Means of sexual excitement.—In our modern way of living even moderation in sexual matters seems to be impossible. Not a few of our young men are satyrs and our young women nymphomaniacs, who “faute de mieux” seize on stuprum manu. Once married they know no restraint. They are living in constant sexual excitement.
There are five special influences that incite to sexual overindulgence. The abuse of spirituous liquors, which has reached alarming proportions among modern women, increases their sexual desires and destroys their natural modesty. Dancing is another cause of sexual excitement. To-day young girls in their teens frequent public balls and receptions, dance with male partners, and mutually excite each other. The modern stage is another important factor in sexually overstimulating the passions of many of our young men and women. The modern stage no longer appeals to the intellect of trained minds that have reached a certain age. The modern stage is more sensual, it lays the main stress upon the scenery, which may be enjoyed by young boys and girls, scarcely passed the period of puberty. The play is, as a rule, an ordinary, every-day, small suggestive love-affair. (It is euphemistically called a realistic play.) Nude and vulgar art and impure literature have another great influence in exciting sexual desires. The modern novelist finds his greatest delight in descending to the gutter in search for his heroes, and knows no higher aim in art than to give a realistic picture of the blandishments of bad women and of the allurements of degenerated men.
One of the strongest sexual excitements which, directly concern only men but indirectly leads to mutual erethism, is the modern woman’s dress. Although from time immemorial woman always so dressed as to accentuate and bring into prominence her secondary sexual characteristics, yet the former modesty, the customs and certain sumptuary laws dictated moderation in this respect. The modern woman acknowledges no restraint. She copies slavishly the Parisian fashion, which, as a rule, is a creation suggested by the demi-mondaine and designed to increase her trade by exciting the passions of the other sex. The modern woman, throughout the civilized world, consciously or unconsciously, imitates her erring Parisian sister. Not only does she try to bring into bold relief by means of the corset her main secondary sexual characteristics, her bosom and her pelvis, but by means of her hose supporters, her legs and the space between them are only partly veiled. Thus a really obscene effect is created which is far more exciting than if she were perfectly nude. The effect of contrast and expectation renders the partly veiled nudity more exciting. This is the psychological reason why man tries to conceal his natural state and covers it by artifice, while animals try to win their mates by showing and exposing their sexual qualities.
All these artificial excitements tend to create voluptuousness and lead to excesses in venere. These excesses have the indispensable consequence of making a large number of our men and women highly neurasthenic.[DF]
[PART VIII.]
MORALITY[DG]
[CHAPTER XXII]
THE MORAL STANDARD
Moral judgments claim to be subjective and demand assent from all men. Hence they imply a standard by which the claims can be tested. What is this standard? In logic there is an abstract truth which is the standard of thought. In ethics there must be an ideal good which furnishes the criterion of what ought to be. What is this ideal supreme good, by which the ethics of an action can be judged?
Only revealed religion approached the question of morality in a logical way. It first created as a standard of morality the will of God, as laid down in the sacred scriptures and traditions of every creed. If the philosopher, or rather the freethinker, can not accept the standard of revelation he must find some other criterion for general morality, or rather he must learn in some way to read the will of the supreme intelligence. Every advance in science, the unlocking of every secret in nature, every interpretation and revelation of her laws that comes to man through scientific research proves, confirms and stamps, with the seal of eternal truth, the existence of a supreme intelligence, the Great First Cause, the Soul and Source of all life, energy, and intelligence. When the will of the supreme intelligence is found, then there is also found the standard of morality. A philosopher can not raise his finger and say this is moral and this immoral. Such an arbitrary standard must lead to chaos, disorder and confusion in the realm of morals. The moral sense is the last to be developed and the first to be confused and disordered. With the dogmas of revealed religion the old standards of morality were also swept aside, and the modern moralists have no foundation to build their moral systems upon, hence their drifting from one system to another, from economic determinism to the worship of the superman, to work-worshipping, love-worshipping, or pleasure-worshipping.
Among all the modern systems of moral conduct, the radicals who are building theirs upon economics have chosen the easiest way. They simply borrowed the ideal of revealed religion and raised it to their moral standard. They preach economic equality. This represents their religion, their economics, their morality, their all. Their watchword is, social justice by giving the laborer the full share of his labor. This principle of social justice has been borrowed from the Judeo-Christian creed.[DH]