Tractus de Hermaphrodites Part 1

Tractus de Hermaphrodites.

by Giles Jacob.

PREFACE.

_Prefaces now a Days are rather Apologies for the Works to which they are prefix'd, than written for Instruction; and generally a ludicrous Scene is expected, if the Performance be of an airy Nature; or, if not, at least an introductory Specimen of what the Reader may hope for in the Body of the Work_.

_I shall make no Apology for my Subject, notwithstanding an impudent Libeller has endeavour'd to load Authors and Publishers of Works of this Nature with the utmost Infamy; and herein I admire at the Front of the Fellow, to pretend to Chastise others for Writing only, when he practises a great deal more Iniquity than any Book extant can prompt him to, every Day that comes over his Head_.

MY _Design in the following Sheets is meerly as an innocent Entertainment for all curious Persons, without any Views of inciting Masculine-Females to Amorous Tryals with their own s.e.x; and I am perswaded there will not be one single_ HERMAPHRODITE _the more in the World, on account of the publis.h.i.+ng this_ TREATISE.

IT _may be expected by some faithless Persons, that I should produce an_ HERMAPHRODITE _to publick View, as an incontestible Justification of there being Humane Creatures of this kind; but as I have no Authority to take up the Petticoats of any Female without her Consent, I hope to be excus'd from making such demonstrable Proofs; and if I had such a Power, the Sight might endanger the Welfare of some pregnant Female, whose Curiosity would spur her to a particular Examination_.

_The Intrigues of my_ HERMAPHRODITES _are indeed very amazing, and as monstrous as their Natures, but that many Lascivious Females divert themselves one with another at this time in this City, is not to be doubted: And if any Persons shall presume to Censure my Accounts, grounded on a Probability of Truth, I shall be sufficiently reveng'd in proclaiming them, what my_ HERMAPHRODITES _are found to be in the Conclusion_--Old Women.

_I confess, all Histories of extraordinary Conceptions from these Intrigues, or by Women without actual Copulation, are equally fabulous with those of the Engendring of Men: It would be as surprizing to find a Man with a teeming Belly, as to see a Woman increase there meerly by her own Applications_.

_I doubt not but this small_ TREATISE _may put some Persons upon a previous Examination of Robust Females, that they may be at a certainty with respect to mutual Enjoyment; but I would not have them rashly conclude from large Appurtenances only, that they are unnatural, but, on the contrary, agreeable Companions._

_To conclude, I fear not the Censure of_ HERMAPHRODITES, _nor of those that would be such to satisfy their vicious Inclinations; neither am I under any apprehensions from the Censure of our Reforming Zealots_.

Tractatus de Hermaphroditis

The Secrets of Nature have in all Ages been particularly examin'd by Anatomists and others, and this of _Hermaphrodites_ is so very wonderful, that I am perfectly a.s.sur'd my present Enquiry will be entirely acceptable to all Lovers of curious Discoveries; and as it is my immediate Business to trace every Particular for an ample Dissertation on the Nature of _Hermaphrodites_, (which obliges me to a frequent Repet.i.tion of the Names of the Parts employ'd in the Business of Generation) so, I hope, I shall not be charg'd with Obscenity, since in all Treatises of this Kind it is impossible to finish any one Head compleatly, without pursuing the Methods of Anatomical Writings.

Though in _Ovid_'s _Metamorphosis_, _Salmacis_'s being in Love with _Hermaphroditus_, and not succeeding in her amorous Wishes, her praying to the G.o.ds to join their Bodies in one, has no Weight in it; yet, that the Notions of Hermaphrodites are not entirely fict.i.tious, I need only mention the Servant of _Montuus_, who took his Hermaphrodite to be a Male when he lay with his Maids, and for a Female when she lay with her Husband to propagate their Species, the two Hermaphrodites of _Licetus_, and the Story of _Ausonius_, which he relates of an Hermaphrodite of _Bonavento_ in _Italy_; and Histories are full of Confirmations, that many Persons in the World have had the privy Parts of both s.e.xes.

For the Definition of the Word s.e.x, it is no other than a Distinction of Male and Female, in which this is most observable, that for the Parts of the Body, there is but little Difference between them; but the Females are colder than the Males, and abound with more superfluous Moisture; wherefore their spermatick Parts are more soft and humid, and all their natural Actions more vigorous than those of Men: But Hermaphrodites are a mixture of both s.e.xes, and to both incompleat.

In all Ages Hermaphrodites have been talk'd of, though particular Vouchers have been many times wanting, which is generally the Case where a Deficiency of the Secrets of Nature is to be detected; the amorous Parts are certainly more valuable than any other princ.i.p.al Parts of the Body, as they afford the greatest pleasure of Life; and there is always the greatest Difficulty attends the Discoveries of Impotency, (which is less obnoxious) and nothing but the Force of the Law executed by a lascivious Female, in the State of Matrimony, will occasion a Record of a want of Substance for the amorous Adventure.

It is natural to suppose, that these Persons of a mix'd Nature call'd Hermaphrodites, have had generally more Prudence and Conduct than to marry under such Incapacities, which would prevent an agreeable Consummation in the amorous Embrace, (however they may sport and dally with each other) as they must expect nothing but the greatest Resentment and highest Indignation from the Persons they have presumptuously espous'd, and must inevitably tend to their being expos'd to the World, as Prodigies and Monsters; and they have in Times past been the more effectually deterr'd from engaging in Matrimony, as they were immediately on their Discovery cast into the Sea or some large Rivers, or banish'd into some desolate Island, as presages of dire Events, and the worst of Calamities.

But the Civil Law does not regard Hermaphrodites as Monsters, it permits them to make a Choice of either of the two s.e.xes for the Business of Copulation, either in the Capacity of Men or Women; but if the Hermaphrodite does not perform his Part agreeable to Nature, the same Law inflicts the Punishment due to Sodomy, because he has abus'd one Part, contrary to Matures Laws. This must be determin'd by the Predominancy of the Parts, for there are some Hermaphrodites so very vigorous as to embrace Women, and others whose Parts are so dispos'd as to receive with pleasure the Caresses of Men; and where there is nothing to hinder the amorous Action, but that they are capable of enjoying mutual Pleasure, it would be a piece of injustice to prohibit their Nuptials.

Monsieur _Venette_[A] tells us, that there are five kinds of Hermaphrodites: The first have the privy Parts of a Man very entire; they make Water and Engender like other Men, but with this difference, that they have a pretty deep Slit between the Seat and the Cod, which is of no Use in Generation.

The second Sort have also the Parts of a Man very well proportion'd, that serve either the Functions of Life or Generation; but they have a Slit not so deep as the first Sort, which being in the midst of the Cods, presses the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es on each side.

The third Sort have no visible privy Parts of a Man, only a Slit, through which the Hermaphrodite makes Water. This Cavity is deeper or shallower, according to the plenty or default of Matter employ'd for the forming of it, yet one may easily find the Bottom of it with one's Finger. The Terms never flow by this way, and this kind of Hermaphrodite is a true Man as well as the two others above mention'd; for these sorts of Hermaphrodites become Boys, about the Age of fifteen, in an Instant, and are as valiant in the Adventures of Love as other Males, and this is oftentimes affected by some violent Action, as _Mary Germain_, mention'd by _Paraeus_, leaping over a Ditch, strain'd herself, and became instantly a Man, through the coming forth of the privy Parts.

This may be a sufficient Caution to young Gentlemen not to be too hasty in their Marriages, lest, in a vigorous Consummation with a very youthful Partner, the imaginary Female should at once appear an Hermaphrodite.

The fourth Sort of Hermaphrodites, are Women who have the _c.l.i.toris_ bigger and longer than others, and thereby impose upon the Vulgar, who know but little of the Parts they are compos'd of, and of these kinds of Hermaphrodites, _Columbus_ says he examin'd all the Parts, and found no essential Difference from other Women; the only Sign that they are Women is, that they suffer the flowing of their Terms every Month.

The fifth Kind, are those that have neither the Use of the one nor the other s.e.x, and have their privy Parts confus'd, and the Temper of Man and Woman so inter-mix'd, that one can hardly say which is most predominant; but these sorts of Persons are rather a kind of Eunuchs than Hermaphrodites, their _p.e.n.i.s_ being good for nothing, and their Terms never flowing. Of this Kind was the _Bohemian_ Woman, that pray'd _Columbus_ to cut off her _p.e.n.i.s_, and to enlarge her _v.a.g.i.n.a_, that she might the more freely, as she alledg'd, join amorously with a Man.

These are the several Sorts of Hermaphrodites, mentioned by Monsieur _Venette_; and the four first of them, tho' they have the Name, yet Nature has not refus'd them the Advantage to make use of their Genital Parts, and to Engender as others. The Male Hermaphrodite may get Children, and the Female conceive; so that neither the one nor the other differ from Men or Women, but only by a superfluity or a deficiency of Parts, and such as does not disturb the business of Generation.

The fifth Sort are call'd perfect Hermaphrodites, because they are incapable of using either of the s.e.xes; but some Persons fancy there are a sort of Hermaphrodites which can make use of both s.e.xes, and Engender both ways, though this is easily confuted, when we consider that one of the privy Parts of an Hermaphrodite is generally useless, as being contrary to the Laws of Nature, and what confusion would it be, to find in one and the same Person a Man's and Woman's t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es, a Womb and a _p.e.n.i.s_? A Woman's Genital Parts and a Man's are too different to admit of such an Union, and to change the Use upon any occasion.

Agreeable to the list mention'd Opinion, some Naturalists will have it, that an Hermaphrodite, which is very vigorous as to both s.e.xes, may Engender within himself, without the Company of another Person, having Matter to form a Child, a Place to conceive it, and proper Liquid for Nourishment: In the same manner as _Jack Hares_ engender once in their Lives, and that _Stags_ do the same, which is maintain'd by the learned _Langius_: But these Generations are both impossible and ridiculous, the Naturalists must certainly be deceiv'd, in taking some Parts of the Female for the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es of the Male; and what probability is there that the Seed should come out of one Part and into the other, without losing its Spirits, and altering considerably in changing of Place? And if such a Thing were possible, the Temperament that engenders Masculine Seed might as well engender Feminine, and produce the Terms at the same Time or something else in proportion to it.

Women having Beards, and being a large Masculine Size, have been sometimes, by the Ignorant, accounted Men, tho' they were true Women; and it cannot be said, that one s.e.x is chang'd into another, for we never heard of Men that became Women, and that their, privy Parts were abolish'd; or turn'd within, in order to form the Genital Parts of a Woman. The Hermaphrodites of _Licetus_, which conceiv'd and brought forth Children, were real Women taken for Men, by reason of the length and bigness of their _c.l.i.toris_: And the Fisherman's Wife, mention'd by _Antonius de Palma_, was only a Male, call'd the third sort of Hermaphrodites undiscover'd, which was afterwards manifested in the coming out of the Parts of a Man, when she had been fourteen Years married. The Case was the same with _Emilia_, marry'd to _Antonius Sperta_, mention'd by _Pota.n.u.s_ who was accounted a Woman twelve Years, but was afterwards reputed a Man, and married again to a Woman.

For the Discovery of the Male and Female Hermaphrodite, these Observations will be serviceable: A Person that is bold and sprightly, having a strong Voice, much Hair on the Body, particularly on the Chin and privy Parts, with the rest of such Signs as discover Manhood, are certain Demonstrations that the Hermaphrodite has the privy Parts of a Man in a more predominant manner than those of the other s.e.x; and contrarywise, if an Hermaphrodite has good b.r.e.a.s.t.s, Skin smooth and soft; if the Terms appear at their due Intervals; if there be a sparkling and agreeableness in the Eyes; and if other Signs are observ'd, that commonly distinguish a Woman from a Man, these are Arguments that the Hermaphrodite has the Privities of the Female s.e.x of a good Conformation; and if the _v.a.g.i.n.a_ is not too defective, such an Hermaphrodite ought to pa.s.s for a Woman.

I doubt not but there are many Persons in the World of both Species, particularly of the Female s.e.x, who would willingly a.s.sume to themselves the Parts belonging to Hermaphrodites, if they could have a vigorous Use of the Members of both s.e.xes, upon any l.u.s.tful Inclination; a lascivious Female would be transported at the Thoughts of acting the Part of a Man in the amorous Adventure, and a lecherous Male would propose equal Pleasure in receiving the Embraces he use to bestow; but tho' most Persons agree that Women have the greatest Sense of Enjoyment in the Act of Copulation, (as without all question they must, by the Situation and Disposition of the Parts) yet they would be more forward in satisfying this brutal Curiosity than those of the opposite s.e.x. Men are more easy to be limited in the Pleasures of _Venus_ than Women; as they are endu'd with more Reason, so they are generally easily satisfied in those Enjoyments, which were chiefly design'd for the propagating of their Species.

If two Persons, being Hermaphrodites, should Marry with an expectation of pleasing each other, as Male and Female by turns, they'll meet with a Disappointment, for the Reasons already mention'd, _viz_. That one of the Members of Hermaphrodites is most commonly useless, and if a Man should by chance be married to a Person of his own s.e.x, before the Parts are come down, (which, as I have observ'd before, sometimes happens, where Persons are wedded in an Age of Infancy) a great Disappointment will ensue to the Husband, when his Partner shall take the Const.i.tution of a Man, and be ready to engage with him, instead of his encountering with her; and in respect of a masculine Woman's being taken by the Length of her _c.l.i.toris_ for a Man, _Daniel de Bantin_ only sported with his Wife, but was got with Child himself by one of his Companions. The _c.l.i.toris_ not being perforated, the Hermaphrodite can furnish no Matter for Generation.

The _c.l.i.toris_ in Women suffers erection and falling in the same manner as the _p.e.n.i.s_ in Men; and the _v.a.g.i.n.a_ likewise swells to make the Pa.s.sage streight and easy, for the reception of the _p.e.n.i.s_ in the Time of Enjoyment. Sometimes the _c.l.i.toris_ will grow out of the Body two or three Inches, but that happens not but upon extraordinary Occasions, upon violent Inclinations to Copulation, over much Heat of the Privities, _&c._ and by this means a Man will be hinder'd from knowing his Wife; but the larger it is, so as no way to prevent their mutual Embraces, the greater is the Pleasure, especially to the Female; and without this Part, the fair s.e.x would neither desire the Embraces of the Males, nor have any Pleasure in them, or Conceive by them.

Women well furnish'd in these Parts may divert themselves with their Companions, to whom for the most part they can give as much Pleasure as Men do, but cannot receive in any proportion the Pleasure themselves, for want of e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n, the Crisis of Enjoyment to the Male in the Intrigues of _Venus_. I am inform'd that Diversions of this nature are frequently practis'd by robust and l.u.s.tful Females, who cannot with any prospect of safety to their Reputations, venture upon the Embraces of a Man, though they are never so strongly enclin'd. The unnatural Pleasures of this kind are finely ill.u.s.trated in the following Song, written by Mr. ROWE, which I take it will not be improperly inserted in this Place.

[Footnote A: Le Tableau de l'Amour Conjugal, par Monsieur _Venette_.

Paris 1710.]

SONG.

I.

_While_ SAPPHO, _with harmonious Airs, Her dear_ PHILENIS _charms, With equal joy the Nymph appears, Dissolving in her Arms_.

II.

_Thus to themselves alone they are, What all_ Mankind _can give; Alternately the happy Pair All grant, and all receive_.

III.

_Like the_ Twin-Stars, _so fam'd for Friends, Who set by Turns and rise; When_ one _to_ THETIS _Lap descends His_ Brother _mounts the Skies_.

IV.

_With happier Fate, and kinder Care, These_ Nymphs _by_ Turns _do reign, While still the_ Falling, _does prepare The Rising, to sustain_.