No More Learning

f In speaking of the sexual taste in men and women, one thinks at once of the usual but not invariable preference individuals show for a particular colour of hair. It would certainly seem as if the reason for so strongly marked a preference must lie deep in human nature.
36
? If
THE LAWS OF SEXUAL ATTRACTION
37
generally recognised. Men when quite young, say under twenty, are attracted by much older women (say those of thirty-five and so on), whilst men of thirty-five are attracted bywomenmuchyoungerthanthemselves. Soalso,onthe other hand, quite young girls (sweet seventeen) generally prefer much older men, but, later in life, may marry strip- lings. The whole subject deserves close attention and is both popular and easily noticed.
In spite of the necessary limitation of this work to the consideration of a single law, it will make for exactness if I try to state the formula in a more definite fashion, without the deceptive element of simplicity. Even without being able to state in definite quantities the other factors and the co-operating laws, we may reach a satisfactory exactness by the use of a variable factor.
The first formula was only an abstract general statement of what is common to all cases of maximum sexual attrac- tion so far as the sexual relation is governed by the law. I must now try to find an expression for the strength of the sexual affinity in any conceivable case, an expression which, on account of its general form, can be used to describe the relationship between any two living beings, even if these belong to different species or to the same sex.
aM f
'
( ssW ss' M
(where a, a', ss, and ss' are each greater than o and less than unity) define the sexual constitutions of any two living beings between which there is an attraction, then the strength of the attraction may be expressed thus :
a-ss
where /' is an empirical or analytical function of the period during which it is possible for the individuals to act upon one another, what may be called the "reaction-time"; whilst K is the variable factor in which we place all the
? SEX AND CHARACTER
known and unknown laws of sexual affinity, and which also varies with the degree of specific, racial and family relation- ship, and with the health and absence of deformity in the two individuals, and which, finally, will become smaller as the actual spacial distance between the two is greater, and which can be determined in any individual case.
When in this formula a = /3 A must be infinity ; this is the extreme case ; it is sexual attraction as an elemental force, as it has been described with a weird mastercrait by Lynkeus in the novel "Im Postwangen. " Such sexual attraction is as much a natural law as the downward growth of a rootlet towards the earth, or the migration of bacteria to the oxygen at the edge of a microscopic cover-glass.
But it takes some time to grow accustomed to such a view. I shall refer to this point again.
li a -- ss has its maximun value, which is when it equals unity, then A=K . /.
This would be the extreme case of the action of all the sympathetic and antipathetic relations between human beings (leaving out of account social relations in their narrowest sense, which are merely the safeguards of communities) which are not included in the l. iw of sexual affinity. As K generally increases with the strength of congenital relation- ship, A has a greater value when the individuals are of the same nationality than when they belong to different nation- alities. The value of f is great in this case, and onr; can investigate its fluctuations, as, for instance, when two domestic animals of different species are in association ; at first it usually stands for violent enmity, or fear of each other (and A has a negative value), whilst later on a friendship may come about.
When K = o in the formula
K. /'
then A = o, which means that between two living beings of origin too remote there may be no trace of sexual attraction.
38
_ A=
? THE LAWS OF SEXUAL ATTRACTION
39
The provisions of the criminal statute-books, however, in reference to sodomy and bestiality show plainly that even in the case of very remote species K has a value greater thannothing. Theformulamayapplytotwoindividuals not only not of the same species, but even not of the same order.
It is a new theory that the union of male and female organisms is no mere matter of chance, but is guided by a definite law ; and the actual complexities which I have merely suggested show the need for complete investigation into the mysterious nature of sexual attraction.
The experiments of Wilhelm Pfeffer have shown that the male cells of many cryptogams are naturally attracted not merely by the female cells, but also by substances which they have come in contact with under natural conditions, or which have been nitroduced to them experimentally, in the latter case the substances being sometimes of a kind with which they could not possibly have come in contact, except under theconditionsofexperiment. Thusthemalecellsofferns are attracted not only by the malic acid secreted naturally by the archegonia, but by synthetically prepared malic acid, whilst the male cells of mosses are attracted either by the natural acid of the female cells or by acid prepared from cane sugar. A male cell, which, we know not how, is influenced by the degree of concentration of a solution, moves towards the most concentrated part of the fluid. Pfeffer named such movements " chemotactic " and coined the word " chemotropism " to include these and many other asexual cases of motion stimulated by chemical bodies. There is much to support the view that the attraction exercised by females on males which perceive them at a distance by sense organs is to be regarded as analogous in certain respects with chemotropism.
It seems highly probable that chemotropism is also the explanation of the restless and persistent energy with which for days together the mammalian spermatozoa seek the entrance to the uterus, although the natural current pro- duced from the mucous membrane of the uterus is frorO
? SEX AND CHARACTER
within outwards. The spermatozoon, in spite of all me- chanical and other hindrances, makes for the egg-cell with an almost incredible certainty. In this connection we may call to mind the prodigious journeys made by many fish
; salmon travel for months together, practically without taking
any food, from the open sea to the sources of the Rhine, against the current of the river, in order to spawn in locali- ties that are safe and well provided with food.
I have recently been looking at the beautiful sketches which P. Falkenberg has made of the processes of fertilisa- tion in some of the Mediterranean seaweeds. When we speak of the lines of force between the opposite poles of magnets we are dealing with a force no more natural than that which irresistibly attracts the spermatozoon and the egg-cell. The chief jdifference seems to be that in the case of the attraction between the inorganic substances, strains are set up in the media between the two poles, whilst in the living matter the forces seem confined to the organisms themselves. According to Falkenberg's observations, the spermatozoa, in moving towards the egg-cells, are able to overcome the force which otherwise would be exercised upon them by a source of light. The sexual attraction, the chemotactic force, is stronger than the phototactic force.
/when a union has taken place between two individuals wno, according to my formula, are not adapted to each other, if later, the natural complement of either appears, the inclination to desert the makeshift at once asserts itself, in accordance with an inevitable law of nature. A divorce takes place, as much constitutional, depending on the nature of things, as when, if iron sulphate and caustic potash are brought together, the SO4 ions leave the iron to unite with the potassium. When in nature an adjustment of such differences of potential is about to take place, he who would approve or disapprove of the process from the moral point of view would appear to most to play a ridiculous partf
This is the fundamental idea in Goethe's "Wahlver- wandtschaften " (Elective Affinities), and in the fourth
40
? THE LAWS OF SEXUAL ATTRACTION 41
cnapter of the first part of that work he makes it the subject of a playful introduction which was full of un- dreamed of future significance, and the full force of which he was fated himself to experience in later life. I must con- fess to being proud that this book is the first work to take up hisideas. Nonetheless,itisaslittlemyintentionasitwas the intention of Goethe to advocate divorce ; I hope only to explain it. There are human motives which indispose man to divorce and enable him to withstand it. This I shall discuss later on. The physical side of sex in man is less completely ruled by natural law than is the case with lower animals. Wegetanindicationofthisinthefactthatman is sexual throughout the year, and that in him there is less trace than even in domestic animals of the existence of a special spring breeding-season.
The law of sexual affinity is analogous in another respect to a well-known law of theoretical chemistry, although, indeed, there are marked differences. The violence of a chemical reaction is proportionate to the mass of the sub- stances involved, as, for instance, a stronger acid solution unites with a stronger basic solution with greater avidity, just as in the case of the union of a pair of living beings with strong maleness and femaleness. But there is an essential difference between the living process and the reaction of the lifeless chemical substances. The living organism is not homogeneous and isotropic in its composi- tion ; it is not divisible into a number of small parts of identical properties. The difference depends on the principle of individuality, on the fact that every living thing is an individual, and that its individuality is essen- tially structural. And so in the vital process it is not as in inorganic chemistry ; there is no possibility of a larger pro- portion forming one compound, a smaller proportion form- ing another. The organic chemotropism, moreover, may be negative. In certain cases the value of A may result in
a negative quantity, that is to say, the sexual attraction may appear in the form of sexual repulsion. It is true that in purely chemical processes the same reaction may take place
? SEX AND CHARACTER
atdifferentrates. Taking,however,thetotalfailureofsome reaction by catalytic interference as the equivalent of a sexual repulsion, it never happens, according to the latest investigations at least, that the interference merely induces thereactionafteralongerorshorterinterval. Ontheother hand, it happens frequently that a compound which is formed at one temperature breaks up at another tempera- ture. /Here the " direction " of the reaction is a function of the temperature, as, in the vital process, it may be a function of time.
In the value of the factor " /," the time of reaction, a final analogy of sexual attraction with chemical processes may be found, if we are willing to trace the comparison without laying too much stress upon ity Consider the formula for the rapidity of the reaction, the different degrees of rapidity with which a sexual attraction between two individuals is established, and reflect how the value of "A" varies with the value of " t. " However, what Kant termed mathematical vanity must not tempt us to read into our equations complicated and difficult processes, the validity of which is uncertain. All that can be implied is simple enough ; sensual desire increases with the time during which two individuals are in propinquity ; if they were shut up together, it would develop if there were no repulsion, or practically no repulsion between them, in the fashion of some slow chemical process which takes much time before its result is visible. Such a case is the confi- dence with which it is said of a marriage arranged without love, " Love will come later ; time will bring it. "
It is plain that too much stress must not be laid on the analogy between sexual affinity and purely chemical pro- cesses. None the less, I thought it illuminating to make the comparison. It is not yet quite clear if the sexual attrac- tion is to be ranked with the " tropisms," and the matter cannot be settled without going beyond mere sexuality to discuss the general problem of erotics. The phenomena of love require a different treatment, and I sliall return to theminthesecondpartofthisbook. Nonetheless,there
42
? THE LAWS OF SEXUAL ATTRACTION
43
are analogies that cannot be denied when human attractions andchemotropismarecompared. I mayreferasaninstance to the relation between Edward and Ottilie in Goethe's " Wahlverwandtschaften. "
Mention of Goethe's romance leads naturally to a dis- cussion of the marriage problem, and I may here give a few of the practical inferences which would seem to follow from the theoretical considerations of this chapter. It is clear that a natural law, not dissimilar to other natural laws, exists with regard to sexual attraction ; this law shows that, whilst innumerable gradations of sexuality exist, there always may be found pairs of beings the members of which are almostperfectlyadaptedtooneanother. Sofar,marriage has its justification, and, from the standpoint of biology, free love is condemned. Monogamy, however, is a more difficult problem, the solution of which involves other con- siderations, such as periodicity, to which I shall refer later, and the change of the sexual taste with advancing years.
^A second conclusion may be derived from heterostylism, especially with reference to the fact that " illegitimate fertili- sation " almost invariably produces less fertile offspring. This leads to the consideration that amongst other forms of life the strongest and healthiest offspring will result from unions in which there is the maximum of sexual suitability. As the old saying has it, " love-children " turn out to be the finest, strongest, and most vigorous of human beings. Those who are interested in the improvement of mankind must therefore, on purely hygienic grounds, oppose the ordinary mercenary marriages of convenience. }
It is more than probable that the law of sexual attraction may yield useful results when applied to the breeding of animals. More attention will have to be given to the secondary sexual characters of the animals which it is proposed to mate. The artificial methods made use of to secure the serving of mares by stallions unattractive to them do not always fail, but are followed by indifferent results. Probably an obvious result of the use of a substituted stallion in impregnating a mare is the extreme nervousness
? SEX AND CHARACTER
44
of the progeny, which must be treated with bromide and other drugs. So, also, the degeneration of modern Jews may be traced in part to the fact that amongst them marriages for other reasons than love are specially common.
Amongst the many fundamental principles established by the careful observations and experiments of Darwin, and since confirmed by other investigators, is the fact that both very closely related individuals, and those whose specific characters are too unlike, have little sexual attraction for each other, and that if in spite of this sexual union occurs, the offspring usually die at an early stage or are very feeble, or are practically infertile. So also, in heterostylous plants " legitimate fertilisation " brings about more numerous and vigorous seeds than come from other unions.
^t may be said in general that the offspring of those parents which showed the greatest sexual attraction succeed best^
Tnis rule, which is certainly universal, implies the correct, ness of a conclusion which might be drawn from the earlier part of this book, When a marriage has taken place and children have been produced, these have gained nothing from the conquest of sexual repulsion by the parents, for such a conquest could not take place without damage to the mental and bodily characters of the children that would come of it. ^t is certain, however, that many childless marriageshavebeenlovelessmarriages. Theoldideathat the chance of conception is increased where there is a mutual participation in the sexual act is closely connected with what we have been considering as to the greater intensity of the sexual attraction between two comple- mentary individuals^
? CHAPTER IV
HOMO-SEXUALITY AND PEDERASTY
The law of Sexual Attraction gives the long-sought-for explanation of sexual inversion, of sexual inclination towards members of the same sex, whether or no that be accompanied by aversion from members of the opposite sex. Without reference to a distinction which I shall deal with later on, I may say at once that it is exceedingly probable that, in all cases of sexual inversion, there will be found indications of the anatomical characters of the other sex. There is no such thing as a genuine "psycho-sexual her-
maphroditism "
the men who are sexually attracted by men have outward marks of effeminacy, just as women of a similar disposition to those of their own sex exhibit male characters. That this should be so is quite intelligible if we admit the close parallelism between body and mind, and further light is thrown upon it by the facts explained in the second chapter of this book ; the facts as to the male or female principle not being uniformly present all over the same body, but distributed in different amounts in different organs. In all cases of sexual inversion, there is invariably
;
an anatomical approximation to the opposite sex.
Such a view is directly opposed to that of those who would maintain that sexual inversion is an acquired character, and one that has superseded normal sexual impulses. Schrenk-Notzing, Kraepelin, and Fere are amongst those writers who have urged the view that sexual inversion is an acquired habit, the result of abstinence from normal intercourse and particularly induced by example. But what about the first offender ? Did the god Herma-
? SEX AND CHARACTER
phroditos teach him ? It might equally be sought to prove that the sexual inclination of a normal man for a normal woman was an unnatural, acquired habit--a habit, as some ancient writers have suggested, that arose from some acci- dental discovery of its agreeable nature. Just as a normal man discovers for himself what a woman is, so also, in the case of a sexual " invert " the attraction exercised on him by a person of his own sex is a normal product of his development from his birth. Naturally the opportunity must come in which the individual may put in practice his desire for inverted sexuality, but the opportunity will be taken only when his natural constitution has made the indi- vidual ready for it. That sexual abstinence (to take the second supposed cause of inversion) should result in any- thing more than masturbation may be explained by the supposition that inversion is acquired, but that it should be coveted and eagerly sought can only happen when the demand for it is rooted in the constitution. In the same fashion normal sexual attraction might be said to be an
acquired character, if it could be proved definitely that, to fall in love, a normal man must first see a woman or a picture of a woman. Those who assert that sexual inversion is an acquired character, are making a merely incidental or accessory factor responsible for the whole constitution of an organism.
There is little reason for saying that sexual inversion is acquired, and there is just as little for regarding it as in- heritedfromparentsorgrandparents. Suchanassertion, it is true, has not been made, and seems contrary to all experience ; but it has been suggested that it is due to a neuropathic diathesis, and that general constitutional weak- ness is to be found in the descendants of those who have displayed sexual inversion. In fact sexual inversion has usually been regarded as psycho-pathological, as a symptom of degeneration, and those who exhibit it have been con- sidered as physically unfit. This view, however, is falling into disrepute, especially as Krafft-Ebing, its principal champion, abandoned it in the later editions of his work.
46
;
? HOMO-SEXUALITY AND PEDERASTY
None the less, it is not generally recognised that sexual inverts may be otherwise perfectly healthy, and with regard toothersocialmattersquitenormal. Whentheyhavebeen asked if they would have wished matters to be different with them in this respect, almost invariably they answer in the negative.
It is due to the erroneous conceptions that I have men- tioned that homo-sexuality has not been considered in relation with other facts. Let those who regard sexual inversion as pathological, as a hideous anomaly of mental development (the view accepted by the populace), or believe it to be an acquired vice, the result of an execrable seduc- tion, remember that there exist all transitional stages reaching from the most masculine male to the most effeminate male and so on to the sexual invert, the false and true hermaphrodite ; and then, on the other side, suc- cessively through the sapphist to the virago and so on until the most feminine virgin is reached. In the interpretation of this volume, sexual inverts of both sexes are to be defined as individuals in whom the factor a (see page 8, chap, i. ) is very nearly 0. 5 and so is practically equal to a ; in other words, individuals in whom there is as much maleness as femaleness, or indeed who, although reckoned as men, may contain an excess of femaleness, or as women and yet be moremalethanfemale. Becauseofthewantofuniformity in the sexual characters of the body, it is fairly certain that many individuals have their sex assigned them on account of the existence of the primary male sexual characteristic, even although there may be delayed descensus iesHculorum, or epi- or hypo-spadism, or, later on, absence of active sperma- tozoa, or even, in the case of assignment of the female sex, absence of the vagina, and thus male avocations (such as compulsory military service) may come to be assigned to
those in whom a is less than 0. 5 and a greater than 0. 5. The sexual complement of such individuals really is to be found on their own side of the sexual line, that is to say, on the side on which they are reckoned, although in reality they may belong to the other.
47
? SEX AND CHARACTER
Moreover, and this not only supports my view but can b<< explained only by it, there are no inverts who are completely sexually inverted. In all of them there is from the begin- ninganinclinationtobothsexes; theyare,infact,bisexual. It may be that later on they may actively encourage a slight leaning towards one sex or the other, and so become practically unisexual either in the normal or in the inverted sense, or surrounding influence may bring about this result forthem. Butinsuchprocessesthefundamentalbisexuality is never obliterated and may at any time give evidence of its suppressed presence.
Reference has often been made, and in recent years has increasingly been made, to the relation between homo- sexuality and the presence of bisexual rudiments in the embryonic stages of animals and plants. What is new in my view is that according to it, homo-sexuality cannot be regarded as an atavism or as due to arrested embryonic development,orincompletedifferentiationofsex; itcannot be regarded as an anomaly of rare occurrence interpolating itself in customary complete separation of the sexes. Homo-sexuality is merely the sexual condition of these intermediate sexual forms that stretch from one ideally sexual condition to the other sexual condition. In my view all actual organisms have both homo-sexuality and hetero- sexual ity.
That the rudiment of homo-sexuality, in however weak a form, exists in every human being, corresponding to the greater or smaller development of the characters of the opposite sex, is proved conclusively from the fact that in the adolescent stage, while there is still a considerable amount of undifferentiated sexuality, and before the internal secretions have exerted their stimulating force, passionate attachments with a sensual side are the rule amongst boys as well as amongst girls.
A person who retains from that age onwards a marked tendency to "friendship" with a person of his own sex must have a strong taint of the other sex in him. Those, however, are still more obviously intermediate sexual forms,
48
? HOMO-SEXUALITY AND PEDERASTY
who, after association with both sexes, fail to have aroused in them the normal passion for the opposite sex, but still endeavour to maintain confidential, devoted affection with those of their own sex.
There is no friendship between men that has not an ele- ment of sexuality in it, however little accentuated it may be in the nature of the friendship, and however painful the idea of the sexual element would be. But it is enough to remember that there can be no friendship unless there has been some attraction to draw the men together. Much of the affection, protection, and nepotism between men is due to the presence of unsuspected sexual compatibility.
An analogy with the sexual friendship of youth may be traced in the case of old men, when, for instance, with the involution following old age, the latent amphisexuality of manappears. Thismaybethereasonwhysomanymen of fifty years and upwards are guilty of indecency.
Homo-sexuality has been observed amongst animals to a considerable extent. F. Karsch has made a wide, if not complete, compilation from other authors. Unfortunately, practically no observations were made as to the grades of maleness or femaleness to be observed in such cases. But we may be reasonably certain that the law holds good in the animal world. If bulls are kept apart from cows for a considerable time, homo-sexual acts occur amongst them; the most female are the first to become corrupted, the others later, some perhaps never. (It is amongst cattle that the greatest number of sexually intermediate forms have been recorded. ) This shows that the tendency was latent in them, but that at other times the sexual demand was satis- fiedinnormalfashion. Cattleincaptivitybehaveprecisely asprisonersandconvictsinthesematters. Animalsexhibit not merely onanism (which is known to them as to human beings), but also homo-sexuality ; and this fact, together with the fact that sexually intermediate forms are known to occur amongst them, I regard as strong evidence for my law of sexual attraction.
Inverted sexual attraction, then, is no exception to my D
49
? SEX AND CHARACTER
law of sexual attraction, but is merely a special case of it. An individual who is half-man, half-woman, requires as sexual complement a being similarly equipped with a share of both sexes in order to fulfil the requirements of the law. This explains the fact that sexual inverts usually associate only with persons of similar character, and rarely admit to intimacy those who are normal. The sexual attraction is mutual, and this explains why sexual inverts so readily recognise each other. This being so, the normal element in human society has very little idea of the extent to which homo-sexuality is practised, and when a case becomes public property, every normal young profligate thinks that he has a right to condemn such " atrocities. " So recently as the year 1900 a professor of psychiatry in a German university urged that those who practised homo-sexuality should be castrated.
The therapeutical remedies which have been used to combat homo-sexuality, in cases where such treatment has been attempted, are certainly less radical than the advice of the professor ; but they serve to show only how little the natureofhomo-sexualitywasunderstood. Themethodused at present is hypnotism, and this can rest only on the theory thathomo-sexualityisanacquiredcharacter. Bysuggesting the idea of the female form and of normal congress, it is sought to accustom those under treatment to normal rela- tions. But the acknowledged results are very few.
The failure is to be expected from our standpoint. The hypnotiser suggests to the subject the image of a "typical" woman, ignorant of the innate differences in the subject and unaware that such a type is naturally repulsive to him. And as the normal typical woman is not his complement, it is fruitless of the doctor to advise the services of any casual Venus, however attractive, to complete the cure of a man who has long shunned normal intercourse. If our formula were used to discover the complement of the male invert, it would point to the most man-like woman, the Lesbian or Sapphist type. Probably such is the only type of woman who would attract the sexual invert or please him. If a
50
? HOMO-SEXUALITY AND PEDERASTY
51 cureforsexualinversionmustbesoughtbecauseit cannot be left to its own extinction, then this theory offers the following solution. Sexual inverts must be brought to sexual inverts, from homo-sexualists to Sapphists, each in their grades. Knowledge of such a solution should lead to repeal of the ridiculous laws of England, Germany and Austria directed against homo-sexuality, so far at least as to make the punishments the lightest possible. In the second part of this book it will be made clear why both the active and the passive parts in male homo-sexuality appear disgraceful, although the desire is greater than in the case of the normal relation of a man and woman. In the abstract
there is no ethical difference between the two.
In spite of all the present-day clamour about the existence of different rights for different individualities, there is only one law that governs mankind, just as there is only one logic and not several logics. It is in opposition to that law, as well as to the theory of punishment according to which the legal offence, not the moral offence, is punished, that we forbid the homo-sexualist to carry on his practices whilst we allow the hetero-sexualist full play, so long as both avoid open scandal. Speaking from the standpoint of a purer state of humanity and of a criminal law untainted by the pedagogic idea of punishment as a deterrent, the only logical and rational method of treatment for sexual inverts would be to allow them to seek and obtain what they require where they can, that is to say, amongst other
inverts.
My theory appears to me quite incontrovertible and con-
clusive, and to afford a complete explanation of the entire set of phenomena. The exposition, however, must now face a set of facts which appear quite opposed to it, and which seem absolutely to contradict my reference of sexual inversion to the existence of sexually intermediate types, and my explanation of the law governing the attraction of these types for each other. It is probably the case that my explanation is sufficient for all female sexual inverts,fbut it is certainly true that there are men with very little taint oi
? SEX AND CHARACTER
femaleness about them who yet exert a very strong influ- ence on members of their own sex, a stronger influence than that of other men who may have more femaleness --an influence which can be exerted even on very male men, and an influence which, finally, often appears to be much greater than the influence any woman can exert on these men. ^ Albert Moll is justified in saying as follows : "There exist psycho-sexual hermaphrodites who are at- tracted by members of both sexes, but who in the case of each sex appear to care only for the characters peculiar to that sex ; and, on the other hand, there are also psycho- sexual (? ) hermaphrodites who, in the case of each sex, are attracted, not by the characteristics peculiar to that sex, but by those which are either sexually indifferent or even antagonistic to the sex in question. " Upon this distinction depends the difference between the two sets of phenomena indicated in the title of this chapter--Homo-sexuality and Pederasty. The distinction may be expressed as follows : The homo-sexualist is that type of sexual invert who prefers very female men or very male women, in accordance with the general law of sexual attraction. The pederast, on the other hand, may be attracted either by very male men or by very female women, but in the latter case only in so far as he is not pederastic. Moreover, his inclination for the male sex is stronger than for the female sex, and is more deeply seated in his nature. The origin of pederasty is a problem in itself and remains unsolved by this investi- gation.
52
? CHAPTER V
THE SCIENCE OF CHARACTER AND THE SCIENCE OF FORM
In view of the admitted close correspondence between matter and mind, we may expect to find that the conception of sexually intermediate forms, if applied to mental facts, will yield a rich crop of results. The existence of a female mental type and a male mental type can readily be imagined (and the quest of these types has been made by many investigators), but such perfect types never occur as actual individuals, simply because in the mind, as in the body, all sorts of sexually intermediate conditions exist. My concep- tion will also be of great service in helping us to discriminate between the different mental qualities, and to throw some light into what has always been a dark corner for psycholo- gists--thedifferencesbetweendifferentindividuals. Agreat step will be made if we are able to supply graded categories for the mental diathesis of individuals ; if it shall cease to be scientific to say that the character of an individual is merely male or female ; but if we can make a measured judgment and say that such and such an one is so many partsmaleandsomanypartsfemale. Whichelementin any particular individual has done, said, or thought this or the other ? By making the answer to such a question pos- sible, we shall have done much towards the definite descrip- tion of the individual, and the new method will determine thedirectionoffutureinvestigation.
Theknowledgeofthe past, which set out from conceptions which were really confused averages, has been equally far from reaching the broadest truths as from searching out the most intimate,
? SEX AND CHARACTER
54
detailed knowledge. This failure of past methods gives us hope that the principle of sexually intermediate forms may serve as the foundation of a scientific study of character and justifies the attempt to make of it an illuminating principle for the psychology of individual differences. Its application to the science of character, which, so far, has been in the hands of merely literary authors, and is from the scientific point of view an untouched field, is to be greeted more warmly as it is capable of being used quanti- tatively, so that we venture to estimate the percentage of maleness and femaleness which an individual possesses even in the mental qualities. The answer to this question is not given even if we know the exact anatomical position of an organism on the scale stretching from male to female, although as a matter of fact congruity between bodily and mental sexuality is more common than incongruity. But we must remember what was stated in chap. ii. as to the uneven distribution of sexuality over the body.
The proportion of the male to the female principle in the same human being must not be assumed to be a constant quantity. An important new conclusion must be taken into account, a conclusion which is necessary to the right application of the principle which clears up in a striking fashion earlier psychological work. The fact is that every human being varies or oscillates between the maleness and the femaleness of his constitution. In some cases these oscillations are abnormally large, in other cases so small as to escape observation, but they are always present, and when they are great they may even reveal themselves in theoutwardaspectofthebody. Likethevariationsinthe magnetism of the earth, these sexual oscillations are either regular or irregular. The regular forms are sometimes minute ; for instance, many men feel more male at night. The large and regular oscillations correspond to the great divisions of organic life to which attention is only now being directed, and they may throw light upon many puzzling phenomena. The irregular oscillations probably depend chiefly upon the environment, as for instance on
? SCIENCE OF CHARACTER AND FORM 55
che sexuality of surrounding human beings. They may help to explain some curious points in the psychology of a crowd which have not yet received sufficient attention.
In short, bi-sexuality cannot be properly observed in a single moment, but must be studied through successive periodsoftime. Thistime-elementinpsychologicaldiffer- encesofsexualitymayberegularlyperiodicornot. The swing towards one pole of sexuality may be greater than the following swing to the other side. Although theoreti- cally possible, it seems to be extremely rare for the swing to the male side to be exactly equal to the swing towards the female side.
It may be admitted in principle, before proceeding to detailed investigation, that the conception of sexually inter- mediate forms makes possible a more accurate description of individual characters in so far as it aids in determining the proportion of male and female in each individual, and of measuring the oscillations to each side of which any individualiscapable. Apointofmethodmustbedecided at once, as upon it depends the course the investigation willpursue. Arewetobeginbyanempiricalinvestigation of the almost innumerable intermediate conditions in mental sexuality, or are we to set out with the abstract sexual types, the ideal psychological man and woman, and then in- vestigate deductively how far such ideal pictures correspond with concrete cases ? The former method is that which the development of psychological knowledge has pursued; ideals
have been derived from facts, sexual types constructed from observation of the manifold complexity of nature ; it would be inductive and analytic. The latter mode, deductive and synthetic, is more in accordance with formal logic.
I have been unwilling to pursue the second method as fully as is possible, because every one can apply for himself to concrete facts the two well-defined extreme types ; once it is understood that actual individuals are mixtures of the types, it is simple to appiy theory to practice, and the actual pursuit of detailed cases would involve much repetition and bring little theoretical advantage. The second method,
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56
however,isimpracticable. Thecollectionofthelongseries
of details from which the inductions would be made would simply weary the reader.
In the first or biological part of my work, I give little attention to the extreme types, but devote myself to the fullest investigation of the intermediate stages. In the second part, I shall endeavour tv> make as full a psycho- logical analysis as possible of the characters of the male and female types, and will touch only lightly on concrete instances.
I shall first mention, without laying too much stress on them, some of the more obvious mental characteristics of the intermediate conditions.
Womanish men are usually extremely anxious to marry, at least (I mention this to prevent misconception) if a sufficiently brilliant opportunity offers itself. When it is possible, they nearly always marry whilst they are still quite young. It is especially gratifying to them to get as wives famous women, artists or poets, or singers and actresses.
Womanish men are physically lazier than other men in proportiontothedegreeoftheirwomanishness. Thereare " men " who go out walking with the sole object of display- ing their faces like the faces of women, hoping that they will be admired, after which they return contentedly home. The ancient " Narcissus " was a prototype of such persons. These people are naturally fastidious about the dressing of their hair, their apparel, shoes, and linen ; they are con- cerned as to their personal appearance at all times, and about the minutest details of their toilet. They are con- scious of every glance thrown on them by other men, and because of the female element in them, they are coquettish in gait and demeanour. Viragoes, on the other hand, fre- quently are careless about their toilet, and even about the personal care of their bodies; they take less time in dressing thanmanywomanishmen. Thedandyismofmenonthe one hand, and much of what is called the emancipation of women, are due to the increase in the numbers of these epicene creatures, and not merely to a passing fashion.
? SCIENCE OF CHARACTER AND FORM
57 ^Indeed, if one inquires why anything becomes the fashion
it will be found that there is a true cause for iy
The more femaleness a woman possesses the less will she understand a man, and the sexual characters of a man will have the greater influence on her. This is more than a mere application of the law of sexual attraction, as I have already stated it. So also the more manly a man is the less will he understand women, but the more readily be in- fluenced by them as women. Those men who claim to understand women are themselves very nearly women. Womanish men often know how to treat women much better than manly men. Manly men, except in most rare cases, learn how to deal with women only after long expe-
rience, and even then most imperfectly.
Although I have been touching here in a most superficial
way on what are no more than tertiary sexual characters, I wish to point out an application of my conclusions to peda- gogy. I am convinced that the more these views are understood the more certainly will they lead to an indi- vidual treatment in education. At the present time shoe- makers, who make shoes to measure, deal more rationally with individuals than our teachers and schoolmasters in their application of moral principles. ^At present the sexually intermediate forms of individuals (especially on the female side) are treated exactly as if they were good examples of the ideal male or female types. There is wanted an " orthopaedic" treatment of the soul instead of the torture caused by the appUcation of ready-made con- ventional shapes. The present system stamps out much that is original, uproots much that is truly natural, and distorts much into artificial and unnatural forms. y
From time immemorial there have been only two systems ofeducation; oneforthosewhocomeintotheworlddesig- nated by one set of characters as males, and another for thosewhoaresimilarlyassumedtobefemales. Almostat once the "boys" and the "girls" are dressed differently, learn to play different games, go through different courses of instruction, the girls being put to stitching and so forth.
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The intermediate individuals are placed at a great disad- vantage. And yet the instincts natural to their condition reveal themselves quickly enough, often even before puberty. There are boys who like to play with dolls, who learn to knit and sew with their sisters, and who are pleased to be given girls' names. There are girls who delight in the noisier sports of their brothers, and who make chums and playmates of them. After puberty, there is a still stronger
displayoftheinnatedifferences. Manlikewomenweartheir hair short, affect manly dress, study, drink, smoke, are fond of mountaineering, or devote themselves passionately to sport. Womanish men grow their hair long, wear corsets, are experts in the toilet devices of women, and show the greatest readiness to become friendly and intimate w'th them, preferring their society to that of men.
Later on, the different laws and customs to which the so<< called sexes are subjected press them as by a vice into distinctive moulds. The proposals which should follow from my conclusions will encounter more passive resist- ance, I fear, in the case of girls than in that of boys. I must here contradict, in the most positive fashion, a dogma that is authoritatively and widely maintained at the present time, the idea that all women are alike, that no individuals exist amongst women. It is true that amongst those indi- viduals whose constitutions lie nearer the female side than the male side, the differences and possibilities are not so great as amongst those on the male side ; the greater varia- bility of males is true not only for the human race but for the living world, and is related to the principles established by Darwin. None the less, there are plenty of differences amongst women. The psychological origin of this common error depends chiefly on a fact that I explained in chap, iii. ,
the fact that every man in his life becomes intimate only with a group of women defined by his own constitution, and so naturally he finds them much alike. /For the same reason, and in the same way, one may often hear a woman say that all men are alike. And the narrow uniform view about men, displayed by most of the leaders of the
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59
women's rights movement depends on precisely the same cause. /
It is clear that the principle of the existence of innu- merable individual proportions of the male and female principles is a basis of the study of character which must be applied in any rational scheme of pedagogy.
The science of character must be associated with some form of psychology that takes into account some theory of the real existence of mental phenomena in the same fashion thatanatomyisrelatedtophysiology. Andsoitisnecessary, quite apart from theoretical reasons, to attempt to pursue a psychology of individual differences. This attempt will be readily enough followed by those who believe in the paral- lelism between mind and matter, for they will see in psycho- logy no more than the physiology of the central nervous system, and Vv^ill readily admit that the science of character must be a sister of morphology. As a matter of fact there is great hope that in future characterology and mor- phology will each greatly help the other. The principle of sexually intermediate forms, and still more the parallelism between characterology and morphology in the widest application, make us look forward to the time when phy- siognomy will take its honourable place amongst the sciences, a place which so many have attempted to gain for it but as yet unsuccessfully.
The problem of physiognomy is the problem of the rela- tion between the static mental forces and the static bodily forces, just as the problem of physiological psychology deals with the dynamic aspect of the same relations. It is a great error in method, and in fact, to treat the study of physiognomy, because of its difficulty, as impracticable. And yet this is the attitude of contemporary scientific circles, unconsciously perhaps rather than consciously, but occasionally becoming obvious, as for instance in the case of the attempt of von Mo? bius to pursue the work of Gall with regard to the physiognomy of those with a natural aptitude for mathematics. ^If it be possible, and many have shown that it is possible, to judge correctly
? 6o SEX AND CHARACTER
much of the character of an individual merely from the examination of his external appearance, without the aid of cross-examination or guessing, it cannot be impossible to reduce such modes of observation to an exact method^) There is little more required than an exact study of the expression of the characteristic emotions and the tracking (to use a rough analogy) of the routes of the cabled passing to the speech centres.
None the less it will be long before official science ceases to regard the study of physiognomy as illegitimate. Although people will still believe in the parallelism of mind and body, they will continue to treat the physiognomist as as much of a charlatan as until quite recently the hypnotist was thought to be. ^None the less, all mankind at least
/unconsciously, and intelligent persons consciously, will continue to be physiognomists, people will continue to judge character from the nose, although they will not admit the existence of a science of physiognomy J and the portraits of celebrated men and of murderers will continue to interest every one.
I am inclined to believe that the assumption of a univer- sally acquired correspondence between mind and body may be a hitherto neglected fundamental function of our mind. It is certainly the case that every one believes in physiog- nomy and actually practises it. The principle of the exist- ence of a definite relation between mind and body must be accepted as an illuminating axiom for psychological research, and it will be for religion and metaphysics to work out the details of a relationship which must be accepted as existing.
Whether or no the science of character can be linked with morphology, it will be valuable not only to these sciences buttophysiognomyif wecanpenetratealittledeeperinto the confusion that now reigns in order to find if wrong methods have not been responsible for it. I hope that the attempt I am about to make will lead some little way into the labyrinth, and will prove to be of general application.
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? SCIENCE OF CHARACTER AND FORM 6i
Some men are fond of dogs and detest cats ; others are devoted to cats and dislike dogs. Inquiring minds have delighted to ask in such cases, Why are cats attractive to one person, dogs to another ? Why ?
1 do not think that this is the most fruitful way of stating the problem. I believe it to be more important to ask in what other respects lovers of dogs and of cats differ from one another. The habit, where one difference has been detected, of seeking for the associated differences, will prove extremely useful not only to pure morphology and to the science of character,'(but ultimately to physiognomy, the meeting-point of the two science^ Aristotle pointed out long ago that many characteristics of animals do not vary independently of each other. Later on Cuvier, in par- ticular, but also Geoffrey St. Hilaire and Darwin made a special study of these " correlations. " Occasionally the association of the characters is easy to understand on obvious utilitarian principles ; where for instance the ali- mentary canal is adapted to the digestion of flesh, the jaws andbodymustbeadaptedforthecaptureoftheprey. But association such as that between ruminant stomachs and the presence of cloven hoofs and of horns in the male, or of immunity to certain poisons with particular colouring of
the hair, or among domestic pigeons of short bills with small feet, of long bills with large feet, or in cats of deafness with white fur and blue eyes--such are extremely difficult to refer to a single purpose.
I do not in the least mean to assert that science must be content with no more than the mere discovery of correla- tions. Such a position would be little better than that of a person who was satisfied by finding out that the placing of a penny in the slot of a particular automatic machine alwayswasfollowedbythereleaseofaboxofmatches. It would be making resignation the leading principle of meta- physics. Weshallgetagooddealfurtherbysuchcorrela- tions, as, for instance, that of long hair and normal ovaries but these are within the sphere of physiology, not of morphology. Probably the goal of an ideal morphology
? SEX AND CHARACTER
could be reached best not by deductions from an attempted synthesis of observations on all the animals that creep on the land or swim in the sea (in the fashion of collectors of postage stamps), but by a complete study of a few organisms. Cuvier by a kind of guess-work used to re- construct an entire animal from a single bone : full knowledge would enable us to do this in a complete, definite,qualitativeandquantitativefashion. Whensucha knowledge has been attained, each single character will at once define and limit for us the possibilities of the other
characters. Suchatrueandlogicalextensionoftheprin- ciple of correlation in morphology is really an application of the theory of functions to the living world. It would not exclude the study of causation, but limit it to its proper sphere. No doubt the "causes" of the correlations of organisms must be sought for in the idioplasm.
The possibility of applying the principle of correlated variation to psychology depends on differential psychology, the study of psychological variation. I believe, moreover, that a combination of study of the anatomical "habit," and the mental characteristics will lead to a statical psycho- physics, a true science of physiognomy. The rule of investigation in all the three sciences will have to be that the question is posed as follows ; given that two organisms are known to differ in one respect, in what other respects are they different ? This will be the golden rule of dis-
covery, and, following it, we shall no longer lose ourselves hopelessly in the dark maze that surrounds the answer to the question " Why ? " As soon as we are informed as to one difference, we must diligently seek out the others, and the mere putting of the question in this form will directly bring about many discoveries.
The conscious pursuit of this rule of investigation will be particularly valuable in dealing with problems of the mind. Mental actions are not co-existent in the sense of physical characters, and it has been only by accidental and fortunate chances, when the phenomena have presented themselves in rapid succession in an individual, that discoveries of
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correlation in mental phenomena have been noticed. The correlated mental phenomena may be very different in kind, and it is only when we know what we are after and deliberately seek for them that we shall be able to transcend the special difficulties of the kind of material we are investi- gating, and so secure for psychology what is comparatively simple in anatomy.
63
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? CHAPTER VI
EMANCIPATED WOMEN
As an immediate application of the attempt to establish the principle of intermediate sexual forms by means of a differential psychology, we must now come to the question which it is the special object of this book to answer, theoretically and practically, I mean the woman question, theoretically so far as it is not a matter of ethnology and national economics, and practically in so far as it is not merely a matter of law and domestic economy, that is to say, of social science in the widest sense. The answer which this chapter is about to give must not be considered as final or as exhaustive. It is rather a necessary pre- liminary investigation, and does not go beyond deductions from the principles that I have established. It will deal with the exploration of individual cases and will not
attempt to found on these any laws of general significance. The practical indications that it will give are not moral maxims that could or would guide the future ; they are no more than technical rules abstracted from past cases. The idea of male and female types will not be discussed here that is reserved for the second part of my book. This preliminary investigation will deal with only those charac- tero-logical conclusions from the principle of sexually intermediate forms that are of significance in the woman question.
The geneial direction of the investigation is easy to understand from what has already been stated. A woman's demand for emancipation and her qualification for it are in directproportiontotheamountofmalenessinher. The
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idea of emancipation, however, is many-sided, and its indefiniteness is increased by its association with many practical customs which have nothing to do with the theory ofemancipation. Bythetermemancipationofawoman, I imply neither her mastery at home nor her subjection of her husband, I have not in mind the courage which enables her to go freely by night or by day unaccompanied in public places, or the disregard of social rules which prohibit bachelor women from receiving visits from men, or discussing or listening to discussions of sexual matters. I exclude from my view the desire for economic indepen- dence, the becoming fit for positions in technical schools, universities and conservatoires or teachers' institutes. And there may be many other similar movements associated withthewordemancipationwhichI donotintendtodeal with. /Emancipation, as I mean to discuss it, is not the wish for an outward equality with man, but what is of real importance in the woman question, the deep-seated craving to acquire man's character, to attain his mental and moral freedom, to reach his real interests and his creative power/
I maintain that the real female element has neither the desirenorthecapacityforemancipationinthissense. All those who are striving for this real emancipation, all women who are truly famous and are of conspicuous mental ability, to the first glance of an expert reveal some of the ana- tomical characters of the male, some external bodily resem- blance to a man. Those so-called "women" who have been held up to admiration in the past and present, by the advocates of woman's rights, as examples of what women can do, have almost invariably been what I have described
as sexually intermediate forms. The very first of the his- torical examples, Sappho herself, has been handed down to us as an example of the sexual invert, and from her name has been derived the accepted terms for perverted sexual relationsbetweenwomen. Thecontentsofthesecondand third chapter thus at once become important with regard to the woman question. The characterological materia) at our disposal with regard to celebrated and emancipated
? 66 SEX AND CHARACTER
women is too vague to serve as the foundation of any satis^ factory theory. What is wanted is some principle which would enable us to determine at what point between male and female such individuals were placed. My law of sexual affinity is such a principle. Its application to the facts of homo-sexuality showed that the woman who attracts and is attractedbyotherwomenisherselfhalfmale. Interpreting the historical evidence at our disposal in the light of this principle, we find that the degree of emancipation and the proportion of maleness in the composition of a woman are practically identical. Sappho was only the forerunner of a long line of famous women who were either homo-sexually or bisexually inclined. Classical scholars have defended Sappho warmly against the implication that there was anything more than mere friendship in her relations with her own sex, as if the accusation were necessarily degrading. In the second part of my book, however, I shall show reasons in favour of the possibility that homo-sexuality is a higher form than hetero-sexuality. For the present, it is enough to say that homo-sexuality in a woman is the out- come of her masculinity and presupposes a higher degree of development. CatherineII. ofRussia,andQueenChristina of Sweden, the highly gifted although deaf, dumb and blind, Laura Bridgman, George Sand, and a very large number of highlygiftedwomenandgirlsconcerningwhom1 myself have been able to collect information, were partly bisexual, partly homo-sexual.
I shall now turn to other indications in the case of the large number of emancipated women regarding whom there is no evidence as to homo-sexuality, and I shall show that my attribution of maleness is no caprice, no egotistical wish of a man to associate all the higher manifestations of intelli- gence with the male sex. Just as homo-sexual or bisexual women reveal their maleness by their preference either for women or for womanish men, so hetero-sexual women dis- play maleness in their choice of a male partner who is not preponderatinglymale. ThemostfamousofGeorgeSand's many affairs were those with de Musset, the most effeminat<<
? EMANCIPATED WOMEN
and sentimental poet, and with Chopin, who might be described almost as the only female musician, so effeminate are his compositions. * Vittoria Colonna is less known because of her own poetic compositions than because of the infatuation for her shown by Michael Angelo, whose earlier friendships had been with youths. The authoress, Daniel Stern, was the mistress of Franz Liszt, whose life and compositions were extremely effeminate, and who had a dubious friendship with Wagner, the interpretation of which was made plain by his later devotion to King LudwigILofBavaria. MadamedeStaal,whoseworkon Germany is probably the greatest book ever produced by a woman, is supposed to have been intimate with August Wilhelm Schlegel, who was a homo-sexualist, and who had been tutor to her children. At certain periods of his life, the face of the husband of Clara Schumann might have been taken as that of a woman, and a good deal of his music, although certainly not all, was effeminate.
When there is no evidence as to the sexual relations of famous women, we can still obtain important conclusions from the details of their personal appearance. Such data support my general proposition.
George Eliot had a broad, massive forehead ; her move- ments, like her expression, were quick and decided, and lacked all womanly grace. The face of Lavinia Fontana was intellectual and decided, very rarely charming ; whilst thatofRachelRuyschwasalmostwhollymasculine. The biography of that original poetess, Annette von Droste- Hu? lshoff, speaks of her wiry, unwomanly frame, and of her face as being masculine, and recalling that of Dante. The authoress and mathematician, Sonia Kowalevska, like Sappho,hadanabnormallyscantygrowthofhair,still less than is the fashion amongst the poetesses and female
* Chopin's portraits shovp his effeminacy plainly. erimee describes George Sand as being as thin as a nail. At the first meeting of the two, the lady behaved like a man, and the man like a girl. He blushed when she looked at him and began to pay him compliments in her bass voice.
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studentsofthepresentday. Itwouldbeaseriousomission to forget Rosa Bonheur, the very distinguished painter and it would be difficult to point to a single female trait in her appearance or character. The notorious Madame Blavatsky is extremely masculine in her appearance.
I might refer to many other emancipated women at present well known to the public, consideration of whom has provided me with much material for the support of my proposition that the true female element, the abstract "woman,"hasnothingtodowithemancipation. Thereis some historical justification for the saying "the longer the hair the smaller the brain," but the reservations made in chap. ii. must be taken into account.
(jt is only the male element in emancipated women that craves for emancipation^
There is, then, a stronger reason than has generally been supposed for the familiar assumption of male pseudonyms by women writers. Their choice is a mode of giving ex- pression to the inherent maleness they feel ; and this is still more marked in the case of those who, like George Sand, have a preference for male attire and masculine pur- suits. The motive for choosing a man's name springs from the feeling that it corresponds with their own character much more than from any desire for increased notice from the public. As a matter of fact, up to the present, partly owing to interest in the sex question, women's writings have aroused more interest, ceteris paribus, than those of men and, owing to the issues involved, have always received a fuller consideration and, if there were any justification, a
greater meed of praise than has been accorded to a man's work of equal merit. At the present time especially many women have attained celebrity by work which, if it had been produced by a man, would have passed almost un- noticed. Let us pause and examine this more closely.
If we attempt to apply a standard taken from the names of men who are of acknowledged value in philosophy, science, literature and art, to the long list of women who have achieved some kind of fame, there will at once be a miserable
? EMANCIPATED WOMEN
collapse. Judged in this way, it is difficult to grant any real degree of merit to women like Angelica Kaufmann or Madame Lebrun, Fernan Caballero or Hroswitha von Gapku? ersheim, Mary Somerville or George Egerton, Eliza- beth Barrett Browning or Sophie Germain, Anna Maria Schurmann or Sybilla Merian. I will not speak of names (such as that of Droste-Hu? lshoff) formerly so over-rated in the annals of feminism, nor will I refer to the measure of fame claimed for or by living women. It is enough to
make the general statement that there is not a single woman in the history of thought, not even the most manlike, who can be truthfully compared with men of fifth or sixth-rate genius, for instance with Riickert as a poet. Van Dyck as a painter,orScheirmacherasaphilosopher. Ifweeliminate hysterical visionaries,* such as the Sybils, the Priestesses of Delphi, Bourignon, Kettenberg, Jeanna de la Mothe Guyon, Joanna Southcote, Beate Sturmin, St.