The history of prostitution is an extremely interesting chapter of the general history of civilization, which has not hitherto been written in a manner satisfying scientific and critical demands; but the literature of prostitution is already alarmingly comprehensive. Here, also, critical grasp and mode of presentation are still entirely wanting. It is impossible, in this place, in which we speak only of the present-day conditions, to enter at any length into the historical and literary aspects of the question of prostitution. This I must leave for a later, comprehensive work, for which I have for several years been collecting the materials. Here I shall only briefly refer, for the sake of the reader interested in the matter, to the most important writings on the subject of prostitution which have any scientific and historical importance.
Prostitution in antiquity is treated in a masterly manner by Julius Rosenbaum in his celebrated “History of Syphilis in Antiquity” (Halle, 1839); this is, down to the present day, the chief source of our knowledge of the conditions in antiquity. It is true that he starts from the false assumption that syphilis already existed in ancient times, a view which in the second volume of my book on the “Origin of Syphilis” (now in course of preparation) I show to be incorrect; this work will also contain a thorough study of prostitution among the ancients, based upon the more recent researches published since the year 1839, when Rosenbaum’s book appeared.
The first truly classical descriptions of the nature of modern prostitution dated from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; these are not scientific, belonging rather to the province of belles-lettres; but they are of great value in respect of the accuracy of their observations, and of their psychological insight into the nature of prostitution. I refer above all to the celebrated “Ragionamenti” of Pietro Aretino;[245] next, to the not less important work, published earlier, in 1528, “Lozana Andaluza,” by Francisco Delgado (Francesco Delicado).[246] Both these books, and also the celebrated “Zafetta” of Lorenzo Veniero (circa 1535), describe the conditions of prostitution at the time of the Italian renascence; these display a most astonishing similarity to the conditions of the present day, and the books mentioned have therefore still an instructive value.[247]
From the seventeenth century we have as important documents of civilization the description of prostitution in Holland in the interesting work “Le Putanisme d’Amsterdam” (Brussels, 1883; the original Dutch edition, Amsterdam, 1681), and also in the work published in the same year, 1681, “Disputatio Medica qua Lupanaria ex Principiis quoque Medicis Improbantur,” by Georg Franck von Franckenau,[248] noteworthy as being the first medical polemic against brothels.
Down to the middle of the nineteenth century the study of prostitution was most active in France.[249] In the second half of the eighteenth century, according to the expression of the de Goncourts, “pornognomonie” was a scientific problem. Various attempts at reform were made; as early as 1763 “moral control” was recommended; and in 1769 there appeared the celebrated “Pornographe” of Rétif de la Bretonne,[250] the first extensive work on the state regulation of prostitution, the great historical importance of which was recognized by Mireur, the well-known syphilologist of Marseilles, by the publication of a new edition (Brussels, 1879).
But it was with the publication of the immortal and most admirable work of Parent-Duchatelet,[251] on prostitution in Paris, that in the year 1836 the modern scientific literature of prostitution really began. It is the first work in which full justice is done to the importance of prostitution in all its relations, and it is based upon exact medical observations and psychological and social studies. Even to-day it remains unique in its kind, and a standing example of critical research and of French learned zeal.
A very short account of the contents of this epoch-making book of Parent-Duchatelet will best teach us its importance, and will give us an insight into all the problems connected with prostitution, and considered by the French author.
In the introduction, Parent-Duchatelet explains the reasons which led him to undertake the work, and the literary sources he has consulted. The first chapter then proceeds to the consideration of certain general problems, gives a definition of the term prostitute, an estimate of the number of prostitutes in Paris, their origin in respect of native country, position, culture, profession, their age, and the first cause of their adoption of this profession. The second chapter discusses the manners and customs of prostitutes, the opinion they have of themselves, their religious ideas, their sense of shame, their spiritual qualities, tattooing, occupation, uncleanliness, speech, defects and good qualities, the various classes of prostitutes, and, finally, the souteneurs. The third chapter contains physiological observations concerning prostitutes—namely, concerning their obesity, the changes in their voice, peculiarities in the colour of the hair and the eyes, the stature, the condition of the genital organs, and fertility. In the fourth chapter he deals with the influence of professional prostitution on the health of the girls, and describes the various morbid conditions which may result from their occupation. The fifth chapter treats of the public houses of prostitution (brothels), their advantages and disadvantages, the question of brothel streets, and the localization of prostitution in definite quarters of the town. In the sixth chapter the inscription of prostitutes in police lists is discussed; in the seventh procurement and the owners of brothels. Chapters eight, nine, and ten deal with secret prostitution in houses of accommodation, drinking-saloons, coffee-houses, tobacconists’ shops, etc.; chapter eleven discusses street prostitution; chapter twelve, the diffusion of prostitution in the various parts of Paris; chapter thirteen, the relation of prostitution to military life; chapter fourteen, prostitution in the environs of Paris. The fifteenth chapter describes the ultimate destiny of prostitutes; the sixteenth deals with their medical treatment—above all, the methods of examination to ascertain their state of health are accurately described. Chapters seventeen and eighteen deal with hospitals and prisons for prostitutes; chapter nineteen, with the former taxation of prostitutes; chapter twenty considers questions relating to administration, and the special branch of police dealing with the institution—for example, the suggestion (recently revived) is discussed of the medical examination of the male clients of prostitutes; prurient pictures and books are also considered, and thefts in brothels. The twenty-first chapter is devoted to the question which still attracts attention at the present day, viz., the peculiar relationship between the owner of a house and the prostitutes living there, and deals also with the legal aspect of the punishments decreed against prostitutes. Chapter twenty-two is occupied with a general discussion of the legal questions connected with prostitution. At the conclusion, in chapters twenty-three and twenty-four, the author discusses the question whether prostitutes are necessary, and this question (nota bene, from the standpoint of coercive marriage morality) he answers in the affirmative; he asks also whether the police should be entrusted with the application of measures for the prevention of venereal diseases, and this he agrees to conditionally only, for he considers that the public recommendation of protective measures should be forbidden by police ordinance. Finally, in the last chapter, the twenty-fifth, he speaks of the institutions for the rescue of fallen women, and he concludes his comprehensive work, in which he has dealt so thoroughly with all the subdivisions of his general topic, with the words:
“My work is at an end. When I commenced it, I pointed out what reasons I had for undertaking it, what aim I wished to attain. Had I not been firmly convinced that the investigations begun by me regarding the nature of prostitutes might favour health and morality, I should not have published them. I have exposed to the public gaze great infirmities of mankind; thoughtful men, for whom I have written, will thank me for doing so. He who loves his fellow-men will without anxiety follow me into the department of knowledge I have described, and will not turn away his glance from the pictures I have drawn. He who wishes to know the good that remains to be done, and who wishes to learn how to pursue with good results the way by which something better is to be attained, must first know what actually exists; he must know the truth.
“The profession of prostitution is an evil of all times, all countries, and appears to be innate in the social structure of mankind. It will perhaps never be entirely eradicated; still, all the more we must strive to limit its extent and its dangers. With prostitution itself it is as with vice, crime, and disease; the teacher of morals endeavours to prevent the vices, the lawgiver to prevent the crimes, the physician to cure the diseases. All alike know that they will never fully attain their goal; but they pursue their work none the less in the conviction that he who does only a little good yet does a great service to the weak man. I follow their example. A friend whose loss I shall always mourn drew my attention to the fate of the prostitute. I studied them, I wished to learn the causes of their degradation, and wherever possible to discover the means by which their number could be limited. What experience has taught me on this subject I have openly stated, and I am convinced that the lawgiver, the man whom the State has empowered with authority to care for public health and morality, will find in my book useful information.”