WJ7\ G-866n MmuS' tit-.t:4tt wm? §■ m M ii»-^ l i : ft;. '•*•« r| ,, ; r- • • I -.Jr.l : • : r-'l^'Ji'^f--'^ ■;.i>^'i. ;::■ ^ •„.-* ^ a"; i ••; r;> ! h^ffprW' ■ v i -:ii?iifif/H!ii/«l!iS^ftifi^11*^i*lfe NEW MEDICAL EEVELATIONS, BEING A POPULAR WORK ON THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM, DEBILITY AND DISEASES. BY IX WESLEY GRINDLE, M. D, DOCTOR Or MEDICINE OF NEW YORK UNIVERSITY; AUTHOR • ? TREATISE ON ADULTERATED DRUGS AND MEDICINES ; PHILADELPHIA: 319 SOOTH THIRTEENTH STREET, BETWEEN SPRUCE AND PINE STREETS, 1857. PRICE ONE DOLLAR. WJA 1857 tee/ ■■! I - L Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by WESLEY GRINDLE, M. D., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. TO THE MEDICAL FACULTY OP THE NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, IN ADMIRATION OP THEIR EMINENT PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER, THESE PAGES ABE VERY RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, BY THEIR GRATEFUL FRIEND, THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS. Introduction, page 9 CHAPTER I. SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT. paoi False and True Morality—Grand Result—The Period— The Signs—Dangers—Rules of Safety. 15 CHAPTER II. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. Matrimony—Age and Development—As a Remedy—Op- posites Sought For—Physical Defects—Medical Skill —Caution and Warning. ----- 26 CHAPTER III. SPERMATORRHEA, OR SEMINAL WEAKNESS. SYMPTOMS Seminal Losses—Priapisms—State of External Organs— Nocturnal and Diurnal Emissions—Great Danger— Loss of Courage, Energy, and Brilliancy—The Eyes- Taste, Smell, Sight, Hearing, Sleeping—Mental Fac- ulties—Uses of the Semen......43 (5 > 6 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. SPERMATORRHEA, OR SEMINAL WEAKNESS. CAUSES. PAGE eneral Causes : Debauch—Irritations—Malformations, Ac. Special Causes : Sexual Excesses—Venereal Di- seases—Self-Abuse. Horrible Consequences of Self- Abuse—From Hufeland. ----- 60 CHAPTER V. IMPOTENCY AND STERILITY. Definition—Malformations—Deranged Action—Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra—Effects of Imagination—Unseemly Embraces—Woman's Scorn—Man's Disgust—Quack- ery—Variety among Women—Vice of Female Organs —Deferred Offspring—"Aiding and Abetting"—De- testable Habit—Self-Murder—Advice and Warning. 74 CHAPTER VI. SEMINAL WEAKNESS, IMPOTENCY AND STERILITY. TREATMENT. Great Blunder—Want of Sympathy—Little Desire for Society—Self-Quackery—Fear of Exposure—Dishon- orable Doctors—Lallemand's Treatment—Porte Caus- tique—Pressure on Penis—Suppositories. General Indications : Local—Constitutional—Dietetic—Moral. Mechanical Invention: Remarkable Effects—How Obtained. ----....98 CONTENTS. 7 CHAPTER VII. VENEREAL DISEASES—GONORRHOEA. PAQI Causes : Gonorrhosal Discharges—Gleety Discharges— Leucorrhoea—Menstrual Flux, etc. Symptoms and Effects : Slight Itching—Inflammation—Purulent Mat- ter—Swelled Glands—Chordee—Scalding on Making Water—Swelled Testicles—Stricture—Gleet—Irrita- ble Bladder, etc. Treatment: Effects of Imprudence —Of Self-Treatment—Uneducated Doctors—Patients put on their Guard. Prevention when Exposed. - 121 CHAPTER VIII. VENEREAL DISEASES—SYPHILIS. Animal Virus—Formation of Chancre—Character of other Venereal Sores—Specific Poison—Period of Columbus' Return—Hunter's Hobby—Abuse of Mercury—Mer- curial Disease—Sore Throat—Ugly Nose—Diseased Cartilages and Bones, etc.—Transmitted to Offspring —Prompt Treatment—Self-Treatment—Warning Gra- tis. - - 138 CHAPTER IX. THOUGHTS ON PREGNANCY. Introductory Remarks—Free Quotation—To Libertines —To Hypocrites—To the Pure-Minded—Constitu- tional Defects—Horrible Cutting Operations—Great Distress During Pregnancy—Hereditary Diseases— Poverty and Largo Families—Affecting Letter—Ob- jections Answered—French Proprieties—Females' s CONTENTS. Wish should be Consulted—Not Good for Man to be Alone—Seduction and Appeal to Parents—Human Affections Mutable—Fashionable Rascality and Legal Roguery—Grace and Gluttony—Only Safe, Healthy, and Efficient Means. . ----- 154 CHAPTER X. THOUGHTS ON ABORTIONS OR MISCARRIAGES. Foetus in the Womb—Floats in the Waters—Cord and Placenta—Slight Attachment to the Mother—Causes of its Separation—Falls—Blows—Violent Muscular Motions—Emetics Imprudently Given—Sudden Frigh t —Fits of Passion, etc., etc.—Ludicrous case of a Ger- man Woman—When Justifiable to Produce Abortions —Deformed Pelvis—Womb turned Backwards— Hemorrhage in Pregnancy—Excessive Vomiting, etc. Rapes—Seductions—Dangers and Safety—Notorious Madame Restell—Professor Bedford's Case—Probing —Drugging—Caution and Warning—Only Safety— Appeal to christian sympathy in behalf of the unfortu- nate—Directions for patients. - - . . 190 INTRODUCTION. Reader ! this introduction is written not merely to conform to a custom universal among authors, in pre- senting their works to the public—for custom without sense or meaning we heartily detest. Some explanation seems proper, for we have brought to light strange facts generally regarded as hidden things among eminent medi- cal men—facts no less startling than true, in many of their features. Every physician of experience is aware, that we con stantly find in our midst a large number of persons of both sexes, labouring under the most fearful apprehen- sions relative to their physical condition, or afflicted with diseases both lothesome and dangerous, if allowed to continue, all for the want of a little wholesome in- struction concerning themselves, especially the physiology of the reproductive system, and the causes, symptoms, prevention, and cure of the debility and diseases to which that system is liable. This instruction, the sine qua non in the present state of society, we have endea- voured to impart in this volume ; and that we might do this more effectually, and be thoroughly understood by all classes, we have introduced very few abstruse medical technicalities, and none without an explanation. 10 INTRODUCTION. The subjects of which we here treat, we are free to ac- knowledge, are of a highly delicate nature, and it has been our constant study, to clothe our thoughts in such lan- guage, that the most fastidious could not take offence. We beg the reader to be assured, that we are the last person living to violate a chaste feeling and modest re- serve, either with our pen or in conversation ; still there is a mock modesty which deserves the severest repre- hension ; moreover, this is a medical book, and not de- signed for the centre-table, nor to be loosely thrown about among persons, either too young or too silly to understand, appreciate, or profit by the things brought to light. Haller well observed, " There are no secrets in physiology;" although the mock modesty of many persons pretends to be horrified at the bare notice of mat- ters of daily occurrence, which affect honor, reputation, health, and life itself. To such, the language of an old English King, when he picked up the lady's garter and presented it to her in the midst of a crowd, seems highly appropriate—honi soit qui mal y pense. We will further add, that, probably no person, arrived to years of under- standing, after reading these pages, will believe that " ba- bies are found among cabbages." We have spoken with great plainness and self-confi- dence upon these subjects ; but we have, for some time past, bestowed special attention upon them, and feel the importance of those things, we so earnestly desire bring home to the understanding and consciences of oi r readers. We do not pretend that we have outrun ou INTRODUCTION. 11 professional brethren in everything, but these things are almost universally neglected by the profession; indeed the science of medicine is so extended, the human family are subject to so many and varied diseases, affecting the whole system generally, and every organ in particular, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot; and these indicate such varied treatment, that it is impossi- ble that a physician should dabble in the routine of gen- eral practice for a whole life time, and become eminent in any branch of his profession. In our colleges and hos- pitals, every physician has his special branch, and if he possess talent, industry, and a good observation, he may attain to a degree of eminence. In the university where we passed the greater part of our pupilage—the New York University—and whose dictum we carried into the world as evidence that we had passed the ordeal of the " green room," and become authorized ; there were five cliniques, two surgical, one medical, one for diseases of women and children, and one for venereal and skin diseases. Now what was the ne- cessity of dividing patients according to the nature of their diseases, and assigning them to different cliniques ? Why not let each professor have his share of the largest variety going ? Plainly because the object was to bring before the class the greatest amount of skill and experi- ence, and the faculty could obtain this only by such an arrangement. But if the physician, when not connnected with a college or hospital, engages in the investigation of a 12 INTRODUCTION. special branch of practice—especially if it be one gen erally neglected by the profession—and attains to a de- gree of skill others do not possess, he is very likely to obtain the displeasure of certain men in the profession ; aud the reason is obvious ; there are so many half- fledged doctors in our midst, engaged in the practice of some special branch of medicine, to their own dis- grace, and the disgrace of the profession, that all specialists, whatever their merits, are looked upon with suspicion. These pseudo-doctors, in our large towns, usually advertise for the treatment of vene- real and secret diseases. In the country, they not unfre- quently become family physicians, and because patients sometimes recover from dangerous diseases, in spite of their interference, or without judicious medical assist- ance, it is supposed that they possess remarkable skill. It is sometimes said of such a doctor, that he can look right through a patient; and he not unfrequently makes a ridiculous effort to " look wise," as though he were ac- tually viewing the softening or induration of some inter- nal organ, when, perhaps, if the truth were known, he couldn't tell the liver from the lights, if taken out and laid before him. Give him the credit of curing all who recover, and ascribe to an over-ruling Providence the death of all who die, and he will indeed pass for a very good doctor. Generative physiology, debility, and diseases, are sub- jects, as we have before intimated, sadly neglected by reg- ular medical practitioners in this country, and almost en. tirely consigned into the hands of base, unprincipled em- INTRODUCTION. 1>^ pirics; hence they are the " opprobria medicorum," sources of reproach and humiliation to the professors of the healing art. The world looks up to medical men, and expects ad- vice upon these delicate subjects, but this requires great study, and extensive research into the mysteries of the healing art. The late Sir Astley Cooper, in alluding to 1 hese thing?, observed to his class, " Gentlemen, these are some of the arcana of the profession, into which you will not be readily admitted ; it is not until you have con- tended long with popular prejudices, that you will be made acquainted with such important secrets. When forty years of practice shall have rolled over your heads, when you shall have the snows on the tops of the moun- tains "—at the same time passing his hand through the white locks which graced a well-formed front—" then, and not till then, will you be required to give your opin- ion on such weighty matters." We take pleasure in acknowledging our indebtedness to Dr. La Mert, of London, for a few valuable hints, which led us to investigate some subjects discussed in this work, more fully than we had done before. We had the pleasure of making that gentleman's acquaintance oil our late tour to Europe, and we learn from a number of the London Lancet, which subsequently came into our hands, that he placed a just value—perhaps too high value—upon the opinions and suggestions of his Ameri- can friend and fellow-laborer in the work of investigating ttntl healing disease. His work on generative physiology 14 INTRODUCTION. we heartily recommend to physicians and students of medicine in this country. A few passages from that work, we have copied into this, with such alterations and notations as our experience warrants us in making. A few other subjects, such as the function of menstru- ation, foetal development, etc., we had intended to notice in this work, but we found we could,not do so, without greatly transcending our original limits, or neglecting other subjects of greater practical importance. Reader! we have been engaged almost alone, in the investigation of certain diseases discussed in this work, and we see their prevalence, their terrible consequences, and we know that they can be held in abeyance, con- quered, eradicated by the appliances of medical skill; and the hope of saving some of our fellow beings from utter despair, from degradation of soul and body, from disease as dangerous and insidious as the serpent'3 coil; the hope of doing something to induce the medical pro- fession to bestow that attention upon this branch of \ practice, which its great importance demands ; this hope induces us to offer this work to the public, and brings a satisfaction, which the consciousness of having been en- gaged in a known duty, to the extent of our strength and ability, alone can bring to the mind. Philadelphia, 1857. CHAPTER T. SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT. FALSE AND TRUE MORALITY—GRAND RESULT—THE PE- RIOD—THE SIGNS—DANGERS—RULES OP SAFETY. True morality, that which will produce its goodly fruit in generations of virtuous, happy, long-lived, healthy, and really innocent men and women, consists, not in con- cealing, or attempting to conceal, the sacred laws of Nature, and to close up her book, so pregnant with truth and wisdom ; but rather in efforts to instruct the youth in the great and noble objects for which their capacities of body and mind were bestowed upon them; and in making them aware of the certain, the inevitable misery involved in the abuse of those capacities, and the equally certain happiness ^arising from patience, moderation, and the avoidance of disastrous imprudence. The years al- lotted to the progress of life from infancy to puberty, are years which nature devotes to the preparation of the body for a mighty crisis; and all virtuous, judicious pa- rents and gilardians, should give special attention to this important branch of juvenile education, that they may (15) 16 SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT. be qualified to conduct their sous and daughters, or those committed to their care, safely through this most trying and dangerous period of their whole existence. A profound and judicious observer once remarked, " that matters very trivial, either in present or future results, often occupy the attention of mankind, and ex- ercise their most vehement hopes and fears to the exclu- sion of considerations of infinitely greater moment." A significant illustration of the truth of this remark, is (bund in the fact, that the most important phenomena which occur in the progress of human beings from the cradle to the grave, phenomena on the proper observance of which depend a long life, and sound health of body and mind, are those, concerning which, people generally are most ignorant, and which have, by a deplorable mis- conception of the meaning and intent of moral precepts, been all but ignored by most physiologists. When our fathers were young men, and for a century preceding, this all important subject was absolutely con- signed by the medical profession into the hands of as crafty, cruel, ignorant, and unscrupulous class of impos- tors, as ever preyed upon credulity, or helpless suffering. But things are now somewhat better in this respect. Some of the most illustrious men of whom science can boast, within the last twenty years, have labored success- fully in this department of the laws of life and health. My own highest pride, my unfailing source of comfort and satisfaction, is the consciousness that, to the stock of knowledge collected by these great men, my personal SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT. 17 investigations, my opportunities of observation and re- search,—have enabled me to make additions which pro- duce practical results, and relieve an enormous mass of human wretchedness, and substitute health and hope, for utter prostration and despair. Much has been said, and still more written, concern- ing what is usually called the " turn of life," viz : the pe- riod at which human vigor begins to descend toward the weakness of old age. But, unfortunately, too little attention—virtually none, until comparatively lately— has been paid to that which constitutes the great " turn," the great change of all, namely, that pomt in our exist- once when the transition from incompleteness to com- pleteness takes place—the period when the grand re- sult, for which Nature had been preparing during all the earlier years of man's life, at length, by a spontane- ous effort of the mysterious principles of vitality, attains development; and when faculties long lying dormant, and in the creation of which the unerring precision of All-seeing Wisdom has been most wondrously displayed, become instinctively conscious of the uses for which they are designed. TW interesting epoch is known by the appellation of puberty: The age at which it sets in, varies according to differences in temperament and climate. In our own country, and in our northern climate, we may state as a general fact, that the average age in girls is fourteen, and in boys fifteen, and the extremes ten and twenty. In Italy, Spain, and the Southern countries of Europe, and 2* 18 SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT. the Southern States, the period is at least one year ear- lier. In Africa, India, Brazil, and some regions of South America, it is not uncommon to find a mother and child, between whose ages, the difference is scarcely ten years. On the other hand, there are instances—many of which have come under our own observation—in which young women of lymphatic constitutions, whose physical train- ing had been neglected, approach twenty before the na- tural capacities of womanhood are developed. The va- rious causes which influence the hastening or retarding of this function, we shall notice in other parts of this work, in our hints and cautions to parents. A distinguished writer on this subject aptly describes puberty as the period*at which the generative function commences. The function, he observes, " is dormant in infancy and childhood, and ceases in old age." Now by far the most critical and important stage of human life, is that at which it first becomes active ; and this sta°e is accordingly marked and pre-announced by a number of s^vmptoms, indicative of the arrival of what may be considered a new state of being. As the body and mind are closely connected, and have a powerful sympathy over each other, these symptoms are discernible not only in the physical, but also in the mental organization. At the time when the youth re- ceives from Nature the peculiar admonition, a number of new sensations arise, to which he had been a stranger before. The elasticity of childhood gives way to a staid gravity, almost approaching melancholy, from which SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT. 19 misjudging friends sometimes endeavor to rally him by ridicule and satire. The gait becomes settled, the voice changes from the shrillness of childhood to the more dignified fullness and depth of adolescence; a reasonable and reasoning anx- iety for knowledge takes the place of the random curi- osity and troublesome garrulity of the " little boy." The manifestations and demeanor toward the other sex vary infinitely. In boys of timid and delicate con- stitutions, whose chief association has hitherto been with females, there arises an almost unconquerable bash- fulness when in the presence of those to whom they had been most accustomed. This bashful ness is produced by the powerful emotion whose very strength, in the ab- sence of the knowledge how to express itself, sometimes leads to a morose deportment toward—even to an avoi- dance of the society of—the gentler sex ; a circumstance which, by an egregious error, is ascribed to the poor youth having imbibed a dislike to females. How to- tally contrary is the real state of the case ! In boys of opposite and more robust constitutions, who have asso- ciated with their own sex in athletic sports and pas- times, the indications are different. They become more attached to the society of the other sex, toward whom their carriage is that of frank and gallant homage. Far from being impelled to hide their feelings, or resort even to the affectation of dislike for those toward whom their instincts yearn, they take pleasure in the manifes- tation of the delightful feelings which they regard us 20 SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT. manly and ennobling, and are never so happy as when engaged in those attentions that indicate devotion and- affection. In both cases, however, whether of bashfulness or boldness, the physical and mental powers in all parts of the organization are changed. " It very often happens," says a distinguished physi- ologist, " that, immediately before puberty, Nature, as if to bestow all her efforts on the development and com- pletion of the great functional revolution, permits a temporary diminution of the force and vitality of other faculties. Languor, weakness, sickness, awkwardness of motion, partial stupidity, are not unfrequently obser- vable. But the revolution once accomplished, this de- rangement passes away, and Nature, left free to the ex- ercise of her influence over the general system, causes a healthfd re-action, in which all the other powers are invigorated in proportion to the efficacy of the new sense. Then comes a settling and strengthening of the general system ; the bones and muscles become firmer and harder; the joints and sinews somewhat less pliant, but more enduring and reliable; the chest and respiratory organs more capacious ; and it sometimes happens that a childhood precarious and delicate, merges into a youthhood of great robustness, free from diseases of any kind." The late Dr. Ryan, a modern physiologist of very great distinction, whose labors have conferred a great blessing upon posterity, holds the following :—" At this SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT. 21 age a sudden increase of the whole body takes place, sometimes in a wonderful manner; the voice becomes hoarse in males; the pubes, axillae, face, and whole body, become covered with a whitish down; the gen- ital organs, which were previously small and useless, in- crease with the rest of the body, and being much aug- mented, secrete a prolific fluid, by whose stimulus the youth is incited to the enjoyment of the gifts of Venus. About the same age at which boys become pubescent, girls become nubile ; the genital organs are evolved, the pubes appear, and the breasts are developed ; a new loveliness appears on the countenance; a new elegance of the whole figure ; and if the individual be previously delicate, good health may at once appear. Hence by the laws of nature, the sexes are impelled with a desire to be united, whence offspring similar to themselves are propagated." Rousel remarks " that by the elaboration of the re- productive fluids, there results a superabundance of life, which endeavours to communicate and establish itself— there is a new and mysterious want developed which compels the sexes to approach each other." And Col- onis supposes " that the new want produces in the young man a mixture of audacity and timidity : of audacity, because he knows that all his organs arc endowed with unwonted vigor ; of timidity, because the nature of his desires astonishes him, as defiance to them disconcerts him. In the young girl, this want gives rise to a senti- ment of modesty, or virgin shame, of which she was 22 SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT. before ignorant, which may be regarded as the hidden expression of her desires, or the involuntary signs of her secret impressions." In addition to these observations we would remark, that at this critical and interesting period of life, the re- productive fluid, naturally secreted and partly dispersed throughout the whole body, whilst it excites and in- vigorates the sexual organs, produces a corresponding excitement and vigor in every part of the system. This is a period op very great danger as well as interest! The most prolific source of all evil, that which slays its thousands,' that which lays the foundation of a feeble sickly constitution for a whole life time,—is the des- tructive habit most frequently contracted through the unwatched associations of young people, though occa- sionally through the solitary and accidental discovery of a fatal secret. And here I would solemnly protest against that most pernicious error, which causes the se- cret in question to be a secret at all. When the time arrives for the development of certain faculties, it is a monstrous delusion to imagine that mere silence on the part of adult friends, can extinguish those faculties, or suppress their instincts, or prevent the youth from feel- ing the sensations to which they give rise. The want of proper instruction upon this subject, setting before the youth, at a proper time, the mischief and misery arising from the vicious habit in question, is accoun- table, in a very great measure, for the wide spread ex- .SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT. 23 istence of this terrible evil; an evil, which, for centu- ries has sent, and still sends, its myriads of miserable beings to early and ignominious graves, and has wrought the ruin and extinction of many a noble family. Against this murderous hypocrisy—the most blind, mistaken, the most obstinate and wrong-headed of all species of conventional hypocrisies—I would raise my warning voice, sadly and solemnly. My conscientious persuasion, founded on experience of an uninterrupted magnitude, is, that the prejudice in question has immo- lated more victims than war, famine, and pestilence put to gether; and it will not be from any want of exertion on my part, if, unfortunately for my fellow-beings, I de- scend to the tomb without having eradicated it from the list of " social proprieties." The unhappy consequences, both to the body and mind, arising from the vicious habit under consideration, a habit which, young persons emerging from childhood into a state of new development, so frequently contract, we have more fully set forth in discussing the causes of spermatorrhea, impotency and sterility. Now do judicious parents enquire, what can we do that Ave may more safely conduct our children through this critical period of their existence? To such, we would say, that an observance of the following pre- cautions will enable you to do much to secure their safety:— 1. Prohibit vicious associations. 2. AVithhold obscene pictures, lascivious books, and pernicious novels. 24 SEXUAL DEVELOPMRNT. '6. Avoid, as much as possible, highly seasoned food, stimulating drinks, close apartments, and sedentary habits. 4. Strict cleanliness, as regards the most delicate parts of the organization, should be enjoined. Don't be afraid of soap and water. Ablutions of cold water to the genital organs, once every day, is an excellent prac- tice. Filth produces irritations and eruptions, and en- genders, or favours the habitation of, an insect peculiar to the parts, and may lead to the filthy habit you desire so much to avoid. 5. Always have some useful employment for your sons and daughters. " Indolence is the mother of vice." Al- low your children to grow up in idleness, because, forsooth, you have abundance of this Avorld's goods, and they will assuredly become vicious in their dispositions, if not dis- graceful in their outward habits ; and your wealth be- comes a curse instead of a blessing to your posterity. 6. Instruct calmly, admonish gently, but earnestly, and faithfully exhibit the terrible consequences of the filthy habit, self pollution, which we have candidly depicted in another part of this work. 7. When, judging from the languid appearance of your son, or from any other means whatsoever, you learn that he has fallen into the pernicious practice in ques- tion, and all your instructions and warnings fail to bring about a speedy reformation, you should, at once, consult a physician of character and ability, who is known to have given special attention to this branch of medical practice. SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT. 25 By failhful attention to the facts and counsels con- tained in these pages, we are fully confident that parents, guardians, teachers, and others, may avert some of the direst curses, and most degrading miseries, by which fallen human nature can be afflicted. The subject of Sexual Physiology and diseases, is one of the most grave and solemn which can occupy the con- templation of man, and in that tone it should be treated. Next to the evil of concealment and mystification re- specting its great truths, is that of alluding to those truths in a spirit, partaking of levity. Of all the people of Greece, the Spartans were those amongst whom there was the greatest candor, the greatest gravity, the great- est plainness, the least of either hypocrisy or levity, upon matters relating to the intercourse between the sexes ; and of all the people of Greece, the Spartans were the most vigorous, the most temperate, and the most chaste. CHAPTER II. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. MATRIMONY—AGE AND DEVELOPMENT—AS A REMEDY—OP- POSITES SOUGHT FOR—PHYSICAL DEFECTS—MEDICAL SKILL--CAUTION AND WARNING. " Behold," says the eloquent Virey, " what pomp, what joys, what glory, and what magnificence are pre- pared by nature, for the marriages of plants and ani- mals ! How the lion prides himself on his strength ! the antelope on its figure! the peacock and swan on their plumage! the fish on its silvery coat, and on the splen- dor of the gold and brilliant appearance of its body! How the butterfly expands its diamond wings! how the flower displays its charms to the rays of Aurora, enjoys in silence and drinks the pearly drops of the dew ! All is the radiance of beauty in nature; the earth, covered with verdure, resounds with accents of joy and sighs of pleasure ; all exhale love, all search for it, and enjoy it —in a word, it is the common festival of beings. But, in a short time, the'flower fades away, and languishes on its stem ; the butterfly declines and dies ; the lion, as if fatigued by long contested fights, searches for peace and (26) RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. 27 retreat; and man himself, overcome with languor, re- tires in silence, seeing the approach of death, which presses its iron hand on all that breathes." First, a few words on the mcrrale of marriage. It may be laid down, as a general principle, that where there is a striking disproportion—where there is a mani- fest discordance in temper and disposition—where there are disturbing elements connected with religious' or fam- ily feuds, prudence would recommend that persons thus cir- cumstanced, should, on no account, commit themselves to the most solemn of earthly engagements. This is surely the rule of safety. Amongst subjects which occupy the attention of the practical physiologist, the proper age for contracting marriage, has given rise to no»small amount of contro- versy ; the result of which is, however, a pretty gen- eral agreement, that making allowance for the differences of climate and temperament, the preservation of chas- tity, by either sex, for several years after puberty has been attained, is productive of effects not less beneficial in a physical, than in a moral sense. If excessively early marriages—those precocious unions which we sometimes see, formed between-boys and girls of 16 or 17 years old—lead to the birth of children whose pa- rents have neither the means nor experience to guide, to instruct, and maintain—if, in short, these improvident contracts lead to a morbid increase of mere numbers— so, in like manner, the premature activity of organs which should quietly ripen and mature, is apt to preju- 28 RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. dice the physical vigor both of the parents and their offspring. It sometimes happens that before a man has attained the meridian of life, even though no vi- cious irregularity have stained his youth, his powers become debilitated through too early sexual congress, whilst his numerous children are sickly and enfeebled. This circumstance is often referable to the fact of mar- riage having been entered into at an age, when the constitution of the individual had not acquired the hardihood and compactness, requisite for the active dis- charge of all the duties of wedlock. In many nations, and at various epochs of history, legislative regulations have been introduced with the view of meeting this evil. We find penal obstacles im- posed against marriage being contracted before the age> of 30, 25, etc., etc. But laws of this kind must always be partial, generally ineffectual, and sometimes mischie- vous. In the warm latitudes of the south, it would not be possible, and if possible, it would be tyrannical and pernicious, to compel young people to postpone mar- riage until the age which would appear timely and ad- visable in cold climates. Under the sun of Hindostan, a girl is endowed with all the functions of womanhood, several years before her faculties would reach an equal development in the meridian of St. Petersburg. Again: even amongst persons born and living in the same country, the variations of physical idiosyncracy are so wide, that any useful settled rule is impossible. That which may be indispensable to the health, the virtue RELATIONS BET1VEEN THE SEXES. 29 nay, the very life, of one, may be positively injurious in the case of another person of the same age, but of an % opposite habit of constitution. At eighteen years the system of the one may have acquired a matu-ity—an impetuosity of development,—which it may tf-ke fi^e or six years longer to produce in the other. It is fhuc evi- dent that the course of wisdom and prudence is to treat evory case upon its separate characteristics and circum stances. I'arents and influential friends who adopt thia advice, in weighing the pros and cons of arrangements, on which such momentous consequences depend, will find their pains richly rewarded by the blessings of those, who may have to ascribe the happiness of their lives, to this laudable forethought on the part of their guardians. That the happiness of married life may in a great measure be secured or defeated, by attention to, or ne- glect of, what lies in our power, previously to its con- summation, is as true, as that there are duties obligatory alike upon both parties after marriage. As to the per- iod at which it is wisest to enter upon this state, the ad- vice of the great moralist, Johnson, is striking: " Those who marry at an advanced age, will probably escape the encroachments of their children ; but in diminution of this advantage, they will be likely to leave them ig- norant and helpless, to a guardians mercy; or,if that should not happen, they must at least go out of the world, before they see those they love best, either wise or great." As to young women more especially, it is certain 2 * 30 RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. that the natural exercise of the organs of reproduc- • tion has the happiest effect on those of a warm tem- perament, excited by diet, inactivity, and other stim- ulating influences. How often do we note the cessation of frequent hysterical paroxysms, when the subject of such attacks has exchanged the virgin for the matron state. In this respect, the advice of I lippocrates, two thousand years old though it be, is equally applicable in our own day. Hippocrates prescribes marriage as the natural remedy, for not one, but many seriously-wasting female ailments. When, therefore, a young marriageable maiden exhibits symptoms of the approach of such dis- eases, as hysteria, or irregularity, or absence of certain secretions, the fact that these are the result of conti- nence is nature's declaration, that marriage is the best method of curing them; and the sufferer should then, if possible, be united to the object of her affections. Such symptoms generally disappear after-marriage, un- less long habit or some new disturbing cause prolong their stay; health blooms again upon her cheek; and to her family and to society a being is preserved, who may be one of their most amiable and valuable members. In reference, also, to the male sex, the remark is per- fectly just, that, independently of many morbid affections and habits which marriage removes, it augments the energy of the system of blood vessels ; the distended ar- teries, pulsating with firmer force, transmit warmth and animation throughout the body, the muscles become more vigorous, the step more elastic, the voice firmer,__every ; physical attribute of humanity becomes boldly developed. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. 31 If it be argued, that very early marriages check liber- tinism, it may be responded with perfect truth, that they tend with equal effect to the production of a sickly, suf- fering, short-lived progeny, who, fortunately for them- selves, seldom reach manhood or womanhood, and are, in fact, " not worth rearing." The best preventive of libertinism is vigilant and judicious training, combined with careful inculcation of the sacred precepts of re- ligion. Violations of the wholesome laws of Nature in one direction, are not to be prevented by the violation of the same rules in another direction ; and the effeminate and ferocious character of Louis the Eleventh of France. is only one of innumerable examples, of the effects of the exhaustion of the nervous powers, and the perver- sion and destruction of some of the most important of the human faculties, consequent on too early congress. The lapse of two thousand years has confirmed the truth of the principle enunciated by the philosopher, who declared that " precocious marriages oppose a good generation ; for they procure small and contemptible men." The wisdom of this has been confirmed by the experience of all ages, down to our own. In animate as well as inanimate nature, one of the greatest charms is contrast and variety, and the influ- ence of this is nowhere more conspicuous than in the relations between the sexes. It Mill usually be found that the members of the softer sex fix their affections upon individuals, distinguished for the possession of the masculine qualities most opposite to the female char- 32 RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. acteristics; and vice versa, with respect to the attach- ments formed by males toward females. This is the effect of a great law of nature. Admiration of any kind is, in general, directed more intensely toward that which we do not, than toward that which we do, pos- sess, and toward the qualities most different from those, with which we are ourselves endowed. We observe that man looks for delicacy, flexibility, and gentleness in his mate; woman for strength, firmness, and power. In the vital or reproductive system, men and women are found instinctively to seek and approve opposites. The classic statue of Hector and Andromache, beautifully illustrates this law. The sylph-like mother clings about the manly form of her lord, armed for the fight, as she fondly ex- claims, " Too daring chief! ah, whither dost thou run ? " Ah ! too forgetful of thy wife and son." Frequent instances have occurred, in which an ill-as- sorted union brought about by some one of the thou- sand conventional influences, " which war with Nature's honest rule," have caused a married couple to be not only unfruitful, but virtually impotent between each other, though otherwise perfectly competent to the performance of the offices of procreation. A wedded pair have been known to be sterile, though, after divorce, each has be- come prolific with an individual of opposite constitution. The test of congress was abolished in France, in the seventeenth century, owing to the circumstance that M. de Langeois, though incapable of the duties of th RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. 33 married state with his own wife, was very fruitful with another lady better suited to him. It may be safely affirmed, that a difference in temper- ament between married persons is conducive not only to mutual affection, but to fertility. Nature appears to disapprove all unions, in which her principle of«differ- enccs and contrasts is disregarded. She wishes mar- riages between different families and nations, because such crossings of the various races, improve and in- vigorate the species. The mental weakness, as well as physical predicament of some of the European royal families, are strongly confirmatory of the evil of alli- ances within narrow limits, and daily examples confirm the validity of the principle. Pallas adduces the fact that the intermarriages of the Mongol Tartars, with the Russians and Persians, produce very fine individ- uals ; while Humboldt and others have observed that the offspring of Europeans and persons of the Ethiopic race, are peculiarly robust and active. The philosopher just named argues, from this, that the best mode of eradi- cating hereditary diseases, gout, scrofula, consumption, madness, epilepsy, etc., in their early tendency is by the commixture of the species in intermarriages, which arrangement often prevents the transmission of such diseases to the next generation. If all conjugal unions were assorted after the dictates of nature, or the secret instinct of sympathy, nothing, without doubt, could be more delightful and lasting than the bonds of Hymen. By well-ordered natural alliances, both sexes become 34 RELATIONS BETWEEN T.HE SEXES. better and more perfect, the mutual abandonment of one to the other forms one being in two bodies, care is les. sened by participation, and pleasure rendered doubly exquisite. Having said thus much on the condition, the obser- vance-or violation of which *o materially influences the happiness or misery of the marriage state, the vigor or decrepitude of offspring, the welfare of individuals and of society at large, it is important to observe, that there are numerous incidental affections, which, though perfectly within the reach of judicious medical treatment, exhibit so many of the overt symptoms of hopeless and incurable infirmity, that, in the absence of the knowledge that effectual relief can be administered, their presence in- flicts the bitterness of despair, and the anguish of shameful humiliation, upon thousands. The prevention the suppression, and the alleviation of suffering arising from these causes, are one of the purposes of my present" labors. For, even when matrimony is contracted under the most promising auspices—when all seems fair as a sum- mer landscape,—how often there comes a blight of un- foreseen and dismal character, crushing hope, evoking despair, sowing discord and strife amongst entire fami- lies ! We all know that this is an every day occurrence; but the causes—the fundamental causes—of the anom- aly, are generally hidden behind the dark curtains of personal and conventional pride. In the first place, it is a truth which it would be not RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. 35 only useless but mischievous to disguise, that a prime and leading source of connubial infelicity, is the inter- vention of certain physical phenomena, which in some measure interfere with the perfect fulfilment of the sa- cred institution of marriage. It is not, in some cases, until years have elapsed, that the existence,of these phe- nomena has been discovered; in some, the discovery dates from the bridal day itself; in others, they, seem to arise suddenly from some cause, which, without medical investigation, the sufferer cannot even conjecture. An example will suffice to illustrate some of these sets of circumstances :—Many years since, a marriage took place between a lady and a gentleman, who, to usa the homely but expressive phrase, were in all respects " well matched." Age, health, pecuniary circumstances, and every element of harmony, seemed to foretoken a life of mutual satisfaction, and to promise an offspring of the quality which gladdens a parent's heart. All went well for a while ; in due time a child was born, with every outward indication of sound health; in a few weeks the infant sickened and died. This was the more regretted, inasmuch as family settlements had made it more than usually important that there should be children. Better fortune was hoped for ;—the next child was still-born! And this sad alternation went on for su or seven years ; the infants in no case surviving beydnd a week or two. The state of things grew most painful; relatives on both sides, became entangled in discussions which promised anything but a friendly coa- 36 RELATIONS BETWEEN TUE SEXES. elusion. The mysterious loss of many successive chil- dren, whose parents were to all appearance so well fitted for the performance of their respective functions, baffled' the ingenuity of the family physician, and at length be- gan to excite suspicions of a kind the most injurious to third parties^ At length, medical advice was taken elsewhere, and the husband was minutely questioned as to any antecedent circumstances which could by possi- bility have affected his present state of health. He stated that, in his youth, he had suffered from a disorder which, as he believed, had been perfectly cured. An examination took place and it became evident that there wtill existed in the system some remains of the evil. Light now began to set in : wife and husband were per- suaded to live apart for a few weeks, and an alterative and purifying course of treatment was resorted to in the case of each. They then resumed cohabitation. Three or four children growing up in the bloom of health and vigor, are the fruit of the reunion. But, mark the con- sequences of neglect on the part of the husband, to take advice in season from a thoroughly qualified practitioner. as to whether there were any thing " to be set right.'' Half a dozen lives sacrificed; a wretched interval of anguish and mutual reproach; family dissensions, which, once excited, will, perhaps, never be truly reconciled ! Fortunate, that the evil effects of culpable neglect pro- ceeded no further. Such is one of the least distressing illustrations of the neglect of an obvious- and easy duty. While upon this subject we would remark, that RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. 37 we very frequently meet with cases, not referable to incapacity of the procreative powere on either side, where there has been no offspring what- ever. Such deprivations Of life's blessing, to those who desire children, sometimes arise out of conditions the very reverse of those, which popular prejudice usually assigns as the sole cause of non-fruitfulness. It hap- pens, not very unfrequently, even where morality has never been departed from, where the strictest fidelity lias been observed on both sides, where there is no overt disease, no hereditary predisposition to disease, no de- ficiency or malformation of the essential organs, that no offspring, however much desired, results from the union. Now the disappointment in such cases usually arises from ignorance of a few simple salutary maxims respecting food, repose, season, etc. There is more important truth than is generally jmagined in the ancient maxim— " Labor, cibus, potio, somnus, Venus"—Labor, food, drink, sleep, love. The absence of children frequently involves serious consequences, not merely in regard to the desire to be- come parents, but in reference to the arrangement of property, and to many other objects .which will suggest themselves to the minds of intelligent persons. Many cases are on record of efforts made to become parents, through the violation of more than one of the laws of morality. As instruction, however, and not mere amusement, is the object of these chapters, it will suf- fice to remark, that in the vast majority of the cases 4 38 RELATIONS BETWEEN TnE SEXES. under consideration, timely application to efficient med- ical counsel would remove both the agony of disap- pointed hopes, and the temptation to unlawful means for the fulfilment of these hopes. There are few causes of disqualification which cannot be effectually subdued by the appliances of science and experience—by the guidance of a physician, whose devotion to the investi- gation of the functions of reproduction, furnishes a guar- antee of his capacity, to adapt his treatment to the distinctive exigencies of each particular case. Let this precaution be adopted, and rarely indeed will the object fail to be accomplished. As to those who have attained mature years and con- template-matrimony, or have already undertaken its ob- ligations, and would effectually secure its blessings, and shun the evils which we hope are sufficiently clearly pointed out in this work, the pathway of health and safety, of happiness and longevity, is before them : let their own judgment decide whether or not they will fol- low the auspicious track. It is right and useful that all men should know, that there are principles of personal management, which can- not be violated without incurring grievous penalties ; it is right that they should know, when wisdom and reoret succeed the hey-day of inconsiderate self-indulgence, how these penalties may be mitigated, and how the sting of their bitterness may ultimately be removed. It is right, that they should understand the beginnings of evil, that the evil and it3 consequences may be avoided ; but it ia RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. 39 almost equally important, that the innumerable host of sufferers who are already experiencing the agony of dis- appointed hopes, and the humiliating degradation of a baf- fled existence,—it is almost equally important, that these should be made aware that the most absurd of all emotions is that of despair ; that physical infirmity is incalculably aggravated, by permitting the mind to brood over-much on misfortunes which men should seek to remedy, in- stead of dissipating their energies in idle lamentations ; that mental prostration is the fertile parent of bodily imbecility and anguish; and, above all, that there is scarcely any degree of weakness or functional derangement to which the timely aid of science cannot apply a cure. The object contemplated by the Great Author of the institution of marriage, is the increase and perpetuation of the sum of human happiness. This object cannot be attained save by individual virtue and prudence, acting concomitantly with the diffusion of enlightenment and the banishment of popular ignorance. Ignorance of a density unequalled—of an obstinacy unparalleled—long prevailed, on the topics which control most completely the fitness of men and women for wedlock. There are certain states of injured health, capable by early and skilful treatment, of thorough and speedy cure; but which, if neglected, or injudiciously dealt with, render sught but disgust and misery in marriage a thing hu- manly impossible. It very often happens too, that these morbid stages are, in their present and apparent effects, so insignificant, so slightly discommoding, and so con- 40 RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. nected with early imprudences long since relinquished or humiliating in description, that they are allowed to gain ground insidiously, through the delusive idea that the disease will cure itself. Now, of all the subjects, which bear directly on the perfection or disarrangement of the bodily functions— on the absence or presence of disease, acute and chronic —on the vigorous development of the faculties which produce physical as well as intellectual health—none is more interesting, none more important, none more com- plicated in its details, none requiring a more periect com- bination of skill, delicacy, boldness, and caution, in those who undertake to give advice upon it, than that which deals with the moral and social relations of the sexes, with the causes which produce wedded happiness or the reverse, and still more especially, with those remote and too frequently unsuspected habits and circumstances, dating sometimes from the earliest period of youth, and, by slow, but certain steps, paving the way for the most excruciating woe, and the deepest degradation, which man is capable of enduring. Fearfully momentous to each individual, is tho contin- gency whether or not the blessings, properly appertaining to the marriage state, shall be secured by the solemn contract entered into. It is the most important relation that we can form, from the cradle to the grave; and inde- pendently of our own individual happiness, the thought that the happiness of others is forever affected by the wisdom or folly of our choice, ought to be forcibly im- pressed upon the recollection of young persons. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. 41 Unhappy marriages! Unfortunate matches !—what a melancholy retrospect of sin and sorrow do these simple words present to the contemplation of the very few quali- fied medical practitioners who have made cause and ef- fect in this branch of physiological investigation, the pe- 9 culiar subject of their studies! What tremendous secrets of guilt, caused by parental neglect—what awful records of error—what fearful monuments of the curses which imprudence and wickedness, arising merely in ignorance, inflict on the whole race of man ! There is no branch of science which discloses to the experienced investiga- tor, secrets more fruitfully illustrative of the feebleness, and, at the same time, the obstinacy, of unreclaimed, un- guarded, unguided human nature. Much wretchedness is frequently caused by a fear on the part of married persons, that the impediments which baffle enjoyment, and baulk expectation, are absolutely insusceptible of relief—absolutely incurable—when, in re- ality, the state of things is by no means so desperate as this* The alleviation of actual evils, the removal of distress- ing fear and unfounded suspicions, the communication and realization of rational aud invigorating hope, are often, in cases apparently the most cheerless, within the power of the intelligent and educated physician, and to any who are already beginning to deplore what they con- ceive to be their unfortunate predicament, I would say, Decide not hurriedly against yourselves, or the partner of your bed ; ascertain whether it be no mere temporary cause that forms the obstruction to your natural and com meudable wishes. 42 RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES. Much misunderstanding, many keen heartburnings that destroy the comfort of married life, would be entirely re- moved, if upon the hearts and consciences of mankind were impressed a more correct knowledge of the indispen- sable requisites for a- happy marriage, for the power of communicating, as well as of selfishly receiving pleasure from that union, intended for the reciprocal accomplish- ment of these objects. On a due understanding and a faithful discharge of these duties, the happiness of each individual, and the well-being of unborn generations greatly depend. CHAPTER III. SPERMATORRHEA, OR SEMINAL WEAKNESS, SYMPTOMS. SEMINAL LOSSES—PRIAPISMS—STATE OF EXTERNAL ORGANS —NOCTURNAL AND DIURNAL EMISSIONS—GREAT DANGER—LOSS OF COURAGE, ENERGY, AND BRILLIANCY —THE EYES—TASTE, SMELL, SIGHT, HEARING, SLEEP- ING—MENTAL FACULTIES—USES OF THE SEMEN. The chief object which we have in view in writing this work, is to furnish persons of both sexes, uninitiated in the technicalities and mysteries of the medical profes- sion, with information sufficient to enable them to adopt those measures of precaution, prevention, or cure, which will, in certain states of the system, be necessary for the preservation of health, for its restoration when damaged or jeopardised, and for the arrest of certain diseases be- longing to the sexual organs ; which, though of a delicate nature, are still dangerous and frightful to contemplate. Spermatorrhoea, or seminal weakness, signifies an ex- cessive or unnatural loss of the seminal fluid, or principle of vitality and reproduction. This affection is often the (43) 44 SYMPTOMS OF SEMINAL WEAENESS. precursor and cause of total impotence and sterility, and a train of the most dire, excruciating, and deadly mala- dies, to which the human frame is subject. In considering the symptoms of spermatorrhoea, or seminal weakness, we will observe that in its progress, the disease assumes a variety of aspects, and usually in- creases in intensity at every step. In the earlier stages, the symptoms are sometimes imperceptible to the un- professional person, and it would not be possible to exhibit a description, however careful and minute, which would enable men, at all times, to determine, by self-examination, whether or not they really are patients. Unlike most diseases, however, there is little danger that the patient will suppose himself affected with spermatorrhoea, when the disease does not exist; but there is danger that it may exist and run on for a considerable time, unnoticed by the patient. In some cases, the fact of present ill- ness forces itself upon the most passive disposition ; but in others—and these very often the most dangerous— the disorder steals on the sufferer, instead of smiting him so suddenly, as to warn him that all is not ri fht with him. In the midst of apparent security, the en ;my may be at the gate, nay, inside the gate of the citadel J. health. In order, however, that persons of all condi »ons may know as much as possible relative to this subje i*, we will proceed to notice those overt symptoms, whit