, for several 
 months, and in several instances for two and three 
 years, and In every case recover comparatively a 
 good degree of health. In bad cases this rigid 
 course of diet is indispensable to a cure. 
 
 * Those who desire a full exposition of the chemical and physio- 
 logical properties of all forms of alimentary substances, I must- 
 refer to the Hydropathic Encyclopedia. I have also in hand a 
 Hydropathic Cook Book, containing recipes for preparing food on 
 physiological principles, which will soon be issued from the press 
 of the same publishers, Messrs. Fowlers and Wells. 
 
D R I N K S L E E P . 89 
 
 Drink. — I do not, as a general rule, approve of 
 very free water-drinking in these cases. A tumbler 
 or so just before the morning walk, one or two 
 tumblers about the middle of the forenoon, and at 
 all other times precisely what the thirst calls for, 
 and no more, is the best general direction I can 
 give. Probably a still more accurate rule of prac- 
 tice is, for the patient to take as much water, at the 
 times above mentioned, as will sit well and pleas- 
 antly on the stomach, avoiding all very disagreea- 
 ble chilliness or painful sense of distention. 
 
 Sleep. — " Early to bed and early to rise" must 
 be an invariable habitude. Those who are very 
 dreamy and restless in the forepart of the night 
 must be extremely careful of the evening meal. 
 Such persons may do well to take only two meals a 
 day — at 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. The bed must be as hard 
 as the patient can endure without discomfort, and 
 the bedding as light as possible without his suffering 
 from actual cold. The bodily position during sleep 
 is of some importance. The patient must avoid, if 
 possible, going to sleep on the back. On first 
 retiring he may assume this position, being careful, 
 
90 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 however, as sleepiness comes on, to recline to one 
 side. When fully awake in the morning, he must 
 rise instanter, and proceed to bathing, exercising, 
 etc., being careful to give the system a half an hour 
 or so of rest before eating. 
 
 . Bathing. — The bathing part of the treatment is 
 exceedingly apt to be overdone. Many patients, 
 who have been for years wasting their vitality at a 
 rapid rate, find their way to a Water-Cure, and 
 expect the presiding doctor, by some wonderful ex- 
 hibition of skill, or some marvelous property of 
 " cold water," is going to replenish the enfeebled 
 organism, and make them over and as good as new, 
 with a few packings, and plunges, and douches, etc. 
 This is a great mistake. Such patients are always 
 deplorably impatient. They are willing to do any 
 thing or suffer any thing, provided the cure will 
 come speedily. But their impatience sometimes 
 defeats the very object in view — restoration. If 
 the physician is candid and intelligent he will 
 inform them that the process of reparation is slow ; 
 that it will require weeks, probably months, and 
 possibly years. Some of these impatient patients, 
 
Bathing. 91 
 
 who have already spent several years in quack- 
 doctoring themselves, growing worse all the while, 
 will, on being told that the road to health is a long 
 one, return to their nostrum-seeking experiments 
 again, and devote a year or two more in vain at- 
 tempts to find a specific which has no existence. 
 
 The great majority of patients require, so far 
 as the bathing processes are concerned, very mild 
 treatment. The nervous system should never be 
 subjected to much of a shock, nor the body greatly 
 chilled with cold. All baths should have reference 
 to maintaining a comfortable balance of the circu- 
 lation, and securing an agreeable reaction, and the 
 familiar saying, u We had better do too little than 
 too much," is peculiarly applicable here. 
 
 So great is the diversity of circumstances in 
 which we find this class of patients, and so various 
 their degrees of debility and susceptibility, that we 
 can give no very precise directions as to the time 
 and temperature of the baths; but we can give 
 rules which all may apply with sufficient discrimin- 
 ation. To avoid frequent repetitions, the following 
 bathing processes, which are applicable to home- 
 treatment, are described connectedly in this place : 
 
92 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 1. Wet-Sheet Packing. — On a bed or mattress 
 two or three comfortables or bedquilts are spread ; 
 over them a pair of flannel blankets ; and lastly, a 
 wet sheet (rather coarse linen is best), wrung out 
 lightly. The patient, undressed, lies down flat on 
 the back, and is quickly enveloped in the sheet, 
 blanket, and other bedding. The head must be well 
 raised with pillows, and care must be taken to have 
 the feet well wrapped. If the feet do not warm 
 with the rest of the body, a jug of hot water should 
 be applied ; and if there is tendency to headache, 
 several folds of a cold wet cloth should be laid over 
 the forehead. The usual time for remaining in the 
 pack is from forty to sixty minutes. It may be fol- 
 lowed by the plunge, half-bath, rubbing, wet-sheet, 
 or towel-wash, according to circumstances. 
 
 2. Half -Pack. — This is the same as the preceding, 
 with the exception that the neck and extremities are 
 not covered by the wet sheet, which is applied 
 merely to the trunk of the body, from the armpits 
 to the hips. 
 
 3. Half-Bath. — An oval or oblong tub is most 
 convenient, though any vessel allowing the patient 
 to sit down with the legs extended will answer. 
 
Bathing. 93 
 
 The water should cover the lower extremities and 
 about half of the abdomen. While in the bath the 
 patient, if able, should rub the lower extremities 
 while the attendant rubs the chest, back, and abdo- 
 men. 
 
 •i. Hip or Sitz-Bath. — Any small-sized wash-tnb 
 will do for this ; although tubs constructed with a 
 straight back, and raised four or five inches from 
 the tloor, are much the most agreeable. The water 
 should just cover the hips and lower part of the ab- 
 domen. A blanket should be thrown around the 
 patient, who will find it also useful to rub or knead 
 the abdomen with the hand or fingers during the 
 bath. 
 
 5. Foot-Bath. — Any small vessel, as a pail, will 
 answer. Usually the water should be about ankle 
 deep ; but very delicate invalids, or extremely sus- 
 ceptible persons, should not have the water more 
 than half an inch to one inch in depth. During 
 the bath the feet should be kept in gentle motion. 
 Walking foot-baths are excellent in warm weather 
 where a cool stream can be found. 
 
 6. Ruobing Wet-Sheet. — If the sheet is used drip- 
 pingly wet the patient stands in a tub ; if wrung so 
 
94 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 as not to drip, it may be used on a carpet or in any- 
 place. The sheet is thrown around the body, which 
 it completely envelops below the neck ; the atten- 
 dant rubs the body over the sheet (not with it), the 
 patient exercising himself at the same time by rub- 
 bing in front. 
 
 7. Pail-Douche. — This means simply pouring 
 water over the chest and shoulders from a pail. 
 
 8. Stream-Douche. — A stream of water may be 
 applied to the part or parts affected by pouring from 
 a pitcher or other convenient vessel, held as high 
 as possible ; or a barrel or keg may be elevated for 
 the purpose, having a tube of any desired size. The 
 power will be proportioned to the amount of water 
 in the reservoir. 
 
 9. Towel or Sponge-Bath. — Rubbing the whole 
 surface with a coarse wet towel or sponge, followed 
 by a dry sheet or towel, constitutes this process. 
 
 10. The Wet- Girdle. — Three or four yards of 
 crash toweling make a good one. One half of it is 
 wet and applied around the abdomen, followed by 
 the dry half to cover it. It should be wetted as 
 often as it becomes dry. 
 
 11. The Chest- Wrapper. — This is made of crash, 
 
Bathing. 95 
 
 to fit the trunk like an under-shirt, from the neck to 
 the lower ribs ; it is applied as wet as possible with- 
 out dripping, and covered by a similar dry wrapper 
 made of canton or light woolen flannel. It requires 
 renewing two or three times a day. 
 
 12. The Sweating- PacTc. — To produce perspira- 
 tion, the patient is packed in the flannel blanket and 
 other bedding, as mentioned in No. 1, omitting the 
 wet sheet. Some persons will perspire in less than 
 an hour ; others require several hours. This is the 
 severest of the water-cure processes, and, in fact, 
 very seldom called for. 
 
 13. The Plunge-Bath. — This is employed but lit- 
 tle, except at the establishments. Those who have 
 conveniences will often find it one of the best pro- 
 cesses. Any tub or box holding water enough to 
 allow the whole body to be immersed, with the 
 limbs extended, answers the purpose. A very good 
 plunge can be made of a large cask cut in two near 
 the middle. It is a useful precaution to wet the 
 head before taking this bath. 
 
 14. The Shower-Bath. — This needs no descrip- 
 tion. It is not frequently used in water-cure, but 
 is often very convenient. Those liable to a "rush 
 
96 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 of blood to the head," should not allow much of the 
 shock of the stream upon the head. Feeble persons 
 should never use this bath until prepared by other 
 treatment. 
 
 15. Fomentations. — These are employed for re- 
 laxing muscles, relieving spasms, griping, nervous 
 headache, etc. Any cloths wet in hot water and 
 applied as warm as can be borne, generally answer 
 the purpose ; but flannel cloths dipped in hot water 
 and wrung nearly dry in another cloth or handker- 
 chief, so as to steam the part moderately, are the 
 most efficient sedatives. 
 
 16. Injections. — These are warm or tepid, cool or 
 cold. The former are used to quiet pain and pro- 
 duce free discharges ; the latter to check excessive 
 evacuations and strengthen the bowels. For the 
 former purpose a large quantity should be used ; 
 and for the latter purpose only a small quantity. 
 
 General Bathing Rules. — Never bathe soon after 
 eating. The most powerful baths should be taken 
 when the stomach is most empty. No full bath 
 should be taken less than three hours after a full 
 meal. Great heat or profuse perspiration is no 
 objection to going into cold water, provided the 
 
Bathing. 97 
 
 respiration is not disturbed, and the patient is not 
 greatly fatigued or exhausted. The body should al- 
 ways be comfortably warm at the time of taking 
 any cold bath. Exercise, friction, dry-wrapping, 
 or fire may be resorted to, according to circumstan- 
 ces. Very feeble persons should commence treat- 
 ment with warm or tepid water, gradually lowering 
 the temperature. 
 
 The baths which are most generally indicated in 
 the cases under consideration are, the rubbing wet- 
 sheet, half-lath^ hip-bath, foot-bath, and the wet- 
 girdle. The towel wash is a good substitute for the 
 rubbing wet-sheet, and in very feeble persons it is 
 preferable, as it occasions less shock. As a general 
 prescription (to be modified to suit particular cases), 
 I would suggest the following : 
 
 Rubbing wet-sheet or sponge-bath on rising in 
 the morning, followed by the dry rubbing-sheet if 
 the patient has an assistant, and by rubbing with 
 dry towels if he has not. The time may vary 
 according to the temperature of the body, and the 
 state of the weather — from three to ten minutes. 
 
 Half-bath at 75°, about 10 a.m., from two to ten 
 minutes, followed as above. If this bath is im- 
 
 5 
 
98 Sexual«Abuses. 
 
 practicable, the hip-bath, as below, may be sub- 
 stituted. 
 
 Hip-bath at 70°, about 4 p.m., ten to fifteen min- 
 utes. 
 
 Foot-bath at 8 p.m. If the patient is subject to 
 cold feet, put them in warm water — about 100° — 
 five minutes, then dip them in cold water for half a 
 minute, afterward rubbing dry with towels. Hand- 
 rubbing is advisable after this bath, and also after 
 the rubbing wet-sheet, provided the patient has an 
 assistant. 
 
 The above arrangement presumes the patient to 
 take three meals a day. If he takes but two, the 
 10 o'clock bath may be taken at 11, and the 
 4 o'clock bath at 6. 
 
 Neither the half-bath nor hip-bath should be 
 taken so cold as to leave the muscles of the loins 
 and lower extremities stiff and chilly for more than 
 a few minutes. If these symptoms do not pass off 
 after moderate exercise, the temperature must be 
 raised a little or the time shortened. The former is 
 generally preferable. 
 
 Many patients will be too feeble and cold to bear 
 as many baths as are given above. But in all cases 
 
Mechanical Means. 99 
 
 the patient's temperature and circulation are to 
 guide liini. Take as many of them, in the order 
 mentioned, as can be borne without permanent dis- 
 comfort. 
 
 The wet-sheet packing is advantageous in cases 
 where the skin is clogged up with bilious accumu- 
 lations, and the superficial temperature not too low. 
 It may be repeated daily, or semi-weekly, accord- 
 ing to the effect, until the skin is thoroughly 
 cleansed, which usually takes a month or two. 
 Those who have been greatly reduced by seminal 
 emissions, do not bear the pack well while the 
 emissions continue. 
 
 Other applications of water will be directed in 
 the succeeding chapter. 
 
 Mechanical Means. — Various mechanical con- 
 trivances have been invented and experimented 
 with to prevent seminal emissions. But they are 
 all only applicable to the incipient stages of the 
 difficulty, and then merely to such cases as are pre- 
 ceded by an erection of the penis. In these cases 
 they do frequently prevent the erection, and con- 
 sequently the emission, yet they do nothing toward 
 
100 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 removing the cause. This must be accomplished 
 by the adoption of the whole regimenal course I 
 have laid down. In some cases the emission has 
 been prevented by a ligature, or cord, tied loosely 
 around the foreskin, which is drawn over the 
 glans ; if any abnormal irritation excites the erectile 
 action, the string compresses the part so painfully 
 as to arrest its progress and awaken the patient. 
 Another contrivance is a tin, or glass, or other kind 
 of tube, inclosing the part ; on the inner surface, or 
 near the external end, pins or sharp points of some 
 kind are fitted, which, as soon as erection com- 
 mences, check it by pressing against the projecting 
 organ. 
 
Ctjapbr fht. 
 
 PARTICULAR CONSEQUENCES. 
 
 The effects of sexual excesses are often manifested 
 by such an assemblage of symptoms as are known 
 to nosologists as specific maladies, many of which 
 have also other causes. They present themselves 
 in a thousand forms and phases, from the slightest 
 bodily disorder and mental hallucination, to the 
 most complete and fatal prostration of all the 
 powers of body and mind. The most frequent 
 and prominent will be considered in the present 
 chapter. 
 
 General Debility, often taking the name of dys- 
 pepsia, frequently treated by physicians as liver 
 complaint, and not unfrequently terminating in con- 
 sumption, is the most common result of inordinate 
 or excessive sexual indulgence. Marasmus is but 
 another name for the same general condition, and 
 
102 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 merely indicates extreme emaciation. The plan of 
 treatment has already been detailed. Those, how- 
 ever, who are reduced below the point of taking 
 bodily exercise, must trust to one or two tepid 
 spongings daily, and the dietary given in the pre- 
 ceding chapter. 
 
 Weakness of the Joints, especially in the knees, 
 is occasionally manifested in a remarkable degree 
 by masturbators. They walk with a swinging, 
 dragging motion of the lower extremities, instead 
 of a firm step, and on attempting to run are very 
 apt to strike one knee behind the other and tumble 
 down. In almost all large cities persons are occa- 
 sionally seen tottering along the sidewalk, whose 
 trembling, half-palsied limbs are unable to sustain 
 the weight of the body, and whose knee-joints are 
 bent almost to a right angle, in consequence of this 
 habit in early life. These extreme cases are usually 
 incurable. Those who are still able to walk several 
 miles actively, may derive additional advantage 
 from an occasional wet-sheet pack for an hour, fol- 
 lowed by a half-bath at 70° two minutes, or a drip- 
 ping sheet three to five minutes. 
 
 Neuralgia is among the frequent consequences 
 
Particular Consequences. 103 
 
 of all forms of sexual excesses. It may affect 
 almost any part of the system. It is often experi- 
 enced in the muscles of the neck, and about the 
 loins. Usually persons affected with neuralgic 
 pains are extremely sensitive to wet weather, east- 
 erly winds, and sudden alternations of temperature. 
 They require a very cautious and discriminating 
 management. They should be out-door as much as 
 possible in fine weather, but avoid all great expo- 
 sures. The baths should be very mild in tempera- 
 ture, and followed by considerable rubbing with 
 the dry sheet or hand-friction. Some patients of 
 this class acquire such an extreme degree of morbid 
 susceptibility, that almost any bath temporarily 
 aggravates the pain, and the mere touch of a cold 
 damp cloth is sometimes agonizing. In such cases 
 dry-rubbing, to get up a glow on the surface, should 
 precede the bath, and the patient must depend 
 mainly on a strict diet and suitable exercise for his 
 recovery. 
 
 Spinal Irritation is a still more common result. 
 In females it is usually connected with some form 
 of mis-menstruation ; in males, with debility or 
 great irritability of the urinary organs ; and in both, 
 
104: Sexual Abuses. 
 
 with weakness in the muscles of the back and 
 loins, so that the patients, instead of sitting erect, 
 are inclined to lean forward. The lower part of 
 the spinal column is generally the seat of the ten* 
 derness on pressure, but sometimes the upper por- 
 tion, near the base of the brain, is affected. Phy- 
 sicians are very apt to scarify, pustulate, or apply 
 leeches or caustics to the back in these cases, sup- 
 posing the cause of the spinal irritation to lie in the 
 spinal marrow. Such medication invariably does 
 injury. Cold wet cloths may be applied to the 
 spinal column once a day and worn till they 
 become dry, then removed until the next day. 
 Prolonged but not very cold hip-baths twice a day, 
 are also the leading measures of the bathing part 
 of the treatment ; temperature 75° to 80° ; time, 
 fifteen to thirty minutes. 
 
 Distortions or Curvatures of the spine sometimes 
 result from the relaxed and debilitated state of the 
 muscles, which are thus rendered incapable of sus- 
 taining the spinal column erect. The special treat- 
 ment recommended in the case of spinal irritation 
 is also useful here ; but the water should be gradu- 
 ally reduced to as low a temperature as the patient 
 
Particular Consequences. 105 
 
 can comfortably bear, with the view of inducing 
 muscular contraction. Every pains should also be 
 taken to invigorate the muscles of the back, loins, 
 and abdomen, by rubbing, thumping, kneading, etc. 
 
 Paralysis of the Lower Extremities is one of the 
 occasional consequences, of which I have seen sev- 
 eral cases. In some there was also, as an accom- 
 paniment, and probably an immediate cause, an 
 evident softening of some portion of the brain or 
 spinal marrow. All such cases are necessarily 
 fatal. In others the paralytic condition was the 
 direct result of the waste of vital energy ; and all 
 who have, to my knowledge, adopted the general 
 plan of bathing and regimen recommended in this 
 work, have recovered. 
 
 Hypochondria, or Mental Despondency, is one of 
 the most common sequelae of inordinate sexual ex- 
 citement. Almost all of these patients have their 
 minds and thoughts intently fixed on some special 
 reason for despairing — some particular state, con- 
 dition, pain, or sensation, which is in their imagin- 
 ation irremediable ; and from this dilemma it is 
 sometimes very difficult to extricate them. In the 
 treatment of these patients the moral and mental 
 
106 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 management must be mainly depended on, com- 
 bined with as much steady and regular bodily exer- 
 cise as they can well bear. In a word, occupation 
 of both mind and body is the main thing needful. 
 As these cases are generally attended with torpid 
 skin and constipated bowels, the cold or warm pack, 
 according to the temperature, and the coarsest 
 food, are among the principal auxiliaries. 
 
 Fickleness of Temper, Irresolution, etc., though 
 common to the victims of self-pollution, can hardly 
 be regarded as specific maladies. They are to be 
 managed according to the general principles herein 
 indicated. 
 
 Insanity and Idiotcy are among the extreme and 
 irretrievable consequences of sexual excesses. Dr. 
 Benedict, in the Eighth Annual Report of the State 
 Lunatic Asylum of the State of New York, re- 
 marks : " Masturbation, as a fruitful cause of 
 insanity, deserves especial attention. Fifty cases, 
 admitted during the past year, we attribute to this 
 cause, and we believe this to be less than the actual 
 number. Many of these cases had been addicted to 
 this horrid vice from their youth, and even child- 
 hood, by which their mental and physical strength 
 
Pakticulak Consequences. 107 
 
 was insidiously debilitated, and insanity slowly in- 
 duced. 
 
 "In addition to those fifty-live whose insanity is 
 attributed to this cause, five others were admitted 
 during the year, insane from other causes, and 
 forty-seven of those remaining in the institution at 
 the close of last year, were addicted to this vice, 
 making one hundred and seven masturbators out of 
 eight hundred and sixteen cases !" 
 
 In a late report of the Massachusetts State Luna- 
 tic Asylum, it was stated that thirty-two insane per- 
 sons, whose insanity w r as produced by self-abuse, 
 had been received during a single year. 
 
 Early Superannuation — premature old age — is , 
 the penalty which all must indiscriminately pay to 
 the violated laws of their organizations. I have 
 already alluded to this subject sufficiently. The 
 only practical remark pertinent here is this. All 
 who have unfortunately been prodigal of the fund 
 of life heretofore, must hereafter be proportionately 
 economical if they would prolong existence to 
 " threescore and ten," or any near approximation 
 to that " allotted period." 
 
 Epilepsy. — More than one half of the cases of 
 
108 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 epileptic fits which have come under my observa- 
 tion during the last six years, I have been able to 
 trace unmistakably to self-abuse. How great the 
 proportion is in the practice of other physicians I 
 am unable to say, for medical books furnish us no 
 statistics on this subject. I have known several 
 cases in which children commenced the habit at the 
 ages of seven, eight, and nine years, and became 
 epileptic two or three years afterward. A majority 
 of such cases are hopeless, for the reason that they 
 are seldom taken hold of in season. 
 
 Apoplexy is noticed by several authors as the su- 
 perinduced affection. During the paroxysm hot 
 bottles should be applied to the feet, and cold wet 
 cloths, or the pouring-bath, to the head. Tepid 
 injections are also indicated. 
 
 Tetanus and Lockecl-Jaw are rare yet possible 
 consequences. The full warm, or even hot bath, is 
 indicated, to relax the spasmodic action of the mus- 
 cles ; afterward the case should be treated as one 
 of " general debility." 
 
 Chorea, or St. Vitus' s Dance, is among those de- 
 plorable results of which almost every city and large 
 village exhibits some sad examples. It is curable 
 
Particular Consequences. 109 
 
 only on its first appearance, and requires the strict- 
 est regimen. 
 
 Hysteria is apt to occur in young females who 
 have become constitutionally debilitated from this 
 cause. It requires no attention, save the general 
 treatment. 
 
 Spitting of Blood is always a serious complica- 
 tion. The patient must abstain from all violent 
 exertion, eat as little food as will keep off absolute 
 starvation, take frequent but very small draughts 
 of cold water, and wear the chest- wrapper when- 
 ever it can be borne without chilliness. 
 
 Disordered Vision is more frequently noticed 
 than any other derangement of the external senses ; 
 yet all of them are liable to be affected. Walking 
 foot-baths, and cool, but not very cold, eye-baths — 
 holding the eyes open in water of about 70° five 
 minutes once or twice a day — are the best special 
 appliances. 
 
 Impaired Hearing is, next to disordered vision, 
 the most frequent of the abnormal manifestations 
 in the functions of relation. It is to be mitigated 
 in the same way as advised for the preceding ail- 
 ment. 
 
110 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 Sleeplessness is very often complained of. The 
 patient retires feeling dull and drowsy, but the 
 longer he remains in bed the more wakeful he be- 
 comes. Toward morning he falls into a disquiet 
 slumber, from which he is soon aroused, feeling 
 completely exhausted for want of rest. A gentle 
 sponge-bath, or rubbing the surface with a wet 
 towel, and a hot-and-cold foot-bath, just before 
 going to bed, are the best means of soothing the 
 brain and nervous system. 
 
 Pimples of the Face, of a deep-red, dark, livid, 
 or purple hue, sometimes giving the face or fore- 
 head a very rough, uneven appearance, are not 
 uncommon. They will generally disappear gradu- 
 ally as the general health improves, but usually leave 
 some traces of their existence for years, sometimes 
 during life. Cosmetics are sometimes resorted to, 
 but always aggravate the difficulty. Persons trou- 
 bled with these pimples should be careful and not 
 sit with the face near a hot fire, nor in any way 
 overheat the head. 
 
 Inflammation of the Eyes are also common. 
 Sometimes the eyelids are weak, red, and watery, 
 and sometimes the conjunctiva, or white part of 
 
Part icu lab Consequences. Ill 
 
 the eye, is tinged with a dark-pink stain. At the 
 same time the visual organ appears languid, dull, 
 glassy, and vacant in expression. The special man- 
 agement is the same as for disordered vision. If, 
 however, there is preternatural heat about the 
 eyes, they may be bathed for a minute or two in 
 cold water — about 60° — several times a day. 
 
 Chronic Diarrhea is mentioned by several writers 
 on this subject. It is attended with little pain, but 
 is usually increased by the most trifling deviations 
 from the accustomed diet. It requires a very dry, 
 mostly farinaceous diet, and the employment of the 
 wet-girdle a part of the time. It may be applied 
 around the whole body, or only on the front half, 
 according to the patient's ability to bear it without 
 chilliness. An injection of about a gill of cool or 
 cold water, at bedtime, to be retained, if possible, 
 during the night, is advisable. 
 
 Colorless Stools, denoting extreme deficiency in 
 the secretion of the digestive juices — saliva, gastric, 
 and pancreatic — are often observed. The liver is 
 also torpid in these cases, and its functional duty 
 thrown upon the skin and kidneys. It is to be 
 treated on the same plan as chronic diarrhea. 
 
112 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 Priapism, or painful erection, is often very ob- 
 stinate and troublesome. It may occur whenever 
 the patient is warm in bed ; but is usually worse 
 in the morning. Sometimes it annoys the patient 
 either day or night, whenever the least mental or 
 bodily excitement is applied. A warm hip-bath for 
 twenty minutes at bedtime, as little bedding as the 
 patient can possibly be comfortable under, the ap- 
 plication of a cold wet compress whenever the part 
 becomes irritable, the careful avoidance of salt, 
 alkalies, spices, etc., in the food, a very abstemious 
 and dry diet, with no drink in the evening, consti- 
 tute the special remedial means. It is also specially 
 important to obviate the least tendency to costive 
 bowels. 
 
 Satyriasis and Nymphomania, an inordinate and 
 almost maddening irritation of the genital organs, 
 inducing a constant and almost resistless propensity 
 for sexual commerce, is liable to affect the male or 
 female masturbator. The dripping wet sheet, and 
 tepid or warm hip-baths — 75° to 85° — should be 
 employed frequently, until the inflammatory pas- 
 sion abates. 
 
 Loss of Sexual Appetite is the opposite extreme 
 
Particular Consequences. 113 
 
 of sensibility, and often results from the same gen- 
 eral cause. There is nothing special in the requi- 
 site treatment. A few years of rest, and a life in 
 conformity with the laws of life, may re-develop the 
 natural sensibility. 
 
 Impotence itself is an occasional result, and when 
 complete is, perhaps, less to be lamented than when 
 the ability to beget none but malformed offspring 
 remains. It may be attended with that degree of 
 local debility which renders sexual commerce im- 
 possible, or a preternatural sensibility which pro- 
 vokes a seminal emission before the act of copula- 
 tion is consummated. 
 
 Permanent Morbid Sensibility of the genital 
 organs is often complained of. They are tender to 
 the touch, and are frequently troubled with aching 
 sensations and neuralgic pains, yet without external 
 heat, redness, or swelling. The hip-bath at 80° ten 
 minutes, then reduced to 70° five minutes, generally 
 relieves this symptom. It may be repeated daily 
 as long as necessary. 
 
 Shriveling or Diminution of the genitals is men- 
 tioned by nearly all writers on these diseases. In 
 these cases no special local treatment is called for 
 
114 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 until the constitutional health is re-established. 
 Then frequent cold sitz-baths are useful — three or 
 four times a day, for five minutes, temperature 
 about 50°. 
 
 Ba/rrenness is a frequent consequence of sexual 
 excesses of all kinds. The constitutional treatment 
 is all that need be attended to. 
 
 Abortion is very frequently occasioned by exces- 
 sive indulgence in married life ; and some females 
 acquire a predisposition to it, by self-abuse in girl- 
 hood There is no safety for such persons unless 
 they refrain wholly from sexual indulgence during 
 pregnancy. 
 
 Leueorrhcea, in unmarried females is more fre- 
 quently the result of masturbation than is generally 
 supposed. It is true that many other causes pro- 
 duce it, and that constipation of the bowels alone 
 often induces it. But when this last mentioned 
 cause is combined with self-abuse, the leucorrhcea 
 is always severe,, and frequently followed by pro- 
 lapsus of the uterus, or bowels, or both. When 
 these patients are much reduced, pale, cold, and 
 emaciated, the dry-pack, followed by the tepid 
 sponge-bath, and one or two daily hip-baths at 
 
Particular Consequences. 115 
 
 70°, are the chief measures of special medication. 
 Otherwise the general treatment is sufficient. 
 
 Menorrhagia, or excessive menstruation, is fre- 
 quently the manner in which the local debility is 
 manifested. Usually the monthly periods are not 
 only excessive in quantity, but also too frequent in 
 recurrence, and are attended with irregular swell- 
 ings or bloatings of the abdomen. During the 
 menstrual period the patient should, if able to sit 
 up, take two or three hip-baths daily, at 60 to 70°, 
 five to ten minutes ; if not, cold wet cloths should 
 be applied to the abdomen and frequently changed. 
 
 Prolajpsus Uteri, or falling of the womb, is an im- 
 mediate consequence of the relaxed state of the 
 vagina, and this condition may readily be produced 
 by self-abuse. Like leucorrhoea, prolapsus may 
 result from many other causes ; indeed, from any 
 cause which debilitates the muscular system very 
 much ; and prominent among these causes are con- 
 stipation and the purgatives which are taken to 
 remove it. Hence, in judging how far any dis- 
 placement is attributable to vicious habits, we must 
 take into account all the other evidences of the 
 case. These cases require an extremely simple and 
 
116 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 abstemious diet, vaginal injections of cool water, 
 and in bad cases, mechanical treatment, that is to 
 say, a replacement of the organ by mechanical means. 
 
 Gleet, in males, is occasionally met with. The 
 dribbling discharge is not a proper seminal fluid, 
 but a morbid secretion, similar to that of chronic 
 catarrh. It requires nothing different from the 
 general plan of treatment. 
 
 Eruptions about the genitals sometimes occur, 
 and in rare cases extend over a considerable portion 
 of the body, but require no peculiar treatment. If 
 itching or smarting attends them, warm bathing 
 should be employed sufficient to relieve the uneasy 
 sensations. 
 
 Prolapse of the Testicles is among the most fre- 
 quent local deformities. It commonly affects only 
 one, but sometimes both. It is owing to an extreme 
 relaxation of the scrotum, which allows one or both 
 to descend one, two, or three inches. After the 
 general health is measurably renovated, this relaxa- 
 tion may be in a considerable degree overcome and 
 the parts restored by short, frequent, cold hip- 
 baths, or what is still more efficient, the ascending 
 douche or ascending shower. 
 
Particular Consequences. 117 
 
 Swelling of the Testicle, which is not uncommon, 
 usually disappears on the recovery of constitutional 
 vigor, without local treatment. Whenever the 
 swelling is so great as to occasion a painful sense 
 of weight, a suspensory bandage should be worn. 
 
 Enlargement of the Spermatic Cord is quite as fre- 
 quently attributable to this as to any other cause. 
 Neuralgic pain, or morbid tenderness of the affect- 
 ed part, more or less troubles the patient. I am 
 not aware of any local measures that are advanta- 
 geous. 
 
 Irritation of the Urethra is mentioned by authors. 
 This may result from numerous causes, yet a tender, 
 itching, or painful sensation along its course, espe- 
 cially on urinating, is sometimes clearly traceable 
 to the secret vice. Warm water is here again spe- 
 cially indicated. 
 
 Scalding Urination — a sense of heat during the 
 passage of the urine — is still more common. Warm 
 hip-baths will generally remove it. 
 
 Cancer of the Uterus is mentioned by several 
 authors as having been produced by self-abuse, and 
 by excessive sexual commerce. It can only be 
 treated by the competent surgeon. 
 
118 Sexual Abuses. 
 
 Tabes Dorsalis was the term applied as long ago 
 as the days of Hippocrates, to a condition of the 
 system resulting from inordinate sexual excite- 
 ment, characterized by the symptoms of a general 
 decline, and a sensation on the part of the patient 
 as though ants were crawling along or falling 
 down the course of the spinal marrow. Practically 
 we need only regard it as " general debility." 
 
 THE END. 
 
f\ ™ PUBLISHED BY &/>/ 
 
 FOWLERS AND WELLS, *# 
 
 NO. 131 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK. 
 
 American Phrenological Journal and Miscel- 
 lany. Dc-votfc-d to Phrenology, Physiology, and Self-Improvement. A year, $1 00 
 
 Amativeness ; or, Evils and Remedies of Ex- 
 cessive and Perrc»rted Sexuality, with Advice to the Manied and Single,- 12£ 
 
 Accidents and Emergencies. By Alfred 
 
 Smee. Illustrated. Every family should have it, 12£ 
 
 Botany for all Classes ; containing a Floral 
 
 Dictionary, with numerous Illustrations. Ey John B. ftewman, M.D., - 50 
 
 Bulwer and Forbes on the Water Treatment. 
 
 Edited, with Additional Matter, by R. S. Houghton, M.D., - 50 
 
 Constitution of Man, considered in Relation 
 
 to External Objects. A new, revised, enlarged, and illustrated edition, - 50 
 
 Combe's Lectures on Phrenology. By George 
 
 Combe. A complete course as delivered in the United States, - - 1 00 
 
 Combe on Infancy ; or, the Physiological and 
 
 Moral Management of Children. Illustrated. An important work, - 50 
 
 Chemistry, Applied to Physiology, Agricul- 
 ture, and Commerce. By Prof. Liebig. With additions by Dr. Gardiner, 20 
 
 Curiosities of Common Water. With Addi- 
 tions by Joel Shew, M.D. From the fifth London edition of 1723, - • 25 
 
 Cholera : Its Causes, Prevention and Cure ; 
 
 and all other Bowel Complaints, treated by Water, 25 
 
 Combe's Physiology, Applied to the Improve- 
 ment of Mental and Physical Education. New edition, with Notes, - 50 
 
 Chart for Recording various Developments. 
 
 Designed for Phrenologists. With numerous engravings, §\ 
 
 Constitution of Man. School Edition. By 
 
 George Combe. Arranged with Questions, for a Class-Book, • • -25 
 
 Consumption, its Prevention and Cure, by 
 
 the Water Treatment, with directions. Illustrated, - • - . . 50 
 
 Chronic Diseases, Especially the Nervous 
 
 Diseases of Women. Designed foi married people particularly, 25 
 
 Defence of Phrenology. By Dr. Andrew 
 
 Poardman. A good work for ekepC^a and unbelievers 50 
 
FOWLERS AND WELLS'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Education Complete. Embracing Physiology, 
 
 Animal and Mental, Self- Culture, and Memory, in one large volume, - 2 00 
 
 Education, Founded on the Nature of Man. 
 
 By Dr. Spurzheim. A scientific work, with illustrations, ... 50 
 
 Elements of Animal Magnetism ; or, Process 
 
 and Practical Application for relieving human suffering, - - - - 12i 
 
 Errors of Physicians and Others, in the Ap- 
 plication of the Water-Cure. By J. H. llausse, 25 
 
 Experience in Water-Cure, in Acute and 
 
 other Diseases, with directions to patients, 25 
 
 Familiar Lessons on Phrenology and Physi- 
 ology. Muslin, in one volume. Beautifully illustrated, - - • - 1 00 
 
 Familiar Lessons on Phrenology. Designed 
 
 for the use of Children and Youth, illustrated, --.--. 50 
 
 Familiar Lessons on Physiology. Designed 
 
 for the use of Children and Youth, with engravings, 25 
 
 Fascination ; or, the Philosophy of Charming. 
 
 (Magnetism.) Illustrating the Principles of Life. Illustrated, 40 
 
 Food and Diet: Containing an Analysis of 
 
 every kind of Food and Drink. By Professor Pereira, .... 50 
 
 Familiar Lessons on Astronomy. Designed 
 
 for Children and Youth in Schools and Families. Beautifully Illustrated, 40 
 
 Hereditary Descent : Its Laws and Facts ap- 
 plied to Human Improvement. New edition, illustrated, 50 
 
 Human Rights, and their Political Guaran 
 
 ties : Founded on the Moral and Intellectual Laws of our Being, • 50 
 
 Home for All ; or, a New, Cheap, Convenient. 
 
 and Superior Mode of Building, with appropriate Diagrams, 50 
 
 Hydropathic Encyclopedia. A Practical Sys- 
 tem of Hydropathy and Hygiene. Illustrated. Ey R. T. Trail, M.D. - 2 00 
 
 Hydropathy for the People. An excellent 
 
 work on health. With Notes by Dr. Trail, 50 
 
 Introduction to the Water-Care. With an 
 
 Exposition of the Human Constitution. By T. L. Nichols, M.D., - - 12£ 
 
 L0Ve and Parentage : applied tO the Improve- 
 ment of Offspring, including important Directions to the Married, - - 25 
 
 Lectures on the Philosophy of Mesmerism 
 
 and Clairvoyance. With instruction in its process and practical application, 25 
 
 Labor : Its History and Prospects. Including 
 
 the Use and Abuse of Wealth. By Robert Dale Owen, 25 
 
 Lectures on Hyg'ene and Hydropathy. By 
 
 R. S. Houghton, M.D, - - 25 
 
FOWLERS AND WELLS'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Maternity ; or, the Bearing and Nursing of 
 
 Children, includi te Engravings, - >0 
 
 Marriage : Its History and Philosophy, with 
 
 a Phrenological Exposition of the Functions for Happy Marriages, - - 37$ 
 
 Memory and Intellectual Improvement: Ap- 
 
 V cation and Juvenile Instruction. Twentieth edition, - £0 
 
 Mesmerism in India. A superior work, by 
 
 the celebrated Dr. Esdaile. Highly recommended by professional men, • 50 
 
 Matrimony ; or, Phrenology and Physiology 
 
 tiled to the Selection of congenial Companions for Life, 35 
 
 Moral and Intellectual Science. By Combe, 
 
 Stratton, Cox, Gregory, and other*. Illustrated with Portraits, - - 2 00 
 
 Natural Laws of Man, physiologically con- 
 sidered. By Dr. Spurzheim. A work of great merit, 25 
 
 Psychology, or the Science of the Soul. With 
 
 Engravings of the Nervous System. By Joseph Haddock, M.D., - 25 
 
 Physiology of Digestion. The Principles of 
 
 Dietetics. Illustrated with Engravings. Ey Andrew Combe, M.D., • 25 
 
 Phrenology Proved, Illustrated, and Applied. 
 
 Embracing a concise Elementary View of Phrenology, with a Chart - 1 00 
 
 Phrenological Guide. Designed for the Use 
 
 of Students of their own Charact3rs. With numerous Engravings, • 12J 
 
 Phrenological Almanac : Illustrated with nu- 
 merous Engravings — containing illustrated descriptions of character, - 64 
 
 Popular Phrenology, exhibiting the Phreno- 
 logical Developments of more than fifty different Personages, 25 
 
 Power of Kindness ; Inculcating the Christian 
 
 Principles of Love and Benevolence. An excellent work, 25 
 
 Physiology, Animal and Mental : Applied to 
 
 the Preservation and Restoration of Health of Body and Mind, • • 50 
 
 Phrenology and the Scriptures, showing their 
 
 Harmony. By Pvev. John Pierpont, 12£ 
 
 Principles of the Human Mind. Biology : in- 
 cluding the Voltaic Mechanism of Man, 25 
 
 Philosophy of Electrical Psychology. By 
 
 John Bovee Dods, - 50 
 
 Philosophy of Spiritual Intercourse: an Ex- 
 planation of Modern Mysteries. By Andrew Jackson Davis, 50 
 
 Religion, Natural and Revealed ; or, the 
 
 Natural Theology and Moral Bearings of Pbrcnoloiry, 50 
 
 Self-Culture and Perfection of Character ; 
 
 including the Management o" V »cth. improved store typed edition, - 50 
 
FOWLERd AND WELLS'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Science of Swimming : Giving the History 
 
 of Swimming, with special Instriction to Learners. Illustrated, - - 12} 
 
 Sober and Temperate Life : With Notes and 
 
 Illustrations by Comaro, who lived 154 years. Reai this Book, - - 25 
 
 S} r nOpsis Of Plireiiology and Physiology : Il- 
 lustrating the Temperaments. Designed for Phrenologists and others, - 12^ 
 
 Temperance and Tight-Lacing : Founded on 
 
 the Laws of Life as developed by Phrenology and Physiology, - - 12^ 
 
 Tobacco : Its Effect on the Body and Mind. 
 
 The best work o.i the subject. Every body should read it, 25 
 
 The Use of Tobacco; Its Physical, Intellect- 
 ual, and Moral Effects on the Human System, 12£ 
 
 Teeth ; Their Structure, Disease, and Man- 
 agement, with the Causes of Early Decay. Full of Engravings, - - 124 
 
 Thoughts on Domestic Life. Its Concord 
 
 and Discord, with Suggestions to both Sexes. By Nelson Sizer, - - 12} 
 
 Tea and Coffee ; Their Physical, Intellectual, 
 
 and Moral Effects on the Human System, 13$ 
 
 The Parent's Guide, and Childbirth made 
 
 Easy ; with Advice to Mothers. By Mrs. Pendleton, .... 50 
 
 The Illustrated Self-Instructor in Phrenology 
 
 and Physiology ; with One Hundred Engravings and a Chart, - - 25 
 
 Vegetable Diet, as Sanctioned by Medical 
 
 Men, and Experience in all ages ; also a System of Vegetable Cookery, - 50 
 
 Water-Cure Library; Embracing all of Im- 
 portance on the Subject. In seven large l2mo volumes, - - - 5 00 
 
 Water and Vegetable Diet in Scrofula, Can- 
 cer, Asthma, and many other Diseases. By Dr. Lamb, 59 
 
 Water-Cure Manual; A Popular Work on 
 
 Hydropathy. With familiar Directions. Every family should have it, • 50 
 
 Water-Cure Almanac, Containing much im- 
 portant matter for all classes. Published yearly, 6} 
 
 Woman : Her Education and Influence. With 
 
 a General Introduction, by Mrs. Kirkland. With thirteen Portraits, - 40 
 
 Water-Cur e Journal and Herald of Reforms. 
 
 Devoted to Hydropathy and Medical Reform. Circulation 25,000. A year, 1 00 
 
 Water-Cure for Women in Pregnancy and 
 
 Childbirth. Illustrated with numerous cases. A good work, 25 
 
 Water-Cure in Every Known Disease. By 
 
 J. H. Rausse. Translated by C. II. Meeker, from the Germ in, - - 50 
 
 All Works on Phrenology, Physiology, Mag- 
 
 netism, Physfosmomv, Phonography, the Watnr-CuTw, or Hydropathy, 
 may be obtained oi Fov/lkrs and \Vat.L3, 131 Nassau Street, New \o*k. 
 
4fZ>. 
 
 MAIL EDITION. PRICE 25 CENTS. 
 
 |)omc-(Lrcatnicitt 
 
 SEXUAL ABUSES. 
 
 % |Snirfinil (Trrntiiir 
 
 ON THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF EXCESSIVE AND UNNATURAL SEXUAL LVDl'L- 
 
 GL'.N'CS, THE DISEASES VXD INJURIES RESULTING TIIEEE.FBO.V, WITH THEIR 
 
 SYMPTOMS AND nYDROPATHIG MANAGEMENT. 
 
 R. T. Teali, M.D. 
 
 V 
 
 N E W-Y RK: 
 
 FOWLERS AND WELLS, PUBLISHERS, 
 Cms-ton Hall, 131 Nassau Street. 
 
 Boston, I 13 VV [L-ndon, No. H2 Strand. 
 
 
! 
 
r 
 
 a a v, 
 
 
 
 o 
 ;> 
 
 O 
 
 03 
 
 8 
 
 " -S I 
 
 
 b fj - - 
 
 \ - - d 
 
 o „ 
 
 
 - 9 3 
 
 3 — ■ 
 
 o J? 
 
 
 o 3 o 
 
 
 5 3 ' 
 
 a & 5 1 
 
 bl>-d 
 
 d C ^r 
 
 > ^ Vj ■ 
 
 o r, d 
 
 P^3 
 
 to o 
 O © x 
 
 
 S .g .2 
 
 « .2 . 
 
 d Q "cA 
 
 a p * --. s 
 
 © w d> 
 
 
 g«M , 
 
 
 fl a d 
 
 ,H Q 
 
 I © § t» 
 
 a d 2 
 
 6o r r 
 
 E ^ 
 
 » 2 
 
 "3 3 2 
 bora a 
 
 >» d o 
 
 K ;d ~ O £ ' 
 
 3 a od « h 
 
 ft 2 « » o 
 
 e> rt o en 
 
 t_^ C) J3 H H H 
 
 I > 03 "** 
 
 < r~ Q © 
 
 ' w r ~ d 
 : d^ 3 
 
 i|2o 
 
 j qd >d -^» 
 ; w d o 
 
 5 5 s > 
 
 ' J >? g 
 
 llsSl-li.-s" 3 
 
 3 = 5 = '" 
 
 s?^s 
 
 .22 P 
 
 fc Ms s*; « jt Jms >» 
 
 s fciSisS.S Safes 
 
> *■ ' B ■ < 
 
 *b 3 -- 
 
 0° 
 
 °o 
 
 <3» 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 ^ 
 
yBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 021 062 600 *' 
 
 B