Richard Burton - "Congenital Homos**uality" From Psychopathia Sexualis (1894) lyrics

From the cases published up to 1877, I have designated this peculiar s**ual feeling' as a functional sign of degeneration, and as a partial manifestation of a neuro-psychopathic state, in most cases hereditary, — a supposition which has found renewed confirmation in a consideration of additional cases. The following peculiarities may be given as the signs of this neuropsychopathic taint : — 1. The s**ual life of individuals thus organized manifests itself, as a rule, abnormally early, and thereafter with abnormal power. Not infrequently still other perverse manifestations are presented besides the abnormal method of s**ual satisfaction, which in itself is conditioned by the peculiar s**ual feeling 2. The psychical love manifest in these men is, for the most part, exaggerated and exalted in the same way as their s**ual instinct is manifested in consciousness, with a strange and even compelling force 3. By the side of the functional signs of degeneration attending contrary s**ual feeling are found other functional, and in many cases anatomical, evidences of degeneration 4. Neuroses (hysteria, neurasthenia, epileptoid states, etc.) co-exist. Almost always the existence of temporary or lasting neurasthenia may be proved. As a rule, this is constitutional, having its root in congenital conditions. It is awakened and maintained by masturbation or enforced abstinence In male individuals, owing to these practices or to congenital disposition, there is finally neurasthenia s**ualis, which mani- fests itself essentially in irritable weakness of the ejaculation centre. Thus it is explained that, in most of the cases, simply embracing and kissing, or even only the sight of the loved person, induce the act of ejaculation. Frequently this is accompanied by an abnormally powerful feeling of lustful pleasure, which may be so intense as to suggest a feeling of magnetic currents pa**ing through the body 5. In the majority of cases, psychical anomalies (brilliant endowment in art, especially music, poetry, etc., by the side of bad intellectual powers or original eccentricity) are present, which may even go so far as pronounced conditions of mental degeneration (dementia, moral insanity). In many umings, either temporarily or permanently, insanity of a degenerative character (pathological emotional states, periodical insanity, paranoia, etc.) makes its appearance 6. In almost all cases where an examination of the physical and mental peculiarities of the ancestors and blood-relations has been possible, neuroses, psychoses, degenerative signs, etc., have been found in the families The depth of congenital contrary feeling is shown by the fact that the lustful dream of the male-loving urning has for its content only male individuals ; that of the female-loving woman, only female individuals, with corresponding situations ...The majority of urnings are happy in their perverse s**ual feeling and impulse, and unhappy only in so far as social and legal barriers stand in the way of the satisfaction of their instinct toward their own s** The study of contrary s**ual feeling points directly to anomalies of the cerebral organization of the affected individuals. Gley (Revue philosophy January, 1884) believes that he is able to solve the riddle by the theory that the individuals have a female brain and male s**ual glands ; and, further, that pathological brain conditions determine the s**ual life, while normally the s**ual organs determine thes**ual functions of the brain One of my patients offered me an interesting theory in explanation of original contrary s**ual instinct. He started with the actual bi-s**uality shown by the foetus anatomically up to a certain age. While normally the organs which attain complete development exclusively condition and determine the s**ual type, and the influence of the opposite organs, which remain rudimentary, is nil, it is conceivable that, under the influence of a factor inimical to the normal development of the brain (hereditary taint, etc.), these rudimentary organs likewise exercise an influence which, under certain circumstances, may be even greater than that of the fully developed organs which determine the external s**ual type (...) The attempted explanations of congenital urnings are not less superficial ; for instance, that of Ulrichs, who, in his " Memnon," 1868, speaks of an u anima muliebris virili corpore inclusa (virili corpori innata)," and thus tries to explain the congenital origin and the female character of his abnormal s**ual instinct. The idea of the patient, the subject of Case 124, is original. He supposes that when his father begat him he thought to beget a girl, but, instead of a girl, a boy resulted. One of the strangest explanations of congenital contrary s**ual feeling is made by Mantegazza {op. cit., p. 106. 1886). According to this author, in such individuals there exist Anatomical anomalies which, by an error of Nature, consist in a distribution to the rectum of the nerves intended for the genitals ; so that only in this situation the lustful sensation is aroused which otherwise results from stimulation of the genitals. But how does this author, in other ways so acute, explain the great majority of cases, where pederasty is abhorred by those affected with contrary s**ual feeling'?