between Urnings in
whom sexual inversion is congenital, and old debauchees or half-idiotic
individuals, who are in the habit of misusing boys. The vulgar have
confounded two different classes; and everybody who studies the
psychology of Urnings is aware that this involves a grave injustice to
the latter.

"But, after all," continues the objector, "you cannot show that inverted
sexuality is capable of any moral elevation." Without appealing to
antiquity, the records of which confute this objection overwhelmingly,
one might refer to the numerous passages in Ulrich's writings where he
relates the fidelity, loyalty, self-sacrifice, and romantic enthusiasm
which frequently accompany such loves, and raises them above baseness.
But, since here again he may be considered a suspicious witness, it will
suffice, as before, to translate a brief passage from Krafft-Ebing. "The
Urning loves, idolizes his friend, quite as much as the normal man loves
and idolizes his girl. He is capable of making for him the greatest
sacrifices. He suffers the pangs of unhappy, often unreturned,
affection; feels jealousy, mourns under the fear of his friend's
infidelity."[64] When the time comes for speaking about Walt Whitman's
treatment of this topic, it will appear that the passion of a man for
his comrade has been idealised in fact and deed, as well as in poetry.
For the present it is enough to remark that a kind of love, however
spontaneous and powerful, which is scouted, despised, tabooed, banned,
punished, relegated to holes and corners, cannot be expected to show its
best side to the world. The sense of sin and crime and danger, the
humiliation and repression and distress to which the unfortunate pariahs
of inverted sexuality are daily and hourly exposed must inevitably
deteriorate the nobler elements in their emotion. Give abnormal love
the same chance as normal love, subject it to the wholesome control of
public opinion, allow it to be self-respecting, draw it from dark slums
into the light of day, strike off its chains and set it free--and I am
confident says Ulrichs, that it will exhibit analogous virtues,
checkered, of course, by analogous vices, to those with which you are
familiar in the mutual love of male and female. The slave has of
necessity a slavish soul. The way to elevate is to emancipate him.

"All that may be true," replies the objector: "it is even possible that
society will take the hard case of your Urnings into considerat