The heart and the mind suffer as much as the body from excesses of masturbation. To be assured of this we have only to remember the power exercised by the genital organs in the physiological state, on the ideas and feelings. Generally the necessity which the onanist experiences for dissembling his tastes and for concealing a habit which is both ridiculous and vile, renders him taciturn: his eyes are turned from the gaze of those around: he loves solitude, avoids the world and is embarrassed, and almost as it were ashamed of himself. His manner might sometimes pass for timidity, we might almost say for innocence, but it is entirely changed, when being in company with professed onanists he no longer feels restraint.
It is to this habit of dissimulation, this inquietude with which the onanist is constantly haunted, that Montegre attributes particularly the difference between self-pollution and coition: but this moral torment is far as we shall see from being the only one with which the onanist is affected.
In fact, he constantly experiences a sensation of sadness and ennui, which is impressed on his countenance and which is the natural consequence of restlessness and of the fatigue which he feels constantly. He is sad as one is when suffering, and when debility are felt. This inward feeling of shame which is banished with difficulty when the actions reputed to be bad are often repeated, must also contribute to increase his melancholy and sadness. But perhaps the worst feelings which torment him, are regret and remorse. The exhaustion of his system, his sufferings, the near approach of death often render him desperate. He remembers the time when he did not indulge in onanism: he remembers those who first taught him that vice: his shame, his pains and fears all come up strongly before him. Being the author of his own misfortunes he constantly reproaches himself, and he remembers all that has been said to wean him from the habit. Now picture with these regrets these fears, and the despair we have described, the existence of this fatal habit which cannot be overcome. The onanist knows this danger and yet he cannot break himself of his bad habit.
It can readily be supposed that onanists tortured by the present and by the thoughts of the future which appears to them overshadowed with clouds, have often wished to terminate their sufferings criminally. This has in fact sometimes happened. “I do not believe,” writes an onanist to Tissot, “that any human being has suffered as much as I have. Without the special care of Providence I should find it difficult to support the burden of life.” Some have not the courage to sustain life. Esquirol has often known masturbation to lead to melancholy and suicide. Orfila also mentions among the occasional causes of suicide “the physical and moral disgust, intellectual apathy without any hope of cure which often follows premature indulgences of every kind.” If the resources of nature had been known to those who thus abandon themselves to despair; if they had witnessed, as we have, the rapidity with which the health is restored, when onanism is arrested, if they had believed in the healing power of time, they would have seen that their pains might disappear, their strength might have been restored, and they might have enjoyed a long and happy life. The following case will teach onanists not to despair.
A gentleman, twenty-four years old, says M. Sainte Marie, in order to avoid conscription shut himself up in an isolated chateau under the charge of an old and confidential domestic. There in order to lighten the ennui of his situation he gave himself up to onanism. After three years of this forced seclusion and dangerous excess, he reappeared in the world; he was excessively pale and thin, which was attributed to the extreme loneliness in which he existed. Marriage was urged upon him as a mode of relieving, by an agreeable establishment, this long ennui; his strength however failed him the night of his marriage, and he was unable, as Montaigne says, to consummate the nuptials. He became disgusted with himself, and this feeling soon settled into one of deep and fixed despair. One day he swallowed a large dose of arsenic, but vomited it soon after with the food which he had eaten. He then came to Lyons to seek a death which he considered more worthy of his birth and station. He followed very closely for several days a celebrated fencer, and finding an opportunity to insult him, did so, with no other intent than that of losing, sword in hand, a life which had become hateful to him. The fortune of arms decided otherwise: although feeble and languid, he wounded his adversary, and this slight advantage suddenly changed his resolution. He now saw that life was not a series of defeats and humiliations: he desired to live, and in this frame of mind he came to consult me. His impotence seemed but a slight symptom. I readily saw that it was only the symptom of a well marked dorsal consumption. I prescribed ice to be taken internally, iced water douches to be used along the vertebral column and a milk diet. After continuing this treatment three months, the patient’s health seemed perfectly restored. He left Lyons, and rejoined his family, who were much concerned at his long absence. I learn now that he is very happy, and that his wife has presented him with three living pledges of affection. (Wichmann, p. 91.)
Besides the intellectual and moral effects which we have mentioned, onanism often produces a very marked debility of the mental faculties, and particularly of the memory. Young men, who previously showed considerable vivacity of mind and aptitude for study, become, after being addicted to this habit, stupid, and incapable of applying themselves: it is evident, that this transitory state which immediately succeeds the act of venery, becomes continued when this act is frequently repeated, because time is not allowed for the effects of it to pass off. This debility of the intellectual faculties must not always be considered as irremediable: in fact, these individuals sometimes regain their original acuteness, when the habit which had enfeebled them is discontinued, before the deterioration is of long standing. We might adduce instances of this return. The most remarkable, assuredly, is that of an idiot girl, who was restored to reason by amputation of the clitoris—an operation performed by Dr. Graefe, of Berlin. In a future page, we shall give this interesting case in full. Unfortunately, the simple cessation of onanism is not always sufficient to efface its effects completely; and many individuals preserve, during their whole existence, a certain feebleness of mind, which arises from the excesses of their youth. The debility of the intellectual faculties does not always stop at the point indicated: it may extend almost to idiocy—to the most complete stupidity. Most generally, then, the brain, or its appendages, are deeply injured, which is indicated by different symptoms, as loss of sight, hearing, fits, paralysis, &c. This was the case with an individual, whose case is stated by Serrurier, and who became, through onanism, perfectly imbecile. This is true, too, of an idiot, who was under the charge of Pinel, in the infirmary of Bicêtre. He was a sculptor, who had previously been exhausted by intemperance and venery. He remained almost motionless and quiet, or at intervals indulged in a foolish laugh. His face was destitute of expression, and he had no remembrance of his former state. His appetite was always good; and, even at the sight of food, his jaws began to move. He constantly remained in a recumbent posture; and, finally, became affected with hectic fever, which terminated fatally.
It is worthy of remark, in those onanists who become idiots, that, while the external senses and the intelligence diminish, the genital activity is increased: all these faculties seem to be blended in one, the proportions of which seem much greater, as the others are diminished. This opposite state of things, found in all cases produced by onanism, is particularly remarkable in a case observed at the Hospital St. Louis, by Alibert. The patient was a peasant-girl twenty-two years old, who was constantly employed in tending sheep. The seclusion of this girl’s situation favored the development of onanism. She concealed herself in retired and quiet situations, to indulge this horrid inclination. Two years elapsed, during which her intellectual faculties were progressively enfeebled: she became stupid, while the venereal sense was excited to the highest degree. Things came to such an extent, that she fell, as it were, into a species of nymphomania, for which she was carried to the hospital. The unfortunate girl presented a kind of automatic motion, which she could not repress. Her head, chest, and upper half of her body were excessively thin, while the other half was remarkably plump. The sight, and much more the contact of a male, caused in her a state which was soon terminated by a pollution. By merely touching this girl, her whole person could be agitated and convulsed to a distressing degree, and it was thought expedient to send her home. (Dict. des Sc. Med., Vol. XXXVI., p. 582.)
Are the alternate states of excitement and collapse experienced by the brain, during and after the act of venery, the only cause of weakness in onanists? Does not the constant state of their mind contribute also, as Tissot and many other authors think, to this unfortunate result? Of this, we have no doubt.
The yoke which onanism imposes on those who are completely abandoned to it, is such, that they have constantly before them a certain set of ideas. All their study is confined to avoid the looks of others, and to call to mind all the remembrances, and to create all the illusions, upon which their senses revel: their strength of mind is consecrated to these objects alone. To dissemble, and enjoy themselves, is all they wish. The intellectual faculties, being thus neglected, must remain imperfect; or even, if we may be allowed the expression, must lose their vigour, and waste. We can understand well how the necessity arising from this state of things may aid the development of the most wicked thoughts. Was not this the case with a young girl, whose history, as stated by Parent Duchatelet, is as follows:—
This girl, whose early childhood was spent with her grandmother, a respectable and religious woman, was about seven years old, when she returned home. For the first four months after her return, she was very sad and was not as playful as children are generally, and never caressed her father and mother. She lost flesh rapidly. The cause of this was sought for in vain; when, one day, a few questions having been put to her, she stated, that from the age of four years she had been in the habit of seeing boys from ten to twelve years old; that since she had returned home, she had had no opportunity, and had indulged in self-pollution. In vain did her parents try to wean her from this vice: they reasoned with and caressed her; they gave her presents, and all the clothes she desired; physicians visited her; the powers of religion were tried. But all in vain: the child abused herself, even in her sleep.